UFO: Aftershock E3 2005 interview!

[Slaughter]

The interview that Mike Nino did with ALTAR Interactive and Cenega Publishing at this years E3 is finally here! We are sorry for the long wait, but hopefully you will enjoy the result. The questions range from nighttime missions to "Grand Tetons", and it provides an interesting little read. You can find the interview in our interviews section:

 

Q: Can the soldiers climb over obstacles such as fences or walls?

A: Solders need ladders to change levels.

[Thorondor]

'Bout time too...

 

::

 

"The battlefield is no longer made from somewhat randomly computer-selected tiles, but instead ALTAR's programmers have carefully laid out each battlefield."

So, radomly-generated missions are not so random anymore. And hearing programmers are now being tasked with level design is also an interesting twist.

 

Perhaps more importantly, though, many things crossed my mind at the passage "pre-designed layout also allows the AI to be much smarter"; not all of them very pretty...

[Slaughter]

First of all, his use of programmers isn't entirely correct I believe. Programmers made the system, but I believe it is level designers that make the pre-designed maps.

 

As for the maps not being random, that is partly true. Each map has several potential building layouts and so on for instance, that is randomly selected as far as I remember...

[Thorondor]

Well, and in any case, this is the first we've heard of pre-designed maps. I've absolutely no qualms with customising and optimising maps for the sake of improved pathfinding or non-repetitive gameplay.

 

::

 

How the aforementioned pre-designed layouts might work to make the AI "much smarter" is another business entirely...

[mike9o]

I should have written "game designers", not "programmers". Slaughter, could that be fixed?

 

From what I understand, with pre-determined missions both the player and the game AI itself benefit and in much the same way.

 

For the player, the squad can now be manually placed at the start of each mission to achieve the objectives of the mission as the player sees fit. If you want to start far away and sneak up, that's ok. If you want to start on top of them with guns blazing, that's up to you as well. You will have control of where the squad starts.

 

For the game AI, it now knows what needs to be defended and/or attacked. No longer will the enemy be scattered throughout the map haphazardly, but they can now be more strategically placed. The days of mutants and/or Reticulans wandering about by themseleves or a couple of buddies look to be a thing of the past.

 

It's a good thing . . . a good thing.

[Slaughter]

Done Mike!

 

Some would argue that Thorondor should have understood what you meant instead of being a nitpicker

 

Nice little explanation, sounds like good news all the way for me!

[Accounting Troll]

Definate good news. If the AI has a basic understanding of positioning and tactics then missions are going to be very interesting. It sounds like the players are going to have to develop tactics like a feint attack to draw the enemy out of position

[Thorondor]

"For the game AI, it now knows what needs to be defended and/or attacked. No longer will the enemy be scattered throughout the map haphazardly, but they can now be more strategically placed."

 

Thanks for the added explanation, Mike

 

::

 

"Some would argue that Thorondor should have understood what you meant instead of being a nitpicker :confused:"

 

Har, har... 'Vewy' funny... *right back at you *

 

As long as there is no hard s.c.r.i.p.t.i.n.g. *shudders* involved, I shall be a happy camper...

[martin]

As long as there is no hard s.c.r.i.p.t.i.n.g. *shudders* involved, I shall be a happy camper...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Please rest assured there will be none. We have no time for that, anyway.

 

Mike is right, the system works with designers creating the layout of the mision (we call it "ground"), then specifying "slots" in the ground, for example: "here is slot 'Factory 1' and here 'Garage 2'". Then they go on creating 'Factory 1'. It can have several different outer walls (all of them of the same size, of course) and different possible arrangements of rooms inside.