Ok, in case anyone hasn't heard I've been working in the Intel booth at E3
the past 2 days helping Access and MPath demo Links LS 98 on MPlayer (great
game BTW, GO OUT AND BUY IT when it comes out in July).
One of the first booths I stopped by was Thrustmaster to catch up with
Steve Carter. Not playing favorites or anything, but I just happend to
walk by it first on my way from the Georgia Dome into the Congress Center.
Unfortunately I really can't say much about what I saw and was told, but
expect some cool news from them soon. Anyone looking for a new wheel in
the near future may want to put off buying one for a bit. It should be
big.
I also got a chance to stop by and see the Papyrus guys up at the Inforum
(Sierra, what the hell were you thinking setting up shop 5 blocks away from
the rest of E3?). Not a whole lot to report as of yet, but I'll give a few
highlights. I met Dave Matson, Mike Lescault, Steve Travers, and one other
person who's name I can't believe I've forgotten (sorry). Anyway, SODA is
a bit rough, but coming along nicely. I commented that it was nothing like
Monster Truck Madness (it's actually hard), and Steve thanked me saying
that was the best comment he had recieved all day. With th included track
editor you'll be abel to create all kinds of courses imaginable, and they
will all be small enough (under a meg or so zipped) for easy distribution
on a webpage. Mike Lescault was kind enough to show off his baby, Nascar
Manager (or whatever it ends up being entitled). Basically it's a
simulation of Nascar team management. You're in charge off all aspects of
the racing scene including hiring of crew (making sure personalities don't
clash), division of labor (chasis, engine, etc.), contract negoations, etc.
The in race portion is extremely cool. It's a stand alone product, but
you have the choice to take over and race the races in N2. Otherwise it
defaults to a view reminicient to the replay screen in N2 where you watch
your driver in the race. If all goes well and you have the right setup,
pit strategy, avoid accidents, and have a little luck you'll be on the path
to a great season. This is a very unique product, and should find it's
niche in the market. Oh, did I mention it's pretty damn cool? No word on
Grand Prix Legends unfortunately.
That's pretty much the extent of my time so far (hey I only had an hour
each day for lunch) but I'll be there in full force on Saturday. I didn't
really check out any of the open wheeled sims, but my friend that I'm going
with tomorrow is quite a fan so I'm sure I'll see them with him.
BTW, on a side note Quake2 is the most spectacular game I have ever seen on
any platform. It was running on an Intergraph RealiZm workstation in
OpenGL mode. The 16-bit pallette and colored lighting made for a beautiful
picture. The character animations were extrememly fluid, the environment
is very interactive (you can shoot walls, activate objects, turn on and off
cool looking translucent forcefields), there is transparent water, the sky
animation is incredible, and weapons are cool, the monsters can have their
limbs severed, etc. I really can't even begin to do this game justice with
mere words. Even the screenshots don't come close, you really have to see
it to believe it.
More to come...
Oh yeah, GO BUY LINKS LS 98 in July.
--
[link lost in import]
I believe that the purpose of E3 is to showcase product to the***
press, buyers and salespeople, and only incidentally the general
public attending E3. The groups Sierra wants to reach obviously will
travel 5 blocks to see the Sierra stuff, and the general public may or
may not. Sales to the public happen at retail, "sales" to buyers, the
press, and salespeople happen at E3.
---Jim
Yes of course, but after standing at a machine demoing a product for 8
hours a day for two days, I wasn't exactly in the mood to walk all the way
over to the Inforum. With all the walking aroung the Dome and Congress
Center, I doubt the press buyers and salespeople felt any different than I.
It's not as if there wasn't room in the Congress center off of the main
floor, albiet with higher rent.
--
[link lost in import]
