This is it. It's here and it's hot and you won't find it anywhere else. Erik Johnson from Valve was so kind to answer a few questions for us and this is the result. Whether you want to find out Valve's plans for next year including CS 1.6, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero or Steam which will hit the road on the 1st february 2003 or just get to know what one of the biggest game production company has to say this is the right place for you. It might shock you. It might surprise you. It surely won't disapoint you. Have fun!

     1. Computer Games Romania: Half-Life is remarcable for its mods. It is also known that many mod creators are eventually hired by game development companies that made the title. How is Valve Software involved in this domain? Do you think mods make games better or can they even surpass the original title? Are they a viable alternative concerning they are mostly free?
     Erik Johnson: There are a number of Valve employees that came from the MOD community. It’s an efficient stomping ground for any aspiring game developer, and it fosters some of the industry’s best creative talent.
     I think it’s pretty clear that the MOD community make our games better.

     2. Computer Games Romania: If in 1999 at Half-Life Mod Expo Gunman and Counter-Strike were presented, two mods that later became independent games, this year you paid a lot of attention to MonkeyStrike, Global Warfare, BuzzyBots, Sven Co-Op and Half-Life Rally. Why these titles got in front of everyone else's mod?
     Erik Johnson: Picking the MODs for the MOD Expo is difficult; we obviously can’t have every Half-Life MOD represented. These five had the best combination of originality, community expectation, and stage of development.

     3. Computer Games Romania: Also, Valve Software signed an agreement with Half-Life: Day of Defeat producing team which is as statistics show the most popular mod after Counter-Strike. Which were the reasons behind this decision?
     Erik Johnson: The quality of Day of Defeat and the team that produces it were the two biggest reasons.

     4. Computer Games Romania: When can we experience Counter-Strike 1.6 and what major modifications will it have?
     Erik Johnson: Our first step in releasing Counter-Strike 1.6 will be it’s beta via Steam. During the beta period we’ll still be in active development, fixing bugs, working on play balance issues, and adding content. As each change is made, we’ll be updating users that are participating in the beta. Our goal is to have a new release to the beta group every three days.

     5. Computer Games Romania: Do you plan to include new weapons, maps, models or options or will you just fix the bugs from the current version?
     Erik Johnson: We’ll be adding the Famas, Galil, and Riot Shield to Counter-Strike 1.6. There are a number of smaller changes, but these three will have the greatest effect on gameplay.

     6. Computer Games Romania: Which will be the connection between Counter-Strike 1.6 and Condition Zero? How compatible will these two games be?
     Erik Johnson: The multiplayer component of both of these products will be identical. Condition Zero players will be able to play against Counter-Strike players and vice versa.

     7. Computer Games Romania: A lot of games have tried or try to match with Counter-Strike but this title, three years after it's appearance, it's still on top of the gamers' preferences, a good proof being the monthly classification made by iGames and based on the information from 150 game centers across North America. Which are the key elements that still contribute to Counter-Strike's success?
     Erik Johnson: The reasons for Counter-Strike’s success started with Minh Le and Cliffe creating a polished and well-implemented game. They then leveraged the Half-Life community (the most efficient distribution method at the time) to gain a large audience in a relatively small amount of time.
     Getting started with a good user base is great, which Counter-Strike did. But the real secret to its success isn’t much of a secret: They listened to their customers and kept making them happy. This is something the MOD community has been doing for years.

     8. Computer Games Romania: Many Counter-Strike players are complaining about the cheats, a good example being OGC. It's all about the game engine that allows the cheats or the inventivity of some people who still try to hinder an honest multiplayer game?
     Erik Johnson: Any time that you allow a client to run code on their machine, you have the potential for people trying to make the application do something unintended.
     People that develop software for this purpose tend to be very smart, but more importantly, extremely diligent.

     9. Computer Games Romania: Do you plan other measures in order to fight the cheats?
     Erik Johnson: We’re still in the early stages of our anti-cheat development, and yes, there are a number of features we’ll be adding to it.

     10. Computer Games Romania: For many people the Steam project is still unknown. Can you give us some details about this new Valve Software technology? How much will it influence the gaming industry and why?
     Erik Johnson: We don’t know yet how much Steam will influence the gaming industry. I think that depends on how much success we have using it ourselves.
     What we’re focusing on right now is how Steam can make playing our games better for our customers.

     11. Computer Games Romania: Can you detail a little bit about Steam benefits for end-users, like the possibility of accessing the software from any PC, anti-cheating and drivers updating?
     Erik Johnson: The biggest difference that users of Steam are going to notice is how much more connected they feel with the developer.
     In the case of the Half-Life community, there are a large number of customers with whom our only interaction is to tell them they need to grab the latest Half-Life update, and then send them down the bumpy road of trying to find an accessible Web site that has it. When the user base is running Steam, these customers will no longer wonder if they are up to date, Steam removes that issue entirely.
     There are a number of other benefits that come along with Steam as well, such as more efficient anti-cheating technology, seamless driver updates, and the ability to play your games from anywhere in the world. These are all a function of operating in a distributed file system.

     12. Computer Games Romania: You said that users will not wonder any more if their drivers are compatible with the software. How will you realize that? How will you know what users have inside their computers?
     Erik Johnson: As a game developer or PC hardware manufacturer it’s frustrating to see the percentage of customer support problems that could be solved by making sure users have the right drivers installed on their system(s).
     There are a bunch of boring technical explanations for how to find out what driver is applicable for a given PC or piece of software, but the real problem that exists now is a distribution one, not a technical one.

     13. Computer Games Romania: In the Steam press release you quote Dave Rolston, Vice President of Engineering, ATI Technologies Inc speaking about Valve-ATI partnership. Do you plan to include other or most of the hardware manufacturers?
     Erik Johnson: Absolutely.

     14. Computer Games Romania: Online distribution usually means, besides broadband internet, the availability of a credit card. Will other paying methods be available?
     Erik Johnson: Initially with the launch of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, which will be the first product commercially available over Steam, credit cards will be the only form of payment. However, we will be adding many other forms of payment to the billing system over time.

     15. Computer Games Romania: How will Steam look like in a few years? Will it be a model for other companies in the gaming industry?
     Erik Johnson: Hopefully it, or something like it, will be what most developers, publishers, and retailers in the industry are using as a primary form of distribution and content management.

     16. Computer Games Romania: Today, the concept of "professional gamer" starts to take shape. What conditions do you think a gamer must meet in order to reach this level?
     Erik Johnson: With professional gaming still in its early stages, there isn’t a simple metric for deciding that someone is a professional or amateur gamer. Any player that is competing in a game with the goal of winning a prize would probably be the best description right now.

     Here is some info about the new weapons in Counter-Strike 1.6 from CS-Nation:

     1. Galil (Terrorist Only)
     Manufacturer: Israeli Military Industries
     Cost: 00
     Overview: Israel made this weapon to compete with the AK-47 on the battle field, this weapon actually costs less than the already cheap AK-47. Currently the Israeli's "official" weapon, this weapon holds 32 5.56mm NATO rounds, compatible with the M4A1. Gearbox describes the weapon as like the AK, only heavier and thus more accurate.

     2. Fusil Automatique, Manufacture d'Armes de St. Etienne (FAMAS) (Counter-Terrorist Only)
     Manufacturer: Groupement Industriel des Armements Terrestres
     Cost: 00
     It will cost less than the M4A1 and its alternate fire will be burst fire (a three-round burst). A three-round burst fires three rounds faster than the auto-mode can fire the same amount, but has a delay between bursts. This is the official weapon on the French GIGN and will likely play that role in the single player side of the game. It holds 25 5.56mm NATO rounds per clip (the same round that the M4A1 uses).

     3. Ballistic Shild IIIA (Counter-Terrorist Only)
     This item will block small arms fire (pistols, shotguns, sub-machine guns) and slow down high-caliber rounds to a point where they're not as deadly. The shield will take a primary weapon slot and will be bundled with the FN FiveseveN pistol. The shield will usually cover the front of your body while you peer through the small window, but when you move to fire your pistol, the shield will be moved to the side.