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Everything you always wanted to ask...


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Why does this always happen?

*glares evily at my Voodoo 4 4500 PCI.*

well i guess it served as an intermidiant card till i get my new box this x-mas... the blasted thing did only cost me 40 bucks...

*sigh* maybe i will check out some user made drivers...

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This isn't so much a question as a way of saying great job all you beta testers. What you have done is really really amazing. You've helped a small independant developer in a way that was so generous. I thank you for helping to test and stabalize a game that I'm really excited about playing!!! Trust me, when I get that hot little game on my hard drive, I will be thanking you many times over!!!

BTW SC the new shots look amazing. REALLY gives a sense of the scale of the game.

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quote:


Originally posted by Kush:

This isn't so much a question as a way of saying great job all you beta testers. What you have done is really really amazing. You've helped a small independant developer in a way that was so generous. I thank you for helping to test and stabalize a game that I'm really excited about playing!!! Trust me, when I get that hot little game on my hard drive, I will be thanking you many times over!!!


The pleasure was all ours. Truly.

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quote:


Originally posted by Wolferz:

The pleasure was all ours. Truly.


Yeah, bastards almost drove me nuts....as if I wasn't already.

But no, really, the guys did a FANTASTIC job. I mean, sometimes I take a look at a bug report and go "....how the f*ck did he reproduce that?!?" or "....uhm, I didn't write that, did I?" hehe

It got hairy for awhile though. I was so stressed that I put a ban on all bogus reports, required confirmation from someone else and threatened actual bodily harm to anyone who sent me off on a wild goose chase. Needless to say, they ignored the last part, and did it anyway. Like I said, bastards :-)

The recent PC Gamer review doesn't have a *single* word about bugs. Imagine that!!

Here is an excerpt of something I posted elsewhere.

quote:


PCGAMER:

High:Huge universe to explore; comprehensive selection of races and

spacecraft; exhaustive options.

Lows: No multiplay yet; only one structured campaign, uninspiring

graphics; steep learning curve.

Bottom line: A highly ambitious freeform space sim but still

incomplete.

SOMEONE WHO HAS SEEN THE REVIEW:

think it was the mixture of their problems with the single player campaigns, which they said were not structured enough, and the multiplayer.

basically they said the game was like a sandbox type game, you do what you feel like doing. as they say:

"Its kind of like someone tossed you the keys to a starship and simply told you to "Have at it Sparky".

MY COMMENT: I was told that the game cries out for multiplayer and that alone,

will dock it some points. So, if you take that into context, the game

would've gone over 80 if multiplayer was in.

But just think - had I opted to rush multiplayer, it wouldn't have

been as secure and bug-free as the single player and it would *still*

have lost points for not having good multiplayer. See what I mean?

Catch-22 is a *****.

The review echoes the sentiments of the previews of the title and I don't expect the other reviews to be any different.

All in all, I think the score is fair, though I don't like the fact

that games lose points because they don't have multiplayer or because

they are too freeform. :-)


[ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]

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OK, I'll evaluate the all the LOWS:

quote:

No multiplay yet

Key word: YET

quote:

only one structured campaign

Wait'll we get our hands on GBSII!

quote:

uninspiring

graphics

I don't think so. Those screenshots look pretty cool!

quote:

steep learning curve

I think there's training missions. (correct me if I'm wrong) And there's an exaustive manual, in printed and electronic form.

Personally, I think BCM got shortchanged.

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What I don't understand if how he could have said that it's a great space sim but still uncomplete? What is he smoking, if I compare reviews from other space sims and they are more or less complete then how the hell is BCM uncomplete? Anyway, it should be uncomplete in a sense that there's much more and better things that will come out from SC after BCM and for BCM, BCM itself is pretty much complete.

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quote:


Originally posted by Soback:

What I don't understand if how he could have said that it's a great space sim but still uncomplete? What is he smoking, if I compare reviews from other space sims and they are more or less complete then how the hell is BCM uncomplete? Anyway, it should be uncomplete in a sense that there's much more and better things that will come out from SC after BCM and for BCM, BCM itself is pretty much complete.


I think he means that its missing something, such as multiplayer, a hold-my-hand-please type campaign etc

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Kush, the last thing I'm trying to do is create trouble, Im just curios as to how the AI works, thats all. I never understood why people care who Derek Smart is, I just care about the game, and have no desires to get into the flame wars about Mr. Smart. And I do know what AI stands for, but I'm not a computer programmer, just a guy who has played a lot of pc games.

TO get back on topic, I'm still wondering about the last answer the SC gave me when I asked him if the AI ships randomly appeared and his answer was "yes and no." That one still confuses me. Basically I was just wondering what the capabilities of the AI controlled races would be? If I understood the SC correctly, they can not plan a attack on a certain planet as part of a grand strategy to wipe out another race, so I just want to know what they can do, and since this thread was titled "Everything you want to ask", well this is something I've been wondering about since I bought the first Battle Cruiser game.

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I was the one that answered you question Scott1. The reason the answer to your query is Yes and No is because autogen can be turned ON or OFF in the campaign (ACM or ROAM) or mission (IA or TA) script that the player selects to play.

TTFN

[ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ]

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Sorry if I ruffled your feathers there Scott1.

What I've experienced in BC3k and I'm sure still exists in BCM (someone correct me if I'm wrong) is in campaigns there are scripted events, and in free flight there are NPC's that travel about the game world following their own will. And so yes, you could be sitting in space minding your own business when suddenly the space station you're standing next to gets attacked by a fleet of insurgents.

But also, sometimes enemy ships will enter your area of space on their way to somewhere else and completely ignore you. Sometimes neutral ships will pop in and out, dock with stations all on they're merry way someplace. It's a free form world where NPC's follow their own paths (Shuttles dock with stations to replenish supplies, diplomats fly to far off regions on peace missions, etc.)

I don't know how SC works the AI code in free form and I DON'T WANT TO KNOW. It's kinda like a magic trick, or like theatre, the moment you figure out how it works, you're no longer lost in the illusion. I'm sure the SC worked out, years ago, some code that creates the feel that you are living in an active universe with things going on all around you. If you really want to know more about the specifics of exactly how he coded the AI I'm sure that Derek would be happy to go off about it, just warn me so that I don't have to listen.

Oh and this thread was originally intended for those people who wanted to ask beta testers questions about the game but couldn't because of the NDA, and to me that implies questions are posted by people who have experienced the game already and want to know what has changed in the new version.

The question you asked is kinda obvious to those of us who have already played the game. And once you play the game, trust me, the AI will blow you away.

[ 10-11-2001: Message edited by: Kush ]

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Allow me to assail you with a story of one of my beta testing experiences, Scott1. Perhaps it will give you a small insight into the AI you will deal with in BCM.

I had just started a new Roam Campaign with an MK3 Battlecruiser. A Commander fresh out of the academy doesn't have an experienced crew or all the goodies one would need to survive all the really nasty hostiles to be met. So I quickly put the old mining drones to work then proceeded to Earth for a quick landing. Once there, I transferred all the spare parts from the cargo hold into a shuttle, boarded that puppy and headed into space for some quick trading out in Pluto.

I had made several round trips between the Science Station that orbits Pluto and GalCom HQ which orbits Earth. I was already starting to amass some cash and I had switched from trading Deflector Arrays to trading OTS nuclear weapons. I had just dropped out of Hyperspace to make the jump gate into the Pluto region when a cloaked Gammulan Stormcarrier began firing on my shuttle. He decloaked right before I went KABOOM, along with several smaller support cruisers who had also been firing on me. I and my Shuttle lasted all of two seconds.

It was as if they knew I was becoming a threat, or they didn't want me trading nuclear weapons with the Science Station, or they were getting ready to hit GalCom and didn't want me warning anyone. It was an uncanny, eerie feeling to say the least because Shuttles have no weapons and are "usually" ignored by the NPC's.

You are also going to see something else that is going to blow your mind. NPC's flying fighters in formation. I'm not talking about a canned script formation either. They can each, individually, decide to break formation, attack an enemy, or return to base.

I could go on for hours and write a book about my experiences.

But hey, why spoil it for you?

Get the game. You won't be sorry.

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Regardless of what autogen does, the AI of each race/caste is what determines WHAT they do and HOW they do it once they are created by the world (autogen), script (campaign) or otherwise (threat assessment, interception, interdiction) etc.

AI is the primary core of BCM and if you (scott1) think I have time to sit down and write a novel on how it actually works, you must be out of your mind. From a simple mining drone that does nothing but using pathfinding to trace routes and then mining, to a station launching fighters during intercept, each and every entity has an AI layer. So, explaining about one aspect is meaningless, due to the MANY layers and levels used.

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I have a couple more questions;

  • If I don't like my crew, can I send them all to shuttles and transporters, ditch them in a gas giant, and still be able to somewhat control the ship myself?

  • If I was to be playing as... Terran/Mil what would happen if I just started destroying GALCOM assets and bombing cities? Just a court martial or would my caste change?

  • If I launched the R.A.N.D.O.M. weapon at a planet, then transported myself there, could I get a cool view of armageddon?

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quote:

If I don't like my crew, can I send them all to shuttles and transporters, ditch them in a gas giant, and still be able to somewhat control the ship myself?

I've done that in the Episode 2 Demo, and in BC3k. Seems to work, although I'm not sure how one commander takes control of every single station....

quote:

If I launched the R.A.N.D.O.M. weapon at a planet, then transported myself there, could I get a cool view of armageddon?

Continuing the one above, I put all my crew in the middle of the desert, and launched a RANDOM... At least they got a good view.

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Does the AI take the initiative? Does a Sygan's AI decide that it wants Pixan obliterated, and launch its assets with orders to destroy Pixan?

Also, do the autogen ships actually launch from their bases and travel to their destinations, rather than simply appearing there as they did in BC3K? I know that this was done to save processing power in BC3K, and I'd like to know if this is still the case, since we've got more processing power now.

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quote:

Also, do the autogen ships actually launch from their bases and travel to their destinations, rather than simply appearing there as they did in BC3K? I know that this was done to save processing power in BC3K, and I'd like to know if this is still the case, since we've got more processing power now.

Well in MP it would stupid to see an enemy vessel appear in Earth considering the defense grids all the fleets are building

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quote:


Originally posted by $iLk:

I have a couple more questions;

  • If I don't like my crew, can I send them all to shuttles and transporters, ditch them in a gas giant, and still be able to somewhat control the ship myself?

  • If I was to be playing as... Terran/Mil what would happen if I just started destroying GALCOM assets and bombing cities? Just a court martial or would my caste change?

  • If I launched the R.A.N.D.O.M. weapon at a planet, then transported myself there, could I get a cool view of armageddon?


    1. It depends on the crew member you lost

    2. Your caste will not change but will be court-martialed. Apart from the fact that all GALCOM forces would be out to ruin your day.

    3. Yes. In the after life

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    quote:


    Originally posted by Badgerius:

    Does the AI take the initiative? Does a Sygan's AI decide that it wants Pixan obliterated, and launch its assets with orders to destroy Pixan?

    Also, do the autogen ships actually launch from their bases and travel to their destinations, rather than simply appearing there as they did in BC3K? I know that this was done to save processing power in BC3K, and I'd like to know if this is still the case, since we've got more processing power now.


    1. It depends on the current ROE state

    2. Both. Which is why you can follow them back to their base.

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