Posted: 01-06-05 In: Interviews By: Munro2 |


Halflife2.net: Let me first just say, thanks for granting me this interview, I’ve had a personal interest in this mod for a long time. This is something I’m keen to ask: Is this just Adrenaline Gamer: Source?

Precizion: No. Something we have been keen to state from the start is that AG2 will be a new game with new things to learn. None of the design team really have any interest in just remaking AG with better graphics. After all, some of us have been playing that game for around six years now, and it really is time for something different.

We will take advantage of some of the great features AG had to offer though, such as the comprehensive set of match options which will be used and improved upon in AG2.

Halflife2.net: Would you say you’re happy with Valve’s take on Deathmatch?

Precizion: Even though I am not that keen on it myself, I would say such games certainly have their place. They can be especially good for anyone who is just looking for a quick bit of fun and who is not that interested expending all that much effort on it. However if a player is looking for something with a bit more to it, HL2DM does fall quite a bit short in many areas. Hopefully AG2 will be able to satisfy those gamers though.

Halflife2.net: Will AG2 be to HL2 DM what AG was to HL DM i.e. more speed, voting system, more user control over servers. Or will it be closer to the old-school HL DM?

Precizion: In some ways yes, as it will certainly be faster and have many features that cater to the more competitive gamers. But in other ways no, as AG2 will not just be a match mod like the first AG was. Instead it will be a game that, whilst taking its base from HL2, will be designed almost from the ground up. We will be looking at every aspect of the gameplay and changing whatever is needed to make the game as fun and rewarding as possible.

For more information on just what we hope to achieve, please check out the about page on our website.

Halflife2.net: What led to the removal of wall-gaussing from AG2?

Precizion: A lot of reasons. But as it would take quite a while to go through them all, I will instead just say that, having looked at many different factors, a decision was made that the game and scene would benefit overall from its removal.

Halflife2.net: How do you propose to get new people interested in AG2?

Precizion: Mainly through a lot of good PR work and word of mouth from the players. There are a lot of players out there who probably started out their FPS careers with games such as CS and who have never really played a deathmatch game properly. It would be great to get some of those to try the mod. The problem though is not so much getting them to play the game, it is getting them to stay. Like I mentioned in a previous answer, having new players come up against those who have years of experience over them is not the best situation to have. There is only so much a player can take of being totally outplayed before they begin to get a bit tired of it. And that really is a shame, because there is so much depth and richness of gameplay in deathmatch games which only becomes apparent after many months of playing.

Halflife2.net: Would you say you are aiming to get AG2 included in pro-gaming tourneys?

Precizion: Well AG2 certainly caters to the more competitive players and should have the depth needed to be used in such tournaments, but I would not say it is really an aim.

The thing about pro-gaming is that, even though it offers benefits to the game/scene used (increased publicity and perhaps an influx of new players), it does also tend to do a bit of damage as well (player's attitudes for one). If such a thing were to come about though, I expect we would most likely help it along. We will just have to wait and see.

Halflife2.net: How many maps do you plan on releasing with AG2?

Precizion: That is a hard question to answer at the moment. All I can really say is we will try to get as many maps as possible in to the first release so that players have plenty of variety.

Halflife2.net: Will there be any remakes or will they be all new?

Precizion: We are trying to stay away from remakes, especially of the more popular maps. You may see one of two updated levels from some of our mapper's back catalogues, but only if they are not that well known and can be adapted to play well. We really want AG2 to be as fresh as possible.

Halflife2.net: I recall you’ve said before the long jump module will return, but, in what form?

Precizion: This is something we have given a lot of thought to, especially since it is not present in HL2. We do have a couple of ideas for different types of long jump (neither of which are the same as they were in the first game), but whether they will be used or not has yet to be decided. One of the reasons for this is that, due to the increased speed and a couple of new moves, it may not be even needed. I think though that this will be something that will be decided once we begin proper play testing. We may even bring in some outside players for a closed beta and give them a chance to have their say after testing it.

Halflife2.net: Can you give any juicy details about the proposed new movement tricks planned?

Precizion: Not right now. Perhaps once we get closer to completion and move into beta testing we will release more information on them, but not before. All I will say is that they should help to make the game a lot more fluid.