Nettmøtet er avsluttet. Les svarene fra Ian Davis nedenfor.

Civ

How is the game compared to Civilization? Is it real time, or turn based?
Innsendt av: Morten

This is real time.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Pausing the game in LAN multiplayer

Hi Ian!

First of all, let me congratulate you and the rest of the Mad Doc staff on completing the development of a game that so far seems to be very good. :)

I'm just wondering if it's possible to pause the game when playing multiplayer games on LAN? I have bought the game, but haven't had the chance to play any LAN games yet. When playing long games it's nice to have the option to pause the game for a coffee break. :) I'm asking because the MP demo didn't seem to have that option(?)
Innsendt av: Ole P

Pausing is dangerous, because any one player can hold up the others. May be worth considering it for LAN, though, in a future update, as then you'll at least be all in the same area...

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Too tedious multiplayer?

Will games take multiple hours in multiplayer or can skirmishes be over with in 20 minutes? I thought that the huge tech-tree was a problem in Empire Earth 1...
Innsendt av: Fabian Bjørnseth

With the pacing options and Quick Start, you should be able to make either a 15 minute game or a 5 hour game!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Making games til you retire?

Do you think game creators of today will be able to make games until they are old and retire? Do you think they can they keep in touch with wath the entertainment crowd wants and what is the latest things?

Im asking because I truly think game developing is a fantastic job, but I also see that it might not be a job you have for the rest of your life - this is just my point of view so feel free to prove me wrong.
Innsendt av: Eystein

I hope that I'll keep doing this forever! It's my current plan.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Lag

Hi, Mr Davis. In the multiplayer demo my lads and I had some difficulties playing because of lag. Some times nothing, other times almost 1FPS. Was that a demo related issue only?
-Regards
Innsendt av: Fredrik H. Larsen

Fredrik,

Try to make sure you grab the latest update for the game. There was a bug in the demo which has been fixed.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Strategy games now and ahead

What's the most revolutionary strategy game in recent years? And what's the next step for strategy games, in terms of original gameplay?

My opinion is that strategy games are mostly built around the same concept -- made by Dune 2 -- and they can become a bit tedious. But there are recent exceptions like Rise of Nations which has a original gameplay.
Innsendt av: frank

I think you'll find Empire Earth II has done more to innovate in the strategy genre than any other game out in recent years.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Lionhead

As you may know, another similar "god-game" is the Black & White series... How is it to compete with Lionhead studios, and their also (!) great game?
Innsendt av: Emilio

It's nice to be compared! They make a very different style of game, and I think there's room on most shelves for both!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Work?

I make music. Got work for me?
Innsendt av: Kneeoh76

Is your music good?

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Empires - DotmW

Did you or your company have anything to do with the game Empires - Dawn of the modern world?
Innsendt av: Cato Berge

No.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Best game?

Hi!

I've heard that this game has high demans concerning the system requirements. I have a pentium 3 2,53 ghz computer with 784 Ram and 128 geeforce 4 grafic card. Will I be able to run the game?

When you made this game, were you inspired by the game called Rise of Nations? I by far think that is the greatest strategy game ever made!

Thank you, and good luck with promotion Empire Earth 2
Innsendt av: cbusssk

You should be fine with this system!

We were influenced by all the great games, and had lots of brand new ideas, too!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

new ages and technology

Hi! I am a HUGE fan and I wonder. Are there any new units, tecnologies and ages in the new Empire Earth game?
Innsendt av: Darth Vader

We have over 350 combat units, 220 buildings, and tons of new techs in EE2!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Epoches

Hi, im a big fan of the first Empire Earth game. I wonder how many epoches is there in empire earth 2?
Where/when does the first epoch start, and how far does it go in to the future?

Innsendt av: MadZ

We basically span all of the history of human warfare, and have 15 epochs.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

What do you want to be asked?

Hi!

I'm sure you're bored with the same questions over and over again, so what one question would you like to be asked? And what is your answer? :)
Innsendt av: Ostepop

Q. How did you make such a great game, and how did you get to be so darned cool, smart, and handsome?
A. (blushing) Well, I'm just trying to do my job, and anything good we've accomplished is due to having such a great team.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

civ

In which respects does this game differ from Civilization III. What are the Pro's and Con's?
Innsendt av: j

EEII is real time, while Civ II is turn based. This puts a bigger emphasis on combat and tactics.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Why play EEII?

Hey!
I've played all kinds of strategy games. All the big titles like Comand and Conquer, Red Alert, Age of Empires and ofc Empire Earth.
Now, Im starting to get old, and Im wondering, why should i starty playing strategy games again? What makes Empire Earth II so exceptionall?

PS: I will prob buy the game anyway, but im curious on what you feel is the greatest difference between EEII and other strategy games.
Innsendt av: Jens

If for no other reason, the Diplomacy system is why you'll have fun. Also, we've done more to enhance the feeling of being the genreal through the citizen manager, warplans, etc. PC Gamer said in their review that this is game where the RTS genre finally grows up.

(from one old guy to another!)

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

about defeating

I've played the Original Empire Earth, and I find it frustrating when enemies build up walls all the time and I never get to finish of the enemies. I played in multi mode with some friends as Players versus Computers. We played in 15 hours and had to give up. Has the enemy strategy changed in the upcoming version?
Innsendt av: Robin Kleven

The AI (and the whole engine) is brand new!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

The Most Beautiful Animal in the World

Are there any Giraffes in this game of yours?
Innsendt av: Bolleh

I hope so.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

New Civ?

Is empire earth comparable with either Civ, Settlers or AoE?
And is it possible to focus on building, research and diplomacy, and leave the fighting to the computer?
Innsendt av: Kristian

In EE2, you certainly can get a lot more out of building and research, and the diplomacy is the best out there in any RTS. We frequently play multiplayer games with coop teams where one guy does economy and one does battle!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Is Empire Earth 2 better than Age Of Empires 3?

Is Empire Earth 2 better than Age Of Empires 3? I wanna buy one of the games, but wich game is best. If Empire Earth 2 is better, pleas give me a reason why. Maybe I buy Empire Earth 2 if you give me a good enought reason.

Thanks :-)
Innsendt av: Fredrik

If you check out all the cool gameplay features in EE2, I think you'll see plenty of reason to buy it! We just received a 94% review in June's PC Gamer, and they declared EE2 the new king of RTS gaming.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Linux?

Hi
I really liked the first Empire Earth, and my question to you then is; will it also work on a pc with Linux? Because it would be nice if I dident have to use my dad's computer to play my favorite game!

Espen
Innsendt av: Espen

We do not currently support Linux, as cool as that OS is!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

I love Simcity

Hi i love empire earth, but i love simcity more! Why should i be playing empire earth?
Innsendt av: TDK

Because it's a very different way to build an empire!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Time is money..

Can't wait 2 get my hands on EEII..! The first one ruled..! How much time and effort does it take 2 make a game of this caliber..? And does it cost much 2 develop..? A store bought game here in Norway can cost up to 100$. Can developing costs defend such a price..??
Innsendt av: $weep

The typical game development budget these days is between $5 million and $10 million in just development costs. It takes a team of 50 people two years or more to make the game, and then the marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and PR costs more than double the dev costs!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Mac?

I am a Mac user and a big fan of strategy games. Will EE II be available for Mac?
Innsendt av: Sadoprest

There are no current plans for this, although we're keeping our options open. I'm a big fan of the Mac platform... my second computer ever was a Mac 512k that I bought new in 1984.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

gamer!please answer

how long time tok it to make the game?!
Innsendt av: the ripper:P

27 months and lots of loooong days.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Hi! The difficult second game!

Hi! The first game was just amazing and the second is too! But somthing i have noticed is that it`s very few new things. Is that somthing you and your crew agree with ore?
Innsendt av: Anders

Not really! I can't think of a game with more new features than Empire Earth II. With the Territories, crowns, Picture-in-picture, diplomacy, handicaps, tech tree, leaders, quick start, weather, real non-cheating AI, etc. there are more new things in EE2 than I've seen in all the other recent RTS games combined.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Pro-gaming

Blizzard Entertainment's games Starcraft and Warcraft 3 have dominated the pro-gaming scene. Will Empire Earth 2 require enough skill in micro- and macromanagement to be attractive for the most skilled players, and maybe be adopted by tournaments such as the CPL and the ESWC? Or will it be a slow-paced and newbie-friendly game like Command and Conquer: Generals or Battle for Middle Earth?
Innsendt av: Fabian Bjørnseth/ DK_Torrfisk in WC3

We've tried hard to hit both markets. You can really adjust the game pace with all of our multiplayer setup options (check out the "Custom" setting under Game Pace) and handicaps. Between the citizen manager, diplomacy, Picture-in-Picture, and warplans, the experts will have lots of ways to maximize their gameplay.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Programming!

Hey Ian!

I'm looking forward to buy EE2!

How long will it take to learn for example C++ programming, so well that you will be good enough for making your own games?
How long have you been programming? And what was the first program language you started learning?
Do you know any good books where you could learn programming.. from scratch?

Ps. Keep up the good work.. People like you make the world a better place :P

Innsendt av: Morten T.

Morten,

Thanks for the kind words!

I started programming in 1980 on an Apple II+ in Applesoft Basic (I was 11 years old). I studied computer science for 4 years as an undergrad and 5 more as a grad student to get my PhD.

You certainly don't need to do 9 years of college to be a good programmer, but I'd strongly recommend 4 years at a good university. It teaches you techniques, theory, and how to work with other people.

Strangely, I've found the "C++ For Dummies" book to be very good. When I was in school, they only taught C, not C++, and when I started working on games I had to play catch up on C++, and that's the book I used. It's very good.

Best,
Ian

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

hi

I always had trouble getting into the internet lobby in the last game, and this was mostly because of my firewall. Will I be able to play online without turning off my firewall in this version?

great game other than that, btw! there aren't many games out there with as big game maps as one could play on in EE! loved it
Innsendt av: dude

Yes, I believe there are instructions provided for getting this to work well!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Civ editor?

In Empire Earth,you had the civ editor where you could customize your own civilization. Is this option included in EE2? Or are there only pre-generated,real-world civs available?
Innsendt av: Breakem

We replaced the "before the game" civ builder with an in-game tech tree which more than covers the same types of bonuses and which lets you respond in real time to the needs of the game by choosing certain types of technology.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

AI

are there any changes in AI in the new version? I really hope so, because that was the only big disappointment in EE1. I can remember that there was minimal difference between the AI levels, and that the very second you would move up one era, the computer did the same.
Innsendt av: memymoo, momymee

Empire Earth II was written from scratch and not based at all upon the EE1 code. Our AI is probably the best RTS AI made. It really plays the game against you without cheating on the Normal setting, and by choosing different difficulty settings for it you get a wide spread of skill and handicaps!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Scenarios

Will there be any scenarios in Empire Earth II? If so, will there be an editor as well?

I love to set up scenarios where I can't lose and then slowly crush my enemies with my enormous might. If also enjoy orchestrating wars between the various computer-controlled opponents. Mohahaha!
Innsendt av: Jon Are

There are 24 scenarios, and we provided the map editor we used. It's our hope to offer the scenario editing tools at some point.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Crashing to desktop

I tried this game a few days ago and i'm having problems with the game crashing to desktop during campaign.

Luckily i didn't pay for it as i warezed it.

The Empire.Earth.II-RELOADED was good and all but Empire.Earth.II.RIP-MYTH seemed more stable with fewer crash issues.

So.. uhm. My question is: Do you think RELOADED's crack0rs just sucks on Securom protection, or that MYTH really stole the best crack-scen0rs from them for leech slots?
Innsendt av: Joll0r

Using warez software is theft, and their builds are almost always broken. It's illegal to crack games or to play cracked games, and I'm very disappointed to receive this question.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

New platforms for RTS's

Hi, I was wondering if there has been any talk, or motivation among established pc RTS developers to try for the handheld-market.? Granted the PSP would see the same difficulties that the consoles and RTS's have experienced , - input methods, but the DS seems like a platform where a RTS will be really intuitive.

Personally I'm hoping we'll see some good RTS's on it. it'll be perfect for online-battles and busrides :)
Innsendt av: Håvard Christensen

I've thought about this a bit, too. It's always been a user-interface issues, but the DS does make sense.

We'll see if it can be done.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

how many soldiers can you build?

can you create generals and drum man like cossax? i
Innsendt av: serpa

If you win one of the 3 crowns (Military, Economic, or Imperial) you get a special Leader unit that has special powers and gives bonuses to nearby units.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

directx or opengl

I wondering what kind of 3d library you are using for Empire Earth II and what you think is mostly used by the game industry. Also would like to know what programming language you are using.

Thanks in advance and keep up the good work.

Innsendt av: student

We are using Direct3D through Gamebryo, and the game is coded in C++ for the most part.

Thanks!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Technical

Looks really nice.

What programming languages have you used for implementing the different levels of the program?

Do you have your own 3D graphics engine, or have you licensed someone else's?

Do you distribute machine code or bytecode and machine code?

Again, it looks really nice.
Innsendt av: Andreas

Andreas,

Thanks! The game is written almost entirely in C++ with a few custom scripting languages and the occasional bit of assembly code. We built the game on top of the Gamebryo basic graphics engine, but created the full Mad3D graphics engine on that base.


Best,
Ian

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Aircraft

Hi Ian!
I own a copy of Empire Earth I, and it is one of my favourite games of all time. In my eyes, the best part of EEI was the great amount of units availaible and the big maps supported, something that lacked severely in other games of the genre. I hope that this time, there will be an even bigger selection of vehicles/infantry, and even bigger maps with possibilities for even more units in each game.
The weaknesses of EEI were mainly the graphics, they were never good enough, though that never kept me for playing, as the game is so much fun to play. Another thing that really made me go mad were the aircraft. They were way too slow, the strength of aerial warfare is of course the speed. Another thing that I reacted on with the aircraft was the small selection of planes, and the fact that different teams had the very same planes. It did not make sense to use Bf109's to fight down Corsairs when the team with the Corsairs was Japan and the Bf109's belonged to the UK.

So, over to my questions:

Qu1:Are the things I write about in the start improved? The information found on Sierra's websites doesn't really give an answer to all of my questions.
Qu2: Will the game be patched regularly? Many computer games suffer a lot from not being patched often enough
Qu3: How will the opportunities to customize the game be? will I, with my basic Gmax and Photoshop skills, be able to make any units to the game?
Qu4: Will a computer with the "recommended" resources be able to run the game properly even with very many units in a single game?
Qu5: How many worldwide units can one have in a singe EEII game?
Are these limits different in Multiplayer games?

I am sorry for my bad English
Good luck with the release!
Magnus.
Innsendt av: Magnus the war monger

Magnus,

Thanks for all the questions!

1. We've added a ton of new units and buildings. Airplanes are something I use all the time when playing.
2. That is our plan!
3. You should be able to. We'll be releasing info soon.
4 & 5. Well, there's always a point where you can have too big of a game for a machine. That's why we've put in sooo many options on how many units you can have in a game.

Best,
Ian

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

THE EMPIRES

Hi

How is it that the Persian empire is not among one of the options in EE2 ? How much research have you done before choosing the empires ? since the persian empire is historically one of the greatest empires ?
Innsendt av: Cyrus

We tried to create a lot of variety and that meant leaving out some very big and deserving empires.

I hope modders feel comfortable adding some of the other great world empires!

Best,
Ian

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

the game

ive played EE1 and its kinda long and therefore boring...is this better?
Innsendt av:

We've done a lot to build on and improve the Empire Earth franchise. One key area that keeps the variety going is in the Skirmish and Multiplayer setup. You can choose to make the game fast paced or slow (not just simulation speed, but the relative speed of events in the game such as harvest rates, damage dealt) set up different handicaps, have Quick Start (you have the option of starting with units and buildings), and more options than any other RTS.

We even have used the handicaps system to have some wild new games, such as "monkey in the middle" where we choose one guy to play on "newbie" difficulty, and 4 to play against him on "game god". It's very exciting to be on either side!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

What is different?

I played and liked the firs EE, but what is different in this game besides the story line? New upgrades? Units? ect. Are you allowed to answer these questions yet?
Innsendt av: Fryzer

We did a lot to improve the game:

* Brand new game engine.
* Added features including:
- Territories
- Crowns
- Citizen Manager
- Diplomacy (really, check this out!)
- Weather
- Quick Start in multiplayer (you have the option of starting with units and buildings)
- Picture-In-Picture
- Warplans

And LOTS more!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Making

How long time did it take to make the game?
Innsendt av: Einar

It was about 27 months of development with a team of 40-50 people, and we started from scratch.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Have you considered having more giraffes in your game?
Innsendt av: Sveur

It's always a possibility...

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Comebacks possible?

Is it possible for a good player to win if his opponent already has the upper hand?

That was possible in the Age of empire series when using resources wisely, while in a game like Starcraft whoever had the momentum after the first quarter would win no matter how long the game was to last.
Innsendt av: Ole

We really, really tried to make comebacks possible! A game is much more fun if there's an ebb and flow. First, defense is a bit easier than offense (defensive structures are slightly more cost effective, but, of course, take more time to build and can't be moved and you can only have so many per territory). Next, if you build houses in your territories, you get combat bonuses.

Also, use diplomacy to your advantage!

I've been knocked down to one citizen before and comne back to win...

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Lag

How can I do thet it not lagging on my compuet? I think i have 2Mhz and 512 ram
Innsendt av: Audun Melting Kvalbein

First, make sure you get the latest updates to the product. Then try to change the graphics settings to reduce the load on the video card. It should run well enough on your system, but you may have to turn down some of the graphics settings.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Balancing of the economy

I have played a lot of RTS games. Some are good and some could be good but are not very fun to play because of the lack in balance. In some games there may be many different resources but only one is hard to get in the amounts you need. In other games one team or unit may be superior to other when you compare performance/abilities with resources spent to build them.

Would you consider Empire Earth II balanced, and what have you done to achieve that?
Innsendt av: Ole

I think Empire Earth II has a solid balance for an initial release. We know well that once millions of people are playing that additional balancing is always required in an RTS, and we plan on supporting EEII with a series of subsequent balancing passes based on user feedback.

To make sure that the initial balance was good, we did the usual playing lots of games, but we also had a system called the "auto-balancer" which automatically constructed many battles between each type of unit and each other type. It would record the cost effectiveness of each type of unit and we used that as a baseline for balancing and then did the hand-tuning on top of that. We measured Cost Effectiveness as the ratio of the amount of resources lost on units killed of type A to the amount of resources lost killing units of type B (how many resources you had to spend to take how many of the enemy's resources away).

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Ever tried..

..WoW? :-)
Innsendt av: Frank

I've been so swamped with EEII, I haven't had a chance yet, but it's sitting on my desk!

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software
 

Nothing like RoN ?

Hi!
At first glance the games seems to be a lot like Rise of Nations, seing that it combines the Age og empires and Civilization series. Will it be something similar to this ? I hope not as it really disappointed me ;)
Cheers!
Innsendt av: InZ

I think the resemblances are superficial between EE2 and other games. The one thing that people notice is that empires have borders in our game as well as some others out there, but in EE2 the Territories are so much more a part of gameplay in that you're fighting to take over particular territories...much more like in real warfare.

We really have a unique blend of features that builds on the fundamental concepts of the Empire Earth Franchise, but incorporates a ton of new gameplay (crowns, warplans, the citizen manager, territories, weather, diplomacy) that really hasn't been seen before.
 

Piracy

What do you think about the increasing piracy-problem? I mean, I saw Empire Earth 2 online about 2 weeks ago, and It's not even released.
Innsendt av: Grompen

It's a real problem. It's a shameful thing that people feel OK making their living as thieves, and it's equally shameful to help out the thieves by buying their product.

It takes 50 or more people several years to develop a game and that's an expensive proposition, and every pirated copy means there's less money for developing the next game.

Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Creative Director, Mad Doc Software