Tungsten> My name is Todd ‘Tungsten’ Northcutt and I maintain Captured.Com, the CTF site on the GameSpy Network. I’m currently a graduate student at the University of Rochester, working on my Ph.D. in Chemistry.

Kerbuffel> Hey, this is Kerbuffel saying 'Howdy' to all those sexy ladies in internet land. I run the CTF Survival Guide, and I do the news and polls on Captured.com. I also smuggle drugs and weapons for a Colombian crimelord, but sssshhhh, no one is supposed to know about that.

Dolomite> Hey I'm dolomite, high tyrant of the 10th plane of Hell. Pleased to meet you.

Achilles> When did you get your first taste of Team style multiplayer games?

Tungsten> With Quake. I have the same memory as many other people, “Why won’t that guy DIE!?!” Of course, I was shooting someone on my own team. “Dude… I’m on your team!”

Kerbuffel> When Quake 2 first came out, Loki's Minions CTF was first on the scene. Before the point release, it was serverside, and I stumbled onto it one day. I have fond memories of capturing glowing megahealths on city1... *sniff*

Dolomite> Zoid's CTF, the first release. This was hot, it was awesome. I was hooked -- pun intended.

Achilles> Quake was not the first game to feature team style play, ROTT had teamplay features as well as many other older games. Why do you think it only recently interest in teamplay exploded?

Tungsten> Probably the growing number of multiplayer games. The very first multiplayer game I played was ‘Marathon’ on a crappy Mac. I’d stay late in the lab and play with 2 other guys over the Chem Department’s network at the University of Washington. Quake was really the first game I’d ever played for any length of time in a multiplayer environment. I imagine there were many other people in the same boat as me. That and the fact that the networking keeps improving allowing more players on a server. It’s tough to play a team-based game with only 2-4 people ;-)

Kerbuffel> Interest in multiplayer just recently took off, with Quake 2 leading the way. Quake 2 has the majority of game servers, and it has a lot of teamplay mods. We learn to love teamplay here, and bring it to other games. If a game doesn't come with a teamplay mode, players will make it. RealCTF (for Unreal) and Classic CTF (for Half-Life) show how much we love CTF. Kingpin came with a CTF variant out of the box, and I think that is a reason it's become so popular. It's a great game, but I would've played it for a few days then ditched it for something else if Bagman wasn't included.

Dolomite> First off, I have no idea what ROTT is. Quake had Nine Inch Nails as their p1mp daddy, which is what made me buy shareware quake a while ago -- you see, it's the little things... :)

After that, I actually bought it over the phone using my dad's credit card. I was not really into games much before quake. I mean... I played Doom and Doom 2 but they had no hold over me like the sheer evil that is Quake. I mean... I almost shot up my school... so you know it was damn good. :)

CTF for Quake was the next level. The violence was not quite as bad. It was still there but it was more of a competition than a blood bath. You'd have to be insane to play DM for more than a couple hours at a time. With CTF, you'd have to be insane NOT to. :)

Achilles> Arguably it was Threewave CTF that really introduced Teamplay mods to the masses and really sparked the explosion of team style games mods we see are appearing. Outside the realm of CTF, what are some of the best teamplay mods that stick out in your mind for any game/platform?

Tungsten> TeamFortress is probably the only other team-based game that I played for any length of time that was “Not CTF”. Lately, though, I’ve been playing a good deal of Counterstrike for Half-Life. That mod has A LOT of potential once they solve the few balance problems. Team DM is fun, too, though, for a change of pace.

Kerbuffel> Cry Havoc Teamplay was a lot of fun, even if it never gained the popularity it should've. (Chances are, you've never heard of it, which is sad, really. It was a blast to play.) Tribes's different modes like Find and Retrieve and Defend and Destroy are fun, too.

Dolomite> Bargh... if it's not CTF I haven't really been into it. However... to get a change of pace going, we are developing a new game mode in WireTap that will definately turn heads.

I guess it's true. If you want something done right you gotta do it yourself. :)

Achilles> Commercial companies can now be counted on to include some teamplay style options in their games, why has it only become normal recently that this has become true and not sooner?

Tungsten> I think it’s tied to the issue of improving networking code and connectivity. How many people 3 years ago had connections at home that allowed them nice smooth gameplay? I certainly didn’t. I think more people are discovering that teamplay is fun - it sounds like work at first ;-)

Kerbuffel> If I had to pick between a game that comes with teamplay out of the box, and a game without it, I'll choose the one with teamplay. It's a big plus for a lot of people for teamplay to come with the game, even if it just means they can spend online time playing and not downloading.

Dolomite> CTF variants are now expected as an excuse to the masses for the games to exist at all. Now they can argue that there is a sporting necessity involved which gives major leniency, especially with the ESRB. IT also prevents the bereaved families of youngsters gunned down in school from wrongly suing game companies for responsibility over their children's behavior.

If q3a released with no other mode except DM and maybe even became more risky and called it "Murder Spree" or something... they could stand to be sued by a lot of people. Sure they could still argue Artistic Freedom, however that is not as strong a case as saying the game has valid content -- CTF.

Achilles> CTF itself has been at the forefront of innovations in teamplay. It has seen a lot of features added to it over time, such as Vwep, Techs, Team Audio, Damage Skins etc.. OF these features, which one really stands out as the greatest in your mind that added to the teamplay genre as a whole?

Tungsten> Team audio/radio sounds would probably be my pick, though runes (I just can’t make myself call them ‘techs’) would be a close second. They add a huge bit of strategy to the game, unlike any other feature. However, I think communication can make or break a team, so I’d say for those that make good use of them, team audio makes a big difference. If you don’t communicate effectively, though, you probably don’t notice that they exist!

Kerbuffel> The real time communication programs. Definitely. Roger Wilco, Battlefield Communicator, etc, are becoming a necessity for clan matches nowadays. It makes organizing attacks a lot easier, and being able to yell obscenities at your teammates and have them hear you really adds to the experience. ;-)

Dolomite> The best feature of CTF is (for quake 1) ThunderWalker's personal teleporter which is why both Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament have one in there. Seriously... If I were panda, the creator of twctf, I would be talking to my lawyer... hehe.

Achilles> Future release of teamplay mods must contain the following feature set to be considered a complete work in your mind?

Tungsten> To be a really complete mod, I think some kind of “competition mode” should be included. L-Fire CTF did a superb job picking up the slack here, adding all kinds of features to make competing easy and fun. Also, the easier communication is, the better! Audio messages are here to stay, but I’d like to see some improved text-based communication, too. The different variables included in id’s Q2CTF (%A, %L, etc.) were a step in the right direction. I’d really like to see that expanded. TRIBES did a great job with this, but it was really difficult to navigate the menus in the heat of battle for a newbie.

Kerbuffel> I used to think CTF without a grapple and runes was blasphemous. Then Tribes changed my mind. ;-)

For a teamplay game/mod to have replay value, it must be unique in some way. I still think the grapple and runes are a good thing to put into a CTF mod, but add something new. I've played Quake 2 for a year, and it was fun. Don't clone it for another game and expect me to like it. I've played it, now give me something new.

Dolomite> I wouldn't say a required feature, but definitely a plus. No feature is required and as a designer, I always believe that it's best to remember that before shipping a mod. :)

Achilles> We all got hooked on our favorite mods at one point, whether it be teamplay or not, at what point did you and circumstance did you realize, I'm hooked?

Tungsten> I really was hooked (har har) on ThunderWalker CTF for QuakeWorld almost from the very first time I played it. It was a little faster paced than ThreeWave thanks to the harpoon (I’m a grapple monkey at heart) and the weapons were a bit more balanced (weaker rockets, among other tweaks). Until I played TWCTF I was a die-hard NetQuaker. I never played another NetQuake game after playing TW. The balance of the mod plus all the wacky sounds really made it a lot more fun than most of the mods I’d played up until then.

Kerbuffel> I think it was my third game of LMCTF. I remember it quite clearly. I had hit the fraglimit with a beautiful rail shot on the enemy flag carrier. It was late, I was tired.

I watched the sunrise through the window as a captured the flag for about the 40th time that night. Err, morning. Whatever. =)

Dolomite> See #2: Zoid's CTF, the first release. This was hot, it was awesome. I was hooked -- pun intended.

Achilles> CTF is confirmed as an out of box feature in Quake 3: Arena. What do you expect in this version of CTF, What innovations do you think they have in store for us all?

Tungsten> I hope that we’ll see some advancements in the competition aspects of the game. They showed up in v1.05 for Quake 2, but I really think it was too little, too late in some respects. Other mods had already picked up the slack and done a superb job. I’d like to see those features right out of the box. I think Zoid’s done a great job of developing CTF and has gotten the formula nearly perfect. I don’t expect any weird new twists, just more of the same great game we have already.

Kerbuffel> Wasn't it a confirmed out of the box feature for Q2? ;-)

Q3Test is showing signs of taking features from mods and putting it into the game. I'm hoping Q3CTF will do this also, taking the features from popular mods like L-Fire and LMCTF and sticking them into Q3. If id takes half the time working on the Q3CTF levels that Team 3 has put into the L-Fire levels, they will be nothing less then spectacular.

Dolomite> Oh I'm sure Id will have lots of cool features for CTF, but the best features will be coded by mod makers. Id is smart enough to know this, so CTF for q3a will probably be basic with a couple of new features that are very cool, but they won't over do it.

Achilles> What is your concept of 'The Next Level' in multiplayer gaming?

Tungsten> I thought real-time voice communication would be the next big thing, but after having played a few matches with Roger Wilco I think that it’s is already here and already a reality. Making it easier (i.e., out of the box and intuitive) would be a big plus. I’m anxiously awaiting TeamFortress 2, as this will have lots of little changes that will hopefully add up to a great team experience.

Kerbuffel> The extinction of llamas. The way it is now, you can hop onto a server and make it unfun for everyone, since you suffer no repercussions. I see a account setup type thing, where you had to register to play games online. There would be consequences for cheating, extremely bad manners and language, stuff you don't want to see on a server.

Dolomite> That would have to be Descent 3. I can barely understand that game because of the added movements but it is the most exciting game for FPS this year -- even if q3a ships tomorrow.

Achilles> A lot of press has been lent to the Curved Surfaces feature. What elements does this add to the possibilities of the game?

Tungsten> I don’t know of any “gameplay” features curved surfaces add, at least in their Quake 3 incarnation. The certainly look pretty, though ;-) I think the clipping problems will make their use purely decorative, but I’ll probably be proven wrong fairly quickly. He he…

Kerbuffel> I don't get why it's gotten so much press. It doesn't seem like a big deal. I think most people are going to knock down the curves a notch so they look like Q2's 'faking' of them (like on Q2DM1) to get a better framerate.

However, one possibility I do see is people sorting through levels on cdrom.com trying to finds ones that aren't just big spheres... ;-)

Dolomite> Curves are over rated. This will give newbie map makers a lot more room for mistakes. It's an added feature that pro mappers will make good use of, but anyone else won't probably make good use of curves, except to add a nicer look to the maps. Curves will be in my maps for q3a but they won't likely be the predominant feature to the map, unless I do curved rooms which I'm sure I will in places.

This is a style point. My style currently involves curved surface representation using brush manipulation, but when I have the ability to do curves I still won't change my current style much at all. I like my style, so why should tech change it?

Achilles> What mods do you see as most anticipated for release in Quake 3: Arena?

Tungsten> CTF (out of the box, baby!, as well as all the variants), Rocket Arena (3?) and Weapons Factory are the mods I’ll be looking forward to.

Kerbuffel> Something new. There are so many mods now saying they have realistic weapons and stuff... if I wanted realism, I'd join the army. I want something fun and new, not getting hit to the head with a pistol from halfway across the map and dying.

Dolomite> I'm not sure if all these titles will exist, but I'm hoping they will:

WireTap, because it will be awesome.
Expert Quake
LMCTF
Weapons Factory
Action Quake 3 (with all the 9000000 rspeeds and everything... heheh)

Achilles> From your experience playing Q3Test, do you see this game winning over the near religious following that Quake 1 still posses or do you see it further segmenting the group.

Tungsten> I’m undecided. I enjoy it much more than I enjoyed Quake 2. It’s faster and feels more solid. I think the Quake 2 crowd will accept it and most of the Quake 1 crowd will move along, though some will continue playing both games. I’m more worried about UT and TF2 fragmenting the community than I am Quake 3, to be honest. I hardly have time for one game, let alone three!

Kerbuffel> When Quake 2 came out, people complained it wasn't enough like Quake. Q3test has only been out for a little while, and people are complaining its not enough like Quake/2. People like what they like. I do think it will attract a lot of people from the Quake community, and even more from the Quake 2 community, but it won't kill it.

Dolomite> Nah. Quake 1 was a weird thing. It's like WoodStock... there can only be one. :)

Achilles> Newer, prettier graphics seem to be a hot point in all games. What single graphic feature do you think changed the game the most? (I.e. Transparent Water, Lighting etc. not just full 3D as a whole.)

Tungsten> Probably transparent water. Colored lighting made things nicer to look at (or harder to distinguish which team was which on maps that overdid it), but being able to see in the water changed the game all together. No more sneaking up the water hole on CTF1 if someone with GL and vis’d maps was defending the hole. To me, most of the improved graphics don’t change the way the game is played, just make it more immersive and more enjoyable. If I can mention sound here, I hope that some type of advanced sound will make it into Quake 3. I have really begun to pay attention to sound cues in Half-Life and the directionality has saved me a number of times. Plus 3D sound adds a great deal in terms of immersitivity. (I think I just made that word up!)

Kerbuffel> competition.

Every new graphic engine is striving to be better then the last. Unreal was the last game to set a real standard, which not every game since then has lived up to. The game I'm predicting will set a new standard is Tribes 2. From what they're claiming it'll be, (surfaces being changed by players, environmental effects) it will be truly stunning.

But, then again, it's a year or two off, so who knows what standards Quake 4 might set. ;-)

Dolomite> Oh it's just glitter. I'm a gameplay guy so I like the idea of having new physics and stuff, but the glitter really bugs me if it's over done. There is a reason that poetry books don't sell well and it's because there is a book of poetry and it's all very hard to digest.

The best poetry is a simple line that precedes a work of art.

Achilles> The settings of the mods has also grown in complexity, was level do you expect in upcoming titles.

Tungsten> More complex and more polished is certainly the way things are heading. I imagine it won’t be much longer until we start seeing more mods/partial conversions being released as $10-20 add-ons, much like Deadlode II or Disposable Heroes from The Coven. I certainly wouldn’t have predicted the way things have developed in the Half-Life community (i.e., mods like Science & Industry) so I’m not going to guess and wind up looking silly ;-)

Kerbuffel> The reason for the rise in complexity, IMO, is for the developers being able to do new things. Colored lights in Q2 let people make it easier to navigate their levels. Mod developers push the limits of the game they love, and with each new game, the limits go farther.

In Quake 3, I expect people to create truly unique mods that work well with many people. id has stated they've gotten rid of the limit on levels sizes that was there in previous Quakes. I'm expecting huge levels, set up with a number of objectives for your team to accomplish. That, to me, would be tons of fun.

Dolomite> Expect a lot of whooplah and very little result. Very few mods will compare to q1 or q2 titles, unless they are really professional, like team LM and WF. WireTap has a great team of over 40 people and we have beta testers onboard from day one, to keep us on track.

Complexity is boring. We must always have the humility to be simple enough for a child to play. Games like Descent 3 are very cool but still hard for a child so they can't do well yet, but maybe they will work it out. Gameplay and scoring has to be fun and easy, because most people play games to relax and enjoy them, even if they are rigorously battling people, it's always about personal skill and we must keep that in focus.

I do expect at least a few mods that will define gameplay and rock hard. WireTap will be one... :)

Achilles> I would like to send out a sncere thanks to Kerbuffel, Tungsten and Dolomite for taking the time to answer these questions.