[Tactical Planet] Some people will draw similarities between Team Factor and Flashpoint (something I'm guilty of too . How will the two games differ?

As I said Team Factor is more similar to Counter-Strike than to Flashpoint. I think Flashpoint is more strategic game than Team Factor. In Flashpoint you start as a soldier and you can become an officer and lead other soldiers. There are larger areas than in Team Factor, you can use more vehicles and helicopters and all game takes more time. In Team Factor you´re all the time one of soldiers and you are all time in really action and one game (mission) takes approx. 5 minutes. Team Factor is designed for on-line experience (unlike Flashpoint). Instead of both games are from military environment, the differencies are big.

Console owners have long been able to enjoy playing the role of retired Special Forces veteran Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid, the best-selling stealth 'n' shoot 'em-up which has swept all before it on the PlayStation.

Now the good news for PC gamers is that Snake is scheduled to parachute onto their machine this October and Microsoft is guaranteeing equally devastating results. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, the storyline behind the game is classic action fare: after a group of terrorists overrun a secret Alaskan weapons base, they threaten to launch a devastating nuclear strike unless their demands are met within 24 hours. Armed with nothing but a pair of binoculars, a cool name and a bad attitude, your mission is to infiltrate the base, rescue the hostages, take out the terrorists and save the day for truth, justice and the American way.

Make no mistake though, this is no straightforward blast 'em-up. Stealth and planning are going to be key elements with a responsive enemy AI able to track sound and footprints and even roll grenades down into crawl spaces to flush you out. However, to help your cause you'll eventually get access to over 30 high tech weapons including sniper rifles, rocket launchers, night-vision goggles and body armour - basically the tools of the trade for your average special forces assassin.

The team has been working very hard to get everything together for ECTS - the game is looking really good, with all the levels finally in the game. The next few months are to be spent on tweaks, improvements and optimises. We have recorded the game audio in London last Friday (24th) - with some amazingly talented actors - just you wait until you hear Jones, Anya and Priboi - they're really good.

Elite Edition will come with five new maps: Chang's Chinese Theater (loosely based on Mann's Chinese Theater), a Los Angeles subway, a hospital, a house in the LA hills, and a small commuter airport. All of these new missions will be playable in both multiplay and single play, so you can get some practice before you go in with live players. There are also a whole slew of new armor types, camo variations, and weapons. Now you can outfit your group with heavy armor and AK-47s in multiplayer mode if you want, so you're not just locked into the standard SWAT load-out.

The action is pretty fast-paced in deathmatch on a small map, because you'll die and then be right back in the action in a matter of seconds. Unlike RS, running or being shot doesn't effect your reticule; it's pretty damn stable as you run, making the so-called run-n-gun a lot easier. Grenades are much less of an issue than in RS because they are much less effective; the flash bang, even when dropped in your face, only stuns for a second, and the CS gas is noneffective when you have a gas mask on. Basically, most players will probably stick with their main weapon until it runs out of ammo, then switch to the secondary handgun.

Elite Edition will ship with the Commander's Pack mod, which adds three new uniform styles as well as a slew of new weapons. Even without the Commander's Pack, there's a lot of weapon variation in the game. Players will no longer be limited to the five standard primary weapons found in the original SWAT 3, with the inclusion of rifles such as the HK G36 and the AK-47 and -74. Moreover, there are numerous variations of each rifle; for instance, the G36 comes in both standard and Commando variants, the latter featuring a folding stock and a shorter barrel, which makes it better suited to close-quarters environments.

Team Factor is a first person, multiplayer, action 3D game offering players to take the role of a member of contemporary military or counter-terrorist elite forces. It has a number of fundamental improvements over existing and in-development titles of similar category.

Stomped: Zombie has been know in the past couple of years mostly for its Spec Ops series of games. Where did the idea come from for Shrapnel?

Williamson: The team at Zombie wanted to take break from the tactical shooters and go back the old school, run and gun style, faster paced, more action. Less thinking, more shooting. Shrapnel evolved from taking research that the US Army is doing in the Land Warrior program (VR glasses, adaptive cammo, new weapons, etc.), but every design meeting, the envelope got pushed back more and more, and we added more "fi" and less "sci" to the game design.

The quality of Red Storm’s games have been met with critical acclaim in the gaming industry, especially the Rainbow Six franchise. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six has been released for PC CD-ROM, PlayStation®, Sega Dreamcast, Macintosh, Nintendo® 64 and GAME BOY™ Color game console platforms. The game was voted 1999 action game of the year by PC Gamer. The sequel, Rogue Spear, was named 2000 action game of the year by both PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World and was elected the best multiplayer game of the show at ECTS in 1999. The intense squad-based action of Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear has made them two of the top multiplayer games played on Microsoft’s Gaming Zone.

Persistent Online Characters
Wage war on the large-scale battlefields of NovaWorld and
rank yourself against your enemies and allies

When moving it is useful to keep some aspect of the terrain between yourself and the enemy. If you spot an enemy patrol coming towards you, go prone. If they are close enough you can use your silenced pistol - as long as you are accurate and quick you will remain undetected by the rest. If they go past you, you may be able to get away with using the knife. This of course depends on how large the patrol is and how quickly you can dispose of all enemies present. If neither suits you it seems possible to pick off enemies at long range with the OICW in single shot mode without anyone noticing you.

In Delta Force, you really use the terrain for concealment and cover. I really feel like I'm "in" the map while playing DF. In games like R6 or Spec Ops, you're pretty much just "on" the map.. The new 3D engine for LW is fast and smooth. I was a bit worried that going to a 3D engine would flatten out the world, but NovaLogic has done a great job with the terrain in the new game. The game still takes place primarily in the great outdoors, and retains all the hills and valleys that made the DF series stand out. I'm also impressed how relatively 'smooth' the terrain is; its not at all flat and angular like other games that use a polygonal game engine.

The graphical interface has changed for the better, displaying all you need to know while taking up less space - allowing the action to fill more of the screen. One thing you will immediately notice on beginning the mission is how your cross hairs increase in size as you move, decreasing when you stand still. Fire your gun and not only is its accuracy no-longer perfect, but it recoils too. As soon as you get down to some fighting the effect is immediately noticeable. Gone are those reflex shots pulled off as you run around like a maniac. You stand a far better chance if you move into position, then crouch and use your scope. Even this is not impervious to recoil effecting long-range shots especially.

That's not to say that Land Warrior is without any improvements. The most apparent change in the game is the enhanced graphics engine. As previously mentioned, Land Warrior now supports full 3D acceleration, which not only greatly speeds up performance but also improves the visual quality of the game. Whereas the first two Delta Force games had terrain that was blocky and pixilated, Land Warrior's environments are smooth and sharp - gone is the "fuzzy" look of all the outdoor areas. Physical objects have also been given a facelift, courtesy of a higher polygon count and crisper textures. One of the levels took place around the ancient ruins of Cairo, and structures like the sphinx were rendered in great detail. This new engine also allows for more detailed indoor areas. In that same mission, we eventually ended up inside one of the pyramids, and we were treated to visuals of large hieroglyphic murals and intimidating limestone statues. The game doesn't bog down when you explore enclosed areas such as this one, either, which is another testament to the improved graphics engine.

Sniper rifles
Barrett Light .50
H&K PSG-1 (new)

Machine guns
M249 SAW machine gun
FN MAG machine gun (new)

Assault rifles
M4 Masterkey
OICW (objective individual combat weapon) (new)
AK-47 (new)
H&K G11 assault rifle (new)
Steyr AUG with grenade launcher (new)

...and more!

Zombie Studios announced awhile ago that they would be working on a new project using the forth coming Tribes 2 engine. We emailed them to see how things were going, and got this:

"Yeah, we ended up selecting the LithTech 2.0 engine instead. Tribes 2.0 rocks the house - there was nothing relative to its technical capabilities that diminshed our interest in the engine. But our schedule dictated a fast start and the Tribes team was focused completely their title and couldn't commit to the support we needed at the time - they need to get another kick-ass Tribes version out to their current fans, before they start thinking about supporting someone else's game."

This Delta Force Land Warrior demo includes a single player mission that features "Gas Can", one of the 5 playable characters from the full version of the game.  As the grenadier expert, you have the special ability to maintain pinpoint accuracy with Gas Can's favorite weapon, the MM-1 Grenade Launcher.  Additionally armed with the latest Land Warrior equipment such as the O.I.C.W. assault rifle, you must fight your way into the pyramids of Egypt and recover a briefcase containing deadly bio-toxins.

What kind of relationship is there between you guys and Illusion Softworks, after you have left them?

The atmosphere is very relaxed. Illusion Softworks continues on the creation of Hidden and Dangerous 2 and other titles, while we go our own way. We think there's enough space on market for both of us. Besides, we are still friends with most of Illusion's staff.

Q: How about 3D engine used in H&D and H&D2?

A: As the contract on Hidden and Dangerous says, entire technology developed during creation of the game remains the property of developers of the game. Thus Insanity Engine is property of Michal Bacik and currently it becames the base of Lonely Cat's technology. Illusion Softworks switched to use their new engine, developed internally, and they continue in development of their titles based on this new technology.

What was the influence behind Team Factor? Were there any other games that inspired you?

Sure. We all are addicted players and we love to play the Half-Life mod Counter-Strike. Often during the off-hours we stay in the office and play until it's late night. The basic influence was that we wanted to make a better Counter-Strike and then, after we saw other game titles of this category, we decided to design a completely new game.

The long running Red Storm Entertainment saga appears set to be resolved, with UBI SOFT Entertainment purchasing the firm for close to 50 million U.S. dollars. Concerns over closures and product cancellations are the usual buzz surrounding such situations, though trade publication CTW has reported that Red Storm's UK offices will not be closed. Despite differing reports, it appears that Red Storm's Harpenden offices will be maintained for the foreseeable future. UBI SOFT is interviewing the entire UK staff, and it seems probable that most will maintain their positions. The deal, which still has to go through a rubber stamping process before it is announced, puts an end to speculation that began last April.

Are there any new models? If so, how many of each type?

Yes, we have a number of new models. I think there are 9 of them, both SWAT officers and terrorists. Each new character is setup with different configurations; vests, helmets, gear. You will be also able to choose from various camos for each new class.

TS: We have seen some great indoor environments created with the engine powering SWAT 3. How well does it handle out door type maps

The goal of our cell and portal based SWAT 3 engine is to support very realistic indoor environments, hence the SWAT 3 engine was not really designed for exterior spaces. yes This isn’t to say that you can’t build exterior, it will take a bit of knowledge and experience with building levels to create an “optimized” exterior level. If you think of an exterior environment as a series of very large rooms, the SWAT engine will be able to handle that very well.

Is it possible to play as "high ground" (sniper)? If not, why?

You can not play "High Ground" cover in SWAT 3 CQB or Elite Edition. Allowing the player to play a sniper in the game would drastically change the overall flavor of the game. Since the game is grounded in realism, we would include the ‘allowance of playing the sniper’ only if we could accurate depict the experience of being a sniper. Looking at the way SWAT 3 is setup, playing a sniper is really a different game. In SWAT 3 you play a member of an entry team, not a member of the sniper team.

RIPCORD GAMES CALLS SPEC OPS 2 GAMERS BACK TO DUTY WITH OPERATION BRAVO
Improved Gameplay, New Missions, Enhanced Multiplayer and No Price Tag

(Santa Clara, CA) August 21, 2000 - Leading interactive entertainment publisher Ripcord Games announced today that it has released Operation Bravo, a new downloadable add-on pack for the Spec Ops 2: Green Berets community at www.ripcordgames.com. Operation Bravo, is an early "call to duty" for gamers that already own Spec Ops 2 and it will be included in Ripcord's upcoming Spec Ops: Platinum, which bundles all of the previous Spec Ops titles together with the new Operation Bravo missions.

Designed to enhance the multiplayer experience of the game, Operation Bravo will feature a bevy of game enhancements, including 25 new environments, new multiplayer games including Capture the Flag and Last Man Standing, improved multiplayer coding, more strategically minded Buddies, improved AI/Path Finding and more. Ultimately, the add-on pack will provide fans of the squad-based combat game with hours and hours of additional gameplay at no additional charge.

"Operation Bravo is a direct result of the enormous feedback that we received from Spec Ops 2 owners," said Ripcord Games' John Peterson. "The gamers praised the single-player aspects of the game, but were requesting improved code, missions and maps for multiplay - they spoke, we listened."

Do the new indoor structures mean the Delta Force series is moving indoors, too? Is it just going to be another Quake now?

No. The bulk of gameplay in Delta Force: Land Warrior will still revolve around huge outdoor environments where you take advantage of natural cover and concealment, whether it's crawling prone through a valley, or staking out a prime sniping position atop a hill. We know that's what makes the series different and special, and we're not about to abandon that. But some missions will also take you indoors for more intense close-quarters fighting than you encountered in the first two games. CQB weapons like the shotgun, silenced SOCOM pistol, and suppressed MP5 will really come into their own in these missions.

How many scenarios and missions will Flashpoint offer?

Marek: Flash Point will offer one large non-linear solo campaign backed by strong storyline and cinematic style cut scenes. There would be around 50 missions overall. But regardless we want to create a great campaign, we think this campaign will be only part of the overall value of the game. There is a built in mission editor with all features and we did everything to allow players to create and share own missions or even campaigns pretty easily. Missions will be small text files and the structure of the game is very open on this side.

Microsoft Games: The gameplay emphasizes stealth tactics over twitch combat. Can you tell us more about gameplay strategy?

Peter Connelly: This isn't an army operation. There is only one man with limited resources versus a entire base of elite well equipped trained killers....... with a nuke.

Keeping to stealth tactics will help keep Snake alive, after all an empty gun is no good against a entire base alerted and coming for you. A sleepy guard is easier to get past than a guard who has been alerted to your presence.

Within the next few weeks, we'll update everyone with more specific info regarding our efforts to combat cheating. Meanwhile, we'd like to ask that the gaming community help us attack the problem by alerting us to the methods the cheaters are using. If you're aware of a trainer program, patch, or hack that lets people cheat in any of our games, please E-mail us at novawatch@novalogic.com, and it will reach the appropriate people in development.

The "Team Factor" story takes place at present time, so no futuristic weapons, equipments and enviroments will appear in the game. What we believe will be fun to play, is involving more than two opponent teams in the game. Basically imagine it as fight between two teams, with third one that has its own objective colliding with objectives of the first two teams. Imagine it as if the US SOCOM team is going to capture leader of one important Middle East militia force to bring him to the justice alive. The leader has its own elite forces for protection, of course. To mess things up a little, Israeli "shadow" commando appears on the scene with objective to "terminate" the militia leader to prevent some further incidents,, like his prison escape, or terrorists attack for negotiating his release. If the SOCOM team will want to fullfill its own objective, they will need to capture the militia leader alive, so they will need to fight the militians as well as repell the israelis away from him by force…

The two companies have signed a letter of intent and are just reworking language and juggling some figures to finalize the deal. The deal should be complete by the end of the month, the sources said.

As a result of UbiSoft's presence in the England, Red Storm's two U.K. offices will be closed and the employees will be transitioned into UbiSoft's European operations, the sources said.

Can you tell us a bit about the multiplayer aspect of Flashpoint? With so many controllable vehicles how are the team balanced so everyone won’t jump in a tank and run over the infantry?

The most interesting aspect in the multiplayer is the way how we can combine human controlled and AI controlled soldiers in the game. In Flashpoint you can have a group of 8 AI soldiers against other groups of your friends for example. Or you can play together with three human and five AI soldiers in your group as either commander or just an ordinary group member. And the possibility of using vehicles is great as well. The balance of the mission is on the mission designer, that’s the same as for the multiplayer as for the singleplayer – if there’s no tank available in the mission, you can hardly jump in a tank. The same mission editor can be used in the multiplayer as in the singleplayer so the player can try many types of the gameplay easily. The options are almost endless and if we would try to create each mission using such a huge variety of vehicles, there can be hundreds of multiplayer mission easily.

Gamingcove: I would be interested in any information you can disclose about the new "Rainbow Six" title. Particularly a release date, new features or gadgets, new characters in the game, a bit of storyline, and if the same team that developed Rainbow Six will develop the next-generation sequel.

April Jones: So far, no concepts have been approved for the next Rainbow Six, nor have any decisions been made as to what platforms it might be on, other than the PC, of course. We don't even have a date set yet for when we want anything in the Rainbow line to come out.

Freedom of gamers in various missions relates also to the nonlinear concept of campaigns, which evolve depending on gamers actions. It for instance means that if you play Flash Point with your friend and he couldnt accomplish certain task while you could, both of you will continue in different way, because he will have to accomplish the mission in other way.

Fight for Freedom is a pretty straightforward mission pack for Hidden & Dangerous. There are 3 new campaigns, 9 missions altogether. But, there is a major difference between Fight for Freedom and the normal Hidden & Dangerous. As you know, if not, read the Hidden & Dangerous review, that your view is quite unique, as you look through the sights of your gun. But, for some reason, the mission pack went back to the tradition ‘gun-out-the side’ view, which is good, you see a different aspect of the guns that you weren’t able to see before.

Navy Seals is a real-life action/shooter that enables characters to live out the missions of a SWAT like team of military specialists. A single-player game that's due on PS2 in Q2 2001, Navy Seals pits you as the commander in control of three teams that strategize how to infiltrate small islands and large corporate buildings held up by terrorists and then take them out. You can switch between characters and set them up in special positions throughout the game. Each team member will have specialties, too, such as explosive specialists, strong men, snipers, technical specialists, and more. Players use a unique helmet interface to switch between players.

Q: What weapons and maps can we expect?

A: There are no new weapons, but the levels in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials will be based on the same code used to create Urban Ops. Covert Ops has nine new missions for veterans and novices alike, ranging from simple covert operations training missions (busting a meth lab in a trailer park) to no-holds-barred RAINBOW action (tracking a downed airplane through mountainous jungle terrain under enemy fire). This is a stand-alone CD--the player need not have purchased Rogue Spear or Rainbow Six to play the missions.

Three new screenshots have been released showing Private Wars latest feature.

Private Wars is no longer using the old, two layered sky plane model to draw sky and clouds. Now the game uses an elaborated model yet unseen in any game which uses seven ( ! ) alphaoped skydomes to simulate sky, sun, halos, clouds, etc. This new system also allows absolutely realistic day/night transitions.

The new sky model looks most beautiful with a Voodoo 5 card at 32bit mode, but users of slightly less advanced cards ( Like GeForce 2 ) or even users of 16-bit cards ( Voodoo 3 for example ) will be able to enjoy the beauty. The three new screenshots where taken on a system using a Voodoo 3 card.

The largest and most impressive mission on the game disc takes the Rainbow Team to northern Bolivia in "one of the largest levels" ever made for the franchise. The survivors of a plane wreck have been taken hostage by some terrorists and it's up to you to free them. Being both a jaded gaming journalist and a longtime fan of the series, I can safely say that the jungle they've created here is insanely cool. There's all sorts of trees and bushes and waterfalls. There's even a rope bridge spanning a deep chasm. "Camouflage makes a big difference" on this vast, leafy level.

Hidden & Dangerous Resource Center focuses on original content. After receiving continual requests for a walkthrough from various H&D players, I finally decided it was necessary to put one up on this site. You'll also find several other features here that will hopefully be helpful and entertaining, and there will be several pages dealing with tips and how-to's for maximizing your H&D experience.

Since the last game, NovaLogic has reworked the graphics to greatly increase performance and include detailed indoor environments for close-combat missions. NovaLogic's 3D graphics engine has long been based on voxel technology, which produces finely detailed exterior terrain but has proven difficult to accelerate with 3D graphics cards. NovaLogic says Landwarrior breaks through the voxel acceleration issue and will be the first game in the series to take full advantage of 3D cards.

Level Designer
Zombie Studios currently has opportunities for talented and experienced level designers/3D artists. Applicants should be skilled in level construction and building of realistic models of architecture, terrain and props. Must have the ability to design levels/models in collaboration with a game designer in 2D, create and/or take a drawn or written concept and translate it to 3D, and apply the appropriate textures. The applicant must be experienced in one or more of the following level creation tools: WorldCraft, UnrealEd, dEdit, QRadiant. dEdit experience is a plus.

Requirements
Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience in new media design, or fine arts. We are not closed to applicants without game industry experience if their portfolios demonstrate the necessary skills. However, industry experience creating and texturing low poly models, levels, and terrains is highly preferred. Ability to create textures is a plus. Intermediate to advanced experience with production tools such as Photoshop and 3D Studio Max is highly preferred. Production level illustration skills are a plus, but not required. Excellent execution skills, pixel-detail driven, and deadline-oriented drive are expected. A passion for playing games is an absolute requirement. Qualified applicants should contact:

Tom Kim, Producer, at
tom@zombie.com, or call 206.381.9651 (email inquiries preferred).

While the multimedia CD is great and worth getting by itself, Covert Ops also includes a second CD full of missions and action. While the first CD provides the book learning, the second requires the player to take what they learned in the classroom and apply it in training and combat missions.

Covert Ops uses the same engine as Rogue Spear and has all the same features included in the Urban Operations mission pack. There are six new training missions. Each mission acts as a tutorial, progressively getting more difficult. In the early training missions, players need only to neutralize all terrorists on the map. However, in later training missions, they will have to secure hostages and escort them to safety. These training missions take place in various locales, including a trailer park, a junkyard, a hospital, and a retail store.

Speaking of a tactical game, you don't play all the missions alone; you have some soldiers with you. You can order them around very easily. First you can give them orders via keys. You can order them different attack commands like 'attack this or that target'. Also, you can order them to go to different spots by using objects, like 'move to the tree at five o'clock' or 'move to the truck at 10 o'clock' and so on. You can also move them or make them take action from your 3rd person view. In this view you simply drag a box with your mouse around them and click at the spot you want them to go or to take action, like you do in such games like StarCraft or Ground Control.