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Chromehounds is a video game for the Xbox 360. The game is set in an alternate universe where mechanised HOUNDs (a kind of mech) battle for control of Neroimus, a fictional region. The game features a system for personalized customization of the player's mech and an online campaign mode where players wage war in a persistent world over Xbox Live. The game is similar to the MechWarrior and Armored Core series, the latter of which was also developed by From Software. Image File history File links Chromehounds. ...
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Nations in Chromehounds
The world of Chromehounds is divided into three fictional nations that make up the Neroimus region that the game takes place in. They are as follows:
The Democratic Republic of Tarakia Area: 68,540km²
Population: 4,520,000
Capital: Xeres
Ethnicity: Mixed
Language: English
Religion: Multi-religion/Denominational
Head of State: President (4yr term)
Gov. Type: Republic
Industries: Farming, Iron & Steel, Machinery
Currency: Tarakian Dollar
A multi-ethnic nation located in the Western region of Neroimus. Although the nation declared independence after the Eastern European War (1981-92), the connections with its Western European allies to counter the Ex-Soviet/Afghan power within Neroimus is hard to deny.
Since the War of Black Sea (1998-2000), the nation has been heavily supported by the U.S.A. which was interested in expanding into their Eurasian diplomacy. Tarakia is more modern and democratic compared to its neighbors in Neroimus, but it struggles to find a common consensus within the country.
Type of Weaponry: Tarakia has a high variety of weaponry, but the parts have middle of the line durability, weight and performance.
The Republic of Morskoj Area: 62,380km²
Population: 3,580,000
Capital: Ostrov
Ethnicity: Native of Morskoj, and Hispanic
Language: Morskovian, Russian
Religion: Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, others
Head of State: President (4yr term)
Gov. Type: Republic
Industries: Mining, Timber, Farming, Metallurgy
Currency: Isra
The former Soviet state is located in the Eastern region of Neroimus. The people of Morskoj are now independent, but suffered many hardships as a minority when the U.S.S.R. had control. Geographically, the country is covered with rigid mountainous areas which were once rich with mining resources.
Morskoj currently faces a state of tension against the Great Soviet Socialist Republic who is scheming for a reunion. However, the nations are on much friendlier terms with the Republic of Russia who is also in opposition of the G.S.S.R.
Type of Weaponry: Morskoj supplies HOUND pilots with high performance weaponry. These weapons are very strong and have high durability, but they are quite heavy.
Notes:
1. The name of the country - "Morskoj" is a Slavic word and means "marine, from the sea"
2. The country's capital - Ostrov is also Slavic word and means "island"
The Kingdom of Sal Kar Area: 20,800km²
Population: 2,300,000
Capital: Qara
Ethnicity: Sal Karian
Language: Karic
Religion: Sal Kari State Religion
Head of State: Supreme Consul
Gov. Type: Limited Monarchy
Industries: Oil, Gas,
Currency: Ziyad
The extended history of the Sal Kari Dynasty is rooted to the ancestors of the great Ottoman Empire. Historically, the nation experienced a prolonged period of hardship since their kingdom's fall, but recovered greatly during the period when the Middle East was reorganized.
Despite the fact that this nation was forced to depend on imported foods and consumer goods due to the nation's size and desert land, the world quickly turned its attention to Sal Kar since their abundant underground resources were discovered.
Religiously, the nation pledges not to fight a war, but its military arrangements are aggressively updated.
Type of Weaponry: Sal Kar prefers high performance weaponry. Sal Kar weapons are lightweight and have high performance, but they have less durability. [This means that the weapons are light in weight quick to reload but also light on damage.]
Notes:
Role types There are six different mech classes known Role Types (RT for short) to choose from in Chromehounds. Each class of mech has seven different missions in the single-player campaign mode.
The different RTs are:
Soldiers are all-purpose combat vehicles and are the most balanced out of the six types. They are front line specialists. (Designated with the color blue in game)
Snipers specialize in taking out their opponents from afar. They are sniping specialists. (Designated with the color yellow in game)
Defenders are heavily armored and can take high amounts of damage. They are armor specialists. (Designated with the color orange in game)
Scouts are quick, light-armoured mechs that are good for capturing enemy communication towers, known in the game as COMBAS towers. They are mobility specialists. (Designated with the color green in game)
Heavy Gunners carry long-range artillery weapons and are useful in destroying enemy installations. They are artillery specialists. (Designated with the color purple in game)
Tactics Commanders lack heavy firepower and defense, but they serve to direct the battle by supplying orders to their squad and are capable of forming their own network area, which is usually referred to as NA. They are information specialists. (Designated with the color red in game)
However, these Role Types are more broad definitions instead of rigid classes. Hybrid types can be created in the Garage (i.e. Soldier Scouts, Sniper Gunners, etc.).
Patches In early February of 2007, From Software released a patch for the game in an attempt to correct game imbalances.
In early April another patch was released which returned the "splash damage" effect of howitzers and double cannons. This patch also lowered the speed at which wheeled mechs operated. Curbed the ability of shot guns to be effective against destroying bases as well as lowered their overall effectiveness by adding recoil that stops wheeled mechs in their tracks.
Gameplay (online) Gamplay in Chromehounds is similar to that of MechAssault and MechWarrior gameplay, although it's considered slower, it offers more strategic thinking. In a Standard match, opposing teams of up to 6 will set out to either destroy the opposing team, the opposing team's base, or be in control of the majority of Combas' until the time expires.
Garage mode
 In game screenshot of the HOUND garage Chromehounds features a fully-functional garage mode where the player can customize HOUNDs from the ground up. While the garages in each mode are functionally identical, HOUNDS constructed in single player are limited to the parts won in single player missions. Image File history File links Custermerization. ...
Image File history File links Custermerization. ...
HOUNDS are based on a modular design with several categories of parts:
- The chassis is the base of the HOUND and provides mobility. There are many types of chassis, such as wheels, legs, quads, treads, and hovercraft. When their durability is depleted they slow to approximately half their maximum speed, but they can never be completely destroyed.
- The cockpit is where the pilot is located. Your HOUND is only destroyed when the cockpit is destroyed. Parts which remain visible when "destroyed" such as the legs will redirect any further damage taken to the cockpit. The cockpit is generally equipped with 7-9 system sockets. These are where the system parts are placed, and the more heavily defended cockpits have less system sockets.
- The generator provides additional joints to attach parts, and is the HOUND's main power source. If destroyed in battle, movement will typically slow drastically and most support parts will cease functioning.
- Light arms are smaller weapons which typically have a hexagonal joint structure. Notable exceptions include Tarakian and Morskovian anti-HOUND rockets, chainguns, and most shotguns. The types that are available in this category are Chain-guns, anti-HOUND rockets, Machine guns, mobile assault rifles, anti-HOUND piles, shotguns, howitzers, cannons, sniper cannons, sniper rifles, bomb launchers, grenade launchers and mine layers.
- Heavy arms are very large and heavy weapons which have unique joint structures which can only generally be attached to the cockpit or legs. Three types currently exist: Large cannons or double cannons, Large rocket packs, and guided missiles.
- Assist parts are an oddball category which includes parts which add extra functions to a HOUND ranging from thermal vision to missile defenses to extra armor plating.
- NA makers function similarly to a portable COMBAS in that they allow any friendly within range to talk to teammates within the Network Area. Additionally, they display the locations of any enemy or friendly within the NA to the Commander HOUND (Friendly 'Hounds' are large green dots with their respective number, enemy 'Hounds' are large red dots. ACVs, enemy or ally, are small dots with their respectable color). They typically weigh as much as heavy arms and drain a massive amount of energy. A requirement for Commander HOUNDS.
- Spacers reposition other parts to prevent collisions and interference of movement. Can also create extra points to attach weapons. These come in many different forms, from T-shaped spacers creating many joints, to V-shaped spacers splitting a joint.
New parts for HOUNDs can be unlocked by completing single-player missions, purchased in in-game shops and some parts are available for free/pay download on Xbox Live Marketplace. Special parts can also be bid on in the Lottery. These include experimental parts developed by your own country, and captured parts won in battle. Every day at approximately 2:00 AM EST winners are chosen randomly and the bidding begins again. The selection of captured parts changes every day, and occasionally old experimental parts are moved to the normal shop and new ones are placed in the lottery to replace them. Bids are limited on a squad basis and higher ranked squads are allowed to place more bids. (all experimental parts are now able to be purchased in the in-game shops, in their respectable countries). Xbox Live Marketplace Logo The Xbox Live Marketplace (XBLM) is a virtual market designed for Microsofts Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content. ...
Neroimus War The Neroimus War is an online campaign mode which involves the three countries fighting for the continent of Neroimus. Players must join a squad, the equivalent of a clan or guild in other online games, to participate in the War. The map of Neroimus is divided into several areas connected by paths. Each area is divided into several maps. Players may launch a mission within any enemy area adjacent to a friendly area, or in any friendly area which is under attack. Victory yields merit points, which raise your rank, captured parts for the lottery, and capture points. When a country has gained a certain amount capture points on a map, 25,000 to 32,000 for normal battlegrounds and 50,000 for capital cities, that map is turned over to the country. An area belongs to the country which has the most capture points in its maps. When a capital city falls, all areas under that country become part of the conquering country, and players may only fight to reclaim their capital, or seek asylum in another country. The War ends when one country controls the entire map or after two months have passed. After a war ends, squads may choose to change alliance to a different country, and then the next War begins. It should be noted that all of the experimental parts have become available, now only captured parts are available.
Critical response Early critical response to Chromehounds has been varied. Most gaming critics have complimented the game's online play functionality and customization options, but have criticized it for having a poor story, average graphics, and slow-paced gameplay. The general consensus is that it is a game that one either loves or hates. These same complaints have been shared by Chromehounds' spiritual predecessor, From Software's Armored Core series. Armored Core is a mecha-based video game series for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Mobile Phone platforms. ...
- Famitsu: An average of 8.25 out of 10
- 1UP.com rated the game 8/10 [1]
- Eurogamer: 4 out of 10 [2]
- Gamebrink rated the game 56/100 [3]
- Gamepro rated the game 3.00/5.00[4]
- Gamespot.com rated the game 7.9/10 [5]
- Team Xbox rated the game 8.7 out of ten [6]
- Gametrailers.com rated the game 7.4 out of ten [7]
- IGN rated the game 6.9 out of 10 [8]
- Official Xbox Magazine rated the game 6 out of 10 [9]
- X-Play rated the game 3 out of 5
Cover art for Issue 1 of Famitsū magazine, June 1986, then known as Famicom Tsūshin Famitsū abbreviated ファミ Fami) is a Japanese video game magazine published by Enterbrain, Inc. ...
Known glitches
Ghost Lobby (You will only experience this issue if you use a router) Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
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This may look like a lot to do, but it's a fairly simple, quick, and unintrusive method of ending Ghost Lobby issues. A networking-savvy person can make these changes in a matter of minutes. Do not fear any kind of perminant damage or problems with your network or your XBox. These changes are fairly simple and common. Worst case, you may be sacrificing a small level of security, but as long as you're on a wired setup or you use a WEP Key for Wireless, you shouldn't have any issues with people outside of your home 'Jacking' your internet access.
The most aggrivating thing about this game is the Ghost Lobby issue.
A Ghost Lobby is where you will end up in a Lounge all by yourself while the rest of your squad is in the real Lounge.
How this happens: Your router is setup with something called DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). DHCP has a range of IP address that it will assign to a computer or network device (like an Xbox) to allow it to connect to the internet using NAT (Network Address Translation) which will take those IP Addresses and push them through the singular IP Address that is assigned to you by your ISP (Internet Service Provider [i.e. Verizon, Comcast, SBC Comm, Embarq]).
The problem is, you connect to the Chromehounds server using your ISP's IP Address with information on your DHCP IP. DHCP leases IP's for only so long, typically 1 hour to 1 day. After that time expires, it will change your IP Address to something else within the range that's setup within your router. Most routers have a range of .20 up to .100. What happens then, is that the Chromehounds server loses your information that you had given it when you first connected and it recreates a new session, sticking you in that new session all alone.
There is also a second thing that can cause you to be placed into a Ghost Lobby. Skip down to the long drawn line near the bottom.
Don't worry about making these changes to your router while someone else is using a computer; DHCP changes will not take affect until you restart your router and NAT changes will take effect immediately.
What you want to do is set up a Static IP within your network.
To do this, you go to your Xbox 360 Dashboard. Scroll to System. Select Network Settings. Scroll to Edit Settings. Here is what you will see.
(Things in parentheses are things that will vary based on your network and the router you're using.)
IP ADDRESS: 192.168.(1).(50) SUBNET MASK: 255.255.255.0 GATEWAY: 192.168.(1).(1) WRITE THESE DOWN!!
Those of you using an Apple Airport router, your IP Address will range in the 10.0.(1).(50) range. ALL YOU WILL BE CHANGING ARE THE LAST NUMBERS IN YOUR IP. NO OTHER NUMBERS WILL BE CHANGED.
Select the box with your IP information. Select Manual. Select IP Address.
Change your IP to 192.168.(1).200 200 is high enough out of range of the DHCP range that it will not auto-assign you a new IP every hour or every day. In this way, we won't have to go into detail on changing router settings. Hit start to save this change.
Consult your Router's Owner's Manual on how to change your DHCP Ranges. It's fairly simple; In your Router's Advanced Setting area, you should find a DHCP option. You should only be provided the choice to change the last section of the IP address. Change them to something much lower and little between. Like (Start Range: 192.168.1.20 / End Range: 192.168.1.30) This will allow a maximum of 10 computers to connect to your router in a given day. If you only have 1 or 2 computers and your XBox, this is not a problem.
Change your Subnet Mask to exactly what it was before: 255.255.255.0 Hit start to save your changes.
Change your Gateway to the same as it was before as well. 192.168.(1).(1) Hit start to save your changes.
Now, change your DNS to reflect your Gateway. Secondary DNS can stay 0.0.0.0
Hit Done.
Now hit Test Xbox Live. It should go through it's processes and you should connect just fine again. Turn off your 360 and your router. You MUST reset your router for the router to get the new information and discard the old IP Address.
The second issue is NAT (Network Address Translation) Security. NatSec protocols keep 'Bad' traffic out of your router and can cause you worlds of problems against other people who also have NatSec settings turned on. You will have to consult your router's owner's manual (many of which are available in PDF on the manufacturer's website) on how to pass-thru your NAT or Router Firewall settings. Never turn of your NAT or your router will not be able to function.
You should access your security settings and find something called Applications. You want to create an Application, name it Xbox Live and make it a Host to your Xbox's IP Address which you should have configured to a Static (meaning it will never change, allowing you to put these rules into effect without having to make new ones every time you turn on your Xbox) from the information above.
This is all very self-explanatory in your router's configuration utility (to access your router's configuration utility, open up IE, Mozilla or Safari and key in your Gateway address [typically 192.168.1.1, your Xbox's network information blade will have this information for you, your computer will also know this by using the Start, Run, cmd, ipconfig /all] by default, your admin name and password will be Admin and Password, unless specified otherwise by your ISP. You can always reset this if you've forgotten. Call your ISP to find out how to do this.)
You need to fill in the boxes port range with 88 and open it on lines TCP and UDP. You will want to do the same for port range 3074.
This issue takes place because of your security settings. If another person is in the lobby with similar conflicting Security Protocols (your router spooks the other player's router), you will not be allowed to interact with that person and your connection to that lobby will be refused. This only happens on games like ChromeHounds and Halo due to these company's servers having their own security protocols operating.
After that, you should no longer experience Ghost Lobby issues.
Freezing On several forums, including the official Sega forums, there have been complaints of player's Xbox 360s freezing while playing Chromehounds[10]. Despite the number of reports neither Sega, From Software, nor Microsoft have been able to reproduce the issue. Sega has officially acknowledged that there may be a problem here[11] and here[12], however it must be noted that it is most likely a problem in the first generation hardware that is being exposed by Chromehound's higher system demands. Firstly, it does not crash at a certain location, rather it can crash anywhere in the game. Secondly, newer Xbox 360s appear to have fewer crashes than older ones. Both of these may point to an issue in the first generation hardware, but this is unconfirmed. This issue can happen with other games also, likely involving overheating, though many players have had complaints of freezes without overheating and while using add-on fan units.[citation needed] This article is about the video game company. ...
From Software is a Japanese software company founded in November of 1986 that develops games for Sonys PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendos DS, GameCube, Microsoft Windows PCs, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Segas Dreamcast. ...
Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ...
-999,999,999 credits Players have reported that at various times while playing Chromehounds on Xbox Live, their credits dropped to -999,999,999. Sega has acknowledged this particular issue and has set up a support squad which users can join to have the problem resolved[13]. Squad leaders may request help for their squads via Sega[14].
This glitch has been fixed with the 9/5/06 Chromehounds patch. Even though the patch is fixed, the service that reimburses the glitch still remains active.
Unidentified Weapons During the wars, Sal Kar unleashed their Unidentified Weapon, only spotted in the South Cemo Oil fields of the Gazi area.
When squads picked that area to fight in, the objective switched to "Defeat the Unidentified Weapon." Many people believe it to be an effect of the Sal Kari's losing streak, their elected presidents, or amount of donations. Sal Kar players received a news report stating that it was a squad of mercenaries and, upon entering the mission, would win instantly as the Unidentified Weapon destroyed the enemy in one attack. The Sal Kar unidentified weapon is also know as the "gas can", as it is a huge, four legged cylinder, the top of which unscrews and fires over fifty homing missiles at each of the cardinal points. Sal Kar players could only choose the battleground once. Players who defeated the Secret Weapon and those who had the Secret Weapon win the battle for them received a medal. Since its first deployment, it has only reappeared twice, once on the 25th of August 2007. This time it was online for less than thirty minutes, as squad after squad defeated it, and on the 19th of September 2007 it was deployed again. It is unconfirmed how long it lasted but it was at least thirty minutes just like its last deployment.
A year ago, Morskoj unleashed its own Unidentified Weapon, in the East Salma Woods of the Xivera area. The weapon is a huge rail-train that is host to a large howitzer, as seen in the introductory cinematic. Along with its primary cannon, it also has dozens upon dozens of other howitzers, missiles/rockets and other heavy weaponry. One shot from its primary cannon will destroy a player.
On Thursday April 12, 2007 during War #36 the Tarakian Unidentified Weapon was deployed in Wakool of the Baleares area. It is a large treaded platform that launches wave after wave of different ACVs as well as a multitude of different weapons ranging from super machine guns, to howitzers to super heavy sniper cannons, and rocket pods. Ironically it does look like an aircraft carrier with its long flat "hanger" area for its ACVs and protruding cockpit. The mission is fought in the daylight rather than at night which is the usual time in Wakool.
In order for the Unidentified Weapons to be deployed the following conditions must be met:
1. Respective nation must be under duress (i.e. not controlling any other areas);
2. Respective nation must recapture the specified area;
3. When the area is recaptured the specific battlefield must be controlled by the respective nation; Notes (incorrect myths or rumors): 1. The respective nation's capital does NOT have to fall and be recaptured;
2. The Research Level and Donations are NOT related to the Unidentified Weapons;
External links - Official Sega of America Chromehounds site
- Official Japanese Chromehounds website (some English content) (Xbox 360)
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