Land Air Sea Warfare (abbreviated as LASW) is a real-time strategy game developed by Isotope 244. It is the sequel to Machines at War, expanding it by sea units. LASW was released in 2010 for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, iOS (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad) and Windows Mobile. It features gameplay similar to other RTS titles like Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Age of Empires, StarCraft, Warcraft, and Supreme Commander.
While the gameplay is reminiscent of the seminal Command & Conquerseries, it does not feature soldier units.
The game revolves around establishing a base and fortifying it against attacks from other factions, who are played by the computer, as well as executing invasions of the enemy bases. To build a base and open production of military units, constant mining of ore and production of energy are crucial. There are three kinds of offense unit types (ground, air and sea units) as well as defensive units to protect the base. Both are produced in specialized factories and can be deployed in groups. New technologies can be researched and in total, the tech tree contains over 100 structures and units to choose from. Among these are stealth aircraft and submarines for reconnaissance missions, aircraft to bombard enemy bases and helicopters for unit transports. In a game, literally thousands of units can be commanded simultaneously, resulting in epic battles. Specific tactics can be applied: land units can be hidden under trees for ambush attacks and tread marks left by enemy tanks can be scouted to their base. Unique mineral ores permit building of giant "Mega units" for more effective attacks. Each game is concluded by detailed statistics and graphs.
CLIMATE TYPES[]
The climate of the region affects only the visual appearance of the map. It determines number and distribution of trees, water, ground, etc. on the map.
There exist four different climatic settings:
Grassland : ment for plains like land
Volcanic : for a nuked map of some sort
Tundra : for a ice like map
Desert : for outlands map
LANDSCAPE TYPES & UNIQUE RESOURCES[]
The game uses a random map system with several types of terrain. The landscape type of the game map determines which bases and units can be built, which strategies may be applied and which kinds of mineral ore resource may be found, in turn influencing which Mega units may be built later in the game. Primarily, ground based landscapes do not have the unique resources for naval Mega units, and primarily water based landscapes do not have the resources for land Mega units.
In total, there are six different kinds of Unique resources:
Xephal, Crom, Isonium, Betniah, Rhoxia and Nuba
Overview of possible Unique resources
Unique resource
Icon
Color
Mega Unit
Icon
Notes
Xephal
Orange
Titanis
Crom
Yellow
Goliath
Isonium
Turquoise
Dreadnought
Betniah
Red
Rapture
Rhoxia
Violet
Magna Lase
Nuba
Green
Rapier
Comparison of Landscape types and possible Unique resources
Landscape type
Description
Xephal
Crom
Isonium
Betniah
Rhoxia
Nuba
Mainland
Land with thick forests and a few lakes.
Yes
Yes
N/A
N/A
Yes
Yes
Oceanic
The entire map is filled with water. A puristic navy map.
Yes
N/A
Yes
Yes
N/A
Yes
Islands
Each player has his own island surrounded by water.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Oasis
A large sea in the center of the map surrounded by land on all sides.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Choke Point
Water running through the center of the map with swamps in the middle.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Center Point
All resources are at the center of the map, with lakes and forests.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Outlands
Resources are found on the outside edges of the map.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Islets
Many small islands.
Yes
N/A
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Swamp
The entire map is a swamp with a few lakes.
Yes
Yes
Yes
N/A
Yes
Yes
Continental
A few large landmasses with rivers between them, the player may be in the sea or on land.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Fortress
A medium sized island in the center with all of the resources on it.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Landscape type
Description
Xephal
Crom
Isonium
Betniah
Rhoxia
Nuba
VICTORY CONDITIONS[]
The game can be customized with different conditions of victory:
Comparison of Victory Conditions
Condition
Description
Normal
Deathmatch until only one player or team remains.
Assassination
The player loses if his leader (on a transport hovercraft) dies. The transport hovercraft is heavily armored and very fast.
Arms Race
First player to launch a Jericho V ICBM* wins.
Team Traitors
When playing teams and after one team wins, team members must defeat each other.
All Your Base
The player loses if the Headquarters are destroyed .
This section gives an overview of available unit types and their properties.
ENGINEERING[]
Most of these structures are destined for energy production, some are fortification structures and others for harvesting and storing ore.
Comparison of Engineering unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech *
Cost
Build time
Armor
Power *
View distance
Terrain *
Power Cell
Supplies power to structures and units.
T1
200
13
600
+400
100
Land
Wind Turbine
Captures wind energy via a floating turbine.
T1
300
19
500
+700
100
Air
Wall
Effectively blocks enemy ground units.
T1
200
2
5000
0
48
Land
Outpost
A lookout for enemy troops.
T1
50
15
100
-50
350
Land, Sea
Storage
Provides storage for 3000 ore.
T1
500
31
3000
-1000
100
Land, Sub
Reactor
Creates power more efficiently.
T2
600
38
2000
+1500
150
Land
Tidal Turbine
Creates power by capturing wave motion.
T2
1000
63
4000
+2500
150
Sea
Spec Mine
Extracts unique resources to build mega units. Extract Rate: 40 Regeneration: 15
T2
3000
120
7000
-4000
200
Land, Sub
Fusion Plant
Massive energy release via nuclear fusion.
T3
2500
139
8000
+7500
150
Land
Geothermal Pump
Converts deep sea thermal vent heat into energy.
T3
2000
114
8000
+7000
150
Sub
Eagle Eye
Satellite/uplink station for viewing the area from space.
T3
4000
209
4000
-8000
300
Air
* Notes:
■ Tech ...... Tech-tree
■ Power ..... Power created (green) / required (red)
■ Terrain ... Terrain type
BUILDINGS[]
The majority of these buildings are specialized military unit production facilities, others upgrade technologies, create protective shields or enhance/jam viewing range.
Comparison of Building types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Power required
View distance
Terrain
Range
Regenerate time
Headquarters
The headquarters of the game, only one/player. Extract Rate 100. Storage 5,000
T1
2,000
130
10,000
N/A
320
Land, Sea
N/A
30
— Tech 2
Upgrade to mine 75% more ore, increase its integrity by 30%. Enables Tech 2 units & technologies.
T1
3,500
180
10,000
2000
320
Land, Sea
N/A
N/A
— Tech 3
Upgrade to mine 100% more ore, increase its integrity by 50%. Enables Tech 3 units & technologies. Requires Tech 2
T1
10,000
240
10,000
7000
320
Land, Sea
N/A
N/A
Land Factory
Builds land based vehicles.
T1
500
19
2,000
200
200
Land
N/A
N/A
Air Factory
Builds aircraft.
T1
900
56
3,600
600
225
Land, Sea
N/A
N/A
Sea Factory
Builds naval ships and subs.
T1
700
44
2,800
500
200
Sea
N/A
N/A
Looking Glass
Underwater lab to research new technologies which upgrade your naval units.
T2
800
90
3,000
800
100
Sub
N/A
5
Orchid
Labs research new technologies which upgrade your existing units.
T2
600
90
2,000
500
100
Land
N/A
5
Tempest
A floating research station which upgrade your existing airborne units.
T2
1,000
90
2,500
1200
100
Air
N/A
5
Radar Tower
Detect enemy units outside your viewing range.
T2
1,500
87
3,000
1500
400
Land, Sea
N/A
N/A
Shield
Shields protect units from bullets and small rockets by creating a plasma field.
T2
1,000
60
2,000
2000
200
Land, Sea
170
5
Area Shield
Shields protect units from bullets and small rockets by creating a plasma field.
T3
1,500
87
3,000
4000
350
Land Sea
300
8
Disruptor
The optical disruptor blocks enemy satelites views by shining a high intensity light at them.
T3
3,000
120
4,000
5000
100
Land, Sea
600
N/A
Jamming Station
Obstructs enemy radar from detecting units near the station.
T3
500
30
1,500
500
200
Land, Sea
450
N/A
LAND UNITS[]
All land units are produced in the Land Factory production facility.
Comparison of Land unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS *
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
Humvee
Anti-air truck. Fires optically tracked missiles
T1
175
11
210
90
150
Land
Air
35
28
0.8
250
150
Challenger
Light tank. Annihilates ground units with 120mm cannon
T1
200
13
260
50
150
Land
Land, Sea
40
40
1.0
300
120
Cougar
Multi-role truck. Has 15mm rapid fire machine gun.
T2
550
34
688
80
200
Land
Land, Air, Sea
88
15.4
0.2
400
100
Archer
Mobile long range artillery. Useful against turrets and buildings.
T2
500
31
150
30
220
Land
Land, Sea
140
700
5.0
200
290
Ram
Anti-air truck. Fires quad heat seeking missiles.
T2
700
44
910
65
150
Land
Air
140
52.5
1.5
250
300
Viper
Heavy truck. Its flamethrower liquifies enemies within a short range.
T3
1500
87
1950
75
100
Land
Land, Sea
300
450
1.5
80
100
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS *
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
* Notes:
■ DPS ... Damage Per Second
AMPHIBIOUS UNITS[]
Amphibious vehicles can produced both in the Land Factory as in the Sea Factory production facility.
Comparison of Land unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS *
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
Samum
Attack hovercraft. Capable of traversing land and sea.
T2
700
44
840
90
200
Land, Sea
Land, Sea
125
25
0.2
400
100
Newt
Repair hovercraft. Fixes damaged units and buildings. Power required: 300 Regenerate: 5
T2
1400
90
700
30
150
Land, Sea
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
110
Spawn
Heavy attack hovercraft. Carries a powerful long range gun.
T3
1200
75
1440
50
200
Land, Sea
Land, Sea
216
108
0.5
300
150
Transport One
Transport hovercraft. Massively armored and used to transport leaders.
T3
N/A
N/A
20,000
60
300
Land, Sea
Land, Air, Sea
150
150
1
300
150
AIR UNITS[]
All air units are produced in the Air Factory production facility.
Comparison of Air unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
Wasp
Recon fighter. Flies very fast and can hold its own.
T1
120
8
100
400
370
Air
Air
50
10
0.2
700
370
Apache
Attack helicopter. Fires guided missiles designed to destroy ground and air units.
T1
250
16
250
150
200
Air
Land Air Sea
55
33
0.6
300
180
Raptor
Attack fighter. Uses high rate dual chain guns to mow down aircraft.
T2
500
31
450
350
250
Air
Air
200
20
0.2
700
370
Valkyrie
Attack bomber. Drops a large payload on ground and sea units.
T2
600
38
400
200
250
Air
Land Sea
60
600
10.0
10
200
Crane
Transport helicopter. Can airlift small units across land and sea.
T2
700
44
630
100
200
Air
Land Sea
91
36.4
0.4
500
100
Lancer
Strategic bomber. Carries a specialized depth charge bomb to destroy sea vessels.
T3
1200
75
800
200
250
Air
Sea Sub
120
1200
10.0
10
170
Osprey
Heavy attack aircraft. Has an 80mm cannon for destroying ground and sea units.
T3
1800
103
1800
150
250
Air
Land Sea
396
396
1.0
200
150
Black Widow
Advanced stealth fighter. Invisible to enemy sight and radar due to wavefront cloaking technology.
T3
2500
134
1500
370
370
Air
Land Air Sea
425
850
2.0
400
300
SEA UNITS[]
All sea units are produced in the Sea Factory production facility.
Comparison of Land unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
Stingray
Anti-air destroyer.
T1
200
13
280
80
200
Sea
Air
38
7.6
0.2
1000
250
Lupis
Light assault boat.
T1
250
16
350
50
180
Sea
Land Sea
48
47.5
1.0
300
150
Seawolf
Light attack submarine.
T1
300
19
360
90
200
Sub
Sea Sub
60
120
2.0
130
180
Megalodon
Medium attack submarine.
T2
800
50
960
90
200
Sub
Sea Sub
160
320
2.0
130
180
Eel
Submarine with electric shock capabilities. Damages and temporarily immobilizes sea units. Power required: 2000
T2
1200
60
900
70
200
Sub
Sea Sub
8
200
25.0
130
280
Zumwalt
Heavy assault boat.
T3
2400
134
3360
50
200
Sea
Land Sea
456
228
1.0
300
150
Abyss
Advanced stealth submarine. Features cloaking technology and is invisible to enemy subs and sonar.
T3
2200
121
1980
60
200
Sub
Sea Sub
330
660
2.0
130
160
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
DEFENSIVE UNITS[]
Defense units are crucial to defend the headquarters. There are units effective against enemy Land, Air and Sea units. Some of these weapons require advanced levels in the tech tree.
Comparison of Defensive unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Power required
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
Requires
M779
Defensive cannon. Equipped with a 155mm caliber barrel against ground units.
T1
250
16
750
300
200
Land
Land, Sea
100
100
1.0
300
350
N/A
GAAM
Floating platform. Features a guided air to air missile launcher.
T1
350
23
630
400
320
Air
Air
88
53
0.6
400
300
N/A
Mavic
Torpedo launcher. Protects the sea.
T1
300
19
900
200
420
Sea
Sea, Sub
120
240
2.0
130
400
N/A
AP250
Multi-role turret. Fires a double chain of 50mm rounds against land and air units.
T2
750
47
2250
500
420
Land
Land, Air, Sea
226
11.3
0.1
1000
400
N/A
Bertha
Long range artillery. Very effective for taking out distant enemy units.
T2
2000
114
3500
2000
400
Land
Land, Sea
100
1500
15.0
450
1200
Radar Tower
IMS
Land mine. Detects and damages only enemy units. Not detectable on radar.
T2
200
0
150
N/A
64
Land
Land, Sea
N/A
600
0.0
0
170
N/A
Zork
Sea mine.Detects and damages only enemy units. Not detectable on radar.
T2
300
0
200
N/A
64
Sub
Sea, Sub
N/A
800
0.0
0
250
N/A
Phalanx
Anti-air floating turret. Fires a single chain of 50mm ammo.
T2
800
50
2400
500
470
Sea
Air
320
32
0.1
1000
450
N/A
Merlon
Installation. Has 4 long range cannons of high firepower.
T2
5000
223
15000
4000
350
Land
Land, Air, Sea
1500
375
1.0
320
350
N/A
Zenith
Submersible installation. Has 4 long range torpedo launchers.
T2
6000
251
18000
8000
350
Sub
Sea, Sub
2400
1200
2.0
130
300
N/A
Illuminati
Anti-ICBM Laser defense.
T2
4000
209
6000
3000
300
Land, Sea
Missile
1000
1000
1.0
1000
700
Radar Tower
M300
Anti-air SAM launcher. Rapidly fires a dual stream of missiles.
T3
2000
112
6000
1000
420
Land
Air
800
400
1.0
500
400
N/A
Kallini
Flame launcher. Very powerful but with short range.
T3
2200
121
6600
800
270
Sea
Land, Sea
880
2024
2.3
80
250
N/A
MEGA UNITS[]
The "Mega Units" are gigantic weapons that allow for very effective attacks. However, they cost more than normal units, take more time to build, require development of the tech tree up to level 3 and specific unique mineral ores to be harvested in special mines.
Comparison of Mega Unit types
Unit
Image
Description
Requires
Tech
Cost
Build time
Armor
Speed
View distance
Terrain
Attacks
DPS
Attack
Repeat rate
Ammo speed
Range
Rapture
Massive submarine. Fires a huge Mark V Torpedo.
Betniah (red)
T3
17,000
421
20,400
25
320
Sub
Sea, Sub
3400
5100
3.0
100
300
Dreadnought
Massive destroyer. Has 2 long range double barrel cannons.
Isonium (turquoise)
T3
16,000
411
22,400
20
350
Sea
Land, Sea
3040
912
1.2
300
300
Goliath
Massive tank. Features quad medium range cannons.
Crom (yellow)
T3
13,000
378
17,000
20
350
Land
Land, Sea
2600
650
1.0
320
300
Titanis
Massive gunship. Rains down eight air to surface rockets per volley.
Xephal (orange)
T3
15,000
400
13,500
30
350
Air
Land, Sea
3000
300
0.8
200
300
Rapier
Massive air superiority fighter. Has 6 high speed guns.
Nuba (green)
T3
9,000
317
8,000
180
400
Air
Land, Air, Sea
3000
200
0.4
600
300
Magna Lase
Massive laser gun. Damages any unit crossing its ray. Power required: 8000
Rhoxia (violet)
T3
20,000
445
40,000
N/A
300
Land
Land, Sea
133
8000
60
0
10000
Missile Pad
ICBM launch pad. Builds and launches Jericho V & Poseidon missiles. Power required: 8000
Eagle Eye
T3
4,000
180
5,000
N/A
100
Land Sea
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
— Jericho V
ICBM. Can destroy a huge area anywhere on the map.
N/A
T1
15,000
400
1,000
500
64
Air
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
500
— Poseidon
ICBM equipped with a detonator. Creates an EMP which disables all surface units for 30 seconds.
N/A
T1
8,000
200
1,000
500
64
Air
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
400
TECHNOLOGIES[]
New Technologies can be researched in three distinct research facilities:
Looking Glass - 10 different upgrades of Sea units
Orchid - 11 different upgrades of Land units
Tempest - 9 different upgrades of Air units
Comparison of Technologies
Technology
Icon
Description
Facility
Tech
Points
Time
Helical Computing Grid
Installing new Target Motion Analysis computers yields 15% better range on ships.