Star Wars: Battleground Announced

http://www.bluesnews.com/

This story on Italian site Multiplayer.it announces a strategic alliance between LucasArts and Ensemble Studios to develop a new series of real-time strategy games. The first game will be titled Star Wars: Battleground, is being created upon an engine by Ensemble, and is scheduled for a Fall 2001 release. Here is full Italian press release which you may like to read via Babel Fish, and this is the main part from that translation (manually touched up a bit):

San Rafael, California - 27 February, 2001 - LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC has announced today an strategic alliance with Ensemble Studios in order to develop a new series of Real Time Strategy (RTS) for the digital market of interactive video games. The first product that results from this collaboration, Star Wars Battleground, is realized with technology that is based on the PC created by Ensemble and used in the acclaimed Age of Empires series. Arranging the creative talents of LucasArts and Ensemble - including the renowned designer Bruce Shelley - Star Wars Battleground is based on the game engine of Ensemble in order to introduce a new phase of the evolution of games RTS. Star Wars Battleground will release in autumn 2001. Future collaborations with LucasArts are expected in order to take advantage of the new technologies developed by Ensemble, weaving new "ingegneristici" elements expected of interactive strategic war in the Star Wars universe.

Interesting. AoK is great. I don't know how this will turn out though, considering Lucasarts' past two... attempts at making an rts. Anyway, just letting you guys know.

Yep...it's up on lucasarts.com. This will be interesting to see, but if this is the BIG announcment then I am disappointed.

loved Force Commander, but dont want more. I want action, dammit!

I agree...I've been waiting for a really good OT game for the PC!

Yippee-kay-effin-ay!

This ain't FoCom.

It's 2D, in the style of Age of Empires. It covers the period of all the movies, and won't try to amaze us with a bunch of new units but will stick to what we've seen before. This game'll kick ass. I want it now!

What's the story?! That's what I want to know. I hope it's enjoyable. Age of Empire games aren't my bag. Can someone convince me otherwise?

They haven't released the story per se, that'll probably come with E3.

"IGNPC: I know it's still early in the project, but can you give us a little background on the project. Is it going to be set during the events of Episode I or is does it focus more on the "classic" Star Wars series?

"Randy Breen: It actually extends through all four films, effectively both series -- classic and modern.

"IGNPC: So it's kind of like what they did with the Age of Empires series -- working through a history.

"Randy Breen: Exactly."

"IGNPC: Can you talk about any of the units we can expect to see in the game? Are you sticking to things we've seen already in the movies or will we see some brand-new original units as well?

"Randy Breen: I think you're going to recognize all of them. I hesitate to get into too much detail now since this is the initial announcement, but the game will be presented fully at E3."

"IGNPC: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

"Tom Sarris: One of the things that's important to us and one of the reasons we're doing an alliance like this as well as others we've announced is that it's real important for us to get back to a high-quality in our products, and I think that's what you're seeing with this announcement. It allows us to continue to match people's expectations in the way that we have in the past."

"IGNPC: So what is LucasArts' general take on PC development now?

"Randy Breen: My general take is that PC development is appropriate for certain types of products. I would say that there's definitely a shift going on to build more console products than the company was building up over the previous years, but that doesn't eliminate PC products. The percentage is different, but we're really trying to build several top-tier PC products currently. I think that some games are simply better suited for the PC, and vice-versa.

"Tom Sarris: I think the perception out there is that LucasArts is getting away from the PC, and I think that's only because for the past few months we've been so heavy in terms of console releases. But if you look back at what our core legacy is, development on the PC, that remains important to us and it will always be important to us, but obviously the whole console side is important to us too. We think we can strike an appropriate balance between platforms, but we're certainly not getting away from PC development in the least."

I want Obi-Wan..........

Obi-Wan... BAH!

When I think about it, I just can't get the idea of Star Wars into AoK. Hope they can pull it off well, because I would really like a good SW strategy game!

Another reason to look forward to E3!

actually, if Ensemble can pull it off (which they should; they have 4 great RTSes to their name, including expanisons), this could be a really cool game. The battle of Hoth, AoK RTS style. THAT would be cool!

My only concern I guess is about plot. I'd like it to fit in well with established continuity. Unfortunately, with this genre, that makes it difficult to adapt battles like the one's we've seen in the films. I guess I'd prefer that they use those timeframs but not necessarily the events of the film.

From GameSpot's Q&A:

"GS: Admittedly, Force Commander didn't live up to some people's expectations. Have you identified the problems you encountered in designing Force Commander? How will those problems be addressed in Battleground?

"TS: Force Commander was a 3D experience that was more tactical in nature than a typical 2D RTS. The art in that game is not nearly as detailed as what players will see in Star Wars Battleground. Star Wars Battleground is based upon a very successful and proven technology, which will enable LucasArts to concentrate on great game design, art, and story.

"GS: Is Battleground set in the classic Star Wars universe or in Episode I?

"TS: Star Wars Battleground will combine elements from classic Star Wars and Star Wars: Episode I."

Combining them? Greeat...

Only way I can see this is through advancing through ages like in AoK. But considering that the tech in ep1 was better/spiffier than that of the OT, I don't see how it would work. I'm interested to see if they can get the job done.

Hey kids want to create thousands of battledroids and blast the Gungans into Oblivion!

Star Wars: Battleground - Coming Spring of 2002...wait, 2003...wait...fall, 2006.

If this is "the BIG announcement" then I'm going to stop buying LucasArts games...all this is is Rebellion with some "tweaking" and Episode I stuff thrown in...and do you guys see the subtle hints of what's to come in that interview? "Some games work for PC, and others for consoles.." or something like that...what he's saying is expect a bunch of strategy games for PC, and buy a console if you want ANY action games.

What sides can they possibly have? Empire vs. Rebels vs. someotherlamers? Three civs? Wow?

Still, I must say that I am looking forward to it...

rayder this sounds more like a 2-d force commander/starcraft kind of game, more than rebellion.

Valiento:

I know that the game itself seems to be more Starcraft/ForceCommander styled, but it seems to me that the basic premise of the game, controlling resources, etc...is more in line with Rebellion. And I still say that if this game is "the BIG announcement" then the game had better blow me away. Because if it doesn't, and its more typical LucasArts BS, then I really can't see myself throwing any more money at them.

Honestly, I really want to play as the Trade Federation. I loved those battledroids.

The anouncment amazed mé. I'm a big fan of Star Wars, and a big fan of the Age of Empires serie. I'm very confident it will be a great game.

But ... I wonder how you can combine SW and AoE. the Age games have 12 to 18 Civilizations.

In star war you could choose between ... what? The empire/rebelion/trade federation(/yuuzhan vong)? Or humans/rodians/wookiees/hutts/jawa's/(yuuzhan vong)?

Whatever it is, it can't be much. cause unlike AoE, the units will not look the same, every civ would have an unique set.

Next, the ages. What? Old republic/prequel/classic/NJO? It could be done ... but will they?

Units, Landunits mostly I think, although the empire will use TIE-fighters and the rebelion will use X-wings and the likes. And an orbital bombarment...

The Jedi/Sith, how will they fit into the game. Only in the campaigns, or will random units have force powers too?

The game will be released this Fall, so it could contain Episode II stuff, but no EPIII thingies, maybe they will release an expansion for that.

And finally, the story. Will it find into the known storyline (wich is hard), or will it have an parallel story?

I have a LOT of questions about it. But as I said, I'm confident in Bruce Shelley and his merry man.

"But ... I wonder how you can combine SW and AoE. the Age games have 12 to 18 Civilizations."

Yeah but in the single player campaigns you really only use 3 or 4 of them, that's only an issue when it comes to multiplayer.

I can see it now in the early years of the empire you can hunt ewoks and gungans for food, .

And the Gungan cans root for clams like Jar Jar!

Frankly, with the whole "Sith/Jedi" aspect, I'd assume you'd have a Sith Temple and a Jedi Council you could build, and Jedi Masters would apply to battle like priests. Once the Jedi Temple is built, you can try to upgrade individual units by training them if they have Force-Sensitivity. You could also build Jedi Knights, who have less powers than Masters, but fight harder. Jedi Masters would also be skill to walk by small groups of soldiers who are under the Jedi's "Influence." (The Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded.)

Sith units would have the ability to become invisible to the other players (Hard to see the Dark Side is.) and even the ability to control the minds and wills of their units, making them braver combatants, willing to die for their masters.

As for air units, I dunno. The battles of Endor and Naboo didn't have air units in the ground battles, yet they were still very compelling.

Force Commander was not. *shrugs*

I really hope it has no air battles and just sticks to land/water. I could see the civs being Gungan, human, Rodian, etc., I suppose. It's hard to imagine, to say the least.

I can see:

Old Republic
Trade Federation
Empire
Rebellion
Smugglers (i.e. Talon Carde)
Crime Lords(i.e Jabba)
New Republic

as being possible "civilzations". This could turn out to be a really cool game!