“We brought some people in here and there but that team made the game.” “Avalanche is the primary developer,” Willits responded when I asked about the Just Cause studio’s most significant contribution to Rage 2. While Rage 2 is still being developed under the Bethesda umbrella, even we made the mistake of understating how much this new game is a creation of Avalanche’s design. In this case, it comes down to staying true to the id Software style, and it seems the team’s belief is that the inclusion of a sniper rifle, or any long-range weapon for that matter, would only slow down the pace of the game. The lack of long-range weapons, especially the sniper rifle, is something that would stand out in any first-person shooter. Even with, you can’t do combat from a great distance.” We have the Hyper Canon which is our rail gun type weapon, but we have no sniper rifle. ![]() With those you’ve got to get close up,” Willits explains. “That push forward combat really plays into the powers. Everything in the game is built around up close and brutal encounters, and Rage 2 brings more ways to do it beyond the use of weapons. In Doom, the key to gaining an advantage in a fight was always getting in an enemy’s face and destroying them. The 2016 Doom reboot is the game Willits points to as the best example of push-forward combat, and he believes the team behind the game actually “mastered” it. Alternatively, if an enemy is taking shots at you from behind cover, switching to a pistol or assault rifle would offer the ranged precision needed to take them down. For instance, if you’re being attacked by a group of weaker enemies up close, switching to a shotgun would be the most effective tactic for taking them out in droves. In games like Doom, Quake, and now, Rage 2, using the best weapon for the job will get you out of a hairy situation quicker. These are the weapons that I expect to use in these types of combat situations.” There’s the pulse cannon which is kind of like a rail gun. “The rocket launcher is a very typical id rocket launcher and the assault rifle has a good feel. “Every situation you’re in, there’s a weapon for you,” he explains. Willits tells me there are two key pillars to id-style conflict: Situational weapons and push-forward combat. But for us, specifically for Rage 2, it was the quick deployment of the Nanotrite abilities that really was the turning point.” Keeping your enemies closer We knew we were going to have great sounds and great animations. ![]() We knew we were going to have great guns. “And it really opened up that kind of speed that we wanted to go with. ![]() “That allowed you to combo your abilities,” Willits said. In some situations, they can even overpower the weapons. Nanotrite abilities are the main character’s powers, and they add a fresh layer to combat, enhancing offense, defense, and movement. The true turning point, he tells me, is when a developer in the Sweden office found a way to arrange Rage 2’s controls so players could flow quickly between movement, Nanotrite abilities, and guns. And you know, we spent about a year on it, and we got the gunplay fast, and we got the weapon switching, and the sounds, and everything.” “That was the first goal that we needed to hit. “It was our first milestone,” Willits said when asked about Rage 2 adopting id-style combat. Games like Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein may all have their own flavors, but still feature the studio’s signature first-person combat. Visceral, brutal combat is a staple across shooters from Bethesda, specifically those born from the id Software teams. ![]() Digital Trends had the opportunity to chat with Studio Director Tim Willits about what it was like establishing and building on Rage 2’s id-style combat, the role Avalanche played in its development, and why you’ll find no sniper rifles in the game.
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