Late last week FiringSquad got the first word on Galactic Command, a new episodic space based action-combat game from 3000AD. Today we have a lot more info on the game from 3000AD's founder Derek Smart along with updates on other announced games from the independent developer/publisher.

FiringSquad: First, you have announced new products earlier this year, including KnightBlade - Line of Defense. What can you tell us about the status of that game?

Derek Smart: Well that is a pure action shooter that is designed specifically for the XB360 with no PC version envisioned. Microsoft is pretty finicky about PC to XB360 crossovers; and nowadays getting a PC 'port' over to the XB360 is just as easy as winning the lottery.

So, knowing that if we're going to do anything for the console it had to be kick-ass, I embarked on that project as my very first console exclusive title. It has all the elements of my games. Aerial, space and vehicular combat, as well as first person combat in my established game universe.

You've played most of my games and know that they are powered by very advanced technologies around which complex games are wrapped. So this time around, I decided to build - from the ground up - a new IP based on those technologies, my designs etc for a console that was powerful enough to run it without me having to cut corners.

You've been around long enough to know that for many many years, PC technology had to play catch up to my ideas and the things I wanted to do; and that it was only after several years and four titles in, that there were machines powerful enough to even run my games without choking.

Like all my games, KnightBlade is going to be a first of its kind on the XB360 or any console for that matter. The first time it is revealed (shots, demo etc), it will come as a surprise to an industry that has associated me with complex games designed for a niche audience and with no hopes of doing the PC to console crossover that so many of my peers are doing.

FiringSquad: Galactic Command on the surface sound a lot like a previously announced 3000AD game Hostile Intent - Planetfall. Is this the same game with a new title or an all new franchise?

Derek Smart: Funny you mentioned that because I have received several emails asking me the same question. Hostile Intent is purely designed as a console game. No PC version is envisioned nor planned.

In a nutshell, the two titles are only related in that they both take place in my established game universe. You know how with franchise properties (e.g. Star Wars, Star Trek etc), the ships, world, characters, mythos etc all stay the same regardless of whether the IP is used in a movie, game or whatever? Well thats the logic behind my Battlecruiser and Universal Combat IP. I can do an action shooter, a complex sim or a pure first person shooter set in the same universe and still be able to do different kinds of games.

With that, while GALCOM and Hostile Intent sound similar, they are both different types of games though set in the same world but featuring different types of gameplay, characters etc. Hostile Intent was hatched Summer of 2005 and purely for the XB360. While GALCOM was hatched earlier this year for both PC and XB360.

For a while I have wanted to do a pure action shooter sans all the high end complexities and niche attributes of my own games. I felt that trying to do that would taint my IP, alienate my existing and loyal install base who would probably have me lynched amidst cries of "sellout!". So I wanted to play it safe by using another IP. Freespace 3 came to mind, so I started looking into obtaining the IP. I wanted to take my technologies and develop a new Freespace game since it was a popular (but dead) IP that space game fans could easily identify with. You know how that ended. I didn't get the license and a bunch of idiots who think they matter in the general scheme of things, felt that a Freespace 3 by any developer other than the original developers would not be Freespace 3. So, now not only do they not have a Freespace 3, but the IP is going to remain dead as a door nail since no publisher on the planet is going to fund a space game, let alone one based on a dead IP. Just ask the devs of the recent DarkStar One how it did at retail. Here's a hint. It tanked. Spectacularly. And lets not even get into the North American numbers for X3, even with all its reviews.

So with that, I felt that since my games sell numbers that keep me in business, keep my install base happy and buying them, I felt that if I fashioned my own action shooter set in my own IP, that it may not be so bad after all. Besides, it won't have to be a hard sell since I have the utmost faith in my install base. So, Galactic Command, instead of Freespace 3, was born.

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the fictional backstory behind Galactic Command and is it set in the Battlecruiser/Universal Combat universe?

Derek Smart: Not to much to tell really. The story, though quite good and engaging, is the usual run-of-the-mill fare thats just there to give some semblance of a purpose. At the end of the day, since it is a shooter with pure goals and achievements, it is highly unlikely that anyone is going to pay any attention to the story. But if you must know, basically the Insurgents (the bane of Galactic Command forces) have been causing a ruckus during a time when GALCOM forces were stretched to the limit after a lengthy war with the Gammulans. They have decided to seize the opportunity to engage GALCOM and topple the Terran Military government at home. So, GALCOM launched a campaign to keep the Insurgents at bay and chose this first engagement to unveil their new super powerful attack carrier by sending both experimental versions into combat. Their first maiden voyage.

FiringSquad: In terms of gameplay what will Galactic Command bring to the table that the Battlecruiser/Universal Combat games could not do?

Derek Smart: First of, it features a single career. The Elite Force Pilot career. That alone strips about 75% of the niche and complex nature of my games. Doing this allows me to focus on implementing features and technologies which are streamlined and tailored to a single purposeful gameplay experience. Pure, visceral fun. My design for the game harkens back to the good old days of games like Freespace, X-Wing etc when blowing stuff up and only worrying about shields, armaments, getting back to base and completing the mission were what defined 'fun' for the genre. No FMV (!), No bad voice acting. No bad acting - period. No meaningless trading. No pointless exploration etc. Its basically. Go here. Blow stuff up. Return to base. Here, have a cookie for your troubles.

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the kinds of ships and missions that will be available in the game?

Derek Smart: My game model database as you know features over seventy playable assets. The Elite Force Pilot has access to twenty-four fighters of various makes, models and classes. The player will be in command of any one of these fighters in either scenarios or across episodes. The missions range from the classic escort missions to the edge-of-your-seat tactical engagement missions against overwhelming odds.

FiringSquad: What other features will Galactic Command have?

Derek Smart: GALCOM has most of the features which my technologies provide. You have the [huge] seamless space and planetary worlds, advanced dynamics models for craft handling, highly advanced AI etc. There will still be missions in space as well as on planets against air, land and sea targets. There are quite a few new features developed exclusively for the game but which I'd like to keep a secret for now. ;)

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the graphical features that will be in the game?

Derek Smart: For a start....3D cockpits!!! I've wanted to do this for quite sometime but just couldn't find the time to do them. Especially when you consider the massive asset database that we have. With the fighters, since there are only twenty-four of them, the decision to do 3D cockpits was an easy and most welcome one.

We've made some revisions to our rendering technologies in terms of shader and lighting technologies. From the screen shots you can see that the graphics are improved over our previous game in terms of the world environment and its features.

We've always taken care not to over-tax our users by going all out in the graphics front because then we'd be stuck with a virtually unplayable game, given the size. You know the drill because games such as X3 had that problem. Not to mention the recent Microsoft Flight Simulator X. You simply cannot sacrifice gameplay for graphics and get away with it for long. So over the years I've favored gameplay over graphics, while making sure that the graphics were - at the very least - comparable to current gen games. This balance is still maintained in GALCOM and so it should be, especially when you consider the size of the battles the player is going to be involved in.

FiringSquad: Galactic Command is supposed to be episodic in nature.How will that be handled with the Xbox 360 version?

Derek Smart: Assuming there is* an XB360 version, the three episodes in the four story episode arc will be available for download purchase over XBox Live!

* Remember what I said earlier about passing Microsoft's concept approval for a game that also appears on the PC? The end result is going to be either they concept approve it, in which case it goes on the PC and on XB360 or they don't and I release it only on the XB360. After all, given the sale of console games compared to the PC, I'd be insane to kick up a fuss if I couldn't release a PC version of the game. There are currently no games like GALCOM coming down the pipeline for the PC nor the XB360 and my best bet is to get it on XB360.

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

Derek Smart: Since all our primary development takes place on the PC and given that the XB360 toolsets are the same as for the PC, we've been developing primarily on the PC with all the necessary XB360 'hooks' in place. Its actually parallel development if you will. The PC version, currently in Beta, is on track to be completed by February and it is slated for a Q1/07 (March) release. Then the focus is purely on wrapping up the XB360 version, get it into concept approval and hopefully make it out by Q4/07.

Of course if Microsoft don't concept approve it for the XB360, then the PC version will never see the light of day. At least not for a long while after the XB360 version is released.

FiringSquad: You are also releasing a new Universal Combat Collector's Edition in early 2007. What can you tell us about that?

Derek Smart: Yes we are! Since I have basically retired both franchises, the CE is based on the Special Edition engines but which also contains scenarios from every title in both the Battlecruiser and Universal Combat franchises. This means that you will be able to play your favorite scenarios from the original 1996 Battlecruiser on more advanced technologies. Since it is a DVD only release which is currently only be available at retail (no online distribution sales), it is truly a Battlecruiser fan's dream come true. Imagine this. Some games have all eight of my games. Now they basically get all those games, running on more advanced engines, in one package.

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Galactic Command and 3000AD's other plans?

Derek Smart: Not really. We've been around long enough to establish a name for ourselves. Now that we've basically retired two popular franchise properties in favor of letting the MMO version (Universal Combat Online) carry the torch when released in 2008, we're just hoping that the fans come with us on this new journey.

We've proven to be loyal and faithful developers who have never faltered nor bailed when the industry seemingly stopped being about creativity and the making of games that a certain niche group of games love to play.

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