Urban Onslaught is another new DLC for the strategy game Starship Troopers: Terran Command that will soon be released. One in which you fight the alien bugs in the middle of a city. And that's something we didn't see in the 1997 movie, for example.
However, it did appear in the game's previous campaign, and according to the developers, these were some of the fan-favorite missions.
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The challenges of the new DLC
“We already had a few city battles in the original campaign and they have proven to be some of our fans' favorite missions,” says Lukas Nijsten, Lead Creative Developer of The Aristocrats, in an interview with Eurogamer.de. “This environment provides a recognizable and appealing backdrop, a welcome change from the deserts and industrial areas.”
“The CGI film Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars also featured a few scenes of urban warfare. They served as a valuable source of inspiration for us. By mixing familiar and fresh elements, we were able to create an exciting and immersive combat experience in the DLC.”
In the DLC, these urban environments are even more varied and larger. XTZ cites “tall skyscrapers, parking garages, subways and missions that take place in familiar locations, such as an airport or a train station” as examples.
Starship Troopers: Terran Command – Urban Onslaught Screenshots
Design challenges were posed by the introduction of new air units and other troops capable of jumping.
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“These units have the ability to reach previously inaccessible areas of the map,” explains Nijsten. “This forced us to rethink our approach to map design and find other ways to limit their flexibility.”
“One of the solutions for this, for example, includes restrictions on height and distance combined with covering certain roofs entirely with decoration. And to prevent the new air units from being too overpowered, we designed certain Arachnid types that are effective against them and distributed them strategically around the map. Therefore, you have to rely on a well-balanced mix of air and ground units to be effective in combat.”
One of the biggest differences to the main campaign is that all the action takes place within the city of Mahanagar and not in different locations on a planet.
“In addition, there are two new characters who are closely connected to the city. This allows us to communicate the changing strategic situation to the players very clearly. As far as the design of the new missions is concerned, we are focusing on open maps that allow a lot of tactical freedom. This means that you can tackle the tasks in different ways and in a non-linear order. On top of that, it is up to the player which types of units he wants to use to achieve his goals.”
As already mentioned, this DLC also introduces new types of units. In this case, these are police units and several new vehicles, both on the ground and in the air.
“This is a departure from the predominantly infantry-focused content of the films,” explains Nijsten. “Developing these new units involves an approval process with the licensor, but this has always been a very constructive and positive experience for us. I also believe that our deep understanding of the Starship Troopers film universe, style and design elements helps us ensure that our proposals fit well with the established aesthetic.”
Urban Onslaught is scheduled to be released for Starship Troopers: Terran Command in June 2024.