-Comando-
1st April 2003, 23:58
Recently we had an opportunity to talk with the folks at Haemimont to hear about their upcoming strategy title The Druid King.
Dragon: First off, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Andonov: My name is Alexander Andonov (aka Sir Mordred of Logris), aged 21. I am a programmer in "The Druid King" since the beginning of the project.
Dobrev: My name is Gabriel Dobrev, Project Manager and Lead Designer. I've been with the project from its very beggining when it emerged as an idea. That was back in January 2000.
Dragon: What is the premis behind The Druid King?
Andonov: The Druid King story takes place in ancient Gaul, the first land to be conquered by Julius Caesar. He wrote his very famous "Commentarii de bello gallico" (Thoughts on the Gaelic war) from which we acquired a lot of information about the setting of the game - the peoples, the political situation, the tools and crafts of war and so on. Basicly this is a tale about the struggle between Gaul and Rome, but also between courage and skill, hate and passion. The story tells of a young Gaul whose wife-to-be was slain by the Teutons during an assault on their village. Badly wounded, he was thought dead, and thus he survived the battle, only to find his beloved one killed, his village burned to ashes, his people massacred by the Dogs of War. In these moments of deep sorrow, he made an oath to the Goddess of War, that he will devote to her his life and the life of every man he kills if she in return would give him revenge for his loss. The One of the War heard him, and so his fate was to become a hero in this land, and later in the Lands of Legend.
Dragon: How long have you been working on this project, and how many people worked on it?
Andonov: I'm in the project from 19 months.
Dobrev: Right now, there are 18 people in the team. We started in May 2000 with a team of 5-6 people. Since then more than 25 people have contributed to the project.
Dragon: Is there a limit on the number of units you can control?
Dobrev: No, there is no limit. You can make as much units as you want. But it is not always better to have more units, so there is a strategic choice here - how many units you need to achieve your goals? It is not justified in practice to go beyond several hundered units because you cannot feed them all, and you cannot concentrate them as you can with a smaller number of more expensive or experienced units. We want to let the players choose the number of units they want to deal with. You can win with 40 untis or with 400 - it depends on you.
Andonov: It really depends on the experience and the "clicking rate" of the given player. We usually play with 100-200 units per player, sometimes reaching about 300.
Dragon: What types of buildings will you be able to create?
Andonov: All buildings and terrain features are either created by a map editor or a random map generator. This allows the player to concentrate on his unit control, general economics and strategy decisions, instead on the where_to_put_that_tower problem. The only things, apart of units which the player can build are the catapults, which are used for sieging the enemy's stronghold, villages, etc.
The map editor allows the usual types of buildings, all of them available in different directions, specific for the people (Gaelic, Roman or Teuton) that builds them. These include:
the town center, which manages the economical relations with the other settlements and also serves as a garrison for the defending army;
the barracks, where the combat units are built;
the arena, where the heroes and some special units are trained
the druid / priest house, which provides spiritual and religious training for magic users and also the development of different spells which for these users may cast.
the tavern, where you care about your citizens, and where you can learn in various ways on what is happening elsewhere on the map.
the protective walls, heavily guarded by towers; the gates that let no foe inside your stronghold, unless his force and skill is greater than yours...
the villages, where peasants dwell in their houses, working hard to provide food for your army.
the outposts, where you keep an eye for the coming enemy, where you trade resources, where your army stays for rest and healing
Dragon: Is there a technology tree?
Andonov: There are various upgrades, which make your army better in different ways. The most important ones are for the additional types of units, there are also upgrades for some special units and such that help the development of strong economy. There are also the spell researches and the barrack upgrades, which allow faster unit equipment.
Dobrev: Yes, there is. There are two types of upgrades in The Druid King. Some upgrades are local for the stronghold where you make them. If you upgrade your blackmith to produce horseshoes you'll be able to equip horsemen in this stronghold, but you will not be able to equip them in another stronghold unless you spent gold for the same upgrade there. And there are the global upgrades. You can pay the druids to use their ghost summoning skills in any stronghold and it will work for all drudis that you have.
We have tried to avoid upgrades of the type double-this-number that are always good to have when you have the price. Instead, the upgrades present you with a choice that is relevant during the whole game. For example you can give free beer to everybody in the tavern and this will open a new set of economic and logistics opportunities that you may need depending on your plans. But the upgrade does not make you stronger by itself - it just gives you new opportunities. So, do not expect to see hundereds of upgrades in The Druid King. Expect to see smaller number of upgrades that give you unique advantages and combine with each other in numerous ways.
Dragon: Can your civilations advance?
Dobrev: The Druid King strategic games take like a month or two in "historical time". The game is focused on battles, strategies, tactics, logistics and ... well, battles. During the game, your people will not discover the wheel or the hot water or advance to the modern times. They will however build up their strength by taking over new territories, growing in population, finding heroes to lead them and training numerous and experienced army.
Dragon: Is it true 3D? Is line of site taken into account?
Andonov: The engine is a state-of-the-art mixture between 3D rendered terrain with blended textures and 2D detailed multicolour graphics. The graphic engine takes very little processor time, alowing us to maintain even more units on the map. The line of sight is a circle around the unit; it is not affected by height.
Dragon: First off, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Andonov: My name is Alexander Andonov (aka Sir Mordred of Logris), aged 21. I am a programmer in "The Druid King" since the beginning of the project.
Dobrev: My name is Gabriel Dobrev, Project Manager and Lead Designer. I've been with the project from its very beggining when it emerged as an idea. That was back in January 2000.
Dragon: What is the premis behind The Druid King?
Andonov: The Druid King story takes place in ancient Gaul, the first land to be conquered by Julius Caesar. He wrote his very famous "Commentarii de bello gallico" (Thoughts on the Gaelic war) from which we acquired a lot of information about the setting of the game - the peoples, the political situation, the tools and crafts of war and so on. Basicly this is a tale about the struggle between Gaul and Rome, but also between courage and skill, hate and passion. The story tells of a young Gaul whose wife-to-be was slain by the Teutons during an assault on their village. Badly wounded, he was thought dead, and thus he survived the battle, only to find his beloved one killed, his village burned to ashes, his people massacred by the Dogs of War. In these moments of deep sorrow, he made an oath to the Goddess of War, that he will devote to her his life and the life of every man he kills if she in return would give him revenge for his loss. The One of the War heard him, and so his fate was to become a hero in this land, and later in the Lands of Legend.
Dragon: How long have you been working on this project, and how many people worked on it?
Andonov: I'm in the project from 19 months.
Dobrev: Right now, there are 18 people in the team. We started in May 2000 with a team of 5-6 people. Since then more than 25 people have contributed to the project.
Dragon: Is there a limit on the number of units you can control?
Dobrev: No, there is no limit. You can make as much units as you want. But it is not always better to have more units, so there is a strategic choice here - how many units you need to achieve your goals? It is not justified in practice to go beyond several hundered units because you cannot feed them all, and you cannot concentrate them as you can with a smaller number of more expensive or experienced units. We want to let the players choose the number of units they want to deal with. You can win with 40 untis or with 400 - it depends on you.
Andonov: It really depends on the experience and the "clicking rate" of the given player. We usually play with 100-200 units per player, sometimes reaching about 300.
Dragon: What types of buildings will you be able to create?
Andonov: All buildings and terrain features are either created by a map editor or a random map generator. This allows the player to concentrate on his unit control, general economics and strategy decisions, instead on the where_to_put_that_tower problem. The only things, apart of units which the player can build are the catapults, which are used for sieging the enemy's stronghold, villages, etc.
The map editor allows the usual types of buildings, all of them available in different directions, specific for the people (Gaelic, Roman or Teuton) that builds them. These include:
the town center, which manages the economical relations with the other settlements and also serves as a garrison for the defending army;
the barracks, where the combat units are built;
the arena, where the heroes and some special units are trained
the druid / priest house, which provides spiritual and religious training for magic users and also the development of different spells which for these users may cast.
the tavern, where you care about your citizens, and where you can learn in various ways on what is happening elsewhere on the map.
the protective walls, heavily guarded by towers; the gates that let no foe inside your stronghold, unless his force and skill is greater than yours...
the villages, where peasants dwell in their houses, working hard to provide food for your army.
the outposts, where you keep an eye for the coming enemy, where you trade resources, where your army stays for rest and healing
Dragon: Is there a technology tree?
Andonov: There are various upgrades, which make your army better in different ways. The most important ones are for the additional types of units, there are also upgrades for some special units and such that help the development of strong economy. There are also the spell researches and the barrack upgrades, which allow faster unit equipment.
Dobrev: Yes, there is. There are two types of upgrades in The Druid King. Some upgrades are local for the stronghold where you make them. If you upgrade your blackmith to produce horseshoes you'll be able to equip horsemen in this stronghold, but you will not be able to equip them in another stronghold unless you spent gold for the same upgrade there. And there are the global upgrades. You can pay the druids to use their ghost summoning skills in any stronghold and it will work for all drudis that you have.
We have tried to avoid upgrades of the type double-this-number that are always good to have when you have the price. Instead, the upgrades present you with a choice that is relevant during the whole game. For example you can give free beer to everybody in the tavern and this will open a new set of economic and logistics opportunities that you may need depending on your plans. But the upgrade does not make you stronger by itself - it just gives you new opportunities. So, do not expect to see hundereds of upgrades in The Druid King. Expect to see smaller number of upgrades that give you unique advantages and combine with each other in numerous ways.
Dragon: Can your civilations advance?
Dobrev: The Druid King strategic games take like a month or two in "historical time". The game is focused on battles, strategies, tactics, logistics and ... well, battles. During the game, your people will not discover the wheel or the hot water or advance to the modern times. They will however build up their strength by taking over new territories, growing in population, finding heroes to lead them and training numerous and experienced army.
Dragon: Is it true 3D? Is line of site taken into account?
Andonov: The engine is a state-of-the-art mixture between 3D rendered terrain with blended textures and 2D detailed multicolour graphics. The graphic engine takes very little processor time, alowing us to maintain even more units on the map. The line of sight is a circle around the unit; it is not affected by height.