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GAME INFO

In REDLINE you play as the commander of a Private Military Company (PMC) caught in the middle of the Solar War, a conflict between the United Nations of Earth (UNE) and the Mars based Crimson Pact.

In battle you’ll lead a squad of three powerful and nimble bipedal war machines named efreets. Loaded with destructive weapons and sheathed in advanced armor alloys, efreets use their mix of speed and firepower to dominate the battlefields of the mid 21st century. Not only will you command your forces into battle but you will also be responsible for how each are outfitted choosing from an arsenal of lasers, rockets, cannons and upgrades. Victory is determined in the hanger bay as much as it is on the field of battle.

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EFREETS

Battles in REDLINE will between players fielding equal forces of efreets across a varied assortment of maps. The goal of each battle is destroy your opponent’s forces before they can destroy yours. To keep battles fast and engaging each player will be limited to fielding forces of three efreets each. 1 light, 1 medium, and 1 heavy.

Rabbit 004 (1)LIGHT EFREETS

Built for speed,  light efreets serve many useful roles. With their high speed and powerful sensors they can easily detect enemy forces before they reach visual range. Their speed also gives them the capability to sneak behind enemy lines and attack vulnerable flanks or play hit and run with long range weapons. A few may be designed for direct combat, but those models are rare.

 

 

Hammer Render 004 (1)MEDIUM EFREETS

Well rounded in all roles but excelling in none, medium class efreets are the most flexible units on the battlefield. Though they have the space to carry the larger weapons and heavier armor needed to engage heavy efreets for short periods of time it’s not advisable. The fastest medium efreets are suited for interceptor roles where they can close with all but the quickest efreets and use their heavy weapons to bring down quick kills to great affect. In a Mediums can even serve as scouts if they are able to equip sensor packages.

 

Claymore 001 (1)HEAVY EFREETS

The absolute bullies of the battlefield, heavy efreets are designed for a singular purpose. To wade into battle and lay waste to everything in their cross hairs as quickly as they can with as many weapons as they can.  Able to withstand and shrug off hits that would cripple smaller machines, heavies are the kings of the battlefield. The heaviest models have actually been known to shake nearby buildings apart when sprinting by at top speed. If they have a drawback it’s that their slower speed means they must be protected by supportive efreets as their rear arcs are highly vulnerable to agile adversaries.

MOVEMENT AND COMBAT PHASE

To ensure speedy game play combat is divided into just two phases, movement and combat. Each phase is done simultaneously by each player and is timed as well to keep matches constantly moving and engaging. The two phases are connected with an efreet’s turn meter.

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early pre-alpha footage of the turn meter UI

The turn meter is a gauge that measures the maximum extent an efreet can move in a single phase. Moving is as easy as swiping out waypoint for fine tuned movement paths. True, the quickest way between two points is a straight but it isn’t always the safest! As an efreet moves the turn meter fills with a red line and when it’s full the efreet has reached it’s maximum movement for that turn. Moving is easy, simple and fast.

That doesn’t mean you should be redlining your efreets every turn though by running wildly all over the map. Because during the combat phase the turn meter becomes an accuracy meter that lets players easily see the accuracy of each weapon they chose to fire in that turn. Any left over turn meter from the movement phase grants accuracy bonuses so players will need to be mindful of their turn meter at all times and weigh the risks and rewards of moving verses shooting.

Just like the in movement phase, players will plan shots in the same turn in a given amount of time. However once all shots have been set, actual weapons fire will take place in turns determined by a pilot’s gunnery skill. Pilots with higher gunnery skills not only are more accurate when firing weapons but will shoot first. Damage for each efreet is resolved in real time so look out for those gunslinger pilots who can shoot first and damage an enemy before they can return fire. Once all weapons have been fired and damage taken, the movement phase begins again.

Electromagnetic Static

Efreets are powerful machines that require tremendous amounts of power to operate their weapons and move with agility. Thanks to their energetic cold fusion reactors they have more than enough power at their disposal to run at peak efficacy which often results in the build up of unwanted electromagnetic static (EMS). Everything an efreet does generates at least some amount of EMS. From walking, to powering weapons, to running sensors, the EMS if left unchecked can hamper an efreet’s abilities which can have deadly consequences while in combat like reducing top speed or interfering with targeting computers. To combat this, all efreet are designed with EM diffusers that safely discharge extra EMS away from the efreet when levels get too high. Prolonged engagements can often generate more EMS than an efreet can safely discharge so players will need to be careful to pick their shots and movements wisely.

The current EMS levels for an efreet are included in the turn meter for easy reference during play.

DAMAGE

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In regards to taking damage, efreets are made up of two layers. On the inside every efreet has an internal frame which acts as a skeleton for support and gives each efreet it’s strength. Critical components are housed in the frame such as engines, cold fusion reactors, ammo bays, movement servos and of course weapons. Heavy armor made of advanced alloys create a shell of protection and keep those delicate components from becoming damaged in combat. When an efreet takes damage it is applied to the armor of a specific location first. Once a location’s armor is destroyed the internal frame becomes exposed and takes damage with the added risk that the critical components inside will becomes damaged or destroyed. Once all of an efreet’s armor and frame in a location have been  destroyed, that body part is considered destroyed and everything inside it is lost.

Efreet Body Locations

The right and left legs help propel efreet’s through the battlefield. Internal damage done to legs often causes reduced movement when leg and foot servos take damage.

Most weapons on an efreet are housed in the arms. The ample internal space inside is perfect for mounting even the largest weapons. When arms take internal damage not only can weapons be destroyed but the delicate shoulder and arm servos can take hits that reduce the accuracy of weapons hosed in that arm.

The center, right, and left body locations are where most of an efreet’s internal systems like the engine, cold fusion reactor, and gyro stabilizers are located. If these systems are damaged severe penalties can often result that can cripple an efreet’s speed, agility, and EMS production. Efreets are sturdy machines and can operate with destroyed limbs but once the center body is destroyed so it the efreet.

The pilot is housed in the cockpit. Lightly armored because of it’s small size, even small hits done to the cockpit have severe consequences. Not only will the efreet pilot take damage that can result in death but damage done to life support systems or controls can make an efreet inoperable. Even worse a destroyed cockpit location will destroy an efreet entirely.

Whatever you do, make sure to watch your back as most efreets are designed to sacrifice strong rear armor for more frontal protection.  Even a light efreet can shred a heavy if it can maneuver for a clean shot at it’s rear armor, so protect your flanks!

EQUIPEMENT CARDS AND CUSTOMIZATION

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REDLINE supports a robust customization system built around collectible cards. Cards are available in tech crates and come in a variety of types. Weapon cards fall into laser, rocket and cannon types but there are also sensors systems, system upgrades and pilots that can be collected as well as efreets.

Tanto In Bay 102 (2)Once a player has built up a collection of cards they can begin tinkering with their efreets in the efreet hanger mode to experiment with the best combinations and create a custom efreet loadouts to take into battle.

Each efreet is different and has different strengths and weaknesses. Some may be designed to carry large banks of lasers while others are built with gun mounts in their arms to equip powerful cannons. Some efreets have limited internal space due to their small size or design and so may not be able to equip larger weapons, opting instead for more compact options. A few special efreets may have universal mounts that can equip any type of weapon however so be on the lookout for them!

In addition to weapons, each efreet has room for at least one systems upgrade card that can change an efreet’s capabilities widely and room for one pilot with unique skills of their own.