Announcement: Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption

05-09-2006, 01:22 AM

Star Wars® Empire at War™: Forces of Corruption™

Following the success of Star Wars: Empire at War, the best-selling PC game of Q1 2006, LucasArts announces an expansion pack titled Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. A widely appealing strategy game, Empire at War let gamers play the light side or the dark side in an epic Galactic Civil War. Now, for the first time ever, Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption introduces a unique point of view – the corrupt side.

The Rebels have just destroyed the Death Star, and the galaxy is in turmoil. As an aspiring Underworld figure named Tyber Zann, spread corruption throughout the galaxy using new strategic gameplay elements to influence other factions, steal their funds, slow their production, spy on them and more, all en route to becoming the most notorious criminal leader since Jabba the Hutt.

Exciting new land-tactical options like customizable, upgradeable bases and guerilla warfare allow for innovative battlefield tactics. Take command of and confront new fighting units for all factions (Rebel B-wings, Imperial TIE interceptors, Darth Vader’s Executor Super Star Destroyer and more), and take down anyone who stands in your way of ruling the Underworld, be they new battlefield heroes like Luke Skywalker and Yoda or the forces of your most bitter rival – Jabba. Destroy capital ships with the awesome firepower of the second Death Star, and satiate Tyber’s drive for the deadliest capital ship in the galaxy, a devastatingly powerful Super Star Destroyer known as the Eclipse.

Empireatwar.net will give fans their FIRST chance to put questions to the Dev team about the expansion on May 25th with a Live Dev chat.

DMUK

Darth Windu · 05-09-2006, 04:47 AM

So basically its an Ep5-6 xpac with new elements and a new faction thrown in? Sounds pretty good.

05-09-2006, 05:53 AM

The funny thing is, when I was chatting to Lucasarts about my April fools trick, I was actually going to 'create' this kind of expansion pack and call it 'Galaxy in turmoil'- then I decided to change my mind once I knew this was coming!

We will get our first look at E3 on Friday followed by the Live chat on May 25th with some nice screen shots.

DMUK

*popcorn2008* · 05-09-2006, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthMaulUK

The funny thing is, when I was chatting to Lucasarts about my April fools trick, I was actually going to 'create' this kind of expansion pack and call it 'Galaxy in turmoil'- then I decided to change my mind once I knew this was coming!

Haha, yeah I bet some people are not going to believe this because your april fouls joke was about the same thing!

Anyways, this sounds great! I really look foward to Death Star II and having more hero units around. Smart move petro!

Foshjedi2004 · 05-09-2006, 08:41 AM

Again Perverting SW History:

This is the Eclipse: http://legacy.gamemod.net/images/renders/Eclipse.jpg

It was made about 6 Years after the DS 2 was destroyed....

05-09-2006, 08:50 AM

hmmm looks like it wont fit in my mug where i like to dunk my biscuits in. I've set up a poll about the 'history' of Star wars and this announcement.

DMUK

***Jeff*** · 05-09-2006, 09:42 AM

This is great news indeed. I'm really liking the way they're taking this. Instead of just giving us an EpIV expansion, they give us something unique that none of us were expecting.

FuzzySmurf · 05-09-2006, 09:55 AM

it seems to me they are touching up the things that they cut from the game... this will go well for some of us modders that want to include these items that they are now going to do for us

Destroyder121 · 05-09-2006, 10:43 AM

Foshjedi you are forgetting, the EU is not canon, Petroglyph is in no way obligated to follow every single EU story, or their concepts, and not even the EU timeline. Thus they are in no way perverting the history of Star Wars..

Anyways, Customizable, and upgradeable bases + guerilla warfare sounds very interesting, ill definately buy this expansion when it comes out.

Apocalypse|TFL · 05-09-2006, 11:06 AM

Don't know what I think about this yet. An interesting thought though, would the space stations be customizable. If they are taking it down this direction with a new character then there should be a lot of custom options to build bases the way you want in accordance to your personal style of play.

*darthfergie* · 05-09-2006, 11:35 AM

You know what I've come to realize. In a nut shell, now that Lucas is no longer making movies, Star Wars can become one massively huge sandbox. I love events dealing withing the relm of cannon, but honestly...this sounds intreguing just in it's conception.
You're a crime lord...now if they do this right you won't become an overt faction like the Empire or the Rebels, but a very covert faction. Establishing operations on planets that are already Imperial or Rebel that arn't just spy ops, but fully capable manufacturing operations under the guise of local business, etc.
This could be revolutionary if done right, because honestly I've never really seen much of anything in this field of the RTS spectrum.

Now if you are a crime lord faction that takes over worlds and competes for power on the same stage as the Imperials and the Rebels...that's when I'd have a hard time with this. Crime Lords should control assets throughout the galaxy, and not just the "orange faction's planets." I'm highly anticipating how this will play out, it really should be interesting.

btw, as to Fosh's comment, as long as they make the Eclipse like it looked in the comics, etc then I shall be a happy child.

wedge2211 · 05-09-2006, 12:32 PM

I like the sense of direction this has...I think separating the campaigns from the open-ended Galactic Conquest modes will be great. Guerilla warfare...that sounds very cool--I'm thinking Infiltrator raids on steroids!

I think that EaW is a great game itself, and this expansion looks like it will improve the game a great deal. This goes way beyond what any of the mods are planning to do. I'm glad Petroglyph decided to do something familiar-yet-different...and I'm really curious what other ideas they might have for expansions, because EaW looks like a great springboard platform for taking Star Wars RTS gaming in any number of directions!

Darth_Torpid-PG · 05-09-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foshjedi2004

Again Perverting SW History:

This is the Eclipse: http://legacy.gamemod.net/images/renders/Eclipse.jpg

It was made about 6 Years after the DS 2 was destroyed....

Sure, but it took 20 years to build the Death Star....

Darthturkey · 05-09-2006, 01:11 PM

it sounds really cool, they are going in the opposite direction of what i was thinking, this x-pack sounds better, but im just hoping that when the x-pack does come out (probably not for a couple of months) that it doesnt boost the system requirements...which will be bad for me....dont really have best computer

whiteflash · 05-09-2006, 01:18 PM

i personally think it will be pretty good what with the ssd and all,probs b out in the autumn

Darth_Torpid-PG · 05-09-2006, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destroyder121

Foshjedi you are forgetting, the EU is not canon, Petroglyph is in no way obligated to follow every single EU story, or their concepts, and not even the EU timeline. Thus they are in no way perverting the history of Star Wars...

This is true for the most part, but keep in mind that everything we add to the Star Wars universe has to be approved by LucasFilm Licensing - we can't just make up, oh say, six-foot tall green rabbits (oh wait...) and add them to the continuity. We've had things bounced before because they didn't fit, and we've had storylines cut for continuity reasons. While we have some leeway in story, we cannot break anything considered canon (that is, events of the movies), and we have to attempt to blend or explain things that fit within Lucas' established continuity. We've heard through the grapevine that George himself plays the game, and he's a tougher critic than some of you

Sigh...back to work. For the record, the Executor has WAY too many hardpoints...

PS - A big, shiny no-prize to the person that can name the six-foot rabbit

Darth_Torpid-PG · 05-09-2006, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darthturkey

it sounds really cool, they are going in the opposite direction of what i was thinking, this x-pack sounds better, but im just hoping that when the x-pack does come out (probably not for a couple of months) that it doesnt boost the system requirements...which will be bad for me....dont really have best computer

Right now as far as I can tell, the system requirements shouldn't change. I'm sure we'll let you know closer to release time if that changes.

wedge2211 · 05-09-2006, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Torpid-PG

We've heard through the grapevine that George himself plays the game, and he's a tougher critic than some of you

Woah.

Foshjedi2004 · 05-09-2006, 04:04 PM

Pat. Ok....

The Death Star Didn't take 20 years to build. The One we see at the End of Ep III was the Prototype Seen in the MAW installation. Plus the DS itself was put on hold for a number of years as the ISD production run began.

OverlordAngelus · 05-09-2006, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Torpid-PG

We've heard through the grapevine that George himself plays the game.

I wish I could say that about the machinima Star Wars fanfilms I've produced (oh and I'm planning to use EaW as part of my next one...I might have to wait until this expansion though, I'll need a SSD after all

).

There's so much Star Wars material, from the movies, books, comics and other games...it's not possible to include everything from all of them. I get that and while I would like to see Thrawn appear in the expansion at some point, I'm not going to be too upset if he doesn't.

I also know that if you only use existing material then the fans who are familiar with it will find the game predictable and for the fans that aren't familiar with the EU material, it doesn't make any difference.

Darth_Torpid-PG · 05-09-2006, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foshjedi2004

Pat. Ok....

The Death Star Didn't take 20 years to build. The One we see at the End of Ep III was the Prototype Seen in the MAW installation. Plus the DS itself was put on hold for a number of years as the ISD production run began.

Can you prove that by using ONLY movie references? Remember, only canon counts as true, unalterable history; anything outside that is subject to change. Mr. Lucas himself often ignores EU continuity to create his own vision.

In any case, I won't continue to argue lore. I have access to the same information most of you do (more in fact since I can get information from the Lucas archives) but it's like arguing politics and religion - you just can't win...

Dodger · 05-09-2006, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Torpid-PG

PS - A big, shiny no-prize to the person that can name the six-foot rabbit

Jaxxon, and his ship was the Rabbit's Foot

Coincidentally, I have literally just put my box of old Marvel Star Wars comics back in the loft after re-reading them. Great fun, if silly in places.

I believe that Jaxxon was the only character in the comics that LA put their foot down about and banned from reappearing?

Should I PM you my address for that no-prize

**swphreak** · 05-09-2006, 04:57 PM

I'm glad we're getting some more Space Units.

I would like to know how a petty Crime Lord is going to get his hands on an Eclipse class Super Star Destroyer. Unless this "Eclipse" is just a regular Super Star Destroyer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Torpid-PG

PS - A big, shiny no-prize to the person that can name the six-foot rabbit

I believe you're referring to Jaxxon. I remember sitting through webteam reading the comics. This is the best part ever.

Edit: Curse you dodger! <.<

I provided pictures though, so nyeh!

Darth_Torpid-PG · 05-09-2006, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dodger

Jaxxon, and his ship was the Rabbit's Foot

Coincidentally, I have literally just put my box of old Marvel Star Wars comics back in the loft after re-reading them. Great fun, if silly in places.

I believe that Jaxxon was the only character in the comics that LA put their foot down about and banned from reappearing?

Should I PM you my address for that no-prize

LOL The No-prize goes to Dodger. Yep, you have to dig pretty deep to find Jaxxon anywhere, and he does not appear in any official Star Wars reference as far as I know. Evil penguins don't sound so bad next to him....

*popcorn2008* · 05-09-2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foshjedi2004

Pat. Ok....

The Death Star Didn't take 20 years to build. The One we see at the End of Ep III was the Prototype Seen in the MAW installation. Plus the DS itself was put on hold for a number of years as the ISD production run began.

Like Torpid said, technically Lucas says it is the Death Star. Listen to the commentary for Episode III.

*lukeiamyourdad* · 05-09-2006, 05:45 PM

Excellent news! I find this very intriguing! However, I do hope that we'll still be able to play a campaign traditionally with the Rebels or the Empire.

This is awesome!

CrazedEwok · 05-09-2006, 05:56 PM

Great news, definitely!

I can't wait until the dev chat; I definitely want to know how they're going to handle the big, bad Super Star Destroyers.

Darth_Torpid-PG · 05-09-2006, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazedEwok

Great news, definitely!

I can't wait until the dev chat; I definitely want to know how they're going to handle the big, bad Super Star Destroyers.

Hehe. Those of you going to E3 on Friday will be able to see it in action. The sucker lights up like a Christmas tree when you highlight all the hard points

Foshjedi2004 · 05-09-2006, 06:50 PM

Trust me...LoW's SSD model lights up more...We have far too many HPs....

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilleJedi

Simple fix, make Tyber sponsored by some rogue moffs during the civil war to run their shadier operations. He's second fiddle to Xixor until Xixor buys the farm, then after endor the Moffs use his connections to try to figure out what the emperor was hiding at kuat as a secret project, but Tyber has already become a semi-warlord like Zsinj from thier wealth. Run the game 2 years post endor when the eclipse hull is withdrawn to Byss. If he is more of an evil Talon Karrde it will play better, make sense in continuity as well, since quite literally the machinations would be in the shadows and secretive and we wouldn't have a missing highly visible character in the existing storylines.

I can't go into any further detail at this point, but your suggestion is not far from the mark in several respects. Bravo! ;D

*looks around office for the EvilleJedi's hidden microphone*

wedge2211 · 05-09-2006, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foshjedi2004

Trust me...LoW's SSD model lights up more...We have far too many HPs....

You have no way of knowing that... And the official SSD may have different kinds of hardpoints than you can add.

*darthfergie* · 05-09-2006, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Torpid-PG

PS - A big, shiny no-prize to the person that can name the six-foot rabbit

Am I the only one who immediatly thought of Captain Bucky O'Hare?
*looks around and sees a bunch of blank stares*
Thought so...heh

As to Fosh, bragging rights over Hit Points is kinda pathetic, especially when the competition hasn't even rolled out their guns yet. Show a little respect.

**Prime** · 05-10-2006, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foshjedi2004

The Death Star Didn't take 20 years to build. The One we see at the End of Ep III was the Prototype Seen in the MAW installation. Plus the DS itself was put on hold for a number of years as the ISD production run began.

Lucas has state that the Death Star seen in ROTS is the exact same one seen in ANH, and that it took 20 years to build. And of course, since that is coming from him that trumps any earlier EU sources EU.

The expansion sounds great!

murphy54 · 05-17-2006, 02:05 PM

I hope to get the game as soon as possible..ahahahhaha

ImpElite · 07-22-2006, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foshjedi2004

Trust me...LoW's SSD model lights up more...We have far too many HPs....

I can't go into any further detail at this point, but your suggestion is not far from the mark in several respects. Bravo! ;D

*looks around office for the EvilleJedi's hidden microphone*

HERE IT IS!!!!!! *displays EvilleJedi's hidden microphone* Time to break!