What's XYZGRESS？

Recently one Ingress fan kotaku made Ingress into a retro-looking game called XXGRESS. Now, this XYZGRESS is my version of it as homage.

The original XXGRESS was REALLY great. I played it again and again, but it did not take much time until I figured out the pattern that I could always win. I got many ideas of improvements and fixes that would make the game more tactically interesting and fluid, hence created this version of mine. While I pretty much liked the minimalism of the original one, I certainly believe that you can have a different kind of fun to outsmart the tough computer agents with this version.

Getting started

The game shows up below. Arrow keys and [Z][X] are all you need to use, so please don't be shy and try it!

Note: WebGL-supported browser is required. It may take time to load the game, so please be patient if it looked unresponsive.

Fullscreen

How to play

It is just like the original XXGRESS. I am sure you can get how it works quickly if you are an experienced Ingress agent.

Cursor keys
Move
[Z]
Fire burster, select menu
[X]
Link to nearest portal
[ESC]
Withdraw

You will fight for 7 days, and win the game by controlling 100+ MUs more than the enermy in the end.

Although this game is supposed to be played on PCs, it may (or may not) work on smartphones. See this video and try if you are interested.

How this version (XYZGRESS) is different from the original (XXGRESS)?

  • You can choose the difficulty, i.e. number of enemies.
  • The enemies are smarter and use the same burster to attack your portals.
  • More Ingress features are implemented and you can use a variety of common Ingress tactics to win the game, e.g. links to increase the portal's damage mitigation, CF cover to restrict the enemy moves, recharging to defend important portals, saying hi to enemies to slow them down, rapid-firing the bursters (only unlocked in 4-enemy mode), nova tactics, etc. Find yourself how you can execute and leverage these tactics.
  • AP and the agent level are measured.
  • One frustrating bug, where sometimes links are not created when you theoretically can, was fixed.
  • More sound effects that helps you understand the situation.

Miscellaneous

  • This is exactly like what I was doing when I was a high school student -- making games and sending them to magazine publishers. I am used to it.
  • I used Unity this time to use it as an opportunity for my personal learning.