Kuju’s Tancred Dyke-Wells explores the world of Battalion Wars
By Michael Lafferty

“Battalion Wars is genuinely a unique gaming experience.”

It is more than a mere ground combat game. Battalion Wars is real-time strategy with a host of vehicles, but it is even more than that.

Nintendo and Kuju have teamed up for this GameCube title, which released in mid-September. Battalion Wars is a blend of modern-day combat with a touch of classic weaponry thrown in for a taut struggle on an alternative world.

The game features include:  

• The ability to command forces in the heat of battle, while a clever enemy AI adapts to player movements and tactics.

• The ability to use multiple attack vehicles such as jeeps, tanks, helicopters, airborne gunships, fighter jets, transport vehicles and more.

• A massive arsenal of weapons such as rifles, bazookas, flamethrowers, machine guns, mortars, rocket launchers and many others.

• Tactics will determine which countries rise or fall, all with a simple and somewhat universal control scheme.

Tancred Dyke-Wells, the project’s creative director, took time to chat with GameZone.com about this title.

Question: Battalion Wars is, obviously, a combat title, but from all the descriptions this sounds like it is founded on modern-day elements, armament and weaponry. Does this title use present-day technology or is it a blend of present and imagined/future elements? What will set this title apart from other combat vehicles, such as Call of Duty for the console, or the pending Call of Duty 2: Big Red One?

Tancred: “Battalion Wars takes place in a parallel universe to that of Advance Wars. The armaments and vehicles on display are all equivalent to modern-day military hardware in their capability. However, some of the designs for the units draw on classic, iconic military vehicles. For example, the Western Frontier Heavy Recon design combines elements of the classic WW2 Willys Jeep and the modern HumVee.

“What sets Battalion Wars apart from other shooters is the unique degree of freedom and power it offers the player, the ability to 'own the battlefield' and control a fight from the thick of the action. We do this via the key features of commanding and control transfer.”

Q: Will players control one unit or will they take on the commander position and control entire battle scenarios? How is the management of units and supplies handled? Does the game require micro-managing, or does the AI handle most of the mundane tasks?

Tancred: “The player is always in direct control of one unit, be it a fighter plane, tank or infantryman. However, at any time the player can switch control to any other unit under their command. There are three ways the player can do this; via locking on to the unit, selecting it in the command bar section of the HUD, or selecting it on the map. The player then just presses the transfer button.

“The player can also order any other unit to attack, advance, wait or follow via a very simple, two-button interface. By default, instructions are given to groups of units by type (for example, all Bazooka infantry), but the player also has the option of giving orders to individual units. 

“The default AI will allow units to take care of most situations on their own and prioritize intelligently, but the player's orders are what makes the difference in winning a battle.”

Q: Speaking of AI, it has been stated that enemy AI has been given a great deal of attention. What makes the AI of the enemy special?

Tancred: “Both friendly and enemy troops will use cover and perform combat rolls to evade enemy fire; they will seek out and pursue enemies, or defend a set area if so instructed. Infantry will hide if they are being sniped and call others to help them.  

“Units prioritize their targets according to how effective their weapons are against them, how range affects the power of their weapons over distance, whether they are in cover, and whether the enemy is wounded or already being attacked. So, they're pretty smart. Then of course at a higher level, the enemy CO AI may detect that a position is under assault by the player and choose to bring forward reinforcements, for example."

Q: How does this title push the technological limits of the GameCube?

Tancred: “Battalion Wars runs at a solid frame rate even in widescreen Progressive Scan mode, with up to 60 highly detailed units on screen at once, even when engaged in the most frenetic battles. We have a full physics system running on all vehicle units, complex decision making and pathfinding being carried out by our units, and explosions and tracer fire filling the screen in these situations. Basically, we have some pretty bright guys on our engine team.”

Q: Is there multiplayer available?

Tancred: “Ultimately we had to drop multiplayer for this iteration of Battalion Wars in order to deliver a core, single-layer experience of Nintendo quality within the budget and timescale available to us. But we're very focused on the possibility of implementing multiplayer for any future iterations of Battalion Wars.”

Q: How many different environments and campaigns are there in this title?

Tancred: “The main campaign takes the player through 20 challenging missions set in four different environments. These vary from the frozen, hostile wastes of the Tundran Territories, through the trenches and shellholes of Xylvania to the deserts of the Dune Sea and the idyllic palm-fringed islands of the Coral Atolls.

“We also offer four secret Bonus Missions. These offer something a little different to the player, but I don't want to say too much about that.”

Q: Players are given the opportunity to take control of a variety of vehicles, from tanks to helicopters, jeeps to fighter jets - does the control system vary greatly from one vehicle to the next? While so many different elements, including a variety of weapons, how were you able to keep the control scheme from becoming a learning-curve nightmare?

Tancred: “We made a very deliberate effort to maintain consistency of control method from infantry to vehicle to aircraft.  It sounds crazy, but we actually use the same, single-stick control system for all three major unit types. This ensures that the player can switch control from tank to rifleman to fighter plane all without having to recalibrate their senses. It's deliberately a very intuitive and simple control method.”

Q: How do the sound elements carry forth the game's themes?

Tancred: “All the campaigns are fully scored with originally commissioned music. In developing the style of the music we tried to strike a balance between the whimsical, light-hearted attitude of the game and the grand themes of classic war movie soundtracks. Our vehicle and battle sound effects have the same exaggerated, chunky feel that is also evident in the art style. In addition we made a great effort to inject personality, humor and charm into our infantry characters through their dialogue.”

Q: What elements do you believe will really draw the players to this title?

Tancred: “Battalion Wars is genuinely a unique gaming experience. You really can't get this elsewhere, the feeling of controlling a battle from the thick of the action – the ability to command and fight, to be any unit under your command. It's an action experience that requires tactical thinking, and it's just plain fun!”

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