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Exclusive - Battlefield: Vietnam Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
29/01/2004
We chat to the developers behind theforthcoming sequel to Battlefield 1942...
With the āBattlefieldā brand well and truly established after a number of successful titles, Swedish development team, Digital Illusions, continue on with a Vietnamese setting and a whole host of new ideas in this action sortie that will have gamers wanting more. On strict orders to answers all the questions put was Armando āAJā Marini, Lead Designer on Battlefield Vietnam.
With a new game comes new ideas and so moving into a new era, which offers more firepower and beautiful, yet ferocious, new combat settings. Staying true to the over-the-top, action-packed, multiplayer style that gave Battlefield 1942its critical and commercial success, Battlefield Vietnam drops players into some of the Vietnam Warās fiercest battles.
Fighting in theatres of war from jungles surrounding, the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the city streets of Hue, players will choose from two well-equipped forces, the United States or the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietcong. A full plethora of weapons and vehicles authentic to the Vietnam conflict is on hand as players will battle in first-person perspective. The workhorse vehicle for the U.S. during the conflict was the helicopter and it will serve the same purpose in Battlefield Vietnam. The NVA will be outfitted with many Russian-made vehicles, including the T-54 tank and Mig-21 jet. Taking a step forward from its franchise predecessors, Battlefield Vietnam will allow passengers to fire from moving vehicles and players will have the ability to airlift other vehicles via helicopter. Deploying a new rendering and sound engine it will seamlessly take players deeper into the 1960ās mindset ā“ where is was not all about love and peace but to many war and conflict.
TVG: How do you feel the BF (Battlefield) brand has advanced and what were the main targets of achievement in terms of game play and new ideas, did you plan for Battlefield Vietnam?
The primary goal we had was to make sure we were different from BF1942. We didnāt want to just be looked upon as a mod, not to be seen as BF1942 in Vietnamese clothing. The team has worked hard to ensure the game is more balanced in terms of infantry versus vehicles and wanted to make the vegetation an integral part of the game play. I believe weāve achieved all that we set out to achieve.
TVG: You have created a new graphics engine and improved AI for the game. So what primary improvements and differences will the player see as compared with your previous title?
Interestingly enough, players recognize the improvement but it really doesnāt impact on them until they compare the new game to the original. The vegetation looks so natural that players donāt seem to recognize it was completely absent in BF1942. If you look at the games back to back, then you really see the difference.
In terms of the A.I., I think the players will recognize the difference straight away. The A.I. is much more human-like and consequently soldiers donāt do some of the really silly things they originally did! My favourite part is the way they now taunt you. It really brings them, and the game, to life.
TVG: Why did you choose the Vietnam War and has it created any problems? The fact that there will be gamers playing who have actually been there must have meant you had to research the subject deeper and must ensure that everything fits into the time line?
Vietnam was the next logical step in the BF series. We wanted to include it because it was such a pivotal point in world politics. It was a war where the question of āwhyā is more prominent. It is just a very engaging conflict.
Having already seen the reactions of players, we were more aware of how important accuracy was in the conflicts. However, for all the research we did, it was not feasible to faithfully recreate the battles. Itās also not fun. The Battlefield series isnāt about historical accuracy; itās about a fun multiplayer game with real world roots. Players will be able to see the benefits of our research and I think if they research the battles, theyāll be pleased with the degree of accuracy weāve achieved.
TVG: There is a whole new set of weapons and vehicles served up. Does this really make much difference in terms of gameplay as opposed to WWII ones? Is it more than cosmetic? Can you mention a few of the weapons from this period that will really enhance the experience?
Itās easier to see and pinpoint the diversity in vehicles that are drastically different. I mean a tank is a tank and for all the subtle differences, it still has to fulfil the role of a tank. So I would say that vehicles like that are not going to appear revolutionary to anyone. The helicopters are the big difference. With the new physics we created for the helicopters, the offensive and defensive capabilities of the forces are markedly different. You can pile a group of players into a helicopter and hover over each flag point and capture flags really quickly. Of course, this is a very risky manoeuvre. You can also attack and defend much more effectively in the helicopters by hovering or strafing sideways. They really do intensify the experience quite a lot.
For the weapons, again there is nothing revolutionary in the actual weapons. Where we put the focus was on the feel of the weapons. Weāve really focused a lot of attention on making the weapons feel very accurate and satisfying. We wanted the player to feel like they were holding the weapon in their own hands.
TVG: Can you detail the environment a little and some of the missions and tasks that the very organic setting of Vietnam made this a very different war to that of many others?
We wanted to recreate the feelings of the war. In the Second World War, battles in Europe rarely were fought in amongst the trees. They were usually in open farmland and such. Infantry fighting distances were measured in the hundreds of metres. In Vietnam, the average combat distance for infantry was 20 metres. Imagine that for a moment. You and all your friends are 20 METRES away from the enemy and they all have high-powered weaponry.
The environments vary, but the āin countryā battles, such as the Cambodian Incursion or the Ia Drang Valley, are the ones where you get a sense of the differences in the game. The Cambodian jungle density means that vehicles need to stay on the main road. They are unable to get through the thick forests like the players can. We can search for your team members and youāll see that they are nearby, but visual contact is a little more difficult. You also get this paranoid feeling since you know that between you and your teammates are equal numbers of enemy soldiers.
TVG: To add - was creating these setting a harder task than usual with all the nooks and crannies ā“ and secret hideouts?
Not really. There is more of a choice of what type of vegetation we use in an area and how thick it will appear. Then we let the system generate the patches. We manually placed some locations to add authenticity, like sniper blinds or bunkers.
TVG: There are many games of this genre around now ā“ many, which are very good but homogenised or slightly predictable. Firstly, do you try to add surprises in your titles and after this, where next? More importantly how limiting is PC technology for your ideas?
The PC isnāt that limiting. Technology is always progressing and you always wish you had more power. I donāt know if that will ever change. Do we try to add surprises? No, we really focus on a fun experience more than on surprises because once a player knows the surprise; itās no longer surprising. Itās better to focus on a cool feature that endures for an entire game experience or that gives added depth to the experience. As far as whatās next, who knows? (AJ gave a sly wink!)
TVG: Following on from the last question, would you detail one event in the game that really sums up the essence and excitement of Battlefield Vietnam?
Airlifting. It is so cool to be in the middle of battle and then have your team (or the enemy, if you are playing as NVA) drop a tank or something like that into the middle of the mix.
TVG: The one thing hat marked this war was the differences in the opposing forces and the nature of this war was different from many others. How do you feel you have coped with creating this setting and how do you manage to convey the sort of fox and rabbit/ David and Goliath scenario?
We really couldnāt make the two teams unbalanced in terms of game play. So there is no compensator that gives one-team 22 players and the other team 10 or something similar to that. We focused on the feelings and character of the forces. The NVA and VC teams feel very different from their U.S. and ARVN counterparts. Also, the design of the maps really plays to those different feelings and impressions.
TVG: In one sentence sum up the game?
We feel Battlefield Vietnam is the best all out war games since Battlefield 1942.
THANK YOU AJ!
