UnrealSP.orgRECIPROCITY: Today we're talking boomsticks. One of RD's major bragging points is that we're arming Jones right up his dirty, bloody teeth. That's an image we can all love, eh? So how would you categorize RD's weapon set?
MR. PROPHET: Basically, it isn't too different than any other FPS. It's a divide between bullet based weapons and projectile launching weapons. Though, there are also five melee choices to go along with the pack this time. Like 7B, there isn't a rocket weapon substitute. And with the Seven Bullets GL removed, your explosive equipment mostly comes in the form of hand grenades or explosive charges.
Jones obtains his arsenal differently than he did in previous chapters. Instead of stocking up on weapons throughout the entire game, you tend to get a certain collection of guns for a particular area at a time. At any one point Jones will wield a melee weapon, a primary bullet-using weapon, a back-up bullet user or a projectile weapon, and one of the five primary projectile weapons that make up the game's strongest weapons. Grenades and Remote Charges are the only tools of destruction that are available throughout the entire game no matter what guns are in your current arsenal.
How will grenades impact gameplay? Specifically the radiation grenade?
Grenades are to weapons as rations are to health. Just when you need that extra boost you can rely on a well thrown grenade to save your ass. They can be thrown at any time no matter what gun you are using as long as long as you have use of an extra hand. For example, if you have akimbo weapons or are using both arms to hold a gun, you can't throw a hand grenade.
Different grenades work for different situations. The standard grenade is useful for just about any combat sequence. You can scatter crowds and leave your surviving enemies in such a crippled heap that mopping up will be easier. The Napalm grenade has probably one of the coolest effects that you'll see in RD. Fling a Napalm grenade into a crowd of Krall and watch them light up. Fire is a powerful defense and offense in Residual Decay. Since enemies react to it differently you never know how effective it will be...but most organisms panic in the presence of fire and RD is proof to that. Setting a legion of spinners ablaze and watching them scurry about in chaos with grim satisfaction is one of the novelties of this ability. Granted some enemies are so relentless that they will pursue you whether they are on fire or not, but in almost any situation where you set a target on fire you are promised a kill. Be careful though, enemies that are on fire can burn you too if they lunge at you.
As for Radiation Grenades, I assume you mean the Chaff grenade because that is the 3rd grenade type we've mentioned publicly. Anyone who has played Metal Gear Solid is familiar with the name, Chaff is similar to the EMP grenades you saw in Unreal2. Only in Residual Decay throwing a Chaff grenade into a high tech room can disrupt any powered source in a determined radius. This of course means you, but the use of Chaff grenades is intended to be strategic. For example, if a pair of Skaarj Troopers are running at you, the Chaff grenade will not only seal all of the doors in the nearby area for a duration of time as well as deactivate your translator or energy weapons...but it can knock out the Skaarj trooper's ability to use their energy weapons. This gives you the chance to hit them with whatever bullet-based weapon you have as they run toward you hoping for a melee kill.
It's a difficult weapon to use and it limited to certain maps. But if used by an expert than they are truly dangerous. Some enemies rely so much on technology that a chaff grenade will literally cripple them in their tracks.
Can you give us an example on how UArch's improved physics and new particle system will be weaved into a weapon's dynamics?
Well every gun new or old, has a new branch of particle effects thanks to the visual talents of UArchitect.
Bullets that hit different walls will leave particular bullet marks, collision sounds, and impact effects. For example, spraying a wall made of wooden planks will result in sharp impact hits with wood splintering in all directions as deep holes are punched through the texture. Shoot outs in a metallic warehouse will result in metal bullet holes accompanied by a loud CLANG and sparks that spew out to bounce off the floor. Shooting down at an oncoming Brute as he charges at the guard tower you are in will certainly result in a trail of missed shots hitting the dirt ground beneath him. You can see the thick dust trails kick up upon a soil impact with a gravel impact sound. It's very specific.
Suppressing the trigger on a full 50 round clip from the Combat Assault Rifle will pepper the area in constant gunfire as the new muzzle effects illuminate the screen in a fantastic burst of flame. And when the rounds are used up and you expel the empty clip onto the floor upon a swift reload, smoke will fume out of the barrel. Every Bullet based weapon has a new muzzle flash, new weapon sounds, and special reload considerations. Projectile weapons are even more satisfying. The Shock rifle for example, really seems like it causes serious damage. A single burst of shock against a surface leaves a static cloud upon the impact zone that takes a moment to vanish. Electrified water either kills or injures anything swimming in it. Explosions caused either by a CAR grenade or a hand grenade leave lasting clouds of smoke that linger for a few moments, unlike Unreal and UT explosions that vanish in an instant...as if they were firecrackers. Some weapons like our new Particle Acceleration Rifle leave penetrating burn marks on entry/exit sides of a surface as a thick ion trail lingers after the projectile, going straight through several rooms. Imagine walking through a narrow hallway and seeing a sudden energy projectile fly through one side of the wall and enter the other and then a bar of mist hovers there for a moment as two burn marks on either side fizzle out. Weapons like the new Plasma Rifle can literally trace a line of flames on a wall.
How do the gun features play on the new blood system? Can you give us a specific example on how the blood and the new weapons would work?
In Unreal and UT you got the same blood generation no matter what hit you. In Residual Decay, the type of blood generated by a hit depends mainly on whether or not your gun is bullet based or projectile based and what the size/power of that bullet or projectile is. A single slug from a Combat Assault Rifle will leave a pretty standard entry and exit wound that is specific to bullet type injuries while say a hit from a Sniper Rifle or a Quadshot causes a much larger display of gore. Headshots are also specific brain matter exits from a bullet wound in a very bloody display or spatter. Projectile hits usually don't have exit wounds and depending on the size or damage level of the hit will cause a thicker impact splatter gibbing also causes a massive gore explosion you won't see the likes of with any other attack making the effect of a blown up carcass seem more intense. Some weapons have other effects on flesh that don't concern blood, like flame weapons or stun weapons.
Anything more?
Damage types are very relevant in Residual Decay. We covered fire, but some weapons can give targets radiation poisoning, concussive damage, electro-shock, and as in the case of the chaff grenade, neutralize their abilities completely...maybe even killing certain enemies if their power is drained even for an instant.
Every enemy reacts differently to these effects. Lower lifeforms are less resistant of radiation while large, shielded organisms can counter the effects more effectively. Amphibious lifeforms with moist skin are more traumatized by electro-shock damage, while cybernetic enemies are immune to the effects of electricity altogether. Thickly armored foes may be immune to the stunning effects of concussive damage while most enemies can be paused by it. You'll have to test your weapons on different enemies but Residual Decay is very reliant on the fact that most of the enemies you encounter are either immune to or weak against certain projectile attacks.