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Commandos Strike Force Q&A Feature
Chris Leyton
19/04/2005
TVG chats to the Project Leader of Commandos Strike Force...
In what is seen as a new direction for Pyro, the Spanish development team, which has brought us some innovative strategy titles, Commandos Strike Force is a FPS that gets you right into the heart/action of battle. The setting is during WWII which sees most of Europe torn apart by a number of invasions in which the player is elected to take control of an elite group of soldiers behind enemy lines. A series of missions will see you transgress across a number of borders.
Derek dela Fuente spoke with José Manuel Garcķa Franco, the Project Leader, about the exciting features and variety of action that has gone into the making of the game
TVG: Itās a new direction for both the brand and Pyro Studios in this FPS creation. What made the team consider an action title and is the team excited about developing a game on this genre?
Yes, thatās true; itās a new direction and also almost a new market within the videogames industry for us. At the end of the previous saga we thought about how to improve the Commandos world, taking both our ideas and also the ideas from the fans, so finally we decided to take the camera and stick it in the characterās head. This gave us a new perspective and also it helped opening our minds, at least a little bit. And we are really excited about this project.
TVG: As we all know the FPS scene is possibly one of the hardest genre to do well on so what qualities within the game from the strategy side of Commandos will gamers be familiar with and graphically for the team does an action/FPS present any different skill sets?
From the beginning we started to design a game based in the previous saga, taking the main key points of the Commandos universe and translating them to a FPS environment. Since that moment the Commandos Strike Force project started to grow. I think that this game is trying to fill a gap that exists between the pure action games and the stealth games. The players will find levels with action, infiltration, stealth, etc, everything mixed across the campaigns. Graphically, we are keeping our obsession for the quality, the details, realistic worldā¦ all the aspects that some people consider part of our personality as developers.
TVG: How important is the story to the game and how it does it work itself into the game as you progress?
Our intention has been to link the three campaigns, all the levels, the characterās biography and some enemy biographies into a good story. We have created new characters and their personalities will play an important role during the game.
TVG: What do you see as the single most important feature within a FPS that gamers look at and how focused is the team on the look and presentation of the game?
I would say that probably the gameās immersion capability. We are focused on the environment, in order to make it as impressive as we can, the music and the sound, supporting Dolby 5.1 and EAX, and also having realistic character animation. On top of that, our intention during a presentation is to explain the gameplay and the different ways the user can choose to play the game. Basically, you will be in the middle of a big map and the order and the way to complete the objectives is something for you to choose.
TVG: Adding extra detail and realism is high on a FPS gamers list ā“ would you agree and what graphics engine is the team using?
Yes, I do completely agree with that. The quality benchmark is upgraded almost every month but I think that we are going to be up there. Our game is based in the Renderware engine, and I have to say that it has been a great platform to start with. Over it, we are developing some features to adapt it to our needs, in terms of power and quality.
TVG: How extensive is the gameās body and environmental deformation? How many shots to kill for instance and will different weapons have a vastly different effect on the objects in the game?
We are supporting rag doll physics, some areas in the environment will be destroyable, and obviously different weapons will cause different effects. If someone tries to destroy a tank shooting with a gun, he will have a really really hard time, if you understand what I mean...
Again regarding the shots, itās not the same shooting with a rifle than shooting with a gun, and it is not the same shooting in a leg than shooting in the head. By the way, the computer will keep track of all of this and it will be reflected in the statistics.
TVG: There are three cast members to control. How does the switching work, what are their individual skill sets and why not go for one main character?
JM: Yes, weāll have three different characters: the Green Beret, a powerful lead, his main skills are the capability of using heavy weapons and explosives. The Sniper, cold, silent, long shoots, and the Spy, able to speak perfect German and with the ability of wearing enemy uniforms.
In some missions the player will have two characters at the same time and will be able to switch between them during the whole level. The player will be warned whenever the character that he is not controlling gets into trouble.
TVG: What are two of the most diverse missions on offer?
We have created a lot of different levels, including missions where the main objective is to defend a position, to attack, to infiltrate, to use a stealth approach, with one character, with two characters, etc. But to give you an example one of my favourite missions is āAn eye for an eyeā which is a typical raid day in a sniperās life during WWII. You will have just 25 bullets and you will need to obtain a certain number of points eliminating just the most valuable targets within the city, not soldiers, but officers, generals, etc. Believe me itās exciting.
TVG: What are some of the camera views on offer and how hard and how much time is spent on the all important AI?
The main camera is in first person, but in some moments we move the camera out to show especial moments in a more impressive way, for instance in what we have called the ākiller movesā. It brings to the game another point of view which works very well. Saying that the AI is very important is not enough. I think this is one of the areas where players of the previous saga have huge expectations, and as we donāt want to disappoint them, we are putting a huge effort behind it.
TVG: What are the game modes on offer and what multiplay options are there?
On the single player mode we will be playing through three different linked campaigns. For the multiplayer we will have a deathmatch mode, team deathmatch mode and some other surprise. The multiplayer will be for 16 players on PC and for 8 players on PS2 and Xbox.
TVG would like to thank José Manuel Garcķa Franco for taking the time to answer our questions. Commandos Strike Force is scheduled for release on the Playstation2, Xbox and PC during Q2 2005; weāll have a closer look soon to see whether Pyro have successfully brought the Commandos feel into the first-person...
