How many stars shine? Habrainterview with players, developers and publisher of "Space Rangers"

It is difficult to write about a little-known computer game, because The reader immediately has a legitimate question: with what kind of joy the author chose this particular game from thousands of equally unknown? But it is equally difficult to write about a very famous game, because The reader immediately has a legitimate question: is it possible to say something new, when has so much been said about this? A possible way out is an interview: firstly, with the game fans, and secondly, with the developers and the publisher. Let them explain why they devoted many years to this particular game. Here we choose this path, because it's not just about the famous game, but about the very, very famous series of games “Space Rangers” (KR) of the 1C publisher. Just think: these games are an enviable success for 14 years - this is truly a unique case. Moreover, the game continues to evolve - a new game of this series was recently announced 1C: "Space Rangers: Legacy" . So how many stars shine?

Immediately, we note that on Habré they repeatedly wrote about the CD [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Therefore, we will not retell the essence of the game and the entertaining history of its development (besides the indicated links, you can see the corresponding articles in Wikipedia, they are accompanied by voluminous lists of sources). Let's talk better about the future of the game. It is clear that for this it is worth trying to figure out the secrets of her success. In the first part of our interview, the most active members of the independent forum of fans of the Milky Way Ranger Center game (CRL) will answer the questions. Among them are the champions who occupy the top lines of the KR Table of Records (TP), noted in the Celebrity Table (TK), the authors of the passing methods, the organizers of the championships. Another part of our interview is the developer and publisher responses.

But, first of all, brief explanations should be made to innocent readers in the Kyrgyz Republic. The CD is not a multiplayer, but from the first CD to the present, each player can send his own record to the game site ( SNK - game developers "Space Rangers HD: Revolution"), where this record is recorded in the TR according to the number of points scored. In addition, TK was opened, where the maximum average speed of the ship for the whole game, the maximum number of awards, etc. are entered. In addition, Steam also captures as many as 82 achievements during the game. Thus, there was a competitive context. This context has been enhanced by championships, where participants are offered a starting save game of the game, by downloading which, they must complete a number of tasks specific to each championship. As an example, you can see the section of the championships held at the CRL forum. There is also a Player Ranking Table , where the rating is calculated using a formula that depends on a record in TR. Players are grouped into teams , receive merit and victory awards and titles. And the teams themselves get points for winning their players in the TR and in the championships. Thus, constant competition is provided not only between players, but also between teams. This system was worked out over the years, both by the developers and the players of the respective online communities; now it can be argued that it has recommended itself and makes a significant contribution to maintaining interest in the game. It is possible that developers and publishers of other games should learn from this experience. Of course, not everything is as simple as it may seem from the brief explanation given. There are many pitfalls. Note two of them. The game must have good protection against hacking. A special structure is needed for the championships - a commission on championships .
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Returning to the interview, it should be noted that questions for him were discussed at the CRL forum. In the same place , Idontknower proposed the title “How many stars are shining?” Thus, this publication, in essence, is a product of collective creativity, the author only brought everything together, designed and added explanations. Many thanks to all the participants of this discussion! This concludes the explanation and proceed directly to the interview.

Part 1. Players

Our questions are answered by: one of the moderators of the CRL, the organizer of many championships, the record holder of TR and TZ, the explorer of the game, the leader of the Starship Progress team - Willis ; the champion of the TR and the holder of the achievements of TK, the author of the “Big” record technique in the Kyrgyz Republic HD , the leader of the Wings of Freedom team - SHERIFF ; the champion of the TR and the holder of the achievements of the TK, the author of many valuable tips on tactics and strategy of passing the game - Svyatoslav ; One of the most active members of the CRL forum is Cowboy Bill ; the record holder of the TR and the holder of the achievements of the TZ, co-author of the game bot for the passage of planetary battles , an active forumchan forum TSRMP Student -; the champion of the TR and the holder of the achievements of TK, an active forumchanin forum CRL - Stark242 . Of course, it’s impossible to indicate all the merits of each of the participants here - he indicated only a few.

- What will the participants of our interview say about themselves?

Willis : Forum member of the EG, MP and SNK forums. Total experience of almost 10 years. The head of the team "Progress".

SHERIFF : A grizzled player in KR.

Svyatoslav : Mizantrop.

Cowboy Bill : My name is Denis, I am 23 years old, a Minsk resident. Dreamer, bummer, cynic, adept sarcasm. I like to provoke people and in some cases I find it funny.

Student : Engineer ASUP, 36 years old.

Stark242 : Name is Stanislav, 46 years old, a big fan of science fiction in all forms: f.book (I’ve read all my life - I know a million plots), f.-films - I know and have everything in the collection, music (cyber-electronic) and figi - turn-based strategies (space and fantasy) ...

- Favorite games and for what?

Willis : From the most favorite games I prefer Rome: Total War for its scale, dynamism, global strategy and 3D battles, Empire: Total War (direct successor of the previous game), Siberia 1, 2 from Benoit Sokal for his wonderful and complex world quests and many hours of riddles, puzzles and dialogues of the main characters, 12 chairs and, of course, KP2.

SHERIFF : Heroes, Civilization, Space Rangers. They like the global nature and the player's ability to virtually manage world civilization events. I also like the X3 series of games for the virtualization of space and space battles. I do not like in the last game the inability to show their skills in the form of the final result. Simply put, I do not like the infinity of the game X3.

Svyatoslav : In addition to "Rangers": Heroes-1-5, Kohan -1,2, Caesar-2, Warcraft-2, Disciples -2 (with all additions), Age of Wonders -2 (3?), StarCraft 1.2 , Kings Bounty (new) and a few old (classic) games, about which, probably, no one remembers.
For what. For the opportunity to strain the brain (if any), for the atmosphere (mostly fabulous).

Cowboy Bill : Ha, and you love your mom, too, “for something”? ;)

I would not call myself an active player, but here are the things I have endured for me through the years: the Sonic the Hedgehog, Fable: The Lost Chapters series, the Worms series, the Space Rangers series. At an earlier age I played on consoles and in many other great games, including the series of games “Crash Bandicoot”, “Metal Gear Solid”, “Twisted Metal 4” and others. But the last game, which impressed me very much and never ceases to inspire and make me think, was undoubtedly Undertale.

Student : KR, Gothic, the agony of power, fallout. Open world, freedom of action.

Stark242 : I've been playing for 25 years, if possible, I love step-by-step strategies, global space strategies + KR and KB (Kings Bounty), I like the gymnastics of the mind, pleasure, immersion into the world of fiction, fantasy and adventure, I do not like shooters ...

- How many years have you been playing in Kyrgyzstan, and why do you still like this game?

Willis : I have been playing in KR2 for 12 years. Even before the release, KR2 played in KR1 and imbued with its complex dynamic space, the player's ability to self-develop, complete various tasks and experiment with tactics in the game, which allows him to complete this game. The development of the rating of teams and championships on the forums EG and MP gave another additional incentive for the passage of CR2.

SHERIFF : I play in the Kyrgyz Republic with breaks of about 10 years. Records in the TR began to send in the beginning of 2011. In order to send records to the TR and registered on the site SNK in February 11th. Having studied the experience of other players on the SNK and TsR MP website, he sharply increased his skills and knowledge of the CD. In the CD like a combination of several genres of games. It brings variety to the game. I also like the fact that the CD makes you strain the gray matter, and not thoughtlessly drive wildly with the mouse and hit the keys.

Svyatoslav : I play from the very beginning. Why like, difficult to explain, but like.

Cowboy Bill : It is now difficult for me to say exactly in which year I became acquainted with the world of the Kyrgyz Republic. One thing I can say for sure: “love at first sight” in my case was not, and I became addicted to this game only with time. My most favorite part of the "Space Rangers" were and remain text quests. The strategic part of the game doesn’t really interest me at all. Beautiful texts, jokes and excellent music - this is what always impressed me in the KR, and not at all the calculations of the best configurations of the ship. Planetary battles can go under my mood, and can sometimes be frankly annoying. I would say that I like the very essence of the world of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Lately, I will not hide, I priohladel to the game in the CD. But still this game, like some others, has had a significant impact on me at some stages of life. And the most important thing for myself in the Kyrgyz Republic, I would call not even the fact of the game, but acquaintance with a large number of wonderful people who would not have been possible if I had never been in this universe. That's the way it is: the game for me as a whole is over, but people remain.

Student : Years 6. Like, and that's it :-)

Stark242 : I play not so much - 4-5 years, until I am tired, I like competitiveness (TR) and an interesting community ...

- What do you like and dislike in the KR2HD game?

Willis : In the KR2HD game, I like the idea of ​​pirates and a special agent development branch. The downside is that the game engine has not changed much since the days of KP2 and the main elements of the game have remained unchanged.

SHERIFF : I'm a picky person. At this stage, I see the CD more as a competitive sports process. In such conditions, in fair play, all players are on an equal footing created by game developers. I accept all the changes from the developers and work with the game and the changes that were made. Simply put, everything suits me in the game.

Svyatoslav : I like almost everything. The least like text quests, but this is a matter of personal taste.

I do not like the need to generate decent cases. I don’t like the second assignment of the special agent - boring. The third task, too, but it is at least shorter.

Student : I like a lot of things, almost everything. I do not like impunity, for “bad behavior” is too little retribution. But in other games and that is not.

Stark242 : I like the tactical and strategic component, tired of PB , AB and TC !

Cowboy Bill : Most of all in KR HD I like a fresh look at the series that opened the second breath to the franchise. The development of the game for once was taken up by real fans, and not completely indifferent people, for whom the material component is a priority. Although we have returned to the world that has long been familiar to us, but this world still had something to offer us. New side of the conflict with its own storyline, new content, updated graphics - it's time to rub the ranger badge dusty on the shelf to once again allow the roaring engine to take us forward to the adventure!

Now that did not like. Unfortunately, at the time of release, the game looked still quite raw: crashes, hung, typos, logical errors. The first time after the release, developers had to work hard on these problems. But you should pay tribute to them: as soon as the flow of the most "gross" bugs ended, the authors more than compensated for the gaps in the original version with content patches, thereby rewarding the patience of the fans. For the current day, CD HD is not just an addition to the many favorite KR2, but also a completely independent game, and even the crown of the whole series.

- Gusarov and Dub (Alexey Dubovoy) were completely indifferent people? (I did not think so).

Cowboy Bill : The same question I asked myself, to be honest. Yes, at first everything was definitely built on a dream to create something interesting. And yes, perhaps with the "indifferent" I really went too far. But at some point this bar was taken for them (at least for Gusarov) and what happened happened. Dub was not opposed to continue working on the series, but Gusarov already had new unconquered horizons before his eyes. One way or another, their duet failed the test of time. But the fans - it is still always a completely different level. I am not talking about professionalism, of course, but about loyalty. It seems to me that even a different singer may not love himself as any unnamed fan will love to hang a poster with him on the wall. :)

- How do you see the future of the game? Do I need a KP3, and if so, what should it be? Should there be any continuity with previous games of the KR series and are plot changes necessary that bring sharpness to the familiar game universe?

Willis : I believe that every game should be developed if it does not want to be forgotten. Many players dreamed about 3-continuation of 2 and its successors. His story took a variety of forms. I have already expressed my version in the interview topic.

SHERIFF : KP3 of course needed. Probably, in 3 there should be a plot development, maybe adding enemies or replacing old ones with new ones, improving graphics. Continuity with older versions is required.

Svyatoslav : I personally need KP3. Continuity with the previous series should be maintained. About the plot can not say anything. There may be some additions to the strategic part, such as the possibility of building / improving bases / fleets for a particular system for money at the player's request, but, in my opinion, the role component and balance should remain prevalent. Actually for me between KR HD and KR3 there will be enough of such a number of changes / additions, which was between KR2 and KR HD. And yes, no 3D, shelters and rolls.

Cowboy Bill : Let's take it in order. :)

I would like to be an optimist, but I don’t see the future of the world of the Kyrgyz Republic in a bright future. The screenshots of the coming "Heritage" make you beat yourself on the forehead with your hand: ugly models, inappropriate for the CU universe, cartoon graphics and ... magnificent forms, just as inappropriate for a franchise. No, it’s not that I was against the latter, but I’m confused by the question: what audience is the game focused on, which catches potential players on puffy forms? "Space Rangers" have always been a game in which you have to think, and the publisher is clearly focused on those who "fly into the light." His right, but this fact confuses me.

The question is not even whether KP3 is necessary, but rather what kind of KP3 we need. Agree, the previous games in the series set a very high bar. Moreover, time does not stand still, and what looked acceptable in 2004 may no longer go to today's sophisticated public. KP3 will have to balance the balance between classics and innovations in order to show that progress has stepped forward, and the universe before us is still the same. For example, graphically dry text quests. If you replace them with graphic ones, you’ll get the first game from the CD series without text quests - one of its main components. If you leave everything as it is - what is progress then? So what should be done to create a hybrid? And do not forget that each of the fans of the CD finds something of their own in the series and any changes made to the series will not be accepted by everyone. Among other things, one can argue for a long time about whether multiplayer is needed in the CD. As for me, he is not needed there, but someone may think otherwise. I do not think that in principle it is worthwhile for someone to take over KP3 if he is not ready to answer all these questions. In any case, the sequel will have to surprise. Surprise again. But the world must be recognizable. As I have already noted, the plank is set very high. Perhaps the series would even be worth finishing. Personally, I only welcome when history can end on time and does not produce a bunch of unnecessary sequels of varying degrees of controversy and expediency.

I think I gave an exhaustive answer to this question.

Student : I do not know what to say.

Stark242 : Future: I have a dream to see the unification of the world of the Kyrgyz Republic and the world of the MoO (Master of Orion) -Global space (GKI) - the reincarnation of which, by the way, has recently come out - I plan to explore it soon. In the Kyrgyz Republic, I have never been interested in the plot, the continuity, and I never really liked the random. It is necessary to introduce the technology tree, the development of the planets, as in the State Property Committee, it is necessary to allow the player to influence several places at the same time: for this, the autonomy of the trunks and partners must be given, greatly expanding the number of degrees of freedom (I wrote a lot about this in SNK in the sentences).

- Do you play games on mobile devices? Will you play Legacy? How do you feel about the f2p scheme?

Willis : I don’t play games on mobile devices, I haven’t had the honor to meet Heritage either. I am wary of the f2p scheme in relation to CD HD. I think that the game world should stay there.

SHERIFF : I do not play games on mobile devices. I have not thought yet whether I will play Legacy. By f2p difficult to answer.

Svyatoslav : No. Not. No

Cowboy Bill : No, I don't play anything on mobile devices. They just do not interest me as a gaming platform. As for the Heritage, I think it would be worth it at least once to look at it. Maybe even play. :)

Now about "Free to play". On the one hand, this makes the game accessible to everyone, which is good from the point of view of attracting an audience. But here, too, not without a fly in the ointment: what will this audience be? Still, the price of the game forms a certain threshold for entry. I would not want the community filled with random people. Sometimes less is better.

Student : No If it comes out for a computer, I'll look. Negative.

Stark242 : No, I do not play, but I want to try, although I doubt that I will like it. I did not come across donations either, I don’t even know, money is not a problem in principle, but it’s somehow unfair, or something ...

- How do your pets treat your KR hobby?

Willis : Home games for the CD are indifferent.

SHERIFF : I found a compromise between time spent in the game and time spent with my relatives. My relatives treat my KR hobby tolerantly and with understanding.

Svyatoslav : While the son lived with us, he was interested (he himself played a little) to watch the development of the party. Now there is a wife left, she treats normally, perhaps due to the fact that I am not really abusing this.

Cowboy Bill : Absolutely calm. The question is much more relevant for those who have got their own family and spend more time playing the CD in Kyrgyzstan than with this family itself.

Student : Not really, but already accustomed.

Stark242 : Bad attitude, especially wife, because takes too much family time.

- Will your child (12+) be allowed (would they) be allowed to play in the Kyrgyz Republic?

Willis : I think that I would allow my child (12+) to play in the CD, as this kind of games develop thinking and horizons. Of course, you need to know a certain measure in the number of hours spent on the game.

SHERIFF : I would allow my child (12+) to play in the CD. If he had such a hobby, he would help with tips on the game.

Svyatoslav : I don’t know already, because at the time of the release of the first CDs he was 14 and we learned this science together. I think that would allow.

Cowboy Bill : It's really hard for me to handle such high matters. :)
Probably, first of all, I would like my children to be able to think. To learn to think, you need to analyze and compare any information coming from the outside world, and the more, the better. Thus, the restriction of incoming information at least does not look something useful from this point of view. An exception may be if this information is capable of causing direct harm to life or health, including mental one. I think the CD does not carry such a danger.

In general, here it depends on the nature of the child. Perhaps some children still need to be protected from something. But in general, I think that would allow.

Student : Yes.

Stark242 : My eldest son played at the beginning (by the way, he showed me the CD and showed it for the first time), but, in my opinion, I have never fully passed it, helped pass the PB, and then switched to modern youth games, I will not allow my daughter Yes, she herself and such games are not interesting (now she is 6).

- Want to add something?

Svyatoslav : Wishing prosperity to developers and success (including commercial) KP3.

Stark242 : Then turn on, if there is really contact with the developers ...
here, somehow so while ...

Cowboy Bill : Do not use malokskim condoms. :-)
Thanks for the interview!

- Thanks for answers!
In the next part, the developers and the publisher will answer the questions.