Star Wars Empire at War Corruption Interview (con't)

FiringSquad: How will the single player campaign be changed and added to in the expansion?

Chris Rubyor:First, we have been working on the story since January, so expect a very tight and well-woven story element. The campaign in general has been made to be more streamlined. There will be fewer sandbox planets than EAW, but more story and scripted missions.

FiringSquad: What other new features will be found in the expansion?

Chris Rubyor:The biggest feature we’ve added by far is the Corruption mechanic, particularly at the Galactic level. When the Underworld spreads Corruption to other planets, they get significant benefits such as unchallenged travel, so they don’t have to stop and flight at every enemy planet, as well as the ability to negatively impact enemy production times and costs.

One of my personal favorites is our new auto-ability feature. Players simply right-click on a special power button and the game will set the ability to automatically fire during a combat situation.

We’ve also added in a new Advanced Base Layout screen (found in galactic mode) that allows the player to move their structures and units to various positions on the maps. This was added at the request of fans who wanted more customization power for their base layouts.

We also took a hard look at our multiplayer component and made some huge tweaks. In Forces of Corruption, players will be able to have three-way battles as well as play mirrored matches against other players.

FiringSquad: What new graphical features, if any, will be put into the expansion?

Chris Rubyor:We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure that all the visuals for special effects and weapons really stand out and pack a punch. With the help of some new art optimization code, players will find all the new heroes and units more detailed than those in the original game. Also, all of the new land maps will not only be larger, but also feel more alive with new terrain props.

FiringSquad: Will there be a stand alone demo of Corruption released?

Chris Rubyor:A demo is something we definitely want to do but our goal right now is to deliver the game on time and quality.

FiringSquad: What is the current status of the game's progress and when will it be released?

Chris Rubyor:Forces of Corruption is slated for a fall release and we are approaching the final stages of development and testing as we speak.

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Star Wars Empire at War Corruption?

Chris Rubyor: The feedback from fans has been great, we have tried to incorporate as much as humanly possible into Forces of Corruption. We are positive that with these new enhancements, units, campaigns and game-play tweaks, that everyone will enjoy playing the corrupt side of the Star Wars universe when the game releases this fall.