Aeros

No, though that would be cool I mean there needs to be code that randomly picks a texture for a unit and will also update that texture to show damage or seasonal changes or whatever other things we might throw in.

You want us to spend $30,000 just so we can look gimicky and be called a clone of AoE3 by doning the Havok Physics engine? And hand-coding our own physics is out of the question. You can expect a 2010 release date if we wanted to do that ourselves. I don't see the advantage of having physics when it would just be a graphical doodad (I love that word, Jason ) that won't add anything to gameplay besides anoying things like your unit dieing when a tree randomly falls on it. Sounds cool on paper, doesn't work at all in reality. Physics are not cool in games unless the game is centered around it (Half Life 2), other games like Doom3 and Farcry that use a physics engine have no purpose for them other than graphics (to the point where most people didn't even know Doom3 has physics) Sorry for taking such an agressive stance against this, but its all we can do to convince you why physics won't rock the socks off you if you see it in 0AD. We don't have the liberty of buying a $30,000 license on our non-existant budget that is largely composed of donations from our own team (not only do we work for free but we take money out of our own pockets to keep this project together) No matter how amazing 0AD is, there is nothing in the game that can surpass the amazing talent and detirmination found in the WildFire Games team. Man oh man am I so proud to be working along such excelent people, albeit the distance barrier between us all. With luck that might someday change

Thanks for the headsup and the pics

Yes, we do Exactly that. The programmers are currently working on our actor randomization code, but when its done it'll allow us to give different features and different shields to the units. Having different faces and hair color for units has been something we've always wanted.

Have you checked the date today, Vingauld?

2) 0 A.D. is a free game, Pyrogenesis engine, however, is not. We have plans for things after 0AD. If you're detirmined to make a serious project out of our engine then we might have licensing options availible for that - it certainly is going to be MUCH cheaper than licensing from proffesionally endorsed companies. But either way, its not me to decide what happens with the engine, plans might change, and for now all we're worrying about is completing it and our game.

Most likely beta testing will be carried out in different phases with different people concentrating on different areas of the game.

Not quite either of those options

As of now, no. Theoretically maybe. We're working on it and seeing how possible it'll be Its definately an interesting and promosing idea allowing improvement for both RMS (hard scripted things that would be very hard to do manually) and Scenarios (Randomized things that would be very hard to do manually). Whether it will work or not or if we'll have time to do it all, we don't know. For now I can't say that the editor will work like that.

Wow thats a huge event, I wish I could go to that - but I'm all the way on the other side of the states. One of these days though, I'm going to end up attending one of these

- Someone who is more of a technical tester rather than a gameplay tester.

Hmm, I'm thinking a bridge would be awesome to use in certain gameplay situations in the campaigns

In terms of creativity and design - the 0AD Design Document has been in the works for more than 3 years headed up by the wonderful members of the Game Design department, and with 95% of the 400 page design document complete, there is not much left for brainstorming. In terms of concept art - I wouldn't be the right person to talk to, wait for a reply from our concept artists to learn about their situation - however we have an ample body of concept artists already and new talent will not likely be picked up unless its either 1) very good (think color) or 2) very active. Speed is as an important factor as skill here. But basically as Quacker said (but in different words) - most of the conceptual work is behind us. However, don't fear. If you are a creative thinker and conduct yourself proffesionally and maturely then there will be room for you as a beta tester or possibly QA tester - especially if you have unique ideas to resolve conflicts or gameplay. But for now we need to finish the game before we can test it.

hehehe, we're already planning to add Mongols for Part 2 (the expansion) sorry Ra

What if a bridge is destroyed while an army of units is ontop of it?

The option to use heightmaps is already in our editor and we plan to keep it through to release.

A concept we're toying with is the idea of being able to export scenarios into scripts, right now its just an idea and we honestly cannot say if our technology will support that or if it'll work. We would like that too. The plans and designs of the editor have probably a hundred different things that no other game has or has even done. We'll be trying to include as many as we can provided they work out and fit well and that we have time.

Nice list you've got there Petsuchos Ra, thanks

When the time comes for a beta we'll let you guys know. Don't worry.

What about buildings made of stone or mudbricks which can't catch on fire?

in 0 A.D. you will need to use units that cause Crush Damage to attack buildings. Hack attacks (like swords) or peirce attacks (like arrows) do not damage buildings.

The details on that we are not exactly sure on yet and can't say. We would like it for people to be able to have the same power to develop something in the game as we do - but with that power comes potential for cheating. IMO the majority of unit editing you'll be doing is by just editing pre-programmed action types in XML(simply because thats faster) - however if you know javascript or C++ it should be possible for you to go and create your own actions for units as well.

lol, this is more of a dev-team joke, but to join a faction you must mention it in your signature and then defend the honor of your faction against others to the last! Godspeed.

Lol, who exactly is your math teacher? (Tell him I said hi)

Hmm, well leaving an organization is a way of loosing mod privaledges you had there. In that case I've lost mod privledges at Planet Age of Empires, DGDN, Arcane Studios, and Age of Mythology Heaven. Actually for a few months after I officially left HG I still had moderator and site admin rights