Writing strategy games is a lot like playing strategy games. Lots of choices on where to put scarce resources. As the primary developer of the computer AI for Galactic Civilizations II, I have to make a lot of tough decisions on who to focus effort on. And by "who" I really mean the general population (95% of gamers) or the hard core 5% who are the most vocal but small as a percentage of buyers. During development, we focused on mainstream gamers mostly. We wanted to make a game t...
Little Whip wrote an article here that makes the argument that JoeUser.com has become a kind of "Democratic Underground". To back up her assertion, she points out that many long-time left-wing bloggers have slowly left JU and that many right-wing bloggers get a free pass on some pretty iffy left-wing bashing. I do agree with her on part of her argument - that right wingers tend to look the other way when "one of their own" starts preaching to the choir. But I don't think that's a right...
Each week I participate on a podcast called PowerUser.TV. There's a lot of banter and for most listeners, I think the banter is the draw. But some people don't like all the banter and joking around and wish we'd "edit it". In fact, we do edit it a lot. A LOT. Yesterday we recorded the show that will show up on Monday (you can listen to the shows at PowerUser.TV). Below are two examples (of many) of what got edited out (transcript): Kristin: So Derek, were you there when ...
So you've bought the game and you really like it but then time passes and it starts to get old. It's not that the game is boring or bad but that you have figured out how to "beat it". You crank up the difficulty level but then it's ridiculously hard to the point you know you have no chance. If the game has multiplayer, you play people on-line but as you get further away from the original release, the harder it gets to find people and in particular the harder it gets to find norma...
Okay, anyone really into Tolkien, especially The Silmarillion will really enjoy this.
Okay, anyone really into Tolkien, especially The Silmarillion will really enjoy this.
Our fiscal end year is June 30th. Which means that taxes are owed soon after that. Or put another way, it means earnings in June will quickly be taken away by the government. By contrast, earnings in July won't be taken away for an entire year. Contrary to myth, corporations pay a lot in taxes. Our corporate tax rate is 39%. So we're talking well over a third going to the federal government. If they accountants are able to do their thing, the corporate rate ...
Family and friends who have been outdoors with me have commented/observed that I don't get mosquito bites. That isn't to say mosquitos never bite me but it's pretty uncommon. I've never had the pleasure of having a mosquito bite to scratch. Now before someone thinks this is a conceit, consider what this means. Mosquitos don't think I'm good enough for them. That's a level of rejection that, frankly, I'm not really able to handle well. This weekend we went up north and me,...
Draginol is a character in a series of unpublished stories I've been writing for the past 20 years. Draginol is the main villain in the stories he's in. My first job was taking out the garbage for my neighbors in the apartment complex we lived in for 10 cents per bag. I was 5 years old when I started the trash service. I will tend to lose my equilibrium on airline flights unless I take a prescribed drug. I was 33 the first time I got a cold serious enough to require m...
+ A bunch of new UI enhancements. This would take too long to describe but it should be very noticeable as you play. + Advanced Factories produce slightly less + Computer AI enhanced further. + Enhanced Modding interface (see options screen) + Metaverse data checking implemented + Civ Manager enhanced + Example Mod included. We went a bit overboard on this example as it required significant work but hopefully it will give players an idea of just how much they can change (and we...
When I play a strategy, whether it be single player or multiplayer, the most important thing to me is being able to have some say over how the game will be played out. One of the reasons some people like multiplayer is that you get a lot more variety. But having played multiplayer for years and years (I love multiplayer personally) there really aren't that many strategies. At least, not when you get good at it. The problem with computer players is that players have very little...
Years ago, I used to be very "into" RTSs. I spent countless weekends and weeknights playing Warcraft, Total Annihilation, Starcraft and tons of lesser known RTSs. And in most of them, particularly the ones with peons, what seperated the top players from the rest was knowledge of a simple game mechanic: Multiplication of resources. Which translates to - send forces to disrupt the first couple of minutes of production of your enemy and you will win. We're not talking abou...
For the first time in years I can happily say that JoeUser.com is running very very fast. The server upgrade is a success. Yay!
In about a week Galactic Civilizations II v1.2 will be officially released. Besides having a bunch of cool new UI enhancements, improved computer players, and tons of tweaks and enhancements, the game will include advanced modding features. As part of this we are including an example mod that changes everything from who you play against, your technology tree, the actual game interface, and more. It's designed to give players an idea of just some of the things that are poss...
Why is it that the group that claims tolerance and open-mindedness as its mantra so intolerant and close minded in practice? What I speak of is the political left's tendency to interject their political beliefs into every venue that they can while at the same time, actively working to prevent those who disagree with them from having the ability to express their beliefs. If I watch the MTV Music Awards, I can expect to have some left-winger denounce the war in Iraq. If I was the Oscars, ...