Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 18:43:54 -0600
From:
[email protected]
Subject: BATTLESPHERE: THE FAQ
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari
THE SEMIOFFICIAL BATTLESPHERE FAQ
last updated June 9, 1997
Compiled by Clay Halliwell
[email protected]
[email protected]
Publisher 4Play
Developer 4Play
Released n/a
Product# n/a
Media 4 megabyte (32 megabit) cartridge
Players 1-16
ProCtrlr Yes
JagNet Yes
CatNet Yes
NOTE: Since BattleSphere is still a work in progress, everything in this
FAQ is subject to change without notice. So if something you see listed
here doesn't make the final cut, don't go whining to me or 4Play about it.
//// BATTLESPHERE WEB RESOURCES
The BattleSphere Page
http://www.best.com/~sebab/dvidgames/dsphere
Official BattleSphere Countdown Page
http://www.mbi.ucla.edu/people/legrand/sphere.html
Mark Santora's BattleSphere Playtester's Page
http://home.earthlink.net/~santora/playtstb.html
Thunderbird's Garage
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/Thunderbird
//// THE CREATORS
Q. Who is 4Play?
A. 4Play is:
Scott Le Grand Graphics and game programming, polygon engine, game
design, sound effects, and some of the options and setup
screens
Douglas Engel Networking code, sound and music engine, cool intro,
artwork, ship design, game design, sound effects, menus
and high-score screens, NVRAM drivers, joystick drivers,
the "story" screens, pause screens, setup screens, and
the ship selector
Tom Harker All that annoying CEO business dude stuff, the CatBox,
game critic
Steph Wukovitz Music, game critic, math wizard
NOTE: As of April 18, 1997, Scott Le Grand and Stephanie Wukovitz were
married. It's still Steph Wukovitz though.
Q. Who else contributed to BattleSphere?
A. Here's an incomplete list, sure to grow:
Damien M. Jones: For the "Julia" code he donated from the ill-fated
Virtual VCS.
Tom McComb: For donating all of the CAD 3D programs to us.
John Harris: For all of his feedback on playability.
Mark Santora: For his playtesting and video production
Clay Halliwell: For maintaining the BS FAQ
Bill Longworth: Thanks for the 1084 monitor! It was a godsend!
Ralph Barbagiallo: For fixing an absolutely horrible-sounding MOD.
Ralph@Cybercube: For providing us with InShape, our object builder.
Jer Horwitz: For not being afraid to speak his mind about our ideas.
Allen C. Huffman: The GOD of Cool Samples.
John Mathiesen: For answering 100 or more questions.
Bill Rehbock: The GOD of Alpine Boards and general Atarian coolness.
Tim Wilson: The man behind our configurable radar scheme.
All the guys on the BattleSphere topic on Genie: This game's YOUR fault!
:-)
Various competitive system fanatics: Keep it up, your stuff's hilarious!
After all, we all know that the 16 BIT JAG SUX!
Star Raiders, Doom, TIE Fighter, and Iron Soldier: Our 4 strongest
inspirational computer games.
Babylon 5: The coolest show on the air right now.
//// GENERAL
Q. What is BattleSphere?
A. BattleSphere is a first-person, single or multi player, networkable
3D space combat simulator for the 64-bit Atari Jaguar. It's also a
dessert topping and a floor wax.
Q. What is the story behind BattleSphere?
A. 800 years in the future, the seven dominant races of the galaxy are
at war. Stealing a plot idea from an ancient Star Trek episode, they
have agreed to confine their hostilities to Sector 51, a spherical
sector of space formerly used by the Earth government to secretly
test new weapons and starships. Each race has sent its best soldiers
and military hardware to participate in a tournament of space battles
in this Battle Sphere. The race that wins the tournament will be
given control of the galaxy.
Q. What are the play modes?
A. There are 5 unique play modes in BattleSphere:
Training: 1 Console. Mission-based series of 20 short levels which
introduce the player to the control scheme and enemies within the
BattleSphere.
Free-For-All: 1-8 Consoles. This mode pits you up against 15 other ships
in an all-out battle to reach a selectable number of points. You will
re-generate after getting killed after a configurable time delay, with a
1 kill penalty. The first player to reach the goal is the victor! This is
something like "DeathMatch" in Doom or Quake.
Gauntlet: 1-2 Consoles. The player(s) are given 1-6 starbases to defend
against waves of incoming enemy fighters, bombers, capital ships and
strange things until all starbases are destroyed. Periodically, a
destroyed starbase will be replaced.
Alone Against the Empires: 1 Console. A game similar to Star Raiders.
The universe is broken up into 64 or so spherical sectors. Some of those
sectors, close to the center, contain starbases. The outer sectors contain
armadas of enemy ships, enemy starbases, and random strange things (all
depending on the skill level). Play proceeds as the enemy ships head for
the center in order to destroy the starbases. Enemy reinforcements will
arrive at the edge of the universe as long as there are enemy starbases.
Play continues until 1) All friendly starbases have been destroyed (you
lose) or 2) All enemy forces have been eliminated (you win).
BattleSphere: 2-8 Consoles. Netrek meets TIE Fighter. Two alien races at
a time are placed in the Battle Sphere with a number of starbases and
capital ships. The object of the mode is to capture the enemy team's
bases using special energy weapons... but you need to accumulate kills to
be able to upgrade your ship to be able to carry these weapons. Once you
upgrade your ship, you can dock with your bases and load up on special
weapons. But watch out! If you get destroyed, you have to start over
again. Once you have sufficient weapons to conquer a base, and you get
through the enemy fighters defending it, you can lay into it and take it
over. Once the base is yours, you can go after the next. Be careful
though because the enemy may not want you taking over their base and may
take their own base down with a last-ditch bombing run, if it looks like
you're about to conquer it!
Q. What are the alien races?
A. There are 7 known alien races in BattleSphere:
Oppressors: Resemble the human race's concept of demons, and it is
believed that Earth legends of demons were caused by the arrival of an
Oppressor strike force that was somehow destroyed soon after it reached
the planet. They once controlled 80% of the known galaxy but have been
slowly losing their hold as they encounter one disaster after another.
The Oppressors will do anything to regain their former hold on the
galaxy.
Se'Bab: An all-female slave race of the Oppressors until the sudden
arrival of the Telchines 50 years ago weakened their hold leading to a
brutal rebellion and double blow to the Oppressors which destroyed half
of their empire. The Se'Bab were bred for beauty and obedience. This has
translated into extreme xenophobia towards all other races and extremely
aggressive, almost suicidal battle tactics. The Se'Bab bare one breast at
all times in defiance of male power.
Telchines: Appeared 50 years ago and are presumed to originate from a
neighboring galaxy. Their advanced craft brutally vaporized a section of
the Oppressor's empire which indirectly triggered the rebellion that freed
the Se'Bab from their Oppressor masters. The Telchines do everything in
threes and are obsessed with the 5 Platonic solids. Their ships have
threefold symmetry. No one has ever seen a Telchine and lived. They appear
to be transforming space around their empire.
Slith: Lizard-like beings whose ships seem to be alive. They are rumored
to devour their prisoners after interrogation. Their capital ships
resemble snakes and lizards, and can reproduce if sufficient resources
are supplied. Their weapons are tailored to achieving the paralysis and
capture of other ships for this purpose rather than simply destroying
them.
Smg'Heed: Last surviving descendants of the human race, mostly wiped out
by a scourge of retroviruses and accumulated debt from placing their
entire GPP into developing absurdly powerful weapons. As a result, their
ships are based on modified 20th century technology, have lousy
maneuverability, but do incredible damage if they manage to hit anything.
Watch out for their self-destruct systems! The other races decided to
include them in the tournament mostly on the fear that they'd activate
one of their many budget-busting Doomsday Devices had they not done so.
Ocatanut: A feline race that follow the Slith wherever they go. An uneasy
alliance exists between them, but it has been suspended for the sake of
the tournament. There is the general belief that there will be some form
of power-sharing between them if either race wins the tournament. The
Ocatanut focus on stealth and speed to overcome their enemies.
Frequently, they will then share their kills with the Slith.
Thunderbirds: The sworn enemies of the Ocatanut and the Slith. They are
hawk-like predators who blend speed and firepower in their ships. They
are fixated on coup-like(?) behavior and they tend to make a great show
of any kill, making sure their victim knows who it was who has beaten
them. It is believed that the Se'Bab and the Thunderbirds have been
sharing technology.
Q. Are there any secret races?
A. ;-)
Q. What kinds of ships are there?
A. Fighters, Bombers, and Superships are available to the player.
Capital ships and starbases are always under computer control, except
in Alone Against the Empires mode, where you will be able to order
friendly capital ships and escorts to attack or defend certain sectors.
Q. How many ship designs are there in the game?
A. Since we know each race has 1 of each of the 5 ship types, one can
deduce that there are AT LEAST 35 different ships.
Q. Are there any secret ships?
A. But of course.
Q. Are there Easter Eggs?
A. Doug sez, "We were putting easter eggs in games before most people knew
what computer games were!"
Q. What weapons are available?
A. There are 7 different weapons at your disposal:
Lasers: Basic offensive weapon. Most ships mount multiple lasers, which
can be set to fire in rotation or simultaneously.
Mines: Proximity-fused explosives that drop out the back of your ship.
Missiles: Shoot straight out from your ship and explode on impact. Can be
shot down (this weapon may not make the final cut).
Homing Missiles: Seek and destroy the currently selected target. Can also
be shot down.
Stasis Bolts: Freeze what they hit for a limited amount of time.
Cumulative effect for multiple hits.
Plasma Bolts: Basically glorified lasers which do not deplete energy.
Base Bolts: Computer virus-laden power surges used as a tactical weapon
for conquering enemy starbases or reinforcing friendly starbases under
base bolt assault from an enemy.
Q. Does the enemy AI exploit all available weapons?
A. Yes, depending on its IQ.
Q. What weapons do capital ships and starbases use?
A. Lasers, homing missiles, and plasma torpedoes.
Q. What special powerups are available?
A. Base bolts and ship upgrades in Battle Sphere mode as well as
regenerations in Gauntlet and Alone Against the Empires. You're
on your own in Free for All.
Q. Are weapon powerups bought, collected, or earned?
A. Earned.
Q. Are there adjustable difficulty levels?
A. Yes.
Q. Are there any planets, asteroids, or gas clouds?
A. No.
Q. Can you collide with or shoot the debris from destroyed ships?
A. You can collide with it but you cannot currently shoot it. This
will change if possible before the final cut. It's a matter of
needing space to handle this correctly.
Q. Can you dock with starbases?
A. Yes.
Q. In cooperative pilot/gunner mode, does the gunner's crosshair "float"
onscreen to stay pointing at the same area of space during
maneuvers?
A. No.
Q. Is there lead-computed targeting? A. Yes. The sight is a blue
crosshair that transitions to red as you close in on the perfect "lead"
for the target. There's also a beeping sound that increases in frequency
as the perfect lead is closed in on.
Q. Can you target specific parts of ships?
A. Maybe.
Q. What radar views are available?
A. BattleSphere's two radar screens provide front and aft views.
Q. How much freedom of movement is there?
A. The full six degrees of freedom... your ship can pitch, yaw, and roll,
fly forward and backward, and go anywhere in the game universe.
//// NETWORKING
Q. How many consoles can BattleSphere network?
A. 2 consoles with JagNet (JagLink required).
2-8 consoles with CatNet (CatBox required).
Q. Can you network two Jaguars via modem?
A. No, but it's not 4Play's fault :-(.
Q. How many players does BattleSphere support?
A. Up to 16 players (8 networked consoles with 1 pilot and 1 gunner
per console).
Q. Does gameplay slow down as more consoles are networked?
A. No. In fact the game actually speeds up, due to AI processing being
equally distributed among all available consoles.
Q. When one consoles's frame rate drops, does everyone else's frame rate
drop?
A. No. BattleSphere's rendering engine runs independently of the main
game logic and network code.
Q. How does BattleSphere handle node loss?
A. Doug sez: "BattleSphere tries really hard to recover from interruptions
of the network due to accidental disconnection from the network (you pull
the network wire out accidentally) but due to circumstances beyond 4Play's
control, there's a chance that one or more of the Jags on the network will
go deaf if you pull it out or plug it back in at just the right time (see
modem use).
Due to reasons beyond our control (see modems) the network doesn't
really know for sure that it's offline and so no messages pop-up to tell
you that the network is down. The game will continue to update your
"universe" and will patiently wait for the other nodes to send their own
updates. If you reconnect successfully, then things will continue as
normal. If you don't reconnect, then the whole game gets out of sync and
you'll see bizarre things happening (shots go through things, etc.).
If the network wasn't such a delicate balancing act to get running in the
first place (see modem use), we would have been able to make recovery
from errors much more robust. There's just no point to doing that if Jags
can go deaf on you for no good reason.
BattleSphere also doesn't like node-losses due to power-down. If one Jag
powers down, it will most likely cause the game in progress to behave in
strange ways. If you reboot that Jaguar you will have to restart the game
over on all the Jags because that node cannot "remember" the state of the
game it was playing if it loses power. Quake and most other games don't
support leaving a game and re-joining it later, so we don't see this as a
major drawback.
BattleSphere has an auto-node-detect sequence which it performs at the
start of a networked game that assigns node numbers and whatnot, and if
you cycle power, it will lose that info and the node will have to wait
for a new game to begin so that the nodes can be reassigned.
The point here is that you shouldn't have any problems if you don't fuss
with the cables or you don't shut off your console mid-game.
For what it's worth, I think a lot of Lynx games work the same way that
we do."
Q. How is pausing handled in networked modes?
A. Team play cannot be paused (don't ask).
Q. How many teams can there be?
A. 2.
Q. Can you set an option so you can't damage teammates?
A. No.
Q. Can you switch to the views of other players on the network?
A. No.
Q. Is BattleSphere networking subject to interference from Hell?
A. No.
Q. Will BattleSphere still be fun even if it's not networked?
A. YES!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!!
//// GRAPHICS
Q. What resolution does BattleSphere run at?
A. 320x240, overscanned.
Q. What color depth does BattleSphere run at?
A. The title and intro screens are full 24-bit (16.7 million) color.
Almost everything else is in 16-bit (65,536) color, and there's a few
menus and whatnot with 8-bit (256) color (no need for any more). The
game itself is 16-bit color.
Q. Are the ships in BattleSphere texture mapped?
A. No. The ships in BattleSphere are primarily gouraud-shaded. Texture
mapping is used sparingly to provide detail on top of the gouraud
shading, a technique 4Play calls "Decal-Mapping(tm)".
Q. Are ships light-sourced?
A. Yes. All 3D objects are light-sourced. Cockpit interiors are faux
light-sourced as well.
Q. Is there light-sourcing from weapons?
A. No.
Q. What is the maximum number of polygons per ship model?
A. 256.
Q. What is the maximum number of decal maps per ship model? A. The limit
of decal-maps is the same as the number of polygons in a ship. Each map
could be 1 polygon up to the limit per ship.
Q. How many different 3D objects were designed for the game?
A. If you take into account all of the detail levels of all of the models,
as well as all of the debris chunks and miscellaneous bits, there are
over 400 different 3D models in the game.
Q. How far is the clipping "horizon" for objects?
A. Far enough that most objects are down to 1 pixel by 1 pixel before
disappearing, and those that aren't have NO clipping horizon.
Q. Does the rendering engine use load management?
A. Yes.
Q. Uhhh... what exactly is load management?
A. Load management is a goofy made-up term for variable-detail models.
As an object moves farther away from the player, load management
switches to successively lower-detail object models, easing the load
on the rendering engine. BattleSphere uses 3-5 levels of model
detail.
Q. Does the rendering engine use MIP mapping?
A. No. No great loss since, as noted above, texture mapping is minimal.
Q. What frame rate does BattleSphere run at?
A. Maximum frame rate: 60 FPS
Minimum frame rate: 10 FPS
Average frame rate: 30 FPS
Q. Does the starfield fly past when you're moving?
A. No. Moving stars would only be seen if you were moving at a multiple
of the speed of light, and if you were moving faster than light, your
field of view would be contracted to a single point (see "Cosmos").
Q. Do the stars twinkle?
A. No. Twinkling is an atmospheric effect. BattleSphere is set in space.
Q. Is there real-time lens flare?
A. Yes.
Q. Do ships become visibly damaged as you shoot them up?
A. Yes.
Q. What are the explosions like?
A. Explosions consist of several bitmapped explosion animations plus
lots of out-of-control flying spinning ship pieces a la Babylon 5 and
the Death Star battle in Star Wars. Each explosion animation is 16
64x64 frames in 16-bit color.
Q. Are there animated ships?
A. Yes.
Q. Are there drive flares?
A. No.
Q. Are there blinking lights on the ships?
A. No.
Q. Are there exterior ship views?
A. No.
Q. What information is displayed on the HUD?
A. Shield strength
Energy
Velocity
Thrust
Laser Energy
Pilot's crosshair
Gunner's crosshair (if present)
Gun firing status and configuration
Current weapon and ammo remaining
Targeting brackets around all onscreen objects
Lock-on warning
Missile warning
Kills
Score
//// SOUND
Q. Are the sound effects in stereo?
A. Yes.
Q. Are the sound effects Dolby Surround or Q-Sound encoded?
A. No.
Q. Is there in-game music?
A. Yes.
Q. How many audio channels are there?
A. BattleSphere's sound driver provides 6 stereo channels and 4 mono
channels simultaneously (16 individual channels total). The channels
are individually 8-bit, and are mixed into a 16-bit output. During
gameplay, the stereo channels are used for sound effects and the
mono channels are used for music. Outside of gameplay, the music
driver is free to use all 16 channels.
Q. How many music samples are used for the soundtrack?
A. This is still in a state of flux. However, 512K (4 megabits) of
BattleSphere's ROM space is dedicated to music and digital samples.
//// OTHER TECH STUFF
Q. How many ships can be in play at once?
A. There can be up to 16 fighters, superships, capital ships, or
starbases in play simultaneously.
Q. How many shots can each ship have "in the air" at once?
A. 15 shots.
Q. What type of collision detection does BattleSphere use?
A. A collection of bounding boxes, cylinders, and spheres. 4Play had
BSP collision in there briefly but it was not worth the bandwidth
it consumed.
Q. How big is BattleSphere's NVRAM chip? A. Doug sez, "We have our choice
of 256 byte, 512 byte, 1024 byte, 2K or 4K NVRAM chips. Which one we
eventually use will give us more things to save. The final choice will
be based on pricing and availability of NVRAM chips at the time of
manufacturing, amount of expected orders, cart's intended MSRP, etc. In
other words, I've written code to access more NVRAM than any other Jag
game (new low-level drivers). What we do with them is still up in the
air."
//// MISCELLANEOUS
Q. When will BattleSphere be released?
A. When it's done.
Q. When will BattleSphere be done?
A. Sometime in 1997.
Q. Will 4Play accept pre-orders for BattleSphere?
A. No.
Q. Will BattleSphere come out on any other game consoles, or the PC?
A. It might, but no such conversion is currently planned.
Q. Will there be a sequel to BattleSphere?
A. If sales warrant it.
Q. Will 4Play be releasing a BattleSphere CD remix of the music, a la the
Tempest 2000 soundtrack?
A. Depends on how many people would buy it, and how busy Steph gets.
Q. What is "Star Battle"?
A. The original title for BattleSphere.
Q. When did development on BattleSphere begin?
A. January 1994.
Q. How don't you spell 4Play?
A. 4 Play, 4-Play, Four Play, Foreplay, Phoarpleigh.
Q. Is it true Atari canceled Space War 2000 after seeing Battlesphere?
A. Most likely.
Q. Is the Jaguar really 64-bit?
A. Yes.
//// IN-JOKES
The Default High Scores (Alone Against the Empires)
1) T-BIRD Doug "Thunderbird" Engel, 4Play
2) SCOTT Scott Le Grand, 4Play
3) STEPH Stephanie Wukovitz, 4Play
4) BIGTOM Tom Harker, 4Play/ICD/Black Cat Design
5) ANDREWS ?
6) ROB ?
7) DON Don Thomas, formerly of Atari
8) RALPH Ralph Mariano, editor of ST Report
The Enemy Races
Oppressors: "Oppressor" is Scott Le Grand's online handle. The
Oppressors appear to be partially based on the aliens in Arthur C.
Clarke's "Childhood's End". Thunderbirds: "Thunderbird" is Doug Engel's
online handle. It's also his favorite model of car (Doug sez, "Actually,
after 'classic' T-Birds. Ford's really screwed them up in recent
years."). Se'bab: "Sebab" is Stephanie Wukovitz's online handle. It's
also "babes" spelled backwards. The Se'bab appear to be inspired by the
Moon-dwelling Amazonians that were constantly popping up in 50's sci-fi
flicks. Telchines: Obsessed with threes, the Telchines appear to be
partially based on the aliens in Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous With
Rama". Smg'Heed: A corruption of "smeg-head", a common pejorative on the
British sci-fi comedy "Red Dwarf". "Smeg" itself is a shortened form of
"smegma" (look it up). Slith: Every interchangeable lizard race from
"Battle Beyond the Stars" to "Enemy Mine". Ocatanut: Sounds like a
mangling of "cat" and "astronaut". Perhaps the race that inflicted
Disney's "The Cat from Outer Space" on us?
The Ships
Starfire: A reasonable facsimile of Babylon 5's Starfury fighter.
Falcon 303: Much of BattleSphere's graphics and sounds were created
on an Atari Falcon 030.
Pulverizer: Not just a Space Shuttle look-alike... in the game's story,
these really are refurbished Space Shuttles. Originally known as
"Ranger 3", for those of you into obscure references.
Vyper: More than a little similar to BattleStar Galactica's Colonial
Viper.
Ajax: This Ocatanut ship is named after Doug's cat.
Gauntlet, Level 42: The ships on this level should look familiar to
anyone who's seen "Mars Attacks!". And of course "42" is a significant
number to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fans.
Gauntlet, Level 69: Has a reference to an old SNL character (Coneheads
perhaps?). And the level number, "69" needs no explanation.
Miscellaneous
The location of the BattleSphere, Sector 51, is a play on Area 51, which
is where the U.S. government keeps all those UFOs that keep crashing here.
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