Chat: Commandos Mission Center

<cdz> Greetings all to Day 4 of the Commandos 2 festival!

<jon_pyro> have you all finished the game?

<troll-chi> hi shot

<ShotDead243> hi

<troll-chi> i've finnished it in two modes

<jon_pyro> troll: normal and hard?

<troll-chi> yes jon, not in very hard yet

<jon_pyro> very hard gets quite harder because of the almost-absence of blue

line of sight

<cdz> I'm currently playing it on Hard

<troll-chi> hi rutam

<jon_pyro> hello

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> hi

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> hello guys

<Commando_Apache> where is tltrude?

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> yeah

<ShotDead243> might need to make a bigger room only 1 spot left

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> where is tom ?

<troll-chi> i have no idea

<cdz> Jon, what feature about C2 are you the most pleased with?

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> I got the idea, the rest can chat outside the voice chat

rooms

<ShotDead243> slept in hehe

<troll-chi> lol

<cdz> Welcome to the party Rutam!!!

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Hello Jon, never really corresponded with you before !

nice to see you

<troll-chi> i should have made a bigger room, i was just waiting for tom

<jon_pyro> cdz: having the possibility to get indoors is

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> troll-chi ! he is the host ! the maninthebox ?? :)

<jon_pyro> it allows having environments which are more immersive

<Commando_Apache> Jon, are you planning any more updates? If so, what do

they fix?

<Torred> Hi Jon

<jon_pyro> We are concentrated on the consoles versions now

<jon_pyro> the team to develop Commandos 3 is already set up and starting to

work

<Commando_Apache> sw33t

<Commando_Apache> Can you tell us anything about it?

<ShotDead243> Will the consoles have anything new or different that the PC

version?

<jon_pyro> shot: the game is the same, but several things change quite a lot

<jon_pyro> the consoles interface is very different

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Commandos 3 sounds interesting, there are rumours that

the pretorians engine will be used ? Is this true ?

<jon_pyro> you control the character directly with the gamepad, and that

control makes it a different feeling from PC

<jon_pyro> rutam: rumors are rumors...

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> thanks for clearing :)

<ShotDead243> do you think the console version will do better than the PC

verions?

<jon_pyro> rutam: Commandos 3 will use the engine of Commandos 2

<cdz> Jon: Are you a member of the C3 team?

<jon_pyro> Shot: I don't really know. I expect it to work well, as it is

resulting a very nice version.

<Commando_Apache> You guys doing anything about the latency issues involved

with c2?

<jon_pyro> cdz: No, I won't be part of the C3 team

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> ok got it ! Also want to congratulate you all ! you have

mastered the Birds Eye Vision !

<jon_pyro> Probably for Commandos 3 Pyro will have more time to work in the

multiplayer version

<jon_pyro> Also, we are working on a nice tutorial for the consoles version

(which we didn't have time to include in the PC version)

<Commando_Apache> Will there be in-game matchmaking in c3?

<ShotDead243> will there be an add on to Commandos 2 before Commandos 3

comes out?

<jon_pyro> rutam: thank you, although I don't understand very well what you

mean regarding the Birds Eye Vision

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Birds Eye Vision :: it is the way we see our commandos

<jon_pyro> apache: I don't know about ingame matchmaking - it will depend on

the development of C3 and what are the main goals and what time permits

<jon_pyro> rutam: ok

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> in-game matchmaking ? are you talking of Dedicated

Servers ? like Quake3 ?

<jon_pyro> shot: I don't think so - Pyro will concentrate on C3 directly

Chat: Commandos Mission Center

<troll-chi> this is better, is everybody switching over?

<jon_pyro> hello

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> yeah

<ShotDead243> yep

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> and how many does this room support ?

<cdz> I believe everyone is making the switch.

<troll-chi> 32 ppl

<MOOD> any free beers?

<cdz> Curious that Tom is not present. Hmmm

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> free beers ?

<MOOD> it was a joke

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> I know :)

<cdz> Jon: Reports came out of Germany a month or so back that you and

Gonzo are leaving Pyro.

<jon_pyro> cdz: Yes, we are leaving Pyro along with a group of people to

start another project that we are preparing

<cdz> Jon: I have to ask...what is it?

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Great, best of luck for your project guys...can you

throw some light on the project, Jon ?

<MOOD> i m sorry for my ignorance but what are you exactly in pyro?

<jon_pyro> cdz: I can't comment too much on it right now, but I can advance

that it is a tactics game in which we plan to innovate in every respect to

create a unique experience

<jon_pyro> mood: I am the lead programmer at the Commandos team

<cdz> geno130: This is a Commandos room.

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> heard you both fine

<MOOD> oh, oops.

geno130 has left the room.

<jon_pyro> Pyro is a Spanish company, located in Madrid (Spain), independent

from Eidos, to whom we are grateful for the financing of the projects and

the distribution

<MOOD> is it hard to be in a gaming company?

<jon_pyro> mood: it is hard (but gratifying) to work in videogames (probably

it depends on the type of project, but Commandos has been quite hard)

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Jim ? you are 38 ? are you kidding ?

<jon_pyro> mood: as well, developing videogames in Spain means both making

the game and forming professionals, as Spain doesn't have a development

industry proper

<MOOD> jon: do you need to have any connections to get there?

<cdz> Rutam: Nope

<jon_pyro> mood: when we can see that someone has value, even if they don't

have experience, we hire him

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> cool ! and I thought you were 19 Jim !

<cdz> Rutam: I'm an Oracle DBase developer for Seagate Technology by day

and Commandos DropZone webmaster by night. I am currently multi-tasking.

<ShotDead243> besides Commandos 2 what other games are you currently

playing, Jon?

<troll-chi> just goes to show, commandos is fun for all ages

<jon_pyro> shot: myself I am playing Zelda: Link's Awakening on GBC

<jon_pyro> I was curious about Zelda games, which I had never played

<jon_pyro> and GBC is a nice format to play anywhere

<ShotDead243> Have you played and mods for Commandos BEL or Commandos BCD?

and if so what did you think of them?

<jon_pyro> And Fernando and Chema (other two programmers from the team) are

playing Everquest very much now (their nicks are FerBXB and Hydralisk)

<jon_pyro> shot: We tried some of them, and we thought it was very meritable

<cdz> Jon: When deciding what direction to take when developing a new game,

what are your influences?

<troll-chi> jon, do you ever play commandos 2 online and if so what is your

nick if i may ask?

<jon_pyro> troll: I don't play C2 online (sorry :)

<jon_pyro> It's difficult to enjoy C2 freshly when you have been making it

for so long

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> nice one Jon :)

<MOOD> take care guys

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> bye !

<ShotDead243> bye

<troll-chi> cya

<cdz> Jon: Is developing and/or releasing a playable demo upto Pyro or

Eidos?

<jon_pyro> as Gonzo says, we take care of three main directions:

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> where is Tom ?

<jon_pyro> 1) To make the game attractive in a first stage for the player

<jon_pyro> 2) To create a feeling of "complicity" with the player

<jon_pyro> and 3) To give a feeling of control as the last stage

<jon_pyro> I don't know if "complicity" is understandable in english...

<jon_pyro> cdz: Depends on Eidos, with Pyro's approval

<cdz> Jon: Is there a demo forthcoming?

<jon_pyro> cdz: in princple there won't be a demo

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Hope I am not going in too far, but did anyone else

other than Eidos approach you, after the success of C:BEL or C:BTCOD ?

<cdz> Jon: I totally don't understand what that means. lol

<jon_pyro> rutam: Even though that is quite normal, after Eidos participated

in Pyro's ownership it makes it quite difficult

<jon_pyro> rutam: We are in contact with other publishers for the next

project

<troll-chi> Jon: I'm still very courious about what Gonzo and yourself are

going to develope. After playing Commandos 2 I was blown away

<jon_pyro> Cdz: By complicity I mean the recognizing by the player the

"innards" of how the game works, which provides a feeling of satisfaction

which makes the game enjoyable

<cdz> Jon: Absolutely...games that accomplish that are always successful

<jon_pyro> troll: we understand that, in videogames, most things are

yet-to-be-done, and we want to delve in that direction as much as possible

<ShotDead243> When making a mission, how do you choose the location, and

objectives for each mission?

<jon_pyro> always with the intention to immerse the player in the game until

he is hooked - although it looks like a marketing sentence, it's really a

direction for us

<cdz> Jon: Does everyone at Pyro speak languages other than Spanish?

<Commando_Apache> English i pretty much required in all European countries

<Commando_Apache> *is

<jon_pyro> shot: great many of them from movies that impacted us in

childhood and others because they are charismatic from WW2

<jon_pyro> cdz: some people do: mostly english

<troll-chi> jon, the first time i played cbel i was hooked, you have a game

fan for live here

<jon_pyro> cdz: (although gonzo speaks only french and just a little bit of

english)

<jon_pyro> troll: i am glad to hear that :) thank you

<ste_hickey> hi

<troll-chi> hello ste hickey

<ste_hickey> lol

<ste_hickey> u heared of a game called empire earth

<cdz> Jon: When people think of software development, Spain isn't what

immediately comes to mind. Has this ever been an obstacle?

<troll-chi> this is a Commandos 2 room hickey lets stick to that eh

<ste_hickey> fine

<ShotDead243> Commandos BEL seems to run too fast on faster computers, is

there going to be a patch or something to fix this problem?

<ste_hickey> hehe

<jon_pyro> cdz: not directly, but indirectly it really does.

<jon_pyro> what it means is that, when you have to develop a game, you have

to set the team up from scratch

<Commando_Apache> Are there any command line parameters we can use on c2?

<jon_pyro> shot: we haven't had any reports from that - if that is the case

and we receive an specification, we could fix it

<jon_pyro> apache: the only supported command line parameters are the ones

to launch gamespy games

<cdz> Jon: Have you had to work with GameSpy Arcade in the development of

Commandos 2 internet-based multiplay?

<troll-chi> jon, if you where going to buy a new home pc. What opperating

system would you run with Commandos and future commandos in mind?

<cdz> troll: Lynix...lol

<jon_pyro> cdz: it was quite easy, as we only had to provide a command line

interface for the DirectPlay connection and Gamespy does all the magic

<troll-chi> lol

<cdz> Jon: Excellent

<jon_pyro> troll: 2000 is our preferred OS now (have only just checked XP

for a few minutes)

<troll-chi> jon, thank you

<ShotDead243> Have you had a chance to play Desperados: Wanted Dead or

Alive, and if so what did you think of it?

<cdz> Jon: When gameplay and system errors arise after the release of a

gaming title, who is responsible for patch or fix development? The

distributor(eidos) or software developer(pyro).

<jon_pyro> shot: we played the demo - the game was very well taken care of

and it was very grateful to find sequels of such quality. It was more in the

line of C1.

<ShotDead243> Did Spellbound have to purchase the Commandos BEL game engine

from you?

<jon_pyro> cdz: It's the developer who makes the patches itself - although

the distributor takes care of detecting the bugs and releasing the patch

<jon_pyro> shot: No, they did their own development for everything. There is

no relationship between Spellbound and Pyro

<jon_pyro> I will have to leave in a couple minutes - if you have any final

questions...

<ShotDead243> Will there be anymore patches for Commandos 2, for thing

you've might have missed?

<cdz> Jon: Having said that, I receive many, many emails a week regarding

errors, crashes and gameplay glitches. Should forward them to you or send

them to Eidos' tech support only to have them forward them along to you?

<jon_pyro> shot: if anything severe shows up we will fix it, but I hope that

the patch solves all major problems (although there may still be minor

glitches)

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> did I miss anything ? BTW where is Tom ?

<iakovos> well is a commandos 2 addon in the progress?

<jon_pyro> cdz: Please send them to Eidos tech support and they will make

the testing and selection - we have very little time left from main

development

<jon_pyro> iakovos: C3 has already started development

<cdz> Jon: Will do.

<troll-chi> i'm sure tom must have had an emeregy or something to miss this

event

<cdz> Iakovos: Welcome...better late than never. lol

<jon_pyro> Ok ppl - it's been a pleasure to meet all of you

<troll-chi> jon, who will lead the team for commandos 3?

<ShotDead243> ok thanks Jon

<cdz> Jon: Take care...thanks for attending and chatting with us.

<jon_pyro> we are very grateful for people that devote their time to the

game and enjoy it

<Rutam_Rane__TAFN_> Thanks Jon, nice chatting with you

<troll-chi> thank you for coming today jon

<iakovos> Jim:Yes I know...

<jon_pyro> troll: the team will be led by Cesar Valencia

<jon_pyro> goodbye - nice to meet you all

<jon_pyro> Regards

jon_pyro has left the room.