posted 02-01-10 11:09 AM
EDT (US)
183 / 238
1)In AOE, the computer villagers actively hunt elephants for food. However, in ROR, the villagers do not do this.
A)The problem was that in AoE, the villagers would attack elephants on their own, without being commanded to do so. Then they would get killed and you’d scroll back to your home town to see a pile of dead. So in RoR, we changed it so you had to actively command villies to attack an elephant. I am sorry this does not suit your play style as well.
2)Is there any feasible way for a Dutch player, in a 40 minute no blockade treaty map, to defend against an onslaught of British Hussars and Redcoat Musketeers, AND Japanese Ashigaru Muskies and Samurai when the clock runs out?
A)Not every civ is gong to be equally able to win against any combination of enemies in any random concatenation of game setup rules. I find it perfectly easy to believe that a Dutch player, facing two opponents (Brits & Japs) might find himself frequently overmatched when in a game as specific as 40 minute no blockade treaty. There might be a way for you to win – I have no idea. There are so many combinations of civs, map types, and setup rules … not to mention the effect on your game that your initial deck of civ bonuses consists of.
3)Have you ever played Team Fortress 2? What is your favorite character?
A)My favorite character is Scout, because double-jumps are so obviously stupidly defiant of physical laws.
4)f you play AO3 (which I'm sure you prbably have), what civ do you use the most, and in what conditions (treaties etc)?
A)I have all civs at maximum level, because I was a developer. I play the native civs from Warchiefs most often, because I spent so much time developing them. I never ever play Treaty mode. Frankly, we didn’t even playtest it much, except to make sure it worked.
5)After the War Chiefs was released, what factored in to you guys deciding to release a Y-pack for the first time? Was there any brainstorming or other ideas for the Y-pack, if so, what were they, and why were they scrapped?
A)Microsoft’s lust for another expansion drove the Y-Pack, combined with delays in releasing Halo Wars. They had an Age jones that would not rest. We didn’t have enough people to work on it as well as other desired projects, so BigHugeGames got the job. Since we’d already brainstormed heaps for Warchiefs, we pretty much just said that the Y-Pack ought to cover the runner-up for X-pack ideas. Namely, Asians.
6)Was there ever any question as to what civs would be playable in the Asian Dynasties (as all 3 are very unique to one another), or were civs like Siam and Korea thrown around for a while before making any final decisions?
A)BigHuge said they could only do 3 civs. The most powerful civs in 1500-1900 were, obviously, China and India. Japan had, of course, cut itself off from the world during much of this time, but not in the first century, and equally clearly, Japan could have evolved along a different path (her isolation was pretty much one man’s decision).
7) After The Asian Dynasties, or even before or during its development, was there an African x-pack ever planned? If you still could release an African x-pack, what three civs would you want to be playable, and what would some of their attributes be?
A)During the discussions for Warchiefs I did pitch an African pack. I also pitched an African Y-Pack for Age of Kings, to follow the Conquerors.
The African pack for Age of Empires III that I pitched did not include playable African nations – my theory was that adding the African animals, land, units, and minor tribes would be such a massive undertaking that adding civs as well would be an enormous challenge.
The African pack for Age of Empires II that I proposed would have had four civs:
Songhai Empire – an economy-based civ, emphasizing cavalry & camels. Good monks, and their unique unit would be some kind of tough camel.
The Kongolese – no camels, but would have cavalry. Unique unit might be leopard men or something.
Ghana – a military-based civ. Their unique unit would be female warriors (who eventually upgraded to handgun users).
Ethiopia – an infrastructure/defensive civ. They would have super-monks, and their unique unit would be infantry with radius damage, like the old Dervish.