NOLF 2 | Game Info | Chris Miller Interview

Published ~ September 13, 2002 

Once again, Mr. Miller was kind enough to agree to find time in his busy schedule to get up close and personal with the NGC community for a little Q & A. Since there were many, many questions and we didn't want to leave any out, we broke down the Interview into two parts... this being the first obviously. So, enjoy part one and part two will be coming shortly. Thanks Chris, not only for doing this NOLFGirl Community Interview, but for hanging out with us... sometimes having a little too much fun, but that's okay. You're allowed.  :-)

~ What are the minimum specs for it going to be and obviously the recommended?  
~

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIRED

Windows® 98/ME/2000 with latest service pack/XP
DirectX 8.1 or higher
Pentium® III 500Mhz or equivalent
128 MB RAM (256MB for Windows XP)
32MB Direct3D compatible video card with Hardware T&L, 32-bit color support, and DirectX 8.1 compatible driver
1.2 GB free Hard Drive Space for installation
Additional hard drive space for a Windows swap file and saved game files.
4x CD ROM
16 bit DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
56k modem or LAN for multiplay
Mouse
Keyboard

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM

Windows® 98/ME/2000 with latest service pack/XP
DirectX 8.1 or higher
Pentium® 4 1Ghz or equivalent
256 MB RAM
64 MB Direct3D compatible video card with Hardware T&L, 32-bit color support, and DirectX 8.1 compatible driver
1.6 GB free Hard Drive Space for installation
Additional hard drive space for a Windows swap file and saved game files.
32x CD ROM
A 16-bit DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card with support for EAX 2.0.
Cable modem or LAN for multiplay
Mouse
Keyboard

~ Will the game be shipped to the UK at the same time as the US?  
~ Worldwide Sim ship is the goal, provided things go as planned that's what will happen. 

~ Is it written in the same language as NOLF?  
~ Yes.

~ Have you hit any major obstacles as we're nearing the release?  
~ There are always obstacles, so yes, but nothing that derailed us totally.  There was a great amount of pre-production on this title, and what the game was intended to be is quickly taking form. 

~  Will you continue to read the NOLFGirl forums well after the release?  
~ Yes, of course!  I've been reading them long after NOLF 1, so why would that stop?  Now posting is another thing :-)  Considering how you guys/girls jump all over my case ;-)  (Kidding)

~ Will the levels be non-linear?  
~ More so then NOLF1 yes, but there is a certain amount of linearity needed to keep the game moving forward.  Having said that, I think you'll enjoy the openness of NOLF 2.

~  Will NOLF 2 let us imagine new ways to complete a level each time we play?
~ Absolutely, the more you play and tune your play the better and more out fitted you'll become.  It's a blast to take the different weapons and gadgets and try different approaches to each area. 

~ Is Chris Miller the Executive Producer of the NOLF series or is Samantha Ryan?
~ Chris is the Producer on the Fox side and Samantha is the Producer at Monolith.

~  How long will it take to complete (game time wise)?
~ That will depend on your abilities, it will vary greatly per person but we were shooting for at least 40 hours. .

~  Why is it rated mature?
~ I think it's related to the bodies hanging around.  NOLF's AI uses the bodies to change states along with other things.  So, we need the bodies, then there's blood although it's significantly less detailed then some, it's blood nonetheless.  Also, the fact is you're shooting people and sometimes sticking them to the wall, so the ratings board feels that's the appropriate ID.  (How’s that for diplomacyJ)  There will be an option in the menus to turn off the blood, however.

~ What sort of marketing is planned?  
~ That's sort of an incredibly broad question.  J  There is very extensive marketing plans in place for this title, online included but mainly a press push, U.S. and European mags, demos, ads, posters, interviews, previews, reviews etc.  We've identified several times now on the forums that the marketing and PR wasn't there. Well, simply put, it's a 1000 times better this time, for example, NOLF 1 had 1 mag cover post launch.  NOLF 2 has already had 3 covers pre-launch, and that's a very positive move in the right direction.

~ Who replaces Mr. Smith?
~ Who said he's gone, for sure?! ;-)

~ Have you worked on making the net code better than the code for NOLF 1?
~ Yes, that work will continue.

~ Will we get to drive vehicles in NOLF2?
~ Yes, you'll witness the return of the ever faithful, snowmobile.

~ Will we be able to shoot from the vehicles?
~ Tough one, yes and no, you'll be able to in some sections but it will be very clear. 

~  Will there be an option to work for HARM?
~ :-) No.

~  Is there an in-game console?
~ The current plan is to keep it similar to NOLF 1.

~ Are there training missions?
~ Training is dynamic this time, by that I mean it's built into the missions.

~ Will there be briefings in between missions?
~ Yes.

~ What locations will we see?

~ More then what's been announced, I can't reveal the remaining levels at this point.

~  Has the original voice crew returned?
~ For the most part yes, there were some adjustments made to the voice cast. With the addition of new characters we were able to bring in some additional talent. 

~  Will there be more useful gadgets?
~ Of course! Here kitty kitty :-)

~ Will there be more quicksave slots?
~ No, the quick save is meant to be just that, a quick save.  We allow you to save at any point so if you want to save you just make a hard save and everything will be fine.

~ Will it be humorous like NOLF 1?
~ I hope so :-)  Yes.

~ Why the change in how Cate looks?
~ Well of course time changes, people and fashion just keeps rollin' forward and Cate's all over the fashion scene :-).  The real world answer is of course the fact that the technology has come along enough that we were able to make Cate more next gen and if we just changed her clothes and called her Cate, well, she wouldn't look as good as she does now.

~ Will the conversations be just as good and clever as they were in NOLF 1?
~ That is the intention.

~ Are there going to be more smart objects than books, flasks, couches, chairs, desks, cigarettes, etc?
~ Lights, toilets, doors, light bulbs, and many more.

~ What is the inspiration behind Cate's new look?
~ She needed a make over to bring her up to the next level.  This allowed us to refine her look and take advantage of that with the new technology.

~ At what point in the game is the music composed? Is it used to define the atmosphere before building the levels or is the atmosphere of the levels used as an aid to compose the music?  
~ The music is composed more towards the end of the game, it's meant to compliment and complete the feeling of each level.  Much like movies and TV, music is married to preexisting content, although with direct music, the composers have a chance to design dynamic responses for each level that really help complete the effect.

~ How did the team successfully made the transition to suddenly create game content with much more details than previously?
~ It was not sudden at all; we set out to address certain issues from NOLF 1 and spent the past 18 plus months doing that.  Once the features were designed the team began to rework the older systems then integrate them into the engine.  They continue to do an incredible job, we hope you like it. 

~ Do you think facial motion capture will be necessary in the near future to increase the amount of acting in the characters?
~ I think motion capture gets better every year so as it improves, teams will include it in their games because it makes expressions easier to read. On NOLF2, all facial animation was done by hand, not motion-captured.

~  What would you say was the aspect in the original NOLF project that contributed the most to the decision to make that game rather than another one?
~ Craig Hubbard's vision for the game, his openness to input from the team and our collective ability to get the game done. 

~ It seems that for the first time, AIs will begin to be worthy of their name and start to show some behavior of their own (well, at least without predetermined scripting), which suddenly opens a world of possibilities. Combining this with seamless level loading would really open a game's world for exploration. Do you think such a combination would be a positive possibility for a game such as NOLF or do you think a more linear approach, more movies like, would be better suited to a game like NOLF?
~ I think the technology needs more time, while we (meaning the industry) are making technological advances I don't think we're there yet.  NOLF 2 has a much more open approach to it but as stated above a certain amount of linearity is needed to keep things moving forward. 

~ It seems that the possibilities for graphics beginning to be worthy of the adjective "photo-realist" will be soon ready, waiting for someone to crop them. LithTech, having shown a record-breaking frequency of updates of their engine, could be in a good position for that. To do that in a near future would require additional investments in a game to target a level of detail that would profit only to the high-end graphic cards. I can imagine a number of benefits - it would generate a good amount of interest, articles, etc, pays back in brand image and might very well establish who is the leader in the game industry. But even dreams are built on reality, so let's be realistic: from a producer's point of view, could such an additional investment make sense?  
~ Well, basically, that investment is made with every new title we make.  I realize you're talking about one lump sum investment but that is less likely to make much of a difference in how fast those advances come.  Ultimately it will take time to make each one of those features improve.  Not to mention advances like that require hardware companies to keep ahead of the pace which means additional investment which is why it works the way it currently does.  Small, consistent investments in technology and software to improve the overall quality of our products is the most effective way to reach the next step. 

...Part Two...