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Acumen

WFG Retired
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Posts posted by Acumen

  4. Multiplayer Issues

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Well, the modules wouldn't be designed to limit gameplay to such a large extent. Modules are split up in such a way to cater to a particular user's needs.

    For example, someone who just wants to play over the Internet needn't download the singleplayer campaigns. If he doesn't have the Campaigns module, then the Campaigns option is greyed out in the main menu until such time as he downloads it. Naturally, if he wanted to play multiplayer with his buddies, they'll all need to have downloaded the MP module.

    The advantage is that the player can download modules over a long period of time and still have gameplay in the meantime, or if, say, he doesn't plan on doing any modding, he doesn't have to spend hours downloading the Scenario Editor or other tools.

    That's the theory, anyway. Ultimately the amount it proves beneficial to modularise the game modes will be dependent on just how much space those components actually occupy.

  5. New Topic/reply Notification By Email

    in Help & Feedback

    Posted

    Found it by accident, although from what I can tell it only seems to inform you when a new topic is created. Replies have been sent to existing threads in the forum that I've tagged, but I've only received emails for the new topics. I described it in more detail in the Programming Dept forum if you need to know more, Tim. And enjoy the break! You've definitely earned it.

  12. Scale Of Ships.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Acumen, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the design document off limits for non team members?

    Ideas aren't the problem. Ideas are a dime a dozen. What matters is successfully implementing that idea. That's what separates the winners from the also-rans.

    But there are various reasons why it's inadvisable for the DD to be public access:

    a] There's nothing left for you to enjoy. It'd be like skipping to the last page of a great novel, or reading the full shooting script before seeing a great movie. There are no surprises, no moments of wonder, no plot twists. As an example, do you really want to know every aspect of Half Life 2 before it's released? Every weapon spec, every monster type, every level design, every conversation thread, every twist in the storyline? Of course you do ;). But then why bother to make the game if everybody already knows what's coming. Valve are doing the right thing by withholding the details so the public will have a better experience at the end of the day.

    b] Too many cooks in the kitchen. We'd be inundated with cries of "why are you doing that?" "do this!" "no, do that!" "that sucks, do this!" It's already enough of a challenge to keep the design static enough to implement with the contributions from staff members. We have to reach a point where the design is "feature locked", or we'll never get a chance to implement any of it.

    c] Culpability. As hard as you try to plan ahead, a project inevitably evolves beyond its original constraints. Maybe a key feature is discovered to be impractical to implement with our resources (remember, most games require a multi-million dollar budget; we have literally *no* budget), or it's discovered that it just isn't fun, or through usability testing we discover that there's a more intuitive way to achieve the same thing. If the design is publicly known, we will be expected to stick rigidly to those constraints, and we can't guarantee that will be plausible.

    d] Why? At the end of the day, what would be the point? You'd satisfy your curiosity, still have to wait two years to see the final result, and probably have a lousy experience as a consequence.

    Decision Day Arrives For California Voters

    in Hall of Intellectuals

    Posted

    That's the nature of celebrity, I guess. In England, people will queue up to vote for Pop Idol or Big Brother, but only a fraction of the population votes for the Prime Minister. I foresee a flood of lightweight celebrities and half-baked "reality" TV programmes riding off the back of this situation. "I'm a Governor; Get Me Out of Here!"

  17. Scale Of Ships.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Tonto_Sanjab, you've just summarised my design philosophy ;); realism wherever possible, as long as it does not affect gameplay. Unfortunately, keeping the game fun and accessible means we have to make a lot of concessions to gameplay.

    And Mythos_Ruler, I'm pleased to report that your plea for ship rams was already speced for inclusion some time ago. Please read the Unit Classes section in the Design Document for more information.

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