对于RTS游戏《横扫千军》的制作,Geoffrey Keighley的文章已经不足以全面讲述那段历史,而加入一个亲自参与此游戏制作的人物的视角,我们就可以看到一个更完整的横扫千军诞生史。 这篇连载作者是《横扫千军》美工总监Clayton Kauzlaric,他从去年9月开始在他自己的Blog上连载自己在Cavedog参与制作《横扫千军》 的经历。本连载由我与游戏编年史的主人无声畅游合作翻译推出。
无声畅游 译
第六章补完
那些熟悉严格新闻标准的朋友们,我同样是一个视事实真相为生命的人——除非是阿布那样的富翁,才有可能收买到我。我记得之前提到过那个霉运缠身的Boris”巨兽”,它真有100×100个屏幕那么大吗?
我的良心告诉我必须向读者澄清此事,为此我,我仔细查阅了大量被磨得稀烂的光盘——冒着被光盘爆裂戳瞎眼睛的危险。苍天不负有心人,我终于在一天晚上找到了这张地图的原始资料:
以上便是Boris的庞大区域,大致接近原始设计概貌。其中,每一个方格就有5×5个屏幕大小(也就是每边2560个像素)。我记得每块大陆之间的大片海洋地区是后来加入的,最终将Boris扩充到40×40屏幕,离我先前说的100×100还有不小差距,可依然是97年的主流配置电脑所无法承受的。Boris的实际面积大得吓人,它那独特的砖瓦式地表设计同样极吃内存。
回想起来,Boris也许只是看起来像100×100大,这就好比一个学校操场恶霸喜欢一手抓着一个无助的可怜虫,一手捏着一根扭曲金属棍般,有些虚张声势了。
我后悔记错了准确的面积数字,我向广大朋友道歉——但我还是最应该向Boris道歉——它原本是有着光明前景的。只能说,Boris超前于它那个时代了。可怜的家伙。
待续
Part 6.1.4: First Ink Amended
Those of you familiar with the high journalistic standards here at Ton of Clay know the premium I place on the truth — A premium so high only the very rich can afford to bribe me. I started thinking about my reference to the ill-fated demo map called Boris. Was the map really 100×100 screens?
I had to verify this for you, the reader. Yea, though I sift through many a worn CD-ROM, risking flying shards of frail, shattered disk in my eye, I will persevere. Anyway, I got curious and found the remains of the original map earlier this evening.
Above are the sections of Boris, assembled in something approximating the original design. Each square chunk was about 5 by 5 screens (2560 pixels on a side). I recall now that the plan was to expand this by placing large strips of open water between each type of terrain. So, the ultimate goal for Boris was probably closer to a mere 40×40 screens. Much smaller, but still insanely big for an average computer in 1997. The real problem was partly the physical dimensions, but also the high number of memory-gobbling unique tiles in this design.
In retrospect, Boris just seemed like 100×100 screens, much as memories of a playground bully can make them seem like they were ten feet tall, with a helpless nerd in one hand and a twisted jungle gym in the other.
I regret the the lapse in accuracy extremely. I apologize to my vast readership – but I mostly apologize to Boris. He just wanted to be loved and probably came From a tough neighborhood. Boris was, if anything, simply ahead of his time. Poor little fella.










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