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Originally Posted by Shaz73

Here goes...

DLC/PATCH

Codemasters has told Eurogamer that the first batch of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising DLC will be out soon, alongside a network "optimisation" patch to "make it flow a bit better".

"Within two-to-four weeks of release, tops," executive producer Sion Lenton told us in an interview published today.

"Our intention is to align [the patch] with the first DLC pack that's coming out as well, which is due around the end of October. Hopefully we'll do the whole thing in one."

Sion Lenton said there will be more DLC down the line, although what that will be has not been decided. He's waiting to see what you want.

"It's quite open-ended," he added, "it's not a lot of fuss for us to make new content - it's actually quite easy for us to get it out there, with regards to things like levels, game modes, etc."

"The other thing we actually like to look at is getting some new equipment in there as well."

"One of the things we're hoping is we can address the balance of vehicles in the game," he added, "as there are people who expected to be able to use them more than they can in the final game. We're really ramping up the vehicle-specific missions in there. It's all really great tech, it all works, you can get in these things, so again, we'll be trying to exploit that as well."

He would like to expand on the campaign missions, but there appear to be no plans in place at the moment.

"We've got some stuff initially planned for this year, which I'm sure we'll be announcing soon - I'm looking at the PR here. I guess at the end of the day, let's see how it goes. But we'd love to do more stuff with it, we really would," said Lenton.

Head over to our full post-release Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising interview to find out more. It's told from two perspectives: Lenton's, and that of Neil Powell, a former army major we quizzed about the game's authenticity.

Interview...

As we all know, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is positioned as the realistic war game - the fact to Modern Warfare's fiction, if you like - and Codemasters' ballsy approach has worked well: the game is enjoying a third week in UK charts top-five surrounded by blockbuster competition.

But then selling a wargame to some of us as being "realistic" is like telling a small child about Santa Claus - we have no grounds to argue otherwise. That's why skipped off to quiz former army Major Neil Powell - a veteran of the Balkans and Boer wars - about the game, hoping to catch Codemasters out.

In the spirit of sportsmanship we also quizzed the developer, and wrangled plenty from both parties about army games, downloadable content and Modern Warfare 2. The interviews are presented separately, one after the other. Dragon Rising executive producer Sion Lenton strikes first.
The Maker

Eurogamer: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has been out for a few weeks and reviews are in - are you happy?

Sion Lenton: On the whole, yes. In reviews I'm seeing that a lot of people are 'getting it'. That was one of the big things from my point of view. The game does step up and do something different, and it does require thought because it is different to [Call of Duty]. I'm also really enthused that the co-op and online is going down an absolute storm, which I knew it would because we love it here. Server numbers are up as well, so that's all good. There's still a way to go, but I'm very encouraged!

An old, never seen online (apparently), print concept of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

Eurogamer: What's first on the fix-list?

Sion Lenton: We're hoping to get some optimisation to the network code [and] streamline that a bit further. The problem with that is you never know, unless you do a full beta test, what the performance is going to be online. We're tracking it now and it's in line with our expectations. We've got some more tweaks that we can do just to optimise that experience and make it flow a bit better.

Eurogamer: When are we going to see the first Xbox 360 patch?

Sion Lenton: Very quick. Weeks as opposed to months.

Eurogamer: So one is just around the corner?

Sion Lenton: Yes. Within two-to-four weeks of release, tops. Our intention is to align it with the first DLC pack that's coming out as well, which is due around the end of October. Hopefully we'll do the whole thing in one.

Eurogamer: The "first DLC pack" - does that mean there will be more?

Sion Lenton: Yeah!

Eurogamer: Have you got a number in your head?

Sion Lenton: Not yet, no. But, given the engine, it's quite open-ended. It's not a lot of fuss for us to make new content - it's actually quite easy for us to get it out there, with regards to things like levels, game modes, etc.

The other thing we actually like to look at is getting some new equipment in there as well. One of the things we're hoping is we can address the balance of vehicles in the game, as there are people who expected to be able to use them more than they can in the final game. We're really ramping up the vehicle-specific missions in there. It's all really great tech, it all works, you can get in these things, so again, we'll be trying to exploit that as well.

Eurogamer: Will you expand on the campaign missions at all?

Sion Lenton: Who knows? I'd like to. As I said, we're pretty open-minded at the minute. We've got some stuff initially planned for this year, which I'm sure we'll be announcing soon - I'm looking at the PR here. I guess at the end of the day, let's see how it goes. But we'd love to do more stuff with it, we really would.

Codemasters has the tech and desire to expand on vehicle use in OFDR.

Eurogamer: Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising is billed as realistic, so I'm talking to a real-life army man tomorrow to see what he thinks. What do you think he'll say?

Sion Lenton: He'll probably tell you that you don't carry a gun like that - that's one of the bits of feedback we've been getting. Most of the people that pick this up are people with military experience, so we've got something right. We had Marines playing in multiplayer, barking orders at each other, totally in the zone. The irony is that they were barking the same orders and instructions that are in-game. Even the tactics lend themselves very well to people with military experience and a military background.

As long as he's got experience playing first-person shooters then I'd expect him to pick it up pretty quickly. I bet you he plays it completely differently to anyone in the office, and probably better! No seriously, these guys, we've watched them playing, and it's very impressive watching them, they know exactly what they're doing - it's obviously a vocabulary they're familiar with.

Eurogamer: Army training is useful for something then?

Sion Lenton: Yeah, yeah. Ha ha!

Eurogamer: Let's say I want to join the army. Will I better my chances by playing Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising?

Sion Lenton: You'd probably have a better chance than you would if you played [Call of Duty]. Ha ha. No hiding behind rocks to get better in real life, I tell you.

Eurogamer: I'm glad you mentioned Modern Warfare 2. Do you think it's over-hyped?

Sion Lenton: The very nature of the game, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, is a hyped event. It's kind of like the Michael Bay of videogames. Its budget, its sales, all these kind of things - it is a huge game. But if you're worried that about kind of thing then nobody would ever make games - there would only be one football game, one shooter game and one platform. It's healthy to have competition.

I don't actually think we're in the same place as Modern Warfare 2, anyway. We're a different creature. We'll probably get people buying [our game] and Modern Warfare 2 as well. There's a market for both. I really see Modern Warfare 2 as Hollywood and we're the Cannes, the arty documentary - dare I say the reportage-style thing. So, two very different creatures. But [Modern Warfare] is a great game. I'll be buying it, I'll be playing it and I'm sure you will as well.

It's going to be interesting, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a few nods to our game in there - we saw a lot of the Infinity Ward developers playing our game at E3, which was quite nice.

Eurogamer: Be nice to shoot them, I suppose.

Sion Lenton: Yeah, heh heh - be queuing up! Heh heh.

Lenton reckons there will be nods to OFDR in Modern Warfare 2.

Eurogamer: What's the plan for the series after Dragon Rising has been and gone?

Sion Lenton: Onwards and upwards, hopefully. I'm relatively confident - I'm very confident that this game's going to be successful. We've got the DLC that we're working on in the studio itself, and we're always looking ahead, prototyping new ideas and new stuff. We've got a whole studio here dedicated to making s***-hot first-person shooters. We've got a great team and they're all very talented and they're actually working now on stuff we never got to fully prototype, etc. It's a really nice phase at the minute, working through some of the features we didn't get in the first title.

But as far as the franchise is concerned: Codemasters views it as one its strongest, and certainly moving forward I imagine it's going to be in our portfolio for the duration.

Thanks to OBMAR79 for find.