Call of Duty: MW3

MW3 Interview Link - Click Here

Well it looks like MW3 might be going in the right direction after the matchmaking fail of MW2.

GameSpy: What sort of connection options are PC gamers going to have? Are they going to have the full server browser as well as matchmaking?

Robert Bowling: Yeah, so in Modern Warfare 3 you have the matchmaking that we introduced in MW2 so you have the party system, the lobby system, all that stuff. That is standard fare for it, but you also have a server browser so you can search, browse, filter, rate, and favorite dedicated servers or set up your own dedicated server so you have full control over ban lists, game setup rules, all that stuff that we know our PC players said they wanted coming out of Modern Warfare 2.

GameSpy: With the server browser, are you going to be able to sort by region or is it ping based?

Robert Bowling: Right now I think it's just ping based.


GameSpy: Have you made any changes to the matchmaking algorithms this time around?

Robert Bowling: Yeah we have. We always do a lot of work in that, especially speaking specifically to Australian gamers, we took a ton of feedback coming out of Modern Warfare 2 on how we could optimize matchmaking for local regions like what it prioritizes, because you can't prioritize across the board, saying this is how matchmaking works for everybody. That inherently isn't fair because everyone doesn't have the same sort of connection. An Australian player playing with a US player isn't the same as a US player connecting with a US player.

So we've changed the way things are prioritized so it's not just based on ping. It should allow people in Australia or another country to have a better experience, rather than being at the will of one American host who comes in and takes over everything.


GameSpy: Sure. Now you mentioned there that users can set up their own dedicated servers. Will they still be ranked servers or are they unranked?

Robert Bowling: That's something that hasn't been decided yet. It's something that we're working out.


GameSpy: It's kind of a big deal for you guys to go back to a dedicated server model after Modern Warfare 2's system. Can you give us some kind of insight in the decision making process that went behind that? Were there a lot of discussions around this choice?

Robert Bowling: There were. I mean, in every aspect of Modern Warfare 3 it was about looking at our player feedback, what they wanted. More importantly, in every aspect from gameplay to dedicated servers, it was about giving more options, more control to our players, to have the experience that they want to have. So coming out of Modern Warfare 2 it was pretty clear what our PC audience was looking for and what direction they wanted us to go in. The conversation was pretty straight forward because we knew what they wanted and we wanted to execute on that.

GameSpy: Was part of the decision to go with the Modern Warfare 2's model to do with piracy? What was the driving force behind removing dedicated servers?

Robert Bowling: In Modern Warfare 2 it was multiple things. As our first time going to Steam, it was our first time doing a lot of different things like adding in the matchmaking. It was about trying to control the experience ourselves, doing things like VAC and introducing things that we thought would be the first step in improving the experience overall. We wanted to unify the experience across every platform but it was always intended to be the first step in a series in what IWNet would become. So we looked at how that performed and regretfully there were a lot of things that it didn't achieve that we wanted it to achieve. Things like making it as secure as it can be - Modern Warfare 2 had a lot of problems with cheating and hacking, especially on the PC, that VAC didn't fully take care of. As a result we've done a lot of work on Modern Warfare 3 on the back end. We are still using VAC in Steam but in addition to that we've done much more work on the backend, locking down our stuff to make it more secure, to make sure we have more flexibility on addressing things like that ourselves rather than just relying on some third party anti-cheat program.

GameSpy: So post launch, are you putting more resources into monitoring for cheats?

Robert Bowling: Yes.


GameSpy: Are you going to have a dedicated team to look after that?

Robert Bowling: We are. A lot of that stuff can be done through Elite that we can review. Then we have tools to report player stuff in game that players can use, and we'll have entire teams monitoring and taking actions on those.


GameSpy: Is this a new process, or was it also used in MW2?

Robert Bowling: Yes, that's new, that's new for us. A lot of that stuff, the monitoring stuff, a lot of that was introduced in Black Ops but with Elite that is launching with Modern Warfare 3, we're taking that in an all new area, having full teams dedicated solely to that.


GameSpy: Modern Warfare 2 was difficult to run tournaments for PC gamers. Are you guys going to be introducing features on the dedicated software such as demo recording, remote spectating, remote server set up and running that will facilitate easier tournaments this time around?

Robert Bowling: Yes, there is stuff like that. We're incorporating the theater mode stuff and we've done a lot of work that allows you to have more control over theater mode than you had before, so yes there is stuff like that.


GameSpy: MW3 is running the same technology as the last couple of Modern Warfare games. Have you increased the graphical detail in any way that will mean slightly higher hardware requirements for the PC version or are they going to be the same system requirements?

Robert Bowling: There is. We don't have min spec yet so I can't go into detail on what min specs are. We were trying to nail it down just as I left the studio last week.


GameSpy: But it's slightly higher?

Robert Bowling: It is slightly higher yeah. It's always important for us with Modern Warfare to make sure we have a good min spec so the majority of our audience can enjoy the game but then also we've done a lot of advancements on how we did things that the higher end machines will be able to take advantage.


GameSpy: Are we ever going to see mod support for Call of Duty again?

Robert Bowling: I hope so. It's a discussion that we're having now. It's something that we want to do. It's something that I loved in Call of Duty 4, especially the total conversion mods that people did.

GameSpy: Like the Star Wars Mod?

Robert Bowling: Yeah Galactic Warfare from the Black Monkey guys. I loved that stuff and it's something I want to see for Modern Warfare 3 so it's a possibility. Again it's one of those things that we can't start working on until the full game's finished, you know? But it's something that we want to do.


GameSpy: What do you think is the reason for the cutback in mod support? Is it concerns about cheating? Is it that you've got to protect your DLC, that people are less likely to buy DLC if there's free mods out there? Or is it that the tools are too hard to create?

Robert Bowling: In general it requires a lot of work on our end to create the tools. In the grand scheme of things it's not a ton of work but it's work that doesn't get a huge priority, we have a lot of stuff to do, so we just have to make the time for it. We will never do anything unless we can do it right.


GameSpy: So what sort of chance is it for mod support? Is like fifty-fifty? Eighty-twenty?

Robert Bowling: I have no clue. Things change so drastically from month to month that I would never put a percentage on it.


GameSpy: Last question, if you guys could get a movie license and make a Call of Duty out of it, what would be the ultimate one that you think Infinity Ward would like to do? Have you ever toyed with this idea?

Robert Bowling: No, we've never toyed with the idea officially. I mean there's always tons of stuff I would love to do. But no. You threw out the best example of Star Wars because I'm a Star Wars nerd. I would love to make a Star Wars game. That's why I loved Galactic Warfare mod so much, it's because it was everything I wanted, you know?


GameSpy: Did many of the IW guys play it?

Robert Bowling: Yeah. I think I probably play it the most out of anyone in the office, I've been playing the beta. Every time they release a new version I've been playing with those guys. I love those guys. So I probably play it more than anyone in the office but I've been getting more people on the bandwagon. I've been getting our producers and stuff on and checking it out.


GameSpy: So we might see Call of Duty Star Wars in the future? (laughs)

Robert Bowling: I think that's up to Lucas Arts!

Actually looking like a good game always loved the COD games, even though everyone hated MW2 i still thought it was decent; well i managed to get over 250 hours on it so i guess i did like it.
Little worried about the "Then we have tools to report player stuff in game that players can use, and we'll have entire teams monitoring and taking actions on those." So i wonder if the team will actually look for evidence of hacking or just get 'the ban stick' out; and due to them being linked with VAC could my steam account be in danger, for 'apparently' hacking?