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***********      CHAT LOG: 19-06-2002 --- 18:00-19:30 CET       **********************
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*************          RAVEN SHIELD DEVELOPERS CHAT #1       *************************
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(ubi_Marc): Hi everybody! I welcome you to the official Raven Shield Developers Chat!
(RS_Chadi): W00T!!
(RS_Mike): Welcome
(ubi_Marc): First of all I would like to introduce our guests from Montreal, Canada!
(ubi_Marc): Chadi Lebbos - RS_Chadi Producer of Raven Shield
(RS_Chadi): Hello! :)
(ubi_Marc): Joel Trembley - RS_Joel Programmer
(RS_Joel): Senior programmer :-) Hi all!
(ubi_Marc): Mike McCoy - RS_Mike Lead Game Designer
(RS_Mike): Howdy
(RS_Mike): I'm from the States originally.
(ubi_Marc): Ups, Sorry!  :)
(RS_Mike): 9 yrs in NC, but originally from LA...not California
(ubi_Marc): First of all thanks for joining the chat! Lets do it!
 
Do u count add an iron sights view as option in RS ? If not, why ?(coz thre lot of players who expect see that in RS too)
(RS_Mike): We considered using the iron sights, but found them too cumbersome.
(RS_Mike): When operatives move they don't look through their sights they look over them.
(RS_Mike): We decided to focus on that perspective since it looks the best and doesn't cover too much of the screen.

When is the demo planed to be released?
(RS_Cedrick): When it's done, sometime between now and september :)

Will the players have unique IDs, so u can ban a player totally from a server?
(RS_Mike): We're checking on it now, but I'm pretty sure you will be able to kick and ban IPs

Can the player himself turn off the 1st. weaponview?
(RS_Mike): yes
(RS_Mike): In mp it is a server option

Is it possible to define MACROs for some movements and actions? (as example: one Button for Zoom-in + go-prone + ...)
(RS_Mike): nope...sorry

What about the mod support? Will RS support mods for example like Valveīs Half-Life?
(RS_Joel): with the Unreal Engine, it's easy to share the editor and the scripts to the community
(RS_Joel): Lots of the code gave more room than we needed in the game. And we'll probably add tools to easily create weapons and stuff.

Can we hit all the artificial lights in RS, for stealth progression under darkness ? (if we can't turn off manually?)
(RS_Mike): when rainbow goes in they go in hard and fast
(RS_Mike): they don't bother with lights and switches...if they have a gun they shoot them
(RS_Mike): we decided to focus on that game play instead of alot of interacting with alot of switches

Will the german version have differences to the us version?
(RS_Cedrick): it will not depend of us but of the German Rating board,we do not want the game to be ban from Germany
(RS_Cedrick): if not no differences

What Bandwith will u need to host 1 player in kb?
(RS_Joel): We're trying to keep it as low as possible. 56k should be enaugh!

Will there be an inside voice tool like in OFP or CS?
(RS_Mike): we have prerecorded voice messages and are making sure that we don't interfere with existing real time voice softwares

Is it possible to disable Thermo View in Multiplayer?
(RS_Mike): you can disable everything through the kit restriction option, including thermal

Could we take weapon/ammo off ground, at least in multiplayer games?
(RS_Joel): Real operatives don't do it, you can't trust a weapon you picked up on the ground.

In SOF2 the damage localisation is pretty impressive and accurate with their Ghoul 2 engine, so do u count add similar feature in RS ? (without gore effects i guess) For example, it'll be possible to disarm foes if we hit their hands ?
(RS_Joel): we use a system similar system to RS, with head, body, legs damage. But usually we shoot to stop the enemy, not only disarm him.

How is it working with the new unreal engine and how does it improve your freedom in level design?
(RS_Mike): the unreal engine is very powerful and has lots of great level design tools...we're taking advantage of everything that it offers

How does the Pre-planning Phase work?
(RS_Mike): Preplanning has the exact same functionality as previous Rainbow titles, but we're greatly improved the user interface
(RS_Chadi): Graphically it is more realitic and more appealing, and these tools are pretty easy to use :)
(RS_Mike): we've even added a little functionality

Are we gonna encounter known levels form former R6 series like CSL, Met, Hospital, Bio-Lab or Chalet?
(RS_Chadi): like you surely heard, we have revamped the City Street Large map that we have shown at E3...and the result and look of it is GREAT
(RS_Chadi): Unreal permits us to take the old maps and enhance them visually and add some cool elements to them as well

How will the Jammer (HBS and Thermo) work? Will there be SA-Sensors and -Jammers?
(RS_Mike): First the hbs is now 3d and can look through ceilings and floors
(RS_Mike): the hb jammers and false hb pucks work the same as previous titles
(RS_Mike): thermal vision is limited to sniper rifles only and you can only shoot through doors and windows...not walls

Will there be many scripted events in the single player missions to add some nice surprises?
(RS_Chadi): We will have immersion events that will bring even more realism to the environments!

I heared u can add extra equipment like silencer etc to weapons is this right?
(RS_Mike): absolutely! you can add a weapon attachment to all of our 57 weapons
(RS_Mike): the attachments vary between high capacity magazines, sound suppressor, mini-scopes, and thermal attachments (sniper rifles only) giving you over 150 differnt weapon combinations
(RS_Mike): this means that you can silence you favorite weapon and are not limited to only a few special silenced weapons

Will the editing tools, like level-editor etc. released with demo or probably be the same editor like for ut2k3 (same engine isnīt it --> same editor) or will rs need a new editor which will be released with the final release
(RS_Joel): the editor will be released with the game, and we'll probably add new features to the editor specific to our game. Since we made tremendous modifications to the engine to support our type of game.

RS will have some great outdoor maps as in Ghost Recon ?
(RS_Mike): yes, but rainbow six is a cqb game so our maps are nowhere as big as in ghost recon
(RS_Cedrick): close quarter battle
(RS_Mike): With mod building i'm sure there will be lots of outdoor maps once the game comes out

Will there be an automated TK punishment? e.g. u are not allowed to play the next round?
(RS_Chadi): Yes there will be Team Killer punishment ... its a server option !!

What is the maximum range for the infrared vision. Is walls or objects will modify this value?
(RS_Mike): for gameplay reasons we've limited the thermal vision to only see 3m once it hits an object
(RS_Mike): since our game is in the near future, we've had to enhance the current capabilities of ir sensors

Will u be able to hear the enemies footsteps? Will they depend on the material they walk on?
(RS_Joel): you'll see lots of different sounds effects. depending on what type material you're walking on. And it's easy to add new effects in the editor.

Will there be an EAX Advanced HD Sound Support?
(RS_Mike): We are looking into this option now
(RS_Joel): we're using our home-made sound engine, and it has lots of nice features.

Will there be a way to kill the enemie silently besides with SD? ...With knife e.g.?
(RS_Mike): bull - why bring a knife to a gun fight?
(RS_Cedrick): :)
(RS_Chadi): LOL
(RS_Mike): bull - real world operatives use knives as tools, not weapons
(RS_Cedrick): beside the fact you have two weapons primary and secondary to get run of ammo well watch your shoot
(RS_Mike): bull - we're working on something to always allow you to have a mag of 5 rounds for your secondary weapon if you're trigger happy

Will there be dedicated servers in rs ?
(RS_Chadi): PiR4nha ABSOLUTLY :)

What kind if mutliplayer modes will be availaible?
(RS_Mike): we're keeping all the modes from previous titles plus some, like escort the pilot

Do you think swat4: urban justice is a heavy competitor?
(RS_Cedrick): Have you seen it at E3 ?
(RS_Cedrick): Did you get in-game screens ? Not cinematics
(RS_Chadi): All the competitors out there are followers of what Rainbow six is all about :)
(RS_Cedrick): Well I think Raven Shield will set new standards in the tac sim

Will there be a way to cancel the orders you have made in the planning phase and make new orders in the action phase?
(RS_Joel): when you follow the planning, AI controlled teams follow the planning. But on your team you can give in-game order. A Circumstancial actions to the team while and the resume the planning afterwards.
(RS_Mike): we've put alot of effort into allowing you to give on-the-fly orders or quick orders to your teammates. when you look at a door and hold the action key you get a detailed list of all the orders you can give to your team like open, frag, and clear...it's really powerful

I know windows and doors have hit point values, but how do walls resist bullets and grenades? Any partial penetration or not at all?
(RS_Mike): for pure gameplay reasons we decided to not allow damage through walls. with one-shot, one-kill it makes the game feel too random
(RS_Mike): no place would ever be safe if your enemy had a 50cal sniper rifle

Will we be able to see weapons lower shoulder while running?
(RS_Mike): weapons move when you move, but they do not lower significantly

Will there be an optional third person view?
(RS_Chadi): No we have removed the 3rd person view from the game as it has been used previously as a cheat to see around corners.

Is projectils type ( FMJ ,JHP ) will be balanced deped the situation ( e.g. in RS , JHP were mainly useless)
(RS_Mike): yes. fmj is the standard ammo, while jhp are very destructive to un-armored targets, while being useless against armored target

Will the gun models have flying shell casing that are realesed from the rifles? (cause they dont in CS)
(RS_Joel): Absolutely !!! Empty shells everywhere!

If you face front a wall and shoot at it, can u be injured by your own shoots ( ricochets ) ?
(RS_Mike): No. we looked into ricochets but decided against them for the same reasons we don't allow damage through walls...it feels too random

Will there be hostage resuce or detonation maps in mutliplayer?
(RS_Chadi): Absolutely !!!

Is it possible to persuade Terrorists to give up??? (like in SWAT3 with command 'Give up!'...)
(RS_Mike): Terrorists make their own choices when they see you...rainbow doesn't say give up, they shoot
(RS_Cedrick): but you can handcuff surendered terrorists.
(RS_Mike): Some do give up, wouldn't you if you saw 4 guys in black with guns pointed at your head?

I heard right now are only 16 player MP planed. Will there be a 32 player option ...for LANs e.g?
(RS_Joel): We'll have 16 for sure, 32 would be better

(RS_Joel): time to go eat!
(ubi_Marc): Thank you so much to the Raven Shield Team for sharing their time with us!!! Chaddi, Mike, Joel - THANX A LOT!
(RS_Mike): my pleasure
(RS_Cedrick): Thanks you !
(RS_Chadi): Thank you all for being here! It was fun and hope to talk to you real soon!
(MikeH_de): Maybe we will get another chance to have the magicians behind ravenshield in a chat.
(MikeH_de): thx a lot and good luck for the game :-)
(RS_Chadi): :)
(RS_Mike): later guys
(RS_Joel): Now that I'm alone here, I'll answer the hidden questions and give you info that nobody herd yet!!! JUST KIDDING!
(RS_Joel): HA HA HA:) See you guys
(ubi_Marc): Over and out. Greetinx & Thanx a lot!