From:    ThomasSteiding epic@swol.de
To:      Petra Struck petra.struck@online-club.de
Date:    Mon, 09 Aug 1999 10:10:38 +0100
Subject: Preseerklärung

Press Release

Pagan Games and Epic Marketing are happy to announce a long term cooperation.
This cooperation means that Epic Marketing will publish all Pagan Games
developed in the next couple of years.

Says Vince Pike of Epic: "This will
be a strong cooperation where both partners can concentrate on what they
are doing best: Pagan Games can concentrate on delivering top quality
games and Epic on the Marketing aspect. We look at this as a very strong
partnership which will deliver high quality products to the Amiga community."

Jason Hayman of Pagan Games, one of the co-founders of the Pagan Group adds:
"Our relationship with Epic allows us a stable and supported base for future
development of all Pagan Gamesin the next 3 years. We see this as a long term
deal with Epic with a very promising future for us both. We are the largest
development group on the Amiga with over 20 members working on 3 projects -
and we are still hiring more!"

The first product to be released will be the Amiga title "Dafel:Bloodline",
an action based RPG game. "Dafel:Bloodline" has an isometric 3D POV, similar
to the "Chaos Engine" series and comes with a sound system called Full Sensual
Gaming (FSG) which will be responsible for the best possible atmosphere ever
in a computer RPG game.

The features of "Dafel:Bloodline" are:

* Extremely fast chunky to planar (c2p) graphics engine. RTG compatible.
  The game offers two resolutions to play in, 320 x 240 and 640 x 480.
  Both offer 256 colours on screen, with the 640 x 480 requiring a
  graphics card and a faster processor to run. The AGA version runs at
  25 fps. Both screen resolutions are RTG compatible working on CyberGFX
  and Picasso96 systems.

* FSG Audio System (Full Sensual Gaming) & CD Music/Effects.
  "Dafel:Bloodline" uses our own stereo sound handling system in the game.
  Using either Paula (or possibly AHI) we split the available channels
  in half assigning one pair to what we call Sound Objects (SO) and the other
  pair to Environment sound Objects (ESO). SO`s are used to create objects
  that can be tracked by sound alone. using advanced algorithms, the volume
  level of the sound is calculated in real timeso the closer you are, the louder
  the SO will be heard and the further away you are, the quieter the SO will
  be heard. In relation to the SO, the ESO`s are used to add atmosphere and
  ambedience to a level. In conjunction to background sound effects being
  played off the CD, ESO`s are used to add an extra dimensionto the
  audio set by trigger points on the game map.

* Game Engine

  in "Dafel:Bloodline" we have mixed two gaming elemnts together, action and
  adventure into one single engine. The action elemnts consist of Dafel
  attacking level enemies and end of level monsters. There are three ways
  Dafel can attack using his sword. The first basic way is called a "low swing",
  which inflects little damage, but allows a consistent flow of attacks.
  The second attack is a "medium swing", which allows more damage on the enemy
  but takes longer. The final attack is a "Full Swing", where Dafel slashes
  down from his head and inflicts the most damage, but also needs the most time
  to execute.

  The adventure and strategic elements arise from the solving of puzzles , the
  communication with other characters and the being of Dafel himself.
  Throughout the game there will be subplots that are relevant to the core plot.
  Dafel must find and complete these to progress through the core plot.
  The game has been designed in a non-linear fashionallowing the player
  to revisit areas and solve puzzles in any order. There are however
  key plot stages that need to be completed before advancing to another
  sub-plot. These key stages are always followed by a cut-scene to develop
  the plot further.
  Dafel must also live in the world and to do so he must maintain his armour
  and sword and also feed and drink himself. Strategic elements arise in this
  management role of looking after his equipment and hunting for food. Dafel
  can also visit blacksmiths or shops to maintain or improve his armour
  and sword.

* Enemy Artifical Intelligence

  Enemies that roam Dafel`s world can behave in 3 different ways. We have
  "roamers" who aimlessly wander through the maps attacking at pure will.
  We have "ambushers" who can lay in wait then attack and then we have
  "group-attackers" who only fight in groups. These 3 classes are subdivided
  into various attributes such as sight, hearing, smell and intelligence.
  An enemy with low sight will rely on smelling and hearing his enemy.

* Manga Style FMV and Cut Scenes

  Bloodline begins with a 5 minute FMV sequence based upon the prologue.
  The game also end with a FMV sequence.



The finished product can be expected at around the time of the Cologne
exhibition. A playable demo will be released in a couple of weeks.
Preorders can already be placed with Epic Marketing UK (Tel:01793/432176,
E-Mail:epicmarketing@dialin.net) or Epic Marketing Germany (Tel:07071/
400492, E-Mail:info@epic-marketing.de) for a special preorder price.


"Dafel:Bloodline" will probably remain the only product that will still
support the Classic 68k based Amiga.  The next project "Scavengers", an
action based but still strategic game in complete 3D which will combine
the best of Wing Commander and Command&Conquer into a new game, is scheduled
for release on Amiga MCC and might also be developed for Amiga PPC and 3D
graphic boards if there is enough demand for it.

More on this and other projects that Pagan Games and Epic Marketing are
currently working on can be found at these webpages:

www.pagan-games.com
www.epicmarketing.ltd.net
www.epic-marketing.de



-----------------------------------------------------------
EPIC MARKETING
HIRSCHAUER STRASSE 9
72070 TÜBINGEN

Tel: +49 (0) 7071 40 04 92
Fax: +49 (0) 7071 40 04 93
Mail:epic@swol.de