I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a hard core strategy guy (thankfully we have Tyler and Tom for that) but the folks at Cyrstal Empire Games are doing something kind of interesting. To find out more we went straight to Project Lead Philippe Paillarès.
What's the back story on For the Glory? Can you talk about how the project came about and the technology behind the project? Why did you choose the engine you did?
For the Glory (FTG) is one of the results of the Europa Engine Licensing Program that Paradox Interactive proposed in January 2008. The goal was to provide source code to approved teams in order to develop new ideas based on the Europa engine. The dev team behind FTG was put together in June 2008 with skilled and passionate people all around the world -- more like a little community than a classic dev studio, and the door is still open for new members. This is a C++ source code project that was converted to Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 for full support of Vista and 7. It is compatible with DirectX 8 and the Europa graphic engine is a 2D one, but artists use 3D modeling for sprites.
Using Europa engine was a very good opportunity because of the already-available features. We were thus able to focus on new and enhanced features.
For AGCEEP, one of the most popular mods for Europa Universalis II, we also had the occasion to enhance the game and the mod at the same time. The only limit now is our imagination.
The game features 180 different countries, can you talk about some of the differences between the various countries. Do you have a personal favorite and why?
All countries have a different behavior when controlled by AI. Historical rulers and leaders (generals, admirals, explorers, privateers, etc.) are of course different and events help for historical immersion and flavor. Many countries also have different sprites for historical representation of land and naval units through the centuries. 3D modeling is based on historical information for these countries and this adds a deeper level of immersion.
Personally, I have no preference for playable countries. All were given specific attention, especially in the bundled AGCEEP mod, and can be fun to play with.
For the Glory seems to be aimed at a pretty hard core niche, are you making any attempts to make the game accessible to non-grognards or are you focused on appealing to the hard core crowd?
FTG is made for all players who want to act more like the government of a country than an almighty god. The player makes important decisions (alliances and diplomatic relations, warfare, investments, exploration and colonization…) but he also has to deal with decisions and the personalities of the monarchs through centuries, and adapt for the best of the country. Nothing is written in stone and a wise government will play with history and take advantage of it or do what is to be done in order to change it.
The learning curve is easy with the included tutorial and standard scenarios that will help players masteri the concepts of the game. Lastly, the AGCEEP mod has a higher level of immersion.
The game is not only for single player, though, and epic multiplayer games are possible with the already existing community. This is the advantage of being a sequel to a great game.
And there is a little extra in this game. You always learn something about history while playing!
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