(Please help proofread prior to publication: spelling, grammar, and pointing out any inconsistency or confusing section. Gameplay feedback not needed until later, we want to focus on getting the book to print).
Em-8ER
A harsh alien world. A nomadic tribe’s last chance. A war for the planet’s secrets.
In Em-8ER players are explorers, soldiers and pioneers. They fight to establish a new home world, to mine the planet with THMPR MEK/As and build new bases and outposts to extend their reach. Secrets and riches lie in wait, long lost treasures of an ancient civilization. War and battle rage across the surface as xenomorphs from the world’s past rise up and do battle against the players. Their war machines of giant Kaiju creatures versus the humans in their MEK suits and huge THMPR mining MEK/A.
Massive Planetary Warfare
Huge PvE battles in a large scale, outdoor, first and third person, shooter environment. Player piloted MEKs (mechs) vs Kaiju. Hundreds of players fighting back against a ruthless invading army of shapeshifting aliens and giant Kaiju creatures. The heart of Em-8ER are the invasions and counter-invasions that rage across the planet. Players terraform pockets of the planet, establishing new colonies and bases. Tsi-Hu shapeshifters, with their marauding Kaiju creatures, invade and attack in an attempt to destroy the players advances.
Omniframes
Players pilot Omniframes: lightweight MEKs (Mechanically Enhanced Kinetics) that are fast and agile, and can jumpjet, skim and glide over long distances. Omniframes are needed to battle the strong and fierce Kaiju that attack regularly, being the only thing that can protect a human from being shredded or bitten in half instantly. Omniframes are upgradeable, and collectible. Players can have as many as they can build, outfitting them in different ways for different mission roles.
World Goals - Terraforming & Mining
The goals in Em-8ER are both individual and shared. Shared goals give the player a common focus for the war, and world tasks to complete together. The main group goal in Em-8ER is to terraform all the zones, and build and defend all the bases. Players open up new terraforming pockets and must mine and collect resources to build the bases and machinery that will transform the zone from frozen wasteland to lush biome. The more land is terraformed and mined, the higher tiers of technology are unlocked and available to players. There is no limit to the number of tiers. New zones and new tiers are released with each episodic update of the game.
Unlocking Tiers
There is no leveling in Em-8ER. Instead, advancement is more about giving the player options than huge power increases. You can develop your Omniframe’s abilities, weapons and armor as you progress both individually, and as you help advance the world state.
Abilities, weapons, and such are arranged in tiers. Each tier gives more options and sometimes more powerful upgrades to craft. Players unlock tiers by gathering resources and using them to reach higher tiers up to the maximum. The maximum is determined by how far the players have progressed in the world goal.
Base Building
Building bases is important to the goal of terraforming a zone, and defending it from invading Kaiju. The more bases are built, the faster zones can be terraformed. Lose bases to Kaiju, and your terraforming will slow or even revert back to an earlier phase. Bases also serve as refineries for gathered resources, defense points against invasion, and deployment zones for player Omniframes, THMPRs and future vehicles. By contributing resources to new bases, players can activate more buildings, more defenses, and capabilities for that base.
Crafting
Everything is crafted by players in Em-8ER. While not fighting in invasions, players are out mining resources with their THMPR MEK/A (the “A” stands for “autonomous”). Mining is not a passive activity, but a hectic battle. As the THMPR mines, swarms of smaller Kai-ju, with their Tsi-Hu alien masters, attack in waves. The more you can withstand, the longer your THMPR can mine, and the rarer the resources that are acquired. Push it too far, and you can lose both the THMPR and its’ resources. It is an encounter designed to push and reward the skill of players.
Rewarding Skill
Players can succeed well enough by crafting resources and building frames and bases. But players who want to test themselves can use their skills to maximize their abilities. The THMPR encounter is designed to reward skill by granting rare resources for “pushing the limits.” Similarly, many weapons and abilities have an additional skill based component. Higher twitch skill, reflexes, and timing will give extra benefits to using many of these weapons and abilities.
Episodic
Em-8ER is episodic in story, gameplay and world. Regular updates will give player access to new areas to terraform and fight over. These zones will include new resources, and bring new tiers to unlock to expand the crafting of abilities and weapons in the game. Some updates will, if the game is successful, include releasing vehicles like aircraft and tanks and larger MEK to fight against new Kaiju. The story of Em-8ER will likewise unfold over time, expanding from first contact with the Tsi-Hu to all out war.
Em-8ER
A harsh alien world. A nomadic tribe’s last chance. A war for the planet’s secrets.
In Em-8ER players are explorers, soldiers and pioneers. They fight to establish a new home world, to mine the planet with THMPR MEK/As and build new bases and outposts to extend their reach. Secrets and riches lie in wait, long lost treasures of an ancient civilization. War and battle rage across the surface as xenomorphs from the world’s past rise up and do battle against the players. Their war machines of giant Kaiju creatures versus the humans in their MEK suits and huge THMPR mining MEK/A.
Massive Planetary Warfare
Huge PvE battles in a large scale, outdoor, first and third person, shooter environment. Player piloted MEKs (mechs) vs Kaiju. Hundreds of players fighting back against a ruthless invading army of shapeshifting aliens and giant Kaiju creatures. The heart of Em-8ER are the invasions and counter-invasions that rage across the planet. Players terraform pockets of the planet, establishing new colonies and bases. Tsi-Hu shapeshifters, with their marauding Kaiju creatures, invade and attack in an attempt to destroy the players advances.
Omniframes
Players pilot Omniframes: lightweight MEKs (Mechanically Enhanced Kinetics) that are fast and agile, and can jumpjet, skim and glide over long distances. Omniframes are needed to battle the strong and fierce Kaiju that attack regularly, being the only thing that can protect a human from being shredded or bitten in half instantly. Omniframes are upgradeable, and collectible. Players can have as many as they can build, outfitting them in different ways for different mission roles.
World Goals - Terraforming & Mining
The goals in Em-8ER are both individual and shared. Shared goals give the player a common focus for the war, and world tasks to complete together. The main group goal in Em-8ER is to terraform all the zones, and build and defend all the bases. Players open up new terraforming pockets and must mine and collect resources to build the bases and machinery that will transform the zone from frozen wasteland to lush biome. The more land is terraformed and mined, the higher tiers of technology are unlocked and available to players. There is no limit to the number of tiers. New zones and new tiers are released with each episodic update of the game.
Unlocking Tiers
There is no leveling in Em-8ER. Instead, advancement is more about giving the player options than huge power increases. You can develop your Omniframe’s abilities, weapons and armor as you progress both individually, and as you help advance the world state.
Abilities, weapons, and such are arranged in tiers. Each tier gives more options and sometimes more powerful upgrades to craft. Players unlock tiers by gathering resources and using them to reach higher tiers up to the maximum. The maximum is determined by how far the players have progressed in the world goal.
Base Building
Building bases is important to the goal of terraforming a zone, and defending it from invading Kaiju. The more bases are built, the faster zones can be terraformed. Lose bases to Kaiju, and your terraforming will slow or even revert back to an earlier phase. Bases also serve as refineries for gathered resources, defense points against invasion, and deployment zones for player Omniframes, THMPRs and future vehicles. By contributing resources to new bases, players can activate more buildings, more defenses, and capabilities for that base.
Crafting
Everything is crafted by players in Em-8ER. While not fighting in invasions, players are out mining resources with their THMPR MEK/A (the “A” stands for “autonomous”). Mining is not a passive activity, but a hectic battle. As the THMPR mines, swarms of smaller Kai-ju, with their Tsi-Hu alien masters, attack in waves. The more you can withstand, the longer your THMPR can mine, and the rarer the resources that are acquired. Push it too far, and you can lose both the THMPR and its’ resources. It is an encounter designed to push and reward the skill of players.
Rewarding Skill
Players can succeed well enough by crafting resources and building frames and bases. But players who want to test themselves can use their skills to maximize their abilities. The THMPR encounter is designed to reward skill by granting rare resources for “pushing the limits.” Similarly, many weapons and abilities have an additional skill based component. Higher twitch skill, reflexes, and timing will give extra benefits to using many of these weapons and abilities.
Episodic
Em-8ER is episodic in story, gameplay and world. Regular updates will give player access to new areas to terraform and fight over. These zones will include new resources, and bring new tiers to unlock to expand the crafting of abilities and weapons in the game. Some updates will, if the game is successful, include releasing vehicles like aircraft and tanks and larger MEK to fight against new Kaiju. The story of Em-8ER will likewise unfold over time, expanding from first contact with the Tsi-Hu to all out war.
