CA = Christian Allen, Lead Multiplayer Designer
HT = HangtownSOG, Ghost Recon US Community Manager
HT: First of all, why a Multiplayer Title Update?
CA: Since GRAW came out on the Xbox 360, we have been keeping a close eye on the community, monitoring forums, playing games, and seeing what issues have cropped up. Because GRAW is so popular on Live (recently hitting #1 on the 360), we felt it was important to make sure that we addressed issues that players were having, and to support the community of GRAW players who are enjoying the game every day.
HT: Will we get new maps or weapons with this update? How much will it cost?
CA: The Title Update is focused on functionality and game improvements, and aside from new Achievements, doesn’t include content like a Downloadable Content package does. The Title Update will be free for all users, and will automatically install when you connect to Live.
HT: GRAW was released in March and it is now September. Why now are we just getting a title update? And how come Chapter 2 was released before the update?
CA: Actually, you have already gotten one Title Update. When Chapter 2 was released, a small title update was released that addressed some network connectivity issues. But to your point, we are addressing a whole host of issues, many of which did not surface until after the game had been released and hundreds of thousands of Live games had been played. These include ranked games abuses and the like that were not apparent in the first days after launch. By waiting a while and gathering information before finalizing the content of the Multiplayer Title Update, we are better able to give gamers what they want, and make sure that we include some issues that weren’t immediately apparent. Also, we are doing an extensive amount of testing on this update to ensure that it does not introduce new problems. Often, you may see games that rush out updates, only to have to do more updates to fix problems introduced by the past one. We wanted to avoid that situation, and release one large comprehensive update to improve the game for players.
HT: When should we expect to see this TU up on Xbox Live?
CA: The content of the Title Update is currently complete, and is in final testing at Red Storm. We will then go through a submission and testing phase with Microsoft. We expect it to be available in September.
HT: What is the biggest change gamers should expect to see post TU launch?
CA: There are a whole host of changes that we are implementing, and if you have a look at the list I think you will be excited. Network stability, new quick match search options, matchmaking, ranked games, and some glitch fixes are just a start of the list of things we are improving. Also, I think one of the key things is that we now will only display player ranks in ranked games. I have heard a lot of players who did not care about rankings, they only want to play good games with their buddies, but felt compelled to “rank up” so they did not look like “newbs” in Player Matches. Now, you only need to worry about rank if that is the kind of game you want to play.
HT: New achievements are cool, but why no Achievements for Chapter 2? I heard these new ones were for Chapter 2, but according to this, they aren’t.
CA: When we released the game, we did originally plan for the new achievements to be for Chapter 2. However, once it was decided that the Chapter 2 content would be premium, we felt it was important to make the new achievements available to all GRAW players.
HT: The Assassin Achievement looks cool, but how can I get it if no one has it?
CA: Getting the Assassin Achievement is simple; find an opponent with the Achievement and kill them in a Team or Solo match! As to who will get it first, you will just have to wait and see. ?
HT: What happens if I get the Title Update and want to play with someone who doesn’t have the Title Update?
CA: All players will be required to get the title update to log into games, as is standard with updates. If you are going to a LAN party offline, either everyone has to have the update or not. You cannot “mix-and-match.”
HT: I see in the details list that the MP leaderboards and gamer scores will be reset…what’s up with that?
CA: We have made a LOT of changes to ranked games, including some tweaks to the ranking system to reduce boosting, and to the way the rules are set up to make games fairer and reduce people “stacking” games. We felt that with changes to the rules for ranked games, it was important for everyone to start out at a level playing field. I know that some gamers won’t be happy with this, but I think that overall it will be a good thing for the community.
HT: Oh yeah also…when can we expect the next GRAW? ?
CA: If I told you…well, you know the line. ?
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ing crazy online, so can't wait to get back into it >_
