Urban Assault Interesting Facts

  • Interesting facts about Urban Assault.
    Here are some interesting facts about Urban Assault and its history. This list may be updated further with new information in future.


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    • Urban Assault was the first video game title that was developed by TerraTools, the German software studio that was based in the heart of technology centre of Potsdam, Germany. The game had many different development titles during its development phase, such as 'Codename: Anarchy', or 'Y.P.A' - stands for 'Your Personal Amok'.


    • Urban Assault was the first German video game product to be sold and distributed worldwide, thanks to the publisher contract between Microsoft and their global network.


    • Urban Assault was initially planned to be published by Warner Interactive. The publisher was eventually changed to Microsoft after forming a potentially new contract.


    • Microsoft did an interview with several Urban Assault development team members when they visited the Microsoft 'campus' in 1998, which is still available for reading.


    • Urban Assault was showcased at E3 1996, 1997 and 1998 in Atlanta. Where the game was demonstrated in a dozen computers at the Microsoft booth. In 1996, the game was demonstrated at the Warner Interactive booth.


    • Mark Snow, the famous composer of the theme music for X-Files, had participated in making the intro movie of Urban Assault. An interview with him on his collaboration at UA intro movie is still available.


    • Urban Assault (1998) was the third major strategy title to be published by Microsoft Games Studio. Followed by Close Combat (1996) and Age of Empires (1997).


    • Urban Assault (mid 1998) was the third game to be developed in a full 3D FPS-RTS hybrid genre. The first game in this genre was Uprising (1997) and the second game was Battlezone (early 1998).


    • Metropolis Dawn Expansion pack for Microsoft Urban Assault was planned and developed by the original TerraTools development team shortly after the release of Microsoft Urban Assault in the year 1998. Despite its official status and contents, Metropolis Dawn Expansion pack for Microsoft Urban Assault was never officially released due to publisher issues.


    • The cancelled PlayStation port of Urban Assault was initially planned and developed by Psygnosis Limited, the British video game developer and subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment based in Liverpool, England. However, whilst Psygnosis was commonly listed as the de jure developer in formal documents, the de facto development was being carried out by yet another British video game developer called Climax Studios that was based in Portsmouth, England.


    • TerraTools was established in Potsdam, Germany in the year 1993 by Professor Ulrich Weinberg. One of the most prominent figures of the early graphics technology in Germany.


    • The name TerraTools was inspired by TerraVision, a 3D mapping software developed in 1993 by the German company ART+COM in Berlin. Which implemented the idea of visualising a virtual globe that even predated Google Earth.


    • The first headquarter of TerraTools during the development of Urban Assault was at 'Churchill-Villa' in Babelsberg, Potsdam. This is the same building where the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill had lived during the Potsdam Conference (German: Potsdamer Konferenz) after the end of World War II.


    More to come...


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