<09:03:36 PM> There's really no other game out there with the freedom of movement of Tribes, so I've always felt that's its strongest point...with T:V we hope to show the world what that's all about. As much as some of you frown upon the SP experience, it should help to draw in new players, and that's something for everyone to be happy about
<09:03:44 PM> I think a lot of you with gameplay questions can take that last answer from Tesla to heart.
<09:04:36 PM> I'm getting a lot of item questions... So I'll try to combine them into 1 question.
<09:05:04 PM> In T2, a player was overwhelmed by item choices. So many turrets, grenades, weapons, packs, etc... How do you plan to make this easier on the player?
<09:06:02 PM> Better interface for equipment selection, clearer differentiation between items. Unification of the function of some items with others. Can't comment on specific items at this time.
<09:06:15 PM> In general our equipment variety falls in between T1 and T2
<09:06:29 PM> So more than T1, but less than T2?
<09:06:43 PM> That's right...keeping in mind that variety is different than complexity
<09:06:44 PM> We also want to make it clear what the functions of those items is, and why one is useful as compared to another.
<09:06:53 PM> is = are?
<09:07:02 PM> vgd
<09:07:04 PM> *Robiliard* will there be in-game voice communication? Instead of having to use a thrid-party tool such as Roger Wilco.
<09:07:16 PM> Not commenting at this time, sorry
<09:07:29 PM> *captain_kickass* Do you plan to insert a system of statistics into the game? or will it be too heavy? will there be a life time tracking of MAs?
<09:08:11 PM> We have plans for stat tracking...we're not revealing any additional details yet
<09:08:20 PM> *dommy* UnrealScript as far as I know doesn't support client scripting unless its scripting for an entire mod (so the server would have to be running it.) How is this going to affect client customizability? Will UnrealScript be extended or another scripting language incorporated?
<09:08:31 PM> Excellent question
<09:09:31 PM> He's writing an excellent answer ...
<09:09:34 PM> Unreal doesn't support client-side scripting. This is very different than T1 and T2, and it's something we'll all have to come to grips with. We're making changes to ensure that client-side customizability is still possible, so don't worry about that. But client scripting won't be as viable, which also means that cheating won't be as viable.
<09:09:56 PM> Ouch
<09:10:08 PM> That removes quite a bit of what made Tribes so great.
<09:10:17 PM> *ShifterNocturnal* my Q: Why did you guys decided to take the browser out? I thought it was a really inovative feature and was one of the reasons i bought T2. How is the tribe system gonna work?
<09:10:18 PM> I should mention that client scripts are still possible when used in conjunction with a server-side script
<09:10:31 PM> It's a limitation that we've had to accept if we want to maintain the integrity of the game.
<09:10:39 PM> So if the competitive community agreed on particular scripts, they could be run on servers, thus providing a means of "sanctioning" client-side scripts
<09:10:59 PM> Reasonable
<09:11:14 PM> There's no reason to reconstruct programs that already exist...everyone has email programs and web browsers these days
<09:11:40 PM> *nRg* Will the Tribes (1) master server be shutting down once T:V comes out? This would also apply to T2.
<09:12:15 PM> We currently have no plans to shut down either T1 or T2 master servers.
<09:12:24 PM> *ath0\away* Q: Are you going to have an inventory style like Tribes one, where items can be 'spammed' from the station, and multiple repairs bought at once, or like T2's one item at a time type deal?
<09:12:49 PM> Might as well toss out all assumptions in that regard...it'll be better than both systems
<09:13:20 PM> *misfit* How will tags be addressed in TV? Similar to t1 or t2?
<09:13:37 PM> Sorry, we addressed this on the forums...we're not commenting about it yet
<09:14:17 PM> *FUBAR|Ascain* Wolfenstein's Enemy Territory implements a new experience bonus system that rewards players with additional skills that don't adversly impact game balance. Do you have any plans of implementing such a system or would you consider this more of a mutator scenario?
<09:14:28 PM> So I hear you guys liked the scripting answer. =) Yeah I figured that'd be a hot topic...we can discuss it more in the coming months
<09:15:02 PM> No additional skills are planned
<09:15:16 PM> *ATF_Mais* In current Unreal Engine games, there is client-side downloading of server items. This was left out of the previous Tribes games (most everything was server side anyway). Will this feature be removed from T:V to allow people with slower connections to be able to play without having to download extraneous vote systems or mindless sounds/pictures?
<09:16:11 PM> Is the question will downloading be removed entirely?
<09:16:14 PM> If so, then no
<09:16:32 PM> *Razer_guy[REV]* This is a vague question, but in a team sense, will T:V create any new positions? Eliminate any old ones?
<09:17:08 PM> I'd expect new positions to come out of the new equipment available. New strategies, new tactics.
<09:17:12 PM> Positions as in player roles? It's a new game, so yes, there are presumably new roles...they'll be a product of community-driven gameplay evolution
<09:17:34 PM> Silence-* the change from t1 to t2 brought some new game types, and mods for each one. Will the basic gametypes all operate on the same overall mod, or will each have it's own physics? [For instance TR2 compared to Classic, compared to Base]
<09:17:52 PM> We're not discussing the specifics of game types at this time.
<09:18:04 PM> Wait though...
<09:18:10 PM> To answer your question, yes
<09:18:25 PM> There is a single underlying system
<09:19:09 PM> Well, it appears we're just getting more questions on the same information.
<09:19:29 PM> So I will go ahead and take this time to thank everyone from Vivendi and Irrational for coming.
<09:20:03 PM> If anyone has follow up questions for the dev team, feel free to post on the forums and the dev team will still be doing Q&A at bittah for the rest of the week.
<09:20:05 PM> No worries
<09:20:19 PM> Our pleasure...sorry we can't answer in depth yet, but it's still early.
<09:20:28 PM> We lurk and post occasionally, so we'll see you on the forums
<09:20:50 PM> Thanks to all the TW guys for all their work, and to the 1200 people who passed thru here.

---