Urban Assault Mod Interview

GF: First off tell us a little bit about your mod?

Clay: Urban Assault is basically Rainbow 6 for Half-Life, or that is what I envision it as being. We are trying to keep it realistic, but not too realistic so that is takes away from the game play.

GF: Why do you feel making a mod too realistic will affect the Game Play, Most developers are trying to make their games as realistic as possible. Take Rogue Spear for an example?

Clay: If you want a totally realistic game like Rogue Spear, you can play it. We are developing this game with our fans in mind. We listen to their feedback, and if they want to walk around on their knees and beg for mercy, we will see if we can incorporate that into our game.

GF: What unique features will your mod contain? We see so many tactical mods now days I am wondering if there is anything new to add to them?

Clay: We are developing a game play idea that is just "blockbuster". I believe that this idea will set us apart from the other mods. We also have a few modeling tricks that will be made know when we release UA Bravo or Charlie. I am not sure when we will be able to get it in, but I am sure that no one has done it before, at least not to my knowledge.

We will also be featuring a weapon upgrade system of sorts, however the final details on this are being worked on for a UA Bravo release.

GF: Calling the exe file UA Bravo is hardly a unique factor for the Mod. I am talking about Game play more I know you mentioned the upgrade system, which is very interesting and also exists in Deux Ex?

Clay: I wasn't saying that the naming of our files was unique, I trying to give you a hint of when you would see the unique modeling tricks that we have.

GF: oww ok then

GF: We all like to see realistic weaponry in this type of Game. How much research have you done (if any) to try and accomplish that goal?

Clay: I have personally gone through books trying to find the gun specifications, and I have a great Weapons Advisor named Smokescreen who really knows his stuff. The hard part of it all is choosing whether or not to have a larger caliber bullet and fewer rounds, or a smaller caliber and more rounds. I suppose that is for the fan to yell at us about and we will fix it.

GF: How many weapons will the first release contain and anything that we haven't already seen?

Clay: Urban Assault will release with 14 realistic weapons, along with a few grenades, flash bangs, and tear gas grenades. If you haven't seen it, it won't be in there, or you will be surprised.

GF: Will your mod be a total conversion and include single player as well or just an online mod?

Clay: It is just going to be a multiplayer online game. We may eventually add some bots for some single player play, but I haven't thought too much about it.

GF: What kind of reaction have you got from the mod so far? There are so many tactical mods coming out I'm just wondering if there are enough fans to go round?

Clay: Unlike some of the new tactical mods coming out, Urban Assault had been around for a long time, almost two years I believe. We have our loyal fans, and I believe when word gets out on our game play and the weapon trick we have, people will start turning their heads.

GF: Why has the development time taken so long, yet we see much newer and bigger mods just about to release?

Clay: We have more than our fair share of setbacks. We have been let down over and over by unreliable staff members, and our old leader held us inactive for 3 months before I took over.

GF: I want to talk a bit about other Games now for example Tribes 2 and the upcoming TF2 (if it ever gets here). Why are people still sticking with the HL engine and when do you think developers will start to move away?

Clay: With Half-Life who knows. I think that people are sticking with the Half-Life engine for mods because it is easy to code and modify. And, people like my staff and me are making free games. Who can argue with new, constantly improved free games?

GF: Like quite a few mods will you have a buy system for weapons and items?

Clay: Urban Assault will not feature a buy system. In real-life combat situations, the police or any anti-terrorist force does not have to purchase weapons. As for the terrorists, we are working on something for them

GF: I don't know what your feelings are on this but I think the buy system is an important factor in a game. You get a high score or certain amount of kills and you get rewarded with a better weapon. It's like playing a single player game you get to a harder level and find newer weapons. Don't you feel that this is an important feature to have in an online game?

Clay: The important thing when playing Urban Assault is completing the objective. You will get the most points when you complete the objective. When we implement the weapons upgrade system, the amount of points you have will enable you to upgrade your weapon. A buying system is important, but when you don't have a game that is based on it, you don't need one.

GF: When you say upgrading your weapon do you mean being able to add new attachments like silencers, laser targets and scopes or like in Deux Ex will you have a more accurate weapon?

Clay: All of those things. A laser attachment will give you pinpoint accuracy, and the others are self-explanatory. These upgrades will wear out, such as the batteries in a laser unit will wear down and such. Also available will be bullet upgrades. That idea is still in development though.

GF: Like in the game "Black and White" where you get more skills as time goes on and you get further into the game. Do you think the same principle will work for an online Mod where the longer you play the game the better your accuracy or handle of weapons get?

Clay: Not through the game, but through the player yourself. This is not a role-playing game; it is a first person shooter. If you play Urban Assault enough, you will automatically become accustomed to the weapons and general feel of the game.

GF: I was thinking more about people who haven't experienced a FPS tactical game before and the people who have. Wouldn't it be fair "should I say" for the new comers?

Clay: They game will be changing constantly. We will be tweaking with the weapons, and such. If the "newbies" want to be good, they can. What I said earlier isn't a part of the game. It is a part of the player, and how well they adapt to things, such as the stimuli the game throws at them. Enough biology and rambling...

GF: Anything you say!

Clay: You all are missing the "deleted text". It is great.

GF: How far are you from release?

Clay: If all goes well, we will have a staff release ready in a few weeks. Depending on bugs, and how long it takes to get everything right, we could release UA Alpha in a month to three months. Nothing is set in stone, and is subject to change. We will let the community know a few weeks in advance when we will be releasing.

GF: And finally just to finish things up how much sex do mod developers get on average a week?

Clay: That is a toughy. I don't do pre-marital sex, so based on me, none. We are trying to keep our team "healthy" so we don't promote it.

GF: Oh right Well Thanks for doing this Interview with Games Fusion I hope everything goes well for you and your mod in the future.

Clay: Me too. Thanks.

Posted by LNorton at October 19, 2002 04:57 PM