Interview: American Conquest

by Lloyd Sabin

Introduction

Urkanian developer GSC Game World is probably best known for their successful historical RTS series, Cossacks, which covers the European theater in a pre-industrial Europe. Taking that successful Cossacks formula, the team is now wrapping up work on another title, focused on a different part of the world. The soon-to-be-released American Conquest marries the proven real-time strategy formula of Cossacks with an unknown (at least for video games) era in history. American Conquest is an RTS set in the New World of the Americas, from the 16th through the 18th century. Players can take control of one of the three colonial powers (England, France and Spain) or one of the eight native civilizations (Incans, Aztecs, Iroquois, Huron, Pueblo, Delaware, Mayan and Algonquin). Massive battles with 16,000 units are possible with the improved 3D game engine, and the maps are four times larger than that of those found in Cossacks. 

Since American Conquest will arrive in North American stores in just a few short days, The Wargamer sat down with developer Oleg Yavorskyy from GSC Game World to discuss the new title and what new experience it would offer to the historical RTS genre and player. 

The Interview

The Wargamer (WG): What types of fans will really be able to sink their teeth into American Conquest? What games does this upcoming release credit its roots to? 

Oleg Yavorskyy (OY): American Conquest is a title for anyone interested in the military history of America. It spans over 300 years, offering plenty of colorful historical content in the interactive shell of game campaigns and missions. Apart from enriching their knowledge of history, players will be able to enjoy warfare in a true historical scope (up to 16,000 units on the map). American Conquest is our second historical real-time strategy after the Cossacks titles. The game has been developed d by the highly experienced Cossacks team, so you will find both good ideas from our first strategy title as well as plenty of new gaming concepts introduced by American Conquest. 

WG: What kind of engine does American Conquest use? Will it be the same as the Cossacks series, will it be updated, or will it be a totally new engine? 

OY: American Conquest exploits a revised Cossacks engine. The engine has been modified considerably and offers many new gameplay and graphical possibilities - for example, you can have up to 16,000 units on the map and units can now enter virtually any building and defend it from the inside. Each of the units is under the influence of morale; bullet and cannonball physics are true-to-life, and so on. As far as the landscape is concerned, engine modifications permit us to map up to six textures on one face to make the terrain look virtually photo-realistic. 

WG: What is the timeline of American Conquest? 

OY: The game spans through 300 years of American history, covering the period from Columbus' discovery of the continent, up to the War of Independence in the States. Within this period we offer players five campaigns focusing on major military conflicts of the time. Technologies and armies will develop from simpler (early years) to more advanced (the 18th century), as players develop their infrastructures over the course of history in the game. 

WG: What types of terrain features will appear in American Conquest? And will the game include both North and South America? 

OY: In American Conquest, we tried to reproduce the terrain types you normally see in the Americas. Throughout the game you can feast your eyes on rocks, canyons, mountain streams, waterfalls and more. Additionally, we came up with four climate zones - northern, moderate, desert and tropics - so that players can select between them before the game starts. The zones provide different sets of both greenery and wildlife. In the northern area, for instance, you will find vast spaces filled with evergreens, bison, bears, etc, while in the tropics you'll make your way through dense tropical forests and encounter crocodiles, pumas, etc. Animals can serve as a source of food, as many nations are able to hunt. At the same time, migrating wild animals can pose a serious threat to a player's encampment, especially at the game start when there are no military units to defend your base against their raids. 

WG: Will units speak in their native languages? 

OY: No, units will not have this capability in the game. We thought it would be too confusing for the player to have several thousand units of his army gabbing simultaneously. 

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