| Spec Ops II: Update
by John Williamson, Producer/Designer |
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Spec Ops II is the sequel to Spec Ops and Spec Ops Ranger Team Bravo (the multiplayer add-on pack). At this time, Spec Ops II will ship with the multiplayer component included and we will try to have a mission editor (it may be downloadable from our site rather than on the CD.) Engine Spec Ops II is being written using the internally developed Zombie game engine, Viper. The new engine will again support both 3rd and 1st person views, as well as the return of "buddy" who will now be even smarter and follow more commands, using a new click and drag GUI. We are also experimenting with adding 3 buddies. This allows Spec Ops to be differentiated from the other shooter style military sims due out in the coming year. The engine will now have D3D/Glide support to bring a wide range of new cards into the fun, and will run at 1024x768 (as well as 800x600 and 640x480). Currently, we are looking at a minimum system between a P166 and a P200 with a 3D card.
 We will have more dynamic lighting (searchlights, flashlights, etc.) and 3D audio (probably supporting both EAX and A3d.) While still focusing on exterior environments, you will now be able to open doors and go into far more interior spaces (hangers, warehouses, cranes, trains, etc.), complete with ladders, staircases and more. But the emphasis will be on exteriors and vast landscapes. The game will take place in a wide range of environments bases on real world missions and will include jungles, frozen tundra as well as industrial parks and waterfronts.  Six of the guns in SPEC OPS II As in Spec Ops a great deal of attention is being paid both to details and accuracy/realism. In Spec Ops, all the texture maps started as photos from locations, as well as all the uniforms and faces. All the motion capture data was taken off a former special forces officer, wearing full gear and all the audio was taken from several live fire exercises. For Spec Ops II, we are following the same art path and have recently completed a 3 day training course with the local SWAT team, blowing up buildings (literally) and shooting down doors with shotguns (and I went to college for this?). We also spent a day struggling over (or just walking around) the obstacle courses (I am not as limber nor strong as I was 20 years ago, despite going to the gym every day) and the shoot house and tire house to get a better feel for the training levels we created. Back in January we spent time at the docks for our "On the waterfront" level (sorry no Marlon Brando). Try as I might, I just can’t get the accountant to approve that "fact finding" trip to Thailand (she also wouldn’t approve my fact finding trip to Vietnam for Spec Ops Ranger Team Bravo. Sigh.) |
 True light sourcing and dynamic lighting greatly change this game over the original Spec Ops. You can shoot out virtually any light on any mission, which makes you harder to see, but the initial shooting of the light will raise the AI awareness. If you turn on your flashlight, that will give away your position. With true light sourcing you can tell where the light's source actually is. This will prove to be extremely useful in hostage scenarios where you have to go into dark rooms and rescue people. The settings for missions will also vary greatly nationally, including a ship yard in Germany, Nuclear rocket test facilities in Pakistan, a jungle patrol for guerrillas in Thailand, rescusing defectors in North Korea, and satellite recovery in Antarctica. The training base includes an obstacle course, firing range, CQB shoothouse, and tirehouse. Although the game is about Green Berets we will also have international assistance on two "CODA" missions, one with the German GSG9 and one with the British SAS. The weapons and uniforms will change accordingly. Multiplayer Again Spec Ops will use RTime’s multiplayer code to allow seamless multiplayer over a LAN or Internet. Several changes will be made to the lobby server to give the player more information with regard to the game in progress as well as the skill set of the opponents. Multiplayer will include straight up death match as well team vs. team DeathMatch. Variants on these will include capture the flag and assassin. And once again, if the single player missions prove too trying for you, you and your friends can meet online and take on the AI as a group. If the missions are too easy, you can play against other humans who are on the side of the AI.
 The default will be to play with Buddy for 3 on 3 multiplayer, but there will be an option to turn off buddy and play 6 on 6 in any of the above multiplayer games. FEATURES
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