Sparta - Ancient Wars Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
27/09/2005
Spectacular visuals, realistic physics and enough information to embarrass a historian...
In development at a team led by one of the original visionaries behind Settlers, itâs little wonder that the ambitious publisher, PlayLogic, has picked up Sparta â“ Ancient Wars for release.
Derek dela Fuente had a chance to speak with Torsten Hess, Senior Producer on the title and came away with a Phd in Ancient Historyâ¦
Please can you give our readers some details on World Forge, the team creating the game, what their expertise is and what they have worked on before, either as a team or individually?
World Forge is a newly formed team located in Voronezh, Russia. Some of their employees have formerly worked on different projects. It will be the first release for the team but its 28 employees have already been involved in several other titles: Worldracing, Eastfront, Golden Land, The Y-Project, Race Tracks Unlimited, Settlers III, Settlers IV, and Incubation.
What has inspired the design for Sparta â“ Ancient Wars and what do you see as its innovations â“ perhaps highlighting one?
Sparta is a RTS Game and we have added several new design ideas to this field. One of the main improvements is the possibility to acquire/get weapons, vehicles, animals, etc., from opponents and use them as your own. So you rage war against an enemy with his own weapons! This gives the game new tactical possibilities and will bring the real time strategy genre to a new level in terms of tactics.
Another highlight is the use of our own developed physic engine that improves the game on the optical side and gives new possibilities on the tactical side also. Through its physics you are for example able to hit several units and buildings with just one shot from a catapult because of the projectiles bounce.
Additional to this the use of fire as a weapon and the influence of the wind will give the game a new realistic feel. If a farm is burning and another building is close to that burning farm, the fire will light it and set everything on fire!
There are many other features to get excited about like units on ships, chariots, changing weapons, etc. Our main vision is to produce a game that is playable as a standard RTS game but enhanced with new improvements.
The aforementioned features are only some of the new features in the game.
Have you created your own in house tools and can you tell us about the 3D engine behind the game?
Yes, the Ancient Wars game engine âAWEâ and the physics engine are developed completely in house. Itâs not easily explained but I will try.
The Engine has a very powerful editor that fulfills all possible requirements to make interesting and thrilling maps. The editor has all possibilities, like scripting and complete mission designing, so the results will deliver a satisfying and fascinating gaming experience.
Are you going for total realism in the game and why are you especially proud of the physics engine?
Total realismâ¦thatâs nearly impossible! We are making a game that feels as realistic as possible. Weâve researched historical backgrounds; we have tried to keep realistic proportions. The textures are very detailed, we have tons of animations, etc., but of course we have several things in there which are not realistic but implemented to satisfy the player. But we go further than other RTSs, so if you compare Sparta â“ Ancient Wars to other games you will see it as one of the most accurate and realistic ancient scenario games produced so far!
Getting total realism is a really tough task. On the one hand it needs to be very detailed and complex. On the other hand it will destroy the gameplay and balance if it becomes too realistic. We already have encountered some points that are very hard to balance because of the realism. So I guess we will try to make a game that feels as realistic as possible without destroying the fun of playing it.
Also mentioning the physics engine, wind and fire, etc., will enlarge the feeling of a realistic environment. But we have had to make compromises, because using too many parameters will slow down the engine performance and the result will be a realistic game, which runs only on futuristic high end PCs â“ and thatâs not what we are aiming for.
Yes, we are proud of the physics engine because itâs simply fun to watch things react and fly through the air. The motivation for the player to fight with physics is much more than just bringing down the houses and killing all units.
If the main town hall of the enemy burns down it be presented with spectacular moves with falling debris (which might hurt surrounding units) and catching fire to neighborhood houses â“ thatâs really satisfying! But there are many things in the background that are not directly visible and enlarge the realistic feeling.
My personal point to the realism is that it doesnât exist in many games. Games look more or less realistic and feel realistic. But to create a realistic feeling designers have to cheat and bend the realities.
What sort of units (can you explain the battle system) will be available to the player and will you give us a few insights into the factions you can control and the kind of military manoeuvres you can undertake?
All units are divided into classes. Basically they are humans, animals and vehicles. Humans on their own (as we back-track into history) are divided into light and heavy infantry. Heavy infantry is stronger but slower, while light is quick and numerous. This is simple. But thatâs where interaction comes. Humans can run vehicles and steer animals. Literally, your infantry may mount horseâs right on the battlefield and become cavalry, or they can capture a catapult and become a siege troop!
What kind of micromanagement will Sparta offer?
The question is where does the micromanagement start? It is possible to play Sparta on the lower level with very easy to use functions. But when going deeper and playing longer new possibilities are available. The basic goods used in Sparta are Gold, Food and Wood â“ thatâs it! If you are aware of that, you will be able to build up huge armies â“ but also take care that you are able to feed your men or they will be starving.
But you might think of some other âresourcesâ in the game as well, where micromanagement comes into. The weapon feature is one example. Weapons can be produced as usual in RTS games. Building the needed buildings allow you to have and equip units with the needed materials and weapons based on the resources you have left. What we added is the possibility to predefine and design units, equip them with weapons and than produce them as usual. Additional to that the player can send a worker to a battlefield and collect over left weapons or capture enemy weapons â“ that will spare the process to produce own weapons!
What kind of detailed research has gone into the game?
Like Iâve mentioned we have done a lot research on this point. We have of course the research about the history. We try to stay as close as possible to the information that is available. The plausibility and good learning curve on the historical side will be kept by cut sequences. Here we tell a fictitious story and implement historical facts. There are links and connections to historical contents that are well and sometimes not so well known, but you will have many moments where you might remember different things from your old history in school.
How do you ensure that plausibility and a good learning curve are presented?
To the learning curve we have analyzed other games and try to make missions that will get new features and information step by step. That way the player will slowly learn the functions and chances of the game and will not be challenged too much in the beginning or even be swamped with the mission. That makes much more fun, if the real challenge will come after you get used to the game functions, interface, possibilities, etc.
Can you give the readers an insight into why you have chosen this period and what unique facets the gamer will deal with in terms of this period?
Firstly and simplyâ¦itâs interesting and we all like this ancient time. But it is a strange thing that so few games feature this ancient scenario. Right now most games are WW2 scenarios and fantasy. So we thought it would be interesting to make something with a different background.
Facts from that time: We cover a timeframe of about 600 years. There are some well known things in this period of time which will occur during the game from your or the enemies side.
But you might ask, why will we not be able to play the âBattle at Thermophylsâ for example? In this battle a few Spartans have fight against thousands of enemies. Ok they lost at the end but itâs a well known story. Because of that it would be a bad idea to let the player play that battle himself to win the battle and change the future â“ so this will not be realistic and the appeal of the game will be hindered.
But it will be possible to meet for example someone who was part of the battle and survived, or he could be part of the other fraction. That is just one possibility to implement historical knowledge in the game.
Other battles of course could be played by the gamer.
Thirty missions â“ how varied will they be in terms of tactics and challenge?
Great variation and many tactical challenges is one thing we will deliver with Sparta â“ Ancient Wars. We are planning different and tactical missions to make sure the player will be entertained well. We have a detailed description of how the main game flow will be and we have detailed descriptions of each mission for the game. The testing and balancing will show later on if we have done a good job in that part. But you can count on us, that we develop a large variety into these missions. Scouting missions, battles, diplomatic things, ambushes, sieges, etc. â“ you name it, we show it!
Could you give a few lines on the gameâs interface and camera views?
Camera view: The main camera will give the best overview combined with the technical possibilities. After getting some input from the E3 we changed the camera a bit. People asked us to go closer to the scene to see more of the highly detailed graphics. We also move the camera a bit more far away when playing it in general. Right now it is planned that the player can define the camera range based on the technical possibilities and personal preferences. In cut sequences we are using a free camera that allows us to show cinematic sequences.
Thanks for your interest on Sparta â“ Ancient Wars.
TVG would like to thank Torsten Hess for taking the time to answer our questions and to those involved in providing the opportunity; weâll have further coverage on Sparta â“ Ancient Wars soonâ¦
