ATi-Forum.de

Das Leben schreibt oft die besten Geschichten, bei weilen auch die komischsten. So auch für uns auf der diesjährigen Games Convention in Leipzig. Die geplante Präsentation von FarCry II hatten wir aufgrund eines etwas längeren Termins bei EA leider verpasst und später einen Ersatztermin erhalten.
Um wenigstens beim 2. Anlauf pünktlich zu sein, waren wir bereits 15 Minuten vorher in der Ubisoft Launch. Dort angekommen suchten wir nach guten Sitzgelegenheiten und fanden diese. Zu blöd, das ein weitere Mann sich ebenfalls auf diese setzten wollte. Nach einem kurzen (irrelevanten) Wortwechsel und der gefundenen Lösung fragt er den Autor dieser Zeilen:
„So what are you waiting for?“ - “The FarCry II presentation for PC” – “I hope you like it ” – “Why?” – “I’ am the producer”. Zufall? Vielleicht, vielleicht auch nicht. Uns war es in diesem Moment auch ziemlich egal und wir vereinbarten nach der Präsentation (wir berichteten) ein Interview mit Louis-Pierre Pharand, dem Produzenten von FarCry II.

Nach der Präsentation mussten wir leider noch kurz warten, da die Kollegen von PC-Action noch an der Reihe waren, aber dann konnte es losgehen. Da wir eventuelle Übersetzungsfehler (in die so manches hineininterpretiert wird) vermeiden wollen, hier das Interview im Original, sprich nicht ganz so perfekten englisch

ATi-Forum.de: It´s a very great Game.
Louis-Pierre Pharand: Yeah?

Yeah!
Do you like the Map Editor?

Yes, it’s a beautiful thing. You can build your own Map´s very fast and easy.
You can got have fun with it.

There so much features for 30 minutes, its hard
Yeah! Go for it.

All right – The graphic engine is completely new. Fire is an important element, also for gameplay?
Yo, it’s also implied in Gameplay. Everything you saw, everything is moving in the game. The trees are moving, there are reacting to the wind. We have a weather system in the game, so the wind forces actually change. We don’t control, totally random. Sometimes may it start raining. If it rains, it’s going to be an order that you can’t start fire, because everything it´s wet.
But… you look at the wind direction. You can have a Molotow-Cocktail or a flamethrower (dt.: Flammenwerfer). So I see away a camp and see that the wind is blowing in their direction. You go on the other side, start a fire, maybe with a Molotow-Cocktail and inflame the savanna grass. The wind pushed to the camp.
The A.I`s see there is a big fire coming in… “What can we do?! What can we do?!” You go on the other side, create a lot of chaos by going in. You can create a lot of chaos.
It´s a lot of Gameplay, not only a “WOW-Effect”. That’s what we want. Everything that you see in game… That is impressive, like you ever say “Wow”. There just did it for Show?! No, everything is related to Gameplay, all the time.

Let’s talk about destructible environment, can you destruct everything or nearly everything?
All the vegetation is destructible, vulnerable and destructible. So if you shoot on a branch, it’s become a breaking exactly where you shoot.
If it’s small enough. I mean a bullet cannot break a tree.
All the grass moves to the wind. Is vulnerable as well. What are we have… Architecture – Everything that seems destructible will be destructible. If you get a concrete wall (dt.: Betonmauer), you know, you can´t break. But if it´s made out of wooden stills, wooden planks… things like that, yes it is destructible and vulnerable.

Will be there some DirectX 10 specials?
Yeah, mostly on the performance side. In sense that you have a better frame rate on Dx10. But not like… like a better lightning system…

Not like Crysis?
What did Crysis have on DirectX 10…

Very-High is an exclusive feature of DirectX 10. If you wants’ to activate this, you must have Vista and a DirectX 10 graphic card.
Yes, you can have enhanced graphics, you can have enhanced performance. But if I cannot have… I don´t know… like Dynamic Shadows on Dx10 and not have it on Dx9 – It´s not like that. But it´s can looks be better on Dx10.

Is Ray-tracing a big topic in the game?
It´s always a big Topic [lacht]

[lacht auch] Also in development?
Yes. Ray-tracing implies… You know... in every stage or whatever you have on screen, including A.I´s. Sometimes we have over 20 A.I´s, in combats or anything else.
We build the engine from the grown up. A lot of people think we are using Cryengine…

But it´s to old?
Yeah… or (think) we started with Cryengine or something else – No. We have 57 engineers on the Project. Just to give you… It´s more than the entire team of whole projects.

How long does it take to develop FarCry II?
It took for us from the early early beginning three and a half year. But three and a half years ago there were 3 guys on this project. Thinking about the concept, what we want to do? But really on developing the engine and basically to where we are… We are talking about two and a half years.

And the physics engine is complete programmed by Ubisoft…
By us, yes.

No Ageia, no Havok?
No Ageia, Havok is been included in the game, but… It´s for destructibility of environments, vehicles, things like that. But the entire vegetation (physics) is build in house. All the vegetation system… It´s not take anything from Havok.

It´s look very good.
Yeah, I think you guys enjoyed

Yeah – Can you tell us something about the release date?
Follow this year, in the next few month.

Okay. Before Christmas?
Yes, definitely before Christmas, don´t worry.
We talking before… estimate 50 hours of Gameplay on singleplayer, now we are more close to 80-100 hours of Gameplay. Additionally Multiplayer, the mapeditor… So you can have a lot of fun with this game.

What can you tell us about Future? Another FarCry or anything else?
I can´t talk about that yet. But when you get a success, usually you continue and try to build on it. One of the things what we want to do with FarCry is that… If there are other FarCry, obtain to be at the same Quality. The original game was extreme quality. There were some console Shooters there will… (Not so good ). Instinct was a really good shooter on console, but the other ones will make may a bit… Not the same quality as the brand.
Now we know where we have to go with FarCry II. And if there are others, there have to be the same Quality.

Can you Die in FarCry II?
Yes you can.

But your friends help you?
Well, if your friend is dead, you can get killed. If you don´t have any friends there is unlocked – your dead. That’s why your friends are so important.

Can the PC-gamers play together with the gamers of the console Versions?
No, nothing like that.

Okay, thank you very much.
Hey, thank you for coming.


Also ihr habt es gehört. 3 ½ Jahre Entwicklungsarbeit, ein großes Team dahinter und wohlmöglich mehr als 50 Stunden Spielzeit. Sollte auch die Story unseren Erwartungen entsprechen ein Must-Have für jeden EgoShooter-Fan. Und wenn das Game kaufen und nicht (illegal) laden, damit auch weiterhin so gute Spiele für den PC entwickelt werden! Aber ich denke das ist für unsere User selbstverständlich



Das Interview führten N1truX und Przemyslaw Szymanski. Abschließend der Hinweis, dass nicht alle Textpassagen immer 100%ig dem originalen Wortlaut entsprechen.

Naja lieber 2 Wörter zuviel übersetzt als zu wenig Die Systemanforderungen sollten ähnlich der von Crysis sein, ggf. etwas drunter da die Effekte nicht ganz so extrem sind. Quadcoreunterstützung ja und wohl sogar 8 Kern aber das hatte DiRT ja auch schon und selbst Quadcores werden wenig genutzt.
Wir hätten gerne mehr fragen gestellt, nur hatten wir am Ende des Interviews noch 7 Minuten um zu AMD zu kommen