About
Paybacktime 2 is a multiplayer, X-COM-style turn-based tactics game for MS-DOS. Its creators released it with full source code, and this repository packages it to run through DOSBox. It has small-squad combat for 1-4 human or AI players in hotseat mode, fully destructible isometric environments, and editors for all maps, weapons, armor and items.
Getting started
Download the repository as a ZIP, copy the DOSBox binaries into its dosbox directory, and run the included executable from the root folder. Start by creating a unit (team) for each player at the Headquarters, then configure the battle, map and warriors. Controls are keyboard-only, and F1 opens an in-game help screen.
History
Niko Nevatie and Kari Luojus developed it between 1994 and 1997 while they were in high school, writing it in Turbo Pascal and i386 assembler. It was first sold as shareware through BBSs and on floppies and went through four major versions (1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 2.0). It was later released as freeware, and then into the public domain, with full sources.
Media
Additional notes
- Influences
- The authors name X-COM: Enemy Unknown, Laser Squad and MechForce as their main influences.
- Trivia
- The first version used a top-down view and was scrapped for the isometric one. Many graphics were drawn on the Amiga in Deluxe Paint 3.
- Reception
- The authors say most criticism at the time targeted the cryptic UI and the hard-to-meet memory requirements.