Development Info MCA and Role-Playing for the People

[Volourn]

"No one ever used to talk about bosses in rpgs. Give me a fucking break"

Bullshit.

 

[Crichton]

I'm too lazy to do a real search on the subject, but here's Leonard Boyarsky talking about bloodlines

On the other hand, something that took us totally by surprise in making this game has been the sheer volume of different characters needed to make our world feel alive. In a standard shooter, you've got maybe 10 to 20 different characters and monsters to model, texture, rig, and animate. We've got upward of 150! At last count, we had around 3,000 unique animations, and we're not done yet. Even in the area of boss monsters, we've exceeded our original expectations. We've got a good deal of unique boss monsters, each with its own set of animations. To push it even further, we've incorporated normal mapping into a lot of our bosses to add more detail (normal mapping is a bump mapping technique that makes models look like they're using a lot more polygons for details than they actually are). When we began this game, we realized that we'd have to populate a much bigger world than is normally seen in first-person games, but the sheer volume of what we're doing has certainly been an eye-opener, to say the least.

http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/473/473985p1.html

And here's some chat about arcanum

<Hecktar> If Any charecter can beat the game(even a weak one) is this means the end-boss is easy?
<Ilraven> It means that there is more than one way to "win" the game...
<shellman> Yeah... the end-boss is a wus.
<Leon> It depends what kind of bugs you exploit, I mean, what strategy you take
<Steve[Troika]> There are always multiple ways to get out of different situations.
<Leon> It depends which followers you have
<JDA> If you are weak you better have some friends.
<TimCain> The game takes so long to play, that the end boss kills you via exhaustion
<Leon> I think Chad wrote 152 different follower interactions for the end
<TimCain> Mostly "Let's run away!"

http://members.tripod.com/troika_connection/Home/id17_m.htm

Naturally troika employees do not shy away from the term "boss" because it's standard in the genre, Bryce, as usual, has his meds out of balance.

 

[Spazmo]

In the old days, when we'd go to the games store, we'd do it in six feet of snow, uphill both ways! And we liked it!

 

[bryce777]

I'm too lazy to do a real search on the subject, but here's Leonard Boyarsky talking about bloodlines

On the other hand, something that took us totally by surprise in making this game has been the sheer volume of different characters needed to make our world feel alive. In a standard shooter, you've got maybe 10 to 20 different characters and monsters to model, texture, rig, and animate. We've got upward of 150! At last count, we had around 3,000 unique animations, and we're not done yet. Even in the area of boss monsters, we've exceeded our original expectations. We've got a good deal of unique boss monsters, each with its own set of animations. To push it even further, we've incorporated normal mapping into a lot of our bosses to add more detail (normal mapping is a bump mapping technique that makes models look like they're using a lot more polygons for details than they actually are). When we began this game, we realized that we'd have to populate a much bigger world than is normally seen in first-person games, but the sheer volume of what we're doing has certainly been an eye-opener, to say the least.

http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/473/473985p1.html

And here's some chat about arcanum

<Hecktar> If Any charecter can beat the game(even a weak one) is this means the end-boss is easy?
<Ilraven> It means that there is more than one way to "win" the game...
<shellman> Yeah... the end-boss is a wus.
<Leon> It depends what kind of bugs you exploit, I mean, what strategy you take
<Steve[Troika]> There are always multiple ways to get out of different situations.
<Leon> It depends which followers you have
<JDA> If you are weak you better have some friends.
<TimCain> The game takes so long to play, that the end boss kills you via exhaustion
<Leon> I think Chad wrote 152 different follower interactions for the end
<TimCain> Mostly "Let's run away!"

http://members.tripod.com/troika_connection/Home/id17_m.htm

Naturally troika employees do not shy away from the term "boss" because it's standard in the genre, Bryce, as usual, has his meds out of balance.

I never claimed they didn't use the word boss, and 2000+ is hardly the olden days. Does he go on and on talking about how great bosses are though, no?

I suppose I am guilty of a bit of hyperbole but I stand by my basic sentiment.

 

[Crichton]

Do you remember the troika guys talking about 'bosses'? No; it is a whole different emphasis that takes it away from RPGs and towards arcade games.

I never claimed they didn't use the word boss, and 2000+ is hardly the olden days. Does he go on and on talking about how great bosses are though, no?

You should read your previous posts just to keep up with the continuity; it's the internet, get your story straight.

 

[galsiah]

Do you remember the troika guys talking about 'bosses'? No; it is a whole different emphasis that takes it away from RPGs and towards arcade games.

You should read your previous posts just to keep up with the continuity; it's the internet, get your story straight.

Well did you remember? Or did you guess and search?
I still think don't think it's a useful word to use, unless you're emphasizing arcade / action gameplay.

 

[LlamaGod]

Boss - Name of a big meaty unique monster that serves a special purpose and is usually the 'top dog' of whatever it is he's involved in.

Fuck.

 

[bryce777]

Do you remember the troika guys talking about 'bosses'? No; it is a whole different emphasis that takes it away from RPGs and towards arcade games.

I never claimed they didn't use the word boss, and 2000+ is hardly the olden days. Does he go on and on talking about how great bosses are though, no?

You should read your previous posts just to keep up with the continuity; it's the internet, get your story straight.

Well, my question is is he using it to communicate with the meatheads or serious about it?

He throws the word out there, but he does not make it a big emphasis, which is a big difference.

 

[Crichton]

Well did you remember? Or did you guess and search? Wink

If you mean did I remember that bryce posted "troika guys didn't say boss!11!!", of course, that's why I posted the troika "boss" quotes. If you mean did I remember that troika people used boss, vaguely, it was a pretty safe bet in a any case.

Well, my question is is he using it to communicate with the meatheads or serious about it?

He throws the word out there, but he does not make it a big emphasis, which is a big difference.

compare

The battles you'll have over the course of the game range from epic fights against legions of enemies to up-close and personal, one-on-one combat with a frenzied berserker boss. The camera control really lets you zoom in and see you and your companions in the midst of battle. When the camera's behind your character's shoulder, seeing the towering umber hulk or the swipe of a dragon's tail truly becomes impressive.

to

In a standard shooter, you've got maybe 10 to 20 different characters and monsters to model, texture, rig, and animate. We've got upward of 150! At last count, we had around 3,000 unique animations, and we're not done yet. Even in the area of boss monsters, we've exceeded our original expectations. We've got a good deal of unique boss monsters, each with its own set of animations. To push it even further, we've incorporated normal mapping into a lot of our bosses to add more detail (normal mapping is a bump mapping technique that makes models look like they're using a lot more polygons for details than they actually are).

One talks about how boss fights have cool camera angles, the troika guy talks about how well animated and high-polygon (with NORMAL MAPPING!!1!!) the bosses are. MCA uses the word once, leonard uses it three times, if there's some difference in emphasis, it certainly doesn't support troika being less "boss"-centric.

 

[bryce777]

Next you will be saying mca is not slowly turning into a homosexual over time

 

[Drakron]

:D