An Interview with Warhorse PR Manager Tobi Stolz-Zwilling - by Zing.cz (x-post from r/KingdomCome)

The following questions were asked and posted by 15 readers of Czech games magazine Zing.cz, selected, translated and formatted for Reddit by its staff. The original article has been published on August 12th and can be read, in Czech language, here.

FEATURES:

Zing: First of all, something that almost all of our readers ask about. What is the current situation regarding Czech voice-over? Has something changed? Can you tell if it's coming somewhere down the line? Some readers ask why they should play Czech game based of Czech history, set in Czech environment, with English voices. Some also claim it's simply not authentic. What would you say regarding such claims?

Tobi Stolz-Zwilling: Of course, we would like to Czech Voiceovers but Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a huge story driven RPG that has over 400000 words in its script. Therefore, it’s also a question of time and money. We can now definitely say that the game won’t have any Czech voiceovers on release. We would like to have them in future, but can’t promise it. Czech subtitles will be available.
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Zing: Does the game have multiple different endings, or is it strictly linear story?

TSZ: The end of Kingdom Come: Deliverance will always be the same, but the way you get there might differ from others. KCD is a lot about choices and different ways of how to approach certain problems or quests. So most of the quests themselves will have multiple approaches, solutions, ends and consequences.
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Zing: Are there multiple difficulty options? Could I, as a not-so-capable player, win in a fight without destroying several mices and two dozen of gamepads? Is there a quick-save option? And what is the rough percent ratio of fighting/dialogues/world travelling/cut-scenes?

TSZ: We will only have one difficulty option in Kingdom Come. But you are right, the combat situations can get very difficult. The RPG system will support you, but you always need some personal skill. If you feel like you are not strong enough you can train of course, or pay a trainer to boost your skills. Quicksaving will work with our “savovice”. Drink a sip and save, but if you abuse it you might get sick. There will be AutoSaves and the Save & Quit option so don’t worry. Since it’s an RPG you can pretty much determine your own ratio by choosing whatever fits to your playstyle. Either fight a lot or try to avoid it as much as possible. We’ll have around 4hours of cutscenes.
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Zing: Can we disable your complex combat system? After all, there are some who prefer story, exploring etc., and such combat system doesn't suit everyone.

TSZ: No, the combat system will always be enabled. However, you will be able to solve many quests in a peaceful way. But there will be moments where you just have to fight.
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Zing: In case of creating archery mechanics, were you inspired mostly by the modern archery, or do you also use some historic sources?

TSZ: A mixture of both. Of course, we studied manuscripts about bows, arrows and their usage but we even tested it in real life with bow shooters who came to the studio.
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Zing: I would like to hear more about the wildlife, wolves, bears etc. Is it safer to travel close to the road? Can we, for example, be attacked by a bear, which would be hard to defeat, when we travel through forests?

TSZ: Yes, the deeper you get into the forest the more likely you will encounter bandits, Cumans or wild boar. Bears and wolfs went on vacation and won’t be in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
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Zing: Do you plan to implement the option of creating your own armor and weapons and naming some unique pieces afterwards? Of course just in case the main hero could learn to craft better pieces, which would result in a better quality of weapons and armor based on his skill level.

TSZ: No, this won’t happen on release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Blacksmithing might be something for the future.
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Zing: Do you plan to release some cancelled features and mini-games (especially blacksmithing) as a part of some post-release DLC?

TSZ: Yes, we are currently working on a DLC plan that will be revealed in future. Of course, there will also be things that did not make it into the game on release.
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Zing: Can we find some Easter Eggs? The game doesn't contain magic or similar elements, but can we hear about some stories, rumors or legends leading to, for example, a treasure or band of bandits pretending to be some unnatural beings?

TSZ: I was told that almost every department is hiding Easter eggs without telling anyone about it... which makes me a little nervous.
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Zing: Could you please describe at least one of the Easter Eggs?

TSZ: Well, I don’t know of any.... that’s the scary thing. On the other hands, it wouldn’t be an Easter egg anymore if you would know in advance.
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Zing: Does the version of the game available in our region [Central Europe] contain German dubbing as well? I think it's much more natural (and more accurate) than almost Shakespeare-like English.

TSZ: This is something we don’t know yet, and must be discussed with our co-publisher and distributors.
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TECHNOLOGY

Zing: Which version of CryEngine is used for the development of the game? I believe the current version of CryEngine is 5.3.4. I wonder, because developers from Warhorse said many times that they "bended" CryEngine for their own purposes.

TSZ: Yes that is true, we had to heavily adjust the engine. We are currently using CryEngine 3.8.6.
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Zing: Do you plan to improve the appearance of the main hero?

TSZ: Henry is almost done, of course we work on some smaller things here and there, but his overall appearance is set.
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Zing: Do you think about implementing TressFX or Nvidia Hairworks technology (current hair is good, but not great)? And what graphics cards do you use during the development in the studio? Nvidia or AMD?

TSZ: No we don't. Facial animations, lipsync and hair/beard is something we are currently working on. In the studio we have both, AMD and Nvidia.
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Zing: Does the game supports modding? And if so, do you plan to release modding tools, or will players need to make everything themselves?

TSZ: Yes we are considering to address the modding community after the game is released. In addition to that we will most likely release some modding tools as well. But we’ll have to see when exactly this will happen.
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OTHER

Zing: How do you manage the expectations? After all, Kingdom Come has gathered a lot of fans from the beginning of the Kickstarter campaign and many see it as an AAA title.

TSZ: From the early days of Kingdom Come: Deliverance we tried to be very open about the development of KCD. Mainly through videos on our YouTube channel, our social media and/or conference appearances. We were sharing what we are planning to do, we showed what we work on and what we achieved and even talked about stuff that unfortunately did not find its way into the game.
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Zing: Do you or your publisher already have an agreement with GOG.com? And do you plan to release Linux version as well?

TSZ: No we don’t have any agreement with GOG. And a Linux version is also only future music.
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Zing: Do you plan to include something like Extreme Ride mode from the first Mafia?

TSZ: Every horse ride will potentially be extreme :)