Q&A: SPEEDBALL 2 HD (PC)
JON "JOPS" HARE, CEO, TOWER STUDIOS
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"23 years on from the release of one of the greatest games ever made in Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Tower Studios unveil the game's return in the form of a HD remaster. Alan talks to ex-Sensible Software legend and Tower Studios CEO Jon "Jops" Hare, to get the lowdown..." Posted 5th December 2013. By Alan Passingham © 2013 |
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After 23 years Speedball 2 remains one of the best games ever made. I’ve reviewed it previously here which explains just why it’s beyond magnificent. So, a HD re-release for the PC is obviously a good thing – both for old gits that want to replay it without having to find a CRT TV to plug their Amiga 600 into (or booting up an emulator) and for noobs yet to experience Speedball 2’s fast-paced and challenging nature. Seeing as Mastertronic did such a good job in re-releasing The Chaos Engine a few months back (another Bitmap Brothers classic from yesteryear) surely Brutal Deluxe are in the safest of safe hands. To check that is the case I asked legendary game-maker, ex-Sensible bloke and Tower Studios chief Jon Hare just what we can expect from the HD version…
Q&A with Jon Hare, CEO of Tower Studios
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There are quite a few 16-bit titles doing the rounds in various guises at the moment. Is it this sense of nostalgia that has led to Tower Studios reviving Speedball 2 for a modern audience?
I am heavily connected to the 16-bit era as co-founder of Sensible Software so it is natural territory for me, also Tower Studios has a history of doing high quality, chart topping, remakes of classic games from the 16-bit era, dating back to the mobile versions of Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder we released in 2004-2005. I am not sure I could call this nostalgia on my part as I was there at the time. For me it is a question of making the best of the titles we have in our back catalogue and accurately capturing their spirit and playability as well as adapting them to the technology made available by the current formats. |
The HD version looks similar to last year's Speedball 2: Evolution rather than Brutal Deluxe. Has this made it easier to convert to PC?
When we first started the development of Speedball 2: Evolution we consulted with Mike Montgomery, who now owns The Bitmap Brothers, to see what kind of angle he wanted us to take on the newer versions of the game... he requested that we look back more to the original game's look and style and keep the gameplay in the same vein. Speedball 2 Evolution was very successful for us in 2011, topping the iPad and Mac charts all over Europe and getting us to number 2 in the Sony Minis charts too. Bearing that in mind when we embarked upon Speedball 2 HD there was no reason to go back to the drawing board entirely. What we needed to do was to use what we had as a basis and work it into something that translates well to the PC format and the expectation of PC players.
Have you included any new features that differ largely from the original?
Some of the key features were included in Speedball 2 HD and some not. Key new features are: Excellent Multiplayer Mode for tournaments of up to 8 player teams, Full HD graphics, fancy graphical effects from Power Ups, 28 teams from 4 different planets, new player model types and stadia from the different planets, Ability to set and change formations before and during games, a lot of achievements and Steam collectibles etc, improved controls (with a little bit of SWOS added under the bonnet), improved A.I.
When we first started the development of Speedball 2: Evolution we consulted with Mike Montgomery, who now owns The Bitmap Brothers, to see what kind of angle he wanted us to take on the newer versions of the game... he requested that we look back more to the original game's look and style and keep the gameplay in the same vein. Speedball 2 Evolution was very successful for us in 2011, topping the iPad and Mac charts all over Europe and getting us to number 2 in the Sony Minis charts too. Bearing that in mind when we embarked upon Speedball 2 HD there was no reason to go back to the drawing board entirely. What we needed to do was to use what we had as a basis and work it into something that translates well to the PC format and the expectation of PC players.
Have you included any new features that differ largely from the original?
Some of the key features were included in Speedball 2 HD and some not. Key new features are: Excellent Multiplayer Mode for tournaments of up to 8 player teams, Full HD graphics, fancy graphical effects from Power Ups, 28 teams from 4 different planets, new player model types and stadia from the different planets, Ability to set and change formations before and during games, a lot of achievements and Steam collectibles etc, improved controls (with a little bit of SWOS added under the bonnet), improved A.I.
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What has been the most problematic aspect of the development?
Deciding what not to add, we had so many ideas that we could not put in for launch this year... also all aspects of the multiplayer mode, the game and selection menus have to work for all controllers and the player HUD and camera is also different for two players.
Early word is there is no online multiplayer option. Is this something you'll look to address after release, or is it beyond the realms of possibility?
Having just attended the 20th Sensible Soccer World Cup this year in Germany I am happy that Speedball 2 HD is making a stand for Communal Multiplayer. Communal Multiplayer is the type where you sit on the settee with your mates with a few beers and have a good old tournament in your house on one machine. The truth is most people as children have grown up and enjoyed playing with their family or friends in this kind of Communal Multiplayer environment for most of their young lives (but without the beer :)). There is no substitute for grinning inanely at the person you just scored against. Having said that at some stage we are keen to add Online multiplayer to the game but it is a highly technical exercise that needs a lot of testing and would set release back too far to contemplate for first release. We have tried this before with Sensible Soccer with a not brilliant result, the problem is the speed of these old games (which used to run at 60 frames a second) can easily be affected by online lag, it is something we definitely want to tackle in an update at some point. I understand that Online multiplayer has become an expectation for some people on the PC format largely because it is necessary to implement in order to create any Multiplayer experience at all for any first person game where the screen cannot be shared well between two players, but sports games like Speedball are pretty much perfect for Communal Multiplayer, just like Sensible Soccer, PES and FIFA Soccer.
Deciding what not to add, we had so many ideas that we could not put in for launch this year... also all aspects of the multiplayer mode, the game and selection menus have to work for all controllers and the player HUD and camera is also different for two players.
Early word is there is no online multiplayer option. Is this something you'll look to address after release, or is it beyond the realms of possibility?
Having just attended the 20th Sensible Soccer World Cup this year in Germany I am happy that Speedball 2 HD is making a stand for Communal Multiplayer. Communal Multiplayer is the type where you sit on the settee with your mates with a few beers and have a good old tournament in your house on one machine. The truth is most people as children have grown up and enjoyed playing with their family or friends in this kind of Communal Multiplayer environment for most of their young lives (but without the beer :)). There is no substitute for grinning inanely at the person you just scored against. Having said that at some stage we are keen to add Online multiplayer to the game but it is a highly technical exercise that needs a lot of testing and would set release back too far to contemplate for first release. We have tried this before with Sensible Soccer with a not brilliant result, the problem is the speed of these old games (which used to run at 60 frames a second) can easily be affected by online lag, it is something we definitely want to tackle in an update at some point. I understand that Online multiplayer has become an expectation for some people on the PC format largely because it is necessary to implement in order to create any Multiplayer experience at all for any first person game where the screen cannot be shared well between two players, but sports games like Speedball are pretty much perfect for Communal Multiplayer, just like Sensible Soccer, PES and FIFA Soccer.
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The transfer system and team rosters for the A.I. teams seem to have grown considerably. Have you managed to sneak Jops in there somewhere?
Yes I believe Jops is on there somewhere, as are Mike (Montgomery of the Bitmap Brothers), Remi and Jarek (Owners of Vivid Games, Appsters "Indie developers of 2013", who worked with Tower on this game) and a load of other guys and girls from the Vivid Team.... not to mention a whole host of stupid names in Sensible Soccer Custom Team style in the Speedball Teams such as the Revolver team: John, Paul, George, Ringo, Magnum, Colt, Clint, John and Wayne. Also, one of the cyber teams has names like 101, 1001, 1100, 10010 etc...
And finally, your thoughts on Duke's nightclub being turned into a block of flats?
About time too, the place was always a dump and full of bad memories, I walked past it many days when I walked back to Chelmsford bus station from school, wind on a few years and guys would be hitting on my little sister in there every other week, wind on a few years more when I eventually went to the club myself I only remember dancing like a d*ckhead and feeling like an old man, all the girls were about 16... I used to play golf with one of the bouncers there and he didn't have a good word to say for it either. Pity I didn't get to swing the wrecker ball myself... and I am sure I would not have been the only volunteer :)
Yes I believe Jops is on there somewhere, as are Mike (Montgomery of the Bitmap Brothers), Remi and Jarek (Owners of Vivid Games, Appsters "Indie developers of 2013", who worked with Tower on this game) and a load of other guys and girls from the Vivid Team.... not to mention a whole host of stupid names in Sensible Soccer Custom Team style in the Speedball Teams such as the Revolver team: John, Paul, George, Ringo, Magnum, Colt, Clint, John and Wayne. Also, one of the cyber teams has names like 101, 1001, 1100, 10010 etc...
And finally, your thoughts on Duke's nightclub being turned into a block of flats?
About time too, the place was always a dump and full of bad memories, I walked past it many days when I walked back to Chelmsford bus station from school, wind on a few years and guys would be hitting on my little sister in there every other week, wind on a few years more when I eventually went to the club myself I only remember dancing like a d*ckhead and feeling like an old man, all the girls were about 16... I used to play golf with one of the bouncers there and he didn't have a good word to say for it either. Pity I didn't get to swing the wrecker ball myself... and I am sure I would not have been the only volunteer :)
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