Atomic Kingdom of China | |
The Emblem of the Atomic Kingdom | |
Playstyle | Tower Defense |
Faction Colour | Green |
Type | Paradox Faction |
Dev. Status | Conceptualized |
"And you tell me,
Over and over and over again, my friend,
Ah, you don't believe,
We're on the eve
of destruction."
- - "Eve of Destruction" by P.F. Sloan, a protest song written at the start of WW3
The Atomic Kingdom of China, or China, is a new faction exclusive to Red Alert 3 Paradox, designed by Open sketchbook and Kerensky287. The faction features attack-oriented units and strong base defenses, though they are limited by short-ranged weaponry and great need for power. But their MCV can fly, so there.
At a Glance
Faction Color | Green. |
Playstyle | Tower defence. |
Preferred Theatre of Operations | Choke points. |
Strengths | Huge variety of powerful turrets, high impact weapons. recharging shields, nigh-invulnerable defenses, superior superweapons, widespread teleportation. |
Weaknesses | Non-existant armour, unit production bottleneck, massive reliance on power generation, short ranged units, tendency to explode. |
Intended Players | Turtlers, Players with low APM. |
Background
The Civil War
At the start of the Third World War, another war had been raging in full force for nearly 30 years. China was in the grip of civil war, torn between the forces of the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. As the Peacekeepers marshalled their forces in Europe to make a stand and the Soviet poured tanks into Poland, China's veteran armies clashed on bloodsoaked fields. It was a conflict unparalleled in brutality, bloodshed, and scope, and one largely ignored by the rest of the world.
Driven to desperation, the Chinese had exhausted every possible method to defeat their enemy, throwing millions of lives away in battles, committing countless atrocities in the hopes that it would bring them a bit closer to final victory. No person, however sick, young, or old, was exempt from from the war effort. Every last scrap of ore and every last drop of oil was torn from the land to feed the war machine. Science advanced rapidly, but only where it could be applied to war, and too often it took vile and nauseating directions. The arrival of a meteor in Central China had brought with it a boon; Jade, a strange green crystal with mysterious and marvellous properties, which catalysed the development of a hundred bizarre and impossible technologies. Even this could not break the stalemate, as both sides quickly acquired samples of the self replicating crystal. The Chinese Civil War had gone on so long no one expected it to end.
But then, 1968 came. A discovery was made, one with the power to bring the war to a screaming halt. A scientist on one side uncovered the secret of atomic fission, and a spy on the other side stole it. Or perhaps both sides made the same discovery at the same time. Within months of the discovery atomic bombs were being made in the hundreds. and no one can forget what happened next.
The Atomic Horror
No one knew who stuck the first blow, but Beijing and Nanjing were annihilated within a day of each other. More rational governments might have realised they were teetering on the brink of annihilation, but the two Chinas had been at each other's throats for too long to except any outcome but the complete destruction of the other side. Too much blood had been spent for any other outcome to be palatable. For the next two weeks both sides flew hundreds of flights, saturating the country with atomic fire. What began as an attempt to force an end to the war became revenge strikes, and finally degenerated into desperate attempts to obliterate the other. The rolling blasts could be seen from orbit. When the bombs finally stopped falling, the Civil War was over, both sides shattered.
Kingdom from the Ashes
Atomic Kingdom of China Minor Diplomatic Relations | |
Faction | Relationship |
Army of the Republic of Vietnam | Hostile |
Allied Reservists | War |
National Revolutionary Army | War |
Vietcong | Hostile |
Communist China | War |
Global Liberation Army | Hostile |
International Inc | Hostile |
Unknown |
From the ashes of the war, a strange movement began. The Nationalist Chinese had associated themselves with blue, the Communist Chinese with red. This new faction associated itself with the green of the Jade, the key to unlocking atomic fission, the substance that had ended their civilisation. Even as bandits and warlords continued to fight over the scraps, the green Chinese preached a new message, a call to all Chinese to unite under a single banner. Salvaging technologies left over from the war, they created an army of clones to subjugate those who refused to bow to their rule, armed with devastating weapons. The remnants of the Nationalists and the Communists tried to crush this new upstart, but they were spent by decades of fighting and barely clung on to power.
Under the Atomic Kingdom, China would stop looking inward and look outward. Those who had perpetuated the war to its fiery conclusion would be brought to justice; the Allies, the Soviets, the Japanese. They would be made to account for their crime and they would be punished for it. And the Atomic Kingdom would be the one to judge them.
When Mao Zedong was captured and brought before the Atomic Kingdom's court, he asked who was the Emperor of this new Kingdom they had created. Before his execution, they answered his question. They explained that they were not a state like he understood them, just the vengeful shadow of the great civilisation he had damned. As he was escorted to the disintegration chamber, he learned the true nature of the Atomic Kingdom of China.
"Ghosts have no need for kings."
Gameplay Mechanics
Build Mechanic
Space Elevator makes units in little bundles. Only one production queue is accessible at a time, secondary cycles through them. Units arrive in amphibious boxes allowing you to build sea vehicles at a land-based Elevator and vice versa.
Orbital Command Vehicle puts down Planetary Assemblies (which deal with the structure side of the tech tree) and can transform irreversibly into Space Elevators (which deal with the unit side of the tech tree). The current plan is that you start with an Elevator and an OCV, letting you choose between enhanced unit production and early expansion ability. OCVs will probably arrive via a protocol unlocked by a mid-level structure.
Planetary Assemblies are ore refineries that also build your structures. Some structures are just for base management (Superweapons, power plants, tech building) and some deal with your defensive game. The structures designed for defense each have a production queue with room for a single turret at a time - if you want to make defenses at any reasonable rate, you can make extras, but it'll get expensive quickly.
Tier Mechanic
The Atomic Kingdom of China uses the Starfleet Database building to purchase the tech required for higher-level units and structures.
Special Abilities
Vehicles require power in order to function. These vehicles consume units of power when built, and are shut down if you enter a low power state.
Development Progress
”Back in 1968, I was with my son Jack on a parent-student career day in his school when the teacher showed his class a special video. It was an educational video, “Hide and Cover” or something like that, and it told him and his classmates about what to do if a Kirov should drop a vacuum imploder bomb on the town. It was all very upbeat, about how you should get to your nearest shelter and duck under your desk and everything to stay safe...and in my heart, I knew what the video was: an attempt to sooth the nerves of our children, to keep them from realising that if an imploder bomb did go off so near...there would be no survivors. Now, the papers and television show us all conferences where the politicians talk about the situation in China and diplomacy with the Royalists and not talking about what exactly happened there...and I can't help but wonder if they're trying to reassure us for the same reasons they made that video."
- - Randolph Eggert, accountant and father of two
The Atomic Kingdom of China are currently in development alongside the Order of the Talon.
Special Buildings
Space Elevator | Builds all Chinese units that aren't deployed by protocols. Units are purchased in packs of more than one, occasionally with a mix of unit types (such as 5 Watchmen and 1 Noble Officer). The Space Elevator can only have 1 production queue at a time and uses its secondary ability to cycle through the unit types it is able to produce. Attackable as both a land and air unit because it is literally an elevator into space - your Migs can just fire at the main shaft if they so desire. |
Standard Buildings
Command Yard | The deployed version of the OCV, the Command Yard produces Planetary Assemblies and can upgrade to become a Space Elevator. | |
Planetary Assembly | More akin to the Construction Yards of other factions than the Refineries, the Planetary Assembly is where all standard Chinese buildings are produced. It can serve as a drop-off point for ore at the same time as it constructs other buildings. May not construct other Planetary Assemblies. | |
Atomic Generator | Provides power for the many Chinese structures at your disposal. Tends to explode a little bit when it is destroyed, dealing light damage to nearby units and structures. | |
Anti-Matter Generator | Advanced power plant. Takes up more space and costs more, but provides more power than a standard generator and is outfitted with impressive point-defence weaponry. Explodes impressively when destroyed, dealing heavy damage to nearby units and structures. | |
Barrier Duplicator | Constructs Chinese walls and other obstacles. | |
Emplacement Regulator | Constructs cheap, low-end Chinese turrets. | |
Turret Regulator | Constructs expensive, high-end Chinese turrets. | |
Outpost Manager | Constructs auto-turrets and other deployable structures. | |
Starfleet Database | Tech structure. Allows the purchase of tier upgrades which unlock more powerful Chinese units and structures. | |
Celestial Depot | These structures repair and provide a teleport return point for up to three aircraft constructed by the Space Elevator. | |
Teleport Hub | This building can hold and teleport up to 6 soldiers to any visible part of the map. | |
Missile Silo | Launches a Radiation Missile that irradiates a large area. This irradiated ground behaves much like the Desolator Airstrike, though more powerful. It leaves a missile casing at the center of the effect that can be destroyed; if so, the effect lingers very shortly after but destroying the missile generally shortens the overall time of the effect. The only indication that an area is irradiated is the missile; friendly units are unaffected, but enemies who don't see the casing will have no idea what's killing them. | |
Atomic Palace | This offensive superweapon slowly constructs a powerful atomic weapon, a bomb of unlimited power. When the weapon is ready, it is carried by a large, invulnerable bomber craft to the target and then dropped to horrifying effect. This is easily the most powerful superweapon in the game. |
Walls and Obstacles
Curtain Wall | These walls are much tougher than other walls. | |
Curtain Gate | These gates are hardened like the walls they are linked together with. | |
Force Wall | Projects a force field vertically above it that prevents the passage of air units. Has low health and can be crushed by any unit capable of crushing. | |
Plasma Conduit | Grants improved range to any turret connected to it. Bonus does not stack with multiple conduit segments. Explodes on destruction, damaging nearby units and structures - may potentially cause a chain reaction with other Conduit sections. Vehicles can crush these effortlessly. | |
Power Wall | These extremely tough walls are almost impossible to break, but use a small amount of power. | |
Fortress Gate | The largest type of Gate in the conflict, it is armed with two turrets which make short work of anything coming near it. |
Low-end Turrets
Disruptor Emplacement | A universal turret with a 90-degree arc of fire. Does very little damage, but is very cheap and builds very quickly, useful for filling out the line. Can be upgraded with the secondary for money. | |
Radio Emplacement | Anti-infantry turret with a 90-degree arc of fire. Can be upgraded with the secondary for money. | |
Ray Turret | Anti-tank turret with a 90-degree arc of fire. Can be upgraded with the secondary for money. | |
Tractor Emplacement | Anti-air turret with 90-degree arc of fire. Can be upgraded with the secondary for money. | |
Watchtowers | These structures provide extended sight ranges, allowing you to see enemies coming to attack you from farther away. | |
Torpedo Turret | A short-ranged, indirect turret with a 90-degree firing arc, the Torpedo Turret can lob high explosive rockets over walls, allowing you to layer your defense. |
High-end Turrets
Teleforce Cannon | Powerful anti-surface tower that fires a sweeping death ray over a small area. | |
Pull Turret | Anti-air battery that slows and deals heavy damage to enemies in an area. Can switch its tractor beams to anti-surface use, making them useless for damage dealing but pulling targets toward the turret and into a potential Chinese killzone. | |
Graviton Tower | Anti ground structure that fires a beam at enemies, reducing their move speed. Its secondary reduces the move speed of all units surrounding it. | |
Teleport Bunker | A small bunker capable of garrisoning 5 infantry who may fire out. Disembarking is done via a short-ranged teleportation device, allowing units to flank an invading army in a pinch. | |
Shield Tower | Projects a large, circular shield, which can be worn down over time by bombardment. | |
Annihilator Turret | A deployable artillery piece, the Annihilator Turret fires devastating antimatter missiles at enemy targets from long range, allowing a Chinese general to wear down his opponent after he has trapped him inside his own base. |
Deployable Turrets
Radio Autoturret | A light deployable vehicle that permanently deploys into a small radio turret, which stuns enemy units. Once deployed, the Radio Turret can toggle to Passive mode, which disables the guns, but increases sight range. | |
Disruptor Autoturret | These units rise into a powerful anti-tank turret. It has a slightly higher rate of fire than its emplacement counterpart. | |
Tractor Autoturret | This small vehicle deploys into an anti-air turret, slowing airborne targets to make them more vulnerable to retaliation. | |
Ambush Turret | The Ambush Turret can pop in and out of a small hatch which disguises it. It fires small, universally targetting antimatter missiles. | |
Tank Bunker | This structure can garrison a single tank, protecting its vital sections while allowing its weapons full access to their targets. It has a similar teleportation device to the Teleport Bunker. | |
Regenerator Turret | This small deployable turret utilises multiple weak tractor beams to rip armour off enemy units to repair itself and other turrets in its vicinity. | |
Pagoda Mobile Castle | This large deployable structure becomes a garrisonable fortress, with everything a general needs to guard an area. In addition to holding 8 infantry, who can fire out, the Pagoda has a pair of auto-firing heavy ray cannons, an anti-air rocket array, and a long sight range. It even provides a small area of build radius in case its formidable defenses aren't quite good enough. |
Infantry
Tiger | This animal scout is far more combat effective than other scouts, but is tragically frightened of water, and therefore cannot swim. Targeted secondary ability allows it to leap a large distance to attack an enemy infantry unit. | |
Watchman | Armed with spears wreathed in atomic energy and disruptor carbines, Watchmen are the basic combat infantry of the Middle Kingdom. When ordered to attack, Watchmen level their spears and charge the enemy, and can kill enemy infantry in a single hit. When their secondary function is used, their carbines are activated, allowing them to fire onto enemy units to great effect. Watchmen are extremely cheap and disposable units. When garrisoned, the Watchman uses their carbine automatically. | |
Jiang Shi | These genetically engineered, radiation exposed men have become muscle bound monsters capable of denting tank armour with their bare hands. Charging into combat, they smash enemy vehicles to pieces with ease. Secondary ability allows them to make a running leap, crossing large distances to ambush enemy units. | |
Firework Mistress | These women carry special rockets that produce explosions as beautiful as they are devastating. One type of ammo is designed for high-altitude work and is excellent against enemy aircraft. The other is designed for distance and functions well as a mortar. The Firework Mistress must be manually ordered to change between ammo types. | |
Scholar | These engineer equivalents can capture enemy or neutral structures and repair your own. They possess a number of Corruption Grenades that can turn enemy vehicles into funds. | |
Courtesan | Clones of the most beautiful women in all of China, these unassuming infantry are armed with a dangerous knowledge of martial arts and their alluring beauty, which they take advantage of to infiltrate buildings and steal secrets. They are capable of stunning large number of units in a radius around them. | |
Noble Officer | Non clone survivors of the Atomic Holocaust, Noble Officers use their ray pistols and swords to good effect. Their presence alone inspires nearby clones to fight even harder, and they can teleport short distances. | |
Kite Warrior | These brave men strap themselves to kite wings to take to the skies. They use powerful tractor beams to pick up enemy infantry and drop them to their deaths. They carry a small energy crossbow to defend themselves against air attacks. | |
Mingxia | This bright heroine is the last in a long line of practitioners of Jiao li, a four thousand year old martial art based on striking pressure points. When attacking regularly, Mingxia can take down an infantryman in a single punch, or punch through the armour of a battle tank. However, if required, she can unleash the full force of her art on an unfortunate enemy; after activating the pressure points, the enemy is turned into a ticking time bomb that will detonate with massive force! |
Vehicles
Horse Ore Collector | This vehicle collects ore for the Atomic Kingdom. This vehicle can expose it's atomic core, exposing enemy units to radiation. If destroyed in this state, it detonates as a dirty bomb, spreading radiation over a large area. | |
Serpent Light Tank | This comparatively fast Zodiac unit is lightly armoured, but equipped with a gamma ray gun that slows enemy units and slays infantry with its poisons. Like the snake, the vehicle can use the landscape and it's low profile to avoid attackers, allowing it to use it's brief stealth mechanic to close with enemies. They require power to operate. | |
Nian Tank | The basic battle tank of the Chinese, the Nian tank is named for a ferocious feline beast of myth. This vehicle is armed with an all-purpose ray cannon that does large amounts of damage to any target, though their range is short. They require power to operate. | |
Swine Dig Tank | This burrowing Zodiac vehicle is armed with an Anti-Matter missile launcher and is capable of digging itself into the ground partially, turning them into turrets. Their missiles cause anti-infantry splash damage, and are devastating against vehicles. | |
Rooster Pull Tank | This anti-aircraft Zodiac tank pulls enemy aircraft from the sky, and is extremely good at it. If desperate, it can target a single enemy vehicle and divert all power to pulling it from the sky; this has the unfortunate side effect of overloading the Rooster, tearing it apart with its own tractor beams! The Pull Tank requires power in order to function. | |
Mobile Garrison | This APC carries 6 infantry and a radio gun for self defense. It's healing radius helps to keep infantry in the game. | |
Mantis War-Walker | These towering combat machines use a terrifying weapon called a heat ray, an invisible lance of heat that destroys any enemy that falls under its gaze. Radiation missiles allow it to deny the enemy ground and force them from garrisons. The War Walker requires power in order to function. |
Aircraft
Orbital Command Vehicle | Capable of flying while undeployed, the OCV must still land in order to become a Command Yard and place its Planetary Assembly structures. While landed it also has the option to transform into a Command Yard, but once this decision is made it cannot be taken back. It cannot transform back into an OCV once it has landed | |
War Throne | Designed to emulate the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, the War Throne is a gunship armed with stunning Radio Guns and increases damage of ground units in a radius underneath. It can use its special ability to instantly restore health to infantry nearby. | |
Bird of Prey | The Bird of Prey uses its claws to attack enemy aircraft by diving into them and tearing them apart. Though extremely effective, it tends to damage itself while attacking, requiring it to periodically return to base for repairs. Luckily, it is capable of instantly teleporting back to its launch pad. | |
Peng Streamer Plane | The Stream Plane launches long colourful strings of explosive material that drifts slow downwards. While drifting, any enemy aircraft that passes through them sets them off like a mine; once it touches the ground, they behave in a similar manner for ground units. Like the Bird of Prey, it can teleport home to repair and rearm. | |
Thunderbird Dropship | A dropship capable of airlifting Atomic Chinese forces from one location to another, the Thunderbird Dropship is unique in that it transports its passengers in an armoured drop pod that will survive even if the Thunderbird is brought down. Of course, it can also unload its passengers without having to crash land. | |
Defiance Flying Junk | This literal airship uses a large number of broadside rockets to attack ground and air targets, though it may take a while to switch between targets. Very slow to move and turn, the Flying Junk is armoured enough to take a beating and continue the fight. When destroyed, the onboard reactor has a tendency to go critical. |
Watercraft
Ray-Shark | Some minor radio-borne mind control combined with the most terrifying hunter in the sea provide the Kingdom with an aquatic animal scout that, while not as fast as its dolphin brethren, does far more damage thanks to its augmented teeth. Oh, and it has a raygun mounted on its head that it can leap out of water to fire. Even mind-controlled creatures deserve a warm meal. | |
Jiaolong Torpedo Ship | This small escort vessel uses small torpedoes impregnated with antimatter to strike and sink enemy vessels that threaten the capital ships. The Jiaolong also has the ability to overcharge the planar shields on its aft section, creating a sudden burst of force that launches it forward into the air - this "Shield Jump" allows the Jiaolong to aerially bypass the rest of the fleet to defend a different flank. | |
Kun Ballistic Sub | This submarine carries a single tactical nuclear warhead, which it can use against enemy ground targets over a long range, though it must surface to fire. Before firing this missile, the Kun can use a pair of torpedo tubes to attack sea units. The Kun requires power in order to function. | |
Great Wing Ship | This large and unwieldy vessel is unarmed, but produces "Little Wing" patrol boats in its hold, which it launches when it attacks, like an aircraft carrier. The Great Wing Ship requires power in order to function. Sub-Unit – Little Wing Patrol Boat - The light and fast Little Wing is armed with dual ray guns, which repeatedly strike enemy vessels before returning to the Great Wing. | |
Royal Gong Ship | This vehicle uses a timed system to activate a special reflecting shield that turns enemy attacks back onto a single enemy target. This makes it extremely effective as you move to attack the enemy. Can also carry a small number of infantry or vehicles. | |
Qilin Ray Cruiser | The Qilin is armed with ten anti-air tractor beams, which fire randomly into the air when aircraft approach. As a result, they do aerial splash damage. The Qilin can switch to a pair of powerful sea-based tractor beams, which can latch onto an enemy ship and reel them in. The Ray Cruiser requires power in order to function. | |
Sea Hawk Infinite Battleship | The Sea Hawk is the largest and heaviest Chinese ship. Equipped with rows of ray cannons, the Sea Hawk destroys enemy vessels quickly and effectively at close range. Alternatively, it can use its deck-mounted missile launcher to strike out at land units. The Infinite Battleship requires power in order to function. If destroyed, the Sea Hawk has been known to suffer a devastating reactor meltdown. |
Behind the Scenes
China's latest revamp was intended to make them play more like the Tower Defence games you often see online. The wide variety of walls allows you to pipeline enemy units where you want, the turret variety allows you to use plenty of cheap turrets or a handful of expensive ones, and the superweapons give you something to "hold out" for, making it easier to just outlast your opponent.
Factions
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Original Red Alert 3 Factions |
Allied Nations • Soviet Union • Empire of the Rising Sun |
Paradox Factions |
Confederate Revolutionaries • Order of the Talon • Atomic Kingdom of China • Mediterranean Syndicate • Electrical Protectorate |
Paradox Minor-Factions |
Army of the Republic of Vietnam • Allied Reservists • National Revolutionary Army • Vietcong People's Liberation Army • Global Liberation Army • Cult of the Black Hand |
Paradox Minor Tech Faction |
International Inc |