Warlords IV Update

We caught up with Steve Fawkner, president of Infinite Interactive, the company that resulted from the division of Strategic Studies Group. Fawkner had been at the helm of both SSG and the Warlords series until the company split into two groups, and he graciously sat down with us to brief us on the status of both his new company and the status of Warlords IV.

According to Fawkner, the two companies split from each other due to various logistical concerns, not the least of which was that SSG was composed of two different offices, one in Melbourne and one in Sydney--about 500 miles apart. When the companies split, Fawkner and his group took the Warlords name and property and have continued to develop the game.

When asked about Infinite Interactive's decision to completely do away with all tactical combat in favor of Warlords IV's new collectible-card-game-style "speed tactical system," Fawkner replied that the decision was inspired in part by his company's desire to make the game more accessible. Tactical battles would often take at least 15 to 20 minutes each, and most game sessions would include between 100 and 200 battles--a minimum of 25 hours for nothing but battles, to say nothing of strategic planning, city development, and diplomacy. This new addition, and the game's new streamlined interface, are part of Infinite Interactive's intent to, as Fawkner put it, "go back to Warlords II," a more-streamlined game in itself. Though Warlords III was received well by its fans, the game was, in Fawkner's words, "about as complex as we wanted it to get." That's not to say that Warlords IV will be stripped down; the team will still be dedicated to offering at least as much gameplay depth as in the previous games.

Fawkner also mentioned that he simply wanted games to take less time, and they will, especially in multiplayer sessions, though you'll still be able to play the game using an integrated play-by-email (PBEM) system. The speed tactical system will still afford you plenty of room to strategically prepare for your next battles by carefully choosing both your party's ranks and composition. Though you may be tempted to try to create a "killer stack" (a squadron of the most powerful monsters from every faction in the game), Warlords IV will, like its predecessors, include unit morale, so trying to put together a party of virtuous knights and evil undead will incur severe penalties in battle, and although every single unit in the game will have at least one special ability, every one of these special abilities will have a counter-ability in the game. Fawkner also explained that, even though all units in the game will receive experience points and gain experience levels, the creature that successfully deals the final blow to an enemy army will receive a substantial experience bonus, so he expects players to perform a great deal of experimentation with their parties' composition and marching order. Warlords IV will be released later this year, though Fawkner mentioned that his group might also have some interesting announcements to make very soon.