Jumpgates? Will there be jumpgates? Will we be able to use them?

Yes, we will include hyperspace in this game. It will *not* be a cut scene, it will be an actual place you can fly around in and use to navigate to other star systems.

Are some CapShips harder to approach than others?

Yes. A ship like the Centauri Primus is harder to approach some of the others. (6.13.99)

How does the game handle death?

In the single player game you're dead--time to either start from scratch or restore a save game. Also in the single player game, the NPC ships (i.e. Wingmen) are gone forever, no respawning. As for multi-player, death is variable on the type of multi-player game you are playing. You might respawn, or you might hop ships--depends on the type of game you've configured. (6.13.99)

Will the docking procedure be a cutscene or will we have to match rotations ourselves?

I am working on that now. (6.13.99)
As a detailed reference, Cary Brown wrote a segment on how Furies launch and dock. Check it out, its a good read. The Starfury Docking Procedure

Will we be able to fly atmospheric missions?

Not this game. We've got our hands full enough! But if this game does well, atmospheric and planet based assaults would be cool to add to another game.

Will we launch from the Cobra bays or just appear in space.

You will launch from the bays, but what actions you have while within the bays is TBD. (6.13.99)

Are cockpits unique or is it a common HUD like in Wing Commander 4?

Cockpits are different for every vessel. Each have their own distinct console and HUD configurations, although there are commonalities. Things such as targeting and radar are more or less uniform.

Will we be able to select the formations we fly in?

Hopefully we will be able to select whatever type of formation that our squad follows. The lead of a V formation is very usefull but in some situations it is not only not prescribed but can be down right dangerous. These formations should be held with the autopilot except in combat situations.

Will we get to control the ships power settings?

If we do we should be able to set hot keys for quick configuration, full power to guns for the killing blow, to engines for an emergency escape or ramming speed. Could we let the computer handle this?

What kind of save options do we get?

Save whenever you want, some auto-saving. (6.09.99)

Is the eject system manual or automatic?

Eject system is manual. (6.09.99)

If we eject, does the rest of the squadron complete the mission, or is the mission automatically lost?

Your squad mates will try to finish the mission without you. (6.09.99)

Can fighters fly inside certain enemy space stations?

You can manuever around any open area in the models, but most (if not all) the station designs lack accessible interiors. (6.16.99)

Can we fight in Hyperspace?

There is nothing to prevent you from initiating combat in hyperspace, it's just really risky. You can get "off-beacon" quickly. With both visual and radar range reduced and the high rate of speed we build into hyperspace, you can and will get lost pretty quickly if you fight in the same style you would typically use in normal space. (6.21.99)

Do we get to command Capitial Ships?

When you start the game, you just have the ship you launch from. That's it. As the game progresses, you get more and more, until your more or less commanding the fleet. Its about a 70/30 split between gameplay and strategy. (6.19.99)

If you are a good enough pilot, you will have the option from running the battle from the bridge, although there is nothing stopping you from hopping in the cockpit and having a crack at it.

Authority of Rank

You will always have the choice of jumping into your Starfury - regardless of your rank - regardless if you decide to set up your strategy on the bridge first. This is always an option. You could even do part of your war strategy on the bridge and then hop into your Starfury and finish up your strategy there! If you get tired of being "in the trenches" during a furball you can dock and go back onto the bridge - provided that you can pull that off without getting shot up, of course. (7.7.99)

How does the strategy aspect work?

Once you move up the ranks, you'll be able to command ships from a farther standpoint, but there is nothing to stop you from getting into a fighter and duking it out. You also can go anywhere you want, such as go to Za'ha'dum, although coming back doesn't seem like a possibility. (6.19.99)

Maximum Number of Ships

Four digits. (6.24.99)

Can we run out of fuel?

No. However, we will run out of oxygen, in which case all we have to do is make a quick dock for a recharge.

Attacking a Capital Ship

You will be able to disable and destroy specific systems and components (take out specific guns for example). What systems you do damage too will also have an impact on how the ship breaks apart when it is ultimately destroyed. The cap ships will tend to break apart near the area where the enemy fire has been concentrated on it. (7.7.99)

Fighter Attack on Capital Ship

One fighter has no practical chance to take out a capital ship. It could happen, but the circumstances to do it wouldn't come about in the normal couarse of the game.

To actually do it you need the following: A capship that will not retreat, avoid you, fire on you, or launch fighters to take you out. Then you will need a half-hour or more of constant banging on it, racking up enough hits to do some real damage. (7.11.99)

Spacecraft:

What craft will be playable?

Flying of ships will be limited to fighter craft. For single player, the Starfury and Thunderbolt. Multiplayer will have ships from many races, including the Minbari Nial, the Centauri Sentri, the Narn Frazi and the Drazi Sky Serpent fighters.

Cockpits are different for every vessel. Each have their own distinct console and HUD configurations, although there are commonalities. Things such as targeting and radar are more or less uniform.

What about the Badger (2 Seater)?

This fighter, seen in "A Voice in the Wilderness," will not be used in the game.

How about the Single Seat Whitstar Fighters?

Seen in the fifth season, there has been no confirmation to its appearance.

How about the Whitstar?

The most popular of B5 ships will be flyable if we do good enough in the campaign. No idea for multiplayer.

What about Capital Ships?

We will be seeing capital ships of many types and races. These include the Shadow Battlecrab, Minbari Sharlin, Earth Alliance Hyperion and Omega, and many more. A more complete listing is available on the Docking Bay of the B5Games.com website.

What ships will we see in the game?

At least twenty-six different types of space vessels will be seen in the game. These range from fighters, to captial ships, and to stations from eight different races. Certain ships never seen in the show will be showcased in the game.

Just what can a Warlock do anyway? Is it in the game?

Note: Warlocks are not the Omega Destroyers with shadow tentacles. There have been a few sitings in A Call to Arms, but nothing definate.

From what I've seen , the Warlock can handle pretty much anything. Lot's of fighters, lots of missiles and lots of guns (all kinds). Kind of a Nova crossed with an Omega but bigger and newer weaponry. What role (if any) they have in the game is TBD. (6.16.99)

Are ships in multiplayer balanced?

Yes. You cannot have Vorlon fighters or Minbari fighters that are superior in nearly ever way. (6.28.99)

Number of Locations in the Game

More than 100, less than 200. (7.10.99)

Weapony and Targeting:

Do we get some kind of targeting aid to get those perfect deflection shots as seen on the show?

No idea. Anyone?

Will the Starfury have two cannons or four?

Although the official count for weapons might be four, only two will be implimented in the game. This is because four guns were never seen in the show, and the game is a representation of the show, not a representation of statistics.

What weapons will be present?

Everything we've seen on the show. Pulses, beams, missiles, etc.

Will there be missiles in the game?

After the use of them in Thirdspace, missiles will be implimented in the game.

Do we get to use that wireframe HUD as seen on the show?

Although that is on our priority list, the practical use of it in the game is small.

Will Shadows have the jump point disrupting weapon?

We hope to have the jump point "scrambler" weapon in place for them. (6.16.99)

How does radar work?

The current radar system is fairly easy to understand. (May 1999)

It depicts both altitude and distance. The points that have the lines leading up toward the center tell us that all those targets are below us, with the length of the line serving as a certain measure to how far it is. If targets were above us, the lines would be going up. For forward, straight in front with no line, and behind, straight back with no line.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Will the different races each have different parameters for their AI?

Each different race should have different parameters that must be met before they will attack each other and intervening Star Furies. Certain races should be more likely to run if outnumbered or commit suicide attacks in the face of imminent destruction.

How tolerant will our own forces be to mutiny?

The capital ship response is a little complicated. It will decide whether or not the hit was intended by checking to see if you were targeting it when it happened, whether you have a history of firing at it, etc. (6.13.99)

If you do take out one of your squad mates will you be held accountable?

I know this has been discussed recently, but I don't recall the answer. Email me with the answer please.

How accurate are the capital ship turrets?

We can make the turrets as fast and accurate as we want -in fact in the E3 build, they were occasioanlly set to "insanely accurate". You didn't stand a chance once they got a bead on you. Point is, they will be balanced to give you the optimum experience. (6.13.99)

When controlling capital ships, what kind of fire-control options do we have?

We will offer a variable fire-control option something like: keep weapons fire to a minimum (defensive only), a standard operating mode (interceptors intercept, medium batteries supress fighters, big guns target capital ships), and a give'em everthing you've got. (6.16.99)

How is the AI differnt from any previous game?

The best I can put it, is that the AI will go beyond simple ship controllers. We have a hierarchical AI structure that runs the behaviors all the way from the entire race down to the individual fighter level. Because of this, we can use the AI to create complexity and variation in the way missions and other scenarios are implemented and run. No two games will ever be the same because the AI's running the show will never interact in exactly the same way. As a result, our missions do not need to be scripted, and therefore are unpredictable. This of course makes QA a nightmare. This is one reason why we are scheduling in gobs of QA time. (5.22.99)

Difficulty Settings

Right now, if we put the AI at it's default settings, it is Erasor bot like. Like John always says, it is real easy to make an AI that consistently beats you, but it is a lot harder to make an AI fly like a human pilot would. There is going to be a lot of tweaking when the game gets to QA, but John has a pretty good system in place that will allow us to dumb down each ship's AI individually. (6.18.99)