Graphics, maps

Cockpit interiors were detailed and impressive, though Splash Damage, id, and Activision repeatedly stressed that these were temporary placeholders. The cockpits are part of Splash Damage’s quest to make the GUI more organic, to deliver information in ways that rely less on displaying numbers and bars on the screen, and more in perception. Another attempt to do this is by synchronizing first-person and third-person character states and animations. This means that someone reloading in first-person mode is visibly reloading the same way in third-person. Different weapons are also carried differently; no longer is a trooper running around with a rocket launcher in one hand as leisurely as if he had a pistol. The different carrying methods translate across poses and run speeds – so in crouched position a human soldier will walk and jog forward with an assault rifle in a different gait than if he had a knife prepped.

All this is made possible by the use of a heavily modified Doom 3 engine. No longer a vehicle for showing the player confined, claustrophobic spaces, the engine has been modified to show the large open areas that are a hallmark of Enemy Territory. In fact, the map textures are a major new feature. Rather than consisting of various tiles and being built by hand, the maps are now giant ‘MegaTextures’ - one single huge texture of 32768x32768 pixels rather than a collection of smaller once spliced together (yes, we know that 32k x 32k is 1 gigapixel, but this is a marketing term -ed.).

Mod and map makers may worry at the consequences of this – after all, who has the time and skill necessary to design a texture that huge and then make it fit over a terrain mesh – but the level editor itself handles that. It will automatically create the texture based on the layout of the terrain – steep hills will automatically be rocky, grass will be prevalent on rolling hills, the edges of rivers will be sandy, and so on.

The graphics are crisp and attractive even at the “pre-alpha” stage the developers were demonstrating right now. The game engine appeared to handle the outdoors very smoothly, with an ease that reminded us more of Half-Life 2 than the somewhat strained capabilities of the Battlefield 2 engine. Lighting, particularly ambient lighting from the world environment was especially impressive. The differences between a clear, bright noon and a hazy dusk were demonstrated several times, both in outdoor and indoor environments. Curiously, the engine automatically simulates the position of the sun, stars and moon on any point on the planet at any time – whether January 31st, 2006 or March 15, 2063.

Missions will play out similarly to how they did in Enemy Territory – there will be several objectives for an attacking team and they will push up. Once an area is claimed, the spawn points for both sides re-adjust and they fight over the next objective. These objectives can be about assaulting a target, building a bridge, escorting a mobile command post or repairing a structure. All classes will of course be necessary and they’ll need to fulfill their roles properly.

The missions will be tied together in 3-map campaigns, with the player gaining and earning experience and levels in his class that unlocks new abilities or improves old ones. He will continue to accrue these capabilities throughout the campaign, until it’s over and he starts again. The presentation team discussed the possibility of persistent rank to reflect commitment to the game, but nothing that would have any gameplay advantages – ie, they don’t want to put casual players at the mercy of the hardcore who have better weapons or automatically start with greater capabilities.