Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella talks Titanfall balancing, the cloud, and Titanfall 2

MMGN writes: It's no secret: Titanfall is about to drop, and everyone knows it's going to take the gaming world by storm.

The beta has finished up, and we're only a week out from release. I had a chance to speak to the man himself, Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella about how they came up with the idea, what the "power of the cloud" really means, and what the company hopes for Titanfall in the near future.

[alb1899]

The power of the cloud and servers will be in TITANFALL......that experience is not possible on others consoles so is relative to say ps4 is more powerful than XBOXONE.
I prefer a powerful MP more than a powerful SP......but this is me.......you can like WTF you wanna like!!!

[Locknuts]

Woah woah waoh! This is N4G buddy! You can like whatever you wanna like as long as it's pro Sony or anti Microsoft.

[RealtorMDandDC]

You know whats funny this site was not a pro-sony site in 2007-2012.

[Audiggity]

Exactly.

@RealtorMDandDC - thanks for the N4G history lesson!

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

How dare any of you speak positively of MS. Now go outside and think about what you've done!

On topic, nice read. Good to see a game using the cloud besides Forza. Being able to throw the AI on the cloud to free up space is nice. And finally, no host advantage! No more having 1 guy run around dominating everyone cause he has the best connection.

[VENOMACR1227]

^^^^^

Funny, bubble for you sir

[osprey19]

Ha, pretty much sums up this website, anything slightly pro Microsoft, its all lies and slander, anything pro Sony, must be true WE RULE IT ALL. Neither of which is true.

[Dewitt]

@Realtor - Wrong, this site has been anti-ms since 2006. After that it was all hype for PS and bashing MS.

[curtis92]

Love all these sarcastic "whoa don't go speaking nice of MS around here" posts... Get over it. The popular console will obviously have more fans, which means more lopsided comments, etc. Stop acting like this is the only site where sony fans are. Sony fans are everywhere. Get used to it.

[DeadlyFire]

You do know Cloud tech is not exclusive to anyone right?

Game servers are not a new invention either. They have been around for awhile. Just in certain games.

So far there is no difference presented by the Cloud tech.

[Mr_cheese]

It's the key PR word for Microsoft this gen... Until I actually see something worth shouting and raving about, I can't get excited and the fact that people are plugging it without even seeing the results... it just doesn't make sense.

[Volkama]

Neither platform has any feature or capability that is totally exclusive and impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Servers are obviously nothing new. Dedicated servers are not remotely new or exclusive. Dynamic scalable server hosting is relatively new (possibly entirely new within the gaming industry) but not exclusive to Microsoft.

We've all seen what happens when EA take up hosting responsibilities, and Sony's flagship games are still predominantly P2P.

Titanfall's beta had a couple of early hicups but after that it worked perfectly. It's nothing to scoff at. You should hope other devs and publishers strive to offer the same.

[SirBradders]

I agree so far people above are stating that the Ai is powered by the cloud but from all the reviews I've seen they are slating the Ai saying it's poo so if that's there interpretation of advertising the cloud it's piss poor tbh.

On a side note the game looks fun if your into mowing down bots, looks like the type of game you can pick up and play in short bursts.

[DeadlyFire]

AI is only being updated on the Cloud and downloaded to the game as it goes along. Even so it has to be run locally on the hardware. Running it on the cloud = a delay to kick in to its already less than stellar reaction time.

@Volkama
Peer to peer is fine for games with low player counts. Why do you think most multiplayer games stop at 12 players? When it is not Sony/Microsoft/Others pull out some servers. Take Sony as an example like with Killzone's 24 players. Uncharted has worked pretty well on its Peer to Peer setups with its 10 player matches.

Microsoft has been very vague on wether its using Dedicated servers or Peer to Peer cloud solution. One thing I know for certain is that Dedicated servers are not cheap. The only cheap super scalable solution out there seems to be decentralized Peer to Peer networking. Which could very well be what Microsoft has provided. It would work pretty well locked into a closed network like XBL. Possibly along with Dedicated server support for the bigger games at a price.

[Volkama]

Deadly, I don't want to seem like I'm attacking you but that's a lot of wrong for one single comment.

-The AI isn't 'downloaded from the cloud and then run on the console hardware'. The AI is run on the server, the decision making (basic as it is) happens server side. The client only receives the actions that result. If latency was really an issue then the whole idea of online multiplayer would be an issue too, as more latency applies to those non-artificial intelligence types (people).

-Peer-to-peer is not OK for low playercount games. Not in any competitive environment anyway. It can be functional, but host advantage is unavoidable and it does require reserving resource on the local hardware for potential hosting duties. I suppose OK is a subjective term so perhaps functional and sub-optimal are OK for you, but not as a statement of fact.

-Microsoft are not vague on what they are providing. It takes very little research to learn a whole lot about the Azure infrastructure (and Thunderhead).

[DeadlyFire]

@Volkama
Decentralized Peer to peer functions a bit differently than Peer to Peer's standard function. It was born in 2009. There is no host player in that regard. So there is no host advantage as the player is no longer the center. Its a fairly new practice. Its likely to override the standard Peer to Peer practices in the future. It can be used in tandem with Dedicated servers with less resources used. Which makes me wonder if its in use with Azure. As it would make dynamic scaling servers easy and cheaper than standard Dedicated server games. Which sounds alot like it. In Decentralized Peer to peer. Everyone connects to an environment in the center. I assume Azure is that environment, then everything runs back to the game from that. Making latency match more evenly all across the board. Running small compute codes along with the game in the central point makes sense as well with this. I question if this is the same as Dedicated servers in use for their games or just the new form of Peer to Peer. As bigger games like Battlefield 4 with 64 players opted to not use them.

AI processed in the server vs. AI processed locally. So far looks the same as always. Functions the same as well. If AI was all in the Cloud why isn't it smarter in the gameplay? Early days I guess it could evolve later. Maybe I was expecting to much from it. Game still has a good flow to it either way.

[Wizziokid]

"that experience is not possible on others consoles"

Apart from Xbox 360? oh and I know it's not a console but PC too...

The cloud is mainly PR BS, sure it can be a benefit on some levels but not the way MS spun it. Oh and it's not exclusive to MS either other companies can do it if they want too.

Titanfall is an impressive game but I've seen no sign from what I played on PC, that it can't be done on PS4.

[LexHazard79]

Actually not any other company can just do it. You need money and lots of it in order to amass the servers MS has! Not say your totally wrong but not many companies out there with that kind of $$$!

[stuna1]

Exactly Wizziokid. Vince even stated in the interview, that the "Power of the Cloud", is exactly what most thought it was! No magical rainbows shooting out of a unicorns asz!!!!

[No_Limit]

Why do the diehard XB fans' bubbles keep gooing down when they say things like this and why PS fans bubbles are in the 8-10s when they show similar passion and love for their brand and system of choice? hmm, you got to wonder.

[razrye]

Fully disagree with you. Am a Sony fan and look at my bubbles.

[LexHazard79]

@rayzre,

There is a reason for that!

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

It's pretty simple math.

(Not realistic numbers)
20 Sony Fans = 20 likes, bubble up
5 Xbox Fans = 5 likes, bubble up

When the Sony group doesn't like something they are able destroy the smaller Xbox group. So a comment like "Greatness Awaits, Sony rules" gets a ton of likes and few disagrees. Where "Jump In, Xbox is awesome" gets tons of disagrees.

Either your pro Sony or neutral, only way to get bubbles.

Just how this site is my man.

[IRapeLolis]

I don't get it. If Xbox fanboys are always moaning about how terrible this site is why the f*ck do you all keep logging on? Instead of getting owned and having to deal with your well deserved karma in every comment section you should all f*ck onto some other site. It's as simple as that.

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

^

Yikes, is it that time of the month for you? Calm down, it's not that serious. No one is complaining about the site, just stating how it is. I like reading the different articles and keeping up with gaming news. If anyone is getting "owned" it's MS, not me. I'm happy with my X1. I don't troll PS articles just to say something stupid, yet a lot of PS owners find there way into Titanfall articles to be negative. Somehow you found your way into an Xbox article to voice your displeasure, and by looks of it your a Sony fan. So thanks for making my point.

[IRapeLolis]

It's a multiplatform article. It's a pc game too. And I think most Sony games suck so yeah.

[Hugodastrevas]

Cloud depends of your connection as does Online-MP so i don't believe there will be any increase in quality in the experience. The users with the weakest connection will get the shaft again i guess...

[Fishy Fingers]

Of course if your ping/latency is THAT bad you'll be at a disadvantage. But really, with so many dedicated servers over various data centres if you can't get a respectable ping then you shouldn't be playing a MP only game.

It's like saying if you sit 100 metres from your tv your at a disadvantage, but that isn't the manufacturers fault.

[Infamous298]

This must be the stupidest shit I ever read.

[GarrusVakarian]

"that experience is not possible on others consoles"

Oh...here was me thinking i have been playing 130 hours of BF4 on PS4 using dedicated servers...in the cloud....Silly me. /s

Cloud features are NOT exclusive to MS, never have been, they have been around on console and PC's for years. But now that MS promote it so much and have brought attention to it using a new name (cloud), Xbox fanboys act like it's new and totally exclusive to the X1.

It's amazing how easily people eat up what MS say without even bothering to research it.

[Infamous298]

Sadly, Fanboys will believe and think anything to cover up their system of choice failures.

Microsoft deceives people into thinking that the cloud is some kind of revolutionary technology when infact its been around for years now. Cloud was used for performing simple tasks on the go , not for computing games.

I know cloud computing would be a thing in the future but i am sure that cloud computing wont be possible on this generation of consoles due to the world internet infrastructure.

[Volkama]

Battlefield 4 uses dedicated servers, but they aren't remotely cloudy. Just fixed capacity servers.

Titanfall's servers are created and shut down dynamically as required to meet demand. If the whole of Europe logs on at once a tonne of servers will appear on the European datacentres.

From a user perspective it's just the same as connecting to a good dedicated server. From a provider perspective it far more feasible, practical and cost effective to actually provide good servers.

So on the surface you can argue it's nothing new, but enabling this kind of quality service from every tom dick and harry game is a big gain for us players.

Now whether the cloud and cloud compute can provide anything 'new' in the way that MS claim, that remains to be seen. But it takes nothing away from the quality of hosting we should experience in Titanfall.

[DeadlyFire]

Decentralized Peer to Peer on XB1? vs. Standard Peer to Peer on PS4? If that is the case then yes XB1 has a slight advantage, but you do know that is just software code right? It could be applied to either platform. Dedicated servers would outclass both of them I believe.

I am still on the fence about dedicated servers even existing on the Cloud as they say they do when Peer to peer has worked fine for years without them with 12 or less players. Decentralized Peer to peer virtual servers makes more sense to me.

[shysun]

How is 6v6 not possible on ps4? Did I miss something? ....

[osprey19]

Yes u did miss something, its not that ps4 cant do 6v6, its that the xb1 can render a multiplayer game using a form of cloud computing far better than ps4

[shysun]

lol yeah ok!When TF2 is out on PS4 we'll see what version is watered down!

[SG1_dapunisherX]

show me the power of cloud or shut up. beside that looking forward to march 11. rise of titian fall begins

[razrye]

What's this rise of titanfall bs I keep on seeing? It's just another shooter not a religion.

[Immorals]

Few reasons.. It's a new FPS IP in a state market, all others out are stale sequels. It's also from the team that did cod4.

And as it's n4g, there's the fanboys either willing it to fail, or overhyping it.

[Studio-YaMi]

You're basically right on every point you made on that comment,well said!

[VENOMACR1227]

Right and if it was on PS3/4 it would be "Greatness has arrived." Infamous is just another game with a character that has super powers, GT is just another racer, this could go on all day long. Every game borrows from other games. But I don't remember last game that was a FPS where you can run around killing stuff, then jump into a giant titan and wreck havoc, or put it in follow mode like your personal body guard.

[chickenface]

oooo what an outstanding analysis of infamous!!!!!!!!! And I suppose titanfall is a perfect angel hanging in "the clouds" that can do no wrong, but infamous is just some character that has super powers?

Both games look brilliant, stop bringing your pathetic fanboy tendencies here

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

@chichenface

So it's OK for the OP to say Titanfall is a generic shooter, yet its wrong to say Infamous is just another game featuring a character with super powers? Do not be a hypocrite. People need to learn what the word "fanboy" means instead of throwing it around because someone has a differing opinion. Explain the fanboyism in @venomacr1227 comment. Judging by the amounts of disagree's you've received, I think we are all curious.

[Agent_hitman]

IT will end up being ported to PS4, if not this part maybe the part 2. Just like MAss effect series.

You know EA and their business practices. They will not allow other devs to be 'happy-go-lucky' and enjoy releasing PS4 games, earning a lot of revenues.

[JeffGUNZ]

or Respawn can go to a completely different publisher since EA doesn't own respawn or the Titanfall series. EA's deal with respawn is THIS SINGLE installment. Sure, Respawn can do another deal for the sequel, but right now EA has no say on any sequels. Respawn stated they did not want to make the same mistake they did with Modern Warfare and Activision.

[elm]

6 vs 6 792p, I wish the PS4 had the power of the cloud

[tiremfej]

Yeah, Killzone proved that...

Anyway, I am on the fence with thus game. I did the beta, as a X1 fan I should be hyped for this game...im not sure I am going to pick it up. It was fun...but...meh...

[ocelot07]

If this turns out to be any good (I do have doubts) then ill just pay £25 and play it in glorious 1080p at 60fps and maybe even use my PS4 controller with it. You do realise this is on PC right? Or do we not speak of the PC version here? You guys do know it is available on PC? It is not a XB1 only game right? Guys? Why is no one talking to me. Its like your all ignoring the PC version.

[JeffGUNZ]

Simple. This site is heavily filled with console gamers. So, when a lot of people here say "it's X1 exclusive" or what not, they mean you can't play it on PS4. That's the main argument.

[ocelot07]

If I never had a PC and only had a PS3/PS4 I would simply buy a second hand Xbox 360 on the cheap. I managed to get one from GAME for £20 a few months back. Also at the same time buy some of the great 360 exclusives you may of missed out on.

[JeffGUNZ]

Yeah, I hear ya, but a lot of people would also rather have the newer, shiner, X1 then a 8 year old console. Even more so if some of their friends have titanfall on X1.

[wildpsi]

Xb1 customer here... I come here to read the news but really dont have time to post a lot. I'm usually too busy gaming on the 360 or xb1. If Sony has all these great games then why are there a lot of Sony fans out here constantly beating a dead horse. You'd think they would be too busy doing something they love. Or they probably aren't true gamers in the first place. This site right here is what keeps me from ps4. I had a ps3 and the game chats were basically the same bitching and moaning. Anyways I've wasted enough time.. Back to minecraft and project spark. Cant wait for TF!!!