TimeShift Updated Q&A - Multiplayer

There's never enough time it seems, even for a game built around the idea of letting you manipulate time. TimeShift, from Sierra and Saber Interactive, is a first-person shooter that puts you in a futurisitc time suit and lets you freeze, fast forward, and even reverse time. Imagine being outnumbered in a gunfight and freezing time, squeezing off a round at each enemy, and then unfreezing time. The game was almost complete last year when it was suddenly delayed to allow for a host of enhancements and changes. Multiplayer was one aspect of the game that was improved, and to learn more we turned to Kyle Peschel, the senior producer on TimeShift. The game ships later this year.

GameSpot: TimeShift was a handful of bugs away from completion when the decision was made last year to invest more time and revamp a lot of the features in the game. One of those goals was to add more customization to multiplayer, but could you elaborate on that one? What exactly did this entail?

Kyle Peschel: Multiplayer has always been a secret passion of mine; there is something so primal about hunting down live prey. When we were nearly done (seven bugs away!), the decision was made to analyze everything, and that included multiplayer. We specifically focused on how the time-control mechanics were working, what balancing we could improve, and how we could take the next-gen experience beyond just graphical improvements. The biggest area hit? User customization.

The fundamental issue I have with balancing multiplayer is how can we make the experience as enjoyable as possible in your own house? Sure, we allow cross-territory support (your friend in France can play you in the US), and Saber certainly knows how to balance the game for all 16 players battling it out online. The real problem unfolds in your own living room.

Let's say you have several friends over to your house on a regular basis, and you network some 360s (or PCs) together and settle in for some deathmatch goodness. You're battling it out over the course of the evening when you pick up on the trend that your friend is a total spawn killer, and to top it off, the jerk's got a sniper rifle and is camping like a punk. In any other game, you'd be screwed, but in TimeShift, we want you to have control over the whole experience--and not just over time powers, but also over the server itself. You can go into our menu and select a new game mode. Name it whatever you like. Then, go into the advanced mode controls and select spawn protection--maybe you set it to 10 seconds. Then, while you're changing options, you decide to alter the damage of the sniper rifle or increase the armor spawn time. Want to go further? Maybe you decrease gravity so you can have low gravity. Or, go even further to add different start weapons. You get the point. Save the mode off and switch the server on the fly to the new mode. Suddenly, the camper is put back in line, and now you and your friends can enjoy the rest of the evening.

GS: There were a large number of multiplayer modes planned originally. Were any modes dropped or added over the past year? Are we still looking at deathmatch, team deathmatch, and additional modes such as stop the machine?

KP: We have all the modes we had previously; we're currently tweaking the stop the machine mode a bit to enhance the gameplay. Since we had extra dev time, we've added capture the flag, a mainstay we didn't have time (no pun intended) for originally. Early response has been overwhelmingly positive. There is nothing like seeing your opponent nab your flag and run all the way back to base, only to encounter you lurking around the corner mere feet from the capture point just as you spring a time-control attack, leaving the flag snatcher at your mercy. But beware, the other player could always get the jump on you!

Time is On Your Side

GS: When last we heard, the time mechanic works in multiplayer by possessing and using special grenades that can either slow or stop time. Is this still the same, and what are some of the creative ways that the testers are using time manipulation in multiplayer?

KP: The time control abilities have really progressed beyond what we had originally; the guys at Saber play multiplayer endlessly and have added a new ability to the mix: time reverse grenades.

When we first started working with multiplayer, we talked about using the abilities just like in single-player, where you can slow, stop, or reverse the flow of time, while you and your weapons remain unaffected. But the problem in multiplayer is that while you're having the time of your life, the 15 other frozen players are helpless. Ultimately, it wasn't fun.

After several rounds of ideas, we finally got to one that gave us the user experience we were looking for. Each user's suit exports the time-shifting abilities to these chronos grenades that come in three flavors (slow, stop, and now reverse). So in the middle of an intense firefight, you can select one and throw it at your opponent. When it impacts, it expands into an approximately 10-foot sphere of temporal space controlled by the given power. Thus, only that which enters it is affected. If your opponent fires a rocket and you throw down a slow grenade, the rocket will speed along until it enters the sphere, where it will slow to a crawl until it gets to the other side and then, provided you didn't move, gib you into bloody bits. Now be careful, because the spheres don't last very long, and you'll need to master time if you want to take the gameplay to the next level.

Creatively, we found the testers were using them in ways we had never imagined; not only offensively, but defensively as well. A well-organized team that is managing their powers is a nasty threat. The powers can be used in ways you wouldn't even think of. Let's say you take that impossible leap off the top of the tower (one that would end with gravity killing you); testers chuck time-slow grenades that soften their fall!

GS: Drivable vehicles were added to the single-player campaign during the big overhaul. Will vehicles also appear in multiplayer, or is the online gameplay restricted to infantry combat only?

KP: We've discussed this at great length, and ultimately we elected to focus on improving the time-related multiplayer gameplay. We have a vast variety of maps that involve elements like wind, and even vertical maps that are not well suited for an all-terrain vehicle.

GS: What sort of support can we expect in terms of matchmaking in TimeShift? Will you have leaderboards or rankings so players can find out who the top TimeShifters are?

KP: I have to admit it--I'm an Xbox Live achievements addict. And then adding leaderboards on top of the mix is an arcade junkie's dream. Check and check.

GS: Are there any plans for competitions for the game after it launches? Is there any support for tournaments built into the game? Any plans for community features like clan support?

KP: Stop the press! That was like three questions in one. I think you're cheating! We are still investigating all community goodness, so I don't have details on any of them yet.

GS: What plans, if any, are there to provide cross-platform multiplayer, that is, simultaneous games with console and PC players playing against each other?

KP: Currently, the team is focused on making the experience balanced on each platform; there is nothing I hate worse then a PC game that is a console port, or vice versa. Instead of attempting the cross-platform gameplay, we've elected to dial in each platform independently.

GS: What kind of system requirements are you looking at for the PC version, and will the PC version have any special, unique features?

KP: We're still optimizing, so I can't commit to PC system specs, but I can tell you that a year ago we had very reasonable system specs, and I would expect them to not inflate into supercomputer-only specs.

GS: Do you hope to attract mod support with the PC version, or is the time-shifting mechanic simply too complex for mods?

KP: The modding community rocks, and historically I've supported them on an unprecedented level. However, considering all that we've been up to with TimeShift in the last year, I'm not certain I can squeeze this one in. But I'll definitely consider it for postlaunch possibilities.

GS: Thank you.