Notrium
Encyclopedia
Notrium is a freeware
video game for Microsoft Windows
. It is currently at version 1.345 and developed by independent Finnish
programmer
Ville Mönkkönen
. It is the seventh game by Mönkkönen, but only the fifth to be released fully in English
. Released in 2003, it won second place in the "Adventure Game of the Year" contest on GameTunnel
. Environments range from jungle
terrain, to desert, to tundra
, all of which are affected by a day-night cycle, except for interior levels which are artificially lit.
The game's graphics, aside from certain plot-related areas, are all randomly generated at the beginning of the game. Random generation affects the precise location of items and vegetation, though most objects and all scenery will remain in their environment square, the placement of which in relation to others is a set constant. For example, tree placement in the Jungle zone changes each time a new game is begun, but the start location will not, and the Jungle zone stays adjacent to the same areas.
, the Var' Equinalin, is exploring the Hive sector, when it approaches the titular planet
Notrium, and is attacked by ground-launched missiles. The player's character (either the human captain, the android engineer, the psionic
medic, or the alien stowaway) manages to reach the only working escape pod
(the others having been sabotaged by the alien) and crash-lands on the planet's surface. From there, they must find a way to survive, as well as a method of escape.
Varying on whichever character is being played, 'journal entries', which appear every day-night cycle for the first in-game fortnight
, detail different happenings. For example, the journal of the Human tells that he was the captain of the ship, and details his experience on board the spacecraft; while the journal of the Android states that he was the ship's mechanic
and goes into his point of view over the same proceedings. Other plot points outside of journal entries are triggered by entering certain locales, or completing an objective.
Notrium has several endings, which differ depending on what character the player has chosen to use. Some endings are exclusive to certain characters, while others can be achieved by more than one.
is controlled, and similar to the shareware PC shooter Crimsonland.
During the course of the game, the player encounters various items and objects strewn across the terrain, such as edible plants, weapons, and other machinery. As most needed materials, such as a protective force field
, are not found intact, the player is required to build them out of two or three separate pieces. Most useful machinery in the game is constructed in this manner.
Gameplay revolves around harvesting needed materials to build, defend oneself against enemies, and ultimately achieving one of the game's endings. Depending on the character chosen, the game is played differently. Most characters begin with a weak attack, and no weaponry, yielding them quite vulnerable to the various enemies. The Alien begins with a powerful attack and evolves more abilities over time, though it cannot use weapons, so an Alien player tends to be more aggressive, taking advantage of the more difficult endings which would take longer for other characters to achieve. In contrast, the Human is weaker, and a Human player will take time to build up a heavy arsenal of weaponry and armor before attempting action.
In-game weather also plays a large part in the game. On difficulty settings above 'easy', the player's character is affected by the elements, especially heat
and cold
. Standing near a fire or in the shade of a tree will counteract these two, and later in the game the player is able to construct an armor which decreases the effects of weather. In some areas of the game, weather is more extreme; the location undergoing sand storms, blizzards, or acid rain.
, and a guide to modifying is provided for download on Ville's website
.
When the player begins a new game, they are able to choose the mod they want to play, provided that additional mods have been downloaded and placed in the correct place in the main Notrium folder on the player's PC desktop
.
Mods can have a variety of different effects, such as adding new items and objectives, altering or creating new environments, or even adding a completely new character for play in the case of the popular "Werivar" mod.
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
video game for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It is currently at version 1.345 and developed by independent Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
Ville Mönkkönen
Ville Mönkkönen
Ville Mönkkönen is a Finnish PC game programmer and painter. He is working on his next game, Driftmoon. Ville runs the game studio Instant Kingdom. In 2010 the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture awarded Ville the 50 000€ Sammon Tekijät Award for creativity and innovation.Mönkkönen's games...
. It is the seventh game by Mönkkönen, but only the fifth to be released fully in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Released in 2003, it won second place in the "Adventure Game of the Year" contest on GameTunnel
Location
The game takes place on the fictional eponymous planet, Notrium. The game world is divided into large squares, each of which has its own separate environment and set of objectives. The player may move between squares at will to reach the other areas, though some are only accessible via methods such as boarding certain vehicles or using teleportationTeleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
. Environments range from jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
terrain, to desert, to tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
, all of which are affected by a day-night cycle, except for interior levels which are artificially lit.
The game's graphics, aside from certain plot-related areas, are all randomly generated at the beginning of the game. Random generation affects the precise location of items and vegetation, though most objects and all scenery will remain in their environment square, the placement of which in relation to others is a set constant. For example, tree placement in the Jungle zone changes each time a new game is begun, but the start location will not, and the Jungle zone stays adjacent to the same areas.
Backstory
The general plot of the game is that a starshipStarship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
, the Var' Equinalin, is exploring the Hive sector, when it approaches the titular planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Notrium, and is attacked by ground-launched missiles. The player's character (either the human captain, the android engineer, the psionic
Psionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
medic, or the alien stowaway) manages to reach the only working escape pod
Escape pod
An escape pod is a capsule or craft used to escape a vessel in an emergency, usually only big enough for one person. An escape ship is a larger, more complete craft also used for the same purpose...
(the others having been sabotaged by the alien) and crash-lands on the planet's surface. From there, they must find a way to survive, as well as a method of escape.
Varying on whichever character is being played, 'journal entries', which appear every day-night cycle for the first in-game fortnight
Fortnight
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights"....
, detail different happenings. For example, the journal of the Human tells that he was the captain of the ship, and details his experience on board the spacecraft; while the journal of the Android states that he was the ship's mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
and goes into his point of view over the same proceedings. Other plot points outside of journal entries are triggered by entering certain locales, or completing an objective.
Notrium has several endings, which differ depending on what character the player has chosen to use. Some endings are exclusive to certain characters, while others can be achieved by more than one.
Gameplay
Notrium is played from a top-down perspective, giving an overhead view of proceedings. The player may move in all directions while facing in a separate one, similar to the way a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
is controlled, and similar to the shareware PC shooter Crimsonland.
During the course of the game, the player encounters various items and objects strewn across the terrain, such as edible plants, weapons, and other machinery. As most needed materials, such as a protective force field
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
, are not found intact, the player is required to build them out of two or three separate pieces. Most useful machinery in the game is constructed in this manner.
Gameplay revolves around harvesting needed materials to build, defend oneself against enemies, and ultimately achieving one of the game's endings. Depending on the character chosen, the game is played differently. Most characters begin with a weak attack, and no weaponry, yielding them quite vulnerable to the various enemies. The Alien begins with a powerful attack and evolves more abilities over time, though it cannot use weapons, so an Alien player tends to be more aggressive, taking advantage of the more difficult endings which would take longer for other characters to achieve. In contrast, the Human is weaker, and a Human player will take time to build up a heavy arsenal of weaponry and armor before attempting action.
In-game weather also plays a large part in the game. On difficulty settings above 'easy', the player's character is affected by the elements, especially heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
and cold
Cold
Cold describes the condition of low temperature.Cold may also refer to:*Common cold, a contagious viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system*Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...
. Standing near a fire or in the shade of a tree will counteract these two, and later in the game the player is able to construct an armor which decreases the effects of weather. In some areas of the game, weather is more extreme; the location undergoing sand storms, blizzards, or acid rain.
Mods
Notrium is designed to be highly moddableMod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
, and a guide to modifying is provided for download on Ville's website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.
When the player begins a new game, they are able to choose the mod they want to play, provided that additional mods have been downloaded and placed in the correct place in the main Notrium folder on the player's PC desktop
Desktop environment
In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface derived from the desktop metaphor that is seen on most modern personal computers. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed...
.
Mods can have a variety of different effects, such as adding new items and objectives, altering or creating new environments, or even adding a completely new character for play in the case of the popular "Werivar" mod.