International Online Soccer feature

[page=Page]
modDB.com: State your real name, job, place where you are from and age!

routetwo: My name is Mark Gornall and I'm form the UK.

modDB.com: IOS was thought up when? Why the soccer/football? Is the mod like another game or mod in your opinion?

routetwo: The idea to do it came up last summer during World Cup 2002. It draws on strengths of many football games but they've never been done in first person, so in that respect IOS is unique. The trick is thinking and knowing traditional football games but trying to bring it forward into first person game like HL.

modDB.com: How long have you been working on IOS?

routetwo: When it was first designed I thought to myself, before I commit to doing it there's three problems to solve to prove it's worth making a full mod. First, a convincing ball that bounces and rolls. Second, good ball control that's fun and challenging and third, CPU goal keepers. I wrote this last year but then basically stopped all work on IOS as I was busy working on VS Chapter V through winter 2002 and into the new year. Chapter V was released in Feb. Then Katharii and I started work on IOS again until it reached release on the 12th of May 2003.

modDB.com: Describe the best feature in the mod in your opinion? What should the person look for that they might miss?

routetwo: They way of controlling the ball with you view angle, looking up to kick up and down to kick down (and soft). It seems perfectly natural when your used to it but it didn't start out like that and I'm particularly pleased with it as I've never seen it done before but I wonder if I'll see it done again in the future. The best bit is the feeling you get when you score a great goal. There was one time when I was playing and my team equalized, people were shouting down their mics and jumping around the pitch celebrating the goal, it was amazing. :)

modDB.com: Describe the weapons (head, feet, hands) and how a person will use them with the soccer ball?

routetwo: It doesn't work at all like a normal HL mod with weapons and trace line collision. It's quite generous with it's collision and I think it has to be to let you feel like your a world class football player. You can kick, volley, head, chest. You can flick the ball up high or you can swerve it when you shoot. You can pass direct to another player, the game looks at the way they are heading when you pass and works out where to aim the ball so they will run to it.

modDB.com: How is the damage system in IOS since people don't get hurt? Or when you slide attack can you hurt the other opponent?

routetwo: You can knock them over but they get back up again, similar to the vampires in VS ;) It doesn't happen much anymore, players abused the slide tackling so V1.0a only lets you tackle someone who has the ball and even then it's quite rare that you can knock them down. It lets the game flow better this way.

modDB.com: Game-plays! Since this is soccer I take it this side of things were tossed to the side? How will one team win over the other?

routetwo: Soccer is extremely strategic, it's about passing and using the space and making runs and working as a team. A team will win by having skill and passing and playing their positions so some will defend and some will attack.

modDB.com: I see on the site some nice maps with this being a soccer mod how will the maps be laid out to show such awesome detail?

routetwo: We defined the basic pitch and all the entities to make it work but we give away all the rmf files with the mod so people can take the standard pitch and add on their own stadium, lights and sounds. There is already quite a few impressive custom maps appearing.

modDB.com: Explain how the player classes will work and why I should be one over the other in your opinion:

routetwo: The classes are all the same, the skill of the player on the pitch is down to the skill of the player who's controlling them. You do select a player position though. This determines the number on your football shirt, the place where you first start after a goal but mostly the position you should play in the game. However, I see plenty of defenders running all the way up the pitch in public servers!

modDB.com: What mods do you like in Half Life?

routetwo: Well Vampire Slayer :)

modDB.com: Final thoughts:

routetwo: Just thanks to everyone who plays and supports it. There was plenty people who didn't think you could do soccer in an fps. We're just pleased to have made a successful mod that doesn't rely on everyone killing each other!