Destiny's Wind: FAQ

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GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. What are the system requirements for Destiny's Wind?
2. How was the project being funded?
3. When was the game scheduled for release?
4. Was this a mod for Elite Force?
5. Would've a Mac version been released?
6. Would've the game auto-updated, or would've I had to download patches?
7. Why "Destiny's Wind"?
8. How would've Destiny's Wind been released?
9. What game engine was being used?
10. Was Destiny's Wind skill-based or knowledge-based?
11. Why was the game cancelled?

GAME QUESTIONS

1. Were players restricted to serving aboard a Starfleet vessel?
2. What roles aboard a Starfleet ship would've been encompassed?
3. Was it possible for any player to command a starship?
4. Could you operate in an area of Starfleet that did not require service aboard a starship?
5. What would've happened to your character when you were offline?
6. How would've players interacted with a console?
7. Would there have been a tutorial at the start of the game?
8. Would've you been able to have more than one character?

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GENERAL QUESTIONS ANSWERS

Question

1. What are the system requirements for Destiny's Wind?

  • 500 Mhz CPU (1 GHz recommended)
  • 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)
  • New style GeForce or Radeon graphics card. The system the game is being programmed on is 2.0Ghz with 2GB of RAM and a Radeon 9500 graphics card.
   
Question 2. How was the project being funded?
Destiny's Wind was being developed and supported by a dedicated group of people. In time, advertising and other sources of revenue would've been a larger part of the picture as bandwidth and other requirements grew.
   
Question 3. When is the game scheduled for release?
Beta was expected in March/April 2005 with a general release late Summer 2005, keeping with our original estimates.
   
Question 4. Was this a mod for Elite Force?
No, this wasn't a mod for anything, it was a standalone game.
   
Question 5. Would've a Mac version been released?
Yes! A Mac version would've been ready shortly after the Windows release. System requirements were as of yet unknown.
   
Question 6. Would've the game auto-updated, or would've I had to download patches?
The game would've auto-updated. If you hadn't played for a long time, you could've also opted to purchase an updated CD version.
   
Question 7. Why "Destiny's Wind"?
My whole relevance for the title was the fact that the players would've be making there own destiny (choices) in the Star Trek universe and people tend to be like changing winds when it comes to what they want. It would've been up to the characters in the game to live out the post Nem history of Star Trek.
   
Question 8. How would've Destiny's Wind been released?
The game would've first been available as a free download, and then been made available for CD order shortly thereafter.
   
Question 9. What game engine was being used?
We had decided to build an engine from scratch, to ensure that it had all the desired capabilities.
   
Question

10. Was Destiny's Wind skill-based or knowledge-based?
A combination of both actually. You would've needed to have sufficient skill in a particular area to perform related tasks, but you would've also needed to draw upon real-world knowledge. This is just like in real life, where knowing how to lift a heavy box and being able to are two different but related things.
   
Question 11. Why was the game cancelled?
 This was a post by Scooter on May 21, 2006 on the official Destiny's Wind website explaining why:

This site is still getting a fair bit of traffic, so I thought it would be a good idea to post a little bit about what's happened to this project. A few months ago we had some issues with our webhosting, and the guy who provided our hosting (Phil) was in the hospital so he couldn't fix it right away. Leia decided to move everything to a new domain and webhost provided by Star Trek Gaming Universe, without consulting the other project leaders. This site was later fixed and now here you are looking at it. Last month, Leia announced on the other site that she was leaving the project. This was a fatal blow since the engine is completely closed source. Leia felt that there was not enough community support, which some would disagree with, but certainly there are just not enough modellers out there to build all the content needed. On behalf of myself and the other project leaders, I want to thank everyone who contributed to help move this project forward, as well as the people who wished they could have contributed. I saw a lot of people, myself included, seriously attempting to learn 3D modelling. We may not have gotten very good at it, but it's the effort that counts. Some of you are wondering what will happen to all the hard work that has been done? Well, you might recognize a few things when Star Trek: Online is released. The folks at Perpetual and Paramount have been visiting us every now and then and have picked up on a few of our ideas. We are honored to have contributed even in this small way towards the Trek gaming community. All models, textures, and other assets created for this project remain the property of their respective creators. As such, it is entirely up to them whether they will release their assets or not. Some of the research is already being put to use in other projects, such as RPG-X mod for Elite Force. I intend to also publish some of my research on a personal web site later this year; more on that later.

GAME QUESTIONS ANSWERS

Question 1. Were players restricted to serving aboard a Starfleet vessel?
This would've most likely been the case at release, but we planned to include civilian transports and freighters. Other empires, such as the Klingons and Romulans were also being considered for implementation after the inital release.
   
Question 2. What roles aboard a Starfleet ship would've been encompassed?
All major positions in departments such as Engineering, Science, Medical, Security, and Command would've been included. Some secondary and tertiary roles would've also been in the intial release, as well as mission-specific or diplomatic positions.
   
Question 3. Was it possible for any player to command a starship?
In short, yes, given several criteria were met. The user must've been in good standing, meaning they must not had been reported for demeanors recently, as well as had a certain amount of command experience, which was gained by serving in other positions of authority aboard a ship. Keep in mind that these details may have been changed as development progresses.
   
Question 4. Could you operate in an area of Starfleet that did not require service aboard a starship?
We hoped to include the possibility of serving aboard starbases and stations, as well as planet-based facilities. Planet-based facilities would most likely not have been included as part of the initial release.
   
Question 5. What would've happened to your character when you were offline?
You would've been getting some much-needed sleep. You weren't on duty 24/7 (unless your name was Inspector Gadget). Furthermore, most crew members wouldn't do the same duties on a daily basis (variety is the spice of life). You will be on a ship with other players as well as NPCs. If you couldn't make it online for a few days, no worries, but disappear for an extended period of time and your commanding officer would probably transfer you off the ship.
   
Question 6. How would've players interacted with a console?
Computer interaction would've been similar to Doom 3, where you could interact with the individual on-screen controls.
   
Question 7. Would there have been a tutorial at the start of the game?
NPC professors and a set curriculm teaching you how to use the game with voiceovers and all. If you've played Planetside, the same style just a completely different format. Classroom/holodeck sim instead of a base and forest.
   
Question 8. Would've you been able to have more than one character?
The answer to this question is simply No there would've not been multiple chars per person reasoning behind this is simple enough the fact that you would've had to split your energy between characters would've degraded the enjoyment of the Universe also you would've progressed slower then everyone else and people tend to neglect their secondary characters.