Meet your Simu!

Even if it's is in the NDA

A lot of your answers are probably here:

play.net >> Where adventure finds you.

Actually, it's funny but, that site kind of shows you a WEALTH of information about HJ itself. Just look how complex interactive item placement works. Look how pathfinding works. And finally, look at how multiple zone designing / world buliding works.

Basically, you can see most of the tools to build the game are simplistic. You can see HOW they are building it, and you see a LOT of video here on the animation in the game and what the graphics look like.

It's actually way more info I've ever seen released about a game before the game ACTUALLY approached beta.
 
- Does HE use the cursed DX10, and if yes, are there exclusive Effects or is it just for Acceleration ?

DX10 isn't cursed. It's actually very good, much better than DX9 only problem is it's only available for Vista at the moment and I will never get vista in a million years. I think however M$ will have to release DX10 for windows xp or an angry mob with torches, pitchforks, flamethrowers and rocket propelled grenades lead by myself are going to attack M$ headquarters.
 
How nice! I'd have a few Enginequestions, if you don't mind. :smiley:

- Does HE use the cursed DX10, and if yes, are there exclusive Effects or is it just for Acceleration ?
- Is Collisiondetection between Characters possible ?
- Are dynamic Shadows only cast by the Sun (or other fixed Lightsource), or can i walk with a Torch and see my Shadow crawl along the Walls ?
- And similarly, can an Object cast multiple Shadows ?
- Is there Selfshadowing for the Characters ?
- Is Clothsimulation available already, and if yes, does it react to Wind and does it also work for Hair ?

Just to clarify, it's "more" open to discussion than specifics of HJ... Thought I'd cover my ASSets there.

I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability.

1) It's DX9... I have nothing to offer on DX10 (Just don't know). But really... does anyone actually use Vista, anyway? :D
2) This is a loaded question, so I'll dumb it down a bit and you can take it as you like: It's possible to detect collisions between objects (I know, how very unhelpful of me, but I see what you did there!) You can imagine how full featured the physics server is, considering the implementation of PhysX.
3/4) HE has a Dynamic Lightning system. Specifics are best left unconfirmed, so take it as you will... It's a robust and well featured system you'd come to expect from a next-gen MMO.
5) See above... Can't really comment on nitty gritty details like this (mainly out of honest uncertainty because I'm a boring guy who spends time in a code editor and not watching to see if my hand cast a shadow on my thigh during the run sequence animation... :smiley:
6) Yes to cloth simulation. I'm not sure about wind.

Hrm, I wish I could find the PDF pamphlet from last year's GDC. It was way cool.

*shrug* We're kind of off topic at this point, aren't we? O.o
 
Actually, it's funny but, that site kind of shows you a WEALTH of information about HJ itself. Just look how complex interactive item placement works. Look how pathfinding works. And finally, look at how multiple zone designing / world buliding works.

Basically, you can see most of the tools to build the game are simplistic. You can see HOW they are building it, and you see a LOT of video here on the animation in the game and what the graphics look like.

It's actually way more info I've ever seen released about a game before the game ACTUALLY approached beta.

I've been waiting for someone to point this out!!
 
Thought.

If the mundanities are pretty much the only releasable tidbits, can we get some of those?

For instance, I know you can't tell us "I'm currently working on Area 7 with Quests 31-44 and Dungeons 12 and 17", but could we perhaps get something like "I'm currently working on a somewhaty large and pretty region of Elanthia which we expect to be quite enjoyable for players somewhere near the intermediate range of content, and in particular I'm developing a certain dramatic quest-tree which seems to be coming together really nicely! I can't say much, but you'll know it when you see it!".

No details, very ambiguous, very mysterious, spawns discussion and speculation, reveals nothing, completely not set in stone...

Or.... "Today I wrote a new character that may or may not end up being used. I rather like her, she's a silly halfling lass."

Or even true mundanities! "I spent two hours fiddling with the lighting effects in a test room."

~Dune~
 
From what I've seen NDA's are pretty strict and are there for a good reason.

You don't want your game to get leaked, you don't want your ideas to get leaked, and you don't want to get your art or concepts leaked either.

A lot of 3D artists I have met through polycount.com, never really talk about their work untill the game has been released and even a month later when they finally get permission to show the public what portions they got to work on.

I'm really REALLY REALLY suprised the staff is even posting on these forums, but I guess that's the great thing about working at a small company like Simutronics. The leash (or noose :P) isn't as tight as say, blizzard.

When I met a cinematics artist, he was pretty open about working on the burning crusade cinematic, but extremly close lipped about what else he was working on .... Blizzard doesn't like to release the NAMES of their new titles too soon.

Mabye sumutronics did that with hero's journey, an early announcment, mabye they're finally on the tail end of an alpha, these things take time. (mabye ...maybe ...maybe I sound like a broken record) They're probably working on another project as well (looks like they're making CyberStrike 3 as well with Hero Engine, pretty awesome customized robot :D)
 
Thought.

If the mundanities are pretty much the only releasable tidbits, can we get some of those?

For instance, I know you can't tell us "I'm currently working on Area 7 with Quests 31-44 and Dungeons 12 and 17", but could we perhaps get something like "I'm currently working on a somewhaty large and pretty region of Elanthia which we expect to be quite enjoyable for players somewhere near the intermediate range of content, and in particular I'm developing a certain dramatic quest-tree which seems to be coming together really nicely! I can't say much, but you'll know it when you see it!".

No details, very ambiguous, very mysterious, spawns discussion and speculation, reveals nothing, completely not set in stone...

Or.... "Today I wrote a new character that may or may not end up being used. I rather like her, she's a silly halfling lass."

Or even true mundanities! "I spent two hours fiddling with the lighting effects in a test room."

~Dune~


Exactly!

Those mundane non-details are what I was hopping to bring out in this thread.

I didn’t dream that anything I asked would be protected. I understand and respect NDAs and have the greatest respect for those people working on the game. I have no intention of putting people in a hard spot.

Personally I’m a process guy (fear my flow charts!). So the details of how the Simu business model works with the volunteers fascinates me. The processes that must be in place to manage such an task is intriguing to me. Hence the questions...

But here is my issue (yes you knew it was coming)….I understand the need to hide the games features from the competitors but the complete “official” silence is deafening and because of the unique business model, those that are not part of it do not know how much “in the know” the off sight folks are, unless they are backed up with a title (off sight PR person) or onsite staff.

The only semi official (but not really) reason I’ve heard for the silence is that everyone is so busy with the game that you can’t take a moment and talk. But with the volunteer system (IE free labor) and the amount of people on this board alone that are applying to help… I just don’t buy that no one can take the time... So it has to be a mandated silence.

Did Simu start the buzz too early? Maybe… But at this point it doesn’t matter. You (Simu) created a community and you can’t just dump it to the curb without expecting the lash back

The HJ community, the abandoned child of Simu… You never call... You never write… =P

And as a member of said community… I’m afraid of seeing it dry up. Take this board.. Its becoming less and less active. And most of those that are fighting to keep it alive have also applied to Simu. So what happens when they join the HJ team and become in the “know”? Then no one can talk about the game that this board is dedicated to.

Anywho..Yes yes.. give us mundane!
 
This is just such a slippery slope though. Sometimes a mundane blurb can become something held over someone's head.... it's rare, but when you start talking just a LITTLE, it's easier to slip up and say one thing too much, does that make any sense? Therefore, my guess is to be completely 100% safe they just don't say anything. All they CAN say is they are "working hard."

I wish there could be more, but I can understand that policy, you know? I mean... if I was working on the game I sure as heck wouldn't want to risk getting fired over a tiny little slip.
 
Like Vahsyl said, they're going to try to be really careful about what they say, especially in this information drought. Any little thing could be quoted as gospel if it's misinterpreted. That could be bad. Very bad.

I do appreciate all those who have responded to this thread with what they can say.
 
I try to avoid the landmine questions.

And don't be so quick to discount on-site Simu being on these boards. You never know, big brother could be watching :eek:

As for the mundane details..... I have a quote!

"He's always chasing the pot of gold, but when he gets there, at the end of the day, it's just corn flakes."
 
I hope to Hodierna that that quote is actual in-game dialogue of some sort.

Also, if it is, and if we could get more of that.... just... wow... yes please.

~Dune~
 
It sounds like a Wyr quote to me, about some hero the Wyr belonged to.

I love their Wyr system and the creative process that goes with it... so darn amazing. It makes the player feel like they are collecting and holding ACTUAL pieces of the Lore that make up the history of the game. It's subtle yet ingenious.
 
I'm really REALLY REALLY suprised the staff is even posting on these forums, but I guess that's the great thing about working at a small company like Simutronics. The leash (or noose :P) isn't as tight as say, blizzard.

I was an admin here before becoming a GM... so tough poopies. :smiley:
Actually... as long as we abide by the NDA and are being reasonably professional - then all is well.


Background:
Software developer (11+ years), Entrepreneur - Land Barony, live in AZ, married with 2 boys (4 years old and 9 months old). Gaming since Pong, Space Invaders, and AD&D.

What do you do at Simu?
World Builder Game Master

How does it relate to HJ?
Directly designing and crafting the world of Elanthia for your future enjoyment.

On site? Off site?
Off site. I am fortunate to be able to work mostly at home for all of my misc endeavors.

How many other HJ team members do you interface with?
I try to bother all of the HH GMs in Heroblade, whenever I can! Especially Pinn :D Otherwise, I work regularly with the World Team.

Why is your name the color it is?
Red for HH Admin .. I was going to make each letter alternate between red and purple, but I became distracted by this shiny piece of foil.. and..well...

How long have you worked with Simu?
December 2006

Have you helped with any other Simu games?
Negative... but I go back to 97 as a player of Simu games.

How long have you been working on this project?
See two questions ago.

Perhaps give us an insight on what your day to day looks like....
Hmm. Run and workout daily, before anything else. Work during the day. Evenings are for family, gaming, and HJ time. I love to hike and watch/play golf - so I squeeze that in when I can, also.

What... is your favourite colour?
Blue. No, yel.. *suddenly thrown over the edge of gorge* Aaaahhhh!

Actually - Red. Admin Red? Fire engine Red? Ferrari red? Vermilion? Scarlet? Crimson? No.. Tom-Cruise-is-the-Devil-blood-Red. ]:smiley:

more misc info here
 
I hope to Hodierna that that quote is actual in-game dialogue of some sort.

Also, if it is, and if we could get more of that.... just... wow... yes please.

~Dune~

Heh! It's kind of out of character though, don't you think? =) I mean it's a cute reference to the real world, of course, but still slightly OOC :P

So where did I get it from...........?

Click (2006) - IMDb

Oooh, Kate Beckinsale... *fans self*
 
Corn flakes could very well exist in any fantasy world where corn is a basic crop. The technological means of creating such cereal flakes isn't really all that much.

You take your corn, cook it, and leave it sitting out until it becomes stale. You then run it through mechanical rollers to get flakes, which you toast. Viola! Corn flakes.

And even if they don't have corn, you can make wheat flakes, just like corn flakes. And you can even call them corn flakes, even though they're wheat! We call corn flakes "cereal" based on the old usage which literally just meant "grain", and we call the plant maize "corn" based on the old usage which also literally just meant grain. So technically, wheat is both a cereal and a corn, as is barley, as is rye, as are any grains.

~Dune~
 
Corn flakes could very well exist in any fantasy world where corn is a basic crop. The technological means of creating such cereal flakes isn't really all that much.

You take your corn, cook it, and leave it sitting out until it becomes stale. You then run it through mechanical rollers to get flakes, which you toast. Viola! Corn flakes.
~Dune~

Actually, if you've seen any of the history channel shows on the breakfast industry, cornflakes weren't exactly that simple. Some truly impressive amounts of science and experimentation went into the production of this seemingly simple breakfast food.
 
Darn... Dez gave it away that it was from Click... I was hoping the myth that was something from the game would last longer! >.>
 
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