[Magnum357]

Wow! I've been gone from the board for like 3 or 4 months and look at all the new speculation that is occuring. Hey guys, lets not jump the gun here on 3D graphics for a stand alone SE game, or a combat system for SE5 (if their ever is a SE5). I've dabled a little bit with programming and know a few people that deal with 3D graphics. Programming a 3D engine for any game is not an easy endeveour! I'm not saying Aaron can not do it, but it could be a very long time before we even see any mention of a 3D space combat game (let alone a 3D style SE5).

Just building the 3D engine alone is fairly complicated and tough for one guy to do. Also, speaking of 3D graphics, compatability issues are a big concern here too. Oh, you could make a 3D game engine and program all the bleeps and whistles and runs great for the system it is created on, but having it compatible with other systems graphics cards and systems is a very daunting task, even with great programming skills of MM. Do any of you have any idea of how many 3D graphics cards companies their are out their??? Like Diamand, GeForce, RIVA, or Voodoo cards and their variants. And what about all those integrated cards they have on computer systems these days? These are just a fraction of the hardware available.

Also, that might bring another point. I've read on countless occasions that many people that play Space Empires like playing the game not only because of the game play, but also its not too hefty on system requirements. I'm so sick and tired of game companies making games every six months that literly force you to buy a system even few months just too keep up with the new games system requirments. I don't know about any of you, but I don't have money to burn just for a Computer game. That was the beauty of SE3 and SE4, it was very adatable to the Windows operating system and didn't require a hefty CPU to run it. Once you go 3D graphics, you got to realize you are playing a whole new ball game.

Hey, this would be awsome if MM could design a 3D space combat game, and I would definitly buy it because I love Space Empires, but I'm definitly not holding my breath. Who knows how long it would take to develop the game. SE4 took nearly 3 years to develope. Although Aaron does have a little more resources to work with now, I would not be suprised if it too maybe twice as long as SE4. Just my opinion on this.