Introduction:

Welcome to Uprising: Join or Die or more simply: "Uprising", a combination first-person vehicle simulator and RTS developed by Cyclone Studios (later acquired by 3DO) that released in 1997 and doesn't really implement the second part very well compared to more advanced early RTS hybrids with a similar concept like the top-down shooter Herzog Zwei in 1990 (as a reference Dune: II released in 1992). Ultimately it sold well enough to warrant a "wildly" successful sequel that no one heard or cared about because it was only made to make a quick buck and disregard any fans of the original just like other failed sequels like Supreme Commander 2.

Objective:

Make your way to the final planet and complete it to win the game,

Bounty: $500 each for the completion of the Any% catagory which is self-explanatory as anything goes and completing the final planet as fast as you can is all that matters (time stops when control is lost). There is All Planets No Anvil which allows for use of an overpowered joke weapon but it's not counted as you must complete the game first and you would just use it to beat the final level in a minute or less which is not very interesting.

Story:

Large, oppressive, empire = bad

Small resistance movement rapidly gaining support = good

Basically Star Wars, however, the subtext "Join or Die" makes things dubious making you wonder "Are we the baddies?".

Gameplay:

The game is action-heavy consisting of you finding different ways of blowing things up with your Wraith command tank while there are some basebuilding aspects needed to allow the summoning of allied units to assist you. While you can destroy any enemy units yourself enemy structures are a much harder nut to crack as you alone are unable to destroy them (without the right weapons that is but ammunition is limited, men are not).

There are four unit types you will encounter or be able to use: infantry which are cheap and expendable but able to damage structures, tanks which are powerful ground assault units, AAVs which as fast flying craft able to harass other units or shoot down aerial targets, and bombers which are slow and vulnerable but able to destroy structures quickly, and lastly not a unit but a very powerful structure the k-sat: allowing use of a satellite from above in which you may target and destroy anything in seconds at an expensive cost.

A special thing to note is that with each mission you complete you gain credits which are spent to upgrade your units and unlock new weapons and equipment which is one of the best parts of the game as you stratagize on what you want to spend your money on first as you proceed on your journey.

Lasty, the most unique thing about this game is the power triangle which allows you to divert power to prioritize your lasers for increased firerate, shields for damage reduction, or speed to go fast or just keep things balanced and as expected one of them is more important than the others.

Deadline: October 14, 2023 the 26th anniversary of this game

Where to get:

As abandonware it is available for free and on multiple sites (I don't think links are allowed here), or buy it on GOG.

Issues?

Besides some minor crashing issues the game runs on windows 10 just fine for me, however the after mission briefing leads to a black screen which shouldn't be much of an issue but you should change your keybinds if needed and quit the game so your changes are saved.

Troubleshooting:

¯_(ツ)_/¯

tl:dr fastest in the any% category with video proof wins $500 ending on the deadline of October 14 and I will contact the winners for details

Edit: I've decided that 100% will NOT be considered anymore.

Any% Beaten by about 5 minutes Quick strat on Charvati you have to reset till you get the planet in the center Solar system though. saves about 4 minutes alone.

Some better routes on other missions. Also I buy Destructo Disks instead of Helix Missiles Oh yeah and strafing is faster than forward backwards movement for some reason.

@JayHobs

Fantastic job and well done!

I was about to give up on this since I'm way in over my head about making this a thing and sorry about not responding to your other comment but I would have allowed a time extension as you're the only one who seems to care but as you already put in the effort I'll reward you anyway, however 100% will no longer count as there's no level of competition for this game.

Thanks. ha I didn't actually expect you to respond but that's super cool this money will help me out a lot irl. This game ended up being quite a bit of fun tbh.

I don't think many people check the forums unfortunately also the game is somewhat difficult to get working and record correctly so I guess that could have put some people off. But yeah if you ever wanted to do this again with a game I could try to help get some people involved, ik some people that would be interested in running and someone who can make load removers etc. Could also try contacting a mod on Moistcritikals speedrun discord and get them to post it into the bounty thread or something. Also also could try submiting to the FRONT PAGE PROMOTION REQUEST FORM by META in the tournement forum.

But yeah completely fair I still might do a 100% run anyway just for fun.

Is the 2nd game not worth playing in your opinion? I was actually surprised how un-utilized the mechanics of a game like this are, especially ones with a singleplayer mode.

Thanks for the advice, don't think I'll try this again myself as I'm lazy and dumb.

But the second game is strictly worse than the first and somehow makes a niche game with a unique mechanic that's underutilized much more generic and boring.