 The room title is now "Central Command". Today's Message: "THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE THE DEV'S WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN THIS ROOM" [Xfire] matteox: Hey all Xfire people! We are going to start very soon! [Xfire] matteox: okay everyone ! [Xfire] matteox: Welcome to the EEIIX Dev chat [Xfire] matteox: We will have the dev team introduce themselves now [Xfire] matteox: and then get started with the q&A [Mad Doc] Ian: I'm Ian Davis, Creative Director at Mad Doc Software... [Sierra] guywelch2000: I'm Guy Welch, marketing manager for the Empire Earth series. I work at the publisher, Sierra Entertainment, a division of VU Games [Mad Doc] Bold: Hey there. I'm Chris Bold, producer on Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy. [Mad Doc] Albert: Hey I'm Albert and I'm Design Support [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: TW=WookieeMania>W: This is for
Dr. Ian, I want to know what collage you went to and
what you majored in. I am 13 years-old, and I am searching for a collage to go
to when I am old enough. Answer: I went to [Sierra] guywelch2000: There is an excellent interview and profile of Ian that ran in Atomic, an Australian PC magazine, that you should check out WookieMania -- http://www.atomicmpc.com/article.asp?SCID=27&CIID=26665 [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: [LOLZ] TheFlyingScotsman: What feature of EE2 or AoS are you most proud of? Answer: I'm very psyched about the fealty mode. I always got bummed out if I was losing in an RTS game and had to wait 20 minutes for everyone else to end so I could play again. With Fealty, you can become someone's vassal and be left alive... [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: ! Frame:
Compared to the well known RTS's such as Age of Empires, Star Craft, War Craft
etc. how do you think you stack up, is there anything that you feel is uniquely
different then any of those games and if so what? Answer: Empire Earth covers a much larger span, has a wider range of units, and the gameplay evolves more as the game goes on. The game is very different during early raids or medieval sieges than it is after air warfare is introduced, for example. Empire Earth also allows for much, much larger battles than you see in most other RTS games. In MP the game also has more swing, there's more comebacks and less reliance on memorized build orders. ^_^ [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: -^=UI=^- Praetorian: At what age
did you find yourself wanting to become a video game developer? Answer: I've wanted to make games since I played Ultima 1 back in Junior High. Back in the days of the Apple II+... (I have one in my office still) [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: [LOLZ] TheFlyingScotsman: As you
can imagine, modders love this game, but are still eager for more. Is the
GameByro Exporter still in development? Answer: Yes, it's in its final approvals. Mod to your hearts' delight! [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: odie5533: To Ian, what was the
hardest feature to implement of the expansion from a programming standpoint? Answer: Tug-of-War had a lot of different issues, since there were units that carried over from one battle to the next. But it was a good to do it, as it's a direction we want to pursue further in the future) [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: TW=WookieeMania>W: What graphic
engine did you use to make EEII and the expansion pack? Answer: We used Gamebryo as the low level engine, and then built our own Mad3D engine on top of it. [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: Gamefreak: Empire Earth 1 was
notorious (at least for me) for having long games (I played one that was about 6 hours long). Have
any steps been taken to make the game more accessible to the
"average" player? Answer: Both Empire Earth II and Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy have a number of options to allow for faster paced games or to simply jump into the action right away, bypassing the need to spend time building up your empire. The game pace and game speed settings allow players [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: CGderSchpackokiller: How many people worked on EE2 and exp.Pack? All the people who designed, made the music, graphics and balacne system? Answer: A lot! There were over 50 people at Mad Doc on the original game, and more than 30 on the expansion. Then Vivendi had many, many more involed in testing, marketing, distribution, manufacturing, etc. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: billybones116: Will AoS have the
same system specs as EE2? Answer: Yes, I believe so. [Sierra] guywelch2000: Yes -- the full system specs are online at http://www.empireearth2.com/gameoverviewExpansion.html [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: Gamefreak: Do you plan to play
Empire Earth 2 online with random people? Any way we'll be able to tell if its you? :) Answer: I sometimes log onto Gamespy.. you'll be able to tell it's me because I get owned pretty fast. ;D [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: odie5533: To Ian Davis, what is your favorite unit in the game? Answer: I like the Sirit Heavy Bomber. It gives the Massai (one of the African Empires) a good heavy air unit pretty early. [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: † DahVid †: Have you taken
measures to ease the skill gap between newbies and elitists? Handicaps
or something to that extent? Answer: EE II and EE II: AoS have a handicap system which lets you set your skill level from newbie to game god. One of the most fun things we like to play is ‘Monkey in the Middle,’ where everyone selects game god, so their building and gathering rates are really slow. Their units don’t do as well in battle either. Then on player sets his handicap to newbie, [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: zsgamer: why should i buy EE2 and
the expansion instead of say age of empires III? Answer: As much as I enjoy the Age series, EE2 and its expansion really push the game design of RTS further than other games on the market. The citizen manager, warplans, PIP, territories, Diplomacy, and so many other features bring new gameplay to the table. [Mad Doc] Albert: EE2X's campaigns and SP experience are also stronger, imho of course. :D [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: ffcsquall24: Alright, first question. In the future of the EMpire Earth series of RTS do you see any changes in the actual gameplay, for instance changing it from real time to maybe turn based? Answer: Well, when I look forward to what the next great RTS should be like, I see mixing the coolest fast RTS battles with the ability to feel the scope and epic nature of a Civ style game. I want to be able to take over a whole planet. :) [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: NightmareXX: On playing EE1 i noticed it took around 3 hours for me and my mates to complete a game right from the first era. Will it take this long on EE2 or has it been speed up? Answer: In EE2, we've done a few things: * Quick Start let's you begin a battle with some troops and buildings on the ground already * Game Pace let's you fundamentally adjust the rules so that you can have a lightning fast quick match, or a very tactical longer game [Mad Doc] Ian: Also, Sole Survivor mode lets you have a game with far more backstabbing and intrigue and that speeds things up, too! [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: -=X-Supreme-HC=-: Did you enjor creating the expansion pack? Answer: That’s a no-brainer! EE II: AoS was tremendous fun to work on! Probably the most fun I’ve ever had working on a game, and I think the team feels the same way. As always, a lot of work goes into making games, but when you see the final product, and see people getting excited about it, it’s incredibly rewarding. I love this job. You guys always make it worthwhile! [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: «iD» Geckoman: Q. What will be the specific abilities and bonuses of heroes, and what are their roles in battle? Answer: Heroes have an aura that gives a strong bonus to nearby units of the same type, and a smaller bonus to other friendly units. Heroes are tactical units.. sometimes units used to just be fodder, but now you're rewarded for keeping them alive and using them judiciously. Hero artillery really pwns. :D [Mad Doc] Bold: Yeah, what Albert said. Heroes are totally cool. Heroes are formed when a unit or group of your units are kicking butt in battle. A hero is created, and his bigger and stronger than other units. Heroes can form armies. If you form an army around a unit, those units in the army get a combat boost as well, especially if they’re the same unit type as the hero. Armies ca [Mad Doc] Ian: Quesiton: Carand: Does Mad Doc plans to
create other types of games, like FPS or RPG? Answer: Yes, although RTS is our bread and butter, and we'll never stop making the best strategy games you can find. We love the EE franchise and the opportunities it gives us for new gameplay. AOS is really a great testing ground for some cool new gameplay conceits. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: odie5533: To Ian, overall do you consider your work a dream come true? Most kids dream of making games for a living, and you are actually fullfilling that dream. Any thoughts on it? Yes, 100%. It's really, really hard work to get into the industry, and very hard making games, but the result is worth it. There are some REALLY tough times in any game development, but it's VERY COOL to see your games on the shelf. :) [Sierra] guywelch2000: Question: Gamefreak: RTSes have largely fared poorly both gameplay- and sales- wise on consoles. What do you think could be done to bring this genre to this next generation of consoles and do you currently have any plans or desires to undergo such a project? Any chance we'll see Empire Earth 3 (in some form) on the Xbox360? Answer: You're right -- RTS games are the top cateogry on the PC for a reason -- nobody has figured out a way to bring that same idea to the console in a way that's fun and will att.. The track record is terrible, but I'm sure for the group that gets it right, the upside is huge. [Mad Doc] Albert: Dune 2 was great on a console...but other than that I've never really seen it work well. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: ffcsquall24: Do you forsee any
continuation of the Empire Earth series at this point in time? and if so has production already begun? Answer: I love the EE series and have some wicked ideas for the future, but I can't officially comment on what may or may not be in development. :) [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: Gamefreak: Who writes the
campaigns and stories? Do you all hire a writer or do you mostly do it yourself? Answer: All the campaigns are written by the Mad Doc designers. They do a lot of historical and gameplay research. They combine the two, testing and balancing and refining to make EE II’s campaigns really fun and rewarding. [Mad Doc] Albert: We all do.. campaigns are written and implemented by the design team. Strong writing skills are pretty important in the design discipline. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: TW=WookieeMania>W: Has the A.I
improved in AoS? Answer: Yes, there were a number of improvements made...everything from minor fiddling with build lists to making the AI far more responsive to certain types of attacks. [Mad Doc] Albert: Bold > me. ;D [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: Gamefreak: What's the first thing
you did once the game had been 100% finished? Throw a party? Drink a Coke and
sit back? =D [Bold] I enjoyed some much needed sleep! [Mad Doc] Albert: Took off the crunch time sombrero! ;D [Mad Doc] Ian: I came in and started working on the next one. :) [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: Gamefreak: Many times when playing
RTSes online with people I don't know I find that not a whole lot of teamwork
goes down. Have you guys done anything to encourage or foster teamplay in EE2
and the expansion? Answer: The War Planner is really a great tool for teamwork. Instead of just trying to rely on fast scrolling text messages (like the ever growing list of questions here!), you can actually draw out a graphical warplan and send it to your team. It helps HUGELY. [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: _AW_True_GoA_: do you guys like Dr.
Pepper? Answer: Yes, probably too much. [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: -^=UI=^- Praetorian: What is your
all time favorite game, be it any genre, any company? Answer: That’s the toughest question ever. There are too many to list here. But if I had to narrow it down, I enjoy FPS games in my spare time. I think System Shock 2 and No One Lives Forever are my two favorite single player FPS games ever. [Sierra] guywelch2000: Question: odie5533: To Guy Welch, from a marketing standpoint, what is the best selling point of the EE2 Expansion? Answer: The best part is the new civs & custom civs. Not only are they cool, but they really make you rethink your strategy and the way you approach the whole game. [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: ¦£GǦEnemy: Did any of you guys do the voices for the game? Answer: We have one designer who's also an actor.. incidentally he played Zordon in Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. Seriously. o_O He's done some voices for EE. ^_^ [Mad Doc] Ian: Quesiton: |T5|Capt.Killer(1-A):
Did you ever disagree or fight about what kind of features to put and not to
put?If so can you tell us one? Answer: Yes, constantly. I actually was initially not sure if the territories would work the way we wanted, but the other guys pushed me for it, so I came in on the weekend and coded up the automatic territory generation and one Monday morning, I said, "Hey, you were right, it works, and it's cool." [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: Gamefreak: RTSes have largely
fared poorly both gameplay- and sales- wise on consoles. What do you think could be done to bring this
genre to this next generation of
consoles and do you currently have any plans or desires to undergo such
a project? Any chance we'll see Empire
Earth 3 (in some form) on the Xbox360? Answer: It's something I've thought about a lot. When you think about what's hard on console, its all UI: the controller isn't as rich as keyboard and mouse, and the display...isn't as crisp...but if you could discretize both your forces and the opponents and manage the world views appropriately, it could be done. [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: Saizou: How do you like working with the crew that created this game? Answer: Best team I have ever worked with! Everybody gets along really well, everybody does great work. They're awesome [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: Gamefreak: Does historical
accuracy play a big part in the development of this game? Are you more focused
on depicting what really happened (i.e. Answer: The games use historical flavor more than absolute historical accuracy. When it comes down to a decision between gameplay and historical accuracy, gameplay always wins. [Sierra] guywelch2000: Question: odie5533: To Guy Welch, what made Sierra/Vu Games choose to publish EEX? Answer: Hahaha! Money! The series has sold 2.8 million copies to date and we want to keep that going! Seriously though -- Mad Doc had so many great ideas that didn't fit in EE2 and the expansion gave them a venue to push it as far as they could. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: -^=UI=^- Praetorian: Do any of you
actually go incognito and play with your fans? Answer: Yes. :) [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: TheTerminator: What are your views on dihydrogen monoxide ? Answer: I’m enjoying some right now! [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: _AW_True_GoA_: Why can’t you
comment on games in development? I don’t really understand that Answer: Besides simple contractual restrictions (lawyers!), games in development are very fluid for the first year or more, and the direction can change wildly as you test things out, so any info we'd give could be incorrect the next day (even about the game name!). [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: [CAI] SPART (AFK): Is the
Expansion pack coming to download or only cd copies? Answer: EE II: AoS will be available in CD and downloadable form. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: Soda: What kind of food and drinks
did you have while developing the game? Answer: Too much of both, if you judge by the extra 10 pounds at the end... [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: billybones116: Is it just a coincidence that Chris Bold looks like the guy on the cover of the expansion? (sorry if that sounded stupid) Answer: Bold is actually a model in his spare time. He's also the inspiration for Duke Nukem, Lara Croft, and that guy from Bionic Commando. [Mad Doc] Ian: Bold also does most of the hand modeling for a major cosmetics line. [Mad Doc] Bold: Wait. I what? [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: -^=UI=^- Praetorian: What is your
work environment? an office? your home? a community area like a college PC
room? Answer: We have an office of about 20,000 square feet with about 110 employees right now. It's remarkably like a real business. :) [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: Soda: What is your favourite NES game? Answer: [Mad Doc] Albert: ^_^ [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: £GǦEnemy: Is the game constantly being played by the devs to try and find all exploits in the game and unbalances to patch them up? Answer: Yes, every day at 4pm we play a multi-player game, and a single player mission earlier in the day. We beat on the game (and each other) pretty hard... [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: TW=WookieeMania>W: What are the unique units? Answer: There are many civilizations you can play in EE II. Each one has a set of units that are unique to that civ. Russians have the Licorn Howitzer. French Have Currasiers. Zulus have the Iklwa Warrior. Each unique unit has its own set of bonuses that give you advantages other units in certain combat situations. There are too many for me to list all of them here! [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: captainz2: Have you ever considered adding zany nations such as a Chuch Norris nation, or another random nation? Answer: Chuck Norris was actually a playable civilization for awhile…we had to remove him because he was too imbalanced. [Sierra] guywelch2000: Question: Praetorian: What company do you think sells the most of your product? Answer: Top stores for us are Best Buy, WalMart, GameStop/EB, and Target (no particular order). We also do a good amount of business with smaller regional shops, like Fry's here on the west coast [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: TW=WookieeMania>W: What history books do you recommend? Answer: Check out Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Great book with an EEish type feel. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: TheTerminator: Do you play video
games on company time? Answer: Well, we all play so many of them at home, that we don't really need to at work. :). Seriously, though, we'll test important competitors, but making games is a very intense job, and there's not a lot of time to take a break to play another game at work just to relax. We play our own games constantly to test them... [Sierra] guywelch2000: Amazingly, the "business" part of the job takes *at least* 40 hours a week here on the publisher side! We do fit in gaming at work, but its not like many people think, playing games all day! :) [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: an3i7rust: did u guys make up the
name of the units or its historically accurate? Answer: Most of the units are historically accurate, but for the futuristic units we had to use our imaginations. [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: «iD» Geckoman: What Nations in
paticular get a late epoch special unit ?(Epoch 12 and
above) Answer: The Mirage is a late game air unit that's unique to the French. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: TreeHugger: what is Answer: I have an Apple IIe in my office. When I was in Jr. High, I had an Apple II+, and, finally, 24 years later I've upgraded to an Apple IIe. Waiting also made it significantly cheaper. :) [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: captainz2: Have you thought of using in-game advertising in EE2, like SWAT4 has? Answer: We originally had a "major sporting equipment" logo on the club of the prehistoric clubman, but the endorsement deal with "Grog" the clubman fell through. [Sierra]
guywelch2000: Question:
TW=WookieeMania>W: How come in EEI the starting age is 500,000 B.C when in
EEII the age is changed to 10,00 B.C? Answer: Those first 490,000 years were mostly all the same :) [Mad Doc] Ian: It really starts in the same epoch, but we decided to pull the stated time in closer, because there's not a lot of recorded history from 500,000 BC to 10,000 BC. Plus, the endorsement deal with "Grog" (see my previous answer about advertising) made it trickier, 'cause he had an exclusive on those years... [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: Xemi: How do you think your game compares to classic RTSs like Dune 2 and C&C? Answer: You are persistent. ^_^ I think the EE franchise has become a classic in its own right.. but it's so different from the C&C series I'm not sure you can compare them properly. As for Dune 2, you have to remember that the game barely registered on the collective conscience when it first came out.. I didn't meet anyone else who had even played it until many, many years after RTS games had gotten big but at the time it was my favorite game. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: -^=UI=^- Praetorian: Any
"Easter Eggs" in the game? any subtle jokes
amongst colleagues that you put in the game? Answer: I've been trying to find that out from all the guys! One of our games once had my face mysteriously appear in a cloud, so I'm scared of what might pop up. :) [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: Carand: You said that the game will also be downloadable. Will it be through a content distribution system or simply a direct link? How will it be managed? Answer: I believe it’s a direct link, available through IGN and Direct to Drive. They have all the details at their websites for how they handle downloading/distribution. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: ffcsquall24: Other than developing games do any of you have any other cool hobbies... such as sports, maybe ICE HOCKEY?! Answer: We have a basketball team in a local league, and a number of us are big Red Sox fans (Mr. Bold and I in particular). I also have a rock band with some of the guys at work, and last fall I taught a course at MIT on Characters in Video Games. I stay busy. Answer: GO SOX [Mad Doc] Bold: I’m cinema fan, I do some screenwriting when I find some spare time. [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: billybones116: Will EE2 ever be
available for MAC? Answer: I'd love it if it was. I've been a big Mac guy since '84 (I still have my 1984 Fat Mac - 512k Mac, and it still works). If the market conditions were right, it'd be fun. [Xfire] matteox: Okay a couple more minutes here [Xfire] matteox: and then we will give out some games [Mad Doc] Ian: Question: -^=UI=^- Praetorian: If you could
fix any one thing in EE2 , what would it be? Answer: We're very happy with how EE2 and EE2: AOS turned out, but we've also been inspired by them to explore some cool new directions in the future. Keep checking in with us, and you'll see some awesome things. [Xfire] matteox: We want to thank the guys from Mad Doc [Xfire] matteox: and Sierra [Sierra] guywelch2000: Question: xmann1102: Are you planning to host any tournaments, or will you be looking into supporting the professional side of RTS gaming at all? Answer: We've worked with iGames on EE and EE2, looking into more stuff. Keep watching empireearth2.com [Mad Doc] Ian: [IAN] Hey, gotta run to get back to work (yes, it's 7pm here, but I've got lots to do!), so thanks much for participating...it's great to see some familiar people out there, and I hope you enjoy the AOS expansion. We've got some great stuff brewing over here, so keep your eyes open for some great new things coming down the road! [Sierra] guywelch2000: Many thanks to Xfire for all their support [Mad Doc] Albert: Question: -|T5|Capt.Killer(1-A):
whats the most exciting part about making a game? [Mad Doc] Albert: thanks a lot guys! [Mad Doc] Albert: gg all! [Mad Doc] Bold: Question: istin03: What is so special about
AoS??? Answer: Fealty mode, Tug of War mode, Heroes, Native Tribes, Bonus Flags, Supreme Leaders, three campaigns, four new civs…the list goes on. AoS gives the player features than any other RTS expansion. Bar none! [Mad Doc] Bold: hey, great questions guys, thanks for taking the time to hang out and talk to us! [Mad Doc] Bold: Take care all! [Xfire] matteox: Okay thank you Mad Doc! [Xfire] matteox: How about some giveaways? [Xfire] matteox: #1: TheFlyingScotsman [Xfire] matteox: #2 lcbat [Xfire] matteox: you guys should pm me btw [Xfire] matteox: #3 odie5533 [Xfire] matteox: #4 Carand [Xfire] matteox: #5 Gamefreak [Xfire] matteox: Grats! |