Posted: 05-09-06 In: Interviews By: Munro | (0) comments | Add your comments

We interview the project lead of Insurgency, Jeremy.

Halflife2.net: First off, on behalf of Halflife2.net, I'd like to thank you for taking the time for doing this interview. Starting with the formalities, could you please tell us who you are and what your position is within the Insurgency Mod team?

Jeremy: My name is Jeremy Blum and I'm the project lead of Insurgency

Halflife2.net: Many were worried that the Insurgency Mod and its team were dead in the water - literally in some cases. Why so quiet lately?

Jeremy: Well, to those of you who think we are dead, I have good news for you: This is hardly the case. The reason we went so quiet was somewhat of a personal decision of mine. It was a measure to tone down the hype a bit, and focus our team on what really mattered: the mod. A lot of people were nagging us about when we were going to release, and that we're taking such a long time, etc. So, this silence has allowed us to really look at internal matters instead of external matters, and produce high quality stuff, paving our way towards release. I'm glad to say that the forums are going back up, and a new website is in the works. The mod was never dead; we just decided to go underground for a bit. Sorry to those who were upset by this!

Halflife2.net: When can we expect a fully functional website, complete with forums to express our utmost feelings and all?

Jeremy: We plan on releasing the new forums and at least a temporary website by the time this interview is released. In these new forums we showcase a new "style" and we've preserved all our original members. So, all of you that were eagerly waiting for Insurgency before can re-join our community with ease. We look forward to re-acquainting ourselves with our community as it's been a while.

Halflife2.net: So how has the community taken this absence? Have you been constantly bombarded with emails asking about your whereabouts? Do they even bother anymore?

Jeremy: A lot of people were concerned. This was never our intent, but it turned out that way. We had a lot of angry fans who claimed that they've lost interest in the mod, thought we were stupid, creating vaporware, etc. But personally, as much as I appreciate a community prior to releasing a mod, what really matters is the community forming after the mod's released; the community that is built on people that actually love the game itself. There's one thing to follow a mod and there's another to play it. I'm pretty confident that in the long run this "down" time will hardly have a negative effect on the mod's success, considering how fun even the current build of Insurgency is, and how happy the new testers are with Insurgency in comparison to their expectations.

Halflife2.net: The internal testing is rolling along nicely, I assume?

Jeremy: The internal testing process just took a huge turn for the better. I decided that it was necessary for us to greatly increase our testing team, so I let each tester vouch for a friend (or a few friends), who I let onto the testing team. So, now we have a very "tight" testing team with approximately 100 members I think. Testing is daily now, and we make great progress. It always makes me smile when a completely new tester playing INS for the first game says "This rocks!" or "This is much more fun than Counter-Strike," etc. The testing process is going well. We have a good system now of distributing content, reporting bugs and crashes, and dealing with them. Considering we still have a little ways to go to completely polish the mod, I'd say that the current state of the mod and the testing of it are progressing nicely!

Halflife2.net: Have you been taking advantage of the latest Source Engine additions, such as high-dynamic range (HDR) lighting and phong shading?

Jeremy: I think the screenshots we've provided you answer this question: Yes, and yes.

Halflife2.net: Are there workings of new gameplay ideas or mechanics that were not previously brought to the publics attention before?

Jeremy: Yes. New ideas keep coming up, and it is fair to say that this is delaying release, but the end result will be more of a mirror of our original intentions. For example, the objectives system is undergoing change that will lead to better firefights and teamwork. Another example is that our entire User Interface is being redone. The mod has undergone a several transitions in leadership throughout its course, so we are trying to find a balance between the original vision of the mod by its founder Andrew Spearin and the changes we want to make based on playtesting. The new gameplay ideas and mechanics that we're implementing now will be seen in our release. We have many other ideas up our sleeve that the public will see in updates further down the line.

Halflife2.net: How has been working with the Source Engine been? Is it proving to be the right choice for your mod?

Jeremy: The Source engine is powerful and has so far proven to be a good choice for us. It has its limits, but a good mod developer works around these roadblocks. I think our entire team has adapted to this engine very well, and have created things that many Source developers probably would not have thought realistic for this engine to handle.

Halflife2.net: Has VALVe ever confronted the team at all pertaining to the project? Have they demanded to have a build of the mod in their hands before 6 o'clock, Thursday?

Jeremy: We have talked to VALVe in the past, sure, but since we were in no shape to show off our mod to them back then, discussions never really lasted long. Our highest priority is creating a fun and innovative mod, so we aren't too concerned with discussing anything with VALVe at this time... maybe after we've achieved our personal goals. I am sure VALVe will appreciate what we've done once they have played the mod.

Halflife2.net: What can we expect to see at the release?

Jeremy: I can't give you guys a good description of our first release yet. When the game is good enough to release, we will decide what will be in the first release. But I will tell you one thing... we have over 12 high quality maps in progress, located in Iraq, Afghanistan and Croatia. It is undecided if we want to gradually release maps or release many of them at once. That's all I'll say.

Halflife2.net: So, when can we expect to see the first public launching of Insurgency Mod? Sooner rather than later I hope.

Jeremy: Yes, sooner than later. I will use the golden rule of mod releases: When it's done. However, I will say that the mod is fun as it is, and we don't have that many tasks remaining.

Halflife2.net: Any closing thoughts you'd like to share with the community?

Jeremy: To those of you angry that we went underground, I hope you guys will forgive us. We really do care about our community, and intend on releasing the mod as soon as possible. Please check out our website and forums at http://www.insmod.net Thanks!

Halflife2.net: I'd like to thank you for your time! I'm sure everyone in the community will rest easy knowing that the Insurgency Mod team is alive and well.