E3 2001 Hands-on: Warcraft III

Blizzard's Tim Campbell gave us an updated tour of the company's upcoming 3D real-time strategy game, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. The game is looking much more polished than when we last saw it, and according to Campbell, development is coming along well. The team is currently working on tweaking and balancing the different races and neutral monsters that will appear in the game, and although most of the units are already in place, there are still some open slots in case the team feels like they need to add a new unit in order to correct an imbalance. There is also some work left to do on the single-player campaign. From what was shown here at E3, though, it looks like the team will be able to make its planned release date in the second half of this year.

The game engine is looking great. All the minor visual effects add a lot of life to the game world--units leave appropriate footprints on the ground as they pass, so that foot soldiers leave small foot-shaped prints, while wheeled siege engines leave tracks, and mounted riders leave horseshoe prints. Similarly, units create splashes in the water as they pass through, and you can see tiny fish and the occasional whale pass through deeper water. Another nice effect is that units' paths follow the contours of the 3D landscape. When a catapult heads downhill away from the viewer, it tilts and heads downhill, showing only the rear-end view of the unit. Also, units at a higher elevation are appropriately larger on the screen than units in the distance at a lower elevation.

Campbell also showed how units can affect the features of the landscape. Groves of trees can be destroyed by siege engines and other attacks, and boulders can be reduced to rubble. This ability provides new strategic possibilities in combat, as units can sneak around behind seemingly impassable barriers and break through in order to stage a surprise attack. One of the night elf heroes also has the powerful ability to raise and lower groves of trees at will. This ability can be used in both offensive and defensive ways, and it can be particularly effective to block enemies while retreating.

We also saw a variety of creeps, or neutral monsters, including ice trolls, harpies, ogres, and a number of others. Neutral monsters play an important role in the game, as they are the primary source of mana stones, which are a resource required to purchase hero units and some of the more advanced technology upgrades. The higher-level monsters will give more mana stones, as well as more experience points and treasure. Although we didn't get to see one first-hand, Campbell noted that one of the most powerful creeps will be fully-grown dragons.

Another interesting element in the game is the group of neutral structures that will be scattered around the gameworld. Neutral structures provide benefits or services to anyone within a certain range; for instance, the healing structure will continually heal the units around it. Although the structures themselves can't be possessed by any one race, they can be defended in order to keep the enemy from gaining their benefits. We also saw a goblin merchant, which is a store where hero units can purchase items, and the temple of boom, a structure that sells explosive units called goblin sappers. In addition, the mercenary camp lets players hire neutral monster units they wouldn't ordinarily be able to build, such as ogres.

While the development team still has a lot of work to do before the game is released near the end of the year, Warcraft III is looking great already. If you'd like to read more about Warcraft III, be sure to take a look at our extensive collection of screenshots, movies, and in-depth previews of the game.