Solar

We take a closer look at Brat Designs' new opus...

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Whilst the world awaits Breed with a certain degree of increasing bewilderment as to why it hasn't actually been released yet (having been in development for somewhere in the region of four years), the clever chaps at Brat Designs have already begun tentative development work on their second project, the promisingly titled Solar - a PC game which draws its inspiration from DiCE's seminal Battlefield 1942, and a myriad of other sources, too.

What is obvious in this title's unveiling is that Brat clearly feel the formula that proved so successful in BF1942 can be taken a whole lot further, and also made still more varied with the introduction of a sci-fi premise and setting. One might imagine then that faced with a number of BF1942 imitators already in the works, Brat Designs felt is necessary to commence work on their own take on this emerging sub-genre, before lesser-imitators could beat them to the punch. Could this be the reason behind Solar's emergence even before their long-awaited debut is out the door? Possibly.

Regardless of the developer's motivation behind this product unveiling (of which we're very grateful, and more than a little intrigued), the fact remains that it is quite some way off and with no publisher having been confirmed yet, it is more than possible that Brat are simply showing-off their wares to attract the interest of possible partners. Breed publisher CDV would seem like the natural co-operator, but the German publisher's frequently noted financial problems, and the closure of their UK offices, may make them an unlikely choice after all. In fact, if Solar plays as good a game as it talks, Brat may well find themselves in the envious position of being courted by one of the big boys. Demos of the title are available for publisher perusal as we speak.

So now I've waffled on long enough about how and why we find ourselves examining this game - let's take a look at what we know so far. Solar, unlike Breed, will be played from a first-person perspective, though like Breed will still be set in the sci-fi inspired world of tomorrow, with three theatres of conflict forming the background to the game's action, the Earth, Moon and Mars - where the Eastern Collective Democracy (ECD) and the United Western Alliance (UWA) are continuing their decades old tussle for resources and power.

Brat's bleak and disparaging vision of the future is a well-defined image, Earth is transformed into a nightmarish battlefield, where scarce resources can be found, yet the factions continue their battle out of mutual hatred - war constantly being waged amid the turmoil of futuristic structures and trenches. Off-world and Mars has been encompassed in this epic conflict, the war-torn barren redness of the surface making way to subterranean caves - the result of terraformed mining exploits. Finally, the once inspiring Moon has becoming a dumping ground for the conflict's excess, where the tunnels that were constructed as the first lunar settlements are now home to the "filth and waste of the human race".

So the setting is more than a little promising, and the gameplay is even more so, a BF1942-inspired single and multiplayer conflict for up to thirty-two players per game, where battle is waged over vast expanses of terrain, and AI bots fill the boots of other players when off-line or not gaming via LAN. The two main factions will be fundamentally divided, not just by sci-fi ideology, but in terms of weapons and other equipment too - both the ECD and UWA boasting their own set of armaments and vehicles, from "trench mortars to long range bombardment cannons with payloads of neurotoxins"; all will be different. Unique land, air and sea transport will provide further choices to be made in-game, and with this in mind, Brat's balancing will be key to the game's success, especially given the multiplayer-focussed aims of the gameplay.

However, in addition to our two dead-locked sci-fi super-powers, the game also promises a third group, the disturbingly named 'Necro', a horrific army of dead war victims, brought back from beyond the pale by a cocktail of nuclear and biological contaminants that have littered the god-forsaken lands of Solar. The Necro armies are in fact a potential threat to either side in the conflict, however they can apparently be harnessed in some sense, though Brat have not elaborated quite how as yet.

Wrapping-up what we know for sure about Solar, we're reliably told that interactivity will play a pivotal role in the game, with plenty of deformable terrain and buildings just aching to be blown to smithereens, such is the epic scale of Brat's vision. Thusly, we're told to expect an ever-shifting battlefield where gun placements can be manned and blocking scenery removed with a well-placed mortar or bullet-fire.

Naturally, for the lone gamer tackling Solar's single-player mode, the AI of other players will be crucial to the experience, with Brat promising good path-finding and intuitive decision-making. Also on the cards are dynamic weather effects such as snow and acid rain, whilst the prospect of calling in immense air-strikes is also a mouth-watering one.

Co-operative multiplayer modes featuring include Interdiction, Retrieval, Assault, VIP Escort, Search and Destroy, Recon, Rescue and Sabotage, whilst standard modes such as Last man standing, Death match, Team Deathmatch, Capture the flag, Assault and King of the Hill are also on the list. As is en vogue concurrently, a full range of WMD's should be included: enough to keep any wannabe weapons inspector busy for quite some time. Vehicles will also have the capability of being manned by a number of players and, in finale, the whole game will be brought to life by Brat Designs' Mercury II game engine which includes such features as advanced shader technology, advanced lighting and shadowing.

All in all, Solar is a more than intriguing prospect and it is just a shame that with no publisher or release date confirmed, we don't when we'll be able to get our hands on more details about this potential diamond. Rest-assured that we'll plague Brat and any publisher forthcoming for further information, as well as keeping our eyes-glued to less official sources for news too.

By Luke Guttridge