From Star Trek Game Information
This interview with Dr. Ian Lane Davis, CEO of Mad Doc Software, took place on the 24th August 2001.
Dr. Ian Lane Davis (also known as Mad Doc I) is the CEO of Mad Doc Software, a company that is relatively new in the world of game development. We sat down with him to talk about himself, his company, and their current project, Star Trek: Armada II.
Armada Universe: I'd like to start off the interview by asking you a few questions about yourself and your company, Mad Doc Software. Firstly can you tell us a little about yourself?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: I was born in 1968, and grew up in Andover, MA. I attended Phillips Andover (extremely preppy), and then went to college at Dartmouth College where I triple majored in Mathematics, English, and Computer Science (Summa Cum Laude, and such). After that I spent a summer with some friends writing a computer game, but learned that a summer is not enough time to write a game! And we only had the summer, because after that I was off to Carnegie Mellon University where I earned my PhD in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. When I got the degree, I taught the Computer Vision class for a semester, and decided that I really wanted to make games, not teach.
I spent 4 years at Activision, where I was a Technical Director in the internal studio. I was Lead Programmer for Dark Reign, did a lot of the AI for Battlezone and Civ: Call To Power, and was co-Project Lead and Lead Programmer for Armada 1.
Towards the end of Armada 1, I decided to start my own company and move back to the East Coast, and Mad Doc was born. At Mad Doc, I’m CEO, and Director of Armada 2. I spend about 30% of my time doing AI coding, 50% doing Design, and the rest on business development and management.
I’ve always been a computer game nut, ever since playing some of the early Apple II game, such as Castle Wolfenstein, Ultima 1 (I had one of the first, zip-lock badge, versions of that game), and early strategy games like Midway, North Atlantic ’86, and Armor Alley. My office wall has hundreds and hundreds of game boxes mounted on it.
Armada Universe: What lead you to the gaming industry?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: I’ve always been interested in computers and computer games, and I knew I either wanted to be an academic or run a game company. Fortunately, the Robotics AHD program at CMU gave me enough training that was relevant to either career!
Armada Universe: What games or other software ventures has Mad Doc Software been involved with?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: At Mad Doc, we worked on Call To Power 2, JamDat Golf, and have an ongoing AI consulting and contracting business which lets me keep a few extra top notch programmers on staff.
Armada Universe: The jump from a developer for a company that produces games, to starting your own game development company is a monumental one. In an industry where established companies have closed their doors, how did you come to the decision to create Mad Doc Software?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: I simply felt like I was ready and able to lead the development of top-notch games. I had always planned on only being at Activision for three years (OK, it turned out to be four), and to learn the business at a big company. It was a great education in business and the game business in particular, and I made a lot of valuable contacts. Additionally, I was able to learn a lot from our successes and failures at the Santa Monica studio.
We’ve also borrowed no money to start this company, and have no outside investors; all of our money has been earned through actual work. This gives us a remarkable stability.
Armada Universe: Where do you see Mad Doc Software five years from now?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Our plan is to grow from the current 23 people to 30, and never ever grow again. Our goal is to have two big games in development and a few side contracting projects in order to keep some firefighters available without breaking the bank. A great thing about having been at Activision was that I got to see dozens and dozens of developers and to see how they were structured and how they grew. The one most common downfall is growing too fast or too much. If we had more than two games in development, I couldn’t really positively affect the quality of all of them.
Armada Universe: Other than Star Trek: Armada II, what other projects is the MDS team currently working on?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Armada II is our main focus right now, but we have a few ongoing consulting and contracting projects. Additionally, we’ve recently had the opportunity to pick up some more fabulous artists, designers, and programmers, and are looking to jump-start the second team soon. :)
Armada Universe: What do you feel was the most important aspect you followed in putting together the Mad Doc team?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: The most important thing to me is to work with good people who are great at what they do. I would rather shovel manure with decent folks than do just about anything with someone you can’t trust. I’ve been lucky to have worked with enough top-notch folks to know that I don’t have to work with people who were either incompetent or deceitful ever again if I don’t want to.
At Mad Doc, I’ve got a few folks who worked with me at Activision, a large number of former Looking Glass & Irrational Employees, and some fantastic other people I’ve met over the years. These people are all better at what they do than anyone else I’ve ever worked with.
Armada Universe: Lets talk now about Armada II. What were the events that lead up to the decision to begin developing a sequel to the original game?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Armada 1 hit the sweet spot of the Star Trek gaming market: big fleet battles. The first game was a solid RTS, which sold big numbers and has a large group of great fans even 15 months after it came out.
I personally wanted to take what I’d learned from all the strategy games I’ve worked on and make Armada 2 as deep, rich, and balanced an RTS as possible while retaining the fast action of the first one. Additionally, there were a number of features I’d wanted for Armada 1, which a sequel let us put in.
Armada Universe: How has the experience of being involved in the development of Armada I as well as hearing the community feedback on the first game being applied to the development of its sequel?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: We couldn’t have made this game without the community. I had a number of things I wanted in the game, and the feedback from the community provided a whole additional set of ideas and features.
Armada Universe: Its been said that you are something of a fan of the RTS genre. What elements from other RTS games did you see that you wanted to apply to Armada II?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: I like to see a deeper economic and resource model, which is reflected in our trading scheme and in the new resources. I like to see unique sides that actually require you to play the game differently. I like depth, and immersion. One thing I really want in an RTS but I rarely see, is an ebb and flow to the attacks; in too many RTS games, there’s a point about 15 minutes into the MP game when you know who’s going to win, and you just play out the inevitable.
There’s no one influence for Armada 2, but all the great RTS games have made an impact on us at Mad Doc. When we were first contemplating the game, I had everyone at the company spend a whole week playing the first game, both single player and multi-player. Then I had everyone spend a whole week playing every great RTS out there.
Of course, I spent most of that week kicking everyone’s butts in multi-player. :) My fatal flaw is gloating about multi-player victories.
Armada Universe: Armada II is going for a much deeper game play experience in terms of strategy and tactics with the addition of formations, individual ship AI settings, and 3d map depth. If we were to take the scenario of a player attacking a well defended enemy base, what new approaches might the Armada II players have at their disposal?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Good players are going to develop strategies about warp. On offense, warping is a great tool, but you can organize your base defensively to take advantage of warp-inhibition zones around planets. Artillery is very important in attacking a base, but the bigger turrets in A2 will outrange any mobile unit; thus, you’ll need to use special weapons or large, well-organized forces to take out a well-built base. Species 8472 plays very differently here, too, as most of the “base” units can actually move!
Armada Universe: With the Armada II single player game you've chosen to decrease the playable races from four to three and increase the number of missions in each. Was this decision a result of the storyline that was written for the game or some other factor?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: The story was the main factor. When we increased the playable number of Instant Action and Multiplayer races from 4 to 6, it seemed artificial to build a story in which you play as each race. The other successful RTS games out there with lots of races also favor a good story with few races over a hack job with all of them.
Additionally, we felt like the player would learn the game best with a longer introduction to each race’s technologies; since we added lots of ships and game play elements, we felt short campaigns would only tease the player. We wanted more depth!
Armada Universe: Will the storyline for each race be independent of each other or will they flow together to form one main storyline, similar to Armada I. Will you be able to play the race campaigns in any order or must you first complete the Federation campaign before moving on to the Klingon and then finally the Borg?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: They are related, and you need to play them in order.
Armada Universe: In the recent chat you mentioned that the AI has been greatly enhanced and is now quite strong. Can you tells us in what ways the AI has been improved, the differences in how the computer handles Fleet vs. Unit AI, and what tactics and strategies might we see the AI try.
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: First off, we revised the core strategic AI to better evaluate threats and prioritize goals. Next, we improved the unit’s tactical AI by adding the Special Weapon Autonomy and Movement Autonomy switches, which the Computer player takes advantage of. Most importantly, we added a mid-level “Fleet AI” which organizes attacks and defenses better, using repair ships appropriately, protecting artillery ships, and pounding turrets from an appropriate range on base attacks.
Armada Universe: Species 8472 makes it debut as a new race in Armada II. There is almost nothing known about the race from the series, which gives MDS lots of freedom in developing their ships and stations. Doug has stated that the race uses bio-matter as their main resource for building. Will the way in which you create ships and stations for the race follow the 'constructor for stations / shipyards for ships' methodology or will they have an altogether different method for building?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Species 8472 ships and stations are all biological organisms, and they grow and evolve from other units.
Armada Universe: In what other ways will the play style for Species 8472 differ from that of the other races?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: The ships are stronger, but also more expensive. 8472 cannot trade, and must rely more on force and special weaponry to achieve their goals. With only one resource (Bio-matter), the economics are simpler in concept, but harder to master. Both 8472 and the Borg must expand faster because they cannot trade.
Armada Universe: Based on what we have learned with regards to Species 8472 ships, we have the cruisers, frigates, destroyers and scouts that parallel the ship types of other races. However one ship has a special name, that ship being the 'Behemoth'. Can you tell us a little more about this ship? What its special features are and where is resides in terms strength and power compared to the other ships.
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: This is 8472’s special weapons ship. However, unlike the other races, whose special weapon platforms are fairly weak otherwise, the Behemoth is quite a force in combat, too.
Armada Universe: Given the fact that Species 8472 is a 'genetically superior ' race, it comes from a region known as fluidic space, has telepathic capabilities, and its main resource is bio-matter, can we derive that many of their special weapons will be organically, genetically, and telepathically based? Can you give us some examples of the types of special weapons we might see for this race?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: We don’t want to give away too much right now, but some of 8472’s weapons have a way of affecting nebulae…or other player’s ships.
Armada Universe: Of the original races that make a return in Armada II, the Borg have without a doubt undergone the most changes. The addition of new cube types, including the awe inspiring Fusion Cubes, and the ability to assimilate special weapons from ships appear to add up to one very powerful race. What steps are you taking to ensure they balance out with the other races.
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: A Fusion Cube is mighty, but you have to give up 8 regular cubes to get it. It has concentrated firepower, but the Federation, in contrast, could split up their force of 8 Sovereigns if needed.
Assimilating weapons is great, but keep in mind that you’ll only get that weapon if your opponent already has it. It’s a balancing task, but we’ve got a lot of great tools to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand, and can adjust power and cost as needed.
Armada Universe: Its known that 8 regular or tactical cubes are required to make a fusion cube. What is the process you'd follow to take the separated cubes and create a fusion cube?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: You need to have built a “Collective Hub”. Then you grab all 8 ships and select a now-active button for fusion. The ships move together, and fuse. It’s a thing of beauty unleashing that monstrosity on your foes.
Armada Universe: Multiplayer in Armada II will feature new game types called 'Capture the Flag', and 'King of the Hill'. Can you tell us how these new game types work?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Capture the Flag involves taking over derelict ships and bringing them back to your base. King of the Hill involves taking control of an area and maintaining it for a set time period.
Armada Universe: Can you tell us what other new game types might also be included? Do you have plans to include game types based on resource collection, defend and destroy, or control points (where a player must gain control of defined points on a map and can only win when all points have been captured).
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: We’re keeping some of it secret, but there is a latinum collection game type. This is restricted to the appropriate races, however!
Armada Universe: Its been stated that a multiplayer game will be hosted by GameSpy and the player will use an internal game browser to find and connect games. Are there any plans to allow browsing and connecting to games via the GameSpy Arcade software?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: My understanding is that there will be several ways to connect, but we’re still in some negotiations, so I can’t elaborate right now.
Armada Universe: At E3 it was mentioned that Armada II will contain an Admiral's Log feature that tells you different things about the game you just completed. At the time it was still being determined what that would contain. Has this been finalized now and if so can you tell us some of the features it will include?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: You can see all the standard debriefing features, such as your performance militarily, economically, scientifically, and in terms of raw power graphs. We’ve also added a log of all ships you’ve built, listing what fleets they joined, and what battles they were in, who they defeated in battle, and by whom they were ultimately destroyed.
We also show a Battles section that lists all the participants in each of the major battles, and declares a winner for each battle. Another screen shows you when you first built each technology or ship class, and a final screen shows you how well you used each class of ships. It is, without a doubt, the best debriefing screen ever made for any game.
Armada Universe: Armada II has added quite a few ships to each of the races. How do you determine if the new ships are value added and will serve a purpose in the game?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: It’s a balancing challenge. We made sure that the new ships added a new play style. For example, the new Federation destroyers and cruisers (Sabre and Intrepid) don’t have special weapons. Thus, a player whose style is to not use the special weapons can use those ships and get slightly more powerful basic combat platforms, but they don’t have the advantage of that extra punch of special weapons.
Armada Universe: The addition of formations are one of the new tactical addition to the game. We are aware of 'X' formation, what other formations will be available and what would be the best tactical use for these formations?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: This is an in-progress evaluation. The X is a good generic formation, which gives you a fairly wide sensor spread. The Assault Wall gives concentrated firepower, with artillery at the back, out of harms way along with non-combat ships. We’re evaluating a Column formation, which has a small sensor footprint to sneak a bunch of ships through enemy turret lines, and a Sheet formation, which keeps ships spread out on a flat plane, as they were in Armada 1.
Armada Universe: Its been stated that in addition to formations, ships will have modes which determine how much they 'move around' when attacking. Can you offer any clarification on what this is called and how it will work?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: From the Formation menu, you can choose to have ships or formations do attack passes (going straight past an enemy), circling attacks, or cloverleaf attacks.
Armada Universe: I'm sure you've seen some of the quality modding work done by the community for Armada 1. How do you feel about what the community has been able to accomplish with Armada 1. What steps have you taken to make Armada II easier to mod?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Mainly, we’ve improved the map editor, and added the 3DSMax exporter for sod files.
Armada Universe: To conclude this interview I'd like to ask if your a fan of the Star Trek Universe? Have you watched any of the shows?
Dr. Ian Lane Davis: Yes, I’ve watched the original series since before I was old enough to speak, and I was a big fan of TNG. I got into DS9 by the end, and have watched Voyager when I got a chance. In the course of spending the last 3-4 years working on Star Trek games, I’ve run the gamut from loving the universe to being quite over-saturated.
But I’ve come to realize what it is that makes it stand out so brilliantly from most other sci-fi universes. It’s cheap and easy to make a dark, dank, dingy universe which expounds on the weaknesses, frailties, and failures of human nature, but Star Trek has taken the harder route: it’s a universe in which mankind is expected to overcome our limitations, defeat our own prejudices and short-sightedness, and prevail over chaos and evil. Star Trek doesn’t make excuses for our failings, but challenges us to be as good as we can be. That makes Star Trek infinitely more complex than any other sci-fi universe.
Armada Universe: We'd like to thank Dr. Davis for taking the time to do this interview. Check out our past interviews with other members of the Armada II team in our Interviews section.
