Cnews.ru posted a new interview with Igor Belago

[Nike-it]

Russian portal Cnews.ru continues publications about upcoming Rig'n'Roll and presents second interview with Igor Belago. Original inteerview in russian you can find here.

Interview with Igor Belago (English):

Cnews: Following the release of Rig’n’Roll, do you plan to continue the series – some add-ons on other continents or countries, and is there a chance that “Hard Truckers” come back to the former USSR territory?

Igor Belago: We are currently working on a territorial add-on. We regard to Russia as one of the most appealing options for the next games in the series.


Cnews: Have you started working on the “Las Vegas” add-on? When are you going to publish any information on it?

Igor Belago: Yes, we are working on it. More detailed information will be available after the release of Rig’n’Roll.


Cnews: Will the game have multiplayer? And if “yes”, what modes? It would be extremely great to see some multiplayer modes in the game in the vein of Test Drive Unlimited, i.e. to freely drive around the entire territory with friends, create their own clans/clubs etc. It seems to me that the Hard Trucks series is quite suitable for such MMO things.

Igor Belago: There will be no multiplayer in Rig’n’Roll. We are looking into the possibility to introduce such mode in the sequels. We agree that genre itself is indeed quite suitable for multiplayer and MMO.


Cnews: In real San Diego there’s a subway line along the road. Are we to see subway cars in the game?

Igor Belago: Nope, there are no subway cars in the game.


Cnews: You say that it’ll take 2-2.5 hours to travel through the map from south to north. I hope it won’t look like in 18 Wheel of Steel? You remember there were huge distances to cover, but it was extremely boring. You won’t do the same mistake?

Igor Belago: We hope not. It won’t be boring I promise. But on the other hand, it’s for you to decide.


Cnews: In Hard Truck 2 there are two camera modes: cabin view and chase view. You can see the latter on the most of the Rig’n’Roll videos, BUT it is vastly different from the view in “Hard Truck 2”. For instance if in HT2 the movement of the camera vector after the truck vector was smooth, in Rig’n’Roll both vectors are firmly connected... So the question is: did you leave the same camera mode?

Igor Belago: The mode remained, but we added a possibility of setting fixed positions of the external camera.


Cnews: What happened to pedestrians?

Igor Belago: We found the early realization of pedestrians unsatisfactory. And we simply did not have enough time to make another. Hopefully you’ll see pedestrians in the add-on.


Cnews: The connection of semi-trailers and trucks is shown with game videos. Do you plan to leave it as it is or make a specific key to couple/uncouple semis? If not, then please clarify – in case of a serious accident, the semi will still be connected to the truck saddle?

Igor Belago: Of course it is possible to couple/uncouple semi from the trailer by pressing a key. In case of a serious accident the coupling mechanism disconnects the semi. However, in the real life it is very hard to uncouple.


Cnews: A question regarding loading. All screens and videos show loading (connection of the semi) taking place at the base, by lowering of the semi “from above” onto the ground (frankly, it’s the first time I see something like this). Why can’t you do it as in real life – the truck stands with semi at the loading bay and the elevator loads the cargo (there was such a video in Hard Truck 2, but it never made it to the game).

Igor Belago: The loading of the goods into the trailer is made “beyond” the game. The player just connects the pre-loaded trailer and delivers it to a destination point.


Cnews: In the first video with Denis Maltsev the police arrested the protagonist at the truck stop premises, while he was moving! And moreover he was moving quite fast (24 m/h / ~ 40 km/h). Why do you impose such limitations to the gamer’s freedom? Or it’s just a bug and the police will be arresting at 0 m/h only?

Igor Belago: Actually the arrest occurs at quite slow speeds. If the player considerably decreased the speed, then it is considered that he himself decided to abide by the police orders, or the police forced him to stop.


Cnews: How versatile will be the radio talks, or there will be only some standard Q&As? And will there be road signs, apart from the speed limiting ones?

Igor Belago: There are lots of signs in the game, which can be found on real California roads. However, not all of game signs are real. The talks are quite versatile and most often unique for each partner in conversation.


Cnews: Is it possible to encounter an animal on the road?

Igor Belago: No. The Californian highways are carefully protected with mesh to avoid such cases.


Cnews: Why did you change the dress of Pamela, the secretary? (back in 2004 she was dressed differently on screenshots to the Developers’ diary).

Igor Belago: Lots of things have changed since 2004, including people. We’ve changed clothing, simply because we liked the new one better.


Cnews: Will it be possible to assign "clutch pedal" function to any button of a controller (wheel), which does not have a clutch pedal? (Like in LogitechMOMO)

Igor Belago: The clutch pedal is a re-assignable control, hence it can be re-assigned.


Cnews: Will it be possible in Rig’n’Roll for the competitors to upgrade their trucks, or it will remain a-la Hard Truck 2 that an upgraded truck is a privilege of the player only and the drivers working in his company?

Igor Belago: Yes, the competitors will undergo upgrades. While going through the game they become tougher and their trucks become powerful.


Cnews: Will there be such an upgrade as a protected front bumper (grating, like with jeeps or monster-trucks)?

Igor Belago: Yes, such an upgrade is available for some of the vehicles.


Cnews: Will it be possible to play further pursuant to the completion of the storyline or one will be required to start anew? And will the game have any definite time for completion, after which the game is lost (the said 80 hours)

Igor Belago: Yes, it will be possible to go on with the game following the successful accomplishment of the storyline. The competitor companies are building up their presence in the region and if the player fails to be successful, then in a specific amount of time the market will be seized by a competitor. This means economic defeat in the game.


Cnews: What about saving the game? Will it be possible to click “save” any time you want while playing and “load” in the same way? Or only while being in the garage, for example? Or only in the NickTrucking office?

Igor Belago: You can save and load almost at any given moment in the game, when the player can drive the truck. You’ll also get hotkeys for fast saving and loading.


Cnews: The OST was once again written by Aria?

Igor Belago: Nope, the music in the game imitates the Californian car radio and it was written by American composers.


Cnews: Have you given up the idea of the fatal game result?

Igor Belago: Nope, the protagonist can die, and moreover it can happen both by the hands of bad guys, and due to a car accident.


Cnews: Will it be possible to have a partially loaded trailer? Load it with various cargos, if the trailer type provides for it? Will the amount of cargo in the trailer affect the truck movement any how?

Igor Belago: No, the trailer is always loaded with one type of cargo. The loading is always maximum depending either on the bearing capacity of the truck, or on usable space of the trailer. Yes, the cargo weight affects the behavior.


Cnews: How many trucks will be in the game? Will they be split into some specific groups (e.g. Hard Truck 2 had Gazelle)?

Igor Belago: The game will have only long-haul trucks available for driving. The total of 14 models.


Cnews: Will there be illegal cargos in the game?

Igor Belago: Yes, there will be illegal stuff. Sometimes the gamer will be offered to earn some “easy money”, as they call it, like a friend to a friend. Quite possible that such cargo might be connected to some illegal affairs.


Cnews: Another question on the integrity of the semitrailer and the cargo. Is it possible that the cargo falls off the trailer? Or it is bolted for good?

Igor Belago: No, the cargo will never fall off the trailer.


Cnews: The game features lots of characters. Are they all factitious, i.e. created by the developers, or real actors were involved as well? If the latter, who acted as Nick? Maybe the characters are real people working in Softlab-NSK?

Igor Belago: All of the game characters are factitious.


Cnews: Is it possible to have the cars moving in the opposite direction blinded by the distant light at nighttime? What kind of behavior will those “blinded” ones have? Will they stop? Or blink the headlights?

Igor Belago: No, such behavior is not provided for.


Cnews: When it’s raining, the windscreen is covered with rain. And the side windows are dry. Will it remain like this or the bug will eliminated?

Igor Belago: All windows in the truck get wet.


Cnews: Will it be possible to skip cut-scenes?

Igor Belago: As a rule, yes, except for the scenes, which are crucial for understanding of the plot.


Cnews: Will the cars in the traffic still have dark windows?

Igor Belago: Some of the cars have full tinting, some have light, and some of the cars have almost no tinting.


Cnews: In case of a car accident, will it be possible as before to open everything in the traffic cars? Can one break the glass in a traffic car?

Igor Belago: It really depends on a car model. It is possible to break all glass in some of them, and for some you won’t be able to break anything. The same idea is relevant to the door opening.


Cnews: Will it be possible to have a pierced-through radiator in case of a collision, and hence the liquid will leak out, and then it will be seen on the asphalt or any other surface, the engine will overheat and it will be wearing out faster? This is just an example of real physical truck model behavior. And this is right when it comes to the game realism. So will the game feature such things?

Igor Belago: Yes, everything will mostly like happen like that in the game, except for, maybe, puddles on the road.


Cnews: Will we see any railroad trains with cars moving in the game (if there’s any railroad for sure)? Any planes?

Igor Belago: Yes, we have both.


Cnews: I’m interested in the road surface types. Will we have good flat asphalt everywhere, or it is possible to be soil, gravel?

Igor Belago: Californian highways are generally represented by two main types of surface – asphalt and rain concrete. Gravel, soil and dust will wait for you on the roadsides.


Cnews: Will the game run under wine using quite up-to-date hardware?

Igor Belago: Didn’t get the question, sorry.


Cnews: Hard Truck 2 had the perfect wheel-drive sensitivity adjustment system in case of playing with the keyboard. Will it remain in Rig’n’Roll? That would be definitely preferable.

Igor Belago: Yes, the system will be available.


Cnews: Will two driving mode – smooth ("city") and acute (with CTRL key held) – remain in Rig’n’Roll? If yes, will the “smooth” mode be really smooth, i.e. start with some revving of the engine, smooth gearing etc.

Igor Belago: Yes. CTRL key will still have the same function, like in the previous games.


Cnews: Will the truck have full-scope mirrors and will they show the real reflection?

Igor Belago: Yes, the reflection in the mirrors will be real. You can also adjust the position of the mirrors.


Cnews: What brands of engines were used to record the engine sounds?

Igor Belago: We used real American engines to record the sound of long-haul trucks.


Cnews: What happened to the “Help Menu”? In Hard Truck 2 it was highly informative and intuitive. What is there in store for us this time?

Igor Belago: The Rig’n’Roll the “Help Menu” inherited a lot from its predecessor. Moreover, it is now possible to get highly detailed text instructions for sophisticated menu.


Cnews: The article in "Game.EXE" magazine dd. Sept. 9, 2004 stated that it would be possible to replace the game OST with mp3s of the player’s choice. Will it be possible to create several user radios (using playlists or various folders)? And will it be possible to add stream (internet) radio or maybe it will be possible to add such a feature in future?

Igor Belago: Yes, such possibility has been introduced. The streamed audio is not supported. Maybe in future it would be possible to add it.


Cnews: What is the strategy for further series development: add-ons, follow-up games?

Igor Belago: The add-on is the near-term perspective. Time will tell what comes next.


Cnews: What do you see as the most difficult in the game development?

Igor Belago: Its scale.

[nicknackpaddywack]

one of the better QnA's ive read, thanks for posting Nikeit

[Whiskey]

Great, I liked some of the ansewers, like the posibility to death by a huge crash or the radiator leaking

[Qwx]

Yes, quite interesting :].

Besides, one small correction:
In question "Cnews: In case of a car accident,..." we should be breaking "glass", not "grass" ;]. Took me quite some time to understand, what I was reading

[Whiskey]

Oh, that's really make sense. I can see everything clear now

[ironfelix]

Originally Posted by Qwx

Yes, quite interesting :].

Besides, one small correction:
In question "Cnews: In case of a car accident,..." we should be breaking "glass", not "grass" ;]. Took me quite some time to understand, what I was reading

sorry for the typo, my friend!

[digit]

Some good questions asked there, thanks for sharing

[trucknisse]

Great Interview! Thanks.