I thought it was a wise idea to create a thread specifically for asking Haze questions in general, or of FRD themselves, especially as frd_neko has generously answered some of the queries posted here. I think FRD questioners would need to remember that a lot of queries he simply will not be able to answer for business/developmental reasons, especially at this early stage, but a central point for queries and possible answers seems like a good idea to me.


Please remember, some of the answers to your questions are probably already on the forum in specific threads, or in the FRD FAQS - so check the relevant area first before asking.


Bearing this in mind, my questions are these:

Q1: Is Haze being developed for each format to a) keep a generally equal level of quality/features across all formats, or b) exploit the strengths (and minimise the weaknesses) of each format. In the case of the PS3 for instance, is the controller's tilt function, HDD caching and Blu-ray likely to be used or exploited to the game's advantage?

Q2: Bearing in mind the 'lack' of a MM, can we expect to see extra/downloadable content after the games release? What is the likely level of after-launch support, either from Ubisoft or FRD, ie. patches (if necessary) or new levels? Some might say TSFP (on PS2 at least) suffered from a lack of after-launch support, (although I wouldn't like to apportion 'blame' for this to any particular company as I don't know the inside details). I do recall several new maps designed by FRD being released via OPSM2 cover-disk, and this kind of thing again and/or online would be very welcome, especially to support online MP.

I expect any answers forthcoming would be 'statements of intent' rather than definitive answers at this point, but I'd be interested to hear anything Neko/FRD would have to say.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: deded999,

/Hides thread under coat

Well, as long as we keep this between us, eh?

1. Most companies developing for different formats will utilise some core technology base that is platform independant and then skew it to the talents of each platform specifically. I would certainly want to make as much use of the individual strengths of each platform as I possibly could but not all of the platform-specific features have been finalised.

2. Put simply, we'd love to do it. But again, exactly what we end up doing is mostly still under discussion, so I couldn't say any more on this regardless of what I'm allowed to!

Neko.

What graphics card will work with Haze?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Xylaquin,

quote:

Originally posted by frd_neko:

/Hides thread under coat

Well, as long as we keep this between us, eh?

lol, yeah, sorry 'bout that mate, but people are asking questions anyway, so they might as well all be in one place. As long as they realise that you ain't going to be able to answer a lot of them at this time. Thanks for the reply BTW - I've edited the initial post so it's now for general questions as well. Only fair I thought

This message has been edited. Last edited by: deded999,

neco whn can we see a new vid???????????

Come on Neko, you can't just hope that this topic will go away

quote:

Originally posted by Xylaquin:
Come on Neko, you can't just hope that this topic will go away

Heh, no, clearly not!

Really though, I think it's cool you guys want to know more about the game - it's great to be able to talk directly to people who are interested in HAZE, particularly this long before the game comes out!

And that's why I'll keep on answering questions, where I can...

So, graphics cards: I can't say precisely right now because the game is still running in an unoptimised state. I'd suggest you check back a few months or so before release. Obviously we're doing our best to make sure we support the widest range of graphics cards we can though!

Gameplay videos: Very, very soon, I hope. The thing with this is that I'm not in direct control of when information on the game is released, so I can't actually say for sure; but as soon as I find out about some more info I'll let you guys know!

Neko.

Thanks for that - I'd like to put my tuppence worth in for HD in-game video if at all possible. If the level of quality apparent in the early shots can be shown it will help to build early anticipation for Haze, which would only help to promote it as one to watch for next year.

It certainly seems like many of the better NG games will be released next year rather than this, (Heavenly Sword, Crysis, MGS 4, Bioshock, etc), so if Haze can create a presence in the near-future, it can only serve to promote the game to the NG masses IMO.

Neko, I have some Q's 4 U (promise I won't do that again).

1. Will the vehicles control as in Halo, or as in TS:FP? Please don't say Halo. Seriously that move-the-camera-not-the-car thing is lame.

2. Is there a possibility of first-person view in vehicles?

3. Is there a possibility of freelook view from within vehicles?

4. Will the aim mode return, and if so could we customise its sensitivity AND bounds*?

Thanks for visiting the forums, it's good to know that some devs actually give an ass what gamers think. Actually the ones that don't are probably just under publisher gag orders.

*By which I mean, the circular boundary that, when crossed, makes the entire viewpoint shift (I would find a smaller one easier to use).

Actually I should point out that I'm entirely subject to plenty of restrictions as to what I can and can't talk about too! I wouldn't call it a 'gag order' though, that's a little harsh on Ubisoft who've been absolutely excellent to work with!

As for your questions, hum, I can't talk specifics really as they're a thing we'll really be revealing later, I'm afraid. Perhaps if I say that we'll be building on what we learnt from TS:FP rather than simply copying other games, although as they're much more integral to the game you'll find the control set expanded and enhanced. That should give you a bit of a hint !

As for that control scheme; I'd like to enable the player to customise as much as possible about the control method. There's no substitute for a set of well-considered defaults, but there's always people for whom they're just not quite right. So I'll definitely try and make sure as much customisation as possible is included for the control setup.

Cheers!

Neko.

quote:

Originally posted by frd_neko:
As for that control scheme; I'd like to enable the player to customise as much as possible about the control method. There's no substitute for a set of well-considered defaults, but there's always people for whom they're just not quite right. So I'll definitely try and make sure as much customisation as possible is included for the control setup.

That's good to hear, although I wonder why there shouldn't be the option to customise every control option if the player so desires. I can't see why this should be that difficult really, and if customisation is an option then I would suggest it should be a complete option and not 'half-measures', (I'm sure it won't be anyway, but personally I'd like to be able to set my control system up exactly as I want it).

The options on Timesplitters (all versions) have been excellent so far though, so I've no great concern about this. As long as the analog sticks can be swapped over then I can live with that alone, but the more options the better IMO.

Let me just qualify that by saying that the majority of (console) games are absolutely lousy at offering user customisation - PC gamers have been spoiled by virtually limitless control-customisation for years now, and it can become a little frustrating (to say the least) to see the poor service console-gamers usually get. FRD have certainly been the gold standard in this field on console for years. I'm sure this won't change in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by frd_neko:
Perhaps if I say that we'll be building on what we learnt from TS:FP rather than simply copying other games, although as they're much more integral to the game you'll find the control set expanded and enhanced.

Hey, that's certainly answer enough, thanks a lot! I'm more actually concerned with having my opinion heard rather than having my questions answered, because the things I asked about matter a whole lot to me and it's good to know these issues are being considered. They wouldn't ruin the game in their absence, but they would make certain parts of the game much less enjoyable.

So I think tearing around in a Warthog in Halo should have been like Sega Rally, but it didn't even come close. These games have such high skill requirements of shooting/tactics, yet when it comes to driving it seems most developers think we couldn't even complete a lap in Mario Kart or Daytona USA. And what's even worse, is that there is no good reason not to let us control it like normal*. TS:FP's jeep was fantastic - just give us freelook, cockpit view and a bit of low-speed power oversteer** and it'd be perfect. Actually that's a lot to ask - but even one would be a huge deal.

* R - accelerate, L - brake, Stick - steer
**For quick changes of direction - see Interstate '76

deded999, I wouldn't expect very advanced control customisation in a console game. To get an idea of just how much options you could potentially give a user, check out this article or play Live for Speed on PC. LFS did it because it has a very hardcore, customisation-happy fanbase. Giving casual gamers a ton of options that they don't understand is obviously not a good idea. I don't see why they couldn't be available under an Advanced tab, but I suspect there are reasons why this doesn't happen.

And hey, TS2's control options sucked - TS:FP set the new high bar though (which, unfortunately, PDZ didn't even attempt to jump over).

Hey FRD when can we expect more screenshots or more info on the game?

quote:

Originally posted by SteamBot:
deded999, I wouldn't expect very advanced control customisation in a console game. To get an idea of just how much options you could potentially give a user, check out this article or play Live for Speed on PC. LFS did it because it has a very hardcore, customisation-happy fanbase. Giving casual gamers a ton of options that they don't understand is obviously not a good idea. I don't see why they couldn't be available under an Advanced tab, but I suspect there are reasons why this doesn't happen.

And hey, TS2's control options sucked - TS:FP set the new high bar though (which, unfortunately, PDZ didn't even attempt to jump over).

I'm not sure I fully understand you there Steambot: firstly the quoted article (interesting read BTW) closed with this quote:

quote:

When it comes to first-person control using dual analog sticks, we are still breaking ground. In fact, different games require different solutions, and there is no single optimal solution that will work in every game. But hopefully this article will help you consider the many possibilities which are available to you. In time, perhaps we will no longer have to play games where the only control available to the player is changing the sensitivity of the control stick.

This seems to advocate user-defined controls to me. I wasn't actually suggesting players should be able to change Yaw/Pitch/Lock sensitivity, (which likely would be too complex for most people) just the button controls and turn sensitivity as is already available in the TS series.

You'll have to explain your other point about TS2's control-options a little better - what was the problem? It had five seperate set-ups available, plus a custom option that allowed any controls to be set on any button, just like on PC, which was perfect for me, and the 'Gold standard' I was referring to. What's wrong with that? As long as they are options only and players aren't confused (which devs are hardly likely to do) then I don't see the problem. The only difficulty I can see is where there's a more complex control system that doesn't lend itself easily to alternate solutions, (such as squad commands maybe?), but I find that an unlikely situation at this point.

I wold agree with you about the vehicle controls though and the general points you make. I would also point out that, as you said about LFS, 'splitters also has a generally hardcore following and a customisation-happy fanbase, (for a console game at least). That's one of it's greatest strengths IMO.

I linked to the article just to demonstrate how many control options the developers could potentially make available. When I said I had problems with TimeSplitters 2's control options, I actually just meant the controls themselves. The problem I had with TimeSplitters 2's controls was that it was too sensitive in aim mode, and too hard to make precise adjustments in normal mode. Therefore, I had great difficulty even hitting targets that were standing still because I just could not line up the cross hairs. If I was able to adjust all of these different axes, as in the article, then I probably could have manually fixed what was causing me problems.

Anyway, TS2 obviously had great control options, so sorry for not being clear on what I meant.

quote:

Originally posted by frd_neko:
Gameplay videos: Very, very soon, I hope. The thing with this is that I'm not in direct control of when information on the game is released, so I can't actually say for sure; but as soon as I find out about some more info I'll let you guys know!

Okay, this is nearly a month ago now, (and I'm going on my honeymoon this weekend ). I'm sure something along the lines of the E3 demo, just showing general combat in the jungle areas we've already seen, wouldn't reveal anything more than you've already shown but would give us an idea of general gameplay and graphics. If the engine isn't quite to the point you would be prepared to show that is understandable, but judging from the comments on the E3 build, (gorgeous, stunning, etc), I wouldn't think this should be of great concern right now, especially when we all know you aren't due for launch until March next year. Go give Dave a poke and tell him the fans are baying for something cool, (even a couple of new screenshots would be nice).

No pressure.

March? Where did it say March.

quote:

Originally posted by Xylaquin:
March? Where did it say March.

quote:

HAZE is scheduled for an early 2007 release

Haze Press Release

Okay, not definetly March, but I doubt it will be January or February, and may not be as late as April...

Um, ah, yes, er...

...look over there!

/Runs

Unfortunately there's not really much I can say beyond my original comments. What I will do though, is have a check tomorrow at work about what the current plan is for releasing footage of the game, as it's been a while since I've been in touch with the PR team.

That's the best I can do, I'm afraid!

Neko.

Ah well, at least you keep us laughing mate.

I do realize there's a long time to go yet, it's just a little frustrating trying to push this game on other forums with only half a dozen shots (and 'no' plot! j/k) as ammunition, against games with dozens of shots and plenty of HD trailers. I do get the fact that there's big spoilers in here though, and showing anything too much now could be counter-productive in the long run...

Maybe there'll be something waiting for me when I get back from the HM

This message has been edited. Last edited by: deded999,