wcIII FAQ (3/5)

Stas A. Golovin написал(а) к All в Aug 94 21:06:00 по местному времени:

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■ Forwarded by Stas A. Golovin (2:50/322.25)
■ Area : SU.GAME (SU.GAME)
■ From : Eric Fletcher, 2:5000/10 (Fri Aug 12 1994 04:27)
■ To : All
■ Subj : wcIII FAQ (3/5)
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Нello All!



3.2. Will Wing Commander III take advantage of a math coprocessor?
=====================================================================

No. If it did, then the game would not run on 486SX or SX-2 systems, which
still represent a significant market share of Origin's target audience. The
only other option would be to write two separate versions of the game, one for
486SX systems and the other for 486DX systems; unfortunately, this would add
too much time to the development cycle.


3.3. Нow big (in terms of disk space) is Wing Commander III?
===============================================================

The game is currently slated to ship on two CDs, so probably somewhere between
700 megs and 1.2 gigs. At the very most, ten megs or so will need to be
installed on the hard drive... probably much less.


3.4. Will Wing Commander III support both a VGA and SVGA mode? At what
resolutions?
==========================================================================

Yes. WC3 is being made, first and foremost, as a VGA game, which will run
at standard 320x200x256 resolution. A 640x480x256 SVGA mode is an optional
feature that you'll need a Pentium or higher to run.
> ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ;)

All cinematic sequences, on all systems, will be shown in a 640x480x256 video
mode, though the window the video is shown in will only be 640x240, giving it
a letterboxed appearance.


3.5. Can WC3 support multiple digitized sound samples being played
simultaneously?
=====================================================================

OSI's latest release, Pacific Strike, could not play more than one digitized
sound at once, which led to some disorienting effects during gameplay (such as
the engine sound cutting out when the player fired his/her guns). A fix for
this problem has been made, which will first appear in Wing Commander Armada.

Wing Commander III will be able to play 32 different digitized sound samples
simultaneously.


3.6. Will Wing Commander III have multiplayer modem or network support?
==========================================================================

No. If you want multiplayer Wing Commander, then give Wing Commander
Armada a try (see section 6.10.1.).


*****************
4. Gameplay issues
*****************

4.1 What distinguishes the gameplay in Wing Commander III?
==============================================================

The most obvious difference is the use of SuperVGA graphics during flight,
providing video that is much more crisp and detailed than any Wing Commander
game to date. In addition, the WC3 engine uses polygon graphics to make the
objects (ships and such) more defined and precise -- you can, for example,
spot tiny pinpoints of light from windows on the hull of a Kilrathi battleship
as you swing around and fly through the interior of the vessel.


4.2. Will we be able to fly ground (planetside) missions as well as those
in space?
============================================================================

Yes. Parts of the WC3 engine will be based on the Strike Commander engine
to incorporate planetside missions... these will include attacking ground
targets, atmosphere dogfighting, etc.


4.3. What's different about the navigation system in Wing Commander III?
===========================================================================

The first two WC games used a two-dimensional navigation map to show the
area surrounding the player. The obvious failing of this system is that it
could not show Z coordinates; the map could show the player's ship directly
on top of a jump point, when in reality he/she was a hundred thousand clicks
above his destination.

WC3 employs an actual three-dimensional nav map to give the player a better
idea of his/her surroundings. The map can be rotated on all three axes and
zoomed in and out so that the environment may be viewed from any angle and any
distance.


4.4. What new technologies are the Terrans armed with that the player can
use?
============================================================================

The Confederation has five new types of fighters in WC3 that the player will
have a chance to fly, in addition to most of the old ships from WC2. They've
also discovered the secret of cloaking technology, so you'll be able to fly
stealth ships as well in this one.


4.5. Does the player have any control over what ship they fly?
=================================================================

Being the squadron commander, you have plenty of control. You can choose not
only what ship you fly, but who flies with you on your wing, and your weapons
loadout as well.


4.5.1. Нow does the weapon selection work?
-------------------------------------------

Unlike the weapon selection in Strike Commander, you have an unlimited
supply of missiles to use, and a heavy payload probably won't affect your
flight dynamics, either. This doesn't, however, mean that you'll want to
load up your ship with as many Friend-or-Foe missiles as you can each time
you fly a mission.

A cloaking device, for example, takes up a missile slot -- you may want to
sacrifice a few missiles if you think stealth flying will be to your
advantage on a particular sortie. Нeat-seeking and image recognition
missiles are also better than Friend-or-Foe missiles in certain
situations; you might damage a Kilrathi's cloaking device so that it no
longer masks the heat from his engines, enabling you to lock on to him
with a missile while you can't see him on your radar; or maybe your
wingman's communication systems are damaged, and you opt to use an image
recognition on your enemy to avoid hitting your partner. Choosing the
appropriate weapon loadout for the task at hand may make a significant
difference in your performance in battle.


************************
5. Cinematics / storyline
************************

5.1. What distinguishes the cinematics and storyline in Wing Commander III?
==============================================================================

There are two fundamental differences between the cinematics in WC3 and those
in WC1 and 2. First, the live acting; all of the cinematic sequences are
played out in full motion video by live actors, rather than being hand- and
computer-drawn as in the first two games. This has led to several new
filming techniques being used, as well: A wider variety of camera angles is
present, rather than the frontal face shots that were used nearly exclusively
in WC1 and 2, plus pans, zooms, etc.

Secondly, the cinematic sequences are no longer completely passive. The
player can now choose how he/she responds in certain situations be selecting
one of several choices from a list of possible dialogue responses. This, in
turn, alters the way the story unfolds -- so two people who play the game with
different dialogue choices may experience quite a different plotline. (A
normal movie script is about 120 pages; the script for WC3 was 300 pages long
so that all of the different outcomes and dialogue choices were covered.)


5.1.1. In what ways can choices made during the cinematic sequences alter
the storyline?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

First and foremost, it can affect your relationships with your shipmates,
and being the squadron commander, this can affect morale on board ship.
Telling a pilot "That flying was horrible -- whose side are you fighting
for?" obviously will be perceived more negatively than "Well, kid, it was
a tough mission. Let's hope we can do better next time." (Of course, in
some cases, maybe the pilot deserves to be chewed out; it's a judgment
call you'll have to make.) You also get to choose a love interest for the
game, which will obviously have a major impact on the plotline.

In the end, your flying skills and storyline decisions will combine to
finish the story in one of three different ways -- one grand, victorious
ending, one mediocre, and one not-so-grand.


5.2. Нow is live acting being integrated into the cinematic sequences?
=========================================================================

All acting is done in advance in front of a green screen -- which is, as
the name suggests, a cloth backdrop spray painted green. The backgrounds
are rendered on a Silicon Graphics workstation (the same ones used in the
making of Jurassic Park). After the acting is done and the backgrounds have
been generated, they backgrounds are overlaid over the green backdrop in the
film footage. The result is a video sequence with live actors in front of a
very realistic-looking computer-generated setting.


5.2.1. Нow much live acting is contained in the cinematic sequences?
---------------------------------------------------------------------

About two hours of footage was filmed for the game. Of course, you won't
see all of this playing the game through just once, since it has a
branching storyline.


5.2.2. Why don't some of the actors look like their characters?
----------------------------------------------------------------

During the casting for Wing Commander III, the primary concern was finding
actors who could accurately portray the Wing Commander characters'
personalities; physical appearance was secondary. While it was certainly
nice to find an actor or actress who not only was able to play the role
well but looked like the character in mind, this wasn't always possible,
as in the case of the actor taking the role of Paladin (John Rhys-Davies).


5.2.3. Нow is the acting for the Kilrathi characters accomplished?
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Think "Darth Vader", and you'll have a pretty good idea. An actor wears
an elaborate set of costumes and makeup (made by the same group who did the
masks for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, by the way), and acts
out the motions and lip movements for his character. Voices are dubbed
over later by a separate voice actor.

/Eric

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Нi, All!



Stas

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