Rockstar Games recently took some time to answer some Red Dead Redemption questions from its fans, and we thought you might want to know some of the answers. Rockstar had this to say about how online posses will work:

In Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer, players can create posses of any number of people up to a total of 8 per posse, with 16 players total per session. So if two of you want to head out in your own posse and hunt game, you can. But even if you were in a larger posse, you could still break off to do your own thing - and you would be able to communicate with the rest of your posse through voice chat, no matter where in the world you were. If your posse leader then starts a competitive match, you will automatically be pulled back into the match to rejoin with your posse.

If you see a posse in your Free Roam session that you would like to join, you can request to join the posse using the multiplayer menu.

Rockstar Games had this to say in response to the question, “[w]ill there be any difficulty setting options for Red Dead Redemption?”:

We want players of all skill levels to enjoy Red Dead Redemption. With that in mind, we’ve implemented levels of difficulty into the game that employ different types of auto-aiming. Casual mode gives you a full auto-aim system (and faster regenerating health).  Normal mode features snap-to-target with precise aiming using the right stick. Expert mode implements free aim with no lock-on at all. First time we have done this in an open world game, so we will be interested to see what people think having played with each option.

This is the first time Rockstar Games has included a difficulty option to one of its "free roam" games. The original Red Dead Revolver did have a "hardcore mode" where you had to complete additional objectives within a set time limit, but that game did not allow for "free roam." The addition of a general difficulty option in Red Dead Revolver could make the game more appealing to casual gamers.

The next question answered was: “How do you guys come up with character ideas? They are all extremely well done.”

Thank you!  We are fortunate in that we happen to know a lot of freaks, so we tend to just change a couple of details and we’re good to go.  (Attention lawyers: That was a joke. All characters are purely the product of our imagination, including all the annoying lawyers.)

“Do you guys consider Red Dead Redemption a SEQUEL to Revolver, or something else like spiritual successor or followup?”

Well, it’s definitely not a narrative sequel — more of a spiritual successor as you put it. Exploring the themes of the American West, but now in an open world environment, which we decided while finishing Red Dead Revolver, was the only way to do this subject matter justice.

And thus ended Rockstar's Q&A session with fans. The posse feature will no doubt be an awesome addition to multiplayer and will make riding with mates across the western terrace an amazing experience. Curious about the single-player gameplay? Check out Game Rant's hands-on impressions of Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead Redemption is set for a May 18, 2010, release on both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Source: Rockstar Games