Recently, Heavy Duty game developers were so busy working on their brainchild that they did not have an opportunity to share their latest news. However, in spite of all their obstacles and difficulties, Akella PR people managed to catch one of the game developers, Yuri Dubinchuk. They found him in the depths of the Quant Games studio, and had an opportunity to ask him a few questions.

Yuri, how was the idea of this game born?

In our case, the idea was born through the collective intellect of the team. It was our desire to make Impetus a game with free game play. Further, through the various supernatural practices of emptiness and darkness it began to take the shape of our future project.

Initially it began as a circle. Which, under closer observation took on the shape of a ball. Than, after viewing it from all sides and having it passed from hand to hand many times, we noticed that dents and folds began to appear on the ball.

After a short time, the dents began to fill with water, and the folds began to resemble mountains. “Hm, Yes! it started to look like a planet!,” exclaimed the smartest one among us, and the others confirmed this observation immediately.

On the planet, there appeared to be climatic zones. The grass began to grow and the wind started to blow through the trees. Once it became clear that the planet was suitable for human life, the first star ships landed with settlers on board, better known as the colonizers. Their infrastructure and progress started to become quite visible, and the smoke stacks of various manufacturing plants began to emit smoke while the evening twilight started to disperse the light of new born cities. Life on the planet slowed to a smooth and steady pace, so everything was perfect, and no one expected any surprises. However, it was right around this time that the aliens began to arrive.

Once the aliens destroyed one of the science laboratories, it became apparent that they were not here under friendly terms, and we needed to come up with something to protect the settlers.

Machines were recruited immediately and in impressive numbers. There were tanks, robots, airplanes, etc. Now the object is how to figure out the best strategy to protect the small planet from the invading aliens. And we will find them once the game appears on shelves.

How did you come up with the battles in the game?

In the game there are two types of battles. One In the air, and one on the ground. In the air battle a player will intercept alien ships that are invading the planet. On the ground, a gamer will manage a battle group fighting against the enemy forces, protecting against sabotage and assault. Combats will have a third person point of view.

We gave the player assets and funds in the form of diversified technology, weapons, and ammunition. And, we also gave them the freedom for the use of arsenals in the battle. The player has the luxury of choosing the time and place for the battle. And, thanks to this, every battle whether in the air or on the ground becomes unique.

Victories and defeats not only result in the losses of the fighting parties, but also results in changing the player’s wealth and reputation. The more successful combat operations are, the more opportunities arise to replenish the arsenal and improve the models of arms, equipment, and ammunition. In addition to equipping battle groups, an important impact on the outcome of the battle is providing better personnel. All pilots have several characteristics that evolve from battle to battle. Thus, the player can develop experienced professionals and win not using numbers only, but can win using their improved skills.

And, what about the economic system? How was it developed?

The economy is considered to be one of the strengths of the players abilities. Most of the player’s actions, in one way or the other, affect the change in the balance of cash. For example, in order to erect new buildings, it is necessary to allocate funds for daily maintenance. It is the same when hiring staff from among the soldiers, scientists and engineers. You are required to pay them a salary. And, the salary will fluctuate depending on the experience of each individual employee. There are many options on what to spend and how to make money. You can sell alien artifacts that you find in combat, or you can sell ammunition designed and produced in the laboratories on your base. Corporations that reside on the planet can pay you money for the safety of their territories, which is also an important source of income. Ignoring that source, the player can make it very difficult on himself when it comes to maintaining the safety of his unit.

What can we expect from the research system?

All research is carried out by the scientists in the laboratories that are specially created for this purpose. There are several things to research. Such as plasma, weapons, lasers, kinetics, power plants, etc. the total number of techs to study is one hundred and thirty-six, most of whom are a combination of terrestrial and alien technology. Virtually everything that is invented in the laboratories can be built in manufacturing plants, and the user can use all of this according to his personal discretion.

How long will it take to accomplish the goals of the game?

Around sixty hours, but that is only a ball park figure. Since the game is nonlinear, the time requirement depends strongly on the player’s actions.

What game engine will be used? And, how demanding is it to the configuration of your computer?

The engine was developed by our programmers according to the main and wide spread modern gaming technologies. The engine exhibits a number of unique features. Such as, the support of the huge open spaces and inverse kinematics. Robots walking under the laws of inverse kinematics move as though they are living creatures while taking the terrain into account. Robots can exhibit such movement through changes we developed in our system that require the robot to assess the choice of their position and where to set their feet. To play at the settings maximum level, you will need a video adapter that supports a multiple target and Shader model 3.0, as well as a processor with multithreading support.

What was the main source of ideas and where did you draw your inspiration from when creating the game?

The source of the ideas have always been and remain to be from our imagination. Which in turn is filled by literature, movies, and game masterpieces. We also draw inspiration from our own work.

What is unusual about the game? And, can you describe the never used features of the game?

The main features of the game are fully scalable and take place on a three-dimensional planet on which all gaming events are deployed. We also use inverse kinematics, multithreaded physics, and terramorfing.

Heavy Duty is the ambitious strategy game with elements of action and RPG. The player will be commanding troops on a global map and will be erecting buildings and exploring new technologies. The player will also be fighting with the enemy personally and managing one of the tanks. The game tells the story of contact with humanity with hostile alien civilization and the subsequent bloody war.

In the news that follows we will continue to tell about the game Heavy Duty and various features of the game, including units and the tons of pleasant game surprises. Watch the news!

The game release: Q4 2008

Links: Heavy Duty page at Akella.com, Heavy Duty web site