Ask Sandy V

Article written by Sandy Petersen
Published on 10-22-1999
Tags: , ,

Q) Whose idea was it to have the “.” key bring up vills that
were not working

A) I don’t recall. Not me. Maybe Tim Deen or Angelo
Laudon.

Q) 1st is minimum range. it is mentioned in the manual that
Longbows and hand cannoners have a minimum range, but when i
play,

A) Longbowmen & hand-cannoneers do not have a minimum
range. This was changed just before release. The only non-siege
units with a minimum range are skirmishers, cannon galleons, and
certain buildings pre-murder holes.

Q) was there a particular reason ES changed capacities, or was
it for balancing, or was it to make some of the civ bonuses
fair?

A) Yes we had a reason in mind. The reason was, of course, for
balancing the various foodstuffs.

Q) When I have a group of archers selected, in the enemy town,
currently engaged with enemy units, and I change their stance to
stand ground, why do they continue to chase after

A) I never use stand ground. I agree it does not work
intuitively. Supposedly, a ‘stand ground’ unit will only follow
attackers if it’s moving at the time. So you need to have it stop
before stand ground works in the manner desired.

Q) If I have a vil chopping wood near a TC, and then have him
build a farm at the TC, what happens to the wood he was
carrying?

A) Nothing, until you task him to do something different from
chopping wood, building, or repairing. Once he becomes a farmer,
he ‘throws away’ the wood and it is lost.

Q) If I garrison vils in a TC, do they automatically deposit
whatever they were carrying?

A) Yes.

Q) I have heard rumor that a vil carrying berries will discard
the berries if told to hunt a deer/boar. Please tell me this is
not the case!

A) Sorry. Drop off your berries at the mill before going on a
hunting trip.

Q) Are team bonuses available just to the respective civ that
happens to be in a multi-player game, or is the bonus given to
all teammates?

A) Everyone on your team gets the bonus. Even if you’re the
only one.

Q) I would really like someone, or you to collect all your
answers and post them in a new thread

A) This has been done several times by other people. I do not
do it myself. You are welcome to make the effort if you like.
Note to people who want to catch me in an inconsistancy: have
fun!

Q) I think that sea battles are a little unbalanced. In my
opinion fire ships kill rather easily Galleys. And Galleys kill
easily Demolithion Ships. The problem is that demolition ships
are not that efficient against fire ships.

A) We think they’re balanced just fine. The sea battles are
not just a simplistic transitive relationship A > B > C
> A, any more than the land battles are. Galleys have uses
beyond fire ships, and so we don’t mind them losing to fire
ships. For one thing, galleys can attack land targets. Fire ships
tend to clump themselves when attacking, so demolition ships can
often get more than one. Also, demolition ships have other
virtues beyond killing ships. Ever catch a formation of archers
fording a stream with a demo ship? I have

Q) The manual is absolutely correct about the history of fire
ships except the fact that only Byzantines used the
Greekfire.

A) Arabs (i.e., Saracens) also used the classic Greek Fire
extensively. They learned how to do it from the Byzantines. But
the game’s fire ship represents more than just the classic Greek
Fire. It also represents the many other forms of fire ships that
were used, including firepots that were hurled or dropped onto
other ships’ decks.

Q) history is on our side. We will bury you.” -Nikita
Khrushchev 1979

A) He said this in 1959, not 1979. He was dead in 1979.

Q) Have you by any chance read gutter_rat’s testing results of
the elite chu-ko-nus and can you explain the discrepancy between
the +%60 damage that elites do vs walls and the much lower damage
they do against armored targets.

A) Contrary to my previous posts, I have recently discovered
that each additional arrow of the chu-ko-nu (beyond the first)
does only 3 points of damage. This is modified by the archery
upgrades, however. But if you don’t upgrade your chuck, then each
arrow is a flat 3 points. This means, of course, that anyone with
2+ points of piercing armor takes only 1 additional damage point
per volley arrow that hits him (past the first, which does a base
8 damage). Incidentally, this also applies to towers &
castles. Also note that a chu-ko-nu has an 85% chance to hit. If
it misses, the arrow lands somewhere in a 3×3 tile area (and
could conceivably hit the original target). And of course
ballistics throws everything off, so the waters are pretty
muddied here.

Q) First, what aspect of AoK do you personally find the most
fun and/or interesting?

A) Unit interaction

Q) Second, if you had Ultimate Power, is there anything in AoK
you would have changed?

A) It would have been far less defensive in nature.

Q) Since I answered this question Sandyman, do I get an
exlusive preview to the expansion pack?

A) Ask MS’s marketing department. It’s up to them.

Q) MS wouldn’t mind if you told us what year the xpack and
aoe3 are going to come out would they?

A) Of course they would mind, especially before they’re even
announced. A little logic will expose when the X-Pack must be
released, however.

Q) What do you think of all this talk of the millennium??
There are some threads that say it won’t occur until 2001.

A) I hereby state that in my opinion, the first century A.D.
had only 99 years in it, and thus went from 1-99 A.D. Therefore
the second century started in the year 100, which is why in my
opinion the new millennium begins in 2000, which seems
emotionally right anyway.

Q) Who were the four Acmeist poets who lived during the early
20th century in transitional Russia, considered the only true
voices of uncensored writing during the ‘terrible years’ referred
to in Akmatova’s poem “There are four of us”.

A) I never said I couldn’t be stumped by obscure trivia. Good
heavens, anybody can ask me some ridiculous question such as ‘How
do you say ‘where is the bathroom’ in Oubykh?’ (Oubykh is the
world’s rarest language, possibly even extinct now.) or ‘What are
the names of the wives of the Byzantine Emperors of the 6th
century’. But when a person asks a question like that – you don’t
really want to know the names of the four Acmeist poets; you
already know them. It’s not a real question and it’s not a fair
question. So there. Nyaah nyaah nyaah.

Q) Was the leaning tower of Pisa built that way or did it get
that way over time?

A) It was not built that way, but sagged to nearly its current
position soon after its construction. It keeps sagging a little
every year, and if it is not somehow stabilized, it will
eventually fall over.

Q) could you post some refrences that the aok team used for
thgis game

A) a good place to start are Hans Delbruck’s classics, Warfare
in Antiquity, The Barbarian Invasions, Medieval Warfare, and The
Dawn of Modern Warfare. These are available in trade
paperback.

Q) I would hardly call anyone lazy if they did not choose to
read through 600 or more posts to find the one answer they were
looking for

A) But I still insist that I’m too lazy to answer the same
question multiple times.

Q) The Spice Girls or Slayer?

A) Slayer

Q) Status Quo or Savage Garden?

A) Savage Garden

Q) Motorhead or Celine Dion?

A) Celine Dion (my daughter loves her).

Q) Why is this named Stump the sandyman?

A) Because I have a pegleg?

Q) In the future, do you expect all PC games to be online
“persistant world” games, will they be a majority, or reserved to
just a few titles at a time due to the unique difficulties
supporting this type of game?

A) It depends on how far in the future you want to go.

Q) Is the firepower of a building different based on the type
of unit that garrisons it?

A) Yes.

Q) If I try to play a death match game, the game ends as soon
as I hit Feudal. This is weird since there usually isn’t any
fighting by then. Any ideas?

A) Play with a lower pop cap and at a higher difficulty

Q) Will you/could you add the pavise as protection for
crossbowmen? Will you/could you add the chained wagons that were
common in Hussite Armies?

A) No/Yes, in both cases.

Q) A few suggestions for civs <left out>

A) Actually, in-house, we have probably already thought up
every single civ that has been suggested on the net, and a few
that have not been. The X-Pack is not in any way suffering from a
shortage of civ ideas. Quite the reverse.

Q) Any thought to adding units of mercenaries

A) Yes, but I do not think it will be done. It adds a UI
complication that is not worth the bang for the buck. Besides,
who’s to say that the troops you normally hire (by paying gold
& food) aren’t mercenaries?

Q) Did you consider implementing unit specific efficiency
ratings a la Myth If so, did you leave it out due to space
efficiency, programming problems, just seemed worthless, or
what?

A) Space efficiency.

Q) You stated somewhere that some team bonuses are cumulative.
Which ones?

A) They’re never cumulative with themselves. Only with other
bonuses. Example: if you are Frankish & have a Chinese ally,
then you get +45 food in farms that get free upgrades.

Q) Is it possible to write a topic about how to use the
triggers

A) Yes. I’m not going to do it. I don’t have time.

Q) Who was the better James Bond… Pierce Brosnan or Sean
Connery?

A) In order from best to worst, the Bonds were Sean Connery,
Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby, Pierce Brosnan, and Roger Moore.
(I’m not counting Casino Royale as a Bond movie.)

Q) Do you have any opinions on the recent Microsoft monopoly
verdict?

A) Yes. I think that Microsoft may well have been abusing the
advantage it gained via its operating system and that _despite _
this, the government is probably wasting its time.

Q) How does the computer determine the “winner” of an infantry
“tie”?

A) No one ever attacks each other at _exactly _ the same time
in AoK. There are no ties.

Q) Can I come to ES?

A) Of course not.

Q) what is the address?

A) we’re in the Ericsson Building on highway 75.

Q) Is it possible to make the fighting more enjoyable to
watch

A) zoom up to 800 x 600.

Q) the Wars and Battles are not always won by the biggest or
best army. Also in Man to Man single Combat there was at least a
bit of LUCK involved! So my Question: can you maybe implement a
little random in the damagae ratio that units will inflict?

A) Wars are not always won by the biggest or best army, but
when they’re not, it’s hardly ever because of luck. The fledgling
U.S.A. did not defeat the British because of luck. Nobunaga did
not win his first important battle (at 1:12 odds) because of
luck. North Vietnam did not defeat the U.S. & ARVN armies
because of luck. The British did not win at Agincourt, nor the
French at Orleans, because of luck.

Now here are some historically significant questions for
y’all. I am going to list a series of battles. The question is,
why are these battles HUGELY important, and who were the opposing
sides? Every player of AoK would be better-educated by knowing
about these fights.

Manzikert
Tours
Chalons
Sempach
Tannenberg (NOT the one in WW1, the medieval one)
Ain Jalut
Lechfeld
Talas

Q) How about miniskirts or even thong bikinis for the female
villagers?

A) We could then add a new cool civ bonus – pulchritudinous
female villagers! I make no suggestion here as to which civ
should have it.

Q) You consider Roger Moore the worst bond? Must be alot older
than me

A) Why? All the Bonds except two are post-Moore. I don’t think
that his movies are the worst Bond movies, nor that his villains
were the most inferior villains. Only that he, Moore himself, was
the worst Bond.

Q) A mormon who will listen to slayer now I have seen
everything

A) I don’t actually like Slayer at all. But the choice was
between Slayer & the Spice Girls. When I want hard stuff, I
go for the throat and listen to Bauhaus or Laibach, instead of
dinking around with wussy dillettante no-talents like Slayer and
practically all modern metal bands.

Q) Tannenberg: Germans (Teutonic Knights) vs. Alexander
Nevsky

A) Nope. Nevsky fought the Teutonic Knights at a different
place, and a different time. The film ‘Alexander Nevsky’ is
terrific, though.

Q) Paladins, especially Frankish, are extremely powerfull, in
that it takes 3 pike’s to kill one.

A) It doesn’t really take 3 pikes to kill one – two pikes are
almost exactly a match for one. They barely lose; at the end of
the fight the Frankish paladin only has 12 hit points left. If
you attack it with three pikes, you have two almost totally
unharmed pikes left alive after killing the paladin, so three
pikes are a BIG edge over the paladin – you lose about 1 for 1
that way, which really sucks if you’re the Franks, since cavalry
cost more than twice as much as the pikes. Paladins have a lot of
disadvantages – they have real trouble destroying walls and
buildings, for instance, they are very expensive and slow to
build, and there are a lot of counter-units vs. them.

Q) What sort of armor do Huskarls wear to give them their
incredible resistance to arrows? Or is it just a arbitrary game
mechanic?

A) Plastic. Of COURSE it’s an arbitrary game mechanic.
Everything in AoK is a game mechanic, and it is all arbitrary in
that we pick what we like and don’t like.

Q) How will Cthulhu do in the New Hampshire Primary?

A) No matter who ostensibly ‘wins’, Cthulhu will be the _real
_ victor.

Q) was grapeshot even in use during this time

A) Not formal grapeshot, but everyone fired clusters of
gravel, nails, and other tidbits out of their cannons when the
going seemed good.

Q) who had the largest empire (land mass) of all time?

A) Mongols. Also had the fastest rate of advance of any army
of all history.

Q) your Timothy Dalton ranking can NOT be excused

A) Pshaw.

Q) Mongols are a good guess, but it’s not them (greatest land
mass of an empire).

A) It certainly is. At their peak they controlled all of what
is now Russia & the Ukraine, all of what is now China, plus
Afghanistan, Persia, and huge hunks of the middle East. No one
has ever controlled more total land mass than that, not even
Spain at her peak. England’s not in the running, even with
Canada, Australia, India, and her various other colonies she is
way behind the Mongols.

Q) Not to down Gamespot but will you, es host the civ
showcases for the x-pack?

A) I do not know. It’s possible we won’t even have civ
showcases, as such.

Q) (Largest Empire) It was Great Britain, circa 1900.

A) I’ve read Paul Kennedy, too, and I’m still going to claim
the Mongols were it. Here’s why: many of the nations that are
counted as part of the British ‘Empire’ really weren’t. Example:
Egypt & Iraq, among others, while under British protection,
had their own governments, armies, and policies. Also, by 1900,
Canada and several other Commonwealth nations were by now
independent sovereign nations with their own governments, i.e.,
no longer colonies. If you want to count the entire Commonwealth
as part of the British Empire, even then there is doubt, seeing
as China is far larger than Indo-China, and the frozen wastes of
Russia, while perhaps not formally claimed by Mongols (what was?)
were certainly under their sway. So I’m sticking to the
Mongols.

Q) When do you think DVD will become the norm in the gaming
community?

A) Within the next eighteen months. I predict the changeover
will take less time than the switch from floppy to CD-ROM.

Q) And which genre do you think will have the first taste of
DVD?

A) roleplaying or adventure games – they need the extra space
badly for their lengthy cinematics. A number of such games (such
as Riven) already are on multiple CDs. Using fewer DVDs would
save them money, and that’s the bottom line.

Q) What do you think about some online stores selling AOK
almost half the listed price? ($55 right??)

A) Doesn’t bother me. We get the same royalty from MS no
matter what. For all I care, they can give it away free.

Q) What do you do at work now since AOK has been release?

A) I’m lead design on a project that has not been announced
officially yet.

Q) Which great medieval movies would you recommend?

Here are my top ten!

1 – ALEXANDER NEVSKY – this is possibly the best medieval film
ever made, even though it is in Russian and subtitled. Terrific
battle scenes (which were stolen and rotoscoped for that pathetic
Lord of the Rings film). Music is great, too – they got Prokofiev
himself to score it. The Teutonic Knights and their sinister
monks are terrifically villainous, and all the armor &
weapons are absolutely historical.

2 – THE SEVEN SAMURAI – another really good foreign film.
Toshiro Mifune is quite possibly the best action star that ever
lived. This movie is really long, but worth every bit. Has some
extremely funny moments, as well as some really poignant
ones.

3 – KAGEMUSHA – this is the tale of the Shadow Warrior. Lots
of great medieval japanese action (including some gunpowder), and
a really wonderful battle scene at the very end. Lots of panoply
and very colorful.

4 – THE LAST VALLEY – takes place during the 30 years war,
which is kind after our time limit, but still works out okay.
People are still using swords & spears in combat, though
gunpowder is making more of an impact.

5 – THE VIKINGS – Kirk Douglas is great! Ernest Borgnine is
great! Janet Leigh is great! Tony Curtis is … er, well, at
least he doesn’t spoil the picture. Castles are besieged,
longships rampage across the sea, drunken vikings engage in
axe-throwing contests with human targets, men are thrown into
wolfpits to be devoured alive. What else could anyone want in a
viking flim?

6 – TARAS BULBA – okay, it’s another 17th century film, not
truly medieval, but it’s pretty close, and who can object to
seeing Yul Brynner as a Cossack? Sadly, Tony Curtis is once again
in the film, but at least he dies at the end. Sorry if that
spoils it for you.

7 – EL CID – the tale of the great Spanish hero. Sophia Loren
& Charlton Heston go at it hammer and tongs. Watch for the
excellent fight between the Cid and a bunch of guys on horseback
– the Cid uses a ball and chain to amazing effect.

8 – EXCALIBUR – for all its flaws, this is still a fine
version of the Arthurian legend in my opinion.

9 – SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD – yes I know it’s a fantasy film.
So what?

10 – RICHARD III (1955) – Laurence Olivier. Claire Bloom. John
Gielgud. Ralph Richardson. What more do you need? Note – I also
love the 1996 version of Richard III, starring Ian McKellan, but
it’s set in the 1930s, making it Un-medieval, except in
philosophy.

Q) have you seen the Messenger already? If yes, what did you
think about it? If no, are you planning on seeing it?

A) I have not seen it yet. My co-workers who have seen it have
commented on it, and they have been negative enough that I’m
willing to wait for the video.

Q) Hey Sandy Would you call your self a “LADIES MAN”?

A) not in front of my wife.

Q) In AoK the fishing boats can build any
foundation(foundation set by a villager) and the villagers can
build fishing traps. Is this(builder boats/vills-fish traps) an
intended feature in the AoK game?

A) No. It’s a bug and we plan to fix it real soon now.

Q) Whats your favorite H.P. Lovecraft story? I think mine is
probably the Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

A) Mine is The Outsider.

Q) I noticed in another earler Q&A that you mentioned
Bruce Campbell. Did you ever see the movie Evil Dead II? hehe one
of my favorite movies of all time. Did you see it and what did
you think of it if you did?

A) I have seen every single Evil Dead film. I think that
demonstrates what I think of it.

Q) It there any truth to the popular obscenity “F***k You!”
originating in the words “Pluck Yew”?

A) No. The word ‘F**k’ comes from a Germanic root word and has
nothing to do with the word ‘pluck’. There are claims that the
obscene gesture commonly known as ‘the bird’ may derive from
English archers during the 100 years war, and this may even be
true, but sadly no good history of obscene gestures has ever been
made. At least not that I know of. Incidentally the ‘F’ word is
_definitely _ not from ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’. That’s a
fairy tale. Fun though.

Q) You are very open minded Yet you had a temple wedding wich
implies that you are not just a casual Mormon

A) I like to think that ‘open-minded’ and ‘good Mormon’ go
together.

Q) Just to put an end to this almighty imbalanceing paladin in
low pop games can you put a little in about how to use the
terrain and choke points and the use of combined arms. As well as
carefull planning of homebase layouts.

A) Sounds like you already know how. Paladins cost 75 gold
& take 30 seconds to produce. Pikemen cost 0 gold and take 22
seconds to produce. Even the upgrades for Pikemen. Paladins suck
at taking down stone walls. Look with amazement at what happens
to paladins attacking walls if you shoot at them with bombard
cannons or mangonels. If you have shallows, wait for paladins to
come partly across and hit them with a demo ship. It won’t kill
them, but they’ll only have about 10 hit points left and be easy
meat for your pikes. Horses have so many counter-units, and cost
so much, they are actually quite hard to win with, in my
opinion.

Q) What is your most preferred, if any, civilization in AOK?
Why?

A) Goths are the most fun for me. I try to ensure all are fun
to play, though.

Q) What is your least preferred, if any, civilization in AOK?
Why?

A) Teutons and Byzantines, because they’re very defensive
minded and I find that kind of play dull. But I realize that we
have to have defensive civs in the game and many players like
this kind of action. Yes I realize the town center push is an
offensive maneuver, but it’s a slow-moving, siege-like offense,
and dull to me. That is the most important reason I’m working to
thwart it.

Q) What is the original purpose, if any, for the Trade
Workshop in the map editor?

A) We almost had a trade workshop in the game. It got pulled,
but we left in the building art for scenario designers to have
fun with.

Q) I heard a new edition of RQ is coming out. Is it true? Has
it come out? If not, when?

A) I heard this too. It is not out yet.

Q) Do you get bored answering questions here?

A) None of your business.

Q) Why was the Huskarl decided on as a UU. (as opposed to a
normal unit everyone could have)

A) Hey, YOU try to think up a unique unit for the Goths. Once
we’d invented it (an anti-archer infantry), we had to think of a
name.

Q) if I send a tradecart to someones market and it returns
home, the person with whom I traded also gets some gold. Is this
correct?

A) Yes.

Q) Could you include the pope in the x-pack?

A) NFW

Q) when repairing a bombard cannon, what does the villager
actually repair, the cannon or the guy with the cannon?

A) he repairs the little wheels it rolls on.

Q) Duh Sandy listening to Laibach and bauhaus ? Now I am
getting curious, could you mention some more bands you like.
Although I don’t know your/mormon polical views, or how active
you are political regarding bands, but a mormon listening to
Laibach seems like a contradiction to me

A) Mormonism is a religion, not a political system. I keep
both politics and religion out of my music. I do object to vulgar
language in my music.

Other bands or musicians I really like: 1 – Tom Waits
2 – The Nits
3 – Brave Combo
4 – Tarika Sammy
5 – Beatles
6 – Huur-huur-tu
7 – Philip Glass
8 – Cat Stevens
9 – The Beatles
10 – Jean Michel Jarre

If any forumers have heard of all these groups, I take my hat
off to you.

Q) What year did Constantinople Fall??

A) 1453 to the Turks. It fell several hundred years earlier to
the Crusaders, but they gave it back.

Q) What is the atomic weight of gold?

A) This is trivial to look up.

Q) Isn’t the new bond girl hot? Huh, Huh??

A) No. I hate her. In fact, I hate BOTH the Bond girls in the
latest Bond film. I thought Robert Carlisle was good, though.

Q) What sign did Constantine get from the sun??

A) The cross

Q) What does S.P.Q.R. stand for? Huh, Huh??????

A) The People and Senate of Rome.

Q) What year did Napoleon retreat from Moscow? Huh?

A) late 1812

Q) What’s you’re favorite type of arhitecture? Huh, Huh??

A) Aztec-Mayan

Q) What was Lawrence of Arabia’s nationality??

A) He was a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Q) What the **** is that thing on Gorbachev’s head?

A) A birthmark, also known as a port-wine stain. There are
various techniques available to plastic surgeons that can greatly
diminish or eliminate such marks. I regard it as a mark of
Gorbachev’s strength of character that he did not resort to
these. In the same way I think it’s idiotic for balding men to
wear toupees or get hair transplants, etc.

Q) Will some of the strategies that humans use be incorperated
in the ai in the patch or xpack?

A) I hope so.

Q) Sorry, but you’re wrong. The first century started in 1 and
ended in 100 and the 20th century will end in december, 2000.

A) Sorry right back to ya. Since there was no year 0, we can
state whatever we like about the first century, so you can go
croak.

Q) You can believe 2+2=5 and have good arguments (in your
opinion) for that, but it’s wrong.

A) this is true about statements of fact but it is NOT true
about human creations such as the concept of a century. The
number ‘2’ is seemingly a natural value. But a century is no more
than an arbitrary invention, as is the time it starts.

Q) When was the ‘Battle of Poltava’? Which countries
participated? Who were the victors and who were defeated? What
were the names of the leaders for the countries? Now I’ve given
you trouble, haven’t I?

A) Not at all. The Battle of Poltava is one of the most
important battles of history, and I’m well up on it. It took
place during the Great Northern War which lasted from 1700-1721.
Poltava happened in 1709, and basically ended the war in the
Russians’ favor, though fighting dragged on for another decade.
The Russians fought the Swedes, and at Poltava they soundly
trounced the Swedes, who were led by Charles XII, one of the most
brilliant military leaders ever (apparently not quite brilliant
enough, though). Peter the Great was, of course, the Russian
tsar, who also led on the field, brilliantly advised by his
officers. The Swedes were crushed, losing their entire army
except for 1500 men (over 30,000 casualties, mostly prisoners).
The Russians lost only 4500 out of 80,000.

The battle of Poltava is one of the most critical battles in
European history. Until Poltava, Sweden was a world power to be
reckoned with, and Russia was a primitive backwater. Charles XII
even invaded (and defeated) Poland and Denmark before attacking
Russia, because he viewed them as more dangerous foes (he was
obviously wrong, in retrospect). After Poltava, Sweden became the
bucolic backwater, and Russia leapt to the forefront of world
importance, a position which it has held ever since. Even after
its near-collapse economically, what Russia thinks & does is
of crucial importance to the world, and what Sweden thinks &
does is only of local interest (no offense to any Swedes in the
forum – I _ like_ Sweden). This situation is a direct result of
the battle of Poltava.

Q) Who was the female pope?

A) There wasn’t one, but the legend calls her Pope Joan.

Q) do you mean to imply that bands such as Soundgarden, Rage
Against the Machine, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains,
Stabbing Westard, Filter, Nirvana, Pantera, and Metallica are
wussy dilettantes who are incapable of meaningful artistic
expression?

A) Correct. You are absolutely right in what I wanted to
imply. Except for Metallica, who has some good stuff. None of
these bands will be listened to in fifty years’ time. Bauhaus
will still be of interest. Anyone who’d compare Bauhaus to Love
& Rockets needs to do some serious musical transplanting.

Q) In hopes of a magyar civ in the expansion pack for AoK,
name the seven Magyar founding fathers

A) there is no hope for a magyar civ in the expansion
pack.

Q) A millennium is, by definition, 1000 years. To say that the
first one had 999 years is not correct

A) A millenium, as a construct of the human imagination, is
whatever humans wish it to be. Since the vast majority of humans
using the western calender obviously wish to celebrate the
millenium on Jan 1, 2000, it must be then.

Q) Who came up with the idea to make Age Of Empires?

A) It was a group decision in which Brian Sulllivan, Bruce
Shelley, Tony Goodman, and Rick Goodman were all heavily
involved.

Q) will the AI figure out (or the expack AI) that I want my
camels attacking cavaliers in general, and my Chu-Ko-Nu to attack
pikes

A) The unit AI is generally aware of this, and tries to target
the units it has the best chance to kill. It also tries to attack
units that are close by, and the conflict between these two goals
sometimes leads to it doing less-than-optimum targeting. Also it
doesn’t try to target units outside of its search radius.

Q) How does it feel to be so popular?

A) I get plenty of attacks from people in the forum too, so
‘popular’ is maybe not the right word. Perhaps ‘notorious’ is
better.

Q) I notice that (when you commented on your game, we got to
see) you said you were britons and you hate(or maybe disliked)
them. How could you not have a favorite civ, but it you can
really dislike one? Or maybe I read it the wrong way.

A) I try really hard to make all the civs balanced &
equal, but I admit some are more equal than others.

Q) Naval battles were improved but I hardly find any player
that wants to fight these. I love naval battles myself. Could you
do some “propaganda” on this subject to have more players sinking
ships.

A) If the addition of many new types of ships, naval bonuses,
and ship upgrades aren’t enough to make naval warfare
interesting, I don’t know what would work. I suspect that the
changes in AoK have not popularized ships any. However, for
people who DO like ships, the naval warfare is far cooler. In
other words, the same small percentage of people enjoy naval
fights as in AoE, but now they’re having more fun than
before.

Q) Does everyone look like a cowboy in Dallas i.e. John
Wayne.

A) We all look exactly like cowboys, except without the
costume.

Q) give the fantastic level of graphics / animation in this
game, any plans to improve the graphics of walls built over
hills?

A) We have talked seriously about this. Sadly, it appears that
to do this right, we would have to give up a bunch of other stuff
in the supposed X-Pack, and this other stuff we all agree is much
cooler.