欧服《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》制作人访谈
《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》（Battle Galactica）在各种网游玩家中日渐普及。其监制及创意总监尼克保时捷（Nick Porche）就游戏的相关情况作了谈论。玩家们快来查看吧！
Q：《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》日渐受到玩家们的喜爱，那你们是如何使得此款游戏发展成功的呢？
A：游戏发展情况很不错，实际上，它已经成为我们公司所推出的最好的一款游戏了。在公测正式开始的6周内，就有一百万玩家注册我们的游戏。这个数字还在突飞猛进，这个对于游戏成功与否至关重要。
迄今为止，我们的玩家数目和收入都在不断的增加。没有遭受过去其他IP游戏所遭受到的“退出登录风波综合征”。在运营的头几个星期中，由于需求较高，我们不得不增加数台欧美服务器。
Q：你们工作组是如何制作网页网游呢？
A：我们整个企业都是围绕开发网页游戏，这个效果非常好。我们认为网游是这个产业的未来。自2002年以来我们一直致力于此，现在有1.9亿玩家注册我们公司开发的60多款网游。《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》利用3.3平台系统的尖端优势，使得我们可以通过标准WEB浏览器制作出非常棒的画面。
玩家容易进入游戏，就像在网上冲浪一样。我们公司正在与经验丰富的HTML和3D制作商Bigpoint 和Artplant合作共同努力开发《太空堡垒卡拉狄加》网游。实际上，本款网游已经成为了网页游戏中的完美典范--在以服务器编码为重点的同时也注重如何将web和浏览器进行整合。
还有什么平台能比浏览器应用更加广泛?我们希望我们的游戏可以在任何一台电脑上运行。毕竟我们已经不再停留于文字的时代。
Q：对于玩家对战，最令你们骄傲的方面有哪些?
A: 最棒的事是为了争夺宇宙空间而进行的大量协同战斗。从设计的角度，我们花费了大量的时间来设计飞船的造型。从玩家喜爱这种战略游戏来看，我们的选择是正确的。这正是最值得骄傲的。在游戏测试阶段就已经证实了我们的实力。我们要做的便是让我们的设计跟上科技的发展。实际上这也是我们目前的重点-确保战略“元”游戏成功。我们开发了玩家控制基地和战星，紧密和对战系统相联系。
玩家们可以在同一时间从视窗中看到150艘战船，我们已经在测试这种效果，而我们的玩家现在每天都在体验。另一方面是我们早期的一个设计。BSGO的Rock/Stone/Scissor战斗系统允许从游戏一开始就进行玩家对战。确保每个玩家在我们的游戏中都有一个合适的角色是最有挑战性的，却也是最有价值去开发衡量的。我们的网游允许玩家直接加入，每辆战船都有各自的缺点，玩家只需要发现并加以利用。
Q：玩家有哪些最令你们惊奇的地方？他们选择怎样来玩游戏？
A：在已经结束的公测中，多数玩家选择Cylons的角色，而不是Cylon殖民者的角色。启动运营后我们看到情况改变了。Cylon玩家似乎达到了较高水平，并更有条理。我们现在便在处理这种不平衡的现象。也就是说，如果殖民者如果认为仅从人数上就足以击退Cylons....
另一个令人惊奇的事实是双方立即达到的组织化程度。Cylons往往比殖民者更倾向于牵制他们的对手。我们要求玩家必须坚持军队纪律，要有合作精神，合作的战术是我们当初设计此网游的根本希望。玩家一起讨论Dicta Boelcke对于空战技术的效果就是显示团结的很好例子。就像加入3D效果，不仅可以增加图面效果，也可以使得玩家更加容易融入到游戏角色中去。
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Q：这么简单就可以加入到游戏中，会不会增加玩家的兴奋度？
A：游戏中文字的帮助，免费任玩，及强大的IP基础都使得本款游戏很容易进入。我们听说一些开放教程可以跟进，所以我们现在便在继续改善我们的游戏。网游的美妙之处就是故事情节变化。如果玩家一直呼吁要哪里进行改进，我们一定会关注并使其成为现实。我们的首要任务就是玩家的快乐以及游戏的成功。
此外，我们也知道玩家在游戏中花费了大量的时间和精力。这与我们角色进入容易有关。作为玩家，要和来自全世界不同时区的玩家一起登录，无需下载安装升级和安装插件，这便是网页游戏和大型在线即时游戏的不同。
Q：对于本款游戏新手，您有什么要指导的么？
A：和所有的游戏一样，都有一个学习的过程。玩过视频游戏的人都知道，上手不难。对于新手来说，读读教程和看看任务，对于如何控制游戏角色和完成目标有很大帮助。
《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》更符合核心玩家的需求，他们更喜欢动作类游戏，像第一人称射击游戏，飞行模拟类游戏或者太空枪手等等。不同的是，这些游戏都不能在同一时间有几百个玩家互相射击。为了达到同时真正的多人在线游戏的效果，我们就需要更加强大的系统。从前几周玩家的珍贵回馈中，我们公司已经开始着手升级系统，使其可以允许任何玩家更加容易进入。
Q: 在接下来的几个月中能够，你们计划是什么？
A：很多令人兴奋的计划。我们刚刚更新升级了系统3.3，新增了新款飞船，增强了玩家的技能。更多新的内容正在筹划中，像任务和其他的一些游戏项目。另外我们也正努力使得我们的网游运行的更顺利，可以让全球各地的玩家参与到其中。并且使得新玩家更容易学会熟悉游戏的各个项目。
我们一值在几个层次上更新《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》。修正bugs或者使得系统更加完善。但是认识到错误，并不代表要不惜任何代价修正它，像《太空堡垒卡拉狄加OL》这种复杂的网游，修正一些bugs有时会带来更多的bugs。所以还希望各位玩家海涵。自然，我们也在更新本款游戏补丁，像是增加游戏设计运行的一些新特性。
最近我也看到有些玩家问道游戏故事的长度。每位玩家都希望游戏有个完整的结局。但请记住，我们的游戏正在公测中，也就是说我们依然会对游戏有重大的修正和情节的增减。不仅仅是增加飞船的特性和款型，我们也会增加新的故事路线，战略技术等等。
Battlestar Galactica Online: Nick Porsche Interview
Battlestar Galactica Online continues to grow in popularity among online gamers. MMORPG.com Industry Relations Manager Garrett Fuller recently had the opportunity to chat with Battlestar Galactica Online Producer and Creative Director Nick Porsche.
Q：Battlestar Galatica Online continues to see success. How has the game been growing in recent months?
Nick Porsche: The game is growing extremely well. In fact, it has become Bigpoint’s best launch in our company’s history. In just about six weeks after the official start of the open beta, we hit one million registered players. That number is surging ahead, which is really important for the overall experience to be positive.
To date we have only been ramping up, both in player numbers and revenue – no sign of the well-known “receding launch wave syndrome” other big IP games have suffered from in the past. Within the first weeks after launch we had to add several more servers due to the high demand, both in the States and Europe.
Q: Can you give us insight into how the browser system has worked for your team as developers?Nick Porsche: Our entire business is built around browser games, so I guess you can say it’s worked very well for us. In all seriousness, however, we truly believe that online games are the future of the industry. We’ve been doing this since 2002 and now have over 190 million gamers playing more than 60 games (casual, core, and hardcore). Battlestar Galactica Online takes advantage of the cutting-edge Unity 3.3 platform, which enables us to deliver insanely good graphics through standard web browsers.Offering the core player the same ease of access entering his game as if he was surfing the web is a clear winner. Battlestar is being distributedly developed by several teams of seasoned HTML and Unity3D developers throughout Bigpoint and Artplant. It is in fact a perfect example of what is possible in browser development – one line focusing on server coding, the next team getting the assets into Unity while the third unit focuses on web and browser integration.
And which “platform” has a broader install-base than the browser? We want to make sure our game runs on pretty much any PC or Mac out there – as long as it has a graphics chip of sorts. After all, we are not stuck in the days of text muds any longer….
Q: What are some of the PvP aspects of the game you are most proud of?
Nick Porsche: One of the coolest things we’ve seen is massive coordinated battles between the two factions as they vie for control of space. From a design perspective, we spent a lot of time creating each of the ships and balancing them accordingly. To see players engage in this type of behavior in a strategic fashion means we got it right. This is what we’re most proud of.
Testing the game in Beta has shown us to which potential we can grow it, as long as the design can keep up with the technical development. This is in fact what we are currently working on – making sure the strategic “meta” game comes full circle. We just implemented player controlled Base- and Battlestars, obviously closely tied into the PVP system. If you want to know what is possible from our testing, just picture 150 attack ships tied in combat, burning off the shoulder of Orion (to quote Batty from Bladerunner). Obviously there is just so much you can take in from your viewport at one time – but it works. We’ve tested it and now our players are experiencing it every day.
Another aspect is our “early-on” approach we’ve followed right from the high design. BSGO’s Rock/Stone/Scissor combat system allows PvP pretty much right from the start of the game. Making sure there is a role for everyone in our battlespace is probably the most challenging but at the same time most rewarding aspect of balancing. Battlestar Galactica Online allows players to join the fray without having to first grind their way up for months. Every ship class has a weak spot – you just have to identify and exploit it.
Q: What surprises you most about the players and how they choose to play?
Nick Porsche: In closed beta, we saw a majority of players choose to play as Cylons, rather than Colonials. Post-launch we’ve learned that this is no longer the case. On average, Cylon players appear to have attained higher levels and are generally more organized. We’re addressing this imbalance from both a design and marketing perspective. That said, if the Colonials think sheer numbers are enough to beat back the Cylons, think again…
Another amazing fact is the level of organization both factions adopted almost immediately. Again, Cylons tend to be slightly more hardcore then the Colonials, keeping their adversaries at bay – at least most of the time. We have players adhering to military discipline and tactics, cooperative Squadron and Wingman gameplay on a level never hoped for when designing the fundamental game mechanics. Players discussing the Dicta Boelcke and its effects on basic principles of modern air combat are but a few good examples. It’s as if the inclusion of the third dimension not just added depth to the visuals but to the way the players immerse in their game roles.
Q: Do you find players more active in the game because of how easy it is for them to get started?
Nick Porsche: Word is definitely spreading through the gaming community that BSGO is easy to jump into. Being free-to-play also helps, as does the fact that it’s based on such strong IP. We have heard from some that our opening tutorial can be improved, and we’re working on that. The beauty of online games is that we can make changes extremely fast. If something really resonates with the community, we’ll focus on it and make it happen. Keeping the community happy and growing is our priority.Additionally we can clearly see by the amount of time and effort players are putting into the game every day, that there is a connection between these factors and the accessibility of our title. As a gamer you are playing with a multitude of nationalities in different time zones, logging on whenever you feel like it – not needing to wait for downloads, patches, updates, add-ons or anything else to download, unpack or activate. This is probably one of the most noticeable differences between playing Browser based games and client based MMO’s.
Q: Is there a learning curve for players? What do you say to a new player getting started?
Nick Porsche: Like any game there is of course a learning curve. If you’ve played video games before, however especially flight sims, I think it’ll be very easy to pickup. New players are encouraged to do the opening tutorial and assignments – it’s the easiest way to learn how to control yourself in the game and what the goals are.Quite clearly Battlestar Galactica Online caters to the core gamer, someone who usually has already come into contact with some sort of action oriented gameplay, be it FPS, flight sim or space shooter. None of the mentioned games had hundreds of players shooting at each other at the same time. In order to allow simultaneous Strike Craft combat, quick tactical Escort action, as well as strategic Line Ship battles we had to come up with a control method wrapping all of these styles into one coherent system. Having collected great player feedback in the course of the last weeks and months, we are now starting to adopt and adjust the system to make each class more accessible – for any player.
Q: What plans do you have for the game in the coming months?
Nick Porsche: Lots of exciting things! We just upgraded the game to Unity 3.3, added new ships and the ability for players to earn merits, which they can cash in for the opportunity to pilot the Battlestar Pegasus or Cylon Basestar. More content is always in the works, as are missions, and other gameplay events. Beyond that, we’re constantly optimizing the game to run better all over the world and to make the new user experience as easy – and fun – as possible, while also keeping veteran players engaged.
Until then we are continuously developing Battlestar Galactica Online on several levels. Balancing and bug-fixing the issues encountered in a systematic way, prioritizing them by player impact as well as technological achievability and risk. This is probably one of the most underestimated continuous development issues; simply knowing about a problem doesn’t solve it by any means. Complex games like Battlestar are prone to introducing a plethora of new bugs if the existing ones are not approached from the right angle. It’s the famous can of worms – so please bear with us if we sometimes seem to avoid certain topics. It’s not for the issue itself, but the implications it brings along for the rest of the game.
This automatically leads to the second level of development – the long term horn of plenty we intend to pour out over our players. Refracturing those parts of the game which prove to be patch-resistant (see above), while designing and implementing exiting new features.I recently read in a review remarks about the longevity of our game. And although this obviously lies in the eye of the beholder, I know everyone wants this game to go full circle. Please bear in mind we still are in “Beta” - meaning we consider this phase to still see important alterations to the actual gameplay and mechanics. This being said we’re not only working on implementing hot new assets like ships or items, we are designing along totally new routes, completing the strategic layers of the conflict, giving our players more meaningful gameplay.