Q: As a fan of the FEAR franchise, I have to ask; is anyone from Extraction Point or Perseus Mandate working on Section 8?
A: Veterans of both Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate have been actively working on Section 8. In fact, most of our department heads have been involved in every TimeGate production stretching back to our first game-of-the-year award winning title, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns.
Of course we’ve also grown since then, and have supplemented these 11-year TimeGate veterans with outstanding talent from all across the industry to make Section 8 what it is today.
Q: Was it an obvious choice to go with the Unreal 3 engine instead of any other engine? How is developing with Unreal 3 better or worse than working with Lithtech engines that were used in FEAR?
A: We spent a lot of time evaluating technologies for use on Section 8. Based on Section 8’s target features and the types of environments we wanted to create, we felt that Unreal3 was a good fit for the project.
As far as the difference between the two engines, there’s a lot. The two were really built to focus on different games, as evident by what their parent companies made with the engines.
We kept an open mind when we dove into the Unreal3 engine, but at the same time, we weren’t afraid to call shenanigans when we saw something that we had liked better in Lithtech. The two engines really focus on different things, so you wind up learning to play to the strengths of the tech and try to minimize the weaknesses.
In the end we learned a lot from both engines. Forcing ourselves to learn new technology sets really helped us evolve as a team, even if it required a lot of learning.
Q: At what point was PS3 development halted or scraped? Any thoughts on developing for the PS3 in general?
A: That implies PS3 development has been halted or scraped. Section 8 is still very likely to appear on the PS3, it will just take a little more time. We didn’t want to make the mistake of rushing out a bad PS3 version.
PS3 development winds up being a good bit different from how PC and the X360 games are developed. The PS3 is more like a unique electronics device, while the X360 somehow feels like a smaller-scale PC. Sony and MS probably went down those paths due to their respective backgrounds in electronics and PC software.
So developing on the PS3 takes a little expertise that you don’t necessarily get by having made PC games in the past like we have. It’s something that our team wanted to take our time mastering, to ensure our first PS3 release is a good one.
Q: At this stage in development, what are you guys fixing/adding right now?
A: At this late stage in the game’s development, we are mostly focused upon fixing the occasional bug that appears and polishing the game for release. Since the beta is currently ongoing, we have also been actively working with beta participants to make several small changes in respect to the feedback they have been providing.
Q: The single player mode is said to be more objective based than the multiplayer combat. Is the single player mode more like a traditional campaign or more like a multiplayer battle played with bots? Is it possible to do co-op through this mode? (I wouldn’t think so given the name Single Player, but thought I would double check).
A: The single-player mode tells the story of Alex Corde and the 8th Armored Infantry’s (nicknamed “Section 8”) conflict with the Arm of Orion. It is much more objective based and has a strong narrative guiding the player through the entire experience. Currently, there is no co-op mode for the single-player story.
Q: Is progress in the single player mode tied to multiplayer in any way?
A: Our story-driven campaign, called “Corde’s Story,” is distinctive from the offline Instant Action and online Multiplayer mode;, however, all three share the same core fundamentals. The main purpose of Corde’s Story is to introduce the player to the universe that we created for Section 8, immerse them into the back story behind the Arm of Orion and Section 8 conflict, and ultimately set the player up for the other two modes.
By the end of the story, the player should be well on his way towards mastering the game’s many features, including Burn-In, Loadout customization, calling in deployables and vehicles, and tackling multiple dynamic objectives that exist in Instant Action and Multiplayer.
Q: About how many hours is the single player mode intended to last?
A: We haven’t divulged the campaign length yet, as we’re still wrapping that up internally. It’ll be at least a few hours though; it’s not a one-hour tutorial.
Q: What information is presented in the HUD? How customizable is it?
A: The HUD displays quite a bit of critical information to the player, such as a representation of the state of the player’s armor and shields, a mini-map containing all “sensed” players and objects nearby, critical messages, and many other elements. Players have the option to disable or enable all of this information in the game’s settings at any time.
Q: I’m curious about the health system, which I assume is the same in the single player mode as it is in multiplayer. What happens when a character’s armor is depleted? I know there are Supply Depots that can repair as well as an upgrade you can get for your suit to repair it. That said, I wasn’t sure if no armor meant instant death, or if players have a chance to run and try to heal up.
A: The health system is the same in single-player as multiplayer. Basically, there are two “layers” of health. The first “layer” are the player’s shields while underneath that is the player’s armor. However, the player’s shields do not have to be completely depleted before their enemies’ can damage their armor. Depending on the weapon and if the player is within a certain range, bullets may pierce an enemy’s shields and directly damage their armor. Once the armor health diminishes completely, the player is dead. From a lore standpoint, Section 8 takes place in the future and soldiers equip extremely deadly futuristic weaponry that cause instantly fatal impact when striking an unarmored opponent.
Q: Can players from one team use the other team’s equipment (vehicles or weapons)? I believe I read online that there is a hacking element to the game, what can you tell us about that?
A: Players cannot steal their opponents’ vehicles or weapons. The hacking element you mentioned is in reference to control points. Players must hack a control point possessed by their enemy before beginning to capture it. Capturing requires the player and his teammates to protect a control point for a set amount of time from their opponents. If the enemy is not able to hack the control point during the capture, it changes possession to the other team.
Q: How many weapons can a player carry at once?
A: Players are able to carry two primary weapons such as an assault rifle, machine gun, sniper rifle, missile launcher, pistol, or shotgun in addition to two gear items, such as grenades, shoulder-mounted mortars, sensor blocker, repair tool, micro sensor, and a combat knife. The player can mix and match any combination of these the instant they begin playing the game. Added with the ability to customize the passive modules in the player’s powered armor suit that can modify everything from the player’s health to their speed, and there are a near-limitless amount of possibilities, allowing players to play as the class in which they want to play.
Q: Players can create customized characters for online play. Talk about what customizations are available to them, and how they earn the ability to ‘purchase’ these upgrades. What type of ranking system is there?
A: Players will be able to customize their loadouts to essentially play the style and class they desire, and are able to save and load these loadouts on the fly. While there are not currently visual customizable options for players to use online, players do have the option to receive a special version of armor as well as a special rapid-fire pistol as a pre-order bonus.
Players will be able to advance through 100 ranks in Section 8. Additionally, there is a robust achievement system that allows players to view the badges and feats they have received playing in ranked online matches.
Q: Dynamic Combat Missions are one of several unique features Section 8 is bringing to the table. Can you elaborate on these? In the middle of a match, how does a team decide to engage in a DCM? Can a team work on both the DCM and the main mission at the same time? Any information on DCM you can provide would be helpful.
A: Dynamic Combat Missions (DCMs) are essentially meta games within the standard conquest game mode. These missions are automatically triggered after a team has gained enough feat points—generated by performing a wide variety of actions that will help your team, such as repairing teammates and friendly turrets, defeating enemy players, capturing and defending control points, as well as many other instances. Once enough feat points are generated by the team, a DCM is triggered for that team to complete. Meanwhile, the opposing team is presented with stopping this team in completing their DCM. Depending on the feats gained, players can trigger a DCM that prompts them to escort a visiting general to a friendly location, escort a commando to a hostile control point for capture, deliver a bomb to the enemy’s base, escort a convoy across the map, steal and deliver the enemy intelligence to a friendly base, or protect an outpost that is delivered onto the battlefield. However, players should be careful not to divert all their focus to and active DCM as the enemy can sneak into and seize control of a careless opponent’s base.
Q: How many maps at going to be available at launch?
A: The game will ship with 8 completely unique locations. Counting the variations on each of these, there will be 18 different maps players can play when the game is released.
Q: Is a demo planned before launch?
A: A demo is planned to be released before launch. We will have more details on this soon.
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Editor’s Note: A Demo for Xbox Live and the PC Beta were recently released. We look forward to reviewing Section 8 early next month, so stay tuned.
