22-Apr-2004 New theatre of war, new technology, new gameplay - EA takes us deep into the jungle Infinity Ward's Call of Duty might be the current king in the World War II first-person shooter world, nicking the crown from Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, but Medal of Honor series publisher EA may soon be about to reclaim the throne. Coming out fighting, EA this year - well, it had better be this year - will release Allied Assault sequel Pacific Assault, a title armed to the teeth with enticing new features that's seeking to bag top dog position.
It's been some seven months since we last spoke to EA about Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, so we thought it was high time for a catch-up to see how things are progressing. Lead designer Dave Nash answered the call.
What key parts of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault have you been focussing on in the last six months, in terms of development?
Nash: The main focus of the team over the last couple of months has been getting the bare bone structure of the levels coded. It's a careful process of ensuring that all the elements are set up correctly for an exciting gameplay experience, pulling you from one action encounter to another.
We've heard some talk in the past about how the player character will change during the course of events. Could we get more details on this - and how does it impact the game experience?
Nash: We're putting a good level of attention on character evolution, how you and the player's buddies will change over time, becoming more tanned and battle-weary. You'll also find that different allied NPCs have varying veteran ranks that effect in-game behaviour. Simply, this means that clean-faced young recruits will fight a lot less fiercely than hardened battle hero's who have seen countless battles.
We're expecting to see a heavy increase in squad dynamics, but will missions be a mixture of solo and squad or what? Also, will we be able to communicate with AI buddies in any way?
Nash: Yes, you'll find a variety of solo play and squad-based missions, with particular focus placed on fighting alongside other allied soldiers. We want the player to get a true sense of fighting in the island jungle conflicts of WWII. This means focusing on squad combat which was often the only way to achieve objectives in such a harsh environment. However, in certain missions you may get split up from your squad (i.e. in an ambush) and then you'll have to fight and survive using only your own wits.
If you want to keep your health level high then your going to need to keep your Corpsman alive! Following on from this we are developing a number of hand signals - these will be used by the NPC. This new control system will be particularly handy in MOHPA as the AI of the enemy will be a lot more sophisticated, altering tactics rapidly.
Last time we spoke you were saying that driveable vehicles were a possibility but not a definite. Is this still up in the air, or have you now made a definite decision here?
Nash: Yes, I can confirm that you will be able to drive a number of vehicles in MOHPA. We are gradually adding to the vehicle-combat aspect of the MOH games, but we don't plan on having anything on the scale of BF1942 this time around. We think they handle that segment of the market quite well for EA, so we're going to stick with the main focus of the MOH games - infantry combat.
Is the weapons list finalised? Can you tell us about the firepower we're going to get to use?
Nash: As part of your arsenal you'll have over 21 historically accurate World War II era weapons, including M1 Carbines, Japanese Arisaka rifles, a Type 100 submachine gun and satchel charges which are my favourite weapon/tool right now!
Ultimately, Pacific Assault will be more of an arcade experience akin to Allied Assault, but you're including some "realism" features such as the lead character bleeding when he gets wounded. Are there any other "realism" features such as this that you're incorporating?
Nash: We're going to make sure that we don't break the MOH formula and change the game altogether, but we are evolving and developing the game mechanics to the next level.
One thing we're doing to this end is making it a little bit harder to get healed when you've been shot. We're leaning towards doing away with running through the level searching for magical health packs. Instead, if the player is shot, he will begin to bleed. He'll have to take cover and apply a bandage to stop the bleeding.
If he needs to regain health, he'll have to call for a Corpsman. This still obviously makes it a lot easier to stay alive than it was in real combat, but hey it's a game, right?
What level of freedom does the player have in the game, in terms of approaching/accomplishing objectives, for example?
Nash: We'll have a bunch of missions that are more linear in nature, along the lines of those in Allied Assault and Spearhead. We're not trying to go the route of Deus Ex, Flashpoint, and those types of games. But we do plan on having a number of levels that are very different from what MOH gamers are used to.
By the very nature of the areas we're trying to recreate (jungle), we're going to end up with a bunch of maps that offer more freedom of choice than anything we've done before. We're also going to have a few levels that are wide-open battles that the player is swept up into.
How much really does the implementation of a real-world physics system add to the gameplay experience? What sorts of opportunities does it open up?
Nash: We're concentrating major efforts into making sure physics plays a role in making the gameplay more dynamic and interesting. This includes integrated elements of Havok, so characters, environments and objects will be fully physics-based. This enables us to breathe life into the world we've created.
Does the implementation of real-world physics also impact/influence the multiplayer side of the game in any major ways?
Nash: Yes, the new physics engine will also be included in the multiplayer component of the game. However, you will be able to alter the settings to improve online performance.
Call of Duty is widely regarded as the best WWII shooter currently on the market for PC. How, or in what areas or ways, does Pacific Assault trump Infinity Ward's game?
Nash: To be honest, apart from the WWII theme, I don't think we can justify a fair comparison between MOHPA and COD. Our game will be very different to COD, and the main reason for this is that the technology we're using to create MOHPA is at the very cutting edge.
Every couple of years PC technology jumps significantly ahead of all other gaming platforms, and for MOHPA this means we can break new ground. We can render more than five times the amount of geometry than in previous games. This translates to larger, more detailed environments and much higher character fidelity.
Second, we have added a robust physics engine to the game we also mentioned earlier. The marriage of these two features alone will result in what we hope is a very memorable and rewarding time for gamers.
Anyway, you have to remember that MOH has been around for several years longer than Call of Duty. I think it's a case of imitation is the best form of flattery!
Can you confirm a release date yet?
Nash: We want to make sure MOHPA delivers a high quality FPS experience and this means it will be ready when it's ready.
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