The Sudden Strike series has a long, expansive history within the RTS community. Still holding onto a stable playerbase with past titles, the staff of Kalypso Media and KITE went into Sudden Strike 4 with a clear vision of how to keep its established scene on their side.
Speaking to our own TJ Denzer in an extensive interview, Producer Christian Schlütter touched on how the team planned ahead to avoid the likelihood of past Sudden Strike players deciding their approach was the wrong choice.
"There’s still a hardcore fan base out there that loves Sudden Strike and know every nook and cranny of the previous Sudden Strike games" said Schlütter. "We sat down at the beginning of development and put together a document of design pillars we were going to stick to in order to create a new Sudden Strike. We wanted to take the core of what made Sudden Strike a great real-time strategy and tactics game and present it in a modern style. Furthermore we wanted to provide accessibility that would be appealing to new players"
Kalypso Media Is Offering An Extra Sudden Strike 4 Discount Through The Game's Companion App
According to Schlütter, good tutorials were key to their design - at least when aiding new players rather than fostering the Sudden Strike legacy. "Good atmosphere, impactful combat, explosive effects and 4K graphics" were added to the formula "while keeping the core intact by supplying the hardcore tactics-based gameplay that made the series stand out in the first place."
Mod support is a certainty too, under similar rule. "From the get-go, we want Sudden Strike 4 to have mod support. Modding is a big part of what has kept this series alive for years." explained Schlütter. "From day one, players will be able to create their own maps and mods for Sudden Strike 4. Scripts, set-ups, maps, and scenarios, via linked maps." The producer mentioned that while further modding features are being considered, there's no guarantee that they'll come to fruition.
The discussions above stem from a far larger conversation you can read through this link. Though we're still a ways away from the August 11 release of Sudden Strike 4, there's plenty of information floating about already.
