Gamespot has posted a designer’s diary! Featuring John Johnson, Relic’s mini-driving producer of Company of Heroes, the one page article covers how Relic’s changing the RTS battlefield yet again. To snag your interest, take a gander at this opening paragraph.
For the first time, players can play a real-time strategy game where the map is not a static checkerboard or series of choke points that plays the same way every time. We have created dynamic and destructible battlefields where players can alter any part of the landscape to fit their strategic play style. Destroying a bunch of cover objects will deny the enemy the use of that cover, but conversely will also deny you that same cover. Take out a church and you’ve eliminated a possible sniper nest that could be used by you or the enemy. Drop in some off-map artillery, and now you’ve not only taken out whatever was unlucky enough to be under the bombardment, but you’ve also created some new cover in the form of craters. Every object in the world has properties that the soldiers in the game are aware of. They know how to use these objects effectively for cover, and will do so without requiring micromanagement from the player, leaving the player to focus on the bigger picture.
When you are done with the article, check out the gameplay trailer. It looks like it is coming along nicely! Hopefully Sumgai can bring us back some good info from E3.
“So I guess you boys can go home now! All I need to beat the krauts is some of those big white arrows!”