Ted Price answers fan mail about Resistance & Co.

From TGS 2006 to Gamers’ Day in San Francisco, Ted Price again checks his inbox to find new questions for him to answer in his IGN dev blog. Today we bring you even more of the mail-in and forum questions about Resistance: Fall of Man that he feels compelled to answer.

Before he starts answering questions, though, he drops a couple of updates:

You may have heard this already, but Insomniac Games has managed to cut down the software size to 16GB and kept the HD at 720p. They managed to cut the game size down because they discovered a means of converting NTSC movies to PAL in-game, so they didn’t need a separate set of movies for PAL regions. With smaller file sizes, it’s faster to burn test copies for distribution to a large test team.

Next, the 720p. Ted emphasizes that the team DID try for native 1080p. And they could. The thing is that to do so would use up more VRAM (PS3’s runtime dynamic memory), and they wanted to use that as well for characters and environment. Second, with 1080p TVs still in small numbers, it would be best to concentrate native 1080p for future games.

Yes, Ted’s aware that “naysayers will have a field day with this one,” but he wants them to keep in mind that development is a “fluid process.” At the end, he still believes that Insomniac’s succeeded in creating a game that “looks, sounds, and plays great.” Finally, speaking of lack of HD sets, Ted assures that the game runs beautifully on regular NTSC (480i) TV sets. The team has tested the game on different regular TVs for contrast and text readability. So no worries there.

Ted answers questions about multiplayer online and what he thinks of the SIXAXIS and Wii at the full article!

From TGS 2006 to Gamers’ Day in San Francisco, Ted Price again checks his inbox to find new questions for him to answer in his IGN dev blog. Today we bring you even more of the mail-in and forum questions about Resistance: Fall of Man that he feels compelled to answer.

Before he starts answering questions, though, he drops a couple of updates:

You may have heard this already, but Insomniac Games has managed to cut down the software size to 16GB and kept the HD at 720p. Developers managed to cut the game size down because they discovered a means of converting NTSC movies to PAL in-game, so they didn’t need a separate set of movies for PAL regions. With smaller file sizes, it’s faster to burn test copies for distribution to a large test team.

Next, the 720p. Ted emphasizes that the team DID try for native 1080p. And they could. The thing is that to do so would use up more VRAM (PS3’s runtime dynamic memory), and they wanted to use that as well for characters and environment. Second, with 1080p TVs still in small numbers, it would be best to concentrate native 1080p for future games.

Yes, Ted’s aware that “naysayers will have a field day with this one” but he wants them to keep in mind that development is a “fluid process”. At the end, he still believes that Insomniac’s succeeded in creating a game that “looks, sounds, and plays great”. Finally, speaking of lack of HD sets, Ted assures that the game runs beautifully on regular NTSC (480i) TV sets. The team has tested the game on different regular TVs for contrast and text readability. So no worries there.

Okay, now to answering the fan mail!

• The roster limit, or number of players, in a clan? 200!

• Ted likes the SIXAXIS, especially the smaller deadband of the controller’s analog sticks. Smaller dead zone = more precise control for an FPS like Resistance. And he doesn’t miss rumble. It’s neat, but not critical.

• He didn’t get the chance to try out the Wii at E3. But he loves how Nintendo’s willing to go out on a limb like that. He says that unique input devices like the Wiimote, EyeToy, and others help inspire great game concepts.

• Sony runs the Resistance online servers. Players can create their own private rooms in those servers, however, if they want private matches.

• Insomniac has brutally tested Resistance online on different online setups (cable, DSL, etc.), on Wi-Fi, and on torturous latency and packet loss conditions. Ted can give a hard number to a fan’s question: the game will run smoothly even with 40 payers, each with 95Kbps of upload speed.

• No split-screen online. Which means Player 2 on the same console cannot join in an online battle through split-screen. Players can invite online friends to a game through Resistance‘s in-game buddy list.

• Friendly fire is DISABLED during ranked matches (so no one can abuse team kills). It’s optional for unranked matches. And if there’s some n00brapist or complete a** out there in the field, you can add him to your “Ignore” list to keep him off your back. Worst-case scenario, you can simply create your own private server for you and your trusted friends to play in. Insomniac hopes in the future they can release tools to help players self-moderate their games.

• You can late-join running unranked games, but not ranked games. This is because of matchmaking and the emphasis on keeping ranked games balanced. Oh, and while players can drop out at any time during ranked games, there will be severe penalties for doing so. For example, to gain credits for kills and other stuff you do in a game, you’ve got to fight to the finish. And the game records and publicizes the number of times you quit before the end. Shame on you if you do so.

• Resistance is only the beginning of a much larger story.

• And Ratchet & Clank 5? When asked what genre the game falls under, Ted answers that it’s more action-adventure because the gameplay’s so varied. As for details on the title, he doesn’t have much to reveal now. Maybe in a few months.

This ain’t the end of it! Ted says he’s going to answer more questions in the future!