User:Commander Code-8/Workbench 2

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a 2001 real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by LucasArts. Galactic Battlegrounds utilizes the Genie engine, known for its use in the Age of Empires series, also developed by Ensemble, from which the game borrows many elements. The game uses a top down perspective from which the player controls the units of their chosen civilization to gather resources and wage war. It features six civilizations from the Star Wars films, the Galactic Empire, the Gungans, the Rebel Alliance, the Royal Naboo, the Trade Federation, and the Wookiees.

The story of Galactic Battlegrounds is portrayed through six campaigns, following every civilization except for the Royal Naboo. Levels span events set 3000 years before the films, events prior to and during the Invasion of Naboo, portrayed in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, and the Galactic Civil War as portrayed in the original trilogy films. The campaigns emphasize key individuals shaping galactic history through military command and leadership.

Plot summary

The story of Galactic Battlegrounds is presented through six campaigns, which can be played in any order, consisting of 42 total levels. The first three campaigns take place prior to and including the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the only prequel trilogy film released at the time of Galactic Battlegrounds, while the other three campaigns involve characters and events from the original trilogy. Each campaign contains seven levels, aside from the Princess Leia campaign which has eight. The levels in the basic training campaign are all immediately available to the player, while in the other campaigns each level must be completed before the next becomes available, up until the bonus levels. The bonus levels are highlighted by yellow borders in their selection screen, and feature either levels that are isolated from the rest of the campaign, or feature alternative non-canon portrayals of battles from the Star Wars films. The Royal Naboo are the only civilization not to be playable in a campaign, while the Wookiees are playable in two.^[1]

Attichitcuk (Basic training)

The Civilizations of the Galactic Republic are extending their reach. The WOOKIEE Transport Thalmussen penetrates the Alaris Expanse, a system of worlds along the Outer Rim. 
Bound for ALARIS PRIME, the transport carries villagers and warriors, all sharing hopes of colonization. 
But others have designs for this world. The nefarious Trade Federation plots to ravage Alaris and destroy anything that stands in their way....

Set between 39 BBY and 36 BBY,^[6] the basic training campaign follows the Wookiee colonists of Alaris Prime, a discovered moon in the Kashyyyk system. The Wookiees are led by the Chieftain Attichitcuk, and later his son Chewbacca and guided by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who narrates the campaign through transmissions made to the Jedi Council. Through the colonization and subsequent war against the gundarks and the Trade Federation the player learns how to move their units, gather resources, and do battle.^[1]

Level 1: Moving and Attacking

The campaign opens with Jinn's transmission to the Jedi Council, describing the Jedi's purpose in aiding the Wookiees to establish a new colony. The first level "Moving and Attacking," begins with Jinn explaining that before the colonization can begin in earnest, Chewbacca and his friend Shoran need to survey the land. Shoran has advanced further and left markers for Chewbacca, who emerges from the Wookiee colony ships that have landed on Alaris Prime. The player learns how to move units through Chewbacca, clicking and selecting him to move through the map. Eventually Chewbacca encounters Shoran, and Jinn teaches the player how to move multiple units at once. Shoran had stopped in his path because he encountered a power core, an out-of-place structure on the uncolonized world of Alaris Prime.^[1]

Jinn tells the Wookiees to destroy it and instructs the player on how to use Chewbacca and Shoran to attack it with their bowcasters. Chewbacca and Shoran then proceed further north, following the markers left by Attichitcuk, who has established the first camp on Alaris Prime. The camp is then attacked by four gundarks, a predatory species on Alaris Prime, but the Wookiees fend them off. Jinn deduces that the gundarks had damaged the power core and scared its owners away, stating that the Wookiees will not be so easily evicted. A B1-Series battle droid named OOL-2 discovers the ruins of the core and attributes its destruction to gundarks in a communication with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray, who orders OOL-2 to find the gundarks and bring their pelts to their Trandoshan allies.^[1]

Level 2: Gathering Resources & Level 3: Building an Army

In "Gathering Resources," three Wookiee workers are assembled at a command center, where Jinn states that they will have to gather 200 food, 100 carbon, fifty nova crystals, and fifty ore. Jinn explains that food can be gathered from the nearby muja fruit bushes, and instructs the player to have their workers harvest it. He also describes how to send workers to fish in the nearby pond. Enough food is gathered to allow two more workers to be created. As workers have limited attack abilities, Jinn explains that in an emergency they can stop gathering resources, take shelter inside the command center, and defend themselves using the building's turrets. After testing the defenses in a drill Chewbacca arrives at the base, just in time to help the Wookiees defend against another gundark attack, which they do using the turrets as practised. With the danger passed the workers gather the necessary supplies from nearby trees and mineral deposits.^[1]

In "Building An Army," Jinn decides that the Wookiees need to train a military force to defend against the gundarks. At a base led by Chewbacca the workers learn how to expand their colonies, building prefab shelters to support their population. After enough workers are gathering Jinn has them build a troop center, at which troopers can be trained. With their forces strong enough the player sends their army to the gundark nest to the north, where after killing some of the creatures they encounter a squad of B1 battle droids from the Trade Federation Droid Army already exterminating the gundarks. The droids turn to attack the Wookiees, but are destroyed in kind.^[1]

Level 4: Researching technology & Level 5: Exploration and Transport

In response to the new threat, the Wookiee focus shifts to military expansion. In "Researching Technology", Attichitcuk leads a reconaissance mission into Trade Federation territory while Chewbacca organizes a base to gather enough resources to improve the Wookiees' level of technology. After doing so Attichitcuk is caught in an ambush by Trade Federation battle droids. Jinn senses the Wookiee's survival through the Force, and informs Chewbacca that they will be able to create a medical droid to save him. Chewbacca leads the small force and the medical droid to find Attichitcuk, destroying battle droids they encounter on their route. After reviving Attichitcuk to the point of being able to walk again, the Wookiees return to the base and fend off a Trade Federation counterattack by droidekas.^[1]

With his father incapacitated Chewbacca becomes the leader of the Wookiee colonists. In "Exploration and Transportation" a Wookiee base has been built in close proximity to a Trade Federation outpost, with the intention of building up forces there to eliminate the outpost. Jinn instructs the Wookiees to gather resources and train warriors and build HummBike speeders, with which to find the outpost. With no sign of the outpost, Jinn realizes that the Wookiees need to cross the nearby river to find it, having them build a shipyard. The scouts locate the outpost and the Wookiees lead a successful attack against it and the droids there.^[1]

Level 6: Allies and Jedi & Level 7: The Battle for Alaris Prime

In "Allies and Jedi" Jinn explains the benefit of having allies, something the Trade Federation lacks on Alaris Prime. Chewbacca has set up camp near another settlement run by Shoran. Chewbacca's workers build a spaceport, which they use to research the technology to find Shoran's camp. They use Corellian HoverFreighters to trade resources with Shoran, after which Shoran finds a Jedi holocron inside his camp. To retrieve it, Jinn has Chewbacca build a Jedi Temple inside the camp, allowing Jinn's Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi to arrive. Kenobi leaves to retrieve the holocron, and after he enters the camp, Shoran spots a group of battle droids sent by LUH-989 heading to Chewbacca's camp. With a warning from Shoran, Chewbacca rallies fighting Wookiees at the edge of his camp to repel the attack. Afterwards, Kenobi returns with the holocron and Shoran's scouts uncover a nearby listening array belonging to the Trade Federation. Chewbacca leads his forces to destroy the transmitters at the array along with Shoran.^[1]

In the final level; "The Battle for Alaris Prime," the Wookiee forces have discovered the main Trade Federation base and set up camp nearby. Chewbacca plans to remove them permanently from Alaris Prime. Jinn wishes to participate personally and requests permission from the Jedi Council to do so. They agree on the condition that the Wookiees build their own fortress. The Wookiees begin gathering the resources to do so while also filling in the walls, partially built by Shoran. Attichitcuk also arrives at the camp, having made a full recovery from his injuries. Several sentry posts come under attack by droids commanded by SRAM-13. Jinn instructs the workers to finish building the walls and gates. Once the workers gather enough resources to build a fortress, Jinn arrives. They also fight off light droid starfighters with anti-air troopers, turrets, and fighters of their own. Eventually the Wookiees besiegd the Trade Federation base and destroy their fortress. Jinn notices two Neimoidian transports fleeing the scene, one of them containing the Trandoshan Pekt, who swears to return, knowing that Wookiee pelts will remain valuable. In a final transmission to the Jedi Council, Jinn acknowledges that he has taught Chewbacca everything he can.^[1]

OOM-9 and the Subjugation of Naboo

Turmoil has englufed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.
But the plans of the evil Neimoidians and the Trade Federation have only begun to unfold....

The OOM-9 campaign follows the Trade Federation during the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY, and allows the player to overtake Human Naboo cities and besiege the Gungans. The campaign is narrated by Viceroy Nute Gunray through secret transmissions to his Sith master, Darth Sidious.^[1]

Level 1: Beachhead & Level 2: Behind the Lines

The first level, "Beachhead," begins with a transmission where Gunray assures Sidious of the success of the upcoming Invasion of Naboo. On the planet's surface, the B1 battle droid OOM-9 has been dispatched with a small force to prevent word of the invasion from reaching the Galactic Republic. Gunray tasks OOM-9 with destroying transmitters in the cities of New Centrif, Vis, and Parrlay. OOM-9 approaches New Centrif first, but finds it too well defended and turns to Vis instead. He is joined by reinforcements commanded by the B1 battle droid EEK-176, and together they destroy Vis's transmitter and kill the Royal Naboo Security Forces defenders. The combined forces head towards New Centrif and destroy its transmitter, and from there they move towards Parrlay. OOM-9 receives more reinforcements from Gunray and completes the destruction of the transmitter and the city.^[1]

In the following level, "Behind the Lines," Gunray explains that one of five droid control programs, needed to keep the Droid Army active, has been stolen from the droid OOM-14 by the Naboo. Fearing that the Naboo will sabotage the Droid Army, Gunray dispatches OOM-9 to a camp full of OOM-14's deactivated battle droids, south of the Naboo city Harte Secur. OOM-9 meets with a task force that includes a technician to find the droid control program. They proceed towards a Harte Secur research center and regain the program, which the technician uses to reactivate OOM-14's droids. Gunray then orders OOM-9 to use his newly regained forces to destroy Harte Secur, which they achieve by destroying the city's command center. The victory impresses Gunray, who reassigns OOM-9 to lead the invasion of Spinnaker.^[1]

Level 3: Spinnaker's Spoils & Level 4: Capturing the Crown

In "Spinnaker's Spoils," Gunray wants proof of the profitability of the invasion of Naboo, and so he hopes to capture the wealth of Spinnaker, a major supply center. OOM-9 is charged with extorting 10,000 nova crystals from the city's spaceports, which are overflowing as a result of being unable to exchange goods under the Trade Federation's blockade. A portion of the Droid Army lands near a Naboo village, which surrenders after initial resistance. The droids use the village as a base while defending from attacks by Spinnaker and the nearby Naboo Royal Navy. They destroy Spinnaker's spaceports and replace them with Trade Federation spaceports, eventually gaining the requisite nova crystals through trade with the Naboo and a nearby Trade Federation base. Gunray congratulates OOM-9 and reports to Sidious that the capture of Theed, Naboo's capital city, is imminent.^[1]

Boss Nass and the Battle for Independence of Naboo

It is a time of chaos for the Gungans. Three thousand years before the invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation, the Gungan tribes are at war with each other.
But a leader has arisen. GALLO, the ancestor of Boss Nass, has encouraged the warring factions to unite as one.
But his pleas fall upon deaf ears. It will take more than words to end the years of bitterness....

Darth Vader's Search for the Rebels

It is a period of civil war. After the destruction of the DEATH STAR by the Rebel Alliance, the Galactic Empire has ruthlessly pursued their foes.
The evil lord DARTH VADER, obsessed with retribution for the crime against the Galactic Empire, has sworn to bring the Rebels to justice.
His fleet of Star Destroyers now descends upon the planet Yavin IV....

Leia and the New Republic

As the Rebel Alliance prepares its forces, Princess Leia races to the rocky world KRANT to meet with the Bothan spy UTRIC SANDOV to secure information vital to the Rebellion.
But Leia's ship, the CRETACIAN, has been intercepted by Imperial TIE fighters, and forced to crash land in the hills.
Climbing from the wreckage, Leia is hopeful of a chance to turn the tide on the Galactic oppressors and restore peace to the galaxy....

Chewbacca and the Liberation of Kashyyyk

After the destruction of the second DEATH STAR, the Imperial Forces have scattered in a vain attempt at retreat. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Rebel Alliance dispatches representitives [sic] to dozens of worlds to overthrow the Empire and its insidious agents. Turning their eye toward the Wookiee homeworld, Kashyyyk, the Alliance sends Han Solo and Chewbacca to determine what it will take to restore freedom....

Main characters

Civilizations

Galactic Empire

Gungans

Rebel Alliance

Royal Naboo

Trade Federation

Wookiees

Gameplay

Basic gameplay

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds functions through a bird's eye view perspective, through which the player commands their units using a mouse and keyboard. The player can click on a unit or building to select it, and choose from a series of commands for units they control. Players can move units they have selected by right clicking on a destination, and can click and drag to select a maximum of "x" units at once and command them simultaneously. Right clicking on a target will cause a military unit to attack it, or for workers to gather resources. The top portion of the screen displays the main action of the game, while the bottom bar displays various commands and informative graphics. On the left side a 4x4 grid shows options depending on the type of unit selected. Military units have a variety of battle formations, worker units can select buildings to construct, and buildings display technologies, which can be purchased with resources to provide benefits to players.^[1]

Gathering resources is a key mechanic in playing Galactic Battlegrounds. Four types of resources can be gathered. food is gathered from a wide variety of locations, including muja fruit bushes, and a wide variety of animal species, which change depending on the map type. Carbon can be gathered from trees or carbon rock piles. Nova and ore exist in specific stockpiles, with nova also being available from collecting holocrons.

Single player game modes

Scenario editor

DataBank

The DataBank functions identically to the "History" section in Age of Empires, providing background of the civilizations, locations, characters, and military branches used in the game, drawn from the Star Wars films and other Expanded Universe content.^[1] The French edition of the game includes information about the pantheon of the Gungan religion, which is not found in any other version.^[11]

Development

Conception (1990s–January 2001)

In the late 1990s, Ensemble Studios released the financially successful^[13] and acclaimed^[14] personal computer real-time strategy video game series Age of Empires, using a game engine the company designed called the Genie Engine.^[13] The Star Wars franchise had delved into the real-time strategy genre with the LucasArts games Rebellion in 1998^[15] and Force Commander in 2000,^[16] but they were not well received. Discussions about a collaboration between LucasArts and Ensemble Studios began in early 2000 through a mutual interest both companies had in working together.^[12] Production on the game began around May, 2000.^[17]

In the Summer of 2000, the business conduct developed into what LucasArts Vice President of Development Randy Breen called a "hybrid relationship," where LucasArts began developing a game using Ensemble technology and staff expertise.^[12] In early 2001, rumours about the Ensemble-LucasArts collaborations began circulating, prompting the entertainment website IGN to contact Ensemble head Bruce Shelley for details on January 25. Shelley denied that a game was being developed and stated that LucasArts had only reached out to Ensemble Studios to get feedback on some ideas.^[18]

Announcement (February 2001)

On February 27, 2001, the rumours were revealed to be true to the public.^[19] Star Wars: Battleground was announced on the LucasArts website as a joint collaboration between LucasArts and Ensemble Studios. It was revealed as the first part of a real-time strategy franchise to be developed with Ensemble Studios.^[14] The announcement was reiterated on Ensemble Studios' website,^[20] and on StarWars.com on the following day.^[21] LucasArts President Simon Jeffrey felt that the Age of Empires series was a natural fit for a Star Wars game, and that the company considered it as having the potential for a leading new franchise. Ensemble Studios CEO Tony Goodman said that many of his staff were Star Wars fans and that their passion for the series would combine to create an enjoyable and compelling experience.^[20] In an interview with IGN on the announcement day, Breen revealed that work on Battleground had been proceeding for some time and that it would be a two-dimensional RTS game like Age of Empires, rather than a three-dimensional one.^[12]

Breen, along with LucasArts Public Relations Director Tom Sarris, confirmed further details about the game. They revealed that it would take place throughout the history of the four theatrical Star Wars films released, similar to the history spanning campaigns of the Age of Empires series. Breen also explained that Ensemble's Genie Engine and the content of Battlegrounds was being adapted and developed at LucasArts, but that Ensemble's established expertise at game balance would be necessary in the beta testing phase, attributing part of Age of Empires success to game balance as a result of extensive testing. Breen also stated that the units appearing in the game would be familiar to Star Wars fans and that further collaborations with Ensemble and other developers would be likely if Battleground was successful. Breen and Sarris also specified that LucasArts believed in the potential of strategy games as well as PC content in spite of previous attempts in the genre and a recent drought in PC releases respectively, and indicated that more would be revealed at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).^[12]

First Looks (April 2001)

On April 11, level designer Stephen J. McManus recorded a designer diary entry in which he acknowledged that his original ideas for the start of the Gungan campaign, about a war between the Humans and Gungans on Naboo 3,000 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, clashed with existing continuity that said neither species had warred against each other. McManus considered various possibilities, including a war between the Gungans and the Wookiees, but after discussion with Gaber and designer Reed Knight, he decided to have the Gungans fight each other, creating the villainous character of Rogoe to serve as the main antagonist. Knight noted that what had initially seemed like a disruption had improved the campaign, by giving the protagonist Gallo a more personal involvement in the story.^[23]

The third issue of Star Wars Gamer magazine,^[22] published on April 17,^[24] included a discussion of Battleground in the magazine's "State of the Arts" section, written by Haden Blackman and including statements from game director Garry M. Gaber. The preview highlighted the various game modes, such as skirmish mode, multiplayer, scenario editor, the alternate versions of existing Star Wars events featured in the campaigns. Gaber was asked about comparisons to Force Commander and insisted that Battleground would be a very distinct game on account of its 2D style. He explained that an extended beta program would be undertaken, which would be easy due to the game's low hardware requirements. By the time of the preview, a majority of the campaign storylines had been plotted.^[22]

Gaber praised the work of Ensemble Studios in their collaboration, and hoped that the game would appeal to fans of both Star Wars and Age of Empires. In designing the game's civilizations, the artistic team attempted to use bright colors to help players distinguish their units. Gaber acknowledged that the artists were incorporating virtually every ground-based unit seen in the existing Star Wars films and the Expanded Universe. For the civilizations that required a higher number of original designs, the artists attempted to remain faithful to core principles, such as Wookiee designs that combined wooden structures with technology and biological units for the Gungans.^[22]

On the technical side, Battleground was revealed to have a total of 3000 art assets and 150 characters with 3500 lines of dialogue. Gaber highlighted that players would need different strategies depending on the civilization, contrasting the Gungans use of underwater technology to the Empire and Trade Federation's infantry prowess and the Rebel Alliance's stealth capabilities. At the time of the preview with Gamer, Gaber stated that the game was in the initial mock-up phase, with all units included in the game. LucasArts' focus from that point would be on mission design and adjustments.^[22]

Online previews and E3 (May 2001)

On May 1, 2001, a first look article was provided on Starwars.com, which revealed the game's new title, Galactic Battlegrounds.^[26] The previews included unit concept art and screenshots of the Battle of Hoth.^[27] On May 3, Ensemble Studios was purchased by Microsoft, who planned to phase out the use of the Genie Engine while still supporting it while Galactic Battlegrounds continued development.^[28]

On May 17, a trailer for the game was unveiled at E3, highlighting the playable civilizations while intercutting clips from the Star Wars films with gameplay.^[29] E3 also featured an exhibit on numerous upcoming LucasArts titles, with a demo of Galactic Battlegrounds available alongside that of Star Wars: Obi-Wan, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Star Wars: Starfighter's Xbox Special Edition, Knights of the Old Republic, and Star Wars Galaxies. The Galactic Battlegrounds demo featured a map that showcased numerous locations from the Star Wars films, including Hoth and Theed, and each of the six civilizations. Assistant Producer Nate Schaumberg used the demo to click through the different environments and civilizations. Players of the demo were able to participate in scenarios where the Imperial Army infiltrated a Rebel base, use the Gungans to perform a sneak attack on the Trade Federation, and also complete a battle between stormtroopers and battle droids. The game's minimum PC performance requirements were also highlighted at E3, and the scenario editor was revealed.^[25]

Playtesting (June – July 2001)

On June 3, LucasArts announced that Gaber would host an online chat session on June 27 to share information on the game's development^[31] Level designers Kevin Schmitt and Stephen J. McManus also participated in the chat, a transcript of which was posted on the LucasArts website the following day. By that time Galactic Battlegrounds was undergoing playtesting. The developers answered various questions about gameplay features and tie-ins to other Star Wars works.^[32] Also on June 27, level designer John Kathrein recorded a designer diary about the issues in communicating the Wookiee language Shyriiwook in the game. Kathrein initially planned to translate Chewbacca's growls via subtitles but found that idea absurd after a practice attempt that made Chewbacca sound like an upstanding British gentleman. He noted that the audience was never meant to understand Chewbacca's words verbatim, leaving the implications of Chewbacca's dialogue in Han Solo's responses.^[23]

On June 29, Gaber posted the first of several publicly available designer diaries on the website, revealing that in the previous week art and balancing for the Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, and Trade Federation had been completed, while the Gungans were partway there. He acknowledged that fans had expressed skepticism of the Gungans viability as a real time strategy civilization, but insisted that they would be enjoyable. Gaber also mentioned that multiplayer test sessions had been in progress and were enjoyable experiences.^[30] The section for the game on the LucasArts website went live on July 2.^[33]

On July 20, another designer diary was posted online by Chris Williams, where he described the game as having reached its "alpha" state. In the preceeding week, a session was held where employees from other LucasArts departments had a chance to play the current build of the game. By that point the game's art department had completed their designs for all units and buildings and was focused on designing hero units, creatures, and alternate designs for buildings after technology levels were upgraded. Williams described how the game's effects artists were working on animations such as flamethrower effects, explosions, and cannon effects. He appreciated the amount of feedback that was received on account of a high level of playtesting, and expressed confidents that Galactic Battlegrounds would meet its schedule for beta testing and release.^[34]

Further development (August 2001)

On August 2, Schmitt recorded a designer diary after playing through the second Wookiee campaign, which had been designed by Kathrein, as LucasArts employees had been playing each other's levels to identify any bugs. Schmitt's training as an architect was a source of some difficulty for him, as the "rules" of architecture did not correspond to enjoyable gameplay. On August 9, level designer Lily Childs posted that she was waiting for bug fixes on the tutorial and was focused on adding objectives to a separate Wookiee level. On August 11, designer Don Sielke brought his daughter Heather in to play the tutorial. He was surprised by her ingenuity in her strategic approach, and was heartened to believe that the game would appeal to 12-13 year olds.^[23]

The sixth issue of Star Wars Gamer was shipped to subscribers on August 14.^[35] It included a breakdown of Galactic Battlegrounds E3 content written by Blackman, along with an interview with Gaber about the game's progress. Gaber addressed the gradual name change from Battleground to Galactic Battlegrounds, believing that it was a better reflection of the game's setting. He stated that the game was "about 75%" complete and was happy at how it was progressing. Gaber had a positive view of the game's E3 reception and felt that it was responding to fan demand for a "deep, yet accessible" Star Wars real-time strategy game. At the time of the interview the art for individual buildings such as shield generators and power cores was progressing, and the art and balancing for two civilizations was still ongoing. Gaber stated that the development team had mostly entered crunch mode, working between sixty and seventy hours a week, but were enthusiastic about the game's possibilities. Gaber acknowledged that few features had to be cut from the game due to a high level of planning from the beginning of development. One feature mentioned in the interview^[25] that did not appear in the game was a tow cable attack for airspeeders.^[1] Gaber ended the interview by thanking fans for their support.^[25]

Sequence

IGN archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20040917081126/http://pc.ign.com/objects/015/015959.html

August 14: Star Wars Gamer 6

Developer diary August 22 https://web.archive.org/web/20060320104050/http://www.lucasarts.com/products/battlegrounds/diaries3.htm

September: Demo https://web.archive.org/web/20040414193357/http://www.starwars.com/gaming/videogames/news/news20010928.html

October 3 Developer diary https://web.archive.org/web/20060320104020/http://www.lucasarts.com/products/battlegrounds/diaries4.htm

October 9: https://web.archive.org/web/20060320095102/http://www.lucasarts.com/products/battlegrounds/chats.htm

October 10 - IGN preview Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds on IGN (October 10, 2001) (backup link archived on February 22, 2002)

October 16: Star Wars Gamer 7

December: Star Wars Gamer 8

December 2001: https://web.archive.org/web/20070910093921/http://www.computerandvideogames.com:80/article.php?id=23252

Chat, December, https://web.archive.org/web/20060320095102/http://www.lucasarts.com/products/battlegrounds/chats.htm

Gamespot archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20011211225129/http://gamespot.com/gamespot/filters/products/timelines/0,14209,470395,00.html

IGN archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20040917081126/http://pc.ign.com/objects/015/015959.html

February 2002: Star Wars Gamer 9

April 2002: https://web.archive.org/web/20060320095102/http://www.lucasarts.com/products/battlegrounds/chats.htm

Continuity

Galactic Battlegrounds draws inspiration from a variety of Star Wars media, primarily the four films released by 2001. It characters and designs from the films as well as a variety of Expanded Universe sources. Each of the six civilizations had a role in the films,^[1] although the Wookiee civilization required a greater deal of new designs due to a lack of existing works.^[22]

Campaigns

Prequel era campaigns

The Wookiee tutorial campaign includes characters from The Phantom Menace, the original trilogy, and the Expanded Universe. It portrays Chewbacca's early development into a leader, including a meeting between him and Obi-Wan Kenobi^[1] decades before their encounter in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina portrayed in A New Hope.^[37] Two of Chewbacca's family members, his father Attichitcuk and cousin Shoran, have prominent roles,^[1] Attichitcuk originated in the 1978 television film The Star Wars Holiday Special,^[38] and Shoran originated in the 1996 novel Tyrant's Test by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.^[39] Pekt's escape at the end of the campaign alludes to the feud between the Wookiees and the Trandoshans,^[1] which originated in the 1989 West End Games Roleplaying game supplement Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back,^[40] and is also a major feature of the second Wookiee campaign.^[1]

The Trade Federation campaign portrays the events of The Phantom Menace and provide background to some unseen events. The first level of the Trade Federation campaign portrays their disruption of Naboo's offworld communications,^[1] the consequences of which had been portrayed in The Phantom Menace when a hologram communication between the Naboo Royal Advisory Council and Senator Palpatine is interupted.^[41] The city of Vis had been previously mentioned in the 2000 reference book Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I,^[42] although Galactic Battlegrounds and its accompanying strategy guide were the first sources to specify its status as a city.^[1] The fourth level portrays the Fall of Theed,^[1] which was portrayed onscreen in The Phantom Menace, although the film does not portray^[41] the skirmishes between the Naboo and the Droid Army or the construction of the Neimoidian Throne as portrayed in Galactic Battlegrounds.^[1] The fifth and sixth levels of the campaign portray the Trade Federation's subjugation of the Gungans, which was mentioned in The Phantom Menace and occurs offscreen. The final level is an alternate simulation of the Battle of the Great Grass Plains,^[1] one of the events in the climax of The Phantom Menace.^[41]

The Gungan campaign features the bursas, which were created indirectly by Star Wars creator George Lucas, who stated that the Gungan Grand Army was created in response to attacks by bear-like creatures. Author Daniel Wallace planned to extend that backstory in The Essential Guide to Episode I and commissioned artist Robin Pronovost to design the creatures, which became the bursas. Although the guide was cancelled, the bursas were eventually incorporated into Galactic Battlegrounds.^[43] The latter four levels of the Gungan campaign also recount the Invasion of Naboo. The fourth level elaborates on the meeting between the Gungans and the Naboo at the Sacred Place, depicting skirmishes with Trade Federation forces prior to it^[1] that were unseen in the film.^[41] The fifth and sixth level explain how the Gungans were able to rally their scattered forces prior to the Battle of the Great Grass Plains, and the final level provides another alternate outcome, this time featuring the Gungans retaking Theed.^[1]

Original trilogy campaigns

The Imperial campaign begins with a portrayal of the Evacuation of Yavin, an event first mentioned in the opening crawl of the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back^[44] and portrayed in the comic strips Doom Mission and Race for Survival in 1983.

Units

DataBank and AI leader titles

Information from the DataBank also includes a wide variety of references to different branches of Star Wars media.^[1] The Galactic Empire's entry includes references to the Thrawn campaign, portrayed in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy of novels, which were published from 1991 to 1993, and Palpatine's resurrection, which was portrayed in the Dark Empire comic series and its sequels from 1991^[45] to 1995^[46]

Details about the background of Naboo originally developed for The Essential Guide to Episode I, such as Elsinoré den Tasia and the Gungan trickster god Nododo,^[43] were included in the DataBank by continuity expert^[1] Haden Blackman.^[43]

Inconsistencies

Galactic Battlegrounds has some internal inconsistencies, as well as information that conflicts or was retconned by other sources.^[1] The 2005 reference book The New Essential Chronology placed the early missions of the Rebel Alliance campaign in 0.5 ABY.^[7] However, the briefing for the first level stated that Leia had been heading to a rendevous with her father Bail Organa, who had perished in the Destruction of Alderaan.^[1]

The Imperial campaign portrays the AT-AT as a new invention unleashed shortly before the Battle of Hoth,^[1] in contradiction to the 1993 video game Star Wars: X-Wing, which portrayed their usage at the Battle of Orion IV prior to the Battle of Yavin.^[47] The comic arc The Battle of Jabiim, released in 2003, also portrayed the walkers in use during the Clone Wars in 22 BBY.^[48]

Locations within the galaxy were not always consistent in Galactic Battlegrounds. The crawl for the tutorial campaign placed Alaris Prime and the Kashyyyk system in the Outer Rim, and the Imperial campaign places Zaloriis in the Outer Rim.^[1] However, the 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed their star systems in the Mid Rim and the Expansion Region respectively.^[49] The fourth and fifth levels of the Imperial campaign place Hoth in the Elrood system, however The Empire Strikes Back and many other sources place Hoth in an eponymous system.^[44]

Reception

Legacy

Clone Campaigns

To tie in with the release of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, an expansion to the game, entitled Clone Campaigns, was released^[4] on May 14, 2002.^[source?] It added two new civilizations, the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and a new campaign for each. The Republic campaign revealed the backstory of Echuu Shen-Jon, explaining how he came to exile on Krant and survived the Jedi purge.^[4]

Clone Campaigns made a variety of changes and patches to the base game. The mounts of the Royal Naboo mounted troopers were changed from Kaadu to tusk cats.

Tutorial

Alaris Prime was a new location created for Galactic Battlegrounds^[1] and appeared or was mentioned in a variety of subsequent Star Wars products. Most notably, a moon of Kashyyyk and its Wookiee colonists were the focus of multiple missions in the 2002 LucasArts game Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and while it was unnamed in the game, the LucasArts website acknowledged the moon's previous appearance in Galactic Battlegrounds,^[50] and the events were definitively described as occurring on Alaris Prime in The New Essential Chronology in 2005, which also mentioned Jinn and Kenobi's involvement in the earlier war for Alaris Prime.^[51] The moon also had multiple appearances in the new Star Wars canon, beginning with the 2019 comic Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle 4.^[52]

Credits

Appearances

Bibliography

• LucasArts and Ensemble Announce Battleground on StarWars.com (original site is defunct)
• First Look: Galactic Battlegrounds on StarWars.com (original site is defunct)
• Galactic Battlegrounds Demo on StarWars.com (original site is defunct)
• "State of the Arts" — Star Wars Gamer 3
• "State of the Arts" — Star Wars Gamer 6
• "State of the Arts" — Star Wars Gamer 7
• "State of the Arts" — Star Wars Gamer 8
• "State of the Arts" — Star Wars Gamer 9
• Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds on LucasArts's official website (original site is defunct)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Kashyyyk Moon on LucasArts's official website (original site is defunct)
• "Ask the Master" — Star Wars Insider 81
• "Blood Feud!" — Star Wars Insider 124
• Star Wars: Force for Change Announces New Star Wars Humble Bundle III to Benefit UNICEF on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Replaying the Classics: Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds on StarWars.com (backup link)

Notes and references

External links

• Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds on Wikipedia
• [error: no full-URL provided. ] on MobyGames (error: no full-URL provided. backup link)
• Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Heaven
• Lostwords: The Essential Guide to Episode I on Continuity, Criticisms, and Captain Panaka — Daniel Wallace's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)

Sources to check: News Archive for November 2001 by AoErat, published by HeavenGames, LLC on Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Heaven (November 13, 2001): "LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is pleased to announce that Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds for PC will be available for purchase on Tuesday, November 13th." (backup link archived on March 17, 2021)