Hey, All.

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I hope each of you is safe and healthy.

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This is my last Fanstratics newsletter.

 

Previously, (Newsletter #44), I touched upon my continuing health issues and the perpetual lack of progress.  I have tried numerous approaches to alleviate my collection of conditions, with mild degrees of success, but my accumulated experience and research point to the obvious.  My illness is more than likely permanent, and I will likely never again be what I was when I started this project.

 

While my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak, and I need to be honest with myself and those of you who subscribed to this newsletter.  My chances of finishing Fanstratics are remote.  Thus, I am concluding development.

 

As for the future, considering my physical and mental decline, I need to step back and figure out what I can and cannot accomplish.  I have enjoyed writing the HoMM3 Recollections, and I think I could turn them into a memoir.  We’ll see what happens.

 

In my welcome email to these newsletters, I said this would be a journey.  Not all excursions are successful.

 

Take care.

 

 

​Greg

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Fanstratics Troop: Crossbowman

 

Vulnerable up close, but solid from a distance, Allegiant Crossbowman do not pursue prestige.  Tasked with eroding advancing combatants, or finishing off opponents engaged with Allegiant melee Troops, Crossbowman take pride in their ‘implied assistance’.  Able to occasionally fire two crossbow bolts, in the time most ranged Troops can only fire one, these stoic marksmen quietly delight when demonstrating their exceptional training. 

 

There isn’t much more to say, other than... it’s been a joy working with Justin.  Hopefully, we will work again in the future.  :-)

 

As always, you can find Justin on his Twitch stream.

 

 

 

HoMM3 Question:  You have mentioned Redcaps as an alternative Tower unit.  There is also documentation of a Will-o'-Wisp unit for the Fortress that was cut.  Were there any other units cut during the development stage?

 

In the initial stages, when I was creating the factions, numerous other Troops were included in the first draft.  Far too many for me to recall.  Specifically, I remember the Redcaps and Will-o-Wisps because they were two of the last I cut in the final draft.

 

 

 

HoMM3 Question: Why did you replace the Phoenix in HoMM3, prior to the Conflux?

 

Thematically, I thought the Green and Gold Dragons were a better fit.  This also allowed me to use the Phoenix for the Conflux in the latter expansion, where I thought it was a better fit.

 

 

 

HoMM3 Recollection: RollerCoaster Tycoon

 

In late February, or early March, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (HoMM3) had finally shipped.  With the game off to retail shelves, I was exhausted.  Very eager to resume a somewhat normal life, part of my desire for normalcy included playing more games.

 

Almost everyone considered part of the ‘Heroes’ team was on vacation, leaving our side of the New World Computing (NWC) offices noticeably quiet.  Only I, David Mulich, and George Ruof were still hanging around, just in case something went disastrously wrong with the release.  Much later, after almost everyone had returned, David and I would alternate our vacation time.  We did this so one of us would be present if any high-level questions needed answering.

 

While I had started preliminary work on what would eventually become Armageddon’s Blade, I was also taking advantage of the lax office situation to play a little.  One particular day, I noticed George sitting at this desk, playing a 2D game not typically on my radar.

 

Me, walking into George’s office, “What’cha play’n?”

George, focused, “Game demo.  Called RollerCoaster Tycoon (RCT).”

Me, admiring the art and sound, “Looks good.”

George, “It’s like SimCity, but it's Six Flags.  I put the demo up on the network if you want to try it.”

 

Back in my office, around 3:00 PM, I decided to quit work early and try RCT.  After pulling down the game demo, from the NWC network, I installed it to my work PC.

 

Truthfully, when it came to games appealing to my particular palette, RollerCoaster Tycoon teetered on the edge.  Don’t misunderstand me, I liked ‘simulation games’, and had great respect for Will Wright and SimCity.  However, I typically found myself drawn to Peter Molyneux’s more creative interpretations: Populous, Theme Hospital, or Dungeon Keeper.

 

Starting up the RollerCoaster Tycoon, I quickly found myself engaged.  Initially, I was surprised by the game’s performance.  It ran at a high frame rate... at a high resolution... with an enormous number of objects on the screen.  In the back of my mind, I wondered what programming magic had been performed to achieve such technical wizardry.  I also wondered why such technical prowess was beyond the reach of HoMM3’s programming team.

 

Years later, I learned RCT’s creator and designer, Chris Sawyer, had coded the entire game in low level Assembly Language.  In fact, RollerCoaster Tycoon was developed by only three people: one designer/programmer, one artist, and one sound/music guy.  Even in this era of video game history, this was an extremely impressive achievement.

 

On the surface, it was easy to be captured by RCT’s detailed art, fanciful animations, and chaotic cacophony of amusement park rides, screams, music, and flushing toilets.  Progressing further into the game, I clicked on everything possible and was blown away by the meticulous detail and truly eye-watering number of tweakable options.

 

Any doubts I had concerning this particular ‘management sim’ were put aside.  RollerCoaster Tycoon was very much up my alley.  It had incredible depth and breadth, while giving you ample room for inventive play.  This was everything I had hoped to achieve with HoMM3, and here it was... in the very same month HoMM3 was hitting retail shelves.

 

After playing for a brisk twenty-to-thirty minutes, the demo’s built-in time limitation ended my game, and kicked me back to the Main Menu.  I was hooked.  I would happily buy a copy the week it became available.

 

Looking back, I remember the demo being uploaded in early March (according to my research 1999/03/10).  Less than two weeks later (1999/03/20), the full game was released to retailers.  This was unusual, as typically, publishers would push a demo at least a month before the final release.

 

On the week of March 21st, 1999, I walked into Best Buy, in Thousand Oaks, and ambled my way to the store’s video game section.

Scanning the stacked shelves of big box PC games, I spotted freshly delivered copies of HoMM3.  I had to smile to myself.  While it wasn't technically my first video game credit, it was the first game where I felt my participation was significant.

 

It was nice to see HoMM3 ‘in the wild’.

 

It was nice to see it alongside so many other games I owned and admired.

 

It was nice to feel like I had contributed to video game culture.

 

Looking past HoMM3, I spotted RollerCoaster Tycoon, and grabbed a copy.  After a brief stop at the store’s cash register, I made the long drive home to my apartment, with a quick detour to All American Burger for an easy take-home meal.

 

Once in my apartment, I stowed my briefcase bag, and sat at my desk.  In front of my PC, with my fast food and RollerCoaster Tycoon, I stuffed my face with a chili burger and two chili dogs, and played until it was late and well past bedtime.  Slipping the CD-ROM back into the RCT box, I remembered thinking this was a game others should experience.  RollerCoaster Tycoon was definitely something I wanted to share with Jon (Van Caneghem) and Dustin (Browder).

 

On Friday, as I had somehow managed to maintain throughout HoMM3’s ‘crunch’, I departed from the New World Computing offices to spend the night... and more than likely... early morning... playing network games with Dustin.  Stashed away in my briefcase bag, was my copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon.  I wanted him to see and play it, so we could chew on the design afterwards.

 

Driving from Agoura Hills to Van Nuys, I stopped at a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and purchased a combo meal consisting of a chicken sandwich, potato wedges, and a Pepsi.  After parking on the street outside Dustin's condominium complex, with RCT in one hand and food in the other, I found my way to Dustin's front door and knocked.  A quick moment later, Dustin’s wife, Jennifer, answered.

 

Jennifer, smiling, happy to see my bag of KFC, "Hi.  Oh good, you got food for yourself.  We finished eating about an hour ago.  Dustin’s waiting for you upstairs.”

 

Approaching the upstairs office shared by Dustin and his wife, I saw Dustin seated at his desk, turned slightly away from his computer.

His legs were crossed.  On his monitor ‘played’ a 3D computer game.  He was reading a book?

 

Me, entering the office, “Hey, man.”

Dustin, looking up from his book, saw my bag of KFC, “Hey, man.  Oh, good.  You got food.”

Me, curious, “What’cha playing?”

Dustin, inserting a bookmark and setting aside his book, “EverQuest (EQ).”

Me, guessing, “Looks like an RPG?”

Dustin, “Multiplayer RPG.  Like Ultima Online.  Just came out.”

Me, suddenly curious, “Any good?”

Dustin, shrugging, “Not sure.  For now, I’m just grinding XP.”

Me, smirking, “While reading a book?”

Dustin began logging out of EQ, “Well, it’s hard to play without reading a book.”

Me, “I don’t understand.”

Dustin, “Did you ever play a MUD?”

Me, "Multi-user dungeon?  Know what they are, but never played one.  Never saw one."

Dustin, “I tried playing several.  I’d log into the dungeon.  While I waited for other players to show up, I’d sit and read a book.  This is nowhere near as plodding, but reading a book makes it easier.  Besides, people seem to like it.  So, I’m giving it a try.  Maybe I just need to get past the initial zones.“

Me, holding out my copy of RollerCoaster Tycoon, “How about giving this a try?”

Dustin, taking the RCT box, looked it over, “I’d read about this online.  Demo’s been getting good buzz.”

Me, digging into my bag of KFC, “Demo has a hard time limit.  Install it.  I’ll eat.  You play.”

 

After a brief install, Dustin quickly entered the game and began placing attractions.  Keep in mind, this was his first play-through, and I had already covered this ground.  In drag-and-drop fashion, he was learning the game through trial and error... and it was driving me crazy.  I wanted him to jump past 'learning', and dive right into 'experimentation'.  I wanted him to explore the game's deeper bells and whistles, and almost immediately, I became an annoying backseat gamer.  Doing his best to ignore my hectoring, Dustin finally reached a logical gameplay plateau and decided to address me.

 

Dustin, irritated, “Okay.  Fine.  What do you want me to do?”

Me, “Just play with some of the details.  There’s all kinds of stuff you can do.”

Dustin, looking at the various options for one of the vendor stalls, “You mean this stuff?

Me, “No.  Not the stalls.  The rides.  The rollercoasters and stuff.”

Dustin, “You want to sit there while I build an entire rollercoaster?”

Me, “No.  Of course not.  Just tweak the settings on something premade.”

Dustin, “Like what?”

Me, “I don’t know.  Just pick something that isn’t a rollercoaster.”

 

Scanning the terrain, Dustin clicked on a tall, narrow tower ride named ‘WhoaBelly’.  It was a ‘drop tower’ ride.  After eight patrons filled the ‘car’ at the bottom, the ride would shoot them to the top of the tower, then drop them back to the ground.

 

Dustin, “How about this one?  We can change the height of the tower.”

Me, “Yeah.  Add a bunch of levels.”

Dustin, adding several tiers, “I think that’s enough.  Just the thought of this height is making me sick.”

 

Dustin found and surveyed additional options.

 

Dustin, "Okay.  We can change the min and max wait time, wait for a full load, up or down launch mode, and the launch speed."

Me, “Change the launch speed.  Let’s see if we can make them vomit.”

Dustin, shaking his head, turned up the ride speed to its maximum, “90 MPH is as fast as it goes.”

Me, “That should do it.  Let it rip.”

Dustin, “Shouldn’t we test it first?”

Me, “Nah.  Just run it.”

 

Shrugging his shoulders, Dustin ‘opened’ the ride to the park patrons.  After 10 or 15 seconds, enough patrons had filled the ride car.

 

It took off... like a shot out of a gun... and rocketed off the top of the tower... off the top of the screen.

 

Both Dustin and I sat there in stunned silence.  A moment later, the car returned, crashed onto the top of the WhoaBelly tower... and exploded. 

 

Across the bottom of the screen, a message flashed, “8 people have died in an accident on Tower 1.”

 

Dusting stifled a laugh.  I wasn't so mannerly and laughed out loud.

 

Dustin, looking back at me, “Did you know that would happen?”

Me, still giggling, “No.  Not a clue.  I had no idea it was even possible.”

Dustin, “I can’t believe they allowed us to do it.”

Me, “Well, I guess they didn’t have a choice.  I mean, how would the game know when you were done building a roller coaster?”

Dustin, thinking about it for a second, “I wonder what else you could do.”

Me, excitedly struck with a burst of energy and inspiration, “Wait-wait-wait.  I know.  Give all the food away for free.  Okay.  Then charge $20 to use the bathrooms."

 

Dustin, his mouth agape, squinted and glared at me, absolutely disgusted with what I had just proposed.

 

Me, still excited by my proposed idea, despite Dustin’s obvious revulsion, “Go ahead.  Try it.  It might work.”

Dustin, shaking his head with an exasperated snort, “All right, all right.  Give me a second.”

 

Navigating to the first bathroom he could find, Dustin opened up the properties tab.  Ironically, $20 was the maximum you could charge.  He then dropped the price of various nearby food stalls to ‘Free’.  We waited, and within a minute or two, it was clear the patrons weren't going for my 'pump and dump' scheme.

 

Dustin, "It's not working."

Me, still hoping to make the idea work, “Maybe we’re charging too much.  Cut the price in half.”

Dustin, shaking his head, “No.  Nope.  I think we’re done.  I don’t wanna treat the park patrons like lab rats.  I wanna play Diablo.“

Me, half laughing, “Okay.  Okay.“

 

Dustin ejected the RollerCoaster Tycoon CD from his computer’s CD-ROM drive, pushed it into its disc case, and dropped it back into the RCT box.

 

Dustin, holding the RCT box out to me, “I’ll buy my own copy.  You take yours, go home, and run as many park experiments as you want.”

Me, taking back my game with a smile, “Okay.”

 

When HoMM3 and RollerCoaster Tycoon released, both were echoes of a fading era.  I still had no idea if HoMM3 would be a success or failure, and I honestly didn’t know if there was still a market for ‘old school 2D sprite’ games.  In a tsunami of emerging 3D accelerated games, RCT and HoMM3 were anomalies.

 

When it came to video games, I wanted to believe ‘fun’ was still the definitive factor, but with PC 3D video accelerators, the Sony PlayStation, the Sega Saturn, and the Nintendo 64... it seemed anything not ‘3D’ was unworthy of attention.

 

In the end, at least in the USA, RollerCoaster Tycoon became the best-selling PC game of 1999.

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