Warcraft 2000: Nuclear Epidemic

[pyf]

What if both Orcs and Humans had been offered nuclear weapons by an alien race, in the hopes they exterminate all life on Azeroth, including themselves in the process?

Warcraft 2000: Nuclear Epidemic is an unofficial, unlicensed and (sadly) unfinished modification of Warcraft II.

Created by the then little-known Ukrainian development studio GSC Game World (at that time consisting of a team of four people), this game was released in an unfinished state in 1998, after 9 months of development.


The plot is simple: an alien race wants to exploit the resources of Azeroth. Their initial plan was to eradicate all life on the planet themselves but they changed their minds, and decided instead to give the natives more efficient ways to annihilate each other.

Therefore, Orcs and Humans now have access to some modern weaponry as well as nuclear bombs/rockets, howitzers, antinuclear defense, bombers, etc., all kindly provided by the aliens.

Some technical aspects of this video game are worth mentioning:
- Windows executable (the original WCII is an MS-DOS game; its Battle.net Edition was released in 1999)
- standalone game (no WCII required to play)
- higher resolutions (WCII is limited to 640x480)
- bigger maps
- larger unit limit - up to 8000(!) units per player
- more than 9 units can be selected at once (seems to be 'unlimited')

Gameplay mechanics are also different : no more oil as a resource, gold is gathered differently, new spells, futuristic weapons, modified unit properties, modified prices...




GSC Game World later became famous in 2000/2001 with the release of the well-received RTS game Cossacks: European Wars. For the record, they will also develop the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series afterwards.

It may be a possibility, the first Cossacks game engine might share some ideas / game mechanics / parts of the source code with Warcraft 2000, since the development of Cossacks: European Wars officially began in 1998.


Source code labeled 'Clone of WARCRAFT 2000':
GitHub - axet/wcraft2k: Clone of WARCRAFT 2000 source

Be aware the game will run way too fast on modern PCs. It might also have compatibility issues with modern OSes.


To conclude, here is a gameplay video:

Sources :

Err... a few sites in Russian I am not sure I can link to.
Also, I hope Google Translate did not fail me

 

[LordDz]

Did Blizzard allow them to make it or did they actually just copy Warcraft II and hoped/didn't think Blizzard would sue them?

 

[pyf]

(disclaimer: beware, possibly very inaccurate info below!)

From using Google Translate on their Ukrainian Wikipedia page, I am understanding they created a Windows game engine which uses Warcraft II's assets and game mechanics, in the hopes Blizzard would ultimately allow them to officially develop the next Warcraft game. That is... Warcraft 3. No less. From what Google Translate also tells me, it would seem GSC Game World submitted Blizzard a 'prototype' of some kind(?). It would also seem Blizzard ultimately declined their offer because GSC was still a 'young' company.

Spoiler: in Ukrainian

"Спроба дістати у Blizzard Entertainment контракт на розробку Warcraft 3 не здобула успіху через недовіру до студії Григоровича. За його словами, прототип GSC був технічно досконалішим, ніж розробка студії у США, але студія не пішла на контракт через недовіру до східноєвропейських розробників і молодості власника компанії. На початку 1999 року компанія викладає у вільний доступ WarCraft 2000."

According to Google Translate, their previous 1997 attempt to develop a different kind of game fell short, because of their lack of experience at the time, according to their Russian Wikipedia page as well. From what I have read previously on other web sites, Warcraft 2000 was being developed during the year 1998 by a team of four.

Spoiler: in Ukrainian

"В 1997 році GSC розпочала роботу над першою грою - квестом, але через відсутність досвіду і складність задачі проект довелося закрити."

Spoiler: In Russian

"В 1997 году компания приступила к разработке первой собственной игры — квеста. Но в процессе разработки игры разработчики столкнулись с нехваткой опыта и трудностями по созданию подобных игр, и от разработки вскоре отказались"

Please please please, could someone who can read Ukrainian and/or Russian confirm this (or not)?
Or should I use another automatic translator?


Now what really puzzles me with Warcraft 2000: Nuclear Epidemic is the opening FMV. Where do these great assets come from?

 

[deepstrasz]

lease please please, could someone who can read Ukrainian and/or Russian confirm this (or not)?

Try @DracoL1ch or @Reidor or @Fruit Forest or @DEAD FiSH or something.

 

[DracoL1ch]

they ditched wc 'cause blizzard ignored them and they weren't able to finish such kind of big game by themselves, your translator is fine.

 

[The_Silent]

To be fair, that theme is hilariously silly.

 

[Naze]

To be fair, that theme is hilariously silly.

Lol yes, I wonder if they ever thought Blizzard would actually let them release a game with such a theme - regardless of the technical capabilities of the team.

 

[pyf]

Orcs vs. Humans vs. Aliens vs. Demons vs. Vikings: the video game:

Spoiler

Plus: Unicorns as mounts and other unspeakable horrors

Seems legit enough for a fun video game to me