And Thanks Falcarius they are interesting to read! Which pilot was petting the shield liger at the end I wonder?
The pilots from the video are Vance and Trinity, the only two we've seen Animareal cosplays of so far.
And yeah, I find it odd that FOR is using the Concept Art aesthetic for its prologue, the Tomy aesthetic for its gameplay and the Masterpiece/HMM aesthetics for its promo material >_>
Anyway, along with releasing the game, TT has also opened a "
satellite site" on 4gamer.net (which so far consists mostly of the news and announcements we've already seen elsewhere) and a "data/walkthrough site" called
Zoids FOR Now, which includes an in-depth explanation of how the game works. Basically, you alternate between battling and modifying your Zoid. Battles unlock containers, which contain resources to help you strengthen your Zoid.
To commemorate the opening of the game, all Zoids in the shop will be half price (600 yen instead of 1200) between 3:00 pm on the 18th and 11:59 am on the 24th. Also, as a reward for the preregistration campaign, everyone who completes the tutorial by the 17th of May will receive 300 Zoid Gold and a "Hell Fire" Assault Vulcan Unit for the Command Wolf.
Now for the long, super-detailed explanation...
At the top of the home screen is a bar showing your name, premium tickets, Zoid Gold, metal and Repair Kits. At the bottom are buttons taking you into battles, the shop, missions, the home screen, the container shop, the settings menu, and the Zoid lab. On the left, you can visit the online manual and check your containers (blue and purple ones are ready to be opened, grey ones aren't). On the right, you can check your profile, present box (for login bonuses and such), notifications and battle results.
Battles are divided into VS Mode and Co-op Mode. VS Mode is the intended gameplay mode, with two randomly-selected 4-player teams pitted against each other. Co-op Mode is more about helping newcomers get used to gameplay, and contains a solo Tutorial Mode and a multiplayer Practice Mode (both against a CPU enemy). In VS Mode, the objective is to destroy your opponent's stronghold before they destroy yours, within a 10 minute time limit. If the time runs out and neither stronghold has been destroyed, the team that destroyed the most bases wins. If both teams destroyed the same number of bases, the team that destroyed the most Player Zoids wins, and if they also destroyed the same number of Player Zoids, the game is a draw.
The map is composed of a stronghold at either end (you'll see yours on the left and the enemy's on the right, regardless of your team colour), connected by one road in Practice Mode or three roads in VS Mode. There are two bases on each road (again, yours is on the left and the enemy's is on the right). Between the roads are forests, which allow you to disappear from sight (and from the minimap) for any players who aren't also in the forest. Strongholds and bases automatically attack nearby enemies and regularly send out squads of three Small Zoids (Godos or Molga), which will then advance towards the enemy stronghold, attacking any enemy Zoids or bases in their way. The Small Zoids will prioritise whatever's closest on their road (and Small Zoids over Player Zoids if they're the same distance away), so the recommended strategy is to use your Small Zoids as a shield and help them destroy the enemy's Small Zoids so that you can move forwards without taking too much damage. Small Zoids are also more effective than Player Zoids at damaging bases and strongholds.
As mentioned previously, each Zoid has one of four "Roles". Fighters (Shield Liger and Dibison) have boosted attack strength against enemy Small Zoids, so you should send them out in front to do hit-and-run attacks on your opponent's Small Zoids and protect your bases, but be sure to keep an eye on their health. Attack from within the forest when possible, since Small Zoids won't attack you and players will have trouble finding you. Commanders (Command Wolf and Iron Kong) boost the attack strength and HP of nearby ally Small Zoids, so keep them just behind a set of Small Zoids to help them take down enemy bases. Destroyers (Saber Tiger and Geno Saurer) have boosted attack strength against enemy Player Zoids, so send them exploring to destroy enemies and protect allies wherever they're needed (Destroyers are also useful against Large Zoids). Supporters (Red Horn and Gordos) boost the HP and defence of nearby ally Player Zoids, so they should stick close to other players and back them up as much as possible.
If one of your bases is destroyed, a "Large Zoid Activation Memory" will appear in your stronghold (but only once per battle). If a player collects it, takes it to the huge square in front of their stronghold, and chooses a road to send the Large Zoid down (you can only choose a road if your base on that road has been destroyed), a "dock" will be constructed that will eventually produce a Large Zoid (Death Saurer, at least in the "early stages"). However, the dock can be destroyed if it takes too much damage, so you'll need to protect it from enemies. Once the Large Zoid activates, it will move slowly towards the enemy's stronghold, slaughtering any enemies in its way... but it can still be defeated, so you'll still want to protect it (or use it as a decoy while you attack elsewhere). If faced with an enemy Large Zoid, it's best to attack it from behind with your green weapons.
As Hanyoutai explained, you move by swiping on the "Virtual Pad" (the left-hand half of the screen) and attack by tapping one of the three weapon buttons on the bottom-right. You can also hold down on the weapon buttons to lock onto enemies. The number and type of enemies you can lock onto depends on weapon types, Zoid roles and upgrades. As time passes and you destroy Small Zoids, you accumulate "Boost Medals" (shown in the bottom-right corner), which automatically level up your weapons (up to a maximum of Level 3 each battle). If you see a "Full Burst" icon above your Zoid, you can tap it to activate a special ability, which varies depending on your subpilot. It is more likely to unlock as time passes and your team is at a disadvantage, but you can only use it once per battle. At the top right is the "Return" button, which lets you return to your stronghold after 5 seconds if you don't attack or take damage. While in your stronghold, your Zoid gradually heals. Out in the field, you can instantly recover 50% of your HP (and the HP of nearby allies) by using a Repair Kit (the button underneath "Return"), but you can only take up to 2 Repair Kits into a battle. At the top left is your minimap, where you can check the locations and HP of Player Zoids, and at the top centre is the remaining time and the number of Player Zoids/bases each team has destroyed (for instance, a large circle numbered "2" and four small diamonds indicates 24 Player Zoids destroyed). At the bottom centre is the "Stamp" button, which allows you to send simple picture messages to your teammates.
Winning battles unlocks "drop containers", which may contain weapons, metal or memory chips. You can open a container by tapping the timer button above it and waiting for the time to run out (although you can only have one timer active at a time), or by spending Zoid Gold (if you have more money than patience). It will cost you 10 Zoid Gold per hour of remaining time, although if you choose to open a container as soon as you receive it, you get a 20% discount. Drop containers have different "rarities", which affect their appearance, contents, and necessary time to open (and therefore price). Your base can only hold up to 4 containers, plus an ever-present "support container" at the far right whose timer is always active. The support container can be opened once every four hours, and you can have up to 2 in "stock" (or up to 4 if you buy tickets from the shop).
In the lab, you can strengthen your Zoids, change their colour schemes, and sell excess weaponry. A Zoid can be strengthened in four different ways - changing its weapon loadout (ウエポン換装), enhancing its weapons (ウエポン強化), enhancing the Zoid itself (ゾイド強化) or upgrading the Zoid (ゾイドアップグレード). Each Zoid has three weapon slots (左/left, 右/right and 上/top) and a maximum weapon "cost" or capacity, kind of like the Saga games. Ranged weapons can only be equipped in specific slots, as shown at the top right of the weapon icons. Enhancing a weapon or Zoid involves spending metal to raise the weapon/Zoid's level (increasing its stats), while upgrading a Zoid involves spending metal and memory chips to "evolve" the Zoid into one of several possible forms (basically just a more directional stat increase). It's important to note that upgrading a Zoid resets its level to 1, so don't bother enhancing a Zoid if you're planning on upgrading it soon.
There are three different categories of weapons, which can be distinguished by the background colour of their icons. Red types are most effective against Small Zoids, and will only lock onto Small Zoids. Blue types are most effective against Player Zoids, and will only lock onto Player Zoids. Green types deal equal damage to all enemies, making them more effective than red and blue weapons against Large Zoids, bases and strongholds, but they cannot lock onto anything. Holding down the button for a blue or green weapon will show you where its attack will hit, and you can aim the attack by holding and dragging. When locking on with a red weapon, the number of targets will increase the longer you hold the button, and locked-on attacks will pursue their targets. However, locked-on blue attacks won't pursue Player Zoids.
"Ballistic weapons", such as missiles and cannons, have a limited amount of ammo and will spend a few seconds automatically reloading once it runs out. They are best suited to Zoids with low EN. "EN weapons", such as lasers and beam guns, consume EN instead, so are naturally better suited for Zoids with high EN. "Enhancement parts" provide a passive boost to certain stats and generally have a low cost, but cannot be used for attacking. "Melee kits" don't consume ammo or EN but can only be used at close range, so are best for Zoids with high armour and HP. "Special/Exclusive" weapons can be any of the above, but are limited to specific Zoids.
The normal shop allows you to spend money on Zoid Gold and use that Zoid Gold to purchase new Zoids, Zoid colour schemes, tickets (to increase metal drop rates, Supply Container stock and so on), Repair Kits and weapons. Each day, three different weapons will be on sale in the shop, but you can also get them from containers if you're willing to leave it up to chance. In the container shop, you can spend Zoid Gold to obtain metal, weapons and subpilots at random. If you already have a particular weapon or subpilot, it will be fused automatically, raising the EX level of weapons and the skill level of subpilots.
The "Mission" screen lets you check your current missions (kind of like achievements), which have a variety of unlock requirements (often related to which Zoids and subpilots you have). "Normal missions" generally let you obtain rewards based on wins in VS Mode and subpilots, while "special missions" are aimed at beginner players to help them get used to the game. There is also a "mission story" button, where you can watch subpilot-related stories unlocked by completing normal missions. Finally, the system menu includes options to organise your Stamps, change your name/title/system settings, check your stock of Zoid Gold/tickets/upgrade materials, and read encyclopedia entries and mission stories.
