In order to try and answer some questions that are floating around, I will be posting answers (from UWE) to various questions. These could be hotly debated things on the forums, or more specific things seen in different threads. They are a busy bunch so I hope to get a short list of questions to them every few days. For the first time then:

Topic: Autobite, and more specifically, Twitter. The autobite has created a mega-thread on the topic, but I figured I would ask them about this. This answer should help for anything you do see on Twitter that may be contraversial in the future too.

Answer: Auto-bite has been removed already actually. Lots of ideas are tried that don't make it into the final version, and this happened with NS1 as well. For example, an overwatch feature was one of the first things to go into NS1. If a marine stood still for a few seconds, an overwatch indicator would come on. If an enemy came into your field of view, you would automatically start tracking it and firing at it. It wasn't perfect, but it would hit skulks reasonably well for you. The idea here was to bring in new players that wanted to follow orders and play as part of a team but didn't necessarily have great reflexes or shooting skills. It was tried and then removed because it didn't seem like it fit well enough or was cool enough given the extra complexity. This kind of stuff happens all the time but normally fans won't hear about because we're not going to write up a news/blog update about something we're not sure of.


Topic: The UWE engine. A lot of technical questions have come up surronding it. Some can answered here: http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/wiki/index.php/Engine . Otherwise, here is quick run down of other, unanswered ones.

Answer:

- Will designers be able to have moving light sources?

-- Yes, although we don't have physics in the editor yet.


- Will the engine be using some kind of skybox system, and if so, how will it work?

-- Yes we have basic skyboxes ala Source.


- Do you know of any engine limits yet? ie: Number of lights in a level or like how source has a weapons limit

-- Nope, we don't have any specific engine limits, although there will be some practical ones. No weapon limit.


- And would you mind explaining what you guys mean by using the PhysX stuff so the people on ATI can stop being scared about it? :)

-- PhysX is just free physics middleware, like Havok. It's very realistic and powerful, but it's also free and takes advantage of hardware acceleration on your video card if supported.


That be all for this time around. If you have anything specific to ask, please go ahead and post. What I ask and what gets answered is not an exact science though so I am sorry if your question gets missed. Anything else I see I will also pass on as well. Hopefully this will keep you guys a little more up to date and having to bug Charlie less!

Discussion!