Ben's answers:

"Ben, do you ever think this game will gain at least half as much
popularity as Minecraft?"
-Khan

I'm not totally targeting the Minecraft crowd but the opportunity is
there as long as I find ways to give players creative freedom without
allowing them to crap on other players fun. More admin controls, user
registration and private servers are all in the pipeline along with
more content. If I can create an environment that is fun to build as
well as battle in, then I think players will take notice and spread
the word.

"Are you looking into an intel capture reward system? It would really
increase the pressure to make it across the map."
-Drewgon13

On pyspades servers, I really like the artillery strikes given to
players who make a killstreak - so I do want to work on special
rewards for in-game achievements like Intel captures. I think these
kind of incentives would help focus players on the gameplay objectives
and give them more direction.

"Can we expect any more experimental changes to functions of current
items in the game like with the rifle's accuracy?"
-Sue_Sakamoto

Yeah, I want to implement a more dynamic accuracy system where your
first shot is on the mark but continuous fire will slowly increase the
cone of fire. Also, I think a dynamic crosshairs would help indicate
how player movement and stance affect gun mechanics like recoil and
accuracy.

"This game is still in beta, so what do you envision to 'final
version' to be like. What DO YOU want to add to the game to get it to
its final release?"
-[HK]DeathEnhanced

There is no final version :) In my head, I'm imagining a massive
persistent online world where squads can build fortresses on their
stake of land, and defend it from invaders in massive firefights. I'd
also like to implement some RTS elements in the form of commanders who
can assign build/destroy/attack/defend waypoints for soldiers in order
to enhance some of the coordination in gameplay. But this
FPS/RTS/MMO/Sandbox hybrid is probably a little beyond the horizon for
now.

"Has it been stressful working on the AoS project? Are you satisfied
with the result that came out?"
-YourMom

There were a lot of long nights spent thinking in C, and a lot of work
thrown into the wastebin but I would not have started this project if
I didn't enjoy development. The release week actually sent me to the
hospital when I was trying to keep everything running while getting
20k hits a day on my crappy laptop server. BUT I am glad Ace of Spades
panned out to almost exactly how I envisioned the first release - and
I'm even more excited that people like the game.

"Blue or Green?"
-Lythrynyx

Check it http://ace-spades.com/author/admin/ ... gold for the honey,
green for the money.

A live chat with Ben in the #AoS IRC room is scheduled for August 1, 2011 6pm East Coast USA time zone.

cool

:|

Ah, thanks for the answers. I am disappointed by the fact that we will never be able to completely get rid of the cone, but I'll deal with it.

Yeah,but maybe,the spread can be predictable,so that u can calculate where are the shots going.

It would be great to see airstrikes in vanilla! :)

I disagree, but I guess now there is no other choice.

It doesn't need to be airstrikes, anything that rewards the player for doing something good is great.

The 6-killstreak came with a free ammo/hp refill, which a lot of players have said they miss more than the airstrike itself.

So long as they are rewards for capturing and not killing, i'm fine with it because then, it encourages players to get out there and capture intel instead of setting up a tent.

Yeah, but then again, builders gonna build. What do they care if their team isn't winning?

By setting up a tent I meant camping...

Oh. Well I like camping. It's a tactic.

Also, from what Ben is saying about the RTS element, capture rewards, and improved accuracy, AoS can only get better.

:'(
We waited so long for only 3? I demand an answer to every one! :P

Yeah I'm a bit upset that only a few were answered. Then again, most of the questions were just dumb/attention seeking/troll attempts/etc.

@Khan: But first, we need to clean up the online community. (Cleanse! Purge! KILL! >:U)

As for the accuracy issue, at least the first shot being dead on is better than the whole thing being randomized.

I'm actually glad about the first bullet being 100 accurate and what not. Sniping would return, and the smg would become a bit better on long range and you couldget some headshots with it, or atleast not waste a clip per enemy (exageration)
I think he should really give us more updates about the game though, or a weekly update.

I'm with Nowa on that one. But being a counterstrike player i am pretty biased to the cone's staying.

I think he should really give us more updates about the game though, or a weekly update.

Definitely agree with this. Ben has stated himself that he is a lurker, I'm sure he logs onto the forums at least once a day. It would be nice if he would give us some updates along the way, not just making us wait a month for each little scrap of information.

EDIT: Fix this fucking cone. I am sick of this bullshit.

the new cone idea sounds even worse.
ben, please fix the cone back to normal, if you decide to not listen to the pleas of many distressed players then at the least could you water down the semi so that it's like a propper assault rifle and then implement a balanced (BUT WITH NO CONE) sniper rifle?
*waits for a verbal attack from noobs*

also, if you need inpiration from an RTS game then take it from battalion wars.

New cone idea is awesome. Basically you could hit further targets with SMG using single or burst shots.

really don't see how adding more guns fixes the problem when the same sniper rifle effect can be had with one gun and the cone's changes he was talking about.

gold for the honey,
green for the money.

Blue oblivion, largely lit, smiled and smiled at me.

Ahh, i was hoping for a good answer like that =P

The RTS element sounds weird to me. I'm a fan of RTS games, but I don't know about RTS elements being added to this game. But, I won't dismiss it before I try it.

My post was used, I am now happy.

@Anomalous, it would be like MAG. Have you ever played that? Squad commanders can put down waypoints for the squad to go to and stuff, it's pretty cool.

Fucking awesome (especially RTS elements)

Ben, i think that in combat defending position should be more easy, than attacking (now it is almost same things). Maybe, accuracy should be less for moving players (at least, not absolute) - as example. Itll give players more direction - like building and defending lines of trenchs (and hard&organising capturing of enemy trenches).

That about a point in survey about it?

Sorry my broken english

A live chat with Ben in #AoS is scheduled for August 1, 2011 6pm East Coast USA time zone.