Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns
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| Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns | |
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| Developer(s) | TimeGate Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Strategy First |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, MP over TCP/IP, Modem |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | PC (Linux/Windows) |
| Media | CD (1) |
| System requirements | PII-300 MHz CPU, 64MB RAM, 400 MB HD, 3D accelerator video card with 4MB RAM |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse |
Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns (KIS), the first part of the Kohan series, is a real-time strategy game, developed by TimeGate Studios. It was published by Strategy First for Windows and ported to Linux by Loki Software, both in 2001. The game is set in a high fantasy setting following immortal beings named Kohan. It features a lengthy single-player campaign and skirmish maps playable in multiplayer or against the AI. The gameplay focuses on controlling companies instead of individual soldiers, a mechanic praised by critics for eliminating micromanagement. KIS was widely regarded as being an innovative game, especially for a fledgling game design company.
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[edit] Gameplay
KIS has a distinctive economy, featuring six resources. Gold is the most important resource, and is the only resource which can be stockpiled. The four secondary resources, stone, wood, iron and mana, are used to support the military; if their production is insufficient, gold income will be decreased to accommodate. The sixth resource is the support limit, which represents the amount of companies the player can support; this is a hard limit and cannot be surpassed. These resources are produced in settlements. Each settlement has a number of component slots which can be occupied by one of the eight available components, each producing a particular resource, or otherwise giving a benefit to the settlement. Resources can also be produced by mines, which can only be placed on certain predetermined locations.
The main military unit in KIS is the company. Each company is lead by a Captain, and has four front line units. Additionally, it can have up to two different support units. The units available for company creation depend on the components in the settlement the company is being recruited from. For each company, a recruitment cost must be paid in gold; furthermore, each unit in the company requires a certain amount of secondary resources to support itself. Companies are also defined by experience, morale and formation. A company's support units and Kohan can provide additional modifiers, affecting attack strength, move speed, defense and other. Once a company engages in combat, each unit will fight individually. As long as a single unit survives combat, the company can resupply to full strength given time.
The regular units in KIS are divided into six categories: infantry, cavalry, archer, specialty, support and Hero elements. The first four categories can be both front line and support troops, while the fifth may only occupy support unit slots. The sixth category represents the Kohan, who are the most powerful units, and can only be put in the Captain slot. Each Kohan can provide several modifiers, and cast several spells. Kohan also have an experience stat separate from the companies' experience, which affect their abilities. If a Kohan dies, he may be resurrected for 50 gold, but will lose all experience. In the lack of a Kohan, a Captain without any special abilities will lead the company. Kohan can be detached from and attached to companies at any time if the company is in supply (see below).
A significant element in KIS are the three zones: Zone of Control (ZoC), Zone of Supply (ZoS) and Zone of Population (ZoP). Each company has a ZoC, which is modified mostly based on formation. If the company's ZoC overlaps with an enemy company's ZoC, the companies will engage in combat. The ZoS is the area in which companies can be healed. ZoS is provided by settlements, unless the settlement is under siege. It is based on the settlement size, as well as the components it possesses. If a company's ZoC overlaps with a friendly ZoS, the company is considered "in supply" and will heal when out of combat. Each Settlement also has a ZoP, representing the lands already inhabited. New settlements must be built outside the ZoP.[1]
[edit] Setting
KIS follows the story of a Kohan named Darius Javidan as he fights the rise of the Ceyah, Kohan tainted by evil, to re-establish Kohan society in Khaldun. According to Steve Hammesch, TimeGate Studio's lead designer at the time, the storyline of KIS was influenced by Persian mythology and Zoroastrianism.[2] The Kohan are a group of immortals given the task of protecting and fostering Kaldun by the Creator. Although the Kohan can be killed with violence, they only remain dead until they are "awakened" through use of an amulet assigned to each of them.
When the Creator desired to build a new world he consulted the two greatest of his Saadya, angel-like beings, named Ahriman and Ormazd. Of the two plans proposed, Ormazd's best fit the Creator's vision and the remaining eight Saadya were ordered to create the world, which Ormazd had named Khaldun. During its construction, however, Ahriman, whose plan had been rejected, plotted Khaldun's downfall. While Kohan culture bloomed early on in Khaldun's history, it was destroyed in The Great Cataclysm when certain Kohan desired to be free from the will of the Creator. The Kohan defeated the Ceyah and the traitors were sent away from Kohan society. One Ceyah, Vashti, formerly known as Roxanna Javidan, Darius Javidan's wife, was particularly rebellious against the Creator. She murdered her husband and led the Ceyah armies with hopes of becoming a tyrant over all of Khaldun.
[edit] Playable races
There are seven distinct playable races in the Kohan series, all of which are common within the fantasy genre, although some races have game-specific names. The Mareten (humans), Gauri (dwarves), Drauga (orcs), Haroun (elves), Slaan (lizardfolk), Undead, and the Shadow all have Kohan that resemble them although supposedly all Kohan originally appeared human. It is explained that Kohan who dwell with a certain people for a number of years begin to take on their physical attributes. In KIS and its expansion pack Kohan: Ahriman's Gift, the player can gain control of Gauri, Drauga, Haroun and Slaan settlements and control units from these races, but the player's main settlements are always Mareten settlements. Instead of selecting a playable race, the player selects a faction which has units unique to it. Players of the Ceyah faction can produce Undead and Shadow units as well as Mareten settlers and engineers.
[edit] Reception
The game was well received by critics, with an 84 ranking at Game Rankings.[3] It was praised for eliminating much of the micromanagement inherent in real-time strategy games while introducing new concepts to the genre and also for the strong AI opponents and multiplayer support.[4] [5] It was criticized for the somewhat lackluster world, and the "inability to establish a distinctive atmosphere."[4] The game was nominated for "Computer Strategy Game of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.[6] It has won "Strategy Game of the Year" awards in Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, Computer Games Magazine and other magazines.[7]
The game was ported to Linux by Loki Software, shipping on August 24, 2001. A stand-alone expansion pack, Kohan: Ahriman's Gift, was released on November 6, 2001. A special edition was also published in May 2002, featuring new heroes, maps and AI options, but not the expansion pack.[8] A Kohan Mod Tool was released on June 17, 2002,[9] allowing the creation of numerous fan-made mods.
[edit] References
- ^ Game Manual for Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns
- ^ "Kohan: Ahriman's Gift Interview" by Omni, The Armchair Empire. URL accessed 2006-04-13.
- ^ "Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns summary", Game Rankings. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
- ^ a b Geryk, Bruce. "Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns review", GameSpot, 2001-03-29. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
- ^ McConnaughy, Tim. "Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns review", GameSpy. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
- ^ "5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards", AIAS, 2002-02-28. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
- ^ "Strategy First newsbit". Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
- ^ "Kohan special edition in stores", GameSpot. Retrieved on January 15, 2007.
- ^ "Strategy First newsbit #2". Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
