Le chat IRC organisé par Ubisoft autour de Far Cry est terminé depuis quelques minutes. Étaient présents un community manager d’Ubisoft (qui s’est chargé de trier les questions) et 3 membres de Crytek, le développeur du jeu : Cevat Yerli, PDG et co-fondateur de Crytek, Faruk Yerli, vice-président et co-fondateur du studio, et Christopher Natsuume, producteur de Far Cry.
Dans l’ensemble, la discussion était plutôt inintéressante et assez molle, répétant souvent des informations connues depuis longtemps, voire disponibles directement sur le site officiel. Les seules vraies informations tournent autour des capacités de l’éditeur de maps et des possibilités de modding du jeu. Crytek recommande d’ailleurs aux développeurs de mods souhaitant se tourner vers Far Cry de les contacter à l’adresse email suivante : [email protected].
Pour les amateurs et les courageux, l’intégralité de la discussion, légèrement éditée pour être plus lisible, se trouve ci-dessous :[–SUITE–]
[19:01:30] Hello and welcome to today’s Far Cry chat !
[19:01:34] My name is Thunak, I’m the UK Community Manager in charge of the english-speaking community.
[19:01:43] Thanks for joining us. Our guests this evening are:
[19:01:59] Cevat Yerli: President & CEO of Crytek
[19:02:46] Faruk Yerli: Crytek’s Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
[19:03:03] Christopher Natsuume: Lead Producer on Far Cry
[19:03:32] Thanks for taking the time to be with us guys.
[19:03:55] Thanks you, its our pleasure!
[19:04:16] Let’s begin, then. The session will be moderated: only the Crytek team and I may post.
[19:04:25] This is how we’ll proceed: you may send your questions only to me and I will relay them. Please do not send them directly to the Crytek team, they will only answer to mine. To send me a question double-click on my nick (Thunak) on the right hand column and a new window will open in which we may chat.
[19:04:46] We will then choose the questions according to their interest and relevance. Please remember this chat is exclusively dedicated to Far Cry. We will not answer questions not related to this game.
[19:05:01] We will post a full transcript of the chat on the official Far Cy site, http://www.farcry-thegame.com and on the boards ASAP.
[19:05:18] Here we go! [19:05:38] (robak): How many levels in the game?
[19:06:16] There are 20 levels in the single player game and 11 in the multiplayer game.
[19:07:21] Sorry – 12 MP levels. [19:06:53] ([Matt]): What does the development team make of the comparisons between some of the creatures in doom 3 and far Cry’s trigens?
[19:09:13] We try not to compare ourselves to other games too much, actually. We think that our mutants are strong characters, and with our polybump technology, we think they look pretty cool. [19:10:04] (Deltus): How many species of Mutant Are in the farcry single player senario? thank you
[19:11:09] There are about 6 kinds of trigen.//
[19:11:33] They each have their own special abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.// [19:11:24] (Craig): Please can you describe FAR CRY for anyone unfortunate enough to have never heard of it?
[19:12:31] Far Cry is a first person shooter placed on tropical island…
[19:13:15] with advanced ai-tactics, a cool-story, long-range gameplay, next-gen physics… and in general is the first truely next generation first person shooter! [19:14:10] (flexible): What is the final list of driveable vehicles in the game?
[19:15:01] We have an inflatable raft, a buggy, a 4WD vehicle, a big truck, a patrol boat, and a hang-glider.// [19:15:17] (pB^RaZzer): Have anymore weapons been implemented in to te full version? ty
[19:16:13] of course! The demos only had a few of the selection of weapons available in the full game.// [19:16:25] ([BoB]Cynix): Are the demos representative of the final game’s performance?
[19:17:17] We optimized the engine and debugged it thoroughly since the January Demo quite much. So in general it means no, the game runs better, smoother and is even more scaleable (e.g configurable)// [19:18:21] (Neville): In the final game, how does the transition between one level to the next work?
[19:19:19] each level has an individual load. usually there is a cutscene or other information-giving device at the end of a level or the beginning of the next to let you know what is going to happen.// [19:19:35] ([solidedie]|BEL|): What mods do you think will there be ?
[19:20:01] We already have something like 20+ mods in development we know of….
[19:20:36] we definitely want them to contact us under [email protected] for their descriptions…
[19:21:07] we expect top-multiplayer mods from what we have seen from the community already now// [19:21:18] (Robert_team_Makiavel): Since how long do you guys work on FarCry ?
[19:21:41] Since 3.5 years // [19:22:03] ([DDS]Terminator): How many hours will the gameplay last in singleplayer?
[19:22:44] We will have 15-25 hours // [19:22:57] (_Charnel_): Hi there! What main issues have been focused on since the realise of the first demo?
[19:23:45] Mainly AI-Bugfixing, framerate optimizations, some grapihcs glitches!// [19:24:56] (FireManZ): What is the max player count on a map?
[19:25:37] On MP? Then 32 is our maximum reccomended players.// [19:25:51] (Kraudi): who had the idea to develope Farcry?in which year was this?
[19:26:42] It was me, after i had a nice vacation at the maledives (a nice tropical island)…
[19:26:49] i thought it would be cool to kill people now…
[19:27:05] just kidding, it was a cool scenario! //
[19:27:15] (he hasn’t had a vacation since then…) [19:28:13] ([JPMod]WillyWerkel): Are there many easter eggs in the final game?
[19:28:46] Yes there are 🙂 Find them! // [19:29:26] (Bobba): How many Multiplayermodes will be in the Game?
[19:30:10] Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Assault.// [19:30:34] (FCHQ|Sascha): Which features or plans (just sum them up a bit), you wanted to integrate into the game, couldn’t make it into the full version?
[19:31:35] There werent really a feature which did not make into the game which we really wanted. All wanted features are in! //
[19:31:46] Luckily! // [19:31:51] (Delphino): Will the mapeditor be included with the game ?
[19:32:14] Yes [19:32:54] (CryGuy): will there be tutorials or documentation for the Sandbox editor?
[19:33:32] Yes we have shipped on the DVD/CD an extensive document 120+ pages! [19:34:28] (dave-): [17:59:56] question 3: what did crytek/ubi learn from the multiplayer beta test they conducted and would they do it differently in future?
[19:35:34] Taking more time for the test-period…we should have started earlier. We improved since then lag alot! // [19:35:50] (Shask): How Did u comeup with the name FarCry??
[19:36:39] It was a collaboration between Crytek and Ubisoft. Far Cry stands for being different, being long range pain, being away from home..it was the perfect choice! // [19:37:17] (StreetRider): Far Cry is a FPS… why did you choose for this type of game? Didn’t you have a different type of game in mind?
[19:38:16] We take the chance to work on a FPS because its the most difficult genre…and we belive we can take challenges pretty good. At least at that we were inexperienced and fearless 🙂 which contributed to this fact! // [19:38:46] (K-X|semLa): what were the last thing you worked with on the game? for these last months.
[19:39:17] We spent a lot of time polishing and testing…
[19:40:17] Making sure that everything worked well, no matter how you played it. We had to make sure that all of the different things a player could do in all of the levels were supported, and this meant a lot of testing. Luckily, we have great testers here, and at Ubisoft.// [19:40:48] ([_UbiMod_Germany]PhilFalk): How many people worked on FarCry?
[19:41:52] It was more then hundred…
[19:42:07] including ubisoft, crytek…but during the development…
[19:42:14] it was in average 45! // [19:42:38] (LSTAR): why did you remove the dinosaurs????
[19:43:16] because they didn’t not work with the kind of gameplay that we wanted.// [19:43:37] (Craig): How do you think FAR CRY stands up to the big hitters this year, such as Deus Ex: Invisible War (certainly for Europe), Doom 3 and Half Life 2?
[19:44:20] First of all the question should be send to Doom 3 and Half-Life2…its even not sure when they will release. Second…
[19:44:45] for us we focused on making the best possible shooter…
[19:45:00] and not the best competitor! So all in all we think it will be a good showdown! 🙂 // [19:45:13] (Jack_Carver): Which of you is the best Far Cry player?
[19:45:58] Cevat. But the testers here can kick just about anyone’s butt.//
[19:46:14] including Chris´ butt [19:46:52] (Cerpin): Will the game still retain its tactical elements later on when you encouter the trigens?
[19:47:53] Yes – of course. But it will require different strategies, as the trigens themselves will use different strategies.// [19:48:00] (War_Lock): Did Crytek Make the Polybump Technology?
[19:48:40] Yes we did this late 2000 and since then improved it drastically ! // [19:49:26] (DarkSkies): will fc have destroyable lighting? shoot them once they move, shoot the multiple times the light goes out
[19:50:32] We did not implement it for the gameplay..but technically it can be done. So a modder could do it! For Far Cry it would have not make a gameplay difference really ! // [19:51:02] (moddb|ShortCutMan): The modding capabilities of FarCry definatly look amazing, did you look at what current games have to get some ideas of how your tools should be?
[19:52:07] Yes, but our innovation and improvements on the Editor mainly came due to our own needs and we kept always in mind that we will release this to the public. Our key was to be able to design our game faster, hence our game being the first true next generation FPS ! // [19:52:35] ([JPMod]WillyWerkel): Will all of you play Far Cry on official servers in the internet sometimes?
[19:53:16] Of course, from time to time you will find them // [19:53:27] (JavaDuck): Have you tried any of the mods for the demo of far cry? If yes, what do you think of them.
[19:54:32] I really liked the CryModification Versions and i had a lot of laugh with the SharkMod! 🙂 //
[19:54:47] I want to add that mony of the team here comes from the mod community, so we are especially happy to see the activity in the mod community for our game.// [19:55:06] (Tankshell|Work): What are the developers favourite levels of the game?
[19:56:13] I like them all, actually. But I especially like the ones where I can drive the boats. Other guys on the team have other preferences, like indoor-heavy levels, or levels where the jungle is thicker.// [19:56:43] (planet`farcry`de|eviLdz): 2. Could you imagine to take part in a tournament where other clans can fight with your team in the mp? Thanks.
[19:57:29] This would be very interesting to see. I am sure we will have a Crytek Clan for Far Cry //
[19:58:11] Our testers will destroy you. Fear them.// [19:58:11] (Marine2160): Will there be a built in 3rd person mode for use with vehicles?
[19:58:25] Yes it will be! // [19:59:14] ([BoB]Cynix): Will you be able to play as a mutant in single or multiplayer?
[19:59:18] No. //
[19:59:47] Make a mod. Please. I want to play it… :)//
[20:00:01] 🙂 [20:00:08] (FPDC|xezon): are they any limitations in the modding possibilities?
[20:01:20] Yes, you cannot make flightsimulators and change technology e.g. graphics, ai, sound…but you can « modify » some shaders, ai-scripts and logic. Other then that…
[20:01:59] you can create pretty much any type of mod ever created for any other shooter and in addition make e.g. jump and runs oder fighting games! // [20:02:11] (Monger): Who is Jack Carver? 🙂 I guess you took someone to capture his movements and his face animations.
[20:02:53] He is someone we made up. There was no reference for him – he was concepted by our concept team…
[20:03:26] When we motion captured him, we used Michael Khaimzon, the Lead Artist – so maybe it is partly him? // [20:03:53] (FCHQ|mehrtuerer): du you like the fansites and the community ?
[20:04:35] We love them. Nothing makes us happier than seeing people playing and enjoying our game. It is why we do this!//
[20:04:41] Yes its awesome to see so much activity, we did not expect this. We are very pleased to see such positive feedback! // [20:04:59] (Lyxatros): Is it possible to create maps without sea, perhaps a large desert map? Thank you
[20:05:31] Absolutely.// [20:05:48] (Yakuza): will the editor support water falls
[20:06:08] Absolutely. They are in the game!// [20:06:25] (Yakuza): how is polybump used
[20:07:15] We used polybump for characters, environmental objects…but you could also use it for trees, rocks, weapons and pretty much everything! // [20:07:36] (Blaubarsc): waht must we do on assault??
20:08:23] The attacker must capture a number of spots. The defender must stop them. They have a certian amount of tiome to do it in.// [20:08:35] (Geo): How many characters are selecteble in MP?
[20:09:37] about 5. But the mod community will make many, many more very, very soon…. ;)// [20:09:50] (Jaykob): Where is crytek in germany and is it possible to make a « praktikum (german) » in you’re company?
[20:10:34] the City is called Coburg
[20:10:53] it depends on your qualification
[20:11:06] for talented people we offer //
[20:11:40] For those not from Germany, Coburg is in northern Bavaria, about 1.5 hours from Nurnburg. It is a really nice little town of about 50,000 people.// [20:11:48] (Alca_): Does the enemies have different intelligens beside different weapons, so you have to be more strategic when fighting them?
[20:12:59] Yes! Some are @scouts@ meaning they try rto surround you, others ate @covers@ which make cover fire for the other ones. Snipers stay in the back and uses sniper rifles, and @rear guards@ hang back and use grenades and cover fire tactics…
[20:13:26] you will learn to recognize who is who in the game, and plan your attacks accordingly.// [20:13:58] (EP): About how long does it take to create a moderately-sized MP map from scratch, using the sandbox editor?
[20:14:21] depends on how goood the map is…
[20:15:26] you can make *something* in less than an hour. Better maps will take a few days, or even weeks, depending on how much you want to tune, play, and test them.// [20:15:34] (Kraudi): are it easy for a people to make a Farcry Level with the Map editor?
[20:16:49] yes. people new to our team from the mod community learned in jurt a few days.
[20:17:16] most people have been very pleased with the ease of the editor, and the freedom they have, especially with large outdoor maps.// [20:17:46] (Delphino): What will be the minimum and maximum system requirements for playing the game ?
[20:18:58] Min: P3/1000 GF2/64MB or ATI Radeon 8500…Max: as more as better ! 🙂 //
[20:18:58] Min: with 256 MB RAM! [20:19:25] (Barf[kigatookunatta]): I would like to ask : Can we add big MAYA/3DSMax objects into the sandbox editor such as a complete building several stories high
[20:20:20] 3DS Max – yes, absolutely. That is how we created some of the objects in our game. Maya we support at a beta stage.
[20:21:08] But as for size of objects, you can add extremely large or small objects – whatever is easier for you.
[20:21:46] We built most of the world with medium sized objects we pasted together, called GLM’s. They are included in the editor for you to play with.// [20:21:08] (razon): during the development you heard about special effects like the flash wenn you come from indoor to outdoor you! Are they still in the game?
[20:21:55] Yes the eye-adaption effect is still in the game. You have to enable special effects though. // [20:22:17] (Trinitow): Stay the reflections in the scope of the rifle??
[20:22:35] In high spec, yes.// [20:23:11] (FCHQ|Sascha): Will the player be able to explore the whole islands or will there be frontiers with deadly helicopters like there are in the demo?
[20:24:10] We couldn’t buiold the entire world, so there are some limitations, but in the game, the rule is @if it looks like you can go ther, you can@ – so if you see somewhere cool to go, you can try to get there.// [20:24:28] (Djos): is the Island of cabatu exist really ? or did you imagine it ?
[20:25:14] We made it up. But we took the name from a map of Polynesia. We have no idea what it is like – we haven’t been there. Yet.// [20:25:29] ([Navy_seals-dev]pzyco): can u make drivable z-axis vehicles (like planes and chopers) in mods ?
[20:25:59] Yes of course! // [20:26:05] ([Tg]Fox): Are you also able to built indoor level with the editor?
[20:26:30] Yes! We built all of our indoor levels with it.// [20:26:48] (Jack_Carver): What will you guys do to celebrate the day Far Cry goes on sale?
[20:27:17] sleep. finally.
[20:27:41] We will party next week in Coburg somewhere 🙂 //
[20:28:35] Chris will sleep, we will party! // [20:28:30] (LankkuAke): Will the mercenaries take as much damage in the full version as in the demo? Can this be changed somehow?
[20:29:44] Yes – it is about the same. Of course you can always alter the difficulty level, but that does not change the health of the enemies, but it will change their agression and accuracy.// [20:30:34] (MurDoc): Will we be able to make some custom tools/plug-ins for the editor?
[20:31:26] Not initially, but we will see to expand the editor capabilities on this. If you will need special features, you should write to us an email to [email protected] and we will see how to accomodate! // [20:31:50] I guess that’s it then. Thank s for taking the time to answer our questions.
[20:32:22] Thanks everyone!
[20:32:28] thanks to all of you beeing here today
[20:32:28] * ZeeDD has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
[20:32:32] Thanks its our pleasure. We enjoyed it alot! Thanks for all the chatters to join this! //
[20:32:54] We will post a full transcript of the chat on the official Far Cy site, http://www.farcry-thegame.com and on the boards ASAP.
