En na reeds enige tijd geleden kunnen we jullie opnieuw met genoegen een nieuw Q&A interview voorleggen, ditmaal betreffende Operation Flashpoint - de Q&A werd mogelijk gemaakt dankzij het XCN en handelt met Tim Browne, Senior Game Designer voor het nieuwe Operation Flashpoint. Hope you enjoy it...

The EGO engine is incredibly versatile. Until now the only games that have been released on it have been racing games, but the engine has been worked on for the entirety of the Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising project. This has allowed us to utilize its power fully. The same technology that gives players action-packed fast-paced racing in DiRT2 is being used to give us vast open landscapes, over 30km draw distances and the most realistic first person tactical shooter that has ever been released on a console.

• What was the toughest part of development? Was there anything that really surprised you?

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was a very ambitious project. Not only did we set out to create the most realistic and authentic tactical shooter for consoles, but we also developed it for the PC. This was often very tough. Where on the PC you have the luxury of a hundred and two keys and a mouse to control the character or vehicle, on the console you're limited to four face buttons, four shoulder buttons, a D-Pad and two analogue sticks, so there was hours of discussion over how to get the console controls feeling just right.

• Operation Flashpoint is in a crowded genre, but seems to have a lot going for it that's really different to the rest of the pack. How hard was it to make the game stand out? Are you worried about alienating the 'pick up and play' audience by making the game too realistic?

I think one of the key things that makes our game stand out from the rest is that it doesn't treat the audience like a mindless "must kill and destroy everything" zombie. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a thinking man’s shooter, if you will, far more tactical than most other shooters in the market. I don't think this will alienate people who prefer the pick up and play game; I think our game is ready for them when they want a greater challenge.

• Speaking of realism, tell us a bit about the ballistic physics. Will we see wall penetration? Are the weapon ranges realistically accurate? What about shrapnel and ricochets? Is there any kind of aim-assist?

The ballistics have been realistically modelled where possible. You'll see bullet drop over distance, bullets will penetrate different surfaces and will lose a certain amount of power when doing so (we don't just model the penetration). We do have ricochets in the game and we have a sort of aim-assist on the easier game modes. This just slows down the crosshairs when you move over an enemy to allow for a more accurate shot. This is particularly useful when you engage enemies that are over 300 meters away.

• What about camouflage? Do light levels, bushes and grass, speed of movement and the clothes your wearing make a difference? How easy is it for the AI to spot you?

We kept the AI's perception as authentic and realistic as possible. For instance, if you're walking along a ridge-line you're far more likely to get spotted than when walking lower than the ridge-line. Your stance can have a big impact on how likely it is you'll get spotted. Also, all AI units have a line of sight; they don't magically know where you are, so one of the key things in the game is that if you manage to conceal yourself after being spotted the enemy will have to hunt you down or go off to get reinforcements.

• The enormous open-world map sounds incredible! How free will the player be to explore, and is the entire map available straight away?

The whole island is available and streams into memory, so it’s not something that “unlocks” as you play. The player is pushed further into it by the progress of the campaign. Your mission objectives will typically not wait for you, much the same as in real life, so the focus will normally be on the mission in hand. Typical missions will see you traversing a large area of the map.

• We know it takes 9 hours real time to cross Skira on foot, but how long will the campaign take roughly, if we do every mission?

Most missions take, on average, around 40 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes to complete. There is 11 campaign missions in total, and those times don’t take into account the addition secondary objectives or the bonus hidden objectives that the player will be able to complete. Also, we expect players to take much longer when playing on the Hardcore difficulty mode.

• Tell us a bit about the weather and day/night systems. Why was the rain removed? We heard as well that you've got some very impressive fire and dust effects!

We have five different weather states which are: Clear, Cloudy, Foggy, Overcast and Stormy. Each of these has a full 24 hour day/night cycle, done in such a way that they blend seamlessly as the game ticks over.  We run the time clock at x3 speed, so that in a typical mission with a 1 hour playtime, the player will see 3 hours pass, the idea being they experience more of the stunning lighting.

With regard to why the rain was removed, we have very high standards when it comes to visuals and if we have to cut certain features to ensure the wider games’ quality then we are prepared to do it. We spent a fair amount of R&D time on the rain; however, it came down to us not having enough time and resources to do it justice. It also allowed us to pay full attention to the day/night cycle and the five weather states, which means we now have the stunning looking visuals you see in the videos and the game today.

• We're having a bit of trouble getting our heads around the game's open structure. Could you take us through a brief sample mission (or objective if that's too long), giving a couple of different tactics/solutions?

Say for instance there is an enemy emplacement on top of a hill and the objective is to storm the area and defend it. The player has many choices and has to sometimes think several steps ahead. They can attack and assault the emplacement from 360 degrees; they can choose to do a full-frontal assault (though that is likely going to end very quickly for the player); or they could storm up through a nearby forest, using smoke grenades to mask their approach. Another tactic would be to use artillery or air strikes to help them take over the emplacement, but then if they then need to hold this position they may then find themselves in a very tight spot. For example, using an air strike to clear the hill top of enemies will make the taking of the emplacement very easy, however, if while they're hold that position an enemy tank comes to try and take it back (and the player doesn't have any anti-tank weaponry at their disposal) they're going to wish they'd kept that air strike. Players can replay a mission and choose to play it in a completely different way, and this is where Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has far more replay value than some of the other more run-of-the-mill shooters that are in the market.

• What's the story with the level editor, how come it won't be included in the console version? Is it something that could be added through DLC at a later date, and would you consider that?

We chose to not create a mission editor for the console version of the game a long time ago. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a very ambitious project and creating a mission editor for the consoles would have created many difficulties during the development process. That said, we haven't ruled out a mission editor for consoles for future projects and we're aware that its one of the main things console gamers would like to see in a future title.

• What's the save system in Operation Flashpoint? Can you save where you want to or is it checkpoints or something else?

We use a checkpoint system. The difficulty you choose at the start of the campaign impacts on how frequently you'll come across checkpoints.

• What about a demo, is that something we can expect? If so, when?

There is currently no demo planned for the console version.

• And finally, what about the future? Could there be DLC? Will there be DLC? Hypothetically, what kind of content would you be interested in doing – just weapons and missions or potentially a new island with a new campaign?

There is DLC planned and it won't just be additional weapons and missions. We have additional game modes for the multiplayer planned also. I can't say any more on other DLC plans as they're not final, but we do want to support the community with lots of new content and we have some very cool ideas of how we're going to achieve this.

Heroes over Europe is een soort flightsim dat zich afspeelt tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog. De game wordt ontwikkeld door Ubisoft enTransmission games welke op PS3 én Xbox 360 zal verschijnen tijdens de maand september. Er is onlangs een nieuwe trailer van de game verschenen die best wel indrukwekkend is. Zo zien we dat de omgevingen er authentiek uitzien, en dat ook de vliegers zelfs zeer realistisch ogen. Potentie genoeg dus, en daarom hebben we dan ook even een korte Q & A met de developer(Andy Symons) voor je klaar.

The trailer shows 3 heroes from 3 different countries (US, UK and Australia)… Are these heroes inspired by real World War Two pilots?
Andy:  We were inspired by the real life stories of fighter pilots that we thought were fascinating but were not really common knowledge. Things like the fact that there were Americans who fought in the Battle of Britain before the US had entered the war and that the RAF broke down class barriers with a pre-war training program that included a lot of working-class men. The truth is a far cry from RAF pilots being portrayed as upper-class types – and that was our inspiration for American Tom Forester and the Liverpool dock worker Danny Miller.

It appears to be a fun and accessible game, Heroes Over Europe lets the player revive true historical events… Which importance did you give to this historical atmosphere?  Were you able to consult archives and visit specific cities to create a credible World War Two environment?
Andy:Historical accuracy was an incredibly important starting point for Heroes. We wanted the player to feel like they were experiencing what the pilots went through – and those experiences were so incredible, why make stuff up?  We did a huge amount of research reading the Home Office daily reports of the Battle of Britain; we got on our hands on old newsreels and sourced actually gun camera footage. In the studio we have a block mounted 1m x 3m aerial photograph of London from the period that was an inspiration to the world artists on the project.

At the end of the day though we wanted to make the game absolutely kick ass fun so events were tweaked to ensure the missions had the drama and tension and action in spades but always with that historically authentic core.We have had people visit London to take reference photos of the landmarks there.  But generally, these areas are quite well documented so we’ve been able to use archival photos and footage to recreate the environments in the game.

Which famous battles will the player go through in Heroes Over Europe? How did you choose them among all the battles that marked the entire war?
We wanted hit all the major air engagements over Europe, so the Battle of Britain was a no-brainer.  It was also the first Allied victory at a time when it looked like the Germans were going steamroll everyone.  We were also keen to ensure that Heroes had real spectacular ‘wow” moments and nothing says that like escorting a wing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Europe. Eye of the Storm is based on the notorious ‘Black Thursday’ where the weather and a Luftwaffe redeployment conspired to hit the bombers with all the force of a heavyweight boxer.  We re-created missions that showed off the audacity of the Allies - a surgically bombing strike on a prison to allow French Resistance fighters to escape. Frankly you can’t make this stuff up.

The trailer ends with the air raid over London and the bombing of the city, an impressive moment of World War Two… Can you tease us on other spectacular moments the player will be able to see?
Hunting German battleships in the English Channel, flying a lone Mosquito into the heart of Berlin (just because the head of the Luftwaffe boasted it couldn’t be done!) and stopping the German tank advance in the snow-covered Ardenne Forest. Snow levels, fire levels Heroes Over Europe has it all!

http://heroesovereurope.uk.ubi.com/

De lente is eindelijk in het zicht en de eerste zonnestralen doen ons dan ook meteen een heel ander humeur opzetten. Echter zitten er nog tal van regendagen tussen en om dit goed te maken heeft Gamercc en Microsoft Xbox360 een lente-prijsvraag georganiseerd. We geven 4 lentepakketten weg met elk de games Too Human én Halo Wars.

De antwoorden zijn:

• Hoeveel Achievements zijn er te verzamelen in Too Human? 50
• Hoeveel missies zijn er in Halo Wars? 15
• Hoelang duurt de soundtrack van Halo Wars in totaal? 53: 57
• Welke Mythologie volgt Too Human? De Noorse Mythologie
• De hoofdrol in Too Human is Baldur, wiens stem is dit in het echt? Crispin Freemans

Winnaars:

• Cypers Stephanie uit Anzegem, België
• D. Van Vollevelde uit Rotterdam, Nederland
• Fréderik Vertooien uit De Haan, België
• Ellen Coks uit Arnhem, Nederland

Proficiat deelnemers, de prijzen zijn ondertussen al onderweg! En voor diegenen die niets gewonnen hebben, geen nood want binnekort komen er nog tal van prijsvragen!

 

Weer een nieuwe Q&A bij gamercc.com. Met The Pitt als DLC dat volgende week verschijnt, is het handig om wat extra feiten te weten te komen. Dit doen we dan ook door wat vraagjes te stellen in aan Jeff Gardiner, Lead Producer bij Bethesda Softworks. Deze Q&A is mogelijk gemaakt door de collega's van XCN.

(1)Let's talk about the story behind The Pitt as a place. Apparently Pittsburgh was never hit by an atomic bomb?

Pittsburgh was never hit directly by an A-Bomb.  However it’s still been ravaged by the fallout of the war; buildings crumble on their foundations, held up by rickety iron catwalks.  The rivers swell with the radiation run-off of the surrounding lands.  Pittsburgh itself is so highly irradiated from this it’s inhabitants slowly devolve over time into mindless, pack-hunting Trogs, barely held at bay buy the few remaining inhabitants ramshackle barriers and bright flood-lights.

(2)There's been some mentions of it in the main game already, by the holotape in Rockopolis and as the target of Elder Lyons “Scourge”. Is there a possibility these loose ends will be tied up?

It’s actually a coincidence.  With a game as large as Fallout 3, no single person really has a grasp of all the details of the content as a whole.  So, the gents that created and placed that holotape weren’t the same ones that crafted The Pitt, so they were never actually tied together.  Thankfully, it still works despite that!

(3)Without giving anything away, can you tell us a bit about the story? The slogan is 'choose your side' so can we expect more moral decisions?

The Pitt opens with the player encountering an escaped slave from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The slave, Werhner, claims that the leader of “the Pitt” has created a cure for mutations…  Once inside the Pitt the player will take on the role of a Slave – they’ll have to find work, and figure out how to gain audience with raider boss. From there things could start to devolve depending heavily on how the player chooses to proceed.

(4)Is it a completely separate area from the Capital wasteland, and is it true you go there on a train?
The Pitt is a complete separate area.  You gain access to it via an old underground railroad; but you never ride an actual train.

(5)What about new items? There was some awesome new gear in Operation Anchorage, is that something we can expect here as well?

There is plenty of new gear in The Pitt, it’s just as brutal but not as high tech as the load-outs available in Operation: Anchorage.  There are several new raider armors, even a stylized version of the Brotherhood of Steels’ Power Armor.  The new weapons include an “AutoAxe,” a two handled melee weapon complete with a serrated rotary blade, great for sawing through bone, and a silenced scoped automatic rifle we’ve coined “The Infiltrator.”

(6)The effect of entering Oasis or Operation: Anchorage was quite powerful given what a radical change it was from the Capital Wasteland, can we expect something similar here?

The Pitt itself is the vision of several developers who grew up in Pittsburgh.  It’s full of unique architecture that has a different color pallet and feel from downtown D.C.  The buildings are decrepit, but still intact.  The Raider area is filled with their usual displays of disemboweled corpses and spray paint.  Perhaps the most striking part of the Pitt is the bridge that leads into it and the ominous black smog that erupts from the still working Steel Mill.

(7)How long is it in terms of play time? Including all side-quests etcetera?

There are repeatable quests, and plenty of side content.  Depending on play-style, you’ll average about four hours inside the Pitt.  You can also always come back, for the unique vendors and to further explore the area which is fairly extensive.

(8)And there are new achievements for it aren't there? Can you tell us what they are and how much they're worth?

There are new achievements!  Without spoiling the quest, there are four, three of which are completing the stages of the main quest itself, and one is for collecting 100 Steel Ingots, which are hidden all over Pittsburgh.  This Achievement is entitled “Mill Worker” and will be worth 20 points.  The other three, together, will give the player 80 points.

(9)What sort of price-point can we expect it to be at?

The Pitt will be 800 Microsoft Points.

(10)Finally, without giving anything away can you tell us if Paladin Kodiak has a role to play? Back to his roots?

He doesn’t specifically, although if the player has met Kodiak they can reference him in conversations to be had with characters in the Pitt itself.  Also, there are some of Kodiak’s relatives left in the Pitt as well….

Thanks for your time!