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So with my other post running long, I thought I'd make a Part 2 to continue the discussion. Here I'd like to post some things in a Q&A format to address some of the questions that have been popping up on the forums and the internet at large.
Q: Is PC the lead platform from Killing Floor 2?
A: Yes PC is the lead platform from Killing Floor 2 and will be coming to the PC first. We will however be taking the time and effort to ensure that we provide an amazing experience for PS4 users as well.
Q: What are the differences between the PC and PS4 version?
A: There will be some differences between the user interface and of course the PS4 version will support gamepads (as will the PC version for SteamOS/Big Picture mode). The difficulty will be tuned on the PS4 to take into account the different playerbase and controller. So far however we've got what we think are some pretty good gamepad controls, and can actually play the "PC difficulty levels" pretty well with a gamepad.
Q: Does the gamepad have aiming assists, etc?
A: Yes the gamepad has aiming assists. It's actually pretty funny, as we asked around to people that play a lot of shooters if the shooters they were playing on console had aiming assists, many thought they did not. When we looked at the games however we found every single one of them did have some form of aiming assists. In other words, many console gamers had no idea that they were getting assists from the game. I'd rather not go into specific of what the aim assists are, as we're still tuning the controller functionality. What I will say is what we have right now works very well, and feels a bit like a cross between COD and Borderlands console controls. We basically looked at the best of what other games had done, took what we thought were the "best practices" of other console game controls, and then looked at how we could make those even better.
Q: Are you going to "dumb down" the PC version because you are making a PS4 version?
A: Short answer - heck no! Longer answer, the PS4 version has no impact on the gameplay of the PC version. PC is the lead platform, and the game will be separately tuned to play well on both the PC and the PS4. PS4 gamers are likely in for a harder game than they are used to. With that said, we feel many developers underestimate gamers on the consoles, and we feel that console gamers are ready for a challenge. Hell on Earth on PS4 will be HARD. With that said, the game will scale on easier difficulties for more casual gamers.
Q: Are you going to reduce the graphical quality on the PC version because you are making a PS4 version?
A: Short answer - heck no! Longer answer, the PS4 is a powerful machine, much more powerful than the PC min spec. We're not dealing with last gen consoles here. Honestly, last gen consoles created an annoying phenomenon. In the "old days" when a PC game came out and you cranked up all the graphics options and the game ran bad, you went out and upgraded your computer. In the past 5 years however so many games were developed with last gen consoles as the lead platform that they didn't push modern computer hardware. So gamers got used to cranking the graphics options all the way up and getting 60FPS on their 4 year old PC (even though the games looked just like the console counterpart, or only marginally better). If a game came out that they couldn't crank the graphics options up all the way on their 4 year old PC, they complained that the game was "poorly optimized". Well I'm here to tell you KF2 will have some high end graphics options specifically for high end PCs (not all will necessarily be in when early access ships). Yes we are using UE3 (actually UE3.5), but it's been heavily modified and modernized with some high end rendering features. The game will run well and look nice on reasonable PC hardware, but if you want to crank those graphics sliders up all the way make sure you have some high end PC hardware in your machine when the game ships.
Q: Will there be dedicated servers for the PC?
A: Yes and a good old server browser as well, just like any good PC game should have.
Q: How can we trust that you won't make the PC game bad because you are making a PS4 version?
A: If you are skeptical, don't trust us. Wait for reviews, wait for a free weekend. Inform yourself before purchasing, it's something you should do for any game purchase. What you shouldn't do however is gripe and moan endlessly on what we "might" do or what your "worried we'll do". Give us feedback on what you'd like to see, give us feedback on what we've shown, and when you get your hands on the game give us feedback on what you like and what you don't. But people speculating with their crystal ball (which more often than not has some storm clouds in it for some reason) doesn't really contribute to the conversation.
Q: Will you "gimp" the monsters on the PC because of the PS4 version?
A: Heck no! The monsters are far more deadly now than they even were in KF1, and we like them that way! I mean, did you see that Scrake doing a spin attack in the latest trailer!?!? He's deadly!
Q: What PS4 specific features will the console version have, especially for matchmaking, servers etc?
A: We're not really ready to talk about that yet. We're still working out how we'll do matchmaking, servers etc on the console so we've nothing to report on that right now.
Q: Now that you are going on consoles, are you going to turn into EA/UBI/Activision and have heinous business practices?
A: Umm, heck no. We're still Tripwire, and we believe in providing great value for our customers. We just put out new free content for RO2 (game is 3 years old) and KF1 (game is 5 years old). Putting a game on a different platform doesn't change our business philosophy. KF2 will have DLC on PC and PS4. DLC is how we fund ongoing support and free content we provide the community, so that isn't going away. But we'll continue with our philosophy of not dividing the community for our multiplayer games.
Q: But but but, I don't like that you charge for weapon packs already!
A: Umm, that's not really a question, but OK I'll answer it. Did you like the free content you got for KF1 for the last few years? Hillbilly Horrors, Twisted Christmas, Objective Mode, etc? Well you can thank the DLC weapon packs for that. If they weren't there, we couldn't have afforded to fund the free content that we made the past few years. That and it helped the community weapon guys (IJC) start their own business making content for video games.
Q: You guys had a rough launch for RO2!
A: Umm, that's not really a question and not KF2 related, but OK I'll respond. Yes we had a rough launch for RO2. Then we spent a million dollars and six month fixing the game and the GOTY edition was really solid. Then we spent 3 more years and millions of dollars giving out free content for RO2. So yeah we screwed up, and then we fixed it. Then we put out Rising Storm and had a really smooth release, and won MP GOTY in PC Gamer beating out BF4 and COD. So yeah, we learned our lesson and made up for it in spades. So you can stop reminding us about our screw up 3 years ago. Really really, you can stop, in like 2012 even
Anyway, if you are worried, get in Early Access and help us hone KF2 with your feedback and bug finding skills. Or wait till the full launch and read a review before you buy.
Q: I'm worried KF2 won't be exactly the game I want it to be.
A: I can guarantee it won't be, certainly not when Early Access ships. That is why we are doing Early Access, so we can actually have time to incorporate your feedback. So get in there when Early Access ships, play the game, and tell us what we can do better! With that said, we'll never make EVERYONE happy, so some people will have to live with the fact that the game isn't exactly what they want. The only way to get that is to start your own game studio, and even then you don't always get your way
Q: Is PC the lead platform from Killing Floor 2?
A: Yes PC is the lead platform from Killing Floor 2 and will be coming to the PC first. We will however be taking the time and effort to ensure that we provide an amazing experience for PS4 users as well.
Q: What are the differences between the PC and PS4 version?
A: There will be some differences between the user interface and of course the PS4 version will support gamepads (as will the PC version for SteamOS/Big Picture mode). The difficulty will be tuned on the PS4 to take into account the different playerbase and controller. So far however we've got what we think are some pretty good gamepad controls, and can actually play the "PC difficulty levels" pretty well with a gamepad.
Q: Does the gamepad have aiming assists, etc?
A: Yes the gamepad has aiming assists. It's actually pretty funny, as we asked around to people that play a lot of shooters if the shooters they were playing on console had aiming assists, many thought they did not. When we looked at the games however we found every single one of them did have some form of aiming assists. In other words, many console gamers had no idea that they were getting assists from the game. I'd rather not go into specific of what the aim assists are, as we're still tuning the controller functionality. What I will say is what we have right now works very well, and feels a bit like a cross between COD and Borderlands console controls. We basically looked at the best of what other games had done, took what we thought were the "best practices" of other console game controls, and then looked at how we could make those even better.
Q: Are you going to "dumb down" the PC version because you are making a PS4 version?
A: Short answer - heck no! Longer answer, the PS4 version has no impact on the gameplay of the PC version. PC is the lead platform, and the game will be separately tuned to play well on both the PC and the PS4. PS4 gamers are likely in for a harder game than they are used to. With that said, we feel many developers underestimate gamers on the consoles, and we feel that console gamers are ready for a challenge. Hell on Earth on PS4 will be HARD. With that said, the game will scale on easier difficulties for more casual gamers.
Q: Are you going to reduce the graphical quality on the PC version because you are making a PS4 version?
A: Short answer - heck no! Longer answer, the PS4 is a powerful machine, much more powerful than the PC min spec. We're not dealing with last gen consoles here. Honestly, last gen consoles created an annoying phenomenon. In the "old days" when a PC game came out and you cranked up all the graphics options and the game ran bad, you went out and upgraded your computer. In the past 5 years however so many games were developed with last gen consoles as the lead platform that they didn't push modern computer hardware. So gamers got used to cranking the graphics options all the way up and getting 60FPS on their 4 year old PC (even though the games looked just like the console counterpart, or only marginally better). If a game came out that they couldn't crank the graphics options up all the way on their 4 year old PC, they complained that the game was "poorly optimized". Well I'm here to tell you KF2 will have some high end graphics options specifically for high end PCs (not all will necessarily be in when early access ships). Yes we are using UE3 (actually UE3.5), but it's been heavily modified and modernized with some high end rendering features. The game will run well and look nice on reasonable PC hardware, but if you want to crank those graphics sliders up all the way make sure you have some high end PC hardware in your machine when the game ships.
Q: Will there be dedicated servers for the PC?
A: Yes and a good old server browser as well, just like any good PC game should have.
Q: How can we trust that you won't make the PC game bad because you are making a PS4 version?
A: If you are skeptical, don't trust us. Wait for reviews, wait for a free weekend. Inform yourself before purchasing, it's something you should do for any game purchase. What you shouldn't do however is gripe and moan endlessly on what we "might" do or what your "worried we'll do". Give us feedback on what you'd like to see, give us feedback on what we've shown, and when you get your hands on the game give us feedback on what you like and what you don't. But people speculating with their crystal ball (which more often than not has some storm clouds in it for some reason) doesn't really contribute to the conversation.
Q: Will you "gimp" the monsters on the PC because of the PS4 version?
A: Heck no! The monsters are far more deadly now than they even were in KF1, and we like them that way! I mean, did you see that Scrake doing a spin attack in the latest trailer!?!? He's deadly!
Q: What PS4 specific features will the console version have, especially for matchmaking, servers etc?
A: We're not really ready to talk about that yet. We're still working out how we'll do matchmaking, servers etc on the console so we've nothing to report on that right now.
Q: Now that you are going on consoles, are you going to turn into EA/UBI/Activision and have heinous business practices?
A: Umm, heck no. We're still Tripwire, and we believe in providing great value for our customers. We just put out new free content for RO2 (game is 3 years old) and KF1 (game is 5 years old). Putting a game on a different platform doesn't change our business philosophy. KF2 will have DLC on PC and PS4. DLC is how we fund ongoing support and free content we provide the community, so that isn't going away. But we'll continue with our philosophy of not dividing the community for our multiplayer games.
Q: But but but, I don't like that you charge for weapon packs already!
A: Umm, that's not really a question, but OK I'll answer it. Did you like the free content you got for KF1 for the last few years? Hillbilly Horrors, Twisted Christmas, Objective Mode, etc? Well you can thank the DLC weapon packs for that. If they weren't there, we couldn't have afforded to fund the free content that we made the past few years. That and it helped the community weapon guys (IJC) start their own business making content for video games.
Q: You guys had a rough launch for RO2!
A: Umm, that's not really a question and not KF2 related, but OK I'll respond. Yes we had a rough launch for RO2. Then we spent a million dollars and six month fixing the game and the GOTY edition was really solid. Then we spent 3 more years and millions of dollars giving out free content for RO2. So yeah we screwed up, and then we fixed it. Then we put out Rising Storm and had a really smooth release, and won MP GOTY in PC Gamer beating out BF4 and COD. So yeah, we learned our lesson and made up for it in spades. So you can stop reminding us about our screw up 3 years ago. Really really, you can stop, in like 2012 even
Anyway, if you are worried, get in Early Access and help us hone KF2 with your feedback and bug finding skills. Or wait till the full launch and read a review before you buy.Q: I'm worried KF2 won't be exactly the game I want it to be.
A: I can guarantee it won't be, certainly not when Early Access ships. That is why we are doing Early Access, so we can actually have time to incorporate your feedback. So get in there when Early Access ships, play the game, and tell us what we can do better! With that said, we'll never make EVERYONE happy, so some people will have to live with the fact that the game isn't exactly what they want. The only way to get that is to start your own game studio, and even then you don't always get your way
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