Interview: Battling the N64 - IGN

Now LucasArts' and Factor 5 are back at it again with Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo -- a semi-sequel (or prequel) of sorts to Rogue Squadron, this time set to the backdrop of Lucas' Episode I movie. LucasArts and Factor 5 have made some serious leaps over Rogue for this last hurrah. We discuss the specifics with co-developer Factor 5 below:

IGN64: When did the development team actually start working on Battle for Naboo?

Factor 5: Initial tests and discussions were done in February last year. Engine-planning, discussions on how to improve on what was done with Rogue and a general idea-tossing within the Episode I universe happened at that time, too. After the movie was out, the team sat down and watched it over and over to find hooks, characters, situations, and vehicles for the game and gradually the story evolved.

IGN64: Just to clarify, what was Factor 5's role in developing the title in comparison to LucasArts'?

Factor 5: Just like Rogue Squadron it was a co-development project. Most of the art and level-design came from LucasArts, we provided the programming, tools, sound, and most of the cut-scene and art post-production work.

IGN64: We've noticed that while the game is based on Episode I it revolves around characters that only played smaller role in the actual movie. Was this part of the deal with Lucas or was there more to it?

Factor 5: We used as many characters and vehicles straight out of the movie as possible. It was hard to tie a vehicle game into the movie plot line but the end-result hopefully speaks for itself. We certainly wanted the same mix as Rogue, where a lot is from the movie but where also original elements fill up the rest.

IGN64: Battle for Naboo is based off the Rogue Squadron engine, right? Or is it? Could you clarify?

Factor 5: Only in spirit. We learned a lot doing Rogue and analyzed the reusability of the Rogue engine. In the end, if you reuse an engine improvements are only possible to a certain degree. So we decided to throw away most of it and start from scratch. In the end that was the right way to go because many of the technical aspects of Naboo simply would not have been possible based on Rogue's code. If you look at Perfect Dark that is a prime example of a game where the re-usage and patching up of an older engine seems to have been not enough for the new game's technical requirements. The same would have happened with Naboo if we would have used Rogue's engine again. We certainly wouldn't t have pushed out the draw distance that far and the frame rate probably would have suffered. So starting from scratch really was a good thing to do.

IGN64: The draw distance is amazingly improved over Rogue Squadron. It's definitely among the best seen on the N64. How did you manage to improve the engine so much?

Factor 5: We carefully looked at Rogue and what worked about its landscape engine and what didn't. We also had learned so much more about the N64 and were ready to attack it much more aggressive than we did with Rogue. In the end a lot of mathematics and sleepless nights rewriting the microcode made the new landscape engine possible.

IGN64: In the levels that take place in outer space there are a lot of vehicles on the screen. Can you comment on any of the actual numbers involved? Amount of aircraft? Polygon numbers?

Factor 5: That's up to 30 fighters and wingmen in those space battles. A droid fighter has roughly 200 polygons.

IGN64: It looks like Battle for Naboo uses a much improved particle effects system. Many of the things that spark or explode do so in a varied manner. Did you bribe the N64 to tell you all its secrets?

Factor 5: If simple bribery would have done it. It was long nights with the dev-kits and some very unafraid programmers, who had the crazy idea to write a particle system for the RSP co-processor in microcode. We started it for Indy's snow levels because we needed huge amounts of snow on screen but when it was done we used it in both games all over the place. The rain and the snow have up to 3000 particles at any given time without any slowdown and without using the CPU at all. Many of the explosions have particles added and even the fountains in Theed are made up of them.

IGN64: Battle of Naboo contains a lot of diversity when it comes to environments. Was this a prime objective from the beginning? Because we feel the variety is well worth it.

Factor 5: Oh certainly. We have had our plans for landscape engines since the mid-90s, so each game with landscape technology from us tries to achieve more of that original goal. One of the things we really got under control in Naboo was the unlimited horizon and nice variety in landscape types and textures. You also start to see a few trees here and there. The N64 really is stretched out at this point, but luckily there are other things around the corner.

IGN64: The main screen and option menus are very well done. They look a lot like Flash for the Internet. How did you guys go about accomplishing this on the N64? We usually see low resolution menus, and they're often sloppy at that.

Factor 5: First of all, just like the front-ends for Rogue and Indiana Jones, the Naboo front-end runs in full Hi-Res at a constant 60 frames per second. A front-end has the nice advantage of being completely under control for the programmer, so with clever design there is no excuse for anything less than 60 FPS. It of course requires a lot of thought and an artist who knows what he or she is doing. In the case of Naboo, a Flash-experienced artist worked on it and the team set its sights on Flash-like technology for a while. Nevertheless in the end it was of course a tight fit in 60 FPS, but it worked.

IGN64: Speaking of the main title screen, it has the Duel of Fates playing overtop of it. It's simply amazing for the N64 to be putting out this kind of sound. The whole game is filled with dynamic, crystal clear music and the sound effects are just as brilliant. Could you, perhaps, explain how this was achieved?

Factor 5: The sound effects are of course directly from the movie. Skywalker Sound supplied the source material and we took it from there. The music is fully interactive and real-time, so the original movie-pieces were redone for the game and a lot of new material was composed. Just like Rogue really but with a lot more experience, more memory, and a much more mature MusyX as a sound system handling it. We tried to do interesting things in some of the levels by using environmental sound in a meaningful way: The best example is the river level which has almost no music but a very dense sound-effect ambiance to give a sense of creepiness and tension. You even hear all of the effects reverb in the canyon.

IGN64: How many playable vehicles are there in the game?

Factor 5: Out of the box you will see the Naboo Starfighter, a police cruiser, a Naboo Bomber, Battle STAPs, the Trade Federation Gunboat for water action and a two types of hovering speeders.

IGN64: Are there any hidden ones?

Factor 5: Have you played Rogue Squadron? Of course there are hidden goodies, and plenty of them.

IGN64: Finally, now that the team has pretty much finished up all of its N64 projects can we expect you'll be moving forward with Gamecube projects? We saw what the team is capable of in the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron demo at Spaceworld, and after we finish Battle for Naboo we'll need something to look forward too.

Factor 5: Didn't Yoda once say that the future is constantly changing? Let's put it this way - nobody here has a lot of sleep between now and Christmas 2001.

IGN64 would like to thank LucasArts and Factor 5 for the interview.
Interview by Matt Casamassina and Fran Mirabella III