Capcom held a DmC Devil May Cry fan Q&A this morning with Ninja Theory’s Dom Matthews. During the Q&A, Matthews fielded a number of rapid-fire questions from fans regarding various aspects of the game, including the recent demo and feedback received from it. Take a look at questions and answers below:
What is the reason for removing the manual lock?
We wanted to build a system that didn’t rely on manual lock. That was a decision made very early on by Capcom and ourselves.
“We wanted to build a system that didn’t rely on manual lock” Can you elaborate on this? Explain the rationale?
On the lock-on, I fully understand that people miss it, but it isn’t something that is in the game. We’ve worked hard to make an auto lock-on system that works really well, and I’m confident that with time it is something that you’ll adapt to. But I reiterate, I hear you.
Will there be an official soundtrack?
Keep your eye out for announcements on this. There will be some cool versions of the music coming out.
Why is the PS3 version hardly capable of running?
I think that is a massive overstatement. We’ve worked very hard to optimize the game on both platforms and we’re happy to see that the majority of feedback on the demo has been that it feels smooth.
Are you guys still making tweaks and adjustments to final game? Some awesome players posted great notes and feedback from their sessions with the demo that would make the game even more great.
We are of course looking at feedback, but I hope you can appreciate at this time I don’t have anything concrete that I can talk about in terms of reacting to it. It’s been very pleasing to see that a lot of people have liked the demo, but we recognise that people have opinions of how they think it could be even better.
Why there aren’t taunts with the select button like the other DMCs?
We just didn’t think they fitted with this DmC. It was a creative decision.
Why is Dante locked in most attacks for excessive amounts of time? This the reverse of what previous DMCs have done.
Why is Dante locked into moves: He’s not for the most part, but when he is the attacks are typically more powerful. Its a risk reward thing. If you start a move that you’re locked into you better know its going to land.
(Note: cancellation plays a heavy role in DmC Devil May Cry’s combat.)
Will there be ways to upgrade the duration of Devil Trigger beyond the Crosses?
Yes, you can upgrade the Devil Trigger.
Is the game 20 missions? Please no puzzles and repeating stage areas.
There is no repeating like there is in DMC4.
Dom, there’s still new weapons to be revealed?
Yes, there are weapons that haven’t been officially revealed yet .
We haven’t shown all of the weapons yet, so far we have shown Rebellion, 2 angel weapons and 2 demon weapons. Plus 2 firearms.
Was there any specific reason for having two different currencies in the game, Upgrade Points and Red Orbs? Just to make sure you weren’t short on cash for upgrades and items, or what?
You buy consumables with Red Orbs, Upgrade Points are for upgrading.
The upgrades are basically new moves or can we make the main weapons stronger than what they are?
You can buy new moves and upgrade them as well.
Is there gonna be multiplayer features? I’m thinking about leaderboards.
Yes there will be leaderboards, but no other multiplayer functionality.
Will Dante stop swearing and act like a real Dante by the end of the game?
When the game starts Dante has nothing to live for, no family, nothing. He has nothing to care for. When he finds Vergil, things change.
Perhaps I’ve been missing stuff but where is the game actually set? I notice Dante has the UK flag on his jacket.
To set the record straight on the Union Flag. This has nothing to do with us being a UK studio. It is part of Dante’s punk/rebellion inspired look. Union Flags were a key image of the punk movement.
Dom, are Ebony and Ivory useful in this game, in the demo they seem ineffective.
We’re looking at feedback from the demo, but there is nothing concrete I can say right now.
So I heard the demo was based off an older build of the game, Is this true?
The demo is built at a time when work is still continuing on the main game, yes.
Enemies are a little easy at the moment. Will they be made more relentless on the harder difficulties, as I’m finding it a breeze to score SSS in the demo on Son of Sparda difficulty.
What you saw in the demo is really just a taste of the lower tier demons. They get a lot harder.
How much did we see already in terms of enemy variety?
There are a lot more enemies to see, the demo really just has a few. The enemies also switch up tactics on the harder difficulties.
With the Eryx, can you charge each step in the combo, like having an entire three-step combo of all charged punches?
Yes, you can charge different steps of the combo.
Can you tell us anything about why the Unreal Engine was chosen?
We chose Unreal because we have a lot of experience with it, we felt it could achieve what we wanted (with quite a lot of modification) and it allowed us to get started quickly with actually making the game.
Dom, is it possible to play as Vergil in the main campaign?
No plans at present.
How many pages did your game design document end up being?
Good question. A GDD a such is really only a starting point. We have so much information and planning on DmC it’s unreal. We also have over 1000 pieces of concept art, probably closer to 2000.
Is it possible for you guys to check the collisions in the walls? I mean, in the demo, sometimes when you try to juggle an enemy for an aerial rave, they get stuck in the walls even if the wall is in absolute vertical position…
We have put a lot of QA into game, but no game is perfect. We’ve made best efforts to minimise collision issues and I’m confident these issues are few and far between.
Are you guys open to releasing an art book or collection of concept pieces in the future?
Yes, I think you’ll see the art in a number of ways. There is actually a lot to be unlocked in the game. But it would be great to have it one book or even at an exhibition.
DmC Devil May Cry will be released on January 15th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America. A PC version will follow at a later date.
Published: Nov 30, 2012 10:00 am