Rotline

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Build 0.22.3

DANGER CLOSE

READY

1:00

ZOOM 1.0x0 KILLS

1 2 3 guns · click fires · wheel zooms · right drag or WASD moves · E +1 min · Tab command · Esc exit

00

Wave

Next wave in 0:30

Supplies1000

Troops4/40

Kills0

Command post

Sector mapN

0/2

Test build 0.22.3 · Army versus the dead

Rotline

Hold the command post. The dead come in waves from the north.

Friendly fire is on. Anyone bitten turns.

Your forces

InfantryRifle. Cheap and steady.

EngineerBuilds, repairs, carries ammo.

MedicHeals and revives the wounded.

Machine gunnerHeavy fire. From round 3.

GrenadierSplash for crowds. Round 6.

Anti-tankRockets for brutes. Round 6.

BearcatArmoured truck. Rams. Round 4.

TransportCarries 12, unarmed. Round 3.

Walls and wireBlock, slow and cut.

TurretAutomatic gun. Overheats.

Controls

Left click, drag: Select troops, or drag a box round several.
Right click: Move, focus fire on a zombie, or build a blueprint.
Right drag: Spread the selected troops along a line.
1 to 6: Deploy a soldier of that type.
B, V, T: Build walls, wire or a turret.
WASD, wheel: Pan and zoom. Q and E rotate.

Drag: Pan. Two fingers pinch to zoom and twist to rotate.
Tap troops: Select or drop them.
Tap ground: Move the selected troops there.
Hold, drag: Draw a box to select several.
Line: Tap Line, then drag to line troops up.
Cards: Tap a card to deploy or build.

Everything else is under Help during play.

Ready to deploy

6 troops1,400 supplies30 s to the first wave

1 of 4

Help

Controls

Left click, drag: Select troops; drag a box for several, Shift adds, double click picks a whole type.
Right click: Move; on a zombie, focus fire; on a blueprint, build it; with nothing selected, set the rally point.
Double right click: Run there at double speed, holding fire.
Right drag: Spread the selection along a line facing out; with one soldier, drag towards where he should face.
1 to 6: Deploy Infantry, Grenadier, Anti-tank, Medic, Machine gunner or Engineer.
B or V, then drag: Draw a wall or wire; Shift keeps it straight, R rotates, right click removes a piece.
T, then click: Place a gun turret for the engineers to build.
Buildings: Right click one with troops selected to move in; X or Exit sends them out.
C or N, then click: Drop a Bearcat or a Transport; right click it to board, X to dismount, double right click rams with a Bearcat.
J or Reset: Hop a selected vehicle a few metres to open ground when it is stuck.
G or the red sight: Call artillery on a spot you pick, clear of our troops, for 400 supplies.
K or the plane: Call the gunship at once: from wave 10, once a wave, 1000 supplies, two level 5 leaders. It comes to where you are looking and the gunner view opens 5 seconds later.
Gunship view: The mouse aims, click fires (hold for the 40 and 25 mm), 1 2 3 pick a gun, the wheel zooms, right drag or WASD moves the view, E buys one more minute and reloads (1500, once), Tab for the normal view, Esc twice ends it.
R: Restock the selection from an engineer or the crates.
WASD, edges: Pan; Q and E rotate, the wheel zooms, H goes back to base.
Enter, Esc: Confirm or cancel a build preview.
Esc or P: Pause menu: save, load, settings, restart.
F, M: Double speed; sound on or off.

Drag: Pan with one finger; two fingers pinch to zoom and twist to rotate.
Tap troops: Select or drop them; double tap picks every troop of that type on screen.
Tap ground: Move there; tap a zombie to focus fire, a blueprint to build, the crates to restock.
Double tap ground: Run there at double speed, holding fire.
Hold, drag: Hold still for half a second, then drag a box; the Box button does the same.
Line: With troops selected, tap Line and drag to line them up.
All, Clear, Ammo: Select every troop, drop the selection, or restock it.
Barrier, Wire: Tap the card, then drag on the ground; a tap places one piece.
Turret: Tap the card, then tap the ground.
Buildings: With troops selected, tap a building to move in; tap a held one, then Exit.
Vehicles: Tap a card and a drop point; tap a vehicle with troops selected to board; double tap rams with a Bearcat.
Reset: With a vehicle selected, hops it a few metres to open ground.
Red sight: Tap it, then the target, to call artillery for 400 supplies.
Plane: From wave 10, once a wave: one tap calls the gunship to where you are looking (1000 supplies, two level 5 leaders); the gunner view opens 5 seconds later.
Gunship view: Drag to move the view, tap to jump there, pinch to zoom; Fire, the three guns, +1 min (1500, once, reloads the guns), Command for the normal view, Exit twice to end it.
Pause: Save, load, settings and restart.

Controller

Left stick, A: Move the cursor; A clicks, hold A and move to drag a box. B gives the order (a right click), X cancels or goes back.
Right stick, triggers: Pan; the triggers zoom, the bumpers rotate. The D-pad deploys Infantry, Machine gunner, Engineer or Medic; View calls artillery, the right stick press goes back to base, Menu pauses.
Gunship view: Left stick aims, right stick moves the view, right trigger fires, left trigger zooms, bumpers change gun, Y buys one more minute, B switches to Command.

Good to know

Settings has separate volumes for battle sounds, the gunship and alerts, a colour-blind palette (survivors turn yellow), large text, reduced flashes and shake, and vibration on Android.
As an app: on rotline.co the game installs to your home screen (on iPhone: Share, then Add to Home Screen) and plays offline. Saves stay on the device, so use Save to a file now and then.
Veterans gain a level every 25 kills, up to 5, and from level 3 shove off zombies that get close.
Stragglers alone and under 30% health can be grabbed and dragged off, so shoot the grabbers.
Panic makes troops flash amber and ignore orders until they calm down.
Troop limit is 40, then 3 more each wave from wave 6, up to 80.
Leaders at level 5 never panic, steady troops in their gold circle and call artillery on their own while you hold 800 supplies.
Cell towers come online when a soldier stands at one, adding an artillery strike a wave.
Medics level up every 20 troops they patch up.
Engineers level up from building and repairs.
Level 5 skills: two rockets, bomblet grenades, sweeping machine-gun fire.
The Bearcat levels up from rams and kills, and at level 5 gets a grenade launcher.
Walls and wire upgrade from the bar when selected; an engineer does the work.
Wounded troops fall at 15% health until a medic gets them up.
Buildings can be held; troops fire from the windows and claim the supplies inside.
Rescues show as a green beacon: reach the door before the clock runs out, then walk or drive the survivors into the base. There are 5 to 20 of them, more in later waves, and each one brought home is worth 100 supplies.
The Transport seats 12 and has no gun; civilians aboard are safe once it stops inside the base. A vehicle that blows up leaves everyone aboard down and badly hurt.
The gunship circles for 60 seconds with a 105, a 40 and a 25 mm gun, and its engines draw half a wave more of the dead. The 105 reloads in 3 seconds and the 40 mm in 1.5: the box under the sight says RELOADING or READY. Shells take a moment to land, so lead the dead that are moving, and from up there you hear the blasts a moment after you see them. Its fire hurts everything of ours: troops (even at windows), vehicles, walls, turrets and the command post. Mind DANGER CLOSE. The battle slows to 75% while you aim, and saving waits until it has gone.
Turrets level up every 30 kills.
Wrecks, bikes, bales and lamps get pushed aside by vehicles and blown apart by explosions.
Chickens make any zombie that eats one bigger and tougher.

After action

Command post overrun

You held for 0 waves.

Wave 1

Paused

Pick a slot

Save game

Pick a save

Load game

Saved on this device

Settings

Sound

Volume100% Battle sounds100% Gunship100% Alerts and buttons100%

Sound

Graphics

Graphics

Resolution

Tracer lighting

Show frame rate (FPS)

Comfort and access

Screen shake

Flashes

Text size

Colour-blind paletteCivilians and rescues in yellow, not green

Vibration

Game

Pan at screen edges

Autosave each wave

Auto resolution trades a little sharpness for frame rate when the graphics chip falls behind. Medium lightens shadows; Low turns off bloom, shadows and tracer lighting.

Kept on this device

Records

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What's new

Play it like an app

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