Oookay, just to fill in, we are going to be putting out footage as soon as we can, however there's a rather exciting revelation to come before that! More soon.

Neko.

revelation! *prepares the wiki*

Thanks for that Neko.

Now I wonder if I can get wireless PSP access in the Austrian Alps...

quote:

Originally posted by frd_neko:
Oookay, just to fill in, we are going to be putting out footage as soon as we can, however there's a rather exciting revelation to come before that! More soon.

Well nothing so far, although you have me intrigued... can I ask how this revelation is to be communicated? Are we waiting for another mag, or is it going to be a general announcement on websites/forum? Ta.

On a side-note, it's good to hear that locations will be quite varied, (mountains, jungle, coastal, industrial, shanty-towns...), judging from the articles so far.

quote:

Originally posted by deded999:
Well nothing so far, although you have me intrigued... can I ask how this revelation is to be communicated? Are we waiting for another mag, or is it going to be a general announcement on websites/forum? Ta.

Cannae say, I'm afraid matey! And based on recent discussions I'm afraid it's going to be a while yet, too.

I'll keep popping in here and dropping the little tidbits of information that I can, however the decision has been made to hold off a while longer and then drop a large amount of info a little further down the line. I appreciate the impatience but give us time - we wouldn't disappoint you folks, would we?

Neko.

Grragghhh, I knew you were going to say that. Well you can only do what you think is best for the game I guess. Any chance of a couple of new shots then? Even just the one's from the mags (or similar) would be something, and hardly leaking any more info than you already have done... ?

New question:

Is Haze likely to be shown at the Leipzig Games Con, August 23-27?

Ubisoft will apparently be there in force, so I would presume so, in which case this may be where we get to see more of Haze, (although then again maybe not!).

The graphics we see so far are stunning. In the trailer and in the pictures, where are those screen shots and trailer taken from, PS3, Xbox360 or PC. And do the graphics change per system. Would the 360's grapics be as good as the PS3's grapics? And if not are these minor diffrences? Also just wondering, but you dont have to answer because it may contain spoilers you want to keep hidden, but would the game and the games features change on different systems? ( Ex. In the tenchu series they released a game, the missions changed a little depending on the system, the choices of heros to pick also changed a little in verus mode, and the game had a different name depending on the system. I also accidently bought both games thinking they weren't the same game )

Cheers for the comments and questions Korath!

Screenshots thus far have come from a mixture of PS3 and PC builds, but don't worry about the 360 version; that's coming along very nicely too! Both the consoles are very capable machines, due to us leading on PS3 though I expect that's likely to be the definitive version. Major differences between the different version are unlikely, I'm afraid, just as with our previous gen games. At the end of the day we're a pretty small company, and we'd prefer to give everyone the same great experience rather than making you feel like you need to buy three copies of the game to see everything!

Keep 'em coming folks!

Neko.

But if everyone bought three copies - FRD would grow pretty fast - worth considering

Hell I would work for you guys if I was given half the chance (seeing as I live just down the road). Alas, I am too young and my mum won't let me download Maya to practice 3D modelling . (My results from Blender were pretty rubbish! A faceless penguin and a totally unrealistically green apple!) I didn't get too far with C++ either, it got way too confusing learning about arrays. I think I will stick to Game Maker at the moment

Anyways, to the questions:

1. How will the moral decisions hinted about in several articles affect gameplay? Will burning down a village or killing an innocent change the story line, if only slightly?

2. Kind of unrelated to Haze, but what coding language does FRD use? (So I can practice a little).

3. Would FRD give me a job if I was good enough at 3D modelling or programming (seeing as I am still at secondary school - Friesland School in fact)?

Thanks, they don't really need to be answered, I am just slightly curious (my emails weren't replied to (they regarded my TimeSplitters game!).)

quote:

Originally posted by cob_shaw:

1. How will the moral decisions hinted about in several articles affect gameplay? Will burning down a village or killing an innocent change the story line, if only slightly?

The game asks some very interesting moral and ethical questions but they don't actually manifest themselves in the same way as in games like Fable. It's hard to explain without giving away the way the whole thing works but basically it's a linear story, with certain situations depicted in a way that allows us to explore some of the moral side of what you're doing.

Hm, no, I haven't explain that very well, sorry!

quote:

2. Kind of unrelated to Haze, but what coding language does FRD use? (So I can practice a little).

We use a mix of C and C++ (as is pretty much the standard throughout the industry) purely for the sake of the maturity of the compilers available (i.e. It makes the code run very efficiently, obviously essential for console coding when you're trying to get every last drop of speed out of the thing). We also have a proprietary scripting language used for scripting narrative sequences and setting up gameplay situations.

I think the thing with coding is to take things slow and practice every last thing you learn. It can seem intimidating but it's all based on very simple principles. Try to get a book (or online tutorial) that has loads of exercises for you to try - as with anything, the best way to learn it is simply to use it, over and over again!

Oh, and start with C first. When you're confident with that, then move onto C++. That way you can learn the fundamentals of coding without the extra object-oriented frippery that C++ adds (which is useful, but kinda confusing if you're new to it).

quote:

3. Would FRD give me a job if I was good enough at 3D modelling or programming (seeing as I am still at secondary school - Friesland School in fact)?

My honest advice would be to stay at school, get all your qualifications, and then look to getting a job. In the meantime continue working on things like your TS: Gold project, because nothing shows an ability to make games better than a game you've made! If you want to try something a little closer to the way we work then you also might want to try learning to use the editor for something like Half Life 2, and using it to create a level for the game. Although not precisely the same as the tools we use, it's certainly close enough to teach you a lot of the basics of creating a level and making it work - also it'll help you learn a lot about level design, another key skill.

I think, more than anything else, my advice would be not to specialise too early. Try to keep up learning a bit about code, art, design, and the other disciplines, because if you have an understanding of the whole process, and not just one area, you'll make yourself a very tempting potential employee not just at FRD, but at any games company you apply to.

Neko.

Thanks Neko, your advice is like a um... chocolate bar... I will savour it!

I already have one qualification, an A grade in Citizenship. Like that's going to get me far! It was a new curriculum thing, for everyone to take a GCSE in citizenship two years early, how happy we were!

Another question, may be slightly personal so you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

What is your role in the production of Haze? (Programming, character or level art, level design, engine programming etc etc.)

quote:

Originally posted by cob_shaw:
Thanks Neko, your advice is like a um... chocolate bar... I will savour it!

I already have one qualification, an A grade in Citizenship. Like that's going to get me far! It was a new curriculum thing, for everyone to take a GCSE in citizenship two years early, how happy we were!

Another question, may be slightly personal so you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

What is your role in the production of Haze? (Programming, character or level art, level design, engine programming etc etc.)

I'm Creative Director on the game, which means I oversee the development of the game and work with all the teams to ensure the game is made just the way I like it.

Neko.

Good stuff, sounds like a fun job ordering people around

Anyway, I am supposed to be doing work experience in July next year but I have no idea where I am going to go. I was wondering if it would be possible to do it at FRD?

Oh yeah, I biked past your place today, and got a good look. Lovely nice big "FREE RADICAL DESIGN" sign you got, I'm surprised most people don't know you're there! It looks a pretty cool building, very modern like our sixth form block I would have had a better look but there was proper big, forked lightning about two miles away from me, it was amazing!

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

Indeed, the graphics are next-gen wonders, but will we require DirectX10 to play them?

And my freind has a Radeon X1300 256mb PCI graphics card (yes, PCI- it's bliss for Dell users- it runs BF2 well at Custom Med/Low settings!); could he run Haze? on low settings?

The card has DDR2 memory at a 533MHz memory clock
90 nanometer GPU and 450MHz VPU clock?

quote:

Originally posted by Xylaquin:
Indeed, the graphics are next-gen wonders, but will we require DirectX10 to play them?

And my freind has a Radeon X1300 256mb PCI graphics card (yes, PCI- it's bliss for Dell users- it runs BF2 well at Custom Med/Low settings!); could he run Haze? on low settings?

The card has DDR2 memory at a 533MHz memory clock
90 nanometer GPU and 450MHz VPU clock?

Sorry, I don't know if I've already said this but I'm not going to answer any compatibility questions as it's impossible to say for sure what will and won't be supported at this time (drivers are always changing, etc.). Even the hardware we're currently running the game on isn't a fair reflection at the moment as it's still running unoptimised (optimisation is traditionally one of the last things done in development).

I'm sure Ubisoft will announce what sort of specs the PC version will require closer to release. We will be trying to support as wide a range of hardware as possible, though, obviously!

Neko.

quote:

Originally posted by cob_shaw:
Anyway, I am supposed to be doing work experience in July next year but I have no idea where I am going to go. I was wondering if it would be possible to do it at FRD?

Sorry chap, but we don't take on students doing work experience because of the confidentiality issues (I'm not saying I think that necessairly applies to you but it's just a general rule, see?).

However, you might be interested to know that Free Radical will be participating in the Game City event in Nottingham next month. The exact extent of our involvement is yet to be confirmed, and we won't be showing HAZE, but a load of us will be there if anyone's interested...

Neko.

quote:

Originally posted by frd_neko:

quote:

Originally posted by cob_shaw:
Anyway, I am supposed to be doing work experience in July next year but I have no idea where I am going to go. I was wondering if it would be possible to do it at FRD?

Sorry chap, but we don't take on students doing work experience because of the confidentiality issues (I'm not saying I think that necessairly applies to you but it's just a general rule, see?).

However, you might be interested to know that Free Radical will be participating in the Game City event in Nottingham next month. The exact extent of our involvement is yet to be confirmed, and we won't be showing HAZE, but a load of us will be there if anyone's interested...

Neko.

OK, thanks, I kind of guessed that you wouldn't be taking students, but it was worth a try I!

I suppose I might try and get to this "Game City" event, though I have never heard of it! I might go with a few friends, maybe.

I will only be able to make it on Sunday 29th, will you be there then?

Not much happening recently Neko - any chance of an update on where you're all up to? Maybe a screenshot or something? Or a wallpaper? A bone maybe? Hope you can all raise your noses from the grind-stone once in a while