I found this in another forum...A must read................ This is a very in-depth look into some real next gen goodness. KOTOR is one great looking game that seems to be on the right track to reach it's potential. Gameplay to eye candy looks real tight.
LucasArts' recently announced Xbox game, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic looks like it will be just what the doctor ordered for the system's growing library. Not only is it an RPG being developed by BioWare, whose Baldur's Gate games kick some serious tail on the PC, but it also happens to take place in the Star Wars universe. Set roughly 4,000 years before the events in the original Star Wars, the game will have you adventuring in the Old Republic that has been alluded to in the films. Star Wars fans got a hint of what things were like before the rise of the Empire in Episode I, but Knights of the Old Republic offers a look at the really good old days. The Jedi knights still maintain order in the galaxy, but they face a sizeable challenge in the form of the Sith order. Unlike the days of Episode I, where the Sith have all but been wiped out, the order is very much alive and well, and it's always on the lookout for new members.
We paid LucasArts a visit recently to look at the game. Not due until fall of this year, the game was still very early. But we got a quick peek at some of the characters and areas you'll be encountering in the game. We were treated to a look around the interior of the Ebon Hawk, which will serve as both your base of operations and your transportation around the galaxy. The Hawk is clearly a distant relative of the Millennium Falcon, featuring an interior layout that's reminiscent of Han Solo's speedy Corellian hunk of junk. The ship was very detailed, and it featured little touches such as floor grating that revealed the areas beneath it. We were also treated to a quick stroll around the grasslands of Dantooine, which were an awesome sight. Featuring tall grass that swayed in the wind and a sun that offered some slick lighting, Dantooine looked quite inviting. We also got to tool around Kashyyyk, the home planet of the wookiees, and we looked around a city in the trees that featured some nicely implemented bump mapping.
Finally, we had a chance to check out a number of the characters that will be in the game, ranging from traditional humanoids and droids to bizarre alien creatures and a variety of assassin droids. The character design is extremely detailed and true to the Star Wars universe. Familiar faces such as rodians, hammerheads, wookiees, and the cantina band blend quite well with the new cast members like the amphibious aliens. The few samples of local wildlife we saw ran the gamut from the cool-looking krayt dragon to the bizarre one-legged creature whose head was a challenge to locate because of his quirky design. However, all the creatures we saw looked sharp and animated well, and their appearance reflected their respective homeworlds.
Once we'd had our brief tour of Knights of the Old Republic, we had a chance to sit down with the game's producer at LucasArts, Mike Gallo, and grill him on what to expect from the game.
GameSpot: How long has the game been in development?
Mike Gallo: Preproduction started in 2000, but the discussions started back in 1999. The first actual e-mails were in October or November of '99. That's when we first started talking to BioWare. But some really serious work finally started at the beginning of 2000.
GS: How big is the team that's working on the game?
MG: Well, I don't want to get too specific, but we have upward of 40 people on the team. It's being done by BioWare, but we are doing sound internally here at LucasArts. So sound and voice are being handled here. But everything else--the game, the engine, the story--is being done by BioWare.
GS: What can you tell me about the BioWare team's background?
MG: A lot of the guys on the team worked on the Baldur's Gate and MDK2 teams. There are a few new hires as well, but the bulk of the team's experience is spread between Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2, and MDK2.
GS: Why lead with the Xbox version?
MG: Well, that's been the question of the moment, right? There was a huge opportunity for us on the Xbox. The game has always been in development as a PC game and a next-gen console game, and we looked at all the consoles and decided that the Xbox was the right fit. The console itself was much more familiar to us--we could do the things we wanted to do on the Xbox without as much effort as we'd need to do it on the PS2 or GameCube. The Xbox was just a logical choice because of BioWare's PC background, so that was a big reason. And the Xbox has been successful and we look at it as a great opportunity. We've got an opportunity to put out an RPG on the system and probably be one of the first ones. And oh yeah, it's Star Wars. And it's the first one we've ever done that way.
GS: So, will the game ever go to another platform?
MG: Right now, the PC and the Xbox are our focus. We really haven't looked at anything else.
GS: When are the games due out?
MG: The Xbox is fall of this year and the PC is spring of next year.
GS: So everything looks on track for the Xbox game shipping this year?
MG: Right now, yeah. One of the things we're going through right now is that we've got a couple of huge milestones coming up that are Xbox-specific. Then we have E3. I'm actually going up to the BioWare offices in Canada to take a look at the team's progress. We're really far along, actually, and there's a lot more of the game that's done that we really haven't been able to show anybody or talk about.
GS: What can you tell me about the game's structure? Is it a console RPG or a PC RPG?
MG: Well, you can say either one. BioWare's background is Baldur's Gate, PC-style RPGs, but the goal for us was to make the game as accessible as possible to people but also give people the depth they wanted. So you've got direct control of your character, and the combat system is still rules-based, so it'll still feel like a rules-based system but will look more dynamic. It should look much cooler than Baldur's Gate or EverQuest. We won't have combat screens, so everything will be done on your main play screen--you'll run around and be in combat if there's an enemy there, and you'll see people onscreen you can interact with. It won't be like Final Fantasy, where you'll load a separate combat screen. It'll all be done right there in the game.
Continued in next post.............link for new pics and full story
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