Crytek Information
Welcome to the “Crysis Monthly Update #2”, the official community report from Crytek to the world-wide community. This month’s update contains the latest happenings around the Crysis Warhead announcement, an exclusive community spotlight on the AY-69, helpful and funny news from fans for the fans and a group of Warhead related assets for you to enjoy!
Content: Crysis Monthly Update – June 2008
- Community Q&A Part #1
- Community Update Corner
- Warhead Community Assets
- Warhead Exclusive: AY-69 Introduction
- Warhead Previews Collection
With the announcement of Crysis Warhead many online websites revealed their first impressions on the game when visiting Crytek studio’s in Budapest, Hungary. Here is a collection of the most recent ones you can find in the web.
- GamesRadar.com: Crysis Warhead – first look
- PCZone.co.uk: Crysis Warhead - Preview
- Games.Tiscali.cz: Crysis Warhead - Preview
- IGN.com: Crysis Warhead First Look
- IGN.com: Cevat Yerli Q&A
- PCGames.de: Crysis & its future – Interview with Cevat Yerli (German only; translation here)
- PCGamesHardware.de: Technical Interview with Cevat Yerli on Warhead (German only; translation here)
- Forumbeitrag @ Crysis-HQ.com Community Q&A Part #1
In the last monthly update we encouraged you to send in questions for our new ongoing Community Q&A feature. Due to the huge amount of questions we had to pick a few from the list which we have answered in our first part below. Within the upcoming weeks more we are going to answer more of your questions, so just keep on posting them in your favorite forums.
Questions about Crytek
1. How do you estimate your reputation in the community? (SoLLy, Crysisnews.de)
Answer: We are aware of the fact that there is room for improvement regarding our work with the community and appreciate the passionate feedback we have received so far, both positive and negative. We hope to learn from our experience so please keep giving us feedback.
We are quite happy with what we have achieved with our modding community and we want to continue to extend our support in the future. We are looking forward to share more details on Crysis Warhead with you soon.
2. Which other projects are in development by Crytek? (foofi, Crysis-HQ.com)
Answer: We wish we could share more, but this is something we can’t tell you yet, since it is just too early to even name the other unannounced projects we have in development.
3. Why did you create the monthly update if it included less (new) information compared to the weekly updates, even though there would be enough topics to talk about? (Willy, Crysis-HQ.com)
Answer: This question definitely requires a bit of an explanation on what the Crysis Weekly/Monthly Update should be for the community. When we started with the weekly update we were in the middle of the patch 1.2/1.21 production for Crysis. At this time we had a lot of content to share with the community to get them up-to-date on the development progress. Our goal was to keep you informed.
Afterwards there was a time with almost none new information available for the public because we were not able to talk about all of the exciting things we were working on with Warhead. Fortunately this changed with the announcement and you should keep your eyes open for more information on the game in the near future.
The upcoming monthly updates won’t necessarily share brand new information on Warhead only, since we have information and asset releases planned for the community independently from the monthly update. Furthermore you can expect a community report from our side on what is happening in the Crysis community, around Warhead and extended by notes from the developers to keep everyone up-to-date.
4. Also what does Crytek think of our maps/mods that are in production or released. (PsycoFalc, Crymod.com)
Answer: We are quite impressed and surprised not only by the amount of maps, assets and mods that are work-in-progress, but also by the fact that so many things have been released to the community already. The quality the community comes up with it breathtaking and some times even we are stunned by the high quality modders are able to deliver.
Even the code snippets and flowgraph nodes people develop are very interesting to look at and follow-up on. We are really proud of our modding community and we are pretty sure that the quality bar will rise even further with the time passing by.
Contests like the Intel / Crysis Mapping Contest just underline what our modders are capable of doing and this one definitely won’t be our last modding contest.
Questions on Crysis
5. Why is there no first person spectator view in multiplayer? (Spike83, Crysisnews.de)
Answer: During the development of Crysis, we evaluated several systems and had to make a choice due to a limited time frame for developing this feature. We definitely wanted to provide the basic 3rd person view which we then enhanced later on with some new functionalities, including zoom in/out and camera rotation. Our tests found that spectating from a 3rd person view was much more intense and entertaining than the 1st person view which mainly is used for competitive play. Thus we decided to stick to the 3rd person view only and enhance this system.
6. Is there still a possibility of a Linux Dedicated Server for Crysis? (Roberi91, Crysisnews.de)
Answer: At this stage we have put the development of the Linux Server files on hold. We will update you if this changes.
7. Why do mod teams do not get supported with enough tutorials which has been stated so often by Crytek? (Cry|loud, Crysis-HQ.com)
Answer: We are constantly working on new tutorials and reference documents to update our official CryENGINE2 manual on http://doc.crymod.com. Still, tutorials and especially reference documents do take quite some time depending on the size of the topic. We are aware that the manual lacks in some areas, but we are confident we will improve this over time and come up with new stuff for you to read through –we are dedicated to helping you take your mods even further!
8. People keep saying Crytek haven't stopped supporting Crysis, how does Crytek plan to support Crysis? (Alcoholic1, Crymod.com)
Answer: We have our official modding portal, up and running – a great meeting place not only for modders, but also for all who are interested in playing new, custom content. And of course, your dedicated community management teams are still here and active in our official forums and fansite forums.
Questions on Warhead
9. What percentage of the game will be completely new levels/maps? (Armoured, Crysis-Online.com)
Answer: The Singleplayer campaign will feature entirely new levels which you haven’t seen or played in the original Crysis.
10. Will you play the whole story over again, but with Psycho? (tolgapaksoy, Crysis-Online.com)
Answer: With Psycho you will encounter a completely different story on the other site of the island which is quite dramatic, full of action and more intense and explosive than what you experience with Nomad.
11. Is Cytek (Germany) helping Crytek Hungary? Or are they on there selves? (Linkin, Crysis-Online.com)
Answer: Crysis Warhead is being developed by Crytek Hungary.
12. Will the game be using Games for Windows - LIVE for its multiplayer infrastructure or Gamespy or something else? (Nightmare225, Crysis-Online.com)
Answer: Crysis Warhead will be a Games for Windows game, and we will use Gamespy as our online service again.
13. Is the game broader and less path-driven, less linear? (Even though I never thought Crysis was much linear.) (Shletten, Crysis-Online.com)
Answer: In some areas, especially in the last levels of Crysis, the game was linear to drive the story further and to give the player a more intense feeling while playing the missions. We listened to the general feedback from the community and we have changed this in Warhead, where you’ll have a lot of the freedom in the first ¾ of Crysis throughout the whole campaign. For instance, vehicle based sections can be accomplished in various ways and the player is not bound to a specific route. You still have mission goals you need to achieve in order to proceed with the story, but the decision how to achieve them is up to the player from beginning till the end.
14. Do you have a release date already planned or do you have an approximate date which Crytek plans on getting this game out the door (Q4 2008? Q1 2009?)? (Jiggles, Crysis-Online.com)
Answer: Fall 2008!
15. Will it still be possible to grab enemies? (jupiee, Crymod.com)
Answer: Yes.
16. Will Crysis Warhead use the same engine as Crysis, or a modified version to take advantage of new graphics, physics, AI, or sound technologies? (Aggressor Prime, Crymod.com)
Answer: Warhead will use a modified and improved version of the CryENGINE 2. It comes with new features such as the global ambient lighting system and we have improved the AI for both aliens and humans to incorporate more group tactics to make them even more challenging. Of course, the engine has also been further optimized which is going to improve performance across a wide range of hardware.
Community Update Corner
After the announcement of Crysis Warhead the community has been quite active again and is already discussing a lot about the game, its content and the respective story around it. Below we will feature the two most noticeable community creations since the announcement of Warhead.
- InCrysis.com: Warhead Information Collection
Our friends from the international Crysis fan site www.incrysis.com did a great job of collecting information on Crysis Warhead and posted it into a thread in their forums. It is definitely worth a look so check out the link below to read more.
Link: http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=22306
- Warhead Custom Screenshots
The following is a funny, but good looking attempt from some community members on www.crymod.com to create some Warhead like screenshot by using Crysis and Sandbox2 Editor.
Link: Post fake Crysis Warhead screenshots!
Below you can find a collection of the available assets and materials for the community which are definitely worth a look.
High-Res Screenshot Package #1
Find here a collection of the recently discussed Warhead screenshots, this time in high-quality and exclusively for the community.
High-Res Warhead Logo
Available in a high-resolution .PSD file – and use it for updating your own web site or wallpaper creation.
High Definition Warhead Teaser Trailer
For those who may have missed it, download the HD teaser trailer of Warhead, which was seen first on IGN, from the source below.
Find here a collection of the recently discussed Warhead screenshots, this time in high-quality and exclusively for the community.
High-Res Warhead Logo
Available in a high-resolution .PSD file – and use it for updating your own web site or wallpaper creation.
High Definition Warhead Teaser Trailer
For those who may have missed it, download the HD teaser trailer of Warhead, which was seen first on IGN, from the source below.
Warhead Exclusive: AY-69 Introduction
Exclusively featured in this update for the community is the recently introduced AY-69, one of the new weapons which will be featured in Warhead.
Technical Specification
Magazine capacity: 40
Bullet type: AY-69 special bullets
Fire modes: Can be dual wielded (right button fires right weapon, left button fires left weapon)
Description:
The AY-69 is a close combat weapon with high damage output on short range. Due to its high fire rate but low accuracy its preferred operational areas are urban environments and inside buildings. Once picked up the weapon replaces the SOCOM hand gun by allocating the first weapon slot in the players’ inventory.
