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| " O F F I C A L " |
| _____ ______ _______ __ __ |
| |_____] |_____/ |______ \_/ |
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| |______ |_____| | __| |
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| 8-13-97 VERSION: 1.1 |
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Author:
Lon Matero (klmatero@oakland.edu)
Copyright:
The Prey FAQ is Copyright 1996-97 by Lon Matero. If you wish to use part
of this document, please leave it intact, and show it belongs to
The Prey FAQ by the author, Lon Matero.
Disclaimer:
This FAQ was not written by Apogee or 3D Realms and they do not take any
responsibly for what is said in this document. Any information in this FAQ
can change at any time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
1.1 About this FAQ
1.2 About the author
1.3 Where to obtain this FAQ
} 1.4 Future additions
2. About Prey
2.1 What is Prey?
2.2 Who is making Prey?
2.3 Who is 3D Realms?
2.4 Who is distributing Prey?
2.5 When will Prey be released?
2.6 What is the storyline behind Prey?
2.7 What are some features in Prey?
} 2.8 The Prey Engine
} 2.8.1 How does the Prey Engine Work?
} 2.8.2 What API does Prey use?
} 2.8.3 What are the Prey Engine features?
} 2.8.4 What is Portal Technology?
} 2.8.5 How does the Prey Engine compare to...?
2.9 The History of Prey
3. Prey's Requirements
3.1 What are the system requirements for Prey?
3.2 What Operating Systems does Prey work with?
} 3.3 What 3D Graphics Cards does Prey support?
} 3.4 Does Prey support Intel's MMX extensions?
4. The Prey Team
4.1 Who at 3D Realms is making Prey?
4.1.1 Programmers
4.1.2 Artists
4.1.3 Level Designers
4.1.4 Producers
4.1.5 Music/Sound effects
4.2 Who left the Prey team? Who is replacing them?
4.2.1 Mark Dochtermann and Jim Dose
4.2.2 Tom Hall
4.2.3 Chuck Jones and Doug Wood
} 4.2.4 Randy Pitchford
4.2.5 Summary
5. Multiplayer Prey
5.1 What kind of multiplayer support will Prey have?
6. Editing Prey
6.1 What parts of Prey can I edit?
7. Where to find more information
7.1 World Wide Web
7.2 Newsgroups
7.3 IRC
8. Revision History
9. Credits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Introduction
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1 About this FAQ
------------------
Prey is the game and FAQ stands for: Frequently Asked Questions.
Here, you will find a vast amount of information about Prey and hopefully
answer many of your questions.
} - shows that this text has been added/changed since the last
release.
1.2 About the author
---------------------
Lon Matero is a high school student at Walled Lake Central High
School. He has been an avid fan of Apogee for years. Lon is the channel
manager of one of the most popular gaming IRC channels on the Undernet,
#Duke3D. He also maintains two great gaming web pages.
Apogee -
http://www.oakland.edu/~klmatero/apogee
Prey -
http://www.oakland.edu/~klmatero/prey
1.3 Where to obtain this FAQ
----------------------------
The latest version will be posted to these places:
http://www.oakland.edu/~klmatero/prey
} http://www.apogee1.com/faq/
} alt.games.apogee
}
}
} Now there is a Japanese version of The Prey FAQ! This version is
}handled by Yukio Ide (yukio@anime.club.or.jp) and if you read Japanese,
}it can be downloaded here:
}
} http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/6040/prey.html
}1.4 Future Additions
}--------------------
} This FAQ is always being worked on and updated. Here is a list of
}what is planned to be added in future versions of the FAQ. Feel free to
}make suggestions.
}
} + More on the story behind Talon Brave
} + More on Multi player aspects of Prey, including "Prey Tribes."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. About Prey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 What is Prey?
-----------------
Prey is an upcoming first person, 3D, Sci-Fi, dark, futuristic,
action game. In Prey, you are Talon Brave, a Native American, out to battle
races of aliens. Prey will have both single and multiplayer play, along
with support for many hardware devices and operating systems. Prey is
also very editable, with a scripting language and a level editor.
Prey's project leader explains why "Prey" was chosen:
"Prey is a cool name because of the double-edged meaning: the prey/predator
meaning and the "pray for help" meaning."
A few mottos or subtitles have been also posted:
Prey: You are and you'd better!
Prey: If you don't come back, they will!
Prey: Be Brave!
2.2 Who is making Prey?
-----------------------
A game company called, 3D Realms Entertainment. A team of about
10-12 members are working full time developing the game. Developers from
previous games and new members are working on the game. A full listing of
he people behind Prey is in 'The Prey Team' section of this FAQ.
2.3 Who is 3D Realms?
---------------------
3D Realms is a division of Apogee Software Ltd. set up in 1994 to
focus only on 3D style games. 3D Realms' first release was Terminal
Velocity. 3D Realms is known for games including Duke Nukem 3D and
Shadow Warrior. 3D Realms uses the "Apogee model", where a shareware
episode is distributed for free, then users can buy a registered version
to get all the episodes. Apogee and 3D Realms can be used interchangeably.
2.4 Who is distributing Prey?
-----------------------------
In 1996 Apogee chose GT Interactive to distribute it's retail
versions of their games. 3D Realms does take direct orders of games, but
GT distributes to stores. GT also handles all of the advertising of
Prey, such as magazine ads.
Go to GT's WWW Page: http://www.gtinteractive.com/
3D Realms is taking care of the publishing and the online
distributing of the Shareware version.
2.5 When will Prey be released?
-------------------------------
This is one of the most popular questions for any game, and here is
Apogee's most popular response:
"When it's done." :)
} The most specific estimate at this time is late summer 98 for the
}shareware episode and 4thQ 1998 for the registered "shrinkwrap" version.
2.6 What is the storyline behind Prey?
--------------------------------------
Currently, the storyline and development of the main character are
being worked on. Paul Schuytema, the new producer, will be coming up
with a new story and background for Prey. This can all change at any time.
We do know that the name of the main character is, "Talon Brave."
Here is what Scott Miller, president of Apogee, has to say about
the name:
"The word 'talon' is a claw on a bird of prey. The word brave refers
to the character's native American heritage, plus it has the double
meaning of courage. Also, the name Brave is actually a shortened
version of his real native American name which won't be revealed until
the game's release."
}Actually, Scott Miller yet out the last part of his name early. The full
}name is Talon Brave Sun.
Here is a hint of what is to come:
"A new main character has been developed--he's a full-blooded
Apache with an attitude. The story is all new, and involves the
Trocara, a trinity of alien species who are kept (somewhat) in
check by the mysterious Keepers." (Apogee's Web Site)
}Here is another quote of the story from Phoebus:
}
} "The four races reside on four separate "islands" that are on the
}inside of a sphere that contains a simulated sun as its nucleus. This
}inverted "planet" is actually an enormous space ship that exists in our
}universe." (www.phoeb.com)
}
}This quote came from Gameslice's E3 Prey Preview:
}
} "Prey's current plot has Brave being abducted by higher life forms
}that are responsible for the creation of the Earth. Brave has to mix his
}brains with brawn and hopefully save the world from eradication."
}
}Here is some story background from Paul Schuytema:
}
} One of the key aspects of the Prey story is that Talon is a
}reluctant hero. He isn't an Arnold-esque caricature-he's more of a common
}man who's had a hard life. When he gets sucked into the story, it certainly
}isn't his choosing to do so.
}
} "Talon's challenge in Prey is to survive his encounter with the
}Trocara, a trinity if alien species who live within a giant mothership
}(it's a variation of Larry Niven's Ringworld concept). Talon also discovers
}a mysterious fourth species, the Keepers, who lurk "in between the cracks"
}of the Trocara. Talon's initial quest is survival, but it soon turns into
}something far greater..."
2.7 What are some features in Prey?
-----------------------------------
3D Realms are trying to make many advances in 3D gaming with Prey.
Prey will have the True 3D as in Quake, and the interactivity as in Duke
Nukem 3D. Here is a list of general features from 3D Realms:
+ True 3D engine, with shadow casting, colored lighting, dynamic lights
and much more. (Our own, advanced Portal Technology engine.)
+ The game will be Windows95 native.
+ 16 bit art.
+ Ultra-advanced 16-bit colored, full radiosity lighting.
+ Full Internet TCP/IP play, as well as local network and modem play.
+ HEAVY use of 3D accelerator cards such as 3DFX and Rendition.
+ Dark, moody and extremely intense Science Fiction gameplay, in very
interactive and realistic places.
+ A intense central character-a modern age, full-blooded American Indian
Dark, violent and extremely intense gameplay a superior multiplay
experience, in both competitive and co-op modes.
}2.8 The Prey Engine
}-------------------------------------------
}
} The engine is one of the most important parts of a game. It
}takes the information held in a data files, and puts it all together
}into an environment. William Scarboro is the man who created the
}engine used in Prey.
}
}
}2.8.1 How does the Prey Engine Work?
}------------------------------------
}
} To get an environment on the monitor, a few steps must be taken:
}
}1. Engine does basic calculations, tells API what to draw on screen.
}2. API adds special effects and goes to the 3D Graphic Card.
}3. 3D Graphic Card renders the environment and displays it on monitor.
}
}
}-------
}The following is a excerpt from the 3D Acceleration Primer v1.0
}By Daniel Starr (dstarr@math.mit.edu)
}
}In 3D graphics, objects are built out of small triangles - polygons. The
}program starts with a basic definition of how each particular object or
}building's polygons connect - "this is what a dragon looks like", "this is
}what the church looks like", etc.
}
}Then, to draw images, the program takes these objects and computes how they
}move in relation to you, the viewer. The dragon may be moving toward you,
}the knight may be turning around, and so forth. The program has to figure
}out what the new positions of the objects are, how the light falls on them,
}and whether your view of them is blocked by other objects or the edge of
}the screen. To give you perfectly smooth motion, the program has to do this
}30 times per second. (In practice, 10 or 15 frames per second may be
}acceptable. It depends on what you're doing.)
}
}Because each object is made of triangles, this job divides nicely into two
}parts. After all, a triangle is controlled by its three corners - its
}vertices. If you determine the new locations of the vertices, then the
}locations of all the other points of the triangle are just weighted
}averages of the locations of the vertices. If you determine the lighting at
}the corners, then the light on the body of the triangle is pretty close to
}an average of the light of the corners. And so on.
}
}So the first half of 3D graphics is figuring out what happens to each
}vertex of each triangle - "geometry". The second half is turning that
}information about the triangle vertices into information about the body of
}the triangles, which tells us what to color the pixels on your screen -
}"rendering".
}
}Rendering consists of four basic tasks: rasterizing, Z-buffering, shading,
}and texture mapping.
}--------
}
}
}2.8.2 What API does Prey Use?
}-----------------------------
}
}The API (Application Programming Interface) is the software interface for
}graphics hardware that allows programmers to produce high-quality 3D
}objects. It is independent of the Hardware and Operating System. An API
}serves as the link between the 3D Graphics Card and Prey.
}
}Currently, Prey uses its own API. The engine talks to the API which, in
}turns, talks directly to the drivers of a specific 3D card. The Prey API is
}similar in approach to OpenGL.
}
}In all likelihood, Prey will probably use it's own API to talk to
}higher-performance 3D cards, and OpenGL to talk to standard 3D cards.
}Currently, 3D accelerator support of any standard API (both Direct 3D and
}OpenGL) is very weak and spotty, and robust implementations of any API are
}very hard to come by. Most likely, things will sort out over the 97
}Christmas season, and there will be a much clearer path in early 98.
}
}
}
}2.8.3 What are the Prey Engine features?
}------------------------------------------
}
} There are some features in the Prey engine that make it stand
}out from others. Below is a list with descriptions:
}
}
}* True 3D Polygon Engine:
}
} Six Degrees of freedom gives the ability to move in any direction,
}plus any architecture can be made. Prey has a unrestrictive engine, and the
}only limit to what can be made is frame rate. Polygons are used for all
}objects in Prey including characters.
}
}* 16-Bit Colors
}
}16 Bit Color depth(65536 Colors) allows everything to look more realistic
}with more shades of color. Most software engines only use 256 colors.
}
}
}* Advanced Lighting Effects
}
} - Colored Lighting
}
}Most lights in games and in real life are white, and they show everything
}by their true color. In Prey, colored lights can be used. This can be
}compared to covering a light with a red colored plastic, for example.
}It gives off a red tint of light, and everything the light touches is also
}red. Add another light, and they can mix and create a new color. This gives
}a great variety of lighting possibilities in Prey. The lighting is also 16bit.
}
} - Dynamic Lights
}
}Lights in Prey do not need to be static, non moving. Lighting can move
}throughout the environment. Due to the speed of Prey's dynamic lighting
} system, and low computational overhead, Prey can simulate a large number
} of concurrent, colored dynamic lights in any one scene.
}
} - Radiosity Lighting
}
}Lighting can be reflected off any surface in the game, including yourself!
}This makes very realistic lighting. Textures can also have their own light
}value under Radiosity.
}
} - Shadow Casting
}
}As the name suggests, a shadow is casted when an object blocks a light
}source. This shadow can appear on any solid object, depending where it is
}in relation to the light source.
}
}
}* MIP Mapping
}
}A method using multiple textures, reduces pixelation when up close to an
}object. In Prey, when you move up to a wall, no pixels should be zoomed in
}on and visible. MIP mapping also eliminates some of the "moiré patterns
}you can see when very geometric patterns are viewed at a distance.
}Currently, Prey handles nine levels of MIP mapping.
}
}* Kinematics
}
}Prey has a Interpolated / Kinematic character animation system. This system
}gives the effect of smoother motions in the characters, without the need to
}create more frames of movement. Animations are stored as "bone keyframes"
}and the players computer will generate the actual frames between each
}keyframe based upon the speed of the system.
}
}* Weather Conditions
}
}Fog, and possibly other weather conditions such as rain or snow may be
}present in Prey. Again, these make a more realistic environment.
}
}* Sound
}
}Prey will be using a third party, Windows 95 Sound Engine. At this time,
}this engine has not been chosen yet.
}
}
}2.8.4 What is Portal Technology?
}--------------------------------
}
} A new technology, Portal Technology is the key to Prey's engine.
}This technology allows environments and events to take place that would be
}impossible in real life, or by Geometry Laws as we know it.
}
} Other 3D Engines like Quake use BSP (Binary Space Partitioning)
}trees. Portal Technology is differs from BSP in a few ways.
}
}
}* What Paul Schuytema says about Portal Technology:
}
}"What the portal technology gives us, is the ability to break free from
}static environment geometry-our environments can change geometry dynamically,
}during game play, in a far more interesting manner than simply opening doors
}and moving platforms that are found in most BSP-based engines."
}
}* An article in Boot Magazine interviewing Joe Gilby about Portal Technology:
}
}In portal games, the world is made of connected convex polyhedrons with
}polygons allowing visibility between the polyhedron cells. "The idea is that
}these cells are stored in a graph structure such that, when traversed, they
}will sort correctly," explains Joe Gilby. "If you're in a room with an open
}door into another room (all different portals), the far rooms are drawn first
}but just the pieces that are visible through the door and window are actually
}rendered. The cells subdivide the world into pieces that quickly identify
}areas that are of interest, and the objects which exist in those cells. Portal
}supports arbitrary sloping surfaces, and six-degrees-of-freedom viewing"
}
}One advantage of this approach is the flexibility of defining the portal cells.
}Current BSP implementations require splitting polygons that straddle the
}extended plane of other polygons, so the more complicated the scene, the
}more polygons you have to deal with. Portals require splitting in order to
}maintain polyhedron convexity, but it's local to the immediate neighborhood
}and can be avoided by level designers, given a little training. This allows for
}more complicated settings. Also, the portal cell based approach can avoid
}screwing affects such as characters and explosions piercing through walls,
}due to the portal cell drawing order. In a BSP renderer, the physics have to
}prevent objects in one leaf penetrating into another or clipping, because the
}renderer will dutifully draw them in both.
}
}"In portal, objects are confined to their containing cell, unless you explicitly
}say otherwise," says Gilby. "This makes the superpostitioning come out right.
}We can also use portal cells to define open spaces containing an atmosphere
}medium, such as flowering water, billowing smoke, and murky water."
}
}
}2.8.5 How does the Prey Engine compare to...?
}---------------------------------------------
}
}|Feature | Prey | Quake II | Unreal | DirectEngine |
}_____________________________________________________________________________
}|True 3D | YES | YES | YES | YES |
}|Hardware Only | YES | NO | NO | NO |
}|API |Own/OGL| OpenGL |D3D/Glide| Direct3D |
}|Color Depth | 16Bit | 8Bit | 16Bit | 16Bit |
}|Engine Type | PT | BSP | BSP | BSP |
}|Radiosity | YES | YES | NO | NO |
}|MMX Support | NO | NO | YES | NO |
}
} PT = Portal Technology
} BSP = Binary Space Partitioning
} D3D = Direct3D
2.9 The History of Prey
-------------------------------------------
The Prey project has been in progress for a number of years now.
What has happened over that time? Here is an overview of the history of
Prey from the beginning to present from George Broussard:
The concept for Prey started right after Rise of the Triad. All we knew
was that we wanted to do a dark Sci-Fi game. The game initially started
probably about July or so in 1995, but this was the very early R&D stages.
We were deciding what to do for an engine and whether we could use the
Build engine (Duke 3D), or another engine Ken Silverman was doing at the
time that was true 3D. We decided to roll the dice and write our own
engine at that point, so the team started digging into writing their first
3D engine.
The team was very small at first (mainly coders trying to write an engine
we could use). It took a little while to get things going, since we had
never written an advanced 3D engine in house and there was a lot of
experimenting, but in 3-4 months William had a true 3D texture mapped and
lit engine up and running. The engine was constantly upgraded for speed, or
a new approach to doing things, and that probably took us up until early
1996. By March 1996 we had a character on the screen moving around,
elementary net play with frag bar, items to pick up, and things were
looking good. But we still weren't happy with the engine yet, even though
we had 3Dfx support in and working. The lighting just wasn't quite right.
William Scarboro (engine programmer) kept tweaking things and about mid
year, we all decided to roll the dice again and support hardware
acceleration only. It was a bold decision, but we felt the timing was
right and it was the only way we could get some of the cool features we
wanted in the game. We wanted to be cutting edge. So William went back
and rewrote the engine again, this time specifically for hardware (3Dfx
first). At the same time he was re-writing "Preditor", our in-house editor
for Prey. Everything was converted to Win95 near the end of 1996, and we
started hiring new core team members. We started with Paul Schuytema, who
used to be a reviewer with CGW. We liked his style and found out he was
producing Mech Warrior 3 for FASA. We figured that if they thought he was
good enough for Mech Warrior, we'd give him a call. A few short weeks Paul
was here, and he threw out all the old Prey stuff and started re-doing the
Prey story (which I was much more happy with).
Things picked up fast from there. William got the new engine running under
3Dfx with 16 bit art and colored lighting, and we hired more people on.
Scott McCabe and Allen Dilling came on for art and Tom Pytel came here to
code everything William couldn't.
This brings us up to early 1997, where we nearly have the entire team in
place and are actually starting to write the game. We expect great things
from here on out.
} Now Paul Schuytema takes over the history:
}
}The early months of 97 were focused on refining the abstract concepts of the
}engine (to make it as robust and general as possible), nailing down our own
}video API and low-level system programming, and polishing up Preditor.
}
}In late April, the first public Prey demo was unveiled at CGDC (the Computer
}Game Developer's Conference) in San Jose. The non-interactive demo ran so
}smoothly, and with such visual fidelity, that many thought that it was a
}pre-rendered AVI. They were floored when they learned that it was the engine,
}generating the visuals in real-time.
}
}By early summer, Preditor had evolved into the most advanced 3D editor we'd
}ever seen. The speed of the interface, and the fact that the editor uses the
}engine directly, means that a mapper gets to see the results of his work
}instantly. In addition, the mapper has almost psychotic control over every
}single polygon in the map.
}
}We also hired Matt Wood, our first full-time mapper. He dove into Preditor
}like a man obsessed, and was soon creating some of the most intense
}environments we'd ever seen. Immediately, he and William began communicating
}on ways to improve Preditor even further.
}
}In late June, Prey showed up at E3. We had a cool new non-interactive demo
}(which only repeated once every 15 minutes!) on a single computer on the
}floor. We also had a back room office where we could show the demo
}interactively, plus some other nifty "tricks."
}
}The press reception was more favorable than we could ever have hoped
}for-almost to a tee, the members of the press left our demo with the look
}of stunned disbelief plastered across their faces. We even took home a
}"best of show" award from Computer and Net Player magazine.
}Once we returned from E3, we were joined by Loyal Bassett (who we grabbed
}from Microsoft). Loyal is currently refining our alpha character system into
}something truly spectacular.
}At the current moment, we've wrapped up our mapper search, our team is in
}place, and we're refining multiplayer Prey...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Prey's Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 What are the system requirements for Prey?
----------------------------------------------
* 3D Realms has not announced any official requirements yet.
An estimation is:
- 90 Mhz Pentium Processor
} - 24 MB RAM
- Video Card with a supported 3D Chipset
} - 28.8 Modem for TCP/IP Games
Recommended:
- 166 Mhz Pentium Processor with MMX
- 32 MB RAM
- Windows Supported Sound Card
- 3Dfx Voodoo 3D Graphics Card
} - ISDN for TCP/IP Games
3.2 What Operating Systems does Prey work with?
-----------------------------------------------
Prey is currently planned to have a Windows 95 version only at
this time. 3D Realms decided to break away from DOS, and go with full
}Windows 95 support. One of the reasons for going to Windows 95 is the
}3D support. Better use of 3D Cards is brought out of Windows 95. Another
}reason Windows 95 was chosen is compatibility. Prey will use your existing
}Video and Sound drivers for the game, making it easier to install and run.
As for other operating systems, it is not set in stone on what
Prey will be supporting. Mac and WindowsNT versions might happen.
3.3 What 3D Graphics Cards does Prey support?
---------------------------------------------
Prey will use 100% hardware acceleration. Meaning to take advantage
of the high speed engine, Prey will be designed to use the 3D Graphics Card.
By using Hardware only, a greater graphic quality is achieved and more
special effects can be added. Prey will support all of the top 3D cards.
Prey will NOT run without a supported 3D Card. It is required.
Currently, Prey is supporting Chipsets from the following companies:
3Dfx - http://www.3dfx.com/
Rendition - http://www.rendition.com/
}The following cards can be used with Prey:
}[Chipset:]
} [Card Maker, Product Name]
}3Dfx Voodoo Rush:
} Hercules, Stingray 128/3D
} Intergraph, Intense 3D Voodoo
} Jazz Multimedia, Adrenaline Rush 3D
}3Dfx Voodoo Graphics:
} Deltron, RealVision Flash 3D
} Diamond, Monster 3D
} Orchid, Righteous 3D
}Redition Vérité 1000:
} Canopus, Total3D
} Creative Labs, 3D Blaster PCI
} Intergraph, Intense 3D 100
} miro, miroCRYSTAL VRX
} Sierra, Screamin' 3D
3.4 Does Prey support Intel's MMX extensions?
---------------------------------------------
Prey might also support the MMX(tm) Technology in Pentium Chips.
3D Realms is "looking into" MMX at this time, it is unknown whether Prey
will have support or not. MMX is included with enhanced Pentium chips and
the Pentium II processor.
More information on MMX Technology:
http://www.mmx.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. The Prey Team
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1 Who at 3D Realms is making Prey?
------------------------------------
4.1.1 Programmers
-------------------------------
William Scarboro - (Lead programmer, engine guy)
William is from El Paso, Texas. He has a B.S. in Computer Science, minor
in Mathematics from Texas A&M University William did the actor code in Rise
of the Triad. (Apogee's Web Site)
Other projects worked on at Apogee:
Rise of the Triad
Tom Pytel - (Network programmer)
}High School Dropout. Started making money in computers at 16. Tom is the low
}level systems and video programmer for Prey. He is also currently doing some
}of the game system programming, as well as doing all of the network coding.
} Loyal Bassett - (Programmer)
}
}Loyal joined the Prey team in 1997 to be the third full time programmer on
}the game. Currently, Loyal is working on the character system, and he will
}most likely become the chief AI programmer.
4.1.2 Artists
-------------------------------
Steve Hornback - (Textures, general artwork)
Steve is a veteran, having worked on many Apogee titles, including Cosmo
and the original Duke Nukem I and II. He was the primary artist for Rise
of the Triad, and he's done a lot of work on Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow
Warrior. He is currently making textures to be used in Prey. Steve's
from Ohio. (Apogee's Web Site)
Other projects worked on at Apogee:
Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Major Stryker, Cosmo's Adventure,
Duke Nukem II, Duke Nukem I, Rise Of The Triad
Scott McCabe - (The texture guy)
"Before I came here, I did some 3D modeling and animation for some
companies back home. A few months back I did a Duke add-on called
'Layre', which also played an important part in my life."
(Apogee's Web Site)
Scott McCabe was hired by 3D Realms in early 1997 to work on Prey
full time as an artist.
Allen Dilling - (3D Modeler)
Allen Dilling was hired by 3D Realms in early 1997 to create characters
}in the game. He has a BA in art from USC. Created graphics for educational
}software before becoming a freelance non-linear video editor prior to
}joining Prey team. Worked on a few smaller game titles during the past year.
4.1.3 Environmental Alchemists (Level Designers)
--------------------------------
} Matt Wood -
}
}I'm responsible for creating the worlds and environments in which players
}will die in, again and again. I graduated high school, decided against further
}schooling and proceeded to move on to the pizza delivery business. Though I
}once placed in TEN's Duke 3d level design contest.(Apogee's Web Site)
}
}
} John Anderson -
}
}Hired in August 1997 as a result of the Prey mapper search. John came to the
}Prey project from Lockheed martin, where he was a design engineer working on
}things like the X-33 project, the Unified Antenna System (for space tracking)
}and other projects.
4.1.4 Producers
--------------------------------
Paul Schuytema - (Project Leader)
Paul previously worked for FASA Interactive Technologies, where he was the
lead designer for MechWarrior 3. In November, 1996, Paul joined 3D Realms.
Prior to that, Schuytema lead a "dual life," serving as a college professor
half-time and working in the computer game industry half-time. As a
professor, Schuytema taught creative writing, science fiction world
building, 3D animation and interactive authoring. In the game industry,
Schuytema divided his time between being the contributing editor for game
design for Computer Gaming World magazine and being a free lance game design
consultant. Schuytema's educational background includes a technical degree
in computer electronics and programming as well as a master of fine arts
degree in science fiction writing from the University of North Carolina.
(From the Press Release)
George Broussard - (Executive Producer)
Graduated with a BS in Computer Science from Stephen F. Austin
University in East Texas (just to have something to fall back on -- what a
dull place that was). Worked with long time friend Scott Miller at a
computer consulting company for a couple of years. Joined Apogee with Scott
in mid 1991 and never looked back. Proudest career highlight so far was being
the Executive Producer/Team Leader for Duke Nukem 3D. (Apogee's Web Site)
4.1.5 Music/Sound effects
--------------------------------
Lee Jackson - (Compose the soundtrack, and all sound effects)
Graduated J. Frank Dobie HS, Pasadena, TX, 1981 - won Texas UIL State Music
Theory competition, 1981. Attended University of Texas at Austin as a Music
Education major from 1981-1983 - Member Longhorn Band and Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia. Worked for IRS, Austin Service Center, from 1983-1993. Joined
Apogee in 1993 as Tech Support Rep. Was primary musician on Rise of the
Triad. Named Apogee's/3D Realms' first full-time Music and Sound Director,
as of January 15, 1996. Married to Brenda Jackson in 1983; one son, Nathan
Douglas Jackson, born 1986. (Apogee's Web Site)
Other projects worked on at Apogee:
Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Stargunner, Shadow Warrior,
Balls of Steel
4.2 Who left the Prey team? Who is replacing them?
--------------------------------------------------
The Prey Team has been through many changes. Three members
of the team left to other game companies. With all the new faces on the
Prey team, the game has also changed greatly. Here is an overview of
everyone that left the Prey team in the development process, and who
replaced them.
4.2.1 Mark Dochtermann and Jim Dose
------------------------------------
On August 12th 1996, 3D Realms announced that two programmers on
the Prey team have left. Mark Dochtermann, net-programmer, and Jim Dose',
level-editor programmer. They went to Ritual Entertainment. Here is part
of the Official statement from George Broussard:
* What happened was two programmers left the project, leaving the main
engine programmer, William Scarboro working on the engine. We see
little setback, and will begin interviews immediately for the two open
spots. (Tools programmer/Editor and Net code/general game programmer).
We expect this will only be a little 'speed bump' in Prey's development.
Nothing to worry about at all.
This 'speed bump' caused the whole project to be scrapped and
started over again. In September 1996, 3D Realms started hiring new
employees to create a new game, throwing out what was all ready done.
} Tom Pytel and Loyal Bassett was since hired to replace Mark
}Dochtermann and Jim Dose as programmers.
On that same day, Richard Gray (aka Levelord) left with the two
programmers. Richard Gray is known for his work as one of the two level
designers for Duke Nukem 3D. Richard also went to Ritual Entertainment.
4.2.2 Tom Hall
---------------
A few days later, another Official announcement came from
George Broussard. He said that Tom Hall, the Executive Producer
for Prey had left also. Here is the announcement:
* More Prey news for you all. Tom Hall has left to join John Romero's
startup company. We wish Tom well and his leaving was very pleasant,
and a little expected as he and John have been friends for a long time.
I will continue to be Executive Producer on Prey as I was with Duke 3D
and will likely bring in someone new as Asst. Producer to help guide
the project and relieve the workload. Again, we know how this looks
to the outside world, but rest assured that we aren't panicking at all
here. These folks will be missed, but the bulk of the Prey team is
here, more motivated than ever and things will go on.
Paul Schuytema replaced Tom Hall has head producer two months later.
4.2.3 Chuck Jones, and Doug Wood
-------------------------------------------------
Two artists Chuck Jones and Doug Wood did some "extra" work
on Prey in the early days of the game. They were never officially
added to the Prey team. Chuck Jones, who did some early sketches
and models, left Apogee in 1996 to go to a company called, Valve.
}Valve made the game called Half-Life, published by Sierra.
Doug Wood also did a little work on Prey, but never primarily
worked on the game. He has always been on the Shadow Warrior team.
Since Prey has never had any full time artists, they had
to be hired. In early 1997, two artists(Scott McCabe, and Allen
Dilling) joined the Prey team. Scott McCabe specializing in textures,
and Allen Dilling in 3D Modeling.
4.2.5 Summary
-------------
To sum it up, here are the Here are the replacements:
people who left the team:
1. Mark Dochtermann Tom Pytel
}2. Jim Dose' Loyal Bassett
3. Tom Hall Paul Schuytema
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Multiplayer Prey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1 What kind of multiplayer support will Prey have?
----------------------------------------------------
} There will be many ways to play Prey against others. Most of these
}are just ideas right now, and have not been programmed into the game.
}
}
}TCP/IP Internet Play:
}
} True internet play is planned for Prey. A Client/Server system will
}be used where anyone who wants to play others logs into a server. It is
}unknown at this time how many players a server can handle at a time.
}Playing over Total Entertainment Network(TEN), will also be offered.
}
}
}IPX/SPX Network Play:
}
} The fastest and smoothest way to play Prey. Playing over a LAN may
}be the best choice for many.
}
}
}Serial Play:
}
} Because Play is geared toward TCP/IP play, serial play may be hard
}to fit into Prey. This will be a major engineering task to make play
}over a Null Modem Serial Cable work.
}
}
}Modem Play:
}
} Modem Play has the same setup as Serial play, and will face the same
}problems.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Editing Prey
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.1 What parts of Prey can I edit?
----------------------------------
Many parts of Prey will be editable and changeable. One of the
largest pluses will be the Win95 Level Editor that will be packaged with the
registered version. 3D Realms will give the same editor that they used for
making the levels for Prey.
Prey's level editor is named, Preditor. In early 1997, 3D Realms
released a few screenshots showing the editor in use. The screenshots
show Preditor's simple design and ease of use.
George Broussard has made a few comments on the level editor for Prey:
"Plus the engine works differently, so we don't need to BSP anything and
it's still fast. That means you can edit and run levels on the FLY. No
waiting or lameness."
"The Prey editor will work like Build. Easy texturing and geometry
creation. Plus you can walk around in 3D realtime and light things and see
it NOW. Not in 20 minutes"
PreyScript? A scripting language like QuakeC in Prey is still up in
the air. There are plans of having some sort of language, but the details
are still in the works.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Where to find more information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.1 World Wide Web
------------------
* For the Official Information, go to 3D Realms' Prey Page:
http://www.3drealms.com/catalog/prey/
* Other great Prey Pages on the Web:
Lon's Prey Page - http://www.oakland.edu/~klmatero/prey/
}GamesNET Prey Page - http://www.gamesnet.net/prey/
Preystation - http://www.preystation.com/
}Pailhead's Prey Zone - http://prey.telefragged.com/
* For a listing of Prey Web sites, please visit this URL:
http://www.3drealms.com/catalog/prey/links.html
7.2 Newsgroups
--------------
The reserved spot for all discussion on Apogee and 3D Realms games
in the news groups currently is:
alt.games.apogee
A Prey newsgroup might pop up like one did for Duke Nukem 3D after
Prey's release.
7.3 IRC
-------
IRC or Internet Relay Chat is talking in real time to other people.
If you want to talk to many Prey fans get a IRC program, such as mIRC,
log in to one of the 'Undernet' servers, and join one of the following
channels.
#Prey - Channel Manager: Adam Brill
This channel has been set as the main channel for Prey discussion on IRC.
#Preystation - Channel Manager: Aaron Corcoran
This channel was set up as an alternative to #Prey for general discussion and
chat about the web site, Preystation.
#Duke3D / #SWarrior - Channel Manager: Lon Matero / Rob Brown
The Official Duke Nukem 3D channel has been around since early 1996 and has
been the meeting place for all Apogee fans. Since then, #SWarrior has shown
up as the replacement for #Duke3D.
Apogee also has their own IRC channel that can be accessed through
an IRC client or through a Java supported Web Browser. It can be reached
at irc.pseudo.com, channel #apogee, or www.apogee1.com.
} Other IRC networks such as EFNet and 3DNet have Prey channels too.
}Just join a server on one of these networks and join #Prey.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Revision History
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
v1.1 - 8-13-97 Started the list of 3D Cards supported, added new information
on the Prey Engine. Misc Updates.
v1.0 - 4-8-97 The Prey FAQ renamed to The Official Prey FAQ. Brought the
FAQ up to date. Started the history of Prey.
v0.15 - 12-7-96 First public release.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Credits
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Rob Brown - robbrown@nwinfo.net (Proof-reader, biography,
IRC section)
+ George Broussard (The history of Prey section)
+ Joe Siegler - joe.siegler@apogee1.com (For guiding me along)
} + Yukio Ide - yukio@anime.club.or.jp (The Prey FAQ Japan Translator)
} + Paul Schuytema - pauls@3drealms.com (Wealth of new information)
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