Portal:News/IRC Transcripts/16 June 2010

16 June 2010 IRC Chat Q&A with Chris, Morgan lockHart, Simon Ffinch, Scott Hartsman, Brian Clarke, Russ Brown, and others - From the floor at E3 2010. Terms used on the wiki have been converted to article links to assist in understanding.

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• Q: <@Ciovala> Any plans for a Guardians video in the near future, Chris?
• A: <+Chris_E310> Ciovala - we will have a Guardians video coming in the future

• Q: <Ather> hartsman.. can you say if its possible to create a 'build' akin to the eq1 beastlord with souls? ie melee based pet class?
• A: <+hartsman> Ather -- I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any such thing, though I will say that I'd be absolutely shocked if you couldn't

• Q: <Phoenix_79> Why all the Defiant love? Us guardian fans are left in the dark here =)
• A: <+hartsman> Phoe - The guardians will absolutely be getting their time in the sun. Or the divine light, as appropriate.

• <@Ciovala> We've seen face customisation in a video from E3 - can you alter the body portion as well at all?
• A: <+hartsman> Body is different -- we actually intentionally aren't doing mass scale body customization. we need to make sure performance is high enough, and all those body tuning points take hits
• A: <+hartsman> err cause hits
• A: <+hartsman> And honestly, it's fun to play with, but imo anyway a lot of the time it just turns out to make it even harder to make good looking characters. you get 49% meh, 1% good looking, and 50% that look like platypuses.

• Q: <Zinn> Scott, Will there be dual targeting like Vanguard. Where we have a defensive and offensive target at the same time.
• A: <+hartsman> Zinn -- we've talked about a few different ways of doing multi target, not 100% positive yet on the best way for us

• Q: <Dosi> Will US/Euro players be able to play on the same servers ?
• A: <+hartsman> Dosi -- I can't speak for publishing and the biz relationships that we have (and will continue to develop) but its my strong preference that yes, people will be able to do that.

• Q: <Osho> Do the lore includes gnomes as race or as creatures ?^
• A: <+MorganLockhart> We do not have gnomes currently. But we have a few different gnome fans, so who knows for the future

• Q: <Kartys> MorganLockhart: The player is described as a really storm soul that comes back. Some of the original class creators Talos Roda for example sounds like a strong soul. Can we expect NPC's of some of them?
• A: <+MorganLockhart> Kartys, there are Ascended NPCs for sure. Asha is an Ascended

• Q: <Bellatrix> I have a question. Will we ever meet any of the Dragonslayer Covenant other than Asha?
• A: <+MorganLockhart> Definitely. Even though the Defiants broke off from them (Orphiel, BTW, is also from the DC), their faction still exists

• Q: <@Ciovala> morgan, are you doing things to get us involved without necessarily having to do a 3 paragraph 'word dump' at the NPCs?
• A: <+MorganLockhart> Ciovala, I think visual storytelling is very important for MMOs

• Q: <Kartys> Any specific favorite character you have helped create?
• A: <+MorganLockhart> Kartys, probably Asha. She is definitely my baby

• Q: <Myrdynn> wants to know something about crafting
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Awesome info about the crafting system will have to wait a bit...I wouldn't want to spoil any fun for our incredible crafting team

• Q: <Faelor> Chris - Defiant or Guardian, you have 10 seconds. Go!
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Defiant

• Q: <RIRCGuest357> ChrisJunior, will their be some time of Tome of Knowledge, achievement or tracking system for your accomplishements? I always like seeing how many times I killed a certain mob, or died on this or that.
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Vague answer...but there are definitely forms of tracking tools in game for accomplishments

• Q: <lepericon> what class do u play? lol
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Lepericon: the beauty of our class system. I don't have to have a favorite, cause I can combine them however I see fit

• Q: <@Ciovala> well, can't quite combine however you see fit since it's restricted within your calling, right?
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Ciovala: Correct, but with the current layout that we are working in, we still have a lot of souls that slightly cross calling boundaries

• Q: <Bellatrix> Well, whether it's the poll or groups, Defiant seem to be outnumbering Guardians :\ That's a shame.
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Bellatrix: We actually had a bunch of Defaint/Guardian tshirts made up for the office. Ends up at the end of the day, we're pretty much split 50/50 at our studio

• Q: <Kartys> ChrisJunior what are some of your credits to the game. Some of the things you have been instrumental in
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Kartys: Class Design, Itemization, PvP

• Q: <%Dale> ChrisJunior: What will be the other means of transportation except for mounts. Teleport? Flight?
• A: <+ChrisJunior> Dale: I hear players can walk...and run!

• Q: <Zinn> Chris, Can we get a screenshot of some in game maps? Particularly the world map.
• A: <+ChrisJunior> The world map is soooo awesome. So awesome, that screenshots cannot contain them!

• Random statment
• <+SimonFfinch> It's amazing. I have been to a lot of E3 but the reaction to Rift is not something I have seen before
• <DSWBeef> positive i hope
• <+SimonFfinch> Totally positive. A constant crowd

• Q: <Ather> Simon, can you talk a little about music? Will you be putting up a few mp3's for us to check out?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @ather that is a great idea. I'll bring it up when I get back to the office

• Q: <Elladar> What class do you play??
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @elladar Wouldn't you like to know

• Q: <lepericon> SimonFfinch will there be racials that every race will have?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> Yes there are racial abilitis both passive and active

• Q: <Osho> Simon, is little raid content also available before we hit lv50 ?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @osho yes. there is quite a lot in fact

• Q: <Phoenix_79> Simon what has been your favorite part of the project so far in your role?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @phoenix_79 My favorite thing is working with a team that all believes in what they are doing and puts in the passion and love that it takes to make a game of this quality

• Q: <Kartys> SimonFfinch with three souls the soul points will obviously be spread out. How are you going about making sure that spread out setup are viable instead of just focus mainly on one tree?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @kartys that great thing we are finding is that we don't actually have to stress about that as much as we thought. As you will be able to make adjustments if you don't like how your class has ended up

• Q: <Raive> SimonFfinch, I'm not sure if this was touched basis on since I was late but, "If you had to draw a line, what kind of balancing of content are you anticipating? Such as a 30/50/20 solo/group/raid or...?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @raive we are still working on that to find the best balance. We certainly like to drive players together to play and you will be able to do that even if you are not actually in a group.

• Q: <Kartys> SimonFfinch obviously the soul system is something that is really going to make Rift, how did the idea come about and how do you think it will effect the MMO market
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @kartys the idea developed over time as we played the game and discovered what was fun. I am as interested as you are in how it will effect the market

• Q: <Skorne> Simon I know you guys won't have player housing for launch, is it something you've discussed would you like to add it in future?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @skorne all I can tell you right now is I am a fan of player housing

A: <+Russ_Brown>

• Q: <Phoenix_79> SimonFfinch, do you worry with the ease of adjusting their class the community may abuse the system and require a player to adjust to a particular set up? Is there anything in place to prevent this type of behavior?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @phoenix Obviously we are still polishing the system but this is something we think about and we will be making sure that the system cannot be abused

• Q: <lepericon> SimonFfinch u guys going to be at anyother Gaming Conventions this year?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @lepericon Yes I am not sure off the top off my head which ones though

• Q: <Arithion> SimonFfinch we hope you still love your job after being fed to the wolves (us)
• A: <+SimonFfinch> we are making this game for you. I want you to love it as much as I do. So long as you are not as vicious as the wolves in Telara

• Q: <Europe> SimonFfinch: are you guys planning expansions from day 1?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @europe yes

• Q: <Apoth> Simon my last question can you give us any details on PvP system will there be progression in PVP and more importantly will PVP take place in battlegrounds or in seperate PVP zones like DAOC's RVR?
• A: <+SimonFfinch> @Apoth We are planning to lunch with PVP is prolly all I am allowed to say right now. I will say it is not restricted to battle grounds though

• Q: <Raive> BrianClarke, what artwork have you worked on in the past? Like games...so I can pull up your profile?
• A: <+BrianClarke> Last game I worked on was Warhammer

• Q: <Elladar> Dear Brian whos idea was it to implement tentacles in Death Rift opening?
• A: <+BrianClarke> Me actually @Elladar

• Q: <Zinn> Brian are we going to see some shortie races like Dorfs, oompaloompa or Goblins? and do you hate half Elves like the rest of us?
• A: <+BrianClarke> I think Elves are interesting enough in their own way. We can make them interesting I'm not worried.

• Q: <Europe> BrianClarke: We can expect to see water rifts...underwater?
• A: <+BrianClarke> We would like to try and put rifts in as many cool places as possible

• Q: <souper> BrianClarke: are cities and towns being designed to look life-like or to-scale in terms of size?
• A: <+BrianClarke> When we build towns we really try to make it something that works for the players if making a huge city doesn't work and you have a ton of it not being used I think it works to cut it back to make it something fun

• Q: <Elladar> Brian. Who do you support? Guardians or Defiant?? :o
• A: <+BrianClarke> I support both

• Q: <souper> BrianClarke: When designing PvP zones what do you take into consideration?
• A: <+BrianClarke> When I design a PvP zone (not specific to any game) I want to make sure if flows well for both sides. You don't want to give one and edge over another but you have to keep in mind the content going on

• Q: <@Ciovala> belated hi, Brian. Have you tried to give the world a real sense of scale? I know devs dont always want to leave the world empty...but sometimes you just want to be able to explore and find that spot no one else has found
• A: <+BrianClarke> for scale we have our own feelings on it and we really want to make something our own. We are going for more realistic but something interesting.

• Q: <Europe> BrianClarke: Will we see lots of playing with lights and shading to create moods? For example, strangely colored skies giving a weird atmosphere to ominous areas?
• A: <+BrianClarke> We already do play with lighting and sky each zone will have something interesting to see and the day night cycle is fully dynamic. The sun and shadows move and we use them to make interesting moods

• Q: <Hanlo> Brian, did you work on the rift artwork? If so, which plane was your favorite to make?
• A: <+BrianClarke> There was a question about what rift I liked... I have worked (and still am) on all 6 rifts. So far the most fun has been death but I have a great time with each of them.

• Q: <Faelor> BrianClarke - are there any fantasy artists that have inspired you over the years? Parkinson, Frazetta, Lockwood, etc?
• A: <+BrianClarke> Albreicht Durer is one of my favorite artists.

• Q: <Arithion> Russ_Brown Will the graphics Engine utilize SLI or Crossfire? Will it utilize dual core CPU's?
• A: <+Russ_Brown> SLI support yes. dual core yes

• Q: <souper> Russ_Brown will we be getting any souls via PvP or is it primarily a PvE thing?
• A: <+Russ_Brown> @souper. not finalized but I definately want too

• Q: <Phoenix_79> Can you throw a little Guardian info our way? We have heard and seen a lot of Defiant stuff. How about a little taste of what's to come?
• A: <+Russ_Brown> Guardian info. yeah i can do that. Guardian are chosen of the gods. Why are the chosen by the gods? Because they are bad asses. They are the gods first round draft picks

• Q: <MattGraham> Russ_Brown Will there be solid endgame PvE at launch? I ask this because the lack of endgame PvE at launch has been the downfall of many recent MMOs.
• A: <+Russ_Brown> @matt yes, definitely,

• Q: <Ayonyx> can I comepletely ignore PvE and level exclusively through PvP?
• A: <+Russ_Brown> You will have to do some pve but then you will be able to level with pvp

• Q: <Zinn> Russ, how do you plan to make combat complex, interactive and fun. Are there reactionary (after an evade), positional and chain attacks.
• A: <+Russ_Brown> @zinn, reactionaries, yup. one of guardian classes is about reactionaries. some positional and chain attacks. also proc triggers

• Q: <souper> Russ_Brown: if you saw all of your co-workers online, vulnerable, and alone, who would you gank first? (was that too evil a question? )
• A: <+Russ_Brown> @souper I always gank Simon FFinch.

• Q: <RIRCGuest444> Russ, will there be a black (exchange) market between defiant and guardian players or is it completely independent ?
• A: <+Russ_Brown> @rirc good idea. wasn't planning on it will see if we can get that in

• Q: <Ayonyx> Russ_Brown: do you have any information on combat depth: is it simply tab-target button mashing or is there something more to it
• A: <+Russ_Brown> @Ayonyx. we will have positionals, chains, GTAOE's, PBAOEs, and anything else to make a avatar based mmo combat more complex. because of the soul system we can make some classes more challenging to play.