Earth 2160
I was tired of having to visit 16 different sites to see the questions that have been answered with regards to '2160, so I compiled them, and what the hell, I might as well share the compilation here:
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Replied to by Dirk P. Hassinger:
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We have yet to see any units of the Eurasian Dynasty in the Earth 2160 screenshots yet... will they be similar to Earth 2150 where they had tracked vehicles, or will they have advanced past that point and on towards mechs and such like the USC?
The ED will follow up their research strategy from the previous decades. So you can expect more advanced technology than 10 years before, but based on heavy vehicles.
Will there be a set "bad side" in the game, or will it be where all three sides are percieved as the "good guys" when you play them and the "bad guys" when you're against them, including the aliens? Or are the aliens a "bad" side?
I think the Aliens with their strange technology and habits will be seen as bad from most players.
I've seen articles where there has been mention of a first-person perspective... if this is true (or perhaps I misread the articles), will you just be able to zoom in a lot, as if there were a first-person perspective, or will you actually be able to see what units see?
There will be a FP Cam view for some events and units.
What game do you play in your spare time, with the exception of other Zuxxez titles? What are your all time favorites, and were any titles inspiration for 2160?
Alltime: PoP Series, StarCraft, C&C Series - I play a lot of upcoming games - and of course some thinks I like take influence to our games.
Will the mission structure in 2160 be linear, or will it be like 2150 where you can choose what missions to play first? Will there be a main map, as in 2150, for a main base with supplies and such, or just base camps at each mission you play (with the exception of squad-based missions, of course)?
I can not answer this yet. We did not finally decide it.
This is going to sound stupid, but is the mouse control scheme the same as 2150 -- only left clicking to select and move units? I liked that control scheme, myself.
Yes. But optional it can be changed to other methods.
Will we need to buy multiple copy for lan play? Ex: i have 2 pc's in same room, want to be able to MP.
This is not a question of development - this is a license issue which will be decided by the local publisher. Our curent suggestion for publisher is the following model:
- witch each license 3 accounts on the MP match making server (EarthNet) are allowed: 1) standard account 2) training account 3) competition account
- on a LAN 3 pc´s can use the same serial number
From the technical point of view this is not a problem. In our home territory we will for sure manage such a solution - but in USA ? ... who knows. It really depends on the publisher.
Are there 'hero' units, meaning units that are more powerful than the usual unit, and they're limited?
There are a limited number of special units - but the heroes / VA - I wouldn´t name them units - have an own AI and character development / relationships.
Is there an underground mode (ie. build units underground, tunnel, etc.) What about 'above ground' mode, like in space on asteroids (similar to Metal Fatigue)? I noticed those modes gave lots more strategy
yes. but not like in 2150 - where you just switched between tunnels and ground.
What about support for slower systems? I'd be great if this game ran smooth on my GFMX. My friend has a pentium III 500, it'd be awesome if this game ran smooth (albeit ugly) on his system.
Sorry, no chance. We can not do graphics like in upcomming FPS - but allowing hundreds of detailed objects, like needed in a RTS - and make this available on low spec machines. We are (hopefully) good, but not God. 1.5 GHz + Geforce 3 or better is minimum. GF4MX cards are stripped down GF2 cards with another name.
Is it possible to see a nice manual with a good back story and maybe a map of area covered within the story?
i always like detailed manuals with a good backstory,
do you have plans for collectors / regular editions? (this question could also be expanded to say, "will you have a DVD edition?"
Yes. Our games have usually a 180+ page 4 color printed manual, sometimes Audio Soundtrack CD included and allways a outstanding box with Digipack and relief printing. Our German fans know this - but how the game will come out in the US - who knows ... Even if we write something like this in the contract - the US publishers don´t care.
Any plans on letting developers license this engine? The previous Earth engine(s) were used in only other Zuxxez games, I believe...
currently we have no plans to license the engine to other publishers - but this may change.
Any chance of a WW3: BG or WW2: FA sequel using the engine technology?
not in the near future.
What other genres besides RTS would you be interested in persuing for a new game?
Zuxxez did until now - RTS, RPG, Adventures, Office games and Arcade games. We have no ambitions to develop sport games, but maybe a FPS in the future.
Will there be tracer rounds?
I do not understand what you mean with "tracer rounds"
Will the game run fine on my P4 2.8, 512 Mb RAM, GeForce FX 5600 128 w/ 128 Mb memory. The reason I'm wondering is that I only have the minamum amount of memory.
yes. it runs fine on this configuration.
Will there be more kinds of unit weapons per side than in the previous Earth game? What kinds will there be?
yes - the number of possible unit combinations is really huge.
What kinds of defensive structures will be available and how will they work?
that´s for Mirek ...
When units and/ OR structures blow up will there be shrapnel that will damage nearby structures or units?
yes.
Will vehicles and mechs be able to squish infantry like in the command and Conquer series?
... if they do not run away quick enought.
Also, will memory be a big factor on how well the game preforms on your comuter?
most important is the graphic card.
Any new ideas to circumvent cheats in multiplay? Especially the 'map hack' cheat (no fog of war, full sight of the map)?
Will Zuxxez or the publisher punish any known cheater?
What about a 'matchmaker' function?
we have the following plan:
- all maps created with the editor will get a unique serial number
- a map that can be used in EarthNet will need a certification (done by the community management)
- we will appoint administrators for the EarthNet server out of the community, which may bann cheaters.
Why have you removed tunnels?
it was very promising thing in E2160
we did not remove tunnels, but we removed the switching to tunnels - or better said the switching between tunnels and surface. We prefer to have "tunnel" or "inside building" missions, which give an interesting atmosphere to the game.
What about kinetic weapons in e2160. i only saw energy weapons in the screens. this would be a little bit boring without a big russian cannon-tank...
You talked about community mods- i hoped that u would choose this idea, but how are you going to choose them? Are there any conditions?
What will the ranking system in e-net will be like?
inspired by battle net or something different?
There are many - very many waepon types in 2160. Particle weapons, kinetic weapons, phasers, rockets, photonic ... even PSi weapons. Don´t worry ...
SDKs will be given out under NDA - which says, taht we have to approve the mod, before it is release - and we want to have the right of first refusal on each mod.
The ladder can be modified as needed. The Server will generate a database with all match results. How this will be filtered is up to the PHP script of the website which is using it.
Are there units for transporting other verhicles?
sure!
I read that one of the new feature is terraforming, but what effects has it on water? Can we flood sectors?
yes.
Will there be videos or rendered-ingame-sequences?
there is no reason to have any videos. The rendering quality of the engine is the same as if we would render the videos with Maja. So we decided to render all cutscenes on the fly in the engine.
If we can research multiple things at the same time in one or more research center, will there be a researchmanager for a better overview?
a VA will manage this, if you hire him/her/it.
One problem in E2150 was that some playercolors were difficult to see on the minimap. Will you chance this (like blue points on water) ?
we try to avoid such problems.
One bad thing in E2150 was that no one knows who is host if the startinghost has left the game. Will there be more information during gameplay?
that´s a good idea. We will keep it in mind.
Will E2160 support more than 3 mousebuttons ?
support - maybe yes ... but require - not.
Can I block user in the lobby which floot the chat?
yes. we will implement this.
Can I make my own passwordprotected channel in the lobby ?
yes.
"Beside the usual venues in the solar system, there are some strange looking locations: planets with moving and reflecting liquid surfaces" - it means that there will be maps which changes all time - moving islands, or only terrain will looks like liquid ??
both is possible. We developed a "E2160 World Editor" where nearly everything is possible.
Will the alien races have their own interface layout or will it be universal with the terrans?
There will be only one interface - but no convential interface, like you know it from other games. We work on a very innovative and easy to use technology.
Where will the water be in Earth 2160?
yes. water and other liquid pools
Will you publicate Earth 2160 in the same time in all World / Europe or in Germany premiere will be earlier ?? What about localizations ?? German / English version will be first, or you publicate all planed languages at one time. I think that world premiere at 1 day is better, because you avoid people who buy illegal version in other language because their version isn't available yet and they simply just won't want to buy the same game twice - this time oryginal. I can buy 2 oryginal versions if my language will be available later and if I won't find any patch for change it, but I really like this game. I don't think that there is big group of fans like me - they buy E2160 only in only one version, and they'll be very angry that they get it later than in other countries or they buy illegal copy.
Make great world premiere at one day !!
It must be big important event in history of computer games !!
Zuxxez is a producing company and normally publishes only in Germany. Reality Pump is a development studio. The local publishing depends very very much on the company that will bring out the title. Especially in USA this is really a problem. Everywhere, we have influence to issues like - good manual, soundtrack CD included, good packaging, release on one day, good support - we will do our best to meet the players needs. Players from Germany may confirm this here. - But what a regional publisher in other territories does ... who knows?!
There are rumors, that e2160 contains something like a timemachine. what can you tell us about that?
I can confirm that there are jump gates - as you know, time is relative - if you can jump only between locations or within time, is not finally decided yet. We do not want to make the story too strange.
How many different researches will each race have, and which categories?
we want to leave this question open by now, because some of the planned researches need to be balanced - and we do not want to promise something, that will not be in the final game.
what are the strenghts of infantry/cyborgs compared to vehicles?
Persons / Cyborgs are needed to take control over some vehicles.
Will there be invisible units?
in starcraft there were invisible units (lurker and human jets (don't know english expression)) for whom you needed observers to see them.
in c&c there were stealth generator which made your units invisible and one or two units moved under the ground and were invisible this way
in earth2150 there were no real invisible units but you could build tunnels in order to move invisibly
does invisibility play a role in earth2160, too, except for the hangar thing?
yes. we will have something like this. - But we can´t reveal the whole thing by now.
-Does invisibility play a (more or less important) role in e2160?
-Will the host be able to disable virtual agents for multiplayer games?
-invisibility is one of the standard strategies in all top RTS games. Of course you will find it in Earth 2160, also.
- VA´s are always optional.
I just tried to bring own music into tmp (ucs war-> battlefield intro) this doesn't really work. Is own music a feature wich we can expect in earth 2160? or would you mind taking a good mpeg or whathever encoder on the cd/dvd to bring own musicfiles into the game?
BTW:
will there be DVD or a CD version, or both?
to be hohnest, we prefer that the original soundtrack is played by the game. If there are external files, there´s allways a risk that a crash appears. E2160 will use OGG compression for the audio files. - Unofficially the files can be exchanged. - But we hope, that the original soundtrack will be liked, too.
Regarding the DVD/CD-ROM issue ... we did not make our mind up, by now. I think 1 DVD + 1 CD-ROM (with the soundtrack as Audio CD) ... but this is also a regional decision of the publisher.
Are own units one of the editor-functions? would be nice if we could make own trees,stones,.../units with p.e. Studio max 3
we can not confirm this by now. This is more or less a legal issue. btw: RP does not use 3DS Max anymore - we switched everything to Maja.
What changes will be made to the aircraft?
In 2150 the path finding logic was somehow tricky. We will have now a totally free 3D logic for any flying objects.
How do you want to implement DX10 and PS3.0 support (it's written on your zuxxez website)
PS 3.0 with samples of NV40 and R420 and DX10 with a beta build which is available in MSDN.
- will there be EAX3 or 4 support?
- will there be a 5.1 system support?
EAX 3/4: probably yes. But I can not confirm this 100%.
5.1: definitly yes.
Will the game require the gameCD in the drive to launch/play?
no. From our side not. - I for myself do not like to search for the original CD everytime I start a game. But it is possible the a regional publisher decides to use a copy protection, that requires the CD in drive. We are against such a kind of copy protection, but sometimes the publishers insist on it.
You said you haven’t eliminated the tunnels but only the view switching. How are the tunnels displayed? Are they transparent to the player?
I can not answer this by now - because it is not final by now - we plan to make some submissions that play inside buildings and in tunnels. But I do not want to promise something, that we will not do.
I didn't really like how the units moved in E2150, they seemed very constricted to a vertical and horizontal grid. Will the units move more freely and naturally in this game engine?
Yes, this will be improved in E2160. Especially the movement of the air units.
The voice acting in E2150 was spectacular to say the least. Will there be better voice acting in this game?
voices are allways a question of taste. We will have voiceovers in Earth 2160 - hopefully you will like the voices.
I really liked the little cutscenes after the research of new weapons. Will that be in this game?
all cutscenes are rendered in the engine. I am not sure if we will make cutscenes to show researches, but there will be cutscenes for some events.
I've read from previous posts that the terrain can be terraformed. Will the military units in the game be able to modify the terrain to their advantage?
I think so. But we have to test and balance this feature, before we can confirm it. We want to avoid dead locks in the gameplay.
The terrain in E2150 was very bare and not detailed. Will the terrain in this game feature buildings or other structures for units to take advantage of?
The game Earth 2150 is 6 years old now. At the time it appeared it was state of the art. But it was designed for Voodoo Cards of the first generation. Today the technology allwos much better details. There will be many objects and structures in Earth 2160 placed on the terrain.
By "tracer rounds" I mean machine gun rounds that you can see when fired.
I think we will have such shooting animations. But as they are not implemented by now - I prefer to answer "yes, it is planned""
Will there be units with two modes of attack? This is what I mean: For exampele, if an artillery unit could "deploy" it self... It would then be im-mobile but gain an advantage such as greater fire power or more armour. It could then "un-deploy" it self and it would the be mobile again. Also, what kinds of siege units will there be?
We need to decide this during testing and balancing. But we will make the game as interesting and challanging as possible.
How will the infantry work? What kinds of weapons wil be available to them? Will they be able to carry multiple weapons? Will they be able to pick up items on the batle field or re-equip them selves at a command center or Barracks?
This is also not decided yet.
Will there be a first person option of any sort for the units?
a FP cam will be implemented.
Will there be any weapons which fire multiple projectiles at the same time? (rocket launcher with 4 barrles, for example)
some units can carry 8 and more weapons.
Will there be lighting cannons, rocket launchers for infantry, and gattling cannons which spin as they fire?
we have a very very wide variaty of weapons.
What ESRB rating will the game recieve?
I have no idea.
Will there be location specific damage? Ex: damage a tanks treads to prevent it from escaping.
yes.
Units that we could see on the screenshot are definitely final version or it's just alpha units
The units on the screens are almost final - but this units are only a small example of the units that can be build.
Will it be possible to definine the color of players by the mapmaker, untouched by their starting ranking?
or can players choose color at joining a game?
I don´t know this. I think the player color can be chosen free. In my current version it is like this, but possibly this will be changed. We have to test what is easiest to use.
can teams be pre-definined?
I do not understand what you mean with this question. Do you mean in MP or on a selfmade map?
can waterfalls be realized? (as i did with old engine)
In 2160 we have multiple "liquid pools" wich can be defined independend. We say liquid, because H2O is not the only chemical connection that can be filled in lakes or rivers. For each liquid pool a lot of parameters can be set (color, color deph, transparency, flood speed, wave size, direction, reflection, reflection ankle etc.) - I have not seen a waterfall by now in Earth 2160, but I am sure it is possible to build one.
Do you plan any melee weapons ??
(for infantry or even for vehicles ??)
yes, we plan. But we have to find out during the balancing if short distance weapons will make fun.
Why you plan to make limited number of acounts on EarthNet for each serial number ??
(I will play E2160 with my brother on one serial (and on one computer, but in other time), so I think it will be better that he has his 2 accounts (treining and normal) and also I have my 2-3 (treining, normal and tournament)).
As I said in a previous answer, we plan to make three accounts per serial number. But this is not only our sole decision.
Do you though about registering games by EarthNet ?? (player should write his name (...) in account, but it isn't shown to other players and there is only 1 address available for each serial...
I do not really understand what you mean with this question.
Do you plan ladder games with random enemy like on Battle.Net or only custom games ladder like on EarthNet now ?? 2nd option is worse because of scenarios which sould be available...
Eventually you can make option to play non-ladder games with random enemy (before game (in searching options) player decides if he want to put result to ladder) and different statistics for each kind of game (1v1, Random and Arranged: 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, Free For All, FFA-Alies, Custom Games, Tournaments...) and race (ED, UCS...), so there can be treining, normal and tournament account at one profile, and then limit for 3 EarthNet-Profiles for one serial will be good.
What about NetCampaign ?? Will there be ladder for it ??
We will improve the EarthNet ladder (or better said, develop it new from the scratch). We collected a big wish list within the last years and try to make everybody happy.
How free are our aircrafts in EARTH 2160 ??
"How" is difficult to answer. Much more free than in 2150.
Could we fly with our Bomber higher that antiair weapons range is and then drop bombs to enemies' base ??
yes. I think so. But this is a question of the balancing.
Is it possible to dig tunnels through mountains? that would be a nice strategic feature
can´t connfirm this by now. We will test it and decide, if it makes sense or not.
Is the engine 64bit-optimized? (athlon 64).
currently not, but we want to implement it. Hopefully we will get the need information and support from AMD.
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Replied to by Alexandra Constandache:
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Will there be building units again or will all races build their building in a way similar to lc in e2150?
The construction method of each fraction differs from each other. Each has a differnt way to contruct building and to build units, but not identically as in 2150.
Will air units after being shot damage units and buildings when crashing on the ground?
Yes each kind of collision causes damages to all involved objects. The damage is visible an depends on the material which was used to build the structure or the unit. A propertary physics and bionic engine allows a realistic view of everything.
How about ai? will it increase compared to e2150? especially in multiplayermode it wasn't really challenging.
Definitely yes.
Will there be the possibilty of installing a spawn version only for multiplayer again?
I suppose, no. But this is a license issue which will be decided by the local publisher.
How is the possibility of joining running multiplayer games supposed to work? can you already tell us about that?
Our focus is on the multiplayer function. The EarthNET server system allows you to join matches which are already in progress. "Savegame" and "Reload" functions of MP matches are already integrated. This both unique MP features have beend tested and work fine.
Will there be ingamevoice?
Of course.
4 Multiplayer modes with 10 maps.
Could you elaborate on the modes ??
Limited cost battle, Destroy structures, Capture the flag and one more mode - tbd. Each of this 4 MP modes has lots of different parameters which can be set up by the host.
Multiplayer game saves and joining of running matches. How are you going to implement joining of running multiplayer matches ?? Joining running multiplayer games sounds really fun, lets hope it does not affect the game stability, I have almost stopped playing generals after the "mismatch" error's.
As I already said above: the MP function of joining running MP matches is already integrated and works fine.
12 virtual agents. These special characters have strong personalities and a great influence on the game. Each agent has special abilities. There are 20 ability categories for the agents.
Are they available in mutiplayer ?? I'm having a lot of fun with Jarmen Kell, Colonel Burton and The Black Lotus in Generals.
Yes of course. That's the gag... A virtual agent can be corrupt. You can offer him/her more money than your opponent and he/she work for you.
Graphics Card with per Pixel Shader Support and min. 64 MB of RAM
(GeForce 3 TI Series or better, ATI RadeOn 85x+ Series, XGI, Matrox
Parhelia Series)Does that mean the game will not work on the "infamous" GF4MX ???
Unfortunately not
The screenshots look great, but I am not really happy with the camera angles used, playing the game with that perspective would make me blind to most action in addition to a sore neck,
Could you post some screenshots with the game in action.
We will release some new screenshots soon. Of course, the camera angle used in some screenshots is not perfect for a RTS. With this screens we only want to show the LOD of objects, units and structures in 2160.[
Have played the Warzone,Earth 21xx, and am not really a huge fan of Modular Unit Construction (MUC) system, Could you provide a few decent default units in addition to the MUC system.
You can hire a virtual agent which overtakes this job 4you.
Will there be a feature for recording games for later viewing?
Yes. Replays are one of the game's main new feature.
Will there be an observe mode?
Yes. The observer mode was already a feature in the last game projects of Reality Pump.
Will units carry over from mission to mission?
Yes, but depending on the missions. There are also missions which require units from previous missions.
Can we get screenshots from the viewpoint in which we are likely to playing the game (ie: isometric or zoomed out)?
As already said: we will soon release new screens. With the first screens we wanted to show the LoD of 2160.
Will you guys support the game with downloadable content like maps, scenarios,etc?
We did it in the past and we'll do it in the future.
Can I pick which color I will play as in skirmishes and multiplayer?
Yes, but depending on the selected map... because not every color is available on each map.
Will multiplayer games (or even single player)include finding artifacts for weapon types, chassis types, etc (I think Warzone 2100 did this)?
Yes. This are also mission goals/subgoals.
How can I be involved in the beta test?
Don't worry. We'll keep you informed in time.
The previous Earth Series games were based on an (X,Y,Z) defined grid system. Has this been changed? / improved? in E2160.
3D games are usually based on a 3D coordinate system. E2160 is it too. But compared with 2150, the grid is much more smaller, so that the control of the game is very precise. In this way units, structures, scripted events and way points can be placed exactly.
Will the behavior of the units be based on the similar Earth2150 unit scripts?
The unit behavior is based on scripts. Additionally units make use of catalogue of calculated AI controlled functions.
The script language is a new and improved version of the Earth-C.
How does one start the application process in order to develop mods and to obtain the SDK.
As soon as we reach beta stage, mod teams can apply to receive the SDK under NDA.
How will the resources be gathered? We know that there will be multiple resources and multiple ways to get them, but will it be micromanaging (more like Earth 2150), or will it be simply building something on it (like oil derricks in World War III: Black Gold)?
The resources will be collected in a similar way as in 2150. But each fraction has a different way to gather resources.
What would happend at the end of a multiplayer game with the hired virtual agents ? Would they be saved to use them in the next mp-game, cause I read that they remembers his old contracts with the player?
Virtual Agents can be stored on the server but it's not decided yet how this will be exactly handled.
How will the patention of Units work in the Multiplayer? You can save your Unit cration and use it in an other game?
If you have a patent, it will be automatically stored on the server and you can use it in other MP games.
Has any Race still a "building/digger Unit" like Gruz or Mammoth in E2150? Or drop all Races their Buildings now from the Orbit?
The LC and the Aliens place their structures from the Orbit. The ED and UCS are still using the conventional methods.
How will the terraforming work? You can only trench and digger Tunnels like in E2150? Or do we have more possibilities (like Whater "reroute")?
This depends on the mission design. The main problem is to avoid deadlocks in SP (e.g. we have to avoid that a situation happens, in which a mission can be accompilished and the game will not recognize it).
Do you definitely "kill" the very popular big 5v5-7v7 Games in Multiplayer from Earth 2150: TMP? It was a special feature in The Moon Project. Now you will support "only" standard 8 Players like in all other RTS games? Or can we change your opinion during the Betatest?
In the past we had to make the experience that MP matches with more than 8 players make a couple of problems:
- it often happens, that one of the players has connection problems and this causes time lacks.
- it takes very long to startup the whole match
- there are also problems saving and joining running matches if more that 8 players take part.
We will see during the beta-test if matches with more than 8 players can be stabilized.
Do the Races with no anit Gravitation Units have Unit Transporters, which can Transport many Units over the Wather? Or can't a anti Gravitation Unit "drive" over deep Whater? (I hope this).
Those fractions which do not have Anti-gravitation technology, will of course have a possibility to carry their units over the water. If this will be done by a transporter or by using amphibian vehicles depend on the selected fraction.
Will units or defence buildings on higher terrain have longer range than when they are on the ground?
(lots of Earth fans want this feature to be in E2160.)
Yes, they will. Thanks for your interest in our title.
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Replied to by Mirek Dymek:
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Are there different factorys for infanterie, vehicles and air-units?
It depends from the party. Each party have different structures of the base. For example LC has different floors on the buildings designed for different tasks. UCS has different upgrades to the main production building for infantry, vehicles and air-units.
Which kind of weapons will be new? especially alien-weapons. tell us a few examples.
For example PSI rays which can kill your pilots, but those rays can also make your pilots insane or even force them to change the party.
Are there agents, which can spy the enemy for you? for example which units he has, or what he is researching.
Yes exactly. This agent may reports every time when player start important research or build strong unit etc.
Are there airfreighter which can carry more than one unit?
Yes freighters can carry more then one unit.
I read that you can do as much researches at the same time, how many researchbuildings you have. is there a limit? or how do you take care, that a player doesn't bunker, building about 20 researchbuildings, and make an enormous advantage in research? or are reseraches so expensive?
There is no limit for the buildings – but they are expensive.
Player can’t make too many researches at one time because they need other technologies. Having more than 3-4 Research Centers is pointless because there will not be too much active technologies for them. Our research tree is very deep but not too wide.
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These questions were asked by loads of different people btw. I do not claim that I asked any of them. Well, those are the Avault ones, and I think Kruschev has stuck some of his own up in different topics... if we could keep all of this kind of thing to this topic now it would help to keep it all together.
[ August 12, 2004: Message edited by: Kodiak ]
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