Interview between BF2142.COM and Marcus Nilsson, senior producer of Battlefield 2142. This interview was published on June 15th, 2006.
We saw a lot of the game now, especially during E3. Still, there seems to be a lot to be done yet. How far are you done concerning vehicles, weapons, maps and all these other goodies you intend to pack into the game?
We are still pre-alpha. All vehicles, weapons and levels are being built in parallel. To build a level that plays great and reaches the level of balance we demand we need to work with it for well over 6 months. I keep saying this in interviews, a lot of the balance we put into games comes into the dev team playing the game over and over again, day after day. Playability at an early stage is key to get to a balanced and polished product. When it comes to completion, I'd say that we are around 80% complete with levels, weapons and vehicles. This is a "from top of my head estimation" because the definition of complete is when it's final and that does not happen until we ship. We tweak everything in the game up to final if we feel it being a necessity.
Many fans of the game are waiting for a few more precise numbers. I am aware you cannot tell us precise numbers at this point in time, but could you give us some ranges on how many vehicles, weapons, other items, awards and maps are in the game as you plan to release it currently?
I don't want to get into exact numbers but when we do I'll make sure you guys get it straight away. Numbers are quite boring anyway and something I find mostly interesting to the marketing department. It's all about the quality you get in the pack you're buying isn't it? What I can say is that with the Titan you'll get the biggest vehicle ever present on a Dice Battlefield, the indoor fighting experienced during play tests are very intense indeed. Keying back into number of levels, you will not be disappointed, it is double figures. For persistence we are, as we have started communicating already, going really deep. You'll have to unlock abilities, equipment and weapons but also as you play you'll spend your time winning pins, badges, medals and ribbons. It's going to be really easy to track this in the in game menu, which will also tell you what you need to do to get a certain award. There are a total of more than 115 of these awards to be won. We will have a lot of weapons in the game as always in the franchise. I will be perfectly honest with you and admit I don't have an exact number, but don't worry, there will be enough.
Does BF2142 have support for the PhysX chip?
Dice are always looking into ways of making more compelling games, the PhysX chip is obviously on our radar as are other hardware add ins that could increase the experience. Being a MP game predominately however, we need to keep the experiences as similar as possible and we need to be really careful not introducing advantages or disadvantages with new technologies. For 2142 we are not planning this kind of support.
We noticed that you have confirmed the release of a demo at a later stage, could you give us more information about it, as in how far before or after the game release the demo would be out?
The demo for BF2 went out about 10 days before launch if I remember correctly, I am sure something similar will be the deal for 2142. We are also going to throw out an open beta in the beginning of August. The beta is predominately to learn about large scale issues, i.e. when we have 10 000's of people playing at the same time, eliminating some of the problems we have encountered after launch previously in the franchise. Keep your eyes open to join.
What's the most hilarious scene you encountered in testing the game so far?
Some of the more hilarious things are actually bugs or things you did not think about, for instance jumping of the Titan after you have blown it up is something we found being so damn cool by randomly having a camera bug placing the camera in the void facing the titan so you could see all players jump of, they look like lemmings but it's for sure a hilarious moment and now put into the game. Blow up the enemy Titan, get of in one piece and you'll get a pin!!
Other more epic experiences are moments when you realize that the game is coming together and delivers the all out war we are famous for and more of it. We have put much effort into the particle engine and there are some pretty amazing intense moments as you play 2142, smoke trails everywhere, EMP grenades that go off at the same time as tracers from the Battle Walker is hitting the ground in front of you cascading dirt high up in the air.
People in the team have been involved in the development of all of the BF titles but I think I speak for all of us when I say that play testing wise, we have never had more fun.
The awards system has been a big driver for the players. Now there are a lot pages that display this information in a lot of different ways. Will all those fans who opened site for player statistics and signatures be able to create something in the same style as we now see for BF2 or will this be only possible on a DICE/EA page?
We have no intention to compete with the stat pages out there, in fact I don't think we could, they are so good. I have met with the guy behind [bf2s.com] and he is very smart, skilled and dedicated man and I am sure there is other like him. However, I'd like us to deliver more than we have in the past, a lot more! I want the Dice/EA 2142 page to be a valid choice for information regarding 2142. Right now, I don't think we have that for BF2. The web page for BF2MC is a lot better and even though it's not perfect it's a long the lines I'd like to see for 2142.
What assets does the commander have at his disposal in BF2142?
The commander in Titan mode will get more responsibility than before since he is now the "captain" of the Titan. It is his responsibility to move it around, keep it away from enemy heavy fire and engaging when appropriate. The Titan is powerful with its 6 mounted cannons (they need to be manned though). In addition, we are not stripping out any of the items that made him popular in BF2, he will get the future orbital bombardment, the orbital strike as well as supply drops and scan abilities.
In titan mode the commander can pilot the titan ship itself. What happens if the two titans collide? The titan seems to be able to shoot as well. Does the commander steer that or is it automatic? Is it precise as normal guns in the game or as imprecise as artillery strikes in BF2?
The two titans will not be able to collide, they can move close though. Also, you will always be able to get up to it, i.e. the commander can not move it out of reach. The Titan has cannons manned by people so they are not automatic and they can be destroyed or EMP'd. The commander move the titan around by clicking on a map in his commander interface. The guns are still being tweaked but they will be precise. The orbital strike is something else and will not spawn from the Titan.
On some shots we saw icons in the lower left corner of the customization screen. We are guessing they are for abilities, but what exactly are those for?
Hand grenades (frag), make you always have 2 grenades with you when going into battle. Extra hand grenade (frag), an addition of an extra grenade, i.e. giving you a total of 3 every time you go to battle. Larger pistol clip (unkown how much larger) Increased sprint amount (makes you sprint for a longer period) Sprint recharge (Makes you recover faster)
So far the system requirements have been kept vague, in the style of "If you can run BF2 you can run BF2142". Of course BF2142 needs a bit more power for some of the very nice effects, but can you give us the official requirements you plan to release the game for?
We keep saying same as BF2 because that's our aim. This would mean,
Minimum Specification: CPU: 1.7 GHz RAM: 512 MB Video Card: nVidia GeForce FX 5700, ATI Radeon 8500 or ATI Radeon 9500 with 128 MB of RAM
But is of course subject to change.
Thank you for this interview.
