I have received so many emails about Freescape which involved many in-depth multiple page answers that I have decided to copy/paste them together and make an official statement to explain as many of the questions as I can.
Freescape is being renamed to Terrascape because I inadvertantly used an existing trademark. But what is Terrascape? Who is writing it? And what can it be used for?
Terrascape is a game backbone. It allows for large scale strategic and first person games set in open terrain. The landscape generator is fractal which meens there are an infinite number of recallable maps, and it is huge: 100,000 trees; 5,000 bushes; 17,500 grasses; and 1,000 buildings are placed on a map which takes an hour to cross at running pace.
It's taken over two years and 18 tons of coccoa beans to get the project to this stage, as a programmer things are often simpler when you write them a second time, or third... Terrascape is at version 11, and it's a highly simplified and optimised piece of code that's been a trial of devotion to me for some time. Earlier versions of Terrascape can be witnessed in several of my games, but the true modularity of the original concept is only now coming to the fore - even though some of my original plans are still yet to surface even in this version.
Aethetically Terrascape has been getting very positive feedback where it has been shown, some of the vistas it creates are stunning from mountain valleys, towns, villages in the hills, forests, lakes and a comprehensive road network it is all here and a few suprises too.
But what is Terrascape? In short it is a game back-bone. The engine allows for easy addition of new units and an editor provides the functionality to create custom scenario's, campaigns, death matches, multiplayer co-operative missions, head-to-head strategic games, tank duals... Whether you want to recreate day of defeat or a real time strategy game - it can all be done with Terrascape.
Authors can even customise features on the terrain such as the buildings to give the game an aethetic look for the setting of their game.
Who wrote Terrascape?
So far Terrascape is pretty much all the work of myself, Andy Igoe, but together with my brother Nick we are developing the next stage of the engine. Together we form Banshee Studios. The buildings seen in the current Alpha releases of the engine where designed by Glenn from Eclipse Entertainment and are used with permission. More buildings will be included eventually so that different aethetic results can be achieved.
My brother and I got involved in the home computer scene in the days of the Binatone, when we got a ZX-81 our tape deck didn't work so if we wanted to play a game we first had to write it. When times moved on and we got a Spectrum (with a working tape deck) then it was only natural that our programming advanced to the stage where we where completing and releasing games. Later we moved to the Amiga platform where we again made several releases, I myself for a time worked for the worlds largest Amiga software house, Scala, although I have since left.
So, what about Terrascape, how does it work and how can I write a game MOD?
Units, scenarios and campaigns can be added in a modular fashion using editing tools I am currently developing. I hope to be able to include up to 120 controllable units which will operate under the AI when not active and a theoretically unlimited number of enemy AI units (probably to be capped around 500 or so). These figures are mostly theoretical at the current time until speed testing has been carried out within the engine.
Previous programs have given us no speed problems with these sorts of AI numbers but there may be complications when adding multiplayer functionality as we've not yet tested this.
The scenario editor will include the ability to make cut-scenes using game graphics and overlay .wav sound samples. Scenario triggers will include such options as proximity, proximity secure, unit group destroyed, unit group disabled. We will be adding more trigger types during development upon the requests of our scenario authors.
Additionally future plans for Terrascape include RPG elements such as hailing, communication dialogues, multiple quests per scenario, equipment defined character meshes and NPC scripting tools but these have not yet been designed and are not intended for initial release.
It is our plan to include multiplayer, but it is very unlikely that the system will support the bandwidth necessary for MMORG games. It is not our intention to write MMORG capable software as we do not have the infrastructure to run such a system ourselves (being primarily hobbyist programmers) so the game is not being designed in a way suiteable for such large scale games.
Will it cost money?
Terrascape will be distributed along with a few single and multiplayer scenarios and a campaign for free. As shareware we hope to sell high quality additional game MOD's. The game modules will likely only be priced at around £5 Sterling (circa $8). The tools to write Terrascape scenario's will not be included in the freely distributed format and licenses will likely be sold seperately.
This is a major change of strategy for Banshee Studios as we've been on the programming scene for around 20 years (I am now 28 and Nick wont say, I was programming about the same time I learned to say 'no') and in that time have given almost all of our works away for free with just a handfull of exceptions (mostly those programs I wrote as part of my main job, but I actually managed to sell a few games when I was at school!).
Whilst I do not expect to earn a living from writting computer games I do hope to partly supplment my very poor income! I would be suprised to earn more than a few hundred pounds in a year out of Terrascape, but I think after all the years i've been giving to the digital community it is only fair that I can ask for a little given how corporate even shareware software has become in some industry sectors.
Scenario authors will not need DBC or DBPro to use Terrascape, the system is stand-alone and uses it's own simple scripting language. It is not intended to be a programming language or a 3D game making system - it is a game engine, for a very specific look and feel of game that Banshee Studios intends to use in it's own series of shareware games and some 3rd parties have expressed an interest in.
We are currently in discussion with a fair-number of other teams about the use of Terrascape as a backbone to their own game modules. However, there is no release date for the system as it is still in the early stages of development. We will not release the system ahead of time, we will not bow to public pressure. We are hobbyists.
After publishing a screenshot I was asked to release an .exe of the system and seeing no harm in that I publicly released Alpha 2 and my intention is to release another Alpha version of the system after DarkBASIC Pro Patch 4 is released. I am currently using DarkBASIC Pro Patch 4 Beta 3 and have resolved most of the patch 3 to 4 migration issues - the rest I hope to cure soon.
Please consider that currently it is an ALPHA version and has many issues, i'm not asking for feedback or bug reports at the current time but am happy to discuss and clarify anything which may affect your own plans for using the system.
remstart *** Explanation
Alpha = technology demonstration release only. Feature ommissions and bugs do exist, feedback is not sought.
Beta = test stage release, most if not all features implemented, feedback sought.
remend ***** End Explanation
Terrascape editing tools WILL NOT be made available for public beta, those beta releases will be restricted to our existing test teams. No new beta testers for this aspect of the project are sought at the current time, sorry.
If you are interested in developing a game module under Terrascape I would be happy to discuss what it can offer you and the features you would need from the system in order to make your game ideas work. However both myself and my brother take a dim view on those who do not finish projects and would preffer to see samples of current completed projects before making special alterations to the engine on your behalf.
So what is the future of Terrascape?
The screenshots you see now are not really that new to me, Freescape IX was truly monumental, much larger, featured day & night and localised weather patterns, hell it even had RPG features such as ultravision and visual spell effects... It ran too slow at the time, and overall I was not happy with some of the effects. Freescape X featured the first water splashes and dust effects, and i've still not got XI to look as good (but I will). Terrascape XI has done away with the unecessary with the emphasis being on plausability and completeability and that's why you see screenshots of it on the forums even though some earlier versions are further developed or in some aspects prettier.
I am currently working on the unit system which allows me to add tanks, infantry, helicopters or what-ever model I can get distribution rights for extremely easy just by the inclusion of a plain text data file.
Once this is finished I will be starting the same concept but for scenario's and building a scenario editing tool. Then on to a campaign linking tool. Then it is time to start working with the level designers to produce our first game in the engine, making additions as necessary for that game.
The first game planned is a mech warrior type game which is being developed in association with Eclipse Entertainment because it integrates very well without too many custom features needing to be implemented. After that we're looking at doing an RPG which will require some customisations to the engine, the RPG is not down on paper yet.
Currently the plan for the strategic elements of Terrascape works a little like this:
Scenario editor allows creation of platoons of up to 10 units (selected: 1-0) and up to 12 selecteable platoons (selected: F1-F12). Theoretically this allows for 120 units per side, although currently the engine is limited to 100 units total until speed tests are ready to be conducted. I hope to be able to include 'unlimited' AI's as co-operative or 1 player scenario's do not need to have the enemies conforming to a unit structure for selectability.
Some of the features of the editor will include the following, although this is not fully considered and designed yet.
Triggers to include: Proximity; Proximity secure; Unit Group Destroyed (unit groups are independant of platoons and manually set for each unit with the scenario editor); Unit Group Disabled.
AI mission sets to include: Seek & Destroy; Hunt (a variant of the former that will have the unit 'behind' the player waiting until strength in force is established); Move to waypoint; Barrage area; Take & Hold; Patrol Area. etc.
Other scripting tools will be included such as the ability to produce in-game cut-scenes and overlay .wav samples.
I hope to include multiplayer in both co-operative or head to head play. Producing multiplayer in a realtime environment is quite hard so it is unlikely the engine will support more than about 8 players at a reasonable speed, possibly more in small scale scenarios.
Strategic planning will be possible for the player via a 'map mode' that will resemble the scenario editor (why do things twice!).
Beyond that, it's pretty much up to the scenario builders as to how the game actually plays - i'll be building levels myself and have some ideas and i'll include features in the engine to make other scenarios possible.
Although the RPG is not planned yet I would like the characters to change appearance based on the equipment they are wearing, so reskinnable (recolourable) plate armour, leather armour, chain armour, multiple weapons and shields etc. etc. It'll be a lot of work on this method but that is what I would like to do if I can....
When it comes to modelling Terrascape currently uses frame 1-100 of animation for movement only, although other animations will be defined soon for infantry. Additionally the unit data file allows you to specify texture scrolling for tracked vehicles, front wheel limbs to turn, turret & barrel limbs for cupola control, etc. So the vehicles are very dynamically animated and very easily if you conform to just a few simple conventions. All of the effects are automatically range culled in the engine to decrease processor occupancy, of course.
I hope that has answered most questions and watered your mouths. As for an ETA - don't even ask.
Andy Igoe, aka. Pneumatic Dryll.
Banshee Studios
Pneumatic Dryll, Outrageous epic cleric of EQ/Xev
God made the world in 7 days, but we're still waiting for the patch.
