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<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: We're really glad to see that so many of
you have turned up for this real-time conference. Strike took a ot of people
two and a half years of really hard work and we're really proud of the final
product.

not since Wing Commander I  have  I had as much fun playing one of my own
games, which is generally a good sign after such an arduous birthing.
Unfortunately, because of its high-end machine requirements, a whole ot of
people have had trouble getting it up and running. I believe that people who
have gone through this little trial by fire will find that they really enjoy
playing the game.

Strike is a little different from most flight sims as it combines a lot of the
features that made WC so popular along with a lot of the features that we
really liked about flight sims. So the end experience is somewhat different
from other flight sims.GA


<[SmokinDoom] A.FENTE> Ok first off I'd like to commend the SC team on putting
together a truly awesome game.  My question is as follows: The performance of
this game on a 486/66 VLB seems vastly better than on a 486/33.  What are some
of the technical reasons for this? (ie it seems like there is a much bigger
delta than on any other game)

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: SC uses graphics techniques that have
never been used in any other game. Unfortunately, the stunning visuals they
produce demand a much greater amount of processor power than typical polygon
games.

The team developed SC on 486/33s and 486/50s. the frame rate on a 486/50 is
slightly better than the frame rate of WC was on my 386/25 (back when I
developed it). I believe SC is the same sort of envelope-pushing game that WC
was three years ago. It's a game for now and the next several years. GA

<[SmokinDoom] A.FENTE> Ok comment is that I agree wholeheartedly. I may even
get a Pentium just for SC ;) !

<[Danny] D.HAN> Firstly, is there anything you see that can be improved
upon in the next game, or even add-on disk?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Art D: Nope. Nothin. mmmfff..rrrkkk...
Chris R: Yes! Lots! We'd like to do fully textured terrain (processor power
allowing), night missions, clouds, head-to-head combat, shadows,  increased
detail on objects, more planes to fly, and possibly  a VR attachment that will
let you hook up right into the cockpit. Also SVGA support. GA

<[Danny] D.HAN> interesting :)  okay, my last question ... this has more to do
with gameplay, btw.  Anyway, i'm having trouble hitting ground targets ...
that are on very small inclines.  I've tried rockets and even bombs, but i
manage to miss by inches.  any tips?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Scott B: Use cluster bombs. Their big blast radius
should make it easier to hit small things like tanks.

Chris R: SC has dynamic frame timing, meaning that the game should play at
about the same speed in real time, regardless of the frame rate on any
specific machine. So it may be harder on slower machines to hit stuff
precisely, since the time granularity is coarser.

<K.ESTES1> I just finished SC for the third time and so my first question is:
when can we expect to fly some more missions to keep Virgil happy?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Art D: Who cares about keeping Virgil happy?
Chris R: The first mission disk is in development right now and is planned to
be released in the fall. In addition, we;re also working on the CD version of
SC which will have full speech, general MIDI support, rudder pedal support
<g>, and possibly the missions from the first mission disk. GA

<K.ESTES1> my next question is do the copilots have different attributes? ex.
Phoenix is better at bombing missions.  ga

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Art D: That's right. the strengths are roughly as
follows: Billy and Miguel are the best at dogfighting. Of those two, Miguel is
better with guns. Gwen is, as you said, the best pilot for ground attacks. Tex
and Lyle are sort of in between. Chris R: Every pilot has shooting skill,
flying skill, bombing skill, panache (flashy performance skill),  morale, and
loyalty.

<[Anvil] HARPOON> My first question has to do with an ambiguity in the docs.
The game will run either with the Origin memory manager, or with EMM386, but
no mention is made as to whether there is a performance advantage to.. using
one or the other.  Is there?  GA

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: Under any scenario, the Origin memory
manager takes control of  the system, be it from himem.sys, emm386, qemm, or
386max. There is therefore no performance difference between memory manager
environments. GA

<[Anvil] HARPOON> Ok.. My second question has to do with graphic effects.
What I would like to know is, since some of the effects seemed to have come
off better than others, e.g. the textured aircraft are always nice, where the
"carpet" texture map of the terrain (cities, etc..) don't always look right,
which of these effects to YOU think worked well, which ones will you repeat,
and which ones (if any) take a disproportionate amount of CPU to create.   GA

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Art D: The difference is the size of the polygons.
City carpet textures are placed on really big polygons, so they break up more
easily. They also take up more processor time.

Chris R: The objects work by far the best. The terrain didn't work quite as
well because we didn't have enough processor power to put lots of little
triangles down. Hence the need for large textures that occasionally break up.
We're going to keep all these things, but we're  hoping to improve the
algorithms to make the big textures hold up better in all circumstances. Also,
design games that don't require you to have good-looking terrain from five
feet to 60000 feet of altitude.


<[Steve] S.KLASSEN> Is there any way to adjust the ordnance load on your
wingperson's aircraft?  I put more (or different) weapons on my jet,  but my
wingie seems to have either nothing, or less than me.  Or different stuff than
me.

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Art D: Sorry, but the wingmen always load
their own planes in SC.

Chris R: We may add such a feature in Wing III, but we don't want to tie the
player down with too much bookkeeping.

<[Michael] M.MCGOWEN> OK...  I also want to say congrats on a truly
ground-breaking game. Comment first: I'm know there are those that are upset
by such stringent computing requirements, however, as the owner of a 486/DX2
66 Local Bus machine I'm EXTREMELY glad there will be some games to take
advantage of the technology. Now for the question(s)...Let me state a few
dislikes and then let you respond:

1. Indistinct ground details...
2. Even the lowest setting of the hazing seems to be too much...
3. When I'm dogfighting, the screen locks up while Im shooting (Im using a
   Sound blaster Pro.)..
4> NO FREAKING VCR!!! ARGHHHH... (Grin)

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> 1. Chris R: We're fighting two things: 320x200
resolution and more game than most processors can handle already. We can make
the  ground detail more distinct by eventually moving to SVGA and using more
extensive textures. But we need to wait for the pentiums at least.

2. the further you see, the more polygons we have to draw. Most games just use
a flat ground with detail popping up right before your eyes. In SC,  we wanted
to model the terrain accurately, out of individual polygons,  and also wanted
to create the effect of haze in the distance. When the  machines become more
powerful we will be able to see farther, because we'll be able to draw more
polygons.

3. There could be a problem with your configuration. If the game just pauses
briefly and then resumes, you may need run a disk cache (or a bigger one). If
this doesn't answer your question, mail Rebecca.

4. VCRs are lots of work to program, and I never personally use them, so I
would rather take the same amount of effort and time making it a more fun game
to play. GA

<[Michael] M.MCGOWEN> One last comment... I hope the move towards SVGA
happens. I got the machine I did to stay on the cutting edge, but it seems
that there's very little for it just yet... I hope that continues to change.
Thanks.

<[john] J.YUEN>  there is some question about the TWI, when will see
the missile diamond on the TWI

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Frank S: You should see the diamond on the
TWI as soon as the missile is in the air.

<[john] J.YUEN> I have not seen it, the warning light blinks but no
diamond, GA

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Frank S: If the missile is IR guided, you
won't see it on the TWI because there's no active radar.GA

<[Anvil] HARPOON> I hope this doesn't sound like I'm obsessing about the
terrain effects, but I would like to know how much faster the terrain
generation might have been if you had decided not to texture map it, but had
instead depended solely on light sourcing and Gouraud shading?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Scott B: Are you referring to the terrain
generator (run during the install)

<[Anvil] HARPOON> No, I mean in flight fps rates.

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: You can always turn terrain texture maps
off in the options menu (press alt-O). The only real time spent with terrain
textures is drawing them. If you turn them off, they won't take any processor
time. GA

<[Anvil] HARPOON> Ok, thanks, secondly.. I wanted to say THANK YOU for letting
me shoot the parachutes off some of these guys, definitely let the steam out.
I would like to request, however <grin> that in the future, once I have shot
the chute off that they wave their arms and legs while they are falling and
maybe scream a little.  In addition, I would like to follow them down and
blast them with the Vulcan, which should produce some neat vapor blood
effects, pieces parts and more screaming. <GRIN>  DONE.  ;)

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Scott B: Maybe we'll try that some time. I hope you
noticed that the guy does get pretty bloodied up after you nail him (it's hard
to see, so try to get up real close). GA

<[Steve] S.KLASSEN> From a technical perspective: It is rumored that only a
small portion of the code for the game was written in assembler.
Theoretically, assembler is supposed to optimize performance. Is there a
reason (in terms of design factors) that this sort of coding was nt done?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> chris R: All the time critical stuff (graphics
primitives, math primitives,  and 3-d rendering) was coded in assembly. Most
of the rest of the game was coded in C++ for purposes of organization and
reusability.GA

<[Steve] S.KLASSEN> Thanks.. 2nd:  Who is the genius behind the rotating
cockpit display? (I say this partly because I had thought about that type of
visual system.. myself a few months ago.. <VBG>)

[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Art D: Much as I hate to admit it, that was
Chris's baby.

<[Phil] P.GARRETT6> First I'd like to say that I love the storyline of this
game. second, it seems a few people (myslef included) are having problems with
the runway busting mission.s  Are there targets that have to be hit, or is it
done on a 'point' system? GA

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Frank S: It is done on a point system. Eight MK-82
hits or four Durandals (or an appropriate combination) are required to take
out a runway. If you have the victim view on, the camera will switch to the
runway when you destroy it. GA

<[Phil] P.GARRETT6> are there any other required targets to be able to
go on to the next waypoint? ie. in alasaka mission 2 I keep getting 'stay on
target' until all my bombs are gone. GA

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Frank S: You may have to hit some tanks as well as
the runway, AAA and hangars. We think <g>. GA

<[SmokinDoom] A.FENTE> Ok some more technical questions
1.  What C++ compiler are you using?
2.  Is your code 16 bit or 32 bit?
3.  Have you considered taking advantage of the accelerated graphics cards?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> 1. Borland 3.1
2. 16-bit real-mode C++ (with 32-bit instructions) and 32-bit assembly.
3. Yes. Possibly on WC III. GA

<[SmokinDoom] A.FENTE> The folks at Novalogic seem to have worked a terrain
miracle with Maximum Overkill.  I realize there are LOTS of problems with
doing this over a larger area (more than a few square miles), but do you see
any way you can incorporate similarly attractive terrain into a SC type game.

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: Maximum Overkill takes advantage of the
fact that their helicopters don't get above 500 feet, and their motion is
somewhat  constrained. Also, their maps are real small. We have to simulate an
F-16, which can get up to 60000 feet, and has a combat radius of hundreds of
miles. Your visibility must be reasonable at all altitudes. We plan on using
similar techniques when the game's parameters conform to the ones in Maximum
Overkill. GA

<K.ESTES1> First off I thought the speech pak was great! is it possible to
shipp ALL  voice files and let the user load the ones  that he has disk space
for , or, can extra speech files be sent with future mission disks? ga

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Speech takes up lots of disk space. The SC speech
pack already had a higher cost of goods to price ratio than any of our other
games. The real answer is CD-ROM, which  will allow us to ship lots and lots
of speech. GA

<[Steve] S.KLASSEN> I loved the manual.. The beginning in particular was well
designed. It has a mood to it that suits the game very nicely. Anyway, I'm
wondering if the Strike Team designed it, or if a writing team/agency was
used.

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: We used no outside agency. G. P. Austin,
Robert Irving, Prem Krishnan and Tim Ray wrote the manual. Wayne Baker wrote
all relevant press releases. You can probably find out who these guys are by
looking  at the credits in the manual. They're all part of the Strike team and
were heavily involved in the design of the game. GA

<[Steve] S.KLASSEN> Good work!  I'm impressed. 2nd question: I noticed that
the wreckage from a destroyed aircraft closely matches the original How was
this implemented?  It looks very convincing.  GA

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Chris R: When we started developing SC, we planned
to use both bitmaps (like WC) and real-time rendered polygonal objects.
Consequently, we did art for both. Later on we discovered that the polygonal
objects looked so good that we discarded the bitmapped objects, but we used
the bitmapped objects as the basis of the debris for the planes. It's a
testimony to the quality of the polygonal objects that they can match
pre-rendered high-res bitmaps so well.

<[Michael] M.MCGOWEN> I was just wondering what kind of video card you guys
recommend for a 486/dx2 66, high end card that is... Local bus?

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Frank S: We don't know much about local bus video
cards, but every one we've tested has been very fast. For ordinary VGA, we use
video cards based on the Tseng 4000 chip set, or the ATI Ultra card. We
haven't done enough research on the topic yet, but we will do so for WC III,
since we plan on supporting SVGA on that game, but we willl probably give
everyone info on specific SVGA cards we're supporting before we ship. GA

<SCORPIA> OKay folks, that concludes the RTC for tonight. Chris, Strike
Team, thank you for being here and doing the conference!

<[Kinnison] P.GILLES> Hoot! Holler!
<[Anvil] HARPOON> Are you guys leaving, or do you have time for a couple of
informal questions?
<[Tony] WETMORE> (insert hooting and hollering)  Thanks Origin!  (Say,
what kind of pizza do you guys eat?  A post-RTC question...oops!)
<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Thanks for having us. It was a blast!
<[Major Tom] T.L.BEROSIK> thanks origin - great game! :)
<[Kinnison] P.GILLES> thnx
<[SmokinDoom] A.FENTE> I wonder how any small team can possibly create
a game this extensive in only a few years!
<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Wayne B: I'm the only one left. Any Marketing
questions? <G>
<[Anvil] HARPOON> Yes, Wayne, are the rumours of substantial returns
of SC true?  ;)
<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> No. Not currently.
<[Anvil] HARPOON> Great.  Thanks.
<[Major Tom] T.L.BEROSIK> good :)
<[Anvil] HARPOON> Wayne, dunno who to pass congrats on to, but the ads
look great, the screen pics are tops.

<[STRIKE TEAM] ORIGIN.MKT> Anvil, thanks. I'll pass along the kudos. Bye all!!
Thanks for the great questions.

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