SAGE Sounds
Presentation by Mical Pedriana
This was another presentation that was more general than specific to Red Alert 3. In essence, Mical talked about the unique sound technology of the SAGE engine. He demoed this using Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II. He demonstrated how the engine dynamically changes the sounds based on what’s on screen. Even neater, he demonstrated how the sounds themselves are dependent not only on what is on screen, but also by how many of it there are. For example, one horseman riding across the battlefield sounds merely like one horse, yet progressively more horses are added to the sound as they are added to the field. That is, not only does the sound get louder, but it remains accurate. So, in the horse example, twenty horses actually sound like twenty horses all galloping at slightly different rhythms, as horses do. He also showed the variety of unit responses, something I touched on earlier in describing Greg Kasavin’s presentation.
These sound technologies were not used much in C&C 3, but will be very much present in Red Alert 3. I believe this is definitely a good thing, as it adds another level of depth to the game. The presenter contrasted LoTR II with Age of Empires 3, noting how that game lacked similar sound technologies. This was a bit of a direct put-down of a competitor (well-deserved, mind you), but also highlighted the different aims of the games. LoTR aimed to be theatrical, while AoE, for the most part, was less so. In any event, I came away liking the technologies and presentation—perhaps I was the only one, as the rest of the group seemed a bit flat. I asked if these were available to modders, and based on the answer I got, it appears these technologies are indeed available for our use. I hope to be able to use them at some point in a mod. Is there any better compliment I can pay than that?
Medieval Times
At this point, the presentations for Thursday were over, and we boarded buses for Medieval Times, a sort of mock knight-and-horse show. Here I find it best to quote America’s great sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln (go ahead, find some other summit report that quotes Lincoln, I dare you), who famously stated, “Those who like that sort of thing will find it the sort of thing they like.” While Mr. Lincoln was discussing a poem given to him, his sentiment accurately sums up my feelings toward Medieval Times. As someone who is not exactly chivalrous overly obsessed with the medieval age, horses, knights, or senseless fake violence, I didn’t really get a lot out of the program, but those around me certainly enjoyed it, and I did not have a bad time. It was nice to talk to Ryan from Moddb about modding and the community as well. Certainly not a terrible evening by any stretch, but I was eager to get back to the game I came for when it was over.
