Dragonshard 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.