Roper/Dunham Post Compilation

nicce idea.

Any new info ?

2-14-11

xStartThMachinex "If I'm not mistaken, Dunham said in the newest podcast that SOCOM 4 will be there Friday and Sunday. I would suggest going Sunday because it is the least crowded. However, you will be sacrificing a few hours because PAX closes i think 3 hours earlier."

Dunham: "It'll be there all three days, Friday though Sunday.

"

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kingGILLEY asks "Will the build at PAX be newer than the one at Community Day? It will be multiplayer right? Is it the Beta Build?"

Dunham: "Completely different."

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SargeGladd "No matter how you look at it, Zipper needs to make a stand in one direction or the other and not ignore the explosion here on the forums. They need to make a statement saying either, "screw you we are not changing things" or "we will consider it however the game will ship with e tags" , or at least a "we acknowledge the concerns you have and choose not to respond at this time" ...... JUST SAY SOMETHING ZIPPER, YOUR ALLOWING THIS PLACE TO IMPLODE! You have to take some action!"

Roper: "We don't have much to officially comment on right now, but we do see everything that's being posted on here and it is noted."


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AjaxOutsider hopes there is a free beta.

Roper: "Yes, there will be free ways to get into the beta (i.e. code giveaways, etc.)."

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ll-Captain_K-ll "this news is like a thousand years old"

Roper:

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BlackScud "Just wanted to congratulate Roper on his new little one. He is off this week for the birth of his new child.
I think it would be nice if all the Socomers and gamers alike could post something nice to congratulate him and his family.

And of course thanks to helping manage the most aggressive passionate gaming community on the planet!

Everyone post their congrats here."

Dunham: "He's off around this time next month. Right now he's in his office "

Roper: "Thanks, but not yet. As Jeremy said, the due date isn't until mid-March."

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MadMarthur being craaaazy "LOL have fun with no life now. you might as well forget about video games cuase most the dads i listen too over the headset online are **bleep** bags who would rather play the game than help thier kids. Why would you do that too yourself? oh oh i get it. because thats what society expects of you. LOL you fell for it."

The_Irie_One "You're an idiot. Life begins when you have kids. I do all of my gaming when my son goes to sleep. Yes, there are some d-bags out there that don't interact with their kids at all. You got a lot to learn my friend."

Dunham: "Life does indeed begin with kids.

Just for the record, I have two of my own and this is Chris' second child coming in his family and we play/ work in video games all the time. It's just about time management. Spend it with your family, and then whenever everyone is asleep, you play whatever. "


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modo188 "E-tags are not going to bring that "suspense" that Zipper thinks. "

EliteOp11 "keep buming this with useful info to the front page roper n dunham cant ignore it forever,"

Dunham: "we don't ignore anything; we just can't give answers to everything immediately. There is a difference

And believe me, we tell the necessary parties everything; what we as the developer on the whole ultimately do with it, though, depends on time, considerations, for and against arguments, sticking to the primary vision, trying to keep the customer happy, trying to anticipate what the customer wants, and a myriad of other things.

Sometimes the best answer is not to answer until you have one. If you don't hear from Chris or I on this subject following the last couple of weeks, it's because outside of the information out there, we have nothing more to add as of yet."

Roper: "We hear you all loud and clear."


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2-15-11

CessnaAV8R "DO YOU EVEN READ THESE POSTS?"

Roper: "Yes, we read everything we can.

Note that we can't always comment on everything that we see, particularly if something isn't finished yet. A good example would be the optional, secondary camera view in MP. That's been in the plans for a little while now (since well before the Community Day actually), but things have to be prioritized and it hasn't gone in there yet. We only recently announced it since there was so much concern about the existing camera that we wanted to let everyone know that a change was coming. And that's something that we know will get in there and it's at the top of our to-do list at this point.

Sometimes we'll hear feedback on something and we'll pass that feedback around. It'll go up the ranks, people will say, "Yes, let's address that by doing X, Y and Z" and then it's on the to-do list. Maybe it'll happen immediately, or maybe it'll happen a little bit down the line. In whatever the case, if it's not already being worked on, it's better to not promise it in case it doesn't work out for some reason (technically or otherwise).

So we know. We see everything that gets mentioned here, and everything reasonable gets passed around the studio. We can't comment on all of it, but that doesn't mean things aren't in progress to address everyone's concerns."

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EliteOp11 "can we get any comment on Etags yet Roper come on, even a simple acknowlement of how against them this community is."

Roper: "Oh, we certainly know that everyone hates E-Tags. That much is very clear. =)"


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SLiM--B0SS: "LOBBYS STAY!!!"

Roper: "This would be a massive change to the UI and networking infrastructure. We had to make a decision between getting people into a game and playing versus building a social networking outlet, and decided for the former. That doesn't mean we won't ever be able to do anything about that aspect, but getting both of those things working in concert with each other is a big task and wasn't in the scope of what we had time and resources to do with S4."

SLiM--B0SS: "GRENADE ARC STAYS!!"

Roper: "We commented in the most recent podcast that this is something that's in the "what could we do here" department. It's something that a lot of us would like to see return, but due to how the controller is set up, it isn't simple. And just moving around all the buttons isn't a great answer as that would be confusing to teach to people. So this is a wishlist item."

SLiM--B0SS: "NO ARROW POINTING WHERE YOUR CAMPING LAST 2MIN OF THE GAME!!!"

Roper: "This has certainly been noted."

SLiM--B0SS: "NO RESPAWN!!! (OPTIONAL!!)"

Roper: "As you said, optional. To each his own."

SLiM--B0SS: "NO SPRINTING!!|

Roper: "It's not nearly as big of a deal as you think it is. Try it out in the beta and get back to us."

SLiM--B0SS: ""O" AS MIC BUTTON!!"

Roper: "See the button thing with regards to the grenade arc above. Same sort of deal - we're looking at other options, perhaps as alternate control schemes that you could use, but right now it's tap to talk on the D-Pad up. In practice it's fine, but you'll have to try that out for yourself."

SLiM--B0SS: "LEANING!!!"

Roper: "This is a long-term wishlist item that would likely be a ton of work to get in there. No idea if this will ever happen or not. At the very least it's something that would have to be looked at after we finish and spec it out to see how long and how many people it would take to get in there. If it's a massive undertaking then it'll never happen, but if it's quicker than expected then maybe. Understand that there are complications other than just having it in there as well - control configurations, how do you teach it to the player, what happens with the current cover system, etc. None of these are easy answers."

SLiM--B0SS: "CLASIC CAMERA VIEW!!"

Roper: "We already announced that this is going in via a patch, ideally as close to launch as possible."


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AxRxMxY_T3RR0R using his skills "ZIPPERS PLEASE KEEP E-TAGS
This is the best idea to have in Socom 4 no longer do I have to run around looking for your scary azz hiding behind a wall, get your gun game up scrub. I don’t care if its 1v4, I will just revive my squad member and we will smack you. The best teams will win now not you hardcore campin scrubs!"

Roper: "Nice reverse psychology."

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klitchell asks "I'm sure if you could have given us more details you would have, but I'm just wondering when can we expect to find out about the Beta? Really all i want to know when it starts, will it be earlier for those of us getting KZ3? will we only be able to play at certain times of the day or will it be open 24/7?"

Roper: "We'll have details on what's in the beta and its timing in the near future, but not just yet."


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Smitty12 "I know a lot of people aren't happy with the game and I am Kind of upset also but I am still dying for some more info. The said it would be a flood of info but I am not swing more than two videos and a some information about features. I guess I just want some more video and information about the beta. Is anyone else feel like information is not coming as fast as they made you expect?"

Roper: "We'll have some new stuff to talk about pretty soon, and then even more not long after that."

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SaVa6e- asks a Roper "When is the next podcast?"

Roper: "It should be on the 25th."


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2-16-11

TOMBSTONE4U asks "I'd like to know exactly what the camera fix you guys are working on consists of. We've determined that "classic" camera really doesn't mean much when we hear that on PS 3. So Is it going to be like the original view? Or just moved back a hair to where its more in line with the CON view? I'd just like to have a little better understanding of what exactly this fix is. What could it be compared to as far as how far back the cam is behind the player?"

Roper: "I actually haven't seen it myself so I can't give detailed specifics on exactly what it's like (remember that we're finishing the game and this is coming in a patch). In terms of distance though, I believe the that idea really is to pull it all the way back."


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D_sKiLLz_ "Zipper Give Us more MP footages.........Help us win back the love for the Game.
I am still disappointed that Zipper hasn't been keep us up-to-date with current MP footages. In my opinion this will be a start in the healing process, by allowing us to have that crave for the game again. Because as of right now, Socom 4 is kind of in the back burner for must have."

Roper: "We'll have new stuff in the near future."


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RECENT CHANGES BASED ON COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

Roper: "I just wanted to run through a few things that have changed with SOCOM 4 very recently based on feedback that we've seen from everyone here. We went over some of this in last weeks podcast, but some of it is new...

First, the white grenade trails have been removed from Classic mode. They'll still be there in Standard, but you'll have to rely on your awareness to figure out where they came from in Classic.

Strafing speed has been increased. We also separately bumped up overall movement speed in all directions for Classic mode, but the strafe speed increase applies to all game types.

Due to high demand (particularly from those who have played it), we've added the cover system into Classic mode. If you don't want to use it, you don't have to, but it's there for those who do. You will still have the option to disable it in custom rooms, but it's on by default in the Classic rooms.

The camera collision and dynamics while crouched in tight spaces has been improved. This might not mean much if you haven't studied the videos or whatever, but just know that it's better than what we've been showing.

As for E-Tags, we should have news on what we're doing with those tomorrow..."


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DarthViper: "Socom 4 is in the can, it's finished. There's no way anything can be changed or added, so before Zipper starts working on the next game in the franchise... here's our feature list for Socom 5.

Socom should be about the future, so to that end, please get rid of all the Classic game modes, we really didn't like them, thery're too boring and complicated to figure out. Suppression is the hardcore way to go, boom your dead, respawn and repeat.

Lobbies are so old-fashioned, what do think this is, Facebook? After a hard days work, we just want to log in, jump into a random bunch of players and kill.

Tie breakers are too hard to do, so we'll just say it's a tie and be done with it.

We want a snap to cover system to automatically assist us into playing Socom the right way, D-Pad lean is too hard and you have to have the cordination of Shaun White to pull it off.

We hardly used them, so I don't expect anyone to notice they're gone.

When you throw a grenade in real life a arch doesn't somehow show you where it's going to land! This isn't Halo for crying out load.

If you have a dot in the center of your crosshair how can you see who your shooting?

The PS3 plays bluray movies, and now Socom looks like your playing in a movie, with all those artsy over-the-shoulder camera angles, it's amazing!

Everybody loves to run, please, please keep the run button, how else are you suppose to know we can't shoot while running?

We all hate campers, but trying to find them is a conundrum! Golly, Gee, Whiz we love too see where campers are at the end of a round, it's like two lost lovers running towards each other in slow motion.

We would like to see more features from COD series put into Socom 5, so that all COD addicts will become Socom 5 addicts. Zombies here we come!

"

Roper: "OK, we can make all this happen. Thanks for the input!"

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BushWacker1 asks "I should already know this but for some reason I don't. Is Abandoned only going to be available in Classic mode? It doesn't seem set up for a cover system or some of the other game modes. I was just wondering. Or maybe someone else knows the answer. Thanks"

Roper: "It is Suppression only, but you can play it in both Classic and Standard."

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WellRounded "Why is it suppression only? Are the new game modes built to only work in symmetrical maps like ones Slant Six made?

Im not going to pre-order the game....any other ways to get this map? Or is it just a carrot you guys are dangling for "hardcore" fans"

Roper: "I'm not sure why it's Suppression only, but I'm assuming that it has something to do with staying true to its roots. But no, our other maps are not symmetrical, and in many cases they're not even close.

As to your other question, the only option to get the map that's available to you right now is by pre-ordering through GameStop."

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2-17-11

Fr0g___ asks "Are the maps built around one game mode? or can we play different modes on different maps?"

Roper: "All maps support all game modes, aside from Abandoned which is only Suppression (both Classic and Standard).

Note that this wasn't a decision that was made lightly - the original gut reaction was to limit them to one mode each, but then we playtested each of them like crazy to see how they worked with other modes and everything fit.

In other words, all game modes aren't supported just because we flipped a switch - they're supported because they all work really well."

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MakoShark asks "Are there modes that work particually better on maps than other modes? In other words did you design maps with a certian mode in particular and the other modes just fit well? FYI if you ever do bring breach back you will have to create a few maps around that mode, because if they aren't designed around breach they just don't work."

Roper: "In terms of how they were designed, that's a question that each designer would have to answer.

As far as the potential for bringing other modes into the game and how/if they would be supported by existing maps, that's a question that I can't even begin to answer for numerous reasons."

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Dead1yAssass1n asks "I don't remember seeing any of these talked about or even asked(though I am not on the forums 24/7)...

Will there be a friends list in SOCOM 4?

If so, will it be a separate list from the XMB Friends list, meaning you would have to add a player to the SOCOM 4 friends list and the XMB friends list?

Or, if there is a friends list, will it just mirror the XMB friends list and show those friends that are playing SOCOM?

Will we be allowed to join a match that our friend is currently playing? With lobbies being removed, I would only assume we won't be able to see what server/room our friends are in. So will there be a way to join them(if there is a spot available)?

If there is no in-game friends list in SOCOM 4, how will the community features work from the XMB Friends list?

So basically, if I turn on SOCOM and one of my friends is playing, can I join him? If so, how is that going to be accomplished?"

Roper: "S4 uses your PSN friends list, which you will have in-game access to. An "in-game only" friends list that you can maintain would essentially be your clan.

As far as other community options go, details there were still being finalized recently (what would make it into the retail version vs. stuff that we may or may not add in down the line), so I don't want to comment on specifics yet until that's absolutely finalized."

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GordaoPreguicoso warns "Zipper, Please don't be surprised by the overwhelming number of people on the beta servers the first few days. A lot of betas fall into this trap and people are stuck trying to get into games because the companies failed at seeing that a popular game would have a lot of people wanting to get in. I am hoping your MAG beta testing will make you aware and the server issues will be at a minimum."

Roper: "Well it's kicking off with folks needing specific codes to get in, so we'll at least have some idea of the maximum at the start. =)"

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Roper: "There’s been a lot of feedback about the use of E-Tags and the RADAR in SOCOM 4’s multiplayer, and specifically the Classic mode. We’ve taken the feedback to heart and have decided to remove enemy occurrences of both from Classic mode. That is, the only names that you’ll see above players’ heads are those on your own team, and enemies will no longer show up on the RADAR at any point in a Classic mode game.

While we think that many people on these boards will be pleased with this decision, we still believe that attempting to avoid camping at the end of a match is the right thing to do, so we’ll continue to evaluate how things play out in the beta and retail releases and consider what we can do to help make the game less about hiding and more about fighting."

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MsLadyK "But hiding is something Navy SEALS are good at... why not keep it authentic? If that's the tactic you need to choose in that situation then we should be able to."

Roper: "You can hide. We just want to enforce sneaking up on the enemy rather than sitting quietly in a corner. Big difference."

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EliteOp11 "cant sneak up on an enemy with an Etag or radar blip on him Roper."

Roper: "Which is why that stuff is gone now. =)"

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Roper: "Oh, and as one added detail to this, as opposed to this being a patch down the line it's currently in the game and has been tested (hence waiting until today to announce it), so the change should be present in the beta as well."

My eyes hurt

It's alot to read but I really appreciate the effort you put into it, thanks for changing the color, it is easier to read for me on my phone especially.