Dragonshard – PC – Preview

PRE-E3 2005:
First Look

When it comes to most real-time
strategy games, core elements usually include a war-torn landscape and the fate
of a world hanging within the precarious grasp of two or more races. What
developers actually do to realize the vision is the dynamic that separates the
ordinary, run-of-the-mill titles from those who have the potential to be a
wonderful gaming experience.

Liquid Entertainment has picked up
those essential ideas, colored them with rich and imaginative graphics and
gameplay elements, and will be offering up, in conjunction with publisher Atari,
Dragonshard for the PC this June. But Dragonshard is much more than an RTS;
there are role-playing elements, intuitive interface aids, and two areas of
combat – above ground and below ground. The AI is excellent and even when units
are engaged, players will not have to spend time mini-managing each member of a
venturing party.

Atari gave a close-up look at
Dragonshard during a Pre-E3 event held in San Francisco.

The game takes place in the world of
Eberron, a new world created in the D&D universe and the setting for both
Dragonshard and Turbine Entertainment’s pending massively multiplayer title,
Dungeons & Dragons Online (which is also published by Atari). The above ground
element features massive battles, where buildings are just as important as
units, whereas the RPG elements come into play in the underground portion, which
is akin to a dungeon crawl to bolster armament and treasure caches.

There are 16 grids for building
construction within cities above ground, and a total of 10 building types. But
what you build is particularly important simply because it has a profound effect
on the units you can have. The warring units are comprised of three general
types – soldiers, captains and champions. There are five units in a squad, and
soldiers and champions cannot level up. While you can level captains, this is
where buildings come into play. With one of the right type of building, you can
level a captain up to level 3. You will need two of the same building to level
him up to level 6.

The game also does away with
technology trees. If you have the resources, you can build anything immediately.
A King’s Screen gives quick and easy interface access to units, buildings and
attributes and really does a solid job in streamlining the learning curve and
allowing players to immerse themselves immediately in this world.

The story behind the game was
developed by the creator of the Eberron world, Keith Baker, and all the monsters
within the game come straight out of the D&D monster manual, and each unit for
the game – in terms of RPG advancement – is based on the D&D ruleset.

The game features a campaign mode
and skirmish mode. There are three races, but only two playable campaigns with
approximately seven missions per campaign. Multiplayer will support up to eight
gamers, and victory conditions can be customized for each multiplayer campaign.

As an example of the improved AI
elements, a group of adventurers may encounter a two-headed ettin. In other RTS
titles, the mob would fight one member of the attacking party at once, but with
the AI system of Dragonshard two heads and two arms means it can fight two
enemies at completely different angles. And a Beholder, which has more attacking
stalks emerging from its ‘head,’ can fight as many enemies as it has stalks.

While the sound elements were very
good, perhaps the first hook that Dragonshard uses are the graphical elements.
Great texturing, dynamic lighting and shadows, and the environmental nuances
that infuse this world with wonder, delight and life.

Dragonshard looks to be one of those
titles that takes the general notion of what an RTS is and blows it out of the
water. From the limited look in San Francisco, this appears to be a title worth
looking for come June.