Far Cry Interview

If there's one FPS we're looking forward to almost as much as Half-Life 2 or DOOM III, it's Far Cry. The development team at Crytek Studios impressed the bejeezus out of us at E3, and it's obvious they have worked hard to make the most out of their in-house CryEngine technology. On top of the astonishing graphics, Far Cry also has fluid and open-ended gameplay, thanks to which you can roam through huge areas, fighting against (or dodging) deadly opponents deep within the thick jungle. And, while you're at it, you'll also have the opportunity to drive a wide variety of vehicles as you find your way through the wilderness.

We drilled producer Christopher Natsuume to learn how the development of Far Cry is going. Christopher uncovered additional details about the AI (with a little help from the AI Programmer, Petar Kotevski - 2Lions) the plot, characters, the game's engine, the multiplayer aspects, and more.

Ah, time to cool off me ol’ plates of meat!

The car models look splendid. Take a peek.

Action Trip: Far Cry seems extremely complex. You must have had some difficult times throughout the development process. What compelled you guys to continue this demanding task?

Christopher Natsuume: Sticking to our dreams. It has been a hard road, and only since E3 have we really seen the light at the end of the tunnel. We said that we were going to do some pretty difficult things from the beginning of development - and we have never looked back.

Completely unscripted AI, complete freedom of movement in the levels, no "invisible walls," dynamically generated music, per-pixel lighting, stencil shadows, complete real-time physics, and real-physics driven vehicles - all of these decisions were hard to follow. At a lot of points in development, when we were tired and things weren't working, the lure to give up and take the easy road was always there, and we even discussed it a few times - and in the end, only the results mattered.

AT: So, how are things progressing with Far Cry... generally?

CN: As good as any project at Alpha. It's when everything is supposed to work - and when it doesn't we get a little, well... edgy. We built a rough draft of the levels and finished the first cut to meet our deadline for this year's E3. We spent the next 6 weeks essentially rebuilding these levels, based on what we have learned and on the millions of notes we took. They are a lot more fun now, and showcase the strengths of the game a lot better. But now we have to get down to polishing the gameplay and visuals, and really make 'em shine. This is without a doubt the hardest part - as any developer can tell you. We're hoping it rains a lot this summer, so we can see the project through to the end (it's honestly very reassuring when developers put so much effort into their work - Ed.).

AT: What type of plotline are we looking at here - linear or non-linear?

CN: The design relies on what we call "Action Bubbles." The idea of an Action Bubble is a portion of the game that's fairly separate from others - for most gamers it will present around 3-7 minutes of gameplay. Examples for such areas include a few laboratory rooms, a headland of an island, a strip of secluded beach, or a section of jungle valley near a waterfall. Rather than make the major events entirely scripted, we tried to open the gameplay to only a few events where "Bad Guy X did this to Good Guy Y" or something like that.

These are all designed to be completely non-linear. This means you can enter the levels in any way you want and you may do anything you want while you're going through them - of course, the game will react appropriately. These are then strung loosely together in an almost-linear beadwork that becomes the flow-through of the game. This way, we can know pretty much where you have been, and what you have done, but you still have an immense amount of freedom to go where you want.

AT: Besides the main character, Jack, what other characters are important to the story?

CN: We have a couple of other folks, including the leader of the mercenaries, the evil scientist, and Val - the beautiful photographer who originally hires you to take her to the island. Then there is Doyle, the scientist who helps you out through the missions - you can both communicate via radio link, giving each other tips and guidance through the levels.

AT: Describe what sort missions players are going to be faced with during the game.

CN: We don't have missions, as such. The story just unfolds as you go, and most of the time, you are just trying to get off the island, or keep yourself out of trouble. The game is as much about survival as anything else. The jungle is full of evil mercenaries and... worse. You'll be going through evil research laboratories, forgotten temple ruins in the jungle, old Japanese bunkers and shipwrecks from WWII, bug-infested swamps, crystal clear pools, hidden lagoons, underwater caves... the list just goes on. There is no shortage of cool places to go and things to see - and plenty of stuff to blow up when you're there.

AT: Is there a chance you could reveal some of the vehicles we'll get to use in Far Cry?

CN: Of course. You'll be able to operate almost any vehicle you run into along the way; except helicopters - Jack never went to piloting school. We have a beach buggy, a HMMV, a few boats, and even a hang glider - as well as a few other surprises. My personal favorite is a little Zodiac-style raft with a little outboard engine that's excellent for venturing through secluded lagoons and jungle rivers.

AT: Let's talk AI. What's your team currently doing to ensure an intelligent response to the player's actions?

CN: I'll let the AI Programmer, Petar Kotevski, answer that:

PK: The most important thing to understand about the AI is that it actively responds to the situation at hand, based on input from the player and an understanding of the tactical environment.

One of the key features of the whole game is the open and free feel that the player has on the islands - he can go pretty much anywhere he would like to go. Traditional AI scripting relies on the premise that the world is small, and the movement of the player is linear - we know exactly where he is coming from and where he is going, so we can set up a sort of "show" for the player, in the same way you could set up a cut-scene or film - just one that the player can walk around in.

Welcome to the jungle!!

This spot is mine! Back off!

That’s it, I need a vacation... Just look at this!

Because of the open-ended gameplay, we cannot predict where the player will come from, or know exactly where he is trying to go. Instead, we have to teach the AI where everything is in their environments, and then let enemies use their knowledge of the environment in concert with player generated stimuli, such as seeing the player, hearing a noise from a bullet or gun, or having another AI alert them to the actions of the player where he cannot see them. Because all of this is based directly on the player's actions, and not pre-defined triggers, it is completely natural. Thus, the actual actions of the AI become very fluid. Enemy behaviors will include dynamic reactions to the main character's position, flanking, and coordinating attacks with other CPU-controlled characters. They respond quite effectively to the player; for instance, if the enemy notices that you're trying to hide, they'll advance to investigate immediately. You cannot simply hang back and pick off your enemies one by one - if you try this they actually come and seek you out. It puts a lot of pressure on the player, giving him a sense of constant threat and danger. The tension increases when you enter the dark jungles. It is largely because of this complex AI, that we were able to create such an exciting atmosphere.

AT: Out of all the FPS titles we've witnessed at the E3 this year, we found Far Cry to be one of the most visually impressive. Clearly, your development team has done a terrific job with the CryENGINE. The light work in indoor sections and the draw distance in outdoor sections both look excellent. Tell us more about the features you were able to incorporate thanks to the CryENGINE.

CN: Thanks! We have worked very hard on the visuals, and a couple of key CryENGINE technologies have really helped us push the envelope, including PolyBump, Dot3 Light mapping, and a complete material system that allows us to seamlessly integrate sound, particles, decals, physical properties, and texture in a single material system that can be applied to anything, from the characters to the trees and rocks.

But what has made the most difference, of course, is the CryENGINE ® Sandbox™ - an editor and level building tool the designers have used to make all the levels in the game. Because it has a "What you see is what you play" editor, we can immediately play what we are building, as we are building it. Our design process includes play testing each part of the game over and over as it is actually created in the editor, rebuilding everything as many times as necessary to make it cool. Before anything even gets to actual testing, the designers have already played it over and over again, so we can be sure that it looks and plays well.

AT: Are you planning to use the CryENGINE for any other game?

CN: Absolutely, CryENGINE can be used nearly for any type of game! For Crytek, this year is the "Year of Far Cry" - we will see what upcoming years bring (we don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet). However, the engine is actually licensable, but the engine licensing business wasn't enforced from us so far as we want to keep the advance of our technology for Far Cry.

Also, don't forget that from the very beginning, the CryENGINE and Far Cry itself have been optimized for modification. Most of the game logic is in lua scripts, so any talented mod team will be able to get into the engine and start putting out mods of their own. We hope that the straightforward level design of our engine and the ease of making modifications to the scripts allow the community to develop some great games within a few months after Far Cry's release.

AT: Do you think the game will be too demanding for average PC's?

CN: Absolutely not. Our minimum spec machine is a P3-800 MHz, 256 RAM, and a GeForce 3 - this is quite low. Our recommended machine is only a little more butch: P4-1.5 GHz with 512 RAM and a GeForce 4. Soccer Moms buy stronger PC's than this these days - any diehard gamer has a rig at least this powerful.

AT: What about the game's multiplayer aspect? Are you planning to include a cooperative mode?

CN: In the story-driven part of the game we don't plan to include a co-op mode. On the other hand, there will be a full multiplayer component that ships with the main product, and it will allow cooperative and competitive gameplay modes in some amazing environments, with some new features specially designed for the Far Cry game world.

AT: Thanks for your time and feel free to add more details about Far Cry if you wish.

CN: There are a thousand other things we would love to say - but this interview is already probably too long! (Never! - Ed.) But if you don't mind, we would like to say thank you to all the people who are supporting Far Cry and Crytek. It's difficult to make an impact as a young developer, and every kind of support helps - especially from the hardcore gaming community. Because supporting our players is important to us, we will be opening the official Far Cry website later this month at Ubi.com (there is already a teaser website there and a discussion board), and Crytek developers check in regularly to answer questions. So, you can check it out once in a while!