So first, what is FreeMech? FreeMech is a game concept/idea that I have been toying around for quite a few years. The game at its core shall be a mech simulation, something not to far away from the early MechWarrior titles for the PC, however it is not intended to be a clone of either those or other mech titles.
The idea behind the game is not just to create a game in which the player can control a mech, but to create a complete battlefield simulation, allowing the player or his teammates to take control over all vehicles and command structures available on the battlefield. Everything from foot soldiers up to orbital laser cannons. The goal is to create an interactive world that doesn't have to many artificial borders. You should be able to walk were you want and only be limited be the terrain layout and your fuel supply. You also shall be able to change your vehicle and interact with other NPCs at close range. The focus shall be on making the game world believable and behave realistically. If you control a 100 ton mech, it shall fell slow and heavy. It shall be a complex machine with parts that can break and be replaced, be it weapon systems or cockpit instruments. Your weapons will be limited in ammunition and energie. If your mech breaks, you shall be able to leave it behind and continue on foot. The game shall be free of artificial rules, such as experience point systems or other artificial ways of leveling up.
Some features I would like to have in the game:
- a virtual 3D cockpit, fully interactive and fully destructible
- ability to enter or leave vehicles of all kinds
- the ability to walk around on foot
- a realistic damage system, one hit can kill a foot soldier, a mech might get damaged and his system might fail
- very different kinds of vehicles, from motorbikes over jeeps, to tanks to mechs to orbital lasers
- a dynamic and persistent campaign that simulates a complete war from start to finish
- missions that take place in the context of the campaign, ending a mission will not reset the battle field
- real 3D terrain, not just a heightmap, so that one can have overhangs, cliffs, caves and other natural structures
- day and night cycles
- multiplayer with a heavy focus on coop and not so much on vs play
Why create this game? Because there really isn't anything close to it around. Operation Flashpoint gets quite close, but portraits a current day war, I want to give it a sci-fi edge, expand it with a dynamic campaign and also give a stronger focus on planes and helicopters.
Is there a chance that this game will be finished or finished in some reasonable time space? Not really, but I might still try it, not to soon, since Pingus, Windstille and SuperTux still keep me busy, but after that it is likely that I move on to FreeMech, which name will of course change.
So how will it look like?
BTW. This is really kind of old stuff, I have been thinking about it for years and those pictures above are already two years old. So this is more of a "things I still haven't even started to implement", then a "things that will be released real soon".