Exclusive Interview w/ Battleracer 2142 Mod Team

Teck 2007-04-14 18:25:54

Earlier this week I was able to sit down with part of the Battleracer 2142 mod Team, In fact two of the members of the team who were able to take part of the interview were also apart of the Battleracer for BF2 mod Team.

Now, before we dive into what happened in the interview I would like to take this opportunity to refresh everyone's memory on the original Battleracer for BF2.

We've all done it, In Battlefield 2 we've all taken DPV's and Hummers around and done an imaginary track on which we would race our combat ready vehicles though the streets of Karkand or over Kubra Dam. Battleracer was a unique mod which took that a step forward. It allowed players to race against each other though not only the normal maps they were always playing but also custom maps with nicely laid out tracks. Fans came from all over to come together and race in a game which was never designed to be a racing game. One of the things which made Battleracer unique in my opinion is that the developers of the mod were able to see the potential in a First Person Shooter which could become so much more.

Unfortunately, because the Battleracer 2142 Team is spread out over the globe, I was only able to interview two members of the Battleracer 2142 Team. Sir. Elxx & Legolas, both of whom are also members of the Sir. Community... Anyways, I skipped introducing myself, as I am already famous world wide... Okay, maybe not but they already knew who I was so...

Me: Please tell everyone who you are and what roles you fulfill for the Sir. Community as well as the Gaming Community at large?

Sir. Elxx: I'm Sir. Elxx...basically I'm one of the Sir. administrators. I maintain sircommunity.com and coordinate most of the Sir. modding projects. I'm the lead coder and mod coordinator for Battleracer2142 (as well as Battleracer for BF2 and other mods).
Sir. Legolas: I'm Sir. Legolas currently just a member of the Sir. Community, I do some more things but Mapping is what I'm doing right now for Battleracer2142

After the introductions were out of the way it was time to really get down to business! I first wanted to address Modjive, "an application that allows users to view and download the latest available modifications for Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142. It will automatically install the mods and later update them for you when new versions are released. It is the essential companion for every Battlefield player!" which the Sir Community's very own Elxx developed for not only the Battlefield Community but the Gaming Community at large.

Me: First off let me congratulate you on your instant success with Modjive... Speaking of which, how much of a role will Modjive play in the distribution of Battleracer 2142?

Sir. Elxx: Thanks. I'd certainly like to release Battleracer2142 on Modjive. By that time we may have a preloading system set up where you can actually download the mod a few days early and then be ready to install right when it's released to everyone. It saves being caught in the rush of traffic that always happens when a mod is released.
Sir. Elxx: Basically, Modjive aims to make mods more accessible to everyone, and I'd certainly like to make it easy to install and play - especially those who may not have ever played mods before.

After talking about Modjive I was curious about one more thing which would lead me up into talking about Battleracer 2142.

Me: As developers do you feel that projects developed by members of the gaming community get the support they really need from the original Game Developers as well as the hosts who sell game servers with the option to use mods?

Sir. Elxx: I think most of the support comes from the mod developers sharing their knowledge, which helps everyone gain a better understanding of modding Battlefield games. DICE is doing a nice job with continued support of BF2 and BF2142 - the upcoming 1.25 patch for BF2142 actually has two new features just for modders. The First Strike mod team e-mailed DICE with a list of things they wanted and DICE responded...it was certainly great to see that they are actively helping out.
Sir. Elxx: The game server hosts are great, clearly without servers a mod will not go far...and it's good to see how many are very eager and willing to sponsor mod teams to help get things moving after their first release.

After discussing the type of support which mod teams get from DICE I asked both of the Battleracer developers about the original mod for Battlefield 2.

Teck: Just about every Battlefield 2 player in the world has heard about Battleracer for BF2 as it's been widely publicized all over the internet and in print. What made Battleracer for BF2 so popular?

Sir. Legolas: I think it became popular because everyone is always looking for something different and fun at the same time. Battleracer its has different objectives from what Battlefield was made for.
Sir. Elxx: Yep, it's something new and it deviates from the normal formula of Battlefield. Yet we've all seen it before, speeding through the maps in a DPV...Battleracer just takes it a step further. We have a lot of longtime fans as well, they spread the word and help the newcomers so anyone can hop in and have some fun.

Now, for the juicy part of the interview the part that some people may even skip down to simply because they're hardcore Battleracer fanatics who are so overly excited they freak out because they know we got the "good stuff" down below. The stuff that everyone's dieing to hear. Information that many people have never seen before. Okay, I'll stop talking! On with it!

Me: How long has Battleracer 2142 been under development?

Sir. Elxx: Since the day Battlefield 2142 was announced, we knew we'd expand Battleracer. We've been actively developing ideas for several months, the mod itself entered its first playable alpha about three weeks ago and development has accelerated since then.

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Me: What is the Battleracer 2142 Team hoping to accomplish with this new mod?

Sir. Elxx: Our primary goal is to bring the feel of Battleracer for BF2 into the world of 2142...for the first release, we want the basic formula to be simple so anyone can just hop in and race - newcomers and experienced BF2 racers should all enjoy the experience. After the first release, we plan to use the new features of the BF2142 engine to create new game modes such as Destruction Derby that add even more variety to the mod.

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Me: Have the changes to the Battlefield engine helped in bringing anything new to the Battleracer experience 2142 other than it just being in the future?

Sir. Elxx: There are some BF2142 features that we're integrating into Battleracer such as EMP and motion mines. Hovering vehicles like the Hachimoto bring a whole new racing dynamic for us to tap into. The thing I'm most excited about is the fact that we can have poppable tires on the buggies - that's going to be an integral part of the Destruction Derby. However, some of the ideas we're developing for Battleracer 2142 can also be sent back to Battleracer for BF2 to make both mods even better.

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Me: Elxx, a minute ago you mentioned Destruction Derby, can you tell use more about this new game mode?

Sir. Elxx: Well, we're planning to include it in the second release as our focus right now is on pure circuit racing. Not much I can tell you about it right now...though you'll probably see the hood-mounted minigun making a triumphant return.

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Me: What else can you tell us about Battleracer 2142?

Sir. Elxx: Well, the popular ranking system that kept track of wins and race records will of course be supported in Battleracer2142, with some new additions. There's a new rating index that better represents racers by their skill rather than how much they've raced - it also rewards you for beating those ranked higher than you, making the races much more exciting for all involved. Also, we're planning to add new weapons and features in the cars that you can unlock by increasing your rating - just like the vast unlock system in 2142, it will keep you playing to get just the slightest edge over your opponents. No worries though, higher-ranked people will have a few more tools in their arsenal but they can still be completely owned by those who know how to race well.
Sir. Elxx: Simple feature additions - such as being able to continue at the last checkpoint you passed if you die mid-race - will keep everything more enjoyable as well.
Sir. Legolas: The Tracks for Battleracer 2142 have been built to be more intense than the ones on Battleracer for BF2, with that I mean to be more of a challenge yet still fun.
We spend hours testing the maps with other Sir. members making sure the gaming community is going to enjoy racing on them.

We also plan to introduce new vehicles for more Racing Modes, but as Elxx said we plan to include this at a later stage of the game.

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Me: When does the Battleracer 2142 Team hope Battleracer 2142 will be ready for release to the public?

Sir. Elxx: When Legolas decides to finish the last few tracks. ;)... Really though, probably in a couple of weeks. We'd like to wait until the release of the BF2142 1.25 patch so we can take advantage of the new features.

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Me: Is there anything else either of you would like to say?

Sir. Elxx: I'm obligated to pimp some websites - http://www.battleracer.com and http://www.sircommunity.com
Sir. Legolas: I would like to Thank all our Fans, Supporters and Beta testers for making this mod possible. And I promise I will do my best to finish the maps quicker than Elxx's coding.
Sir. Elxx: And of course thanks for giving us the opportunity to do this interview!

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Me: I would like to thank both of you for your time this evening; it's been both an honor and pleasure being able to perform this exclusive interview with great developers like yourselves. I know the Gaming Community at large is going to be very excited to read this interview. We'll have to do this again sometime! Again, thank you very much.

Sir. Elxx: No problem, this was fun. Remember, don't drive naked, it may cause a rash and the Battleracer team cannot be held responsible.
Sir. Legolas: "Thanks for the opportunity, Had a great time. By the way, drinking and driving is safe in Battleracer"

After the entire interview was completed the Battleracer 2142 Team allowed me to preview the mod!

Its amazing, Everything from the Initial login menu, buddy list, server browser, everything's been modded to make the player feel immersed in the game before even finding a server. The background music was definitely worthy of a mention as well, It instantly brought on a vibe that just makes you want to race everyone you find.

Once the round started I couldn't help but notice the tires sounded as if they were really on a jeep which was blowing though the snow & on the dirt. The sound of the engine sounded like what i would expect a jeep of some sort to sound like in about 150 years.

You can really tell that there's much hard work that went into all of the various graphics that were being used. Everything looked very crisp.

The tracks were laid out in ways i never could have imagined, which is really a good thing. I could tell that much detail and planning went into the tracks.

I rarely have fun playing games by myself, but when I tried this with only myself in the game, honestly, it was fun. I never could have imagined a racing mod for any game could be so fun with out more players. While this mod is being designed for use online, it's definitely plenty of fun with out additional players.

To sum it all up, The Battleracer 2142 Team is doing a top notch job on this mod! When it's released, its one of those things YOU HAVE GOT TO DOWNLOAD!!!

One last thank you to Sir. Elxx & Sir. Legolas, but also the other half of the team, Sir. The-W & Sir. Shpox (who were unavailable at the time of the interview) for letting me take your project here for a test drive...

Well, now that this Interview + Preview of Battleracer 2142 is complete, I think its time for me to go back to playing... With any luck I can bring my racing skills up to the point where I don't hit my own mines ^_^ ---- Okay, maybe that wont happen before Battleracer 2142 is released, but at least I'll give you all a run for your money... I will leave you with two screenshots of what has become my favorite map thus far... w00t

Click an Image for the Full Sized Version

Here's the article over on Digg