Battlefield Command preview

Battlefield Command boast an incredible level of detail - as you can see on this Stug III.

Soldiers aren’t what they used to be. Back in the day, every power mongering couch potato general out there could send countless digital infantrymen into certain death and not hear a single word of complaint as they got hit by 88mm grenades and the like. This is not how things work in Codemasters’ new strategy title, Battlefield Command, a.k.a. WW2 RTS (working titles –ed.). The reason is that this game takes thirty-six personal characteristics into account in each soldier and one of them is morale. If this is low soldiers won’t accept orders that equal suicide. And this is just one example of the way Codemasters and developers IC seek to create a far more intricate and realistic RTS than Westwood’s long-reigning C&C.

I had the pleasure of trying Battlefield Command/WW2 RTS at Codemasters’ ECTS booth and it quickly became apparent to me that I stood little chance in this game without a manual or some form of guidance, even though I’ve great experience with the genre. My German Panzer troops were being slaughtered by inferior opponents. This wasn’t really because the game was too hard, only that it presented an overwhelming array of options (that’s what they all say –ed.).

Just a pawn in the game

Your tanks drive through a quiet village... but perhaps it's too quiet?

As the WW2 RTS working title suggests the game takes place during the Second World War and IC have treated the subject with great care. Associate Producer Callum Godfrey informed me that they have used actual aerial photos as sources for the game’s maps. If, for instance, a house is to be found on the authentic photo it will be there in the game as well. Every map equals one square kilometre, but you’ll be able to look about three or four kilometres into the distance, and spot other battles that you can’t take part in. In this way, WW2 RTS tries to make you feel a part of the bigger picture.

So even though WW2 RTS takes place during 1940-1945, you won’t be able to change events and prevent D-Day, for instance, since you’re just a little piece of it all.

Record-setting number of units

320 units ought to satisfy even the most die-hard WW2 fetischist. Here we have a German FW 189 circling the battlefield

Let’s return to the extensive research done by the lads at IC. WW2 RTS lets you choose between eight nations, such as the obvious UK and Germany, but also Poland, Hungary and even Canada. All told, the game has 320 different vehicles (!) that have been recreated in 3D, based on actual blueprints and other authentic data. Planes, trucks, tanks, guns... there’s something for everyone, and the vehicles all come with a large set of attributes, just like the soldier units.

One of the most interesting details is that you can seize and use enemy weapons. This will quickly become a necessity, since WW2 RTS isn’t about building bases and units. Like in a real war, you are issued a certain number of units and must make do with them. Luckily, your men will gain experience along the way and thus they will improve their abilities from mission to mission. You can even train them as you go along. If you put a medic into a tank, for instance, it will take him time to learn how to start the engine. But he can become a good tank driver in time. In this fashion, you can actually specialise your troops for specific scenarios, such as tank-based combat.

No more bland graphics

WW2 RTS may be a strategy game, but the graphics are on par with a first person shooter.

At this point it might seem reasonable to worry that WW2 RTS runs the risk of drowning in realism and forgetting about the graphical side, as has been the case in many games of this kind before. But just look at the screenshots. The game obviously features an advanced 3D engine with great detail in both units and landscapes, in addition to beautiful effects. On the downside of things this will also require some serious hardware, but the build of the game I tried was only half done. This means that there is still a lot of coding and optimisation left for the developers and it looks like they need it. The game almost killed the PC it ran on, even though there were but 20-30 units present on the level.

Battle your friends

Notice the great level of detail in the environment.

Battlefield Command/WW2 RTS has one hundred historical missions in single-player mode, but as we all know it’s far more fun to beat your mates with brilliant ambushes and a skilful blitzkrieg. This is why there are ten specially designed multiplayer maps to run amok on and with eight multiplayer modes, this means eighty possible combinations. We still don’t know how many players the game will support though. Godfrey says four, but the official promotion material says eight.

Godfrey did, however, confirm that IC and Codemasters will release an editor for the game (presumably along with it), which will allow fans to make entire mods and user maps. There will be a single-player and a multiplayer demo available sometime before the launch of the game in 2004. The only thing it needs now is a sexier name... (I like Battlefield Command! –ed.).

Translated by Jonatan A. Allin (neonwolf)