AquaNox
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''AquaNox'' is a series of
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
-based
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
/
simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s set in the distant future. The collection includes ''AquaNox'', ''AquaNox 2: Revelation'' and ''AquaNox: The Angel's Tears''. The predecessor and the starter of the series is the
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
title ''
Archimedean Dynasty ''Archimedean Dynasty'' (German: ''Schleichfahrt'', meaning silent running) was the first of the ''AquaNox'' series of computer games, developed by Massive Development and published by Blue Byte in 1996. On July 29, 2015, after years of non-ava ...
''.


Concept

In the middle of the 22nd century, raw materials on
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
became increasingly scarce and as the end of the resources loomed, people began to prospect for resources on the ocean floor. This resulted in the construction of mining stations beneath the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
,
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Indian ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
s. Many countries set up these deep-sea stations where workers and engineers extracted the oceans' treasures. Nevertheless, the output was far from enough to cover an ever-increasing demand. When the natural resources on Earth's surface were depleted, a time of destruction and wars began. In the fight over the planet's last remaining resources, alliances fell apart, countries became hostile and old conflicts flared up. With increasing cruelty and senselessness, humanity destroyed the very basis of life on the surface of the earth. After a series of resource wars, nuclear weapons completed the destruction that people had not yet finished with industrial pollution. When the last glimmer of hope for humanity's survival was extinguished, people fled into the depths of the oceans. The former extraction stations became the last refuge of those fortunate enough to be able to pay the price of entry into the underwater world. The poorest of the poor were left behind, condemned to die in a desolate world polluted by radioactivity. Life outside the oceans became impossible as the continents were flooded by rising sea levels and a harsh
nuclear winter Nuclear winter is a severe and prolonged global climatic cooling effect that is hypothesized to occur after widespread firestorms following a large-scale nuclear war. The hypothesis is based on the fact that such fires can inject soot into th ...
covered most of the oceans and the shrinking surface landmass of the planet with a layer of
radioactive dust Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
, snow and ice many meters thick. A 40-meter thick layer of dead organic matter, the so-called POM layer, covered the oceans. Not a single ray of sunlight penetrated the dense particulate layer that plunged the world into a darkness like none other. Nevertheless, humankind rose one last time to a new life, the only life, in a dead new world. This world was humanity's creation, and was now called Aqua. The following events take place in the middle of the 27th century. Today, in the year 2661, humankind lives in gigantic cities underwater. Aqua is divided into political power blocs, such as the Aquatoria of the capitalistic, democratically governed Atlantic Federation, the
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
of the Arabic Clans Union and the
monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
Russo-Japanese
Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
. In the South Pacific lies the Tornado Zone, stirred up by surface storms, where an anarchist pack of mercenaries, pirates, buccaneers and outlaws gathers, ever ready to sell their friends and their souls. A single company has long ago monopolized many industries necessary for human survival underwater—EnTrOx, which stands for "Energy-Transportation-
Oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
". New technologies allow extremely fast underwater travel. However, many old technologies are lost or have become useless. For example, due to the high amounts of
fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
in the atmosphere, satellite communication and
global positioning The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sys ...
are impossible, although some organizations are looking for ways to restore these abilities. The player's task is to complete a series of story-related combat missions. During the course of the missions additional support and story elements are revealed by the secondary characters. The enemies range from hostile vessels to alien or artificial life-forms such as Bionts.


Episodes

The Aquanox series include the following games, listed by release in
chronological order Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , ''-logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It ...
:


''Archimedean Dynasty''


''AquaNox''

The player once again jumps into the role of Emerald "Deadeye" Flint. After the Bionts are defeated, Flint goes back to being a mercenary as a leader of a Biont-hunting task force. Things turn for the worse when his submarine, the ''
Succubus A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity in folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. According to religious tradition, a succubus needs male semen to survive; repeated sexual activity ...
'', is stolen on one of the stations. The game begins with one of Flint's dubious acquaintances giving him an old, barely working sub and several missions to get him started. Throughout the game, Flint earns money by completing missions, allowing him to purchase better subs, weapons and equipment. The new equipment appears throughout the game, available for purchase, as the player progress in the storyline. Generally speaking, the player is allowed to buy a new boat and a new set of weaponry per chapter. While on stations, Flint can speak with various characters in order to get new missions and deepen the atmosphere of the game. The former system of upgrading the vessel with a variety of defensive turrets has been simplified by fixing the player's view to the cockpit as well as permitting the usage of only two on-hull-installed cannons. As the result of this change, the controls of the submarine have been adapted to the first-person shooter's mouse-based layout, removing the need for the joystick, thus the game has compromised its tactical depth in order to increase the intensity of combat. This change has raised critique among the reviewers, stating that the developers' focus fell inadequately on the visual performance rather than the actual gameplay of its predecessor. The game was one of the first applications to fully use the T&L effects by supporting the ''
NVIDIA Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
Geforce 3 Ti'' graphics accelerator. The game includes a vast amount of true information on oceans, such as origins of different species, their specifics and humanity's adaptation to submarine life. The game manual consists of two chapters explaining various terms and facts that have been mentioned throughout the course of the story.


''AquaNox 2: Revelation''

The plot of the game centers on William Drake, the last remnant of the old aristocratic, industrialist family. After the bankruptcy of the family business and the death of the protagonist's grandmother, young William Drake sets "sail" for open seas on the last freighter of Drake Enterprises. The cargo ship soon gets taken over by a group of mercenaries while Drake rushes out to answer a distress call. While sparing his life, the group of seven invaders seize control of the boat, thus binding Williams' fate to their own. Drake sees no other option but to ally himself with his new crew, hoping for the best. The game features a total of four unique, playable and upgradeable gunships. The player most likely switches boats depending on a given mission's parameters. While certain missions require speed and stealth, others virtually require a heavy arsenal and thick plating. The game features a large variety of projectile armament as well as a set of torpedoes and a collection of directed energy weaponry, including lasers and EMP launchers. The torpedo combat is similar to the missile engagements of most flight simulators and space shooters, where the pilot is expected to release flares and perform classic evasion manoeuvres. Traveling is generally a simple matter of following the navigation points spread out through the game. The ship's controls can be switched from the
FPS FPS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "F.P.S." (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of the TV show ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' fps magazine'', a defunct magazine about animation * ''The Fabulous Picture Show'', a televi ...
mode to Simulation Mode via a predefined shortcut, where the latter steering scheme switches the horizontal scrolling of the mouse from turning the cockpit horizontally to rotating the hull around its axis. Reaching the surface is not possible due to the depth-range limitation, which binds the player to the underwater world yet gives certain disadvantages during combat. In response to criticisms of poor interaction with other characters in AquaNox, a new dialogue system was added in the sequel. Between missions, the player is able to initiate conversations while on board the freighter as well as in the oceanic cities. The initiation of the conversations is mandatory. However, due to the absence of interaction during the dialogues, the outcome of the game is not open-ended. The dialogue and characters are the focus of many reviewers' ire, who criticize it as poorly-written and ultimately pointless.


''AquaNox: The Angel's Tears''

''AquaNox: The Angel's Tears'' is the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of ''AquaNox 2: Revelation''. The title did not pass Sony's
software quality assurance Software quality assurance (SQA) is a means and practice of monitoring all software engineering processes, methods, and work products to ensure compliance against defined standards. It may include ensuring conformance to standards or models, suc ...
test and as
Massive Development Massive Development GmbH was a German video game developer based in Mannheim, Germany. Founded as Massive Development GbR, the company was active between 1994 and 2005 and is primarily known for their post-apocalyptic science fiction video game ...
had already been closed by
JoWood Productions JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration in 2011 and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games ...
, the release was cancelled.


''AquaNox: Deep Descent''

At
Gamescom 2014 Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Associa ...
,
Nordic Games The Nordic Games were the first international multi-sport event that focused primarily on winter sports, and were held at varying intervals between 1901 and 1926. It was organized by Sweden's Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of ...
presented a
tech demo A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of s ...
of a new iteration from the Aquanox series. The Nordic Games officials confirmed they were working on a new iteration of the game. The demo was created using Unreal Engine 3 and showed a bit of the environment and one ship model prototype along with a hangar interface. The game was successfully
crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
through
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
on the 11th of September 2015 by amassing US$95,979, surpassing its US$75,000 goal. The game was released on October 16, 2020 in stores and on
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
. The game is developed by Serbian studio Digital Arrow.Press release, 24 September 2020
/ref>


References


External links

*
Official Aquanox Homepage
of the publisher Jowood (archived 2011-07-13)
Official Aquanox 2 Homepage
of the publisher Jowood (archived 2011-07-13)

- Official AquaNox Series webpage from ''Massive Development'' (archived 2005-02-07) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquanox Video games developed in Germany Post-apocalyptic video games Submarine simulation video games DOS games 1996 video games 2001 video games 2003 video games Cyberpunk video games Underwater civilizations in fiction Games commercially released with DOSBox Blue Byte games Embracer Group franchises Windows games Windows-only games Video games set in the 27th century