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The Future of Descent
Where do we go from here? When Descent 4 was axed in May 2000, it wasn't long before people began departing the
Descent community. The player drain has been slow but steady, and while new players continue to pick up the game,
they do not make up for the losses, nor have they been a part of the rich history of this game series. However, there
are still plenty of players and developers left, with new levels and mods being worked on and released. Unfortunately,
these new developments, especially mods, seem slow to be embraced by the online playing community. There are no easy
answers as to why this "Minerva Syndrome" afflicts the Descent community. Another affliction of the
Descent community is the slow decline of PXO, the online gaming service for Descent 3. Various alternatives have been
investigated, including Gamespy and Kali, with varying success. User developed alternatives are also being worked on. If
these issues can be overcome, there is no reason that Descent 3 cannot continue to be played online for several more years,
at least. However, unless a new game is released, the community will continue to dwindle until only a few diehards remain.
With this in mind, here are a few games that the Descent community has eyed with some interest:
- Descent IV: Invasion - This user-made continuation of the Descent series
theoretically had the best chance of retaining the current Descent gaming community and bringing in new
players. Development halted due to copyright issues.
- Red Faction - This had potential as the next game picked up by the Descent community (indeed, Volition courted
the Descent community before it's release, but unsuccessfully), with it's promise of Geomoddable terrain,
drivable vehicles and the hope of the ultimate multiplayer matchup - "groundpounder" vs. flyer.
Unfortunately for it, Red Faction is viewed as just another despised "groundpounder" Quake-clone
by some in the Descent community, and lack of drivable vehicles in multiplayer doesn't help its case. A perceived
lack of support from Volition (regarding online cheating issues, for example), doesn't help either. A small percentage
of the Descent community have tried out Red Faction, but most have rejected it as being an unworthy Descent substitute.
- Echelon - A Russian-developed futuristic flight simulator which features some aerial vehicles capable of hovering.
Before it's release, it was hoped that this would possibly have at least some flying vehicles with similar flight
characteristics to those of Descent. It's release, however, proved this wrong.
- Aquanox - An underwater first-person shooter/submarine-driver. Due to the game evironment, it was
hoped that this would feature "flight" characteristics similar to Descent's. With it's release, it would
appear that movement is restricted (unable to "fly" upside down, for example), and this game has not
picked up a significant Descent following, either.
- Zero-G Marines
A first-person shooter in development that features combat in a zero-g environment.
Thus, the potential exists for some similarities to Descent-style gameplay. However, the majority of the game
appears to feature standard "groundpounder" fare, with some (apparently optional) restrictions on movement
(use of magnetic boots to walk on surfaces, for example), and only a few vehicles. Time will tell, but don't count
on the Descent community embracing this one, either.
- nTrap Another game in development that has great potential to attract Descent players. It has already
been embraced by many in the community, with a sister forum
to the DescentBB being set up and interaction with the developers occurring. It would appear that it will
feature several different kinds of vehicles, at least one of which should be familiar to Descent players. It
also will feature numerous environments, from outer space to under the sea. Gameplay, however, will be
decidedly different from that of Descent, and involves creating and deploying various traps to catch other
players. Again, time will tell.
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