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Empire at War Corruption Interview August 24, 2006 John JCal Callaham |
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Summary: A surprise hit last year, Star Wars: Empire at War will have an expansion coming out. JCal talks to the devs about what we can expect.
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FiringSquad: First, Star Wars Empire at War got solid reviews and is one of the best selling PC games of 2006. Overall is Petroglyph and LucasArts pleased with how the game turned out?
Chris Rubyor: The response has been incredible. The fans have been great and we appreciate all the letters and feedback we received. We truly look forward to building upon the Empire at War franchise and making great strategy games.
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FiringSquad: What were the development team's main goals when it became time to work on the expansion pack?
Chris Rubyor:Before Empire at War shipped, we had many long discussions with LucasArts about the expansion pack and whether or not to build off the sides we already had, or do something totally new. We came up with a few ideas, such as exploring what happens to the Galaxy post-Endor, toying with Clone Wars, and so on, but the concept that really seemed to capture the attention of fans and LucasArts was exploring the galactic criminal underworld.
Once we figured out the overall concept for the side we focused our efforts in creating a faction that felt new, yet familiar, to the Star Wars Universe, but still designed its game-play style to feel unique among the existing factions.
FiringSquad: How hard was it to come up with the third playable side for Corruption?
Chris Rubyor:I would say the hardest part was making sure that our story, hero characters, new vehicles and technology did not break or cause serious ripples within canon lore. In addition, we had to make sure that all these new elements are fun to play and adhere to the game-play style of the original EAW.
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FiringSquad: What are some of the development team's favorite new units in the expansion?
Chris Rubyor:We all have our favorites, but of the many possible combinations there are two that I truly love to use. The Underworld employs the use of Defilers during tactical combat. These units can place explosives on enemy and friendly vehicles and remotely detonate them at any time. With the help of a unique cloaking transport (F9TZ), the Underworld player can load up infantry units with bombs and sneak them into an enemy base. Once deployed, they can use their Defiler to remotely detonate those bombs.
I also really enjoy Tyber Zann’s battlefield bribe ability. There is just something really satisfying about using your enemies’ weapons against them. Coupled with Tyber’s personal cloaking field, this battlefield tactic is all the easier.
| Star Wars Empire at War Corruption Interview (con't) | Page:: ( 2 / 2 ) |
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.
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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.
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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.