DnD RTS interview

[Vault Dweller]

http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=23198

HomeLAN - What section of the D&D universe will this game take place in?

Ed Del Castillo - The game will take place in the new D&D world of Eberron. Eberron will be released in the summer of this year, and it should bring a whole new gaming experience to D&D players. It felt like a natural fit to do it in that world and Wizards of the Coast agreed. They carved out a piece of the world that we could work with and we've been collaborating ever since.

HomeLAN - What can you tell us about the storyline and single player campaign for the game?

Ed Del Castillo - We're working with a famous writer to bring a really interesting story and characters to the game. There will be a level of story and character development as yet unseen in RTS's!

HomeLAN - What playable sides will be in the D&D RTS game and how do they differ from each other?

Ed Del Castillo - At this point we're only talking about 2 of the 4 sides in the game... the Order of the Silver Flame and the Umbragen. The Order is a conglomeration of Dwarves, Humans, and a race new to Eberron, the Warforged. Definitely the most familiar of the sides, we wanted at least one side that the player could get into and feel good about very quickly. The Umbragen is a whole other animal. They are a race of Shadow Elves who have returned to lay claim to their birthright. They all have very specialized powers and each of them has a transformation they can undergo to become a different unit giving rise to all sorts of new strategy.

HomeLAN - What are some of your favorite units in the game?

Ed Del Castillo - It's a bit too early to tell at the moment, but so far I'm really into the Umbragen Dread Knight and the Blood Reaver. They both have some really cool powers and the Dread Knight has a unique way of moving which is really eerie.

HomeLAN - What will some of the locations and settings be like?

Ed Del Castillo - We have all sorts of settings... Steamy Jungles, Swampy Marshes, Snowy Mountains, and lots of Underground stuff including being able to go into "dungeons" and buildings! Painstaking care is being taken on the environments so that you'll get the feeling of being in a very D&D place while playing an RTS.

HomeLAN - What other unique gameplay elements will this D&D RTS game have?

Ed Del Castillo - 1. The City System - A whole new system for base building will be implemented which will give the player loads more stuff to do with his town and tons of new strategy.

2. The Underground - We're introducing a totally new underground layer which will allow players to fight on 2 levels at once. There will be cool stuff that the player can only do on the surface and other cool stuff for him to do in the underground.

3. Squads - Players will be able to form squads around a leader or some support units. The benefit is that squads are immune to focus fire which is a debilitating part of most RTS's. This should allow for increased life expectancy in heroes and support units of all kinds.

4. The Hero System - In most RTS's the heroes stay the same from the time you buy them to the time they die. Sure they get more powerful, but you use them the same way throughout. Heroes in our game can change and become different during gameplay. So, a paladin and train into a Priest which will convert them into a support unit, or a Warrior which will convert them into a front line unit.

 

[Volourn]

RTS is evil. 'Nough said. Next. :twisted:

 

[Monte Carlo]

I'm not really sold on Eberron, and I suspect that the Squad system might be a bit irritating if it fits a RTS designers POV of what tactical is rather than....er, mine. Mine would be better, of course.

I'm feeling rather well-inclined towards the village system because it sounds different and has nothing to do with D&D. The multi-layer thing sounds interesting.

I'm looking forward to some screenies. Unfortunately I suspect it'll be manga-cartoony like C&C Generals or Warcraft2. If it isn't and has uber-high screen res then my interest will pick up even more.

Cheers
MC

 

[Vault Dweller]

Don't be so quick to dismiss it, Volourn. First of all, it has Drow..er, I mean Shadow Elves. I'm sure they come with some dual wielding uber cool Hero too. I'm sure there are Sky Elves, Underwater Elves, Elves from Another Dimension (tm), Elves from the Future, etc. Add all kinda already existing elves, and you can have a grand battle for the title of the baddest DnD elves evar! If you thought that Drows were cool, wait till you see this game!

 

[Anonymous]

no

 

[Volourn]

And? VD, if that's your big sale for the title; you just lost a customer you never had. :D

 

[Snuffles]

The article says famous writer, Salvatore? :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

Probably, in that case, I really really really hate this game, as opposed to that I used to just really hate it.

 

[Voss]

Fuck I hope not. I've been looking forward to Eberron- I don't want it turned into bland genericness right out of the gods-be-damned gate.

Although if the writer in question is only involved with the RTS, that'd be OK, I don't see that appealling to me much anyhow so it won't affect me.

 

[Monte Carlo]

The Good News: The writer *isn't* Salvatore.

The Bad News: The writer's last project was a Disney.

 

[MrBrown]

Sounds like Warcraft 3 with different names.

 

[Rosh]

The Good News: The writer *isn't* Salvatore.

The Bad News: The writer's last project was a Disney.

I wouldn't be worried if it were Bluth, because he knew how to do darkness, even toe the line in Disney's eyes. Then again, D&D has become pussywhipped into a generic cash whore by Hasbro. Most of the charm was the darkness and the outer planes.

Then again, with what the interview ended with, it's disgustingly just like BioWare's self-fellating. No sale.

 

[Talorc]

Ed Del Castilo

Well Ed claims to have worked on one of my favourite CRPGs of all time, The Magic Candle. (Check the people section at http://www.liquid.to/) He doesnt have a Credit in the manual though. If its true, he gets instant respect from me!

Probably will be pretty cartoony, Ed was in charge of the C&C franchise for the Red Alert period.

He apparently worked on Ultima Ascension as well :twisted:

 

[S4ur0n27]

C&C RA were the best years of the C&C franchise.

Anyway this looks just like a "new" WC3 clone.