We've recently been given the opportunity to conduct an exclusive Q&A on the spy themed and fast paced MMO-shooter Global Agenda, with some of its developers out of Hi-Rez Studios. Here, we get some insight from Todd Harris (Executive Producer), and Nathan Knaak (Writer and Level Designer) on game-play features, player agencies, sweet weaponry, and much more:

MassiveFPS: Hello, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. For starters, you’ve just announced closed beta openings and a release time frame of late 2009- how have things been around the office? Busy?
Todd: Yes. It has been great to see the very enthusiastic response to our beta announcement. And things are certainly busy around the studio but, for MassiveFPS we’re happy to take time out to answer some Q&A.

MassiveFPS: So we hear that Global Agenda is fluid and fast paced just like any other shooter. During development have you made any large sacrifices in graphics to get better frame rates – for a “lagless” environment?
Nathan: Luckily for us, Unreal boasts a wide range of tools to help deliver strong performance without sacrificing aesthetics.

MassiveFPS: How well emulated would you say the “shooting” mechanics are in the game? Are there head shots?
Nathan: From the beginning, we intended for Global Agenda to be more than just a twitchy shooter deathmatch arena. If you were laboriously hunting for head shots, you probably would not be paying attention to the invisible recon agent sneaking up on you, the flying robotic drone hovering overhead, or the barrage of incendiary charges being hurled from a rotary grenade launcher.
Todd: We’ve taken inspiration from all the modern shooters, but teamwork is a huge part of Global Agenda, so it's much more important to work together in taking an objective than trying to rack up a huge kill count. Tactics are more important than twitch.

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MassiveFPS: As with any MMO, skill is important, but Global Agenda is different from your standard MMO in that skill is much more action oriented. With that said, what kind of chances do you think a new player has up against a more leveled player?
Nathan: One of the elements that our design team focused on is the ability for new or lower leveled players to jump in and play with their friends who may have more time to earn experience. As Todd said, Global Agenda is largely team-based, so players really have to work together to succeed in a mission.
Todd: The main difference between the player ranks is the diversity of the weapons and tools that are available. A higher level player has many more options on how to specialize for each mission. A newer player can enter a match and be competitive and useful to the team, he just needs to know how to use his more limited set of equipment.

MassiveFPS: Will there be anything in the game that is “macro”able?
Todd: We do not have anything in game currently that is designed to be macro-able.

MassiveFPS: We’ve heard rumors about player caps- what is the max amount of players you can fit in one battle?
Nathan: Global Agenda takes place in the near future after a worldwide disaster that wiped the slate clean, so to speak. Wars are no longer fought with massive armies, tanks, and fighter planes. Instead, elite teams of special agents are outfitted with the most advanced technology available and shuttled around the world on sub-orbital dropships. What this means is the player population in most maps is 10v10, but even that gets a little hectic with everything going on, between the deployed turrets, trigger-detonated explosives, tracking rockets, spider grenades, poison dart sniper rifles, and remote control drones.
Todd: When it comes to AvA (alliance vs. alliance) campaigns, one battle, or “raid operation,” can actually involve up to 60 players on a side, but each side is divided into multiple strike teams of 8 to 12 players. These strike teams fight in separate maps, but played simultaneously and linked to one another in real-time.
Nathan: So, if my strike team is doing well holding objective one, that might be benefiting Todd’s strike team on objective two, even if it is in a different map.
Todd: We have found this to be a great way to deliver epic conflicts that involve many, many player agents, but at the same time not letting the game devolve into a zerg-fest or, at the opposite extreme, have some player sitting around bored out of his mind defending an objective on a large map with no enemies in sight. Each of our maps is designed around specific objectives, with map size tuned to the player population, so you'll rarely be very far from the action.

MassiveFPS: One of the main traits of an MMO is a persistent environment, which kind of leads players into an endless circle of gaming. While avoiding complete closure, would you say it is still possible for gamers to feel they have “beaten” the game with accomplishments such as level caps and defeating a boss or common nemesis?
Nathan: Without revealing too much, what we can tell you is that there are specific systems in place to make Global Agenda an evolving, competitive world. But we also have some very clear win conditions.
Todd: The best comparison is that of organized sports: You can be ahead one moment, behind the next. You might actually emerge victorious one season, with the championship banner and prestige items to prove it, but the next season, everybody else is out to take you down.
Nathan: Through it all, though, you understand that you're working to continually improve yourself and your team. This goes far beyond the scope of a single mission, as you'll be working with your agency towards future victories on a larger scale.

MassiveFPS: Another pattern consistent with MMO’s is loot. Can players loot from the rotting corpses of their slain enemy? Can they get rare loot from PvE missions?
Nathan: We have a few inventive systems for upgrading your gear but none of them involve looting corpses or slaying rats. There will be rare items in the world but, without getting too much into the details, I think of our system as more inspired by a Mission Impossible movie than Everquest.

MassiveFPS: Last MMO comparison… will there be grinding?
Nathan: The only thing we expect our players to do over and over again to improve their characters, which is the definition of grinding, is undertake fast-paced, objective-based missions against rivals. When the thing you need to do to level up is also the fun part of the game, is it still technically grinding?

MassiveFPS: With players given the option to create or align themselves with an “agency,” how does the recruitment process work in all of this?
Todd: Agencies are the guilds of Global Agenda, so players will absolutely be able to create and join them as they like, and we offer sophisticated recruitment support within the game.
Nathan: However, our agencies are much more than just a shared chat channel and name tag; members partake in episodic campaigns, work together in PvE missions, coordinate resources, and meet in a customizable headquarters.

MassiveFPS: Let’s say players don’t want to join a player created agency, are there NPC “bigwig” agencies they can join?
Todd: Yes. It will be possible to play “lone wolf” agents that only work for money on a mercenary basis.

MassiveFPS: We see that each agency is also allowed to have its own HQ –upgradeable at a certain point in the game. What types of upgrades do head quarters have and how customizable are they? Are there personal living spaces for each member (billets, rooms, anything)?
Nathan: Agencies will be able to visually customize their agencies with items such as banners.
Todd: And, if time allows for it, we hope to add functional module upgrades including rooms like virtual reality training arenas and shooting ranges. But in general we will introduce HQ features and upgrades that benefit the team rather than living spaces for individual members.

MassiveFPS: From your site, it says that Global Agenda has a territorial control aspect to it. Are player controlled territories large bordered areas outside, or small inside areas? How do you emulate the tangibility of these agency accomplishments?
Nathan: When an agency decides to partake in the strategic end game campaigns of Global Agenda, they enter a conflict zone and fight to expand their territory while launching attacks against rivals to prevent their progress. Strike team missions take place in instances, but their outcomes affect the grand strategy and overall progress of your agency.
Todd: Most of the player-controlled territory types have an outside terrain aspect as well as indoor spaces, but each agency actually gets to choose from multiple facility types and size when constructing on territory they own – bringing in the strategy element. Agency progress in the campaign is very tangible and visible via a map that shows what facilities have been constructed and where.

MassiveFPS: From a previous interview, it was mentioned that players “hop” around the globe. Is transportation in the game as simple as a mission terminal and a loading screen, or is it something more complex?
Nathan: Elite special agents in the future do not walk to work. They strap on power armor and jetpacks, then load into high-tech dropships and scream around the globe at Mach 10 before leaping out into hostile territory under a hail of enemy weapons fire. Global Agenda focuses on action-packed battles, not the dreary logistics involved with getting from one to the next.
Todd: It just didn’t fit to make our agents trudge across empty fields on a horse or introduce any other open-world travel system that MMOs traditionally impose on players. That said, we do have transition videos when globe-hopping, plus social spaces, vendors, mission contacts, and many other MMO conventions that give players a strong sense of place – just without the travel headaches.

MassiveFPS: We keep hearing things about covert activities, espionage, and hiding your secret identity. Of course these would be things to expect from a spy game- but could you elaborate on the details?
Nathan: Beyond the existence of stealth suits and holographic decoys you can use during fights, an important part of Global Agenda will be with what agency you join and with what alliance you align. If the situation presents itself, you can become a double agent, selling out your faction and changing sides.
Todd: Given our player-driven group structure and the emphasis on meaningful PvP within our episodic campaigns, we anticipate politics and “cold war” activity emerging quite naturally from the player community.

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MassiveFPS: One difficult thing about creating a science fiction world is they require much more innovative ideas. What do you think is the most innovative idea emulated in Global Agenda (flying cars, laser beam toasters etc..)?
Nathan: As they say, the world is filled with opportunities disguised as problems, so we'd like to think that creating a science fiction game offers us much more freedom than the fantasy genre that most MMOs are stuck with these days. Our most innovative idea? Well, you'd probably get a different answer from every team member here at Hi Rez, but one of my personal favorites is the spider grenade. You toss three of these little things at a time, and when they hit the ground, they sprout legs and chase enemy targets, leaping into the air and exploding on contact. When is the last time you played a game that had a weapon that was so much fun to use, but also fun to have it used against you?
Todd: For me, you know it is the future because you finally get that promised jetpack! Jetpacks have been done in other games but within Global Agenda they provide very fluid movement and work well with our other devices to support rooftop battles which are an absolute blast. There is nothing like flying and fighting from one rooftop to another, or jetting behind a sniping Recon before using melee to knock him off the ledge, or flying up to a water tower from which to lob grenades on your tiny victims below.

MassiveFPS: Once again, thank you for taking your time to answer our questions, is there anything you want to add?
Todd: We’d like to remind folks that they can apply for Closed Beta at www.globalagendagame.com. Thanks to MassiveFPS for your interest. And, we'll see you in the game.