AFS/What is Allegiance

Cadet 1/Index

A MMOG, an RTS...

Allegiance is a team-oriented space combat simulation that belongs to the massively multiplayer online game genre. This means that you primarily 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 in that each team has a Commander, which adds a more-than-complete Real Time Strategy (RTS) aspect to the game. The Commander is the one who should receive the team's money, manage miners and constructors, choose technology, invest money, and organize 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 ordinance 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 the details here.

A typical game

The maps in Allegiance consist of sectors, each being a three-dimensional section of space. Your radar should provide a grid that gives you a plane of reference in each sector. Sectors connect to each other via alephs (wormholes), through which ships simply fly to get to a neighboring sector. The connections between sectors on a map have strategic implications for a game. Some sectors may be gateways to large portions of a map. Some sectors may be safe havens for vulnerable utility ships to work. The layout of the map will impact how the players focus their attention throughout the game.

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, which must 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, defend a station? This is known as 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. Every single player in a game has some of the capability that a commander does, i.e. they can order pilots/AI ships around and help prepare the game plan. Do not do this unless asked by the commander. However, all players donate their money to a player, who is the designated commander. The game does this automatically. The commander does have the ability to boot an uncooperative team member. The commander's chat messages appear in bold face type to make it easier to identify his messages in game.

Newbie servers

To help you learn the basics of flight, loadouts, ships, navigation and communication, special servers have been set aside for you. They are labeled as "Newbie training". Vets are not allowed on these servers. Practice here until you have the basics down. Then go and join the vets in the big games. Those games can be very intense. There is not always time to answer a new player's basic questions during a game. Players on those 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.

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