We have been working on O.R.B. with a full team for around 2 years. The original concept was prototyped around a year before that. We have not announced an official release date for the game yet, but we are shooting for a mid to late fall release.

2) Entering the field of RTS space-based 3d simulations you of course have to consider that you are going to be competing directly with Homeworld and its sequel. Is the competition that direct? What are the features that you feel will differentiate O.R.B. from Homeworld and where do you think you've got something distinctly better to offer?

O.R.B.'s gameplay has a different focus than a game like Homeworld. When we began the initial work on the design, our competition was games like Total Annihilation and Starcraft. Because of the influence of these, and other top-down 2D RTS games, we created environments where terrain had a greater role to play. Though terrain does not work the same way as in 2D RTS's (i.e. we don't have choke points) it is nevertheless important for players to use the planets, asteroid belt and debris fields to cover their approach when attacking. In the campaign, the main environment is entirely dynamic; all objects within the world are constantly moving. This means that the secret bases you build in hollowed out asteroids will end up in enemy controlled space giving you more flexibility when planning an assault.

3) Strategy First has produced some very beautiful games to this point; O.R.B. looks to be the first 3d-accelerated however? Will O.R.B.'s engine support some of the more advanced 3d accelerator features (T&L, EMBM, FSAA, etc, etc)? What sort of framerate performance have you seen and what sort of a performance hit will non-3d accelerated computers suffer?

O.R.B. is indeed our first game that will require hardware acceleration.

Although all these advanced features seem enticing, our philosophy was to excel at using techniques that most video cards would support. However, among a few other things, we are currently evaluating the addition of both T&L and FSAA support before the game is released.

Due to the complex geometry of the 3D models, O.R.B will require a TNT1/Voodoo2 class video card or higher. Better video cards will result in greater overall performance and provide the ability to use higher quality texture maps.

4) Any chance of getting a new gameplay movie? The first was excellent but you must have developed some exciting new shots since that one was burned?

We have a number of things in the works that will give all gamers a chance to see O.R.B. in action. We'll keep you posted!

5) In terms of the space flight model, how realistic will it be - are there optional toggles to stop asteroid movement (while learning the game) or to add gravity effects to ships?

The flight model is fairly realistic; every object in the world has a mass and vessels must overcome their inertia in order to change directions. However, we are not simulating gravity wells or other real-physics effects.

Our development tools allow you to create a limitless number of unique environments and to control the parameters of the environment. Asteroids can be made into belts or clusters; these clusters can be placed in a fixed position or can be set to rotate around a body such as a planet or sun.

6) How broad/deep is the tech tree? In a typical game (granted, that's a vague statement) will players end up developing the same techs by the end (ala SMAC), or is there a distinctive and exclusive tree, ala Disciples?

The tech trees for the Malus and the Alyssians are similar but unique. Though the trees are separate, players can narrow the gaps between the two by capturing enemy ships. If you capture a ship and return it to your spaceport, you can research the ship and apply some of its technology to your vessels. For example, Malus fighters have better armor, if the Alyssians capture a Malus fighter they can apply an armor bonus to all of their fighter class ships. In some cases it may also open new branches in the tech tree. In the campaign game, the technology you research is carried forward from scenario to scenario.

7) Multiplayer: Online peer/peer or client-server? Possible for players to act as their own hosts (ala Quake). Gamespy support implemented? Any cooperative multiplay possible?

The multiplayer mode in O.R.B. is client/server architecture and players will have a few choices when connecting with other players. You will be able to connect with other players using our Internet matchmaking service seamlessly through the multiplayer front-end interface. You may also limit your game to specific friends or acquaintances by entering the IP address of the Host. We are also evaluating various online multiplayer gaming services.

The multiplayer mode of O.R.B. allows eight players - two teams of four players - to play cooperative/competitive games on the Internet or LAN. There must be at least one human player per team. The level of cooperation on each team is decided in advance by setting a number of parameters. A team can decide to collect their own resources and build their own ships or to cooperate more closely and divide the responsibilities.

8) It looks from the screenshots that the player can freely move the camera throughout the environment - is this the case?

Although this is subject to change, the camera must be focused on an object like a vessel, spaceport or asteroid. You may only select objects that belong to your race or are with scan distance of you. For example, I can select and focus on an enemy ship only if I have a friendly ship nearby. As soon as the enemy vessel leaves the active scanner range of my ship, I can no longer select it. If players set up a satellite system throughout the asteroid belt, they will have a much greater chance of not only identifying enemy attacks, but also assessing the threat of the raid.

9) There's a big issue (no pun intended) of scale in space - how do you transition between strategic movements and tracking to tactical movements and combat at this scale? Are there realistic limitations on weapon effects/ranges (such as speed of light lag to communications, etc)?

While playing O.R.B. I tend to alternate between the 3D view and the 2D top-down system map. On the 2D map, ships are marked with icons so you can readily see your own vessels throughout the solar system and the disposition of enemy ships that are within passive sensor range.

Both missiles and the energy weapons have a limited range but we have not limited communications in any way.

10) Resources - are they managed on a local scale or for the side? I mean, if you mine a resource do you have to bring it to a central point (adding both an interesting level of convoys and protection; simultaneously possibly adding a boring level of micromanagement) or is it immediately part of the side's 'pool'? 

You must bring all your resources to your spaceport. We have tried to avoid the trap of micromanagement wherever possible. The computer manages mundane tasks. For example, the computer is better able to maintain the flow of resources to your spaceport, however you must set the escort (if any). By default, transports will go to the nearest mining platform. If the nearest platform is in enemy territory it is up to you to halt that supply line and build another platform closer to home. Ships that escort convoys can be set to attack potential threats immediately and, of course, you get an audio cue. Maintaining your supply lines is very important, but it needn't be your sole focus.

11) Customization: One item that's critical in cutting-edge games is an editor - is there such a thing for O.R.B. to allow players to write single or multi-player scenarios? Is there a ship/unit editor? Possibility of players importing their own unit skins?

Soon after we release O.R.B., and after we have had a chance to tidy them up, we will be releasing some our O.R.B. development tools for download from the official O.R.B. website (www.o-r-b.com). The campaign editor allows you to create individual scenarios or full campaigns complete with scripted cut-scenes rendered by the game engine, voice-overs and unique user-created environments. Players with the ability (and the software) can create their own game meshes and then use our conversion tool to convert 3D Studio meshes into O.R.B.'s file format. O.R.B. is very modifiable. Through the game databases players will be able to change the stats for existing ships or create entirely new stats for meshes they have imported into the game. I think that the mod community will have a great deal of fun playing around with O.R.B.

12) That's all I've got right now, but reader interest would indicate that O.R.B. already has the potential to be a great game! Good luck and thanks again! And a private question that I've asked before, but never gotten answered: did any of you ever play Malkari? The resemblance between the games is striking, and probably would have been commented on more if more than 6 people had bought Malkari :)

We saw Malkari screenshots two years ago and we identified it as potential competition. After we heard it was turn-based we didn't pay much more attention. I don't think it even got distributed in Canada. ;-)