First Brink Developer Diary Released

(badman) #1

A new story entry has been added:
[drupal=502]First Brink Developer Diary Released[/drupal]

In a conspicuous feat of timing in light of Brink’s demonstration at QuakeCon 2009 later today, our first ever developer diary has just been released over on Bethesda’s Blog. In this inaugural installment, Brink Game Director Paul ‘Locki’ Wedgwood explains the thinking behind some of the big concepts in the game, including blurring the lines between single and multiplayer, the SMART system, and Brink’s unique art style and setting. Point your input device of choice here to get reading.
Also, as noted by Paul, this diary is the first in a series - please let us know in the comments what you want to hear about in the next diary.

(Shiv) #2

Read article, saved pic, going to bed :smiley:
thanks bad!
hope to see a vid in the mornin :stuck_out_tongue:

(Joe999) #3

gief new screenshots with every blog! and release them regularly :slight_smile:

(engiebenjy) #4

Good article, and locki was indeed wrong to be worried about the art direction - from what i have seen in screenshots the style is brilliant!

(Joe999) #5

can you talk more about the character customization? i always thought that people would like to have avatars that look cool. some of the characters in brink have much too small heads in my opinion. with their big body and small heads they look kinda stupid. especially zippy. tbh i’d never want to play with him. what possibilities are there?

also: each dev diary should come with at least two new screenshots!

(DarkangelUK) #6

This is usually an after thought for every game, yet seemed to be amazingly embraced in Halo 3 and other console games… but will demo playback/control and video recording be more user friendly and more indepthly implemented?

(Wussie) #7

I, too would be interested in hearing about this.

(engiebenjy) #8

I have just watched some footage of player movement, a question would be during these “smart” movement moments (which i think look silky smooth much like mirrors edge) can you fire your weapon? or reload your weapon or anything like this?

(Bezzy) #9

At the risk of getting slapped by our friendly PR department, I’m going to answer this right now.

Yes. Yes you goddamn can.

From very early on starting here, I drew a line in the sand: fluid movement is there to support gunplay, not to interrupt it.

This tweet from someone watching the demo hopefully reinforces the point:

@DavidEllis Just pulled off a really cool move where he ran by an enemy, slid by him, and blasted him with shotgun. #BrinkDemo

(deadlights) #10

nice! this is fucking exciting!

(engiebenjy) #11

Brilliant! I can see myself trying to “slide frag” :wink:

Another question i thought of, the sidemissions such as interrogating someone - are these always in the same spot? so you would always know where the guy to interrogate will be?

also if you get some intel, how would this help the team? would it act like the radar in etqw and add the enemy positions to the map?

also :wink: if you were playing offline and did this interrogation would it do anything for the team?

:eek:

(Wussie) #12

what about leaning during SMART movement? :o

(RosOne) #13

When does the beta start? :o

(DarkangelUK) #14

You didn’t get your invite? I’m actually quite bored of Brink now, don’t want to play it any more… im over-awesomed out.

(Bongoboy) #15

[QUOTE=engiebenjy;195646]Another question i thought of, the sidemissions such as interrogating someone - are these always in the same spot? so you would always know where the guy to interrogate will be?

also if you get some intel, how would this help the team? would it act like the radar in etqw and add the enemy positions to the map?

also :wink: if you were playing offline and did this interrogation would it do anything for the team?

:eek:[/QUOTE]
All the sidemissions are dynamically generated by the gameplay itself, not pre-scripted. For example, if you got downed by the enemy team, and you decide you’d rather wait for a Medic to revive you than respawn in the next respawn wave, then Medics on your team will get a mission and waypoint to revive you. But enemy Operatives will get a mission to come and interrogate you. Hilarity ensues.

In fact if you just keep checking your mission wheel (which is up on the D-pad at the moment if you’re using a console controller) throughout the game, you’ll see the recommended mission keeps changing, based on what the most useful thing you can do for your team at that precise moment. Maybe you need to do the primary objective, or support someone who is. Maybe you need to change class to do the primary objective. Maybe there’s a sidemission with a very brief window of opportunity, like interrogation if you’re an Operative, or reviving if you’re a Medic. But the more team-helpful a deed you do, the more XP you’ll get.

How does the intel gained from an interrogation help the team? We’re trying out a few things, we’ll get back to you on that one but you’re definitely thinking along the right lines.

And playing offline? Sure. It doesn’t matter whether you’re online or offline, whether the players are live and actual factual meat people or AI controlled players or you started playing that map as part of your Resistance or Security campaign storyline or buddies joined you to make it a Co-Op game, or it’s a pure competitive multiplayer match, it’s all the same game. Do good things for your team (and the game will always suggest the most team-helpy things you can do), and we’ll shower you with XP.

Hope that answers your question : )

(Nail) #16

full of wonder and awe, I is

(SockDog) #17

Not sure about others but I found the stop, select mission, go in ETQW an unnecessary distraction. Especially so when I could play the game as/more effectively by ignoring it (HUD indicators being more informative and less intrusive).

Is there consideration for this or at least equal rewards for players that do the right thing but without selecting it on a mission wheel? (I’m embarrassed to say I’m not sure if ETQW rewarded bonus xp for completing selected missions over available ones).

(Rahdo) #18

You’ll still be earning XP whether you use the wheel or not, don’t worry. :slight_smile: But, the wheel serves one other very important purpose… by using it to “give yourself missions”, you’re also automatically communicating with your teammates (and in some cases, the enemy) about what you’re doing. So it can still be a real boon to the overall game if you take a second to declare what your up to. And in some cases, doing this can create new missions for others.

For example, if you’re an engineer and you use the wheel to set “repair the crane” as your primary objective, you’ve basically just made yourself an MVP (because that crane needs to be repaired. Other classes now get new objectives to support you with their abilities. And if they choose to do so by using their wheel, you’ll hear VO from them letting you know they’re going to help you.

The game works great without all of this, of course, but with it running, it just helps make teamwork that much smoother… :slight_smile:

(acidrain) #19

Sounds pretty much exactly like the ETQW mission system. Correct?

(SockDog) #20

It has some clear advantages to be sure but I still wonder if it is breaking the pace by forcing you to stop, read multiple missions, select, then get back to the game. If you’re a newbie you probably just want to play and do whatever the game selects as the best mission for you, if you’re familiar with the game you probably want to bypass the interruption. Perhaps it’s just me though.

I wonder how it would work if you pressed a key and the missions appeared as icons on your HUD. Closest icon to your crosshair is selected as your mission. That way you can still be moving shooting and heading to a mission then declare your intentions when there is a quiet moment.