DoctorFinger
06-10-2010, 09:37 AM
Splash Damage creative director Richard Ham was kind enough to sit down and answer some of our community's questions about their upcoming shooter Brink.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3590555944_b0af78e467.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3590555944_8a1c75e719_o.jpg)
- Will the PC version support dedicated servers? Are there any differences between the PC and console versions?
We’ll definitely be supporting dedicated servers on PC. The differences between the console and PC version of Brink are pretty much the kind of stuff one would expect: mouse and keyboard instead of controllers, server browser instead of matchmaking, that kind of thing.
- Will Brink stand on its own as a single-player experience?
Definitely. You can play through the two storyline campaigns in Brink any way you like: online, offline, solo, co-op or versus. However you choose to play, you’ll get the same narrative-driven experience, the same character and weapon progression, etc. It’s the same experience all around, basically.
- You've announced the three body types, but how many different classes will you have?
We’ve got 4 different kits in Brink: Soldier (blows stuff up, hands out ammo, has more grenade options), Medic (keeps everyone alive and has lots of buffs to choose from), Engineer (builds mines and turrets, upgrades teammates weapons), and Operative (disguise, spot hidden traps, neat gadgets).
- Have you decided whether or not players will be allowed to change body types or factions, or are these choices permanent? If I create a second character to explore some of the other options, does he then start over at level 1, or does my XP carry over across all my characters?
You can change class at any time during a mission using a Command Post, and when you’re between missions, you can change your body type via the appearance customization options.
If you’re playing through a storyline campaign, your faction will be locked to that of your chosen campaign. For example, if you play through the Resistance storyline, you’ll only be able to play as a member of the Resistance. If you’re playing Brink in Free Play mode, you can change your faction freely at any point and effectively become part of the “enemy” team.
If you create multiple characters, you can transfer XP from one character to another; so if your first character has a lot of extra XP and you want to level up a 2nd character really fast, just give him some XP from your first character.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3589748295_290f8f1085.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3589748295_7c17652149_o.jpg)
- One of the major selling points of Brink is the 8-player co-op. You've also spoken a lot about 8 on 8 battles. But if you're playing as an 8-person team, do you have to play against other human players, or is there an option to play against AI? (To use an example, Left 4 Dead's Campaign mode compared to Versus mode)
Multiplayer matches can be either versus (human players on both teams) or co-op (only AI on one team, all humans on the other team), so both of the things you mentioned are possible.
- How does weapon selection work? Is it spawn-style, where better weapons must be found in the environment, or loadout-style where you choose your gear before you spawn?
You can change your weapons at any time at a Command Post. There’s always one of these at your spawn point, and there are other ones you can find on the battlefield as well. If you capture one of these additional Command Posts for your team, not only do they let you resupply or change weapons without having to go back to the spawn point, they also give your team big bonuses to help in combat.
- We know that the classes have different abilities, but how do these abilities grow or change as you gain XP? What sort of 'perks' can a class select?
Every time you level up, you can buy one new ability. This can be chosen from 5 different categories: Soldier, Operative, Medic, Engineer, and Universal. The kit-specific abilities can only be used when you’re that class (and as mentioned earlier, you can change class any time you like during a mission), and there’s a lot of them: Soldiers, as they level up, get more explosive weapons to use, as well as improve their ammo-giving skills, and can even specialize in shielding their teammates. Medics learn several new buffs they can give to teammates (and themselves), and become much better at keeping everyone alive and moving. Engineers improve their deployables, get better at upgrading weapons, and can even alter Command Post bonuses. Operatives get several unique death-dealing weapons, they learn how to hack into enemy communication channels to keep track of their location, and can even firewall Command Posts to protect them from the enemy.
The Universal abilities can be used no matter what class you are, and there’s a bunch to choose from here as well -- from simple things like making your life meter longer, to fancy things like shooting grenades out of the air, to hardcore things like reloading while sprinting or grenade cooking.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3910040304_f9fa1261c2.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3910040304_ba955c610f_o.jpg)
- You've said that the game features two campaigns, one from each faction's perspective. How different are the two campaigns? Are you just playing the opposite side in the missions you play in the first campaign, or are they substantially different? For example, if there's a Resistance mission to escort a target through Container City, is there a corresponding Security mission in the second campaign where you try to stop the Resistance from escorting that target?
In each campaign, you’ll see missions from either side, and the side you’re playing on radically changes how the gameplay works. As well, each campaign has a few missions that are only part of that faction’s storyline. So there are definitely reasons to play through both campaigns.
- Is it possible to swap kits with a dead player or pick up their weapons?
You can pick up the weapon that an enemy had equipped when they died. However, you won’t find much ammo usually, so it’s wise to only do this when you’re running low yourself and are getting desperate. You won’t be able to pick up and equip their kit, but you can change yours at any time at a Command Post.
- What's the most surprising thing you've seen someone pull off with the SMART system?
Aubrey, our technical designer in charge of SMART, surprised all of us one time by running up a staircase, jumping at the end of the railing towards a big statue, wall-hopping off that statue sideways, and grabbing onto an upper ledge that no one thought could be reached. It was great because it cut off at least 10 seconds of his travel time to the front line. So far, no one else has been able to pull this move off again, not even Aubrey!
- Do you have any plans in place for DLC?
Right now, we’re focusing entirely on getting Brink into players’ hands!
- Can you describe the process of finding a match on the console versions? Quake Wars used an outdated server browser/lobby system. Will Brink use a party system similar to the kind found in Halo, Call of Duty, and Gears of War?
It’s worth pointing out here that we only did the PC version of Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars – not the console versions. In Brink, players will be able to, at a glance, see where all their friends are and what they’re doing, and jump directly into their games. Once they’re together in a mission, they can opt to stick together so they won’t get split up to different teams or different servers.
Basically, when you’re playing through a campaign, when you’re about to start a new mission, there are two simple choices you can make: 1) do you want to play solo, co-op, or versus? And 2) if online, do you want to play with just your friends, or with anyone?
You make that choice and then launch the mission. Depending on what you chose, we’ll either set a match up for you specifically that only your friends can get into, or we’ll find a public match that gives you everything you need (an open slot on the faction you’re playing, a good ping, etc.), or we’ll just let you play completely by yourself with no one else getting in except people you invite.
Also, on PC, for players who prefer the old school way of doing things, there’ll be traditional browsers to search for your favorite dedicated servers.
- What sorts of weapons are in the game?
We’ve got 24 weapons in the game, spread across four weapon classes: Heavy (really big guns like HMGs, rapid fire shotguns, grenade launchers etc.), Medium (your traditional assault rifles), Light (submachine guns and some short rifles) and Sidearms (semi and full auto pistols, as well as revolvers). As well, there are many different attachments you can put on those guns in various combinations to really customize your firepower potential.
- How has the mission structure changed since Quake Wars? What do you think worked well in QW, and what elements are you looking to improve? Can you give an example of the scope of one of the missions in the game? How many stages of primary objectives are there, and what types of secondary objectives can players complete?
Brink is the third full game we’ve done where we’re evolving objective-based multiplayer shooting, and it builds a lot on Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars. One of the main things we’ve focused on improving with Brink is how we communicate all the depth of our systems to players. So for example, the Objective Wheel in Brink tells you at a glance all the things you can be doing to help your team, so it’s very easy to find your way around, even if you’ve never played the game before. The Wheel also makes suggestions about what would be the best possible thing to do at that moment in time, even if that means changing your kit to another.
Most missions have at least two to three primary objectives that must be completed by the attacking team. For secondary missions, it varies from level to level, but you’ve almost always got Command Posts to fight over, enemy intelligence to collect, shortcuts to open or close, and a few other surprises. And of course, there’s all the standard kit-specific objectives you can get. And the more kit abilities you have, the more possible objectives you unlock.
- In one sentence, describe what sets Brink apart from a market full of other post-apocalyptic shooters?
Brink gives players easy-to-use freedom of movement through the SMART system, provides depth through an innovative dynamic objective system where no two missions play alike, and merges single-player and multiplayer gaming into an entirely new experience.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3590555944_b0af78e467.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3590555944_8a1c75e719_o.jpg)
- Will the PC version support dedicated servers? Are there any differences between the PC and console versions?
We’ll definitely be supporting dedicated servers on PC. The differences between the console and PC version of Brink are pretty much the kind of stuff one would expect: mouse and keyboard instead of controllers, server browser instead of matchmaking, that kind of thing.
- Will Brink stand on its own as a single-player experience?
Definitely. You can play through the two storyline campaigns in Brink any way you like: online, offline, solo, co-op or versus. However you choose to play, you’ll get the same narrative-driven experience, the same character and weapon progression, etc. It’s the same experience all around, basically.
- You've announced the three body types, but how many different classes will you have?
We’ve got 4 different kits in Brink: Soldier (blows stuff up, hands out ammo, has more grenade options), Medic (keeps everyone alive and has lots of buffs to choose from), Engineer (builds mines and turrets, upgrades teammates weapons), and Operative (disguise, spot hidden traps, neat gadgets).
- Have you decided whether or not players will be allowed to change body types or factions, or are these choices permanent? If I create a second character to explore some of the other options, does he then start over at level 1, or does my XP carry over across all my characters?
You can change class at any time during a mission using a Command Post, and when you’re between missions, you can change your body type via the appearance customization options.
If you’re playing through a storyline campaign, your faction will be locked to that of your chosen campaign. For example, if you play through the Resistance storyline, you’ll only be able to play as a member of the Resistance. If you’re playing Brink in Free Play mode, you can change your faction freely at any point and effectively become part of the “enemy” team.
If you create multiple characters, you can transfer XP from one character to another; so if your first character has a lot of extra XP and you want to level up a 2nd character really fast, just give him some XP from your first character.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3589748295_290f8f1085.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3589748295_7c17652149_o.jpg)
- One of the major selling points of Brink is the 8-player co-op. You've also spoken a lot about 8 on 8 battles. But if you're playing as an 8-person team, do you have to play against other human players, or is there an option to play against AI? (To use an example, Left 4 Dead's Campaign mode compared to Versus mode)
Multiplayer matches can be either versus (human players on both teams) or co-op (only AI on one team, all humans on the other team), so both of the things you mentioned are possible.
- How does weapon selection work? Is it spawn-style, where better weapons must be found in the environment, or loadout-style where you choose your gear before you spawn?
You can change your weapons at any time at a Command Post. There’s always one of these at your spawn point, and there are other ones you can find on the battlefield as well. If you capture one of these additional Command Posts for your team, not only do they let you resupply or change weapons without having to go back to the spawn point, they also give your team big bonuses to help in combat.
- We know that the classes have different abilities, but how do these abilities grow or change as you gain XP? What sort of 'perks' can a class select?
Every time you level up, you can buy one new ability. This can be chosen from 5 different categories: Soldier, Operative, Medic, Engineer, and Universal. The kit-specific abilities can only be used when you’re that class (and as mentioned earlier, you can change class any time you like during a mission), and there’s a lot of them: Soldiers, as they level up, get more explosive weapons to use, as well as improve their ammo-giving skills, and can even specialize in shielding their teammates. Medics learn several new buffs they can give to teammates (and themselves), and become much better at keeping everyone alive and moving. Engineers improve their deployables, get better at upgrading weapons, and can even alter Command Post bonuses. Operatives get several unique death-dealing weapons, they learn how to hack into enemy communication channels to keep track of their location, and can even firewall Command Posts to protect them from the enemy.
The Universal abilities can be used no matter what class you are, and there’s a bunch to choose from here as well -- from simple things like making your life meter longer, to fancy things like shooting grenades out of the air, to hardcore things like reloading while sprinting or grenade cooking.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3910040304_f9fa1261c2.jpg (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3910040304_ba955c610f_o.jpg)
- You've said that the game features two campaigns, one from each faction's perspective. How different are the two campaigns? Are you just playing the opposite side in the missions you play in the first campaign, or are they substantially different? For example, if there's a Resistance mission to escort a target through Container City, is there a corresponding Security mission in the second campaign where you try to stop the Resistance from escorting that target?
In each campaign, you’ll see missions from either side, and the side you’re playing on radically changes how the gameplay works. As well, each campaign has a few missions that are only part of that faction’s storyline. So there are definitely reasons to play through both campaigns.
- Is it possible to swap kits with a dead player or pick up their weapons?
You can pick up the weapon that an enemy had equipped when they died. However, you won’t find much ammo usually, so it’s wise to only do this when you’re running low yourself and are getting desperate. You won’t be able to pick up and equip their kit, but you can change yours at any time at a Command Post.
- What's the most surprising thing you've seen someone pull off with the SMART system?
Aubrey, our technical designer in charge of SMART, surprised all of us one time by running up a staircase, jumping at the end of the railing towards a big statue, wall-hopping off that statue sideways, and grabbing onto an upper ledge that no one thought could be reached. It was great because it cut off at least 10 seconds of his travel time to the front line. So far, no one else has been able to pull this move off again, not even Aubrey!
- Do you have any plans in place for DLC?
Right now, we’re focusing entirely on getting Brink into players’ hands!
- Can you describe the process of finding a match on the console versions? Quake Wars used an outdated server browser/lobby system. Will Brink use a party system similar to the kind found in Halo, Call of Duty, and Gears of War?
It’s worth pointing out here that we only did the PC version of Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars – not the console versions. In Brink, players will be able to, at a glance, see where all their friends are and what they’re doing, and jump directly into their games. Once they’re together in a mission, they can opt to stick together so they won’t get split up to different teams or different servers.
Basically, when you’re playing through a campaign, when you’re about to start a new mission, there are two simple choices you can make: 1) do you want to play solo, co-op, or versus? And 2) if online, do you want to play with just your friends, or with anyone?
You make that choice and then launch the mission. Depending on what you chose, we’ll either set a match up for you specifically that only your friends can get into, or we’ll find a public match that gives you everything you need (an open slot on the faction you’re playing, a good ping, etc.), or we’ll just let you play completely by yourself with no one else getting in except people you invite.
Also, on PC, for players who prefer the old school way of doing things, there’ll be traditional browsers to search for your favorite dedicated servers.
- What sorts of weapons are in the game?
We’ve got 24 weapons in the game, spread across four weapon classes: Heavy (really big guns like HMGs, rapid fire shotguns, grenade launchers etc.), Medium (your traditional assault rifles), Light (submachine guns and some short rifles) and Sidearms (semi and full auto pistols, as well as revolvers). As well, there are many different attachments you can put on those guns in various combinations to really customize your firepower potential.
- How has the mission structure changed since Quake Wars? What do you think worked well in QW, and what elements are you looking to improve? Can you give an example of the scope of one of the missions in the game? How many stages of primary objectives are there, and what types of secondary objectives can players complete?
Brink is the third full game we’ve done where we’re evolving objective-based multiplayer shooting, and it builds a lot on Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars. One of the main things we’ve focused on improving with Brink is how we communicate all the depth of our systems to players. So for example, the Objective Wheel in Brink tells you at a glance all the things you can be doing to help your team, so it’s very easy to find your way around, even if you’ve never played the game before. The Wheel also makes suggestions about what would be the best possible thing to do at that moment in time, even if that means changing your kit to another.
Most missions have at least two to three primary objectives that must be completed by the attacking team. For secondary missions, it varies from level to level, but you’ve almost always got Command Posts to fight over, enemy intelligence to collect, shortcuts to open or close, and a few other surprises. And of course, there’s all the standard kit-specific objectives you can get. And the more kit abilities you have, the more possible objectives you unlock.
- In one sentence, describe what sets Brink apart from a market full of other post-apocalyptic shooters?
Brink gives players easy-to-use freedom of movement through the SMART system, provides depth through an innovative dynamic objective system where no two missions play alike, and merges single-player and multiplayer gaming into an entirely new experience.