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    These forums date back to the game's origins as the Crysis mod Traction Wars. Over the years the game and internet habits have evolved and discord.gg/vanguardww2 is now the principle home of the community.

    The team continue to read and reply to posts here, but we can be contacted more quickly on Discord.

Dev Blog #24: Developer Interview - Mars

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MaverickFM

Pathfinder Games
We've had a busy fortnight here at Traction Wars, but you will be glad to hear I managed to pin Mars down for a few minutes for the second of our developer interviews:


What attracted you to Traction Wars?
Like everyone else on the team, I had an interest in WWII and video games. I started designing custom levels in Call of Duty 4 where I learnt the core fundamentals of multiplayer level design, but the majority of my game time was spent playing Resistance & Liberation, Darkest Hour and Forgotten Hope 2.

These mods are such a huge source of innovation and creativity, and the only way we’ll see something like that again is if indie teams like ourselves build the games we want to play. I was searching for a position in a team where I could scratch my design itch, and after seeing how organised and motivated the Traction Wars team was I couldn’t say no. And here I still am, over a year and a half later!


What does your role involve and how much work is required?

Right now as a Level Designer my role is to take ownership of Pegasus Bridge and Merville Battery and drive the levels to Alpha completion. I’m currently acting as the Lead whilst Maniche is studying abroad, so there are more responsibilities to ensure the levels are ready for consistent playtesting.

Thankfully we have an amazing team who can ease some of that pressure. Guillaume, our new Technical & Lighting Artist, has made some considerable improvements to the game within a short period. For example, we’re currently replacing our old grass with the new merged mesh system and it looks and performs amazing!


What has been your biggest learning curve so far?

I think it’s a combination of things. Game development is hard iterative work, particularly when you’re building a game from the ground up… in your spare time! I’d say for most teams that’s a non-starter already, but we have some fantastic dedicated individuals who really drive the game forward.

I would say the hardest thing is focusing on your levels for long periods of time whilst remaining critical of it at every stage. I’m jealous of our Artists who get to work on different assets every other week!

If you had more time to spare would you like to get involved with other aspects of TW?
"
If I had more time to spare I would love to work on making our levels more interactive, and getting involved with player and weapon design."


What's your favourite TW moment so far?

Hearing the screams of terror during testing when someone in the team discovers my giant exploding gnomes when they least expect it. Be very afraid.


Can you give us any sneak previews?
Well I suppose just a few would be okay..





Favourite Flavour of Skittle?

I'm not a fan of skittles but my favourite cookie is shortbread with chunky Belgian chocolate chips.

Recruitment Spotlight


C++ PROGRAMMER

Programmers work as a team at the heart of the game development. The individual role of programmers varies from the core game mechanics to more discrete but nonetheless essential back-end services. Experience in C++ is essential but not necessarily in CRYENGINE. If you would be interested in joining our Coding Department and applying your programming experience to Traction Wars then you can find out more details and apply to join the team on our recruitment page.



We will be back in two weeks time with another update but in the meantime you can find us on social media from the links below!


 
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FlyingR

Member
Those shadows are amazing! Thanks for the pictures! And [MENTION=1595]Mars[/MENTION] , you forgot to answer "If you had more time to spare..."!

By the way, I know Pegasus will be during the night, but for the other maps, will there be wind effect for the clouds? Will they move?
 

MaverickFM

Pathfinder Games
[MENTION=2433]FlyingR[/MENTION] nope... That's me working on this late at night. That answer will be posted shortly!
 

Aniallator

Member
Shortbread with chunky Belgian chocolate chips? You, sir, have my complete and utter respect! It's great to see that we have so talented mappers on the team. I can't wait to see your hard work first hand! So far, Pegasus Bridge is cooking up to be my favorite map :) And Mav, thank you for getting this update out so soon... I wasn't expecting it for another three hours xD As Flying asked, is wind = moving clouds possible? Is it doable in CRYENGINE, anyway?
 

MaverickFM

Pathfinder Games
[MENTION=2108]Aniallator[/MENTION] [MENTION=2433]FlyingR[/MENTION]

I am not authorised to give information outside my knowledge! [emoji4]
 

Esu21

Member
Favourite Flavour of Skittle?
For a moment I was scared reading this, poor cookies if they're not mentioned in the last question of any of your interviews @MaverickFM ! Well played sir xD

Now,sorry for my ignorance but... why are the devs working in sun shadows in the Pegasus Bridge map if it will be at night?

Nice interview by the way ;)
 

FlyingR

Member
Now,sorry for my ignorance but... why are the devs working in sun shadows in the Pegasus Bridge map if it will be at night?

So that they are able to see the details with good lightning, therefore have a general image of what the map will look like before making it at night.
 

calgoblin

Pathfinder Games
why are the devs working in sun shadows in the Pegasus Bridge map if it will be at night?

We have a seperate day and night ToD as seen in the video and screens etc. Whether it makes it into the game or not is uncertain, would give variety but depends how it plays as it is, quite rightly, designed for night. Plus if it is daytime you'd see all the gnomes...
 

Aniallator

Member
We have a seperate day and night ToD as seen in the video and screens etc. Whether it makes it into the game or not is uncertain, would give variety but depends how it plays as it is, quite rightly, designed for night. Plus if it is daytime you'd see all the gnomes...

Just my opinion, but I'd kill to have day and night versions of Pegasus Bridge in the game! It would be like having a fifth map.
 

General Naga

Director/Founder
Pathfinder Games
Now,sorry for my ignorance but... why are the devs working in sun shadows in the Pegasus Bridge map if it will be at night?

The other reason is that we've shown you Pegasus so we can use it to demonstrate tech. upgrades without spoiling any surprises! We've announced and shown two night maps... don't forget the other two we haven't shown in any great detail (or at all yet) ;)
 
Exploding gnomes, eh?

Another interesting chat with the devs. Well done and thank you [MENTION=1595]Mars[/MENTION] [MENTION=1737]MaverickFM[/MENTION]
 

DerJoachim

Member
O M G....


That sneak peak!!!! great, and that glorious Mars face!!


Just epic, all this teasing and the idea that i have to wait another 20 months to get my filthy hands on this gem of a game...cant bear it no more :confused:
 
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