Hellgate London Interview (con't)

FiringSquad: What are a couple of the more exotic weapons and items that players will have access to in the full game?

Bill Roper: We’ve created some pretty crazy equipment for Hellgate: London that ranges from organic weaponry to swords made of arcane energy to massive “area 51” style weapons. The armor designs are broken down by faction so that the Templar look like knights from the future, the Hunters super-sleek spies, and the Cabalists are edgy and dark. We’ve tried to give each faction a specific look and feel that is reflected across their equipment, both in fashion and function.

A good example of a distinctive weapon is the Beetlebore. This Cabalist weapon fires out genetically altered and magically imbued beetles that swarm and devour their target.

FiringSquad: What are some of the more unique creatures and attacks in Hellgate London at this point?

Bill Roper: The reactions we’ve had to the demon designs in the game have been incredible. We’ve had actual visceral reactions to them, which is just what we wanted. The desire has been to create monsters that represent the fears and horrors of the people in London, and I think we hit the mark in many ways.

We’ve also created demons that interact with each other to provide for more interesting encounters. The Zombie Lord both raises and enhances the undead to fight against the heroes. The manner in which he does this, though, is downright creepy. And the players have to focus their attentions on the Zombie Lord because he’ll keep raising new recruits if you simply focus on his minions. And since the experience gained from destroying them is negligible, their master is really the one that needs putting down.

FiringSquad: In terms of the game's online multiplayer mode, will it follow the Diablo-Guild Wars style of gameplay or will it also have some MMO elements as well?

Bill Roper: It is definitely a mix of both styles of online play, although our roots in the Diablo series will be very evident. The Underground stations act as centers for economy and community, where players form groups and guilds, buy and sell items, get quests and base their adventures into and below the streets of London. All of the adventuring areas are instanced, which means they are created specifically for the player or players when they head out. The levels are also randomly generated, so this means that no two adventures are ever exactly the same.

The MMO elements we have tapped are those that focus on building community. We want players to be able to play with who they want, when they want, in the simplest fashion possible. Also, unlike the Diablo games, you are your character the second you start playing. This persistent avatar is one of the best things about MMOs, and we’ve spent a lot of effort to allow players to customize their characters so they can be as unique as possible. This distinction of character is something that players want and we are looking to deliver in a way that gamers haven’t seen before.

FiringSquad: Let's talk about the DirectX10 features for Hellgate London. First will the DirectX10 version be shipped with the game or will it be made available via a patch?

Bill Roper: We will be shipping the game with support for both DirectX9 and DirectX10. DirectX 10 is a new and exciting way of doing graphics. Besides the obvious benefits to speed and quality, the flexibility of the new shader model helps to offset the increased development demands of providing additional and more complex content beyond that needed for DX9.

FiringSquad: In terms of comparing the DirectX9 and DirectX10 version, what extra and improved graphical features will the DirectX10 version have?

Bill Roper: DirectX 10 not only means faster hardware and more sophisticated shaders, but a more flexible and generalized pipeline which allows us to use the high-end DX9 artwork as a basis for creating even better graphics for the DX10. We have particle systems that live and operate entirely on the GPU. They spawn off of the actual mesh geometry. We have volumetric fluid smoke that responds to objects that pass through it. We have fancy soft shadows that get softer with distance from the caster. We’ve worked very closely with both NVidia and Microsoft to integrate the newest technology into Hellgate: London so that those gamers that live on the cutting edge will get something special from their experience.

Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Hellgate London at this point?

Bill Roper: We’re working long hours at this point and are excited about getting the content locked down and pushing towards alpha and beta. The real reward is when we get to play the game with everyone who has been patiently waiting for its release. See you online!