Games Fusion's Adam Unsworth asks Armando "Aj" Marini of Digital Illusions what all the fuss is about.

1) What new features can we expect from Battlefield Vietnam?

Well, you will not see "1942" in the title. The games with Battlefield 1942 in the title are all WW2 based. They also all use the same technology throughout.

Battlefield Vietnam is a completely new experience. We kept the foundation of the engine, but the visuals and game play have been altered significantly. The new graphics engine gives the game an unmistakably updated look and the infantry experience has been massively revamped to help immerse the player even more.

Expect to be completely immersed in the game. Expect to forget that it's the 21st century. When you play Battlefield Vietnam, you will think you're in Southeast Asia.

2) Vietnam is a tricky war to handle when it comes to games from a graphics point-of-view... what have you done to make the jungle style game more realistic than previous attempts by other designers?

We have some extremely talented programmers with very bright ideas. The vegetation was the most obvious hurtle that had to be overcome in order to really transport the player to Vietnam of the 1960's. The lead programmer came up with a method to generate vegetation at comparatively little cost. From there, the artists did their part. For the most part, the boundaries were set by the design team in determining which levels would have the densest vegetation and what types of vegetation there would be. If I could put a finger on any on single thing that separates BFV from BF1942, it's the vegetation. It's just so cool to run through thick patches of jungle, or to fly overhead in a helicopter and scan the forest for enemies.

3) Will we see any noticeable improvements in A.I?

Yes, definitely. Because of the open nature of Battlefield, the A.I. is challenging to implement. By introducing all the tress and the more organic layouts of the maps, this challenge became even greater. We identified this early on and set out to make improvement to the A.I. At the same time, we saw behaviors that allowed player to easily differentiate between the bots and human players. We wanted the players to be indistinguishable from the bots, and I feel we've come a long way in achieving that. They are far more lifelike than they were.

4) Will there be new weapons/vehicles?

Every weapon and vehicle in the game is new. We have over 20 vehicles and over 30 weapons, and each of them is new to the Battlefield franchise. We haven't carried over any of the content of the original game or expansion packs. Everything the player will experience is new.

5) Multiplayer?

Battlefield's core aspect is the multiplayer component. The game is designed primarily for human competition unlike most other first person games. Most games place the human player in a world populated by A.I. and the multiplayer components need to make concessions for this. With Battlefield, we design the game in the opposite way. The multiplayer component comes first and the single player is adapted to it. It is a more challenging approach to take, but well worth it considering the quality of the final experience for the player.

6) Is Vietnam just more of the same or are we going to be truly amazed?

BFV is definitely not more of the same. Amazed is a good word. We've been working on the project for the better part of a year and we still are eager to get involved in a game. We're all professionals, yet still we find it hard to remember that this is just a game. The illusion is very strong, very immersive.

7) Any plans for any more expansions packs?

Battlefield is a very popular franchise and based on our own experience with the game play, we feel it's an enduring one. We plan to keep the interest in the game as high as we can and we are committed to maintaining our fan base. I can't speak much about the future since there are many options on what we could do. I can say that it is likely that if BFV is successful, we would consider doing more.

8) As is stands are you going to meet your Q1 2004 deadline?

Everything is on track and there are no obstacles preventing us from shipping the game on time.

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