Joe Bastic interview on Gamespot

[Siddus]

 

The Conqueror's Guide to the Galaxy

 

GS: We saw star destroyers and Calamari cruisers in action at the show, and we saw how different classes of ships travel on different "planes" (fighters travel on different axes than capital ships, for instance). Can we expect to see super star destroyers? How large can fleets eventually be, and how will larger space battles differ in pace and style from larger land battles?

 

JB: Fighters and capital ships do travel on "planes" for the most part, but once combat is engaged, there is a bit more freedom. Smaller ships can pass "over" the larger ships, and fighters can dive and weave freely about their targets. Fleets can be large, but there is a point of diminishing returns. Too many ships and it becomes difficult to maneuver, the fleet becomes vulnerable to area-of-effect missiles, and it would be difficult to properly manage each ship to maximum efficiency. Using "just enough" ships to win the battle is best since ships are a scarce resource, the galaxy is large, and one never really knows where the enemy will strike next.

 

GS: The galactic map seemed very interesting to look at, especially in terms of figuring out the relationships of planets to each other. Are you restricted to traveling in a linear path? In other words, if you're at Planet A and you want to conquer Planet C, do you first need to capture Planet B? Or can your fleets travel between planets independent of the space routes? Could you tell us about the role of trade routes in the game?

 

JB: Your fleets are not restricted by trade routes and can travel directly to wherever their hyperspace engines can reach. Two factors to keep in mind: Trade routes greatly increase hyperspace speed, and there is a distance limit on a single hyperspace jump. These combine to allow players to freely explore the galaxy, yet still be constrained enough that there will be natural choke points in order to give strategic significance to some systems above their intrinsic value. Another aspect of trade routes, in addition to fleet movement bonus, is that they provide economic rewards if both ends of the trade route are controlled.

 

GS: We saw the dreaded Death Star in action at E3. We have to ask: How would the Rebels even counter such a superweapon? Do you send a bunch of fighters at it and cross your fingers? What kind of penalties, if any, does the Empire suffer for blowing up entire planets? And how do you balance such a tremendous weapon?

 

JB: What would the Rebels do when confronted with the prospect of a superweapon that carries firepower greater than half the star fleet? Why, do what any self-respecting Rebellion would do: launch a daring raid to destroy it before it completes production. This isn't the only way to defeat the Death Star. There is that pesky exhaust-port vulnerability. As a Death Star commander, would I really want to blow up just any planet where the Rebels may be infested? Maybe not. The system might better serve the Empire if left intact.

 

GS: One thing we're wondering about is whether the units are rendered to scale in the game. For example, did you modify unit sizes so that certain units look larger or smaller on the battlefield than they should to make them more clearly visible, or did you go for a 1:1 scale? It seems like space battles aren't to scale, since the fighters looked considerably larger than their counterparts in the movies.

 

JB: The sizes of units have been adjusted to lessen the extremes for visibility reasons. We are still adjusting sizes of some units, but they will be similar to that shown at E3. The game has almost every aspect controllable through text data files, so changing the scale is possible for the more adventurous technical players.

 

GS: You haven't discussed multiplayer in depth yet, but do you envision mainly skirmish-type battles in multiplayer mode, or will you be able to play a full campaign-style game in multiplayer? When can we expect more details regarding multiplayer?

 

JB: Multiplayer consists of skirmish-type battles where one to eight players can fight against each other as either the Rebel or Empire faction. This is a self-contained but enhanced combat experience where elements of production that would otherwise occur at the galactic level are present in the tactical battle. Players can also choose a two-player campaign game that covers the entire galactic struggle.

 

GS: Finally, where are you in development--what's left to do, and when can we expect the game to ship?

 

JB: Development of game features is nearing completion. After this, we'll enter the refinement stage where balancing and adjusting occur. This will continue for as long as it takes to create the best Star Wars strategy game experience possible. Expect to see Empire at War in spring 2006.

 

GS: Thanks, Joe!

 

Have fun

[Wiking_pff]

Nice!

 

But see how they avoided the SSD question completely...

[Ismael]

I know JB replyed to our interview also / I hope LEC gets it true PR faster ...

[Cain]

Holy Moly ! - the sacle contained in text files ?!?! this means that pretty much all that is modable is in text files and this also means we will probably get an full fan made EDITOR FOR EAW in the first month.

 

 

As for the SSD well it is quite easy to say no - usualy avoiding a question means yes.

 

 

Cool we can fly werever we want. I'm not such a bifg fan of tradelanes.

 

 

So we are nearing the complition of the beta.... cool ...maybe in a month or two we get a public beta testing under way.

 

 

Guys we known this from years ago, that an Rebellion II will rock but EAW .... EAW ohhh my God ! ... it will complitly devastate the RTS world so cool it will be .... I can even see parts of the future - its like I'm already in 2006 ; 3 months after release. Its a good thing that I can come back in time and enjoy the game even as it is developed - it is so easy to see much more behind JB words.

[Juggernaut1985]

Yeah you guys didn't know that XML can be edited in notepad?

[Cain]

Yeah you guys didn't know that XML can be edited in notepad?

 

The old infos were not official - this is ...

[Wiking_pff]

Well I'm looking forward to the MP campaing mode....that will be SWEET!