We've only made some simple arrangements regarding the network strategy.
The next step, the actual design, will have to wait until the project is actually built.
Now, it's time to formally begin the project initiation process.
Quake 2 has one major advantage over Myst.
That means the project scale is on a completely different level.
Unlike Myst, which required building models for every location and everything in the entire world, Quake 2 doesn't have many true 3D resources.
The largest resource usage is the map.
The main story maps for both multiplayer and single-player modes, while designed in a miniature style, still require some time to refine due to issues with precision.
However, unlike Myst, Gamenova doesn't have to worry about disc capacity this time.
Because Quake 2 is destined to be a real-time rendered game, it cannot use a large number of textures to circumvent graphics requirements like Myst did.
In this way, the space that is actually needed is probably just the model, materials, and shader resources.
Capacity expenditures have been significantly reduced. In a sense, they can be a little bolder in the development process this time.
gamenova, Development Department, Meeting Room.
For this project, it was rare that the entire Gamenova headquarters staff was present.
Although the workload has decreased, the mental effort required has actually increased.
If the original Quake was the foundational work for true 3D first-person shooters...
The Quake 2 game released the following year was a true iteration and refinement of the original.
The first generation solved the most difficult part of creating something from scratch, while the second generation truly built a skyscraper on this solid foundation.
"That's the general situation. Carmack is the lead programmer, and I've already explained his job responsibilities earlier."
The first thing to arrange is naturally the programming part, which is the foundation and necessary framework of a video game.
In addition to the two lead programmers, Lin Lixin and Carmack, this project also requires some unique roles.
Lin Lixin turned to Will. " Will, your work is equally important. We need a more advanced enemy AI system to make the enemy smarter."
This job is perfect for him.
On the one hand, Will's pursuit of procedural realism has reached an almost obsessive level.
Secondly, it's because he has a lot of work experience in this area; the previous Jazz System is still used in various works to perform basic NPC logic AI work.
Upon hearing this, Will immediately nodded in agreement.
He had already guessed this.
Although Gamenova has been actively iterating on its enemy AI.
But the original Quake...
It's a work from over three years ago.
That was a completely technically impressive game released by Gamenova in 1987.
Even now, it is still used by gamers as an "essential software" for testing PC display performance.
You said you spent a lot of money to build your super high-end computer? Don't give me that nonsense; I don't understand any of those random specs.
Just one question: what resolution and frame rate are you using to run Quake?
Can it run at a constant 30 frames per second?
Not running at full capacity?
Then what are you pretending for?
Even now, there are very few home consoles that can truly run Quake at full speed.
Most people are playing a version that can only maintain a stable frame rate of around ten frames per second, and that's only at 320x240 resolution.
But that's not important.
Because everyone is already used to it.
Shouldn't a true 3D FPS game have frame rates like this?
As the saying goes, 1 frame is playable, 2 frames is smooth, and 3 frames is for esports.
10 frames per second is already at the level of "imperceptible to the naked eye," it's incredibly smooth, okay? Besides...
Even after three years, there are still very few true 3D games on the market.
Its performance is even more unsatisfactory.
Three years later, Quake's performance is still in the top tier.
Surprisingly, the few games that are even more powerful than it are Gamenova's Biohazard and Need for Speed.
In terms of optimization technology, Gamenova is truly far ahead of the competition.
In this niche with virtually no competition and near-dominance, some players might genuinely feel that lag in the game is their own fault.
Should I really spend some money to support my parents and upgrade my graphics card?
To be honest, Lin Lixin was indeed quite helpless about this.
Hardware is always the most troublesome thing.
Just like the network connectivity optimization solutions they discussed earlier today.
When you've reached the pinnacle of what you can imagine at the software level, the only way to achieve a breakthrough is through hardware. If all players in a match switch to the latest high-frequency modems from the Nexus pilot program, even if they don't make any optimizations and just use the most basic P2P synchronization, the battle experience will be completely transformed.
We've gone off on a tangent.
Lin Lixin shook his head, putting these matters aside for the time being, and looked at Will to continue:
" Quake was a game released three years ago, and back then our enemy AI logic was still very rudimentary."
"That's true."
Will did not deny this.
What level of AI is used against enemies in Quake?
Anyone familiar with this point will easily understand why Quake players today would rather play the laggy multiplayer mode than the main story mode.
If we abstract it into a state machine, then the enemy AI in Quake is actually very rudimentary.
Firstly, to conserve performance, all monsters will be kept in standby mode by default.
The actual trigger was applied to the player.
This eliminates the need to constantly check every monster; only one instance of the player needs to be monitored. When an enemy is "triggered to detect the player," it will enter a pursuit state and begin moving towards the player.
If the distance is still too far, keep running; if the distance is sufficient, launch an attack.
This cycle continues until either the creature dies or the player dies.
It's a very easy-to-understand and simple model.
Back when Gamenova introduced it, this model was perfectly adequate.
But from today's perspective, that doesn't quite work.
There was almost no strategy involved; they simply moved in the direction of the player.
There was no feeling of fighting an enemy; it was more like fighting a group of cold, pure program code or rigid, inflexible robots.
Even if you kill these enemies, it's hard to get any sense of catharsis from them.
This is why both Doom and Quake deliberately enhance the visual experience of the kill process to amplify the negative feelings caused by excessive simplification.
It was less of a confrontation and more of a pure slaughter.
Even different types of monsters differ only slightly in their distance control and attack methods. The only way to distinguish them is by their health, speed, and attack patterns.
But essentially it's still the same thing.
A group of creatures that would crawl towards themselves.
Will frequently studies these things and is well aware of the player community's opinion on Quake's monster AI... which is indeed not good.
In fact, setting aside its devastating visuals, this is actually a negative point.
However, Quake's historical significance makes it a work that far exceeds a perfect score; even deducting a few points would not affect its perfect score.
But that's clearly not a good thing!
Gamenova products must be perfect.
"For example, we could add some changes to their movement patterns to make them harder for players to hit?"
Will thought for a moment.
If the goal is to make these AIs smarter, then the current decision trees can indeed create quite a few innovative approaches.
"Hmm... no, I don't want to ruin the sense of carnage in ' Quake,' where monsters are torn apart. That's a major source of its exhilarating feeling." Lin Lixin pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
Quake is not a film with this kind of tone.
It doesn't emphasize tactical combat, nor is it a Soulslike game that requires players to constantly devise strategies and memorize patterns.
"Remember the 'dual-loop model' I mentioned before? Killing enemies in Quake should ideally be a short loop, and the shortest possible one. From the moment the player spots an enemy to the end of the battle, the entire process should be controlled within a few seconds."
Will knows this.
As a world-class leading game company, Gamenova has a large internal "slang dictionary".
The battle time mentioned here, according to Lin Lixin's usual terminology, is time-to-kill (TTK).
Time to kill.
Time required to kill the target.
The longer the time-to-kill (TTK), the more strategic and tactical it requires; the shorter the TTK, the more it tests the player's reaction speed and basic skills.
"With such a short time-to-market (TTK), it's difficult to design sufficiently complex AI..."
"Yes, so your task isn't to design a top-tier AI that can make professional players cry in despair." Lin Lixin smiled.
"On the contrary, you need to make these AIs as invisible as possible, so that players can't feel their presence, just like the background music in Myst."
"Well?"
Will was slightly taken aback.
His job was completely different from what he had imagined.
Although it might sound simpler.
But as an expert in this field, Will immediately understood.
This is a huge problem I've created for myself...
Lin didn't mean for him to make the AI dumber.
On the contrary, he wanted a monster that was even more agile and extremely intelligent.
These monsters must learn to be "natural," to act like real monsters, but they must also remain weak and ordinary.
It's precisely because the monster AI in Quake is so outdated that they stand out so jarringly in the game. And to make them appear almost invisible is the most difficult part...
" Will, this is Quake, not Fire Emblem, and not Civilization."
Lin Lixin looked at him, his eyes serious, and said...
"Players won't stop to admire your masterpiece; all they need is to keep shooting and watch the monster explode into pieces and blood everywhere in front of them."