Some answers:
xenoncore123 wrote:1) What programming language did you use to create X Rebirth, i am assuming C++, as a C++ programmer my self i see a lot of similarities with the code of the game and the scripting languages. (Mostly gathered from your employee hiring requirements...)
Yes, the code is C++.
xenoncore123 wrote:2) What Artificial Intelligence features do you use ? For instance, things like Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms, A* Pathfinding, and State machines and many more.
Some pretty buzzwords there, mixed in with standard techniques.
Regarding the latter, yes, we use A* for finding paths between sectors and systems using highways and so on, and we have state-machine-like systems for certain areas such as ware production.
xenoncore123 wrote:3) Was X Rebirth just a test of the new engine ? Because i have a strong feeling that X4 will have many features of the old, such as controlling your empire without being in the same sector, and using the zone map to move around instead of conventual means. I like X Rebirth but i just started playing Albion again and there are so many features i would like in Rebirth, i really really really enjoy the realistic economy setting in Rebirth though, it is a bit of a nuisance knowing that in Albion the ships just spawn in.
In the sense that it's the first game using the new engine, I suppose by definition it's a "test" of that engine. And of course having spent so many years developing that engine, it is our intention that it will form the basis of more than just one game.
xenoncore123 wrote:4) Will you be taking advantage of the new hardware that is out and coming out, such as the 12GB graphic cards and the 16 core processors and the 3000Mhz RAM and the 2TB solid state drives ?
Successful game development is, perhaps disappointingly, about creating something that can be played by "normal" people with "normal" hardware. This has to be carefully balanced against the more exciting prospects offered by the very latest bleeding-edge hardware, in order to maintain a viable commercial proposition. We will, of course, try to keep pace with new developments as far as possible, but as a small developer we can rarely afford to be an early adopter of new technologies. This is particularly true of technologies that may or may not reach the mainstream.
xenoncore123 wrote:5) Would you consider doing some youtube tutorials on how you 3D model, Animate texture, Program, and sound/music creation because you do some beautiful scenery and Space 3D models and animation such as the new Xenon ships and the animation on the Stations and the programming of the economic system. By doing this you could make a ton of money from advertising the content and then spending that money on "office things" if you wish.
I rather doubt this would be a viable proposition for us, but we do occasionally produce "DevBlog"-type videos that might cover some of this ground.
xenoncore123 wrote:6) PS, You mention on your Staff Hiring credentials that you require people with Calculus knowledge, how would calculus be used in your engines ? I have not studied Calculus as of yet and i read this years ago (just asking now). It does have me curious though.
Mathematics forms the core of several areas of any game engine, including physics and lighting, pathing and navigation, movement and animation, and many others. Calculus is touched on in several of these, but I suspect it's mentioned in the requirements more because it indicates a general level of mathematical knowledge than because we are specifically looking for Calculus as a skill.