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[TombCrow]

http://www.levelbase.dyndns.org/newspaper/box_artikel.asp?Nnr=350&lang=e&art=na

能打开的请把文章贴出来，多谢～
有图的话也请贴一下～～

Exclusive Interview
with Morgan Gray
from Crystal Dynamics


A ton of facts from the Games Convention 2005 in Leipzig, Germany

Friday, August 19th . It is hot, it is extremely loud and it is the second day of European's largest annual gaming event, the Games Convention 2005. As announced some weeks ago Tomb Raider: Legend, the newest part in our popular series, was presented to the public for the first time in Leipzig.

Three Tribune reporters, one guest reporter and two other Tomb Raider fans just finished watching the 20- minute long live presentation of the new game. Longing for more we got the chance to catch up with Morgan Gray, producer at Crystal Dynamics, to ask him a ton of questions our community had gathered together. Thanks to the great efforts of Julia Widera from Eidos the usually fully booked CD staff member granted us about 30 minutes of his time to answer every single question we asked him in detail in an interesting and really nice, motivated way. So, again, thank you Mr. Gray for everything. It was clearly an unforgettable experience.

Few days ago we presented to you some of the facts in advance, now get prepared to read the full transcript. And those of you who are interested in the audio file can download the whole interview at the end of the article.

One last thing: Because of the noises in the background it was sometimes really difficult to reconstruct every single word of Mr. Gray and us, so please forgive us some slight grammatical errors and missing words, as we tried sticking to the original text as closely as possible, anyway.

.....

LBT: What about the camera? Can you change the perspective or the viewpoints?

At will, yes. The second analogue stick not only controls the camera. In a deeper configuration pressing it in brings up the binoculars that will let you go into another mode.

LBT: You can look at the game from Lara's point of view?

There are three different ways: We have the third person, the binoculars and then we have a close- in over the shoulder that you can actually fight in, similar to [Tom Clancy's] Ghost Recon. It's sort of a bad comparison for Tomb Raider, but it's like first person, but it's still third. So I think as we want our combat still to be a lot of movement based most players are going to stick in this third person mode using our camera- lock combat systems where they are able to see where they're going.

[TombCrow]

又挖来的一小段

LBT: On to the enemies. Does Lara aim at them automatically like in the previous games?

She has three ways in which she can aim: One is just running around and pressing the shoot button. She will shoot in front of her and a little bit in a degree range of an enemy in front of her. The second one is the combat lock mode which I'm sure you saw. That auto- targets an enemy and you can cycle around him. There's a target on the screen and the camera rotates. This has an accuracy model based on distance motion. The third is something that we are currently calling "act and aim" which is a close- in over the shoulder. If you want to get some aspects of a first person shooter, if you want to be able to shoot enemies or objects within the environment to manipulate them you have a much more precise way of doing it.

希望能看到全文！

[aj5]

我来弄

Lara's Levelbase Tribune: Mr. Gray, what exactly do you do at crystal dynamics?

Mr. Gray: I'm the producer of the development team, so it's a mixture of a better management, a better scheduling, but a lot of what my function is, is a mixture of the art department, design apartment, and the technology which are all focused towards the same goals. So I work with my lead- designer, my art- director and my lead- technologist, to set sort of high- level goals of what we need to accomplish with the game and make sure that we are not falling short of us. There's a generalization.

LBT: So you're one of the bosses?

I run the development team, yeah. (laughs)

LBT: There are really a lot of questions our community wants to know. We would like to begin with the saving system. Is it like in Soul Reaver or Legacy of Kain?

It's very similar, but we have obviously part- save locations, a checkpoint system. But one of the big things we want to do is: we all want to use cheap gameplay limitations as game balances or game goals. So before all difficult high- risk things we give checkpoints. We want to be very friendly because when people play Lara Croft and they have- on PC- about 500 savegames and they're always going slowly and everything, then that's not what it's all about. So we want to make a very friendly game, so you take the bigger risks, and if you mess up it's not a big deal.

LBT: So there are no one chance situations or dead ends?

No, there's no ultimate failure.

LBT: There are multiple ways to figure a puzzle out, then?

Yes.

LBT: And if you tried all of these ways and none of these worked, what would the game do with Lara?

There's always at least one possibility that will work. We're going to have many, so if they're people trying out all the possibilities and it's not working they're probably not doing it in the right way. So in that case Lara would begin to give you hints that you're not doing it correctly. She will talk to herself like "Something doesn't seem to be right here", maybe as she tries. It's slow, though, so it's very gradual, so we would say after five minutes you'll know it if you are trying it really wrong. It's a very settled thing and it passes along and you won't waste a lot of your time. It's a little more direction for the player, but it should be said it's not happening that quick, again.

[align=center][/align]

LBT: Thanks. Can you tell us something about the system requirements?

For the PC? Or in general?

LBT: For the PC.

Ok, for PC: What we want to do with Tomb Raider is looking at each platform as an opportunity to make the coolest, prettiest Tomb Raider we can make on that platform. When it comes to PC we're obviously looking at servicing everything the high- end PCs are capable of doing: complex pixel- shading, all the belts and muscles, multiple light sources, and an increased processing time that will give us more dynamic physics to have interactive objects waving in the breeze. But because we are also developing on Playstation 2 our demands aren't that high. We are very scaleable. So we haven't kneeled down the exact specific facts what the recommended system will be, but off- hand I would guess that with better equipment you will have a very fantastic time playing the game.

LBT: Did you program the game first for the PS 2?

All of them simultaneously. We're making each version at the same time.

LBT: So there are no adaptations for the PC?

Well, there are some things that get carried over such as the core geometry and the flow, but it's not like making the Playstation version and then porting it. So we're taking on the PC and Xbox, you know, new textures, high- res geometry, using the light sources and the shadows, so again by doing them all at the same time I think we will be able to maximize what each platform does best and give it a Tomb Raider that really fits so that a fan wants to play it.

LBT: And what about the next- generation versions of the consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS 3?

I have to say "no comment". (grinning)

LBT: Ok, so, um, on the computer, do you control the game with a mouse?

We want to support keyboard and mouse and gamepad. I personally think that in previous versions Tomb Raider was very playable on PC. I first played Tomb Raider I on PC because it was so deliberate. But I highly recommend to PC fans: pick up a gamepad to play the game and/or adopt- if you don't know- a mouse- keyboard control and really learn that because now that she moves very quickly I think that if you are just playing with the keyboard you will lose out on the experience.

[align=center][/align]

LBT: So I can use the mouse but I don't have to?

You don't have to use the mouse, but I think your game experience will suffer.

LBT: Do you use the analogue sticks on the controllers to move Lara through the game?

Yes, you do. The left analogue stick is a motion stick, the right one is sort of a camera stick.

LBT: What about the camera? Can you change the perspective or the viewpoints?

At will, yes. The second analogue stick not only controls the camera. In a deeper configuration pressing it in brings up the binoculars that will let you go into another mode.

LBT: You can look at the game from Lara's point of view?

There are three different ways: We have the third person, the binoculars and then we have a close- in over the shoulder that you can actually fight in, similar to [Tom Clancy's] Ghost Recon. It's sort of a bad comparison for Tomb Raider, but it's like first person, but it's still third. So I think as we want our combat still to be a lot of movement based most players are going to stick in this third person mode using our camera- lock combat systems where they are able to see where they're going.

LBT: What framerate are you going for?

Oh, on PS2 and Xbox?

LBT: Overall.

Well, at a bare minimum nothing less than 30.

LBT: On to Lara's character. What is new regarding her character? What is new about her?

What we've done is the following: the previous game storylines- we honour them, but we are not talking a literal timeline, so we're taking sort of a fresh start. In my mind I like the thought of Tomb Raider I having come out and then having waited until Playstation 2 and Xbox to make another Tomb Raider game. This will be the game. We don't disregard everything, but we don't hold through.

Her personality this time? She's not as dark, not as brooding. She's adventurous and much more spirited.

[aj5]

Part 2

LBT: On to Lara's character. What is new regarding her character? What is new about her?

What we've done is the following: the previous game storylines- we honour them, but we are not talking a literal timeline, so we're taking sort of a fresh start. In my mind I like the thought of Tomb Raider I having come out and then having waited until Playstation 2 and Xbox to make another Tomb Raider game. This will be the game. We don't disregard everything, but we don't hold through.

Her personality this time? She's not as dark, not as brooding. She's adventurous and much more spirited.

There are actually several events in this game that both help to give you an idea about how her character came to be as well as about the sort of changes. We'll revisit Lara Croft's past in a few unique ways. There's an incident in the Himalayas that has been talked about for years, about Lara Croft. We get to see a bit of that in the game.

[align=center][/align]LBT: This happened when her parents died.

Really? I'm not sure about this.

LBT: It's contained in her biography. So that's where TR Legend begins? After TR I?

Yes, similar to that. Also we get to see some of her previous relationships, like few years after the first game, a rather young sort of adventurer.

LBT: She's as adventurous as ever.

Yes, exactly. So we get to see how her character develops a little bit, some aspects of her personality and she has also sort of a support team or tech team back at the mansion. The mansion's going to be in the game again. And you'll see more of her personality and how she relates to her butler and her sort of computer specialist who helps to give her a couple of hints.

LBT: So this is the reason why she wears a headset?

Exactly. She can communicate quickly with her tech team basically back at the mansion.

[align=center][/align][align=center]Lara with headset[/align]LBT: By the way, does the Croft Manor still exist and is it playable?

It still exists and it is playable and because of her new movement controls you have the ability to go through much more complicated environments. We've changed the layout, we've changed the gymnasium to take into account the fact that she knew much more.

LBT: Did you change some secret passageways, too?

There are some surprises.

LBT: And are there other secrets to be found like in TR I- TR V?

Within the mansion itself or in the game itself? 'Cause there's both. There are sort of secret things to find in the mansion and there'll be secret things throughout the levels that only the sort of diligent players will discover.

LBT: How many people are working on the game?

Well, Eidos is a really large company and all at Eidos work on Tomb Raider. But here at Crystal Dynamics we have a development team of about 80.

LBT: 80 people?

80 people. Keep in mind that we're developing Xbox, PC and PS2 all at the same time. So it's a rather large team.

LBT: Will Crystal Dynamics ever be a first or second party to any of the major game companies like Microsoft or Sony?

Crystal Dynamics is solely owned by and a part of the Eidos structure. We'll always be with that publishing group. We will never be first party to Microsoft or Nintendo because we are already another publisher's first party.

LBT: Ok, back to the game. We have some members who- let's put it this way- love weapons more than their wives. (Mr. Gray laughs) Yeah, they would like to know if Lara still has her 9 millimetres with unlimited ammunition.

[align=center][/align]Yes, the side weapons have unlimited ammunition, but you do have a draining ammo, so it's sort of a recharging mechanic. Once you run out she will automatically reload. We use that for balancing reasons because we want to keep the players on their toes, also for other guns. It's an accuracy model based on range and her motion. Additionally to pistols there are a number of other weapons she can pick up. She carries one additional weapon. She can store it on her backpack,' cause we don't want her to be a walking tank. So if she finds weapons she can choose to drop what she has and pick up a new one.

LBT: But those weapons don't have unlimited ammo, do they?

No, they don't. Other weapons than the pistols have limited ammo.

LBT: You must choose what you want to take with you.

Exactly.

[align=center][/align][align=center]screen shot 2nd.trailer[/align]LBT: No grenade gun and a rocket launcher and a shotgun.

Exactly. You have to pick. And right now at the moment we have sort of a strong desire for no sniper rifle, and I'll tell you why: All the fans ask for a sniper rifle, but Lara Croft isn't a coward. Lara Croft doesn't hide in shadows. She's not going to carry a long rifle to shoot someone far away. If she has to fight she's going to get close. It's very much of a conscious decision of what we really think is the value of the character.

[aj5]

Part 3

LBT: In Angel of Darkness Lara was able to sneak around corners, kill enemies from behind, lie down on the floor and move forward. With these moves the game took a direction into stealth games like Splinter Cell or (in some parts) Beyond Good and Evil. Are you going to pursue that direction?

It's a matter of conjunction. Stealth gameplay is beneficial but we're not saying stealth gameplay is a way to play the game. If you move slowly and you're ducking and you're staying in the darkness the AI will not react as quickly. That means we much more prefer you to run into the enemy and jump and shoot at him. Concluding, if stealth is your style- by all means- it will work to some extends in Tomb Raider but we are not a stealth game.

LBT: So you're just implementing stealth elements if you really feel it fits into the gameplay?

[align=center][/align]We're not even implementing stealth elements because we're going for an AI that is much more reactional and realistic. It just falls into the system that doesn't support that way of gameplay style.

LBT: But all of the standard moves like crouching will remain, won't they?

Yes. Crouching, walking slowly, swimming on the surface, swimming under water, all the combat flips and all the moves of the series will remain. I think that Angel of Darkness did a nice sort of partial step towards giving her much more abilities, but this game is exponential in how much Lara Croft can do.

LBT: On to the enemies. Does Lara aim at them automatically like in the previous games?

She has three ways in which she can aim: One is just running around and pressing the shoot button. She will shoot in front of her and a little bit in a degree range of an enemy in front of her. The second one is the combat lock mode which I'm sure you saw. That auto- targets an enemy and you can cycle around him. There's a target on the screen and the camera rotates. This has an accuracy model based on distance motion. The third is something that we are currently calling "act and aim" which is a close- in over the shoulder. If you want to get some aspects of a first person shooter, if you want to be able to shoot enemies or objects within the environment to manipulate them you have a much more precise way of doing it.

LBT: A full range of variety.

Exactly.

LBT: There's a red triangle that marks the enemies` heads. Do you intend to leave it in the game?

We're going to have multiple, selectable options in the final game. Right now the red triangle is a very sort of an early art thing. But that triangle only pops up when you're in the auto- target mode. It shows you- if there are several enemies- which particular enemy you are currently on. That's something that's kinda useful to have there. You really want to know who you're shooting at, but the triangle is not the final art.

LBT: Seems a little bit Zelda-ish.

Yeah, it does.

LBT: Based on the information you have given us none of the characters from Tomb Raider II- VI will appear. So there's no Kurtis?

There's no Kurtis.

LBT: There's no Kurtis. Oh! (In a sad tone)

Everyone laughs.

LBT: And what about other playable characters?

She's the star of the game.

LBT: Are the enemies very intelligent or are they going to be integrated just for shooting reasons?

[align=center][/align]Oh, the opponents? Well, as I said: they can see, they can hear, they'll seek cover; they're going to be shot by Lara. If you're hiding behind something they will try to come around and get you. They'll even use several objects, so they're more than just sort of something to shoot. We want to treat each combat setup as- not sort of a combat puzzle- but moment. So supposed to just a couple of enemies here [in the presentation] we want to make combat that has a meaning.

LBT: Can we expect only human enemies or also animals and monsters?

There are primarily human enemies, but there are also a number of surprises that I don't want to talk about right now.

LBT: Are the enemies really dangerous for Lara?

Yes, they are. The thing is that we want to get Lara back to the realm of believability, to not being the sort of crazy- super- hyper- ninja thing. She's very quick, she's very good at what she does, but she is a little bit fragile 'cause we don't want players to stand still in the middle of the room. Obviously she was invulnerable today because I don't want to have anyone seeing Lara for the first time dying. It's very protective (laughs). But if you stand in a room and you'll do nothing but shooting you'll die really quickly. We don't want you to be very tactical, either, but we want action, the movements, the flips, the rolls.

LBT: In the demo version the enemies were quite easy, were they?

Yes.

LBT: And Lara couldn't die, could she?

She was invulnerable. What we wanted to do with the demo here in Leipzig is the following: we have a lot of the game that we want to show the world, but we know that because of the series having led down many fans in the overall quality we want to be very specific about the things we want to talk about every time we show it. And here in Leipzig we wanted to talk about the controls and the movement. Back to the tombs, back to puzzles with the new physics in the game. Those were the chief things we wanted to talk about, so we made our demo that way. There are a lot of Tomb Raider fans wanting to see basically prove that it's going to be a good game. So we would like to take moments, bit by bit, to show the sections in order to not coming of like "This will be the greatest game of all time" and over- hype it. I'm very confident the game is going to be really good, but the message to all the fans is that we're taking it very seriously. We really want this Tomb Raider game to be good.

LBT: Is this game much more action based than the previous ones?

As a rough calculation all of our levels have their individual themes, and based on sort of the theme of the levels there are different mixtures in the levels of movement, exploration, traps, puzzles and combat. But overall we want to focus more on movement and puzzles and traps and exploration than on combat.

LBT: Ok, one last question: How was it for you to work on the new title? What did you do before and what was your attitude towards Lara and Tomb Raider?

I've been working on games for ten years now. I started at Lucas Arts and I worked on the X- Wing and Tie- Fighter series for a long time. And I worked on Star Trek: Bridge Commander for a while which was published by Activision. Coming to Crystal Dynamics two years ago I joined the [Project] Snowblind team. Being able to come over and work on the Tomb Raider project is a dream coming true. I played TR I five times on PC, six times when I was exhilarated. I played it on the Playstation, I even played it on the Saturn years later, just to see what was different. So it was like: TR I? Fantastic! TR II? Really good. TR III? Pretty good, and as the series went on I started to get very frustrated myself with some of the directions. So being able to do it is just fantastic.

[align=center][/align][align=center]x-wing fighters[/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]Projekt:Snowblind[/align][align=left]LBT: Thank you very much for all your time and effort.[/align]You're very welcome.

[align=center][/align][align=center]LBT Team with  Crystal Dynamics Producers M.W.Gray[/align]

[aj5]

那网站的确难打开 而且要去html 搞了一身汗 哈哈 洗澡去了

[rainbow]

干的好，孩子！

[TombCrow]

哈哈，多谢了
rainbow，发什么愣呢？快翻译！！

[rainbow]

下面引用由TombCrow在 2005-08-25 22:04 发表的内容： 哈哈，多谢了
rainbow，发什么愣呢？快翻译！！

大概不行了，要开学了。

[TombCrow]

半天就够了啊

[7800gt]

看到个雪盲计划