I had a demo of Terra Nova when I was a kid, and I played it through and through. Made by Looking Glass in 96, after System Shock, and before Thief.
Things I didn’t expect is full motion video cut scenes, and 13 characters with distinct specialisations and biographies.
The tactical options for 96 are incredible. Your powerarmor can launch drones that you control from a minimap for recoinsance, or you can drop autonomous turrets.
The control scheme to support this is interesting. You move with WASD, and attack with your mouse by pointing and clicking, without shifting your view. You also activate various systems, like the minimap, night vision or drone controls using your mouse. It’s a control scheme that still works almost 30 years later.
Also, it’s impressive how every mission starts with you being dropped from a troop carrier, and then it flies to pick you up.
2 replies on “Terra Nova Strike Force Centauri”
> You move with WASD,
Hm, so this game was released on: March 5, 1996
And Quake 1 after on June 22, 1996
I always thought that WASD was invented by quake, but it was only popularized.
> Moria (1975 video game)
This game had AWD controls O_O
This game is also mech-sim, so maybe WASD was more common in sim, IDK 🤷♂️