Okay! Please do not message the M.A.X.2 team! If you have a question, type "/msg meghan addme" without quotes and you will be added to the queue. This is a moderated channel. You are not able to speak here unless it is your turn to ask a question. If you would like to chat with other beta testers, please join both #max2 and #interplay. #max2 is an unmoderated channel. Phew! Anything you guys want to start out with before we go ahead with the questions? Thinking... We'd again like to thank everyone for all their help.. we've been getting tons of great suggestions.. so many that it's getting hard to read and respond to them all.. I'd like to apologize to anyone who's sent in mail in the past week or so and hasn't gotten a response.. we're totally swamped, and still haven't caught up.. Thanks also to everyone who's filled in the latest questionaire.. this is also a big help to us.. Hmmm... I dunno.. I guess we can move on to the questions.. :) Really tired tonight, so excuse me if I don't make much more sense than I usually do.. Okay. :) First one coming up! Go ahead, TheBlueGorilla We're ready! * TheBlueGorilla unzips his costume and out jumps...StratoSoft!!! HAHAHA I fooled you all! Actually, I knew you were. :) You're in a channel that says Strat in the title. :) naw.. we knew it was you.. Nice try though. "Is there ever going to be a way to download earlier versions of the beta? I want to play the air units some more and I can't uninstall the upgrade" dangit hehe um, that question was from someone else, im just asking for him :) nope.. we might release a different version with air units.. plus there will be thye alien air units ot test how did you know? ok You were also in #Strat'sTimer :) Thanks Gor.. er.. Strato! How exactly does, in your opinion, the new maintenance system add to the complexity, depth, and overall strategy of MAX2? oh yeah :) Last question please :) I'll get that one. okee dokee It forces you to spread out and cover terriority, since Mining Stations must be spread out. This means that you no longer hold up in one small area. Feints are now a possibility. You now have a trade-off between production and the size of your army. The larger your army, the less you can produce. yes but how does it add to resource management? The more time you spend producing mining stations, the less time you can spend building new units. This also tends to limit the total number of units, so less brute strength attacks are possible. The resource management is simplified in some degrees, but not in all. Units are now resources, in addition to material and gold. ok ga Thanks! Go ahead, Jovian Ok, if the beta continues to go at this rate and we need to test alien units and multiplayer......it will be way past the expected release date of Late March. BTW....Point Release was released!!!! and CTF2!!! WOOHOO!! =) hehe That's right.. the way it is looking we might continue on for a while.. * Meghan passes Jovian a sedative. Originally, I think tonight was supposed to be the last chat.. We are extending the chats and the testing for at least another few weeks.. We were hoping to have another version of the beta ready for you last Monday... but we ran into several problems like having to make up a really good version for the European press tour that's happening next week.. so we will be testing at a faster rate? And on that note.. perhaps it's a good time to mention that Chris will be the one going on the tour, so he won't be here next week.. :( Heh. I will also be away next week.. so unless we can make some other arrangements, the next chat may be postponed.. If it is, I will post on the message board and let everyone know. ok The next beta version will *hopefully* be ready sometime early next week.. and will contain the first batch of alien units for testing.. ga Thanks Jovian :) Go ahead, CaptComal Does an unlimited minelayer unbalance the game? It can make huge minefields quickly. Mines cost resources to maintain. * CaptComal chokes as he loses his voice .... Go Packers? Not a lot of resources, but some. :) That limits the total size of any minefield. Next year They cost 1/10 of a point of material per mine. ga Thanks Capt :) Thanks Go ahead, Dakamgi Unlimited ammo seems to be a problem, do you have any fixes in mind? What exactly seems to be the problem? This allows for an unending attack, whith no breaks for the defender Ahh. The only units that are really affected like that are the planes. Except for the planes, the other units are so slow that it's not really a problem. The planes are a problem, and we are still talking about what to do with them. AMMO this provides balence in the game. That's one solution, but it may not be the best. We have to closely examine it. Just putting it back in, without giving full consideration of what that means, is a bad idea. This, along with Connectors and Power Stations, is very high on a list of design considerations. I've been hounded to death by two scouts, although it took 16 shots to kill my engineer (in RT) ammo would be good for the game chris. When MAX2 is complete, will we see upgrades (patches) for MAX1 incorperating some of the suggestions? Dakamgi.. last question ok Patches for MAX1? adding some of the ideas for improvement. Do you mean MAX1 or MAX2? 1 Several people have suggested this.. It would depend on what sorts of thing people would like to see.. the one we were thinking about most seriously was to put in internet support.. what did you have in mind? 1) Patrol - the ability to make any (combat) unit patrol an area using waypoints. 2) Escort - the ability to assign a combat unit to protect another (combat or non-combat) unit. 3) Auto-reload - A combat vehicle, when it reaches a user defined % of ammo remaining, will proceed to the nearest (user defined multiple of movement range) supply point (supply truck or connected building) and automatically reload. Then the combat unit will return to sensor/firing range of the enemy. A fixed defensive weapon will reload to 100% when it reaches the user-defined % of ammo remaining (a good reason Holy cow! These are all possiblities.. As I said.. we have received a few suggestions like this.. If there was a big enough demand we might be able to do something like this.. Basically we were thinking of releasing a MAX Classic Edition that would add to the original game.. ga Thanks Dakamgi :) Go ahead, VicNice hi guys Are we going to be testing water units again due to the fact that the ai din't do much. Are you going to be adding a amo reload to some units. Hi Vic.. We might do the water units again.. we did get a lot of bug reports though already.. It will depend on how our internal QA perceives this issue.. how far are we from testing all the units together that is. i have seen that the release date for the game is going to be march 21 do you still think that the game will be finish by then when we get to the final beta are you going to be sending cds or are goign to dl the whole game. We are currently talking about extending the release date.. but NO decision has been made.. we're all keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get some extra time so we can continue to add cool features. The CD/Downloading issue is another thing we're talking about. At last count about 200 people were actually sending in bugs and suggestions, so at some point we may be able to send CDs of the game to this "core" group. ga? This would also be the version containing the internet code for testing.. But as I said.. we haven't made any decision on this yet.. still talking.. ga Okay.. one sec while I type something out big and red. :) DO NOT ask more than one question unless they are DIRECTLY related to each other. Next time I see this I will start kicking and banning. It's not fair to the people waiting behind you in the queue. If you have more than one question, wait your turns. Thanks :) Go ahead, StratoSoft I have a friend whose previous email (when the beta started) was arrowhead@mindspring.com he later changed it to phoenix99@mindspring.com and sent you guys letters concerning the change. He has since, not recived anymore email updates concerning the beta test. How can he inform you people of the change since his first attempt didnt seem to work? I just made a note of it and will get him added back to the list.. i think thats his new and old address im not sure :) If I told you all the nightmares we've had with our database it'd take all night.. let me chk thx though Thanks Strato :) Go ahead, Gorbach What will the limints be for the network (lan) play, I have a 5 person lan IPX to test it (kids r us Network will allow up to six players.. did that answer your question? yes went can we look for net play thk You can look for it right now, but you might not find it... :) Paul will give a serious answer... :) Not for several versions at least.. it will be the second to the last thing we offer for testing.. the last being internet play.. ok tks thats all Thanks Gorbach! Thanks! Go ahead, CaptComal When will we see the new / final artwork for the units? That's a darn good question. I don't think you've seen any of the final yet.. Most of the human side has been re-rendered.. and all of the alien units are being re-done. * CaptComal hears whispering in the Interplay offices hehe We just haven't had time to put all the new art in yet.. That's one of the things that's holding up the next version.. :( Soon though.. Or Paul yelling at the artists to hurry up. OK >..Thanks Heh. Thanks Capt :) Go ahead, kebler Paul is yelling... :) At what, I'm not sure... Is there any thought to testing land units,air units,sea units in multiplayer options ? If so how about over the internet? * MAX2Chris looks at Paul the Master of All Things Beta. thats all . thanks keep up the good work. Yes.. in the last version or two given to the beta testers, we'll probably have combinations of units so you can actually play the game a bit.. :) Thanks kebler :) Go ahead, Loudman Hi. MAX1 was based on a solid model. Did you set it up by using pen and paper? Gus and Ali did most of the initial MAX1 design. Gus used a spreadsheet to balance all the units. Gus used a spreadsheet for *lots* of things... Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. * Meghan groans. Was the same approach used for MAX2, and if so, why did you decide to alter the model so significantly? It was very heavily designed. Lots of tweaking. The same model was done in MAX2. We don't want to make the same game. We want to make an improved game. Lots of thought has gone into every decision. The same amount of thought went into the design of the same game. ga Thanks Loudman! Go ahead, LionDog Some units, like gunboats, seem rather small. Will the new artwork be little more proportional in size? Yes! Great to hear that! Thats all for me! Thank you, LionDog! Go ahead, shadowolf The new artwork is more proportional.. It's all rendered at a 60 degree angle so it's a lot more realistic looking as well.. Hi there!! As far as the "core" testers are concerned...are you keeping tally of the amount of bug reports each of us submit to see who will become "core" testers We're keeping track.. but it's not based on the amount of bugs you submit.. Thanks..You are all doing a great job :-) thanks.. Thank you Shadowolf :) Go ahead, StratoSoft oh umm, one sec ummmm Okay, but just one. i have a very good question :) ummm Spit it out! let me think... :) 3 2 1 :) oh yeah, when is the next beta coming out? sorry couldnt think of anything better :) It's very late I know.. sorry.. Hopefully early next week.. That's it, that's your questions? That's all?! :) I thought we were in trouble... :) Thanks Strato! Hahahaha Go ahead, Gorbach will there be the capability to have the units hard fire (select unit, hold ctrl and point at non enemy and distroy it) either to clear path or to have the constantly fire at one area. (seen in other games (good feature)). :] That'll be the one with some aliens in it.. :) You can use the ATTACK command to "hard fire". It will attack any square, even one occupied by your own unit. ok tks The "repeat attack" is a new option. Do you think it would be useful? I never use it myself in these games. yes that would be good It might be good against infiltrators.. yes tks ga Thanks :) Go ahead, CaptComal In Real-Time could there be a timer in the corner showing elapsed game time? Yes I have had a Real-Time game (v.103) running since this chat started and no attacks on me yet, a timer would be cool to keep track of the game. There are several ideas for using this clock/timer.. Great ... nice during a long game to see just HOW long it was! One of them is for the pause timer for multi-player games.. The total amount of time is going to be displayed in the endgame screen, too.' Another is the overall game timer.. ga Thanks Capt! Go ahead, Loudman Earlier you mentioned that you recv'd some good suggestions..Please elaborate on those that you find most interesting and are considering as additions. There are many of them.. One of the best (I think) is the Spy Cam idea.. which of course we put in.. How about recent suggestions in light of the beta testers? The number one suggestion we're getting right now is for connectors.. which we're still trying to make work :) We've had over 350 suggestions, but I'm not sure how many are duplicates.. ga Thanks Loudman! Go ahead, StratoSoft ummm 3 2 What are your thoughts on the crisis in Iraq? :) rofl Thanks Strato :P Go ahead, Ilmari How high on your list of "things to add" is supply trucks/ammo? * Ilmari smiles and waves to the MAX2 team! :) right under power plants.. * Ilmari gives them a push to be right under Connectors! uhh... they're right under connectors.. ga DO you think you will have time to put them into the game? realisticly speaking... Hope so.. as mentioned earlier.. we *might* be getting a little more time.. so things like this may become more feasible.. Thanks Ilmari :) Would there be a chance you would delay your schedual to impliment them? aw I see very kewl thanks! ga that was easy.. :) Hehe Go ahead, DarkKnight Will there be a warning when you try to attack your own unit added in? And why don't your units attack your attacking unit in kind? Do you think there needs to be one? You can't really do it except on purpose.. And then other units would have to attack them? And so on? If in a middle of a large fight, it's possible. We could easily make it an option that would not allow you to target your own units, if this was seen as a problem by many people.. The ATTACK button is not the best way to attack units in a large fight, anyways. Thank you. ga ga Thanks DarkKnight! Go ahead, Gorbach In the water units, I have units in the dock for repair 22/36 and could not repair them was that just left out for this test? You might have been out of excess material. Or power. Your large buildings are one of the first things to go if you run out of power. If not, it was a bug. GA Thanks Gorbach! I had a lot of plants and only one enemy lefy When in doubt.. send in a bug report.. :) ga Report it, please! Thanks :) Go ahead, CaptComal Maps need some "objects" strewn around. They are so BLAH right now. Even Warcraft2's simple maps had skulls in the desert and such. Yes! Are the 12 maps on your website FINAL maps? Or will they be JAZZED UP a bit? We have trees and other things coming. There are 24 maps on the web site.. and they are being added to.. they are "work in progress" ga Trees ... permanant or "removable" by shooting , fire? The maps are constantly being tweaked. Trees can be fired on and they will burn. ga removable.. :) Thanks again, CaptComal! ga Go ahead, mjohnson Will Max2 have any indication of how much units can be upgraded, or is this limitlesss depending on gold/research? There is a limit. The research and upgrade screens will show this. They are being changed. is the limit the same for each unit? No. It depends the base values. thank you! Basically, you can double the base value for any particular unit/statistic. ga Thank you mjohnson :) Go ahead, AJensen In a past meeting, you guys once said you were trying to set up a web-page to list well-known bugs for the betas. Any progress in doing this? sigh.. :( No, sorry.. There are about 10 things I'm really want to get done for the web site right now, and just haven't had the time.. One of these days... :( ga Done, ga. Thanks AJensen :) One sec, sorry Go ahead, LeJohn h Lets beat a dead horse, If you have an auto repair unit why notan auto supply? What would an auto supply do? go to whome ever needed rearming /suppling (bring back ammo in to game ) that is allow you to I'll answer this. If you have units that require ammo, and then have an auto-supply truck, then the first target of any combat will be to destroy the truck. It won't even be an option. All players (well, all good players) will do this automatically. yes if you could get to it Since there is no option, it's not really a choice and games are about choices. Well, you made it an auto-supply truck. So it would be going up to the front lines, since you have no control over it. And the units that would be using the ammo would be on the front lines. yes thats the point Thus is would be within enemy range and would get blasted. It would be more frustrating to have a supply truck that is not under your control. And if it was under your control, it would be very difficult to control under real time conditions. hhhmmmm ok thanks Something we've thought about and will continue to think about. Ga Thanks LeJohn :) Go ahead, Reliant_Bot argh! Hi I never played Max 1 and was wondering what the Connectors and Power plants do? I'm sure other people who never had the privelege to play Max 1 have the same Q. btw: #max2 rules :) Connectors connected all buildings together so they could receive materials, power and upgrades.. Yes, for those who are newcomers, you can speak freely in #max2 :) One of the reasons they were cool is because by knocking out a connector or two, you might disable a large portion of someone's complex In MAX2, all material transfer is handled 'automatically' so in the current scheme, connection is not needed.. ga Thanks Reliant! Go ahead, shadowolf Will MAX2 incorporate cut-scene sequences for story line purposes?? No. Thanks that was all from me :-) We're focusing on the game and want to spend our resources there instead of on cut-scenes (which are very resource intensive.) ga Thanks shadowolf! Go ahead, StratoSoft No one is next. If you wish to ask a question, please /msg Meghan addme ok i got good ones now if one of your units is incubated and you know it, It stopped raining, Strato :) can you kill it yourself and stop it from hatching spawn? yes.. ok and if you are the sheevat and incubate a unit and the unit leaves your scan range will you still be able to see it on the map? * buckshot (~anonymous@SimplyNet-50.SimplyNet.NET) thinks: msg meghan addme The incubated unit will disappear, but the Spawn will reappear when they hatch. And then you will suddenly see what is around them. hmmm, ok so they could go back to their base or something and u wouldnt know? Yep. It's hard to see out of the uterus. :) rofl umm ok womb with a view! Thanks Strato :) ummm Go ahead, Ilmari What is the next beta going to have in it? :) Are we going to be testing the map making elements anytime soon? =) Alien units.. most likely some of the land units, and then proceed much like we did with the human units.. * Ilmari nods We have a few people signed up to test the map maker.. but this will not be in a 'general' release. Am I on it? *grin* This will probably happen within the next 2-3 weeks.. * Ilmari nods Any chance of getting one of the music tracks to listen to while we test? No more, Ilmari ;) ga sorry =) the music tracks are really huge right now.. * Ilmari thinks thats what T1 line at work is for ;) We're recording and editing them to do create "interactive' music.. Music that will change depending on what's happening in the game.. wow, very kewl So possibly in a later version we'll have some optional files to d/l ga Thanks Ilmari :) Go ahead, Loudman What prompted you to rethink the power system & tie it so tightly to the number of units. It doesn't seem realistic at all. Of course this relates to the ammo situation as well. Why not have mines produce a fixed amount of surplus power? Well, we wanted to limit the total number of units. It became obvious that some sort of maintanence cost would be appropriate. That cost should be in material. Was the large number of units in MAX1 due to the fact that bases were difficult to destroy?