I plan to post my patches and screenshots to this page, when Riot is released in the second quarter of 1998. In the meantime, I'll have to make do with whatever graphics & info I can scrounge up. As you can see, I've updated the graphics a little, but not much change in the info at all. Be patient, Riot is still being developed. As the game solidifies, I hope to be able to post some better, more detailed info.
First off, Riot is a new PC game currently being developed by Monolith Productions Inc. and will be published by Microsoft. It is the very first game to utilize the new Direct Engine. Direct Engine is a new 3D game engine also being developed. Riot is a 3D shooter type game with an anime mecha theme. The screenshots available on the official Riot Homepage look very impressive. I've never seen such textures in a 3D shooter!
INFO:
Here are some interesting bits of info that I found on the Riot Forum. The mechas in Riot are called MCA (Mobile Combat Armor). In some levels, the player will be in a mecha, and in other levels, the player will be on foot. The player has a choice of four transforming mechas--PMCA (Protean Mobile Combat Armor).
The following are quotes taken from the Riot Forum concerning the game and its developement:
"The #1 MCA weapon is nicknamed the Pin Puncher. It's a one-handed
chaingun capable of firing three-round bursts or fully automatic. You'll
be able to retrieve a second Pin Puncher from a fallen enemy and wield
them double-fisted. It's a medium to close range weapon with a
moderate reload time.
In the #1 on-foot slot you'll start out with double-fisted Colt .45s. They'll be very effective (no useless weapons in Riot!), but the reload is a killer."--Craig Hubbard, Lead Designer of Riot
"...Riot will play more like a first person shooter than a mech sim, so there will be armor and energy powerups that act like armor and health in other games."--Craig Hubbard
"Riot is definitely mission- and story-based. There won't be any exit switches. We're going for cinematic gameplay that makes you feel like you're in a continuous world and part of a gripping story. And rather than relying on lots of non-interactive cutscenes to tell the story for us, we're putting all the story elements into the game and letting your actions shape the outcome.
All you have to do is play the game and be ready to deal with the consequences of your actions."--Craig Hubbard
"...We already have destroyable and pushable objects in the engine. Also, our event system will allow us to do all sorts of cool things with the environments and the overall gameworld itself.
Furthermore, the storyline is dynamic, with multiple endings and lots of different possible consequences along the way, so your actions will have consequences in the game. You may find yourself pissing off the wrong people and ending up facing tremendous odds. Or you might find an easier, more underhanded way of dealing with a potentially bad situation. We want to place players in an immersive world that has lots of inherent replay value and complexity. After all, that's what we look for in a game."--Craig Hubbard
"All of the Mech's movements in RIOT are Fully Motion Captured! (Monolith has its own motion capture studio) They move exactly like humans do, not like MechWarrior (which are more tank like)."--Jason Hall, CEO of Monolith Productions
"We've got a few different ideas on image enhancement powerups or capabilities--including an x-ray type view that looks pretty incredible--but haven't set anything in stone yet. What we'll probably do is implement as many as we can and see which ones are the most
fun."--Craig Hubbard
"DirectEngine was designed with customizability in mind. You'll be ableto do pretty much anything you want. Not only that, everything will be fully documented."--Craig Hubbard
"...We'll definitely implement some sort of built-in lighting on mecha that you can turn on and off. Also, when you're on foot, you'll have a flashlight."--Craig Hubbard
Thanks goes to Craig Hubbard and Jason Hall for showing their concern for gamers. So many large gaming companies on the 'net rarely answer your questions, but these guys are excellent!
