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Dogs of War BF2 Mod Interview

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Interview by MasterChiefRulZ

Hello and welcome to an interview with the "Dogs of War" mod for BF2. I'm known as MasterChiefRulZ, and I had the privilege of sitting down with the two man team of "Dogs of War" to see what they had in store for us in their mod. Fans of BF2 are no strangers to the work of "DoW" Founder imtheheadhunter, due to his involvement with AIX, both as beta tester and developer of a wildly popular mappack that was officially endorsed by the AIX team for ver. 2.0. His associate GroovyDawg (also known as wet panties), was also involved in AIX 2.0 as part of the beta test team. The followign is an abbreviated chat with the good fellows in mIRC.

<MasterChiefRuIZ> ITHH: So what got you into modding for BF2?
<imtheheadhunter> started out modding MOHAA, then got to playing BF2 and modded that because by then modding had gotten into my blood.

<MasterChiefRuIZ> You've had a lot of success with mod releases in the past, you have along list of BF2 maps, many featured in popular websites and even on a syndicated German Gaming TV program. Any of the those past achievements a favorite?
<imtheheadhunter> its hard to name a single fav. but ifi may name a few rather than just one, my sound mod for BF2, and the maps sunset in Tunisia, kasserine pass and invasion of the coral sea.

<MasterChiefRuIZ> What was it like going from your smaller mods, to a full fledged major release mod such as "DoW"? What was your biggest challenge?
<imtheheadhunter> Biggest challenge is knowing when to stop adding more stuff to it. The step up from a small minimod to a full mod wasn't hard, as the minimod i was working on got so big, I decided to make it a full mod.

<MasterChiefRulZ> What new features, content, or surprises are in store for those who download "DoW"?
<imtheheadhunter> almost all sounds and effects have been edited, and some new materials and effects sets added(such as snowlice). the gameplay has been completely redone. There are several new weapons to play with thanks to Groovy, as well as new animations. I redid the HUD as well, minimalized it, and repositioned the camera locations in aircraft. I edited the bots a bit, to get them to play better than they do in vanilla BF2. Singleplayer and Co-op are the mod's main focus.

<MasterChiefRulZ> Sounds like a fresh new take on an old favorite. You mentioned gameplay changes, if you could describe in a single sentence the 'feel' of your mod, what would it be?
<imtheheadhunter> fast paced and arcade(ish) like. Realism freaks, should ignore this mod.

<MasterChiefRulZ> Are any of your previously released custom maps included in your mod? Any new maps? You had quite a popular run working with the AIX team, so a lot of AIX fans should be familiar with your work.
<imtheheadhunter>I am including several of my existing maps, like Aberdeen, Bizerte, Operation Fox, Urban Decay, etc. and am including 2 new maps, Tunisia, and Supercharge.

<MasterChiefRulZ> Is this a one shot release? Or do you plan on adding any additional content in the future to "DoW"?
<imtheheadhunter> i am planning on having a V2 of DoW, it will include more weapons, possibly new vehicles, and further refined soundsleffects. V2 will be mostly about more content, rather than editing whats already in BF2.

<MasterChiefRuIZ> So Groovy, when did you join the BF2 modding community, and why?
<GroovyDawg> I started playing the demo for half a year on and off, and then got the full game in early 07. Played vanilla BF2 for most of that time until I realized, HOLY CRAP THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO THIS!! THAT IS NOT SINGLEPLAYER, 16 PLAYER MAPS WHAT THE CRAP! I couIdn't believe that the singleplayer only offered 16 player maps.(merged 2 messages into 1) I come from a starting background of UnreaI2K4, which was wholly moddable, so i decided to google for mods in BF2 which brought me to AIX. I was enthralled by the BFSP community which drew me into modding BF2.

<MasterChiefRuIZ> So both of you were involved in the AIX Phenomenon. Groovy what inspired you to join forces with ITHH on "DoW"?
<GroovyDawg> Activity was at an all time low at that time, and me and Heady were already good friends. He was already working on a mod with zero new weapons, which was pointless, so I decided to take up the ropes of porting since I reinstalled 3dsmax for the second time.

<MasterChiefRuIZ> So what is your biggest contribution to "DoW"?
<GroovyDawg> The new weapons, which come from the Counterstrike Source community and their very very talented modders, who with their permissions I was graciously allowed to port their work. The CSS community weapons are the best ANY OTHER GAME has seen, and that includes bf2. I started porting as a proof of ability. Wanting to do a port before sun-up. I ported my first gun overnight with the tutoring of Clive (of AIX).

<MasterChiefRuIZ> Out of all the weapons you've managed to import into "DoW" from the CSS community, if you could pick a favorite, which would it be?
<GroovyDawg> The USP compact and the MK23

<MasterChiefRuIZ> Ok. Thanks guys for having this chat. Anything you two want to say to the community about the mod in general?
<GroovyDawg> clive looks good with a scruffy beard

<MasterChiefRuIZ> And ITHH?
<imtheheadhunter> its what BF2 should have been! it gives BF2 proper effectslsounds, replacing all the horrid ones that the game came with.

<MasterChiefRulZ> And that's all folks. Thanks for checking out the interview, and be sure to try the Sp/Co-op focused "Dogs of War" mod for BF2.

For more info on DoW and other Battlefield series Singleplayer and Co-op focused releases, articles,
reviews, and discussion visit us at www.battlelieldsingleplayer.com

Download Dogs of War here.

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