HomeLAN Interview

[Hamma]

<A href="http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=10329" target=_blank>HomeLAN</A> has posted their monthly Q&amp;A with a member of&nbsp;the PlanetSide team. Here's a snippet:
<UL>
<FONT color=#999999><STRONG>HomeLAN </STRONG>- Obviously creating artworking for a game like PlanetSide is much different than the normal first person shooter. What are some of the challenges you have having to deal with in your job? </FONT>
<FONT color=#999999><STRONG>Joe Marulla </STRONG>- You have to keep reminding yourself "massively multiplayer". You really have to keep a rein on things and remember that you're creating art for a game that will be played by thousands of players simultaneously. For that reason, you can't go nuts on polygons, effects, and texture usage because you're dealing with gameplay that has to stay fluid as player after player pours into the scene. At the same time, things are expected to look as good as possible and it's been quite challenging to achieve that balance.</FONT></UL>Click <A href="http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=10329" target=_blank>here</A> to read the full Interview.

[sYn pHrEAk]

TY!

[Hamma]

They dont say a whole lot in these homelan articles. Better than nothing tho i guess

[sYn pHrEAk]

Wow. I like the little narrative thing he did at the end. Makes it sound very exciting.

GODDAMNIT i wanna play....

[�io]

For instance, the team really wanted a flamethrower in the game. The fans really wanted a flamethrower in the game. I sat there and built that weapon with those folks in mind, and our particle effects artists managed to create some really great flame art for it.

Then you realize, "What if 50 plus players standing in close proximity to each other start using these flaming particle effects at the same time? Will the game roll over die before their video card starts blowing circuits right off its board?"

At that point you're only left with the option of toning down the effect to the point where it just doesn't look good anymore. And rather than go that route, we had to say 'farewell' to the flamethrower idea

[afex]

wow, that last paragraph....