Re: Petroglyph Community Newsletter #5

[Foshjedi2004]

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/Foshjedi2004/April.jpg

 

 

Petroglyph News

 

 

SAGEKING-PG

Hope everyone is enjoying the huge influx of news happening on the Petroglyph Website lately! Since the last Community Newsletter, Petroglyph has announced the Novus Faction for Universe at War, featuring a side with nanotechnology, the 'flowing' of units across a network to get their military all over the map in seconds, and many more goodies to be announced throughout the month! Pick up the June issue of PC Gamer to find out even more about this very innovative and uniquely designed faction. Stay tuned to the news of the site as we have another Petroglyph Video Podcast with Universe at War's Creative Director Adam Isgreen in production and many more UaW units waiting to be unveiled!

 

Furthermore, for you Star Wars Empire at War fans, you can take part in the current 1 vs 1 Gamespy Tournament, in which the winner will go home with a Playstation 3 and 5 Playstation 3 games!

 

Contents

 

I. Official Petroglyph Updates

•    EaW/FoC Map Pack Releases

•    Forces of Corruption Tournament

•    Music of UaW with Frank Klepacki (Video Podcast)

•    New Gamespot Designer Diary

•    Heroes of the Hierarchy IGN Report

•    UaW Magazine Articles

 

II. Ask Petroglyph

 

III. UaW Community Events

•    Petroglyph Fans Forums

•    Gamereplays UAW Preview

•    Petro-Gamers.com Exclusive Screenshot

 

IV. Mod Community

•    Community News

•    Ages of Star Wars Mod Team Interview

•    Modding Shorts

 

V. Strategy Corner – 1v1 Space Techniques

 

VI. Community Member Interview (Ghostly_Substance)

 

VII. Screenshot of the Month

 

 

 

I. Official Petroglyph Updates

Popcorn2008 & Raiden

This month has seen the release of three new map packs one for Empire at War and two new map packs for Forces of Corruption. For more information click here.

 

Fans of the hit RTS, Forces of Corruption, were pleased this month to hear news of a brand new tournament hosted by Game Spy with a top prize of a Playstation 3! The tournament runs through May 25th, so get going if you want a chance to win the prize! To get more information click here.

 

This month has also been a great month for news regarding Universe at War. The month began with a preview of a new music track for the game, composed by the legendary Frank Klepacki entitled, "Damage King". To see an exclusive Video Podcast with Mr. Klepacki and hear his new music track click here.

 

A new Designer Diary was posted on Gamespot this Month which briefs us on the First UAW Faction, THE HIERARCHY: Check it out HERE

 

IGN has posted a preview of the Hierarchy Heroes.  This preview not only shows of the Concept art and renders of the heroes but also their powers and effects on the field of battle.  Check out the Preview on IGN Here.

 

And finally, perhaps the biggest news of all, the second faction of Universe at War was revealed, carrying the name Novus in this Months PCGamer for the US and UK (UK release date is the 10th of May). The faction, still shrouded in mystery, is being discussed here on the forums. Go ahead and read some of their background and post your speculations for the developers at Petroglyph to read for themselves and subsequently comment mysteriously on!

 

II. Ask Petroglyph

 

Raiden

 

With the recent Influx of Command and Conquer Fans into the community the Ask Petroglyph Section is getting a nice influx of questions.

 

There are currently discussions running about the original WW Designs for the game as well as the shape that Tiberium was going to have. According to Adam Isgreen the Tib was going to remain with the Flora and Fauna seen in previous C&C titles.

 

Also there is a recently started discussion about the basis for the Tiberium Sun Storyline and also how Games are developed.

 

There are also loads of other discussions active about things ranging from Possible EAW 2 concepts to the overall C&C Timeline linking both the RA Universe and the Tib Universe.

III: Community Events

Raiden

The Petroglyph Fans Forums have started Development of a Website for the Community and they are asking for the entire of the Petroglyph Community to help construct the Site, Foshjedi2004 AKA Raiden wants the Site to made BY the community FOR the Community, therefore EVERYONE is welcome to assist the creation. They need People to run the Multiplayer Sections and also content managers for the site. People updating the site with news from the Petroglyph main site and also addition of the latest news from EAW and Also UAW, Plus the other Games that PFF now support as part of the Expanded Master of Games Section of the Boards.

 

Elegy of GameReplays recently came to the Petroglyph Office and played UAW in its early stages of development. Check out his Preview here and also the second part of the preview with a hands on of the Newly Announced Novus Faction as well as an exclusive Jerica Six Screenshot here.

 

There is an Exclusive Novus Screenshot on Petro-Gamers.com seen here.  It shows the First Confirmed Novus Hero Jerica Six as well as a number of other units and buildings from the Novus Faction

IV: Modding Community Update

 

Freno

In Modding News this month...

 

The Ages of Star Wars mod team have announced their new branch for their mod! Not only are they working on the original Ages of Star Wars mod, and their expansion Honour and Corruption, they have recently announced their machinima project, titled Soldiers of the Republic.

 

There have been a number of new Mod releases over at EAWFiles.  Check them out here:

http://empireatwar.filefront.com/

 

Soldiers of the Republic is a Knights of the Old Republic Machinima. It follows a squad of Republic soldiers from training to battle. The series is about to start its first season. More information can be found on their website, http://www.aoswmod.com/hub/news.php.

 

I interviewed several of the Ages of Star Wars team members, including Kalo, MSEagle2 and Codeuser.

 

Freno

Okay guys, so today I'm interviewing the Ages of Star Wars mod team on their new expansion mod, Honour and Corruption.

So first of all, let me ask: What IS Honour and Corruption?

 

MSEagle2

Honour and Corruption is an expansion for our Jedi Civil War project. As of now, it plans on implementing two additional factions that will enhance the gameplay and will greatly improve the diversity and provide a much more intensive gameplay experience.

Freno

What inspired you to do another expansion mod, along with your new machinima, Soldier of the Republic?

Codeuser

HaC is our FoC rendition of JCW with new gameplay factors that will improve the experience. If we simply moved the mod to FoC, then we'd be abandoning the people who do not have FoC.

Kalo

Well, One was the fact that FoC Definitely adds some new elements of gameplay, That indeed fit in for our Factions, Zann Consortium's Corrupt is GREAT for the Exchange, But we didn't want to leave EaW Behind, That would betray our fanbase, SotR was started to expand our fanbase, As well as include the fans a BIT more than we have been.

 

MSEagle2

We decided to start Soldiers of the Republic for many reasons. we wanted to expand to more types of entertainment and we wanted to create a funny, enjoyable kotor based show that would tell a different side of what we are use to seeing in star wars.

Freno

So, will HaC feature any new units that are not featured in the original mod?

Kalo

HaC will add the Mandalorian Faction as well as the Exchange faction for the human player to command, so obviously a lot of new units. There will also be new units for the republic and the sith in HaC, that are not featured in JCW such as the Sith having the Dark Reaper.

Freno

So where did the idea of SotR come from? A machinima project is a massive undertaking, how did you come up with the idea to use a game like Halo in this way?

MSEagle2

SotR came from just wanting to do a machinima for some time. Sure it could be considered an undertaking, but the end "product" is worth it all. We decided to use kotor era for a few reasons. We felt that clone wars are too commonly used for any star wars related project right now, and GCW has been around for 30 years. KotOR is something relatively new, and there are a lot of opportunities with the KotOR era. We decided to use halo as the game engine to produce the series because we felt it would be the most moddable game for the things we need to implement, to make it star wars.

Freno

So in a nutshell, how would you describe the team's progress on your current mods so far?

Kalo

Well, its good model-wise! But currently, we are looking for riggers, coders and mappers. (Feel free to apply ; )) But aside from that, we are doing very well.

 

Kind of hectic, but well on our way.

 

Freno

Well, that's all we've time for today, I'll let you guys get back to your projects...

Kalo

Alright, Be sure to visit the Forums and Apply

MSEagle2

or just come by and say hi to us at our forums

The Age of Star Wars forums may be found here - http://www.aoswmod.com/Forums/

 

 

Modding Shorts

The Dawn of Victory Mod Team has moved to Sins of a Solar empire. Follow it up here -http://forums.slipstreamproductions.net/index.php?showtopic=4218

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The Phoenix Rising team has just released their Star fighter Mini-mod! Follow it up here - http://www.eawpr.net/

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V: Strategy Corner – 1v1 Space Techniques

Zaknaril

The key in a 1v1 space game is to control the credit flow of the map.  Each map differs because of mine placement and size, but controlling the mines is always important.  The first 5 minutes of a game will determine the winner about 75% of the time.

 

A smart player builds fighters right away (along with upgrades for the fighters) and sends them to each of the neutral mines (mines not located close to a base).  The goal is to capture some, and contend for the rest.  Just don't let the enemy get them.  I usually watch the map and drop an extra fighter squadron in about the time the first one is about dead.  You also want to contend for any turrets that may be strategically placed around a mine.  Just one turret can keep a mine relatively safe. 

 

If this is going well, a logical next step is to attack the mines your opponent most likely has in control.  The base mine(s) can be vulnerable on many maps from a well-planned bomber strike.  One lone fighter snuck in behind enemy lines can allow for a few squadrons of bombers to be dropped in.  A tip here is to drop the bombers above the target you wish to destroy; they will always go straight down and hit the target (as opposed to flying around the target like they do if you drop them to the side of it).

 

Map control is crucial.  A rule I have lived by is "the first player to end up on the defensive will lose the game".  You want to make sure it's not you.  Take as many mines as you can and keep the rest away from your opponent.  Once you have a majority of the mines (say maybe 3 of 5 on the map) it is safe to upgrade.  During the upgrade is the time to do you mine upgrades, and prepare to support your units left on the map.  Once the upgrade is done you will want to shore up your controlled areas and then prepare for the finale.  Don't be concerned if your opponent upgrades before you do.  If you took out his mines as you should have (with him upgrading there shouldn't have been much resistance) then he won't have any money to take advantage of it.

 

Get your fleet built up and take him out.  It's really pretty simple.  Now, I know you are probably thinking "but what if it isn't that simple and we are both tech level 2 and fighting it out?"  Micromanaging your units is key here.  Be sure that when your units engage the enemy that you target specific hardpoints on your enemy ships.  If your opponent is Rebel you will want to destroy the front two turbolaser hardpoints on his Nebulons first off.  Those are the ones that do the most damage.  If your opponent is Empire, attack the rear turbolasers on the wings of the Acclamator (again, they are the ones that do the most damage) and then the front laser cannons.  With Consortium just take out the missile tube of the Interceptor (thereby nullifying it's special ability).  Believe it or not, micromanaging your units properly will allow your units to outlast your opponents.  Even in a dead even match you will win.

 

VI: Community Interview: Ghostly Substance

 

Raiden

 

Welcome to the Community Member Interview for this Months Community Newsletter

 

Today we are interviewing one of the long term members of the Petroglyph Community, Ghostly Substance.

 

1: So First Question. What First Drew you to the Petroglyph Community?

I was looking for a new Star Wars RTS and I came across this Gamespot article about a new EAW game. At first I ignored it since it looked too simple but more screenshots were later added so I went onto Lucsarts Forums to check it out. I tried to learn more about this new Star Wars game that I even came across a link to Cain's PFF (Forums). In a nutshell just a craving for a new Star Wars RTS game.

2: What role(s) do you currently hold across the Network of Petroglyph Related Sites?

 

At Petroglyph Fan Forums I'm the forums admin and on Petroglyph Forums (Official) I'm a sub-forum moderator. On other random forums I'm just a normal forumer.

 

3: What is the current status of PFF (in your Eyes)?

A little calm with the regulars who were with PFF from the beginning still there. Its still active and trying to boost the popularity back to its original numbers. Ya its just a calm little forums.

4: You are also working on a Gundam Mod, How is development going?

Yes I am, However since barely is happening I'm still thinking of what I should add or not. I got Bex who is still making the "Gundam [G] RX-79" and a "Mangella Assault Tank" which are ground units. I'm still trying to find modders to help me make units so that I can at least get one release out of it and skinners to help lift the pressure off of Bex's texturing skills and other mod projects. Having a little problems lifting off the ground is the current status.

5: As a long term member of the community, and an experienced gamer to boot, what are your thoughts on Universe at War?

It looks promising and sure to add some kick-(censored) gameplay. Alien vs alien action while us humans try to defend ourselves on our own planet. A lot of potential for it to be a great game. New units, new ways to use them, new way to harvest resources, and Franks kick-(censored) music sure makes this a most wanted game to play. Should easily be top 3 in First place, Oh and able to destroy your surroundings, that's a plus 

 

 

Cool, Thanks for answering these Questions. Is there anything you'd like to leave us with?

You're welcome and keep making those sweet games Petroglyph 

 

VII: Screenshot of the Month

Raziel Kanos

 

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p36/RazielKanos/swfoc2007-03-1607-45-48-90.jpg

[Tiki Monkey]

Where is Fosh Raiden?

 

What did you do with him??

 

I'll KILL YOU, I'll KILL YOU UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!!

[shak4l 01]

Where is Fosh Raiden?

 

What did you do with him??

 

I'll KILL YOU, I'll KILL YOU UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!!

Fosh is raiden now

He changed his name on all forums ;D

 

The Dawn of Victory Mod Team has moved to Sins of a Solar empire. Follow it up here -http://forums.slipstreamproductions.net/index.php?showtopic=4218

Damn...pretty sad IMO.

Same as OW2 moving to CnC3

[Dorkthehunter]

Great name....Tiki Monkey.  : We were just talking in the Maw about how the forums will be fine as long as the Tiki Monkey doesn't come back(speaking of Fosh's avatar/personality). Is this a sign?  (jk)

 

@Raiden: Are these going to be regular deals? If so, for how long?

[Grand Admiral Thrawn 889]

yeah the TIki Monkey reminds me of someone dunno who tho... nope its gone, guesss that was a lifetime ago when i wasnt a mod.

i think there there needs to be a new update Community Created maps are now available from Gamespot for EAW.