CarmaGordon Interview feature

[page=Introduction]
Taking time of my usual modDB:moddb: duties I gained an exclusive interview with tomdon from CarmaGordon a vehicle combat modification for Half-Life 2. Read the next page for an interesting insight into the mod.

[page=Interview]
Stuffie :
Hi and thanks for taking some time off to give this interview for modDB, Ill start from the very beginning.
When did you decide to create CarmaGordon ?
Tom :
It was after I did some "retro" gaming, I found my Interstate 76 CD and couldn't resist playing it again. After having a great time I went and made myself a muscle car in max for a bit of fun. It then made me think how much fun interstate 76 could be running in a modern engine ie decent graphics modern physics and of course online.
So after a bit of chatting with my friends from uni about the idea I decided to make a mod.
The plan was to combine all the classic vehicle combat games together into one great mod.

Stuffie :
Who came up with the name "CarmaGordon" and why call it so ?
Tom :
The name came from somebody on a forum I visit. He joined the team but quickly disappeared after a few days. The name itself is a combination of Carmageddon and Gordon freeman. Carmageddon of course being a classic vehicle game and Gordon from Half life 2.

Stuffie :
Obviously your mod is mainly vehicular based. Will there be a possibility to get out and walk on foot ?
Tom :
Yes the main drive of the game is the vehicle combat, although players are able to get out of there cars. If they roll there vehicle they have a certain amount of time to get out before it blows up. Once they loose there vehicle they have to make their way back to spawn points to get a new vehicle.
But when a player is out of his car he is in a lot of danger, he will be armed only with a pistol and possibly a satchel charge for use against other vehicles.
The idea is players will not want to spend time out of there vehicle if it can be avoided

Stuffie :
Like most of the mod will the on foot part of the game continue to be in the 3rd person ?
Tom :
No when out of the car the view switches back to first person, this is mainly to make it easier to aim.

Stuffie :
Is there any estimation of the number of vehicles set to be in the final game ?
Tom :
For the first public test version it will be around 10. Although new cars will be added after that. We are very much interested in what the fans want to see, so we have a topic on our forum where people can suggest vehicles to add.

Stuffie :
What kind of vehicles will be drivable ?
Tom :
The exact list of vehicles that will be included is not yet finished. Although you can expect a large variety from tiny cars like the mini up to trucks and busses

Stuffie :
Are there any special vehicles to be released with the mod ?
Tom :
There will be one hidden vehicle which will be in the mod for a bit of a joke. All I will say it is a "skoda" owned by Carl who is part of the team.

Stuffie :
What about the Delorean?
Tom :
The Delorean will be in the game but it wont be "special" ie it wont be able to fly like the back to the future version.
Although a flyable one is the kind of thing I wouldn't mind adding if I and Childe our coder finds time

Stuffie :
These cars are going to need weaponry. Any details on which sorts of weapon will be available?
Tom :
For the first alpha we have 4 weapons, these are: The Grenade Launcher, the Rocket Launcher, the machine gun and land-mines.
All of which are modelled and skinned, the grenade launcher has also been coded

Stuffie :
Looking at the models they have a slight "cartoon" look. Is that on purpose?
Tom :
The vehicles do have a stylised look to them. Its very much paying tribute to interstate 76's style. When I skin the models I try to keep them looking semi realistic, but I don't add wear and dirt to them. They all look brand new straight from the showroom floor.

Stuffie :
Would you consider this a serious mod?
Tom :
Its serious in the sense that I and the team are taking the making of it seriously. The mod itself is semi realistic and does have elements of tongue in cheek, although its far from being a "joke" mod. Its more about creating fun game-play and a style of graphics that can instantly be recognised as CarmaGordon.

Stuffie :
What are the intended locations to be battled in?
Tom :
At the moment this is some what open. We have one mapper working on a map based in and around the storm drain systems you see in the States. I am working on a map based around large grassy plains and small outcrops of trees. When we release the first public version you can expect to see a few more locations including Snow maps, city based maps. There is also talk about doing a special Italian job map.
The maps themselves will all be large enough to cope with the vehicles speed.
They will also include lots of fun chances for crazy driving and stunts, so expect lots of breakables and jumps.

Stuffie :
Now you mention stunts, will there be a possibility of getting scored for these along with kills?
Tom :
It is not something that will be in the first releases, all though it is something I would like to see. Along with a replay option, this would allow players to make there own Stunt videos very much like Grand Theft Auto players do.

Stuffie :
Will the cars take damage ?
Tom :
Yes, this is one of the features thats when its fully implemented will make CarmaGordon stand out from the rest. At the moment the models are all set up to take damage we are just waiting for the coding to be done. The way the system works is the cars have damage areas, at the moment these are front, back, right, left, and roof, all though more can be added. These damage areas all have a hit-box, when the car hits something the speed of the impact will work out how much the car crumples. This system will give the damage a really random look, no two damaged cars will look the same.

Stuffie :
Is there any possible hint at an ETA for the first release?
Tom :
At the moment we are heading towards this summer. I cant be much more specific because there are a lot of variables that will effect this. We have how ever made a large amount of progress are current alpha does feature adjustable thirdperson view for vehicles, custom vehicle models, basic vehicle HP system, grenade launcher for the cars. We also have a large amount of custom props and materials.

Stuffie :
Sounds great and I can't wait to play it, thank you for your time and a wonderful insight into CarmaGordon
Tom :
No problem.

Stuffie :
Before you leave is there anything you wish to tell us about CG that has not been mentioned ?
Tom :
Well we would like to hear what people think in our forum,( Itsabeast.com )

Tom greatfully supplied us with some modDB:moddb: exclusive screenshots from the Internal Alpha of the mod