As i mentioned i was only interested in Black Ops.. i thought i would start my hype
lol. <3
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKpLBPBGVIM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtRnpC7ddv8[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IvvmtQ_FVg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
With a rather terse reply to a forum comment on the official CoD:BO site, head developer for the PC platform, Cesar aka "pcdev" Stastny, may have laid to rest some of the more deep seated fears the keyboard&mouse guys might have had for Treyarch's upcoming release.
In response to the question of whether we will get "demo recording", that is, the ability to record game-state, pc-dev said:
demo recording: confirmed
-pcdev-
Source
This has great ramifications for PC competitive gamers who typically use demo-recording (the "/record" feature in previous CoD's) to prove the fact that they played on the 'up-and-up' during sanctioned online and LAN games. The lack of "/record" was another nail in MW2's competitive-play coffin and in BFBC2, the lack of a similar feature, has seriously hamstrung that game into ever becoming a serious competitive shooter.
Undoubtedly, pcdev's short comment will set off a flurry of speculation in regards the presence of the console in the game. The console, for those who may not know, was a mode that could be invoked within previous PC-version CoD games (with the exception of MW2) by hitting the tilde key. Once in console, direct commands could be entered to modify or set client parameters, not limited to those that could be changed through the menu system. This was a powerful tool, in that unique client-side configurations could be made or changed in game. And if the scripts were bound to keys, the changes could be nearly instantaneous, thus making the knowledge of these console commands quite important.
Presence of a console could mean that CoD:BO would not be that far different from the CoD:WW user-interface. This would be a welcome relief for most hardcore PC gamers who are giving CoD one last chance after the debacle that was MW2.
First dedicated servers, now the hint that the console might exist. Good news.
However, I would like to caution that unless we get absolute confirmation of a console, any conclusion-jumping is somewhat premature. Note that I have not been able to get that confirmation from Treyarch, so for all I know, the record function could even be hardwired without the need of a console. We just do not know at the moment.
Fingers crossed.
Thanks to Beaknuke, here are additional pcdev'isms:
cod:black ops will allow US and EU to play MP together.
-pcdev-
Scroll wheel - yes.
Prone - yes.
-pcdev-
Shiny new server browser: confirmed.
-pcdev-
The good news is that the pc version of cod:black ops will allow you to play either way so bring on the kb+mouse vs controller matches!
-pcdev-
cod:black ops will run on XP, Vista, and Win7.
-pcdev-
We decided to have dedicated servers for this title from the very beginning of the project. We have not wavered from this for a moment. CoD Black Ops PC has dedicated servers. Definitely.
-pcdev-
I have started to notice a few people asking questions of the Treyarch devs regarding the sound tech that will be in CoD:BO. Some of these questions were answered last May when Treyarch had its community event.
As regular readers of BASHandSlash.com know, I was at that event and was fortunate to be in the audio booth with Audio Director Brian Tuey. Brian's audio team is currently working on Black Ops, but you all may remember the fact that he also was involved with Call of Duty:World at War.
The CoD:WW Sound Experience
And speaking of CoD:WW, recall that hardcore gamers took a long time to come to any judgment on CoD:WW's sound. In the end, that judgment was mixed. Casual gamers seemed to like the attempt at simulated real-world sound. That attempt at realism was the philosophy behind the CoD:WW sound.
Many gamers were not so appreciative.
Among the more ardent haters were pro-gamers who wanted clear distinct audio cues to help them know where the enemy was hiding.
I must admit that I was in the latter camp.
Here were my thoughts on CoD:WW's audio soon after I played the Beta, back in October '08:
...sadly, the sounds in the Beta are simply dissatisfying, to put it mildly. With the exception of the bazooka and the tank main guns, all weapon sounds including all the guns and the grenade explosions are pathetically meek.
The lack of realistic sounds in-game completely nullifies any of the visuals. I cannot emphasize this point enough. Everyone playing with me in the Beta servers said virtually the same thing.
CoD:WW Beta Review Oct '08
While I was, in retrospect, quite harsh in dealing with the in game audio, my opinion soured further when I later agreed with the competitive community regarding the lack of situational awareness that the sounds provided. Anyone playing BFBC2 nowadays will understand what I'm talking about. Nearby enemy sounds were nearly inaudible and distant sounds were echoey and could not be pin-pointed. Anyone wanting to play the game with skill wants to remove randomness and hardcore gamers found the sound tech in CoD:WW took skill away.
Not everyone agreed on this of course. Many loved the cinematic audio, but some of the real hardcore players found issue with it. North American competitive "pros" would typically point to sound as the number one reason for staying with CoD4 as the competitive game of choice.
Occlusion and Flux
CoD:WW sported two new sound technologies for the CoD franchise. Occlusion and Flux.
Occlusion was simply a fancy sound-attenuation algorithm, while Flux allowed sound to bounce off surfaces and produced echoes in game. Occlusion made it difficult to hear someone around a wall and simulated the real-world effect of attenuation through solid objects. This made hearing someone approaching you from around a wall very tricky. But the real problem was Flux, which tricked you into thinking the sound was coming from somewhere else. In CoD4, good players were accustomed at cranking the sound up to figure out where their enemy was, but in CoD:WW, it was harder to determine position, thanks to Flux.
Many attempts were made to try remove these two technologies as CoD:WW modders tried to remedy the situation by attempting to revert back to a CoD4-like sound.
Raf1, maker of CoD4's Promod, spent a great deal of time on this problem and eventually gave up. Though he managed to remove some of the Occlusion by deleting global attenuation dvars, the Flux algorithms were woven too tightly into the game and he was not able to budge them.
Fast forward to Black Ops
Two years later, at the BO Community Event in May, Brian Tuey reflected on CoD:WW and gave us an inkling about what we would get in Black Ops:
Jock: You brought a technology in CoD:WW that I hadn't seen before in CoD (Occlusion/Flux). What will happen in BO?
Brian Tuey: It's refined. It's a lot more natural now. One of our new, big audio tech features is that we have surround reverb now. We've got a brand new reverb engine. It interacts with the occlusion system in a really nice way to make it feel a lot more natural. So you'll still be able to tell when things are behind buildings, but it's not the abrupt unnatural thing that it became last time. It was new technology, you refine as you go.
Also, we're doing some things with compressors on the output, so that people with television sets can hear quiet sounds better.
Brian went on to point out three different sets of speakers around the room: professional monitors, a consumer 5.1 system and also a pair of crappy computer speakers. The three sets allowed him to simulate most gamer systems...the variation in end-user technology had to be accounted for.
Brian also told us that he had to re-record all in-game weapon sounds as the old WWII weapon audio was now outdated.
Brian Tuey: We had 45 mics set up (20 for CoD:WW). We were in a canyon (recording the gun sounds) and we even had some mics just pointed at the mountains. Remember the Flux stuff we did back in CoD:WW? We recorded the movement of the echo (off the mountains) and this was re-integrated back into the gun's sound.
Jock: Can you take away the Occlusion/Flux? Like a switch? Can that be shut off if you were playing a competitive mode?
Brian Tuey: I think it will be less of an issue now, but there is a way you can shut it off. (We were directed to speak to pcdev at this point -- who did seem to indicate he was amenable to creating such a switch).
While Occlusion/Flux will make a reappearance in BO, the real question is whether that switch to turn the tech off is included. I'm going to bet it is. If so, even more good news for the competitive crowd.
E3[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrurGjHbPU8[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4gSJvjy9rE&feature=channel[/youtube]
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter with stealth and tactical play aspect that puts players in the role of a shadow soldier fighting in a variety of historically representative fictional Black Ops missions of the Cold War era. Created with the input of actual Black Ops soldiers from the time, the game mixes traditional Call of Duty tactical shooter gameplay with new gameplay options designed to expand the players' experience. Additional features include extensive multiplayer options, along with new vehicles and explosive new weapons.
Follow-up to 2009’s blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops breaks new ground in the Call of Duty series and the video game industry at large by delving into the not-so cold conflicts of the Cold War.
Inspired by the experiences of real Black Ops soldiers of the era, the missions of Call of Duty: Black Ops take the player to a wide variety of settings, ranging from snowbound mountain strongholds in historical Soviet held territories, to the jungles and urban settings of Vietnam War era SE Asia. Throughout all, care has been taken to maintain the traditional essence of Call of Duty style combat, while also introducing new types of player action that add to the gameplay experience. Additional features include co-op, versus and team-based multiplayer options, new vehicles like the SR-71 Blackbird and lethal new weapons such as explosive-tipped crossbows.
* Key Game Features Seventh installment of the Call of Duty series, based on the live fire conflicts of the Cold War era.
* Diverse variety of play setting ranging from urban air and ground combat in SE Asia, to snow combat in Soviet region and jungle combat.
* Blending of traditional COD, and new first-person character scenarios designed to both retain the essence of the COD gaming experience and ensure constantly flowing and varied action.
* New arsenal of weapons and vehicles tied to the Cold War era, including the SR-71 Blackbird and sited explosive-tipped crossbows.
* Wide array of play modes including single player, local multiplayer versus and online co-op and multiplayer.
Features
Wide array of play modes including single player, local multiplayer versus and online co-op and multiplayer
Seventh installment of the Call of Duty series, based on the live fire conflicts of the Cold War era
Diverse variety of play setting ranging from urban air and ground combat in SE Asia, to snow combat in Soviet region and jungle combat
Blending of traditional COD, and new first-person character scenarios designed to both retain the essence of the COD gaming experience and ensure constantly flowing and varied action
New arsenal of weapons and vehicles tied to the Cold War era, including the SR-71 Blackbird and sited explosive-tipped crossbows
Product Image
Gametrailers.com:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjnNPEdwmjo[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itKThHUO8IM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEU_OMzt6Zw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdLTxpK9f8g[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-GYVbWYZk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVgb7e21Fwc[/youtube]
New campaign mission:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7PRTYn3ZMk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
A few weeks ago, a very high level meeting occurred at Treyarch where the topic of PC support arose. My sources indicate that key figures in that meeting stood up and defended the wants and desires of the hardcore PC community. Those figures were Treyarch's Community Manager and former CoD-blogger and modder, JD_2020 (Josh) and lead PC developer, pcdev (Cesar).
The rumor was that JD and pcdev won the day. Though the exact topics of the meeting were not revealed, some of us in the community were told "not to worry".
When I'm told not to worry, of course I immediately begin to worry.
What happened during that meeting?
What could have happened if Josh and Cesar were not there to boost the PC platform?
Difficult to answer these questions directly, but after the news from Gamescom today, I am only now beginning to realize what might have been stake
The big news? Simply put:
1. The PC platform will get a developer console in CoD:Black Ops. That is, you will be able to adjust some variables (Cvars) directly through your keyboard, whilst in-game. This has been possible on all PC-CoD's, with the exception of MW2.
2. Mod-tools, which are used to create new community maps, are not ready for deployment day one of release. However, the developers will be addressing them afterwards (presumably in the new year). The release of mod-tools has been made difficult due to changes in the CoD engine.
This info came to light in a conversation by a German forum group with Josh Olin. A translation of which appears here.
It was all confirmed on callofduty.com a little later:
We plan to open the game up for modding sometime post-launch. We do not know yet to what extent you will be able to mod the game. There are some purely technical issues related to engine and internal tool enhancements that do not easily fit the modtools paradigm. We have looked at it close enough to see that it is non-trivial and we will have to pick it up again post-launch. Right now we are completely focused on finishing the game.
And, dev console: confirmed.
-pcdev-
Bottom line
Configs...scripts...in-game binds...yup, looks like we still have that ability.
Mods? I cannot see why not, even on release. Mod-tools are for generally necessary for community mappers, while modders can make due with Wordpad as their "tool". Therefore, unless Treyarch has given us a built-in competitive gametype, making a "promod" version of BlackOps should be do-able.
A good day for the PC
Ironically, I had asked the "console" question to Cesar only a day earlier. He did not deny it's existence and that sometimes means its confirmation in pre-launch dev-speak.
All this is obviously great news for the community.
Interestingly, some are right now thinking that we have hit a tipping point. Maybe, we are now forever assured of getting dev consoles and mod tools (and lean...and prone...etc.) for the rest of time?
I don't think we should think that this decision was anything like a slam-dunk for Treyarch. It was undoubtedly earned through some courageous direction from PC-boosters like pcdev and JD_2020. These two deserve much of our appreciation as of course does Treyarch as a whole, for providing us a home for our hobby.
Having said that...what if pc-dev wasn't around? What if JD_2020 wasn't at that meeting to shout down the forces of consolization? What if Rob Bowling (XBox booster and not much of a PC-enthusiast) was?
I shudder to think.
But I'll worry about all this tomorrow. Today...we celebrate!
Sparrrrrttttaaaaa!!!!
Here is a nice set of vids showing the rather cramped quarters within Gamescom where JD_2020 has been fielding questions (vengono dal sito: cyberludus)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWK-PTEmpG0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZcqHgTa2J0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
