From Star Trek Game Information
This interview with Major A Payne took place on the 21st May 2002. The screenshots shown below are from the Borg Incursion II modification for Star Trek: Armada II.
Armada Universe: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Major A Payne: Well I'm 29 years of age, married (sorry girls) with one sproglett (little girl). I've been working with computers now for around 16 years, although looking back I think I've come quite some way from those early basic programs!
Armada Universe: Are you a Star Trek fan and which shows is your preferred viewing?
Major A Payne: Well I do follow Trek quite heavily, and as for my favourite series. I think that would have to be TNG. But then all the series have their good and bad qualities.
Armada Universe: When did you first start modding?
Major A Payne: Originally back in/around 1997-1998 not to long after Total Annihilation was released, but that was down to just editing the unit text based files. I didn't try my hand at other things, maps etc until much later. Of course with Armada 1 and 2 my modding only goes back as far as around 2 years.
Armada Universe: And can you tell us how you got involved with modding Star Trek: Armada II?
Major A Payne: It originally stems from my ties to Armada 1. After having gotten my mitts on the original ODF's for Armada 1, and modding it as much as I could, such as beefing up the original Defiant, much as other modders have done. I finally got Armada 2. Of course with so much of the game having had tweaks or changes sort of gave me something new or improved to work with.
Armada Universe: Can you tell us about some of the other modding projects you have been involved with in Armada and Armada II?
Major A Payne: Well for A1 I ended up being involved in one of the rare Wing Commander TC’s, which had not made any leeway from its original roots (with just one ship converted and released). The only other project I worked on was my own Borg: Incursion 1, which took most of my modding time. Other projects I became involved in, in some manner, included the Millenium Project, although that and the others were very minor roles.
Armada Universe: What new modding opportunities does Armada II provide?
Major A Payne: Well many of the actual enhancements that Armada 2 has I haven't really messed with to any degree as it’s more down to pc hardware not being able to cope with things such as light maps and bump maps, so I tend to stay away from them.
Armada Universe: What are your main goals in creating a new ship or mod?
Major A Payne: To give a pleasing look, whilst having good quality models, good balance in play, and an overall sense of something that’s at least new.
Armada Universe: And can you tell us the process you go through in creating a new ship?
Major A Payne: Depends on whether it’s a kitbash (which I tend to specialise in) or scratch built. My kiltbashes tend to be made from scratch build parts (nacelles and such) coupled with other people’s vessel sections. Only problem I tend to find is making a good looking design and then making the necessary textures up.
Armada Universe: What about the process you go through in creating a new mod?
Major A Payne: I have a strict code I stick to with any project. Basically its done race by race, and I Alpha test all (or as many) bugs as I can find myself (it makes it easier on the community if they play a mod which requires very few, if any patches because of bugs). Okay, so making a mod yourself takes longer but at least you can keep on top of any problems that may arise.
Armada Universe: After that, how do you go about balancing your new mod or ship?
Major A Payne: I've tended to find this is down to a substantial amount of tweaking and a little bit of luck, due to the amount of ships and stations involved. In the end it seems to come out right but it’s really only the people who play the mods that can really tell.
Armada Universe: What process do you go through when you wish to add to or modify someone else’s work to put into your mod?
Major A Payne: It depends entirely on who the person is, but I usually make the alterations, then contact the authors and provide either the model and/or images for their perusal. If they are happy to allow me to release said model then full credit is given (although there have been at least two occasions when I've been provided with inaccurate information with regards to original author)
Armada Universe: What is your favourite ship and race from Armada II?
Major A Payne: Klingon Bird of Prey. Ever since I first seen the vessel in the series/films, its been a personal favourite of mine. That and the Miranda Class. I tend to lean towards the Feds or Klingons.
Armada Universe: What is your favourite ship and race from Armada II?
Major A Payne: Klingon Bird of Prey. Ever since I first seen the vessel in the series/films, its been a personal favourite of mine. That and the Miranda Class. I tend to lean towards the Feds or Klingons.
Armada Universe: Which ship that you have created is your favourite?
Major A Payne: On this I would say my own personal favourite ship and triumph was my almost canon Borg Tactical Cube. I was most surprised that I managed to make the mesh with relative ease (even if it did take about 6 hours). Plus having The Great Ones textures also help so much.
Armada Universe: And what ship by another modder is your favourite?
Major A Payne: There has been many, possibly too many to choose, but I think there isn't a better modeller than Deemon. His latest works have been of outstanding quality, and it’s his models/textures that I tend to use more than anyone else’s.
Armada Universe: What has been the most enjoyable experience of modding the game so far?
Major A Payne: Modding the game is one thing but passing on the knowledge I've learnt and am still learning it gives me a much better sense of satisfaction.
Armada Universe: Is there any feature you are pleased with, that was put into Armada II?
Major A Payne: Hmm, there are plenty of good things that were included, such as warp drive, new ships, and better menu set-ups for the building queues. More of the game seems moddable, but then there are of course one or two things, which should have been left un-hard coded (Saucer Separation being one of them).
Armada Universe: With that in mind, is there anything that you would like to have seen in Armada II?
Major A Payne: Several things, aside from the obvious inclusion of MVAM (everybody raved about having the Galaxy Class available, but what of other separate able models!), it would have been nice to see a complete map/mission/script editor via a more appropriate interface (the one for Starcraft has always had the easiest editor I've ever seen and used).
Armada Universe: What would you like to see the modding community accomplish?
Major A Payne: I think if this was down to me, it would be a completely remoulded game, which would most likely feature a lot of ideas from other RTS games (I have noticed that all RTS games tend to share very similar elements). Besides that, there’s little that the community doesn't seem to be able to do, and I for one am glad to have been part of it for this long.
Armada Universe: And how do you see the future for the Armada II community?
Major A Payne: Difficult to say, but as long as modder’s keep modding the game will remain alive for some time to come yet. People still mod for Armada 1 even now and that’s 2 years old. I mean how many possible unreleased mods are still out there!
Armada Universe: What would you like to see possible for modders in a future Star Trek RTS, or even a possible Armada III?
Major A Payne: Basically, there currently exists an open source code game engine for 2d beat 'em up style gaming called MUGEN. It enables modders to incorporate their own fighters into the game engine, so you can basically see where this is going. My ideal version of Armada would involve it being just a basic game engine with every possible way to mod it. Full map/mission, editing/scripting, and a lot of ideas from the community as a whole. I think that’s the problem with Dev teams nowadays. They seem constrained by the fact that their parent company won't give them the freedom to have better interaction with the communities that the games are aimed at.
Armada Universe: Do you have any ambition to become a part of the gaming industry if you do what sort of genre would you like to work in?
Major A Payne: Hmmm, although I would say I'd love to it would be more difficult to say in which field. Game genre would boil down to one of three - RTS, First Person Shooter or a management sim (Roller Coaster Tycoon has always been one of my all time favourite games. I just wish there had been an editor for it)
Armada Universe: And finally, what plans do you have after your current project?
Major A Payne: There are a few sketchy plans for possible projects which I've run by a couple of others in the community, but nothing is for definite.
