Brink Community Q&A, Part 2 (plus a dedicated server update)

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Update: The Brink PC dedicated server is now available in the “Tools” section of Steam. We expect an updated version of the server will also be released in a few hours.

As we count down the hours to Brink’s release, here’s part 2 of our community Q&A with Paul Wedgwood. Thanks to everyone for sending in great questions!

If you missed the part 1 of the Q&A, you can catch up here.

Can we have some details on clan support?  – ZernoK

We’re working on something for our stats site that will involve clans. More details on that soon!

How is the multiplayer lobby going to work?  – Asian Jello

Brink doesn’t have multiplayer lobbies in the traditional sense – you can jump directly into your buddies’ matches using the friends list. If none of your friends are online – don’t worry. Brink will first check if there’s a match already going that matches your parameters. If there is, you can hop right into the action. If not, it’ll start a new match with AI filling out the rest of the players until human players join in and replace them seamlessly. For us, it was really all about getting you into the match of your choice as quickly as possible and minimizing the time you spend waiting around.

Approximately how long will it take to complete both sides of the story? Elijah

One of the great things about Brink is the massive amount of replayability that’s built right into the game thanks to being able to seamlessly switch your combat role and the automated squad commander that dynamically generates missions based on what everyone is doing. Of course, the other important factor is that human players are inherently unpredictable and we fully expect the game to evolve over time as players figure out new tactics and ways to approach the missions. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is a great example of that – released eight years ago, it is still being played to this day.

But even if you’re only interested in playing the storyline campaigns all by yourself offline, you’ll still be spending a good amount of time playing – think of the campaigns in other big FPS titles for comparison. That said, we do hope that even if you think you’re only into single player games, you’ll give Brink a try online. It’s really, really good fun with other players and we’ve done a lot of work to ensure that you’ll get to experience all the good parts of online multiplayer without having to suffer through the bad ones. Who knows – you may not want to go back!

How many maps and game modes will there be? – Joel

We’ve built eight different districts of the Ark for Brink, and there’s a total of 16 storyline campaign missions set in those, split evenly between the two factions.

In addition, Brink also features what we call challenge maps. They’re fun little levels built around particular gameplay mechanics, such as the SMART system or using the Engineer’s toys effectively. They essentially teach you how to be better at the game and you unlock additional weapons and weapon attachments when you complete them. They also support co-operative play for up to four players and come with leaderboards, so you can compete with the rest of the world.

Are there any killstreak rewards? – this could include extra XP, gun damage, better weapons, etc. – Kyle

Brink is all about working together as a team and supporting each other to complete objectives. Our general philosophy is to reward you for helping your team and making the game more fun for the people you’re playing with. With that in mind, we decided early on that we wouldn’t have killstreak rewards. You’ll still get XP for killing enemies, but you’ll get significantly more for buffing your teammates and completing objectives.

The other thing worth pointing out is that Brink has nearly sixty different player abilities you can pick from. These really mix things up and add a whole other level of depth to the game that you might not have seen before.

Will Brink have LAN support for PC?  – Cinna Cinna

Yes, you can create LAN games in the PC version of the game. Everyone looking to play in the game will need a connection to the internet for the initial authorization check, but after that, all the action will be happening locally on the LAN server.

We are also aware that you may not always have an internet connection available at LAN events and are investigating a few alternatives there.

What would be your ideal weapon load-out for each body type? – gr845

There are some really interesting combinations that are possible here, offering a huge variety of tactical choices thanks to the sheer amount of weapons and weapon attachments we have in the game.

For example, you can create a speedy light body type character that’s all about hit and run attacks and pecking away at the enemy from a distance. The Barnett light rifle is a great choice for this, and you’ll want to put a scope on it.

For the medium body type, my favourite weapon combination is the Rhett assault rifle along with the Kross submachine gun. It’s a great combination for medium range firefights and close quarters combat. Also, those of you who like to get up close and personal will be very happy with the Mossington shotgun.

My favourite for the heavy body type is the Gottlung machine gun, which is a massive gatling gun. It needs a little bit of time to spin up, but once it gets going, very little stands in its way. J

I’ve noticed that from the footage of ADS full auto shooting of some guns, especially the SMG’s, there is very littlel recoil. Do you think the guns in Brink don’t have as much recoil as to other games, or are the SMG’s just designed to have little recoil? – FireThief

Each of our weapons has been balanced for different uses. In case of our submachine guns, we made a deliberate decision to lower the amount of recoil because they’re not as reliant on iron-sights as some of the other weapon categories, and they’re definitely more of a close quarters weapon.

Will there be an option to reset purchase abilities? And if so, how does it work? -Lynn

Yes! At any point, you can sell all of your purchased abilities and completely re-spec your character. This comes at a cost, however, as your character will lose one level (and with that, one ability credit). For example, if you’re level 11 and decide to sell everything, you will be dropped back to level 10 and are then left with 10 credits to buy abilities.