Post: CVG interview w/ Josh Olin *new*
Options
09-08-2010, 03:05 PM
#1
ONExTACTIC
Do a barrel roll!
There are lot of things that we didn't really tell you about. Wager match was the biggest part of the presentation and the highlight of the evening, just because this is the brand new game mode we've introduced. All the traditional game modes have returned, so you're going to see Team Deathmatch, Demolition, Capture the Flag, Domination and all that good stuff.
The Wager Matches are built around this new economy and so CoD points are also such a fundamental, brand new introduction to multiplayer that it is really important for players to grasp the importance of it. I've been reading Twitter all through that presentation and already there are misunderstandings about what CoD points are so I'm going to rely on you guys to clear the water.
CoD points do unlock weapons, you do need to buy weapons, upgrades, attachments, face paints, camos, whatever you want to spend it on really. However, things still do unlock over time, so there is still the concept of XP, levelling and ranking up. Once you go through the ranks you'll unlock broader features now, so you'll unlock Killstreaks, which will unlock at a certain level. You can buy whichever one you want, if you want to buy the 11 Killstreak right away that's fine, go ahead and do that.
Additionally, once a weapon unlocks, if you unlock a couple of assault rifles you get to pick which one you want to buy and furthermore you don't have to worry about completing challenges to unlock attachments and upgrades, all of those are going to be available once you purchase it and ranked up to a certain level.
Is there anything you can only get through experience, or likewise with CoD Points?
Prestige is still something that is relegated to levels, you don't pay money to prestige. Things are still unlocked via rank but then you have to choose if you want to use the money to purchase them.
Do you think, potentially, that the CoD points earned in this game could carry over into future games?
It's definitely a possibility but we're honed in on making Black Ops the best it can. We've really only thought about as far as where we're going to vacation come December once we've shipped this game (laughs). The team is working so hard on this, we haven't even thought ahead to DLC plans.
We wanted to create this concept of gambling, it is a core competitive form, the ultimate form of competition. We knew we wanted to do that for Black Ops and originally we were thinking of gambling XP but that wouldn't make sense because we can't de-level you, so after all that stuff we did we realised we needed to have a form of currency.
Is there any flexibility in the gambling? When we enter a match can we bet money on placing first in the match or is it just a blanket bet?
Once you get into a match you have this feature where you're going to double down. You can raise your buy-ins from whatever the CoD points is from that and double it, and of course it will double your return on investment.
The top three positions are always going to be paid, so there is always the concept of being 'in the money' which we borrowed from poker and blackjack. That is always going to be the way Wager Matches work. Depending on which Wager Match you go in to there will be different stakes. There are low buy-ins of around 100 CoD points for novice players and there will be high-stake buy-ins for hardcore players.
That is also how the difficulty is going to be managed; a lot of players are concerned about being in a wager match with someone who is 100 times better than them. Those players probably aren't going to be playing in small stake matches. If I'm a world class poker player I'm not going to play in the penny-poker games I'll be in the $10,000 buy in tables. The skill level will be managed and segregated in a very similar way.
You've introduced all these super-weapons in supply crates and gambling... has this game more difficult to balance than past games?
Absolutely! This has been the most difficult to balance and there are a lot of things that contribute to that such as the earn rate and spend rate of CoD points, plus XP is always a tough thing to balance out. With all these things we're adding to purchase you have to balance not only the weapons and perks against each other but also when you consider how much they're going to cost.
So yes, it has been a much more difficult game to balance but the team really stepped up to the plate. Almost two years ago now they refocused all their efforts on retooling the studio and on the development process. One of those was having every developer focusing on Call of Duty when we were working on World at War. Now it has allowed us to have a dedicated single-player and multi-player team since day one. They haven't been distracted by other things so it has allowed out MP team to use their resources to make more than we've ever made before, but also really polish and balance it to the degree that we felt was necessary.
Do you anticipate problems with cheating?
Yes, you cannot matchmake into a wager match with other players, so it is strictly a free-for-all based game mode. We will allow you to play in a private match with other players but it will be like penny-poker stakes so you don't have to worry about people boosting there. It would take years to boost so no one will do it. You won't be able to join sessions in progress or anything like that.
What if you drop out of a Wager Match?
If you drop you lose your investment. If you drop because your internet fails that is a bummer. If it's because you don't want to lose that is not going to help you, you will lose your investment. There are a lot of little things that we haven't revealed; we have host migration, the in-game friends list that we have etc...
How does video sharing work in Theatre mode?
It's pretty cool; you'll have your recent games, take a game and put it up into your file share. At that point you're sharing it with the community at large, so you can load up other games, watch them and rate them. You can also place others into your fileshare and share it with your friends.
You will be able to get your films to the web, they're going to be in web and mobile friendly formats. We're not ready to talk about that in detail just yet but we'll have more information on that later.
Are there any differences between the platforms in how Theatre works?
Every platform has its nuances, it either restricts us or gives us freedom. We do have a dedicated platform team at Treyarch, so there is a focused PS3 team making sure that one is working perfectly and has all the bells and whistles you'd expect, same with the PC.
The PC has some differences in that you have access to the dev console and slash record, recording segments from in-game rather than waiting until the whole thing is done. The Theatre kind of trumps that to be honest. There's so much more you can do.
You can watch films together if you're in a party, so if you're in a clan you can study the films like in sports. That was what they alluded to in the presentation but really it's a game changer. If I'm playing in a tournament or league, and there's a team that completely dominates us and we don't get it we can watch from their perspective, fly around, slow it up and rewind it. There are little hash marks at the bottom showing where you get a kill and they get a kill, it's not only a useful functional tool for players but great for machinima makers as well.
And for all you people that want sources here you go. Says the SAME thing You must login or register to view this content.
Oh and this is just Part 1. Part 2 comes later.
The following 6 users say thank you to ONExTACTIC for this useful post:
![[F]ried [R]ice's Avatar](/images/default/letters/F.png "[F]ried [R]ice's Avatar")
09-08-2010, 03:16 PM
#3
SUPERIMIAINI
Machete Don't Text!
I'm out of rep for the day, but Thank you it was a good read! :bro:
09-08-2010, 08:07 PM
#5
ONExTACTIC
Do a barrel roll!
Part 2 possibly tomorrow. When I see it I'll post it.
09-08-2010, 09:16 PM
#6
Stealth_Tek
At least I can fight
So Theatre Mode for PS3 confirmed! Lol it was skeptical whether it would be on PS3 or not, due to Microsoft's deal with Activision.
09-08-2010, 09:27 PM
#7
Ameht!
Dark Knight
Originally posted by ONExTACTIC
Every platform has its nuances, it either restricts us or gives us freedom. We do have a dedicated platform team at Treyarch, so there is a focused PS3 team making sure that one is working perfectly and has all the bells and whistles you'd expect, same with the PC.
exactly what i wanted to hear:y:
Copyright © 2026, NextGenUpdate.
All Rights Reserved.
