Battlefield 2 Demo Chat with DICE

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Where: #battlefield2 on QuakeNet
When: 2005-06-14 at 18:00 - 19:45 (GMT)
What: dev-chat with James Salt, Associate Producer/Designer of BF2

Trivia stats
User peak: 4566 users
Questions asked: 2551
Questions answered: 58
Questions per second: ~0.4
Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes

===================================================================

[Updated, see end]

Very welcome to the dev-chat with Dice, James Salt the Associate
Producer/Designer of BF2
will be answering your questions.

eLite|VeePee asked: is there a large potential for mods :O ;):)
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: There is a large potential for the mod
community. We spent a lot of time working with the tools to make them
easier to use. You will be able to affect much more about how the game
plays by using the python scripting we have added.

kevins asked: Will there be any changes in the speed of the menu GUI?
BF1's Multiplayer serverlist has been very slow compared to e.g. Steam
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We are currently working on a fix for the server
browser speed you see in the demo. This will not be like this in the
full game.

tSh|CodeRed asked: Why are no GeForce4-Cards supported?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Sadly the GF4 does not support Pixel Shader 2,
which we need to make the game look as good as good as possible.

a2a]Triple_D asked: How many maps will there be included in the full
release ?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: There are 12 maps in the final game. Each with 3
different size configurations.

rushed|dbj asked: will there be Mod support in the game like in BF1942?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: There are a great many MODs in development right
now. The new tools for modding BF2 are the same that we used to make the
game. So there is very little you wont be able to do. Especially with
the ability to modify the way the game actually plays, using the Python
scripts we have added.

S8|Metalmeniac asked: will there be enough support (patches) ???
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We will continue to support the game, as we did
with BFV and BF42, after release. With things like patches and content
updates.

XsT]Sniperx[ asked: when comes the demo Linux server edition?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: There is one due very soon

FiRe7WoRK asked: Is it possible to add own custom commands to the handy
'commands menu' in the middle of the screen (or change them) ?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Sadly its not. But it sounds like a good idea!

Sperminator asked: why linux sux :p bleh
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Sadly the demo Linux server that was released,
was only put onto the site accidentally. The real demo server will be
along soon.

Seti asked: Have you taken steps to prevent people from using cheats,
for instance implemented anti-cheating software?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: There are several systems in place to deal with
cheating.

inx|stephen asked: With battlefield 1942 & Battlefield Vietnam being
such straight forward first person shooter games - and successful ones
at that; why did you feel it necessary to involve such a strategic
gameplay within Battlefield 2?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: The simple shooting fun is still in there. Only
we now have added more depth, so you can play in different ways. Squads
was something i wish BF1942 had.

Sampyla asked: Will there be any urban map types?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: YEP!, some of my favourite maps are the urban
ones like Strike at Karkand.

nacht asked: what scripting language / engine do you use in the game? do
you think a common scripting engine for example included in dx would be
benefitful? what do you think about lua in this regard...
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We have a scripting language in BF2, Python.
This controls how the game works in quite a large way, for example you
can alter the way spawn points work. There will be some documentation
released on this in the future for those of you that are interested in
making MOD's

Peris asked: There is a big usability problem with setting up controls,
it's really hard to properly assign keys because you have to replace the
key's it's assigned too first.. are there any plans to make this more
straightforward like just switching the keys when you assign them?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: This is because, even though the key in the
front end is not bound to anything, it is in the controls.con file.
Today we were working on fixing this.

K1nt4ro asked: One good reason to buy BF2 instead of 42/vietnam for
about half the price? :p
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Squads, Much better visuals, Commander, Built in
VoIP, Demo Recorder, Online Ranking & Medals . . .

sCa|Kami asked: why are the anti air capabilities in the game so
ineffective vs jets?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Its a timing thing. Try and shoot as they fly
away from you. Try not to shoot at a sever angle, or the missile will
loose its lock. Also try and make the pilot use their flares before you
fire. Hope that helps.

uK|Peanuts asked: Surely up to 32 people using their microphones at the
same time would cause a problem? What measures do you have on countering
mic spam?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: You cant talk to all 32 people for that reason.
You can talk to your squad, and if you are the Squad Leader you can talk
to the Commander.

Seba|^w0rk asked: will the ingamebrowser be "usable" because right now,
scrolling is "not really" possible..
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes, the full version of the game will not have
this problem

CrazyAnt asked: Not so much as a question, but a suggestion. I'd love to
see the commander to be able to assign players to squads. This would be
a very hand feature, esp. on public servers where people seem to be
rather hesitant to join squads.
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: As a Squad Leader you can invite people to your
squad using the MANAGE tab on the SQUAD screen.

Strider asked: Is Voip enabled in BF2 Demo? It seems not.
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: VoIP is included in the demo. You can have the
game server run it, or the seperate VoIP server which is also included
with the Demo. It is up to the server admin to enable VoiP for that
server. Sevrers running VoiP have headset icon next to them in the
server browser. To use VoiP you need to be in a squad and press 'B' to
talk to your squad mates. Hope thats helpful

String asked: Given the come and go nature of game servers do you think
there could be an issue with commandos dropping out or doing nothing and
thereby preventing "normal" gameplay regarding supplies etc? In other
words, if a commander isnt effective is it still possible to play the
game on that team perfectly OK like 1942 or bfv?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: You can always start a Mutiny vote to get rid of
them

I^want^voice^pl asked: i'm commander; how can i show the "commander-screen"?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Press the CAPS LOCK key when you are the
Commander to see the Commander interface. Help will take over from there
and let you know about all the functions on that screen.

INTENSITY-FTZ asked: why the demo isn't working with ati cards like
X800PRO (mine)
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: I have an x800 and it works fine for me, are
your drivers up to date?

nacht asked: what games other than bf do you play at the moment :)?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Recently the team has been here at lot working
on finishing the final game, and then the demo. So i havent had much
chance to play any games other than BF2.

Strider asked: Is the game engine totally rewritten? I like the new
engine very much because of the gun physics and the hitboxes on the
characters. Sniping is much more fun now :) (as is the rest of BF2 of
course)
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes this is a totally new engine. Its taken a
lot of work, but we think it is great improvment.

valued-tom asked: Is it true there is a trajectory decay on bullets, and
is there a maximum range the bullets can travel from the sniper rifle?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes. Bullets do not just fly in a straight line
in BF2.

Steve|wfh asked: Will the retail version have the driver check removed
as its annoying for users that cant upgrade but it runs fine ( Nvidia
6600GT driver 66.93 )
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: The driver check will still be there. However Im
sure there will be some new drivers along very soon. And its always a
good idea to have the latest drivers, right?

Foxst0r asked: will the multiplayer accounts being used for Demo play be
deleted when the retail version is released?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Nope, you can keep your current nick. And you'll
be able to get stats and awards too.

FoeCuz^BF2 asked: Will 128players be the max on servers or 64? Or will
it be nore than 128?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We only support up to 64 players. But due to the
flexible nature of the way the game is made, you can make it use more.

Mook asked: Are you going to expand on the orig 12 maps? Because thats
not a great number for a game thats gonna cost ~£30
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: As with the previous BF games, we will continue
to support the game after it is realesed, with things like updates and
new content.

[saft]netrex asked: I tried looking around, but couldn't find out how
tochange my nick. Is this possible?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: You can have as many nicks as you like, but you
need to register them with a different email address.

Taleman asked: Will caught cheaters get their accounts revoked and stats
set to null?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We have worked hard to make it difficult to
cheat when playing on a ranked server. We will be monitoring how things
go closely and taking action where we need to.

Picsel asked: How much people is working on this game?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: At one time there would have been around 170
people on the game, including a large team of QA.

nekzu^ asked: Will there be a console function inte the game?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yep there are console commands, as in the
previous BF games. Check the ReadMe for a list of them, and how they work.

Antr4ks asked: i tried to register with my real email address. why i
wasnt accepted?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: If your email address is already associated with
a GameSpy account, you will need to register in BF2 using the same
password as you use for GameSpy

craterboy asked: is there BF2 version for X-box (microsoft) / PS2 /
gamecube ?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Soon there will be Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
on those consoles

eyeliquid asked: are we going to be able to jump with the c4 like the
tnt in bf42?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: With Friendly Fire off, sure!

[storm]sty` asked: do you guys think of clans when u are making games
are just pub servers?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We go for a balance of both. We know clans are
important and had serveral in to give feedback during development. But
we also want the game to be accessible to new players and those not so
familiar with FPS. Its a tricky balance, but i think we have got it
about right.

[Storm]Phados asked: Can you login with your gamespy ID too?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes, you can create an account using the email
address associated with your GameSpy account and password

gijackdaniels asked: Do you ever just get drunk off your butt and play?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: No. I dont drink alcohol.

Svenska asked: How many people were involved during programming?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: I think there was roughly 35 programmers involved.

Hauk asked: How come games like HL2, FarCry, Doom3 and so on run
perfectly on GF4 TI cards, but not BF2? The graphics is not superior to
the ones in those games. How much did Nvidia pay you?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We needed to take advantage of the features in
Pixel Shader 2.0, sadly the cards you mentioned do not support this.

Hybridbe asked: Wich graphics engine is BF 2 going to use ?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: BF2 uses an engine we developed at the studio
here in Stockholm.

LoDs|NomadSoul asked: can we find some eastereggs in BF2 ?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: If you look hard enough ;)

Kurmeloinen asked: You should do it easier to kill enemy, i mean, you
have to shoot half of magazine to eliminate somebody.
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: You have better accuracy when crouched or prone.
If you move around, you'll not be as accurate. So, obviously, less
bullets will hit.

Trojan` asked: Can the game be played on a LAN without having the
internet to make an account?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes, you can. Just create an Offline Account.

koe|dilbnc asked: why doesnt have the MEC a chopper like the black hawk?
for passenger movement?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: The MEC do have a Transport Helo like the
BlackHawk, its just not on the Gulf Of Oman map.

Zinfer asked: Helicopters are too difficult. Are you going to improve
their ease of flight physics?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yea, at first i thought that too. Stick with it
and you'll be fine in no time. Just takes a bit of practice.

Slick asked: Any thought to making a more obvious announcment of when
you have killed someone. Other FPS have an announcment in the middle of
the screen
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We tried that space, but it felt annoying when
you were trying to shoot someone else and the text was in the way.

mrfrenzy asked: How will the updates be distributed? Will it be possible
to distribute them offline on Lan partys or do you have something
similar to steam in mind?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: For BF2 updates will be distributed in the same
way as hte previous games.

Marburg asked: ad. Kurmeloinen question --- but even when prone you have
to shoot few times to kill, plus the sniper is very bad done - 3 or even
4 shots kills - thats horrible
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: The MEC sniper has an automatic reload, so is
able to fire off more shots. The M24 is a 1 shot kill (if you hit in the
right place) as it is bolt action.

Butagaz asked: Did you had a miltary advisor for BF2 ?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes. Our Executive Producer was also in the US
Military for several years.

Monty_ asked: I wished that my soldiers can rope itself out of my Black
Hawk :)
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We tried this one in one of the Trauma prototye
builds. I know it sounds like a lot of fun, but from a gameplay point of
view it didnt really work out.

redphil asked: Why is the acceleration of the jet-fighters so badly?
e.g. in dc I could fly low over the ground, and when there's an obstacle
I easily accelerate and go off. In bf2 I crush into the obstacle.
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Have you found the afterburner key (SHIFT)? If
you use it in time to can accelerate much more quickly.

TB|Dysterrrr asked: will the US weapons be made better in the future? it
is very hard to kill a guy with an AK when he can hold the trigger, but
you have to burst, and he even kills in 1 shot
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: The M16A2 may only fire single and burst mode,
like in reality, but it does more damage with those three bullets than
the AK.

DRz_CL0WN asked: I've read that you'll get better equipment or stuff
like that when you increase your rank. If it's true, won't that make it
hard for new players to come into the game without beeing killed all the
time?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yoyu get different equipment really, not better.

netscout asked: Why there are no blood effects in the game?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: We had to take the blood out so we wouldnt get
an adult rating.

orrefan asked: is it possible to get a a falling piece of an helicopter
in the head and die?
[DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes, it happened to me today.

K0iN: thanks all and a big thank you to James Salt that did a great job
answering your questions
froo: again, thanks for attending and MANY thanks to James Salt of Dice

----

James Salt asked us to update the log with the following information:

"I gave a half right / half wrong answer about the GF4 cards not
working. I said it was because we needed Shader 2.0, but actually we
only support Shader 1.4. So the reason was right, but the Shader
number was wrong."
 

Nonymous

Distinguished
May 27, 2004
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Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

> Seba|^w0rk asked: will the ingamebrowser be "usable" because right now,
> scrolling is "not really" possible..
> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes, the full version of the game will not have
> this problem

I'm going to pray to gods I don't believe in that this is true.

> Strider asked: Is the game engine totally rewritten? I like the new engine
> very much because of the gun physics and the hitboxes on the characters.
> Sniping is much more fun now :) ...

Sniping is more fun? It this guy on crack?


> valued-tom asked: Is it true there is a trajectory decay on bullets, and
> is there a maximum range the bullets can travel from the sniper rifle?
> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes. Bullets do not just fly in a straight line in
> BF2.

Nice to see this confirmed. Snipers take note.


> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: We only support up to 64 players. But due to the
> flexible nature of the way the game is made, you can make it use more.


> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: You can have as many nicks as you like, but you
> need to register them with a different email address.

I thought the Community Update a few days ago said you could have multiple
nicks associate with one account, but that each nick would be a separate
'profile', i.e., would have it's own control/video/audio/etc. settings.


> craterboy asked: is there BF2 version for X-box (microsoft) / PS2 /
> gamecube ?

Boy, with some of these questions, it's like these people living on another
planet. I'd think if you were interested enough to attend this chat, and
were interested in a console version, then you'd already have seen the
answer to this which is all over the 'net.


> TB|Dysterrrr asked: will the US weapons be made better in the future? it
> is very hard to kill a guy with an AK when he can hold the trigger, but
> you have to burst, and he even kills in 1 shot
> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: The M16A2 may only fire single and burst mode,
> like in reality, but it does more damage with those three bullets than the
> AK.

In other words, "quit spraying and praying and learn to aim". I like it
better at medium/far range, but at very close range, the spray&pray of the
AK will beat the M16A2 almost every time.
 
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x-no-archive: yes

Jamie_Manic wrote:

<snip>

i would have loved to ask a question to the dice folks...
why they accepted being bought by big monopolistic ea when they
could have stayed independent and free like id software and epic
are so they could have control over there destiny and the games
they develop

--
post made in a steam-free computer
i said "NO" to valve and steam
 
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On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 19:48:28 -0400, "Nonymous" <noham@nospam.com>
wrote:

>
>> TB|Dysterrrr asked: will the US weapons be made better in the future? it
>> is very hard to kill a guy with an AK when he can hold the trigger, but
>> you have to burst, and he even kills in 1 shot
>> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: The M16A2 may only fire single and burst mode,
>> like in reality, but it does more damage with those three bullets than the
>> AK.
>
>In other words, "quit spraying and praying and learn to aim". I like it
>better at medium/far range, but at very close range, the spray&pray of the
>AK will beat the M16A2 almost every time.
>

In the BF2 demo, aiming properly on a head-shot often fails to drop a
guy when the shooter is standing up. Planned-yes; the aim is far more
accurate in the lower positions. Maybe the BF2 crew should have
added a bit of visible waver to the aim in the standing position.

John Lewis
>
 
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In article <m_2dnYQ634jMIy3fRVn-uA@giganews.com>,
Nonymous <noham@nospam.com> wrote:
#> valued-tom asked: Is it true there is a trajectory decay on bullets, and
#> is there a maximum range the bullets can travel from the sniper rifle?
#> [DICE]Sanosuke answers: Yes. Bullets do not just fly in a straight line in
#> BF2.
#
#Nice to see this confirmed. Snipers take note.

It's about time! This is my gripe with just about every FPS with a
sniper rifle, shoots flat to infinity.

Now, I gotta check this game out. I just hope they modeled bullet splashes
and recoil right, so you need a spotter to see where the miss went, and
then he can tell you which way to adjust...

Ken.
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