PC World Komputer 1998 July & August/Pcwk78b98.iso/Bcadds/BC3KPR11.TXT

Text File | 1998-03-03 | 31KB | 492 lines

02.12.98

My fellow gamers!

In 1989 while I was in the UK where I grew up, I had an idea for a game after
spending long hours on my Viglen computer.  In those days, I had no experience
whatsoever, didn't even know enough about my computer and the only magazine
worth reading was Byte.  You have no doubt read about my story already and how
I got here in dozens of reviews, articles and interviews.  Most of it is now
history.

In everyone's speculation about who I am, where I came from and how I got here,
one fact remains clean, clear and naked. I'm a true gamer and I don't think
anyone out there can dispute this.

In between juggling work, first as a computer salesman for several IBM resellers
in the UK, then as tech support and finally as developer and troubleshooter for
some of the big names in US and UK industry, I found time to continue the design
for my game at the same time going to college part-time. During this time, I had
to learn, from scratch how to program first in Basic, then Assembly, then C,
then moved over to the bloated C++ environment and delved in Borland Prolog
every now and then and finally my own AILOG language. I didn't know a thing
about game development.  The closest I got to 'game development' was to play
someone else's while trying to figure out how they did it.  By the time I
figured out what I was doing and getting a grip on technology, something else
improved and I had to go and learn that.

I have spent thousands of hours in lectures, part-time and full-time courses
learning a little about this and a little about that and thousands of pounds
and dollars on books, software, hardware etc.  You name it, I got it and still
have it.  You'd be surprised at what they don't teach you in college.  Today, I
can safely say that about 75% of what I know about game development, is self-
taught.  I have every book written by Lee Adams.  Who can forget Newman &
Sproull or the bible of all computer books by Foley, vanDam, Feiner & Hughes?
What about Bruce Artwick and Peter Norton's books?  I think I am one of very
few people who actually licensed a copy of the Real Time Animation Language by
Sublogic back in 1986.  I still have it.  Yes, that was my first real
experience with 3D interactive graphics.  How many of you developers know of a
real rule based language called RAL, developed by Charles Forgy and Douglas
Philips for C?  This was one of the first language to implement object oriented
rule-based capability to the C language, which, like every language then, was
procedural.  That was back in 1991 when I was well on my way to causing myself
considerable aggravation by delving into the world of artificial intelligence.
RAL lasted a few months of testing, didn't suffice and I moved on.  In 1992, I
was well into the development of my own language from the ground up, Artificial
Intelligence & Logistics, AILOG.  In an objected oriented framework, it was
designed to be rule based, built on top of C and C++.  Today, not only does it
surpass it's original design by handling neural net based methods, it also
outputs, from it's own code subset, correct C++ code which can be used with any
ANSI compliant C/C++ environment.

I have spent my life in research, in classes and working all over the world (as
far away as Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa) in one environment or another.  I
grew up in a life where you were either somebody or you were nobody.  I have
always believed that as long as what was in my head was intact, that I could
always live a financially secure life.  The career path I chose, allowed me to
continue increasing my knowledge of the industry and at the same time studying
to maintain academic credibility in a society that demanded it.  Like anyone
aspiring to be a lawyer, doctor or carpenter, I just wanted to be in the
computer industry writing games and having fun doing what I found interesting
and fun.  Though we all try to convert our acquired knowledge into fame and
fortune, to say that these were not my goals too, would be dishonest.  I wanted
to be famous for what I was doing. I wanted to be recognized for whatever
contribution I ended up making. I wanted to be able to earn enough money to
continue doing what I did best.  Most of all, I wanted to remain committed to
what I believed in.  My work.  Sure, I'm not researching the cure for AIDS nor
writing the next greatest thing in software development, but to me, it was
important enough to continue doing it.

My work on BC3K encompasses several genres and years of development.  The same
way that you can play the first Ultima game today, you can play the first ever
public demo of BC3K that was previewed in Computer Games Strategy Plus, issue
18 of May 1992.  The file is called BC3K1992.ZIP.  That was the article that
started it all.  A second demo was done the following year.  The file is called
BC3K1993.ZIP.  Both files are now in the cargo bay section of my web site.
Running these two demos and comparing against the game as it stands today, is a
testament to where I've come.  I have chased technology throughout my entire
development history and have delved in almost every facet that would later find
it's way into BC3K. Enlisting the help of trusted friends and colleagues around
the world (Peter in the UK, Gerhard in Germany and Jim in New York) my own very
knowledge and ideas were augmented by combining years of experience.  Without
feedback, input and development assistance from these friends and the support
of so many gamers around the world, BC3K probably wouldn't be here today.

My company, 3000AD, has been operating at a loss since it's inception in 1992.
All my money, that of my mother's and indeed development funding and expenses
from three publishers were sunk into this game.  Any normal, sane person would
have quit.  I didn't and my refusal to quit has absolutely nothing to with
respect, financial loss or any such trivial issues.  I am well educated and
even if I hadn't even gone to college and amassed three degrees, years of
experience in hardware and software alone, would have ensured that I got a
decent job somewhere, in fact, anywhere on this planet.  I have sold computers,
I have built computers, I have done tech support, I have written documentation
and specs, I program in over eight computer languages, my experience with
software packages as well as advanced application design and development goes as
far back as the inception of the industry as we know it, I've had 2D and 3D
artistic training and have used several packages to this end back when I was
truly the 'lone wolf' programmer, I know enough about game development to be a
valuable asset to any company even if they locked me in a room and gagged and
brainwashed me. To top it all, I have exceptional (as my team will attest to)
research and development skills.  I know how to reach out and touch the right
people.  How to make and preserve alliances as well as push the right buttons
and make things happen.  If anyone knows of a quicker way to gain friends and
create enemies, I'm your man. In short, I could've bailed a long, long time ago
and resumed consulting. I didn't because I wanted to do THIS game. My life as I
know it, is in THIS game.

To this day, I have people working for me part-time without ever having received
more than expense payments and knowing fully well that we were probably
investing in wasted time.  Yet still, they stuck by me with absolutely
no guarantees that anything good would ever come from their involvement in this
project.  As developers and artists, we all work together on a project that
belongs to us and the gamers we are writing it for.  We all want to make some
money for our troubles but for us, and I speak for my development team as well
as the testers worldwide, this project is just a testament to something we
truly believe in.  Something we started.  Something we have to finish.  As long
as I'm at the helm, my alliances and loyal supporters will always be here.  For
richer or for poorer, my faith in what I was doing, never faltered, was never
tainted with visions of failure and I am, committed, more than ever, to follow
my dreams. I have never lost a team member. Not my support developers. Not my
artists. Not my musicians. Anyone who has worked with me in the past are either
still working with me on contract as need be or keep in touch. I have the most
dedicated testing team ever. I have a doctor, a movie producer, university
students, managers and even a bona fide scientist. All professionals who put
their time into testing this game because they, like me, believed. And yes, they
all paid for the game in 1996. And no, their services are strictly voluntary.

When Take Two released the game incomplete and without my permission, I thought
my life had ended.  Why they did it, is understandable and unforgivable
depending on how you look at it.  Projects get canceled everyday of the week
in this industry and companies write them off.  Why did a company release a
title it knew to be incomplete? Some blame it on me because development had
taken too long.  Others blame it on them wanting to make back some money for
their investment in development costs, the cost of packaging etc.  Most of all,
canceling a project means giving back any money a publisher has taken from
distributors etc.

I have asked myself over and over again, what would have happened had Take Two
simply terminated the project?  It's simple, my contract merely states that if
for some reason the project was terminated through my own fault, that I would
be responsible for paying back the publisher their expenditure.  The end result
would most probably have been a lien on the title which would only have been
removed once they were paid back.  Instead, the game was released WITHOUT my
permission in October 1996.  This move subjected the game, my friends and my
family to ridicule and all but killed a game that had the longest development
cycle in the history of the industry. The rest is history.  I have made my
internal peace with Take Two and hold no grudges because that very event alone
defined where I am today and sealed my fate as well as my quest for closure.

As a gamer, I would be livid if I had bought BC3K back in 1996.  Sure, I
could've returned it but what about stores that didn't take returns?  Most
gamers actually returned it, only to buy it again a few months later once the
word started getting out that it was worth getting.

Today, BC3K is no longer being mastered and worldwide units are all but gone.
I fought long and hard with Take Two to get the rights back to the title
because without it, I would have to take them to court in order to justify any
mitigation of damages in ever releasing this or any title associated with it.
The game upon release as v1.00 in October 1996 was a mess.  That much is
obvious.  Today everyone playing it can attest to it's technology and as
someone said to me recently, "...it's hard to believe that there truly was a
game here" Any title that was released before development wrapped would have
the same fate.  It's that simple.  Today, most of you have seen this game.
Yes, some of it's graphics do show signs of wear and tear in this age of
advanced graphics technologies, but BC3K shines for a game that was born in
1989.  The world never got to see BC3K in all it's glory and even now, in order
to see it, you have to go out and find a dud v1.00 unit and spend time
downloading a 7MB patch and a 4MB manual.

I have always maintained one thing. I decided to write games when I first
started playing games though I knew nothing about the subject. The computer
industry is not as cut and dry as going to school to become a doctor. It takes
years of changes to even keep abreast; where reading about a new technology is
not the same as being able to learn how to develop your game for that
technology. By the time you're out of school, you're just about ready to pull
out your hair because there is a chance that about 50% of what you know, will
get thrown out of the door when you land your first job. There is no
consistency, no time to pause, no time to think, no time to ponder. While you're
doing all these things, as a developer, another developer, somewhere out there
is coming up with new ways to make your life a misery either with a new
technology, compiler, environment, graphics standard or a new method of doing
things. You have no choice but to play 'catch up'. I have done my share.

In saying this however, while BC3K has been playing catch-up in the graphics
department with the likes of current competition, it is still technologically
superior in terms of gameplay, features and sports the most complex and
advanced living galaxy in any game of it's class. This is what makes this game
so special. The complexity and advanced feature set is what makes this game so
unique because it shows years of research and development. Most of all, as
everyone now says, the game is fun! You won't get bored. You won't get stuck in
a single mission waiting for a friend to tell you what to do or make a 1-900
call to a hint line. You make your own rules. You play the way you want. You
have friends who help and you have enemies waiting to tattoo a bullseye on your
ship's hull. The universe is so huge that even I have not spanned all of it and
I single handedly, designed, scripted, built and tested it!

The other day I was on Mars testing the surface roving logic for the mining
drones.  In previous versions, they did not move when deployed (see titbit on
the web site GNN area) so a special roving logic was developed for them which
allowed them to roam the surface, stop, mine, move on and if they collided with
an object, would turn around and seek a new path.  Anyway, while I was hovering
in an interceptor watching it to see if there were any flaws in the logic, I
decided to hop over to Sygan and deploy one on another planet with a different
topology.  I didn't last more than five minutes when I entered the region
because apparently some military forces had decided to take on the raiders and
I ended up in a a fire fight I knew nothing about nor had anything to do with.
That single event cost me several ships and I barely managed to limp out of the
region to perform repairs. When I returned with a plan to slip past the station
and deploy my drone on the planet (I was determined to run this test) I was
only met with small resistance in space due to heavy losses for the bad guys in
the previous skirmish.  On entering the planet as soon as I broke cloud cover
and flew close to the ground, I was attacked and destroyed.  All I wanted to do
was peacefully deploy a drone and run some tests.  You never, ever know what is
going to happen in this game.  No matter how many times or how long you play,
you just never know. That's the fun factor.

I'm not even going to begin to talk about graphics technology. BC3K is a 100%
DOS game, but take a look and see what we have achieved with what little we
have.  Three weeks ago we embarked on putting in 3Dfx Glide support, it works,
we're happy with it and once a few quirks are ironed out, it's done. The
Rendition guys offered to help by providing some of their boards and DOS api,
we're planning on putting in Rendition support too for v2.0.  The days of
spending months on end re-inventing the wheel are gone. We are more experienced,
trained and savvy. That's what we've achieved over the years in this project.
We have learned a lot and BC3K gave us that. It gave us the subject, the task
and reasons. We just ran with it. Even if I worked for a gaming company full
time all these years, sure, I would probably be richer, but I would never, ever
have gained this much experience.

I know a lot of people in the press.  Some I have never met and some I have met
and known throughout my career. I deal with the press at a peer to peer level
and maintain a level of respect for those who have earned it. To the best of
my knowledge and experience, it's a mutual agreement. You, in the press, have
a job to do and I, as a game developer,  have to help you do that job. I will
tell you about my product.  I will tell you about my struggles if it pertains
to development and release.  I will tell you about my next great thing.  I
expect you, in turn, to pass that on to the one person we both work for. The
gamer. I do not expect favoritism. I do not expect vendettas. I do not expect
hidden agendas. Freedom Of Speech is not an excuse to screw around with
someone's livelihood or enjoyment, nor is using a magazine as a forum for such
activities, appropriate.

Some of you guys shouldn't even be in this industry, let alone be allowed to
write about games. Writing about games, should be about games. Who cares if
the developer goes to church on Sunday or rides a bike every weekend? What you
should care about is being informative about the game. If it quacks like a duck,
waddles like a duck and looks like a duck; for crying out loud, it ain't a
chicken! If you have a thing for sports games, heck, pass on reviewing sims or
you will end up misleading the gamer. If your thing is for arcade type games,
pass on high end titles. Reviews are based on personal experience and once you
make that decision and give that score, whether you like it or not, there's
some poor gamer out there (who doesn't know any better) who is going to take
your word for it. Guess what happens when someone he knows goes and plays the
same game you just trashed or reviewed highly. Previews should be the norm and
like the warning on a cigarette packet, the writer should make it clear that
his review is based on personal experience etc. If you guys are doing a review
of a finished title, get a number of people to play it and then rate it based on
a majority vote. You guys got beat up over reviewing games that were incomplete
and now we have 'previews' and 'reviews', yet still, you're STILL doing it
WRONG! What's it going to take?

Why am I even discussing this here, because I have had numerous enlightening
experiences in developing BC3K with regards to the press. Yes, BC3K upon release
was unplayable. But of course! However, some magazines took that opportunity to
pick on BC3K consistently because it was inoperable out of the box. In fact,
numerous large companies are releasing UNFINISHED and BUGGY titles that you guys
are giving high scores to. Oh sure, let's er, give it 10 points for having cool
graphics and ignore all the bugs, a crappy manual and the fact that a patch
became available just as the game hit the shelves. What's that about? I did not
nor have I ever condoned the premature release of my product or any other for
that matter. My continued work on the title, above and beyond it's original
specs, is proof positive of that.

Last year, I got into a skirmish with Tom MacDonald, the self proclaimed 'God
of gaming", over two articles he did for BOOT magazine regarding technology in
a game he could NOT play because it was incomplete and about an author he knew
nothing about because he didn't get an interview. BOOT vol 2 issue #2 & #3 were
published in Feb. and Mar 1997, respectively. Since that time we've had numerous
public and private fights over the validity of his articles. In the end, after
challenging his opinions, providing details of my methods, debunking his
articles and threatening to sue him and BOOT magazine when I got around to it,
I got a final response. Here's an excerpt.

   2/12/97

   "...I never said there is no neural net. I simply raised questions. That is
   my right. There's this funny thing out there called a First Amendment.
   You have no grounds for a lawsuit."

I don't think that all 15 people who read BOOT magazine, can say that the above
statement is true considering the content and context of the articles. Having
achieved my goal, I dropped the subject. Prior to that, I had received other
email with this excerpt...

   12/12/96

   "Derek, I'd been avoiding commenting publicly on BC3K to give it a chance
   and give myself a chance to look at it harder. I finally had to sit down
   and write a review for Gamespot, and that review will not be a positive one.
   I respect anyone who tries to break out into new areas and take chances.
   But I think one element of good design is knowing when to say "enough."
   BC3K tries to do too much, and while admirable, such ambitions aren't always
   practical.  When you cast a net so wide in a design, a lot is going to be
   lost. BC3K promised more than any game could really deliver. Just trying to
   piece together the different stations and how they interact and fit together
   and work with this world was baffling. I'm not even talking about the mammoth
   technical problems, which exceed anything I've seen in ten years of doing
   this. If a smoothly integrated system that's actually fun to play can be
   created out of this via patches, I'll eat my words, that I promise. I've
   done it before. But, sadly, I think that will be a pretty tall order to fill.

   Best"

At that time, relations between this gentleman and myself disintegrated and
that was the end of that. Oh yeah, since my mail account was auto-forwarded to
my mailing list at that time, I was also sent a cease and desist email from
Tom. True to form, I told him what he could with the email. Later, I created
new email accounts for public, personal and tech support mail. There is NOTHING
confidential and private about some guy misusing and abusing his position in
the press community.

Later that year, Dan Bennett, editor PC Gamer, and I got into a skirmish on the
UseNET when I saw his response to my request for PC Gamer to carry the demo
so that more people could get their hands on it. His UseNET post can be found
on DejaNews (www.dejanews.com)

   3/19/97

   "Well...we'll certainly want to carry the patch when it becomes
   available, but it's not very likely we'll be interested in the demo.
   Since we've only got 12 CDs per year, we have to be very selective
   about what we put on the disc. That space is generally reserved for
   demos our readers have been asking for."

They never did carry the patches nor the demo though most print magazines such
as CGW, PC Games and CGS+ as well a several international magazines, did. The
thread erupted for several weeks in which I challenged him to tell me how many
readers requested demos of the numerous pinball games the cd-rom was carrying
on issue after issue. Silence. Mr. MacDonald, in another issue of PC Gamer in
that same year, carried an incomplete patch file and in the description said

   "...does anyone care anymore?"

I did a press release a few days ago advising the press about my plans for the
v2.0 release. MR Bennett was a recipient. Here is an excerpt...

   "...I know that back in 1997, Dan Bennett at PC Gamer had said on the UseNET
   (I have the post in an archive) that his magazine won't be doing a full
   review of BC3K if it's not a commercial release etc., because they don't
   do 're-reviews'...or something to that effect. So, if any of you in this
   BCC mailing write for PC Gamer, I'd suggest that you discuss this with them
   first! Gary had sent me something to the contrary but I don't have a clue
   what is going on over there but I sure hope Dan knows what he's doing."

I received a sarcastic email from Dan and by the time we called it quits and
stopped writing back and forth, the whole thing had degenerated into yet another
pointless skirmish. Here is an excerpt...

   2/6/98

   "Your singling me out in your latest email press release indicates to me
   that you either feel there's some chance of salvaging your relationship
   with the magazine, or you simply haven't gotten over the spite you feel
   toward me for giving your game a negative review and for deciding not to
   include your demo on our CD. You need to accept the fact that your rude,
   insulting behavior has permanently damaged your relationship with PC Gamer,
   and just get over it."

I later got this after I told him that he was a disgrace to the industry and
that he needed developers, guys like me, to be in business. I also apologized
for saying on the UseNET that TLM was his girlfriend since they were both lost
without a clue and having this high and mighty attitude. I found it funny at
the time.  He didn't. I'm not sure which part he's perturbed about. I wanted to
bury the hatchet but he apparently wanted to bury it in my forehead.

   2/6/98

   "No, Derek. I need *readers* to have a job. There are some game designers
   out there to whom I owe my job, because they created this industry years
   ago. But all of them have one thing in common -- they've accomplished a bit
   more than spending eight years (and counting) working on a single game that
   still isn't finished."

My response to this excerpt was short and to the point. I have since removed
both MR MacDonald and MR Bennett from my address book.

What this gentleman and others like him fail to realize is that my work since
April 1997, stopped being focused on fixing bugs but rather on enhancing the
title for a re-release. To fix a broken game just was not enough. If I had not
taken this initiative to enhance the title, it would not be popular today. The
game as it stands by far surpasses what was supposed to be in v1.00 in terms of
gameplay, graphics and other technologies. The gamers, who are the only ones I
care about, can attest to this. Then again, how would he know if he hasn't even
played the game since 1996? The gamers know. They're the ones playing. They're
the ones trading stories and offering assistance to others via my web site.
They're passing the word around and re-kindling interest in the title amidst
such stiff competition.

Now, if you don't see the point to my including these events in this release,
then I'm not sure how you managed to read this far. Every writer panned BC3K
when it was released in 1996 and rightfully so. However, you don't see me waging
war on Denny Atkin, Steve Klett, George Cronis, Johnny Wilson et al.  Why?
Because there is a difference between stupidity and objectivity. In the end, it
should be about one thing. The game. I didn't ask for any of this crap. All I
wanted to do was write a game and do something I truly believed in.

I bear no grudges. I've made my point. I'm still here.....

Even if BC3K had been released when ready, I would never have received adequate
financial compensation for my work, my time or my ideas. Neither my development
team nor my testers would ever have received compensation commensurate with
their contribution.  Today, what we lack in finances we have tenfold in
knowledge.  I am content and still think I'm ahead. In saying this, due to the
recent rekindled interest in the game and in looking forward to a bright future,
I have decided to put this game in the hands of the gamers and let them decide
for themselves.

At 12:01AM on Friday, February 13th 1998, I will be releasing BC3K v1.01D7C to
world for FREE at the 3000AD web site and other sites around the world that I
have contacted. The files will be available from the Cargo Bay section of the
web site for download.

This being the same version everyone is now playing. The same version the press
are now playing and writing about. The same version from a game everyone said
was crap but has nevertheless outsold most completed games currently on release.
I provide this version for free as my contribution to the industry and gamers
everywhere. I want the world, to see what it is I envisioned, what it is I
created and what it is, I have been slaving on for these long years. The gamer
no longer has to pay $15 for v1.00 and then spend time downloading it. They can
get it from their favorite magazine or download it for free. With the pending
release of v2.0, they can then make up their minds as to whether or not the
title or any incarnation thereof, is worth getting. This time around, I'm going
to let the game speak for itself. They can then decided whether or not they
want to invest any more time or money on the title. If they don't, no harm
done, it's a free look at a full game. If they do, then they can upgrade to v2.0
when it becomes available.

The on-line magazines have my permission to post this version on their site with
only two conditions,

(1) that a short precis based on my reasons for giving this title away is
    displayed for as long as the title is available for download. You also have
    the option to print this release in it's entirety if you so choose.

(2) that you host it on your site and NOT create a link to my site. The on-line
    version is 52MB compressed and spans 11 individual files. It contains
    v1.01D7C with the manual and all appendix documents in the DOCS
    sub-directory. Sites with problematic downloads can get advise their
    readers to download the Getright program (www.headlightsw.com) which allows
    aborted or failed downloads to resume.  You will also have to provide a
    link to the Adobe Acrobat Reader (www.adobe.com). The 11 files can be
    downloaded from www.bc3000ad.com/cargo/cargobay_contents.html after
    midnight on 2/12/98.

(3) That the page hosting the file links have the program logo (attached)
    displayed on the page.

The print magazines, can also carry it with 2 conditions:

(1) that a short precis based on my reasons for giving this title away is
    printed in the same issue carrying the program. You also have the option to
    print this release in it's entirety if you so choose.

(2) that the game is a cd-rom issue feature and not hidden in some obscure
    sub-directory. Print magazines wanting to carry this version on their
    cd-rom can either download the same version from the above site or request
    a cd-rom from me which will also include the 55MB intro animation not
    included in the download version.  The Adobe Acrobat Reader v3.01 will be
    included on the cd-rom.

(3) That the printed article have the program logo (attached)

I am NOT sending cd-roms outside of the US unless the magazine in question is
paying for the shipping.

So, that's all I wanted to say and if I got long winded, my apologies.

Regards

Derek Smart, Ph.D.
Designer/Lead Developer
Battlecruiser:3000AD

ICQ                  : 158435
Email                : [e-mail]
Media Contact        : John Stegenga, [e-mail]
World Wide Web       : www.bc3000ad.com
BC3K Latest News     : www.bc3000ad.com/news/gnnnews.html
BC3K Product News    : www.bc3000ad.com/products/products.html
Active Worlds        : Teleport to GALCOM at www.activeworlds.com
BC3K sci-fi story    : www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/4739/index.html