New Topics on GOW3 (11)

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Countdown To Launch: Gears of War 3 News Roundup!


Taken from EpicGamesCommunity.com:



Well, it’s last few weeks leading up to the release of Gears of War 3. And it’s no surprise that the game is making headlines all over the place in the last few days. While you await the final launch, we thought we’d round up some of standout news items, you know, as reading material. You’ll find all sorts of details on the campaign preview we conducted, from outlets far and wide.

But instead of making you click and read on every single link, we thought we’d provide you with a bit of an overview of some of our favorite reviews.

First up, there’s Peter Eykemans of IGN. Eykemans brought it down to one word — survival:

"More than any of its predecessors, Gears of War 3 is a scramble — for cover, and now for ammo as a resource. I found myself running from the action with an empty clip, rolling out of the way of fireballs, polyps, and upset “glowies.” As the remaining humans scrounge for supplies, the lack of ammo shows the tides are turning from bad to worse. This tension is a great motivator, setting the pace from the get-go."

Yes, Gears 3 is gritty. Seasoned players will expect that. But what they might not expect are the ways in which it’s different from its predecessors.  One of the most obvious changes affects not only the battles, but the very landscape. As Tina Sanchez of 1UP explains:

"The Lambent are expanding all throughout Sera. Lambent stalks can now grow anywhere — including the ocean — by spewing out of polyps. And I quickly learned that destroying the polyps hinders the amount of enemies thrown at the Cogs…"

And players aren’t the only ones freaked out about the Lambent presence and the overall sense of helplessness. Turns out the pressure is getting to the characters in the game, some more than others. As Patricia Hernandez of Destructoid points out, emotion is a huge part of the game. And not in a bad way. Hernandez writes:

"Whoa — what’s all this about plot? What’s this about feelings? Isn’t Gears of War mostly burly men shooting each other with chainsaw guns, grunting suggestively as alien bits, pieces and blood explode in a wonderful confectionery of violence? To an extent, yes, but nonetheless, the effort put into the story — penned by novelist Karen Traviss, who is also behind the fantastic Gears books — is especially evident in the third title."

Many of our players have practically grown up with the characters in Gears of War, and the third installment in the series will hopefully take that to the next level. Ryan Perez of Bittbomb said he never had much of a fondness for the characters of the series, but this game changed his mind: “…now I find myself completely engrossed in the emotional backstory of one of the most interesting yet overlooked characters in the series: Augustus ‘Cole Train’ Cole.”

Okay, so darker, grittier, emotional. What about gameplay, though? In the longrun, that’s what most players are looking for, right? While the story is no doubt a huge part of the appeal of Gears, seasoned players are looking for a challenge.

And they’ll get it. In the words of Davide Hinkle at Joystiq:

"I consider myself a seasoned Gears player, having dumped so many hours into the previous two games, so I chose to go through Act 1 on hardcore difficulty … and I’m glad I did. The lambent-infected locust are no joke in Gears of War 3 — their ability to explode and shoot you in the face at the same time made for quite the challenging dynamic in combat… I had to be far more methodical in my attempt to dispatch them than I had ever been in a Gears game."

Oh, and that’s not to mention the fact that a portion of the game is going to be available in 3D. Rod Fergusson opened up to Eurogamer about the new feature, and had this to say about the final outcome: “It’s great. I love the qualities it provides, the window into a world. That’s what the 3D gives you. Having that depth of character, and being able to see that separation from the reticule and the creatures in the background – it’s a different experience but it’s a really good one.”

If 3D fails to knock your socks off, however, don’t fret. As Rod explains in an interview with GameFront: “One of the things we really focused on [during development] was Easter Eggs… we feel like that helps the game live on. This is the most Easter Egg-rich game we’ve ever had.”

And if that’s not enough for you, you’ve got to check out the Kotaku roundup!

Now that you’re well-versed in Gears 3 news, tell us what you’re looking forward to most in the game!


The Rod Fergusson Q&A Transcript


Taken from GCON.com:

Did you happen to miss any of the live streams with Rod Fergusson thus far? No problem. We conveniently have all the questions and answers here for your reading pleasure. So, get your popcorn ready, kick back, relax, and enjoy the read!


  • Can you kill the bosses with the scoreboard on the thrashball map?
    Yes. All but the Reavers because the Reavers don’t go under the scoreboard.
  • What is the Veteran Gear unlock?
    It is all 5 starting weapons available to you in gold! The Lancer, Hammerburst, Retro Lancer, Double Barrel Shotgun, and Gnasher.
  • What code does the limited edition controller come with?
    You get all 5 of the infected omen skins.
  • Can you kill horde bosses with the scoreboard in Thrashball?
    Did not get a concrete answer for this one… So, maybe at a later time we will find out.
  • Will there be a dedicated servers indicator?
    No. But, you will get a message when the dedicated servers are down or not available for your region.
  • Is checkout the only map with an easter egg?
    Its one of the maps with a true easter egg. But, there are also a few maps that have not been announced/discussed yet that have a couple of easter eggs in them.
  • Any more XP events before Gears 3 launch?
    Of course. There will be XP events each weekend between August 20th to September 18th with each weekend having more and more of an XP multiplyer. There will also be more xp events after the Gears 3 launch as well.
  • Is there anyway before launch that we could see an unboxing of the Epic Edition?
    It is on the docket to be done.
  • What options will we have for private games to make them more competitive friendly?
    Standard set like the score, standard rules, weapon swapping, goal score, number of rounds.
  • Can Seriously 3.0 be earned entirely offline?
    Potentially yes.
  • Does the Silverback have the capabilities to curb stomp and melee?
    Yes.
  • Can you use the Silverback in online multiplayer?
    Potentially. There’s nothing preventing it. It would be map specific.
  • Do you or other developers get emotional knowing this is the third and final game in the trilogy?
    Yes.
  • Can you spot enemies in campaign?
    Yes. It is a suggestion to the AI as to who you are targeting and sort of a motivator for them to go after the said target as well.
  • What are some of the achievement names that didn’t make the cut for Gears 3?
    None were named. But, previously, they tried to get “The Money Shot” in the game.
  • Who’s idea was it to bring in the Retro Lancer?
    It was a combination of ideas to bring in more rifles.
  • Did any of the Gears characters have different names before settling on character names?
    Baird and Cole were reversed. Cole was more of a hippie too.
  • Is Isaha Mustafah the voice of a generic gear or some currently un-named gear?
    He is the voice of a generic gear in the game.
  • Will the Butcher Cleaver take up a weapon slot or will it be a pick up like the Boomshield / Mulcher?
    It will be a pick up and you can not throw it.
  • Can you wield a Cleaver and Boomshield at the same time?
    No.
  • Will there be leader boards for arcade mode?
    Yes. It will be per chapter.
  • What’s arcade mode all about?
    It is competitive co-op. It’s where you and your friends have a shared multiplier where each kill you get, get’s you more points (think Rock Band when you hit a consecutive amount of notes.) As long as you are working together, the multiplier will go up. When a player gets downed, the multiplier goes down, so you will want to get your players up. So, you are working together to stay alive and gain points.
  • Are there any more enemies in the game we don’t know about that will be announced or are you going to keep those a secret?
    If you paid attention to the video documents and such, you will have seen a good portion of enemies. A new creature will be announced August 15th.
  • What changes look wise have been made from game to game for each character?
    Cole shaved his head

    Dom grew his beard

    Baird skipped his blonde highlights

    The Gears removed some of their armor because it is the summer months now
  • Did the ribbon/medal thread started by you spark new ideas?
    Yes.
  • Can you confirm the sires are in horde?
    No more sires.
  • Does aim assist carry over to other campaign difficulties?
    No. Casual only.
  • Will the co-op feature come back from Gears 2 where your friends can drop in and out?
    Yes.
  • In horde, will you be able to plant Boomshields in the blood and guts of killed enemies?
    No.
  • When playing Wingman, who would you pick from Epic office and why?
    Quinn when I want to win.  Joe or Prince because I want someone to talk to.
  • What steps are you taking to combat cheaters/glitchers?
    Dedicated servers. The maps have been built to prevent glitchers from getting out and of course, Joe Graf with the Banhammer.
  • Did you change the rate of exp earned from the beta?
    Yes. We can also change the exp curve overtime. It starts faster, then slows down over time.
  • Which new weapon took the longest to perfect?
    The Vulcan Mini-Gun. It was at risk of not making it.
  • Will the green skins be available for everyone?
    Yes, but not without a requirement. It will be in the news between now and September 20th.
  • What’s the difference between the first level of the Silverback and the last?
    Its actually a 1 level only fortification.
  • What are the full capabilities of the Butcher Cleaver?
    You just swing and chop peoples heads off/cut their bodies up. It can not be thrown. When you roadie run, it will drag behind you ala Final Fantasy 7 look.
  • Is there a Lambent counterpart to every Locust?
    No.
  • Will Locust and COG have the same amount of skins?
    Not initially. The COG will have more.
  • With all the tweaks and changes to different game modes, what will be the most popular game mode?
    Joe thinks it will be execution

    Rod thinks Team Deathmatch

    A bottle of expensive wine is on the line here, folks. Data will be collected from Sept 20th to October 20th or till the end of the year to determine a winner.
  • What do you want the community to take away from this last Gears game?
    We want people to have fun/be satisfied.

    The length of Gears 3 is talked about being longer than Gears 1 and 2.
  • Are their any medals/ribbons specific to campaign?
    Yes.

    Bronze Medal for Casual

    Silver Medal for Normal

    Gold Medal for Hardcore

    Onyx Medal for Insane
  • Are there any announced multiplayer characters?
    Yes.
  • How many legacy unlocks are there that have yet to be announced?
    Roughly 10-15
  • If there were to be DLC, will the public/social lobbies be effected to NEED the DLC?
    Can’t talk about it yet.
  • In horde 2.0, will the boss waves have multiple bosses?
    The higher the boss wave (10, 20, 30, etc.) the potential for more bosses. Maybe multiple Berserkers…
  • Will the Cleaver be available in multiplayer?
    No.
  • What are some of the weapon changes from the beta?
    Tweaks to range and damage mainly. Of course, the lights on the dbs. Nothing really earth shattering.
  • What aspect of the games are you most proud of?
    The Close Quarter Combat
  • Were you surprised with the success of Gears 1?
    Long story short, they were very humbled and happy with the success of Gears 1. (Think lightning in a bottle mentality)
  • What happens when you run out of ammo in Beast mode?
    You don’t run out of ammo. You are constantly regenerating ammo over time.
  • How many multiplayer maps will ship with the game?
    It will be about the same as the previous games.

    DLC and stuff will be announced pretty soon ;)
  • In Beast, will you be able to select a starting wave?
    No. It’s more bite-sized
  • Can/will stalemate be changed?
    Yes. They can be changed post-release of the game
  • Who’s the best Gears player at Epic?
    Quinn Del Hoyo AKA “The Quinn”

    Jonathan Taylor

    Keith

    Who’s better at Gears 3, you or Cliff?

    Cliff right now

    Rod when hes at his peak
  • Will we learn some new things about Gears 3 at Comic Con this year?
    Yes. Horde will be there
  • How many playable characters will there be in Gears 3 multiplayer?
    More than 20. More COG than Locust. A good amount of different skins as well.
  • How do the locust get their names?
    A lot of it is Cliff.
  • Is there anything you would change game wise?
    They would have implemented a more “casual competitive” friendly interface sooner.
  • What weapons skin do YOU like to rock in Gears 3?
    It’s their own, personal skin.
  • Are the weapon skins, Character skins, etc., ideas that just came along or was this already planned?
    A lot of it came out of the reaction from the Gold Hammerburst and Lancer.
  • How long after Gears 3 launch will you do XP events for Gears 2?
    As long as you are still playing, they will keep doing G2 events
  • What is your drink of choice while curb stomping grubs in Gears 3?
    Mantini/Beer/Red Wine
  • What is your standard loadout for Gears 3 and when you are picking up a power weapon what do you drop? (shotty or assault rifle)
    Loadout: Retro/SO (DBS) Pending on the map

    Lancer/SO Pending on the Map

    Power Weapon: Drop the shotty
  • Will there be a cap on how much xp can be earned in a given period?
    No. But, we will be monitoring.
  • How often does the Ka-Ching sound happen?
    It has a thresh-hold of $500. After you earn $500, it falls into the background sound.
  • When it came to making Gears 3, what was the most challenging aspect when it came to satisfying the community?
    4 Player Co-Op
  • Can you choose a weapon skin in Campaign?
    No
  • Can you choose who your campaign character is?
    No. It’s all determined by what player # you are.
  • Do we (the Germans) get the same Gears 3 experience that everyone else is getting?
    Yes.
  • Is there an execution for every gun including the grenades?
    Every gun BUT the grenades!
  • Do the decoys do anything other than distract?
    The early ones will draw melee.

    The 2nd level will draw fire from a certain range

    And the last levels will have explosives on them and if a locust gets close enough to destroy it, the decoy will explode taking the locust with it.
  • Why did you add the iron sites to the Hammerburst?
    Long story short, they gave the hammer burst the long ranged AR role.
  • When Gears 3 releases, if there are any issues with the dedicated servers, how will Epic take care of it?
    They learned a lot from the beta and will be able to do things on the fly
  • In horde mode boss waves, do you get more exp than in other waves?
    Long answer short, no. If you start at wave 1 and work your way up, you will gain more and more experience.
  • For those of us who would love to have golden weapons, is there another way to obtain them?
    Bug iFlak :P .
  • Can you customize the silverback (skin wise)?
    No.
  • What made the beautiful hit detection from the Gears 3 beta possible?
    The dedicated servers and a bunch of weapons got moved to what they call the “client side hit detection”.

:bulletred: Bonus comment :bulletred:

One of the Chrome Weapon skins will be the “rarest” weapon skin in Gears 3.

  • What was your favorite memory in making Gears 3?
    The opportunity to work with the Epic Games people.
  • Bonus Question: What’s your favorite Gears related food item?
    Gears cakes
  • Insane mode for campaign, available from the start or do you have to unlock it?
    Unlock
  • From a development stand-point, what is your favorite improvement made for Gears 3?
    Bunch together all of the newer features and the easier access ability.
  • Are there more things coming that the fans don’t know about when it comes to the unlocks in the game?
    That news is coming soon.
  • Will players receive exp penalties for quitting ranked matches?
    Yes. DON’T BE A QUITTER!!


Beast Mode
  • What are the different classes in beast mode?
    Tier 1: Wild Ticker, Ticker, Wretch, Savage Drone, Butcher

    Tier 2: Kantus, Bloodmount, Mauler,

    Tier 3: Giant Serapede, Savage Corpser, Savage Grenadier, Boomer.

    Final Tier: Berserker, Armored Kantus, Savage Boomer.
  • Can a ticker revive someone?
    No
  • What are some of the basic differences between the classes?
    Each creature has its own ability. They have their own strengths and weaknesses as well. Take a wild ticker for instance. It can destroy fortifications. It can eat a grenade and carry it around for awhile, then when it dies, it blows up. The wretch can jump over fortifications and it has this special scream where it will stun cringe the humans. So, a butcher/wretch combo is really cool. A Kantus/Armored Kantus can revive people from a distance.
  • What role do the heroes play in Beast Mode?
    Stranded – Weaker, less weapon heavy players in the wave.
    Heroes – The bosses of a wave.

    Cole – Boomer
    Anya – Mortar
    Hoffman/Prescott – Hammer of Dawn

    Can not be killed easily, MUST be executed. More health
  • What beast would most resemble yourself and why?
    The running joke before was he was a Boomer (still is in the bedroom apparently). Ticker is the official answer!
  • For beast, do you get to outfit your beast or do they come with stock weapons? (Loadout question)
    No, you can not change the loadout of the beast mode locusts. No long-range weaponry like the sniper or torque bow. No hammerburst or Lancer to add to the cutting down on long range weapons.
  • Will the humans use the HoD or Mortar?
    Yes. Anya will use Mortar and Hoffman/Prescott will use the Hammer of Dawn.
  • Is there limitations on the different classes?
    2 berserkers at a time. But, other than that, no limitations.
  • Will the COG on beast mode be able to put up fortifications?
    Yes.
  • Will any of the locust be able to perform executions?
    Yes.
  • How many different maps are there for beast?
    The # of maps for multiplayer maps has yet to be disclosed, but its the same across the board for horde/beast/multiplayer
  • Can I play as Rod in beast mode?
    No.
  • How many times can you die in beast mode?
    As many times as you want as long as you can buy yourself back in and have enough time on the clock!
  • Will there be leader boards?
    Yes. 4 different leader boards for each map. Beast mode will have a special type of score by posting your time. If you fail a wave, you will get a 3 minute penalty.
  • In your opinion, what has been the most challenging thing in creating beast mode?
    What brings people back.


Horde Questions

  • Is it possible for everyone to have their own silverback or is it limited?
    You can have multiple silverbacks if there are multiple silverbacks to buy on the map.
  • Is it still 50 waves of horde?
    Yes
  • In the boss waves, will the boss wave enemies be able to by-pass the fortifications?
    Yes (do you honestly think a brumak is going to care about some lasers?). The support troops, no. PRO TIP: KILL THE SUPPORT TROOPS FIRST!! If you kill the boss first, theres a good chance you will face another brumak/berserker!
  • Are there any special unlockables that you can ONLY unlock in horde mode?
    Yes. There are specific ribbons and medals.
  • If a player dies during horde, can they still transfer $ to an active player?
    No. You can not transfer $ to a dead player either. BUT, you can spot enemies and weapons to earn $ to get back in with the ghost cam.
  • When everyone dies, and no one can afford to buy back in, what happens?
    Wave over/fail
  • Is there an option to turn off the cash noise?
    No.
  • Is the cash earned from killing an enemy equal to the exp value?
    It is 1 to 1. (MEANING: That if you kill a butcher in solo horde, its worth 210 exp points AND $210. The experience points will get placed into the exp pool at the end of the wave, like it does in horde 1.0 and the cash will go into the killers pocket.)
  • Do you feel that with all the new things included, will it put emphasis on working more as a team?
    Long-winded answer short, yes.
  • How is the money dolled out?
    It is individual performance. Between waves, everyone will get a little bit of $ to keep things moving forward. If the kill comes from a fortification/turret, the person who built it will get $ for the assist, the person who does the killing will get some $.
  • Do the bosses have weak spots?
    Pending on the boss. Brumak, the tanks on its back. Berserkers are more vulnerable if on fire/HoD’d. Lambent Berserker, open chest. Reaver, go for its ass. The front feet have armor on them.
  • Do the larger bosses show up in the smaller maps?
    Some of the bosses do, yes.
  • What's the best or most expensive fortification you can buy?
    The Silverback. (you will probably have to play a couple 100 of waves to get him!)
  • Can you re-build fortifications on the fly or only between waves?
    Between waves.
  • Will players be booted for being in-active?
    Yes.
  • Can you choose a custom loadout in horde?
    Not a custom loadout (like sniper/torque/boltok/frags). Just the 3 starting rifles and 2 shottys. You can use all the custom stuff though (guns, skins, etc.)
  • When you unlock/buy the Silverback, will you keep it till you die, or is there a time-limit on it?
    Keep it as long as you like, but reload it between waves because its ammo supply will run out
  • Will horde be ran on dedicated servers?
    No. Host migration will occur if the host decides to drop out (thank god)
  • Will there be chickens in horde?
    Depends on the map.
  • Will the one shot kill bosses in horde with one shot?
    No. It will damage a berserker significantly when on fire, but other than that, no one shot kills on the bosses.
  • Can you revive yourself when DBNO?
    No
(beast mode question right quickly)
  • When you play as the Berserker in beast, will her vision be blurred?
    Yes
(back to horde!)
  • What is the difficulty multiplier for insane?
    2.5 for insane. Hardcore 2.0. Normal 1.5. Casual 1.0
  • Will there be leader boards for horde?
    Yes.
  • Does the game set the enemy count pending to the number of people playing?
    1 and 2 players are 1 thresh-hold and 3+ is a different thresh-hold.
  • Will we be able to use multiple mutators for a higher score?
    Yes. Up to 3 in play. Some will increase score, some will decrease score!
  • How long do you have to set up fortifications between waves?
    30 seconds
  • Will you be able to retro charge the large enemies like the boomer or Berserker?
    No! You will bonk off of them. “If you can chainsaw it, you can stab it”
  • Will you receive more XP after boss battles after boss waves or is it set?
    Horde xp builds upon itself. With each successful wave, you will get more and more xp. If you play consecutively and run to all 50 waves, it could be worth thousands.
  • Is there going to be a difficulty so hard we will cry blood?
    If you do insane + mutators, yes.
  • How many times will you be able to buy back in if you die?
    Once per wave
  • Will we still be able to plant shields as a defense?
    Yes
  • If a teammate takes cover on the Silverback, will the Silverback still be able to move?
    No.
  • In a recent 2.0 horde tutorial with Anya, she noted the exp boost that would make buying different fortifications cheaper. Is that for the team or player specific?
    Its just for you.
  • Is it true you will be able to pick up a butcher cleaver in horde 2.0?
    Yes.
  • What’s your favorite boss to fight?
    The Lambent Berserker
  • Is it possible to abandon an HQ and build it somewhere else?
    Yes, you can build all 5 if you like. But, it has to be occupied. Each one gets more expensive
  • Will kills in beast and horde count towards medals?
    Certain medals, yes.
  • Are there any environmental hazards that come into play during horde?
    Yes. The sandstorms blow in. You can crush people with the thrash ball scoreboard.
  • What is the best way to deal with a Lambent Berserker?
    RUN!! Throw beads from a parade float??

    Actually, its shoot her glowy spot in the chest.


Sincerely,
Stephanie G., aka MyFantasiMind, aka Founder of GearsOfWarClub


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