Interview with the lead producers of NFS World Online.

So, before you is an interview with the main people who are developing this game. The main faces are: Эндрю Коллинз (Andrew Collins) and Дрю Хон (Drew Hahn) and also Джон.

Эндрю: Hello and welcome to the Need for Speed game podcast. In the studio I am, your host Andrew Collins, and joining me today to co-host the show will be Drew Hahn. This evening we have a special guest in the studio. We welcome the senior producer of the online game Need for Speed World Online, John Doyle. Hello, John.

Джон: Hi, how are you doing?

Эндрю: Thanks, getting along. Welcome to your first podcast. We're incredibly glad to see you in the studio today.

Джон: I often listen to your shows. Being a guest today is a great honor for me.

Эндрю: Nervous?

Джон: You bet!

Эндрю: You've probably already intrigued the whole family: "You won't believe it if you find out what I'll be doing on Wednesday!"

Джон: I think they're already lining up to download the broadcast of the program!

Эндрю: We're incredibly glad to hear that. How are things on World Online?

Джон: Everything's great. Right now we're finishing the main stage of work, planning to wrap everything up by Christmas. Our team is currently working on eliminating some so-called glitches, polishing everything we've been working on for the last four months.

Эндрю: So I take it you won't be working on Christmas?

Джон: No work on Christmas! I don't think we'll really have to push ourselves, since we've calculated the timing well enough and should finish on schedule all those many features in order to release the beta version in North America and Europe.

Эндрю: Is there any news on when the beta version is planned to be released?

Джон: Yes, we'd like to test it before the end of March, but it's certainly in our interest for the beta version to be a success. So it's quite hard to talk about any deadlines – it all depends on how well the new features work and, of course, on the operational readiness of North America and Europe. We've already conducted some tests confirming that all systems are in place, and as soon as we can make sure the beta version is fully ready, we'll immediately announce the time when everyone who wants to can register!

Эндрю: Well, the future is clear. But what's the history of World Online? How long has the team been working on it?

Джон: Actually, I developed the original design of the game four years ago.

Эндрю: Four years ago?

Джон: Yes, we worked on it a bit back then, after which some of the ideas made it into Carbon, others served as material for the backstory. After working on that a bit, I moved on to Pro Street. About 18 months, maybe two years later, I gathered almost the entire team together to develop this version of the game. There were hardly any of us then: me and a couple of guys. Now the team is a bit bigger – 35-40 people here and a few guys in Singapore. We've been working in this composition for 12 months now.

Эндрю: But isn't all this an act of merging Most Wanted and Carbon?

Джон: Unfortunately, no, but I desperately wanted that. Back then it was quite possible!

Эндрю: Right now, three years later, you'd have finished and made such a gift!

Джон: That time was a challenge for us. We truly wanted to give all fans of the game a gift, we wanted to combine Most Wanted and Carbon – these two most popular versions of Need for Speed. There were many interesting ideas. But new PCs were appearing, and, of course, we needed to improve the existing version, improve the graphics.

Эндрю: So, you say you've been working on updating the worlds. And what does that mean? I know Eduardo talked a lot on needforspeed.com about updating the environment in the game. Does that mean that if your PC could run the game until now, then after all the updates it won't be able to? Tell us.

Джон: No, we designed this game in such a way that it can run in some parts of Asia where there are no such computers…

Эндрю: Netbooks?

Джон: Netbooks and some even older machines on which the game can be run today. But there are still some problems with loading, so I think in the near future, perhaps by the end of next summer, everything will be finally ready. At the moment the version runs with the same system requirements as Carbon, without much trouble, but we continue testing the version for the ability to run it on weaker computers. The whole subtlety is that a lot of work is being done not only so that the version is attractive and runs easily on lower-end computers (and I believe that in terms of system requirements we already have 60 frames), but also so that it's no less interesting for users of newer PCs.

Эндрю: I know many are interested in the question I'm about to ask. Tell me, won't the game, after it's downloaded, resemble an old game from four years ago?

Джон: I don't think so. Over the past couple of years, during which we've been working, the game has absorbed a lot of new things.

Эндрю: Were there any memorable moments in the work?

Джон: The funniest thing, probably, was that we didn't strive to stuff the game with everything and present it that way. The most important thing for us is people's interest. Everything that was created was created together with Need for Speed fans – by communicating with people, we listened to what could be added and what wouldn't hurt to refine. Over 5 years we've accumulated a ton of ideas for improving the game, but we'd really like those who love Need for Speed and have something to say and suggest to help us out, and we've got the team and all the tools!

Эндрю: : It turns out to be an excellent symbiosis: it's exactly what society would like, and what helps the game developers!

Джон: Of course, we have many of our own ideas that we think people might like, but we could be wrong. That's why we're truly happy to have such a unique opportunity.

Эндрю: And here is a very frequently asked question. A young man named Oliver Palmer left us a message on Skype: "Will the new version have manual tuning like in Underground 2?", he also adds: "well, the speakers, the underglow, various gauges, etc."

John: I understand that you expect to see the same manual tuning system as, say, in Carbon or Most Wanted. Yes, it will be practically identical. We rewrote the program completely, so this system now works without problems online, which is, of course, very important for this game. I think that after all the work is finished, you will be able to see for yourself how good the new manual tuning system is, in our humble opinion, the best one we have created so far.

Andrew: I'm sure that what has just been said has delighted quite a few people!

John: I hope so.

Andrew: Oliver would like to ask another question, possibly this is already the second question whose answer interests many Need for Speed fans: "And will we pay for cars or for their parts?"

John: We haven't fully decided yet exactly how you will pay for the game. So one of the things we would like to do is test the game and see how people react, what they like and what they don't. And only after that come to some decision that is the golden mean between our interests and the interests of Need for Speed fans.

Andrew: Okay, let's go back to the idea of testing. The new version is quite different from previous versions of Need for Speed. Could you tell us about the specifics of the closed beta process, technical testing, and also give us brief recommendations before we start playing.

John: We conducted a number of technical tests and ran a closed beta in Taiwan at an early stage of the game's creation, so the tests are aimed at confirming the fact that the system functions, the server works, the clients are online, everything is ready to launch the game online. We are going to do the same in North America and Europe, but there the network environment differs from the environment in Taiwan. We plan to start this work next year. We will start with a small group and then continue to expand the audience as we begin testing by size and load. We expect that the online game Need for Speed World Online on PC will be quite popular, so we want to be ready to handle the load, and therefore we are going to do a lot of work on scalability testing, as well as developing new features that will allow those who wish to play in teams. Of course, a heavy server load is expected in the future, so we must be extremely sure that everything is in order and ready to work. We want to be sure that a large server will be ready for intensive operation. After everything has been well tested, we will go through the closed beta process. A constantly growing closed beta test with more features than those that will then be included in the open beta process. And then we will finally release the new product to the market, and we expect a release somewhere in the summer or early autumn for this game.

Andrew: So if you are looking forward to the new version of Need for speed, don't plan anything for the summer holidays.

John: Yes, probably so.

Andrew: Yes, you and I definitely shouldn't book vacation tickets.

John: I certainly won't.

Andrew: So, the next question, well, he has two names, Cristo and Kaiserus, and he asks: "Can we find out which game world online took the car models from, because in previous beta versions they looked as if they were taken from Carbon, in the Asian beta version, but in later screenshots they look more detailed"

John: Well, the car models you see today are cars that were used in a combination of games, so we got the cars in the game - at least the main models - from Carbon, Most Wanted and Undercover and actually Pro Street, so the last 4 games we released to the market except Shift, we got
the in-game car models and of course took into account the fact that the car models should meet gamers' expectations. So you will see a car list that is a mixture of many games we have released and are releasing again, because we have an online game, we are going to do some interesting things with the community to decide which cars to implement later, we are not limited in what to add to the disc, so the car list will continue to grow all the time and we really hope for the opportunity to talk with people about which cars they want to see.

Andrew: Well, this is probably the third most popular topic, Drew and I are constantly flooded with requests for various cars. I mean, like the Supra turned into Shift DLC this week, which Drew and I were just teasing people about and saying, "Yes, it's a popular car." So the Supra, by the way, is it already in World Online?

John: As of today, no, not in our beta version, I think we have approximately 11 cars in the beta version, which is what we will stay with at the start - it's a car list that we haven't settled on yet, we are still arguing about it. So you guys can keep teasing everyone.

Andrew: So we won't get an answer to the question of which cars will be in the final version?

John: No, no.

Andrew: Do you think PR is unnecessary here?

John: It's not about PR, we simply haven't decided anything definitively yet.

Andrew: You don't want to promise "something" and not deliver in the end.

John: We have a list of approximately 250 cars, but for now we are trying to decide which ones exactly to include in the final version.

Andrew: Okay, can you guess what I would pick first?

John: I think it would be a Mini converted into a cube or something?

Andrew: No, I was thinking of a cute, pretty red-and-white Mini. I think it's wonderful on the road! You know, I would like people to recognize me behind the wheel …

John: You want it for yourself?

Andrew: I would buy it, yes I would even pay anyone, just so I could be the only one driving it, and passersby would walk by, staring: "Hey, you'll never guess who drove past me today in the race!"

John: You should make sure that your skills in 3d Max or Maya meet the requirements.

Andrew: Yes, now I know which college course to choose. So, KaiserAS is back in touch: "When can we expect the first beta keys for Need for Speed World Online?"

John: I think we'll announce it after Christmas, early in the year we'll name a date, roughly 3-4 weeks before the beta opens registration will begin and beta keys will be given out. As for the young man KaiserAS, I remember him from the closed beta in Taiwan. And I want to tell him that those few videos posted on YouTube were really liked by our team. I want him to know that one of those guys he got to appear in the video is a designer from Singapore. He wasn't laughing at all after a hit against the wall like that!

Andrew: However, won't that stop him from getting a beta key?

John: I don't think so.

Andrew: Excellent, it's always good when people build up their personal property this way, aren't you worried about the people who post videos on YouTube?

John: No, we don't mind the game being discussed. We're confident that the new version of the game is good in its own right. And the beta is there precisely to test the system. Those players who take part in the testing should know that they are not taking part in the final version of the game, which in itself may not yet be ready. We are very grateful to them for their help and, of course, we look forward to their feedback and impressions.

Andrew: Wonderful. And the last question this week came to us via Skype from Joe Wilbum: "Will World Online have the cockpit view feature of the race car that we see in Shift?"

John: No, we're not going to start with the race car cockpit view, although we do have all the resources from those cockpits, and I think that's a different thing we'd like to work on, one of the features of this game, to have a long lifespan, as I said before, and to keep evolving. Since we have all those resources that we're creating more for other cars that weren't in Shift, I think we'll probably find a way to put them in, but I don't expect to see it in the product release.

Andrew: So it's somewhat like the V2 version of the game?

John: Yes, of course, there are many things that could be included in a new version, but it should be done carefully so as not to overdo it. We have a whole list of all those things that we couldn't include in the new version. But you'll like it as it is anyway. Besides, over time we will, of course, keep improving the system again.

Andrew: Yes, we can try it as a trial option, and if it doesn't catch on, we can try something else.

John: Exactly.

Andrew: Great. Drew, you had some questions that you saw in Eduardo's article on needforspeed.com.

Drew: Yes, I saw the comments and even posted messages myself, so to speak, I found out the questions that concern the public. There was one question – I don't know how to pronounce the name…

Andrew: It's, yes, let's read it aloud...

Drew: Yes, his question is as follows: "Will there be an option for 3d damage?"

John: I believe the option he's talking about was in Pro Street and Shift. No, the new version will have the option we saw in Carbon or Undercover. The thing is, we have to make sure that the new version meets the technical conditions necessary for lower-end PCs to run the game.

Andrew: Okay, sounds cool.

Drew: Nice, the next question was from…

Andrew: Zanzar, I believe.

Drew: Zanzar, and he was asking about the minimum PC requirements.

John: At the moment the recommended requirements are the same as in Carbon.

Drew: Excellent. And the last question we received from Alexander: "What do you mean by creative support from the community, what are you talking about in terms of external programs?"

John: It seems there was something similar in Ed's blog, where Ed was asking exactly how we involve people in creating something new. We're firmly confident that quite a few people are capable of coming up with and do come up with lots of new creative things, such as, for example, non-trivial tools, vinyls or even new car models. So we want you to share your ideas with us, which may later make it into the official version of the game and become public property. Many of your suggestions for improvement are very fair and useful. We sincerely hope for co-creation with our fans.

Drew: Well, guys listening to the podcast, you should definitely get in touch with us and share your ideas.

Andrew: Drew, are there any more questions for John?

Drew: You could say no. True, I wrote down a lot of questions, but during the broadcast they were already voiced one way or another!

John: OK.

Andrew: Wonderful. Thank you very much for visiting our studio today. I'm sure everyone is now frozen in anticipation of the moment when we start giving out beta keys.

John: Thanks for the invitation, guys.

Drew: All the best, John.

Source: nfsworldonline.ru