<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
2D	O
space	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
created	O
in	O
1995	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
1997	O
by	O
Virgin	O
Interactive	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
the	O
Academy	O
of	O
Interactive	O
Arts	O
&	O
Sciences	O
Online	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
Award	O
in	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
incorporates	O
quasi-realistic	O
zero-friction	O
physics	O
into	O
a	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
action	B-Application
is	O
viewed	O
from	O
above	O
,	O
which	O
presents	O
challenges	O
very	O
different	O
from	O
those	O
of	O
a	O
three-dimensional	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
is	O
considered	O
an	O
early	O
entry	O
in	O
the	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
genre	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
unprecedented	O
player	O
counts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
evolved	O
from	O
a	O
game	O
originally	O
called	O
Sniper	B-Protocol
(	O
1995	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
project	O
to	O
test	O
the	O
effects	O
and	O
severity	O
of	O
lag	B-Application
in	O
a	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
environment	O
over	O
dialup	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
server	B-Application
software	I-Application
being	O
distributed	O
with	O
the	O
commercial	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
host	O
their	O
own	O
servers	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
computers	O
,	O
enabling	O
them	O
to	O
preserve	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
VIE	O
went	O
under	O
in	O
1998	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
its	O
remaining	O
US	O
assets	O
were	O
purchased	O
by	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
license	O
was	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
players	O
control	O
one	O
of	O
eight	O
ships	O
which	O
are	O
equipped	O
with	O
weapons	O
and	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
special	O
abilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
map	O
elements	O
in	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
are	O
prizes	O
,	O
or	O
"	O
greens	O
"	O
(	O
for	O
their	O
green	O
color	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
dealing	O
with	O
ammunition	O
counts	O
and	O
hit	O
points	O
separately	O
,	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
combines	O
both	O
of	O
these	O
elements	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
unit	O
of	O
measure	O
:	O
energy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
suicide	O
was	O
possible	O
in	O
early	O
beta	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
the	O
offline	O
practice	O
mode	O
included	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
action	B-Application
requires	O
the	O
ship	O
to	O
be	O
at	O
full	O
energy	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
energy	O
is	O
totally	O
drained	O
once	O
the	O
warp	O
is	O
complete	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
ship	O
will	O
begin	O
recharging	O
its	O
energy	O
immediately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
players	O
are	O
organized	O
into	O
squads	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
many	O
squads	B-Application
compete	O
in	O
competitive	O
leagues	O
hosted	O
by	O
various	O
zones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standard	O
VIE	O
Settings	O
,	O
SVS	O
for	O
short	O
,	O
(	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Standard	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
Settings	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
server	B-Application
configuration	O
conforming	O
to	O
the	O
physics	O
and	O
rules	O
used	O
in	O
non-special	O
game	O
types	O
hosted	O
by	O
Virgin	O
Interactive	O
Entertainment	O
(	O
VIE	O
)	O
before	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
dissolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zones	O
typically	O
have	O
multiple	O
public	O
arenas	O
,	O
whose	O
settings	O
and	O
maps	O
are	O
the	O
same	O
,	O
which	O
players	O
are	O
automatically	O
distributed	O
to	O
upon	O
joining	O
the	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
numerous	O
sub-arenas	O
in	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
these	O
sub-arenas	O
can	O
at	O
times	O
have	O
greater	O
populations	O
than	O
the	O
"	O
main/public	O
"	O
arenas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trench	B-Protocol
Wars	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
popular	O
basing	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speed	O
Zone	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
less	O
popular	O
than	O
the	O
Jackpot/Running	O
,	O
Chaos	O
,	O
or	O
"	O
flag	O
"	O
zone	O
games	O
and	O
support	O
was	O
discontinued	O
shortly	O
after	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
went	O
to	O
retail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
zone	O
is	O
a	O
server	B-Application
to	O
which	O
players	O
can	O
connect	O
using	O
a	O
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Perhaps	O
the	O
most	O
attractive	O
feature	O
of	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
extremely	O
high	O
degree	O
of	O
customization	O
that	O
zone	O
sysops	O
can	O
implement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SubSpace	B-Protocol
utilizes	O
a	O
client	B-Operating_System
–	I-Operating_System
server	I-Operating_System
architecture	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
both	O
the	O
client	O
and	O
server	B-Application
were	O
provided	O
by	O
VIE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
client	O
executable	O
was	O
titled	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
while	O
the	O
server	B-Application
was	O
called	O
SubGame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
new	O
client	O
,	O
titled	O
Continuum	B-Protocol
,	O
was	O
created	O
by	O
reverse	O
engineering	O
without	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
source	O
code	O
by	O
the	O
players	O
PriitK	O
(	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
creators	O
of	O
Kazaa	B-Protocol
)	O
and	O
Mr	O
Ekted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
server	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
heavily	O
modified	O
,	O
is	O
still	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
,	O
although	O
an	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
alternative	O
,	O
A	O
Small	O
Subspace	B-Protocol
Server	B-Application
,	O
is	O
now	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Continuum	B-Protocol
,	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
2001	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
the	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
client	O
,	O
but	O
now	O
contains	O
new	O
original	O
features	O
exclusive	O
to	O
the	O
client	O
over	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Continuum	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
official	O
client	O
of	O
the	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
Central	O
Billing	O
Server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
primarily	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
client	O
's	O
failure	O
to	O
prevent	O
hacking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASSS	O
(	O
A	O
Small	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
Server	B-Application
)	O
is	O
an	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
server	B-Application
designed	O
for	O
use	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
other	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
can	O
be	O
configured	O
for	O
use	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
are	O
downloadable	O
from	O
Bitbucket	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Continuum	B-Protocol
was	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
fan-reconstructed	O
variant	O
in	O
digital	O
distribution	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
on	O
July	O
3	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
Next	O
Generation	O
named	O
SubSpace	B-Protocol
as	O
number	O
four	O
on	O
their	O
"	O
Top	O
10	O
Online	O
Game	O
Picks	O
"	O
,	O
reasoning	O
that	O
"	O
Its	O
minimal	O
bandwidth	O
requirements	O
mean	O
pretty	O
damn	O
good	O
gameplay	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
software	O
pings	B-Application
the	O
various	O
arenas	O
to	O
see	O
where	O
you	O
'll	O
receive	O
the	O
lowest	O
latency	O
.	O
</s>
