Hubert Cater

Hehe... sure send any money to... Actually if you guys like the demo and buy the game that will be more than enough for me Hubert

Yes, these were just some early screenshots, properly facing units are planned

I guess this would be a question I need to answer Ok, not sure how we got into astronomical spec numbers here, but the base system that I have been using for minimum requirement testing is a 500 Mhz CPU, with 16 MB Video Card and 128 MB of RAM, so anything around there should be fine. Note: this is on Windows 9x/ME systems as 2000/XP systems require a little more than that by default... well XP does for sure! Hope this helps, Hubert

Plan is to have both "soft" and "hard" limits an option. *Unlimited* is also and an option simply by setting a high hard limit value.

Hmmm... looking at the list and subsequent responses it's a good thing I focused on all 4 areas Keep in mind yesterday's announcement is just an early stage of what's in store... eye-candy aside there have been many refinements/improvements to not only game play, balance, and options, but YES.... I have even considered competitive features There are no full details just yet, but I can say that a time limit for TCP/IP turns is planned. I fully agree that this is a feature that is sorely needed, if not for all games, but at least as an option. In general the design process was not just limited to adding in popular requests, a lot of thought was put in to stay true to the *Keep It Simple* philosophy with each new addition. SC2 is really a huge step forward from SC1, a new game engine, new looks, and combined with many new editing options it should allow for many different styles of game play, be it a fast game with limited options or a more detailed one with most options selected. I've seriously tried to maintain the middle ground in the design, much like how the original SC was an attempt to balance playablity with historical accuracy, and in the end, hopefully the result will speak for itself .

Thanks!

There is two schools of thought when it comes to the menu bar, and both have to do with the mini-map. For example, the mini-map can either cover a portion of the play area or the entire side can be covered by the width of the mini-map, thus the size of the buttons. Most schools of thought (when I did my research for the original SC) actually recommend to cover the entire side portion of the play area as players will quickly find it annoying that they cannot see the entire game map. Again there is always some give and take but a good interface is pretty tricky to implement... well at least one that the majority like [ April 14, 2004, 10:00 PM: Message edited by: Hubert Cater ]

Plan is that would be considered a blocking line

This is the plan

Differences (Movement): With isometric tiles, movement is now possible in 8 directions as opposed to 6, while (current plan) action points across diagonals is 2, otherwise it's 1 for regular movement from tile to tile (see move02 and move03 above) [ April 14, 2004, 07:18 PM: Message edited by: Hubert Cater ]

Differences (Attack): Primary difference here is that isometric tiles allow you to bring more units to bear on otherwise stagnant fronts, think trench warfare descriptions from SC1 [ April 14, 2004, 07:11 PM: Message edited by: Hubert Cater ]

With all the questions and comments relating to tiles and hexes I thought I would throw in a few screenshots displaying the various similarities and *perceived* advantages . While there is always give and take with any new system, hopefully this can help paint a better picture. Similarites (Frontlines): [ April 14, 2004, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Hubert Cater ]

Yes, this has been addressed, details to follow...

Let me just reiterate what Moon has said here, consider the current SC2-Announcement a *pre announcement* announcement. Besides the new look, there have been many, many improvements to gameplay that have yet to be listed. Functionality, improved game play, extended options have always been at the top of my list, so consider (for now) the current announcement as just the tip of the iceberg. Once we get closer to finalizing a few items, expect to see a full FAQ that will go into much more juicy detail Hubert

While it may not make up for the switch from top down to perspective , a toggable option also exists to play with military style unit icons: Military Unit Icons Hubert

1. There are a few reasons that have to do with the new graphics engine, i.e. going with the new 2-D isometric look, but there are some game play advantages as well. I realize it's hard to break the mold sometimes, even I had to convince myself to abandon hexes, but change isn't always easy. Some of the advantages are that movement can be commenced in 8 directions as opposed to 6 with hexes: Plus it will also help in regards to some of the notorious stalemate situations found on vertical fronts, as you can now attack with 3 units as opposed to 2 in SC1: There are probably other reasons/advantages but since it's been a while since I've switched over, you'll have to forgive me 2. I won't say that anything is possible with the SC2 Editor, but huge/world maps are certainly conceivable. Hubert [ April 14, 2004, 06:26 PM: Message edited by: Hubert Cater ]

The [width]x[height] represents the number of tiles. So a 256x256 map would be 256 tiles wide and 256 tiles high... now with some scale adjustments, i.e. how many miles do you want each tile to represent, by a modder... world map anyone? Hubert

Yes, these guys have been fantastic contributors of ideas so don't be surprised if in the end you will see some familiar names in the Beta credits. I'll be making a list and contacting any extra potential testers as needed and we'll see if these contacts will be up for it Hubert

Keep in mind these screens are still a work in progress... BUT, if in the end, there are still any ports/cities/terrain/units etc., that are felt to be missing, they can easily be added in with a few clicks using the editor :cool:

Nope, we are still in the early stages, really an Alpha stage but as we get closer you and Brad will be added to the list Hubert

At the moment there will be no *official* Pacific campaign included, but it would be more than possible to create a Pacific variant from the engine. Basically all in game text will be moddable via a localization.txt file, so in this way countries/ units can be renamed to whatever you like, graphics can be modded, unit values edited, the map edited and after a little sweat, you can pretty much come up with any type of campaign variant you like Hubert

They will at *least* be able to build fortification lines Hubert

I think we should be Ok, although I might need some more detailed info for minor countries but I'll post as needed. Thanks! Hubert

For the event engine, it's still a little early to say just what the final capabilities will be, as it's under refinement, (even my beta testers don't know the full extent) but as things progress this will be added to an upcoming FAQ shortly available. Hubert

Just wanted to pop in and say thanks guys! Also a special thanks to Fernando (resident Battlefront artist) for making the game look fantastic , and Matt for setting up the nice announcement pages. Ah heck, all the guys at Battlefront have been great! Also a big thanks to the small testing team that I've got in place at the moment, Bill and Dave, as their feedback has been invaluable over the last couple of months. It's going to be a busy road ahead, as you can well imagine and I'll try and pop in from time to time and answer what I can. It's still a little early for me to commit to any *firm* specifics but as we get closer to the end I think the bigger picture will become apparent. Also a demo closer to release time should help answer most of what is remaining Thanks again! Hubert