Hier der Komplette Chatt.Meine Fragen die ihr zwischen den Zeilen auch lesen könnt bzg Clansupport und Ladder in CCG/ZH und dem Support in RA2/YR wurden leider nicht gestellt
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> We're happy to have with us today three members of the team ...
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Sr. Producer Harvard Bonin
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Game Designer Todd "Ushgar" Owens
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> and Community Manager Mike "Mike{1}" Murphy
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Gentlemen ... welcome to Arcade!
<Mike{1}> great to be here
<Harvard> Hi All
<Ushgar> hi
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> You guys ready to take some questions from our users?
<Harvard> Thanks for waiting
<Ushgar> sure
<Harvard> We were getting our stories straight!
<Mike{1}> yup
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> lol ... cool. We wouldn't want anyone breaking under the interrogation.
<Harvard> Todd Owens was a key team member in RA2 and Generals...as well as lead in Yuri's Revenge
<Harvard> He has been with us for a long time...at Westwood and EA Pacific
<Harvard> And now we're all one happy family here in LA!
<Harvard> PS...We don't answer private messages.
<[Admin]WolfBlade> well are we ready for some questions guys?
<Harvard> We hope everyone is well and getting ready for the holidays
<[Admin]WolfBlade> If you would like to ask a question to our guests pls type /msg WolfBlade and state your question - Please do not page our guests as they will be unable to answer you.
<Harvard> Thanks for taking the time to hang out with us
<Harvard> Bring on the questions
<[Admin]WolfBlade> our pleasure!!
<Harvard> As to what we've been doing...
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *[SST]Shadow[LEAD]* i have 1 question , how did you thought of the name: Zero Hour ??
<Harvard> Zero Hour finished up and we're now prepping the first patch
<Ushgar> Zero Hour sounded cool...it is a military term...we liked it
<Harvard> Its a good one. Currently we're adding about 6 multiplayer maps along with fixing/tweaking some other things
<Harvard> Should be a few weeks
<Harvard> We're in test right now and finishing some last minute additions
<Harvard> As to the name....
<Harvard> We thought it represented an "urgent" feeling...sort of like you're winding down to the last minute
<Harvard> The game sort of feels like that sometimes!
<Harvard> ok next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *[ConKil]BOSS_WOLF* Hello To The Team, In The Future Do You Think You Would Produce More Cnc Games or is this the end of the batch of productions?
§¨ Private message sent to WolfBlade: "for which reason did EA discontinue the support in Ra2/YR?(Ladder and Chat are offline)"
<Harvard> Sure
<Harvard> I love living in the CNC universe
<Harvard> Currently we're on Lord of the Rings...
<Harvard> Which is just about a dream come true for us geeks
<Harvard> We had a choice early on and LOTR won out
<Harvard> Hopefully we'll get to revisit CNC real soon...but for now - it's all about the Hobbits
<Harvard> ( " ) ok, next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *chksteak* Thank you guys for taking time out of your schedules to help us out! My question: Do you have an ETA on the patch, and a list of whats going to be on it?
§¨ Private message sent to WolfBlade: "why dont u support clans in zh? (Clan Ladder,Clan Support) like in TS or ra2"
<Harvard> Currently we're testing 1.01 for ZH.
<Mike{1}> in other words, the C&C franchise is still alive and kicking
<Harvard> We released the 7th patch for Generals about a week or so ago
<Mike{1}> you can download that on the website
<Harvard> heh, yeah...what Mike said!
<Harvard> anyway, this ZH should be a good one.
<Harvard> We hate releasing patches that are nothing but fixes...for stuff that should have been taken care of at release.
<Harvard> This one will have a few things besides, including about 6 or so multiplayer maps
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *]KoM[GOA]-Jango* what gave u the ideas 4 all the new generals?
<Harvard> Todd will take this one
<[Admin]WolfBlade> If you would like to ask a question to our guests pls type /msg WolfBlade and state your question - Please do not page our guests as they will be unable to answer you.
<Harvard> Enjoy!
<Ushgar> We wanted to give the player challenges that they might see in different player play styles
<Ushgar> We wanted to play up certain aspects of the 3 primary sides
<Harvard> he's writing!
<Harvard> hmmm
<Harvard> he's having trouble
<Harvard> The Generals were designed around player styles
<Harvard> ok we're squared!
<Harvard> or square!
<Ushgar> We also wanted to go for things that looked cool in gameplay...
<Ushgar> anything else you can think of Harvard?
<Ushgar> next question?
<Harvard> just that we wanted to mimic play styles of players to give everyone a choice of side that really felt natural to them
<Harvard> ( " ) ok, next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *BlackLotus* In ZH, the GLA generals seem to be the over powered, while the U.S. generals seem to be underpowered. Are you going to be addressing this in your next patch?
<Harvard> This is a perfect one for Todd
<Ushgar> There are counters and balances to each general
<Ushgar> Tactics that worked well in Generals or against one General won't work against another
<Ushgar> Also...the Tunnel Rush was an accident on our part here
<Ushgar> We're correcting the build time on the Tunnels to make sure that is fixed in the patch
<Harvard> We expect to be balancing the game for a good long time now
<[Admin]WolfBlade> The room is currently being moderated - Your chat will not appear - to ask a question to our guest pls type /msg WolfBlade and state your question - Please do not page our guests as they will not be able to answer you
<Harvard> That's part of the growth and evolution of an RTS
<Harvard> Maybe we'll purposely mess it up just to get a heated debate going on the forums!
<Harvard> ok next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Nipple* How do you think abbout warrez?, Do think abbout it how to prevend it?
<Harvard> don't think other developers dont' do that!
<Harvard> ahhh
<Harvard> good question
<Harvard> single player + cool
<Harvard> multiplayer = not cool
<Harvard> anytime you screw up the playing experience for other people to make yourself feel good in your tiny, little world then - well
<Harvard> disconnectors too!
<Harvard> FYI the game tracks your disconnects...it does you no good
<Harvard> anyway, cheaters are Dobby Elfs
<Harvard> other than that, we love mods and the like...we appreciate the people that make them
<Harvard> but I got off track
<Harvard> Pirates screw up the biz and it is stealing.
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> "Dobby Elfs"?
<Harvard> They are thieves
<Harvard> small, pathetic, weak thieves
<Harvard> ( " ) ok, next
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Gotcha ...
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Alpha_Centauri* You're done with Zero Hour, you guys lay back now or working on something new again?
<Harvard> yeah, taking it easy!
<Harvard> I wish
<Ushgar> After a game ships we generally get a very short down time and then on to the next game
<Harvard> We're working on Lord of the Rings which will be out in 2004
<[Admin]WolfBlade> The room is currently being moderated - Your chat will not appear - to ask a question to our guest pls type /msg WolfBlade and state your question - Please do not page our guests as they will not be able to answer you
<Harvard> along with that, Generals and ZH patches and mp maps
<Harvard> ( " ) ok next
<Mike{1}> Harvard, when is the next FREE map due out
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *|FuN|PaRtYcAt-ZeNz* how long you been working on the game?
<Harvard> Tell Craig to take his hand off your knee
<Harvard> ok
<Harvard> Maybe next week or the week after
<Harvard> We are putting them through test
<Harvard> Should be soon though
<Ushgar> which game?
§¨ Private message sent to WolfBlade: "for which reason did u discontinue the support in Ra2/YR (lobby chat and ladder)"
<Ushgar> We worked on 0Hr for about 9months...
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *[-SoD-]FateF8* why is the balancing at ZH so much different from the balancing at generals 1.6 (e.g. tunnel-buildtime)?
<Harvard> We actually started Zh before generals was complete
<Ushgar> The balance for the main generals side is pretty much the same...except for the oops on the Tunnel Network
<Ushgar> Which is being fixed in the next patch
<Harvard> Well, there are a lot more sides to be concerned about, for one
<Ushgar> The main change for 0Hr was the addition of the new sides...
<Harvard> The Tunnel Network speed was an oversight...easy to do when there are so many options
<Ushgar> Each one is a unique balance challenge for us...each needs to feel unique and powerful in their own way
<Ushgar> While still having a vulnerability
<Harvard> But overall, we're pretty happy with the balance. We're always going to make tweaks etc after release
<Harvard> ZH is much more of a team game than Generals. Finding the right pairing is crticial.
<Harvard> ( " ) ok next
<Ushgar> Tactics that work well on one General could spell doom against another...Finding the right tactic is critical
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *DragonReborn* is the disconnect tracking tool something that can be modified for other games as well and distributed, unsupported of course, for others to use and omdify for other types of games?
<Harvard> its not a tool
<Harvard> its just part of the code
<Harvard> Its pretty tricky to get right but its pretty good now
<Harvard> We're continuing to learn from it and it creates a unique online culture
<Harvard> Those with a lot of DCs tend to be people no one wants to play with
<Harvard> "A lot" is over 15-20
<Harvard> in about 100 games
<Harvard> but we'll use it in the future where we think makes sense
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *BlackLotus* In ZH, there is a way to disconnect, then reconnect and vote out the other guy (in a 1v1,) This gives you a victory and the other guy a loss, with no disconnects. Are you going to be addressing this?
<Harvard> Hi dam0kles!
<Harvard> hope you're well
<Harvard> fixed in 1.01
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *_Cy_{DM}_Cr_Hudson_Cw* you guys have made many CC games,all very good,but what would you say is personally your favorite one?
<Harvard> Heh, that's one for us both
<Harvard> Personally, I'm pretty much in love with the Red Alert universe
<Ushgar> My personal favorite was RA2
<Harvard> I also love Generals but I have a soft spot for RA2
<Mike{1}> Red Alert 2 for me - if anyone cares :-)
<Harvard> Lord of the Rings is trying to knock it off the perch tho
<Ushgar> I really enjoyed making the game and the great response from the community
<Harvard> Its looking pretty great and won't be what most folks are expecting from the Generals/RA2 team
<Ushgar> and you can't be a CnC fan without having great respect and appreciation for the original...
<Harvard> ok, I like Tetris
<Harvard> I don't want to be like the other guys
<Harvard>
<Harvard> but damn...Robotron is the best tho...it gets the most play here at EALA
<Harvard> ( " ) ok next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Skyhawk* you say the balance is ok except the tunnelsystems, but why do 12% of the players win with GLA demo general, but only 6% with normal China/USA?
<Harvard> ack those damn Technicals!
<Harvard> yea, we are looking at a variety of things to help further balance the game
<Harvard> Wolf no
<Ushgar> The technical rush with the Demo General is a tactic that was discovered by the community once we released...
§¨ Private message sent to WolfBlade: "is there a plan to include Clansupport (Clanladder etc) in ZH like it was in TS or RA2?"
<Harvard> We always discover new and crazy exploits after release
<Ushgar> good job at finding this...but we're looking into making sure that everything is balanced a bit more in the patch
<Harvard> Whenver you get that many people all playing to win you're bound to find stuff like that
<Harvard> Have no fear, we will tweak it soon...till then...
<[Admin]WolfBlade> The room is currently being moderated - Your chat will not appear - to ask a question to our guest pls type /msg WolfBlade and state your question - Please do not page our guests as they will not be able to answer you
<Ushgar> next question
<Harvard> ( " ) next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *MaDDoX* Mr. Bonin, first of all congratz for the best RTS of 2003. There's a great concern in the community about some key balance questions, and of higher relevance is the regular US vs USAF matchup since there's absolutely no way to stop an early king raptor from killing your chinooks without resorting to hit and miss rush tactics that are not even an option for team games. Is the design team aware of it and how is this issue going to be added?
<Harvard> Thanks
<Harvard> yes, that's another we're looking at but we've not determined what we're doing it yet
<Harvard> thanks for your question
<Harvard> with it yet
<[Admin]WolfBlade> [14:46] *Tyrant* Why arent the stats recorded when playing on custom maps?
<Harvard> because players can create any map they want for their own benefit
<Harvard> They are inherently unfair
<Harvard> thus, we don't record stats
<[Admin]WolfBlade> * Kholdstare_CK * Will there be any more C&C Series after Generals/Zero Hour?
<Harvard> 10 minutes to go!
<Harvard> gimme the hard ones!
<Harvard> ok, ladder kit
<Harvard> we are currently in discussions with some key ladder operators around the world to automatically record results
<Harvard> Germany and the US are in the mix
<Harvard> should be in the next few weeks when we turn them on
<Harvard> We always consider smaller patches but as this is the first one - and there is no major game breaker then we're taking the time to get it right.
<Harvard> The imbalances are not game breakers but we do consider them important enough to fix in 1.01...which should be a in a few weeks
<Harvard> I'm sure we'll visit the various C&C universes in the future
<Harvard> We love them too much to leave them for too long
<Harvard> Lord the of the Rings is a wonderful fiction and just one we couldn't give up
<Harvard> That said, its a lot of fun battling GDI/NOD/Allies/Soviets/GLA/Yuri/USA/China!
<Harvard> ( " ) next
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *|NERV|JBay* Wouldn't it be easier and more beneficial to the community, if the team released more, but smaller patches to get the immediate problems/balance issues fixed?
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *[TRCU]RocketMad[SF]* Hi, You always made C&C games, wich happen in the future. But will you ever make one that happens in the past?
<Harvard> maybe...but that's hind sight
<Harvard> we're so close with 1.01 that its a moot point
<Harvard> You mean live Caveman & Conquer?
<Harvard> like
<Harvard> maybe...but C&C is about modern or near future warfare...not spears and slingshots
<Harvard> I'd much rather blow stuff up
<Harvard> That said, I also want to fly a Fell Beast...which is why LOTR is so appealing
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Hess* what games are you going to look forward to next year?
<Harvard> RA2 allows us to time travel...so you never know
<Ushgar> I'm looking forward to our Lord of the Rings game
<Harvard> Maybe Tanks vs Dinos again!
<Ushgar> We're still working on it, but from what we've got so far and what we hope to accomplish it will be a game I want to play
<Harvard> ok 3 more questions
<Harvard> bring em on!
<Harvard>
<Harvard> again, thanks to everyone for showing up
<Harvard> This was fun
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Hess* are you going to make any more new and relistec games in the future?
<Harvard> We appreciate your insightful thoughts and appreciate that you love the games as much as we do
<Harvard> Yes, I'm sure we will. C&C is too much fun to leave alone!
<Harvard> next
<[wOrk]YuRi> for which reason did u discontinue the support in Ra2/YR (lobby chat and ladder)?
§¨ Private message sent to WolfBlade: "for which reason did u discontinue the support in Ra2/YR (lobby chat and ladder)"
<Harvard> ok, that looks like the last ones
<Mike{1}> Harvard, How's Ike?
<Harvard> check out generals.ea.com for the 1.01 patch list
§¨ Private message sent to WolfBlade: "for which reason did u discontinue the support in Ra2/YR (lobby chat and ladder)"
<Harvard> and Ike is fine! That crazy psychotic beast!
<Harvard> thanks for asking
<Harvard> not yet
<Harvard> ok
<Harvard> thanks again to everyone
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Guys -- thanks VERY much for dropping by this morning
<Harvard> Todd and I are taking off
<Harvard> Gotta get back to work!
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> We really appreciate it
<[Admin]WolfBlade> Thanks for coming guys!
<Mike{1}> thanks all!
<Harvard> I hope everyone will have a great weekend
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Thanks to the Arcade audience too for turning out to ask some great questions.
<Mike{1}> check the website today for some cool updates
<Harvard> Take care and we appreciate your support
<Mike{1}> later this afternoon
<Harvard> Late!
<Mike{1}> cya
Harvard has gone to Later!.
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Be sure to keep an eye on the official Generals site and
http://www.planetcnc.com for more Zero Hour / Command & Conquer news!
Mike{1} has gone to Later!.
<[GSI]Spiff-gs> Take care all -- have a great Friday!
<[Admin]WolfBlade> Cheers!