14 DAY TRIAL // Trion, a development studio interested in online games, has announced that it is partnering up with Petroglyph in order to create and launch a new title called End of Nations, which is being described as the first MMO premium real time strategy videogame. The title has been in development for about two years but, at the moment, there's no official launch window.
The setting of the game will be the near future, when a conflict breaks out between two player-controlled factions and one global superpower. Just as natural resources dwindle and the economic crisis deepens, a new organization, which is described as a cross between the United Nations and the military industrial complex, emerges to restore order, by force if need be.
Players can choose one of two factions and opt either for cooperative play, aiming to destroy the forces of the Order of Nations superpower, or for competitive play and face each other on the field of battle. All engagements are fought in real time and the developers are saying that the mechanics will be clearly crafted for those who are familiar with RTS games and their tropes. The maps are said to be more than 50 square kilometers big and will support up to 50 players at the same time.
The developers at Trion and Petroglyph are also promising social interfaces encouraging players to talk to one another, complex leaderboards, mission-based engagements and a global view modeled as a war room, which allows a player to see the progress of the conflict at a glance.
Nick Beliaeff, who is the senior vice president of development at Trion, told Gamasutra that “We needed an external partner. It couldn't be another startup because in an industry ruled by Murphy, that's just asking for pain. Petroglyph was a perfect partner: they owned their technology, had shipped titles on that technology, sold a few million units of RTS, and are absolutely passionate about creating an MMORTS.”