World War II: Frontline Command
By Aaron "Spectre" Watson

Article Type: Interview
Article Date: August 07, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: World War II: Frontline Command
Category: Real-Time Action Strategy
Developer: The Bitmap Brothers
Publisher: Codemasters
Release Date: Autumn 2002
Sys. Spec: Click Here
Files & Links: Click Here

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Once again I have the opportunity to discuss a new strategy game with the developer. Codemasters, better known for their tactical shooter Operation Flashpoint, will publish The Bitmap Brothers' World War II strategy game they call an RTAS. To find out what an RTAS is, and much more, I interviewed one of Bitmap Brothers' lead producers, Jamie Barber.

The 3-D looks good.

Aaron Watson (A.W.) Please describe an RTAS, and how it different from an RTS? Codemasters continues to have great success with Operation Flashpoint why the foray into an RTAS?

Jamie Barber (J.B.) World War II is a popular subject in both movies and games at the moment. Rather than bringing yet another sprite-based RTS game into the market, we felt that using Bitmap Brothers' tried-and-tested 3D engine would bring something new and appealing to this big market sector.

From The Bitmap Brothers perspective after we'd finished Z: Steel Soldiers we had this top engine geared up for strategy games and rather than the comic form of Z we wanted to do something a little more serious. Bizarrely when we decided upon and started work on a WW2 based game it was a) the only one being attempted in 3D and b) only Sudden Strike and Close Combat were around, amazingly there are loads coming out now!

The main and obvious differences between an RTAS and an RTSG are in the time that the player has to accomplish a task and how that task is carried out.

Traditionally within an RTSG you would have to harvest a resource and then convert that somehow into the unit/s that you required achieving your goal, generally with a fair amount of building and mining. In WW2: FC we see the units themselves as your resource to look after and use effectively, from the moment a level starts. Ergo there is an immediacy lacking in the traditional RTSG. Often in WW2: FC you will be dropped straight into battle and then have to fight your way through to your objectives developing and employing your strategy as best you can based on the current combat situation. You may find that the only times you have to hold up as within an RTSG is when you need to center your forces, rearm, heal and boost morale before making a final and decisive thrust.

Decisive thrust

A.W. The morale system sounds very good, would you describe an example of how it will work?

J.B. Envisage a squad of rifle infantry that you have sent crawling forward in a wedge formation to test and ascertain the enemy's defences within a town.

You've ordered them to travel through the gardens situated at the back of a row of terraced houses so they will be in cover and are behind a low wall out of sight, they are progressing well and morale is OK.

You hear the echoing crack of a sniper rifle and one of the squad slumps to the floor, badly shocking the others in his patrol. A second crack and another death, the remaining squad members are starting to panic and are shouting for you to help them. But where's the sniper?

A building across from them has line of sight to their position, the sniper must be in there… You order the devastated rifle squad to run back to a secure position out of sight of the suspect building, they come under fire from an enemy recon guy hiding near the new position, morale is low and they react slowly to the new threat, many shots miss but finally some find the enemy soldier and he goes down.

You bring up a commander and two submachine gun squads in support and the rifle guys calm down and get it together. You send both the rifle and SMG squads racing through the gardens in single file to confuse the snipers aim and the other SMG squad is ordered to set up an ambush in the street opposite the gardens.

With the influence of their companions the morale of the rifle squad hits the "Hero" level and one of them runs forward, pulls the pin on a grenade and hurls it into a window of the house that the sniper is hiding within. A concussion wave shatters the windows of the house and the snipers rifle falls silent...



A.W. Will the lead soldiers have personas; as in are the careers of individual soldiers going to be tracked?

J.B. No, only the progress and performance of the player are tracked. We have chosen to do this purely based on the scale of the game; it's a far cry from Close Combat and you may find that you lose many if not all of your start units before being reinforced by air within one mission.



A.W. In the multiplayer, I see that the campaign maps can be used, and that there will be special multiplayer maps. Will there be the opportunity for skirmishes—you versus the AI on the multiplayer maps? If so, will the ability to ally with other AI groups be available?

J.B. Nope, the game only supports 4 human players.



A.W. I have seen some of the screenshots, and a 3D environment is apparent. Will there be any weather effects such as rain and snow?

J.B. The game follows the allied timeline from just before the Normandy landings in June 1944 through to the expansion into Germany in 1945, the seasons are modeled within the game as the player progresses and the weather will change accordingly.



A.W. I have read that the terrain will deform as a result of explosions and heavy vehicle traffic; can a tactical advantage and/or cover be gained by this, and will the AI use it?

J.B. The landscape will scar creating craters, etc., and these can be utilized for cover by both the AI and the player.



A.W. What type of support units will be involved, as in artillery and/or close air support?

J.B. One of the player's infantry units, the Recon guy can be equipped with smoke grenades that will call in off-map support when they are deployed. This support may be in the form of Artillery strikes, Air Strikes or Reinforcements.

Airborne reinforcements

A.W. How basic is the training, and does it get in to the specialties of each unit?

J.B.There are two game types within the game, Recruit and Veteran, the recruit mode is not dependant on ammunition and allows the player to focus on one or two core units per level at first to learn how to use them efficiently.



A.W. Will the game allow end-user add-ons and mods? I know that a lot of latitude was given for third party add-ons in Operation Flashpoint, and we have seen some beautiful creations. What do you envision coming from the community for this title?

J.B. Currently there are no plans to release the game's editing tools but maybe in the near future this may be possible. We hope to release some custom maps and units at some point after release though.



A.W. Do you have any working specifications for the system needed to run this simulation?

J.B. Pending further optimization, the min spec will probably be a PII 400 with a 64 MB graphics card.



A.W. Will the tried and true "fog of war" be implemented, and if so, in what way?

J.B. The fogging is completely customizable by the player, by default the fogging will be disabled and a realistic Line Of Sight based system will be in operation but the player can choose to play with both Fog Of War and Shroud active.

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There are to be a number of World War II real-time strategy games coming out in the near future, and this looks to be a contender. It's hard to beat the multi-faceted depth and graphics, but the coming months will tell who is the front runner, and who is an also ran.

I'd like to thank Jamie Barber for his time and great answers to my questions.

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