Project Visitor is, at its heart, a hybrid MMO game with both FPS and RTS characteristics. It comes from the days when we use to call them PSW's (Persistent State Worlds). Nowadays most MMO games are really just PSC (Persistent State Characters) where essentially its just your character that changes and is saved. In Project Visitor you build the world around you, you attack others and the lands they have built and the whole world is saved to the database. Also the world continues to grow and battles happen, lands are lost, gained, etc even while your offline. To maintain your land you have to be involved, join a protective group called a MDN, own, mine, defend, survive!

    The game environment is nearly identical to a first-person shooter. The "avatar" can equip gear and weapons and attack other players. What makes this much more interesting is that each player owns territory(s) with assets. The player base is divided into four "corporations", each with different items (which are traded or lost to others). Anyone can attack other players of other corporations to expand their personal empire (made up of "camps") and build their own defenses.

    Game play in Project Visitor is unique to say the least. All the action takes place on a planet named "Visitor" which has entered our solar system. The four corporations spread themselves across the planet with their camps. Transportation between camps is done by teleportation and specific location on a planet has little strategic value (however, as in real life, there are some cases where a location or camp number may appeal to someone). Camps are destroyed and reclaimed by teams of players, constantly shifting the power between corporations. Once a player builds up his empire, he depends on his "Mutual Defense Network" (MDN) to defend it. An MDN generally consists of (no more than) 20 members of the same corporation who usually play hours that complement one another. With an active MDN, a player can sleep with the satisfaction that his assets are protected by the others online.

    While in combat, the refined nature of Project Visitor shines. Each attacker adopts his or her own gaming style. One builds according to their approach to combat (or defense). Nearly every aspect of your arsenal is customizable.

    Each camp you own beyond your "main" camp is open to attack while offline. Every camp is a microcosm for a typical RTS game. Attackers (and there are often more than one) will enter the camp on foot with their army of rovers and attempt to destroy the infrastructure. Within each camp lies five "transium wells" which provide the power for the automated defenses. Beyond that, the defender may have teammates who receive an alert of the attack, coming to the aid with rovers of their own.

    An attacker enters a camp with his army, and possibly other members of his team, to stage an offensive. A typical strategy is to destroy all five transium wells and "drain" the camp of its built up energy, thus leaving it defenseless. More often, however, camps are well built and terrain prohibits this strategy and players will try to pick at its weaknesses or "break the line" and reach the less defended infrastructure. If the player is attacking someone online, another wise move is destroying the "nerve center" which will pull him out of the overhead view and put him in the thick of the battle where the building once was. Doing this accomplishes two things: first he loses the advantage of controlling his arsenal from overhead and, more importantly, the owner will not be able to rebuild his camp while under attack.

    The player is able to influence the affects of their armor, weapons, rovers, and buildings with modifications. Players can also apply modifications to themselves for speed boosts, enhanced head-up display, etc.

    Everything is built in the player's camp in special buildings using the camp's resources. Typically the player's main camp stores the most valuable items while they are not built, though some player's find it easier (and cheaper) to have camps just for construction (not unlike a decentralized manufacturer).

    On the most basic level, each player acquires his assets from his land. Each camp will use the five mines to acquire a resource called "transium" which can be sold at various exchange rates for "visitor dollars". This money can be exchanged with the server itself for a "booster pack" which includes random items from your corporation. Another option is to engage in trade with other players.

    Macroeconomy is very realistic: supply and demand of items available between players is balanced by world inflation and consumable items. Tradable assets run the gamut of "rover parts" to super-rare turrets, or even land. Trades occur between friends, teammates, or in public areas.

    World-wide politics are often very formal. Everyone wants to keep things professional just in case your enemies become allies (or vice-versa). This is a feature most players can avoid. Usually only the leaders of MDNs pick targets or start and end wars.

    Intra-corporation politics are typically pretty mild considering everyone is on the same side. MDNs of the same corporation will often form alliances with one another to help defend against attacks, or wage war (though, that is highly frowned upon).

    Intra-MDN politics are the most personal. The MDN consists of as many as 20 members, (roughly) sorted by rank. Only the top three places actually have intra-MDN powers (like accepting or kicking members) while the last few places are often a warning sign for replacement. Unfortunately, it's on the MDN level that many players may receive the most pressure. Team members do their best to support the team and contribute to the collective success. When things get rough, these points become more critical and sometimes leaders are forced to make decisions that lead to conflict between members of your own corporation.