The interview was made with Zsolt Nyulaszi from Philos Entertainment.

PS: How much do you rely on the successful predecessors in the development of IG3?

ZN: IG3 will be a fully 3D game living up to the new technical standards and the demands of the players. Set in the not too distant future, you play a spaceship captain whose adventures make up the main story, which focuses on the battles of his fleet. Instead of relying on the historic and technical characteristics of the previous two parts IG3 rather takes over the underlying concept of the series.

PS: After all, how much time will we spend on space combats, colonization, research and what else can we do in the game?

ZN: I can reassure all our would-be players that they'll have time and opportunity for everything: building colonies, establishing empires, acquiring alien technology, carrying out research on weapons, etc. There'll be 3 different colonies: sci-lab, industry-base and shipyard. The player can decide on the type of the colony and where he/she deploys it. Colonies consist of masses of people, however, the ones who show an outstanding performance may emerge in the long run. In this case an entirely individual NPC is the outcome having specific abilities and skills (scientific, engineering, military). They play a considerable role, since all the upcoming tasks in the game can be solved more efficiently with their aid.

PS: How and what role will the 50 NPC-s take?

ZN: These characters talk to us, give us advice, thus bring life into the game. They may send exciting messages, give the story a boost as well as some tangible bonuses. Speaking of the 50 NPC-s, we also reveal that there'll be 6 different races in IG3 each having individual AI-s, then 30 alien spaceships, 100 planets and 100 different sorts of weapon and device.

PS: Could you give me the names and describe some of the various player and enemy ships in the game? Likewise, could you describe some of the weapons and devices you get to use?

ZN: Spaceships differ from race to race, what's more, you'll get to see 4-5 different ship types of each race. At the same time, spaceships are classified according to earthly scale: destroyers, cruisers, battleships, carriers, and other colony-class spaceships as well as the space stations of the colonies. In addition to that smaller bombers, special orbiters, bases built on asteroids and many other exciting details will be put in IG3.

PS: Was the 3D engine built specifically for IG3 or is it licensed? Does it have a name?

ZN: The 3D engine was developed specifically for IG3, the tangible advantage of which is the incredible speed and detail realized in the game. We call our engine: Beyond. :) The 3D engine also concentrates on spectacular shield and weapon effects.

PS: Can you describe some of the alien races? And do you play as only human or can you play as any of the aliens?

ZN: Since the story of the game is a sequel to the history of mankind, the player will only be able to play as a human. While shaping the alien races we aim at creating living communities, that is the whole of their technology, world order, way of life and thinking as well as their AI have to be in accord. We hope we can come up with highly detailed, authentic and truly interesting races living up to the quality of the best sci-fi novels. However, I'd rather not get into detail regarding their characteristics as one of the players' goal will be to get to know and become familiar with these alien races, find out their strength and weaknesses, alternatively even come to terms with them... There'll be 6 different races in IG3, each having individual AI-s, then 30 alien spaceships, 100 planets and 100 different sorts of weapon and device. You impersonate a human character right from the beginning of the game. Because of the strong story line you won't be able to play other races in the single player campaign. You get to know the six new races during your quest.

PS: Is the game play broken up into missions? If so, how many will there be?

ZN: Yes. IG3 is mission-based, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's broken up into missions. Between the missions the player is to proceed with colonization: builds the fleet and plans the strategy. The player is to decide when and in which mission to launch the fleet. There'll be 30 missions altogether, ten of which will be strictly speaking mission based that is they have to be completed sooner or later. Of course, it will be rewarded if the player completes the missions since it may ensure strategic advantages as well as make our activity more efficient in the strategic part of the game too.

PS: What is the story?

ZN: The story, as previously implied, is pretty long and highly elaborated. In addition, we strive to make it as exciting as an excellent sci-fi novel. ( As I have already published novels of this genre I hope I can live up to the task :). Therefore I wouldn't like to reveal anything for the time being. There'll be all the ingredients of a good sci-fi novel in it: scientific fiction, philosophy, action, conflicts, characters, mystical secrets, etc.

PS: Can you talk more about the diplomacy aspect of the game? Is it possible to win completely through diplomacy and not battle at all?

ZN: Diplomacy is not dealt with on a global-scale in IG3 any longer, it's related to the missions. This means that it always focuses on current issues and goes far beyond the scope of a simple allied-neutral-enemy relationship. Diplomacy is many times a more effective means of making progress than weapons and you can take the initiative practically any time, just as well alien races will do the same.

PS: What are the main features of the simulation of the colony? Is there going to be a spying feature like in Alliance?

ZN: Strategic gaming experience in Genesis is ensured by colonization. You'll have the opportunity to build colonies, establish an empire, acquire alien technology, carry out research on weapons, etc. There'll be 3 different colonies: sci-lab, industry-base and shipyard. The player can decide on the type of the colony and where he/she deploys it. Colonies consist of masses of people, however, the ones who show outstanding performance may emerge in the long run. In this case an entirely individual NPC is the outcome having specific abilities and skills (scientific, engineering, military). They play a considerable role, since all the upcoming tasks in the game can be solved more efficiently with their aid. Building and managing the hinterland requires the gathering of various resources. Basic resources are minerals and energy, however, these doesn't have to be collected on a regular basis, only get the exploitation started and configured. Other resources will be accessible in the campaigns, such as for instance, alien technologies serving as the basis for scientific research.

ZN: NPC-s can also be considered a sort of resource, which are able to speed up the process of research and production as long as they are used in a specific project. And at last, time itself is a resource, since the large-scale, more extensive research and construction will take even 20-30 years, and, conspicuously enough, there won't be time for everything. Anyway, research and construction are project-focused, which means, not the entire amount and number of resources have to be secured right at the beginning, rather step by step in accordance with the requirements. The process might even be interrupted, stopped, and by reallocating the resources the pace can be decreased or increased.

ZN: Also, diplomacy has become more varied and more vivid in general. It doesn't focus on global issues any longer but rather on many micro-scale affairs, which arise during the game flow.

PS: Have you improved the space combat for IG3?

ZN: To the greatest extent. All the spaceships in IG3 can be controlled in such a detailed way as if you were playing a sim. The various sorts of weapons, engines and shields are freely configurable that is you can select and adjust them real-time during the battles.

PS:. How will IG3's multi-player games work?

ZN: IG3 will be a story-focused, single-player oriented game. However, we do see the demand for a good multi player mode that is fun to play with. For this very reason we plan to release a mission pack with new campaigns and multi player soon after the title is published.

PS: Is there a demo available for Imperium Galactica III: Genesis?

ZN: There will be one. Stay tuned on our website .. its "Coming Soon".

PS: Which operating systems will be compatible with Imperium Galactica III: Genesis?

ZN: MS Windows 98, 2000, Me and the new XP.