+Dagger Posted January 27, 2007 Posted January 27, 2007 CA) What made you decided to take on a big project like this and why WW1? Love. when my grandmother passed away, i inherited her library. she was a passionate historian and Somme walker. The game was originally going to be multi-player only, and i had hoped to wrap it up in six months... but the networking code was delayed, and embarked on the single-player side of things. Didn't realize at first what a gargantuan amount of data there was to incorporate (as this is my first game), but I'm up for the challenge. CA) What game engine are you using or did you come up with a new one? I'm using the Beyond Virtual game engine, which was designed for FPS and racing games, but is perfectly capable of producing other genres. (www.beyondvirtual.com). My primary reason for choosing this engine, is that there is no art pipeline. I can model something in Lightwave, and export it directly to the game. Similarly, I can change a texture in photoshop, and see it's effect *instantly*. It's tremendous liberating, and speedy to work with. It's also OpenGL, so a port to Linux or Mac, isn't out of the question. CA) How many people are helping with it? Smile.. there is just me. I've had some kind offers of modeling and research help, but I'm pretty much out on my own with the scripting and coding. CA) Where do you get your inspiration for what you want to include in the game? Aerial photographs, books, and the internet. the web has been a fantastic tool for gathering scraps of knowledge into a cohesive whole. The pages of SWW1SA members also depict many early planes in flight... which are more stimulating, than a grainy B&W photo of the plane on the ground. CA) Where do you hope this project goes in the future? I just want people to play it and enjoy it. if it makes them think about the conditions that the WW1 airmen had to endure.. mission accomplished. CA) Will there be a campain?will it be scripted or dynamic? Yes, I'm hoping to make it like RB3D's. scripted and dynamic? the campaigns will be open-ended, with the main challenge being... to stay alive. there will be medals, commendations, reprimands.. all the things one would expect. CA) Will there be a mission editor with it? Sadly, no. that's beyond my current expertise. the game engine supports scripting, and texture changing, so i'll try to leave as much good stuff exposed as possible. CA) Which aircraft will be included with the release? As many as can be squeezed in. current list here --> http://www.dogsquad.co.uk/dif/planes.htm CA) Which terrains will be available? Because it's been cold, grey, and wet here... I've been working on "summer", with blue skies and clouds. It seems most fitting for the start date of the war, and the green fields and yellowed canvas feel i want to achieve for the early days. depending on the availability of a coder who understands hex, the terrain will either be "all of Europe", or something 100km x 100km that i can make myself. Best to say that the terrains haven't been finalized yet. What can be said, is that the campaign regions will be the staples of Flanders, Marne, and Verdun. Maybe even the corner of England, too (to allow the RFC to hop across the channel realistically, and the possibility of Gotha bombing/interception). CA) What do you think is the reason for a sudden rush of WW1 sim? I don't know... but it's quite funny. maybe WW2 was squeezed lifeless? whatever the reason, i see it as a good thing that the history remains in our consciousness. CA) Ok, now the MP part of it..How many will it support in game at once and what type of missions will be available? I'm aiming for 32 players, initially. with rotating maps, ala BF42. texturing and modeling has been performed with multi-player in mind. CA) What will set your sim apart from the others? Tell everyone why we should buy yours? Mine is free. it's historically accurate, community orientated, and it doesn't suck. Sure, it might not be as photo-realistic as Oleg Maddox or Micro$oft, but that doesn't make it a bad game. no disrespect intended towards the other sims. CA) Will you continue to support the game after release with patches or add-ons down the road? Definitely. this is the culmination of a lifelong interest. as long as people are interested in it, i will continue to support it. CA) Do you have an idea for the system specs that will be needed to run this sim? It's being developed on a 2.8ghz Packard Bell with 1gb memory. I have a cheezy video card that cost me $30. but the game nips along nicely @ 1280 x 1024. I haven't tested it on my laptop yet, but i hope to make it playable on as many machines as possible. CA) What features are you most proud of in the game? Flying through the rain, over the mud, with Satie (the game soundtrack) playing in the background, it looked so beautiful it made me cry. the flight model still has a long way to go, but the planes movement is so graceful and smooth, it's incredible (though i freely admit i'm a noob at such things). CA) Who was your favorite WW1 pilot, and what was your favorite WW1 plane? I don't have a favorite pilot, they were all so brave, it's impossible to choose. Favorite plane? hmmmmmm.... some sort of pusher... DH2 ? CA) Will a player be able to mod the game? The engine compacts everything into a (hopefully) secure archive. I can leave some functions and abilities exposed, which will allow players to change their textures, and such... but that hasn't been finalized yet. i also hope to have a plethora of sliders and options buttons from within the game. CA) Will there be a method to stop people from modding the planes into the famed "uber" fighters seen in RB3D and in MS-CFS MP games? Yes. but it's by keeping everything in the secure archive. which in turn, makes the game less moddable. It's a bit of a coin flip, really. CA) What would you like to say to everyone following your game? "Roll up, roll up... watch the noob fall flat on his face..." lol. no seriously... Thank you. It's people saying they liked the look of the prototype, which spurred me onto develop the project through to completion. CA) When do you think it will be ready for release and do you plan a demo? When the game is more robust, I hope to release another prototype, so that people can comment and make suggestions. At the current pace, I have to be realistic, and say that I'm still a year away from a full release. i promise not to lose interest though. There is nothing sadder than a bailed out project. Thanks for your interest. I'd like to thank you for taking time to answer these questions and to remind everyone to be sure and check out the web site at: http://www.dogsquad.co.uk/dif/plane.htm
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