To celebrate the release of Crusader: No Regret on Good Old Games, it seems fitting to take a look at the chat log from an IRC-based question-and-answer session that Origin Systems did with fans awaiting the release of the game.

G-Man :: Is there really gonna be another Crusader, Crusader 2?
OSI :: G-Man : as of right now that is the plan….Nothing available on it yet….

Polvo :: What about Crusader Online?
OSI :: Well, it’s a possibility down the line. Never say never.

Avatus :: Will characters from No Remorse be in No Regret. Like Shannon Brooks? She was my favourite character 🙂
OSI :: Avatus : expect people like Ely, Brooks, Secada, and shepard are all in No Regret…

SuperWrai :: Origin_PR? WHat about the demo?
OSI :: SuperWrai: The demo is scheduled for later this month…stay tuned

THANOS :: I read In a magazine that crusader was going to be internet playable, what happened?
OSI :: Thanos: hmmm, what magazine I wonder. We’re shooting for multiplayer in Cru2

UL :: how come the shotgun has to be reloaded between each shot while standing but not while crouched?
OSI :: UL: That’s just a feature…
UL :: are any of the other weapons affected by the shotgun weapon feature?
OSI :: UL: The shotgun is the only weapon with that feature

Skrull :: Ok… why cant you move boxes? I wish you could, the railings are SO low
OSI :: Skrull : To be able to move the boxes it would be pretty clumsy in the interface. So that was not added as a feature.

Avatus :: Crusader has a striking similarity to Ultima 8. Was the engine from crusader used and then spiced up? It looks so much like U8 🙂
OSI :: Avatus: It’s loosely based on the U8 engine

BOB :: Is No_Regret going to be multiplayer?
OSI :: Bob : No Regret is not going to made into a multi-player game. Sorry ..

SuperWrai :: What will Crusader No Regret retail for?
OSI :: Superwrai: $30-$40 range

levamic :: how come No Regret was cheaper as new release then No Remorse?
OSI :: levamic: It’s a stand alone mission disk. We’ll charge people more if they request it

NosLlama :: I’ve only played for about twenty minutes, but got stuck on a body on a lift, and later the graphics would “dissappear” around my silencer…Any ideas? Are these known problems?
OSI :: NosLlama : Wow…that’s a wierd one.. 🙁 Unfortunately, that is not normal at all… go ahead and contact our tech support department through E-mail tomorrow and we will see what we can do about that… Ok?

Ruziska :: I get the following message when trying to install thru Win95: Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library, Runtime Error! Program:E:GatePifmaker.exe, abnormal program termination
OSI :: Ruziska: You need to send email to support@origin.ea.com Send your config.sys and autoexec.bat as well

Skrull :: I got to the ending, but I lost, how many endings are there?
OSI :: Skrull : There is pretty much just a winning and losing ending…

Polvo :: Any hints to what’s going to be in Crusader 2? Like engine, features, etc? It’s jumping the gun, but…
OSI :: It’ll be new, but we want to have some surprises 🙂

Avatus :: Will the video be 24bit?
OSI :: Avatus : Are you speaking about No_Regret or Crusader 2?
Avatus :: Origin; Sorry, No Regret.
OSI :: Avatus : The videos in No Regret are 16 bit or 8 bit SVGA video’s.

BOB :: in No Regret will there be any secret weapons or robots that we wont know about until we run across them?
OSI :: BOB: There’s a supervillain at the end and 3 new weapons during the game

THANOS :: why do the energy weapons use so much energy, I only use them as a fall back weapons when I get low on amo.
OSI :: Thanos : That was how they were designed. 🙂 There are some of the weapons that don’t use alot of energy.

Blueoak :: What was language (and language program) was crusader programmed with?
OSI :: Blueoak: C++

levamic :: how do you use the Spider Bomb? It does not work like the spider mine? I am wasting them now…
OSI :: Levamic: Stay crouched. If you stand up you lose control

Venom :: When is the game going to get to Canada?
OSI :: venom: it depends–we don’t know about that. It’s a distribution issue. Sorry 🙁
Venom :: Thanks!!!!!!!!! for making a set of totally awesome games!!!!

P-Chan :: Are there any plans for a Crusader 3 using the ultima 9 engine or using the ultima online engine for internet play?
OSI :: P-Chan : That’s looking entirely too far into the future….You will have to wait until Crusader 2 is done…

Skrull :: Is Crusader : No Mercy the same as Crusader 2? ( I heard No Mercy was the next one)
OSI :: No Mercy isn’t officially the name yet.

Apathetic :: When there are bombs around you that you haven’t picked up yet and you press ‘B’, they detonate.. sometimes if you don’t realize where it is, it can be fatal.. was that intentional?
OSI :: Apathetic : Sure…in fact there are some places where you can blow up their own people with their own bombs if you can see them.. 🙂

SuperWrai :: How does one get Crusader (Or no regret) to work under win95
OSI :: SuperWrai: You must do a DOS restart

THANOS :: Every time I use the PL-1 plasma rifle it keeps shooting until im out of energy. Is it suppose to do that.
OSI :: THANOS: Try it without the mouse. Use the spacebar or 0 on the numpad

UL :: how do ya get your energy bar to fill all the way to the right – and is your shield always turned on?
OSI :: Ul : You have to find a fusion battery, which you should be able to find around mission 6. 🙂

BOB :: Are there going to be grenades or rockets that you can throw in No_Regret?
OSI :: BOB: There’s no throwing, but there’s a grenade launcher, spider bombs, and look for the new spider mine.

Christof :: Does No Regret run faster than No Remorse (that is, I have a pathetic 486 😉 ?
OSI :: Cristof : Yes it does. There was some of the routines that were cleaned up.

Blueoak :: Is there a way to make a screenshot during the game?
OSI :: Blueoak: Try typing pix inside the game

Skrull :: On the last level I got stuck behind a turret, that came out of the floor, I couldnt jump over or go around, is this a bug? Even when I destroyed it
OSI :: Skrull : I would say that it was just bad timing on your part! 😉

Hobbes :: how much does No_regret cost?
OSI :: Hobbes : somewhere around $30 or $40 depending on the store that you purchase it from and how honest they are.. 🙂

Vampire :: Can we finally have more than 5 weapons at a time in No Regret?
OSI :: Vampire : You can have up to 10 weapons in No Regret! 🙂

Avatus :: I presume you ARE playing the same Silencer from the first game,yes?
OSI :: Avatus: Yes

UL :: when you get shot, does your energy have to be taken all the way down before you start losin health?
OSI :: UL: Yes. It also depends on what you get shot with. If you are hit with an energy weapon and you have 1st level shields, it’ll still go through.

SuperWrai :: Do you think they’ll ever make a saturday-morning cartoonshow of Crusader?
OSI :: SuperWrai : Anything is possible, but there aren’t any plans to do so at this time…. 🙂

levamic :: Are you looking forward to work into the win95 environment? (seriously) Or would you prefer to stay in DOS…
OSI :: Levamic : The designer at my shoulder is shouting Win95!!! 😉 So does that answer your question?

Christof :: Are there any plans to release a level editor/player for Remorse or Regret?
OSI :: Christof: No, but we’re thinking about it for Cru2

Polvo :: Crus. No regret must have open your eyes interms of a huge group effort (artists, programmers, etc). Did anything stand out in the making of Crus. At the end of it did you guys think “hey we could some amazing stuff next time”?
OSI :: Polvo : Sure….if we hadn’t run out of time the game would have had more things in it.. 🙂

Talk_UOL :: are there any plans of something in the lines of Crusader Online? in the style of Ultima Online? and…
OSI :: Talk_UOL: Anything is possible…

THANOS :: The AI in the game is hoaky sometimes, I have seen the guards attack their own automated defences, guard walk into defences killing themselves, and you can be blowing someone away and the next room and they don’t set the alarms off. Will this be improved in crusader 2
OSI :: Thanos : Sure…Increased AI is always a good thing.. 🙂

levamic :: Microsoft is now coming into the gaming market, is it going to drive the prices of games down?
OSI :: Levamic : Nope…but all the games are going to start looking the same!

Avatus :: Are you guys using the same actors from No Remorse in No Regret for the returning characters?
OSI :: Avatus: Yes a couple–Colonel Ely, Draygon

Skrull :: Will there be a ablitity to change level difficultly in Crusader 2? I know I got to level 3 on No Regret — Mommas boy and thought , ‘This is WAY too easy’
OSI :: Skrull : That is something that has not been decided for Cru 2 at this time…We will have to wait to see what happens with it in the future…

Blueoak :: Will there be any patches for no regret? Also… will there be any add-on packs for no regret?
OSI :: Blueoak: There’s no need yet.
BOB :: not about No_Regret, but is there a chat line here for UOL?

Venom :: When is the demo going online?
OSI :: Venom: Look for it later this month

levamic :: What do you think about the Crusader clones (Total Mahem etc) that are using your ideas ?
OSI :: levamic: we’re flattered

Juggler :: Are any actors from Noremorse on Noregret?
OSI :: Juggler: A couple–Colonel Ely, Draygon

Free_Hade :: what is the next “BIG” thing in store for Crusader?? ie.. SVGA in crusader2?? multi-player?? internet?!WIN95??…and..
OSI :: Free_Hade : There is still to far away from being released to really be able to say….sorry…

Avatus :: I noticed in the packaging for No Remorse, that it mentioned Shodan security going online, does this mean System Shock and Crusader are set in the same world and time?
OSI :: Avatus: There’s no connection.

THANOS :: when I use my game pad its really slow when I pan left or right. It is unusable whats wrong?
OSI :: Thanos : You should be able to use the shift key to speed it up if it is too slow…

CanuckD :: Origin: Is Crusader II going to be using a 3d polygonal engine, ie Ultima IX?
OSI :: CanuckD: It’s possible

levamic :: what role did you play in Crusader?
OSI :: Levamic : I was the cheerleader for the QA team….I kept telling them how good the game looked.. Now the guy sitting behind me was the lead designer….

UOL_guru :: What are the min requirements for Crusader: No Regret?
OSI :: UOL-guru: 486/DX4-75, 65 megabytes of hd space, 8 megs of RAM, double spin CD-ROM

Skrull :: Actually this is a comment. I wish that Crusader had customizable controls, I find it hard to use some of the ones previded.
OSI :: Skrull : Thanks for the comments. We will pass them along to the dev team….

Blueoak :: I keep hearing something about a losing ending trailer
OSI :: Blueoak : Yea.. there is…can’t tell you about it as it might make some people made….

Nox :: In the begging of Crusader: No Remorse we get the idea that there is some conspiracy where the corpgov is out to eliminate these troopers. This is never explained however (which is unlike origin) will this be explored?
OSI :: Nox: Not quite sure how much we’ll explore it Cru2

levamic :: How did you manage to improve the cut scenes that much ?
OSI :: Levamic : Are you speaking about the quality of the movies or the acting?
levamic :: Origin: the movies
OSI :: Levamic : The budget went up, but of course it still wasn’t up to what Wing Commander was.. And the movies actually used a modified Wing 4 movie player which of course helped out alot. 🙂

NosLlama :: I know you can’t comment or promise, but it would be a nice to never reveal the Silencer’s face. Any official word on this though?
OSI :: NosLlama: We’re not sure yet here either. Ideas?

Avatus :: In the video. When the characters speak to you, do they look into the camera like in the first game, or do you see them talking to the silencer, ie WC3/4
OSI :: Avatus : They look into the camera but the actors do move quite a bit more than they did in No Remorse… 🙂

Blueoak :: There is a cntrl-v function that allows you to see where you are and other small info… is there anymore nifty key commands like this?
OSI :: Blueoak: What else do you want to do?
Blueoak :: i tried to think of something, but i was hoping you could reveal something that is not a cheat
OSI :: Blueoak: If you type pix while you’re in the game, you can make screenshots with the backspace key

levamic :: You are growing big time now… Do you think you’ll get bigger then any title at Origin
OSI :: Levamic : Mark “Eventually”

Blueoak :: This is kind of dumb but I forgot the command that changes the crosshair, what is it?
OSI :: Blueoak: Control R

Avatus :: Will No Regret OR Crusader 2 have a “kiddie” mode. I had a nephew who loved the game, but I couldnt let him play because of that screaming bit where the guy burns 🙂
OSI :: Avatus: There is one kind of for No Regret. In the Crusader.cfg file, set violence=false

levamic :: How much more of a factor strategy is in No Regret than in No Remorse? (Coding wise)
OSI :: Levamic : It’s alot more of a factor seeing as how the guards are alot more intelligent then they were in No Remorse….

CanLlama :: Are you going to put llamas into C2?
OSI :: CanLlama: Nope.

Blueoak :: What program was used to make the animated scenes in the intro?
OSI :: Blueoak : 3D studio was what was used to do pretty much all the animations in the game. There were some Alias animations also.

Skrull :: This is a silly question but… is the whole Llama thing based on Monty Pythons and the Holy Grail (At the beginning)
OSI :: Skrull: What Llamas?

Apathetic :: Are there any easter eggs in the game you’d like to hint at? 😛
OSI :: Apathetic : sure there are…..
Thumper :: cool Easter egg, when you boot up remorse: remorse -warp 6 -egg 20 and its the REAL voice of TONY ZUROVEC!!! The Director

NosLlama :: I’d just like you to congratulate the team on the enemy ai, it’s actually challenging rather than the standard kill the dorks in the first one. They actually seek you out and use some moves…

levamic :: by how much the No Regret Regret was improved over the No Remorse in term of %?
OSI :: levamic: % of what ?
levamic :: Origin: 0% would mean the same engine of No remorse 100% is No Remorse redesign
OSI :: levamic: At least 80% of the same engine. The big improvement is in the design and the art.
OSI :: The sorting engine was tweaked and the functionality of scooting left and right, plus new AI

Blueoak :: What do i have to do to be a part of a team like the crusader team?
OSI :: Blueoak : Learn Visual C++ and send in your application. 🙂
Blueoak :: Anything else a long with Visual C++ good for learning?
OSI :: BlueOak : More Visual C++…as much as possible….Oh…and if you can beat Tony in C&C, then you can probably get a job!

Avatus :: This is probabley a hard question for you guys, but I wondering when No Regret will hit the shelves in Australia! Any Ideas?
OSI :: Avatus : None what so ever…. that is something that is handled by EA distribution and they have control over all of that. 🙁 Sorry…

Nox :: I have a question about the FMV in crusader:no remorse – it looked like you had done all of the shoots in preparation for rendered backgrounds but then added this piece of a veranda instead. Is that what happened?
OSI :: Nox: Yes. We shot most of it on greenscreen and filled it in with our homegrowm Origin art

KysrLlama :: any opertunities in the future for larger monsters?
OSI :: KysrLlama : Specify larger…..
KysrLlama :: Like a huge biological monster mutation or something
OSI :: KysrLlama : That’s more Ultima…But if you want a BIG mech, just get to the end of No Regret.. 🙂
KysrLlama :: crusader seems like a game where larger than life monsters would be welcome..

Ceryx :: Do you have to live in Austin to have a job at origin?
OSI :: Ceryx: Yep. It would really help.
Ceryx :: No no, i mean like, cant you work on the west coast, but still work for origin like doing online PS or somethign
OSI :: Ceryx: Sorry. There’s always EA in San Mateo

levamic :: Congratulation on a great game guys. You made a quality game that makes our days and nights…
OSI :: Levamic : Why thank you sir! 🙂

Juggler :: Are you doing all betatesting inhouse? Is there a chance to become one? =)
OSI :: Juggler : Yes….and YEs, but only if you live in Austin… 🙂
Juggler :: Will Sweden do? =)
OSI :: Juggler : Ummmm….no?
OSI :: Juggler: There’s EA Sweden

Avatus :: Where did you guys come up with the Crusader idea? Was someone playing Ultima8 and said “Hey, let’s tweak the engine. Turn it SVGA and give it a sci-fi them? ” 🙂
OSI :: Avatus: It was the brainchild of Tony Zurovec

VBF :: Are there any plans for Crusader merchandise? Posters would be cool.
OSI :: There’s nothing in the works.

NosLlama :: The cheat code, Jassica16 sends you to a rather bleak scenario, is that mech what you end up fighting in the end, or is that just another mech…
OSI :: NoxLlama : we plead the 5th….sorry….. 🙂

Ceryx :: Do you think Richard Garriot would be willing to fight me in SCA combat over the whole ultima 8 thing? 🙂
OSI :: Ceryx : Ummmm….yes…sure…sounds like a good idea….

levamic :: Why are you meaner to your loyal cursader fans (playing no regret)? No remorse was easier:-)
OSI :: levamic: We wanted to make the game more challenging. You have more friends in No Regret (duz that help?)

MefiLlama :: How do those spider mines work? Do they trigger when an enemy comes close?
OSI :: MefiLlama : Yes they do….Use those things to watch your back…..

levamic :: How do you think you can you improve the game beside multi-user mode?
OSI :: levamic: There are a lot of things we can do. We are working on some surprises.
levamic :: Origin: Please give us some leads….
OSI :: levamic: of course, those you know too much will have to test prototype spider mines

Avatus :: Why dont you guys use your real name? Wouldnt that be more personal? 🙂 By the way, I dont WANT crusader to be FPP, I just said that to stir you,hehe
OSI :: Avatus : Well right now we have several people here answering questions, so we are just using generic names for our groups of people… 🙂

THANOS :: what is the next big evolution in gaming? MMX
OSI :: THANOS: We hope so. And we hope to exploit Windows 95. DirectX or something similar would be ideal for game programming. Let’s see…

Ceryx :: What skills are good to have for the Game Design position at origin?
OSI :: Ceryx : To be able to connect two dots together…..Walking a straight line after 15 beers….Be able to bowl above 250…..Those are the qualities that are REQUIRED….

levamic :: is there a lot of secret areas in No Regret ?
OSI :: levamic: There are ample place to search and discover.

Viridian :: Any chance of seeing Wizard again in Regret, or a future Crusader game? He was way cool. 😉
OSI :: Viridian : Actually since he is now in Hollywood, it will be harder to get him….Look for him on Walker : Texas Ranger….

levamic :: Any hint you can give me in the first level about secret area in no regret about secret area?
OSI :: Levamic : sure…….er..aeraejrlkjtlakj…eraelrkjal;kjear….hope that helped out…..

McLlama :: What’s up with Tony’s plan for Cru2?
OSI :: McLlama: It’s going to be Windows 95, multiplayer, new engine, maybe level editor. Yeh, that’s enough

THANOS :: This is indirectly related to Crusader, I noticed the game manual was how can we say lacking compared to the first one, why dosent the gaming industry go to a audio CD packaging format, and why dosen’t Origins start that.
OSI :: THANOS: It’s a possibility. We’re thinking of different ways to do packaging

levamic :: Any plan to support KALI on internet : the best and cheapest multi-player server?
OSI :: levamic: Nothing in the works right now with Kali, although Cru2 might have TCP/Ip support.

levamic :: are you aware of the level of frustration generated by No Regret?
OSI :: Levamic : But of course we are…..we wouldn’t have it any other way… 🙂 Frustration is always good….well sometime….well at least when playing games…yea…..that’s it….

McLlama :: What are the effects of EA on the game process at OSI?
OSI :: McLlama: EA who?
McLlama :: Is EA the big bad wolf?
OSI :: McLlama: and ORIGIN is the little red-riding hood

THANOS :: If crusader 2 is going to be internet playable, and you may not support kali, are you going to become a game ISP like TEN or like Blizzard
OSI :: Thanos : That is way too far away to have been decided at this point….You will have to wait till the game is a little bit closer to being completed…. 🙁

Exarch :: are the Loose Cannon guys working on any other games next year or just Crusader 2?
OSI :: Exarch : Just Crusader 2 at least at this time right now…..

levamic :: Do you monitor usenet (comp.sys.imb.pc.games.action) or the EA bulletin board?
OSI :: Levamic : In some cases yes we do….That is something that we have been doing lately, and are going to try to continue to do so….

Blueoak :: What magazines will have the no regret demo?
OSI :: Blueoak: A couple of the major magazines, to get specifics sned mail to info@origin.ea.com

Blueoak :: When can I look foward to more info on cru2?
OSI :: Blueoak: hey we just released No Regret. It’ll be a while before we start leaking info…

levamic :: What do you consider a high end system in your shop?
OSI :: Levamic : Think of the highest system that you can think of….There you go..that’s your answer.. 🙂

Ceryx :: If i were to send a bag of fritos (c) to Lord Ares, and addressed the envelope Attn: Lord_Ares (but his real name) , do you think it would get to him? 🙂
OSI :: Ceryx: Yes, probably.

Juggler :: Any plans on multiplayer? Like UO or special co-op missions?
OSI :: Juggler: There will be multiplayer in Cru2

JohnMc :: I wanted to know when Crusader 2 might be released
OSI :: JohnMc : Nothing aviailable at this time…sorry….

JohnMc :: yeah….when might the cheats be released?
OSI :: JohnMc : We are not releasing them from us…but that is something that is included in the cluebook….

levamic :: How can I become a beta tester of Crusader II? 😐
OSI :: levamic: Move to Austin, apply at ORIGIN for a job here (we do our beta testing in-house).

NettLlama :: Will Richard Garriott be having a Brit Manor this year for halloween?
OSI :: NettLlama: Nope

levamic :: What kind of education do most people have in your shop (engineering, computer science, …)
OSI :: levamic: gameplaying and programming as well as creativity and ability to work on a team

Thumper :: Is there gonna be better acting in Crusader II?
OSI :: Thumper: Of course. Do you want Weazel back, too? We’re thinking of hiring a casting director by the name Willmar…

levamic :: how well game programing pays for the average developper?
OSI :: Levamic : depends on whether that average developer is actually employed….. 🙂 Do you like driving a Ford Pinto?

SwiftEagl :: I came in a little late, so forgive me if this has been asked. I was just curious as to whether there was originally going to be more of a continuation of characters from No Remorse. Were there supposed to be any survivors who would reappear?
OSI :: SwiftEagl : In Cru 2 you will see the return of quite a few characters from No remorse and No Regret… 🙂

Lady Whisper :: Can you put a trinket in the Cru2 box, sorta like you do with the ultimas? Maybe a real flamethrower or something like that? 🙂 Or some burnt human flesh? Maybe make the box out of human flesh that slowly rots or something?
OSI :: LadyWhisp: We’ll look into it… a coin or cloth map. How about a data link?

levamic :: How old are you?
OSI :: Levamic : Origin is currently 13 years old… 🙂

T-Dragon :: Did you guys happen to include a way to play the AVI files on the CD, (Not the Trailers.)
OSI :: T-Dragon: No, sorry…

DS :: Sorry, I missed most of the meeting, this has probably already been asked. Will there be net play in Crusader?
OSI :: DS : In Crusader 2, they are planning to have Multi-Player, however, the current Crusader games will not have it in them….

ShatrStar :: Origin_PR: This is a litle more generalized…but, how long or how difficult was it to become a programmer at Origin?
OSI :: ShatrStar : No programmers here…sorry…I don’t have an answer for you about that one… 🙁
ShatrStar :: Origin: what is your job?
OSI :: ShatrStar : I am a product support technician….

THANOS :: How many different morphing mechs are there?
OSI :: Thanos: 4 different types of morphing mechs

levamic :: When is the next Crusader session sceduled for?
OSI :: levamic: well, we weren’t planning on any…

It’s kind of funny to note that even back in 1996, one of the questions that fans were asking about the next upcoming action game from a top-tier RPG developer was: “will there be multiplayer?” Some things never change.

Also, I am pretty sure that the Avatus in the chat log above is none other than former Eriadain developer and former Ultima IX: Redemption project lead Avatus Kingsman.

And remember: check out Echo Sector and the Wing Commander CIC for more Crusader-related content and coverage!