Advanced Battlegrounds： The Future of Combat

Advanced Battlegrounds: The Future of Combat, the popular online PC combat simulator for Microsoft's upcoming game, is set to feature a variety of upgrades and improvements over the original, including the addition of 12 player online battles, enhanced graphics, better audio, and new user interface elements.

Players can participate in 12-player online battles in the popular first-person shooter. Advanced Battlegrounds: The Future of Combat will let you choose from a wide variety of battle types, including horse-drawn battles, light cavalry, and stealthy scout battles, as well as an advanced trade route. The game's enhanced graphics engine will let you look at distant war windows, from the windows to the dark caves to the interior. Weapons from real-world weapons include half-snake launchers, pistols, and dual-machine guns. An advanced upgrade to the tactical combat system lets you move units around with the mouse.

Advanced Battlegrounds: The Future of Combat is currently scheduled for release in late August.

D3 Publisher

Developer: 3DO Studios Read our preview for a firsthand look at the game.

Developed by 3DO Studios, the first-person shooter for the PC, the new game is set in the world of Advanced Battlegrounds. The shooter puts you in the role of John Cooper, a soldier out for revenge after his handler betrays him. Your mission is to kill his pursuers, and you will travel to numerous locations, including towns, remote locations, and urban settings. You will also battle vehicles and vehicles in this level, such as tanks, APCs, and helicopters.

Halo-Creative Director and Lead Programmer: Bungie Software Read our preview for a firsthand look at the ambitious title.

LucasArts, the developer behind the popular Star Wars games, made the announcement on the official GameSpot PC Web site today that it has signed a worldwide publishing deal with LucasArts to publish the space strategy game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. The game will be published by THQ, whose games will be developed by Pandemic Studios, and is scheduled for release later this year.

GameSpot PC: Will there be an online multiplayer component in the game?

LucasArts: We are still working on this.

GS: How long will the single-player campaign be?

PS: It will be approximately five hours.

GS: Will there be an additional online component?

PS: The single-player campaign can be played with up to eight players online or offline, as opposed to having two players per side. Players will have their own online friends lists, allowing them to watch and rate what their friends are playing. Online will also be supported with an ad hoc ranking system.

GS: Will the game feature ship-to-ship battles in a persistent universe?

PS: There will be no ship-to-ship combat in the game.

GS: Can you discuss how multiplayer will work?

PS: Online multiplayer is not a single-player game. Players will be able to move, steal, and issue orders. Each player can take control of a ship from a range of different parts of the ship. Each player has access to his or her own fleet, which is used to issue orders and tasks, or those orders will be conducted at a strategic point in time. Players will be able to specify a specific resource to their ships and use as they please. Ships will be able to operate with their own targeting capabilities. Players will be able to target individual parts of the ship in real time. However, the ship can only target parts of the ship at a time.

GS: In what capacity will the game ship to player? Will ship power be limited in a certain amount of time?

PS: Yes, there will be plenty of supply crates for purchase and a fleet that can be automated to make your ship stronger. The ship will run different stations with different enhancements, as well as types of energy reserves. Some stations can be used as either mass depots, which are energy exchangers, or various other stations that you can send ships to. The final store station is the photon torpedo, which will allow you to add damage to one of your ships.

GS: Will the ship be fully customizable? What sort of bonuses will there be?

PS: Yes, you will have a multitude of crew configurations that you can mix and match. We will also be offering three different ship ships--some of which can be assigned for each crew.

GS: One of the most interesting elements of Klingon and the Klingon fleet is their ability to be considered "truly epic" in a very different way than the Federation's ships. Do you think this will impact the balance of power between Federation and Klingon? Will this affect the balance of power between Klingon and Romulan vessels? Will these two races have ties?