Today we talk with MaxGaming about their freshly released, indie developed, online-focused mecha action title being published by GarageGames . They tell us what the major changes are since the release of Dark Horizons: Lore and a whole lot more. Read on:

GameShark: First off, give our readers a quick and dirty introduction to this game.



MaxGaming: DH: Lore Invasion is a fast paced Mecha style first person shooter, with a persistent online war that is being waged by the player community.



GameShark: The Early Adopter program lasted a long time, but it gave MaxGaming a real opportunity to refine the gameplay in Invasion. How deeply has user feedback affected the product that you're releasing?



MaxGaming: The user feedback we've received has really driven what we have done over the last ten months to improve the game and get it to this point. Even though we haven't done everything players have asked for and would never be able to get done, 90% of the improvements within in the game have come from player feedback.

GameShark: Let's talk about the myriad of new features that Invasion brings to the table. First tell us about the Single Player Instant Action. How much content is there and does it help prepare players for taking the fight online?



MaxGaming: DH: Lore Invasion's Instant Action allows the player to quickly, without going online, get into a game and start learning how to play. They play against bots on the same playing fields that they will later battle on against the live players online, and it's a really good prep for them. One of the biggest issues we had early on was new players jumping into games online, and getting owned by the vets, and that is never a good feeling. So, the addition of Instant Action allows them to try a myriad of MAV combinations and really preps them for online battles.



GameShark: Tell us more about the multiplayer bots. How intelligent is the AI that controls them and how do they match up against real world players?



MaxGaming: The multiplayer bots are run on the new TorqueAI pack that will be released by 21-6 Productions very soon. We worked with them to add this important addition to DH: Lore Invasion for several months, and it has worked out very nicely. The bots can be good and bad, just like real players, and they do what what real players may do in game. If it's a Team Death Match, their priority is to kill the other team. If it's a Capture the Core, their priority is to capture the core. Sadly, I have been in test games where the bots have a better kill efficiency than the players.

GameShark: Tell us more about the Synapse Lighting Pack. What kinds of graphical enhancements does it bring to Lore Invasion.



MaxGaming: Visually, this was one of the coolest additions to DH: Lore Invasion, it really brings a much crisper and surreal feeling to the game, and to the looks of the MAVs which have been redone to take advantage of this lighting upgrade. There is still a lot of the Synapse Lighting Pack that we have yet to tap, but in future map expansions, look for cooler and cooler effects.



Another area of improvement provided by the Lighting Pack and some help we got from Apple, were increasing frame rates by more than double on Mac OS X, which has made all our Mac customers happy campers. One of the biggest issues we had with the Early Adopters release was the Mac frame rates, and we are very glad to be able to provide a great user base with a huge boost in playability performance.

GameShark: What new weapon systems have been added to the game for MAVs?



MaxGaming: The two new weapons that have the most impact on the game are the Eastern Confederation Locust's Multi-homing missiles and the cloaking ability of the Scout class from both factions.



The Spider homing missiles, though not very powerful, fire rapidly, and are very annoying to the MAV on the receiving end. The ability to have a homing missile on the Eastern Confederation side actually derived from them capturing objectives during the early adopter release. So, this kinda shows a preview of the type of things we will be doing for future patches of the game depending on the battles fought in the game now.



The Scouts had been at a bit of a disadvantage in the Early Adopters release, though very fast, and maneuverable they had thin armors. A suggestion from the community was to add some sort of cloaking device, and since they had originally been on the tech tree, we went ahead and implemented it. When it was first released the cloaking made the Scouts pretty tough, almost too tough for their class, so we changed it so that anytime you fire your weapon, you uncloak. That combined with it draining energy we believe has brought it back to where it needs to be.



Another much needed thing in our opinion was to make weapons more visual, so we totally redesigned the MAVs to have modular weapons, which basically means that they have their own weapons models. This has allowed us to put them in the players view and provide animation feedback on them firing. Very cool.

GameShark: Give us some more details on the limited Torso and Look animations that have been added. Was this another feature asked for by Early Adopters?



MaxGaming: Well, one big request from even back before the Early Adopters release was that we should make the game more Mechy and add the ability to torso twist into the game. So we undertook the challenge for DH: Lore Invasion and it has worked out very well. Even though the faster MAVs really don't need a torso twist ability, the larger Assaults and heavier Infantry setups really benefit from this ability to have a wider range to view against the faster MAVs. I really like to use this ability with my joystick and throttle, provides a very different gameplay experience then it does with a mouse and keyboard.



GameShark: How many new environments have been added to the game and how do they differ from what was previously offered in the game?



MaxGaming: We have added a couple new environments into the game, ranging from a very hilly environment to completely urban environment. Both these new mission areas provide a much more challenging game play area for the MAVs, really testing the ability to pilot your machines. The Urban environment is really a neat playing environment, allowing for much closer battlefield setup then previous missions and in player's words “It's Wild!”



Other environmental additions that we have added are around weather. Both rain and snow now play a roll in many of the mission environments. In the near future we will also have maps with sand storms, more urban environments and even some cool underwater locations.

GameShark: What kinds of new squad enhancements have been rolled into DH: Lore Invasion?



MaxGaming: A lot of our squad enhancements will be web based, where we are working with the community to allow them to build Faction sites that really focus on each faction's news, battle results, strategies, etc. These sites are currently being worked on, but will be ready shortly after release. In-game, we have added many of the same abilities to allow you to manage your squad from within the game.



GameShark: Invasion puts a keen focus on community and you've added a few new features that enhance that spirit of community like improved chat and language filtering. Tell us how you've improved these features.



MaxGaming: Basically, the Early Adopter chat functionality allowed them to get into the lobby and chat, fortunately and unfortunately as the community has grown there are a lot of join/left messages, and of course the occasional person who uses not so desirable language. So again, at the request of the players we have added the ability to filter a lot of this out of the chat area. Along with that, we have really worked on the ability for people to host their own chat rooms, and private message their buddies in game.

GameShark: Was the in-game Refit Station a major item on Early Adopter's wish list? How has it streamlined the gameplay for players?



MaxGaming: In the Early Adopters version, players would have to suicide and lose points in order the change MAVs in battle. This was not something they wanted to have affect their score. So we worked with them to come up with the idea of a station in game, at their teams main bases that allowed them to change MAVs in battle. I have to say, outside the new graphics and MAV abilities, this has been one of the most popular additions to the game. Allowing players to relatively easily get into a new MAV and back on the playing field.



GameShark: What comes after the release of DH: Lore Invasion? Will there be additional updates based on player feedback?



MaxGaming: The next thing to come to Lore Invasion will be a map pack. We have another big set of maps to add that will fill out the battlefield and of course any fixes based on player feedback would be incorporated into patches, etc. Lore Invasion is a persistent game, so updates every few months should be expected based on how the online world progresses.



Another thing we will be doing is offering the players the chance to contribute to the official game universe through player developed content, so the best of the best could be incorporated into free content packs from both MaxGaming and the community.

GameShark: When will work start on a PC RPG based on the Dark Horizons univers?



MaxGaming: Well, without giving a lot of detail, the answer is Soon.



GameShark: Final question - development on this game probably took a bit longer than you had originally anticipated, but you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Will MaxGaming finally get a couple of days off after release?



MaxGaming: That would be nice, we will probably take a few days off to decompress before getting back to work on the map pack and other projects. We have a great team here, so I guess they deserve a bit of a vacation.

Thanks to GarageGames and MaxGaming for sharing with our readers. You can purchase Dark Horizons: Lore Invasion directly from GarageGames now. Be sure to check out our review to learn even more about this game. You'll be glad you did.