Darkwind: War on Wheels is a turn-based racing and vehicle combat massively multiplayer online game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux by Irish developer Sam Redfern. It is inspired by the tabletop game Car Wars and the Mad Max movies, but set in an original universe. Darkwind was opened to the public on May 4, 2007, after two years of development and been continually updated. It was re-released for Steam in 2014 as free-to-play.
Plot
A disastrous solar event in 2019 and 2020 leaves the world devastated, with only small pockets of human survivors scratching out a living in a bleak, irradiated world. Largely fuelled by the stockpiles of hardware left behind by a dead civilization combined with the desperation of a new world order, the gladiatorial deathsports begin, around 2035. The vast expanses of wilderness between the towns are menaced by gangs of road pirates armed with heavily armed cars and trucks, and travelled by equally well armed trade groups, making a living by carrying food, fuel, and other specialist equipment between the towns.
Gameplay
The focus of the game is on vehicular combat - cars with guns - both in the wilderness and in manmade arenas and racing circuits. Gameplay is split between a web interface (for strategic management) and a 3D interface that supports Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (for control of your characters and vehicles during a combat or race).
There are all sorts of activities to do within the game. Players can gain fame and accumulate looted hardware from their defeated adversaries (who may be either computer-controlled or player-controlled), but risk suffering defeat and the lives of their gang members. Wilderness actions are frequently performed by multi-player squads: by joining, players can greatly increase their chance of survival. Alternatively, players can also join town events, such as races and death races, to gain fame and earn prizes. These can be joined as standard events, competitive leagues or ladders.
Eight towns are currently open to players, each offering distinct death race tracks and wilderness combat maps around it. Darkwind currently has more than 20 racetracks with more under development. Camps were also introduced in 2008, allowing players to establish communities in addition to the towns on the game map. Camps can grow food, harvest water, build weapons, repair vehicles, etc.
Web interface
Through the web-interface the players can manage the recruiting, finances and the gang's vehicle garage.
Characters can be trained in combat and non-combat skills such as driving, gunnery, mechanic, scouting, first aid, handguns, etc. which adds role-playing video game elements to the game.
The character's death in Darkwind is permanent. In addition to perma-death Darkwind has a complex injury system with long-term (broken bones) and permanent (limb-loss). Amusingly characters can lose more limbs than they physically have, such as losing a leg 5 times, but this severely limits their lifespan. Replacing dead gang members is easy, however, making it usually just a minor setback.
Many of the aspects of Darkwind run to a realworld timescale. It takes days or weeks for the players' characters to heal from their injuries; it takes hours or days to repair/upgrade vehicles, and it takes hours to travel between towns. This makes strategic decisions carry real importance, and gameplay aspects such as trading take real time and effort, which allows them to work properly as part of the dynamic economy.
The availability of hardware in the markets is directly related to what scrap loot players sell off. If wilderness pirates are not kept beaten down on a regular basis, for example, then rare chassis types and weapons will not be easy to find except through combat.
The players' characters can die of old age. Sometimes they will die as early as 30 years old (game age). Injuries and other factors can affect their lifespan and is noticeable by a degradation of physical statistics (Strength, Dexterity, Speed) as well as a "General Health" tagline such as "Weakening" or "Deteriorating Fast" to help the player know which of his characters are suffering from early-onset death. In-game years pass every 12 real life weeks.