As any reader of the History section knows, I'm acutely aware of the way my work has organically evolved over the years - and I'm more than happy to excavate my past to build the future. Popscene, Sure Shot 3D, Wrecked, Grass Roots (and arguably every single wrestling game!) were all the ultimate incarnations of ideas that dated back as far as 2000. But no concept has sat on the shelf longer than World War Alpha! The product of a brainstorming session in a long forgotten filmmaking class, this cinematic tale told of a warmongering army travelling back in time to conquer the world thousands of years in advance. As both a movie and a game, it was as ambitious as it was farcical - but the passage of time has made it more feasible than ever, so it's finally time to give it a shot...

Meet The Forefathers
A lot of things have come to a conclusion since the last preview - not least the selection of units! 3 more ancient civilizations have brought the home team's total to a respectable 9. The most striking is the horned Viking unit, who wears dark brown pelts over light brown garments - complete with various gold accessories. Another blinging unit is the Egyptian warrior - who wears a unique armoured necklace and gold bands on the upper body, while a humble skirt and scandals adorn the lower body. The third and final new unit is a Zulu warrior who's clad in various animal hides, and brings a tribal motif to African cultures. Not only are the civilizations visually different, but they also play differently - ranging from slow but durable armoured knights to quick but vulnerable tribesmen. Naturally, they also have their own unique weapons too - with Samurai swords, Medieval swords, Arabic swords, Nordic axes, and tribal spears all favoured by their native civilization...

Soldiers Of Fortune
After getting by with just one standard trooper, the range of military units has finally been completed too. As you can see, the classic "Armoured Trooper" from Sure Shot 3D has enjoyed a faithful remake - and once again provides a slower-but-tougher alternative to the standard grunts. Meanwhile, the "Special Forces" version is both strong AND fast - and saunters around the battlefield in a menacingly dark costume! The army is completed by the remaining Sure Shot regulars - the "Knifeman" (a fast but vulnerable hand-to-hand unit) and the "Muscleman" (a bare-chested bruiser, who now doubles as the explosives expert). And, unlike in previous games, these casually dressed units are even prone to wear the odd helmet now too (or in the knifeman's case, a camouflage headband)...                  

Face Of The Future
The characterization has also benefited from having faces and hairstyles that are closely linked to the civilization they come from. As in real life, each part of the world has its own predominant race and those are considered when generating a character in that territory - so you see mostly white faces in Europe, tanned faces in the Middle East and the Orient, and black faces in Africa and South America. The hairstyles are then influenced by those races, and we end up with authentic looking people from all over the world. Furthermore, there's even a difference between the past and the present - as the military favours contemporary short styles, while the ancients have dishevelled long hair and exotic styles...

The Statues Of Liberty
In parallel to the characters, the architecture has also grown to a healthy conclusion. While the cottage was the only option, the feature hadn't been fulfilling its potential - but that's no longer the case as all manner of structures bring the scenery to life! Here we see a gigantic Roman statue that towers over the real-life soldiers, and a beautiful ancient temple...

The Home Of Kings
Meanwhile, some larger and more extravagant structures include the Egyptian pyramid and Medieval castle that you can see above. I must point out that it's not actually possible to enter such structures (or even climb on them unless you find yourself that high by freak accident!). They're nothing more than scenery that you can run around and hide behind. Anything more would make a mockery of the battlefield concept and turn it into some sort of frustrating platform romp...

The Ancient Ruins   
The selection of ancient landmarks is completed by the dispersed structures we have here. The network of stones on the left is a vague reference to Stone Henge (although it appears all over the world), while the village of tepees on the right is used to represent tribal cultures...

Unidentified Flying Object
Even the military are represented by a fighter jet that seems to have crashed into the ground! Although it's a freeware model that I can't take credit for, it looks great and is a handy reminder of the time-travelling twist...     

The Land Before Time
Like the characters, these structures have been tightly linked to their parent countries - so you tend to see them where you'd expect. The same is even true of the actual terrain. The dozens of visual and structural variations have been piling in, and the most relevant options are made available for each area - such as snowy tundra for Russia and sandy plains for the Middle East. Combined with the architecture and units, it gives you a strong impression of where you are in the world...    

Prisoner Of War
The above cavern should look familiar to fans of Wrecked! The saga continues here as a series of cut-scenes help to make sense of the time travelling concept. At random intervals, you may be treated to another episode in an ongoing dialogue between the ancients and a soldier they have captured. Naturally, each party extols the virtues of their way of life over the other - as they try to make sense of an insensible situation. It helps to break up the constant fighting, and puts it all into a little more context. It's perfectly optional though, so you can switch it off once you've seen it for the thousandth time...

Twist Of Fate
More importantly, your own story is also waiting to unfold on the battlefield - courtesy of wrestling style promos! Every now and then, one side will taunt the other with a twist of some kind - and the information is imparted via a brief exchange of words. Although this is usually trivial bravado, it can also lead to life-altering civil wars! Whenever there's a clash of cultures in any one area, they risk fighting amongst themselves for supremacy. It's a thoroughly counter-productive affair which means the world becomes increasingly difficult to hold together as you gradually take back the reigns. The civil war storyline is also accompanied by a smaller mutiny that involves just one traitor. It can work either way too, so a conscientious soldier can defect to you as surely as you're deserted by a gullible warrior! A follow-up angle even sees traitors being confronted by their old comrades and asked (in vein) to return to the fold. Meanwhile, other storylines address the issue of disarmament. One sees the ancients advancing with no weapons hoping to negotiate a peaceful compromise, which forces you to stop taking weapons for granted when it backfires and they're left at a disadvantage. On the other hand, a similar angle sees the military disarm because they've planted mines all over the battlefield to do the hard work for them! You're then forced to help your bewildered warriors avoid the pitfalls of technology as they carefully advance on an arrogant enemy. All enjoyably unpredictable stuff that gives you a break from standard warfare...

Heal The World
It's not all back-biting though. One surprise last-minute development is that it's now possible for characters to heal one another on the battlefield! By simply pressing Defend and Pick-Up simultaneously over a nearby team-mate, you kneel down and begin prodding them into better health. It's a nice touch, but the frantic nature of the battles means there's rarely time to execute it with any degree of success. Fortunately, it's not all down to you though. The CPU soldiers know how to use the feature themselves and will even nurse you back to help should the opportunity arise...

The End Is Near
As things draw to a close, the game has finally received its own theme tune! I was expecting to reuse the Sure Shot theme as surely as my wrestling games stick to the Wrestling MPire theme, but it felt a little inappropriate so I knocked up something more epic. It's another surprisingly good piece of work too - featuring melancholy strings and keys over a militant drum beat. And it's just subtle enough not to give you a headache as it rings out in the background of the menu screens. The game's intro has already been implemented too, and actually ties into the theme quite nicely. As a 3D globe spins behind a 3D MDickie logo, a shuttle flies towards the screen before turning back and darting down to Earth through the eye of the "D"! The minute it impacts, the music kicks up a gear and we're ready for battle...

Give And Take
The bloodshed has finally been put into some sort of context now that the Risk-style strategy elements have arrived! It borrows from the system we saw in Grass Roots, but replaces the flag imagery with plain green and red segments to indicate the past and present respectively. More importantly, each territory also displays a population figure which indicates how many warriors are available to attack or defend. Each side of the war takes it in turns to make their move, and can choose any friendly territory from which to launch an attack. The action then turns graphical, and any surviving soldiers take up residence in the seized territory. However, if you don't fancy your chances of winning a battle you can always spend your turn fortifying neighbouring territories - by transferring a handful of units from one area to another. I've even got the CPU playing along too. Some nice artificial intelligence programming makes them scan the globe as surely as you do, and then attack or fortify wherever appropriate...

Sign Of The Times
Whatever's happening in the world, some neat presentation helps you make sense of the action. Whether at the map screen or in battle, a simple timeline acts as a running commentary of the proceedings. Basic messages such as "1066: The Invaders hatch a plan in Western Europe" clarify what's happening on the map screen, while others such as "1067: 12 soldiers advance on Britain" keep you informed of how many enemies are on the battlefield. Speaking of who's on the battlefield, a major development is that each territory now has its own cast of characters (much like a wrestling roster) and their location is consistently recorded throughout the game. That means you'll notice some familiar faces when you return to a part of the world that you've already seen, and you can look forward to using old heroes again! And if you want them to live to fight another day, you'll pleased to know that it's now possible to retreat with the Escape key. Doing so sacrifices the territory to your enemy, but it safely relocates any remaining men to the nearest friendly base. It's actually rather fun too, because you literally see the characters running away once you decide to do it! The CPU has even been known to take advantage of the feature if the battle is a lost cause...

Field Of Dreams
With the gameplay in the bank, I've finally be able to polish up the structure of the game. All of the menus are now in place - from the options to the various setup screens. And the good news is that multiplayer looks set to be a major feature. Not only can you wage war against a human opponent, but you can also have them JOIN you in co-operative play! An even bigger revelation is that this also extends to the main world domination game - making it the first long-term multiplayer experience in the history of my games. You simply select the format you want upon starting a new campaign, and a human will then be able to either join you on the battlefield or take control of the opposition. And even solo players can enjoy the freedom to choose whether they play as the ancients or the military, so the whole game looks set to be supremely versatile! Back to the deathmatch mode, another development there is that you can get away from the game's storyline and construct battles involving ANY combination of civilizations - and extend the action to include up to 4 separate armies instead of 2. Inversely, you can dispose of teams altogether and try your luck in a free-for-all involving as many individuals as you want! All of this plus the option to configure any combination of weapons and scenery you want...

The Tourist Trap
The scenery options even extend to some simple architecture now - such as the medieval cottage shown above! They slot neatly into the terrain, and share all of its fully interactive qualities as the characters potter around it. Such additions may look good, but the downside is that they give the camera and AI a lot of headaches (and aren't always appropriate for the randomized nature of the terrain). They're important for livening up the scenery though, and the introduction of pyramids and temples will help to portray more exotic locations so it's worth persevering with...

Instruments Of War
In the meantime, the range of weapons has concluded at a satisfying 20 different items! The final entries being a re-mastered axe (which is bigger and more metallic than what we saw in Wrecked), a chunky wooden club, an improved wooden cane, the curvaceous Arabic sword you see above, and a terrifyingly brutal spiked mace! There are also 3 brand new variations on the existing silver shield - those being a golden version, a wooden version, and one with a tribal motif. Even old weapons are being used in new and improved ways. For instance, the spear and dagger weapons that were added previously are now benefiting from their own dedicated stabbing animations - so they're much more satisfying to use than in either Wrecked or Wrestling Encore. And there are now different colours for the "laser sword" - ranging from the standard green to red and blue variations...

Super Cuts
The game might be approaching the home straight, but it has still found time to squeeze in yet more innovations! I spent an intense couple of days revolutionizing the way character heads are textured. Most noticeably, the long hair now uses transparency to portray the strands of hair that you'd expect to see in real life. It's a feature I dabbled with as far back as 2001, but it hasn't produced satisfactory results until now. I was on the brink of an even bigger breakthrough with this super-realistic alternative, but that was a little less reliable and caused more problems than it solved. What you can't see from this shot is that the hair texture itself has improved considerably, and even enhances the appearance of short styles. The poor quality loops have now been replaced by gigantic 512x512 textures that wrap themselves around the whole hair model and produce a much more realistic appearance...

Head Re-start
Meanwhile, the head itself has enjoyed just as much polishing. In an effort to get rid of plain textures once and for all, even the head images now include contours that give the back of the head a significantly different appearance! It's a godsend for bald characters, and makes them look just as good as their hairy counterparts. Similarly, the freshly arrived ear models have now been made even more at home with a dedicated texture that offers them more detail. And to make the most of all of this, the face textures are being redrawn from scratch - and in high resolution to boot, so they look better than ever (especially close up!)...

The Usual Suspects
With all these aesthetic improvements intact, I've been able to dive into the characterization like never before. A string of new unit types include a Native American warrior who's bare-chested except for a series of tribal tassels, and wears baggy trousers made of hide and emblazoned with various patterns. Similarly, a muscular Barbarian is on the scene - sporting the brown Conan look and some much improved flesh textures to compliment it! Meanwhile, the fully clothed society now includes a chubby Persian warrior dressed in purple and gold silk - complete with a turban on top. And even the military have started to introduce a little diversity with suited officers that fight alongside the grunts! As you can see, that refined unit also benefits from an infinitely more detailed suit texture...

Ringside Seat
What of the biggest developments for me is that I've finally settled on an official camera system. Behind the scenes, it's been quite a headache deciding whether to use the directional movement of the wrestling games or the "turn & advance" system of Wrecked. In the end, I managed to combine the two! What we have here is a system whereby you can always move literally in the direction pressed, but then the camera gradually sways to follow your line of sight - and before you know it your perspective has shifted nicely, allowing you to move effortlessly AND explore the territory. Hard to explain, but if you've played Zelda 64 you should know what to expect...

Declaration Of War
Finally, if you thought this was going to be a mindless bloodbath you may be surprised to discover that my infamous "promo" system even reappears here! To communicate the rather fanciful storyline and lend more meaning to each battle, the warring factions are now prone to talk to each other when they first meet. It's quite a smooth system whereby you head into battle as usual, and then the camera zooms in on the first enemies to meet and uses them to deliver a few lines. Once the wisdom has been imparted, the cinematic mode gently fades out and you resume control of your original character. It's very much in its early stages and no meaningful storylines exist yet, but it's hoped that it'll fuel some novelty battles - such as civil wars between the different civilizations in your own territories. The possibilities are endless, so stay tuned...

The Gunpowder Plot
Following the sword and shield that got us started, the range of weapons now extends to guns - and they look set to dominate the battlefield! There are both rifle and pistol variations, which fire off rounds at different paces but do equally horrific damage when on target. Unlike Sure Shot 3D, the bullets in this game are practically invisible and simply burst into the target within seconds of pulling the trigger. The effect is no less satisfying though - not least because the characters now aim their bodies at enemies as surely as their heads! That means they veer up, down, and side-to-side to give you the best possible accuracy without worrying about it. However, the one catch that holds the weapons back is that they need reloading quite frequently - and will eventually run out of ammo completely. This gives the bewildered ancients plenty of opportunities to intercept lazy gunmen and turn the tide...

Sharp Shooter
Another tool in the fight against bullets is that the past has a long range weapon of its own! The bow & arrow has been missing from my games until now because it's more sophisticated than a static object, but it's finally here now and all you have to know is that it works as you'd hope. Tiny arrows are loaded into it as the string is visibly pulled back and launches the projectile in the direction of your enemy (it even lingers in the flesh and scenery upon making an impact!). All in all, it looks, sounds, and works great - and is a welcome addition to the battles. Not least because it prevents the military from having a monopoly on ranged attacks. Speaking of which, the dominance of bullets and projectiles is diluted further now that it's possible to block while running (albeit at a slower pace). This means a shielded warrior can still advance on an armed opponent without being harmed...

Weapon Of Choice
Despite the recent obsession with novelty weapons, I've still found time to pile in more of the classics. The slim-line Samurai sword is now joined by a chunky Medieval broadsword, which is even more deadly! There's also a much smaller dagger, which is used in a stabbing motion rather than a slicing one. Some of the homemade weapons from Wrecked have even resurfaced in this game. There are more threatening versions of the hammer and axe, as well as a re-mastered spear which promises to be used a little more appropriately. And if all else fails, the humble rock has even returned - which allows you to crush the skulls of your opponents at close range...

Technological Warfare
The military even have their own technological answer to those primitive weapons! The vibrant Star Wars inspired light sabre from Popcorn resurfaces as a practical weapon in this game, and serves as a deadly example of what the future is capable of. Speaking of technological differences, a nice new feature is that the characters are now mystified by weapons that don't come from their time. Upon picking them up, they waste valuable seconds studying the object before proceeding to use it with any confidence. So anybody expecting to turn an army of knights into a gun-slinging posse overnight may run into a few problems! Another new touch is that it's possible to snatch items from your enemy's hand instead of picking them up for yourself. By pressing the dedicated "Throw" command when you've got nothing to throw, your character reaches out for your opponent instead and hopes to turn the tide on him. Considering weapons are so important in this game, it's a handy addition to the gameplay...

Mine Games
Of the many weapons that have been added in recent weeks, the explosives have obviously made the biggest impact! The TNT from previous games is now available to be picked up and thrown like any other weapon - only with more explosive consequences. And new to this game is the option to plant it as a mine! By "dropping" the item instead of throwing it, your character gently slots it into the ground - where it waits to detonate on the next person that stumbles into its proximity. The all new terrain has even opened up more possibilities in this area. Segments of land can be added or removed in real-time, so explosions now cause a slight crater in the ground wherever they go off! It certainly makes them feel more powerful - and makes the battlefield look like it's seen some action...

Marine Corpse
With all these deadly devices on offer, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that it's now possible to die in this game. The characters can't come back fighting in the way we've come to expect from other games, so they're not getting up once their precious health has been diminished. It certainly adds a sense of urgency to the proceedings, and we're finally beginning to see how the battles pan out as each army gets smaller and smaller. And it's not just bullets and blows that came claim your life. As in Wrecked, you can also succumb to nature if you find yourself incapacitated in the wrong place at the wrong time! When lying underwater, for instance, your character occasionally chokes and loses even more precious health than he has already - eventually resulting in death...

At Your Command
As the gameplay draws to a conclusion, I've finally been able to bring some structure to the proceedings. Up until now, it was playing like some sort of God-forsaken Royal Rumble - but the units have now been divided into teams to create a proper battle environment. I've also taken the opportunity to squeeze in some tactical gameplay! When holding down the dedicated "Tactics" command you have access to 4 basic orders - instructing your team-mates to either attack, retreat, follow you, or even find a weapon. That may sound disappointingly simple, but it's easy to execute any tactics you like by mixing and matching the orders. Plus you can assume control of any character you like at the touch of a button, so you're always in complete control. The system has already proved to be a great addition to the gameplay, and has elevated it above the glorified beat 'em-up that it could've been...

Racial Harmony
The characterization also promises to play a larger role as the game progresses. Each character now has their own unique head generated from the many faces we've seen in previous games - complete with the racial shading from Grass Roots, which keeps the rest of the costume consistent. Combined with the various hairstyles and hair colours, that ensures every single man on the field is recognizable at a glance. And although statistics won't factor into this concept quite as much as they have in others, it's still possible for the characters to have various movement speeds and body sizes...

An Ideal World
In addition to constructing the characters, I've also taught the game how to construct its own worlds! Not only can you load in your own terrain maps, but you can also fine tune how they're used - from the the ground height and water level to the textures and atmosphere. And, of course, to make this possible I've also had to make a start on the menu system! As you can see from this early shot, it has more in common with Grass Roots than any other game - with the options listed alongside a dominant circular logo. As in the game, there's a "time and space" motif here though - as ancient bronze blocks linger against a galactic backdrop...

Pincer Movement
Speaking of presentation, I'm already making preparations for a multi-player mode! One of the most overlooked achievements of Wrecked was that it effortlessly nailed this feature. It hasn't been appropriate in any other game since, but it's definitely handy here as each player can enjoy a close-up view of their area of the battlefield. There's no discernable damage to the frame rate either, so it's a very welcome addition to the game. It just remains to be seen whether it'll factor into the Risk-style world domination part or will be confined to the exhibition mode. Either way, you'll get to pit your warmongering skills against a human opponent...

Sign Of The Times
As you can see, the project is finally official now that it has its own logo! It was hard to avoid duplicating the Grass Roots logo since this game lays even greater claim to the "world domination" theme, but I've managed to produce something suitably different. While that game had a ball consumed by the world, this time it's the globe that's consumed by a circular gimmick - in this case a clock bearing Roman numerals. The horizontal text is also a noticeable departure (the colour scheme of which is largely faithful to the 2000 original!). Naturally, this is just an early attempt and will probably go through another phase of polishing before you see it on your box cover. In the meantime, at least the game has its own identity to proceed under...

New World Order
The time-travelling gimmick is also plain to see in the game now that a selection of ancient units have hit the scene! It all began with a Samurai warrior, which uses a re-mastered version of the costume we saw in Popcorn and subsequent games. However, the key difference here is that each unit can receive its own dedicated model. In this case, the Samurai armour is bulkier at the shoulders and the material is baggier at the thighs - not to mention the fact that there's an authentic Samurai helmet with horns and fanned sides! The Medieval knight is similarly bulky, but his shiny silver armour sits over chainmail and offers a starkly different appearance. He too has a helmet which covers the entire head - leaving only a slit for the eyes. Finally, the third new unit is the Roman soldier that you can see above. He's perhaps the best looking yet - featuring gold-plated armour over red & brown garments and strapped sandals. And that's just to get us started! We're still waiting for Persian warriors, Native American and African tribes, Vikings, and Barbarians. Not to mention the variations of soldier that we saw in games like Sure Shot 3D...

One Inch Punch
The biggest development since last time is that we've seen the debut of the fighting gameplay - and it looks set to be even more playable than Wrestling Encore! All that work in the wrestling genre had me thinking "slow" when it comes to action, but the fast-paced responsiveness of Grass Roots is the standard now. The animations that have got us started are exactly that - fast and responsive. A nicely animated punch connects within seconds of you hitting the button, and the pained reaction is just as satisfying (right down to some of the most flamboyant falls yet!). Despite being a battlefield game, the aim is to make it play as well as possible close up - and then zoom out and times the action by a hundred...

The Art Of War
Although hand-to-hand combat is only meant to be a last resort, there are plenty of variations to make it as engaging as anything we saw in the wrestling games. The standard punch is accompanied by a kick that hits low and a stomp for grounded opponents. Plus, you can combine commands to launch a more powerful double-axe handle - or even the special "rear attack" you see above, which aims for enemies sneaking up behind! You can have some pretty impressive brawls once you've mastered that move, and the CPU certainly doesn't hesitate to use it...

The Sword In The Stone
As entertaining as those fisticuffs are, they're just the tip of the iceberg. It's the introduction of swordplay that has unlocked the game's true potential! The Samurai Sword from recent games is the first weapon on the scene, and it already has a range of dedicated animations for making use of it. The command for punching swipes high, while the lower attack kneels down and swipes across the legs (it looks great when you alternate between the two!). You can also deliver a powerful overhead smash with the combination command, and a special sword-swinging version of the rear attack which has even better range. Lest we forget, the process of picking up, dropping, and throwing weapons has been implemented to make all of the above possible. It's the same old story from recent games, but things are noticeably smoother and working at their best...

On The Defensive
Where this game really builds on Wrestling Encore's gameplay is the addition of defensive moves! By hitting the dedicated "Defend" button, your character will immediately block either high or low depending on the incoming attack. Thankfully, it's not foolproof though and will only prevent damage half of the time. That is unless you have a SHIELD! This weapon is available along with all the others, but is collected with the left arm to allow you to combine hardware. The block command then automatically makes use of it to give you the best protection possible (it'll no doubt be key to surviving against modern-day gunfire). And in the absence of a shield, you can even block with your regular weapon! Lengthy items such as a sword can be held in a defensive stance, and offer a level of protection that's a notch better than using your bare hands. Plus you can feel like a Jedi master when you defend and then immediately parry into an attack of your own...

The Thick Red Line
Whenever weapons are introduced to a game, the bloodshed is never far behind! The scarring system from previous games inevitably reappears here, and is also joined by the splashes of gore that spill onto the scenery. It's not ideal since the size of this game means there could be hundreds of puddles at any one time (which isn't good for performance), so it's the most temporary version of the system that we've seen yet. The effect is good while it lasts though, and makes you feel as though you're doing fatal damage with your weapons...

Casualties Of War
And if it was possible to lose limbs in a wrestling match, you can bet it's possible in a war! That feature has also returned to dispose of body parts that simply can't bleed anymore - ranging from major limbs to individuals fingers and even the new ears. For what it's worth, the casualties can once again continue with these ailments and hobble around as best they can! It is more likely to result in death in this game though, because there are hundreds of units to dispose of. It's also possible to incur standard injuries that haven't nothing to do with losing limbs - such as from an awkward fall. The victim then hobbles around at half the speed and becomes easy pickings for the enemy. And yet another feature to return is the dazed state from the wrestling games, which temporarily blinds characters when they suffer facial damage. Whether controlled by human or CPU, they're then doomed to stumble in the opposite direction until it wears off!

Back To The Future
Over the years, I've had plenty of time to endow this surreal concept with a shred of credibility. Although the idea predates Sure Shot, its current incarnation would be foolish not to borrow from that established universe. Afterall, the treacherous ending gives us a readymade maniacal villain - complete with an impressionable army to command! Sure Shot's detractors needn't fear though. Beyond that one contrivance, this game is an entirely different battlefield affair - which finally lets the soldiers loose to explore the territory and fire at will. Besides, they'll have different opponents to contend with this time! The crux of this concept is that it pits the past against the present in a battle for world domination. The gun-slinging soldiers of today will come up against the sword-swinging warriors of the past - and there's no guarantee that they'll come out on top. For those of you waiting to accuse me of glorifying war (or being insensitive to the world's current plight), you'll be disappointed to find that this project actually highlights the futility of the process...

Feeding The Five Thousand
The concept will justify itself as the project progresses, so let's concentrate on the game itself. And why not start with the fact that it's already the biggest that my work has ever produced? The above screenshot may look like an artist's impression, but it's actually no fewer than 50 characters on screen at once! And that's just the tip of the iceberg. That's just your "tag team match" in Wrestling Encore. Depending on the power of your computer, the game will be running battles that range from at least 20 men to as many as 100 - all in a fully playable, live-action format! That state of affairs didn't come without great sacrifice though. It was achieved by making the latest character model at least 3 times LESS detailed than in recent games. That may sound like a backwards move to those that are already critical of my graphics, but it's a necessity for a game of this scale...

Standard Issue
Fortunately, the drop in quality isn't that noticeable - not least because the texture quality has been improved to compensate! Following on from the success I had with high resolution scenery in Grass Roots, this game now brings it to the characters - dressing them in images that are twice as big (and therefore more detailed) from head to toe. The textures in question are being drawn up from scratch too, so they're going to be more detailed no matter how I give them to you! We've even seen some mapping improvements that ensure the feet get a better deal - using different parts of the image to texture the top and sides separately. Very few of the current screenshots use these improved visuals, incidentally, so look out for them in future previews...

The Hills Are Alive
Yet another breakthrough, which dwarves even the 50 characters on screen, is the introduction of a brand new terrain system. It's a standard feature of Blitz 3D, so I don't intend to take credit for it in any way. However, as with all the other features, I do intend to take great pride in pushing it to its limit! The feature in question is a generator that produces extremely detailed landscapes from within the game - rather than from an external (painstakingly sculpted) model - and does so quickly and efficiently. The most exciting news is that it can also construct them from the contours of an image, so editors can look forward to creating their own maps! To make the most of it, I've also mastered a technique whereby the colour of the landscape is distinct from its texture. That effortlessly produces the smooth blending of colours that was practically impossible in other games, and stops the scenery from looking so bland and repetitive...

Control Freak
Higher character counts, more detailed visuals, and beautiful terrain would normally be enough for one preview, but we're not done breaking through yet. Following on from the top-down and side-on variations of Grass Roots, this game takes things even further by adjusting the controls to suit ANY camera angle! No matter where it's positioned or where it's facing, your movement will always remain in orientation with the camera. Up and down always make your character move in and out of the screen's depth, while left and right always head for the sides. You wouldn't believe how easy it was to implement, so just be glad that it's there now and waiting to help you enjoy the game from any perspective you choose...

Here's Looking At You
The final breakthrough of the day opens up even more possibilities. I finally figured out how to override a character's animation and manipulate their body parts manually in the game. Roughly translated, I can now make a character's head look at his opponent (or an other point of interest) WHILST executing any given action! That means I can have these guys aiming their gestures and attacks anywhere in 3D space - which is a godsend for the shooting side of things. It also means we'll see some more realistic movement, as a character's eyes focus on what he really would be looking at in real life. It's a shame the breakthrough comes too late for the wrestling games, because it would be great to have the wrestlers staring down at opponents on the mat or up at those on the buckles. We'll see...

The New World Order
As in Grass Roots, all of the action on the field is just half the story - as you spend the rest of your time plotting on world domination! Although there are likely to be some changes, the basic premise of inhabiting one territory and approaching another will be very much intact. In fact, that should govern who attends the battle! Each territory will have a certain quota of units that are there to defend it (or attack from it), and so manpower becomes just as important as territorial advantage. Naturally, it's too early to go into details - but we can definitely look forward to a strategic side dish to complement the bloody main course...