Questions for live chat

[DarthMaulUK]

With the live chat scheduled for 11th November @ 7pm GMT (11am PST), we are giving 5 members from the PPF to have their question put to the Petroglyph dev team first, with us at the Lucas forums.

 

http://www.empireatwar.net/chat for full info

 

DMUK

[Foshjedi2004]

How Many XML files changes/ additions will be needed to add in new factions and Units??

 

Do we buy fighters from Star Destroyers or do we need to buy them from a space station and subsequently load them onto a SD.

 

Would it be possible to code a ship to produce units

 

What are the File Formats of the Models in the game? Will you provide a plug-in for 3DS MAX in the game or will we need a plug-in at all as Generals had W3d format.

 

Was the cut scene of the Emperor coming onto the Death Star a scripted In game cut scene?

[Garbageben]

Maybe you could edit the second question to say: We know that Star Destroyers come with squadrons of fighters included in the cost. If those are lost, are they replaced from the Star Destroyer itself or do we need to buy them from a space station and manually load them onto the Star Destroyer?

 

Just a suggestion

[Sparky]

Could you elaborate on some of the smaller functions of the game...such as unit groups, formations, and unit movement, such as in Force Comander when an AT-AT needed to turn around it just seemed to magically rotate?

 

You mentioned that it will be hard for either side to know where the enemy is...but can't you/opponent just look at the galactic map and see where the enemy planets are? Is it possible for planets to support the other side in secret? and will the game allow smuggling?

 

I believe that it was mentioned earlier that you would be able to gather info about the other side...will there be a way for releasing wrong info, or purposely releasing it?

 

 

Sparky

[The Relentless]

What are the minimum system requirements?

[Naja]

In order of preference:

 

1. What will be done about heroes and bounty hunters to make sure that they are not too overpowered? Is it possible to outright KILL major heroes like Darth Vader, Palpatine, or Obi-Wan?

 

2. We know that planets can rebel. How does this happen? Do all planets have a loyalty system, somewhat like Rebellion? Does the Death Star affect this system?

 

3. How far can the moddability of the game be taken for the ground forces in your fleet? Is it possible to mod the game so that ground forces are represented as being in your CAPITAL SHIPS rather than in transports, so that transports do not appear in space battles?

[Teradyn_pff]

1. Does the Death Star have turbolaser/ion/engine/shield/etc hardpoints that can be targetted individually, and if so, can the Death Star fire conventionally (not Superlaser) at fighters and capital ships?

 

2. Can you describe how orbital bombardment will be handled? Do we direct fire down from capital ships based on their power, ISD massive (and/or frequent) with smaller ships providing weaker/less often barrages. What would prevent a sufficiently large orbiting fleet from being able to decimate the defending forces without the attacking ground forces having to be involved in the battle?

 

3. How is the transition of battle handled when multiple engagements occur in the galactic map at the same time? Example: the Rebels hold Tatooine and Kashyyk(sp?) and have a defending fleet as well as ground defense. If the Empire sends an attack force to each planet and they arrive simultaneously, how does the game handle the engagements? Do the space battles happen for one planet and then the other and then the Empire has to initiate the ground assault from the galactic map at will, or does the space battle happen for one planet and then immediately after, the ground battle happens and then the 2 battles for the other planet happen later?

 

4. How can the defending player utilize the planetary ion cannon during a space battle? Is it random, is it like a regular unit where you select the planet and you select the target for its attack like you would a ship, or is it like a special weapon you can use occationally like an ion cannon in Generals?

 

5. Do all of the fighters in a fleet have to have a coresponding carrier they are assigned to like in Rebellion, or can the fighters that have hyperdrives (i.e. x-wing) just be assigned to the fleet and be brought with the fleet (or sent somewhere by themselves for that matter) in a galactic map fleet move?

 

6. It was mentioned that the Death Star can be moved around the space map like a regular unit, although at a very slow speed. Is there a minimum distance that the Death Star can not move past in relation to a planet? Also, how do other obsticals come into play such as nebula, asteroids, capital ships, fighters, etc. with the Death Star?

 

7. Are collisions possible between the ships/fighters and the environment like with the planet, random asteroids (not referring to the damage inflicted when passing an asteroid field), each other, or the Death Star?

 

8. Do the ground units have special attacks, like the "maximum firepower" attack from the AT-AT?

 

9. During the galactic map mode in a 1 vs 1 campain game, can you choose a planet and go to the ground map level to build up the defenses, or do you select a planet and choose the defenses to build and they are placed automatically?

 

10. Is it possible for your transports to begin dropping troops on the planet before the space battle is over if you can keep them protected long enough for them to get within range to do so? And if this is possible, would the ground forces just be already dropped when you get to the ground battle, or can the space and the ground battle be happening at the same time with you switching back and forth between them to direct your troops?

 

I figure 10 is a good stopping point for now, I will submit some more questions later if they are not already posted by someone else.

[Grand Moff Joyce]

I car't wait for all the info for these Questions.

[Teradyn_pff]

Well, I am back with more questions. But first I would like to request that the moderators keep this thread free of non-question posts like the one above (no offense Joyce). This thread should be of great value in the upcoming chat if we keep it focused on that purpose. As such, it would be beneficial for it to be stickied also.

 

I know that I am posting alot more than just one question, but I am aiming at bringing up questions that I think of and wording them in such a way as to not leave room for a vague or incomplete response from the devs. It would be better for us to get a "we can't answer that" than an unclear or misguiding answer.

 

Continued:

 

11. How is the frequency/duration/quantity of bomber runs during a ground battle handled? Can we perform bombing runs as often as we have ready bombers in the fleet in space? Can we have all of our bombers come down at once (or really close together) at different points on the map, or is there some mechanism that restricts this like a timer?

 

12. Will the defending player be able to have stationed fighters on the planet to allow for defensive air cover against the bomber attacks and are these fighters able to attack regular units? Example being an X-Wing strafing an AT-AT. The X-Wing blasters should have a more decisive effect against the AT-AT than the blasters of the rebel speeders.

 

13. It was mentioned before that Star Destroyers can build Tie Fighters and Tie Bombers. Does this mean that fighters are built buy the ships that can carry them, and does this include space stations, ground bases and the Death Star?

 

14. How are destroyed units handled in space and on the ground? Does the debris from a destroyed ship stay present in space during the battle and are ships impeded by it or can they pass through it or does it just dissappear? The same question on destroyed units on the ground. If the debris stays present, does it stay for future battles, or does it get cleared when everyone goes back to the galactic map?

 

15. Can individual units or groups be retreated or does the entire force need to retreat at once? If the whole group has to, what happens to units that are unable to make it to the extraction point? Do they automatically die, can they fight it out and inflict casualties until dead?

 

All for now, will bring some more up as I think about them. Please feel free to reword these questions to make them more condusive to useful responses.

[Eduardo]

Can we enter a planet without having a battle??

[Teradyn_pff]

A couple of other questions that I have thought of since the new video came out:

 

16. Is the attack on the Death Star's trench and exhaust system a scripted even like it appears on the new trailer or was that something special for the video?

 

17. Will ships and especially fighters have any damage resulting from being near the planet when it is destroyed by the DS?

 

18. If you have heros stationed on a planet, will they have a chance of escaping when the Death Star blows up the planet, or are they dead?

 

19. Is there a way to try to get units off of a planet during a space battle, kind of like a planetary retreat?

 

20. How does the bombardment and bomber calling work during skirmish? Are they just not available or is there some kind of structure you build to give you some type of comparable power?

 

Well, this is all for now. Please continue to add questions here because the more we have, the more the moderators have to work with in the chat.

[Little.B]

1. Will it be possible to intercept enemy fleets and fight in deep space or will space battles be restricted to a planets orbit?

 

2. Will the upcoming demo feature a multiplayer mode?

[Teradyn_pff]

Little B. I think your first question was already answered in the negative, but since I can't find that particular quote, I can't say for sure.

 

Another quick question:

 

21. When a ship or group of fighters are told to target a particular hardpoint the gameplay videos seem to indicate that they will finish off all of that type of hardpoint without further direction. If this is true, what happens when all of the hardpoints of that type are destroyed? Do they default to attacking the hull?

 

22. Is there a way to prioritize a particular hardpoint attack order? For example: Enact an order for a group of bombers to take out weapons, then engines, then main shields, etc in that order at the beginning of the attack to be executed automatically like a disable priority, disarm, etc?

 

ok, that was 2 but they are related.

[Mandalor219]

1.) is it possible,while a planet space battle is running to call a fleet from a another closed planet and that this fleet will jump in a running battle?

 

2.) what's about luke's way in the force?

[Garbageben]

1.) is it possible,while a planet space battle is running to call a fleet from a another closed planet and that this fleet will jump in a running battle?

 

2.) what's about luke's way in the force?

Your question #1 is one that I want asked as well.

 

2.) Will you have flagships for space fleets? If so will you get to name your flagship?

[Foshjedi2004]

#6~Is there a Cap on the size of Fleets allowed in any one battle?

 

#7~Is there a starting posistion for both Factions. EG: Coruscant and Dantooine(mentioned in ANH as an old abandoned Rebel base)

 

#8~Can normal Ships be "promoted" to hero status like in Civilisation III?

 

#9~Can we have many small fleets jumping into an engagement at any time EG A fast Attack one coming in one side of the battle and exiting to hyperspace after Blitzkrieging an enemy flank.

 

#10~Are there set Fleet Formations that we can set the fleets to?? EG: Flanking/Hammer and Anvil

 

#11~ Are there preset attack strategies for Fighters like the A-wing Slash?

 

#12~Can you preset Strategies for Fleets when you set it to Auto fight?

[Mandalor219]

3.) can u give us the demo at the beginning of december?

 

4.) whats about beta-testing

 

[Teradyn_pff]

Mandalor219, you may want to reword those two like so:

 

3.) What is the currently expected date of release for the demo?

 

4.) Are you going to be doing any external beta testing for EAW and if so, how will we apply?

 

I really like some of the questions you brought up, Foshjedi2004. They made me think of this one:

 

23. Can we maneuver around in the galactic and/or space maps while a ground battle is occuring? (An enemy force shows up in space while ground battle goes on for example?)

[Nevets]

 

#8~Can normal Ships be "promoted" to hero status like in Civilisation III?

 

I would reword this one to say "veteran" status over hero, you wouldn't want to confuse, vetrancy with the already established hero units in this game.

[Foshjedi2004]

That was the point. Can an ISD become a "Hero Unit" by destroying X amount of Rebel ships. IE get updated in terms of weapons etc

[Nevets]

That was the point. Can an ISD become a "Hero Unit" by destroying X amount of Rebel ships. IE get updated in terms of weapons etc

 

They could maybe update like that through vetrancy, but I don't see why they would have them become hero units. I would think hero units could only be characters and their ships.

[Foshjedi2004]

Why is the Avenger a Hero Ship?? The Devastator was Vader's Flag before he joined the Executor.

 

Anyway the Avenger is a MKII. There was never an MK I Avenger.

[Garbageben]

That was the point. Can an ISD become a "Hero Unit" by destroying X amount of Rebel ships. IE get updated in terms of weapons etc

 

They could maybe update like that through vetrancy, but I don't see why they would have them become hero units. I would think hero units could only be characters and their ships.

I think Nevets has a valid point. It should be phrased with "veterancy" because if you say hero status it may get misinterpreted.

1.) They think you mean it becomes a hero, which they probably wouldn't want.

or

2.) They don't realize you mean veterancy when you say hero.

or

3.) They interpret it correctly.

[Nevets]

Why is the Avenger a Hero Ship?? The Devastator was Vader's Flag before he joined the Executor.

 

Anyway the Avenger is a MKII. There was never an MK I Avenger.

 

Very will could be one of the General or Admiral hero's ship.

[Teradyn_pff]

Duh, I just thought of something to ask that should have been obvious:

 

24. Are we able to use characters to perform diplomacy to affect a neutral or our own planet's faction standing to bring them into our side or more into our side?

 

Also, DarthMaulUK could you let us know if any of our questions are obviously worded in a way that they wont be able to answer or some such?