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 Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 7:23 pm
Quote: Okay - I've rambled on a bit... You can tell I'm sensitive about this.
<[GBX_dev]Matthew_Armstrong> When you play Brothers in Arms mutliplayer, the player plays as a squad leader comanding a squad of AI soldiers. Every rule of tactics and combat that applied to the real war and single player also applies to Multiplayer. Real tactics work.
That's because it uses real tactics. Anyone who wants to learn tactics will see that when they play BIA.
<[GBX_dev]Matthew_Armstrong> You will be ordering your squad in combat against other live squad leaders in real time. We wanted to make Brothers in Arms multiplayer the closest you can come to being a squad leader in World War 2 you can get without actually putting a Thompson in your hands.
To win in Brothers in Arms, you must give orders to these teams to fire and maneuver, which is the basis for all tactics.
What happens if one of your soldiers die, does that affect the game?
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<[GBX_dev]Matthew_Armstrong> Think fast. Lead well. Or fail.
Every modern infantry squad is divided into teams of different capabilities that derive from the weapons carried by each team. In Brothers in Arms, you execute rudimentary tactics using an Assault Team and a Fire Team.
The Assault Team consists of three soldiers armed with rapid firing M1 carbines and M1 Thompson submachine guns.
The Fire Team consists of three soldiers armed with M1 Garand rifles and a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR).
These basic tactics can be distilled down from Sun Tzu’s advice to what the U.S. Army called the “Four F’s”: Find, Fix, Flank and Finish the enemy.
<[PCG]Norman> Will physics be used in game? and if so to what extent?
<[GBX_dev]Reichert> Brothers in Arms will have a full physics model for all of the characters and items that you interact with, including rag-dolls and weapons.
<[PCG]Norman> Hello, I just wanted to ask if there's any chance of a Macintosh version of this game in the future. Will there ever be a Linux version of this game? 64bit support?
If a soldier dies, will that affect the outcome of the game?
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There is very likely to be a Mac version. I don't have much hope for a commercial Linux version, although I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Linux binaries.
64 bit support is irrelevant for BiA 1, but will be relevant for the next thing...
<[PCG]Norman> Why did you feel you had to treat the players screen like a camera, ie, water drops on the screen etc......?
Brothers in Arms desires to put you there.
When a buddy gets hit really bad, there's a huge amount of impact that happens when his blood splashes onto your screen.
Your screen is like your face in the world.
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When artillery blows up mud and it splatters onto your face, it just feels right.
When there's a light drizzle and you look up at the sky, it just feels right when more drops are hitting you in the face than if you're looking at the ground.
These details really put you in there and help you lose yourself.
There are many obstacles when deciding how to best immerse a player in your universe. In the real world, debris and things fly all over and get in your eyes.
Since we can't actually throw dirt, water, blood, or grass on a player (although I'd like to) in real life, we do our best to make the player feel like that's actually happening.
I promise the first time someone gets shot in front of you and blood splashes against the screen you'll understand why we made the decision. It makes the impact immediate and personal.
it's all part of our promise. Soldiers live in the mud and rain. To give you as realistic a D-Day, WWII comabt experience as possible.
<[GBX_dev]Reichert> We don't make you go hungry though
Yeah - there's no "eat apple" button
No sleeping or cleaning weapons either.
<[PCG]Norman> Biggs: "will the Multiplayer maps be arena type maps like in CoD, or will the maps be based on real life locations like thay are in BIA's single player?"
Real life battlefields. Every battlefield in single player is a real place in Normandy.
<[GBX_dev]Matthew_Armstrong> The multiplayer missions are inspired by actual missions, locations, and events in the days after D-Day, but we are not recreating the war in multiplayer to the same degree as the single player game. Single player and Multiplayer are different animals. The multiplayer missions are balanced for both sides. We want both teams to feel they have a fair chance at completing their objectives. In real war, there is no such t
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You can play the single player game several times then get a job as a tour guide in Normandy because you'll know the real locations so well (you'll have been there virtually).
<[GBX_dev]Matthew_Armstrong> In real war, there is no such thing as fair.
Multiplayer deviated from the exact roads, hills and buildings to make the human vs. human challenges more interesting and competitive
<[PCG]Norman> how 'scripted' are the enemies and friendlies? What will the replayability be like?
There are exactly zero scripted sequences in the Brothers in Arms combat encounters.
There is some scripting of story elements as book ends for the chapters (kind of like how Half-Life 2 does it), but we don't think scripted combat is very fun.
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Instead, the Colonel has helped us program the AI with the standard operating procedures of real soldiers.
They know how to cover each other. They know how to find cover. They know how to pick targets.
There's also a new system we invented that we call "Situational AI"
This allows our designers to give the enemies commands in the same way that the player can give allies commands.
The designers can go in and plan real tactical solutions PER CONTEXT.
The problem most games have is that they have one AI program that is supposed to work in a zillion different context.
It just comes down to "point at player. shoot at player three times. crouch. hide. shoot at player. repeat"
That's no good.
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The AI is really amazing. The Americans and Germans act like real soldiers.
then
I think you will find the combat really fascinating The AI has really made the game super realistic.
One of my favorite things about playing our game is how well your squadmates interact with the enviorment and each other. In real life, men don't react to a grenade the same way, reload the same way and such.
When soldiers go down, your men will notice and call out their name. They'll show compassion (if its in their nature) and in cases where things get really out of control they'll start to get nervous and scared.
It's something I've never seen in a game before. From moment one when you drop into the game you'll be able to tell these men apart in the way they act, talk, fight, and think. It's amazing to watch.
The german side mirrors this. They get scared when their men go down and you can hear them talking about it.
and I promise there's no banzai charges wink
<[PCG]Norman> Are you as vurnerable as the A.I.? -QNick
We're about to release a whole bunch of new screenshots. When you look at them, you're going to notice something as you study the faces of teh characters...
Vulnerability is complicated.
In some ways, you're more vulnerable. The AI acts like trained soldiers.
The real trained soldiers practiced for two years before jumping into Normandy
Our average player won't have trained for two years smile
So, players tend to experiment - they don't always use cover - they don't always suppress first. The trick is fire and move.
The veterans are going to tear it up on live though.
Fire on the enemy, then maneuver.
Yeah - When you play multiplayer, you're going to really see some interesting things.
All else being equal, if you have two players that have similar skill in aiming and reaction times, but one player doesn't think about fire and move tactics, he's going to get owned.
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<[PCG]Norman> [what timeline] will the game be based on?
The game is about 8 day s of combat, from June 6 to June 13 1944.
You jump into Normandy, France, 1:20 a.m., June 6, 1944.
You are a squad leader in charge of a stick of thirteen battle-ready paratroopers, waiting for the green light to jump into the moonlit sky.
Bright explosions erupt outside as German flak bursts near your aircraft. ... you get the idea smile
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After 8 days of fighitng to save the Allied invasion you find yourself up agains the best enemy force the Germans have at a place called Hill 30.
The best historically based video games offer the player more than just a fun challenge; they can also provide a glimpse into the past.
Brothers in Arms is such a game.
<[PCG]Norman> How does BiA handle the issue of injured soldiers? In many FPS War-themed games, the only simulated casualties are light wounds and death. Will more serious wounds, i.e those that need to be taken off the field, simulated?
This was a problem that's not easily solved in a game.
As a developer you want a player to attached to characters and cause certain things to happen
You can't just simply allow the player to get all his men killed in one mission and replace them with other as interesting soldiers.
I however can promise you that men in your squad will die, for good. If you however make a questionable decision on the battlefield they will be "wounded" until the next mission.
The game isn't going to punish you for experimenting. You can't do anything in mission one that is going to ruin your experience in mission five.
<[PCG]Norman> can you use voice commands to command your squad or do you have to use keyboard commands?
The command system is much simpler than that.
Real command and control has never been about telling a guy to take an offensive posture or a defensive posture - I honestly don't know where these game developers get this stuff from (they probably haven't spent three years with a US Army Colonel)
In BiA, you just give a single, context sensitive command.
If you're looking at the ground, the command is "Move there"
If you're looking at an enemy, the command is, "Put some fire on that target!"
It's a one button, context sensitive command system.
A real squad leader gives commands to his team leaders. No one can command 12 individuals in comabt. Comat is all about teams.
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<[GBX_dev]Reichert> We've worked hard to make sure the command system in Brothers in Arms is simple and extremely intuitive. After all, this is the bread and butter of the game.
As Randy has explained, this is the system Gearbox has created for BIA.
<[GBX_dev]Reichert> It's so simple to use, in fact, that using voice commands would overcomplicate it, making it harder to use.
[[EQ]Fragger] !setinfo !setinfo !setinfo !setinfo !setinfo!setinfo !setinfo!setinfo !setinfo !setinfo
<[GBX_dev]Reichert> You will get great audio feedback from your teammates when you issue commands. You tell the team leader what to do, and watch him repeat the command with voice and hand signals to his team members.
We support the headset on Xbox live, though...
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We seem to be okay going a few minutes long smile
netsplit...heh.
<[PCG]Norman> <|HT|Slashn64> what kind of music are you making for Brothers in Arms?
The music and audio in general is simply stunning.
I wish I had something to do with it smile
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We said, "hey - let's go ahead and spend way more money than we should on music. You know how we're always bitching about games not investing in audio - let's invest in audio."
So, that money, apparently, buys you a score that rivals most movies.
It was recorded in 8 channels in Prague with an 83 piece orchestra
The melody the composer came up with is really catchy - I find myself humming it in the car on the way to the office.
My only fear is that we're not going to be using the music enough!
We made the decision to not drown out the authentic combat with music, so it's used in the menus and in the story moments of the game (the scenes that bookend the chapters).
<[GBX_dev]Zaskoda> performed by the filmharmonic Orchestra which is a combination of musicians from both the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Prague Symphony Orchestra
<[GBX_dev]Zaskoda> Recorded in Dvorak Hall, Rudolfinum, 23 - 25 June 2004
<[GBX_dev]Zaskoda> recorded in 24bit 192kHz
<[GBX_dev]Zaskoda> We have both Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes
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We thought it would be cool if the music was recorded in the month of the 60th anniv. of D-Day
I want to hear what the big surprise is going to be smile
me too
<[PCG]Phil> !op Mike_Neumann
Hes not here
#pcgamer Cannot send to channel
<[PCG]Norman> What part of the game have you enjoyed making the most? and what was the most difficult part of making the game so far?
<[PCG]Norman> (last question)
I love how the game is Like a time machine. Brothers in Arms provides the player with the ability to step into the muddy boots of a squad leader on D-Day and catch a small glimpse of what it must have been like to actually be there.
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<[PCG]Norman> !op Mike_Neumann
The difficult part is after the fact - If I had known, for example, how much time and money we would spend researching for this game I'm not sure I would've made that decision. Now that we're nearly done, I'm glad we did.
One of the veterans once pointed out that we spent more time developing this game than the 101st Airborne spent training for the actual invasion.
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I think the most rewarding thing for any game developer is seeing their world come alive and take on its own form. Seeing Normandy and the men in your squad come alive was something no one in any medium has done yet. Recreating something so well that you'll actually know the area if you ever go.
I'm pleased that we actually got a chance to innovate a little bit in terms of action game design (with the squad combat system).
I don't think the innovations could be called that - they just evolved out of actually doing some research about what real combat is all about.
I was totally in the dark before that.
I think we are extending the envelop and taking games farther into a very immersive realm of interactive enteratianment.
It's very exciting to watch the game develop.
When I worked on the Counter-Strike stuff, for example, I had never actually fired a real weapon in my life.
I've fired lots of guns now. And a tank smile
I can say with authority that the M1 in BiA is about as close as you can get to firing a real M1 - certainly more authentic than any game out there.
and don't worry, I made sure all the live firing was done safely. smile
<[GBX_dev]Reichert> It's recorded in 5.1 channel surround, as well
Heh - lagged.
Okay - We're getting a lot of questions about a demo.
There WILL be a demo.
It's soon.
Also - We're getting questions about system specifications on PC.
1ghz, 256mb, 32mb DX8 video card.
That's min-spec.
The game will scale up.
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There's PS2.0 stuff and a few PS3.0 features, too (PC only).
Visit the Gearbox forums (www.gearboxsoftware.com/forums)
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<[GBX_dev]Zaskoda> BIA teaser site: http://www.brothersinarmsgame.com/
The devs come to the Gearbox forums all the time.
<[GBX_dev]Zaskoda> watch for the official site to be posted very very soon
Also - Watch the newest trailer. It is amazing.
I want to thank you guys for coming.
as we all would
No Problem
#pcgamer Cannot send to channel
I want to thank Colonel John Antal for spending his time with us tonigh.
<[PCG]Norman> Any last comments from the BiA dev team?
It was a pleasue!
I always love talking about the game, so visit the Gearbox forums if you have direct questions.
Also - We have gotten a lot of questions about making a career out of game development. Visit www.gearboxsoftware.com and look for information on the COGS program.
<[PCG]Norman> Thanks again to all the Gearbox representatives for participating in the chat. The transcript will be posted online at www.pcgamer.com shortly tonight. Also, check out the latest issue of PC Gamer magazine for more BiA Coverage!
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<[PCG]Norman> At this point, I'd like to announce the Official Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 Sweepstakes! We're going to send 3 lucky gamers to Texas to meet the development team, playtest Brothers in Arms, and jump out of an airplane!
<[PCG]Norman> For more information about how to enter, check out the sweepstakes page at http://www.pcgamer.com
Wow. Jump out of an airplane?
Can I jump too smile
<[GBX_dev]Reichert> Can I enter the contest??
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Now all the devs. are interested smile
<[PCG]Norman> Thanks to all of you who joined us tonight for the chat. We're going to keep the channel moderated for about an hour, and after that, return to normal operations :p
i'll jump out of anything
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off a roof whatever, i dont care
As long as the Colonel is in charge, I'll do it.
anyway I guess we're heading out. Been fun.
<[PCG]Norman> !op [GBX_dev]PatrickB
Thank you PC Gamer.
I'm looking forward to meeting the contest winners.
I hope I get a chance to jump out of the plane with them.
Thanks PC Gamer... Hooah!!
hahah
couldn't not have a hooah?
Hooah!
word
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"Hooah!" is Army for "pwns!
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 7:43 pm
I looked at it, I scroled down, now I'm here stating that if I start now I may finish reading that by next febuary.
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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 11:33 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 12:59 pm
HellZero1001 I looked at it, I scroled down, now I'm here stating that if I start now I may finish reading that by next febuary.
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