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När Creative Director på Splash Damage Richard "Rahdo" Ham registrerade sig på gaming-communityn Crossfire.nu och gjorde sin första post på forumet anade han nog inte vart det hela skulle sluta med. Dagar senare hade fråga på fråga om Brink besvarats på en av sidans mest kommenterade tråd. Frågorna tar upp mycket av det som kanske inte talas om vanligtvis, även om "det vanliga" också finns med hamnar mycket fokus på Brink som eSport. Eftersom det inte var helt lätt att finna alla svar bestämde jag mig för att plocka ner frågorna och samla allt på ett och samma ställe, och med någorlunda relevans till varandra.

Att ha i åtanke är att en stor majoritet av medlemmarna på Crossfire.nu har bakgrund i Wolfenstein:ET-scenen, alternativt RtCW samt i några fall även ET:QW. Detta gör att frågorna, som sagt, många gånger är vinklade och handlar om eSport-element som vapen, gameplay, systemkrav, eventuella demon, grafik etc..

Q: = medlem på Crossfire.nu
A: = Richard Ham

Frågorna är i viss mån nerkortade och omformulerade.

Q: Will there be a leaked beta?
A: These days it seems inevitable... but I can always dream. Hell, I've got a wife and two beagles to feed! If you like it, buy it! :-)

Q: I have to say that I dont like Wolfenstein, so I thought I jump in to tell you this.
A: No problem, I didn't work on it. Now, if you said you didn't like Syphon Filter 1 or 2 or any of the games I have done, well, then we'd have to step outside and settle this like men :-)

Q: OMG, Syphon Filter was like the best game ever, can you send me the Brink beta now?
A: We're pre-alpha at the moment, so beta builds are quite a ways away... :-)

Q: Are you going to release any beta?
A: Too early to say.

Q: Syphon Filter was good games back in the days, but you realy should be able to sprint and shoot and the spread shouldnt be crazy high like in alot of recent games.
A: But there should still be spread, right?

Q: Where working with Splash Damage when they made W:ET?
A: That was way before my time. When Splash was working on that, I was working on Sims for PS2, Xbox and Gamecube (I've done a lot of different types of games... my most recent one was Fable 2).

Q: Are there still members in your team left that developed ET:QW?
A: I only joined Splash Damage about a year ago. But the majority of the guys who did etqw are here, and the same is true for the guys who did wolf:et. a small group of guys split off to form endrant, but mostly the gang's all here. but in the last year, the team has more than doubled in size, with a lot of new people with a lot of experience, so things are looking good.

Q: Nice that actually some developers care about us. Is Brink competition able?
A: You bet I care! Now, I'll be honest. We won't always be able to cater to what you guys want, because we are trying to make a game with the broadest appeal possible (because when you're wagering millions of dollars in development, you can't always take all the chances and choices you'd like to). BUT, competitive play is what keeps ET alive today, so to ignore it would be a big mistake, I think. Plus, a lot of guys at Splash come from that kind of hardcore background, including the founders of our company. So making something that can stand the test of time is very important to us for that reason too. Fingers crossed we pull it off! ;-)  

Q: It is nice to see that you actually care about us (the community). Why did the Wolfenstein team not talk with us? ;( I hope Brink will be as good as I think. Will there be some kind of "anti-lag" feature as in W:ET? I have got a pretty slow connection and therefore need something like that in order to hit (perfectly).
A: I can't speak for the wolf guys, but I will say that they worked their asses off making the best game they could, and I have nothing but respect for guys who risk literally everything to start up a company and follow their passion. So I wish them the very best. As for lag, all I can say is that i'm a simple caveman and stuff like that is beyond my primitive brain. but i do know that our guys are doing the best netcode they can :-)

Q: Is Brink based on the idtech 4 engine?
A: Yup, heavily modified with tons of new tech and optimizations. Hardly recognizable as idTech 4 anymore, on the lower levels of code :-)

Q: Will you specifically look at the shortcomings of previous games released on the idTech 4 engine, and attempt to avoid similar mistakes in Brink?
A: I think the answer is a big fat yes. in fact, if you go to splashdamage's board, there's a thread there called idtech5 where some of the coders (arnout/rr2d02 and gordon/digibob) talk about specific things they've already fixed, that have been problems for a long time...

Q: Do you get the full idTech4 support by iD software or did you get the 8 hours walktrough and you're on your own kind of support?
A: I know Splash Damage got a lot of support from iD (and Raven, I believe) during the quakewars days, including guys being on site for days/weeks at a time. But they know their way around the engine now and so it's pretty much all our stuff now with Brink.

Q: You said that you will use the idTECH4 engine and that it will be highly optimized. Does that mean that people with 3 year old PCs will be able to play it with acceptable FPS?
A: I wish i could say, but it's too early. i can say that it's definitely my goal that you don't need a really top end uber machine to play competitively...

Q: What are the minimum system requirments?
A: Dunno yet. We've still got a lot of optimizing to do...

Q: I assume you know Punkbuster and it's effects on W:ET (since quite some time a lot of lags). Will there be some ultra performance consuming anti-cheat software? Please consider to choose a good anti-cheat software, which might not make the game laggy, because it is a real fun killer.
A: Yup, we're well aware of the problems, and are taking steps. That's all I can say right now though :-)

Q: How many bullets to kill someone?
A: Not very many, though it varies with guns and upgrades and body types and all that. But people have a tendency to go down fast unless they're playing smart.

Q: Is there a posibility to heal and revive?
A: It wouldn't be a Splash Damage game without it.

Q: Are there med- and ammo packs? (if so, make themem instantly healing please - and include an extra explosive into it - yet again next point)
A: We're doing medic medpacks and ammo packs as you would expect, and our life meter system is like the one in Farcry 2, where there's auto-heal, but only a little ways.

Q: Please make the medic do fast revives like in RTCW and W:ET.. it is so crucial for a team and the gameplay. Imo this is what makes the difference with other fps games.
A: They're fast, in fact, they're kind of unique the way they work, and i'm pretty pleased with it. would love to say more, but we're supposed to not talk about unique abilities until more press is done. but i can say there's more than one way to revive a teammate :-)

Q: Will there be airstrike/support fire, panzerfaust etc... like in f.e. W:ET?
A: we've got some nice high explosive weapons and items, but no airstrikes... doesn't fit the fiction of the world, and it wouldn't work well on a lot of our indoor environments (some levels are 100% indoors).

Q: What kind of explosives and weapons are there going to be? (And if different explosives other than grenades - will you have to select what kind of explosive you take with you, or could you even to a 'bomber'-class on your own, with a pistol and grenades, mines, satchel, etc.)
A: There's a bunch of explosive options, and you can customize what you bring in to make yourself unique. But we haven't announced the full range yet. Soon, hopefully (once we confirm internally that we can get them all in :-)

Q: Will there be smaller deployments? (as in TF2)
A: Yeah, no big deployables the size of buildings :-) You can see what our turrets look like in some of the screenshots out there.

Q: Can we shoot while we sprint?
A: We're still working out the balance of all that stuff right now. Too early to say, but I'm definitely not ruling it out (and that goes for reloading, grenades, etc.), though *if* it goes in, it would likely be a character ability upgrade you have to buy with XP for balancing purposes. Still too far out yet for a final answer on stuff like this though...

Q: Will we be shooting laser beams or bullets in Brink?
A: No lasers. We're not really a science fiction game at all. very much grounded in the real world, in a 'day after tomorrow' kind of way.

Q: Is there recoil on weapons?
A: Just spread, no muzzle climbing, and i don't expect any to go in. we'll see if we need it for extra balance on some weapon or other, but my gut feeling is we won't... :-)

Q: Does brink have weapons with Splash Damage?
A: How could a game from Splash Damage not feature splash damage??? :-)

Q: Will you be able to drop your weapon to another player?
A: Are you asking if players can choose to drop their own weapons on purpose? No plans for that at the moment.

Q: Will you just have one shot left while reloading or nothing - or will you even be able to just shoot again with slight delay using the same clip? or will you at least be able to change the weapon while doing so - with accessing that weapon again having 0 shots in it?
A: No bottomless magazines. Once you're dry, you'd better find a soldier to resupply you, or head to a command post to restock yourself.

Q: Will the Hud somewhat be adjustable as in ET or will there only be a default HUD arrangement?
A: I hope to make the hud adjustable, but first we've got to get a GUI coder! Know anyone? We're hiring! :-)

Q: What kind of crosshair will the game have?
A: Right now we've got a very simple translucent circle (which shrinks/grows) and a small dot in the center of it.

Q: Will it be possible to change the crosshair to only a dot?
A: Definitely possible. But first we've got to get a GUI coder and artist on board.

Q: How will the headshots be and how meny do you need to make for a kill?
A: We're not an insta-kill game like counterstrike or rainbow six. it's usually a few bullets to the cranium at least before anyone will go down, and there's of course extra complexity based on what weapon you have, what body type the other guys is, etc. Everyone's not a big meat bag that takes forever to put down. I think we're at a good compromise between the two extremes.

Q: Will the main gunplay be like ET (hitscan tracking weapons) or will there be more of a mix of guntypes, like point and click shotguns or rifles?
A: As for the guns, there's a mix of gun types, but i'll admit my ignorance and say i'm not sure what you mean by hitscan. do you mean moddeling the actual existence of bullets? we're not doing that. there's a wide variety of guns though, more than in either ET game.

Q: Hitscan means if you aim at the target it hits immediatly. Rocketslaunchers, riflenades, nades are the opposite of hitscan, as they have an inbuilt 'delay' while the projectile travels along its path.
A: Ahha! so I guessed correctly! Yup, the majority of the weapons fire that way (instant impact). there are a couple of grenade launchers though (one is shown as part of the demo we've been showing).

Q: Is there any iron sight in Brink?
A: Yes. In the same way that in W:ET you would crouch to slow yourself down and get better aim, in Brink, you ironsight to slow yourself down and get better aim. Same basic mechanics.

Q: Don't put iron-sights in it and also don't make shoot-while-running an upgrade but a permanent feature. Believe us ET players! (Although Brink won't be ET, we know at least what makes a game outstanding. And I bet you don't want to create yet another CS / CoD / whatever clone.)
A: The whole "holding a button to slow down and eliminate spread via ironsighting is no different, functionally than holding a button to slow down and eleminate spread via crouching"? what's the diff, functionally?

Q: In my eyes ironsight could be a nice extra, but just an extra! to shoot more accurate from longer distances, just like a sniper but then without zoom but let's say a fov around 65-70.
A: I think that's a fair way to look at it, that's kind of how it's playing right now in our internal playtests :-)

Q: Players don't want to play a game that is for everyone, i.e. with parts they like and parts they don't like. They want to feel that you intended exactly THIS type of gameplay and that every other aspect of the game design had been decided in favor of your vision. Players do not want options that influence the whole gameplay. They want options that support ONE style of game.
A: I'm primarily trying to make a game that can appeal to the broadest base possible, and by and large, the wider audience has spoken and likes ironsighting. Arguably, they only like it because it's what they're used to, but it doesn't change the fact that they do like it and it adds to the experience for them (one of the biggest thing it adds to the 'feel' of a game is enhancing the sense of "really firing a gun", which is not to be discounted).

Q: Just to make it clear, I don't expect you to create ET2. I just want to have a fast-paced and smooth game experience. Free running as alternative to trickjumping? Damn, I'm fine with that as long as you implement it in the right way!
A: It seems perfectly reasonable to me to say that another one of those user-controlled 'hardcore match' settings could easily be 'disallow ironsights', along with user control over spread modifiers. it's options like that which make me (perhaps foolishly) believe we can make a game that crosses over between pub and pro play... :-)

Q: It would be the best if you would just include options for servers to tweak such settings, afterall it's all just variable-based and people here in ET are used to tweaking everything possible using configs etc. Leaving the game pub-friendly in default config wouldn't be a problem then, and I don't think there's much more options since obviously competetive gaming differs significantly from public use.
A: Yup, that's exactly the plan (the exposing of settings to end users that allow them to make the game more conducive to 'hardcore' play).

Q: Will freerunning be limited in any way (like by having something like stamina becoming lower and lower)?
A: Freerunning is predominately limited by the type of body you choose (small/medium/big).

Q: Is Wallrunning possible - like in Mirrors Edge?
A: We don't do as wide a range of parkour stuff as mirror's edge (they're a parkour game with a little bit of shooter. we're the opposite). But there's defintiely more than you're used to seeing in just about any other FPS.

Q: If a player reaches a certain height too high to climb but still too low to jump over an obstacle, will the player start climbing over a considerably small object, lets say 1m of height) or is there a tollerance putting the player up (just as in id3)?
A: We're still working out final run speeds/climb heights/etc.

Q: Logically it only really makes sense to go for the ironsight, because otherwise (in other games previously anyway) spread seems to be too much of an issue, and you'll find yourself dead if you dont. Going to try and address this in Brink?
A: On the spread issue. You can be very competitive without ironsights because we're generally going going for huge distances. i'm hoping when i get back into he office in a few weeks to maybe post some screenshots of sample spreads on various guns...

Q: I would really like for you to explain why you think ironsight makes a game more fun to play. What does that add to a game that makes the gameplay (read enjoyment of a game) go up.
A: I like ironsights particularity because they create a gameplay choice for players to make on a moment by moment basis: fire from the hip, which gives you more freedom of movement at the expense of accuracy. Fire down the sights and sacrifice movement for more accuracy. This creates a level of depth to the core gameplay by giving the player an interesting choice to make (which over times becomes instinctual choice) and allows them to have another tactic to master (when is it best to sacrifice one for the other). The reason all this is good is equally valid, to crouching in W:ET.

Q: You can't really compare ironsight with crouching that much in my opinion. Crouching does slow your movement down just as ironsight does, but the difference in spread between crouching and hipshooting in ET is not that high. Meanwhile in pretty much any game that has ironsight, the spread when shooting without it is immense. However, the most important factor is the delay that ironsight gives and the fact that it blocks your view massively.
A: Really? Seems pretty huge to me. One thing I can say on this topic is that there are several guys in the office who don't like ironsighting either, and they still do pretty well in our internal playtests, moving around much quicker and firing from the hip. So far the balance hasn't seemed that far off. You've got - firing from the hip, maximum movement, base accuracy. - firing from crouch, limited movement, better accuracy, smaller target to hit. - firing from crouch, limited moveemtn, pixel perfect accuracy, easiest target to hit. That feels like a good, balanced tradeoff for players which gives a nice set of choices to make on the fly.

Q: In fast paced games like RTCW/ET there is NO need for it, if it's there it forces players to use it and slows down the game. Because usually with ironsights there are huge accuracy penalty for not using it.
A: Like I said earlier, there are guys in the office who hate iron sighting with a passion, and they do fine firing from the hip in our playtests. You've to remember, most of our engagement distances in the game are fairly close (as you'll see if we ever release video :-)

Q: By adding things such as ironsights and tool tips are you really making it easy for everyone? or just catering for utter lazy fag retards who thing they know how to play a game? (Because the biggest drive for me playing a game is been good. Example: Quake 3 Rocket to rail shots, if i ever pull one of smoothly i will actually cream my pants. and Street Fighter 4 again if i ever was actually good enough to play at something like Evo i would cream my pants as soon as it says 'Fight!'. Yet when it comes to COD does it seem to be possible to be 'Skilled' a the game?)
A: "utter lazy fag retards" as you put it want to have fun too, and their money is just as good as yours :-) doesn't mean though, i hope, that we can't find a middle ground that works well for pubbers and pros.

Q: Is there going to be a zoom_sensitivity feature like in counterstrike for when you scope in(or ironsight in brink) that your sensitivity will be raised to make low sensitivity play possible?
A: Yeah we do have different sensitivity for when you're ironsighted. hadn't though about exposing it to players to tweak, but yeah, seems like that would be a good idea.

Q: Spread is arguably a random factor that in my opinion has too much of a negative impact on a players actual eye-hand coordination skills.
A: Yeah, spread is a powerful tool though to again give players more depth to their experience, since of course, spread is basically eliminated if you burst fire instead of spam bullets. so again, another skill (or tactic, really) for players to master.

Q: I think u really can and should find a good balance between noob friendliness and catering to the hardcore gamers.
A: We are trying! Time will tell if we pull it off :-)

Q: Will BRINK have a quake-live style business model to support competitive play: i.e. SD provides servers and clans/players can rent server time for games?
A: Good question about server rental and all that. way too early to say, unfortunately. still working this kind of stuff out right now :-)

Q: Will there be support for SDKs/Modding in the game?
A: We definitely plan to support users expanding the game, post release. Hopefully a full SDK (also post release) on PC..

Q: Can we expect similiar gameplay to ET and RTCW. Fast objective gameplay. Requires more tactics instead of aim.
A: Yes, but i'll have to say it now, Brink will not be as fast as W:ET (see my earlier comment about trying to make a game with as broad an appeal as possible). But faster than the norm, I'd say. And very deep :-)

Q: Will there be ET/RTCW spawntimers & selfkilling?
A: All the normal rules and tactics you've come to expect from ET will be in Brink

Q: Any vehicles in Brink?
A: Just automated ones you escort

Q: How big a part will the running system be in the MP. Can we compare it to mirror's edge?
A: Yes.

Q: Will there be a class system?
A: Yes, 4 classes - soldier, medic, engineer, operative.

Q: Does the light weighted class have more efficient close combat attacks than other classes? (e.g. like in the game "Guns")
A: Everyone has the same type of melee attacks, though the small guy is better at them because he's faster.

Q: Will the heavy class not only have stronger but also more weapons than other classes available at the same time?
A: Heavy guy gets more gunz available to him than anyone else.

Q: Will the heavy classes be better armored or just have more HP?
A: The differences in body types for healing and toughness and speed are all pretty much in line with what you'd expect, though there is at least one surprise in there as well which we haven't announced yet :-) Weapons aren't limited by class, but by body type. So an engineer, for example, can use any weapon he wants, provided he's strong enough to carry it.

Q: What teamsize are the maps scaled for (5v5, 8V8, 12v12)?
A: 8v8

Q: If you propose 8v8 players I assume the maps are far bigger than in W:ET or? Doesn't that alone slow down the game a lot?
A: Hmm, i've never gotten out a tape measure, but my gut feeling is that the average map is maybe 300m by 300m? (don't quote me on that! i really should fire up the level editor and check, but i'm at home). Suffice to say, you don't spend very much time far away from the enemy. if we ever release video of our demo we've been showing around, you'll get the idea.

Q: You really need to implement some way to accelerate (other than sprinting, with no limit contrary to etqw) properly in the game (especially on 8v8 maps, which I guess will be quite large and opened).
A: The distance to enemies is a lot shorter, we keep spawn points usually fairly close by in most level. out of curiosity, why do you feel the need to have more 'accelerated forward speed'... is it just to help ensure you get the action faster, in a skill based way? that's definitely in with the skill required to be a good parkour guy, plus the extra balancing factor of choosing which body type you're going to be..

Q: Please integrate the Wolfmap "Supply". Most awesome map ever!
A: You mean supplydepot? actually, we're taking a lot of inspiration from older popular W:ET maps, and in fact that we've got one map in Brink that follows the same basic flow of that one (at least, it does at the moment... things are still be playtested and balanced, and who knows how they might change as time goes on). but the kind of play you see there is definitely the type of play you get in Brink :-)

Q: Can you record demos i Brink?
A: We definitely have plans for demos, but are working out the specifics now.

Q: Will there be stopwatch game mode like in W:ET?
A: There'll totally be stopwatch. to not do that would be sacrilege! :-)

Q: What are the objectives like, with the BRINK movement, docrun objective could be very cool.
A: objectives very similar to what you're used to (vehicle escorts, demolition, doc runs, etc.) plus a couple of new types as well (for the first time, medics can actually get in on core objectives, instead of always being support).

Q: Will there be an online matchmaking services (for co-op, or even clanwars)?
A: Yes.

Q: Is there an buddylist like quakelive where you can keep track of your mates?
A: Yes.

Q: Will there be an ingame voicechat?
A: In game voice chat between friends in a 'standard' match, and fully open to all in a 'hardcore match' (or it can be set up how people like, anyway).

Q: Will BRINK support Linux or Mac OS?
A: Yes to Linux server support. not sure about Mac (will have to ask at work).

Q: So you've got Linux server support. But what about Linux client support?
A: Sorry, can't say for sure yet. still a lot of stuff to be worked out (i hate the cop out answer, but better than guessing or "hoping for the best" and turning out to be wrong...)

Q: Can you prone in Brink?
A: Sorry, actually our intention is to not have prone, to keep things moving more. We do have leaning though..

Q: With the lean can people see you doing the lean?
A: Yup, the leaner kind of half steps out of cover. kind of like what we did for deathmatch in syphon filter 2.

Q: Hmm just came to my mind, do you think you'll be able to include upside down leaning?
A: Something like that would be cool, though I think it'd have to wait for a sequel. plus, it seems more like it would be a 3rd person game mechanic.

Q: Will there be also strafejumps as in W:ET and RTCW?
A: There aren't strafejumps, per se, in the game (really, a lot of the levels wouldn't support it very well anyway, but there are movement elements that are very much skill based. you might have heard about the SMART button and how it automates climbing and whatnot, but it's important to realize you can do the jumps yourself manually, and with correct timing you'll get more effecient movement over terrain than players get who are relying on the smart button.

Q: That SMART button feature makes free running possible or am I wrong?
A: You can do the freerunning automatically with the smart button held, or you can do it quicker and more effeciently (changing a mantle into a vault, for example) if you use the jump/crouch/sprint buttons manually yourself in various combinations. Of course, you also need to be the right body type. big guy is slow and does almost none. little guy is fast and can do the more elaborate stuff (jumping off walls). medium guys is the standard in the middle type. I expect strafe runners will prefer to be little/acrobatic guys.

Q: Why does SD not come up with new and unique things anymore like you did with rtcw/et? maybe the games you make would be played competitively for more than one year then. or arent you passionately enough for your games and just aim for quick sells because of famous names?
A: Not sure what you mean. I can say that we love the kind of objective based competitive gameplay that was really invented with ET, and almost no one else is doing it, and we're constantly finding new ways to tweak and improve it. until it's perfect, i doubt you'd see us moving on to something completely different. we just love this kind of game too much! :-)

Q: What I mean is; why dont you go on with the RtCW/W:ET-gameplay and movement stuff. RtCW was very successful with its 1on1 game gameplay and movement. why dont you instead of copying cod games copy this style again? Fast obj based gameplay IS NOT possible with ironsight and all this stuff.
A: While that kind of gameplay is fantastic, it's genuinely too hard for the vast majority of players out there these days. You guys are literally too good! :-) If we make a game that caters to your strengths as players, we create a game that literally 90% of our potential audience wouldn't be able to play well, and as a result we'd screw ourselves and go out of business. That said, I do still think Brink is faster than what has kind of become standard in the last few years, especially when you consider our freedom of movement stuff, and our "small body type" which lets you move faster. And I know our gameplay is the most tactically deep out there, so we've got that gong for us too. Hopefully there's be some official video out soon so you can judge for yourself how we're shaping up.

Q: You seem to underrate the players then. its not like my parents or whoever would play the game, only people who play fps games will buy your game anyway and they dont need shit loads of tooltips and things like iron sight. look at the fps games that were made in the past. they were popular because they were so simply to play and i think that there is the problem of the games produced nowadays. you seem to think that making a game slower, adding tooltips and using iron sight make games easier to play but its exactly the opposite.
A: I think you underrate yourself. To play at the level that you play at, it's really beyond most players today. The audience has really expanded a lot in the last 10 years, and as well, Brink is trying to expand it even more by getting players who never try online to try us. So to make it a game where success is measured in hyper precision pinpoint actions and blisteringly fast gameplay would keep us too niche. A game could be successful catering to that audience, but it would have to be made for a fraction of the money a normal AAA blockbuster is made these days. Also, it wouldn't hurt it if was given away for free, like W:ET :-) But we'll try to expose as many variables to players so they can make their own competetive mods without requiring a degree in computer science! And, we've got the 'fast' body type for players who want to move fast. I don't think it would be crazy to expect that players would have the ability to set up servers where everyone is forced to be the small acrobatic body type, so everyone is moving around at full speed, scrambling up walls, for example.

Q: Well, but if the ironsight drawgun isnt forced it will be OK for me.
A: Is anti-ironsighting really just anti "gun covering the bottom 1/3rd of the screen"? cause if so, that sounds like a pretty simple things for player's to adjust when setting up their own pro-matches.

Q: Will ironsight change weapon stats other than accuracy? (asking because of fallout 3 felt like it did, actually I really like the idea one posted up, using ironsight for heavy class and for light class something like crouching or just increased accuracy since they move quite a lot and do less damage I assume).
A: Ironsights remove all spread, naturally, and bring the FOV in narrower to make targets bigger. Also, there's some other stuff we're wanting to do with ironsights that I think is kind of cool and unique, but i know you guys won't care about it (plus it's yet to make it in, so i can't guarantee it'll be there anyway).

Q: Well so "Brink" tries to appeal to majority of players, we aint the majority as you said.
A: I see no reason not to give you guys as much freedom and flexibility right out of the box to set up matches that scratch your competitive itches. In fact, it's in our best interest, because i want people playing brink for years, not months, and pros are the guys (and girls, I suppose :-) who can do that, if we get it right. Bear in mind, if you ever see me talking about brink in interviews, they're generally to mainstream magazines and websites, so i do tend to focus on the stuff that's in the game to appeal to a wider audience. it doesn't mean we're ignoring the pro scene.

Q: Do you emphasize long or short distance fighting?
A: There's a lot of variety amongst our levels, but our engagement distances are generally short to mid range.

Q: Don't put red arrows above your opponents' heads. And don't you even dare to think of health bars!
A: Yeah, no red arrows. Myself, I am a fan of letting someone see how close to death the enemy is when you mouse over him, but that's totally something that you can turn off when setting up hardcore matches.

Q: How good is the visibility? fog, smoke, blur/dof fx?
A: We're not doing a lot of foggy night levels or anything, so generally the atmosphere is pretty clear.

Q: Do you keep the contrast between playermodels and their background in mind when you decide the coloring of the levels?
A: Ensuring the player's pop is very important. We've experimented with a few different ways to ensure they stand out... stuff like rim lighting and the like. still working on a final solution, but this is important to us to get right.

Q: If I've understood things right, the shooting system is the same as in et + ironsights?
A: I'd say the movement stuff we have includes interesting way to 'mix it up' and keep the guy shooting at you on his toes. probably the most powerful tool along these lines is the ability to slide and time you want. another thing that's important to us too is to let players shoot as much as possible. we're trying to minimize the game actions that would prevent you from firing (so for instance, you can keep firing as you pull your self up a ledge, though this takes real skill to get good at it).

Q: I think you mentioned there are going to be some rpg elements in Brink. Will this include a monthly subscription similar to likes of WoW and co or will we just pay a one time fee like with more traditional FPS?
A: No extra fees. Just like a normal shooter :-)

Q: How will the casual gamer/noobie compete with dedicated players who have levelled their character or is there some sort of skill/xp matching setup in place? (see battlefield heroes for an example how NOT to do it).
A: I think Killzone 2 is a fairly good example of how to keep different level players in like leveled games. However, we also want to let players jump into higher level games, if they feel they're up for it.

Q: How many guys can play in co-op? And is it just the SP with more players?
A: Up to 8 guys can co-op, because they're all playing in a normal objective-based competetion 8v8 match against 100% bots.

Q: Will all platforms combine for the single/muliplayer co-op elements? I.e can John Smith on his PS3 play with Sally Hughes on her PC?
A: 'Fraid not :-(

Q: No offence here, but Brink seems like a fantasy - just purely because we haven't seen anything yet. I've seen some nice artistic pictures, big guns and explosions but this doesn't mean anything in the long run - what sort of time frame will we get some actual game play videos?
A: If we don't get some actual video out online within the next month, i'm gonna go crazy myself. I really want to hear what people think when they actually see it. fortunately, everyone who's seen the demo first hand has loved it. My hope is that soon a video of our full demo shown at E3, Quakecon, GamesCon, and PAX will be released so that EVERYONE can see it.

Q: How is it being in charge of Brink when you're not really a FPS player? Did you play W:ET? Did you play Q3?
A: Thank is an excellent question, actually. I do play shooter a lot, love 'em in fact. You can check my xbox live stats if you like :-) I used to play online shooters quite a bit years ago, back when I was working on the first and second Syphon Filter games. Mostly the original counter strike, and some Q3. Also SWAT3 and Rainbow Six. I did play some W:ET, but honestly, I wasn't good enough to compete, so I didn't stick with it. And I got out of the habit as I moved over to primarily console play (couldn't afford to keep upgrading my PC!) The reason I was hired by Splash, actually, is because of my experience making single player games, and console games. They had almost no in-house knowledge about that, so I was brought on to flesh that part out, since of course, the company is mostly comprised of old school PC clan players (Locki, Arnout, etc). But since I've been here, I've really been getting back into online play (I need to, or else I wouldn't be able to survive in our twice weekly internal playtests, since everyone else here is VERY good!).

Q: ..so by the time we see it, we will not have any influence on it? IE if something is very wrong with what people would normally want in an MP its basically too late to change?
A: Basically, right now, we've got a couple more milestones of just getting core functionality in the game (finishing all the class abilities primarily). after that, it's a few months of trying to polish everything as best we can, during which time user feedback will be awesome to have and can make a big impact. and the finally we start going through submission process (which can often take a few months on console) during which time we can still be tweaking and tuning gameplay for a day one patch. during this time, user feedback will still be very valuable, and as long as i'm in charge, there'll still be a 2 way line of communication :-)

Q: Will there be a Brink Demo?
A: Dunno if there's going to be a demo yet. They're great, but they also take a TON of resources to make, which cuts into the time we have to polish the game :-(

Q: If I were you I'd just make a training course - if it fits somehow into the beginning of the game - as some sort of tutorial - just because you were talking of also trying to reach players which so far havn't been players afterall - and release that as a demo (not much work to make a cap after it, is it?!)
A: Unfortunately, that's a great way to get a lot of players to never buy the game, because it's not an exciting, sexy demo. plus, even doing something like that is a lot of work, because there's this entire approval process you have to go through with the console manufacturers that can take weeks (and in some cases even months) of back and forth dev time.

Q: The real reason why you are making it slow is so that it can be played on consoles, like the COD series. COD-games are very succesful so obviuosly many players like slower games, but those people play COD and wont be so intersted in this new game Brink. So instead of reaching out to new playerbase (like ET:QW or Wolfenstein) you would better just focus on the existing playerbase and make a game that suits their needs: a fast paced tactical team game.
A: It's a fair point, but these days, there's a lot more console players buying games than there are PC. It's harder to make a living catering solely to PC gamers than it ever has been. And when you're making a game that costs millions of dollars to develop, you have to ensure your best chance at making all that money back. That said. We're definitely trying to make a game that works well for more top end competitive play as well. It's why I'm here talking to you guys, after all :-)

Q: I understand that you have to make a console version to make profit from the game, but I don't understand why it has to be the exact same game? Take a look at how NERVE software made RTCW for the PC, and RTCW: Tides of war for the original XBOX. 2 slightly differant games, each optimized for PC or Console with very little effort to make it 'console friendly' (talking about multiplayer only).
A: That's a fair point. The tricky part is, I'm sure you'll agree, that a lot of games don't even get one decent control setup going well. It's tough to fine tune and balance all this stuff, and for Splash (which is still a very small team by most modern development standards) to fully polish and nail two different control/movement schemes might be a recipe for disaster. We've already got the challenge of making 3 different body types (big&slow, normal, and fast&light) all work well and feel great. Which is why we want to expose as much as possible to players so you can set your own rules on the PC.

Q: It's really in the little things. I completely understand that todays focus is on consoles, but that doesn't change the fact that with a small amount of effort things like menus could be different on the PC. Menus are often based on a dumbed down controller. Just let us PC gamer's utilize our tools (keyboard with LOADS! of keys that we want to bind) and a mouse instead of working menus with a keyboard. One of the complaints with Wolfenstein was that alot of things were activated with the same damn key, which makes it easy for console gamers but really annoying on the PC when we accidently do something that we didn't want to do.
A: Good points about taking advantage of a given platform's abilities. And that exact example you're talking about it one we're taking into account. On console, your reload button doubles at interact (tap vs. hold), but on console, we make interact and reload completely different keys... :-)

Q: I'm rather concerned as to whether Brink will be developed for each platform individually, or are you just going to port it from consoles, like Raven did with Wolfenstein SP?
A: We're putting a ton of time into ensuring that all 3 platforms work "like they should".

Q: One thing that's always puzzled me is why developers seem to exclude competitive features that the mod makers seem to be able to add within the first few weeks. Mods such as ETPro, CPMA and Q4Max have introduced features we now consider standard - why have so few new releases attained these dizzy heights and does your team aspire to?
A: Well sometimes, that stuff is put in there by the original developer, but disabled either because of some design decision, or because leaving them in the game opens up a lot of potential bugs which would require too much time to fix. when you turn stuff like that one post release, by end users, it doesn't have to go through a bug submission process :-)

Q: What possible bugs could build in feature in engine give to you? You are just doing it wrong then. If a moder who's not been involved in making a game, can make these features in less than 2 weeks? Then, pardon me, what the fuck are developers doing?
A: All I can say is it's easier to edit than to write, easier to build on something once the foundation is already there. Beyond that, I can't say, because I'm not a programmer. Sorry if I've let you down with my answers. There's only so much I can do, without going back to college for 5 years! :-)

Q: As long as you believe your basic concept with Brink is sound, stick to it. ET:QW failed because the concept wasn't sound, you tried to mix ET with BF2 hoping to appeal to both sets of players, and ended up appealing to neither. Don't try to make a game for a specific player base, make a game that you think has a workable concept and develop it along those lines, because if you target a game at a specific player base, and it turns out not to be an exact blow by blow carbon copy of their favourite game, they'll hate you for it.
A: I've gone into some detail about what we're trying to do to make the game we think has the broadest appeal, but still has a lot of options that can be turned on/off or adjusted to make it more amenable to competitive play. But if you're playing like that, you've effectively "turned on the Brinkpro" mode. By default, when casual players play Brink, they'll just choose the mission they want to play, and we'll take care to put them into a match that has a standard set of rules and setting that cater to making the game as friendly and easy to pick up and play as possible. They'll be put into matches that are matched to their skill level (both their personal ability, and their character's in-game abilities), and about the only special stuff we'll do is ensure friends can play together no matter what. But the rules will always be the same, and i expect they'll be rules that a crossfire poster wouldn't like (like having bots automatically fill empty team slots, for instance). I expect no one on this board who plays Brink will take that choice. They'll all instead choose the "hardcore" (or whatever we call it) server mode, which will take them to something more like what they're used to where they've got a list of all the "hardcore" matches running, and they can sort and filter by what's important to them, regarding who matches are set up. Or they can set up their own with their own rules. I expect from that, standards will start to immerge that everyone prefers and considers "official". Hopefully we can figure out what those standards are before we ship (with the help of feedback from communities like this), so they can be kind of "built in". But it'll be about giving you guys flexibility. We'll see how it goes. I have no doubt that there will be plenty who are unhappy (you can't please all the people all of the time), but no one will ever be able to say I wasn't 100% honest with them up front :-)

Q: I think for Brink the difference between regular pub and hardcore pub might become the difference between playing SP and MP, making that difference is something ET:QW perhaps accidentally did as well (having ranked pubs and unranked private servers), maybe you guys could try to get the casual gamer to play the hardcore side as well so you don't divide the communities too much. Perhaps offer some achievements and unlocks which can only be gained in the hardcore mode. It doesn't have to be much, as long as it makes the player want to try the different side of the game.
A: I agree, and I do have a big concern that taking this approach will split the community, which is a real shame. but there doesn't seem to be any way around it. however, hopefully both communities will be big and rich enough to thrive on their own. Though just calling your community and matches the "hardcore" ones, or the "pro" ones (or whatever we'll call them), is going to entice curious casuals over, because who doesn't want to be l33t? :-)

Q: You should include a 'professional gamers'-config in the game. I'm talking about a local config here, not a serverside config. You guys at splash damage should know what the best settings are for most fps, best visibility and responsiveness. So it will be a lot easier for competitive players, from other games, to switch to Brink. But also when this config is easily available for starting or casual players, they dont have an extra handicap because of all the bloodsplatter, bobroll, low fps, s_mixahead 0.2, prerenderlimit 2, 60 hz refreshrates, pitch black parts of the map, crosshairpulse, drawgun 1, etc etc.
A: Not a bad idea. will put it on the wish list (no promises though :-) My worry is for something like this though that it might not be "quite right" in the eyes of a lot of gamers, and I'd hate for something that was put in to make the game more friendly became something for players to bicker over...

Q: Are you guys doing BRINK alone with SP? Or any other developer company help?
A: All Brink dev is being done by us. No farming out parts to other developers.

Q: I read that you have plans for Brink to become a Trilogy so I presume you guys will be using the Id Tech 5 engine for Brink 2?
A: Could be, if there's a Brink 2. That quote, though, got taken way out of context. All I meant was that if Brink is a big hit, we've got a lot of ideas for stuff we'd like to do in a sequel. What we haven't done is some big elaborate multi-part trilogy plan where every game ends with a cliffhanger or something like that. We're just trying to make Brink the best it can be. If it sells well, then we'll talk about sequels, and really start planning them... :-)

Q: Will this be a simultaneous release for all platforms or is my question slightly premature at this stage of development.
A: We're shooting for all 3 simultaneously.

Q: Obviously the three platforms will not be able to co-interact between themselves but has the option of allowing two platforms cross referencing each other while online or is that inviting trouble on a multiple level.
A: Well, I'm hopeful about stats on the game's community website being cross referential (so everyone can clearly see that PC players get more kills than console players, or PS3 players give more revives than 360, or whatever), but we'll see...

Q: If you say that you're more responsible for SP parts of that (blablabla) - how long will it take to fully finish SP part (playing alone or together with someone)?
A: Actually, there isn't a separate single player mode for the game. one of the new things we're trying to do is find ways to bring a sort of narrative experience that you normally get in a single player game, into multiplayer gameplay. There's lots of interviews about this online. To answer your question though, if players decide to play the game completely offline (like a singleplayer game), it is probably going to be something like 8-10 hours to experience the two "storyline campaigns".

Q: Will there be some easter eggs also in the BRINK from past SD games, like there are tapirs (which is kind of SD symbol already I guess) and few pictures representig something from W:ET in ET:QW? Or it will have no such small, but fun things to explore while playing?
A: There must always be tapirs!

Q: This might sound weird but if someone wants to +walk their speed should be scaled down in a curve and not just dropped immediately (or better just have 1 constant movement speed whilst standing/running and a slower one crouched).
A: Good suggestions about the walk speed. and i agree that giving players as much flexibility to customize the overall experience is worth pursuing. we'll see how much of it makes it in. i'd hate for you guys to have to wait 6 months for the pro-mod to get completely sorted out, for example...

Q: So Brink will be - if compared to SP games - like choosing your profile?! (something like in Overlord 2 for example?)
A: I'd say the best example would be an MMO (without the monthly charges!)... you've got one login, and X characters withing that login.

Q: Can you say that there is an equality in developer-spent-time between the multiplayer and the sigleplayer?
A: We're spending I'd say 85% of our dev muscle on multiplayer. Solo play really just our multiplayer game, with good bots, and a storyline that threads the whole thing together (though those elements can be present in online play as well).

Q: If you can jump into the campain of others; what do you tell the people having some of 'us hardcore' players in their campaign as defenders? or is skillmatching also enabled for the campaign?
A: Definitely. Also, if you've switched over to playing in a hardcore match, you've basically made the decision to ignore all the campaign storyline stuff, I think... :-)

Q: Well by restricting body type ingame you somewhat neglect your feature at the very beginning again imo. But by allowing to switch body type aswell as classes and weapons (I'd prefer a limbo in competitive matches over a cp - tried to point it out at the SD board). So far I think the heavy body type is mostly good for tanking and damage dealing, right? I think it's less capable of doing objectives since it's somewhat hindered in being as flexible as the light body type because of it's speed. But if the map would enter a state where your team doesn't need a soldier and longs for health support you should be able to switch to a fast medic imo or: you need another engineer but don't want to sacrifice a medic for this.
A: There are two interesting things about the way the system works though that I wish I could tell you about, but can't yet, that are really applicable to your observations. Well, one I can say, since it did get mentioned in an interview somewhere: bigger guys have more "power" (or "energy", or "mana" or whatever you want to call it). This means that while it takes them a bit longer to get to the action, once they're there, they're the ones who can hand out the most heals, or do the most buffs, or share the most ammo. Fast guys can get there quicker, but they've got a lot less power to use for abilities. So that's an extra wrinkle. The other thing, which i can't talk about, is a very huge and important feature. About all I can say on it right now is this: surfing. When you guys find out more in the coming months, I think you'll be quite surprised how it can add a new tactical level to different body types and how they get around :-)

Q: Will there be a possibility to just switch guns for next spawn (for competition at least) or next spawn have another char?
A: You can switch guns during a match at a command post, same way you can swtich classes. about switching to different characters, first of all, we're not sure we can technically do it (stuff about character customization compositiing), so until that's resolved, can't say if we'll allow it or not mid match.

Q: Will XP be permanent or just for a single game session?
A: Character advancement and XP is persistent, and you can buy (and sell back) abilities only between matches.

Q: Will there be other weapon modifications besides the ones you get access to via XP? (re-balancing it yourself, "less damage, higher rate of fire" etc.)
A: We haven't talked much about weapon modification yet, but there will be a good range of ways to trick out your guns for enhanced performance.

Q: From what I heard from your PAX interview 'covert ops's' will have the ability to reveal opponents for 30 seconds, could this be triggered server side?
A: Yeah, it's the 'reward' for successfully interrogating an enemy... enemy locations are revealed for X seconds (30, or maybe less as a balance thing) only on the radar, your enemies won't appear on radar unless you've already seen them, or via various other means related to teammate abilities, so not quite as poweful as a wall hack. One of the main things we'll have as a balancing factor on abilities, btw, will be a cooldown period before you can use them again. so if anything is too unbalancing, we'll have the option to only let players do it once every X minutes, for example. That'll also help with the rambo medic, i think, if self-buffs can't be done back to back to back... :)

Q: Is there even a main menu on pc?
A: Yeah, there'll be a front end screen where you choose which character you're going to play with, and once you've done that, you basically see a screen where you can choose which mission you want to go on. if you've got friends in that mission, it'll be co-op automatically. or you can specify if you want it to be competetive, etc. Alternately, after you've chosen your character, you can go to a server browser like where you can search for games with the parameters you like, do filters, sorts, etc.

Q: I already read you are planning to actively support the community after the release, but to what extend?
A: A lot depends on budgets and schedules and sequels and (probably most imporatntly) sales and all of that. but both splashdamage and bethesda have a reputation of supporting games post release, and i would hope that continues with Brink.

Fler frågor och svar lär tillkomma. Det är ovanligt att spelutvecklare faktiskt tar sig tid att svara på frågor från communityn, än ovanligare att man tar sig tid att svara på så många. Så all credit till Richard Ham som faktiskt gjorde detta. Om spelet bara är hälften så bra som han får det att låta känns Brink som 2010:s givna succétitel.

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