The Trenches Interview feature

[page=Introduction To The Trenches]

Who And When
"The Trenches" is a World War I mod for the Half-Life engine. Included in our first release are the British and Germans, two large players of the "Great War". Players will be able to fight for their homelands with six different weapons on many locations on the Western Front with two different kinds of gameplay.

Game Play
Rush over the top with your teammates or stay in your trench to pick off enemy troops in "Trench Capture" gameplay (tt) and cover the advance of your army to in territorial push (tp) play.

Special Features
The Trenches will have some features that will make this an even more unique mod than it already is. Some of these features (for the first release) include:

-Custom Faces (no additional files needed!)
-Built in MP3 Player with Exclusive Tracks
-Realistic ambient sound system
-Two classes for the Germans and British Imperial Forces
-Manual "game action" system
-High damage variables
-Anti-"Cheap" measures against spawn camping, absurd weapon reload times, ect.

Multi-Country Team Select
You can choose from 6 countries that were involved in the First World War. Only two will be available in the first release, but we do plan on more.

Allied Forces:
British Empire

Central Powers:
Germany

[page=Interview]
Q: For those who live under a rock please state your age! Were you are from and why you chose to start The Trenches

Hotel Security: I didn't start The Trenches, that was thanks to the innovative ideas of the previous two leaders of the project, J-Man and Levi. I'm from Connecticut but I go to university in Massachusetts. (Don't post this obviously but I'd rather not have thousands of people knowing how old I am and exactly where I go to school)

the_Leprechaun: I am the_Leprechaun from the trenches and I did not start The Trenches. I am the main mapper for TT, I am 17 and currently live in (and plan to for the rest of my life) Seattle, Washington.

DarkNight: I'm 17 years of age. I chose to join The Trenches modification because I've always liked War movies and the type of environment it is I suppose. So when I had the opportunity to make this into a game, I took it.

Q: The Trenches was thought up when? What war era did you choose? Is the mod like another game or mod in your opinion?

Hotel Security: The idea of the mod came about 5 years ago and the 1915 - 1918 era of the First World War was chosen. I think that the game can be compared to some other mods out there but also has a good amount of features that sets us apart from other games. You'll have to try it and see for yourself!

the_Leprechaun: The Trenches is NOTHING like any other game I have played. It is based in WWI and has different styles of firing your gun.

DarkNight: The Trenches was thought up about 5 years ago. The war era chosen was 1916-1918. I'm not really sure what you would call it, game or mod. I believe it is both in reality, yes it's a modification of Half-Life, but yes, it is also a game.

Q: How long have you been working on The Trenches
Hotel Security: I was the historian for the game for a little over a year before I became the leader of the mod. So adding it up I'd say I've been working on the game for around two years.

the_Leprechaun: I have been working for TT since about June 2003.

DarkNight: I've been programming for The Trenches since about July '03 if I can remember correctly.

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

Hotel Security: There are so many neat features that I can't just name one. I'd say the best aspect of the mod is that we've combined smooth graphics and good gameplay into a first beta release. It was my attitude which was often criticized that a game should be made as perfect as possible before releasing as opposed to releasing a tolerable but incomplete game that would need a myriad of patches. Of course, our game will also need many fixes and patches and is no where near done OR perfect but I think the extra time really shows up in all the aspects of the game.

the_Leprechaun: I think the best feature is having a different firing mode set to bayonet stabbing.

DarkNight: I like the game in its entirety, however, probably the most unique feature of the game is how the weapon changing blends. There is no longer this secret pack on your back where weapons magically jump into and out of your hands in a couple seconds. The weapon switching is far more realistic, and looks quite good. Thanks to Oelund for this idea and the animations/models he did to make it work.

Q: Describe the weapons and what the weapon you will use the most and why?

Hotel Security: The weapons in the release are bolt action rifles for the infantry (the Gewehr 98 for the soldiers of the Second Reich and Lee Enfield rifles for the British), grenades, and trench clubs. The rifles also have non-removable bayonets, as a soldier would often mount the bayonet before climbing "over the top" into combat. While the rifles are the standard weapons, the grenades are very effective and versatile for flushing enemies out of craters, causing collateral damage, or just enjoying our awesome particle effects :)

the_Leprechaun: The weapon I would use the most is probably the enfield or the g98 because those are the infantry classes

DarkNight: Each weapon is used at the appropriate time I believe. Well that's how I try to use them anyway. The bomber class with his Club and Grenades can be quite deadly if you have some rifle support with you. The Infantry class is also quite deadly

Q: How is the damage system in The Trenches

Hotel Security: I would say quasi-realistic. There are honestly very few games that can have completely realistic damage because they are just that, games. Our damage may rival other "realism" mods in the fact that players will be severely hurt by a gut shot and killed by a headshot, and cannot take 15 bullets before flinching. Partial damage is almost as important as a kill because the battlefield, full of bullets, artillery, and grenades can easily finish the job.

DarkNight: The damage system is fairly reasonable. If you get hit in the head, you have like a 5% chance of surviving, that percentage gets higher as you hit less fatal parts of the body.

Q: Gameplays what's your favorite and explain them for The Trenches

Hotel Security: My favorite gameplay style is the "tt" map prefix, a capture-the-trench embodiment of the typical idea of World War I. The gameplay has a lot of potential as it can play out in many different ways and teamwork is essential. At times it may be frustrating, at other times exhilarating, a reflection of the extremities of trench warfare - without having to experience the disease, hunger, and death of course.

the_Leprechaun: I like the TP gameplay because it is only used in 2 of the maps.

DarkNight: I don't really have a favorite gameplay, I guess I like them just the same. The tp_ gameplay stands for Territorial Push. In other words, you must capture ground, pushing your way through the enemy territory. The tt_gameplay is the Trench Capturing gameplay where you must get across no man's land and capture the enemy trenches.

Q: I see on the site "Gas Attacks" what is this and how do I do this while playing?

Hotel Security: Not in the first release
the_Leprechaun: "" ""
DarkNight: " "

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

Hotel Security: Currently we only have two player classes, the rifleman and the grenadier. The officer is already being planned and worked upon. Unlike other mods, we put universal hard-coded caps on the amounts of special classes in the game. During the war, the common soldier was a rifleman. You cannot have a team full of snipers or machine gunners or officers simply because you want the weapons - in real life you didn't have a choice. We have included the standard infantryman and the specialized "bomber", who would go on trench raids with sacks full of grenades, taking out concentrations of infantry and leaving chaos in their midst.

Most players will be the rifleman. We have a universal cap of one grenadier per team so that there is no chance of "spam" that could ruin the game. However I encourage everyone to give the grenadier a try as its a very specialized role and a lot of fun!

the_Leprechaun: There are two player classes for each team. They are infantry and bomber. They are both fun.

DarkNight: The player classes work by selecting them from the class selection menu. Each class gets it own set of weapons. Servers can set a limit on how many bombers are allowed per team on their server. This stops people abusing the grenades. I basically explained the class differences in a previous question, so I will continue to the next question.

Q: What mods do you like in Half Life?

Hotel Security: I'm a huge fan of Flayra' work with Natural Selection, Kuja with Digital Paintball, and I still play some Day of Defeat on occasion. The Specialists is also an awesome mod but it really doesn't get the attention it deserves! I also play Firearms, but I'm not too good at it.

the_Leprechaun: The mod that started me on HL was FireArms. It was the mod that introduced me to mapping. Most of all it was a person named Weasel(then w6509). He also went by Ed. I don't know where the hell he is now, but thanks weasel. I played Battlegrounds and that it was introduced me to The Trenches, where I am now.

DarkNight: I like playing Counter-Strike at local LAN-Parties, however I don't like it online much. I really enjoy playing Day Of Defeat online though. I also like HL-Rally.

Final thoughts:

Hotel Security: Two years of work, two classes to wreck havoc with on many battlefields. I think we have done a pretty good job for the first release and we're anxious to share our results with you. I'd like to thank everyone involved in this release, especially the BlueWolf72 staff for their extreme patience and helpfulness during this difficult time of transition. See you in the trenches!

the_Leprechaun: I would like to thank the old main mapper, WestCon-X for hiring me and letting my dream come true!

DarkNight: It's been a good run for the team. I hope you all enjoy the initial release and other versions to come.