962 replies to this topic

[Symbiote]

What you can do is create a new thread with questions and I'll pick out ones that we can answer once in a while. I cannot promise it will be a weekly things and there are things that we're not talking about yet, obviously.

Pretty self explanatory really. If you have any questions you would like the developers to answer (or more specifically, Nick@IO) then this is the place to do it.

First of all I would like to direct you all here: http://www.hitmanfor...ations-and-you/

Read it, take notice and remember that they are under no obligation to answer your questions. It's also probably worth noting that the more specific the question (such as questions about story details/new features) the less likely it is to be answered, IMO.

So... keep it civil and fire away!

**UPDATE 01/09/2011**

Nick@IO has answered a whole heap of questions, which can be found below (I have put them in spoiler tags simply to reduce the size of this opening post). The original list of questions have also been placed in spoiler tags, please read them before submitting a question.

As he said, if he hasn't answered your question it's because it's either a double or he has no answer for it at this time.

Question Batch 1:

Spoiler

Hi chaps

A bunch of answers to a bunch of questions below. I hope you can use some of them. If you've got something that's been left out, it's probably either a double or something I have absolutely no answer for at this time.

Would you say that the changes being made to the game are additions to the franchise, rather than replacements?
Obviously changes to the game engine will benefit this title and any future titles, so you will see the dramatic improvements to the AI and the graphics in later games. Beyond this though its too early to say what ideas from Hitman Absolution will carry over into later Hitman games. I’m sure we’ll want to listen to the comments from the fans when Absolution ships and we’ll monitor what gameplay features people are enjoying and respond from there...

Suppose I'll throw in a non-Absolution question as well: Do you know if there are there any plans for another Hitman book?
I have no information on a book, I’m afraid. I know that we’re looking at various different partnerships it’s just too early to say what will or won’t happen though...

Will there be rewards for players that play stealthy and achieve Silent Assassin?
Yes. Stealth is still the primary way to play Hitman.

Will we be able to manually save our game at any point, like in all Hitman games so far?
That remains to be seen but currently, no. It could change, however, depending on how play testing goes.

Could Glacier 2 handle the same amount of same sized levels as Hitman 2: Silent Assassin?
Glacier 2 is far superior to G1 so it can do everything the old engine could and more on top!

Is there variety to these safe spots? I don't want to see donut boxes in every table in the game, like in Blood Money there were those body-sized boxes conviniently placed everywhere.
We’re obviously going to create safe spots that make sense to each environment where safe spots would be good to have. You will not see doughnuts all over the place. They will likely be fairly obvious but not I’ve not seen anything glowing. As with most of the gameplay, you should take your time to poke around the environment to identify these places.

Can we recharge the Insinct energy doing REAL Hitman stuff; not by silently killing innocents, but by sneaking around, knocking someone unconscious and taking their clothes?
We will have lots more details on what Instincts is and does later on. But, basically, the idea is that you gain instinct by being a hitman, not by acting like a gun nut.

Will there be more dialogue in the game than previous titles?
There will be more talking this time around, yes.

Why did you decide to remove the newspaper feature? will anything replace it?
That’s very much up in the air right now. We’ll see what works best.

Overall, as the creators of the Hitman series from the very beggining, are you happy with this game so far?
Yes. The team is doing everything it can to make the absolutely best Hitman game ever, and I personally think they’re succeeding. It plays incredibly well already.

For those of us that don't want to bother with 'Instinct' will we be getting the traditional satellite map to navigate around the missions?
No. You will have to rely on the mini map and your own judgement.

How does "instinct" work? Is it a power that is limited in some regard, or lessened depending on difficulty?
We’ll get into loads more details on instincts later on, but for now, suffice to say it’s not something you can use all the time (especially on harder difficulties).

Since this is a more "personal" story, will 47 be getting paid for his contracts and buying upgrades like Blood Money, or is it a collection only system like that seen in Contracts and SA?
You will have to wait a little while longer for details on the story.

Do you guys have any ideas for a pre-order pack?
Yes. And special editions. I’m not aware of what the end products are going to look like but I know that the guys are looking to craft some sweet stuff for the collectors out there.

What made you guys pick Chicago as the location? Not that I'm complaining, just the thing I'm most curious about.
It seemed to fit well with what we wanted that part of the game to show. We’ll get into loads more details on the locations later on.

Will there be any daytime missions ? all the artwork and screenshots posted are at night while its raining.
Yes, there will.

Will you guys be at gamescom 2011?
We are looking into it at the moment. I’m not sure we’ll make it but it hasn’t been ruled out yet.

The checkpoint system. Are the checkpoints just going to be used to tie in larger areas together? Say, if you were to remake some H2:SA missions with this forumula, Hidden Valley, At the Gates and Shogun Showdown could be just one larger level in which the old three levels were just areas separated by checkpoints. Something like that.
Yeah, something like that. We’ll talk about it more later on (holy mama, I get to say that a lot today).

Will it, theoretically, be possible to beat the game without ever firing a gun?
Well, honestly, the game isn’t done yet so I don’t really know. I know that the ambition is that you should be able to get through all levels without taking out anyone but your intended target.

Can we expect to see the entire E3 demo at some point in the future?
Possibly. We’re looking into how to best show this to the world.

For pistols with sound suppressors, will there be two variants of the gun (a sound suppressed and non-suppressed version like previous games), or will 47 be able to pull out a sound suppressor and thread it onto the barrel?
Right now, he pulls out a suppressor. That is subject to change, though.

Are bullet-wound decals still in the game? Overall, how much gore (which is always a good thing) can we expect?
Yes and not that much. You shouldn’t make a mess if you’re a Hitman, you know

NPC's sound more individual and emotionally driven than before. If this is the case, is the following scenario possible: you silently cut some cop's throat and then leave the body. A friend of his comes along, finds the body, and gets more upset/worked up than other cops might get, and perhaps start swearing revenge, break down crying, etc?
With the current AI system, yes, I’d say that was possible.

Any female assassination targets?
Yes.

Any hard, ultra-hard, insanely hard to get achievements/secrets/rewards planned?
Oh yes. You don’t get to be a Silent Assassin by playing this casually.

Any "new game+" or special collectibles (i.e. hidden packages in GTA, the cheese locations in every level in Perfect Dark even though they took out the reward at the release) added for fun replayability or longevity of the game?
Well, we have the surveillance tapes and I know that the boys are looking at implementing other things but getting the core game experience perfect is top priority right now. In-game collectibles are more fluffy items. The gameplay and the levels should offer plenty of replayability for you all.

There will still be the rating, but what about the statistics? still there too?
We’re tracking a number of things so, yeah, I’m guessing that stats are also still shown.

When will the e3 gameplay demo be released?
If you mean, when can you try it, the answer is ‘never’. We are not going to release the E3 demo for the public.

If we turn off the instinct mode, will we have a map (via older hitman games) to rely on to know where to go?
No.

Will there be easter eggs like the ghost in Contracts?
There will be Easter eggs, yes.

Question Batch 2:

Spoiler

Sorry about the delay, guys. People have been on vacation very on-off here so getting info isn't always easy.

What other tricks will we be able to use to throw off police and guards?
Hitman is going to have a few tricks up his sleeve but it’s going to be up to you to use them well. If you figure out how to play the AI well, you can use a lot of things to cause distractions to get the job done without them suspecting anything.

Based on the audio from the demo that's now been posted, is the actor voicing 47 a placeholder, or will he be playing 47 in the actual game?
The voice heard in the audio is the final actor.

Nick, could you please confirm or deny the existence of a "tag and kill" mechanism in Absolution? (which was mentioned in a GameInformer article)
I cannot, no. We’ll get into more details on gameplay features later on.

Ok, what about the music of this game?? Is it going to be orchestral, or electrical?? Or will it be Heavy Metal?
It’s a mix of a lot of things and it’s going to be fitted directly to the experience in a way that’s never been done in a Hitman game before. You can check out Jesper Kyd and Peter Peter’s previous work to get a basic idea about how they do things but keep in mind that we’re obviously doing things our way.

Will there be more maps than in Blood Money? It was so short game.
The game is pretty long. I’d say it’s about the average length of other Hitman games but since we’re not done with the game yet, it’s tough to estimate exactly. Replay also plays a large part in terms of how much time you spend with the game.

Will the targets have bigger background stories?
Yeah. Keep your eyes open. You’ll likely get to know some of them before the game comes out.

Will there be missions large enough for using a sniper Rifle like previous Hitman installments?
I think it’s safe to say that the sniper rifle will be making a lovely comeback.

Besides some usable props as weapons, will there be a big selection of firearms and upgrades for all of them?
It works a little differently this time around but Hitman will have a nice variety of weapons throughout the game.

With no Map screen this time round how do we find our target, do you have find them and then visually verify them by the clothes they're wearing, they're accent, etc.
It depends a little bit from level to level but overall, yes, you need to be a little more hands-on this time around.

Will they continue using the Blood Money formula? (5 fully customizable weapons)
We’ll be talking more about weapons later on, I believe.

Do you have to buy your ammo between missions?
No.

How many guns can you carry in your suit? (5 revolvers and 4 smgs like in past games or have they developed a proper inventory this time?)
That’s not gone through final design yet. It’s not going to be everything you see but choices will be made available to you, which is a big part of the game, so you will have access to more than two weapons at the same time. You will not have an inventory like the one in DX: HR, for instance.


Can you keep the melee weapons you find in levels?
Currently, you can only have one melee weapon at any one time and, depending on the levels, some will likely be able to be carried over to the next one.

Are we able to retrieve blueprints of buildings, since ICA isn't providing satellite images for 47 anymore?
Not currently, no.

When can we expect the next 'media wave'?
Very soon!

Will the multiplayer mod (if there is one) be coop or player vs player oriented?
Who said anything about multiplayer?

Will the cinematics run on the game engine or will they be pre-recorded videos like for the 2 last games?
It will be a combination of both.

Will 47 still work for an organisation, or will he just be a fugitive throughout the game?
That remains to be seen.

Will blood affect disguises at all? Like if I shoot somebody in the chest or slit their throat, will the disguise I can get from them be bloodstained?
No, not currently, but being messy will leave traces around that guards or civilians will react to.

The 'big name' games such as Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire and Halo have all had DLC's released on the Marketplace and PSN shortly after the game was released. At this moment in time is there any word on a Hitman DLC?
No, we’re not in a position to talk about DLC yet. We’re still trying to finish the main game.

Have there been any discussions about the Achivements/Trophies that will feature in the game. Obviously there will be some but has there been a discussion on what any of them could be? (I know this is a longshot but its worth asking)
Sure, but we’ve not locked them down yet. There will some tough ones in there.

All of the missions take place in the United States which at first I was annoyed about but if it comes out looking good then I don't mind, my third question is how much variety will there be in the missions? I for one loved 'A New Life' because it was a simple hit in a guy's house which for me was a lot more realistic than going into the White House and killing somebody.
The team is going for a lot of variety, which was also what was demonstrated at E3 – going from a quiet stealth element in the library to a more high-paced chopper scene, back to stealth with the hippies and finally some tense disguise gameplay with the cops. The ambition is to create a lot of variety like that so that there is a good flow of different experiences throughout the game. Mind you, within those scenes, options are available for you to play differently than what we showed.

Do the guards have more ways of reacting to illegal/suspicious things happening? In previous Hitman games their reaction has mostly been shooting me in the face and asking no questions.
Yes, the AI has been reworked from the ground up, which means it will be able to do a lot more. We’ll be covering AI fairly soon so stay tuned for more on that.

Will the enemies know 47 is in there in most of the levels? In previous Hitman games the enemies (Requiem and some others being exceptions) didn't have a clue he was there... Until it was too late and 47 was far away. So can we just walk in the suit like any other person without cops shooting us in other levels than what was shown in the e3 demo? To me part of the charm has been just walking in the suit, scanning the area, at my own pace, before finding a disguise and getting the job done.
That depends on the level. The E3 demo showed a level where Hitman was on the run – it’s not going to be like that all the time, of course. There will be levels where you will go in and nobody will know you and you can go totally old-school Hitman on those.

Will we be able to kill people we are supposed to not kill? Like if there is a person we are supposed to protect, can we still kill him? Of course this will result mission failure, but that's the point. If you can't actually fail yourself, there's no risk, there's no tension.
You will be able to fail, yes.

Will there be location-based damage on 47 or the NPC's? Will we see people limping because of a shot to the leg?
I’ve not seen that implemented, no.

Will Guards have limited ammo? Because so far, all the guards have unlimited ammo for their guns.
They’ll keep firing until you’re dead.

Can we still choose to knock people out, rather than killing them? Will syringes/chloroform make a return?
You can, yes. There are multiple ways of taking out enemies.

This is an important one will the sniper rifle suitcase return? and will we be able to use a sniper method on any mission like in blood money for example or will it be restricted to certain sniper foucsed assassinations?.
Yes, the sniper rifle is in the game. The suitcase is also there but it plays a slightly different role this time around. And while you could potentially use the sniper rifle on a lot of levels, some are more suited than others.

Will we have the freedom to finish each contarct the way we please (sniping,bomb,accident,) or will there be special methods in each mission for diversity?
That depends a little bit on the levels. Some levels are very open and free while others are a little more narrow in terms of what you can do – either because of size or location (e.g. using a sniper rifle inside a small building isn’t really all that effective). You will always have the choice of gameplay style ranging from silent assassin to madman to whatever fits you in-between.

With instinct you’ve mentioned earlier that it can be turned off in higher diffeculty levels yet the developers said that we need to use it to do hitman like skills like blending and such so please can we know what exactly is instinct, how can we use it and such things?
We’ll talk a lot more about instinct later on. If you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to but it will likely make the game more challenging if you don't. Blending in is one example.

New questions:

when are we gonna see sniper rifles and the first person mode?

My question is, in the new game, when 47 is wearing his suit and has his pistol unholstered, is the gun held at his side as he walks or is it concealed as he stealthily walks with it out (like in Blood Money)?

Will 47 say "shh" everytime i kills a guy silent like in the demo?

One question about the full gameplay video involving a personal gaming pet peeve of mine: On multiple occasions in the video, 47 takes out an enemy (at 06:44, 09:19, 13:54 and 13:58) and their body hits the ground hard, but there's no accompanying sound effect. With no "thud" sound to accent the impact, it makes the bodies seem like they have no weight. Will this sound be added?

When we going to see Blake Dexter or Diana?

Are we gonna see screenshot of Agent 47 and his trusty sniper rifle in the future?

Will there be any animals in the game?

Do different surfaces have different sounds and/or different volumes? Walking on gravel should make a lot sound, whereas walking on a carpet should produce only little sound.

Will it still be possible to achieve ultra-hard suit only/ all zeros SA speedruns?

Which weapons can bypass frisk searches(Fiber wire and syringes so far) and which ones can't?

With which hand does 47 aim his one handed firearms? Is he left handed, right handed, or both?

Will the guards be armed with appropriate weapons this time around? You know, policeman- 9mm pistol/ terrorists/ rifles.

Do other guards weapons have upgrades too?

How will 47 stabilize his sniper aim? Will he be able to use use a tripod stand, or anything else that doesn't move?

To get this back onto track, one question: how many levels will the final game have? They said it would be more than previous games, so should be more than 21 (the number of levels in Silent Assassin)..


How will NPC's react to you picking up random objects? What if I keep dropping my suitcase over and over?

Will 47 still be able to change clothes in 2 seconds?

What items other than sniper rifles could be fitted in the sniper case?

Does the awareness of civilians or guards differ between different difficulties?

Can 47 see people for a long distance, without his goggles? I can. I feel that this is sort of 'hitman' like.

Will IOI be functioning stamina into the game?

Will 47 have to obtain serveral identities throughout the game? To stop the police from tracking him.

Is there a choice between different locations 47's missions could take place at?

Does the "look through keyhole" include the option to shoot through doors as well?

Will there be explosives in the game?

Will 47 be able to use vehicles? (e.g. cars, roller skates or bikes)

Will 47 be able to burn something in Hitman Absolution? (e.g. beaten lawyer siting on elephant)

Will all of 47's missions take place in USA, or just a few? I remember reading that the game takes place in USA.

Will this game be the last one?

Can we hitman fans expect to see lots of special executions in this upcoming title?

Can 47 garrote someone with his tie, socks or cord from his shoes?

Can 47 use animals as weapons? (e.g. pigeons, rats or...snakes)

Can 47 hit someone with book?

Will the AI interact more with each other?

What melee weapons will be treated as deadly(so civillians report you and guards fire on you) and which ones won't?

Will we have mission breifings?

Is the E3 demo a mission in the final game?

Will we see blood drag marks in the game?

Will the game have non-assassination missions?

Will they give some things to help us find our target? I mean, the video tapes and additional information on the targets. Hope video footage returns in this game....

Will Hitman be able talk more during missions, not the cut screens when he is talking with Diana? Whistle or say something to distract people?

Will checkpoint be auto like in Kane and Lynch 1 and 2 or manual similar to Freedom Fighters and Mini Ninjas?

Will we use checkpoint several times or just once?

When player choose "retry checkpoint" then will bots stay on their positions during saving process or script will be killed?

Will amount of "retry checkpoint" be included in statistics and(or) amount of used checkpoints if checkpoint be in manual mode?

Will rating depend on amouts of "previous question"?

Will the Hitman be able to use realistic rifle physics and trajectories?

There is some kind of slow motion feature in Hitman Absolution, right? I saw it E3 demo footage when 47 picked up that white statue and smashed it to police officer's head. Am I right?

How closely tied is Hitman Absolution with the upcoming Hitman movie sequel?

Do different surfaces have different sounds and/or different volumes? Walking on gravel should make a lot sound, whereas walking on a carpet should produce only little sound.

When 47 is wearing his suit and has his pistol unholstered, is the gun held at his side as he walks or is it concealed as he stealthily walks with it out (like in Blood Money)?

Will the first person mode return?

Will 47 say "shh" everytime i kills a guy silent like in the demo?

Will we be able to throw weapons?

Wll the end lvl statistics be the same as blood money?

Will the majority of the levels in game still retain their open world format akin to previous games where every area is accessible throughout the course of the entire mission (eg.no areas 'beyond the point of no return') and only some missions be scripted like in the demo? Or will every mission be split up into smaller open world sections that are connected through checkpoints that 'pass beyond the point of no return'?

Can player release or knock out hostage instead of killing him or breaking his neck?

How the AI will react if body is found?

What's the point of radar? In demo gameplay it only shows NPC locations. Instinct mode practicaly do the same. Are you going to improve the radar and add mini-map on it?

Will the unsuppressed weapons have a muzzle flash like in Contracts and Silent Assassin? If you fired an unsuppressed firearm in a dark room, it would lit it up. But if you fired a suppressed weapon, the room would stay as dark as it was.

Will the screen turn black every time you kill somebody?

Can we skip the cutscenes?

How will we find the exit this time? There are no maps, and the only things to guide are Instinct and the mini map, as of now. So, after completing the objectives, how will we know about the exit? Will the game drop some hints, or do we need to search for finding a way out?

Do you have any plans on working with PlayStation Vita? Absolution or any other projects

Are the controls fully remappable on consoles? This feature, which is a standard in PC games, hasn't been seen on consoles very often. Why wouldn't Absolution break the tradition and let the players remap their controls?

And do we get suspicious in the eyes of guards if we change our clothes again? "Hey, that guy is changing clothes! He must be an assassin! Quick, shoot him!" isn't really realistic.

Being that Absolution is still only in pre-alpha, do you think it is still on track for a 2012 release?

Can 47 use the same weapon to kill and knock out?

For this kind of game will there be a simultaneous release? Since, this will involve lots of additional work (perhaps at the cost of the release date).

Will there be a notable difference in all 3 platforms, content wise and DLC, if any considered?

Will we be able to collect the various weapons in each mission as in previous games since Silent Assassin? Seeing a fully fleshed out armory in the garden shed, tutorial area, and abandoned warehouse has always been a satisfying image.

Will I as a player be given some info in the regame regarding how you acheieve a particular rank like professional or silent assasin?

Will there be control systems for security in this game, and can they be manipulated, like for sending away some security, or congregating them at some areas?

Will there be any in-game rewards given for Silent Assassin status, like special weapons?

when will the release date be announced?

How will economics (earning more money for "clean" hits, spending it on upgrades, etc.) and Notoriety work, if they exist at all, in Absolution? How will the interplay between them work? That is, will you be able to spend money to reduce notoriety as in Blood Money? Personally I thought these systems were a great idea and a solid addition to BM (if I remember correctly, C47 had economics but SA and Contacts only had the ranking system), but they could have been made much deeper and more fleshed out.

If there is auto-aim, it can be turned off right? Please say yes.

I know it's been said that animations like the picking up of the marble bust have or will be fixed by the final game, but I just *have* to ask specifically about the weapon holstering/unholstering animation. Will 47 continue to pull weapons all bad-ass like out of the inside of his coat pocket (at least while wearing the suit)? For me this is just as iconically Hitman as is the bald head and barcode.

Have a question for the developers, how is (the game development) it going?

How long will it take for our Hero get back in buisness?

Well my simple question following my previous- In the gameplay footage when Hitman disguise as a cop a small disguise icon pops up (indicating current disguise), In the map (level) when many other viable options involve as perfect picks for disguise will this icon still pop up?

What happens when a cop is discovered you ? Will he shoot immediately?

How long is the Story ?

Can we upgrade the Weapons with earned money?

When we knock out somebody and one of the other Peoples find him what will happen ?

Question for Nick - (when) can you explain how the checkpoint save system works? Particularly with respect to having freedom to move around a map (i.e., in a non-linear way) and ability to approach multiple objectives/targets in the order you please? I'm more curious/concerned about this than any single other part of the game.

Will there be bodybags like in BM? If so, can 47 drag them unlike in BM?

IO have said previously that the game will have dynamic music that reacts to the players actions which is great, but ive Noticed that when 47 is just about to shoot the Chandelier the music stops playing(which is impressive) as if to signle the end of the shoot out,was this done intentionally to add cinematic flare to the trailer ,or is this the work of the engine itself(since 47 did nothing exept point at the chandelier)?.

The NPCes in the run for your life trailer seem to have distict personalities and actions,but this begs the question since this was a story driven linear mission will every charecter you incounter in the game have the same level of detail and interaction with the game world as them?,and how will this work in a more open play ground where the player will have a larger number of options availabe that could affect their behavior?.

Could we take the policeman cloaths from the sections prior to the helicopter encounter?,and if so how would the helicopter part play differently?.

how big of a part will civlians play in the missions in absolution,and can they be manipulated to the players advantage?.

This is a question that is not related to the trailers and has been probably somewhat discused by the developers in some interview but here goes,while we havent seen enouph of the game to make a valid judgement but its pretty obvious that this isnt going to be the hitman game in the tradetional sence that we have come to love ,so when making absolution what were the things that you thought were wrong with the past hitman games and needed improvements and why did you think the game needed such a departure rather than improving on the fundamentals of the old games design?.

will Bullets and clips stay on the ground like Max Payne/Metal Gear Solid?

Will the game use active ragdolls?

Can we kill the chopper Pilot?

will "accidental" kills return?

Will Mei Ling and Agent Smith return?


Previous questions from members:

Spoiler

Symbiote asks:
Would you say that the changes being made to the game are additions to the franchise, rather than replacements?
Suppose I'll throw in a non-Absolution question as well: Do you know if there are there any plans for another Hitman book?

abeg asks:
Will doors close by themselfs?

Bakken asks:
Will there be rewards for players that play stealthy and achieve Silent Assassin?

Black Glasses asks:
Will we be able to manually save our game at any point, like in all Hitman games so far?

Could Glacier 2 handle the same amount of same sized levels as Hitman 2: Silent Assassin? If not, then how many levels of the same size as Traditions of the Trade from Hitman: Contracts could it handle?

Will these safe spots be as obvious and "gamey" as Assassin't Creed's small crowds where you could blend? I mean will the safe spot be lit up before/when he reaches it? That breaks any sort of immersion really quickly. Can you use either Insinct or your own brains to find these safe spots? Is there variety to these safe spots? I don't want to see donut boxes in every table in the game, like in Blood Money there were those body-sized boxes conviniently placed everywhere.

Can we recharge the Insinct energy doing REAL Hitman stuff; not by silently killing innocents, but by sneaking around, knocking someone unconscious and taking their clothes?

Watson asks:
1. Will there be more dialogue in the game than previous titles?

2. Why did you decide to remove the newspaper feature? will anything replace it?

3. Will we have mission breifings (if any at all) similar to the format of the previous games?

4. Are all missions set in the United States?

5. Overall, as the creators of the Hitman series from the very beggining, are you happy with this game so far?

Nine asks:
Will there be more emphasis on the weapons this time round? In the previous games, you are pretty much limited in terms of weapons available to you if you want to play it the stealthy way. To quote another poster, giving a lollipop to a diabetic.

Eraser asks:
For those of us that don't want to bother with 'Instinct' will we be getting the traditional satellite map to navigate around the missions?

Silent_Assassin asks:
How does "instinct" work? Is it a power that is limited in some regard, or lessened depending on difficulty?

Since this is a more "personal" story, will 47 be getting paid for his contracts and buying upgrades like Blood Money, or is it a collection only system like that seen in Contracts and SA?

Devil's Advocate asks:
Will the game be mod-able? Or mod-able to an extent?

Do you guys have any ideas for a pre-order pack?

Do we get any special treatment (not that I would give us anything, after that Bateson fiasco) in terms of bonus content if we're registered here before a certain date?

Nazareth asks:
What made you guys pick Chicago as the location? Not that I'm complaining, just the thing I'm most curious about.

calCabrina asks:
1. Will syringes return?

2. Will there be an option for non-lethal action? If so, will knocking people out fill the Instinct bar, or just stealth kills?

3. Will we be able to push people?

4. Will we be able to distract and/or lure people by throwing things or making a noise?

Agent_88 asks:
1) Can you eat donuts and pretend to check things out when your are disguised as a cop even if the "instinct feature" is turned off ?
2) We can see 47 climbing up to very high places in some screenshots , what is the purpose of that ?
3) Will there be any daytime missions ? all the artwork and screenshots posted are at night while its raining
4) Is the silent assassin rating still the same? (kill only the target and don't get detected) or its changed ?

Welcome asks:
Can we still choose our missions from a list in the main menu?

Royal_Flush asks:
How about the checkpoint-system? Is there an area you have to cross (for example a couple of rooms in the library) and can move freely inside it, but have to reach the one and only exit to get to the checkpoint and go on? Or is it more like in an open-world game like many RPGs are that it for example saves if you enter a certain area no matter how you got there (shooting your way through the frontdoor, disguising as garbage-man and go through the backside or sneaking through the window or...)

Will you guys be at gamescom 2011? (For those who don't know: gamescom is some kind of "Germany's E3")

Bronxsta asks:
1. Will we see a demonstration of the E3 demo played in usual Hitman fashion?
2. Can you still upgrade/customize weapons?
3. How does the melee work? Is it quick-time events/videos like in the new Deus Ex or does the player have control over the attacks?
4. Level select and map: in the game?
5. Is the climbing mechanic automatic like Blood Money or manual a la Assassin's Creed?

Kotti asks:
1. The much talked "scripted helicopter chase". How scripted is it really, will you always get shot, was it forced ony for the presentation...? Just elaborate that a little.

2. The checkpoint system. Are the checkpoints just going to be used to tie in larger areas together? Say, if you were to remake some H2:SA missions with this forumula, Hidden Valley, At the Gates and Shogun Showdown could be just one larger level in which the old three levels were just areas separated by checkpoints. Something like that.

In the "purist" mode that was mentioned in an interview, is the punishment going to come from psychotic AI or from something more senseful?

Will it, theoretically, be possible to beat the game without ever firing a gun?

pat asks:
The health system.is it like before ?

Shaffy asks:
Not really a developer question, but will the game be shown at any European game shows, such as the Eurogamer Expo in London, as I'd love to be able to see the game in person.

music is math asks:
Can we expect to see the entire E3 demo at some point in the future?

Camdean asks:
1. Do NPC's notice doors opening ?
2. Can we remove the vision reticules that we seen in the demo ?
3. Will the PC version be released on the same day as the console versions ?

Swartz asks:
1. Will we still be able to upgrade weapons at all?

2. For pistols with sound suppressors, will there be two variants of the gun (a sound suppressed and non-suppressed version like previous games), or will 47 be able to pull out a sound suppressor and thread it onto the barrel?

3. Are bullet-wound decals still in the game? Overall, how much gore (which is always a good thing) can we expect?

4. Can we expect to see things like persistent shell casings, blood spatter, etc. for those of us on PC's playing with high-end hardware?

5. What version of DirectX is Glacier 2 using at the moment?

6. Have ragdoll physics been re-written?

7. NPC's sound more individual and emotionally driven than before. If this is the case, is the following scenario possible: you silently cut some cop's throat and then leave the body. A friend of his comes along, finds the body, and gets more upset/worked up than other cops might get, and perhaps start swearing revenge, break down crying, etc?

8. In terms of audio, I understand you guys have put a lot of time into sound this time around. How improved are gunshot effects this time around? In previous games I always felt they were a bit flat. It would be cool to have sound effects as close to the film 'Heat' as possible in a game sound engine...

9. Kane & Lynch 2 ended up being ported to PC by a different part of Square Enix from what I understand (correct me if I'm wrong). As a result, it had some strange bugs like not being able to bind certain buttons on the mouse, etc.
Will the PC version be getting more love this time around?

Id asks:
Any female assassination targets?

Any hard, ultra-hard, insanely hard to get achievements/secrets/rewards planned?

Any "new game+" or special collectibles (i.e. hidden packages in GTA, the cheese locations in every level in Perfect Dark even though they took out the reward at the release) added for fun replayability or longevity of the game?

Are we able to bring melee weapons or all weapons collected to any level?

How long will you be able to make eventual patches for the game? (latest one for Blood Money was left with a nasty brightness bug if I remember correctly)

hitmaniak asks:
*Will there still be the possibility to not use the "inventory roulette" at least for the main items (like it was on Blood Money), ? i mean shortcuts for the pc version ?
*There will still be the rating, but what about the statistics? still there too?

AA--92 asks:
when will the e3 gameplay demo be released?

mysteryman_25 asks:
I also wanna ask if u can still run while in-disguised like in BM or not?

Razoric asks:
If we turn off the instinct mode, will we have a map (via older hitman games) to rely on to know where to go?

AssassinAgent47 asks:
Will there be easter eggs like the ghost in Contracts?

Agent: Smith asks
Will Agent Smith appear in the game again?


What other tricks will we be able to use to throw off police and guards?

will you still get briefings and equipment selection before a level?

Based on the audio from the demo that's now been posted, is the actor voicing 47 a placeholder, or will he be playing 47 in the actual game?

Nick, could you please confirm or deny the existence of a "tag and kill" mechanism in Absolution? (which was mentioned in a GameInformer article)

Ok, what about the music of this game?? Is it going to be orchestral, or electrical?? Or will it be Heavy Metal?

Is there going to be a notoriety system like the one in Blood Money?

Will the next game feature any of the characters from older Hitman -games like gathering more information about his five fathers or Father Vittorio?

Will there be more maps than in Blood Money? It was so short game.

Will the targets have bigger background stories?

Will there be missions large enough for using a sniper Rifle like previous Hitman installments?

Besides some usable props as weapons, will there be a big selection of firearms and upgrades for all of them?

since there will be more talking does that mean you will be able to interact with NPCs in someway, and when in a disguise will 47 put a voice on?

Will the entire game be set in America?

With no Map screen this time round how do we find our target, do you have find them and then visually verify them by the clothes they're wearing, they're accent, etc.

With no Map screen this time round how do we find our target, do you have find them and then visually verify them by the clothes they're wearing, they're accent, etc.

Can we finally team up with the AI? I mean that in the previous games you could be dressed up as a cop and get someone shooting at you. The other cops wouldn't do anything at all, and if I, disguised as a police officer, took my gun out, the real cops would immediately join the bad guys and start shooting at me.

Can we put sniper rifles, pistols or anything else in briefcases? Can we actually open the briefcases, and not just just take items through them?

Will they continue using the Blood Money formula? (5 fully customizable weapons)

Do you have to buy your ammo between missions?

How many guns can you carry in your suit? (5 revolvers and 4 smgs like in past games or have they developed a proper inventory this time?)

Can you keep the melee weapons you find in levels?

How effectively can you use the environment as a weapon?

Will first person mode return?

Are we able to retrieve blueprints of buildings, since ICA isn't providing satellite images for 47 anymore?

When can we expect the next 'media wave'?

Will the multiplayer mod (if there is one) be coop or player vs player oriented?

Are any of the characters from the old games going to come back? Such as Father Vittorio,Dr. Kovacs, Agent Smith, or Mei Ling??

Will the cinematics run on the game engine or will they be pre-recorded videos like for the 2 last games?

Will 47 still work for an organisation, or will he just be a fugitive throughout the game?

Will blood affect disguises at all? Like if I shoot somebody in the chest or slit their throat, will the disguise I can get from them be bloodstained?

The 'big name' games such as Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire and Halo have all had DLC's released on the Marketplace and PSN shortly after the game was released. At this moment in time is there any word on a Hitman DLC? Maybe some extra missions that 47 could have accepted or maybe even some of the missions from Silent Assassin and Codename 47 re-worked that support the next-gen graphics (pretty much what Halo are doing with Anniversary)

Have there been any discussions about the Achivements/Trophies that will feature in the game. Obviously there will be some but has there been a discussion on what any of them could be? (I know this is a longshot but its worth asking)

All of the missions take place in the United States which at first I was annoyed about but if it comes out looking good then I don't mind, my third question is how much variety will there be in the missions? I for one loved 'A New Life' because it was a simple hit in a guy's house which for me was a lot more realistic than going into the White House and killing somebody. Can you announce some of the locations for the new game? (House, Theme Park, Plane etc..)

Do the guards have more ways of reacting to illegal/suspicious things happening? In previous Hitman games their reaction has mostly been shooting me in the face and asking no questions.

Will the enemies know 47 is in there in most of the levels? In previous Hitman games the enemies (Requiem and some others being exceptions) didn't have a clue he was there... Until it was too late and 47 was far away. So can we just walk in the suit like any other person without cops shooting us in other levels than what was shown in the e3 demo? To me part of the charm has been just walking in the suit, scanning the area, at my own pace, before finding a disguise and getting the job done.

Will we be able to kill people we are supposed to not kill? Like if there is a person we are supposed to protect, can we still kill him? Of course this will result mission failure, but that's the point. If you can't actually fail yourself, there's no risk, there's no tension.

Will there be location-based damage on 47 or the NPC's? Will we see people limping because of a shot to the leg?

Will Guards have limited ammo? Because so far, all the guards have unlimited ammo for their guns.

Will we be able to hide guns in doughnut boxes or in pizza boxes? or better yet, could we throw them through an open window
and collect them later.

Can we still choose to knock people out, rather than killing them? Will syringes/chloroform make a return?

Will there be more than one way to kill a target to achieve the silent assassin rating like in past games?.

This is an important one will the sniper rifle suitcase return? and will we be able to use a sniper method on any mission like in blood money for example or will it be restricted to certain sniper foucsed assassinations?.

Can we collect weapons,upgrade weapons,and buy weapons?.

Will the syringe return or something similar?.

This is somewhat related to number 2 will we have the freedom to finish each contarct the way we please(sniping,bomb,accident,) or will there be special methods in each mission for diversity ?.

With instinct youve mentioned earlier that it can be turned off in higher diffeculty levels yet the developers said that we need to use it to do hitman like skills like blending and such so please can we know what exactly is instinct, how can we use it and such things?.

With out a map how can we know were our targets are how they move what floor they are located on and how can we learn the lay out of the map?.

Edited by Symbiote, 21 January 2012 - 10:49 AM.

[abeg]

Will doors close by themselfs?

[Bakken]

Will there be rewards for players that play stealthy and achieve Silent Assassin?

[Black glasses]

Will we be able to manually save our game at any point, like in all Hitman games so far?

Edited by Black glasses, 14 June 2011 - 04:28 AM.

[puoduh]

I hope IOI will fix that crappy animation when picking objects. Cuz it's seems that the objects magically apears in 47's hand... I know that game is just in pre-aplha stage but still im a bit worried about this.

[Black glasses]

I hope IOI will fix that crappy animation when picking objects. Cuz it's seems that the objects magically apears in 47's hand... I know that game is just in pre-aplha stage but still im a bit worried about this.

That will be improved, like one of the developers said here. Just check daniel.ben-noon's answer.

Edited by Black glasses, 14 June 2011 - 04:31 AM.

[Watson]

I don't think that asking questions key to the game about something not yet talked about (by IO) are likley to be answered. As Nick said, they plan on revealing more info in the coming months. So, I'll just ask a few questions that don't depart too much from what IO has already told us.

Will there be more dialogue in the game than previous titles?

Why did you decide to remove the newspaper feature? will anything replace it?

Will we have mission breifings (f any at all) similar to the format of the previous games?

Are all missions set in the United States?

and

Overall, as the creators of the Hitman series from the very beggining, are you happy with this game so far?

This covers most of the questions I wanted to ask. Hopefully we'll hear on the issue of Bateson soon.

Thanks

[Acid_Operative]

I am interested about the multiplayer that's talked about. Is it similar to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, or is it more of a co-op?

And will there be more emphasis on the weapons this time round? In the previous games, you are pretty much limited in terms of weapons available to you if you want to play it the stealthy way. To quote another poster, giving a lollipop to a diabetic.

Edited by Nine, 14 June 2011 - 05:58 AM.

[Eraser]

For those of us that don't want to bother with 'Instinct' will we be getting the traditional satellite map to navigate around the missions?

If realism is a concern the npc indicators could appear more like infrared blots ala Terminator or something, but I found the maps easy to use from day 1 (and even wouldn't mind going back to all npc locators being gone like the first game on a 'hardcore' setting). The only real upgrade I'd apply to it is making the map 3-D.. but I hope the map isn't gone.

[Silent_Assassin]

How does "instinct" work? Is it a power that is limited in some regard, or lessened depending on difficulty?

Since this is a more "personal" story, will 47 be getting paid for his contracts and buying upgrades like Blood Money, or is it a collection only system like that seen in Contracts and SA?

Edited by Silent_Assassin, 14 June 2011 - 05:02 AM.

[Devil's Advocate]

Will the game be mod-able? Or mod-able to an extent?

Do you guys have any ideas for a pre-order pack?

Do we get any special treatment (not that I would give us anything, after that Bateson fiasco) in terms of bonus content if we're registered here before a certain date?

Edited by Devil's Advocate, 14 June 2011 - 05:11 AM.

[Nazareth]

What made you guys pick Chicago as the location? Not that I'm complaining, just the thing I'm most curious about.

[calCabrina]

1. Will syringes return?

2. Will there be an option for non-lethal action? If so, will knocking people out fill the Instinct bar, or just stealth kills?

3. Will we be able to push people?

4. Will we be able to distract and/or lure people by throwing things or making a noise?

Thanks.

[Agent_88]

1) Can you eat donuts and pretend to check things out when your are disguised as a cop even if the "instinct feature" is turned off ?
2) We can see 47 climbing up to very high places in some screenshots , what is the purpose of that ?
3) Will there be any daytime missions ? all the artwork and screenshots posted are at night while its raining
4) Is the silent assassin rating still the same? (kill only the target and don't get detected) or its changed ?

5) (you can skip this one if you don't want to answer it) In the e3 demo , the devs could have presented both sides of the game , in the first time playing it action only while showing new features and in the second time showing stealth only and also showing new features added, hence making both parties ( causal gamers and diehard fans ) happy about what they saw. IMHO, this could have triggered a massive switch of the fans of the splinter cell franchise to the hitman franchise = more sales and success ... can you tell me anything about this matter?

Congrats on E3 2011 success, the game looked very well crafted and got 6 nominations , i hope that all what i think about the game right now will change in the upcoming months if the devs showed me some long videos played in stealth only with every indicators/helping features turned off.

[sgg847]

How many football fans working on this game?

[Lobo]

Is there exists bigger hater than sgg847 ?

Edited by Lobo, 14 June 2011 - 06:36 AM.

[Welcome]

I bet that IOI doesn't have the answer to the question above (And the question above THAT is still very relevant considering the game)

But here comes mine:

Can we still choose our missions from a list in the main menu?

By this I mostly mean that can we replay the missions easily and are they "separated events" like in the past titles, or is everything tied up together as a story, and therefore cannot be played partially?

Edited by Welcome, 14 June 2011 - 06:16 AM.

[Royal_Flush]

How about the checkpoint-system? Is there an area you have to cross (for example a couple of rooms in the library) and can move freely inside it, but have to reach the one and only exit to get to the checkpoint and go on? Or is it more like in an open-world game like many RPGs are that it for example saves if you enter a certain area no matter how you got there (shooting your way through the frontdoor, disguising as garbage-man and go through the backside or sneaking through the window or...)

[Bronxsta]

1) Can you eat donuts and pretend to check things out when your are disguised as a cop even if the "instinct feature" is turned off ?

I doubt they would handicap more experienced players. It seems like an intergral new feature (the upgraded disguise mechanic, not instinct). It doesn't make sense to limit the advantages to only newer players.

My questions:
1. Will we see a demonstration of the E3 demo played in usual Hitman fashion?
2. Can you still upgrade/customize weapons?
3. How does the melee work? Is it quick-time events/videos like in the new Deus Ex or does the player have control over the attacks?
4. Level select and map: in the game?
5. Is the climbing mechanic automatic like Blood Money or manual a la Assassin's Creed?

[Symbiote]

My questions:
4. Level select and map: in the game?

I believe they have confirmed the level map is out, being replaced by the combination of Instinct, which will show similar information to the map in previous titles but presented real-time in the game and a minimap to show the area around 47.