Knights of the Temple 2 is one of a number of interesting titles from this still emerging publisher, which has a number of releases due for 2006. Knights of the Temple 2 is an action game coming from Cauldron who did not create the first title but hope to make the brand one to impress in this sequel.

Our roving eye, Derek dela Fuente, spoke with Michal Smrkal, the game designer, to find out what elements will make an impression!

The first game was developed by StarBreeze (The Chronicles of Riddick). Can you tell us why the project has changed hands and also can you tell our readers about Cauldron and what your in house expertise is and your vision for this sequel!?

Cauldron was founded in 1996 and resides in Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak Republic. At present there are 64 people employed at Cauldron. Our first title was Quadrax, the best selling logical game in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Another of our products, Spellcross, obtained considerable success, as we were the first game-developing company from both Slovakia and the Czech Republic that was able to sell its product outside the two countries. Our third finished game was a 3D strategy game Battle Isle: The Andosia War, the successor to the famous Battle Isles series. In 2001 we started to work on a 3D first person shooter game called Chaser, which was finished Q2 2003. Our next title was Conan, the license from the fantasy author R.E.Howard. Now we are working on two titles: Knight of the Temple 2 and Gene-Troopers.

The decision to make KOTT2 at Cauldron came from TDK Mediactive Europe and we have taken up this challenge. KOTT1 was an excellent hack`n`slash game and on this strong basis, our experience from Conan plus a lot of new ideas, we have started this project full of enthusiasm and hope to make an atmospheric game, full of intense fight action and medieval adventure.

Knights of the Temple got mixed reviews from excellent to average. What has been the feedback from the game that you‘ve taken note of and, apart from the subject matter and genre, what real crossover from the original game is there in the sequel?

The most discussed issue on KOTT1 was its linearity - straightforward storyline, and linear gameplay through the levels had to be addressed. Therefore we have decided to change this by implementing features within the levels where you can move freely, a non-linear dialogue system, the trade mode or player decision depending system of side quests.

From KOTT1 we have taken the best of it which as the intense and adrenaline packed fight system, along with the fighting animation and the whole atmosphere of a story, where a lonesome knight is fighting not only for the destiny of the whole world, but also for his own soul.

How would you best describe the game and also how would you counter the comment that this is a glorified hack ‘n’ slash?

The basis of the game consists of the Hack`n`Slash genre, but we have added a lot of new features like RPG-like character development, non-linear dialogue system, free movement between the levels, trade system and lots of side quests. This all makes KOTT2 a very atmospheric action adventure game giving the player a great deal of freedom, which was never seen before in a game of this genre.

What do you believe are the game’s plus points and where has the inspiration for Knights come from?

I see the greatest plus point for KOTT2 in his non-linearity and in the player freedom. You have plenty of levels, lots of NPC`s, quests, weapons, items. It is up to you which way you will play it. A merciless warrior solving all problems with his sword, or more a diplomatic knight whose mightiest weapon is his brain. Your decisions can influence your progress in the game. You can unlock new locations, gain special items or gain alternative quests.

Please tell our readers about the story behind the game and the kind of locations and settings that they can expect?

Naturally, I will not tell too much about the story, but just a few words. 20 years after the closing of one of the Hell gates (which happened in KOTT1) has Paul de Raque becoming a grandmaster of the Knights of the Temple. Followed by strange visions he is trying to understand them and finds out that a mighty demon entity is preparing the opening of the oldest of the gates – The First Gate. It has taken control over Adele; the woman blessed with heavenly powers and is trying to find three ancient Artifacts needed for the Gate to be opened. Paul’s challenge is to finding the Artifacts first and to try to close the Gate. The end of this story is dependent on the player’s decisions during the game and therefore we have two different endings.

For the locations we have many different places in the game, some are namely Ylgar, the pirate island, Yusra, the beautiful Saracen city, or Sirmium, the cursed roman town. Your way will lead you through the swamps, catacombs, abandoned ruins, or places like forgotten ship cemetery full of undead. Some of the locations can be unlocked by acquiring or fulfilling specific quests, some of then you can visit only once, to some you can return every time you desire.

Like an RPG, KOTT2 awards points so players can boost their attributes; could you elaborate on this for us and the breakdown of the game?

KOTT2 contains RPG elements not only in the field of character developing, but also in the field of gameplay. We have more than 20 side-quests, which you can optionally fulfill. Some of them can be completed in different ways, or by different strategies. And your progress through this can influence the whole gameplay.

The puzzles and riddles you can find in KOTT2 are not hardcore; I think a normal player will have no problem solving them because we are not fans of brain-cracking puzzles! Our puzzles are for fun, not for frustration.

Could you talk a little about the core combat system behind the game?

Our fight system contains a set of 19 fight combos. Every attack can be bought/upgraded for specific amounts of experience points (which you get for killing enemies, solving quests or find secrets). Some combos are weapon specific, this means, you can use it just for a specific weapon type (i.e. two-handed swords). To trigger a combo, you must press buttons in a specific order. This gives the player the possibility to learn his favourite combos and use them when fighting, making the fight more dynamic and fluent.

Many games fail through weak AI. Knights of the Temple’s AI was satisfactory but in some cases very predictable and sequential; how sophisticated is the AI at work in the sequel and can you expound some facts about the enemy you face?

Every enemy in the game has his own fighting style. Soldiers are trying to defend the archers/magicians which when in close-combat very easy to defeat, but from a distance are very deadly. Some demonic creatures are using the strategy of overwhelming swarms, where only your quick reflexes can help you to survive. Every enemy has his own strategy and specific weapon and is more or less resistant against specific weapons or abilities. All this you must consider when you are fighting your way through the cities and catacombs of the rough world of KOTT2.

The first game used Motion-Capture technology to capture the exquisite animations; are you using Mo-Cap or traditional key frame animations the second time around and what are its advantages? Also could you tell the readers about the 3D engine you are using and the kind of technology focus lies behind the game?

Like in the first game, we are also using motion captured animations. To make all fight moves (not only for Paul, but also for his enemies) realistic and believable, we have used the help of experienced sword fighters and stuntmen. They gave our fight and fight system the correct feeling of wielding medieval weapons.

The engine we are using is the hugely improved Conan 3D engine with strong optimizations for PS2 and Xbox, with many new features allowing much nicer and more complex levels, animations and effects.

To finish tell us about some of the weapons and spells players can get their hands upon within the game.

In KOTT2 you can find about 30 different weapons - mighty two-handed swords, war hammers, battle axes, crossbows, one-handed swords, shields, maces. Some of them imbued with magical powers, making your fights more strategic, i.e. using fire sword on fire demons, would be not a very wise decision.

Paul can learn during the game 15 fighting combos, 4 special devastating attacks and 4 holy abilities allowing him to use the powers of Heaven not only to heal himself but also slow time, or crush his enemies from a distance.

TVG would like to thank Michal Smrkal for taking the time to provide us with some answers; Knights of the Temple 2 is slated for release on Xbox, Playstation2 and PC on November 24th, we’ll have further coverage soon…