Developers answering questions [Archive]

happycat

08-26-2006, 02:01 PM

First, I'd like to personally thank you guys, on behalf of the Unreal community, for opening up an official Ut2007 forum. We've been dying to have one for the longest time.

Now, understandably, this forum is one closer method of communication we have with the developers responsible for this game, so I was wondering, if we were to create a thread full of questions pertaining to pretty much anything UT2007, would you, the developers, be willing to answer those questions as far as your non-disclosure agreements permit?

Meledictum

08-26-2006, 03:56 PM

So? Bethesda regularly did fan interviews through the forums during the making of Oblivion.

However, to OP: Epic will never do such a thing, because they are far too arrogant to ever even consider it.

Too arrogant?! Maybe they just know what they are doing and they don't need help of fans? Anyway, i don't even want to ask questions about the game, because i know, that the quality of UT2007 will be as high as it possible - just like the quality of UT2004 and UT'99. :P The only thing that i'm wondering about are the minimum sys requirements. I don't know what i will do if new UT won't run on my PC. :[

elmuerte

08-26-2006, 04:48 PM

So? Bethesda regularly did fan interviews through the forums during the making of Oblivion.
I played Oblivion and I think they could have better spend that time on the creation of the game.

FliccC

08-26-2006, 05:54 PM

I played Oblivion and I think they could have better spend that time on the creation of the game.

lol WORD! :D

Flak

08-26-2006, 06:17 PM

Epic will never do such a thing, because they are far too arrogant to ever even consider it.

You're kidding right?

http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35493
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35495
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35497
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35501

Flak

08-26-2006, 06:24 PM

Cliffyb, Joegraf, Rod Fergusson, Mark Rein.

:)

Wowbagger

08-26-2006, 06:29 PM

Meledictum

08-26-2006, 06:32 PM

Flak is right, sometimes Epic actually answers our questions.
But mostly theyre very evasive and careful what they say.

I have come to the conclusion that Epic isnt evil ;) they just dont want to end up hearing "OMFG, CliffyB, you PROMISED 12 Months ago on the forums that the RocketLauncer would be yellow not RED!"

Yeah, or something like "you promised that the rockets will fly with 1323 UU/per second, but they are flying with 1324UU per second!" ;).
And maybe they just want to focus on work. :P

Kronos

08-26-2006, 06:36 PM

So? Bethesda regularly did fan interviews through the forums during the making of Oblivion.

However, to OP: Epic will never do such a thing, because they are far too arrogant to ever even consider it.

Oblivion was great for awhile but it lacked so much. Oblivion sufferd poorly in my opinion. It's interface was to much console like on the PC, The ending was kinda gay cuz u dont even getta kill the boss, instead the other dude does(spoiler sorry). The fighting was super clunky just as it always is with Bethesda games. All the AI characters had the same or close to the same voices which got annoying as hell. The game seemed to lack alot as far as performance optimization, the caverns sucked(they all looked the same).
If bethesda listened to the fans it was obvious that the fans were lacking thoughts also.

GuntiNDDS

08-26-2006, 06:56 PM

maybe it would be helpfull to have some actual questions before asking for answeres :D

iron12

08-26-2006, 07:20 PM

If they are still working on the game what good is it to have them in here answering questions when they will have to come back with I don’t know we are still working on it. I don’t know a final decision hasn’t been made yet. That won’t be very productive. Then everybody will be disappointed because they didn’t answer their question they way they wanted. Also don’t you want to be surprised just a little bit? Why find out everything before you get the game. I hope they keep some secrets that I can find out while I’m playing the game.

Slaughter

08-27-2006, 06:24 AM

^ Yeah that.

While it is great when devs respond now and then to things posted; anyone who has been around the forums long enough has seen so many people starting threads with "EPIC PLZ READ"/"Hey EPIC...", etc. in the subject in hopes that their question gets answered.

These folk work long hours and even longer when it's crunch time. I don't consider it arrogant that they don't respond very often. And when they do respond it seems like "OMG...I've got to rush to post in the same thread to see if they'll respond to me!" (i.e. they get 'mobbed").

Back in the day (the 90s?) when dev teams were much smaller than they are now, many team members would maintain .plan files (the 'blogs' of that era) related to the development process. You could see people like John Carmack commenting that he "added this variable to do that" or "changed this function" or "optimized this" in the engine and such.

But these days, developer blogs aren't just related to the game. You have to wade through what shows they are watching or what restaurant they've been to before you get a tad bit of information.

Xyx

08-27-2006, 07:12 AM

don’t you want to be surprised just a little bit?
Only pleasantly.

Magwa

08-27-2006, 10:16 AM

The only way it would work is like this ,you can post a question in the thread BUT and read this carefully,you COULD NOT post anything BUT a question to do so would be a warned post ..WHY?? bacuse it would be a nightmare for them because 99% of all the responces would a argument about their answers...SO if you wanted to have a thread where you could post a resonable question and then leave it, where IF they chose to answer it ,BUT remember if you come back and post some drivel just cause you did not like their answer..you would get a warned post and i have no idea how many you are allowed but ..you get the idea...In other words we would have to show some restraint,and maturity to have a thread like that...IMO

p2xelgen

08-27-2006, 01:31 PM

I have a question Flak although I have a feeling this one going to fall of Deaf-Ears.

Q
Will we be seeing a playable demo before 2007. ???

GuntiNDDS

08-27-2006, 01:48 PM

i doubt it. my guess is: march

Flak

08-27-2006, 04:57 PM

Not a clue p2xelgen, you'll hear it here first though. :)

Vertigo

08-28-2006, 06:41 AM

Meh, we tried to organise a fan-Q&A on BeyondUnreal forums back at the start of the year. Nothing ever came of it, despite multiple people talking to Epic and Midway about it.

epscylonb

08-28-2006, 07:32 AM

When was the last time Epic answered a direct question about an upcoming game on the forums?

Seriously though, I mean it, when?

QQ

I remember emailing Mark Rein with a question about the unreal editor before the release of UT2K3 and he emailed back.

I guess the epic people don't post here because there are too many rude and childish people posting.

UberBone

08-28-2006, 07:40 AM

Oh wow, it never stops. If you've got suggestions, tell a modder, or mod yourself - that's all you need to get your name in lights. To think that this or any other forum could be of any use whatsoever in pre-demo development is just, well, old ... and stupid.

This whole false sense of being important is exactly what leads to the
whining when the demo/game finally comes out - I always hated that.

"Give 'em an inch ... and they take a mile"

Monster w/21 Faces

08-28-2006, 07:46 AM

Indeed. Mutators are there for a reason people! Use them!

Joe Wilcox

08-28-2006, 12:13 PM

happycat

08-28-2006, 12:16 PM

Thanks for outlining that Joe.

Is there any possible idea when we can expect this kind of feedback to begin? And also, about how far along (time-frame or milestones) is the game from being completed?

Edit - and also... I just thought of this one. Is the Hoverboard isolated to specifically UW/Onslaught or will it be available in modes such as CTF as well?

Wormbo

08-28-2006, 12:21 PM

I have a question Flak although I have a feeling this one going to fall of Deaf-Ears.

Q
Will we being seeing a playable demo before 2007. ???
Mark Rein answered that question at Games Convention with a clear "No."

p2xelgen

08-28-2006, 12:31 PM

Now Epic has control of their forums I'm sure over time we will be hearing from them, from time to time. Although for now I think there content to throw us the odd bit of scraps. I want a bone... :mad: At mo there heads are hi in the clouds thinking up all kinds of cool s**t for us to be playing in 12months from now... :D

Wormbo

08-28-2006, 12:33 PM

Here ya go: 8====8 ;)

Shadowhaxor

08-28-2006, 12:45 PM

Actually, we post here quite often. You just need to look at Phil talking in the thread about Matinee. As for why don't we do fan questions, we do, just not this far out from completion. For UT2004 we had IRC chats, fan questionnaires, faqs, interviews and we were really active in the forums. But the game changes daily so what’s there today might be gone tomorrow. We do btw read almost all of the threads, even the “Epic please read” threads. We just don’t always discuss them openly.

+2 point to Wowbagger!

Exactly, when UT2004 was being worked on they did hold an IRC session with Mark Rein, CliffyB and a few others. Alot of sites and fans were in that session (including myself.).

I'm sure the closer UT2007 is to completetion, we'll get more chats / irc chats and posts.

Aldgazar

08-28-2006, 01:03 PM

Here ya go: 8====8 ;)

A "worm bow" maybe.

As to the Epic responses, it would be hard to beat the feedback and community outreach that was set by Blizzard for WOW but Epic has put out quite a few responses and more direct too. They are sometimes hard to find but are quite informative. I think it's a good thing that Epic is spending its time on working on the game more than answering every question. Also most of the questions are subject to change as the game is still far from finished seeing as a demo is not likely until next year.

p2xelgen

08-28-2006, 01:09 PM

Your be hard pressed to find a games company like Epic who are as active as they are in the community... ;)

2th

08-28-2006, 01:22 PM

Actually, we post here quite often. You just need to look at Phil talking in the thread about Matinee. As for why don't we do fan questions, we do, just not this far out from completion. For UT2004 we had IRC chats, fan questionnaires, faqs, interviews and we were really active in the forums. But the game changes daily so what’s there today might be gone tomorrow. We do btw read almost all of the threads, even the “Epic please read” threads. We just don’t always discuss them openly.

+2 point to Wowbagger!

you know we appreciate the responses but i for one have to point out the dark cloud of Joe's post. "JUST NOT THIS FAR OUT FROM COMPLETION" that makes a tear come to my eyes :(

UberBone

08-28-2006, 09:04 PM

Reverse Psychology eh ... works every time :p

I know a Bone when I see one, some might see worms, or bows, I see a Bone ;)

Aldgazar

08-29-2006, 10:47 PM

I completely overlooked the connection with the previous post. Figures that the person who points it out to us is UberBone.

-VT-

08-29-2006, 11:48 PM

epic doesn't answer fans' questions, huh? doesn't anybody remember the interview at E3 2006 between two of BU's staff (sorry can't remember their names) and Steve Polge? that has to be the most informative interview regarding UT2007 to date.

(for the few that don't know, BU = BeyondUnreal)

here's a link to it if you haven't seen it/wanna see it again:

http://download.beyondunreal.com/fileworks.php/demos/beyondunreal_polgeinterview_e32006.mp4

palash

08-30-2006, 07:46 AM

I have come to the conclusion that Epic isnt evil ;) they just dont want to end up hearing "OMFG, CliffyB, you PROMISED 12 Months ago on the forums that the RocketLauncer would be yellow not RED!"

baaah not a problem, someone promised a last Duke Nukem version 12 years ago :D

Aldgazar

08-31-2006, 08:17 PM

Did you hear happened to their team. Some of their key members left to work on Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway over at Gearbox. But they're still trying to get the game done.:rolleyes: Their exec says "Physics and animation systems are virtually finished and shippable. It's simply maintenance and polish from here on out." I doubt we'll see the game soon anyway.:p

jjensson

09-01-2006, 07:33 PM

You're kidding right?

http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35493
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35495
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35497
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/search.php?searchid=35501

Oh, great! "Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms."

TortiseTank MK6

09-02-2006, 03:04 PM

drak0n

09-02-2006, 08:30 PM

I have one question? If you can answer I'll be happy if you can't OH WELL.

Q
What is the file based system for ut2007 and is there going to be a program to make custom content just like the UT2004 second DVD with VTMs? Or you going to have a plugin for progams that modders are using right now?

edit
When I mean file system I mean like UTX, UKX, and all the others.
Don't know what the new file extensions are, but yes they are shipping Unreal Editor with the retail version just like previous games. 3DBuzz (the creators of the Unreal VTMs) are also making content for the new engine, including 2 books.

UnrealGrrl

10-10-2006, 09:24 PM

Epic answers more questions and keeps in contact more with the community directly (via forums, chats and in person) than any other developers I've ever seen. they give more interviews and work directly with players and the unreal community more than alot of ppl seem to realize.
its tough to have a 'work in progress' that players want to know what the status of something is and its not nailed down yet. there is no good answer so they are better not giving one... try ta be patient :)
like dr.sin said, once the game is closer, itll come. youre gonna have so much info. so many interviews, media and live demos happening itll be unreal!
no other developer does anything like unreal university, hands on demos and work with modders like Epic does, and that doesnt even take into account all the individual contact and work with players and community maemebers they do - I know i cant wait for this go around in 2k7...

...lets just hope it gets called Unreal Tournament 3 ;)

Henrik

10-10-2006, 10:08 PM

what they do is nice, but it would seem to the community that they were more proactive if they kept the "community" section of the game itself frequently updated, made sure stats were not down for months at a time, like they were at one point.. the community in large is more likely to see such things than some obscure post on a forum, or an interview in a magazine that isn't even sold everywhere in the world.. for all the supposed UT2007 coverage thusfar for example, I have seen nothing in Sweden about it at all. So I'd say Epic still has a ways to go.

Lee_Shagwell

10-11-2006, 02:26 AM

Flak is right, sometimes Epic actually answers our questions.
But mostly theyre very evasive and careful what they say.

What people fail to realise is that ultimately Epic is a business and UT is a product that is supposed to make profit. Obviously they have a marketing plan / schedule and nobody in the company is allowed to deviate from it. If they did they wouldn't be doing there jobs properly, imagine if one of the programmers came on here and did something like posted a beta, do you think he'd have a job the next day?

It doesn't mean that any one individual person at epic is being orrogant or evasive, it simply means that anyone liasing with the public has obviously been giving a list of things he can and cannot say.

No amount of moaning, cursing or begging is going to change the companies plans, So we might aswell just sit back and enjoy the anticipation. You've got to admit, it makes you feel like a kid again, waiting for christmas etc etc.

In all my years of gaming I've never been so excited waiting for a game to come out.

p2xelgen

10-11-2006, 08:58 AM

Epic says it cost $10millon to create Gears OF War. But how much will UT2007cost? I tend to think more, mainly down to the fact that UT2007 will have more assets then GofW. ? :p ?

Joe Wilcox

10-11-2006, 11:36 AM

Content packages files in UT2007 have a. UPK extension, maps have .UT3 and script is still .U

Wormbo

10-11-2006, 01:09 PM

Ah, no more artificial distinction between the different data packages. I take it the .UPK, .UT3 and .U file still have the same basic structure?
what about music? Will it be contained in packages again or is there any other mechanism for pushing music files to clients?

InTheJungle

10-11-2006, 01:28 PM

You know, they don't have to come on these forums and tell us anything if they didn't want to. :/

DeathBooger

10-11-2006, 01:41 PM

UPK contains meshes and textures in one package? Doesn't that get confusing?

Evil Homer

10-11-2006, 07:30 PM

Any chance of us seeing a new footage of 2007?

Moloko

10-11-2006, 08:04 PM

It's understood that the people at Epic shouldn't and wouldn't be expected to answer the more banal questions i.e Can we have the quick launch icon in cornflower blue-Fightclub... etc. It does seem ,at least for a major title in terms of PR a tad quiet, let's hope it's the calm before the storm rather than the idea there is no storm at all.

p2xelgen

10-11-2006, 08:10 PM

Any chance of us seeing a new footage of 2007?

:o I second that :o
If your feeling love for the community could we see some new DeathMatch footage, don’t have to be a long piece just something to make my heart skip a beat or TWO:D .

Hell it doesn’t even have to be footage if your not willing to share at the mo, but a Pic should stop me going cold turkey:D .

Ectospasm

10-12-2006, 01:51 AM

how does people have join dates back to the year 2000 for this place?

SPECTRE

10-12-2006, 10:10 AM

how does people have join dates back to the year 2000 for this place?

There was an a older version of these forums.
http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=249

Some of the old members had their stats transfered.

;)

Magwa

10-12-2006, 10:17 AM

that would be correct...We are a long way from playing 2007 sit back injoy the ride and if you get to the end of your rope...tie a knot in it and hold on!

InTheJungle

10-12-2006, 05:57 PM

Mr. Wilcox (or whoever COULD be browsing this thread . . . ), will the map 'Morpheus' be making a return in UT2007? Please say yes! :(

Jrubzjeknf

10-12-2006, 06:02 PM

DM-Morpheus will not be included in UT2007

Sry man.........

:p

InTheJungle

10-12-2006, 11:09 PM

Oh what. That suuuucks! :( :( :( :(

Caravaggio

10-12-2006, 11:25 PM

It sucks because it's not in there or because it means you're doomed to 30 different remakes of it being released the week after ut2007 ships? :P

Before I waste space with a new thread, might I be so humble as to swing by here and ask a question about units? I tried searching but couldn't find if anyone had found out if measurement sizes are the same. I'd like to start making static meshes and it'd be really cool to know that things are still in powers of 4 and what a relative player size is for ut2007.

I know they do quite a bit already, but it'd be especially beneficial to get some info that modders could use. Screencaps of the default skeletons and so forth. Other than that +1 to not blaming them for being busy.

And if they don't read that, I'll just mentally send some karma epic's way anyway. Cuz I'm gullible for that stuff.

Henrik

10-13-2006, 11:31 AM

Oh what. That suuuucks! :( :( :( :(
Um dude, Joe Wilcox did not say that. He's jerking you around.

InTheJungle

10-13-2006, 11:49 AM

Really Bersy. Damn, I got owned eh.

@caravaggio

I hope you're right. ;)

FrostBiteEST

10-13-2006, 02:49 PM

I have question for epic:Is ut2007 production stopped for now and do they return after gears becasue we havent seen no info practicaly 2 months:(

InTheJungle

10-13-2006, 02:59 PM

I have question for epic:Is ut2007 production stopped for now and do they return after gears becasue we havent seen no info practicaly 2 months:(

wow. are you serious?

TWD

10-13-2006, 03:39 PM

FrostBiteEST

10-13-2006, 03:43 PM

Does this help? http://www.truegamer.net/nuke/epicforumroster.html

Credit: http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showpost.php?p=2126488&postcount=1

Cuz BU ownz you.

I recall very clearly the IRC chats. I was able to talk to Mark Rein about karma boobs several times in the offical IRC chatroom.

so ut2007 devolopment is on? And how can i join to that irc channel and what did Mark Rein told u abotu boobs?Becasue most of female skins have iron broo(i hope u understand what i mean)so theyr boobs cant move much but such as hellions they have just clothes so gimme some answers!!!

TWD

10-13-2006, 03:47 PM

The chats I am refering to were back in 2003/2004. Unfortunatly they did not have enough time to include the feature.

I'm not sure if there is an offical IRC channel or what. I can't find anything on it, tho it sounds like the devs have showed up in a #gearsofwar channel.

FrostBiteEST

10-13-2006, 03:50 PM

The chats I am refering too were back in 2003/2004. Unfortunatly they did not have enough time to include the feature.

I'm not sure if there is an offical IRC channel or what. Researching now.

thx dude send me pm if u have founded out full tutorial if u have time:p

TWD

10-13-2006, 03:56 PM

I can't find one right now. I don't think there's an offical channel.

Try irc.enterthegame.com in channel #beyondunreal or #fragbu right now. Those are the two channels for www.beyondunreal.com

dinwitty

10-13-2006, 04:32 PM

Flak is right, sometimes Epic actually answers our questions.
But mostly theyre very evasive and careful what they say.

I have come to the conclusion that Epic isnt evil ;) they just dont want to end up hearing "OMFG, CliffyB, you PROMISED 12 Months ago on the forums that the RocketLauncer would be yellow not RED!"

heh, often what they sometimes post finds the front page of gaming news everywhere, like they can't casually chat around like the rest of the gamers...

Bishop Gantry

10-14-2006, 05:16 AM

Actually, we post here quite often. You just need to look at Phil talking in the thread about Matinee. As for why don't we do fan questions, we do, just not this far out from completion. For UT2004 we had IRC chats, fan questionnaires, faqs, interviews and we were really active in the forums. But the game changes daily so what’s there today might be gone tomorrow. We do btw read almost all of the threads, even the “Epic please read” threads. We just don’t always discuss them openly.

+2 point to Wowbagger!

And despite the user feedback on the UT2004 demo we still got stuck with Torlan and most of the offical maps horrible node setups in Onslaught...

As I see it if you guys stopped changing everything back and forth all the time you might get time to improve the game instead of constantly changing it. How many changes has Conquest, Warfare, Onslaught been trough already in the end Con and War has been dropped or merged for a slightly diffrent version than Ons...

TWD

10-18-2006, 12:42 AM

AHA I found it. I feel stupid because things haven't changed one bit lately.

The offical UT series channel is #UT on irc.enterthegame.com

If you don't know how to use IRC try this: http://www.enterthegame.com/chat.asp

MonsOlympus

10-18-2006, 09:41 AM

Yeah I agree with that, we've had alot of big shows this year where we got more info on UT2k7. Its almost the end of the year now, I hope you guys will cut em some slack over christmas and new years. I mean damn, Im happy to wait till next year for some more solid news :p

Edit:
Actually Im still looking for Epic's official 2k7 pimp, havent seen him yet. I know gears gets alot of pimpin out though lolz :)