The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II Q&A Feature

Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II is the sequel to the critically acclaimed RTS game of the same name with the byline of 'now gamers more than ever have the chance to experience all that Middle-Earth was meant to be'. A new agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises now grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II will introduce players to depths of the fiction never before explored by EA.

New content from J.R.R. Tolkien's original fiction, allows deeper delving than ever before to engage in new battles that go beyond the award-winning movie trilogy. Powerful AI, along with new features, including new races, places and heroes; build your own landmark castle with fully customizable and upgradeable fortresses, plus so much more, looks like making this one of EA's flagship PC titles. Derek dela Fuente spoke to the Producer to find out more secrets and key information behind the making of the game.

What have you learnt from the first game and what areas do you hope to improve on in the sequel?

In the original Battle for Middle-earth, we limited the ability to build anywhere because we wanted to introduce a streamlined and easy way to construct castles and camps. Now we want to re-introduce the creativity and strategy that comes with the freedom to build a base up any way you want - and we've applied the lessons we've learned from the first game about making things accessible and easy.

Please can you tell us the backdrop story to the game and the overall objective/s for the player?

In this game we're unlocking the world of Middle-earth. The player can choose to play Good or Evil single-player campaigns in Battle for Middle-earth II. The Good Campaign puts the player in command of Elven and Dwarven armies as they battle the forces of Shadow in the northern parts of Middle-earth. This War in the North is roughly concurrent with the events shown in the three films - with some battles happening before or after. If the player chooses to play the Evil campaign, he will control Sauron's vast armies of Orcs, Trolls, Corsairs, and Nazgul - as well as a huge horde of Goblins and a host of corrupted creatures like giant spiders, drakes, and Giants. Instead of defending the North, the player's mission will be to conquer it. Victory for the Evil side will come when Sauron controls the northern part of Middle-earth all the way to the Elven port city known as the Gray Havens.

"The new water system is wonderful..."

What kind of technology focus has gone into the game? Also can you expand on the game's new AI system and what this will offer?

SAGE is the proprietary EA RTS engine. Our engine underwent a major overhaul as we switched over to a shader based pipeline, a significant improvement that unlocks a visual potential we weren't able to reach with the technology present in BFME1. Some of the improvements under the hood include a new terrain renderer, normal mapping, specularity, perspective shadows, distance hazing, an overhauled and optimized particle system, palette post-effects, and a host of tools that enable our art team to take advantage of it all. The new water system is wonderful - you can see the reflections of the sky, nearby terrain, and ships, as well as the sun glancing off of ripples in the water. Near the shoreline you can also see through the water to the ocean floor, so you get this really cool depth cue effect that looks just like real coastal shallows. Ships create ripples in the surface of the water and you can see waves breaking on the shores. We're very excited about what our new engine has enabled us to do. We've hit a new bar for visuals in this game and we're bringing you a Middle-earth you've never seen before.

In terms of creating a game is it difficult because LOTR is such a well known brand? What have been some of the hardest aspect of creating and designing the game? You have a new agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises - what does this entail?

The biggest challenge we've faced with this game is adding tremendous strategic depth while making sure game play stays accessible to people who aren't necessarily hardcore RTS players. We've taken the lessons we learned with the first game and applied them to the second: How to make a game user interface that is not obtrusive and yet makes interacting with the game as easy as possible; how to implement features like wall building, customizable fortresses, and tactical fidelity in a way that combines simplicity with great depth.

How advanced and sophisticated is the games AI and what should impress?

We are re-writing the AI from the ground up. I think players will be pleasantly surprised at the resulting improvements which range from more sophisticated strategies for building and using units, structures, and spell powers to tactics like grouping basic units with heroes to take advantage of what the heroes bring to the party.

"There will be more units on the screen than we had in the first game and everything will take place on a larger scale..."

Which of the major LOTR characters appear in the game and what are some of the effects that will be presented in battles?

There are new heroes from the films and books like Arwen, Galadriel, Elrond, King Dain of the Dwarves, Glorfindel the Elf Lord and Sharku the Warg Rider for Isengard, etc.

Tell our readers about the resource management and unit/building upgrades?

We're adding "build anywhere" for basic faction structures, which means that players can build their structures anywhere on the map, not just on the little build plots we gave players in the first game. We're also adding huge customizable fortresses that can be set up in the centre of a base. Each fortress can be tricked out with upgrades that are specific to each faction. For example, the Men of the West player can deploy trebuchets, arrow towers, and boiling oil as upgrades to their fortresses. Goblin players will have giants that throw rocks and spider lairs. Most cool of all, we're allowing players to build walls around their fortresses and structures so they can create their own landmark castles of Middle-earth. Wall building is very easy to use and incredibly powerful; players will be amazed at what they can create.

A criticism of LOTR was that the population cap for the armies was too low. Have things been changed? In terms of game size, even maps, is this a larger and more detailed game?

There will be more units on the screen than we had in the first game and everything will take place on a larger scale... we've made some improvements to our technology. It feels much more like a big army game now.

Can you tell us what game modes are on offer and will you give some details of creating your own hero with all new customized RTS units that are your avatars in-game?

There are two classic single player campaigns - Good and Evil - plus our new totally free-form War of the Ring mode. The campaigns have a sequence of story-based missions. For War of the Ring, we're giving you the freedom to fight the entire war for Middle-earth your way. You can pick a side (Good or Evil), a faction (like Isengard or the Elves), and a starting location on the lovely 3D living world map of Middle-Earth. Then you'll build up and move your armies, fight for territories, and defend against attack by a new strategic AI.

We're going to allow the player to create his own hero by picking a race and type and then customizing the appearance, weapons, spells, and abilities for that hero. Create that hero and put him or her on the battlefield. Even more cool, you can bring your custom heroes into a multiplayer game with other players.

What in your opinion is the best RTS game to date and do you base your ideas and vision on comparison with other titles and being innovative? How do you see the RTS genre moving on!?

There is a certain universal and timeless appeal to the RTS genre - I think people like the idea of playing the role of commander, of ordering armies into battles that unfold right in front of them in an immersive 3D world. I know I played strategy games from the days I was a kid and the transition from paper games to turn-based computer games to real-time strategy was a smooth continuum.

I hope the RTS of the future gives me greater control with less micromanagement. This is not a contradiction if you have an intuitive interface and control system and your units are intelligent about the way they obey orders, about finding cover, about choosing weapons and engaging targets. I also want a fully immersive world that comes to life before me, a game world with deformable terrain and structure geometry, beautiful water, fire, and atmospheric effects, realistic physics, and spells or pyrotechnics that blow me away. I would like more emotional connection with the troops I'm commanding. I want the option to customize my units as much as possible. I think we're taking steps towards these ideals with Battle for Middle-earth II - and other games are also moving the genre forward.