Need some reliable info.

[Drat]

I read a rumour on the MobyGames page on Terra Nova, that Looking Glass intended to base the game on Starship Troopers, but couldn't get the license.

Is there any truth to this? And more importantly, are there reliable sources, like interviews, etc stating this? This is partly for the purposes of verifying a statement in a Wikipedia article.

Also, is it true that Looking Glass were thinking of making a hybrid game that used the Underworld/SS1 indoor engine and the TN outdoor engine for another project?

[Gigaquad]

I haven't seen this interview mentioned anywhere on ttlg:

RPGDot: Which of your former games would you like to re-do, if you had enough foundings and time and freedom of choice?

Paul Neurath: Terra Nova. Back around the time Ultima Underworld II was wrapping up, I had the concept for a squad level 3D tactical game loosely based on the fiction of Starship Troopers and The Forever War.

[Drat]

Thanks, that should prove useful.

[marvelzombie]

this is very true, i worked at LG back when.

[Shadowcat]

Always nice to see LG alumni here :) Welcome aboard!

Is that a confirmation of both the Starship Troopers story and the hybrid-engine story, or only the former (or latter)?

[marvelzombie]

thanks

i can only answer to the starship troopers end of it.

[Drat]

Oh, well. Cool to have an LG person around though .

Incidentally, I've seen Jeff Yaus here and there on Wikipedia. He even left a message on the Terra Nova page.

[foldedfish]

Incidentally, I've seen Jeff Yaus here and there on Wikipedia. He even left a message on the Terra Nova page.

You've now seen him here as well.

To address the original question: no, LookingGlass never tried for the Starship Troopers license. Terra Nova was inspired by the whole genre of powered armor, be that Heinlein, John Steakley's "Armor", or others. We didn't want to be tied down to any one particular setting.

I'd also like to add how gratifying it is to see this forum still showing interest in Terra Nova. 10 years ago I was pouring blood and sweat into that game, and it really means a lot that people care and appreciated the work!

[Drat]

Did you like the Terragen renders? I posted that link on your talk page a few months back. Now that I've got a new computer I can try my hand at more.

[Shadowcat]

Welcome, Jeff! :)

I'd also like to add how gratifying it is to see this forum still showing interest in Terra Nova. 10 years ago I was pouring blood and sweat into that game, and it really means a lot that people care and appreciated the work!

Hell yes :)

And indeed continue to appreciate it. There are, naturally, a great many people who come to TTLG on account of Thief with little knowledge of what came before, and every now and then one of them will pick up a copy of Terra Nova and discover for the first time what a great game it is!

And there's still nothing else out there that quite gives me the same feeling as that initial drop into a mission.

You guys did good :)

[Achernar]

Terra Nova was the first game I ever got for the PC and it was one of the best I ever played. Every one who designed it was well ahead of their time and didn't get the recognition they deserved.

[gurugeorge]

I'd also like to add how gratifying it is to see this forum still showing interest in Terra Nova. 10 years ago I was pouring blood and sweat into that game, and it really means a lot that people care and appreciated the work!

Terra Nova is simply one of the best, most underrated games ever made, way ahead of its time in giving the illusion of working with a team - all those squad shooters nowadays, SWAT4, etc., etc., they were all pipped to the post by Terra Nova. The story was great (quite libertarian in spirit) - and IIRC was the first use of the kind of plot-twist that's really rather overused nowadays. The UI was great, and offered tremendous redundancy and control (so people could tailor it and personalise the way they played). The missions were inventive and well-paced (both within the missions and from mission to mission). The team voice acting was great (although some of the acting in the cut scenes left a bit to be desired ), the sounds were chunky and realistic, the music was great (on one of those Yamaha XG add-on midi cards anyway ) and really spooky and futuristic, and really fit. The background details and background reading material was absorbing and added a lot to the experience. Just great, great attention to detail making a product that felt really "solid" and immersive.

It's such a shame the game didn't make more money and didn't get the recognition it fully deserved. (But it does occasionally get acknowledged as a classic in games magazines, I notice.)

Just like Shock 1, the game should be re-made, exactly as it was (i.e. with nothing major changed, pretty much the same story, missions, design, UI, etc.), with modern graphics, maybe a bit better acting and stuff - the gaming world is ready for it now, whereas it wasn't then. (I wonder what the legal situation would be with remaking these two games, perhaps as mods for a snazzy modern game, exactly as was?)

(BTW, I think also that another underappreciated aspect of the Looking Glass legacy is the WASD key system. Starting with Ultima Underworld (not Looking Glass, I know, but it's part of the genetic chain), going through to System Shock and then perfected in Terra Nova, you guys pioneered the use of a left hand control system that, in a simplified form (WASD) is now ubiquitous.)