The Development Team
Sierra Studios

Interview By: Lorien Newman
Published On: Saturday, May 22, 1999

What stage of development is the game? How far away are you from "going gold"?

We've got the fundamental architecture complete and in place. Much of what is left to do is hook in all the parts, implement the missions and features, do post-production on the video we've shot, complete the roster of ships (about 90% done). Beyond that it's big-time play balancing and polish, polish, polish.

With our planned staffing level, we're pretty confident about being "feature complete" by the end of the year, and to go gold around early spring.

Has the development gone back to "full speed" since Yosemite's closing?

Actually, with the exception of the week or two that we were all physically moving, development has moved right along. Just a day or two after they shut us down, we were all back to work to complete the GDC demo, and then as soon as we were moved, we knuckled down to the E3 demo. It's funny, but I think the demos helped us stay focused on something other than our own troubles.

Please describe to us how the AI in the game, will differ from other games of this genre.

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.

How many ships overall will the player be able to fly in the game? How many of those ships (if any) were created just for the game (that were not in the show)?

In the single player game, the player will be able to fly the Starfury and the Thunderbolt. We are considering implementing performance/feature variants to spice up the experience but nothing that strays from "canon". In multiplayer games, the players will be able to choose from those ships with the addition of the Minbari Nial, the Centauri Sentri, the Narn Frazi and the Drazi Sky Serpent fighters. Additionally, the players will have access to command of capital ships. You won't be able to fly them or fire their weapons, but you will be able to tell them where to go and what to do.

What will determinate which ship the player will fly? Will it be dependable on the level?

Ship selection is dependent on the player's rank. At the pilot and squadron leader level, the player will be assigned to appropriate craft. Beyond those ranks, the player will have the option of flying whatever fighter craft that are available to them.

The latest Screenshots

How will the story involve the actual gameplay? Or will the game be more of an action title where you "just shoot everything that moves"?

A good chunk of the missions you fly are connected directly to the main narrative through-story(s). We have deliberately kept the "good guy"/ "bad guy" element blurry. Like the show, all is not as it seems, and this is revealed over the course of the game. So getting back to the question, you will need to make some choices about who to shoot or not shoot. Sometimes it's clear, sometimes you will be presented with conflicting objectives. We are definitely attempting to make a game that isn't so "on-the-nose" as we typically see in this genre.

Please describe to us the multiplayer levels of the game, and how will the gameplay be effected when a player drops out in the middle of a game, and leaves his teammate to fight many ships alone in deep space?

We've designed the game architecture to be exceptionally flexible in terms of our ability to implement multi-player options. We can pretty much put together any configuration you can conceive from one-on-one melee to fleet vs. fleet scenarios. What actually gets implemented has not been finalized. Much of that decision has to do with time, budget and what seems to be the best combination of modes to maximize variety and fun. At this point we can nearly promise one on one melee, squadron vs. squadron (with AI wingmen),co-op squadrons, and most likely capship vs. capship and maybe even Battle group vs. Battle group. The ultimate for me would be multiplayer co-op fleet vs. fleet, but we'll have to see, that may be a later add-on.

Also, if a player drops out in the middle of a game, we are anticipating having the AI take over for that player.

Which is more dominating in this game: single player or multiplayer?

The single player game certainly takes more time to implement and is more resource-heavy (video, music, special ships, etc). The multiplayer stuff comes nearly for free because much of its features are being implemented for the single player game. Because of the AI design, this game (single or multi-player) could theoretically play itself. The point is, we are putting a lot of our energy into the single-player game, but 90% of that energy goes back to the multi-player. I think in the final result, both components will be really robust. I think we should be able to strike a real balance between the two.

How do you plan to beta test the game? Will you conduct a limited public beta test? When?

We are always testing the game throughout the development process. We have dedicated QA staff to do this. Formal public Beta testing won't happen until we are feature complete. Our current schedule calls for us reaching that point by the end of the year. So, I'd say that a Beta will be released around January/February -but don't hold me to that.

Do you plan on releasing a demo before the full release?

There is a possibility in the works, but noting I can comment on. If something happens it won't be until after summer at the earliest.

Will the game ship with A3D support?

Yes, we are planning to support A3D.

Will it be worth while (or will it be necessary) for the player to "look after his ship"? Meaning, other than keeping the ship operational, will there be any bonuses or special experience points for not getting hit, rather than just the normal enemy kills (like in WC)?

Up to this point, we've been focusing on the player's combat performance (number of kills, etc.) in terms of evaluating his skill. There is no reason why we couldn't track his defensive abilities as well. We do include losses under the player's command as a criteria in evaluating his performance.

Will the game support any tournaments and or clans/groups etc,?

Too early to give you a firm answer on this one..

Special thanks to Marc Hudgings (Designer/Art Director), and Jeff Reitman (Programmer) for helping us organize this interview and the screenshots included. It is well appreciated.