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Company of Heroes - First Look Preview
Jon Wilcox
07/08/2006
TVG gets introduced to the soldiers of Able Company as they take the first steps in the liberation of Europe...
Having now established the Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War franchise with the first expansion pack (Winter Assault) earlier in the year, and a second in Dark Crusade just weeks away from release, Relic and THQ have gone back through the annals of recent history to develop Company of Heroes. Following the events of D-Day and the immediate aftermath, the RTS game looks set to introduce a number of new features to the genre as it tries to bring a certain 'Saving Private Ryan-ness' to the player's experience.
Having virtually skimmed across the English Channel to Normandy recently and re-traced some of the key locations of that day - specifically Omaha Beach, Pont du Hoc, and St. Mere Eglise - TVG managed to get a first look at Company of Heroes and Relic's intentions for the game.
Set across fifteen missions between June 6th "D-Day" and August 19th 1944, Company of Heroes takes place in familiar territory for anybody who has seen Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. From the infamous Omaha beach on the Normandy coast, through to the liberation of Caranten and St. Lo, Company of Heroes aims to create an immersive and atmospheric experience that goes beyond what gamer's would usually expect from an RTS title.
Following the exploits and battles of the fictitious Able Company, Relic is creating a game that defies the usual expectations of an RTS title: the traditional means of resource-management have been thrown out of the window, there's the implementation of physics-driven environments, and the introduction to one of the more contentious ideas to emerge in the genre - intelligent units that take cover for themselves...
For years, the RTS genre seems to have been bogged down in the same old gameplay - focusing on resource micro-management, where players have to create key structures in order to process resources gathered by slave-like minions so they can build further units. For a World War II title, taking such a strategy wouldn't exactly be realistic (how many war movies have you seen Squaddies chopping down forests to build barracks in the middle of a heated urban battle?), instead Relic has moulded resource management in Company of Heroes to better suit the context of the game. Each of the missions has its own small number of Strategic Points that, when captured by a player, will allow them to call in further reinforcements. As a mission progresses, and the number of objectives set by HQ are accomplished, further 'currency' is added for further squad strengthening. In a recent interview with TVG, THQ Producer Sean Dunn, explained the strategy behind Relic's implementation of resource management, commenting that "the context of World War Two is perfect for that because...if you were to hold a bridge then High Command was much more likely to give you tanks or more infantry. So that's the context that we bring to the resource system here."
Following in the footsteps of Saving Private Ryan, the visual style created by Relic is one that reflects the weight of the situation faced by the soldiers as they battled to survive through the beach landings, and the subsequent urban battles. Edging on monochromatic, Relic is creating a game that perfectly reflects the sobriety experienced, and one that certainly seems to successfully create an almost cinematic-like atmosphere - if Spielberg's movie had come out in 2006, could this have been a loose tie-in? Relic's attention to detail is also shaping up to be quite exquisite, with cutscenes built using the game-engine revealing just how much the studio is putting into creating a bond of empathy between the soldiers and the player.
Added to this is the implementation of physics in the game, courtesy of the studio's new Essence Engine, which will allow players to destroy the towns building by building. In theory it will mean that players won't have to edge around a pre-designed and permanent map, instead they'll be able to blast their way through to the enemy - though at the same time it's almost inevitable that entire squads of soldiers will be shredded. The use of destructible buildings in the game also has a knock on effect elsewhere, since some Company of Heroes missions will see players having to launch an offensive against one town, only to defend that same position in the next scenario. If a majority of the cover available in the settlement was razed to the ground by the player while they attempted to liberate its population, then it will remain so when it comes to defending against the German counter-attack. Throwing such an interesting slant is sure to prove to be the downfall of many careless Company of Heroes players if their only lines of defence are destroyed earlier by themselves...
Company of Heroes is a game where taking cover is a vital strategy, be that behind walls, or inside ruined buildings. Baring in mind the implementation of physics, it's worth knowing that there's seldom a safe place to stand back and take and take an infinite pounding from enemy guns - the walls will come tumbling down. Together with the sense of empathy that Relic is attempting to create, players are sure to be almost be forced into protecting their units from harm, creating strategies that will allow all of their soldiers to survive. But they'll be helped along thanks to the unit AI, which is being built with a strong sense of self-preservation.
If a unit comes under fire from enemy soldiers, their first instinct is to try and get to cover if it's within close range - without the need for players to manually tell them to save themselves. Whilst there were negative cries from some of the hardcore elements of the RTS community, it is worth pointing out that players won't just be sitting back and watching the AI direct the battle on its own. If the soldiers are caught in a fire fight without any possibility of reaching cover, they'll become pinned down and vulnerable to...well, dying. Relic has implemented an option for players to order pinned down players to run to a certain position, increasing the possibility of survival, but bending the illusion of realism that's been created in the rest of the game. Hopefully the ability will be tweaked ahead of the game's release later in the year, because the sight of several soldiers running at triple speed did look a bit 'Benny Hill' on occasion.
Enemy AI has also been implemented to flank a player's soldiers, something that even in the preview build of the game turned out to be deadly at times. Relic advocates 'Environmental Strategy' in Company of Heroes, using building as vantage points of snipers, or hold outs for an entire squad of soldiers, something that certainly comes as solid advice when faced with a barrage of enemy fire. It's obvious to see that Company of Heroes isn't a game about amassing armies in order to rush against the opposition, or obliterating their abilities to gather more resources - Relic is attempting to create a solid strategy war game that creates a tangible sense of cinematic tension and atmosphere.
Though not available to preview at the time, Company of Heroes will also feature multiplayer gameplay for between two and eight players. Very little is known other than both solo and team gametypes will be available in the game, however Relic has confirmed the implementation of Command Trees exclusively for the multiplayer aspects of the game. For example, Axis players will have 'axis' (snigger) to three roots: a Defensive Tree, a Terror Doctrine Tree, and a Blitzkrieg Tree. Each will have its own strengths and weaknesses and enhance the feeling of progression for players so that for instance, followers of the Blitzkrieg Tree will gain access to Panzers a lot sooner than the other two trees. At the same time, Allied players will be able to access the likes of the Paratrooper Tree, which will allow them to paradrop behind enemy lines and smash through the fog of war...and even cut off the Axis' supplies.
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