E308: Bots will not replace quitters in GoW2

by Dustin Burg { Jul 15th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Coming from our sit down interview with Gears of War 2 producer Rod Fergusson we get further explanation of the game's bots, confirming that (unlike some previously speculated) bots will NOT replace players who drop connection or quit out of games. Fergusson made the argument that there isn't a big disadvantage to losing a teammate mid-game in Gears and that an AI controlled bot taking over just wouldn't be fair due to the differences in player skill and strategies. We did learn though that Gears 2 bots can only be used in social games (makes sense) and must be enabled prior to the game's start via the game setup menu.

Tags: e3-08, e3-2008, e308, epic, epic-games, gears-of-war-2, gow2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

A89 @ Jul 15th 2008 4:48PM

I prefer this method, honestly. If I'm playing a ranked match and a player quits on the opposing team, I'd rather the other team just "try harder" and gain the win as opposed to some AI-controlled character wiping us out...

Bots should be used in Horde (or similar game types), and Player Matches -- nothing else.

Shadowmoses @ Jul 15th 2008 5:03PM

That's what the interview said..bots will only be available in social matches (unranked) and have to be enabled before the match starts.

Jacob Farr @ Jul 15th 2008 5:25PM

Wow. Does Epic know why their fans asked for bots in the first place? It was because everyone hates playing Gears with one man less than the other team. This just means that bots are going to be just something minute in the game. Real smart move Epic. (sarcasm)

ryan @ Jul 15th 2008 5:51PM

here's a thought:

anyone can jump into a game in progress once someone leaves. this solves both problems.

of course you can always turn this off if you want to start a match from the beginning.

bots take fun out of the match plain and simple.

Dwag @ Jul 15th 2008 5:31PM

Yep they say this now but when the Hardcores come in and say WTF EPIC they'll be like oh we just made Bot replaces quitters its pure fact.

Whats the point of bots if they ain't gonna take care of a big problem in Gears people join then quit leaving matches unbalanced(uless the team with the least has some super hardcore gamer who plays so much he's practically takes out teams by himself or pretty good teamwork to make up for the man out).

I'm not good at Gears at all I play it for fun and kinda to get some achievements that most gamers have(seriously is too far down the line) but having to be a team with no teamwork and just ppl thinking they're gods running into battle like a 1 man squads gets annoying.

ryan @ Jul 15th 2008 5:56PM

they can take care of this like CoD4 did: have people always spawning in to take the place of the quitter.

Derek @ Jul 16th 2008 4:22AM

They fixed that by adding stopping power and damage during cinematics like chainsaws.

Brian @ Jul 15th 2008 5:33PM

Did you guys hear about MAG. It's coming to the 360 and ps3. 256 PLAYERS ONLINE.

Darayz @ Jul 15th 2008 5:59PM

Pretty sure it's a PS3 exclusive

Vcize @ Jul 15th 2008 5:43PM

I prefer this method as well, but to say that being down a player in Gears doesn't really matter is just asinine. It matter more than most any other shooter out right now.

Three very good players against four mediocre players is a very tough battle, even if each of those three is better than anyone on the other team (as long as they're not WAY better).

That said, playing Gears short-handed is awesome amounts of fun.

SiKaRiO @ Jul 15th 2008 5:52PM

What they should really do is allow people to join in the middle of games, even as spectators, until the next round begins. It sucks if you're playing ranked and two or three ppl that are on a party leave. The game is pretty much over. But if they allow ppl to enter a game, in the next round, it'll be 5v5 again.

ryan @ Jul 15th 2008 5:58PM

precisely.

Gamertag: GOPAL892005 @ Jul 15th 2008 7:03PM

if Epic dont do that, then they are idiots [as much as i love tham.
quitters in ranked matches is one of the many problems in Gears 1 - they seem to have fixed a lot of the problems but are reluctant to completely deliver
eg. not a lot more gore [COG arms ripped off by Locuse has been removed], take photo's but no saved film feature [how do i know what to take a photo of' i cant predict the future, campain length [only 10hrs again].....

at least the Host advantage is gone rite? we'll it better be.
& hopefully the party system is like HALO 3's - that'd be great : )

A89 @ Jul 15th 2008 7:28PM

I'd hate this method, just like in CoD4. I wouldn't want to enter a match just to lose the next round. When a game is 6-1 (upto 7), would you really want to enter only to lose the match?

Having a match 3 vs 4, or even 2 vs 4 is amazing in the original Gears of War. The fact that it's tactical-based gameplay allows you to win the match against all odds, providing a serious adrenaline rush at the same time.

Epic did the right thing.

ryan @ Jul 15th 2008 9:49PM

1 person can turn the tide if given the chance.

what's more annoying tho? having your team mates quit and leaving the battle sorely unbalanced or spawning to replace said quitters?

m1r0k0v @ Jul 15th 2008 10:40PM

Does anyone know if people can come into matches that have already started, like in call of duty 4, or not, like halo 3?

aj @ Sep 23rd 2008 7:32PM

this is really werid
cause i've been reading all these articles about horde trying to figure out one simple detail
is that if you can play horde without a live connection. But i can't seem to meet ends meet with this question :(
so can anyone imform me with this
cause i cant wait for the game(preordered special edition :) but i wan to know if you can or can not...which is now starting to get annoying with the same b.s xD