Earth 2150: The Moon Project
Encyclopedia
Earth 2150: The Moon Project is a sequel to the real time strategy game Earth 2150
.
While the game is in fact a stand-alone game, many consider it an expansion pack
because it does little more than provide new missions, and weapons. The story takes place alongside the original game's story. The Moon Project was released in 2001 by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
The player must mine resources in order to build units and structures, and must create power plants to keep structures working. The game includes a 10 level campaign for each faction, and multiplayer support is provided.
United Civilized States: UCS for short, consists of the American continents. Their society relies heavily on machinery and robotics
, and is ruled by an Artificial Intelligence
. Machines do all tasks for the people and as a result the population is lazy and hedonistic. Their army consists of Mecha
without human pilots. When playing as the UCS, the player takes the role of a commander working for the President but more directly to GOLAN and another AI called NEO. The UCS has long been at war with the Eurasian Dynasty. The main weapon of the UCS is the Plasma
Cannon and the larger Heavy Plasma Cannons. While very powerful, shields can stop plasma before it can make it to the hull of target vehicles.
Eurasian Dynasty: ED for short, controls Europe and Asia. They are ruled by a descendent of Genghis Khan
and seem to follow old Soviet ideology. They are somewhat primitive (by 22nd Century standards) at first, relying on 21st century vehicles and weapons, such as tanks and helicopters. They do however have some advanced technology in the form of the Laser
cannon and the Ion
cannon. The ED dual 120 cannons are very powerful and can also punch through shields, a very useful property in the end game.
Lunar Corporation: LC for short, are descendants of lunar colonists. Since 2084, they severed contact with the Earth when it became apparent that a full-scale nuclear war was about to occur. Since then they have lived peacefully on the Moon. Because of their isolation from the wars of Earth, their society has evolved into a pacifist form. The technologies of the LC are far more advanced than that of the other two factions. The main weapon platform of the LC is the hovercraft. Not having been at war for many years; the LC military machine is almost non-existent. They catch on quickly however, and build some of the more exotic weapons of the game including the Electro-cannon, which emits an electrical pulse to destroy targets, and the Sonic
-cannon, which emits a moderately powerful radial effect that damages all enemies around it. Another thing to note is that the LC mostly consists of females.
with a few key differences:
1. Both LC and UCS campaigns take place on the Moon, with the exception of the first UCS level.
2. Several new vehicles and weapons have been added to the game including mobile transports,
Artillery, antimissile systems which fire automatically in order to take down incoming enemy missiles and "Anti-air" weapons (ED: AA Gun, UCS: AA Plasma Cannon, LC: AA Rocket Launcher), which do incredible amounts of damage to aircraft.
3. The ED campaign introduces an "Advancement system" which allows the player to gain rank (and a cut-scene) upon earning a certain amount of points, which are received when objectives are met in missions.
4. The shield system has been changed to even out the defense capabilities of the 3 factions. The power of the shields has been halved.
5. The campaign no longer revolves around sending resources to the player's home base for the construction of an evacuation fleet. Instead, all the resources on the map are added to home base funds when the player successfully destroys all enemy units in the mission and returns to base. Unlike the first game, which required careful conservation of resources to complete a mission and the game, funds are nearly unlimited on each mission.
Earth 2150
Earth 2150 also known as Earth 2150: Escape from the Blue Planet is a real-time strategy game, originally published in 2000 by SSI and the Polish developer Reality Pump and a sequel to the largely unknown Earth 2140...
.
While the game is in fact a stand-alone game, many consider it an expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
because it does little more than provide new missions, and weapons. The story takes place alongside the original game's story. The Moon Project was released in 2001 by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Strategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official computer game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General...
Story
Earth's final war is in full swing. The United Civilized States, Eurasian Dynasty, and the Lunar Corporation fight over what is left of the world’s resources in order to escape the blue planet before it is destroyed. Meanwhile, on the Moon, the Lunar Corporation discovers the remnants of an alien tunnel system. In it, they find the plans for an orbital super weapon, with the power to attack the Earth from the Moon. While beginning the process of building the weapon, code named "Sunlight", a United Civilized States army appears ready to try to stop them. It's up to the player to decide how it will play out, and who will win.Gameplay
The Moon Project is a war strategy game. What sets it apart from other games in the genre, is the full three dimensional play. The player can rotate the camera to view the battlefield from just about any angle. It also includes an experience system for the units, indicated by a green and black line under the unit's health bar. Higher levels means higher damage, health, and armor.The player must mine resources in order to build units and structures, and must create power plants to keep structures working. The game includes a 10 level campaign for each faction, and multiplayer support is provided.
The Factions
The game includes three playable factions. Each has its own unique style and army.United Civilized States: UCS for short, consists of the American continents. Their society relies heavily on machinery and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, and is ruled by an Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. Machines do all tasks for the people and as a result the population is lazy and hedonistic. Their army consists of Mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
without human pilots. When playing as the UCS, the player takes the role of a commander working for the President but more directly to GOLAN and another AI called NEO. The UCS has long been at war with the Eurasian Dynasty. The main weapon of the UCS is the Plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
Cannon and the larger Heavy Plasma Cannons. While very powerful, shields can stop plasma before it can make it to the hull of target vehicles.
Eurasian Dynasty: ED for short, controls Europe and Asia. They are ruled by a descendent of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
and seem to follow old Soviet ideology. They are somewhat primitive (by 22nd Century standards) at first, relying on 21st century vehicles and weapons, such as tanks and helicopters. They do however have some advanced technology in the form of the Laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
cannon and the Ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
cannon. The ED dual 120 cannons are very powerful and can also punch through shields, a very useful property in the end game.
Lunar Corporation: LC for short, are descendants of lunar colonists. Since 2084, they severed contact with the Earth when it became apparent that a full-scale nuclear war was about to occur. Since then they have lived peacefully on the Moon. Because of their isolation from the wars of Earth, their society has evolved into a pacifist form. The technologies of the LC are far more advanced than that of the other two factions. The main weapon platform of the LC is the hovercraft. Not having been at war for many years; the LC military machine is almost non-existent. They catch on quickly however, and build some of the more exotic weapons of the game including the Electro-cannon, which emits an electrical pulse to destroy targets, and the Sonic
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
-cannon, which emits a moderately powerful radial effect that damages all enemies around it. Another thing to note is that the LC mostly consists of females.
The game
The game plays nearly the same as Earth 2150Earth 2150
Earth 2150 also known as Earth 2150: Escape from the Blue Planet is a real-time strategy game, originally published in 2000 by SSI and the Polish developer Reality Pump and a sequel to the largely unknown Earth 2140...
with a few key differences:
1. Both LC and UCS campaigns take place on the Moon, with the exception of the first UCS level.
2. Several new vehicles and weapons have been added to the game including mobile transports,
Artillery, antimissile systems which fire automatically in order to take down incoming enemy missiles and "Anti-air" weapons (ED: AA Gun, UCS: AA Plasma Cannon, LC: AA Rocket Launcher), which do incredible amounts of damage to aircraft.
3. The ED campaign introduces an "Advancement system" which allows the player to gain rank (and a cut-scene) upon earning a certain amount of points, which are received when objectives are met in missions.
4. The shield system has been changed to even out the defense capabilities of the 3 factions. The power of the shields has been halved.
5. The campaign no longer revolves around sending resources to the player's home base for the construction of an evacuation fleet. Instead, all the resources on the map are added to home base funds when the player successfully destroys all enemy units in the mission and returns to base. Unlike the first game, which required careful conservation of resources to complete a mission and the game, funds are nearly unlimited on each mission.