In addition, we tuned the weather system for each planet to be less forgiving. Success! Our redesign altered the experience enough to provide more unique challenges and tactics for both the attacker and defender. So, we took a small, 10-planet galactic conquest scenario ("The Lines are Drawn") and overhauled the maps using themed battles from our universe's own history. Why do anything else? The harsh reality was we had designed traditional-style real-time strategy maps for a game environment that did not support traditional real-time strategy gameplay. There was an attacker and defender you go from point A to point B. It seemed like no matter what we did, though, gameplay more or less felt the same.
It is up to the defender of a given planet to ensure that he has enough forces protecting ground and space structures in the event of an enemy invasion.įor months we experimented with features that you can tune and tweak. Matter of fact, almost all building is done at the galactic level. Unlike traditional real-time strategy games, both players do not start out with bases to build from in a tactical scenario (ground- and space-based maps). From day one, our biggest challenge for galactic conquest was figuring out how to make a sandbox real-time strategy environment fun for both players. This mode mimics the single-player experience and allows two players (one rebel and one imperial) to compete against each other for control of the galaxy.Ĭompared to the more traditional real-time strategy combat found in skirmish mode, galactic conquest actually resembles the single-player experience. The next diary will cover eight-player skirmish mode, but let's kick things off by discussing two-player galactic conquest. For the next two diaries, we're giving you a peek into both of the game's multiplayer modes. I'm responsible for overseeing the overall multiplayer game designs, online user interface, and multiplayer map layouts for Empire at War. I've been in the industry for more than 10 years, and, because I'm a former Westwood Studios employee (one of many at Petroglyph), you can kind of say that real-time strategy gaming is in my blood. Time to queue up some John Williams music.
We'll let Petroglyph's Chris Rubyor explain. Set in the original Star Wars trilogy, Empire at War will let you command the forces of the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire as you attempt to conquer the galaxy, one planetary system at a time, in both single-player and multiplayer. That's one of the ideas behind the galactic conquest mode in Star Wars: Empire at War, the upcoming real-time strategy game from LucasArts and Petroglyph due out next month. While most real-time strategy games feature multiplayer modes that let you battle against one or several opponents in skirmish battles, few let you try to conquer a galaxy.
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