From Star Trek Game Information
This is the second part of an interview with Westworld that took place on the 2nd June 2002. The screenshots shown below are from the Separation modification for Star Trek: Armada.
Armada Universe: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Westworld: I am 33, married with 2 kids, and currently do not have a job. I enjoy computer games and console games.
Armada Universe: Are you a Star Trek fan and which shows are your preferred viewing?
Westworld: Yes I have been a Star Trek fan since I was a child, I used to watch TOS with my parents. My preferred show to watch would have to be ST TNG, although I do watch the new Enterprise show and watched Voyager, unfortunately I missed quite a bit if DS9 and wish it would come back on TV in reruns or something so I could see the ones I missed.
Armada Universe: When did you first start modding?
Westworld: I started modding Armada 1 shortly after I got it, in about April of the year it was released, I think that was 2000 but it could have been 1999, my memory is really bad with dates :)
Armada Universe: And can you tell us how you got involved with modding Star Trek: Armada II?
Westworld: Natural migration, I was modding Armada 1 for over a year and a half, so the release of Armada 2 just made some new stuff to work with since the games are so similar when it comes to modding. I also had a full conversion mod in progress for Armada 1 and after Armada 2 was released it seemed to be more friendly toward the type of mod I was (and still am) working on.
Armada Universe: Can you tell us about some of the other modding projects you have been involved with in Armada and Armada II?
Westworld: Well, I have had a hand in a lot of projects, either directly or behind the scenes. I did a lot of work on Empires & Federations From Apoc, I have also helped in one way or another on most of Apoc's Armada 1 & 2 mods. I did all the non modeling work for Pneumonic81's Dauntless mini-mod and Deemon's Norway mini-mod, both for Armada 2, and I believe they were the first 2 new ships that were made available for Armada 2. Although I am not always mentioned I have been a consultant or "answer man" for most other Non-Apoc projects, at least when they get stuck on something or need some type of assistance getting things to work right. I have made weapons for several big projects when asked, like ST v SW, Dominion Wars Conversion, and other less well-known projects. I have also made some small mods (non conversion mods) like the separation mod for Armada 1, and several modular ships and stations for Armada 1, I am the creator of the Genesis weapon for Empires and Federations (as well as being the head modder for that project), I did quite a few small mods that were, at the time things everyone else claimed were impossible. That is how I got to be the answer man :)
Armada Universe: What new modding opportunities does Armada II provide?
Westworld: That is a tricky question, Most of the "new" opportunities that Armada 2 provides are "at first glance items". Meaning that some things in Armada 2 seem to be the answer to modder's dreams, however upon closer examination they are not. Saucer separation is a perfect example of such an item, at first glance it seems to open the possibility of MVAM and other types of separations and reintegration, like shuttle launches and returns, however that is not the case. Many things that could have been great ended up being hardcoded things like saucer separation. Other things like Modular construction were ruined in Armada 2, now modular stations and most modular ships are not possible to do correctly anymore. It seems to me that most of the new additions that were made to the game turned out to be hard coded to either be unmoddable or to just plain work crappy when modded. Overall the default game works nicely but too many things were made unmoddable or were designed in such a way, that they do not work as one would expect or want them to. So overall I would say that Armada 2 does not open many new possibilities for modding, it is basically less moddable than Armada 1 was/is, however some of the new features are nice and therefore help make up for the lack of moddablility.
Armada Universe: What are your main goals in creating a new ship or mod?
Westworld: To make a ship or mod that is unique from the ones other people make and to make it as bug free at is humanly possible. Many people make the same ships over and over again, that gets boring for me, also many people release very buggy work, I find that very annoying personally.
Armada Universe: And can you tell us the process you go through in creating a new ship?
Westworld: Well personally, if it is a ship that is non-fantasy, I look for good reference materials, specifications, pictures from different views etc.. first. Then I start up 3D Max and start with one part of the ship at a time, getting it as accurate as possible while maintaining a low poly count. Once the mesh is done I start making a hand made texture based on the pictures. Then I start applying the texture. Once the whole model is done I look over any specifications on the ship to see what weapons and such it needs, and make them. The rest is pretty much self-explanatory or is covered in my modding book. But one thing that is not covered is testing, I test and retest everything until I am happy with the way it all works, sometimes that is the most time consuming part because I set a high standard for my own work.
Armada Universe: What about the process you go through in creating a new mod?
Westworld:
1. Come up with the idea, and get a basic outline of ships and such that I need.
2. Research the ships and weapons and races.
3. Make models and textures.
4. Make odfs for weapons and units.
5. Make AI files
6. Make wireframes and buttons for the units.
7. Get everything working correctly.
8. Make GUI's if I need them.
9. I do this for one race at a time and make sure everything is working properly for that race before moving on to the next race.
10. Rinse and repeat for each race.
11. Once all races are complete I retest everything against each other race and in AI v AI long games.
12. Test and adjust the game balance so that all races are roughly equal in overall power. Using AI v AI games for this works well, basically if all races are equal, the AI could fight indefinitely and never actually win.
13. Keep testing until I am happy with it and all bugs are eliminated.
Armada Universe: After that, how do you go about balancing your new mod or ship?
Westworld: See number 12 above, AI versus AI game testing, and lots of playing and adjusting until it is well balanced.
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?
Westworld: I rarely use other people's work in my mods unless they are part of the team I am working with. And if I do it is only ship models, I do odfs etc... myself. But when I do use someone else's ship models I would tell the person my idea for the mod, and then see if they wanted to offer their ships. the only person I can remember having to ask was Deemon. Although I am not the best modeler in the community, I would most of the time prefer to do it myself instead of using someone else's work. So far Deemon & Pneumonic81 are 2 people who are exceptions to that, because their modeling skills far exceed mine and they are both great guys to work and talk with. There are other Very talented modelers in this community too, don't misunderstand me, People like The Great One and many others as well, however since I do know how to model now, I would prefer to do it myself unless the person is officially working with me.
Armada Universe: What is your favorite ship and race from Armada II?
Westworld: Well if you are asking about default ships that came with the game, I would have to say either the Sovereign, or the Romulan Warbird, however the Borg Tactical cube and the Technology Assimilator are a nice ship to play with also. But Overall I would say my favorite non-original equipment ship is the Prometheus, because I like the design of it, even without MVAM. My Favorite race is probably Romulans, with the Feds a close second.
Armada Universe: Which ship that you have created is your favorite?
Westworld: My favorite ship of my own creation would have to be one of the Supersubs for my Naval Armada mod, but they haven't been released yet. As far as ones that were already released. I would say that the cube from my separation mod is probably my favorite, since the other ships in that mod were made by Deemon and Pneumonic81, and I just did the rest of the work using their Max files.
Armada Universe: And what ship by another modder is your favorite?
Westworld: I would have to say that Deemon's Prometheus ships are my favorite, Although I have seen many other models that run a close second, I just really like the design of the Prometheus :D
Armada Universe: What has been the most enjoyable experience of modding the game so far?
Westworld: It is hard to say, I would probably go with finally releasing Empires and Federations after all the time we all put into it, and then seeing it become such a popular and successful mod.
Armada Universe: Is there any feature you are pleased with, that was put into Armada II?
Westworld: I was happy to see the ability to select more than 8 ships, that was a big plus. Putting planets that could be colonized was cool too but they ruined that by making the planets hardcoded and unable to be replaced with other sods.
Armada Universe: With that in mind, is there anything that you would like to have seen in Armada II?
Westworld: HAHA, there is a list so long I would go crazy trying to type them all. But to make it short I will say I wish that they would have made EVERYTHING in the game moddable. Also it would have been nice if they included a single player mission editor.
Armada Universe: What would you like to see the modding community accomplish?
Westworld: I would like to see everyone get along nicely and all work together to be honest. However I assume you mean Modding wise... I really can't think of anything in particular for that one.
Armada Universe: And how do you see the future for the Armada II community?
Westworld: Honestly I see it going downhill, many of the Veteran modders seem to be leaving or at least limiting their modding nowadays. The forums are less active. Mods are becoming, in general, all the same. That is not true of all mods, but many people are just redoing things that were done already, although there is always room for improvement, there are only so many Galaxy class and Defiants one game needs, even if they are all nice.
Armada Universe: What would you like to see possible for modders in a future Star Trek RTS, or even a possible Armada III?
Westworld: I would like to see games made that are completely moddable, without the hardcoding that was used in Armada 2. There are things in Armada 2 that were moddable in Armada 1 but are not in Armada 2. Higher poly counts for models would be nice, the ability to make completely new weapons, would be nice too. As opposed to modifying and changing existing stuff, actual totally new user made stuff, if that makes sense.
Armada Universe: Do you have any ambition to become a part of the gaming industry, if you do what?
Westworld: Yes definitely I would love to become part of the gaming industry (besides just being a consumer) to get into the modeling professionally would be a dream come true. But I would not mind getting into any aspect of the industry, 2D graphics, game design, testing, marketing, etc... that would be the best thing that has ever happened to me besides my wife and kids.
Armada Universe: And finally, what plans do you have after your current project?
Westworld: Hard to say for sure, I still have a lot of work to do on my current project, and when it is done my plans may depend a lot on the state of the community at that time. I may move on to another game, I may quit modding all together, only time will tell on that.
