Marc wrote a very interesting reply on the forum about what's canon and what's not, while giving us some details about the Stafuries. Here is the post: ...I don't see why the
other 2 guns ( and even the rear gun ) can't be included, as using
them would just use more fuel.

>...I also think that missiles should only be used in important
>missions, due to the fact they are only seen rarely on the show.
>Has anyone seen them being launched from standard Starfurys,
>or just from Thunderbolts?

You have just illustrated a most interesting design issue. You have
in one posting asked us to do something that goes beyond what the
show has demonstrated (the use of the "extra" guns) AND to
stick close to the show (limiting missile use). What's it going to
be? What do yo want us to use in terms of guidelines?

We have generally decided to stick with what the show has shown us.
To paraphrase jms -if it's in the show, it's cannon, all other
sources are subject to criticsm. To answer your question, we're going
with 2 guns, and missiles at the commander's discretion (if your the
commander and have enough missiles, you can load out Furies with them
as much as you want)

Thanks to Cougar for asking these questions.

A short, but very encouraging Q&A session with Mark, and some information on the plot is coming right at ya:

>I was
> wondering how things are going?

Great!

> Are the graphics going to kick our
> a$$es and leave us gasping for breath?

Yes.

> Will the "scale" of
> everything look right (boy did Trespasser trip in that
> department...)?

Yes, and they do.

>I'm hoping it'll look better than what I've been seeing in
> Freespace & Prophecy (since those are about a year old now).

We're way ahead of them as it is, and we're not done yet.

> I'm
> just worried, because what I see here is a game that could really
> breathe some more life into the space sim genere, but could also
> royally flop if it goes about it half-a$$ed.

Don't worry so much.

> And no, I'm not saying
> anyone is, I just remember (completely unrelated to you guys, but
> here's where my fear lies) a time when Totally Games was making XvT.
> And in an interview they said 2 things which made me wanna cry.
> 1. No, we don't think we need 3D hardware acceleration. Our
> graphics are just fine!
> 2. We're aiming for a multiplayer version of the gameplay you
> experienced in Tie Fighter, but with the graphics of WC4. Even
> though WC4 was already a year old at the time, and XvT hadn't even
> been finished yet...

We're not them. We have a VERY different game design/development philosophy than they do.

> So basically I'm looking for reassurances. It hasn't helped any
> either that so far, in all the avi's I've seen, they've been 99%
> footage from the show, with a 2 second clip at the end of actual in
> game footage.

Sorry about that. See my earlier post regarding the trailer if you want the whole story.

> Tell me that this game is going to knock my socks off,

It will knock your socks off.

> giving me gameplay 10x better than in any space sim I've played to > date (or at least 2x better),

Will 8.93658x be OK? That's where our calculations put it currently.

> with graphics that are going to make me
> think Freespace, Prophecy & I-War were sad attempts at what B5 is
> going to accomplish for the space sim genere!

Oh, yeah! We're doing it now! We should have some AVIs up soon to show it (although a compressed, dinky AVI still won't do the graphics justice).

Thanks to ScreaminGecko for asking the questions. Here is Randy giving us some details about the plot:

You will participate in the creation of history between the end of Babylon 5 and the beginning of Crusade.

You will also have the opportunity to participate in historical battles.

The two will interrelate.

Here is the latest on the status of Whitestars in the game from Jeff:

Just a clarification. Whitestars WILL be in the game. What is an issue right now is whether or not you will be able to fly/control them and if so, how it will work.

We probably won't decide on the control issue until much later as there are bigger things that need to be taken care of first.

Hope this clears things up a little.

Two new trailers are up at the trailer page. Both are availible at small and large sizes. Here is what Randy had to say about some problems with the trailers:

I'm not sure about the downloading problems. I just became aware that many of you were having problems a few minutes ago. I can tell you that when I tried to download the number 2 trailer that it took me awhile to realize that they were in a zipped .mov format. But I couldn't get my RealPlayer G2 to play it. Couldn't get anything I've got to play it. I'll try to figure out what's going on and report back if no one beats me to it. I didn't spend a great deal of time at it, so I may be forgetting something easy.

The content of trailer 2 is bits and pieces of many, many episodes that I edited together to try and create a completely new battle. It is true that the only game footage is the last shot. The reason that we did this is because at the time we needed a fancy trailer for marketing, but didn't have enough going in the game yet to provide the fireworks that we wanted to show.

The next trailer (being edited out of house now) will feature all game models and game effects, but it'll still be scripted. This is because we don't quite have enough stuff up and running at this point to make the kind of marketing trailer we need. The problem is that the needs of marketing come in advance of what is finished in the game. Naturally, marketing needs to work in advance of the development of the game. Said differently, their strategy needs to ramp-up in advance of game development.

Finally, trailer number 4 will be composed entirely of real-time game action with all of the bells and whistles.

This is the grand scheme.

Gamespot UK have gathered all their previous news items about B5 into a huge preview. Among other things, it features an interview with J. Michael Straczynski, creator, writer and producer of Babylon 5. Here is a part I found most interesting:

GameSpot UK:
I understand that the game will take place between B5 and Crusade. Will the story actually be part of the series "canon?"

J. Michael Stracyznski:
It's not so much canon as extrapolations on what could happen if certain key events in the B5 universe had not happened, or had happened differently. It puts the player in canonical elements of the B5 storyline--the Minbari War, the Earth civil war, others--and sees what impact one person's actions can have on a much larger scenario.

Here are some great news from Jeff:

We are planning on letting you play the AI in a multiplayer game (on the net or solo on your PC). It basically is free as far as code goes since we are doing all the fighter AI anyway. If all goes well, it will be in.

"This message has been approved by the Surpreme Overlord of the B5 development team."

What this means is that we'll be able to fly all the alien fighters in the game without an internet connection.

Jeff answered an interesting question about the functionality of the station on the forum:

> Does anyone know if we experience a fully functional B5? As in
> Docking Bay and Defense Grid?

> It would be neat to have B5 firing while engaged in battle ;P

> Thanks again,
> Jarosh

The Docking and Fighter bays are in... fighters even launch from the
bays (I did this part :)). We are still waiting from turrets and
stuff from the artists, but they too will be in there eventually.

in an attempt to convince people to form Squadrons and Not clans FirstOnes.com is now hosting the BABYLON 5 Starfury Combat Simulator Squadron list. Here's my pitiful attempt at bribery:

The proper name for a team of Fighter/Space pilots is Squadron or Squad.

The Clan thing began with a game that used the term in it's own mythos but has stuck for games for which it really isn't appropriate.

Squadron on the other hand fits perfectly into the Babylon 5 Universe and there is a HUGE history to draw upon for some GREAT names, logos and history. FirstOnes.com is currently working on a casual squad based on the RCAF 401 Rams.

As extra incentive, we'll make a list for all "Squads" on firstones where we will post you squads name, shield/badge/logo, and a brief mission statement if you like. That way new players will have a resource to find a squad they might want to join.

The only caveat for using an existing squad name is that you try not to do anything to disparage the proud tradition of those who came before you.

So check out the Squadron List and let me know what you think.

The Contest Winners!

Here are the lucky 5 winners who each won a copy of Sierra's Official Guide To Babylon 5:

Tom Roar Helland
Andrew Rubin
William Foster
Philip Brooks
Stephen Phillips

Special thanks to Yosemite Entertainment for sponsoring this contest for us. Happy new year everyone!:) Thanks to you all for participating.

GaGames has a a followup to their last News Item about a B5 Adventure game::

Well we have a confirmation from Yosemite Entertainment's Public Relations department in regards to the development of an Unreal-based Bayblon 5 adventure, as reported by us on Monday:

"Yes, we are doing a so-called Babylon 5 sequel, an adventure game, and it will use Unreal."

No more information is available at this time, but we might have more later next month. Stay tuned.

Happy New Year everybody!