BF2S Forums Log from the XFire Developer Chat

XFire dev chat log wrote:

[Xfire] Xfyre: HI ALL!
[Xfire] Xfyre: We're about to get started
[Xfire] Xfyre: First off, I'd like to thank Xavos and PrivateParts for being here today
[Xfire] Xfyre: I'll have both of them introduce them selves to get us started
[DICE] PrivateParts: NICE crowd....
[DICE] Xavos: Hi everyone, thanks for coming!
[DICE] PrivateParts: SUP?
[DICE] PrivateParts: go first Tom
[DICE] Xavos: I'm Tom, I was the lead level designer on Special Forces
[DICE] PrivateParts: I'm Max. I was the Producer on BF2 SF
[Xfire]Frederic: Welcome to the Battlefield 2 Special Forces Dev Chat! Thanks for being here today! I want to invite everybody to check out the awesome trailers for BF 2 Special Forces and of course to go buy the expansion pack if you haven t done so yet. :-)
Also, I would like to invite you to join us for the exceptional gaming event on BF 2 Special Forces Sunday, with two of the top BF2 teams in the US- TFS and 20id.
More information at: <http://www.xfire.com/xf/modules.php?...=cmspage&body=
[DICE] Xavos: Ok so I guess we'll get started with some of these questions...
[Xfire] Xfyre: And with that....we'll get rolling
[DICE] Xavos: Here's one... will the GP30 splash damage be fixed?
We are looking at this, and playing around with lessening the splash damage, but we haven't settled on anything yet

[DICE] PrivateParts: Are you going to fix the cone of fire so I can actually kill things with my gun. ... DUDE, it's all about skills Seriously, we are working on a number of gameplay fixes...it also includes tweaking of certain weapons. Our community Manager is very sensitive to everyone's feedback. If there is a concern, please post on the forum
[DICE] Xavos: ive heard rumours about naval warfare in future things...confirmation?
That's just a rumor

[DICE] Xavos: A lot of people are asking about game modes....
We can't divulge what we're working on in the future, but I will say that we're looking at a number of ways to enrich your BF2 experience
[DICE] PrivateParts: what do u feel about the graphics difference between this and other big games like HL2?....Different game...different constraints. I feel that we have done a pretty good job with improving the graphics for the Franchise. Could we have done better...probably. Will we do better next time around. Definitely.
[DICE] Xavos: Here's a good question...
ive heard rumours about naval warfare in future things...confirmation?
[DICE] Xavos: opps sorry bad cut and paste
[DICE] Xavos: Someone asked about support for lesser classes... like Engineer
[DICE] Xavos: I will say we're working on a new fix that will make landmines a more viable strategic weapon, which does make the engineer much more usefull
[DICE] Xavos: What are your ideas/thoughts/permants for the next patch that is comming out?
[DICE] PrivateParts: What are your ideas/thoughts/permants for the next patch that is comming out?....We are committed to addressing the community's concerns. So bugs are our first priority with this patch. Tom...
[DICE] Xavos: We're very exccited about the upcoming patch. The fixes we've implemeted have made a big difference in how the game plays, and we can't wait to get it out to all of you
[DICE] Xavos: the patch fix list that has been released is just the beginning of what we're doing for this patch
[DICE] Xavos: what kinds of comoputers do you use to play it on?

[DICE] Xavos: personally I play on an Intel 3GHz with 1gig ram and an ATI 9800
[DICE] Xavos: Are you planning on more less-urban maps for SF (or more night maps?)
We feel that urban maps have been covered quite well, from original BF2 and SF. The maps we're working on now should give you all a fresh experience. More akin to some of themost popular BF1942 maps.
[DICE] PrivateParts: what kinds of comoputers do you use to play it on? My home PC can barely run the game. I've got a pretty slick machine at work. So I drop in as often as I can. ATI X1800; P4 3.2GHz with 2GB ram
[DICE] Xavos: what do you guys think about stunt videos
We love the videos you guys create,. We post them on message boards in the office for everyone to enjoy. We get a real kick seeing what you all do with the game
[DICE] PrivateParts: any chance Tear gas will last longer?....I don't think we will change this.
[DICE] Xavos: Which do you like playing the most BF2 or BF2SF???
hahah... I like SF, cause I know the maps like the back of my hand
[DICE] PrivateParts: will there be new maps for ranked servers ? ... Depends on how successfull BF2 SF will be...we are hoping you guys like it.
[DICE] Xavos: Why did you choose to reduce the missle shots?
We felt that the attack choppers were overpowering. Spamming an area with a dozen missiles isn't hard to do, and there is nothing the ground pounders can do to avoid a barrrage like that. With fewer missiles, the helo pilots need to be a little more selective with their targets. It evens the playing field a little
[DICE] PrivateParts: Which do you like playing the most BF2 or BF2SF???...I too prefer BFSF...just because I love close combat...flying isn't for me.
[DICE] PrivateParts: What is your favorite kit? I play them all except for the Sniper... Couldn't shoot an elephant if it was standing in front of me
[DICE] Xavos: are you guys aware of the bug with the tv missles on the MEC chopper that causes it to get stuck and not move where you click. if so are you going t ofix this?
I hadn't seen that bug yet... we'll forward this to testing and see if they can reproduce it for us! Thanks!
[DICE] Xavos: What inspired the progression in time of the games (BF1942, BF Vietnam, BF2, and Modern Combat). And, do you think you'll soon be making a game set a little further in the future than just the "near-"?
Of course, the success of Trauma's awesome Desert Combat mod for BF1942 had a big influence on this... the publics interest in modern warfare was obvious. And it just seemed like a natural progression, as the BF games were getting more modern with each release
[DICE] PrivateParts: [Xfire] Xfyre: What do you believe is the most challenging kit to play as?... IMO, it depends on the level.
[DICE] Xavos: XAVOS Why are there no new unlocks for sniper or AT kits?
OK OK ...
We didn't include unlocks for these kits because we only had 5 ranks to play with, so unfortunately that allowed for only 5 unlocks
[DICE] Xavos: so that left 2 kits out, and we felt that the sniper and AT had some strong unlocks already
[DICE] PrivateParts: Are you going to adjust the accuracy of the Barret sniper rifle?... Some sniper riffles are being looked at for the next patch. Of the top of my head, I can't remember it the Barret is one of them. Tom?
[DICE] Xavos: Are you guys gonna add time shifts like during daylight maps they will slowly turn to nightfall? Or add Fence cutters on certain kits so players wont have the trouble of walking around the fence?
Unfortunately our rendering technology wouldn't allow anything like a day night cycle. fence cutters is a great idea, but something like that is really complicated to implement... alllowing players to modify an object dynamically requires some fancy tech
[DICE] Xavos: I can't recall what sniper rifle is being tweaked, sorry
[DICE] PrivateParts: There was talk of BFTV at one time. What is it's current status? It's being tossed back and forth. Since we have limited resources for LIVE udpates, we address everything on a priority basis. BFTV just hasn't made it to the top yet
[DICE] Xavos: whats your favorite vehicle?
I just love the FAV's... my favorite move in all of BF is to find a sniper, and go straight for him, laying on the horn seconds before I hit
[DICE] Xavos: My Question: How was it to make the expansion for BF2?
It was tough work with a lot of long hours, but very fun and rewarding at the same time. Game dev isn't easy, but we won't complain
[DICE] Xavos: What attempts are being made to control the use of C4 and grenade launchers? These are being overused and this is mostly because of the aiming precision of the actual guns. One suggestion is to allow c4 to be detonated only 5 seconds after having been planted. To control the grenade launchers, maybe have a set amount of grenade rounds per team?
These are things we're looking at. We have found that preventing the ability to jump and fire has brought these weapons more in line with how ...
[DICE] Xavos: they were originally intended to be used
[DICE] Xavos: Do you have a release date for the new patch?
[DICE] Xavos: We don't have a release date, as patches require a lot of time in testing, and we can't possibly predict an accurate release date
[DICE] PrivateParts: will you guys are thinking of implementing support for older video cards? (AKA ATI 7XXX or NVIDIA 4XXX series. ....We have looked into this. There are quite a number of technical constraints involved with this task. Getting them to run Nighttime levels would be quite a challenge
[DICE] PrivateParts: Is the fact that the jets are nearly impossible to take down with an AA vehicle going to be address in the enxt patch
We are looking into this matter right now. We have improve it a bit but we feel there is still room for improvements.
[DICE] Xavos: what are some ideas for the next expansion
Unfortunately we can't talk about our future plans yet. Our #1 priority right now is to fix as many of the issues you all have brought to the table as possible.
[DICE] PrivateParts: what are some ideas for the next expansion
YOU GUYS TELL US? What would you like to see?
[DICE] Xavos: Jumping and shooting has been allowed and even rewarded in previous BF games. Why the sudden change? The other two games had a realistic jump height. If you decrease the jump height to that of a normal human soldier, maybe you can allow "inaccurate" shooting?
I wouldn't say it was rewarded in previous games. Decreasing the jump height has a lot of implications, as all of the art assets have been created for the current jump height . Lowering the jump height could havea big impact on....
[DICE] Xavos: how infantry are able to move around the map
[Xfire] Xfyre: They actually seem to be answering a bunch of fairly tough questions We've all only got 2 hands
[DICE] PrivateParts: How did DICE get stared and how did the idea of MAKING a war game come to your minds. Also, about how much time went into:
A) the first Battlefield game
B) the SF expansion

DICE Sweden worked on BF1942 and first expansion pack (Road to Rome). The studio here got its first taste of Battlefield with the Secret Weapons xpack. We followed with BFVietnam. While working on Vietnam, Sweden started the work on BF2. From start to finish, it was probably a 2.5-3yrs development.
[DICE] Xavos: not allowing players to jump and shoot is forcing infantry to use the 3 stances in the way they were originally designed to be used. Players that go prone have the biggest advantage, and now have an advantage over bunny hoppers too. That is the way we feel BF should play. I personally enjoy the dichotomy between BF and Quake in this regard
[DICE] Xavos: Will their be any way of enabling admins to be able to disable nametags in their servers to make them more realistic for the realism players out their in the game? In bf1942 you could turn off nametags and for my clan and myself it made the game a whole lot more interesting and strategic.
This is a feature we can look into for a future patch.
[DICE] PrivateParts: As for the BFSF, we spend approx 1 year. Wasted a few months at the beginning because of technology issues.
[DICE] Xavos: Whats ur favorite FPS of all-time? (not including any of yours)
Doom, Call of Duty, and Brothers in Arms are 3 of my all time favorites
[DICE] Xavos: Will there ever be an option to disable commander mode?
Commanders are an integral part of BF2, so we're not planning on disabling them at this time
[DICE] Xavos: why is it that BF2 was compiled using an old technology? It has been proved that BF2 was compiled using Visual C++ 2003 and how it wasn't optimized for P4s and new AMD models?Why a company like DICE made a huge mistake like this? Doesn't this explain the fact that people with FX-57 and SLI video cards are having fps and bad performance issues?
Unfortunately, that's a question we can't answer, as our compatriots in Stockholm created the original engine. I'm sure they had a very good reaso

[DICE] PrivateParts: Whats ur favorite FPS of all-time? (not including any of yours)
I play a lot of FPS. Based on time spent... BF is probably the game I have played the most. CS is a close second. I enjoyed the MoH and CoD. Played a lot of Quake...
[DICE] Xavos: Why can't you use grappling hooks on the old maps in SpecOps?
We looked into this, but unfortunately the orginal buildings and other objects weren't created with these weapons in mind, and so using them uncovered a LOT of exploits where players could get behind collision. In the interest of balance, we chose to leave them out
[DICE] Xavos: Has there been any thought in adding additional commander options?
We have some very cool ideas here, but we don't currently have any plans to expand this feature
[DICE] Xavos: Why do people legs stick through the walls when they are close to it?
This is due to the collision boxes of the player. It has been optimized to improve performance, so player collision vs. static objects actually doesn't cover the legs. It's unfortunate,
[DICE] Xavos: but has a large impact on performance. Collision checking is not cheap!
[DICE] Xavos: why is it that you can't strafe and run at the same time?
It was felt that this helped balance out the speed increase. Every mechanic needs it's pluses and minuses to keep it balanced
[DICE] Xavos: Are there any easter eggs in the game you can share?
Not that I can think of... Max?
[DICE] Xavos: Any plans for an anti-air class?
Not at this time, no
[DICE] PrivateParts: Nope.
[DICE] PrivateParts: Do there will be an option to disable auto-switch mod when you join a server with a different mod ?
[DICE] PrivateParts: Oups...servers don't allow for mix mods right now
[DICE] Xavos: Any chance of brining back the WW2 mod for BF2 like you did for BFV?
Not at this time., no
[DICE] PrivateParts: do you know this game has been banned at several military posts in iraq because of it's realism ?
[DICE] PrivateParts: Never heard about that
[DICE] Xavos: Why do the insurgents have the same weapons as the rebels and the spetsnaz?
The honest answer... if we make unique weapons for every kit in every army, we would still be developing the game . It;'s purely an issue of time an resources
[DICE] PrivateParts: What do you think of mod maps that look like the SF maps that let ppl out of buying SF?
Poeple can drink Cola but everyone knows COKE is the real thing
[DICE] Xavos: LOL nice
[DICE] PrivateParts: However, I must admit that there are some kick ass mod teams out there
[DICE] Xavos: How much did u guys Love Desert Combat..??
I was a big, big fan.
[DICE] PrivateParts: Good job y'All
[DICE] Xavos: is their any change of getting air/ground/water battles only so that everyone can get his only style
These maps can be interesting, but I prefer to make levels that have a little something for everyone. I think that's what made El Alamein and Wake so popular. Levels like Coral Sea or battle of Britain (one of mine ) only serve a subset of the community,
[DICE] Xavos: and I would rather focus our efforts on levels that everyone can enjoy in some fashion
[DICE] PrivateParts: How much did u guys Love Desert Combat..??
Played a lot of DC. Have great respect for the people that worked on this MOD. Some people liked it, others didn't....for me, it provided my daily dose of lunchtime kills....addicted!!!
[DICE] Xavos: What colleges did you guys graduate from or attend?
I went to University of Western Ontario, here in London Ontario
[DICE] Xavos: go Mustangs
[DICE] PrivateParts: What colleges did you guys graduate from or attend?
I went to University in Montreal
[DICE] Xavos: Are there any plans to implement trowable rocks/bacon?
We had back bacon in one of our playtests, but it was just too powerful. You'd be surprised how much gettting one of those thrown in the face can hurt
[DICE] Xavos: Why Are SF Unlocks Allowed In Regular BF2 Servers As This Proves A Disatvantage For Non SF Owners.
[DICE] PrivateParts: yeah what kind of colege degree do u have?? i study game design hoping 1 day to work at EA , maybe u have a space there ??
Was going to say why work at EA? But, by the time you graduate, DICE will be EA.
[DICE] Xavos: We're investigating this more to see if the effect truely is unbalancing
[DICE] PrivateParts: What do you think of some winter maps?
Sounds good on paper...really tough to execute in art...to make it look real
[DICE] Xavos: What do you think of EA haters?
People bash EA all the time, and unfortunately they have a bad name. Everyone I have worked with at EA has a real passion for BF, and are doing their absolute best
[DICE] Xavos: I feel especially bad for the testing department. They get a lot of flak from the community, but are really doing a great job for us. If you think the BF you guys play is buggy, you should see it before the testers get a crack at it
[DICE] PrivateParts: how about weather effects like rain or snow?
Performance hogs. May be possible to do on a large scale for our time of game in a near future...again, something that looks good and plays smooth.
[DICE] Xavos: Are there any plans to nerf the C4/grenade launcher in subsequent patches?
Not being able to jump and shoot has lessened their effectiveness, making them pretty well balanced
[DICE] Xavos: When or are you still even considering combining both BF2 maps into BF2 SF? I feel half of the game is missing without the original items from the main game.
Unfortunately this would be impossible with our current tech. It's not in the plans
[DICE] Xavos: What do you think of some winter maps?
Winter maps are tough to pull off visually. We've thought about it, but haven't created any yet
[DICE] PrivateParts: What console is your favorite? 360 for Modern Combat?
Haven't played 360 yet...Still hoping Santa will bring me one
[DICE] Xavos: Will we be able to change our name in future patches?
We are investigating this, but haven't made any definitive plans yet
[DICE] Xavos: Are throwing grenades afftected by the removal of shootjumping
You can no longer throw grenades while in the air after a jump
[DICE] PrivateParts: Someone asked about Voice Overs... Yes, everything is authentic
[Xfire] Xfyre: Ok guys we're about to wrap up
[DICE] PrivateParts: I play on public servers...
[DICE] Xavos: have you heard of totalbf2 map packs? If yes, did you like them? what was your favorite map in the map packs?
I have heard of them, but haven't been able to play them yet
[DICE] PrivateParts: FYI...IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A JOB...WE COULD BE LOOKING FOR YOU
[DICE] Xavos: Can you guys divulge anything about any official "Next Project" from DICE?
If I did, I'd be out on my a$$, and then I'd have to come after you. So best if I say... no
[Xfire] Xfyre: We'll have Max and Tom as well as some others from EA and DICE jumping on some public servers
[DICE] Xavos: I go by Xavos while playing BF
[Xfire] Xfyre: You can get the details here: http://www.xfire.com/xf/modules.php?...body=xf_bf2_sf
[Xfire] Xfyre: But basically , invite one of the bf2sf accounts and then follow them onto the servers!
[DICE] PrivateParts: I different online accounts....today, I will be playing as PrivateParts_[DICE]....
[DICE] Xavos: Thanks for coming everyone!! And I appreciate all the support and *constructive* criticism you share in the forums. We do read them, and we are fixing what we can!!
[Xfire] Xfyre: Thank you VERY much to Max and Tom for answering all the questions
[DICE] Xavos: And I'm glad you all enjoy the SF maps... I, and the whole level team worked really hard to make the levels the best they could be, and it means the world to us that you all enjoy them so much!!
[DICE] PrivateParts: THX guys!!!
[DICE] PrivateParts: We'll have to do this another time
[DICE] PrivateParts: Now....follow me soldiers!!!