Thy Kingdom Come
Now, almost a half-year after the departure of Taylor, the Cavedog team is hard at work on Kingdoms, which is now scheduled for release during the first quarter of 1999. Kauzlaric's office is decorated with swords and even a LEGO Army Knight kit to get him in the right mood for the game. The possibilities are tantalizing - Kingdoms will present an entirely different universe than TA, with four distinct sides and a world laced with Merlin-esque magic and D&D-like creatures.
The Demon Warrior is part of the fire side and has five to seven attacks.
But details are hard to come by. As was the case with TA, Gilbert is keeping a tight lid on many important aspects of Kingdoms, including the actual names of the sides and units, as well as the storyline itself. It is known that there are four sides to the game, each representing an element: earth, air, water, and fire. The sides are divided between good (earth and water) and evil (air and fire). Resources in the game maintain the dualistic approach of the original TA, with the key components being manna and mogrium, a crystal-like substance.
"We really want characters you can empathize with and not just a bunch of faceless minions." - Clayton Kauzlaric on Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
The game's forces will include units specifically tailored for each element. These include catapults and castles for earth; sea power and navies for water; mythical beasts and creatures for air; and spells, demons, undead, and magic for fire. Only three specific units have been revealed thus far: The first is air's Roc Bird, an airborne creature that soars in flocks far above the fantasy landscape. Water's Fireship has fully animated oars that realistically row in the water, as well as a turret on its bow. Finally, there's fire's Demon Warrior, a beast as nasty as his name, complete with five to seven different attacks, a sword, and a shield.
The Roc Bird, part of the air side.
The story that serves as the backdrop to Kingdoms involves the interrelationships between the four sides, each of which is led by siblings - two brothers and two sisters. "We really want characters you can empathize with and not just a bunch of faceless minions," says Kauzlaric. Although Cavedog won't reveal details of the plot, when asked if the siblings will fight each other and perhaps be punished or rewarded by their omnipotent, godlike parents, Kauzlaric responds, "Not exactly, but maybe something like that.... Oh no, I've said too much already!"
The Fire Ship has a turret that shoots flames and is part of the water side's force.
One mythlike element in the game will be the use of deities, which appear on the battlefield when certain conditions are met. They will, not surprisingly, have superior attack ability and strength. You can build temples to worship the deities in hopes of bringing them forth, but their appearance will have a random aspect - you won't always know when or where they will appear on the map. Conceivably, at some point during the game the fate of standard units may be a secondary concern if a battle erupts between gods.
Another image from Kingdoms shows the use of magic on the battlefield.
With more mystical elements to the game and the use of creatures, the idea of growing or breeding units comes into play too. Cavedog admits it does have some innovative plans in this area but will not discuss specifics. Another area of innovation is the mission structure, which, Gilbert assures, is "going to be much more different than Red Alert or Starcraft. It's a very cohesive and interwoven story, not just a bunch of missions."
And Taylor's thoughts on Kingdoms? "I think players are going to be surprised at how well Kingdoms turns out, because it's very important to Cavedog, and they are going to spend a lot of time and effort on it."
