The big GamesCom interview with Bernd
Posted: Mon, 10. Sep 12, 19:59
So here it is now. The great interview with Bernd Lehahn about X-Rebirth. We have spent the last few weeks to bring a compressed mp3 file from a mobile phone recording at first in written form and then translated into English.
The big thanks for all the work goes to Ban and Fanchen for transcribing and
the following user for translating and proofreading.
Unitrader, Ban, wultna, Delois and Tycow.
But I do not want to keep you any longer.
Post your comments here!
Question:
Where is our Co-Pilot (female) from?
Bernd:
In past, we gave some hints from where she could came from. Without explaining much. Also in AP. Still there is this story of a Teladi who adopted a child somehow. That should indicate you a bit that you are maybe able to find out that Yisha – that’s her name – is this child.
Question:
Will there be a tactical overview?
Addtion:
So a overview about the status of the ship systems effectively?
Bernd:
There are menus, on which you can look it up.
Question:
But no continuous display in the cockpit?
Bernd:
There are maskings, but no displays which you can see all the time because there is less space. It would mask far too much space. There are menus in which you can look up the details and so on. And there is a warning mechanism which will react when some system is going down – we are working on that now – and will give out a signal.
We are now balancing that. Recently that week while testing a big battle we noticed that it would be not that much nice when the engines...
Well! The engines now takes gradual damage and if this damage is going to be to big, your ship is getting slower. That should motivate the player to repair the ship regularly as well, if it is necessary. I mean, you can easily avoid that: if you own shields that case will not take place.
And yes, the problem in the test scene was that the ship became slower that fast that you had suddenly no chance to survive a battle.
Question:
In sector and out sector combat – will there be bigger differences again? Or will you unite that a bit?
Bernd:
Naturally, the ambition is to strongly adapt that together. But you will never fully simulate OOS-Fights in 3D. That is simply too expensive. Means: Expensive related to the processing time.
But, we now have got a completely different AI system and I am sure that we will wrangle it much better that chances in the fights are similar. And that especially all weapon systems will be graded equally. Naturally at the moment it is too early to say we will accomplish that.
There will be minor differences every time. Mainly if your weapon system – for example at manual use – gets an advantage or a disadvantage especially for this reason- Or because of how you or the AI steers. If we e.g. now know exactly that a weapon is strong against slower ships and an other is strong against faster ships because of the amount of projectiles, then we can simulate that OOS fairly good.
However, if you now have a special tactic which makes you particularly strong with a special weapon system, we could never simulate that OOS. Minor differences probably will exist ever, but we try to keep them minor.
Question:
Until recently when your shields were gone your hull has been down in seconds. Does this not apply anymore?
Bernd:
That does not exist anymore. Like I said you should be able to repair something on the ship. Naturally you have the motivation to avoid that by using the shields. There are many more details on your ship which can get destroyed. Your ship is made of many more submodules after all.
Question:
Will there be a Bernd Action Figure?
Bernd:
Definitively not.
Question:
Will there be a collectors edition?
Bernd:
That are things the publisher decides. It depends from the country as well. If you ask that question, you ask it for Germany. For Germany I bet that they will release it. In many other countries would that be never profitable. We will see.
Other country's markets are more directed to Steam. Germany is, in that correlation, is a bit more traditional. It is profitable there to make a beautiful wrapping. That is funny. You can put in things, which appreciate that. Arranging that things. In my opinion it is beautiful when I finally sell a game which let you have something in hand what is solid. But this is nothing against steam. Steam is excellent.
Interjection:
Steam has no place at this point.
Interjection:
Indeed, you can use Steam and still have a DVD in your rack.
Bernd:
Yes, that will be the case. We cannot change that anymore.
Interjection:
But you can still create boxes and buy them.
Bernd:
Yes. And include a lot of nice additional content.
Question:
How powerful will the playership be in battle?
Bernd:
So, what I can definitely say, is that it will change heavily during the game. You will naturally begin with a different ship than the one you will end with. And there are many systems you can upgrade and a lot of drones – those I already mentioned last year –, which will make you much stronger, in a tactical sense as well. A part of the balancing that was so far done by giving you access to new ships will now be done by upgrading your ship.
Additionally, you will be able to use larger vessels later on, although you cannot pilot them yourself. They will, let's say, assist you in tactical combat, in war. There is also a large difference regarding how powerful your ship is in normal combat at the beginning and in the middle of the plot.
It will never be a capital ship. The things you can do with a capital ship – like winning a war or attacking a station – you will never be able to do with the player ship. That's not the goal.
But your ship's combat strength will be upgraded by several margins – not by a factor of two or three, but by a factor of ten or even fifty. Solely by receiving missile systems, new primary weapons and new drones and by upgrading shields and hull.
Question:
How does it work with those drones? Will they be produced on the ship?
Bernd:
Produced? No. You'll have to buy them. There is the possibility to construct them, but not on your ship.
So, we are playing with the idea of supply ships, which would deliver any goods you'd need in combat. Especially ammunition – which means: missiles, mainly, as primary weapons do not require ammunition.
Even though primary weapons are not only laser weapons – laser would be too simple, as they are very different types of primary weapons , none of them needs ammunition. If there are kinetic weapons among them, they will somehow work without requiring ammunition.
Question:
That means I decide my equipment depending on my plans, 'packing' what I'll need right now – or can I stuff everything I might need or use at some point into the ship?
Bernd:
Yes and no. Theoretically, you can pack everything into your ship. There is no RPG-like tree structure, at least not for your own ship. But you will have to weigh your decisions – at least at the start, as there are differences. For example, if you buy an expensive weapon system right at the start, you might be unable to buy something else.
But this will effectively be guided by the plot. The plot is meant to introduce you to all those systems, teaching you how to use them and what you can accomplish with them.
Question:
So, there will be more plot in this game?
Bernd:
Yes, most definitely. The goal is to attract new people as well. A problem of the X-games, aside from X-Beyond, was that they lacked a proper introduction into the game.
You start, stand there and have no clue – especially as newcomer – what you should do. And we want to change that with Rebirth, giving someone who does not know the games some orientation in it.
And for that, a good story is necessary. That does not mean that the game will be focused solely on the story, but that the plot will explain a lot about the universe, so that the player will understand what it is about.
Question:
Will the game include trade agreements, delivery contract and concessions for specific factories?
Bernd:
We have introduced a system of commissions and discounts into the game, meaning: benefits for the player for purchases and sells. In one case the buyer will pay you more, and in the other case the seller will charge you less. In addition to market fluctuations, which exist all the time – meaning: if a factory has a high stock, the prices will drop.
Question:
So far, it has always been possible to sell at the same price price when selling a many pieces instead of just a few. If the piece price remains the same, however, this is not “accurate” anymore, as the price should decrease on account of the higher amount of pieces delivered. Will this be corrected?
Bernd:
Yes, this will definitely change. The prices will be named for a specific amounts of goods. But you will still be able to buy a smaller part of that amount if you do not need or are unable to transport the full amount.
Let me please finish the explanation of those discounts. The point is: there are different reasons why a factory offers you a discount. Not only their stock influences the price, but also emergencies. Maybe also the fact that you know the seller; or that your reputation with him is high. Especially the reputation affects the price.
And those things are summarized in the game as discounts. That means, you will see the base price and all discounts you are credited with. And how long those discounts will remain valid. And you can do things to gain those discounts. For example, if you scan a station, if you fly over its surface, you might unlock additional discounts. Maybe you found something – and whatever this is gives you a two percent discount on purchases.
Those are small stories: Yisha will deliver a short comment that explains why you gained the discount.
The summary of all this can be seen in the trade menu: purchase price minus minus minus – and the result is your price. You will also be able to compare that. This way, it can be beneficial for a trader to scout and discover a station. That's the thought behind this.
Question:
Is it possible that you have to pay more than the base price? That you have penalties instead of a bonus?
Bernd:
Not yet. One could think about that. It's not done yet. In general, he balancing is still work in progress. Whether the discounts – and that aspect about quantity the question was about – will remain that way – this is not yet final. Thus, I cannot offer too much details here; but the discount system is clearly an important element.
Our goal here is that the player – all types of players, not only the fighters – are rewarded for flying over the stations, for scouting them.
You can logically – as I already mentioned last year – sabotage a station. You can destroy several things (subsystems) on a station during combat, even partially disable the station. And that are the advantages for a fighter.
But due to those 'info-points' or action points on stations you scan you can also unlock discounts.
Question:
Shouldn't you be punished for such acts of sabotage?
Bernd:
Of course. They are illegal. This worsens your reputation. But the negative impacts on your reputation will usually prevent you from buying anything. I mean, if you are an enemy...
Also, there is another change: you can now be an enemy of a station for a short time without being an enemy of the entire faction. Basically, this is a bit like GTA, where you have your police prosecution status, which is very high for a short period of time. But if you cannot be identified permanently afterwards, the impact on your reputation will not be that huge. That's important, too.
Question:
How will the upgrading of the ship's modules be designed? Will we be able to choose between different modules – like a cargo and a weapons module – at certain points in the story? Or will you be able to use all modules at the end of the story or can you buy them?
Bernd:
That's the question I answered previously. With the enhancement of your ship. That this is no tree, more a linear development. Technically, you can decide freely. But in actuality the plot makes it more linear as it leads you through the story, unlocking and showing you the possible upgrades.
Question:
Can you alter your choice later on? Meaning, can you decide to equip your ship with one thing and uninstall that thing later on?
Bernd:
That is the business part: you can, of course, sell things you bought. Once you found something, you can buy it again later. But in certain cases you will have to find it in the plot before it is available.
Question:
But I can retrofit my ship?
Bernd:
Yes, naturally. Especially with drones. You have a certain capacity of drones and can only use and equip that many. The same goes for your crew. The people you take along are – in a way – an upgrade to your ship, via their abilities.
And you'll have only a finite number of places available – hence, you will have to decide who you take along. It might be necessary to fire someone when you want to hire another person.
Question:
And the modules can be chosen freely or is their number limited? Can I store thirty modules in my cargo bay and change them according to the situation? Using a package against fighter in one case and one against capital ships in another.
Bernd:
That depends on your weapon system: the primary weapons can be upgraded as an addition. There is a limited number of primary weapons. At the beginning, you cannot use most of them, but you will find the rest during the plot. But there is no reason to remove a primary weapon entirely. You simply add them to the others.
It is similar for missiles. The ability to fire missiles is always there but you have to have the ammo. As it was in the previous games. For drones, it is different: you only have so many slots and have to use them reasonable. You can – for example – decide to carry only spy drones or only attack drones or a combination. Or shield drones. That's a tactical element – how you equip your ship. And its similar for the people you take with you.
Question:
Can I change primary weapons in battle or do I have to dock on a station for this?
Bernd:
Constantly. You can quickly switch between the primary weapons. That's the difference. There are primary weapons that are designed to be quickly exchanged. And there are other (ship)-capabilities, which can be enhanced via drones. Which is similar - the one that you have, can be released quickly. But of course not as quick as the primary weapons.
So also there is of course again a balancing difference. Sometimes the start of the drone has a certain delay. Which is where the difference really is. When the drones are more about the tactical element, the primary weapons are just about firepower.
Question:
So can I only select the primary weapons that I have in the cargo hold?
Bernd:
No, that has nothing to do with the cargo hold. There is a limited amount of primary weapons, which are compatible to your ship and these are the ones you can use. I'm talking about the player ship here.
Question:
So do I have a limited number of primary weapons?
Bernd:
Yes. But that is only one part of the whole. Which is of course important to know, since it has not taken place earlier in that form. They describe now only one part.
Question:
Depending on what you plan to fight, do you need then to exchange your weapons ?
Bernd:
As I said before, the permanent exchange of primary weapons are not necessary. And those you got you'll keep. They can possibly brake, but usually - if you pay attention - this shouldn’t happen.
Question:
You have a limited energy supply. Does this mean that you can fire only a certain number of primary weapons at once?
Bernd:
No, no, no. You can always just fire one weapon system at a time. The weapons systems differ not only in capacity. This is again another capability. Since there is no need to have two weaker weapons. I'll give you two examples: there are no longer the standard laser, alpha, beta, gamma, as we had earlier. If there is a beta-laser, which is better than the alpha-laser, then it will be replaced by the beta the laser.
But the primary weapons systems differ from each other: for example, there is a weapon system with a certain spreading, which immediately reaches a pretty big resounding power. Which is great for small ships that move quickly. There is then another weapon system which emits plasma shots very slowly, but is good against shields. Which I have of course to decide what to use, depending on the tactical situation. These are two of the primary weapons systems. Between which you can switch quickly. But they can never be used simultaneously.
But the whole thing is even more complicated because we are talking now only about the primary weapons. There are also rockets, as well as being very different things are. where there also are very different things. But altogether a summary of the systems that need a starter and ammunition. And the third system just happen to be the drones. And they are even more varied.
Well, actually that is in ascending order. The drones are the most complex thing because they actually allow the tactical upgrade of your ship. And they are just totally different. So that you hardly can compare: a normal attack drone that you deploy, to cause harm, or a spy drone, which is very fragile, but also fast and agile, to name just two. Since there can be many different things.
Question:
You can't fit all drones in your ship, right?
Bernd:
Clearly not.
Question:
So, a large cargo drone or something like that doesn’t fit inside the ship?
Bernd:
This is a completely different topic: what other ships can do. Up to this point we have not spoken of Capital Ships, only about the Playership. What you can do with other ships and their systems is again a totally different talking point. That they even partially use drones has nothing to do with your ship.
So, for example, there are mining ships that collect ores. Those start themselves small drones to mine the ore. Simply, because it looks cool, and because you can visualize really good how the ore is mined. This looks much nicer when the big ship is parked, many small drones coming out of it, scurrying around the asteroid and then bring lumps of ore to the ship. This helps you visualize how quickly this goes. You have the same capital ship with less drones - it takes longer, of course, to mine the ore, as the same capital ship with many drones. But these drones have nothing to do with your ship. These drones are equipment for mining ships.
Question:
Last year, we were told, we could fly these mine drones on our own, if you wanted to mine ore on yourself?
Bernd:
Not these. There are other drones, all sorts of special drones, even those that can be controlled from the player ship. But these are not the same that the large capital ships use. This doesn’t work with that size. To be honest, I don’t know if the drone mine would fit into the player ship, so we don't even get this problem there are all kind of categories for objects.
Question:
Will it be possible to involve the environment into the fights?
Bernd:
Do you mean an asteroid field? And other, neutral ships? Or what do you mean with the environment?
Question:
Yes, for example ships or stations as cover usage.
Bernd:
Yes, of course, honestly!
Question:
With the new size of the stations, this will be fun.
Bernd:
That's the whole point, I mean, that's really been our main goal from the beginning, which is why we made after all a new engine, that we can just make stations with a complex geometry, and still allow the AI to fly in there, because that was always a big problem in X.
Question:
Oh yes. „Dodge: Object“ we all know. Or the guns of large ships - one flies around the station and the guns on the other side are shooting at the station.
Bernd:
Therefore the fighting in the immediate proximity of stations is very, very important.
Question:
Will it still despite imbecility of this possibility be possible to play off easily capital ships or similar, although you should have to be inferior in all matters except size and an AI-controlled ship is blown to dust within seconds?
Bernd:
The idea is, the player should of course be very powerful and will also take influence in a big fight, but it is not the sense that his fighter - no matter how high upgraded it already is - ready to take on huge capital ships, but he has the ability to control capital ships himself - indirectly, just not from the cockpit. You give them orders, order them to your position, tell them how they have to attack, then starts the battle of the powerful and you should start to shut off single points and thus to hopefully make the decisive difference.
I mean, of course it's easy to have a massive superiority by having much stronger ships and attacking weaker ships, then they would accomplish it without you, but then it will still be the case that if the player then attacks the rocket launcher or the big defensive turrets, that he thereby reduces the damage to his ships.
Question:
This means, the player's ship is basically related to the GKS like a torpedo ship or a submarine to a battleship?
Bernd:
It isn’t that simple, as I said, the player ship is more complex - alone the fact that it has drones, and these drones again can do special tasks, this includes indirectly the boarding of capital ships later. But you won't fully defeat a capital ship just with your player ship, you don't have enough firepower, but the boarding can also be lead form your ship.
Question:
But you can at least shoot it incapacitate, disable all weapons and shields of the capital ship?
Bernd:
That is a question of balancing - certainly not the biggest, but much larger ones absolutely, you surely want some sense of achievement, not only have to defeat the weaker ones. Of course you will also be able to defeat large ships, but not the biggest, and everything else is a matter of balancing.
Question:
Are you still playing for yourself or do you have to do with it on your job, that you say for yourself it is enough?
Bernd:
This game or other games?
Question:
Generally. Egosoft games.
Bernd:
I must admit I haven't played Albion Prelude much. I've played it at conventions, but mostly to make videos. I mostly play because I also partially record the videos on my own and I just start the plot, and then stop halfway through and everything else was always cheated - So this is not really serious playing, because I'm also involved such a long time in Rebirth - since, since ... four years.
Question:
Is it still fun to work on it?
Bernd:
Doing the work surely is fun, it's just only - you want to definitely have even a finished game, we have been working on X Rebirth a lot longer than we have it ever planned and I really hope that it soon will be even finished.
Question:
Will I be mentally dependent on the program?
Bernd:
I'd say, that depends on you
Question:
Will there be random events? In X3: Reunion, it was so that you read once that solar flares claim to increase the harvest ...
Bernd:
Ah, Environment Events. Um. Yes and no. I can not say anything final yet, we definitely have alone in the plot very large events, which are universe changing to say it a bit overblown, but ... there are some things we are working on, which I don’t know sure if they will be in there already in version 1.0, we of course have to bring out someday a game and can’t continue forever working on it.
Question:
Is a later expansion of the story planned or being considered?
Bernd:
Yes of course, I mean, surely it would be stupid if we operate this gigantic effort, five years working on a game and then at the end to only make a game out of it, we'll see what we are going to add on top, we'll find out then when the time comes.
Question:
AddOn, DLC, Rebirth 2...?
Bernd:
Hopefully everything, yes ... I mean, we have to unfortunately also make money.
Question:
Is it possible to replace the co-pilot and throw them through the cargo door?
Bernd:
No, no, you wouldn’t even want to!
Question:
Assuming that there will be again boarding crews, can they be equipped differently, that aside from the experience points as in Terran Conflict, they also can be equipped with different objects?
Bernd:
Yes and no. It's definitely the case that this part of the game is greatly enhanced by the drones, that you as the player can take more influence. And they should also continue to develop just as before, so you therefore have an interest to not let your well-trained boarding crew die.
Question:
Will it be possible to mod a Ship interior and make other Ships boardable (for the player)?
Bernd:
"modding the Ship interior" – So the question is probably if it will be possible to make your own Player Ships. I hope yes, but I don’t know since this lies in the future. First we have to bring the Game out, and I can only tell that our intent is that we do everything to make as much as possible mod-able. But it is simply too early to tell the details. We lay open as much as possible, we can disclose the file formats, we give the tools, like we did in the past, too. Often it takes a while because there is no time during development to prepare the modder tools or write the documentation or such things, therefore there will be probably dissatisfied modders when Version 1.0 comes out, but... it will probably take a while. But I hope in the long run it will be possible.
Question:
Will Multi-Monitoring be supported?
Bernd:
So you mean real Multi-Monitors, thus..
Interjection:
I think in the direction like that you place the Universe Map or so on another Monitor, like in X2
Bernd:
In X2 that worked, but it is no longer supported specially because we don’t have those virtual Screens anymore. And we still don’t have them, so we integrated everything in the Cockpit. What we can do with relative ease is to support unusual Resolutions, and therefore such ones as those who stretch over multiple Monitors. But in any case there will not be those free configurable Virtual Screens, where you have for example HUD elements on another Monitor.
Question:
"Will the Text Size be changeable?"
Bernd:
I don’t think so.
Question:
Will Rebirth Support Eyefinity from AMD and will the FOV be appropriate zoomable?
Interjection:
That’s again the thing with the special Monitor Settings.
Bernd:
Yes, but he is more detailed, because he says “ will the FOV be appropriate zoomable”. That’s exactly what I meant before. When you have unusual resolutions, for example two or three Monitors next to each other, then fitting the FOV, that you can see your whole Cockpit, is at least thinkable. I wont promise it. The problem will be rather the performance. So currently we try to avoid something like this, because the game, let me put it this way, has certain Hardware requirements. I don’t know… The People doing this will surely have absolute Killer-Hardware. And supporting this specifically for such Hardware could be interesting and quite possible. That is something different from Virtual Screens. With those you simply draw the focus to another place. Then you look, for example, at Yisha, who is sitting next to you the whole time. Yes, that would be possible under circumstances.
Interjection:
I think the game will be supported for two, three, four, five Years, again. So you could add this later, in theory.
Bernd:
We will see. We cannot look in the future. As I said, if there will be DLCs, if there will be a second part. And when. Those are things you cannot discuss now, that’s too early.
Question:
Will there be finally a realistic Star Sky where the single Stars sparkle and the Background doesn't look like a Wallpaper?
Bernd:
Fact is that the Engine supports HDR runs Eye-Adaption. This means the View gets brighter or darker, and this leads to this effect which he means. This means if you have barely recognizable Stars those will disappear if you have Planets in your view at the same time because the Planet is simply too bright so the Stars will be extinguished. When the Planet is out of your View the Stars will be visible. If they sparkle because of that...
Question:
Will Rebirth be accompanied by a supplementary Book again? (Annotation: there are German Novels for every Game, only the first one, Farnhams Legend, is currently translated into English)
Bernd:
Currently that is not certain. Quite possible.
Interjection:
Let’s see if Helge writes something nice… (Annotation: Helge T. Kautz is the author of aforementioned Novels)
Bernd:
Yes, he is interested. We are interested. Time will show if it will work out.
Question:
Will there be reusable Resources??
Bernd:
Reusable Resources. It is on our Wish-list. But I am not certain about it.
Yes, for realistic reasons Recycling is absolutely reasonable. I mean, you can’t tell me that the make this insane work for mining in Space and at the same time let an old Space station, which consists of metal, rot away.
For the sake of realism I would like to have this feature. Let's put it this way: the chances are good.
Interjection:
That you can disassemble Wrecks after a slaughter.
Bernd:
Yes. If you visualize that nicely. That is the Goal. The Point, you know, is to implement recycling without showing it would be easy. Thus it easy to integrate within the economy, so that produces resources again. But if we do this, than we want to display it nicely. This means, that you can see how those things are dismantled.
There are special drones, which weld these ones apart and carrying it away.
Question:
Will there be a Factory for such drones?
Bernd:
Perhaps. Especially such things are under circumstances Stuff for the first DLC. That is exactly such a thing. You don’t know it. Such features are predestined to possibly decide: they are in the first DLC. This are things which are decided by the Publisher. We can’t tell.
Question:
Will there be a fixed Area for the Radar of the Ships?
Bernd:
I cannot tell you at the moment. The thing with the Radar, there are many things changing currently.
Bernd
(reading the Questionnaire): He is interested if the Teladi sometimes say “Egg-salad”
(General Laughter) :lol
Question:
Can you collect the Pilots who abandoned their Ship somewhere?
Bernd:
Let’s see. I don’t know.
Question:
How many Cores are supported?
Bernd:
For the Hardware requirements – I have told it over and over – I cannot tell you finally currently.
But I can tell you that it is very helpful to have a Quad-Core-CPU. Doesn’t matter if it is a Core I, i7 or the previous one, as long as it is a CPU with four real Cores.
Question:
Does the Engine fit itself to the Core Count?
Bernd:
Yes Yes. More is always better. That’s no Question. The Question is: where is the Minimum? That’s the suspenseful Question for the People who are sitting with their Dual-Core Computer and can’t play the Game in the end. And that’s what I currently can’t answer, but the tendency is that four Cores are Helpful, if not the Minimum.
Question:
I meant more like: there are Games which don’t support more than four Cores. Will it be the same here?
Bernd:
We have many threads. And Windows lays those Threads to different Cores. In every Case there are two Important Threads in the Game. That’s different from the old Engine - there was basically just one Thread. There are now two Main Threads which are the Game Engine. Those must run on their own Cores, separated from each other. That’s the reason why you can’t play the Game with one Core alone.
And then there are additional Threads for additional Things and the more cores you have the better. Naturally there is an upper limit to this, that’s true.
Question:
That’s why. The Question was if it would be able to use six or more Cores.
Bernd:
Yes, it wouldn't be disturbed, but the question is more about the Improvement. There are always other Factors. In addition there are the Threads, which are created by the Game, not the only ones. There is always an even important thread, the one of the Graphics Driver, Alone for that reason there are always three important Threads, plus the small ones.
Question:
Will there be Battles between Fractions, to speak Computer versus Computer?
Bernd:
Yes, of course.
Question:
And with Battles I mean big Battles, with ten or more Capital Ships.
Bernd:
I think possible, yes.
Question:
Will the Story be more in the Foreground?
Bernd:
We want to make a better Plot in every case than we did in the past. And we want to get the Players who don’t know the Game yet. And that is now everyone. Nobody knows this Game yet. And we want them to learn the Basics in the Framework of the Plot. And enable things with that, too.
That’s the reason why the Big Events occur with the progress in the Plot. For Hardcore-Players is that irrelevant. They will push toward finishing the Plot as fast as possible that they have their freedom, but nonetheless that means: the Plot is now much more Important and has much more focus now.
If it has cinematic Qualities now, that depends on Definition.
Question:
For what I understood, Rebirth will have more possibilities now in the matter of modular Construction. How far will it be developed? Does this apply to weapon Technology, too?
Bernd:
I think I already explained it – in the article on the Website. You have Build Trees on the one hand. This are pre-defined Plans – for Station Constructions -, which give you possibilities how you can expand Stations. That’s basically the tree which doesn’t exist for the Player Ship. But there are possibilities where you have to decide: may I build this or that. And do I Build A or B? And C can only be built if I had built B and D can only be built when I have A. Such dependencies are there. That is the big Level. That is the Level where I decide for big Parts of the Station. May I build one more big building Element? Do I expand the Food Production with a big Military Module – that are the big decisions.
And then there is the possibility of surface elements on the smaller Level – the features of this Station Element – of this big module to gradually improve. For example to build more Turrets or more Missile Launchers.
But this is not done individually. You cannot decide “I want to build this Missile Launcher and this Turret” but there is simply a Number, which is given, which is placed on this Asset. Where you know: this Module has fifty Turrets or so. And you say something like: I am buying 25 of them now. That’s how it works.
And there are of course all those Inner things, saying: what is the Station equipped with, how many Drones has it available to improve its performance? And other things you can expand.
Question:
Turrets on Stations – meaning there are not defenceless any more, like now?
Bernd:
Many Missile Launchers, there are those “Big Bertha”-Cannons. There are many Surface Elements for Stations. You cannot compare that with X³.
Post your comments here!
The big thanks for all the work goes to Ban and Fanchen for transcribing and
the following user for translating and proofreading.
Unitrader, Ban, wultna, Delois and Tycow.
But I do not want to keep you any longer.
Post your comments here!
Question:
Where is our Co-Pilot (female) from?
Bernd:
In past, we gave some hints from where she could came from. Without explaining much. Also in AP. Still there is this story of a Teladi who adopted a child somehow. That should indicate you a bit that you are maybe able to find out that Yisha – that’s her name – is this child.
Question:
Will there be a tactical overview?
Addtion:
So a overview about the status of the ship systems effectively?
Bernd:
There are menus, on which you can look it up.
Question:
But no continuous display in the cockpit?
Bernd:
There are maskings, but no displays which you can see all the time because there is less space. It would mask far too much space. There are menus in which you can look up the details and so on. And there is a warning mechanism which will react when some system is going down – we are working on that now – and will give out a signal.
We are now balancing that. Recently that week while testing a big battle we noticed that it would be not that much nice when the engines...
Well! The engines now takes gradual damage and if this damage is going to be to big, your ship is getting slower. That should motivate the player to repair the ship regularly as well, if it is necessary. I mean, you can easily avoid that: if you own shields that case will not take place.
And yes, the problem in the test scene was that the ship became slower that fast that you had suddenly no chance to survive a battle.
Question:
In sector and out sector combat – will there be bigger differences again? Or will you unite that a bit?
Bernd:
Naturally, the ambition is to strongly adapt that together. But you will never fully simulate OOS-Fights in 3D. That is simply too expensive. Means: Expensive related to the processing time.
But, we now have got a completely different AI system and I am sure that we will wrangle it much better that chances in the fights are similar. And that especially all weapon systems will be graded equally. Naturally at the moment it is too early to say we will accomplish that.
There will be minor differences every time. Mainly if your weapon system – for example at manual use – gets an advantage or a disadvantage especially for this reason- Or because of how you or the AI steers. If we e.g. now know exactly that a weapon is strong against slower ships and an other is strong against faster ships because of the amount of projectiles, then we can simulate that OOS fairly good.
However, if you now have a special tactic which makes you particularly strong with a special weapon system, we could never simulate that OOS. Minor differences probably will exist ever, but we try to keep them minor.
Question:
Until recently when your shields were gone your hull has been down in seconds. Does this not apply anymore?
Bernd:
That does not exist anymore. Like I said you should be able to repair something on the ship. Naturally you have the motivation to avoid that by using the shields. There are many more details on your ship which can get destroyed. Your ship is made of many more submodules after all.
Question:
Will there be a Bernd Action Figure?
Bernd:
Definitively not.
Question:
Will there be a collectors edition?
Bernd:
That are things the publisher decides. It depends from the country as well. If you ask that question, you ask it for Germany. For Germany I bet that they will release it. In many other countries would that be never profitable. We will see.
Other country's markets are more directed to Steam. Germany is, in that correlation, is a bit more traditional. It is profitable there to make a beautiful wrapping. That is funny. You can put in things, which appreciate that. Arranging that things. In my opinion it is beautiful when I finally sell a game which let you have something in hand what is solid. But this is nothing against steam. Steam is excellent.
Interjection:
Steam has no place at this point.
Interjection:
Indeed, you can use Steam and still have a DVD in your rack.
Bernd:
Yes, that will be the case. We cannot change that anymore.
Interjection:
But you can still create boxes and buy them.
Bernd:
Yes. And include a lot of nice additional content.
Question:
How powerful will the playership be in battle?
Bernd:
So, what I can definitely say, is that it will change heavily during the game. You will naturally begin with a different ship than the one you will end with. And there are many systems you can upgrade and a lot of drones – those I already mentioned last year –, which will make you much stronger, in a tactical sense as well. A part of the balancing that was so far done by giving you access to new ships will now be done by upgrading your ship.
Additionally, you will be able to use larger vessels later on, although you cannot pilot them yourself. They will, let's say, assist you in tactical combat, in war. There is also a large difference regarding how powerful your ship is in normal combat at the beginning and in the middle of the plot.
It will never be a capital ship. The things you can do with a capital ship – like winning a war or attacking a station – you will never be able to do with the player ship. That's not the goal.
But your ship's combat strength will be upgraded by several margins – not by a factor of two or three, but by a factor of ten or even fifty. Solely by receiving missile systems, new primary weapons and new drones and by upgrading shields and hull.
Question:
How does it work with those drones? Will they be produced on the ship?
Bernd:
Produced? No. You'll have to buy them. There is the possibility to construct them, but not on your ship.
So, we are playing with the idea of supply ships, which would deliver any goods you'd need in combat. Especially ammunition – which means: missiles, mainly, as primary weapons do not require ammunition.
Even though primary weapons are not only laser weapons – laser would be too simple, as they are very different types of primary weapons , none of them needs ammunition. If there are kinetic weapons among them, they will somehow work without requiring ammunition.
Question:
That means I decide my equipment depending on my plans, 'packing' what I'll need right now – or can I stuff everything I might need or use at some point into the ship?
Bernd:
Yes and no. Theoretically, you can pack everything into your ship. There is no RPG-like tree structure, at least not for your own ship. But you will have to weigh your decisions – at least at the start, as there are differences. For example, if you buy an expensive weapon system right at the start, you might be unable to buy something else.
But this will effectively be guided by the plot. The plot is meant to introduce you to all those systems, teaching you how to use them and what you can accomplish with them.
Question:
So, there will be more plot in this game?
Bernd:
Yes, most definitely. The goal is to attract new people as well. A problem of the X-games, aside from X-Beyond, was that they lacked a proper introduction into the game.
You start, stand there and have no clue – especially as newcomer – what you should do. And we want to change that with Rebirth, giving someone who does not know the games some orientation in it.
And for that, a good story is necessary. That does not mean that the game will be focused solely on the story, but that the plot will explain a lot about the universe, so that the player will understand what it is about.
Question:
Will the game include trade agreements, delivery contract and concessions for specific factories?
Bernd:
We have introduced a system of commissions and discounts into the game, meaning: benefits for the player for purchases and sells. In one case the buyer will pay you more, and in the other case the seller will charge you less. In addition to market fluctuations, which exist all the time – meaning: if a factory has a high stock, the prices will drop.
Question:
So far, it has always been possible to sell at the same price price when selling a many pieces instead of just a few. If the piece price remains the same, however, this is not “accurate” anymore, as the price should decrease on account of the higher amount of pieces delivered. Will this be corrected?
Bernd:
Yes, this will definitely change. The prices will be named for a specific amounts of goods. But you will still be able to buy a smaller part of that amount if you do not need or are unable to transport the full amount.
Let me please finish the explanation of those discounts. The point is: there are different reasons why a factory offers you a discount. Not only their stock influences the price, but also emergencies. Maybe also the fact that you know the seller; or that your reputation with him is high. Especially the reputation affects the price.
And those things are summarized in the game as discounts. That means, you will see the base price and all discounts you are credited with. And how long those discounts will remain valid. And you can do things to gain those discounts. For example, if you scan a station, if you fly over its surface, you might unlock additional discounts. Maybe you found something – and whatever this is gives you a two percent discount on purchases.
Those are small stories: Yisha will deliver a short comment that explains why you gained the discount.
The summary of all this can be seen in the trade menu: purchase price minus minus minus – and the result is your price. You will also be able to compare that. This way, it can be beneficial for a trader to scout and discover a station. That's the thought behind this.
Question:
Is it possible that you have to pay more than the base price? That you have penalties instead of a bonus?
Bernd:
Not yet. One could think about that. It's not done yet. In general, he balancing is still work in progress. Whether the discounts – and that aspect about quantity the question was about – will remain that way – this is not yet final. Thus, I cannot offer too much details here; but the discount system is clearly an important element.
Our goal here is that the player – all types of players, not only the fighters – are rewarded for flying over the stations, for scouting them.
You can logically – as I already mentioned last year – sabotage a station. You can destroy several things (subsystems) on a station during combat, even partially disable the station. And that are the advantages for a fighter.
But due to those 'info-points' or action points on stations you scan you can also unlock discounts.
Question:
Shouldn't you be punished for such acts of sabotage?
Bernd:
Of course. They are illegal. This worsens your reputation. But the negative impacts on your reputation will usually prevent you from buying anything. I mean, if you are an enemy...
Also, there is another change: you can now be an enemy of a station for a short time without being an enemy of the entire faction. Basically, this is a bit like GTA, where you have your police prosecution status, which is very high for a short period of time. But if you cannot be identified permanently afterwards, the impact on your reputation will not be that huge. That's important, too.
Question:
How will the upgrading of the ship's modules be designed? Will we be able to choose between different modules – like a cargo and a weapons module – at certain points in the story? Or will you be able to use all modules at the end of the story or can you buy them?
Bernd:
That's the question I answered previously. With the enhancement of your ship. That this is no tree, more a linear development. Technically, you can decide freely. But in actuality the plot makes it more linear as it leads you through the story, unlocking and showing you the possible upgrades.
Question:
Can you alter your choice later on? Meaning, can you decide to equip your ship with one thing and uninstall that thing later on?
Bernd:
That is the business part: you can, of course, sell things you bought. Once you found something, you can buy it again later. But in certain cases you will have to find it in the plot before it is available.
Question:
But I can retrofit my ship?
Bernd:
Yes, naturally. Especially with drones. You have a certain capacity of drones and can only use and equip that many. The same goes for your crew. The people you take along are – in a way – an upgrade to your ship, via their abilities.
And you'll have only a finite number of places available – hence, you will have to decide who you take along. It might be necessary to fire someone when you want to hire another person.
Question:
And the modules can be chosen freely or is their number limited? Can I store thirty modules in my cargo bay and change them according to the situation? Using a package against fighter in one case and one against capital ships in another.
Bernd:
That depends on your weapon system: the primary weapons can be upgraded as an addition. There is a limited number of primary weapons. At the beginning, you cannot use most of them, but you will find the rest during the plot. But there is no reason to remove a primary weapon entirely. You simply add them to the others.
It is similar for missiles. The ability to fire missiles is always there but you have to have the ammo. As it was in the previous games. For drones, it is different: you only have so many slots and have to use them reasonable. You can – for example – decide to carry only spy drones or only attack drones or a combination. Or shield drones. That's a tactical element – how you equip your ship. And its similar for the people you take with you.
Question:
Can I change primary weapons in battle or do I have to dock on a station for this?
Bernd:
Constantly. You can quickly switch between the primary weapons. That's the difference. There are primary weapons that are designed to be quickly exchanged. And there are other (ship)-capabilities, which can be enhanced via drones. Which is similar - the one that you have, can be released quickly. But of course not as quick as the primary weapons.
So also there is of course again a balancing difference. Sometimes the start of the drone has a certain delay. Which is where the difference really is. When the drones are more about the tactical element, the primary weapons are just about firepower.
Question:
So can I only select the primary weapons that I have in the cargo hold?
Bernd:
No, that has nothing to do with the cargo hold. There is a limited amount of primary weapons, which are compatible to your ship and these are the ones you can use. I'm talking about the player ship here.
Question:
So do I have a limited number of primary weapons?
Bernd:
Yes. But that is only one part of the whole. Which is of course important to know, since it has not taken place earlier in that form. They describe now only one part.
Question:
Depending on what you plan to fight, do you need then to exchange your weapons ?
Bernd:
As I said before, the permanent exchange of primary weapons are not necessary. And those you got you'll keep. They can possibly brake, but usually - if you pay attention - this shouldn’t happen.
Question:
You have a limited energy supply. Does this mean that you can fire only a certain number of primary weapons at once?
Bernd:
No, no, no. You can always just fire one weapon system at a time. The weapons systems differ not only in capacity. This is again another capability. Since there is no need to have two weaker weapons. I'll give you two examples: there are no longer the standard laser, alpha, beta, gamma, as we had earlier. If there is a beta-laser, which is better than the alpha-laser, then it will be replaced by the beta the laser.
But the primary weapons systems differ from each other: for example, there is a weapon system with a certain spreading, which immediately reaches a pretty big resounding power. Which is great for small ships that move quickly. There is then another weapon system which emits plasma shots very slowly, but is good against shields. Which I have of course to decide what to use, depending on the tactical situation. These are two of the primary weapons systems. Between which you can switch quickly. But they can never be used simultaneously.
But the whole thing is even more complicated because we are talking now only about the primary weapons. There are also rockets, as well as being very different things are. where there also are very different things. But altogether a summary of the systems that need a starter and ammunition. And the third system just happen to be the drones. And they are even more varied.
Well, actually that is in ascending order. The drones are the most complex thing because they actually allow the tactical upgrade of your ship. And they are just totally different. So that you hardly can compare: a normal attack drone that you deploy, to cause harm, or a spy drone, which is very fragile, but also fast and agile, to name just two. Since there can be many different things.
Question:
You can't fit all drones in your ship, right?
Bernd:
Clearly not.
Question:
So, a large cargo drone or something like that doesn’t fit inside the ship?
Bernd:
This is a completely different topic: what other ships can do. Up to this point we have not spoken of Capital Ships, only about the Playership. What you can do with other ships and their systems is again a totally different talking point. That they even partially use drones has nothing to do with your ship.
So, for example, there are mining ships that collect ores. Those start themselves small drones to mine the ore. Simply, because it looks cool, and because you can visualize really good how the ore is mined. This looks much nicer when the big ship is parked, many small drones coming out of it, scurrying around the asteroid and then bring lumps of ore to the ship. This helps you visualize how quickly this goes. You have the same capital ship with less drones - it takes longer, of course, to mine the ore, as the same capital ship with many drones. But these drones have nothing to do with your ship. These drones are equipment for mining ships.
Question:
Last year, we were told, we could fly these mine drones on our own, if you wanted to mine ore on yourself?
Bernd:
Not these. There are other drones, all sorts of special drones, even those that can be controlled from the player ship. But these are not the same that the large capital ships use. This doesn’t work with that size. To be honest, I don’t know if the drone mine would fit into the player ship, so we don't even get this problem there are all kind of categories for objects.
Question:
Will it be possible to involve the environment into the fights?
Bernd:
Do you mean an asteroid field? And other, neutral ships? Or what do you mean with the environment?
Question:
Yes, for example ships or stations as cover usage.
Bernd:
Yes, of course, honestly!
Question:
With the new size of the stations, this will be fun.
Bernd:
That's the whole point, I mean, that's really been our main goal from the beginning, which is why we made after all a new engine, that we can just make stations with a complex geometry, and still allow the AI to fly in there, because that was always a big problem in X.
Question:
Oh yes. „Dodge: Object“ we all know. Or the guns of large ships - one flies around the station and the guns on the other side are shooting at the station.
Bernd:
Therefore the fighting in the immediate proximity of stations is very, very important.
Question:
Will it still despite imbecility of this possibility be possible to play off easily capital ships or similar, although you should have to be inferior in all matters except size and an AI-controlled ship is blown to dust within seconds?
Bernd:
The idea is, the player should of course be very powerful and will also take influence in a big fight, but it is not the sense that his fighter - no matter how high upgraded it already is - ready to take on huge capital ships, but he has the ability to control capital ships himself - indirectly, just not from the cockpit. You give them orders, order them to your position, tell them how they have to attack, then starts the battle of the powerful and you should start to shut off single points and thus to hopefully make the decisive difference.
I mean, of course it's easy to have a massive superiority by having much stronger ships and attacking weaker ships, then they would accomplish it without you, but then it will still be the case that if the player then attacks the rocket launcher or the big defensive turrets, that he thereby reduces the damage to his ships.
Question:
This means, the player's ship is basically related to the GKS like a torpedo ship or a submarine to a battleship?
Bernd:
It isn’t that simple, as I said, the player ship is more complex - alone the fact that it has drones, and these drones again can do special tasks, this includes indirectly the boarding of capital ships later. But you won't fully defeat a capital ship just with your player ship, you don't have enough firepower, but the boarding can also be lead form your ship.
Question:
But you can at least shoot it incapacitate, disable all weapons and shields of the capital ship?
Bernd:
That is a question of balancing - certainly not the biggest, but much larger ones absolutely, you surely want some sense of achievement, not only have to defeat the weaker ones. Of course you will also be able to defeat large ships, but not the biggest, and everything else is a matter of balancing.
Question:
Are you still playing for yourself or do you have to do with it on your job, that you say for yourself it is enough?
Bernd:
This game or other games?
Question:
Generally. Egosoft games.
Bernd:
I must admit I haven't played Albion Prelude much. I've played it at conventions, but mostly to make videos. I mostly play because I also partially record the videos on my own and I just start the plot, and then stop halfway through and everything else was always cheated - So this is not really serious playing, because I'm also involved such a long time in Rebirth - since, since ... four years.
Question:
Is it still fun to work on it?
Bernd:
Doing the work surely is fun, it's just only - you want to definitely have even a finished game, we have been working on X Rebirth a lot longer than we have it ever planned and I really hope that it soon will be even finished.
Question:
Will I be mentally dependent on the program?
Bernd:
I'd say, that depends on you
Question:
Will there be random events? In X3: Reunion, it was so that you read once that solar flares claim to increase the harvest ...
Bernd:
Ah, Environment Events. Um. Yes and no. I can not say anything final yet, we definitely have alone in the plot very large events, which are universe changing to say it a bit overblown, but ... there are some things we are working on, which I don’t know sure if they will be in there already in version 1.0, we of course have to bring out someday a game and can’t continue forever working on it.
Question:
Is a later expansion of the story planned or being considered?
Bernd:
Yes of course, I mean, surely it would be stupid if we operate this gigantic effort, five years working on a game and then at the end to only make a game out of it, we'll see what we are going to add on top, we'll find out then when the time comes.
Question:
AddOn, DLC, Rebirth 2...?
Bernd:
Hopefully everything, yes ... I mean, we have to unfortunately also make money.
Question:
Is it possible to replace the co-pilot and throw them through the cargo door?
Bernd:
No, no, you wouldn’t even want to!
Question:
Assuming that there will be again boarding crews, can they be equipped differently, that aside from the experience points as in Terran Conflict, they also can be equipped with different objects?
Bernd:
Yes and no. It's definitely the case that this part of the game is greatly enhanced by the drones, that you as the player can take more influence. And they should also continue to develop just as before, so you therefore have an interest to not let your well-trained boarding crew die.
Question:
Will it be possible to mod a Ship interior and make other Ships boardable (for the player)?
Bernd:
"modding the Ship interior" – So the question is probably if it will be possible to make your own Player Ships. I hope yes, but I don’t know since this lies in the future. First we have to bring the Game out, and I can only tell that our intent is that we do everything to make as much as possible mod-able. But it is simply too early to tell the details. We lay open as much as possible, we can disclose the file formats, we give the tools, like we did in the past, too. Often it takes a while because there is no time during development to prepare the modder tools or write the documentation or such things, therefore there will be probably dissatisfied modders when Version 1.0 comes out, but... it will probably take a while. But I hope in the long run it will be possible.
Question:
Will Multi-Monitoring be supported?
Bernd:
So you mean real Multi-Monitors, thus..
Interjection:
I think in the direction like that you place the Universe Map or so on another Monitor, like in X2
Bernd:
In X2 that worked, but it is no longer supported specially because we don’t have those virtual Screens anymore. And we still don’t have them, so we integrated everything in the Cockpit. What we can do with relative ease is to support unusual Resolutions, and therefore such ones as those who stretch over multiple Monitors. But in any case there will not be those free configurable Virtual Screens, where you have for example HUD elements on another Monitor.
Question:
"Will the Text Size be changeable?"
Bernd:
I don’t think so.
Question:
Will Rebirth Support Eyefinity from AMD and will the FOV be appropriate zoomable?
Interjection:
That’s again the thing with the special Monitor Settings.
Bernd:
Yes, but he is more detailed, because he says “ will the FOV be appropriate zoomable”. That’s exactly what I meant before. When you have unusual resolutions, for example two or three Monitors next to each other, then fitting the FOV, that you can see your whole Cockpit, is at least thinkable. I wont promise it. The problem will be rather the performance. So currently we try to avoid something like this, because the game, let me put it this way, has certain Hardware requirements. I don’t know… The People doing this will surely have absolute Killer-Hardware. And supporting this specifically for such Hardware could be interesting and quite possible. That is something different from Virtual Screens. With those you simply draw the focus to another place. Then you look, for example, at Yisha, who is sitting next to you the whole time. Yes, that would be possible under circumstances.
Interjection:
I think the game will be supported for two, three, four, five Years, again. So you could add this later, in theory.
Bernd:
We will see. We cannot look in the future. As I said, if there will be DLCs, if there will be a second part. And when. Those are things you cannot discuss now, that’s too early.
Question:
Will there be finally a realistic Star Sky where the single Stars sparkle and the Background doesn't look like a Wallpaper?
Bernd:
Fact is that the Engine supports HDR runs Eye-Adaption. This means the View gets brighter or darker, and this leads to this effect which he means. This means if you have barely recognizable Stars those will disappear if you have Planets in your view at the same time because the Planet is simply too bright so the Stars will be extinguished. When the Planet is out of your View the Stars will be visible. If they sparkle because of that...
Question:
Will Rebirth be accompanied by a supplementary Book again? (Annotation: there are German Novels for every Game, only the first one, Farnhams Legend, is currently translated into English)
Bernd:
Currently that is not certain. Quite possible.
Interjection:
Let’s see if Helge writes something nice… (Annotation: Helge T. Kautz is the author of aforementioned Novels)
Bernd:
Yes, he is interested. We are interested. Time will show if it will work out.
Question:
Will there be reusable Resources??
Bernd:
Reusable Resources. It is on our Wish-list. But I am not certain about it.
Yes, for realistic reasons Recycling is absolutely reasonable. I mean, you can’t tell me that the make this insane work for mining in Space and at the same time let an old Space station, which consists of metal, rot away.
For the sake of realism I would like to have this feature. Let's put it this way: the chances are good.
Interjection:
That you can disassemble Wrecks after a slaughter.
Bernd:
Yes. If you visualize that nicely. That is the Goal. The Point, you know, is to implement recycling without showing it would be easy. Thus it easy to integrate within the economy, so that produces resources again. But if we do this, than we want to display it nicely. This means, that you can see how those things are dismantled.
There are special drones, which weld these ones apart and carrying it away.
Question:
Will there be a Factory for such drones?
Bernd:
Perhaps. Especially such things are under circumstances Stuff for the first DLC. That is exactly such a thing. You don’t know it. Such features are predestined to possibly decide: they are in the first DLC. This are things which are decided by the Publisher. We can’t tell.
Question:
Will there be a fixed Area for the Radar of the Ships?
Bernd:
I cannot tell you at the moment. The thing with the Radar, there are many things changing currently.
Bernd
(reading the Questionnaire): He is interested if the Teladi sometimes say “Egg-salad”
(General Laughter) :lol
Question:
Can you collect the Pilots who abandoned their Ship somewhere?
Bernd:
Let’s see. I don’t know.
Question:
How many Cores are supported?
Bernd:
For the Hardware requirements – I have told it over and over – I cannot tell you finally currently.
But I can tell you that it is very helpful to have a Quad-Core-CPU. Doesn’t matter if it is a Core I, i7 or the previous one, as long as it is a CPU with four real Cores.
Question:
Does the Engine fit itself to the Core Count?
Bernd:
Yes Yes. More is always better. That’s no Question. The Question is: where is the Minimum? That’s the suspenseful Question for the People who are sitting with their Dual-Core Computer and can’t play the Game in the end. And that’s what I currently can’t answer, but the tendency is that four Cores are Helpful, if not the Minimum.
Question:
I meant more like: there are Games which don’t support more than four Cores. Will it be the same here?
Bernd:
We have many threads. And Windows lays those Threads to different Cores. In every Case there are two Important Threads in the Game. That’s different from the old Engine - there was basically just one Thread. There are now two Main Threads which are the Game Engine. Those must run on their own Cores, separated from each other. That’s the reason why you can’t play the Game with one Core alone.
And then there are additional Threads for additional Things and the more cores you have the better. Naturally there is an upper limit to this, that’s true.
Question:
That’s why. The Question was if it would be able to use six or more Cores.
Bernd:
Yes, it wouldn't be disturbed, but the question is more about the Improvement. There are always other Factors. In addition there are the Threads, which are created by the Game, not the only ones. There is always an even important thread, the one of the Graphics Driver, Alone for that reason there are always three important Threads, plus the small ones.
Question:
Will there be Battles between Fractions, to speak Computer versus Computer?
Bernd:
Yes, of course.
Question:
And with Battles I mean big Battles, with ten or more Capital Ships.
Bernd:
I think possible, yes.
Question:
Will the Story be more in the Foreground?
Bernd:
We want to make a better Plot in every case than we did in the past. And we want to get the Players who don’t know the Game yet. And that is now everyone. Nobody knows this Game yet. And we want them to learn the Basics in the Framework of the Plot. And enable things with that, too.
That’s the reason why the Big Events occur with the progress in the Plot. For Hardcore-Players is that irrelevant. They will push toward finishing the Plot as fast as possible that they have their freedom, but nonetheless that means: the Plot is now much more Important and has much more focus now.
If it has cinematic Qualities now, that depends on Definition.
Question:
For what I understood, Rebirth will have more possibilities now in the matter of modular Construction. How far will it be developed? Does this apply to weapon Technology, too?
Bernd:
I think I already explained it – in the article on the Website. You have Build Trees on the one hand. This are pre-defined Plans – for Station Constructions -, which give you possibilities how you can expand Stations. That’s basically the tree which doesn’t exist for the Player Ship. But there are possibilities where you have to decide: may I build this or that. And do I Build A or B? And C can only be built if I had built B and D can only be built when I have A. Such dependencies are there. That is the big Level. That is the Level where I decide for big Parts of the Station. May I build one more big building Element? Do I expand the Food Production with a big Military Module – that are the big decisions.
And then there is the possibility of surface elements on the smaller Level – the features of this Station Element – of this big module to gradually improve. For example to build more Turrets or more Missile Launchers.
But this is not done individually. You cannot decide “I want to build this Missile Launcher and this Turret” but there is simply a Number, which is given, which is placed on this Asset. Where you know: this Module has fifty Turrets or so. And you say something like: I am buying 25 of them now. That’s how it works.
And there are of course all those Inner things, saying: what is the Station equipped with, how many Drones has it available to improve its performance? And other things you can expand.
Question:
Turrets on Stations – meaning there are not defenceless any more, like now?
Bernd:
Many Missile Launchers, there are those “Big Bertha”-Cannons. There are many Surface Elements for Stations. You cannot compare that with X³.
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