All answers are from Jens Andersen, Creative Director for DCUO, and Wes Yanagi, Senior Producer for DCUO.

Question #1

Q: DCUO was named best of show by Tentonhammer.com at the New York Comic-Con. How does the team feel about receiving accolades such as this so early in development?

A: As you mentioned, we are early in development, so being named best of show by Tentonhammer.com was a very pleasant surprise to the team, especially after all the hard work they've put into crafting the game for public demos. It is also great validation that our outside the box concept is going to deliver something special for all kinds of gamers and DC fans.

Question #2

Q:Over at DCUO Source, many of the gamers like to debate design philosophy for an MMO. Since DCUO is being designed almost as a hybrid Action game and MMO, what does the team feel are the key design features that must be implemented in order to ensure that both types of gamers will enjoy the game?

A: Well it's funny, we actually pull back from that level of comparison and focus on the IP and the genre first. Sure, we know we're making a game that has action elements moment to moment and MMO elements month to month, but it's because those particular categories support our vision of a persistent world full of Super-powered characters. We're not trying to target one group or the other, we're trying to make as genuine and authentic experience as we possibly can so that players feel so satisfied with the result that it doesn't matter what type of gamer or walk of life they come from, they just love it because it's a great product that lives up to their expectations of the DC Universe.

Question #3

Q:There has been a ton of talk about character customization, but most of it concerns a player's appearance. How will DCUO allow gamers to customize their characters through leveling? Will there be a talent or skill point allocation system?

A: There are a lot of different ways players will allocate points as they progress. Some we've already talked about, Super Abilities for example.Are you super Strong, Invulnerable or a little bit of both?We also grant you new Super Powers and allow you to increase those in power.How you ask? Well, sorry, we'll get into that later on down the line. Let's not forget your movement mode. You might start the game with super speed out of the gate but it will take some time before you learn to apply it in ways you never thought of; like vibrating your molecules so fast that a car someone threw at you passes through you as you zip toward them and send them flying down the street.

Question #4

Q: The videos that came out of CES showed character traits. Those traits were, "basic attack, heavy attack, weaponization, movement, power, and health." Are those going to be areas of heavy customization, and is that the complete list?

A: They're actually called Abilities now and they reflect your characters natural aptitudes and powers. The names you saw were temporary.Weaponization is actually Super Strength and Defense is Invulnerability.So players will put points in them which grants them some characteristics associated with it.For example, put a few points in Invulnerability and your “Tough”.Put some more in and you're “Bullet Proof”.Some more and you're nearly “Invulnerable”.

Question #5

Q:How does equipped loot affect character appearance? For example, would I be able to replace my equipped bow at the start of the game with a bow dropped during a raid or received as a quest reward, or are the weapons going to have fixed graphics?

A: You'll definitely see the new hotness equipped on your character. This game is an MMO, so phat loot is a must have for the game.

Question #6

Q: Won't the use of encounter timers penalize stealth tactics or characters? Why or why not?

A: No it will be fine. First, don't assume stealth means slow. In fact, assume nothing when it comes to DC Universe Online because we will continue to surprise you. But encounter timers will be tuned to allow characters of all types to get into the action in a way that is appropriate to their character's make up. This doesn't imply that stealth is always a viable tactic for every encounter, but it isn't something that will gimp you. And again, we haven't shown you any stealthy bits yet so stay tuned for news on that later.

Question #7

Q: Jens Andersen recently made a post about how "support characters" were going to be played a bit differently in DCUO. I know that your policy is prove it through play, but can you give us the general design idea behind changing the way gamers utilize support tactics?

A: Nope, sorry, not spilling the beans on that one yet. It's going to be awesome though and everyone will get a taste. Remember, characters in our game can shift roles so you can play offense, defense or support depending on the nature of your group and the content you are facing.You may find yourself in the middle of the first wave of a fight and half of you need to go defense while the other half are support. Suddenly, the boss changes its behavior and you're all going offense to defeat it. It flows and changes as situations arise…kind of like a comic book fight.

Question #8

Q: As far as raids go, there has been some comment on the fact that groups are limited to 4 members. Does that mean that DCUO won't have traditional raids found in games like EQ2 and WoW?

A: No, even though we're planning on using a basic group size of 4 members, we will still have support for groups of groups for high end content.

Question #9

Q: It's nearly March, and it appears as if after a brief hiatus, E3 is once again bringing back the big show that it once was. How does the design team work with the marketing and public relations teams to prepare for big trade events like E3?

A: Typically, we sit down with marketing and brief them on what's coming down the pipe from the development side. Based on a lot of different criteria and objectives, we agree on high level deliverable goals.As we get closer to an event, we'll evaluate where we are in development and adjust our plans as necessary.