Emperor: Battle for Dune FAQs with Chris Longpre

11. Tell us about the AI in Emperor: Battle for Dune.

We designed the AI with the goal of making it feel like an online opponent. We wanted to capture the uncertainty, surprise factor, and various game strategies of a human player. Therefore, we developed a complex system that teaches the AI about map features and player strategies. When a mission starts, the AI knows nothing about the map it cannot see, and will usually start a scout mission to push back the shroud and keep the fog-of-war away. After that, it uses the war strategies of the house it is playing to defend its base and start an offense. The AI is aware of unit positions it can see and will plan accordingly. It�s quite good at finding your weakest link and hitting it hard.

12. How different has it been designing a 3D game rather than the 2D worlds of C&C? What new challenges does a 3D environment present for a designer?

There are many differences that affect everything from art to code to design. Something as simple as shooting a gun at an enemy raises interesting design questions. For example, in many 2D RTS games, you can always shoot the enemy, because line of sight rules are ignored. Often, even if you use line of sight rules in 2D, you end up with players not understanding why they can 'see' the unit, but not shoot at it. In a 3D environment, you must take line of sight into consideration. Buildings in the way are very obviously in the way. We must use address both the line of sight rules, and make units smart enough to still shoot at targets effectively.

13. Did Westwood feel any pressure to produce a 3D accelerated RTS?

Oddly enough, gamers and press have been screaming for 3D RTS games over the past year, and now that a few have been done, it seems the feeling is not as strong as before. We knew that just adding 3D to an RTS would lead to problems and may not provide the fun game play that gamers truly desire. That is why we took our time to seriously consider how it should be done, and how to ensure great game play. We feel that our use of 3D in an RTS is optimal for visual excellence and game play superiority.

14. Why was Dune chosen ahead of C&C to be Westwood's first foray into 3D strategy? Is there anything inherent in the Dune world that made you think it more suitable than C&C?

It wasn�t a conscious decision to use 3D technology in the Dune franchise at the expense of C&C. In fact, Emperor and Renegade, Westwood�s two 3D titles that will be released in 2001, developed along the same time frame. We never make a decision to use a platform based on the title of the game or what franchise it belongs to. We firmly believe that the technology exists to enhance game play, and we make our decisions whether to use 2D or 3D based on each individual title.

15. Westwood past success with real-time 3D technology has been a little under whelming. I'm thinking of the final two Lands of Lore titles here. As such, some gamers might be skeptical of your chances this time around. How would you respond to this criticism?

At the time we made the last two Lands of Lore games, 3D technology was still not quite capable of enhancing the worlds we were creating. PCs were not fast enough to build the diverse and compelling worlds we wanted, so we augmented the technology with several 2D and voxel solutions. That allowed us to create more visually diverse worlds than a typical 3D shooter of the day.

Emperor is in a very different position. With the latest advances in 3D, and most gamers having a 3D card in their machines, we can completely embrace the new visual techniques that are offered. As you look at the screenshots and movies of Emperor, you will see the mind-blowing visuals and complete mastery of the medium. We are quite confident in the 3D technology of Emperor.

16. A recent trend in the RTS genre - especially 3D titles - has been a focus on tactical combat at the expense of building and managing bases. What kind of focus will Emperor have?

Emperor is focused around deep and involved strategy along with diverse tactics, but to answer your question, we are using base building and resource collection. Also, we have added a whole new level of strategy in the campaign level of the game. Which territory do you attack next? How to you plan for defending your hard fought victories? Which alliances should you pursue? The battlefield, the diverse houses, the distinctive units, and ability to ally with sub-houses all contribute to generating unique combinations of armies and tactics.

17. Westwood clearly knows real-time strategy, having developed one of the most important and popular strategy series in history. What lessons has the C&C experience brought to the development of Emperor?

We are constantly looking at ways to advance the game play experience, in RTS, RPG, first person shooter, etc. We are always building on what we�ve learned developing all our titles, especially our flagship franchise, Command & Conquer. Our main lesson throughout though, is that we are here to make great games for our fans. We constantly pay attention to how our fans respond to the games, and develop products that they want.

18. One of the reasons for the C&C series' enormous popularity is it relatively low system requirements, making it a game perfect for the mainstream or casual gamer. What is the strategy for retaining this market for Emperor, despite (one would assume) its significantly higher system requirements?

Of course our main focus in developing games is that everyone, from the casual player to the hard-core gamer, can enjoy them. System specs increase with every title we put out, mainly because the technology is also improving and becoming more accessible to our customers. Although we develop games that take advantage of new technology, we will always keep our customers� capabilities in mind.

19. Are 2D real-time strategy games dead?

Absolutely not. Our decision to use 2D or 3D technology is based on what would best enhance the game play of a particular title. Both platforms have benefits. For example, 3D technology not only adds beauty and depth to RTS games, but it�s used in a way that will better allow the player to control the battle in front of him. However 2D is more accessible because it requires lower system specs and the ability to add certain details to buildings and units that aren�t possible when using 3D technology.

20. What made you choose to use FMV to tell Emperor's story?

Each game is evaluated uniquely in how we will tell the story elements. Even though we have done some games with full motion video, we have also done computer animated sequences as well as in-game scripted sequences. It really depends on the style and atmosphere we are looking for.

Cont'd