Interview With Aaron Hall

[ColdSteel]

Personally, the very best tactical combat game engines I've ever seen have been the ones that were turn based and used a fixed number of "action points" for each units round of tactical combat. Each action peformed took a specific number of a units' allocated points per round. As units got more experienced, they got more action points to spend per round. Using specific types of equipment also reduced or raised the number of action points you had to spend. The best examples of this that I can think of offhand are the classic games XCOM and both of the 'Fallout' series RPGs. I've often wondered why none of the 4x games ever adopted this approach. Seems it would have been a natural fit for the tactical combat (shrugs).

[Instar]

X-COM ruled man! It was aweomse!

[raynor]

The developers of the original XCOM are working on a new project. Check it out at:
http://www.mythosgames.com/

[Daynarr]

You guys may want to pay this site a visit: http://www.freelancer.ag.ru/index_eng.shtml

It has lots of stuff about X-Com series, Jagged Alliance series, infos and other stuff from Dreamland and other similar games. Btw. I can't wait for Freedom Ridge to come out. It sure look like it will be a bLast (I miss that feeling I had playing UFO-Enemy Unknown).

[This message has been edited by Daynarr (edited 08 February 2001).]

[Atrocities]

Thanks for posting about the interview.

*quotes from interview with Aaron Hall at Twin Galaxies*

quote:

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AH: I've been creating games since I first starting using a TRS-80 in the 5th grade.

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Hey, I used those in hi schools. We affectionately referred to them as Trash80's.
10 CLS
15 PRINT "HI"
20 PRINT "INPUT NAME"
25 INPUT = A
30 PRINT "HELLO"
35 PRINT A

(Ok, might not be totally accurate for basic, but its what I recall. )

quote:

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AH: We had a whole line of temporal weapons on paper that would create solar systems, armageddon the entire galaxy, bring ships from the future, and so on. However, most of these had to wait due to both time and balance issues.

TG: Had to wait? Not ruled out completely? I think you just made a bunch of the hardcore players drool.

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*wipes drool from mouth.*

quote:

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AH: That's an easy one. I would make Space Empires an on-line strategy game with a persistent world, but probably with multiple galaxies. A huge database would back the game up with thousands of worlds. And there'd be enough data to give each world its own character and appearance. Players would then build their empires, encounter each other, and battle. The history of the galaxy would be written and maintained for all to view and re-live.

---

Sign me up brother. I am on board.

That was a great interview. Thanks TG for doing it, and thanks for posting about it here.




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"We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats! They invade our space and we fall back -- they assimilate entire worlds and we fall back! Not again! The line must be drawn here -- this far, no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done!" -- Patric Stewart as Captain Picard
UCP/TCO Ship Yards

[henk brouwer]

Hmmn strange screenshot on the interview page(the space empires IV screenshot in the comparisons)

The player starts his game on a sphereworld??

[geoschmo]

quote:

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Hmmn strange screenshot on the interview page(the space empires IV screenshot in the comparisons)
The player starts his game on a sphereworld??

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Actually if you look at the right colony screen on the right side you will see the colony type of "mining colony" If that were the starting planet it would be "Homeworld".

In another thread there is a discussion about ways to make the starting planets be ringworlds/sphereworlds though.