ECTS 2001: First look: Imperium Galactica 3

The next round of games from German publisher CDV extend beyond the 2D real-time strategy basics that the company has built its recent success on with the likes of Cossacks and Sudden Strike. Imperium Galactica 3: Genesis is a major shift for the series and for the publisher, combining a stunning new graphical engine with a equal mix of ship-based tactics and high-level empire building. The strong, somewhat linear story elements that defined Imperium Galactica II are also back in strength, but they seem to focus more on the tactical part of the game.

Imperium Galactica 3 is purely a single-player game, and the game's mechanics are tailored to fit the needs of the campaign. The game starts out in the not-too-distant future, when terran corporations are vying for political dominance and have turned to exploring the solar system and beyond to gain an edge over rival powers. You're in control of one of the corporations, which are understandably weak from a galactic perspective. However, this is just the beginning. Soon into the game's 10 story-based missions, you'll discover an alien ship with warp technology that opens up portals to other systems and leads to the discovery of five alien races. Success in the early game means that humanity unites behind you so you can follow a more epic storyline. These twists in Imperium Galactica 3 make it an interesting sketch of dystopic and high-concept science fiction.

The strategic campaign includes all the basic characteristics of a 4X empire building game, but the focus on story and the tactical combat does significantly limit the diversity of options and the amount of micromanagement involved. Ship movement, for example, is limited to a single fleet gathered around your flagship, which is necessary to initiate warp travel. Most low-level colony management, such as resource exploitation and the construction of upgrade structures, is also handled automatically, although there will be a detailed planetside view so that you can get an up-close view of how your colonies are progressing. In addition to the 10 story missions, there will be more than 25 random missions that will give you specific objectives and rewards on both the strategic and tactical levels. Additionally, as you progress through the game, you'll encounter NPCs that will give you advice and can be recruited to lead colonies and fleets for performance bonuses. The game's designer, Zsolt Nyulaszi of Philos Laboratories, described the balance between the strategic and tactical modes as similar to that of Shogun, where the most dramatic action happens during the real-time combat. Like Shogun, Imperium Galactica 3's strategic layer is turn-based, while all combat is real time.

The tactical combat screens certainly look dramatic. The ship models are incredibly detailed, with 2,500 to 4,000 polygons per ship, and they're built out of modules, so you can customize each vessel with researched technologies in the strategic mode. The 3D camera works much like that of Homeworld, and it's fixed to rotate around ships and other objects in the solar system, which provides a beautiful perspective on the action. Given the size of the capital ships you control, it's not surprising that fleets are composed of only one to 10 ships at a time, although space defense satellites, asteroids, and other space objects keep the tactical playing field from looking barren. We didn't have the opportunity to see the details of the combat mechanics, but we do know that the tactical combat includes an energy management system that requires you to balance between shields, weapons, engines, and support systems.

The graphics of Imperium Galactica 3 are generally quite impressive. Even the turn-based strategic mode features a highly detailed solar system view that you can rotate in 3D, and there are stylized transitions between the different screens, much like in the previous game. However, the demonstration build at ECTS seemed to lack a surprising number of game components that will need to be tied together seamlessly and balanced as development wraps up in the next few months.

The Imperium Galactica license has bounced around recently, with publishing rights going from Infogrames to CDV. A new Hungary-based developer, Philos, was selected to create the game for CDV. The release of the German version of the game is scheduled for this Christmas, but the English version won't hit the US and UK until the beginning of 2002. Ideally, this extra time could be used to add some deserved polish to the US version of this attractive space strategy game.