User:Ironwater/SG

Survival Guide: Dust Settles is and online multi-player game founded by Parallel Game Studios in 2005. The game is designed for players who don't mind putting some thought into how they play. There are multiple ways the game can be played (More detail later). It is a tight-knit community where people are willing to help each other. There are always a few "Vets" who are willing to teach newcomers how to play. There have been many rounds with a lot of players considering the rounds only last a month: Round 8-261 players, Round 9-847 players, Round 10-395 players, more can be found on the web site under "Score History" The admins put together (with the help of a few players) a Manual2 with all the information anyone who wants to play needs such as research effects, weapon stats, and information on anything you can do in the game.

The following sections are at least partially from the "What is it?" Page of SGDS1: Game Type, Setting and Story, Playability, Player Base, and Winning

Game Type
Free (optional purchases such as spies, a scribe, and CEP that are all explained in the manual), Browser-Based, Turn Based Strategy (Start with 100, extra turn every 10 minutes), Low Graphics, Number / War / Survival Strategy.

New rounds start at 12:00 Noon (EST) on the 1st of every month and end at 12:00 Noon (EST) on the 28th of the month

Basically, you like this kind of game or you don't. We don't mind. Dust Settles does have a very high population of players who've never liked browser-based strategies but love this one, so give it a try for a few turns.

Setting and Story
The more detailed story is being pieced together, and players add to it every day. Your setting is as follows. The world just ended. Long story as to how, but let's just say there were nukes and some war and a comet strike that started it all. After surviving with a small number of cohorts (depending on your chosen class), you set out to explore for food and find more survivors. After a while of that, you begin to advance and relearn the things lost and forgotten. Within a few days (months in the game) you start having conflict with nearby survivor camps. Tensions rise, and then you get to the war. There are comical aspects, both in art and in some of the interesting Easter Eggs, and there are very serious aspects, like in alliances and political decisions.

Playability
The beginning of the game requires lots of micro management. It could take about a week (give or take depending on your style) to get through this phase. It might sound boring at first, but once you get the feel for it, the game becomes incredibly fast paced and intense. At that point you can begin working on you "path" and attack other players in multiple ways (Army, Special Ops, and Air Raids)

Player Base
Tightly knit. Most people will teach what they know to just about anyone who wants to learn. Someone always posts a beginner's guide at the beginning of the round. Alliances exist that are forged from steel. There are a high number of females, and a low number of spammers / flamers. Plenty of players play with calculators and spreadsheets. Others feel it out. Some people stick with one tactic and style, while others try new things until they find something that works.

Winning
The main goal of the game is to finish the round with the highest score for you and/or your alliance. Some people try to get the biggest score despite how it may effect their alliance. While others stick together in order to get their alliance score the highest.

Trophies are also awarded for completing goals in a round. These include but aren't limited to: 1st, 2nd, 3rd in individual score, alliance score, army victories, air victories, ops victories, etc...

There are trophies to win for completing in game goals, ranks to achieve for tons of statistics, and the overall goal of being top in score at the end of the round. You'll start small and grow fast.

Citation
1.) Survival Guide: Dust Settles - What is it? 2.) Comprehensive Manual - Survival Guide: Dust Settles