Q&A

Q&A session between IGN and Ilya Plyusnin, Creative Director of Elemental Games the developer of Space Rangers.

Jonric: To help put the new game into perspective, please tell our readers about the first Space Rangers. What kind of game was it, and what were the key strengths that made it successful enough to spawn a sequel? And how is the new game related to the first one?

Space Rangers is a turn-based PRG with elements of classic text quests and arcade battles.

The game takes place in a distant future when mankind learned to travel in space and started communicating with alien races. Because of incautious actions of an alien nation our part of the galaxy was attacked by an unknown life form. The government troops weren't able to stop the invaders. That's why a decision was carried out to organize a voluntary squad that would stand against this force. Players are to become one of these rangers.

One of the game's strong points is a successful blend of different genres. We managed to successfully cross different genres such as turn-based strategy, role game, space battles, text quests and arcade. In the sequel - Space Rangers 2 - we also added 3D ground battles. But the biggest achievement is that we managed to a huge living world and complete unbounded freedom for the player.

In the sequel we made the game world even bigger but preserved the idea. Players are not bounded by the plot framework and it's up to you what path to choose. Due to these circumstances it is a living world. One can become a pirate and plunder others or an honorable warrior and help the government and other inhabitants.

In the sequel players will have to stand against three powerful enemies at once. One will face those not only in outer space, but on planets' surface as well. This gives an opportunity to go land on planets and enjoy a spectacular 3D strategy game.

Jonric: When did the idea for Dominators initially arise, and when did development actually start? In terms of progress, where does it presently stand? What is the target release date, in which markets will it ship? Are there any major obstacles to meeting that date?

When Space Rangers appeared in Russian shops in the end of December 2002 and gamers started sweeping those away from the shelves we realized that the game has become a success. We didn't even think long about creating a sequel, we started developing it almost straight after we ended the original game. In Q1 2003 we already had a concept of the robots called Dominators and of three types of enemy machines. After that we invented bosses for each type and created their environment and their way of thinking. Our artists were also very busy embodying all the ideas into the game.

Space Rangers and Space Rangers 2 were released in France and Germany and will appear soon in the UK and in Southeast Asia.

Jonric: Turning to the particulars of the game, what kind of game will it be and what range of gameplay will it seek to offer? In your opinion, what are the core strengths that will differentiate the game from other contemporary RPG hybrids? What kind of gamer will it appeal to most strongly, and why? How much playing time can the average player expect, and to what degree will the game be replayable?

Unique feature of the game is that the world around the player is not static, it is a living world. There are not so many RPGs where there is a living game world and it develops all by its own. The game can even come to an end without players taking active part in the events that happen in this world. A player, for example, can easily land on a planet and spend some turns there. After 10 or 20 years in-game time Dominators either capture all the peaceful sectors of the galaxy or the forces of coalition can eliminate the Dominator threat themselves without your help. AI controlled rangers do the same as the player - buy and sell, collect different items, decide what path to choose. One can compare this kind of AI behavior to the one in RTS games. In strategy games computer also decides when to extract minerals, when to attack or stay in defensive mode. In many other games there is nothing happening in the game world except what's around the player. It turns out to be that NPCs appear only when we enter a specific location and when they interact with you this is only a script that works only in the way it has been programmed.

Playing against the computer equally has become a real revelation for the Russian audience. Thousands of records are being constantly sent over to our web site. And this really is a success for a single player mode game.

Unfortunately foreign gamers didn't have a chance to play Space Rangers. But I think this will change in the future. We would like players from other countries to participate in this contest and send their records to the Rangers web site as well.

If one wants to evaluate the replayability of the game, we consider it to be one of the highest. Every player finds some new in the game. The game world is randomly generated each time one starts the game, so it's impossible to play Space Rangers in the same Universe twice.
According to the unofficial statistics on the average a gamer plays Space Rangers 4-5 times.

Jonric: What are the main events in the backstory leading up to the start of the game? When does it take place? What is the main plot or storyline, and what is the ultimate objective? What's the basic structure of the game? How linear or open-ended will it be? To what extent are you using cinematics to help tell the story?

The first part of the game in the year 3000 A.D. Mankind has mastered interplanetary flights and has contacted four other advanced civilizations. One of the races has managed to create a portal through which it is even possible to travel to another part of the galaxy. One could also live there, but there was a threat - the mysterious and hostile race called Klissans and their flagship Mahpella. The inventors of the portal managed to stop the enemy from entering their part of the galaxy, but the evil pirate Rachechan still succeeded in reconstructing his own portal according to the stolen plans. He has let the Klissans in. A terrible war that has lasted for many years has started. Eventually, not without rangers' help, one managed to reveal all the shocking details. It turned out to be that the cause of war was a misunderstanding. The Mahpella thought that the vessels themselves were intelligent and humanoids piloting those were some sort of a virus that has affected the ships. After everything clicked into place, the Klissans have awoke to faults and stopped threatening the galaxy. This is actually the end of Space Rangers 1.

Space Rangers 2 starts almost 200 years after the war with the Klissans. A new, even more dangerous force threatens the galaxy. Only this time those are powerful war robots. There are three types of war. The first one is sort of military-crazy robots. They think of war as it were a game. The second type doesn't want to harm anybody and thinks that the meaning of life is in knowledge. But the problem is that they acquire this knowledge in a strange way. To understand something these robots need to take it to pieces, even to atoms. Finally, the third type has a program, according to which they need to turn everything in the galaxy into robots. The Galactic Council calls for rangers' help once again.

The game has videos that that immerse players into the world of Space Rangers. Both intro and outro remind the player of this world. By the way, because of the non-linear storyline one can end up the game several ways. This is another feature that encourages players to start the game one more time.

Jonric: Please describe the setting and game universe, the range of different locations it contains, how large it is, and how will it differ from other game settings. What are the main goals for the type of game universe you want players to experience? Are you willing to reveal some interesting or unusual locations?

There are pre-made locations in the game, because nobody knows what will happen next in this living world. Anytime and anywhere on the star map dominators can capture a stellar system, epidemics can burst out on planets or governments can change - all inhabitants of Space Rangers 2 act on their own. Therefore we don't know what will happen next in this world. This is one of the features of the game!

Jonric: With respect to the player character, what can you tell us about him and his background? What choices if any does the player make at the beginning of the game? Are there different classes or careers? Are there NPC followers? If so, how many are available in total, and how many can accompany the player character at any one time?

In the beginning of the game players choose a career in this world of the future. One picks up a race and character, chooses skills and defines the difficulty level. I would also like to notice that the difficulty level is set individually for each parameter. This allows players to adjust the difficulty level very precise. One can generate a character for hours! J In Space Rangers the character doesn't lead the player, but the player leads the character. If a player becomes a pirate, other outlaws will treat him good, trade with him, give him particular quests. But a player chooses the path of a valiant defeater of evil, the attitude of the world will be completely different. If a gamer doesn't want to a sort of super hero that can destroy anything in the galaxy, one can just develop trade, but the thing is that it's never too late to change something in one's life. One can even change a race at a pirate base and, of course, it's up to you to choose your the way you behave. Therefore one can actually try different roles during one game.

The difficulty level affects the result, the amount of points and the position of a player in the rating table. If a player wins, he or she can participate in the Galactic Rangers's Rating on our web site at www.rangers.ru. After that the name of the winner will be included in the list of the Galaxy liberators! J

Jonric: How will the character development system work? What are the primary and secondary character statistics? How much choice and what kinds of choices will the player have in how each character develops through the course of the game? How different can a given character become via the player making different choices? How extensive is the skill / ability system, and what are some interesting or unusual ones? Will there be any non-combat skills or abilities?

Every character has a skill system, it consists of 6 elements: accuracy, manoeuvrability, technical skills, trade, charisma and leadership. As a rule players prefer to develop Accuracy and Manoeuvrability. Other skills are usually developed depending on the situation. Someone develops Leadership and leads large groups of rangers. Someone prefers Trade to establish an own commercial empire. One can develop skills in any sequence according to the points one has earned. Players get those points for delivering remains of enemy ships to the rangers' center, for fulfilling tasks and for liberating captured planets and systems.

When a player finishes the game points are added to his or her rating. Those points are calculated according to a special formula that takes into account such parameters as experience, difficulty level and game time.

Talking about skills one shouldn't forget about excitors and different diseases. One can fall ill almost everywhere. Some illnesses reduce characteristics, some vice versa give additional bonuses. However one can get rid of any disease by special therapy, that cures any illness present in the game.

Jonric: What kind of combat system will Space Rangers have and how important is combat in the game? What are the system's distinctive features? And what is the balance between combat vs. other forms of gameplay such as stealth, diplomacy, puzzle-solving, etc.?

All combat in outer space is turn-based. A ship can fire 5 guns simultaneously. If a vessel is equipped with powerful weapons and the pilot has highly developed skills Accuracy and Manoeuvrability, this means that one can guarantee a high probability of victory. There is a special auto-attack mode for non-hardcore players, that don't want much time on picking the right tactics, etc. In this mode the player needs to catch up with the enemy and the ship will fire all guns it has.

All battles in black holes are in real-time arcade mode. This makes these battles fun. One doesn't need to think a lot about right moves and about picking the right weapon - this is more clicking fun. By the way, all weapons behave completely different - in a black hole everything is possible. If one can't cope with the enemy in an arcade combat, it's possible to switch the auto-battle on and just watch how your AI-controlled vessel skillfully destroys the enemy.

In battles on planet surface each player has an own tactical scheme. Some build relatively weak robots, but the amount of those usually guarantee victory. Some prefer few powerful machines.

I would like to notice that it's up to player to fight or not. Those are not obligatory. There are even some pacifists that have finished the game by destroying only one ship.

Jonric: How important will spaceships, weapons, armor / clothing and other items be? What types can players expect, and how many different types? Will it be possible to upgrade them? Will there be rare or unique ones? What are some interesting or unusual new ones?

In the world of Space Rangers there are plenty of different types of hull, that differ one from another not only by the size of hold and the defense shield thickness, but by the amount of weapon modules and artifact cells. While changing the hull player has to sacrifice some equipment - grip, scanner or the possibility to add new guns. Of course there are hulls where all slots are open and ready to use, but those are very rare and very expensive.

In outer space damaged dominators' ships loose nods. Those are not only giving players additional experience points, but are some sort of in-game currency. Every group of these electronic devices brought to the rangers' center pass to one's account and give an opportunity to purchase additional micromodules. Micromodules can improve characteristics of one of the ship's components (hull or the repair droid for example).

One can also improve equipment at scientific bases. Their employees can repair and improve characteristics of any part of the vessel.

There are three types of weapons - energy, fragmentation and rocket. Moreover there are lots of modifications that differ by size, rapidity of fire, casualty radius and power. There are some very rare types as well. Their unicity is in their characteristics - they're more powerful than ordinary weapons and were invented by scientific dept. of dominators for their flagships.

Jonric: What variety of opponents can players expect to face? How did you choose or design them? How many different opponents will there be in all? What are some interesting or unusual ones?

We have inserted about 100 portraits of different characters in the game. On an average about 20 images for every race. Our aim was to preserve general features of the race, but to make those representatives look different. If you are playing the game now it looks like a Gaal is trying to scan your brain when he's talking. So be careful! J

Jonric: Will there be many friendly NPCs, and if so, what roles will they play? Will there be any that can join your character to form a party? And how important will they be overall?

NPC are not static. They're developing together with the player. AI uses new equipment, pick parts of enemy ships, trade and fulfill missions. They even employ each other and unite for a certain period of time to attack a common enemy. Which can be you, by the way! The world around the player Is not static either. There's life going on planets, scientists invent new weapons, political systems change, epidemics burst out and convulsions of nature happen. One can learn all about the latest news (economic crisis, dominators capturing another system, military operation, etc.) in a planet's information center.

Interactions with AI happen at every turn - when a trader enters a system occupied by pirates most likely he will loose part of his cargo or some cash if he doesn't destroy those filibusters at first, of course. Although this trader can call for help of other ships and if there are any pilots around that are hostile to the enemy, the attacking pirate might have some problems. An evil pirate would surely be attacked by the military in a stellar system occupied by another race. He will be captured and intergalactic news will tell everyone about this event. Other merchants will definitely help a trader to find the right route.

Jonric: What role will quests / missions play in the game? Will there be very many side quests? Can you say anything about the various types in the game or about specific ones? What are classic missions, how many will there be, what are they about, and what led to their inclusion in the game?

Missions and quests in Space Rangers are one of the sources to get points. Each quest depends on the race and personality of the character. One can see 6 main types of missions in the game: delivering an item from one place to another, defending a stellar system, annihilating a certain ship, text quests and battles on the surface of planets.

Text quests are small games in the game. Topically they are unique, each in its field. There are some about getting a band together, about a drowned station, about some ancient gods, about becoming a real man and about two dozens of others. We tried to include elements of all possible genres in those quests - economic managers, racing, arcades and logic games.
One of the main quests is Prison. The casemate of the galactic community is a place where repeatedly rangers serve sentence during the game.

Planet surface combat is a 3D strategy. Those fights are given to the player as bonus missions. The aim is to liberate the planet from invaders, help a millionaire restrain the gone mad house robots or stop secret dominators' plants.

Jonric: Does the game include multiplayer? If yes, how does it work, and what modes will be available? If not, why not?

In Space Rangers 2: Dominators there is no multiplayer mode. It is possible to have one when the game is real-time. It is almost impossible to play an RPG that lasts 5000 turns J.

Jonric: What primary considerations guided your decisions regarding the technologies to use? What are the main features of your game engine? What are the other notable aspects of the technology you are using?

In surface battles we use our own 3D engine. Our programmers used the latest features of DirectX 9, so one will need quite a modern video card to play this part of the game. We have made 18 maps for this mode. Each of those has unique landscape, resources and enemies. If a player's computer doesn't posses such a videocard, one can easily skip those battles.
The main game engine is 2D and this means that even gamers with low-end computers can play this part. 90% of game time is usually spent by players in 2D and 10% in 3D. One can easily finish the game without even playing the 3D part.

All the planets, characters and ships were made in a 3D editor and only after that rendered once again for 2D.

Jonric: How much emphasis are you putting on the areas of sound and music? How much music will there be and who created it? How much voice acting will there be, and will it be done by professional voice actors?

The soundtrack was created by composers from different cities in Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia. The music turned out to be so good and popular among fans that they even ask for a separate CD with the OST now. In the credits we have the main theme of the game and due to this fact the singer became quite popular.

Jonric: To what extent does the Space Rangers team at Elemental Games have experience developing other RPG-like games, and games in general? Where is the team located, how large is it, and is there anything else about it that our readers might find interesting to know?

Elemental Games was founded in Vladivostok, Russia in 1999 under the guiding principle for developing unique software. Previously know as NewGame Software, Elemental Games has developed such titles as General On&Line and Space Rangers, as well as the prominent office software suite Panels, which contains several interactive games. Our latest title is Space Rengers 2: Dominators.

There are 15 employees in the team - artists, animators, modelers, game designers and programmers.

All our products are noted for a high level of quality and originality. Logical engines of our games meet highest international standards. We are aimed at creating new, even more provocative game products as our company grows to the future.

We work in Vladivostok and our office has an awesome seascape. Besides developing games we also advance in skill by playing Quake3, BattleField, CounterStrike, StarCraft.
Thank you for the interesting questions! Gamers and developers in Russia often visit your web site and trust your authoritative opinion. We'll be glad to meeting you once again in the future!

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