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On February 24, 1999, game designer Bruce Shelley and
maimin_matty
, the Grand Emperor and Winner of our recent
Rumble for Rome
contest, chatted with Zoners about Age of Empires
and future installments of the game. If you weren't there for the live discussion, we've excerpted portions of the chat below. Get ready, the new game is going to be fantastic!
++SCGekko:
> Welcome to the Gamestock '99 SuperChat Rooms
-- The topic in this room will be Age of Empires II -- The Age of Kings... Our guests this evening are Bruce Shelley (
@Bruce@ES
), Mark Terrano (
@MTerrano@ES
) & Matt "maimin_matty" Scadding (
@GrandEmperor@Age
)...First, some short "bios" for those of you not familiar with our guests... Bruce Shelley is one of the "founding fathers" of Ensemble Studios
, the team that developed Age
and Age 2. Bruce has been in the gaming business since the Bronze Age...seriously, he started developing board games in 1980 and then computer games in 1987, working on some of the biggest titles ever, including Civilization, Railroad Tycoon, and the first PC game I ever bought, F-19 Stealth Fighter. Mark Terrano has also been involved in the gaming industry since the early 80's... He started at Ensemble Studios
in 1995, writing the multi-player code for AoE
. For Age 2 he has moved from the technical to the design side --- as Lead Designer for AoK. Matt "maimin_matty" Scadding is the recently crowned Grand Emperor of Age
in the Zone's , earning a reputation as one of the best AoE
players in the world. Matt is here to give the "player's perspective" on Age 2.
magus_aoe2_net:
> The "know it's going to be asked question"... It's killing me to know, when will the AOK public beta test be released?
@GrandEmperor@Age:
> we all knew that would be the first question I think.
@MTerrano@ES:
> The product is going to be on the shelves this fall.
LORDS_ROCK:
> What are some examples of the different civilization paths, and how they affect the statistics and strength of the civilizations in Age of Kings: Age of Empires II?
@MTerrano@ES:
> We've gone a little farther with some of the Civilization changes -- the Chinese for instance have reduced cost technologies and start with more villagers. The bonuses are along the lines of what you saw with Age of Empires
, generally.
@Bruce@ES:
> Each civilization has a unique unit, a unique wonder, and their units speak the local language. German units speak German, for example.
AOEH_sting:
_ > Are you working on some way to decrease the amount of lag in games?
@MTerrano@ES:
> Some general improvements in performance will help the game overall. The communications core has had some improvements as well....folks with a 'spotty' ISP or international phone connection will be pleased to know that we DO have multiplayer save and restart.
AOEH_Omnivac:
> Hi guys. Thanks for your time and this cool chat event. It has been hinted that possibly, Agers will be able to use "pre-fab towns" in multiplayer games (starting with a small town already built). How will this work exactly?
@MTerrano@ES:
> One of the new map types starts with a pre-built town, stable, barracks, etc. For players who want to skip some of the early build up -- you have a pre-built area with walls, gates, and towers -- just add units & mayhem.
ShadowLord_110:
> What is the best unit in AOE 2, the strongest, most powerful and fast?:) And when the Beta comes, how can I get it?
@MTerrano@ES:
> Wow, that's hard to say. The most powerful siege unit is the Trebuchet -- but it has a liability that you have to pack it to move it.
@MTerrano@ES:
> The Samurai is a fast foot unit that attacks like mad. Each has its strength and weakness though.
@Bruce@ES:
> We deliberately design so there is no best unit. All have strengths and weaknesses. Rocks breaks scissors, cuts paper.
FS_Reeces:
> I heard from some sites that roads will be in AOE2. Will they appear over time after people have constantly walked over the path, or does it cost stone??? And do the roads, if they are in the game, look like the ones in AOE1
?
@MTerrano@ES:
> Roads can be created in the scenario editor to dress up your maps, but they are not automatically created in Age2.
Aloha_Mokupuni:
> Actually I don't know what to ask, I never really look at games until they are released. OK, enough blabbing away, I guess I'll ask: "If" you ever get a lunchbreak between programming, what's your favorite thing to have for lunch?
@MTerrano@ES:
> In our new office we have a great little cafe -- and plenty of time to discuss features while we wait for microwave treats (though our local go-out food has got to be either BBQ or Mexican).
@Bruce@ES:
> We eat a lot of pizza, barbecue, and Tex-Mex. Dinner was delivered every night during crunch time -- two weeks, 7 days a week, 10 AM to midnight.
Aloha_Mokupuni:
> And real quick, about the buildings you can only see in the scenarios, I think I saw these in a pic, there were white tents on the battlefield. I thought they were kinda new.
@MTerrano@ES:
> The tents are just one. I'm going to let the other scenario specific buildings be a little surprise :)
ShadowLord_Ugo:
> In AOE2, we gonna see gun shot? If so, [will] the unit die on the spot?
@Bruce@ES:
> We have a few primitive gunpowder weapons. Bombard cannons and hand cannoneers. They don't necessarily kill with one shot.
CoPilot_1:
> Hello Bruce, what are your plans for cheats in AOE 2?
++SCGekko:
> Any more Camaros in our future?
@Bruce@ES:
> We're not thinking too hard about cheats until we get closer to being really done. My best suggestion right now is Vikes on Bikes. A hard-hatted Viking on a big chopper.
Marcoon:
> Are Castles going to be pretty much like Town Centers in AoE
? If so, in what ways? And can you build more than one Castle? And, is there a demo in the future?
@MTerrano@ES:
> Castles are a building separate from the town center -- you train your unique unit there along with other technologies.
@Bruce@ES:
> There will a demo but way in the future. Probably after the game is released.
__HyPeR:
_ > I thought being one of the raiding civs, Vikings, would be a blast, but will they be able to compete with the others? Will the boats be able to "ram" other boats? Will there be more buttons when you select a boat?
@MTerrano@ES:
> Boat combat has some improvements (I'm not going to comment specifically on any one Civ right now). We have boats that explode (boom!) I love catching units on the shallows with my demolition ship. A few other improvements in naval combat also to make it a little more exciting and varied than in AoE
...we're having some good boat games now.
Eat_No_Donuts:
> Will there be actual voice communication in Aok Multi? And secondly, can you guys give examples of some of the technologies and what they do that we haven't seen? Lastly, will the unit specifications come with a unit animation in the lower left box as well?
@MTerrano@ES:
> (If you ask 3 I get to pick one to answer, right?) One of the technologies that I really like is the Town Bell. When you are being attacked, you can ring the town bell and your villagers run inside your buildings -- after you dispatch the invasion, you ring the bell again and they go back to work.
James_Bond006:
> Hi guys, I was just wondering how many people could join a multiplayer game? And can you build bridges?
@Bruce@ES:
> 8 player multiplayer. You can save and restore Multi games. No bridges. Maybe next time. Sound simple but actually a complex problem. That's what Tim Deen told me anyway.
Potejon:
> For us that don't live outside the US and Canada, is it true that European release will be 6 months after the US release or when, like a day after or before (hoping)?
@Bruce@ES:
> Europe should be less than one month after US.
Scavenger_Kid:
> Good evening!! First of all, thank you for the time!! Secondly, I have just *one* question for ES
about the "Regicide." Will there be an individual unit for the King/Queen in that mode? BTW, the farms look awesome! The sheep look delicious! Muhahahah!
@MTerrano@ES:
> In Regicide -- if you kill the king that player is out. There is a specific unit to kill.
Bruce and Mark then had to head off to another Gamestock '99 event. They wanted to thank everyone who participated in the chat. It was a great event and some interesting questions were asked, and answered! We know we'll be standing in line the day of Age of Empires II: Age of Kings release, so get ready for some great gaming this year from Microsoft!
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