The Bungie Interview Series, Volume 2: BungieÕs Jason Regier
                        With the development of Myth II: Soulblighter approaching the finish line, we know there are a lot of
                        questions gamers may have about the project. To get the whole truth straight from the source, our own Doug
                        Zartman managed to handcuff the projectÕs technical lead Jason Regier to a chair and inject him with
                        scopolamine*. His answers, though slurred and peppered with obscenities and requests to lie down, are a
                        trove of information on the game.

              *Note: Scopolamine should only be administered under adult supervision.

              Give us a quick rundown of the new features and concepts we can expect to see in Myth II.

              There are basically three areas of improvement: graphics and sound, the interface and gameplay enhancements. A full
              list would probably crash this server, so some of the highlights: weÕve doubled the number of frames of animation, so that
              units move more fluidly; added animating 3D models to allow, for example, moving drawbridges; added 3D fire as a
              strategic weapon, and an expanded magic system; made the interface more intuitive; added 3D positional audio and
              in-game music; added ambient life like birds and fish to liven up the landscapes; added indoor environments; and made
              our free server, bungie.net, much more convenient to use. Overall, players have a much wider variety of arenas in which
              to battle, and many more tools for crushing the enemy.

              What have you done to make the Myth environment more interactive?

              The animating 3D models allow structures to be more dynamic and play a part in gameplay Š drawbridges, or town gates
              that open and close. Some of the 3D models are also destructible, like walls that can be blown down with explosives.
              You can set the landscape on fire, which can be used to block paths, force the enemy into a trap or kill them outright.

              I hear the magic system has been overhauled. WhatÕs new there?

              Unlike the finite number of spells available in Myth TFL, in Myth II magic-using units have a blue mana bar above their
              heads which is depleted with spell-casting but replenishes over time, for unlimited spell usage. Magic units also have a
              primary and secondary spell. The primary is their default attack; the secondary used by the Special key. 

              Included among the spells are the Fireball, an explosive, guided projectile which hits in a blaze of sparks; Cloudkill, a
              cloud of poison which drifts toward the target, damaging everything in its path; Confusion, a defensive spell which makes
              an attacker stumble around, swinging randomly at nothing; Weather Control, a spell allowing the user to summon rain
              and snow, is also planned.

              Tell me more about ambient life. Can you kill it?

              There will be a special key combination to target ambient life, since we don't want people to accidentally target a
              squirrel in the heat of battle instead of the Ghol charging them. The first time a player knocks a bird out of the sky with a
              fireball, thereÕs no going back to shotguns. 

              So yes, players will be able to kill and blow up ambient life. WeÕre planning several multiplayer games that revolve
              around herding and hunting various kinds of animals. Animals can be difficult to control, and so thereÕs an extra element
              of randomness to these games. ThereÕs been a rash of hunting games in the industry lately, but it has yet to be done
              rightÉ

              Where does the story pick up?

              Myth II: Soulblighter picks up the story 60 years after Myth TFL ended. Balor was defeated, and most of the Fallen
              hunted down soon after. Soulblighter, though, escaped and bided his time, looking for some opportunity to rebuild his
              armies and succeed where Balor failed. He found it, and at the beginning of the game disturbing reports like grave
              robberies and attacks by brigands filter in from the peaceful periphery of AlricÕs kingdom.

              There were certainly some players who thought that Myth was a bit too challenging. WhatÕs been done for them? 

              First of all, we're going to have a tutorial again, and we're trying tomake it more extensive.

              Second, we're trying to increase the range of difficulty for the levels. We're still going to have 5 difficulty settings, but we
              want the easy and normal settings to be easier, while still keeping the hardest levels tough enough to intrigue the
              advanced gamer. And, as in Myth 1, we're not just adding enemy troops to make the higher difficulty levels tougher. You
              may also see scenery on the map appear that wasn't there before, and troops may also react differently.

              Lastly, we've made some dramatic improvements to the interface, while keeping it consistent for veteran Myth players.
              Units now remember what formation they were in, and they execute pathfinding better. We've added a control bar with
              buttons for the most commonly used commands, and you can rotate the camera by moving the cursor to the corners of
              the screen. Gesture clicking is no longer really necessary... if you want to turn units around, just select the units and drag
              in the direction you want them to face. To rotate a formation of troops about their centerpoint, you can use the arrow
              keys. You can right-click on the overhead map to send units to their destinations. The list goes on and on...

              The 3D nature of the Myth series would seem to lend itself to polygons. Why use sprites for the characters?

              A similar reason for why we do cell animation Š we get better-looking, more detailed units on the screen at the expense
              of much less RAM, which we can then use for other effects (multi-channel ambient sound effects, for example). When we
              started doing Myth: The Fallen Lords, we envisioned large armies clashing in a true 3D environment. We were sure that
              our target platforms wouldn't be able to handle both a 3D environment and polygonal characters and give the frame
              rates we wanted, so we opted for sprite-based units. I'm glad we chose the 3D environment over 3D characters... Once I
              saw arrows arcing through the air and debris rolling down the roof of a building, I never wanted to go back to the
              isometric games I once loved.

              What can you tell me about the 3D fire and other effects?

              3D fire is more than an effect, really, itÕs a new weapon that can be used strategically to control the battlefield, but must
              be used carefully to prevent it turning on you. Fire will spread depending on the ground conditions (wet or rocky terrain is
              unaffected), and damage or kill troops. Troops will avoid running through fireŃusing it strategically means not giving
              them the choice.

              Besides direct attack and herding the enemy, there are numerous secondary uses of fire, such as preemptively burning
              the ground under your own feet to prevent the enemy from doing so and setting off satchel charges from a safe distance.
              You wonÕt be burning down buildings though Š introduces too many problems into the gameplay.

              There are also many new particle system effects that show up in spells, fountains, other places.

              Rumor has it there will be in-game music this time around, is this true?

              Yes there is, though our sound guys at Total Audio were very careful about using music where it was appropriate, instead
              of blaring a repetitive soundtrack at you all the time. The in-game music is context-sensitive Š it comes in to heighten
              the mood when a particularly ominous or intense situation is happening, or about to happen. WeÕre beig careful not to
              let the music interfere with the many layers of sound effects that occur in the game.

              Any changes to the physics of the game? 

              There are a couple of changes to the physics that people will notice. The effect that terrain has on unit movement is
              increased, so that wading through water, going up hills, walking over ice, and other terrain and weather conditions will
              affect movement(some units more than others.) Also, no more velcro landscapes - balls and other objects that roll will
              not occasionally get stuck on certain steep hillsides and other places. Balls rolling, heads flying, they work as beautifully
              as they did in the first one. More spectacular explosion effects.

              What changes have been made to Bungie.net to enhance the game?

              There are a lot, many having to do with letting players find exactly the game they want to play more quickly and easily.
              Players will have a Buddy list and an Orders list, so that as soon as one of their friends or Order members gets on
              bungie.net theyÕll be able to join them with one click, no matter what room theyÕre in. ThereÕs also a Search function, so
              you can say "search for a 5-player game of Assassin on the map Demise on the Plains" and if there is one, itÕll take you
              there. In addition to the individual-player Leader Board weÕve made a new Orders Leader Board for the highest ranked
              Order. There are many more rooms for both ranked and unranked games, and also country-specific rooms so a bunch of
              players in Germany, for example, can easily find each other and play a low-lag game.

              Tell me more about these editors IÕve heard about.

              There are two editors, Fear and Loathing. Fear, the editor of game parameters (or "tags") that lets you change the
              behavior of units, objects, weather, gravity Š everything. You can make units move faster, cause more damage, change
              their colors, change their sound effects or do something ridiculous like shoot flaming chickens out of their butts (see
              http://www.bungie.com). 

              Loathing is the map editor, and reveals the intricacies of Myth mapmaking. You can raise and lower terrain, add,
              change or delete the units on the ground, mark areas as impassible to certain units, place terrain features like trees and
              3D models, and a lot more. Together these editors let you completely alter the Myth world, make single scenarios or
              whole multi-level campaigns from scratch. TheyÕre as extensive as we could make them.

              How will people share modifications with their friends?

              The plug-in architecture of Myth II is very user-friendly Š all the changes you make with the editors to the behavior of
              units, different sound effects etc. can be saved as a single plug-in and given to other players, like new maps. The process
              of saving a plug-in resolves some conflicts inherent in your changed file. As long as all players in the game have the
              plug-in, they can play in the same altered world, and if it crashes, it may bring down their game, but not bungie.net. The
              thing about releasing editors is you canÕt prevent people from creating files that donÕt work Ń thatÕs how one learns to
              make a game.

              What is the Myth 2 team planning on doing once the game is completed?

              WeÕre gonna go to Vegas and blow all the pre-order profits on a wild week-long binge of high-stakes gambling, boozing
              and hanging out with our spouses. Family values, you know.

              ***