Making History II Moves Into Multiplayer With a Browser-Based Add-On

Written by Nicole Kline on September 24, 2010

Multiplayer Alpha Preview: Another WWII game? How come Hitler can't ever catch a break?

Making History II is a grand strategy RTS PC game that takes place during the World War II era. Muzzy Lane Software isn't joking when they tell you to Уprepare for the ultimate grand strategy experience.Ф Start as any nation you want, stretching your strategic maneuvers over turns against AI Ц or, now that the multiplayer has gone live, fight for the dominance of Europe against your friends. With all the variables, no two games will be alike Ц who will be fascist, and who democratic? Who will revolt against inefficient rulers? We were able to sit down with Muzzy Lane's Ralph Gerth, Game Designer and Art Director, at PAX Prime to get an in-depth walkthrough of what it's really like to be behind the helm of a full army.

Making History II is a turn-based RTS game. The details are seemingly endless Ц the units, cities, and regions, with the different producers for factories and resources, are meticulous. There are key strategic materials you need to play the game, and building those up and utilizing them is different for each player. Even the smallest details are impressive Ц each character on the map stands on a small flag decal to be able to tell where they're from, and they are each dressed in a way that is historically accurate, right down to the uniform and headgear.

There's also a plethora of information available at all times. The map itself can be viewed realistically or as a sort of Risk-esque game board, which can actually help define the boundaries a little more clearly. The information given in each region has a lot of depth as well Ц each region has different properties like nationality and ethnicity associated with them, which come into play when you're conquering another area of the map. So in terms of expanding your territory, beyond items like gas and fuel, these other factors play a major role in how well you can hold a territory. If the cultures don't mesh properly, it becomes harder for the dominating force to remain in a position of power.

On top of all that, there's also a strong economic system in Making History II, since, as Ralph pointed out, УYou can't build a military without a strong economy.Ф He went on to show us the difference between several countries, pointing out the ones with an economic base and the superiority in their factories and research centers, which work by researching areas like applied physics or tank production. Putting money into these research areas leads to different projects and more research.

There's a lot of depth in this game, and I'll admit it Ц I was initially overwhelmed and yet intrigued by all I was seeing. The Tetris gamer in me was panicking at so many options, but the JRPG lover was ready to sit down and start absorbing all of the information I could to try to get my own country prepared for war. But Ralph assured me that the developers are trying to keep it simple and easy. It's possible to play the game at the detail level, to maneuver each unit and be a part of each and every little piece of the puzzle; however, it's also possible to just go by the properties of each group. УOnce you get it rolling, you don't even have to look at the details,Ф Ralph said, Уbut a lot of the fan base loves the details.Ф What it boils down to is that they want their loyal fan base, but they also want to be able to keep it casual to draw in even more players. УThat's really our biggest challenge, is taking something this complex and making it casual.Ф

Casually playing the game is easier than ever with the introduction of browser-based multiplayer. The game had a soft release of June 22nd, but the multiplayer is currently in alpha. Players can set the turns for however much time they want, and the game server will notify you when it's your turn Ц even while playing with multiple people, not just one other friend. This kind of sustained multiplayer supports everyone being online at separate times, allowing players to compete against each other at their own pace, yet still retain the excitement of having a strategic battle against someone else.

Players have to choose their countries carefully. There's a model here for every country from the World War II era, and you can play any of them Ц even nations that didn't exist yet. There are over 170 nations that you can form, and you can form multiple versions of them, depending on what kind of government you want them to have. With so many possibilities, there is a lot of room here for replayability. Within the states, there's so much you can do, including sabotaging cities, supporting governments, and declaring embargos. You can even battle on the sea Ц you can have naval battles, sea interdictions, and sink other people's trade.

One important thing is keeping balance within the states. If the government is fascist, but most of the people aren't, there's a minus 10 penalty. Retaining national stability is important, because as that goes down, the probability for revolts goes up. This makes holding an empire more and more difficult. You could have a full-scale revolution or a civil war, splitting your country into two. The new country simply adopts another ideology and forms from there.