Eric Smith, Lead Programmer, recently sat down with us to discuss their Half-Life Mod Firearms.

(PCShooter) To start this interview off, please tell us your name and position on the Firearms team.

A: My name is Eric Smith. I’m the lead programmer for all that’s worth.

(PCShooter)  Did you ever dream Firearms would be this popular? The server list seems to be growing daily.  

A: We hoped so. Its been fun and interesting watching FA become more popular.  Although, none of us on the team, or the FA fans, wanted FA to become too popular.  We want FA to remain the ‘elite’ players MOD.  Just recently, FA was released on a gaming CD in Greater China and there have been a lot of new Asian players popping up in the servers.  Its quite fun.

(PCShooter) The player models are quite similar, which makes it difficult for some gamers to distinguish between players, do you have any significant player model changes planned

A: That was the intention and it’s part of the fun.  Only initially will you have a problem.  After about an hour of playing, you will get the hang of who is who.  There are some new player models in the works.  The player models have been the hardest issue for us during the development of FA.  We have never had anyone on the team who could make a decent player model so we had to hire a good 3^rd party player modeler to make the ones we currently have.

(PCShooter) How long does it take to complete one map?

A: That depends on the size, complexity and the detail you are wanting to add to a map.  A good map, could take up to two months to create.

(PCShooter) Do you plan on adding an auto team adjuster?

A: Not sure what you mean.

(PCShooter) What is your take on the Aug Controversy?

A: It doesn’t matter how many weapons we tweak or pacify, there will always be a whore weapon when you have as many weapons as there are in FA.  Although, what people should remember is that the AUG is in the ‘Expert’ config, not because the user is an expert, but because it MAKES you an expert… even if you’re a newbie.  It was the intention of the configuration.  But I agree with the rest of the player population, the AUG is not a credible kill because of its unbalance.

(PCShooter) How do you feel about the banning of certain weapons on some servers?

A: Then why run Firearms?

(PCShooter) How have you improved Firearms with each release?

A: The best that we can.

(PCShooter) And last but not least, how many releases can we expect from the Firearms Mod?

A: RC2.6 will probably be the last.

(PCShooter) Can you tell us what are some new things you plan to incorporate in the next release?

A: Nope

(PCShooter) Is there any thing else you would like to share with the mod community?

A: Thanks for playing Firearms!  And thanks Valve for all you have done for us. Even though you hate us, we are still your fans.

Eric Smith

 http://www.firearmsmod.com/

Thanks for your time.