INTRODUCTION      .____________________________________________________________ _ _ _
With the 20th anniversary of the Nintendo DS handheld, we have released a demo version of Ulterior Warzone, our attempt at a full game development project. Ulterior Warzone was to be a futuristic real-time strategy game for the Nintendo DS handheld, powered by the RTS4DS engine created by Sander Stolk, and developed by Violation Entertainment. Claiming to be "the biggest war on the DS", the game features over 100 maps, half an hour of prerendered cinematics and music, full 'talkie' story-driven campaigns and skirmish battles that can easily average over an hour each. Hundreds of units and structures can be interacted with across large complex maps, with intertwined objectives for singleplayer scenarios that complement an intricate storyline narrative, and dozens of different units and structures available for multiple factions.

Until now, Ulterior Warzone could be considered vapourware, but the demo version has now finally been released along with base content and the RTS4DS engine source code, which we're releasing as open-source and moddable. The demo is now compiled as a single self-contained binary file that runs on the Nintendo DS but also on Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS through backwards compatibility on these devices. Moreover, the build is compatible with the majority of Nintendo DS emulators. We are happy that everyone can now play (and even mod and develop with) Ulterior Warzone under a creative commons license.

      PROJECT HISTORY      .____________________________________________________________ _ _ _
Development began in early 2007 with the aim of being able to run custom real-time strategy games on the Nintendo DS that were not unlike the classic "Dune II - The Battle for Arrakis". This kinship can still be felt in the gameplay of Ulterior Warzone, although many improvements and enhancements were implemented almost immediately in the RTS4DS engine, including notable upgrades to the user interface that take advantage of the Nintendo DS touch screen and more versatile map objectives that are closer to StarCraft in spirit. Lee David Ash at Violation Entertainment had already planned a top-down hovertank shooter for the handheld, and the two developers met and began Ulterior Warzone in late 2007, using prerendered 3D models for most of the graphics.

The storyline of Ulterior Warzone involved future conflict over a crashed alien spacecraft in a disputed desert region, in which multiple factions are vying for control over its natural resources and exploiting its inhabitants, with the spacecraft itself emitting strong signals which directly interfere with psychological stability across the planet. Described as "if Quentin Tarantino had written Star Wars", the game would have pushed boundaries of adult content with language, violence, and heavily political themes of insurrection, espionage, racism and genocide. It certainly wouldn't be a game for youngsters, in either theme or game mechanics. As the game lacked a tutorial, a 'game guide' was included within the game itself in order to provide tips on the user interface but also on useful strategies. The Nintendo DS would finally get a "real RTS for adults" that fits in your pocket.

In 2010 the project was pitched to many different established publishers and met with mostly positive feedback and interest. Things seemed encouraging, although the team was determined to fully develop the title and retain full ownership independently, pressure was building due to the inevitable age of the platform. It was a race against time, alleviated minutely by the possibility of releasing the game for the follow-up handheld instead: the Nintendo DSi.

The project suffered from 'feature-creep', with many new enhancements and the nature of its map complexity ultimately requiring new pathfinding routines in the code, a task that would take years to finally realise. Another programmer, Claudio Gabriele Quercia, joined the team for commissioned tasks, which helped progress. More mappers and musicians were also needed. Although finally the 100-map mark was reached, it was exhausting for developers, with maps and music being produced on the target hardware itself. The team also struggled to find playtesters. In 2013, a demo version was constructed featuring 24 of the 100 maps, although with such few developers in the team, even these scenarios were never fully playtested and balanced, something that is as difficult as it is necessary for a full-fledged real-time strategy game.

Finally in 2015, miscommunication within the team regarding an "NX" (Switch) version and true nature of the 3DS version, unresolved pathfinding, multiplayer and compression/compiling tasks, and complete lack of playtesting, the title hit a dead-end, with the NintendoDS now a completely dead and irrelevant platform. Even though pathfinding was done sometime in 2015 which fixed issues with units randomly becoming stuck, it was all too little too late, and the project was all but abandoned.

      FUTURE DEVELOPMENT      .____________________________________________________________ _ _ _
Despite everything, the project also does live on, with Violation Entertainment now planning to reboot the project at extreme resolutions and full cross-compatibility and scalability to support everything from browsers and phones, to the most powerful modern gaming desktops and even consoles, and beyond, using new custom development techniques. This can't be done with such a small team, however, so more developers are needed and welcome to join the team, so this time it can be done correctly.

Anyone interested is highly encouraged to reach out and make contact with the team.

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