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Messiah
...continued

Interaction with the game will certainly be unique and derived from the clever setup, which pits a small, angelic cherub named Bob against the forces of Hell. So much for the traditional shotgun-toting marine. The game uses a third-person perspective to remind players that the odds are overwhelming and that success will require as much mental acuity as battle-borne prowess. Satan is attempting to tear seven magical seals that protect Earth, and in doing so will initiate Armageddon. However, all is not lost. God has given Bob the ability to possess other characters to accomplish his monumental mission of stopping the devil and boiling him in a sulfur stew. This concoction should result in some classic, brain-teasing moments. Need through a secured door? Possess the guard who has the access card. Need to distract someone? Possess the prostitute. And what about that huge giant who insists on smashing our diminutive hero? Possess him and run him into a gorge. The game will be saturated with genuinely inspirational moments such as these.

Since the gameplay was innovative from the start and the story offers a daring blend of religion and adult-oriented themes, the game's core blueprint has also tessellated nicely to the current standard. "Every time the programmers have added a feature, the designers have returned to their levels to utilize those changes," Herrington says. "They have also gone to the programmers with requests that enhance the gameplay, so each side has influenced the other." In sum and substance, the designers have risen to the challenges that come with increased freedom.

This is a good thing since the engine has its limits. As previously mentioned, it does not render curved surfaces, something Quake III will have months before Messiah is released. Herrington, though, predictably downplays their value to the gameplay. "Quake III is touting curved surfaces, but to what advantage?" he questions. "So someone can run through an archway rather than a door? A ramp is now a giant tongue? Messiah has been rendering organic environments for two years and it is integral to the gameplay. Getting up close to characters is essential in Messiah, which is why we developed the RT-DAT engine.

The AI will bring the characters to stunning existence. In most games, characters and enemies are placed in a certain area and given a script to pursue; thus, their intelligence is limited to a contained area. However, in Messiah, Bob will control a character to advance through an area. People will possess the body, use it, then abandon it somewhere unpredictable. The character must behave with reason in that situation, meaning the AI must be adaptable to an extreme degree. Needing characters to respond to an environment without pre-scripted events necessitated the development of neural-net AI, which, in layman's terms, means creatures are able to live on their own. They will have unique agendas, be able to navigate the environments with ease and respond to combat with intelligence.

At this time, the map designers are focusing the greatest measure of their energies on the action sections of the levels and the macro-designers are concentrating on the overall pacing. Herrington says it is a tough game to balance because players can be any number of characters in a given situation, and as a consequence the developers have had to do more planning and adjusting. For instance, with a couple hundred locations, around 20 weapons and about 50 male, female, giant and dwarfish characters, innumerable special case scenarios must be considered. Harrington admits the process is time consuming, but promises it will be worth it.

The one head scratcher is the exclusion of multiplayer options. Herrington claims the team is anxious to include them and might issue a patch after the game ships. "It was a tough decision, but we wanted to spend as much time as possible balancing the game for the single-player adventure," he says. "We didn't have the resources or time to implement and test a multiplayer version." He promises if the team gets ahead of schedule, multiplayer is the first thing they will be doing. Anticipate the patch.

Although Messiah was an impressive technology demo in 1998, the diverse elements had not coalesced into an actual game. This upcoming E3 should be different, and Herrington says attendees will be able to get hands-on experience, so expect more details regarding the gameplay in a month. Timing is everything, and due to some promising technology and a unique concept, Messiah has all the time it needs.

 

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