MK Hall of Legends
(Sponsored by nMKo)
Interview with Skyven - Mar 20, 2004
(Sponsored by nMKo)
Interview with Skyven - Mar 20, 2004
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Welcome to the Hall of Legends!
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| Genie: | Trust me, by the end of this interview, we will know more about you, than you know about yourself! ;P |
| Skyven: | Will I be able to keep a few secrets for myself ?! ;) |
| Genie: | Maybe.. we'll see. I had 7 more questions sent to me just yesterday. |
| Skyven: | How many do you have again ?? |
| Genie: | Let me count them... lol. I've counted 72 preformated questions (and I am sure some other questions will popup as we go along, lol). |
| Skyven: | I have all day. :) |
| Genie: | Lol. Some questions will be asked even if I know the answers already. What's your real name? |
| Skyven: | Easy enough. David Vincent. |
| Genie: | It's to lull you into a fall sense of security. ;) Where do you come from and where do you live at the moment? |
| Skyven: | I see. I was born in Grand'Mere, Quebec. That's about 200 km from Montreal, Quebec where I live today. |
| Genie: | Is there a history behind the "Skyven" nickname? (why did you pick it?) |
| Skyven: | Well, I can't remember for sure but Mario and I were working on a side-scroller game (that was before MK 95) and I was looking for a name for the hero... We had a lot of trouble coming up with a name and one day I put Skyven on the table and I liked how it sounded. We never made it further than the prototype for that side-scroller, but I didn't want to lose the name it took me so long to find. :) |
| Genie: | It's pretty unique. :) Atleast something good came out of that .. venture then. ;) How come you never finished that? |
| Skyven: | Because it required a lot of artwork so we chose the strategy game project instead, which required less artwork. :) |
| Genie: | You always hated artwork! Hehe, I recall that from Starknights. |
| Skyven: | Why no ! It's just that I can't draw ! |
| Genie: | Don't you have any friends that could do it for you? |
| Skyven: | Of course. Quite a few. Creating artwork for a whole game though requires quite a few hours of work, as you can imagine. :) |
| Genie: | Yes, I know. :( What's your favourite beer? (by Black Adder) |
| Skyven: | Uhhhh! Beer...! I like beer! I prefer Belgian-style beers. We have a brewerie here in Quebec called Unibroue. I heard they export some of their beers abroad. |
| Genie: | I'm sure you've just found a new beer pal in the face of Black Adder! ;P |
| Skyven: | What kind of beer does he like ? |
| Genie: | I wouldn't know but I'll ask him. He's dutch so I can imagine he likes dutch beer.. Carlsberg? |
| Skyven: | Sounds good :) |
| Genie: | Do you have any hobbies besides MK and SK? (by Batmanx) |
| Skyven: | MK and SK takes a lot of my time, but I also like snowboarding, riding on rollerblades, cycling, playing board games... |
| Genie: | Snowboarding and rollerblading? You ever do any crazy stunts? :) |
| Skyven: | I try not to, I swear ! Oh, and I like to read. |
| Genie: | Will it be good for us if you ever break a leg? Will that force you to spend more time in MK and SK? ;P |
| Skyven: | OK now who is it who wrote that question again ?? Lol! |
| Genie: | Lol. What do you enjoy reading? |
| Skyven: | All kind of subjects. Thrillers, Sci-Fi, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, books on game design and game programming, physics, psychology, world history.... |
| Genie: | Everyone is wondering... what is your bread-earning job? |
| Skyven: | Well, I work in the video game industry of course. :) Depending on the project, I'm a programmer or designer for a small company developing titles on the PS2/Gamecube/GBA. |
| Genie: | Oh my! You are not even into the PC industry! What games have you been part of? |
| Skyven: | No. I was first hired to work on Boxing Fever, a boxing game on the GBA. Then I worked on Black n Bruised for PS2/Gamecube. And now, I'm working on a fighting game based on a Japanese Anime. |
| Genie: | All very different from the games we grew to know associated with you... :) How does that feel? And would you rather be programming PC games, or are you happy with the current arrangement? |
| Skyven: | Well, there are a lot more players buying games on the consoles. Consoles are the best way to reach a maximum of players. And that's what any game developer wants, more players who play their games. Creating games on the PC is cheaper but it earns you less money. |
| Genie: | How's life now that you are married? |
| Skyven: | Well, I now have different hobbies coming on. :) But other than that, there's been little changes in our lives. I like it! |
| Genie: | How do you manage juggling your real job, MK, SK, everything else and now the wife? :) |
| Skyven: | Well that's it, I don't have much free time. I miss that sometimes. I'm lucky enough to have a few players helping me so I can continue working on additional game features and such while they organise tournaments, help with support and such. |
| Genie: | Was that a hint? Lol. What does the other half think about MK and SK? |
| Skyven: | It is funny how you talk about marriage. I consider my wife as my partner, my lover, my best friend, not as an half of something ! Lol! She finds it funny to know that I've been asked for an interview ! Lol. She played MK and SK only once. :) |
| Genie: | LOL. I ask to satisfy the masses' curiousity ;) Most MK players' wifes / girlfriends are usually not happy with the amount of time that they spend on MK instead of spending it with.. them. ;) When is Skyven junior expected to grace this world with his/her presence? (by Recon8) (I warned you about the heat coming on) ;P |
| Skyven: | Lol!! Somewhere this summer. :) |
| Genie: | Oh?! |
| Skyven: | She indeed finds that I spend a lot of time in front of my computer :) |
| Genie: | You have a good excuse, you are a professional programmer ;) When did you decide you wanted to make your own games? |
| Skyven: | Yes, I can say that I work instead of "playing" with computers ! Ahem.. I don't know if I ever dedided that. Mario and I were looking for a game that didn't exist in the early '90s so we decided to make it for ourselves. :) |
| Genie: | What games have influenced you in the creation of Metalknights and then later, Starknights? (by Leovirgo) |
| Skyven: | Good question. I would say Chess, Military Madness, Civilization and many others and for StarKnights, surely Master of Orion, Trade Wars, Warcraft and many others... |
| Genie: | When you created Metal Knights, did you expect it to grow the way it has? (by Lp3) |
| Skyven: | Nope ! It started as a way to play with my friends on the net, I never thought I could make a living out of it for a few years ! |
| Genie: | So, it exceeded your expectations? :) How successful has Starknights been? |
| Skyven: | StarKnights had been quite successful too, even though v1.0 had *still* not been released... |
| Genie: | Yeah, we will get to THAT (no release) later! ;) A few more specific questions about the games now. Are you the only one that can get the server back up when it goes down? (by Ruler) |
| Skyven: | Most of the time, down time is caused by the host machine being down. It might be a crash or my provider doing some maintenance or a hacker threat or other reasons. Then all we can do to wait for my provider to put it back on. |
| Genie: | (the hacker question got answered, hehe) What is the major cause of the server going down when it does? (by Ruler) |
| Skyven: | Most of the time, it's a network connection problem. The server is still up, but you can't reach it because a link broke down somewhere on the Internet... |
| Genie: | Is there ever a chance of having a new server or IGL back? (by several players) |
| Skyven: | Before we moved the servers, one other reason was the lack of disk space. When there was a lot of activity, log files grew too large leaving no space for saving the games! That problem had been fixed by adding 10 times the disk space. :) |
| Genie: | Yeah I would instantly recognize that by the fact that everyone's rank would revert to recruits. That was always a tell-sign. Would it be possible for an MKer host an MK server? (by Lp3) |
| Skyven: | IGL ? By the way, IGL hosting was offered to MK for free ! Did you know that ? However, it was hard for me to update the server software there (not to mention it was running a different OS) and few players were using it. I thought it would be better just to focus on the first 2 servers. The more players on a server, the more interesting it is because there's always a game you like ready to start. To host a MK server ?? Well I'd have to change the registration system for that... :( |
| Genie: | (I am aware of both, I'm asking both of those because I .. was asked to ask) If you ask me, I would say there aren't enough players to justify a third server, besides, the people moaning for a 3rd server only want a short lived fun. It would last a month or two, then the novelty would wear off. A player asked, could the players help financially, by becoming shareholders of the game? |
| Skyven: | Shareholders of Knightsoft? Well, there are strict laws a company needs to follow to offer shares to the public. It's a lot of work and expenses, I just don't think it's worth it. |
| Genie: | Do you ever plan on selling the game? (by Lp3) |
| Skyven: | I don't think anybody should buy it. Maintaining the servers and supporting it all, costs too much. I don't mind doing it because I like it and I know how everything works perfectly but I don't think another company would find the project financially interesting.. :) Plus, I want to continue to work on it. I like improving it, I wouldn't want to let it go ! |
| Genie: | I often told people you are making a loss. :( Some people have asked for the game to become opensource. How do you feel about that? (personally I prefer for things to stay the way they are) |
| Skyven: | My biggest concern was that hackers would gain all the liberties they can have. But more and more, the server controls the critical part of the game, making it very hard to cheat. I'd say we're not too far away from having a "safe" opensource client. |
| Genie: | I was worried about the same thing... Plus, making it opensource, well people would start making mods left right and centre, and from experience from other games, most of these mods would be half-arsed products or even if finished and polished they tend to make the game worse (or something that it's not). Speaking of game changes, we have several questions in regards to the game itself. Is it possible for you to place a limitation in MK so that Officers can no longer join games which have been STARTED by cadets and recruits!? (by Smash) Or even, stop awarding points for cadet/recruit kills made by Officers? |
| Skyven: | Anything is possible. :) Lol. I don't like the idea that much because I like to have cadets learn from veterans. It kind of becomes a goal for a Cadet to win over a veteran some (not that far away) day. I also like the reputation system it creates. Like veterans killing lots of cadets or recruits winning over lots of veterans. |
| Genie: | The only problem is, high rankers tend to accumulate points by avoiding to play against other high rankers and simply feeding upon unsuspecting cadets. |
| Skyven: | Reputation is important in an online game. Having one makes you different from another player. |
| Genie: | LOL, so in short you like stirring trouble eh? |
| Skyven: | Yes, then they have a low ratio score, which is less glamourous. :) |
| Genie: | There's a lot of tension at times because of this, lol and the legitimacy of the MK Title often comes to question... |
| Skyven: | As long as it remains fair, yes I like that kind of trouble. :) |
| Genie: | LOL, I am sure when players read this, we are going to have a new surge of newbie-killing! |
| Skyven: | A better solution would be to change the ranking system, having the "newbie-killing" factor playing some role in the rank. |
| Genie: | Hmm, such as? What do you have in mind? :) |
| Skyven: | A "newbie-killer" is easy enough to spot just by looking at his stats. So, if the final score of a player would take into account the rank of his opponents, we have a more precise idea of who the best players are. This is the kind of scoring system Case's Ladder (now IGL) has. That system is based on the international chess ranking system. |
| Genie: | So, do you think it's time to change the HOF system for MK? :) |
| Skyven: | I'll change the scoring system for sure in MK2. The current HOF is much too precious for me to change it now, too much effort had been put to acheive these ranks. :) |
| Genie: | LOL, OK, MK II will come up further down in the interview. ;P Any chances of adding a few new Units or changing the properties of the existing ones? (by several players) |
| Skyven: | I don't know, it's more likely that these kind of changes will wait until MK2. |
| Genie: | There have been at times as well, requests for an offline tutorial aimed at complete newbies, who have just tried the game out. Something similar already exists in SK. Would you consider preparing an offline tutorial? |
| Skyven: | Well, the current game engine would required quite some work for an integrated tutorial. That too will have to wait until MK2. |
| Genie: | Is there any way we could convince you to come play a game or two? (by Lp3) |
| Skyven: | Haha ! It's been such a long time since I played MK ! I played several games of SK a few months ago though. The last time I had played MK, it was a MK challenge and I played like a newbie... |
| Genie: | LOL. Well, we can extend the invitation to SK then. ;) |
| Skyven: | I should have time to play again next month. ;) |
| Genie: | I will hold you to that. ;P (and so will 100 other players!) Something about the rules. People want to hear Skyven's official view of certain "player tactics/habits". Is covering a turn for an ally acceptable? |
| Skyven: | :P I can understand why they do it, but it is illegal to play with someone else's account. |
| Genie: | Should it be tolerated then? Especially since the nature of MK often demands .. covering of turns. |
| Skyven: | I can't do much to prevent players from doing it. However, players run the risk of their ally changing their password and such. |
| Genie: | Is playing with multiple aliases for the SAME alliance in the SAME game acceptable? |
| Skyven: | Nope ! |
| Genie: | Do you condone crowding? |
| Skyven: | It depends on what the player had in mind. If the only goal the player had in mind when crowding, was to make the opponent lose, then yes, I don't condone that. But if the player who does it, thinks he can win, then it's a good strategy. Nonetheless, it helps to rebalance the fact the the first player to place his base can get the best spot. :) |
| Genie: | Newbies often think they can win with that tactic, but experience kind of tells us crowding kills both the crowder and the crowdee. How do you feel about players hanging the turn in a game: (a) to allow someone who would otherwise miss his turn to play it? (b) to get an unfair double? |
| Skyven: | That, if I could prevent players from doing it, I'd do it ! |
| Genie: | There was a time when it was impossible to hang a turn, but then players complained because if they'd get disconnected or if their computer would crash, they'd miss their turn. So, you restored it to the way it was :) |
| Skyven: | Yes... but if another player could enter the game before the first player could reconnect, then the turn would flip! |
| Genie: | Hence one of the reasons why we need hanging of turns. :( Earlier today, I was the last player playing my turn and my computer crashed and Sindre was hammering to get in. So, when I came back, he was in the game. The only way for me to get back in and continue is for him to hang it the turn for me... :( |
| Skyven: | Yes, but players would hang turns before I changed anything too ! How did you hang it again ? |
| Genie: | You can hang a turn by closing the MK program while you are in a game. |
| Skyven: | Yes but you said you crashed...! |
| Genie: | I didn't hang it on this occasion. My computer crashed, but when I came back Sindre was in and he had to hang for me to get in, otherwise the turn would flip. |
| Skyven: | Hmm... it should have flipped upon Sindre's entering of the game, no ? |
| Genie: | No, it doesn't flip. When I crashed, the game didn't flip (that's what's supposed to happen, right?) Sindre entered immediately because he was "hammering" with his return key. So, Sindre was now in, with the turn still not having flipped (fortunately). |
| Skyven: | Ah yes... I get it. I thought Sindre entering the game would have flipped the turn... |
| Genie: | Nope, but if Sindre was to exit "normally" then yes, the turn would flip. |
| Skyven: | Maybe I should change it to the way I said ? |
| Genie: | NO! Lol. Then if anyone loses connection or computer crashes and they are the last in, they are doomed! |
| Skyven: | If someone's hammering it yes, of course... |
| Genie: | But people often ARE hammering. It's part of the game, who manages to get in first on the next turn! |
| Skyven: | Yes, good enough. It's better that, than to have a friend to hang a turn for you! |
| Genie: | Not sure I understood... ? |
| Skyven: | Well, you would have lost your turn because Sindre would have made the turn flip... You don't think I should change it ? |
| Genie: | There are problems either way. If the turns were to flip, a lot of people will start missing their turns. Either due to connection problems or computer crashing... |
| Skyven: | Not everyone has a friend in the game hanging the turn for them! |
| Genie: | True... but that's the strength of the community. Some people don't condone hanging turns at all. |
| Skyven: | :) |
| Genie: | In that case we usually don't hang the turn. It's something that's rarely done. There are drawbacks ofcourse. The drawback is, the "Baraks" of MK, who would hang the turn so that someone else would go in and flip it, so that then, "Barak" would enter the next turn first. (otherwise he'd have a 30 minute restriction). But we have the MKC that can police these matters. |
| Skyven: | :) |
| Genie: | Let's move on to SK. :) There have been complaints about the character balance in SK. Any plans to review that? (by several players) |
| Skyven: | Yes... I still have your suggestions in my mailbox... I'm not happy with the current balance, I need to change that before v1.0 |
| Genie: | Have you considered increasing the maximum level a player can reach? We have some proposals for that as well... ;) |
| Skyven: | Well yes, I need to change the balance ! Any proposal is welcomed, as I'm not sure I have the right solution yet. :) |
| Genie: | I can help you with the balance.. extensively and I can help you make the AI ships "better equiped" (remember the preset ship choices for the AI suggestion?) |
| Skyven: | For the ships, the problem I have is that sometimes, the Alien just don't have the budget for what would best suit a suit. So it settle for the next best thing... |
| Genie: | What I meant was, let's say when the AI wants to equip a Shuttle, it will have an array of preset choices. For example 5 different setups, I can make 5 varying effective setups, whereby 1 -> very easy, 2 -> easy, 3 -> average, 4 -> hard, 5 -> very hard. |
| Skyven: | Right now, it works with a budget... The AI is awarded a budget for a ship and it must create the best configuration with that budget. |
| Genie: | The only problem is, most of its configurations are not competive. :( But I guess, that's more sophisticated. ;) |
| Skyven: | 5 setups might not be enough... |
| Genie: | 15 setups for each ship then! :) |
| Skyven: | For each ship ??!! |
| Genie: | Some might be almost identical. With antigravs there's room to play around. |
| Skyven: | Well, I guess I could scrap the old system for such a pre-defined setup then... |
| Genie: | Maybe not 15 for the smaller ships. |
| Skyven: | Only for the pirate ships, not for the Alien player... |
| Genie: | I'll send you a few "samples" and you can tell me what you think. |
| Skyven: | Sure, it wouldn't take me more than a day to implement it... |
| Genie: | It might require some "testing" in online melee, with different character stats; (attack/defense/navigation). That can also be part of a pirate's (and an alien's? ) difficulty. :) |
| Skyven: | You don't have to have the same amount of setups for each ship. Some could have 2-3 while others 10. |
| Genie: | A shuttle can have various setups, a skid would have less. |
| Skyven: | Yes.. |
| Genie: | I'll prepare something for you, just to visualise this and we can discuss it further. :) Are there any more characters in the making, weapons or ship ideas coming down the pipe? (by Batmanx) |
| Skyven: | Nope ! Even the Tervunen had not been planned. The focus is set on releasing v1.0. |
| Genie: | LOL. I guess you were enticed by the fact that the designs were already provided for. ;) |
| Skyven: | Yes, and the fact that there was indeed a hole within the ship levels.. |
| Genie: | Any intentions to increase the maximum level a player can reach? (but award subsequent "levelling up" with a different system) |
| Skyven: | Nope. I find that the maxed players are strong enough ...! |
| Genie: | Indeed. Players were asking for some kind of reward for those who carry on. I personally feel that most players don't utilise their characters to their fullest potential. And then, they whinge about it... Any plans of changing the Alien tech tree to allow the characters some of the toys while restricting some other toys instead? |
| Skyven: | I don't know. I might have to do that to balance the characters... |
| Genie: | I had some suggestions prepared for you, for that as well. |
| Skyven: | You have these in a text file ?! |
| Genie: | Hmm, I had posted them in the past on the SK forum but if it was thanatos' forum, thanatos erased that forum! I'll check to see if I can find them, but I think I remember most of the changes. |
| Skyven: | Or maybe it was me who forgot to move those files when I moved the server... |
| Genie: | Thanatos told me he had forgotten the password to access the forum... |
| Skyven: | :( |
| Genie: | Don't worry I'll prepare something and send everything together as a zip to you via email. |
| Skyven: | Sure ! |
| Genie: | Will the Alien Players (AI) have a difficulty setting when creating a game, so that good players can opt for a harder AI? (by Defman) (the SK questions are all demanding.) ;P |
| Skyven: | Right now, the difficulty setting is set according to the player to create the game... |
| Genie: | The level of the player, right? |
| Skyven: | Yup! |
| Genie: | Since the hierarchy has proven to be buggy, will you use the extra slot for a new character trait? (by Defman) |
| Skyven: | I didn't know it was buggy ?! |
| Genie: | Well, not buggy, but it's not used. The first "tip" of the SK community is not to "waste" experience points (XP) on Hierarchy. So, you intend to keep it as is then? |
| Skyven: | Good tip. The purpose of the skill is to quickly gain levels... |
| Genie: | When do you plan to take Starknights into release (version 1.0)? |
| Skyven: | :) It was supposed to be 2 years ago! But then I realized that it wasn't completed enough. I hope to complete the last few issues for this summer. |
| Genie: | What are the last remaining issues that you feel you need to address before its release? |
| Skyven: | Character balance is number #1 on the list! Number #2 is to make it easier to learn, the new Tutorial and a few other modifications might do the trick, I need to test it out. Then, there are also a few synchronization issues when many players are in the same game at once... |
| Genie: | Yeah, especially in fastest when there's a new turn every minute, right? Speaking of which, there were requests for adding one more speed setting to the existing ones. Just one step below the fastest to have a setting where each turn lasts 2 minutes. |
| Skyven: | Yes, it is easier to notice the synch problems ... That would be very easy to add. The server already supports it. |
| Genie: | So, is that a definite yes? :) Personally I love "fastest" but I think a setting with 2-minute turns will allow slower people to play "fastest" at a slower rate. |
| Skyven: | I need to post myself an email about it, in order not to forget :) |
| Genie: | LOL. Once the game is past ver 1.0, are the scores going to be reset? (by Defman) |
| Skyven: | Ah.. I don't know. Perhaps, then I'd archive the current HOF and post it on the website. |
| Genie: | In SK there exists the problem that points are closely tied to "XP". That is, resetting will turn everyone into level 1 players again. I'm sure in the end the players will go with whatever you decide. |
| Skyven: | Yes, that's why I say perhaps... I'll go with whatever the players prefer. |
| Genie: | Will there be an award scheme for those who bring new players in? (eg receive one free registration) (by Defman) |
| Skyven: | Ah that could be very interesting. I thought of something about that...! |
| Genie: | Perhaps though it should apply only for players who DO actually register. That is, if you bring 3 players to the game who actually REGISTER then you would get a registration free? :) |
| Skyven: | Yes, that could be interesting. I already offer it to players who purchased multiple accounts. |
| Genie: | Are you promoting the game at all and if so, how? (by Defman) |
| Skyven: | Nope, I'm not ... :( |
| Genie: | Are there any new players actually coming in at the moment? |
| Skyven: | Yes, about 10-20 accounts are created each day. Not too bad, considering there isn't any promotion... I plan to do more once 1.0 is out. |
| Genie: | I was about to ask you that :) Once Starknights goes into full release (out of beta), will the existing players get a free copy of the game? (by Defman) |
| Skyven: | A free "copy" ? The game is online only you know ! |
| Genie: | I think he meant a free account. |
| Skyven: | On top of the one he already has ? |
| Genie: | Not sure. I already knew that everyone who has an account gets to keep it. I'm not sure what he wanted to know /what he was asking. |
| Skyven: | Yup! |
| Genie: | Will Starknights be getting a feature that can tell us when a game has started, similar to metalknights KnightSpy? (by Redwing) |
| Skyven: | :) Well, it says how many turns ago the game had been started ! |
| Genie: | I think he means, a means by which to check your games without loading the game itself. |
| Skyven: | Oh ! A StarSpy application ?! I never thought of that...! Would that be useful ? Since the game is real-time based, you know when you can have your turns... It wouldn't be too difficult to add...! |
| Genie: | True, I can ask in the forums and can give you the general "feeling". Is there anything the players could do to help bring the release of the game any closer? (by Defman) |
| Skyven: | Yes, report errors they get using Qix's Error Report page! This helps me fix "illegal operation" errors. Thanks to those who use it, the game crashes a lot less now. Do you think the game is stable enough now? |
| Genie: | Hmm, the in-game battles you mean? |
| Skyven: | Overall. |
| Genie: | The game as a whole, I keep noticing the server flickering (going down and coming back online). It tends to frustrate players, especially if they are playing a fastest. Overall, we need to try a multiplayer fastest to get a final verdict. |
| Skyven: | Okay, connection problems but no crashes? |
| Genie: | I haven't seen a crash for a while. We get those "out of buffer" errors sometimes. SK BBS. Moonshadow pings the server to check its status, similarly to what you have for people checking the server status. On the upper left corner. |
| Skyven: | I monitored the server every 3 minutes today, so far so good, only one connection attempt has been rejected by the server... |
| Genie: | To answer your question, I think the game has come leaps and bounds. I am only concerned about two things. The in-game battles : some of the "hits" don't register. I don't know if the latest update fixed it, I know we fixed the player kill bug. I haven't played a game for a while. :(( |
| Skyven: | I thought it was much better since you helped me with it the last time? There's still a lot to do? We tried it the last time and it worked ! The only thing left is when you're playing against someone with a slow connection... then the delay really shows. |
| Genie: | Yeah, that's what I was thinking . It's not just the connection speed, it's also the computer specs. I find that those with weak computers can't handle the "stress" of battles. |
| Skyven: | *sigh* |
| Genie: | It's better to slow down the battle sequence, than to have them jump "back". |
| Skyven: | Yes... I think that's what I'll do... |
| Genie: | When someone's losing packages or lagging, the ships "jump back", correct? |
| Skyven: | Yes... |
| Genie: | It might also please some of the OLD gits, who are too slow to handle the battles. ;) Don't make it too slow, but perhaps just tweak it, or MAYBE, FORCE a feature that scales down the graphics for low spec computers? Thus maintaining the speed yet getting much "bulkier graphics" for those with p200s and p300 and with ancient graphics cards. |
| Skyven: | Yes, slows down only if it detects one computer can't handle it... |
| Genie: | And I think the packet size affects the game a bit. If a player is in 64Kb package size while another is at 1Kb, the latter is "slower". |
| Skyven: | Packet size should be 64k. |
| Genie: | I often advice people to go to 1Kb before battle. Ack.. :) |
| Skyven: | Why ? Online battles don't use TCP packets ! |
| Genie: | Ok so, I should advice them to do the opposite eh? Well, I figured that since half of them are dial up modem users, with moderate computers, 1kb -> artificially puts a cap on speed. |
| Skyven: | It has no effects at all for online battles. Unless UDP transfers fail. :) |
| Genie: | Ok :) I stand corrected then. :) |
| Skyven: | A smaller packet size improves the speed only when you have a modem using noisy phone line or something like that. |
| Genie: | That's what I had in mind more or less. I grew up in the dial up modem era. I had a 33.6 modem and it was the fastest thing around! hehe *chokes* You are thinking it's time to release it right? The only problem is, more than half the "SK community" left. They left 1-2 years ago when there was a "dry spell" of development. |
| Skyven: | Yes... :( I think there's not much to add before v1.0, yes :) Do you think they'll come back for v1.0 ? |
| Genie: | Most of them won't. :( You want to add that recycling plant? :) |
| Skyven: | That game's too old maybe... :( |
| Genie: | No, not old exactly .. but it attracts only a very small portion of the PLAYER base. It's a strategy game. One that is complicated and demanding and most players online are people who don't have the patience that SK requires. ;) MK's strength is that it's "simple" on the surface (like chess), so it's idiot-proof. Whereas in SK, I see a lot of people just drowning and they are the same people that don't bloody read the HELP that's available to them. |
| Skyven: | I find it normal that players get enough after playing a game for a while - otherwise we'd never create new games - but when I look at the Tournaments, I'm always amazed to see old timers listed... |
| Genie: | Yeah. the tourneys tend to attract some of them. ;) MK is the same story, everyone wants in, in the tourneys; especially the one with the king's crown. ;P When it goes into full release; it will get some publicity right? |
| Skyven: | Yes, in the last release, I added blinking buttons and all in the Tutorial. It should be straight forward without reading the help. |
| Genie: | Yeah, I saw it. |
| Skyven: | Yes, I plan to give it some publicity. :) I want to make it as easy as possible to learn. |
| Genie: | Do you remember how people complained about the complexity and you stripped it down, by removing the TP from low level players and took away the advanced buildings until they were needed? Well, some players seem bewildered by their absence. |
| Skyven: | The bet is that more players are less afraid of the game! |
| Genie: | Hopefully. :) Here's one idea, one that I am sure you'll hate doing. ;P Add a couple of cinematic sequences in the offline missions. :) |
| Skyven: | Oh! We only need to hire a bunch of artists modelers, texturers and animators. |
| Genie: | Only eh? Lol. And they'll charge you so much you'll need 200 new registrations just to break even. |
| Skyven: | Much much more than 200 !! |
| Genie: | Hehe. Do you plan to make more games? I mean, carry on like MK II, SK II or something new? |
| Skyven: | I certainly look forward to MK II as the next project! I have many other ideas for other (smaller) projects as well but I can't wait to revamp MK !! |
| Genie: | And I'll flood you with "ideas". ;) |
| Skyven: | With all that, I'll have enough to plan up to MK IV !! :) |
| Genie: | Several players would like the prospect of playing this (SK) on Linux. Are there plans for a Linux version? (by Arnljot) |
| Skyven: | I've been told MK would work fine with WINE but I don't know if SK would run on it. The next game (MK II) will be designed to run on Linux from the start... :) |
| Genie: | Do you visit the BBS often? Or how often do you visit it? (by Batmanx) |
| Skyven: | It depends. In the last few years, it went from 2-3 times a day to 1-2 times a month. :) |
| Genie: | People tend to appreciate your presence. It seems to make them feel they are not alone.. Sounds familiar? ;) |
| Skyven: | Yes, a guy named Genie reminds me that once in a while. :) |
| Genie: | LOL. How much time are you able to commit to the game on average? (by Batmanx) (batmanx is putting you on the corner eh?) |
| Skyven: | 4 of us worked on it full time for over a year. And then, we were 2 for another year. And I pushed it to v0.999 by working on it part time... |
| Genie: | Do you ever find the time or desire to play a few games here and then? (by Batmanx) |
| Skyven: | Of course ! |
| Genie: | Everyone would relish the chance to kick (or get kicked by) Skyven's ass. ;) |
| Skyven: | I played Civ 3 a lot, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory a lot too. :) |
| Genie: | Do you use the same alias for those games (=Skyven) ? |
| Skyven: | Absolutely :) |
| Genie: | What do you enjoy most about designing games? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | It's when you thought you've planned for everything, and then all of a sudden you find a very clever and easy way of solving a problem. I also like to think about the difficult choice (and I like to provide lots of choices) a player would have to make at any one point in the game. BTW, Batmanx wanted to ask if I play SK ? |
| Genie: | Yeah, I think he was inclined towards SK. |
| Skyven: | Well it's a shame that I didn't play SK in the last year... :( |
| Genie: | You .. play-tested a bit. ;P How many people now work at Knightsoft? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | Now at KnightSoft? There's only me working part time, a few hours per week. Well yes, I play-tested lots of things but no real game... |
| Genie: | You feel the urge to play one then? One whereby Batmanx should definitely be part of. |
| Skyven: | Haha ! I feel the urge to release v1.0 stronger. :) |
| Genie: | What will happen, once SK goes to 1.0 ? |
| Skyven: | Well, before v1.0 is released for real, I'll test a Release Candidate. If it's all ok, v1.0 is sent abroad and if not, we go through a new RC. |
| Genie: | Are you currently seeking new talent? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | We'll definitely need new talents for MK II ! |
| Genie: | What will you be looking for then, for MK II? |
| Skyven: | 3D Artists who are good at modeling, texturing. And a 2D Artist for interfaces and icons. |
| Genie: | You got the "programming part covered eh? :( |
| Skyven: | The programming part ? Well, I enjoyed having a programnming partner on SK, we'll see. :) |
| Genie: | Individually, does SK or MK generate a profit, after overhead is taken into account? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | It does generate some profits, if I don't take into account the time I spend working on it. :) |
| Genie: | What project takes the most of your time, these days? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | :) My family. We now have a very cute baby boy, Skyven Jr, and I'm very proud :) |
| Genie: | He's surely bringing a lot of smiles to your face. :) Is there anything more that the players of SK can do to help you with your work? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | Other than proving error reports and feedback? Well, if some players could help to promote the game afterward, by posting reviews on a few gaming sites and such, that would be terrific! |
| Genie: | Do you think that future versions SK (or MK) may need greater computer requirements to play? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | Yes, future version will require a better computer to play. I mean MK was created on a 486! |
| Genie: | Do you have any future surprises in store for us? (by Qix) |
| Skyven: | :) It wouldn't be a surprise if I told about it! :P |
| Genie: | I somehow expected that answer.. ;) If Skyven was into making money, he should fresh up graphics a little.. and convert it to a web game, since there's almost no moving graphics; it must be easy for him I imagine. And to make a lot of advertising about it. (by Haans) (I think he means similarly to the way games such as Utopia work - web based games are attractive to those who can't install something on their computer because they are at work) |
| Skyven: | Web-based games are too slow.. it won't be enough for MK II. |
| Genie: | Are there any real plans for an MK II game? (by several players) |
| Skyven: | Yup! The design is well under way and Mario and I agree on it and are both willing to work on it. |
| Genie: | Mario helped you on both previous products, right? |
| Skyven: | Yup. He's the one in charge of the graphic part of the games. Mario aka Whitecrow. |
| Genie: | Yeah, the name sounded familiar and most oldies will definitely recognize "Whitecrow". When and if MK II is ready, would we still be able to play MK or will MK II replace MK? (by Vampire) |
| Skyven: | Both will run at the same time for a while, and then MK II will replace MK, if MK II is as successful as I think it'll be. |
| Genie: | What are the recommended computer specs you are aiming to have for MK II? (by Didi) |
| Skyven: | It won't be anything close to what is required to run Doom 3. A 2-3 years old system should be perfect. |
| Genie: | What are your plans for MK? (in general) |
| Skyven: | I plan to continue to support it, releasing patches when required for as long as there are players on it. |
| Genie: | What are your plans for SK? |
| Skyven: | Just the same as for MK. I might also add extra developer support for building more missions and other adds-on in the future. |
| Genie: | Yes, that has been one of the strongest player-requests. People also want an "easier-to-use" map maker for MK. Any new games in the works, or atleast things you are considering of? |
| Skyven: | Yes.. I have ideas for quite a few projects but nothing designed yet. Priority #1 remains SK then MK II! |
| Genie: | And finally... how do you explain this? (Knightsoft's worst kept secret?) ;) |
| Skyven: | Hahaha! On Commodore 64??! Nerver heard of that one!! |
| Genie: | Then, we have another company going by the same name? |
| Skyven: | KnightSoft and KnightSoft Technologies Inc. are 2 different companies, yes. |
| Genie: | They don't seem to make a distinction there. |
| Skyven: | I guess I should tell them. :) |
| Genie: | Thanks for your time.. this was a bit of a marathon run.. :) |
| Skyven: | It sure was !!! |
If you wish to contact me:
Author: Genie
ICQ#: 4506289 © 2003
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