Gaming Bullets
By AmyApril 2, 2001 - 3:01 PM
- Stomped recently had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Ian Lane Davis, the founder of Mad Doc Software, on the upcoming 'Armada' sequel. Here's a snippet of the interview:
Stomped: Unlike the first Armada, Armada II is being touted as a true 3D RTS game. How are you working to make the game easy to play and understand with this added dimension?
Dr. Davis: We're actually doing 3D in a new way. We call it the "Deep Dish Pizza Box". That is to say that the map is much wider and longer than it is high, so strategically, you only need to think about two dimensions, but you can use 3D formations, and move the ships up and down within the confines of the Deep Dish Pizza Box. It's high enough that any number of ships can take tactical advantage of 3D formations and movement, but thin enough to be able to consider everything strategically in 2D. We support two view/control modes: Strategic View, which is similar to a standard RTS view and is especially useful for base building and strategy, and the Tactical View, which is great for combat. You can play the entire game from either view, however, so any RTS player could jump right in and play the Strategic View without giving it a second thought; we think they'll eventually find the Tactical View to also be useful, and the immersion in it is breathtaking.
- Taldren, makers of the highly successfully 'Star Fleet Command' series, have posted an update on their forum about the forthcoming SFC2 2.0.0.6 patch. No date has yet been given for its release.
- Dominion Wars, an unofficial site dedicated to the upcoming release of the same title, has posted two new screenshots of the Deep Space Nine space sim.
- Italian gaming site 'Next Game' has posted almost twenty new screenshots from the upcoming 'Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force' expansion pack.
- 3D Game Zone review Dutch has posted his take on Activision's latest release, 'Star Trek: Away Team.' As with many other reviewers, his biggest gripe was with the game's AI. "Away Team is visually and audibly a decent, but hardly an extraordinary game. It doesn't really add anything new or interesting to its genre, and neither does it meet expectations considering it is supposed to be a strategy game," he concluded.
- Meanwhile, 'Head to Head' has also posted a review of the game. Giving it only 69%, reviewer Kristopher H. said that while it's very easy to control, the "graphics and gameplay are lacking."
- Decipher, makers of the Star Trek customisable card game, have posted a new top ten list and a look at what older cards would compliment the new 'Delta Quadrant' Voyager set.
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