Interview with Gregg ‘Headache’ Reno after the release of Weapons Factory 3.3 beta 8, 10-30-98

WFD – What is your name and what do you do for the WF mod?

Headache – I’m Gregg Reno, lead programmer for WF

WFD – How long have you been involved in the WF project?

Headache – I guess WF has been around for 9 months now.  I’ve been involved for the whole time, primarily because because I started it :)

WFD – Do you have any intresting stories to tell us about encounters during the earlier versions of WF?

Headache – Just that I’ve been amazed at how it’s been received.   I started this project really just to build something that my brother Tom (“Tumorhead”) and I could play against each other.  Both of us were big Team Fortress fans, and the mod naturally took that direction

WFD – I would like to congraduate you on the practally finished version of WF 3.3.  What are your feelings on this current version of WF?

Headache – Thanks.  I think it’s the best version yet.  The balance is better, there are some great new weapons like the spy knife, the laser cutter, as well as new features like the remote camera.   We’ve also begun to improved on the look and feel of the game with new models and skins

WFD – Are you guys still considering a 10th class? Nurse sentry? WF Bot? in future releases on WF?

Headache – We have been kicking around the idea of a 10th class.  Some ideas include a commander class which would be able to oversee the battle and give directions, but couldn’t kill anyone except the other commander.  Personally, I think it would be boring to play, but I’ve got an open mind.  Another class idea was a mercenary that could change teams without loosing his points. 

The nurse sentry is in the works.  The idea is that the nurse could create
a sentry type device that would shoot poison darts at enemys and healing darts at players.

I spent about 4 days trying to implement the Eraser bot.  I got about halfway done and decided to stop.  The eraser code touches just about every section of code.   My feeling was that after I put it all in, it would
introduce so many bugs into the code that it would take months to straiten it out. I just didn’t see it being worth it.  So, I’m looking at an
alternative bot that would be simpler to implement.  It may be available it 3.4, but we’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

WFD – Many have wondered how often do you consider requests that you see on the WF: Suggestions forum on captured.com?

Headache – I go in spurts – sometimes I read a lot of the comments on the forums and pick out the good ones, and sometimes I don’t because it is too overwhelming to keep up with.  But I prefer to get ideas from the forums rather than email, because I can see how other players react to the ideas.  But one thing I’ve learned – I’ve got to put things into the game that I want, and not be driven only by player requests.  Players will always disagree or get upset with changes to the mod.   I might as well do things I want to do and get yelled at, rather than do something other people want and still get yelled at.

WFD – I understand that Weapons Factory wants to be the first mod for Quake 3: Arena.  How do you plan on accomplishing this?

Headache – We are already starting discussions about what we want WF to be in Q3.  We will also prioritize features into releases.  The first release will probably start with a basic class system, but use Q3 weapons.  Over time, we will migrate the better WF weapons and features over.  I would rather start small and have incremental change over time, rather than a massive release with all weapons and features.

WFD – Have you had any second thoughts on taking on such an overwhelming mod?

Headache – Every day!  Its a huge time commitment, but it’s very rewarding too.  I’m just glad so many people like the mod.  I think there are a lot of players out there like me who love to find unique and interesting ways of killing your enemy.   Thats what the Weapons Factory is all about.

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