Don and Brian report from E3

[Don Maddox]

If you haven't seen our coverage from the 2005 E3 convention, check out the full artile here: http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/articles.php?p=390&page=1&cat=52

The convention is a bit hectic with so many people, but it is also interesting to see all the latest games in action and talk to the developers in person.

[Marines]

If you haven't seen our coverage from the 2005 E3 convention, check out the full artile here:

The convention is a bit hectic with so many people, but it is also interesting to see all the latest games in action and talk to the developers in person.

Here where?

How does OFP2 look?!

[Boonierat]

The REAL reason Don wanted to cover E3:

http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/uploads/features/e32005/e3_26.JPG

:cheeky:

[nemo]

Yeah, nice tank mock-up...:whist:

[Don Maddox]

Operation Flashpoint 2
One game that we had intended to get more information on was Operation Flashpoint 2. When we stopped by the Codemasters booth to get the latest and greatest, we were informed that Codemasters is not discussing the game at all as they are somewhat uncertain as to its status. Apparently, Bohemia Interactive is now showing a game that may or may not be OFP2 under a different name. We were unable to speak with the folks at Bohemia Interactive as to the status of OFP2, but GameSpot has an article that pretty much answers most of the questions we would have posed. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/operationflashpoint2/preview_6126353.html

Hopefully, Bohemia will find a way to get this game on the street soon, even if that means using a different name.

Dawn of War: Winter Assault
From what we saw during our time at this booth this is going to be a worthy sequel to the origianl. The visuals looked solid, and it looks as though it will also have a decent story.

Quake IV
We were unable to get in to see the folks from id software as there was a huge waiting list of press folks outside the Quake IV display. The visuals that we did see looked similar to Doom III, although there seemed to be a lot of robots and machines.

[jlbetin]

The REAL reason Don wanted to cover E3:

http://www.strategyzoneonline.com/uploads/features/e32005/e3_26.JPG

:cheeky:


Euuuhhh Don who is Radbabe on this picture ???

What you say shut ....
Ooooppps sorry

Der WanderBlunderer

[Wolfe Tone]

Thanks for the info Folks.

Esp. liked Officers game, + AOE III.

Gives me even more reason to buy a new machine as my PIII 866 I,m sure will not be able to handle these. :(

[Cpt. Bonez]

I wish I could go to E3!!!

[Don Maddox]

Don who is Radbabe on this picture ???

RadBabe was attending her own convention in another city. I don't think it was quite as flashy as E3 though.

[Priest]

Euuuhhh Don who is Radbabe on this picture ???

What you say shut ....
Ooooppps sorry

Der WanderBlunderer
If Radbabe saw this picture, she may not let Don attend these events by himself anymore. :laugh:

[Don Maddox]

If Radbabe saw this picture, she may not let Don attend these events by himself anymore.

Well, Brian was there to keep me out of trouble (or the other way around).

[raydude]

Hi guys,

Great writeup on E3. Its heartening to see that RTS is not getting completely dumbed down and that some developers are trying some "risks" in order to escape from the copycat RTS design.

I have a question on AOE III though regarding the formations. When you say they are improved, could you elaborate on that? And saying "they are improved in that they look better" or anything that deals with the words "graphics" or "eye candy" is not acceptable :).

[Jon@lbc]

Well, if you were wondering about quake 4 I heard it is something about a war between your planet and huge troll-like monsters called Stroggs, in the beginning of the game you are fighting against the Stroggs alongside your squad, eventually you get captured and a cutscene comes up where you are being tortured and... for lack of a better word, stroggified, however, they do not finish turning you into a strogg because you are rescued so you go back to your squad and retain both your humanity and your Strogg powers.

[Don Maddox]

I have a question on AOE III though regarding the formations. When you say they are improved, could you elaborate on that? And saying "they are improved in that they look better" or anything that deals with the words "graphics" or "eye candy" is not acceptable .From what we saw the formations seemed to be easier to create and manipulate than most other RTS titles. The pathfinding also seemed to be working well from what we saw, although that is something we would have to play for a while in order to fairly evaluate.

Wally Wachi explained to us that in earlier RTS games, including AoE II, the formations looked pretty but simply dissolved once engaged in any type of close combat and the whole thing degenerated into a wild melee. That is no longer the case in AoEIII. The formations will attempt to fight as a unit until they are "broken" and become disorganized. I'm not sure if there is some type of morale or not, I can't remember. Will there be enough detail and control in AoEIII to move it closer to wargame territory and beyond a pretty clickfest? Perhaps. Wally said they were attempting to make the game fun and engaging for casual RTS players, while also giving hardcore RTS players some substantial meat and potatoes to sink their teeth into. It's probably too early to tell how the gameplay is going to feel in that regard, although it did look like it had potential.

As for how they look, the graphics are very good indeed. I would say they are the equal of any other RTS title we saw at the show and considerably better than any current game. The game was demonstrated for Brian and I on an LCD monitor that had to be at least a 25-30" monitor, yet the game looked very good. The physicis engine was also one of the highlights and very impressive. One of the demonstrations included an artillery shell landing near an infantry formation. Several of the soldiers were hurled into the air, bounced on the ground, then tumbled over the side of a cliff into a lake. It looked very similar to the type of ragdoll effects one would expect to see in Half-Life 2. Very cool.

[raydude]

Thanks Don. I was hoping for that kind of response regarding the formations. Too often I've noticed that the formations (for previous games) look pretty and tactically sound only to have them degenerate either when moving (as each unit moves at its own speed) or when attacking the enemy. Then it becomes one giant mess that ends when one side is all killed. Usually at a sizeable loss to the victor.

Especially grating is when I have a nice line only to have one or two guys in the line "take the bait" and go after a lone enemy unit by themselves.

I'm crossing my fingers that Age of Empires III will be better than that.

[Siberian HEAT]

Another thing regarding formations we were shown, was a cool little effect during the charge of a group of units. If a formation is selected to move in and engage the enemy, you will see it move in tight formation for a while, then when it gets within about 30 yards (pretty close) they will break into a run to close the final distance. It was a nice effect, especially with cavalry. Supposedly this last burst of speed also increases the damage done in the first attack...

However, the only bad thing we saw in this regard was that cavalry would indeed charge the line, but at the very last second would stop just in front of it to "apply" their damage on the enemy. This is contrary to a real cavalry charge which would theoretically smash through the line rather than park in front of it. :)

The interface was pretty slick as well, as it appears very easy to break a formation in two, swing on unit around the flank while the other stands and fights...or other fancy manoeuvres. Units will also fire their guns if fired upon (at least what we saw) so they don't just sit there and die if they don't have orders. :D

[Cpt. Bonez]

Well, if you were wondering about quake 4 I heard it is something about a war between your planet and huge troll-like monsters called Stroggs, in the beginning of the game you are fighting against the Stroggs alongside your squad, eventually you get captured and a cutscene comes up where you are being tortured and... for lack of a better word, stroggified, however, they do not finish turning you into a strogg because you are rescued so you go back to your squad and retain both your humanity and your Strogg powers.
Aren't all the other Quake's like that?