[Micky C]

Burnett, on 19 January 2013 - 02:30 AM, said:

It depends on how much budget is.


Either way, there is very little chance it will sell much.


Honestly, to be in the same basket with successful indie games it needs to either try something new or kick it old school as hardcore as they can. I don't see them doing either.

How was successful Hard Reset, btw?

Say "It depends on how much the budget is"

Hard Reset was absolutely not hardcore. From what I gather the levels are incredibly linear, there are regenerating shields, and on top of that, having two morphing guns makes it very difficult to tell what gun you're using, and when you're fighting robots it's much harder to tell what robot uses what attack, as opposed to something like Serious Sam where the enemies typically look very different and you know what you're dealing with.

The ironic thing with ROTT is that if it stays faithful to the original and has a 2 weapon limit, it will be a bit more like modern shooters compared to classic hardcore FPS games like Doom.

Edit: But that's one of the reasons I'm annoyed at the lack of gameplay footage, it's almost impossible to see if the gameplay is truely old school and hard core from the 0.5 second clips they show in the trailers, or whether it's some kind of bastard compromise.

The longer we go without proper footage, the worse it looks for interceptor.

[Mikko]

Wow, I love how obsessed so many of you are with Fresch

Micky C, on 19 January 2013 - 02:51 AM, said:

The longer we go without proper footage, the worse it looks for interceptor.

I have zero faith or interest in this project but saying stuff like that makes many of you come off as crybabies.

[Micky C]

We'll see. Either way I'll wait to see what the reviews and other players say.

[Hank]

Burnett, on 19 January 2013 - 02:30 AM, said:

How was successful Hard Reset, btw?

I have no concrete data on the game's success, but it does have it's first humble mod
http://www.indiedb.c...it-mod-released

but you can't compare the two. If Interceptor actually bought the Unreal License, it means to me they wanted it to port ROTT to XBox and/or PS3. Hard Reset was and is PC only and is distributed by Valve.

[Kathy]

Hank, on 19 January 2013 - 07:37 AM, said:

If Interceptor actually bought the Unreal License, it means to me they wanted it to port ROTT to XBox and/or PS3.

Or they don't want to pay Epic 25% royalties. Which means they're expected to have sales worth at least $800k. Or both.

[Tetsuo]

Micky C, on 19 January 2013 - 02:51 AM, said:

The ironic thing with ROTT is that if it stays faithful to the original and has a 2 weapon limit, it will be a bit more like modern shooters compared to classic hardcore FPS games like Doom.

More like 3, if you count the pistols. You don't have to drop the pistols to pick up the MP40 but one could argue that they are no longer necessary after one picks that up. Either way there's at least three weapons slots and the pistols could be consolidated so pressing the number for them toggles between dual and single mode. Either way it is in the original after all in 1995. Return of The Triad had the player carry all the rocket launchers at once and I found it to be a detriment.. not a benefit to the handling especially with the minimal HUD they used. Often at inopportune times I'm having to jam all the extra weapon slot keys to find out if I have any ammo in them. Which doesn't happen to me in other games.... there's something about those rocket launchers that doesn't make it as intuitive for me to carry them all at once.

I'd actually prefer it if the ROTT reboot stuck to the original weapons system but they're talking about adding in stuff like a dedicated alt-fire which wasn't in the original so they may not. In the original I liked setting the right mouse button to toggle between last equipped bullet weapon and rocket launcher. In my opinion, just because modern shooters adopted a limited arsenal doesn't retroactively make what they did in ROTT bad. Having it in there would not be a bastardized compromise. Actually, having all the weapons available at once is more of a bastardized compromise for ROTT in my opinion.

One other thing I think they should keep in regards to the weapons system is walking over the explosive weapon you intend on picking up should pick it up automatically rather than them putting in a more modern *hold 'Use Key' to switch to 'insert weapon here'* that modern games have.

[Lunick]

Hank, on 19 January 2013 - 07:37 AM, said:

I have no concrete data on the game's success, but it does have it's first humble mod
http://www.indiedb.c...it-mod-released

but you can't compare the two. If Interceptor actually bought the Unreal License, it means to me they wanted it to port ROTT to XBox and/or PS3. Hard Reset was and is PC only and is distributed by Valve.

Then why would Valve distribute DRM Free Physical copies of the game then? I don't think Valve did ALL of the distributing

[Hank]

Lunick, on 19 January 2013 - 04:41 PM, said:

Then why would Valve distribute DRM Free Physical copies of the game then? I don't think Valve did ALL of the distributing

Depends where you are getting with this ... there was another Publisher from Worms, I forgot the name, who distributed Hard Reset with 'exclusive' content on DVD. That additional content is now offered, free, on Steam for those that own the original Hard Reset. If you have that DVD, congrats, it's a great game in my books, but Valve pretty much over powered the 'other' distributor, methinks.

So we will not fall completely of topic, I still think one can not compare the two. Another obvious reason, ROTT is not out.

[DaveyDoomsday]

Tetsuo, on 19 January 2013 - 01:03 PM, said:

More like 3, if you count the pistols. You don't have to drop the pistols to pick up the MP40 but one could argue that they are no longer necessary after one picks that up. Either way there's at least three weapons slots and the pistols could be consolidated so pressing the number for them toggles between dual and single mode. Either way it is in the original after all in 1995. Return of The Triad had the player carry all the rocket launchers at once and I found it to be a detriment.. not a benefit to the handling especially with the minimal HUD they used. Often at inopportune times I'm having to jam all the extra weapon slot keys to find out if I have any ammo in them. Which doesn't happen to me in other games.... there's something about those rocket launchers that doesn't make it as intuitive for me to carry them all at once.

I'd actually prefer it if the ROTT reboot stuck to the original weapons system but they're talking about adding in stuff like a dedicated alt-fire which wasn't in the original so they may not. In the original I liked setting the right mouse button to toggle between last equipped bullet weapon and rocket launcher. In my opinion, just because modern shooters adopted a limited arsenal doesn't retroactively make what they did in ROTT bad. Having it in there would not be a bastardized compromise. Actually, having all the weapons available at once is more of a bastardized compromise for ROTT in my opinion.

One other thing I think they should keep in regards to the weapons system is walking over the explosive weapon you intend on picking up should pick it up automatically rather than them putting in a more modern *hold 'Use Key' to switch to 'insert weapon here'* that modern games have.

Hey Tetsuo, Dave Oshry here - ROTT 2013 marketing guy. Been coming to Duke4 "forever" but this is the first time I've actually posted on the forums O_o

Anyway, we're keeping the weapon system from the original ROTT. You will always have pistols and an MP once you get them but you can only hold one missile and magical weapon at a time. You have unlimited bullets, but the missile and magical ammo is limited as was in the original. There WILL be alt fire modes for the majority of the weapons, but only because once we started experimenting with them it was too fun NOT to have them. As for picking up weapons, yes you will pick them up automatically when you run over them. We talked about using a "Hold X to pick up weapon" mechanic but came to conclusion that it would ultimately slow down the pace of the game, especially in multiplayer. Can't have that. Gotta go fast. All the time.

Hope that answers a few of your questions. Feel free to bother me if you have any others. Questions about Frederik's hair aside...

[DaveyDoomsday]

Burnett, on 19 January 2013 - 08:24 AM, said:

Or they don't want to pay Epic 25% royalties. Which means they're expected to have sales worth at least $800k. Or both.

Bingo. Well, semi-bingo.

[Tetsuo]

DaveyDoomsday, on 21 January 2013 - 01:54 PM, said:

Hey Tetsuo, Dave Oshry here - ROTT 2013 marketing guy. Been coming to Duke4 "forever" but this is the first time I've actually posted on the forums O_o

Anyway, we're keeping the weapon system from the original ROTT. You will always have pistols and an MP once you get them but you can only hold one missile and magical weapon at a time. You have unlimited bullets, but the missile and magical ammo is limited as was in the original. There WILL be alt fire modes for the majority of the weapons, but only because once we started experimenting with them it was too fun NOT to have them. As for picking up weapons, yes you will pick them up automatically when you run over them. We talked about using a "Hold X to pick up weapon" mechanic but came to conclusion that it would ultimately slow down the pace of the game, especially in multiplayer. Can't have that. Gotta go fast. All the time.

Hope that answers a few of your questions. Feel free to bother me if you have any others. Questions about Frederik's hair aside...

Good stuff, all it needs is a toggle function\key to toggle between current equipped magic\missle weapon and last equipped bullet weapon.

[Hank]

DaveyDoomsday, on 21 January 2013 - 01:54 PM, said:

...... As for picking up weapons, yes you will pick them up automatically when you run over them.

Hello!

One had the option to pick up a loaded weapon and unload it in strategical places, or what will happen with the weapon I carry while running/picking up the other one?

[DaveyDoomsday]

Hank, on 21 January 2013 - 04:47 PM, said:

Hello!

One had the option to pick up a loaded weapon and unload it in strategical places, or what will happen with the weapon I carry while running/picking up the other one?

Right now we're experimenting with the weapon pickup and drop distances in multiplayer. As is, depending on the direction in which you run over a weapon, your current weapon (of the same slot) will fly out a few feet from your character in the opposite direction so as you don't keep switching weapons, accidentally run over it again or (dog forbid) create an infinite loop.

We're also experimenting with a system wherein you can "throw" your equipped weapons in Team Deathmatch for tactical purposes (throwing weapons to teammates), but that's just something we're messing around with right now.

Currently, in single player the game will operate just as it did in 1995 where if you pick up a new weapon you will lose your current one. So no, you can't go placing them around strategically to pick up later. Plus, with the limited ammo you have for missile and magical weapons, combined with the speed of the game, we have no reason to believe that's going to be a big issue. Plus, there will be weapon pickups and powerups (and powerdowns) everywhere.

If for some reason you DO want to create maps and game modes where you can carry all the weapons at once or pickup and drop weapons wherever you wish - you can always use the editor and make a mod ^__^

[Hank]

DaveyDoomsday, on 21 January 2013 - 05:04 PM, said:

We're also experimenting with a system wherein you can "throw" your equipped weapons in Team Deathmatch for tactical purposes (throwing weapons to teammates), but that's just something we're messing around with right now.

Sounds good to me. All the best

[DaveyDoomsday]

Hank, on 21 January 2013 - 05:15 PM, said:

Sounds good to me. All the best

Thanks! Feel free to ask any other questions and be sure to check out our Facebook for all the latest. We post everything there first.

[Tetsuo]

I'd like to see animations for those throwing mechanics such as them physically tossing the weapon behind them with their arms as opposed to the weapon just popping out their back like the backpack in Quake. It'd be kind of funny like.. "Eh, I don't need this weapon any more!" *discards by tossing it over the shoulder*

In the original the weapon pick up just stayed on the ground when the person walked over it though simply replaces it in the inventory & put the discarded directly on the ground replacing it and didn't let you pick it up unless you ran away from it and the back to it again quickly. In a way I think the original way may be less buggy\problem prone as one might accidentally throw their weapon someplace out of reach like in a lava pit or some out of reach nook or cranny.

[OpenMaw]

Tetsuo, on 21 January 2013 - 06:59 PM, said:

In the original the weapon pick up just stayed on the ground when the person walked over it though simply replaces it in the inventory & put the discarded directly on the ground replacing it and didn't let you pick it up unless you ran away from it and the back to it again quickly. In a way I think the original way may be less buggy\problem prone as one might accidentally throw their weapon someplace out of reach like in a lava pit or some out of reach nook or cranny.

^^^^ This right here. Heed those words developers of ROTT. The logic is sound.

[Micky C]

DaveyDoomsday, on 21 January 2013 - 05:45 PM, said:

Thanks! Feel free to ask any other questions and be sure to check out our Facebook for all the latest. We post everything there first.

When's the release date?

[Malgon]

^Haha, I pretty much asked the same question at Interceptors Quakecon panel last year!

[DaveyDoomsday]

Micky C, on 21 January 2013 - 11:11 PM, said:

When's the release date?

Hah! Can't answer that just yet. Right now it's about figuring out when we can realistically launch while trying to find a nice spot to launch in between the big guys. When you're a small developer with a niche game, it's hard to get noticed (and sold) in the shadow of games like BioShock: Infinite so we find ourselves in a constant back and forth about when we can and if we can. Had things gone as we'd originally planned we'd be out by now, but given all that's happened since development started our cycle has been prolonged for all the right reasons. It'll take longer, but you're getting a bigger, better game. Personally I've got no problem with that. I've said it before and I'll say it again that the absolute LAST thing I want to do is put a date on it and then have to push it. I hate that. Everyone hates that. So I'd rather wait until we know we have a date that works on all fronts. In the meantime we'll keep showing you more and more as we've got more and more to show and hopefully you like what you see as we get closer to release!

[Mr. Tibbs]

That's what I want to hear! I would love to see some gameplay, without any narration. Just in-game sound and a playthough of a level. I understand that might not be very exciting for some folks, but it would be a great way for the public to get a genuine feel for the game.

[DaveyDoomsday]

Mr. Tibbs, on 22 January 2013 - 12:47 AM, said:

That's what I want to hear! I would love to see some gameplay, without any narration. Just in-game sound and a playthough of a level. I understand that might not be very exciting for some folks, but it would be a great way for the public to get a genuine feel for the game.

Trust me, we'd actually love to show straight gameplay, but as PR says "Don't show it if it's not ready!" - and they're right.

While it certainly might be ready to show to you guys or the guys on our Facebook page or people who generally understand a game dev cycle and where we're at, straight gameplay is certainly not polished enough yet to release to the general public, press or even via Machinima as we've done with our trailers. Even some of the things you've already seen in early gameplay and trailers have drastically changed in the past few months. We've got completely different weapon sounds, new animations, ever changing enemy AI, improved environments, different lighting, PhysX and Apex destruction - it's an ever evolving beast and so is our PR and marketing plan.

Like everything else - it's a balancing act. While I wish Fred and the leads at Interceptor planned our dev cycle based around marketing and PR - that's not the way they do things (nor do most small developers) and I'm not going to push them to get certain things ready just so we can show them off earlier than we have to. We work with what we've got and what's ready to show and as we have more we'll show more!

If I could describe what it "feels" like? It actually feels a lot like ROTT 95, scary as that sounds. I think it's a combination of the right player movespeed, head bobbing, FOV, and obviously the overall ROTTen aesthetic - but it really does "feel" like ROTT 95. It didn't really hit me until one night when I was recording gameplay footage for one of our dev diaries and I was tabbing back and forth between ROTT 95 Comm-bat (with bots) and ROTT 2013... It just felt the same. Crazy, innit?

What you should know is that we DO take nearly every single comment to heart, especially from you guys. I mean, you've known about this thing longer than anyone and damn near blew the whistle on it before the reveal. (I told Fred not to put Joe's name on the team page but nooooooooooooooooooooo)

Anyway, as I said - feel free to ask any other questions and I'll always answer as best I can. If I don't see your questions here I can always be found @DaveOshry on Twitter or at DOshry@Gmail.com

[Micky C]

Just some advice: DO NOT switch over to CryEngine 3, Frostbite 2, ID Tech 5 (or really any other engine) and you should be ok.

[DaveyDoomsday]

Micky C, on 22 January 2013 - 01:44 AM, said:

Just some advice: DO NOT switch over to CryEngine 3, Frostbite 2, ID Tech 5 (or really any other engine) and you should be ok.

Hah! We've invested far too much time and money into Unreal 3 to turn back now. Plus, Epic has been great to work with so far. We really do feel like a part of the #MadeWithUE3 family or whatever nonsense Mark Rein likes to go on about. They treat us the same as they do BioWare, Rocksteady or any other licensee - it's not a bad deal. ^__^

[Marphy Black]

How will the enemy AI work in the remake? The AI in the original was fairly simply: no real pathfinding, they moved around pretty slowly, and they had to completely stop and stand in place to fire, effectively telegraphing their attacks. ("Here, catch!")

However, from the few glimpses we've seen of it, the AI in the remake seems to be "smarter": it looks like enemies have pathfinding, can run around at a pretty brisk pace, and can fire their weapons while moving. Each of these points sounds trivial on their own, but when combined all together, they could fundamentally alter the game's dynamic. Not that these changes are inherently bad, but the "dumb" AI is what makes ROTT's gameplay a blast. The player may be able to run circles around his foes, but the enemies persevere with their greater numbers, unique weapons and abilities, and strategic map placements. The classic AI is pure cannon fodder, and their general lack of self preservation is the heart and soul of every ludicrous gibfest.

Smart AI has its place (say, Half-Life, for instance), but dumb AI is core to the fast and frenzied gameplay of shooters like Doom, Duke 3D, Quake, and of course, classic ROTT. For that reason, I hope the AI in the remake is suited to ROTT's style. I'd hate to see enemies "intelligently" reacting to and dodging my attacks or avoiding environmental hazards. Grouping a bunch of guys for that perfect Flamewall shot or leading clueless enemies into spinning blades, boulders, and wanderwalls is just too much fun and hysterical of an experience to lose out on.

[DaveyDoomsday]

RinyRed, on 22 January 2013 - 09:26 AM, said:

How will the enemy AI work in the remake? The AI in the original was fairly simply: no real pathfinding, they moved around pretty slowly, and they had to completely stop and stand in place to fire, effectively telegraphing their attacks. ("Here, catch!")

However, from the few glimpses we've seen of it, the AI in the remake seems to be "smarter": it looks like enemies have pathfinding, can run around at a pretty brisk pace, and can fire their weapons while moving. Each of these points sounds trivial on their own, but when combined all together, they could fundamentally alter the game's dynamic. Not that these changes are inherently bad, but the "dumb" AI is what makes ROTT's gameplay a blast. The player may be able to run circles around his foes, but the enemies persevere with their greater numbers, unique weapons and abilities, and strategic map placements. The classic AI is pure cannon fodder, and their general lack of self preservation is the heart and soul of every ludicrous gibfest.

Smart AI has its place (say, Half-Life, for instance), but dumb AI is core to the fast and frenzied gameplay of shooters like Doom, Duke 3D, Quake, and of course, classic ROTT. For that reason, I hope the AI in the remake is suited to ROTT's style. I'd hate to see enemies "intelligently" reacting to and dodging my attacks or avoiding environmental hazards. Grouping a bunch of guys for that perfect Flamewall shot or leading clueless enemies into spinning blades, boulders, and wanderwalls is just too much fun and hysterical of an experience to lose out on.

That's actually been one of the more challenging aspects of our development and why you haven't seen too much of it yet! With a reboot like this we're trying to strike a balance between what's faithful to the original and what makes sense in a modern game. We're currently experimenting with a system wherein if you encounter X amount of enemies in a room, Y % will come at you no matter what depending on how many are in the scene and then based on Y, Z % of enemies will take cover and shoot at you from a distance as long as you're in LoS. If at any time you break LoS (Line of sight) or X % of the other enemies die, they will come after you as did their "friends".

At its core, ROTT 2013 is aiming to be just as fast as was ROTT 95 so we don't want to do anything to "slow down" the game. The player should never have to play hide and seek with enemies or feel the need to "take cover" other than good ol' fashioned strafing around pillars and other world objects. However, we're not making Serious Sam, and these are trained soldiers, demonic monks, intelligent robots, etc we're dealing with so they should reflect that to an extent. Certain enemies such as the Triad Enforcers will always come at you and hunt you down no matter what. But High and Low guards will be noticeably "dumber". The Strike Team and Overpatrol Triads will be the smartest of the bunch. Often taking cover and doing their signature dodge rolls while calling you an Infidel, etc. The Monks will be noticeably more aggressive, and as for the robots - let's just say they won't be any smarter than Daleks.

As with anything else on this project it's been a balancing act, but it's certainly been one of the more challenging aspects of developing this game.

If I had to give an example of what we were aiming for? I'd say that in general the enemies will be smarter than a Serious Sam Headless Kamikaze but dumb enough to still be caught in traps for ludicrous gibs.

[Green]

Quote

The 3rd Rise of the Triad podcast and developer blog is now live!

Dig deep into our environmental art and design process in these latest looks into our development!

Developer Blog #3

http://interceptor-e...art-and-design/

ROTTcast .Mp3

https://dl.dropbox.c...7/Rottcast3.mp3

https://www.facebook...147983668690197

[Hank]

Micky C, on 22 January 2013 - 01:44 AM, said:

Just some advice: DO NOT switch over to CryEngine 3, Frostbite 2, ID Tech 5 (or really any other engine) and you should be ok.

can't resist - why not?
I love CryENGINE®3 dearly; and it is a long standing, 3D Realms/Duke, tradition to switch engines.

[Tetsuo]

DaveyDoomsday, on 22 January 2013 - 04:13 PM, said:

The Monks will be noticeably more aggressive, and as for the robots - let's just say they won't be any smarter than Daleks.

That other stuff sounds good to me but I wanted to comment on this in particular. Daleks sure don't tend to take cover for the most part since they roll around in personal tanks so they usually rely upon their armor and or shields to deflect shots. But yeah that does paint the right picture for those who are familiar with daleks.

[DaveyDoomsday]

Tetsuo, on 22 January 2013 - 07:30 PM, said:

That other stuff sounds good to me but I wanted to comment on this in particular. Daleks sure don't tend to take cover for the most part since they roll around in personal tanks so they usually rely upon their armor and or shields to deflect shots. But yeah that does paint the right picture for those who are familiar with daleks.

We're going to try our best not to be sued by the BBC.

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"