_Project Visitor_ is, at its heart, a hybrid MMO game with both FPS and RTS
characteristics. At the time of the initial release they were called PSWs
(Persistent State Worlds) where later on most MMO games are PSC (Persistent
State Characters) where essentially only the player’s character changes and is
saved. In _Project Visitor_ you build the world around you, you attack others
and the lands they have built and the whole world is saved to the database.
Also the world continues to grow and battles happen, lands are lost, gained
etc. even while your offline. To maintain your land you have to be involved,
you have to join a protective group called an MDN to own, mine, defend, and
survive.
The game environment is nearly identical to a first-person shooter. The
“avatar” can equip gear and weapons and attack other players. Each player owns
territory(s) with assets. The player base is divided into four “corporations”,
each with different items (which are traded or lost to others). Anyone can
attack other players of other corporations to expand their personal empire
(made up of “camps”) and build their own defenses.
All the action takes place on a planet named Visitor which has entered our
solar system. The four corporations spread themselves across the planet with
their camps. Transportation between camps is done by teleportation and
specific location on a planet has little strategic value (however, as in real
life, there are some cases where a location or camp number may appeal to
someone). Camps are destroyed and reclaimed by teams of players, constantly
shifting the power between corporations. Once a player builds up his empire,
he depends on his “Mutual Defense Network” (MDN) to defend it. An MDN
generally consists of (no more than) 20 members of the same corporation who
usually play hours that complement one another. With an active MDN, a player
can sleep with the satisfaction that his assets are protected by the others
online.
