CGO: How many maps will be available upon the games release? Will players get the scope of the Strogg Invasion with important battles?

Paul: We're currently working on twelve maps that span four campaigns. In much the same way that our favourite World War 2 movies retell the story of important battles, each map in ETQW retells the story of a critical combat mission that lead to the retaliation against Stroggos. For example, in one map the GDF discover and then attempt to secure Slipgate technology (used by the human fleet during their retaliation against Stroggos in Quake 2), while in another map the GDF capture a prototype dropship, a technology they end up using for the transatmospheric assault on Stroggos in Quake II. ETQW has several homages to Quake weaponry too, with retro predecessors to weapons such as the Hyperblaster and Railgun.

In each map there is a sequence of objectives that are driven by the plot. Examples include attacking a remote GDF Bioresearch Facility in an Arctic fjord, constructing a bridge en-route to a Stroggification Plant in an arid canyon, or defending a Strogg Contaminator device by a temperate mountain reservoir. The maps feature a combination of vehicle, on-foot and artillery combat, with lots of variation between outdoor, urban and indoor battles.

We're really pleased that we're finally nearing beta as a large proportion of the maps are proving great fun to play. Our team of Production Testers at Splash Damage are playtesting ETQW full-time, helping fine-tune things like optimal cover points, concealment and fortification. My development staff and I join them for a playtest every day at 5.00pm; that playtest has really become the highlight of the day for me.