News from the 'Net From our official SynTax reporter, Alex van Kaam! @~I am not gonna blah, blah, blah about this and just get straight @~to the facts. - Might and Magic - The Lady, The Mage and The Knight (LMK) - Dragon Flight - Faldon - Swords and Sorcery - Total Annihilation - The Core Contingency - Thief - the Dark Project >>> Might and Magic <<< @~Might and Magic VI is off to the duplicators, when it will @~arrive in Europe is not yet known, included is a little FAQ by @~the MM6 team, as for those of you who wonder what the LE version @~is, this is MM6 and all the previous version of MM on an extra CD: 1) Who will get it first? We can't answer that. Sorry, but sales won't let us lowly designers/programmer/etc know the contracts they have with the retailers (we'd probably post illegal info anyway ;-) 2) Pre order LE on line - 3DO has sold out of the Limited Edition of MM6. It won't be available from us directly - you'll have to go to the store to pick it up, or use one of the online retailers. 3)Support - we won't be able to provide you with ANY technical support on this board. PLEASE DIRECT ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT QUESTIONS TO THE SUPPORT AREA OF THE WEB SITE. We will update the FAQ in a couple of weeks, as soon as we see what the frequently asked questions are ;-) 4) Messages/posting - Please don't post important game information in the subject of your posts. Use the subject area for its purpose. We're asking this so that people surfing the site don't lose out on the adventure. In general, it would be best if everyone just posts "reactively" to questions rather than dumping secrets and clues everywhere. Thanks for all your support! Thanks for giving us the extra time to put the "finishing touches" on the game. Enjoy MM6 Team @~Also found this, so you better make some freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee @~time ;-) Well, I can tell you how long it is taking people around the office, but we sometimes have an unfair advantage since we can always go ask someone how something works. Two of the designers started playing Friday morning and finished late Sunday night. I would guess it took them about 40-45 hours total and they knew exactly what to do to finish. I've been playing since Friday afternoon and I'm about 60% done. So far I've played about 65-70 hours. I don't know all the tricks but I have been able to ask a lot of questions to speed things up a bit. I figure that for the average person it will take at least 100-120 hours and probably more. It's a very big and complicated game. :) I hope this answers your question See ya, George Ruof, the senior programmer for MM6 >>> The Lady, The Mage and The Knight (LMK) <<< @~I have seen screenshots of this game and even though they are @~very early shots they look very promising, it reminds me of @~Ultima Pagan, the isometric view and the big characters, only it @~seems there are 3 to control in this game. Included is an @~extract from a mail sent by the project leader of LMK., it @~sounds very promising, and the name Arkania will have many of @~you going :-)))))): ....Just to make sure that no false rumors are spread, here are some facts on the game: LMK stands for "The Lady, The Mage and The Knight". It establishes a new brand, and has nothing to do with Realms of Arkania. The name Realms of Arkania is owned by Sirtech. However, the universe which you found in Star Trail, Shadows over Riva and Blade of Destiny was based on a system called "Das Schwarze Auge"(DSA), which is hugely popular in Germany. The firm who owns Das Schwarze Auge is involved in the storyboarding of LMK, and LMK takes place in the DSA world but at another time than the original DSA games. The time is 400 years earlier during a period called "The MageWars". The screenshots which you are seeing are not the final look of the game, so while they already look pretty good, expect better to come. Much better. LMK has a multiplayer feature, but we are very stifflipped about it. There are many reasons for this, including one reason which is that we are trying something out which has not been done before, and we want to make sure that it stays this way until LMK is close to release for several reasons. Both single player and multi player versions of the game feature a rich AI and high amount of object interaction. Yes, with us you can move every fork, if you want to. There's multiple things you can do with objects, and though some of them make no sense at all, we implemented it anyway, just for that additional feeling of "I can if I want to" While instances of the AI have appeared in the magazines, those are but examples. We are trying to implement the NPCs in such a way that the player will be able to believe in them. Details will be forthcoming on www.lmkworld.com as we get closer to release date. The amount of stats in the game depends on the preference of the player. Each of them has real effect. The release date is set somewhere in the third quarter of this year. That's all I can tell you right now. There is much much more to LMK than this. The feature list is quite large, and will increase as LMK goes through QA. Swen Larian Studios >>> DragonFlight <<< @~Good news for all the fans of the DragonFlight series, it seems @~that Grolier are working on a game based on the books, from the @~screen shots (which Sue will hopefully include in the @~screenshots section) you can see it looks like an adventure, @~similar to the Death Gate game. Included is an extract I ripped off the http://pern.grolier.co.uk/wip/wip080498.htm site: Building Pern. The last couple of months have been fairly intense. We've been finalising and starting to implement the gaming elements that will make the game work. This needed to be done to allow the programmers to go ahead and finalise the game engine, what we call the scripting engine. All the characters' attributes have also been finalised, for the same reason. We changed a couple of them to make it work better in the world of Pern and they will play a major part in the game and how your character evolves and interacts within Pern. We're very happy with the interface at the moment; it feels very natural. You may have noticed that I haven't gone into much detail about the interface, I'm reserving this for the time being, mainly because it's such an important factor to get right. If you get it wrong, then no matter how many graphics and sound you throw at it, it's still an unpleasant experience. There is nothing worse than buying a game that you have been looking forward to, only to get it home to find that it feels really bad and cumbersome to play. We're confident that we have an interface that is both easy to use and transparent when it comes to playing the game. It's the game you should be thinking about, not tackling with the interface. >>> Faldon <<<< @~Just stumbled on this website: http://www.atw.net/wolgames/1/ @~which seems to be a free multiplayer (online ??) RPG, the @~screenshots don't look as good as modern big company games, but @~if the gameplay is good and it's free then who will complain @~about that >>> Swords and Sorcery <<< @~Another 3D RPG, things are looking up, the screenshots I have @~seen look good, a bit like Lands of Lore II crossed with @~Stonekeep, included is a huge Q & A with Kevin Potter of Virgin: Q : Why the choice to go with both a turn based and real time setup? Was that the design from the beginning or did it evolve into that kind of setup? A : It was a subject of much discussion for us throughout the design phase. RPGs have traditionally been turn-based, allowing players the time to consider their actions before executing them. We didn't want to deviate from that standard element of role-playing and require the player to rely on their dexterity, yet we understood that there was a growing population of gamers that were demanding real-time action. So, D.W. Bradley came up with his 'time-phasing' system. Put simply, it allows the player to play in real-time mode, turn-based mode, or anywhere in between the two. Not only that, but this feature is accessible and changeable at any time during gameplay. It promises to be a major breakthrough for role-playing games with multiple party members. Q : One of the selling points for the game is that it is trying to bring players deeper into the role-playing side of games. What was the motivation for focusing on that aspect? A : A lot of games out there don't really allow the player to develop a unique character, that is, they force you into a role that doesn't accurately reflect your personality and then expect you to be the hero. Swords and Sorcery allows for almost complete individualization of the player-character, not only from a statistical point of view, but from a visual one as well. In Swords and Sorcery, your character will be an extension of your own personality or your alter-ego. We're bringing back true role-playing and we're not going to make the player bake bread. Q : What are some of your inspirations for the game? A : My personal inspiration was the opportunity to work with D.W. Bradley again on a role-playing game. D.W. Bradley's inspiration for this title comes from the heart. This is the game he's always wanted to make. Sure, he gave us Wizardry V, VI, and VII, but let's face it, technology has come a long way since then. Now that technology has finally caught up with his dream, he's making the dream come true. Q : What are some of your favorite parts of the game so far? A : Boy, that's tough. There are too many areas in the game world for me to pick just one. But visually, I really dig it when I shoot an arrow at an adversary and I get to see the arrow actually sail through the air and plant itself in the intended victim. Five arrows in the back of some ugly troll will make just about anyone's day. Q : What the biggest issue for you at the moment? A : World Peace. But, since we can't do anything about that, we're going to make our own wonderful little world. Q : What will the multi-player be like? Strictly deathmatches or cooperative? Both? A : We have plans for both. Hmmm...my experience has been that cooperative play usually results in a deathmatch once everybody starts to get on each others' nerves. Q : Will there be a dedicated server for matching up people on the Internet? A : We haven't determined that. We know for sure that we will support TCP/IP. Q : How many people will be able to play together over the Internet? A : Up to Six. Over a LAN or TCP/IP connection. Q : Starting from the beginning with a fresh batch of characters, how long would it take the average bunch of players to finish the game? A : Our current estimates show that is could take as long as 150 hours to complete. I seriously doubt anybody will be able to finish it in under 70 hours. Q : Will characters be transferable from single player to multi-player? A : Absolutely. A player will be allowed to take a character that they have developed in their stand-alone game, and bring it into the multiplayer setting. Q : Will gaming worlds be persistent like Ultima Online or created anew with each new party? A : The actual layout of the world will remain the same. So, you could conceivably play it as a persistent world and continue to create new characters as your party members die. The game adventures can be reset by the player if they decide they would like to create a new party and start over from scratch. Q : What kind of 3D acceleration will be supported? A : We will be supporting the major 3D acceleration cards and we are supporting D3D. Q : What is the viewpoint? First or third person? A : It's up to the player. It's changeable on the fly. The player can view the world through any party members' eyes in either 1st person or 3rd person point of view. The 3rd person camera view can be controlled and adjusted by the player, allowing for a full 360 degrees of panning and rotation. Q : What will be the recommended hardware? A : A P166 with 32 megs of RAM. You'll want to have a killer sound card as well, so you can really enjoy the game world of Swords and Sorcery. Q : What's the release date looking like? A : We'll be out at the end of this year. >>> Total Annihilation - The Core Contingency <<< @~The add on pack for Total Annihilation (who needs C&C) has been @~released under the cool name The Core Contingency, included are @~some details stolen without remorse from the @~http://www.totalannihilation.com/ website Cavedog Entertainment's second release, Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency, will hit retail stores the last week of April, giving gamers a more immersive experience than ever. This new arsenal will expand the award-winning Total Annihilation to include a grand total of more than 225 3-D battle units, 75 explosive missions, 50 multiplayer maps and 12 ultra-realistic 3D worlds. The Core Contigency also includes the feature most requested by hard-core TA fans: The Map & Mission Editor, the same powerful editing tool used by Cavedog developers on each map, each world and each mission. The Core Contingency is nothing less than the great leap forward in the evolution of gaming. In Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency, players discover that the Core lost its 4,000-year battle against the Arm and the galaxy is being rebuilt. But rumors of a surviving Core Commander, hidden as part of a contingency plan during the end of the war, are true. Both the Arm and Core are now racing to retrieve an artifact of new alien technology, the only remaining element the Core needs to achieve its mission to destroy the Arm and the galaxy. some features in the game are: 75 battle units, including minelayers and hovercraft 25 missions, including a bonus mission 50 multiplayer maps designed for battles with up to 10 players Six new types of battlegrounds, including urban landscapes Powerful Total Annihilation Map and Mission Editor New downloadable battle units and maps >>> Thief - the Dark Project <<< @~Looking Glass, known to all of us because of their brilliant @~Ultima Underworld and System Shock are working on an RPG called @~Thief - The Dark Project where it seems you play a eh ... well @~yes, a Thief, not much to be found on their web site about it @~except maybe this: Stalk through the silent corridors of a sleeping city and ambush its unsuspecting guards. Eavesdrop on your foes as they coordinate their man-hunt in real-time digital audio. Infiltrate and explore over 20 mission areas, from sewers to an abandoned church ... even plunder the Lost City of the Ancients! Prowl in the shadows, scale sheer walls, leap over chasms, and dive beneath the rushing waters of the city's aquaducts. We on the Thief team have decided that it's time to exceed them. Our goal is a fantasy action/adventure game in the Underworld tradition, which draws on our experience as game developers and players; which merges the lessons we've learned from "paper" role-playing games, from the development in the computer game industry since System Shock, and from our own previous first-person games; and which charts a course to the future of adventure role-playing in virtual fantasy worlds. Q: When will there be a System Shock 2/Ultima Underworld 3? A: We're not saying. The license for these titles is held by Origin Systems (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts, by the by). If we were to do, for example, System Shock 2, it would have to be a deal with them. So, hey, ask them. For our part, despite the fantasy setting, we see the Dark Project as adhering more closely to the System Shock format than Underworld. Think of it as a sequel to whatever game makes you feel really, really happy. Q: No, really, I heard you were working on a "Quake clone." What's the game going to play like? A: Funny, I heard that System Shock was a "Doom clone" back when it came out. Not too many people say that these days, though. Remember playing "cops and robbers?" It's just like that. You're the robber. Only there's also magic potions; magic arrows; traps, locks, and security systems; weird monsters sometimes instead of cops; and a whole storyline where the robber gets in over his head and has to (surprise, surprise) save the world. You can shoot out the lights, create diversions, and pickpocket the cops. You can jump, fight, and climb around, and if you get hurt doing it your Mom doesn't get mad. That's what we mean when we say it's an "Action/Adventure" game. Sorry, no experience points, at least not in this one. Q: Will the Dark Project have 3D accelerator hardware support? A: Yes. Most of the questions have been specifically about the 3Dfx hardware, which is clearly the current industry leader in this regard. We're considering native 3Dfx support vs. a more general Direct3D approach, and there's some important technical reasons why we'd really rather use OpenGL (surprising nobody) but we certainly will have some form of 3D accelerator support. The first 3D hardware prototypes are on-line now and happily cranking out screenshots. Q: Do you guys need any beta testers? Like, say, me? A: Not yet. Also, be aware, we generally use only on-site playtesters for games of this sort, so you'd better either be in the Boston area, or be pretty hot stuff, or both. With endless access to nerdy, clever MIT students (and I can say that because I used to be one of them), why go anywhere else? Q: I can't wait! When are you shipping? A: Our current schedule puts it late this summer into some time this fall. I hope I was allowed to say that. Like all schedules in this business, take it with a grain of salt. But we really, really, are committed to a focused effort to ship with a Christmas-season goal, which doesn't mean November 20th, either. We feel your pain, and we'll work real hard, okay? - o -