Starship Troopers Q&A Feature

Empire has been quiet of late but Starship Troopers has been receiving plenty of positive media acclaim for whatâ??s shaping up to be a superb FPS game in the making. Based on the movie of the same name, Derek dela Fuente spoke with Ben Wilkins, the Producer, to get an insight into the technology and aspirations for the title!

TVG: What is the core expertise at Strangelite - what have you coded before and what do you believe made Empire choose to use you to create this title?

Weâ??re a mixed bag of industry veterans and relative newcomers. We have over 200 years of gaming experience across a team of 30 people. Strangelite grew out of Rowan Software, famous for their award winning flight sims which included MiG Alley and Battle of Britain. The team is therefore very experienced at producing combat based games with large numbers of enemies on the PC platform. As Strangelite we developed our own leading-edged FPS technology and with all this expertise we were the natural choice for Empire Interactive when they acquired the film license.

TVG: We have seen a number of Star Troopers games and the public will be familiar with the film so what would be your mission statement and vision for the game?

The appeal of the â??Starship Troopersâ?? film is a large part of why we set out to make this game. Everyone we spoke to when we were considering the game wanted to â??Join the Mobile Infantry and defend the Federation against the arachnid foe!â?? One of our key aims with this project is to really capture the â??look and feelâ?? of the film, so the troopers, the weapons, dropships, etc. should be instantly recognisable to film fans. Of course, as we have set the game a few years after the movie we can slip a few technological advances in as well (and the bugs havenâ??t been idle either)! Many first person shooter games have been influenced by ideas from both the book and film Starship Troopers. Being able to use these influences straight from the source adds a level of consistency not found in other first person shooters. Unlike the rest of the Starship Troopers games that have (and havenâ??t) made it to the shelf we have developed technology specifically to achieve the vast numbers of bugs that are required to get across the panic and mania of the film. Plus we are all massive fans of the film and want to do it justice in a video game!

TVG: How focused is the team on technology and innovations and what would you highlight as one of the real advancements in this game?

One of the most memorable moments from the film was the bug attack on â??Whiskey Outpostâ??. The sheer number of bugs involved was truly impressive and we believe it is essential that the game delivers the same feeling and level of action. To date, no one has attempted this in a game setting (to the best of our knowledge) hence the requirement to develop our own bespoke technology to achieve this. Therefore our SWARM engine is capable of rendering 300+ Bugs on screen at any one time (plus troopers, bombers, dropships, various explosive munitions, etc.) â?“ our goal is to make the level inspired by â??Whiskey Outpostâ?? really feel like the sequence from the film. We want the cry of â??Bugs sir! Millions of them!â?? to be the real deal in this game and so give the player a unique gaming experience that he wonâ??t have encountered before.

The â??wowâ?? factor must surely be a central focus for the team; can you tell us about your 3D engine and also the lighting system you have created for the game?

Our game engine allows us great versatility in the scope of the battles. Weâ??re keen to get the feeling of mass warfare on an epic scale into this game. As the dropships roar overhead, it will be you and (usually) your comrades in the Mobile Infantry (M.I.) fighting to complete the mission. Normal mapping will be used in the game, making every texture seem bump mapped. The bugs, which in some ways are the stars of the game, look great because we use an anisotropic shader to give them a chrome and iridescent finish. The lighting engine is real time and naturally we also have eye catching atmospheric effects: the sun will cast the correct shadows as well as changing the colour of the sky exactly as it does in real life; dusk looks like dusk; morning looks like morning â?“ plus of course weâ??ll have dynamic dust clouds, heat hazes and the like. Weâ??re partnered with NVIDIA through their â??The Way Itâ??s Meant To Be Playedâ?? program; so expect to see some truly eye catching visuals when the game is released this October.

FPSs are all about in your face action and getting the AI and challenge right. What kind of enemy actions and reactions will you be working towards to ensure that its not all pretty looking cannon fodder?

All the Bugs have their unique AI and behaviour. The most common bug is the â??Warriorâ?? (as seen in the film) and these will operate in â??packsâ?? of 30 to 300 attempting to overwhelm you by sheer weight of numbers. Other bugs however will behave differently and have their own distinct attack methods. Some will try to sneak up on you; others snipe from a distance whilst the Hoppers (the flying bugs from the movie) will use hit and run type attacks. As for the Tanker (the large bug that breathes fire) it shows a total disregard for anything in its path and will trample over its own kind in order to get to grips with the Mobile Infantry! Trying to take out one of these armoured behemoths will call for the player to use a lot of tactical ingenuity, simply standing in front of it and blazing away is not going to work! With 19 different types of bug in the game there is a bug for just about every eventuality. The player wonâ??t be able to apply one tactic to every enemy. Each of the 12 missions takes place in a unique environment â?“ some based on settings from the film, others completely original. This allows us to create a wide variety of combat settings for the player â?“ and of course a level set deep inside the depths of the mysterious Psi Ops research lab plays completely differently to one set on the burning desert plains of Hesperus.

Starship Troopers featured some memorable death scenes, have the team integrated these within the game and what type of environmental damage will be on offer?

We have a fully interactive environment, physics system and an advanced animation system allowing us to have some spectacular moments and some gruesome deaths. Suffice to say, part of the filmâ??s charm are the nasty deaths and black humour. We aim to replicate this as much as we can. Some of the bugs are protected by chitin plates (effectively bug armour). Some of the weapons available to the player will blow these away â?“ and only then will the bug be vulnerable to the troopersâ?? weapons.

Please can you give us a basic overview to the story (is it based around the film), who you assume and the types of objectives/tasks presented to the player?

The game takes place just after the events portrayed in the film. However, weâ??ve put a lot of effort into re-creating the feel of the action scenes from the movie (such as Whiskey Outpost and the initial night assault on Klendathu). This way we can draw from the film and introduce elements the player hasnâ??t seen, thereby maintaining suspense. There are 12 single player missions in the game (there are also multiplayer co operative and death match missions) which cover the Hesperus campaign from start to finish. As an elite marauder the player must tilt the balance towards the Federation and spearhead the counter offensive that expels the bugs from this critical planet.

As the various screens and footage show youâ??re fighting alongside legions of other troopers, so does the game have a squad management system or is it the player against the bugs?

In the game you are a Marauder, the elite special forces of the Mobile Infantry (think Delta Force or Navy Seal). Therefore although you will often be sent on missions with other troopers (the M.I. grunts), in some missions literally hundreds, you wonâ??t be ordering them around as you are not part of the general infantry. As an elite trooper you will be expected to undertake the more dangerous jobs in a mission and the privates will look to you for inspiration. Therefore you will often have to save the day, if a task is too tough for the M. I. theyâ??ll call for Marauder support â?“ you! This gives us greater flexibility in designing the levels and gameplay. Not only can we have the player participating in the mass battles but we can also send him on solo search and exploration type missions deep into enemy territory. In addition to be keeping the player at the forefront of the action we can help make sure that he is that star of the game and Hero of the Federation, and part of the ethos of Starship Troopers is the atmosphere of larger than life heroism. Finally, because the player is special forces itâ??s easier to give him an array of advanced weapons that simply arenâ??t available to the standard M. I. Believe me â?“ if you are taking on 300 bugs you are going to need more than a standard â??Morita Mk 2â?? assault rifle!

Can you tell us a little about the bugs, their attack formations and uniqueness - perhaps a focus on one of your personal favourites?

There are 19 different bugs in the game. Some are small, some are large. The largest in the game is the Adult Plasma Bug, which is 31m tall (the juvenile is about 15m)! The standard Warrior bug (the main bug from the film) is 3-4m tall. The bugs have their own military hierarchy and each species type is either a Warrior (infantry), Projectile (artillery), Flying (air force), Heavy Armoured (tanks) or High Command (plus of course some specials such as the â??Sentinelâ?? bug). Warriors will tend to attack in packs, charging at the player and his M. I. comrades. However the sub species of this type, the Tiger, has evolved and is tougher, smarter and faster than its more primitive ancestor. As such Tigers are the arachnid â??special forcesâ?? and specialise in sneak attacks aimed at taking out key Federation personnel. Other bugs such as the Tanker and Rhino Tanker will flatten anything in their path, arachnid or human, they donâ??t care! One feature the player needs to be aware of is that the arachnids have evolved a number of projectile firing bugs and these add a completely new tactical dimension to the game. In many missions you will come up against different sorts of bugs working as a team (combined arms if you like). In later missions the player will have to contend with a wave of Warriors assaulting him, covered by a barrage of plasma bolts, whilst Hoppers swoop from the skies and Tigers infiltrate the Federation defences! Each team member has their own favourite bug, but mine has to be the massive tanker bug. Thereâ??s a sinking feeling in your stomach whenever it arrives on the scene as well as the instant thought of â??great, how do I take on this one?â??

Perhaps you can tell about a couple of the unusual, inventive, weapons to be seen in the game?

There is a good selection of bug destroying weaponry available, not only are there several Morita rifle variants based on the weapon carried by the troopers in the film, but the player also gets his hands on other more potent devices. One feature of the weapons weâ??re pleased about is that every weapon in the game has a primary and secondary fire capability â?“ for some this might be a grenade launcher, others an underslung shotgun, etc. This gives the player a wide selection of hardware to use against the arachnids (and can also pose some interesting equipment decisions for him â?“ what weapon should be taken on â??mission xâ??). In addition to portable weapons there are also some emplaced heavy weapons that can be used â?“ such as static guns (as seen in the film during the â??Whiskey Outpostâ?? sequence). And yes, nuclear weapons do make their appearance.

Which FPSs do you most admire, even play, and hope to leave in your wake?

Strangelite is made up of very keen gamers - itâ??s something weâ??re very proud of. Everyone here plays almost every first person game that arrives on the scene. We are currently playing Halo 2, Half Life 2 and of course Call of Duty. We are a hard bunch to please, but we are enjoying Starship Troopers, therefore it is shaping-up into one hell of a game.

TVG would like to thank Ben Wilkins for taking the time to answer our questions during a busy stage of development. Strangelite have taken their time with Starship Troopers and it certainly looks to be worth it; weâ??ll have further coverage of the title as it approaches its October 2005 release.