AFS/What is Allegiance

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Allegiance is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game, a Real Time Strategy...

Allegiance is a team-oriented space combat simulation that belongs to the massively multiplayer online game genre. This means that you play Allegiance online with several other players, and that there is a very limited number of computer-controlled players on your team. Allegiance is unique among combat sims by incorporating many real time strategy aspects into the game, such as building bases, researching new technologies, and harvesting resources.

These RTS aspects are primarily controlled by a single player (the team Commander) who receives the team's money, manages miners & constructors, invests in new technology, and organizes the team. All in all, he's the boss, and you report to him.

...and most importantly a team game

You are expected to obey the Commander's orders in game. This is a team oriented game. Teamwork is crucial. One person wandering around aimlessly doing what they want hurts the team! You can expect to be removed from the game by the commander. Pay attention to the chat, do as you are told by the commander. If not sure what to do, ask!

There is no greater feeling than winning a game because your team worked together towards a common goal!

While this sounds simple enough Allegiance is anything but an easy game to learn even with its relatively basic control scheme and its simplified flight model. Allegiance is about tactics and coordination; knowing your ordnance and, most importantly, knowing where to be and what you should be doing there. Given the enormous amount of factors to reckon with, it takes the average player somewhere between 3 and 6 months to firmly grasp the basics.

On the plus side, Allegiance is full of interesting ways to turn spaceships into debris. Depending on the technology path your commander has chosen you might fly stealthcraft, hiding and sniping at your unsuspecting enemies from far away. You might fly the interceptor, the king of short-range dogfights. Perhaps you might pilot a bomber, with other players manning the anti-fighter turrets on your ship. Or you could be the infinitely useful scout that spots enemy movements, repairs friendly vessels and can even destroy an entire bombrun with a well-timed minefield.

What draws players to Allegiance is the rich interplay between teammates and commanders, as well as the unlimited number of viable strategies that can be used to win a game. The choices in factions, ships, weapons, missiles and equipment create billions of possibilities, making variety a central aspect in Allegiance. There are hundreds of ways of doing the same thing, and there are hundreds of things to do. We won't get in to the details here.

A typical game

The maps in Allegiance consist of sectors joined together by wormholes (called alephs in-game). Each sector is a three-dimensional section of space which contains a number of asteroids and a few alephs leading to neighbouring sectors. The number of alephs within a sector and where they lead have a large strategic implications for a game. Some sectors may be central "hubs" to large portions of a map and controlling them allows the team to influence many surronding sectors. Other sectors may be safe havens where the vulnerable miners can work unmolested. The layout of the map will impact how the players focus their attention throughout the game.

The commander will invest in constructors and get his team to escort them to new sectors where they will build new stations. Pilots will attempt to destroy enemy constructors to deny their expansion, and kill enemy miners so they cannot afford new ones. Excess funds are spent on new technologies such as better ships and equipment, and the team will use these to destroy enemy bases. The game is ended once one team destroys all of their opponents' technology bases.

There are, on average, about thirty people participating in a game of Allegiance. A typical game lasts between thirty and forty-five minutes, although games of more than 2 hours in length are not uncommon.

So much to do, so little time

As a pilot, you will have very specific roles to play. Allegiance allows pilots to play an extremely wide diversity of roles, each of which will need to be fulfilled at the appropriate time. Commanders will tell pilots when specific tasks must be conducted. Otherwise, you must be able to figure out what needs to be done. Should you bomb, lay probes, go miner hunting, or defend a station? Knowing the answer is called "situational awareness", and in time, you should know exactly what needs to be done and when. Teamwork is absolutely central to this game more than any other currently on the market. Simple tasks such as laying probes are key elements, and failing to complete them generally leads to your loss as a smart enemy knows how to exploit those flaws.

Also note that being a commander is a special role bestowed upon a player at the beginning of a game. The commander's chat messages appear in bold face type to make it easier to identify his messages in game. Every single player in a game has some of the capability that a commander does (i.e. nothing stops you from ordering pilots/AI ships around, or coming up with a gameplan and rallying the troops), but do not do this unless asked by the commander. The key differences between a pilot and a commander is 1) all money is automatically donated to the commander; and 2) the commander has the ability to boot an uncooperative team member from the team.

Newbie servers

To help you learn the basics of flight, loadouts, ships, navigation and communication, newbie servers have been set aside for you. They are labeled as "Newbie training" or some such. Vets are not allowed on these servers. Practice here until you have the basics down (how to turn your ship, target enemies, fire weapons, etc). Then go and join the vets in the big games. Those games can be very intense and there is not always time to answer a new player's basic questions during a game. Players on main servers are expected to have at least the above mentioned basics down pat. Be patient and observe. Ask your questions during a lull in the game or on all chat so spectators can answer.

Welcome to Allegiance! The best game you've never played.