Monkspider's choice-cuts from the chat session

[monkspider]

I figure most people don't want to read through nine pages of log, so I have done it for you and picked out what I perceived to be the most interesting tidbits of info. Enjoy!

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[Tassadar5000] Jeff: Are the Koreans in PTW?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Tass: civs will be rolled out in a marketing campaign...only talking about the ones from e3 20:07:58
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] though you guys have mentioned them all at one time or another
[notyoueither] So the 8 aren't set yet? There could be some surprises?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] nye: they're set, we jsut want to save some for website exclusives


[Tassadar5000] Jeff: In the editor when you start in Future Era and then play your 'scenario', it crashes shortly after. Any hopes of a fix?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] One of my recent scenarios does that. The patch in test tass has that working..It's the fastest way to play with stealth bombers and ICBMS..

[XarXo] The world in the XP will be able to support special events like volcanoes, earthquakes or tsunamis? Or the answer that FIRAXIS show in the past (We only offer a planet with disasters that can be avoided) continues?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] No natural disasters.


[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Most of the editor features were done specifically at the requests from this site

[Trip] Firaxis: Not sure if you saw the first time, but what kind of 'event' support will there be for the editor (not weather, or disasters)
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS]Trip: Not a great deal beyond the short game modes. We had our hands filled with the feature set we're delivering.

Firaxis: NYE, a better question is will there be new non-UUs in PtW?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Trip: Yes
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS Trip: 2 are the guerilla and the medieval infantry Plus the 24 leader units
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] We're kicking around the idea of having any leaders created in you main leaders 'classic' era being that art


[Tassadar5000] Firaxis: Will we be able to play the new multiplayer modes (Regicide, etc) in single player?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Tass: Yes, but the AI isn't going to give you much of a run for your money. Think of them as bots.

[Tassadar5000] Firaxis: Whatsup with "Game of the Week" and "Game of the Day" in PTW?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Tass: That was an old 'single player ladder' idea we were kicking around and never developed. The fact that the XP was called PTW had very little to do with it

[chegitzguevara] What's a guerilla do?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Cheg: He's a wimpy infantry w/o resource requirements

[monkspider] Firaxis: Can you comment on whether there will be new wonders in PTW?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Monk: the 1 we're talking about is the internet..Research labs in every city, though that's likely to be tweaked

[UberKruX] Jeff> so theres no "all as roads" Partisan-esque unit?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] The Keshik crosses mountains like grasslands uber.

[XarXo] Dan/Jeffrey -> Dou you read the Cheat-Strategies thread from the Civ III Play the World Scenario? You solved anyone?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Xar: A few..very relevant stuff.

[Trip] Radar probably just gets rid of FOW
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Trip: radar towers give offensive and defensive bonuses. They actually don't do much for FOW since they must be built in yoru territory

[Trip] Firaxis: Will there be other options for MP Diplomacy, ala lending/loanding units?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Uber/Trip: Probably not a great deal beyond what;s there now.

[monkspider] Firaxis: Can you comment whether or not the Hwacha unit featured in several screenshots is part of the feudal japan theme pack?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Monk: It is not.

[Trip] Firaxis: will there be new civ traits in PtW?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Trip: Wishlist.

[chiefpaco] will the new scenario units be playable on any map?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Chief: Yes. The scenario management stuff is such that it'll read them from the scenarios folder.

[Shadowstrike] Back to Civ3, any new tile improvments in PtW?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Shadow: Ruins, airfields, radar towers, outposts, and meta-game stuff like victory point locations

[Trip] Firaxis: what do outposts do
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Trip: Push back the fog of war and are context sensitive (mountain outposts push back mroe that desert outposts).l;

[monkspider] Firaxis: will the 24 leader units be available in modes other than regicide?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Monk: we're kicking the idea around. Love a thread brainstorming ideas

[Shadowstrike] So outposts are built outside one's nation, yes? Do they confer def bonus also?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Shadow: Outside territory only and no derfense bonus. They keep barbarians at bay though.
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Shadow: In MP it's even more useful to keep the mjaguar warrior rush on the radar

[Tassadar5000] Jeff: Are you guys going to make the UN more useful?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Tass: Kicking around ideas but nothing concrete

[monkspider] Firaxis: Can you comment on what unit the Spanish Conquistador is based on
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Monk: Jinetes..They would have been called jinetes but the spanish version of the game used that name for cavalry. They're light cavalry.
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Fast cavalry...yes.
[Trip] Firaxis: How is the Conquistidor different from regular cavalry (other than having a lower attack rating)?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Trip: those stats will no doubt change in testing.

[zulu9812] Will PTW have on-map wonders?
[JeffreyMorrisFIRAXIS] Zulu: No. We tried to in Civ3 but didn't come up with any really viable way..


[Trip] will the new editor have the ability to load/store the scenario rules apart from the actual map tile data?
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] you mean, like import the map from one bic into another BIC?
[Trip] yes, exactly Dan
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] trip I think you will be pleased.

[monkspider] Dan, does Firaxis have any intentions of ever releasing a second XP in the future that you
know of?
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] monk, nothing on the radar yet, but my guess would be Infogrames call, if PTW does well it would seem like a good likelihood

[Trip] can you tell us what all the editor can do?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] There is a minimap
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] and zoom
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] and units, cities, colonies, civ-specific start locs.
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] You can also import maps or rules (or even players) from other bic files.


[SnowFire] As a random off-topic comment, I've actually gone back to playing SMAC lately... but if y'all check the Other Games forum, there's a thread on "Games you regret not getting." At least 5 people said Alien Crossfire, myself included. Will it ever be re-released? There were so few copies printed!
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] Snow: that is highly unlikely from what I understand
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] EA calls the shots there and for some reason they decided not to order another run of SMACX when the initial run sold out

[Trip] Mike: can you add more eras with the editor?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Trip: that's on the wishlist for now
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Wishlist=if we have time

[monkspider] Firaxis: have you been happy with Civ 3's sales?
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] monk: yes they've been outstanding
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] I do know Civ III has been in the top 20 far longer than any previous FIRAXIS game

[monkspider] what exactly is medevial infantry trying to represent?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Sort of like Knights but without the horses...

[Objectivist] hey dan, any plans of you or any other of the staff playing with us regular folks when the game comes out (as say a promotion for the game)
23:48:35 [DanMagahaFIRAXIS] Obj I dont see why not, although if I lost it might be an embarrasment 23:48:41 [MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] I'll play if you're looking for an easy victory (but not too easy)
23:48:54 [MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Now if you played Barry...
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] Yeah, speed bump would be our Maximus
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] I've had my share of Blatz too
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] or Soren
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] And Jeff is really good too.
[notyoueither] The Firaxis-Poly challange! Who do we put forth?

[monkspider] Firaxis: Is there any chance you guys could release old unused unit animations for us fans to use? I remember the Russians had the MiG as their UU for a couple months before release....
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] monk: I don't think those units were ever built and/or animated...
[monkspider] Firaxis: Do you know the story behind why the Russian UU was switched later in production
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] I think it was an early change actually monk
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] The Mig render was a very old test render IIRC
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] I think they decided on only one UU per civ. Originally they had several for each civ. I don't know what the reasoning was behind the decision though.
[monkspider] Firaxis: Was their any other UUs that never made it off the cutting room floor that we never found out about?
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] Yeah, a biplane was cut I belive
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Wow, I didn't even realize the bi-plane was gone.
[monkspider] Interesting, what this Biplane an actual UU? If so, for what civ
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] dunno monk, I think it was just a general game unit but it didn't fit
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] It wasn't a UU. I was just another air unit. We didn't have any art for it at th etime I saw it though.
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] American minuteman seems to ring a bell too...
[monkspider] cool, thanks for relating this interesting little piece of Civ history. So was there any other UUs that you guys had planned that were cut when you decided to stick with one UU per civ?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] The MiG, the Japanese Zero, there were more but I don't remember. They were in a big list somewhere...

[monkspider] Firaxis: Do you remember anything about the "great people" concept that nearly made it into the game?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] monk: It did make it into the game. It just wasn't any fun. So we got rid of it

.[monkspider] Firaxis: Do you know of any other interesting game concepts left on the cutting room floor due to time restraints or what not?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] The only other thing I can think of that was cut was the Plant Disease espionage mission. It wasn't a whole lot of fun either...
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] It basically let you hit a city with a disease that acted exactly like when you get a disease from a jungle. It just didn't have the cool impact it should have.
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] I always wanted a "plant disinformation" mission

[monkspider] Firaxis: can you confirm or deny whether one of the new civs in PTW will be from the Americas?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] monk: no comment. We can't talk about things that haven't been "announced."


[monkspider] Firaxis: Can you comment on whether or not the Hwacha will be a unit that can be used by all civs?
[DanMagahaFIRAXIS] monk, are you trying to get a job with the media or something? What's with the Mike Wallace routine?

00:32:18 [monkspider] Firaxis: One last question regarding the hwacha , Is it an Artillery-type unit?
00:32:25 [MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] yes

[cyclotron7] Somebody above mentioned the Hwacha,and Mike said it is an artillery unit. If so, isn't it a pretty poor unit because of its inability to "win" combat, thus causing a GA? (Sorry if this has been answered before).
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] cyclo: Maybe.... But there are other ways of getting a GA.
[cyclotron7] Mike: I know, but doesn't that put the Koreans at a distinct disadvatage?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Would you say the Americans are at a disadvantage because the F-15 comes so late in the game?
[cyclotron7] MIKE: Well, at least the F-16 can kill fighters.
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] cyclo: I was just asking. I think it is kind of weak, myself. But I'm no designer. And I think the Hwacha is in much better shape... but then I know a few things about it that you don't .

[jimmytrick] Firaxis, in PTW, if a PBEM game is created with a modified bic file on one machine, will the save relay all the date to the other players or will the other player all have to have a matching bic on their computer
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] jt: The game will relay all necessary data.
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Players do not need to have matching BIC files.
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] The game will take care of it
[RandomPasserby] Will players actually be notified if there's a discrepency between BIC files?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] I'm not sure if they will be notified if they don't have a matching BIC file but they will be notified if the rules in the BIC file do not match the default game rules.

[monkspider] firaxis: do you consider maintaining balance in cultural regions at all important?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] monk: That's pretty sneaky but I see through your question! So no comment
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] You should have held off until I've had a few more beers.

[monkspider] Firaxis- are the Spanish going to be considered European or Mediterranean?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] monk: European I think. But I haven't checked recently. I just kicked all of the new stuff out of the BIC file and made Jeff add it again...

[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] AW: Well there's another thing that got cut from Civ3. We used to have different art for roads connecting cities on the trade route. I'm not sure why that got cut because it was useful (actually, I have an idea why but I can't talk about that)...
[Trip] Mike, could you consider them re-implimenting that in PtW?
[Sn00py] Mike, those fat roads, is that the road you are talking about?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Trip: Well, one thing, is the trade routes only affected the roads (yes Sn00py)... but I may try to bring at least that back...
[Harlan] I think its more important to have trade visible over ocean than land. How did one block trade over the fat roads
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Harlan: It was just a graphical thing. The trade routes were displayed differently....
[Trip] Mike: was there going to be some kind of overseas trade routes though?
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] Trip: I don't think it was planned to show them differently which may be why the land route graphics were cut....

[Harlan] That would be cool to have your new touted Europe based terrain set use a few extra terrain slots
[MikeBreitkreutzFIRAXIS] The Europe terrainj set completely replaces the default set...

[Arrian]

Some cool stuff in there, thanks for posting it like this (I read the first page or two of the full log and gave up).

Your repeated attempts at getting them to slip up and offer new info were amusing.

I wonder about that "great people" concept they say was cut. Could that possibly mean that peacetime great leaders were originally going to be in the game, but were removed?

-Arrian

[Harovan]

Great job monkspider . Thanks a lot, man. That was pretty much what I needed, after failing to enter the chat. Very interesting informations here.

[Theseus]

Thanks, monk, big help.

Cool stuff. If there's zoom for the editor minimap, does that indicate the main mini-map will have it too?

[Cyclotron]

I'm still pondering my own question about the Hwacha. Will lethal bombard make it into the normal game?

[kring]

Thank you monkspider, my fellow Wichitan. I also read through about 3 pages before eyestrain kicked in.

It was interesting to note that he didn't say whether the Hwacha was a Korean UU or not; thus not telling us whether Korea is a civ or not.

Some may say it was implied in his responses, but that is not so evident to those of us who study semantics.

It could still be a new artillery piece available to anyone.

[monkspider]

No prob guys!

Cyclo- That's a good question, it seems that if anything gets lethal bombard it would have to be the Hwacha.

[Captain]

monkspider, thanks!
great sum up
you're pretty devious with those journalistic questions
what else can you dig up about PTW?
any word on whether bldg specific units will be possible?

[kring]

One possible way to handle ANY artillery UU winning a battle would be for it to actually inflict damage on a target; in other words, a successful arty attack yielding 1 hp or more of damage by an arty UU = GA.

[Tuberski]

Wow, the "choice cuts" seem to involve monkspider quite a bit.

[Cyclotron]

Originally posted by kring
One possible way to handle ANY artillery UU winning a battle would be for it to actually inflict damage on a target; in other words, a successful arty attack yielding 1 hp or more of damage by an arty UU = GA.

A question: If that were the case, then a Man-o-War would trigger a GA every time it bombarded... which AFAIK it does not. It's possible that this will be changed in PTW, but it seems pretty easy for an artillery unit to take even one good shot and trigger a GA. Then again, maybe that's not so easy, especially with early artillery.

As for giving the Kwacha lethal bombard, that would necessitate that all other units at least past cannon be given lethal bombard... which is a radical departure from the way the game currently works. That doesn't seem likely to me.

Another question: Assuming the Kwacha is 0/0, like other land artillery, it is defenseless. Now, defenseless units are either killed or captured if you have the technology. So, if I have the technlogy to build the Kwacha but I am not the Koreans, can I capture a Kwacha for myself? Or, is it automatically destroyed? Or, does it revert to the unit it replaces (cannon, I guess)?

[monkspider]

Originally posted by Tuberski
Wow, the "choice cuts" seem to involve monkspider quite a bit.

Well most of the other posters were busy asking the Firaxis gang questions about zombies and godzilla. So by default, I got to ask most of the "choice-cut" questions. I'm honestly not making a conscience effort to put the questions I asked on some sort of a pedastool.
(at least not too much )

[Tuberski]

Well, to be honest, your questions were more game related and to the point.

So, you are forgiven.

[Random Passerby]

Why would bombardment-triggered GA be so bad? Is it really that hard to trigger a golden age for other unique units that it would be unbalancing to make bombardment count? It would be FAR less unbalancing than giving across-the-board lethal bombard, in my opinion.

[Cyclotron]

A bombard triggered GA may not be so bad, I am just wondering if that is really how PTW will handle the Hwacha. It's not so much a worry, per say, as something that is a change in the game. It will need subtly different strategies.