Dee Brown of Beenox on Coldstone Engine
Sounds like a great ad for REALbasic. Do you have a close working relationship with REAL Software?
Not really. I do submit bug reports and occasionally post to the developer mailing list but that’s all. I used to be more active in the REALbasic early years.
Let’s talk about Coldstone. Is it written in C/C++ with CodeWarrior?
Coldstone is divided into two parts: the editor and the compiler. The editor lets you manage the different parts of your game and put them together to create the story and gameplay. The compiler then takes all this stuff and creates a stand-alone application on either Mac Classic, Mac OS X or Windows. The editor is almost 100% REALbasic code but the compiler and the resulting applications are 100% C++. This allows for fast and professional games. We used Metrowerks CodeWarrior to develop the engine core.
Which graphic tools are your artists using?
Photoshop, 3D Studio Max and Graphic Converter.
Can you give us a brief overview of the use of sprites?
First, the sprite engine supports multiple layers and sprites of any size. This lets you create any type of world you want by placing several different pictures here and there, or you can use one big picture for a whole map (like in Baldur’s Gate). The sprite engine (and editor) doesn’t make any distinction between an animation and a still picture (with little exceptions). This means that you can use the very cool (yet powerful) animation editor to create an animation and just add it in the map, in any layer you want. Second, the engine is true 32-bit color, which means that translucency effects are possible with picture formats that support alpha masks such as PNG. Also, all the game “windows,” like the shop interface for example, are rendered by the sprite engine to make them platform independent.
What is the max size that a sprite (character/monster) can be and how many frames per character does it allow for?
There is no limit. You can have an 800×800 character but it may be hard to control on screen. As for frames, it’s unlimited and really up to you. You could let your game take 200MB RAM if you wanted to.
How large can the game world be and how many objects can it contain?
Once again, RAM requirements are your only true world limitation in Coldstone. However, if you want to be able to edit a 1000×1000 map in the Coldstone Map Editor, you may have to give some more memory to the application. RAM really is the only limit you have. Give it more RAM and it will give you the power you need to create that 5000×5000 map you always dreamed of!
Is the screen size set, or can the developer adjust it?
The developer can decide at which resolution and color depth the game will run.
Does Coldstone allow for enhancement through plug-ins?
Coldstone allows enhancement to the game but not to the engine itself. A Coldstone developer has the option to enable plug-in support for their game. So hopefully a good community of plug-in developers will also grow. Things like creating a new renderer or new battle engine through a C++ plug-in aren’t possible though.
Can a saved game file be used in a different game besides the one it was created with (i.e. a sequel)?
When you create a Coldstone game, you have to specify a creator code. If a developer creates a sequel to their game and gives it the same creator code, the saved game would be compatible between the two games.
Are physics used in the game?
There is no real physics engine in Coldstone. You could easily fake physics with the animation editor and its keyframe animation abilities though.
Is the combat system flexible or hard-coded to a fixed game system rule?
The combat system core is hard-coded but the gameplay isn’t. While you can’t recreate the AD&D combat system, you can be very creative in your opponents’ look and behavior. PoG, the game we are developing with Coldstone, is a good example of this. We have standard rush-at-the-enemy monsters, but we also have original ones like earth elementals that summon earth columns from down under you (and that hurts!). The spell system is also very open and opens a wide range of new possibilities to the game designer.
Could you tell us about the magic system?
Theoretically, the magic system in Coldstone works with spell points. You could, however, use the event system to script yourself a new kind of magic system. Who said that it must be called “magic” anyway? You could create a futuristic game and call those “Bionic super powers” or something neat like that. The nature of these spells or bionic powers is all yours to create! Coldstone is bundled with a user-friendly spell editor.
Can the developer add custom key commands for their games? (E.g. use the spacebar or W key to change weapons.)
Coldstone offers the developer the ability to create “global keydown events,” which are basically events that are fired when the player presses a certain key. At this point, the only limitation is the event system.
Will Coldstone support networking or online play?
No.
Does Coldstone create a double-clickable application or does it require a run-time engine?
It creates a stand-alone application for Mac OS Classic, Mac OS X, Windows 95/98, and Windows ME/2000.
Coldstone will be released for classic Mac OS and Mac OS X simultaneously. How much work was it to Carbonize Coldstone?
REALbasic seamlessly did most of the work for the editor. REALbasic has some nasty Mac OS X bugs so I had to code a couple of workarounds, as well as modifying the interface and the help system to fit Mac OS X standards. The compiler of Coldstone is, however, pure C++. Again, it wasn’t that much work since it has been designed from the start to compile on Mac OS, Mac OS X and Windows.
What made you decide to approach Ambrosia Software to publish Coldstone?
Ambrosia has the online infrastructure required to support such a product. They have a very good web board system that will let the Coldstone developers exchange tips and tricks, as well as a good archiving system so that the Coldstone community will have a place to download up-to-date add-on files for Coldstone and upload their creations. This will also let people of various professions (musicians, 3D artists, etc.) meet and create cool new games. Beside this, Ambrosia has a cool and helpful staff, not to mention their marketing potential in the Macintosh gaming market.
Will developers be required to pay a license fee for commercial titles released?
Such details are unsure at the moment.
Do the Beenox, Ambrosia, or ColdStone logos appear in the finished game through ABOUT screens, required readmes, etc. (in other words, will players know they are playing a Coldstone game)?
Again, this is not set in stone but the developer will probably be required to display the (very nice) Coldstone badge somewhere in their product.
coldstone06.jpg
Can you compare RPG Maker and Coldstone Engine?
They both let you create RPGs but the difference lies on the creation freedom level. RPG Maker lets you create an RPG within a fixed frame. That makes it easy to use because the creator can concentrate on the content rather than the packaging. While Coldstone offers very good tools to let the user shape their own worlds, it also provides them with the ability to modify the container: game interface, menus, even a plug-in system that you can enable to let other developers write add-ons to your game. To make things simple for beginners, Coldstone comes with a game wizard that creates a fully working game frame for you to modify. Coldstone comes up with a default medieval set but allows you to modify it at will or start from scratch and create your very own style. You can have your very first game up in minutes.
How did you decide on how difficult it was going to be for someone to create a game using Coldstone? For example, making it simpler to encourage beginners, or making it more difficult to discourage less motivated users from producing low-quality games.
The goal was to make an engine that is appealing for both the wannabe game developers and professionals that want to quickly create outstanding cross-platform games. Coldstone is like Mac OS X — a powerful core wrapped in a beautiful user-friendly interface. Coldstone also comes with more than 10,000 graphics and animation files to help beginners create professional-looking games. There will be some low-quality games produced with it of course, but those will help the Coldstone community by providing game examples rather than hurt it, I think.
- Position: President/CEO
- Developer: Beenox Inc.
- Url: http://www.beenox.com
- Bio: Dee worked on Bugs Bunny: Lost in time — a PlayStation title — as a logic developer and tool programmer. He also worked on three upcoming PlaStation games: 3-2-1 Smurfs! as a PlayStation programmer and project lead, Bugs & Taz: Time Busters, and The Grinch who stole Christmas as a tool programmer.
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