by michael beardwood 06196705 meng (hons) computer games … · 6.3.1 space hulk 15 . tactical...

Tactical Gameplay: Can Control Elements of Real and

Turn Based Tactics Games be Used in the First Person

Shooter Genre

By Michael Beardwood

06196705

MEng (Hons) Computer Games Design

A project submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of the

degree of MEng (Hons) Computer Games Design from

Staffordshire University

Supervised by Stephen Webley

2009/2010

Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Technology

Tactical Gameplay: Can Control Elements of Real and Turn Based Tactics Games be

Used in the First Person Shooter Genre

By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page I of VIII

Table of Contents

Section Title Page

1 Abstract 1

2 Initial Definitions 2

2.1 Tactics Versus Strategy 2

2.2 Real time Tactics 3

2.3 Turn Based Tactics 3

2.4 Tactical Shooter 3

2.5 Mechanics 4

2.6 Influencing the Mechanics to Research 4

2.7 Requirements for Games 5

2.7.1 Real Time Tactics 5

2.7.2 Turn Based Tactics 5

2.7.3 Tactical Shooters 5

2.7.4 Examples of Excluded Games 5

3 Mechanics for Research 6

3.1 All Game Types 6

3.2 Reasons for Researching Mechanics 6

4 Literature Review 7

4.1 Theatres of War: The Military-Entertainment Complex

(2003 - Stanford University) Jim Lenoir and Henry Lowood

7

4.2 From Gameboy to Armageddon - BBC Radio 3 – February 21st

2010 Ken Hollings

9

4.3 Information from Literature Review 11

4.4 Realism Versus Gameplay 11

5 Realism with Mechanics 12

5.1 Force and Composition 12

5.2 Levelling 12

5.3 Control 12

5.4 Equipment 12

5.5 Terrain 13

5.6 Feedback 13

5.7 Opposition 13

6 Games for Research 14

6.1 Real Time Tactical Games for Research 14

6.1.1 UFO: Aftermath 14

6.1.2 MechCommander 2 14

6.1.3 Fallout Tactics 14

6.2 Turn Based Tactical Games for Research 14

6.2.1 Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate 15

6.2.2 UFO Enemy Unknown 15

6.2.3 Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command 15

6.3 Tactical Shooters for Research 15

6.3.1 Space Hulk 15



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page II of VIII

6.3.2 Star Wars: Republic Commando 15

6.3.3 Hidden & Dangerous 16

6.3.4 Rainbow 6: Vegas 16

6.3.5 Raven Squad 16

6.3.6 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 16

6.3.7 Note to Appendix 16

7 Realism in UFO: Aftermath 17


7.2 Levelling 17

7.3 Control 17

7.4 Equipment 17

7.5 Terrain 18

7.6 Feedback 18

7.7 Opposition 18

7.8 Overall Realism 18

8 Realism in MechCommander 2 19


8.2 Levelling 19

8.3 Control 19

8.4 Equipment 19

8.5 Terrain 20

8.6 Feedback 20

8.7 Opposition 20


9 Realism in Fallout Tactics 21


9.2 Levelling 21

9.3 Control 21

9.4 Equipment 21

9.5 Terrain 22

9.6 Feedback 22

9.7 Opposition 22


10 Realism in Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate 23


10.2 Levelling 23

10.3 Control 23

10.4 Equipment 23

10.5 Terrain 23

10.6 Feedback 24

10.7 Opposition 24


11 Realism in UFO: Enemy Unknown 25


11.2 Levelling 25



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page III of VIII

11.3 Control 25

11.4 Equipment 25

11.5 Terrain 26

11.6 Feedback 26

11.7 Opposition 26


12 Realism in Warhammer 40,000 Squad Command 27


12.2 Levelling 27

12.3 Control 27

12.4 Equipment 27

12.5 Terrain 28

12.6 Feedback 28

12.7 Opposition 28


13 Realism in Space Hulk 29


13.2 Levelling 29

13.3 Control 29

13.4 Equipment 29

13.5 Terrain 30

13.6 Feedback 30

13.7 Opposition 30


14 Realism in Star Wars: Republic Commando 31


14.2 Levelling 31

14.3 Control 31

14.4 Equipment 31

14.5 Terrain 32

14.6 Feedback 32

14.7 Opposition 32


15 Realism in Hidden & Dangerous 33


15.2 Levelling 33

15.3 Control 33

15.4 Equipment 33

15.5 Terrain 34

15.6 Feedback 34

15.7 Opposition 34


16 Realism in Rainbow 6: Vegas 35


16.2 Levelling 35



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page IV of VIII

16.3 Control 35

16.4 Equipment 35

16.5 Terrain 36

16.6 Feedback 36

16.7 Opposition 36


17 Realism in Raven Squad 37


17.2 Levelling 37

17.3 Control 37

17.4 Equipment 37

17.5 Terrain 37

17.6 Feedback 38

17.7 Opposition 38


18 Realism in Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 39


18.2 Levelling 39

18.3 Control 39

18.4 Equipment 39

18.5 Terrain 40

18.6 Feedback 40

18.7 Opposition 40


19 Conclusions of Game Research 41

19.1 Existing Tactical Control Systems 41

19.1.1 Space Hulk 41

19.1.2 Hidden & Dangerous 41

19.1.3 Raven Squad 41

19.1.4 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 42

19.2 Using Project Odin 42

19.3 Quick Command System 42

20 Mechanics for Game Design 43

20.1 Basis for Game 43


20.3 Levelling 44

20.4 Control 44

20.5 Equipment 44

20.6 Terrain 45

20.7 Feedback 45

20.8 Opposition 45

21 Further Work 46

21.1 Additional Games 46

21.2 Breakdown of Mechanics 46

22 References 47



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page V of VIII

22.1 General References 47

22.2 Literature Review Material 47

22.3 Research Material – Not Directly Referenced 47

22.4 Games/Game Systems Referenced 48

22.5 Weapon Research 49

22.6 Additional Images 49

Appendices 50

A Research on UFO: Aftermath 51

A.1 UFO: Aftermath: Information 51

A.2 Background on UFO: Aftermath 51

A.3 Mechanic Research 52

A.3.1 Force and Composition 52

A.3.2 Levelling 52

A.3.3 Control 53

A.3.4 Equipment 54

A.3.5 Terrain 56

A.3.6 Feedback 56

A.3.7 Opposition 58

B Research on MechCommander 2 60

B.1 MechCommander 2: Information 60

B.2 Background on MechCommander 2 60

B.3 Mechanic Research 61

B.3.1 Force and Composition 61

B.3.2 Levelling 61

B.3.3 Control 62

B.3.4 Equipment 64

B.3.5 Terrain 65

B.3.6 Feedback 66

B.3.7 Opposition 69

C Research on UFO: Fallout Tactics 71

C.1 Fallout Tactics: Information 71

C.2 Background on Fallout Tactics 71

C.3 Mechanic Research 72

C.3.1 Force and Composition 72

C.3.2 Levelling 72

C.3.3 Control 73

C.3.4 Equipment 75

C.3.5 Terrain 77

C.3.6 Feedback 78

C.3.7 Opposition 81

D Research on Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate 82

D.1 Chaos Gate: Information 82

D.2 Background on Chaos Gate 82

D.3 Mechanic Research 83

D.3.1 Force and Composition 83



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page VI of VIII

D.3.2 Levelling 84

D.3.3 Control 85

D.3.4 Equipment 88

D.3.5 Terrain 89

D.3.6 Feedback 56

D.3.7 Opposition 58

E Research on UFO: Enemy Unknown 92

E.1 UFO: Enemy Unknown: Information 92

E.2 Background on UFO: Enemy Unknown 92

E.3 Mechanic Research 94

E.3.1 Force and Composition 94

E.3.2 Levelling 94

E.3.3 Control 95

E.3.4 Equipment 97

E.3.5 Terrain 99

E.3.6 Feedback 100

E.3.7 Opposition 102

F Research on Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command 103

F.1 Squad Command: Information 103

F.2 Background on Squad Command 103

F.3 Mechanic Research 104

F.3.1 Force and Composition 104

F.3.2 Levelling 104

F.3.3 Control 104

F.3.4 Equipment 106

F.3.5 Terrain 108

F.3.6 Feedback 109

F.3.7 Opposition 112

G Research on Space Hulk 113

G.1 Space Hulk: Information 113

G.2 Background on Space Hulk 113

G.3 Mechanic Research 114

G.3.1 Force and Composition 114

G.3.2 Levelling 114

G.3.3 Control 114

G.3.4 Equipment 117

G.3.5 Terrain 118

G.3.6 Feedback 118

G.3.7 Opposition 119

H Research on Star Wars: Republic Commando 120

H.1 Star Wars: Republic Commando: Information 120

H.2 Background on Star Wars: Republic Commando 120

H.3 Mechanic Research 121

H.3.1 Force and Composition 121

H.3.2 Levelling 121



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page VII of VIII

H.3.3 Control 121

H.3.4 Equipment 123

H.3.5 Terrain 124

H.3.6 Feedback 124

H.3.7 Opposition 126

I Research on Hidden & Dangerous 128

I.1 Hidden & Dangerous: Information 128

I.2 Background on Hidden & Dangerous 128

I.3 Mechanic Research 129

I.3.1 Force and Composition 129

I.3.2 Levelling 129

I.3.3 Control 129

I.3.4 Equipment 132

I.3.5 Terrain 133

I.3.6 Feedback 134

I.3.7 Opposition 135

J Research on Rainbow 6: Vegas 136

J.1 Rainbow 6:Vegas : Information 136

J.2 Background on R6: Vegas 136

J.3 Mechanic Research 137

J.3.1 Force and Composition 137

J.3.2 Levelling 137

J.3.3 Control 137

J.3.4 Equipment 139

J.3.5 Terrain 141

J.3.6 Feedback 142

J.3.7 Opposition 145

K Research on Raven Squad 146

K.1 Raven Squad: Information 146

K.2 Background on Raven Squad 146

K.3 Mechanic Research 147

K.3.1 Force and Composition 147

K.3.2 Levelling 147

K.3.3 Control 147

K.3.4 Equipment 148

K.3.5 Terrain 150

K.3.6 Feedback 150

K.3.7 Opposition 152

L Research on Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 153

L.1 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising: Information 153

L.2 Background on Chaos Gate 153

L.3 Mechanic Research 154

L.3.1 Force and Composition 154

L.3.2 Levelling 154

L.3.3 Control 154



By Michael Beardwood 06196705 Page VIII of VIII

L.3.4 Equipment 158

L.3.5 Terrain 160

L.3.6 Feedback 160

L.3.7 Opposition 162



By Michael Beardwood 06196705

Page 1 of 162

1 Abstract

This project will look into the development of a squad control system for first person

shooters by researching real time and turn based tactical games.

The aim of this project is the research the required elements of real time and turn based

tactical games, breaking them down to their mechanic solutions, and then look into what

elements would be required in order to design and implement a similar interface option

into a first person shooter/simulation game.

Tactical Shooter games will also be researched in order to find any squad control systems

that are in place and find out how they work in regards to gameplay.

Finally the subject area of Realism versus Gameplay will be researched and looked at in

depth regarding all the games researched.

All research will be conducted by using the single player aspects of the games for terms

of control.

The research will culminate in the designing of a squad control system for a first person

shooter which will show elements from the games researched as well as a realistic

method of achieving the controls. This system will be implemented into a games design

document.




Page 2 of 162

2. Initial Definitions

In order to research Real Time Tactics, Turn Based Tactics and Tactical Shooter games,

an array of definitions must first be gathered. This includes the genres of each of the pre-

mentioned as well as the main link between them, the term Tactics.

2.1 Tactics Versus Strategy

In order to understand Tactical approaches, the difference between Tactics and Strategy

must be researched. This is also a requirement for defining the genres later on due to the

close link between Real Time Strategy and Real Time Tactics games.

…tactics present a Small Picture perspective where individual trees are in focus

but the Big Picture of the forest is not. Just as your eyes have to look up from this

page to refocus on the larger room you’re reading it in, so strategy and tactics

require a different focus. (Emrich 2010)

The Department of Defences military Dictionary gives the following descriptions for

strategy and tactics.

A prudent idea or set of ideas for employing the instruments of national power in

a synchronized and integrated fashion to achieve theater, national, and/or

multinational objectives. (Department of Defence Dictionary 2009)

The employment and ordered arrangement of forces in relation to each other.

(Department of Defence Dictionary 2009 B)

A GameSpy article on the subject gives the following insights.

Think of strategy as the big picture. For example, in Civilization III your ultimate

goal affects your strategy. In other words, do you intend to conquer the world

with a strong military or out-research your opponents? (Walker 2002)

Tactics is all about how you win each battle. For example, exactly how your

ground forces will assault that … base is a tactical consideration. (Walker 2002)

From these definitions and examples it is easy to point out the differences between the

two terms.




Page 3 of 162

Strategy refers to the overall battle plan of a situation, real or fictional. The commonality

of the term „the big picture‟ supports this definition. Strategy could be defined as

instructions on where to go, but not how to get there.

Tactics has a much smaller focus, that of individual control and operations. So based on

the references and the definition of Strategy, Tactics could be defined as the local

decisions based on the global strategy.

2.2 Real Time Tactics

Real Time Tactical games are seen as a sub category from the Real Time Strategy genre

of games. Using the definitions from the tactics versus strategy section (2.1) it can be

said that Real Time Tactical games major difference from Real Time Strategy games is

the focus. Real Time Strategy focuses on the overall game; the player has control of base

building, research, resource management and unit control. While “Real-time tactical

(RTT) games on the other hand don't even necessarily need a resource component and

generally challenge players to be victorious with a set amount of troops for each level.”

(Adams 2006)

Although the precise challenge may differ from game to game, Real Time Tactical games

are based on the player having a set number of units to complete missions with. The

world is still set in a constantly updating environment, hence the term „Real Time‟

2.3 Turn Based Tactics

Using the Real Time Tactics as a basis, the only difference between these two sub groups

should be the use of time within the game. The term „Turn Based‟ suggests that the game

is not played in a continuous time system but is based on a system more familiar with

board games. One player makes a move, then another player and so on. As with all

groups of games, there will be differences in the way that the „turn system‟ is based. For

example Chess is played with a turn based system: the first player moves a piece then the

second player moves and so on however in many tabletop war games, Warhammer for

example, the player may use each and every unit they have before the opposing player

may take their turn.

2.4 Tactical Shooter

Unlike the definitions above (2.2, 2.3) the term Tactical Shooter has very little in

common with the Strategy Genre. Tactical Shooters are games that attempt to simulate

realistic combat and usually have a squad based system.

“The tactical shooter (as distinct from the standard first-person shooter) usually involves

a team of commandos operating in real-world situations. They tend toward the "one shot,

one kill" model. They usually don't have power-ups or energy shields and rocket jumping

just don't exist. Tactical shooters are about finesse, teamwork and keeping a cool head.”

(Samuel 2000)




Page 4 of 162

In the context of this project Tactical Shooters could be (but not necessarily) a Serious

Game. “This term applies to the application of advanced video game technology to games

that have serious purposes. Examples include defence, security, driver training,

occupational health and safety, visualisation, engineering, biomedical, infrastructure,

simulation and scenario based training.” (Torus Games 2010)

2.5 Mechanics

Using previous work undergone in the field of breaking down games, the term Mechanic

has already been defined and is know to be a valid basis for this analysis.

The Mechanical solution for a game is created by reducing the game into general areas

where rather than looking at individual parts of a game such as, for example, a cover

system would be set into a section dealing with terrain. In this way the game can be seen

in broader terms than just a simple list of every single element.

There will be multiple ways in which to break a game down in such a mechanical way.

This project will use a system that can encompass all the different types of games what

will be researched in order for it to be easier to modify elements from the games in order

to create a product from the findings of the research.

This system of breaking down games is based on Staffan Bjork and Jussi Holopainen‟s

work in Patterns in Games Design (2005) although they based their approach on breaking

games down to their smallest elements, this project will use the same approach to break

the games into larger sections which can then be seen in terms of realism while a point

and click system may be an intricate part in a game such a base system could not be

looked at in terms of being realistic.

2.6 Influencing the Mechanics to Research

The actual sections of mechanics that will be researched will depend on the genres being

researched. There are obvious differences between tactical shooters and real time tactics

games however there will be a system that can be used to devolve the intricate

differences between the genres.

The mechanics that will be researched will depend on the exact requirements of each

genre which will be looked at.




Page 5 of 162

2.7 Requirements for Games

2.7.1 Real Time Tactics

In order to be considered as a real time tactical game, certain elements must be included.

- To have a continuous time system to be played in – A pause element may be

included.

- To have a limited number of units to control in mission.

- To include some type of system to increase the potential of units.

- To include opposition with which to fight against.

2.7.2 Turn Based Tactics

As the main difference between real time and turn based tactical games is in the title, the

units are controlled in a turn based system instead of a continuous time system.

2.7.3 Tactical Shooters

As Tactical Shooters are in a different genre of games from the aforementioned tactical

games, a different set of criteria are required.

- To be set in a first/third person view.

- To have the ability to control at least one member from the first/third person

perspective.

- To be able to accurately control squad members.

2.7.4 Examples of Excluded Games

As real and turn based games are not as common as other genres it is relatively easy to

distinguish between other games. For example, the closest type of game would be the

real time strategy game which would include production and in mission resource

collection to create an army which would not be limited in the sense of the requirement.

(2.7.2)

As for Tactical Shooters, the criteria of being able to accurately control squad members

cuts many games such as the Unreal Tournament series, due to the fact that the orders

available are relatively abstract – Attack, Defend etc.




Page 6 of 162

3 Mechanics for Research

3.1 All Game Types

For all three types of game, the same set of mechanics will be researched. In this way it

will be much easier to develop a system that includes parts from different games.

1) Force and Composition – The types of units open to the player.

2) Levelling – The system for increasing the units combat effectiveness.

3) Control – The type and amount of control over the units.

4) Equipment – The equipment open to the player and the means of attaining more.

5) Terrain – The effect the terrain has on units.

6) Feedback – The responses from units about their current situation.

7) Opposition – The types and numbers of enemies faced during the game.

3.2 Reasons for Researching Mechanics (3.1)

1) The forces the player has at their disposal will make a large affect on gameplay

for example, if the units are very weak then the player will be more disposed to

covert tactics however if the player has access to much tougher units they may

consider a more direct approach.

2) Levelling is a core mechanic in many real and turn based tactics games which

allows for the game to become progressively harder to counter the expected level

of the players force.

3) The system and amount of control the player has for his forces consists of the

main gameplay in many cases and therefore must be researched.

4) The equipment and methods of gaining it is generally a secondary consideration,

however as it is a necessity for most games in the genres it shall be researched.

5) Terrain can affect many aspects of the tactical game mainly the basis for any type

of cover system. Line of sight in tactical games is also dependent on terrain.

6) The response of units and statistics regarding battlefield information is a key

aspect in the realism of a game and also allows for more accurate commands to be

given by the player.

7) Without opposition the game would be bereft of all gameplay. This report will

only look into the opposition in single player rather than multiplayer modes.




Page 7 of 162

4 Literature Review

As the main focus of this report is to create a system for tactical control in first person

shooters that can be implemented, the research for this area will be mainly at games that

have some or all of the mechanisms required for this system.

As researching and developing the system will be focused on looking at games, the

secondary category of research - that of realism in games - will be looked at for the

literature review.

This report will take a military perspective on realism in games based on simulation

technology that has been used for some time. As all the games that will be researched

involve war in one way or another, this seems to be the logical starting point.

4.1 Theatres of War: The Military-Entertainment Complex (2003 -

Stanford University)

Jim Lenoir and Henry Lowood

“War games are simulations combining game, experience and performance.” This first

sentence of the paper provide a basic understanding of what war games mean to the

military in terms of training. Experience and performance are brought by whoever

actually plays the game, but the constant element remains the gameplay aspect. With an

unrealistic simulation nothing is gained. Based on this it is not difficult to note that “…

commercial game designers produced many of the ideas shaping the design of military

simulations.”

“The necessity of realistic scenario’s and back story in military simulations led designers

to build databases of historical, geographical and physical data.” As previously

mentioned, an unrealistic simulation provides little in terms of training so realism is

important and with this reference, realism comes in many forms. Obviously if the

simulation is of a specific location in the real world, then it is important that the

topography is as close to real representation as possible. Historical data will simply

relate to the player to give them an insight of what the battle is about and the situation in

which it is happening. Finally physical realism is one of the most important aspects of

simulation as if damage, for example, is not calculated correctly then the player will lose

the feel of realism about the simulation as well as not gain accurate information about

weapon systems.

The paper is not simply a description of simulation technology in use by military forces,

it also makes high note that the commercial sector also benefits and helps develop such

war games in a complex circle. “Even when this has not been the intention of their

designers and sponsors, military simulations have been deeply embedded in the

commercial forms of entertainment, for example, by providing content and technology

deployed in computer games.” “Their adoption and further development by the game

entertainment has resulted in the improvement of designing war games.”




Page 8 of 162

The paper does make an interesting note that until high fidelity simulators where

available, military simulations where kept to the strategic rather than the tactical in terms

of training and analysis. Games such as chess and Kreigspiel emphasize this and their

existence has informally helped to shape further likeminded systems such as Operation

Internal Look, a simulation used as a predictive model for the initial stages of the Gulf

war based on real data which gave extremely accurate results and almost matched the

actual events and outcome of engagements. The public, on the other hand, where more

interested in tactical games such as board games like Fire-fight, which featured a future

history setting of American and Soviet forces in a squad based skirmish environment.

Like many games created around this time historical accuracy was maintained with real

weapons and technology being used in different ways in the game to mirror their

effectiveness in real life.

The main element of the paper is written about the Battle of 73 Eastings, an engagement

involving a tank battle between U.S. and Iraqi forces during the Gulf War where an

American tank unit managed to take out a much larger and well defended Iraqi force.

This was an important engagement due to the amount of information being recorded.

The battle was recorded with the largest amount of detail yet; each tank had tracking

units that enabled its position to be calculated with high accuracy. As well as tracking,

each tank was equipped with sound recorders to capture the crew‟s commands and

conversations. After the battle, wires attached to each round fired allowed damage and

accuracy to be calculated giving extremely accurate data about the battle which would be

taken back to the U.S.‟s military simulation branch and recreated into a training

simulation.

The other system in use during the engagement was Project Odin. Odin is a system that

takes live information from different sources including satellites and ground forces to

give an overall strategic view for officers. “It would allow the intelligence officer and

the commander to see the battle field in three dimensions and enable them interactively to

zoom to any location to see the arrangement of forces.” This system may sound like

something directly from a strategy game, but it is in fact a viable piece of technology on

the battlefield.

The later stages of the paper explain that with the simulation technology available aswell

as the data from 73 Eastings and Odin, an extremely viable piece of training equipment

has been produced. The system allows for the modification of features in the simulation

using realistic data taken about weapons and equipment to create new realistic

engagements for training purposes.

One of the final points is that “The research centre has enlisted film and video game

designers in the effort, with the promise that any technological advances can also be

applied to make more compelling video games and theme park rides.” Showing that the

technology in war is applicable to games and for the purposes of realism, should be used

in the same manor allowing the public to see what really goes on or to be able to use the

same equipment as the military in the games they play.




Page 9 of 162

4.2 From Gameboy to Armageddon - BBC Radio 3 – February 21st 2010

Ken Hollings

In a similar vain as Theatres of War, From Gameboy to Armageddon looks into how and

why military and civilian technology has crossed paths to be joined in the way it is by the

entertainment industry.

The beginning of the broadcast tells us that war games have been played throughout

civilisation, from the games played to honour the dead, to the modern arcade. It is no

great discovery that war plays an integral part of games, if not in all aspects of life.

Therefore it is no surprise that serious games have developed in recent years.

Clausewitz, the Prussian general, is mentioned frequently for his insights on war.

“Commanders tended to drift from reality.” is his first noted comment during the

broadcast. This tends to show that even though commanders may have good intelligence

about their forces but possibly not of the enemy. This lead to commanders having a too

high ideal on how their troops would perform on the battlefield. Although war games

where played back when this was the case, the element of luck was never taken into

account. Based on these elements Kriegspiel was created. Kriegspiel was a much more

complex version of chess; however it made use of a fog of war or imperfect information

by which an impartial referee was involved. Kriegspiel also had a basis using historical

experience for the units that could be controlled.

The broadcast goes on from commanders and their need for reliable information to the

soldiers and the use of training equipment and the fidelity that it requires. A main point

is raised that even though simulations are not the same as reality, there are some things

that should be practised in simulators as they cannot be used until the eventuality of war

breaks out, simply because new technology cannot be used in case a potential enemy sees

it being deployed and a counter can be made.

With the section on simulators, a discussion of the equipment and resources for the battle

of 73 Eastings is noted as in Theatres of War with its data being recorded for later use as

a training system via SIMNET in order to make a realistic experience.

From Gameboy to Armageddon then takes a look at the games that have been adapted

and developed for the purposes of training. Other than actual simulations such as virtual

tanks and planes there was little in the way of arcade style games to teach tactics and

procedure. The game Doom was seen as a good basis for the first modification due to the

level of realism never seen in games before, even though Wolfenstien 3D had been

released beforehand, the subtle aspects of the game such as the weapon bobbing – where

the players weapon moves up and down when they move, as it would in real life – took

the game and gave it a “Claustrophobic reality” with a real sense of the player running

around rather than floating. People because scared of the game in a way that had not been

seen before, this immersion was the main reason for the adaptation of the game for

training purposes.




Page 10 of 162

America‟s Army is quite heavily mentioned in the program with note to its enhancements

to recruitment after its release. Other than the overarching demonstration of what it is

like in combat, the program is limited in many ways, firstly you can never intestinally kill

and American soldier, as both teams see each other as non American forces. Secondly,

there are no women or children. This factor pulls away from the realistic in an important

way; although the depiction of violence to children in games is a contentious issue.

Continuing in America‟s Army‟s success in recruitment and training drove to the creation

of games such as Full Spectrum Warrior. The focus of Full Spectrum Warrior was on

squad command and decision making, as the player never actually got to fire their

weapon. The major change from America‟s Army was the portrait of the world, instead

of a generic Middle Eastern town; Full Spectrum Warrior pushed the realism and

grittiness of warfare to new levels.

The last game related quote adds a new dimension to the creation of serious games.

“…putting restrictions to what the player could do, these restrictions actually give a

game more hooks by bringing it closer to the trickiness of reality.” This quote relates

games such as Doom to Full Spectrum Warrior, whereas in games such as Doom the

player can endlessly jump around a dungeon like area firing weapons at anything that

moves with no consequences other than running low on ammunition. The player of more

serious games must adhere to more stringent rules relating to the rules of engagement and

war crime laws.




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4.3 Information from Literature Review

Although the main focus of the subjects used for the review where war based and then

games as a secondary, they reveal useful information on what needs to be attained for

simulation – Realism.

Whether this comes from the weapon bobbing from Doom or the gritty recreations from

Full Spectrum Warrior, realism is an important part of serious games.

This project will be looking at the realism in each of the games that will be researched.

Some of these games will have elements that can not be really commented on, especially

those containing non human components such as enemies.

Using the information on Project Odin found in Theatres of War, the final game design

document will have some sort of similar system which is one of the reasons for looking at

both first person games as well as top down tactical games. By using the information

gained by researching the games a gameplay mechanism should be able to be refined.

4.4 Realism Versus Gameplay

Realism in games has always been an issue in the industry, especially when the question

of realism versus gameplay arrives. Taking this point to its extreme the question is; will

a single bullet kill you? From a realism viewpoint the simple answer is yes, unless you

start to factor in all the possibilities from weapon and ammunition type to distances and

amour. From a gameplay standpoint it would cause a large problem with the game

especially for those with less skill than others. The game would become almost

unplayable. This issue is usually addressed by difficulty levels in each game, however

other systems emerge such as the highly unrealistic „health pack‟ where by walking over

a red box on the floor the player somehow manages to not only undo the bullets‟ damage

to them but also end up in better shape. Other games mask this by using medics or

systems that take longer to deploy. Taking a point by point view on this subject and the

benefits from each perspective would end up being the beginnings of another project.

Other that health one of the biggest areas of gameplay design over realism is that of

weapons fire. Most games will have a simple system where if the central reticule is over

the target when fired, a hit will be scored. This does not take into account range or

ammunition type etc. as bullets start to lose momentum as soon as they are fired, giving a

drop over distance.

The subject of realism will be broached on the six mechanics being researched for each

game with an overview section at the end of each game section as well as a larger note on

realism in the section below.




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5 Realism with Mechanics

5.1 Force and Composition

This mechanic notes the types and numbers of units open to the player during the

game or for specific missions. Realism in this mechanic will come from actually military

doctrine, for example a covert team would not consist of three hundred men and a

battalion of armoured support. Likewise the composition of the force is a notable section

with realism, fire teams will usually comprise of a set of soldiers with weapons to take on

a variety of tasks – every member is unlikely to carry anti-tank weaponry, but it is likely

that one of them will. This again depends on the mission scenario as anti-tank weapons

would not be a good strategy in a small internal compound or corridor system.

5.2 Levelling

This mechanic deals with in increasing abilities of the players‟ forces over time.

Obviously real people don‟t have levels attached to them, this is a gameplay element but

to say there is no realism included would be inaccurate. The more combat experience a

soldier has the better they become as they know what to expect and how to deal with

situations that arise. Training will generally increase the skills of an individual, the main

reason for using simulation.

5.3 Control

This mechanic details the level and types of control over the units under the players

command. Like Levelling, this is mainly a gameplay element but also has a base in

reality. From a squad leaders standpoint they would be able to give commands via voice

man to man or through a radio system. In the heat of combat these voice

communications could become lost or misunderstood for one reason or another. As

previously mentioned the Project Odin system used in conjunction with the battle of 73

Eastings would provide a high quality tactical control mechanism.

5.4 Equipment

This mechanic looks into the equipment and weaponry available to the player at any

given time and any way in which they may increase or replace it. In terms of realism,

this mechanic is central. Based on the examples of America‟s Army, Full Spectrum

Warrior and most modern warfare games, the use of real equipment is a necessity. For

the games set in an alternate universe, this is less important but there is still a need to fit

in with its own lore for example, it would make little sense for a Space Marine in the

Warhammer 40,000 universe to be carrying a weapon used in the Second World War.




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5.5 Terrain

This mechanic looks at the element of terrain. Terrain is highly important for

simulation as the more realistic the topography of a specific area, the better the training

grained from that simulation. With modern games, the terrain has shifted to being more

of a gameplay element, where extensive use of cover systems to enable players to avoid

damage by sitting behind a wall. Although this may work with small arms fire, small

brick walls would not survive hits from explosive weapons which would not only destroy

the wall, but most likely have a devastating effect against anyone covering behind it.

5.6 Feedback

This mechanic describes the information sent back to the player, whether this is via

the other members of a squad shouting back or through the heads up display – this is both

a realism and gameplay issue. Squad feedback needs to be realistic in order to give

further immersion to the game, while the heads up display usually takes away from this

as a set of boxes floating in front of the players view, each with information such as

ammunition levels and how the squad is doing. Some games remove the heads up

display on the harder difficulty levels making the player make more realistic estimates

about their current situation rather than relying on a status bar at the side of their screen.

5.7 Opposition

This mechanic details the types of enemies and their numbers. The realism here

will depend on the kind of game. A covert squad game will most likely be full of much

greater numbers of enemies but the player will have stealth on their side. The real and

turn based tactics games will generally be evenly matched, or have an advantage against

whatever forces they face.




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6 Games for Research

Based on the three genres to be included and the information from the literature review, a

selection of different games will be researched. As the game to be written for this report

will need to be a tactical shooter, more focus will be put onto the currently available

squad based first/third person shooter game. Twelve games will be researched based on

the time constraints of this project and that it will give a high level of coverage over

different systems in games and their relation to realism.

6.1 Real Time Tactical Games for Research

Three out of the twelve games will be real time tactical games. This will be to look at the

systems for full squad control from a top down view. This research will also be used to

gain insight into any sort of realistic levelling system.

6.1.1 UFO: Aftermath

UFO: Aftermath is effectively a remake of UFO Enemy Unknown although designed and

published by different companies. Aftermath focuses more on the combat and squad

development than the original while removing much of the base development and

strategic game.

6.1.2 MechCommander 2

MechCommander 2 takes on the BattleTech universe usually seen from the MechWarrior

side where the player controls a Mech directly but can make orders for the rest of their

squad. MechCommander gives a top down view of the same idea, except that the player

is in control of a mercenary company and must acquire additional equipment from the

market as well as salvaging from the field.

6.1.3 Fallout Tactics

Fallout Tactics is based after a nuclear war and focuses on the player leading a squad to

complete various missions for the Brotherhood of Steel. The detailed nature of the game

lends itself to the realism as characters have a huge variety of skills and Perks to

distinguish themselves.

6.2 Turn Based Tactical Games for Research

Unlike the real time tactical games, where fast decisions must be made in order to keep

the squad alive, turn based tactical games are all about making strategically sound moves.

Turn based tactical games are not as common as those of other genres and are usually

quite simplistic. The games chosen here represent a much more complex version of the

turn based game.




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6.2.1 Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate

Chaos Gate is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe with its rich background. Chaos

Gate takes the player‟s Space Marines and sets them against almost equal forces of Chaos

Space Marines. With the similarities between the forces the player can make informed

decisions throughout.

6.2.2 UFO Enemy Unknown

Enemy Unknown represents one of the early games in this genre that stands the test of

time. It has had sequels and been remade many times proving the concept of the game.

Enemy Unknown features both a complex tactical game but also the strategic system that

makes the player balance the squads‟ resources with the research and development costs

of running multiple bases.

6.2.3 Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command

Squad Command is another game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and once again

deals with a battle between Space Marine and Chaos forces. Squad command is all about

using a standard set of units with few options to take on the opposing forces. Although

Squad Command lacks any sort of experience system, the control systems represent a

change from the standard square board approach.

6.3 Tactical Shooters for Research

The Tactical Shooters will be the main area of research into games in this project. Each

of the games have some sort of squad control mechanism, some similar to the top down

approach and some with much simpler systems. The majority of the game research will

be based on tactical shooters, mostly on the PC but also with the Xbox 360.

6.3.1 Space Hulk

Once again set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe but unlike the other two games, Space

Hulk takes the Space Marine‟s elite Terminators against a much faster and larger force,

the Genestealers. Space Hulk used a system where the player can take note of the whole

squad from one Terminator‟s view and also had a top down control system.

6.3.2 Star Wars: Republic Commando

Republic Commando is a fast paced game with a simplistic point and click mentality to

squad control. This is not to say that the system is flawed in anyway as simplistic

commands are much more realistic than pausing the game to give a huge waypoint map.




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6.3.3 Hidden & Dangerous

Hidden & Dangerous puts the player in control of SAS units after their initial creation.

The game focuses on realistic damage expectations forcing the player to take a stealthy

approach to the game rather than brute force.

6.3.4 Rainbow 6: Vegas

The Rainbow 6 series has long since been a high point of the tactical shooter genre. The

game has changed over time and is now more focused on tacking tactical decisions

during the mission rather than at the start of the mission. The version to be researched

will be the Xbox 360 version.

6.3.5 Raven Squad

Raven Squad is one of the few games that attempt to meld a pair of genres together. As it

has both a first person element and a top down view that can be switched between at any

point the game should make for good research in this project. This version to be

researched will be the Xbox 360 version.

6.3.6 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Dragon Rising offers not only a detailed system of command from the first person and a

top down satellite view but also offers an extremely realistic representation of warfare.

From the simple method of removing the heads up display (in the harder difficulties) it

offers a full look into realism in games.

6.3.7 Note to Appendix

The game research is presented in the appendices of this document.




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7 Realism in UFO: Aftermath

The back story to UFO: Aftermath changes the face of the world with an alien technology

which alters the macro scale life on the planet that is not under cover over the initial

period before the sun is visible once more. The game still has a realistic current in the

way the game plays and the options available to the player.


During the missions only seven soldiers can be selected to participate. This seems to be a

balance issue rather than a realistic number as even on the final mission when the squad

is sent to the moon only seven troops may go. The gritty nature of the game allows for

additional points of realism such as troops that get sufficiently injured must recuperate

for a period of time before they can be used for active combat again. Soldiers that are

killed are also removed completely from the game and cannot be reclaimed.

7.2 Levelling

The levelling system takes into account general combat experience rather than a specific

system. A soldier will get experience for killing an enemy with a weapon but the

experience does not relate to what the soldier has specifically done, just to a general

experience level which the player then selects what attributes should be increased. This

is a relatively unrealistic.

7.3 Control

A great deal of control is offered to the player in both in mission and out of mission

environments. In mission, where the research is focused, the control allows for a high

level of tactical movement options. Soldiers do not have any of their own A.I so will not

automatically shoot at enemy targets although they will point them out when they see

them. This is much more of a gameplay element than a realistic one, as following

through with the soldiers fending for themselves would leave the player little to do other

than give vague movement orders.

7.4 Equipment

The equipment in Aftermath provides the player with a highly realistic human set, with

well over fifty different actual weapons being useable with accurate statistics for each

one. The alien weapons give a slant on a different technology which is acceptable. The

hybrid weapons are an interesting point as they are based on alien design using human

technology. These weapons are generally better than the alien equivalents which would

make little sense due to the aliens‟ higher technological status.




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7.5 Terrain

The terrain featured in Aftermath depends on the environment. Areas of the world are

accurately depicted although no landmark areas are fought in. The scale and damage

caused by the aliens gives a sense of hopelessness as everything is in a bad state. The

realism is dropped when it comes to movement as each map is made up of squares,

although much smaller that older games the freedom of movement is somewhat confined.

7.6 Feedback

The statistical feedback is extensive, covering every element from multiple types of

weapon skills to observation and how well they know enemy targets and their

weaknesses. If the skills where to increase in the area that the unit was using it would

make more sense, from a realistic perspective, however the player can choose which

attributes are affected by levelling. One major issue is the pause time for feedback and

with the rest of the game. Although this is done so the player has a good overall picture

of what is going on, it is sometimes distracting to see the screen slowly circle a new

enemy on the map before the player can return to the game. Vocal feedback offers a full

range of warnings and other messages for the player to respond to.

7.7 Opposition

The main enemy comes in the form of the Reticulons, an advanced alien race come to

conquer Earth for their own needs. In terms of realism it does not make much sense that

an alien race, capable of interstellar travel for the purposes of war would find it so

difficult to kill a handful of humans in combat. The Transgenants are a much more likely

enemy given the spores from the initial attack on Earth and its manipulating technology.

7.8 Overall Realism

The level of control throughout the game give off a good level of realism from even

before the mission where the player can set up their squad in anyway they see fit based

on the available weaponry and ammunition. The ability to pause time distracts from this

as does the square based movement options, even if they are small enough not to be

noticed when it comes to terrain.




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8 Realism in MechCommander 2

MechCommander 2 is set in the BattleTech universe filled with huge Mechs fighting

against each other. As with other games in different universes it is difficult to relate to

realism.


The units available to the player depend on many factors, firstly as a mercenary

commander the player must buy or salvage chassis as well as the equipment for each

Mech, to use on missions. Secondly the player is restricted to a drop weight per mission.

This forces the player to choose between firepower or numbers as the heavier Mechs can

provide much more damage than an equal tonnage of lighter Mechs, but lack

manoeuvrability and speed. Finally the player must choose pilots for each Mech, and

although there is a huge selection to choose from, experience is highly prized.

8.2 Levelling

Combat and kill experience is essential for the later missions where experienced pilots

have a substantial advantage based on their specialities. Although the pilots only have a

few statistics, the higher level gives them better skills all round as well as access to the

specialty tress where the player selects their skills. This provides a good standpoint from

the gameplay perspective as the player tailors their squad to what they want, however it

becomes unrealistic as a pilot who has only used Mechs without sensors can be upgraded

with the sensor specialist skill.

8.3 Control

The control options in MechCommander 2 offer a standard setup allowing for advanced

options such as jump jetting over walls if the specific equipment is available. The

movement options lack any sort of specific options but the player can setup positions as

they see fit. The firing options provide a good measure of realistic commands ordering

either specific engagement ranges for different types of weapons or allowing the pilot to

choose their own attack pattern.

8.4 Equipment

The equipment follows with the lore of the universe, with the three types of general

weapon selections, ballistic, missile and energy. The heat and size of the systems make a

realistic equation for the placement of weapons on Mechs but the square based placement

lacks a realistic feel as, for example, a single Long Tom cannon could be replaced with

ten missile launchers.




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The support options available give an interesting set of alternate ways to complete

missions, however salvaging and repairing Mechs is always the best way to go as options

like the fixed artillery do little damage and cannot move once placed.

8.5 Terrain

Terrain is effectively used in MechCommander 2, with things such as sight range

increasing if the Mech is at the top of a hill. Terrain is a major part of the game as enemy

bases are placed all over many maps and enemy turrets can be disabled or captured for

the players own use. As most of the terrain can be damaged in someway, other than the

ground, there is a decent level of realism as buildings will quickly be demolished if hit

with an array of missiles or laser fire.

8.6 Feedback

As each pilot only has two statistics to there name there is a lack of detail in the general

statistic section. Gunnery as a whole should be broken down for each type of weapon as

missile and energy weapons would be completely different systems to operate. The

specialty system does provide a level of realism in that experienced pilots do receive

bonuses for selected equipment, but as previously noted the player selects these

specialties rather than the combat experience dictating it. The vocal feedback from the

pilots does give a sense of realistic behaviour as they will shout out if they are being hit

or in a critical position.

8.7 Opposition

The main issue with opposition is that most enemies use the standard set up for their

Mechs, so each enemy Madcat will be equipped with the same equipment when ever they

are encountered throughout the game. The later stages of the game become relatively

unrealistic as the player is effectively forced to take four Assault Mechs and end up

taking on around 12 enemy Assault Mechs and are expected to win.

8.8 Overall Realism

The game fits in with the lore of the BattleTech universe but lacks much that could relate

to the real world. One of the best areas of realism in the game is the pre mission setting

up of the Mechs to the player‟s specifications. As the head of a mercenary unit this is an

option that makes sense although the pilots have no say over what Mechs they are

piloting even if all their specialties would be voided by the Mechs setup.




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9 Realism in Fallout Tactics

The Fallout universe is set in a post apocalyptic world where only a few rundown towns

exist in-between the wasteland. Fallout Tactics still manages to produce a level of

realism in the gameplay especially with the recreation of modern day weapons and

equipment.


With the exception of the first mission, the player is free to choose members for their

squad (as long as it includes the player‟s character) More characters become available as

the player rises through the ranks after completing missions. Each character has their

own skill set which can be massively different to others in the squad if the player chooses

so. All but the players‟ character can die during missions and be lost for the rest of the

campaign which boosts the realism.

9.2 Levelling

The experience built up for each character on an individual scale promotes the use of

each one, as there is no experience gained for just participating in a mission. The

levelling does have a downfall in that the player may choose what is upgraded when a

unit levels up rather than it being dictated by the actual actions of the soldier.

9.3 Control

The control in Fallout Tactics can be controlled in either real time or turn based. For this

research the game was used in real time mode. The control over each soldier is

comprehensive with most things being possible. Status ailments will affect the responses

of units giving a high level of realism, I.E if a leg is crippled, then the unit may no longer

run. Soldiers can be set to automatically engage enemy targets based on the % chance of

hitting them, which can be changed at any point. This automation gives a sense of

realism, as if an enemy soldier is coming towards you, you would not wait for the

command to shoot him, when the commander gets round to seeing what you‟re doing.

9.4 Equipment

The equipment in Fallout Tactics is set in multiple groups. Firstly, most of the weapons

available are based on actual weapons such as assault rifles and sub machine guns which

are accurate to real life in ammunition types and statistics. Advanced weapons such as

laser and plasma weapons are also available but fit the setting of the game fit in quite

well.




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9.5 Terrain

Fallout Tactics‟ terrain differs in each area. Most towns are just collections of broken

houses and shattered walls, while fortresses consist of makeshift bunkers and improvised

barricades. The ability for soldiers to be positioned anywhere and not on a square grid

adds to the realistic nature of the game. The lines of sight are extremely well done, as

even the smallest movement will alter the soldiers‟ perception of the battlefield before

them.

9.6 Feedback

The level of statistical feedback in Fallout Tactics is immense. Every aspect is

represented in the standard personal attribute and then the skill levels for every possible

type of weapon or equipment piece. The system of traits and Perks allow the player to

customise every member of the squad to their own needs and tastes. Although this is

controlled by the player, rather than the actions of the squad, the system works well. The

lack of verbal feedback lowers the realism factor, although for an old game this is not

something that could have been done differently without increasing the size on disk

dramatically. The text responses give the player a good insight to what is going on

anyway.

9.7 Opposition

There are many different types of enemies in Fallout Tactics, from simple mutated

creatures to cyborgs throughout the course of the game. Much of the opposition come

from other humans who the player is fighting against for various reasons. The opposition

have the same statistic setup as the player would have, randomised for realism and with

various weaponry depending on the mission.

9.8 Overall Realism

Fallout Tactics follows the situation of the post apocalypse relatively well. Aspects such

as the need to save ammunition are well presented. Even the smaller features such as

characters becoming addicted to narcotics if they use them too much give the game an

additional realism. Some of the health restoring methods are a little unrealistic such as

the ability to instantly heal a crippled limb by using a doctors bag and a little know how.

The traits and Perk systems real give the feel of the player‟s characters being real as they

are not just the same basic template with a random set of statistics given to them.




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10 Realism in Warhammer 40,000 Chaos Gate

As Chaos Gate is set in the far future of the 41st millennium, there comes a slight issue

with realism in terms of comparison with the modern world.


The units available to the player follow the lore of the game world quite closely, squads

of five marines with an array of characters in support with the occasional vehicle

depending on the mission in question. The player‟s ability to swap out marines and put

them in different squads allows for any losses to be covered and allows the player to put

together the best squads based on their statistics. The fact that if a marine is killed during

a mission, they are permanently dead facilitates further realism.

10.2 Levelling

The levelling system promotes getting units into combat as there is only very little

general mission experience. The more a unit uses its weaponry, the better they become.

This is a good gameplay system but it does not reflect a realistic case. Just because a

soldier is accurate with his weapon does not make him better at close combat or running.

10.3 Control

The control in Chaos Gate only offers a limited amount of options for movement and

equipment usage. This again is a gameplay feature so the player does not have to spend

much time in allocating orders. The turn based action point system is common and

although turn based is clearly unrealistic, the initiative statistics and action points for each

marine offset this in order for a fairer game.

10.4 Equipment

The equipment in Chaos Gate follows the lore of the game, most marines carrying

Bolters while one in each squad may carry a special or heavy weapon. The specialist

squads being much more customisable allows the player to have a tailored force with the

backing of the all round firepower of the standard marines in reserve.

10.5 Terrain

Chaos Gate is effectively set in a square based system which is extremely unrealistic. In

the attempt for faster and easier gameplay where the player can easily see all the

movement options available to them it makes sense.




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10.6 Feedback

The statistical feedback in Chaos Gate offers the player a view on how good each marine

is as well as their likelihood of them fulfilling orders given to them. The statistic system

may seem unrealistic but by giving a rating to each of the marines‟ skills, which are

different for each marine, gives a realistic overview. The voice feedback offers

explanation of failed commands, so if the marine has run out of ammo they will inform

the player rather than just reloading by themselves but that is part of the gameplay. The

chatter between marines and their enemies also offers a point of realism as, following the

lore of the game, Chaos are the sworn enemies of the Imperial Forces and they would not

fight without hurling abuse at one another.

10.7 Opposition

Chaos Gate puts the player‟s marines solely against the forces of Chaos who have many

similar units mainly, the Space Marines against Chaos Space Marines. These forces are

generally equally matched during missions as the number of squads the player can select

is always sufficient to take on the enemies in the missions. The larger special enemies

such as the Bloodthirster are exceptions to this, but are part of the challenge of the game.

10.8 Overall Realism

Chaos Gate follows the lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe quite closely as well as

the rule set based at the time of the games release. To someone not initiated to the

universe, the game would most likely seem unrealistic due to the real lack of options in

movement and equipment for the majority of the forces. The terrain lets the game down

due to its square nature, although this makes it much easier to issue commands, it kills the

realism factor that terrain can provide.




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11 Realism in UFO: Enemy Unknown

Enemy Unknown takes place in 1999, five years after its release date. The basis of the

game is simply for the player to intercept aliens, reverse engineer their equipment and

eventually stop the threat. There are many points where realism is not even taken into

consideration but other sections where it is extremely deep.


The player controls a large company backed by the nations of Earth and allowed to

customise their forces as they see fit as long as the funding is available. This flexability

allows the player a realistic setup of whom and what they take on missions rather than

being lumbered with the same standard unit. Each soldier has their own unique set of

statistics than makes the game much more realistic.

11.2 Levelling

The levelling system in Enemy Unknown is exceptionally well designed. Rather than

having specific levels that each unit can attain with experience, the system is developed

to take into account exactly what each soldier does in each combat mission. If the soldier

carries too much weight and is slowed down for extended periods of time, they will gain

points in endurance and strength allowing them to carry more weight without having the

disadvantage of being slowed down. Soldier who hit targets with weapons will gain

points to their accuracy and weapon skills. This is a much more realistic system than

general levelling where the player decides what to do with each member. Soldiers can

obtain ranks depending on their combat experience, which does little to the soldier but

give positive bonuses to soldiers around them in combat. If higher ranking soldiers are

killed in combat then there is a penalty felt throughout the rest of the soldiers in combat

for having lost such an influential character.

11.3 Control

The controls in Enemy Unknown are based around a system of action points during its

turn based nature. The movement controls are quite basic with units needing to turn

around in order to see in that direction rather than having a basic awareness around them.

The weapon controls offer a variety of shot types with most weapons to deal with

different types of situations which offers a sense of reality, as aimed shots take more

action points than snap shots.

11.4 Equipment

Equipment in Enemy Unknown is too generic to have any realism attached to it, having

weapons such as „rifle‟ and „pistol‟ offer no real options early in the game. Later stages

require the player to capture and develop the methods to produce the aliens‟ weapons




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rather than reverse engineering them from human components. Although the game is set

in 1999, the aircraft such as „Skyrangers‟ and „Interceptors‟ have no basis in reality.

11.5 Terrain

The terrain in Enemy Unknown is based upon an isometric square system common to

turn based games. The way the buildings and objects are displayed give different feels

depending on if the mission is during the day or the night. During the day, the terrain

seems dull yet during the night missions the shadows cast on everything give an

extremely immersive horror ambience.

11.6 Feedback

With regard to the feedback on the control options, there is not much. Messages flash up

when orders cannot be completed for various reasons but there is little otherwise. The

statistical feedback for each soldier is very detailed with twelve different aspects which

affect the soldier in different ways. Mixed with the levelling system the statistics give a

realistic show of actual experience rather than an overall experience number.

11.7 Opposition

The opposition in Enemy Unknown is a diverse set of biomechanical aliens from the

instantly recognisable Sectoids, (little grey men) to the mysterious and psychically

dominant Etherials. There is no real basis for most of the alien species, not to say that

they could not exist. A prominent note on the aliens is that they have specific ranks, such

as commanders and navigators, which when interrogated can give vital information about

the background of the alien attack to usable technology to be constructed.


Enemy Unknown cannot be said to be a particularly realistic game with so much generic

equipment and a relative basic isometric square grid to move in. The statistics for each

soldier, on the other hand, are highly intricate especially when combined with the

levelling system which makes perfect sense and is quite realistic.




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12 Realism in Warhammer 40,000 Squad Command

As Squad Command is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, there comes a slight issue

with realism in terms of comparison with the modern world.


The player controls a team of six members, specific for each mission. Although in some

missions this consists of five troops and a vehicle which would be a realistic force, many

missions simply consist of a mix of six troops – sometimes from different types, which

does not follow the lore of the universe well as squads a re made up of either five or ten

men which do not include differing troop types.

12.2 Levelling

There is no statistical levelling in Squad Command, the only type of system is the units

available for each mission, which cannot be altered. New equipment can be selected later

in the game for each type of unit. The lack of levelling is acceptable as marines and

especially Grey Knights are already at the peak of their abilities.

12.3 Control

The controls in Squad Command are relatively simplistic, and the action point system

works well with the turn based gameplay. The targeting system is a good extension of

realism as taking more time, and such action points, will result in more accurate shooting.

The over-watch system allows for the player and their opposition to set up ambushes so

units can be attacked in their own turn. This adds an element of realism to counter the

turn based system of the game.

12.4 Equipment

All the equipment available in Squad Command is from the Warhammer 40,000 universe

but the way it is used if far from the lore in the game. The two weapon system does not

occur within Warhammer 40,000 to the extent that Squad Command takes it. Taking the

standard Space Marine, for example, has a Bolter as his standard weapon which cannot

be changed is normal, but being able to equip all six members of a squad with plasma

guns as well as bolters is not. Special and heavy weapons would only normally appear

one for every five marines. The ammunition for the secondary weapons and not for the

primary weapons is realistic for the units with close combat weapons, but not for the

majority with Bolters.




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12.5 Terrain

The terrain used in Squad Command represents the standard architecture of the universe,

broken buildings and ruins. The terrain is realistic in the way that it can be used for cover

but will eventually give way and be destroyed if enough damage is caused to it. Lines of

sight are well presented as windows in walls can be seen through and do not block shots.

The games allowance for the player to move each member of their squad to any

reasonable location adds a level of realism and plays against the tradition of turn based

games having a square based movement system.

12.6 Feedback

The level of feedback in Squad Command is quite high and detailed. The use of the

second screen, on the DS version as a tactical map provides a very good system for

deciding on what to do next. The maps sound sensor in the enemies turn provides an

interesting way of presenting unseen action which could be construed as realistic. Vocal

feedback is a good touch to the game adding to the realistic chatter of units on the

battlefield.

12.7 Opposition

The opposition in Squad Command remains true to the Warhammer 40,000 universe and

is varied enough not to get monotonous. The enemy‟s strength is similar to the players‟

forces and at the later stages, much stronger. This forces the player to take a more

tactical approach than to just run headlong into enemy forces.


Although aspects of Squad Command set it apart from other turn based games, the

inadvertence to the Warhammer 40,000 universe lore lowers the immersion of the game.

To those not inducted into the 40K universe this may not cause much of an issue however

this is who the game is aimed at. Other than the issues with equipment, the game consists

of many relatively realistic elements, especially when it comes to terrain.




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13 Realism in Space Hulk

As with the other Warhammer 40,000 games, there is an issue with directly relating the

realism of Space Hulk for a modern day standpoint.


Although the only unit open to the play is the Terminator, this remains true to the games

lore as Deathwing is a veteran company consisting of only Terminators. In keeping with

the universe the player can controls five Terminators, or two squads of five Terminators.

Occasionally the player only has one.

13.2 Levelling

There is no levelling system, such as boosts in statistics in Space Hulk, however during

the course of the game the player will get a second squad of Terminators to deal with the

additional enemies that come in the later missions. In terms of realism and lore this is

perfectly reasonable as only the best marines are inducted into Deathwing.

13.3 Control

The control in Space Hulk offers the player a pair of views to work from, either from first

person or from an overhead depiction of the area. There is a lack of control options from

both views, only simple movements and fire commands however not many options would

be open to huge armoured marines when fighting in tight corridors. The tactical view

offers the player the ability to plan movement for the entire squad so that it moves at the

same time or times it for more advanced manoeuvres. The main issue with the control is

the freeze time system. Being able to pause a simulation while you decide what to do

next takes away from the realism of the game.

13.4 Equipment

The equipment in Space Hulk follows the lore of the game, the standard and iconic

weaponry of the Terminators being the Storm Bolter and Power Glove bringing together

a devastating long range weapon and a powerful close combat weapon. In the missions

where the selection of weapons is left to the player any sets may be chosen which allows

the player to either stick with the Storm Bolter and its unlimited ammunition or a more

powerful extremely limited ammunition weapon set. Although the Storm Bolter‟s

unlimited ammunition may seem unrealistic the gameplay does require it.




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13.5 Terrain

The tight corridors and small rooms in Space Hulk reflect the situation faced during the

campaign. The square based system does detract from the realism of the game as do the

repetitive usage of the same walls and mission patterns.

13.6 Feedback

The feedback in Space Hulk provide the player with an intense atmosphere with enemies

howling when they come into the level and the loud intrusive blip claxon playing

whenever an enemy draws close. The suit cameras allow the game to be played solely

through the first person view while keeping tabs on the other members of the squad.

13.7 Opposition

Unlike most other games the opposition in Space Hulk comes in a completely different

form from that of the players. Space Hulk plays out the battle between slow, long range

unit and fast, close combat units. Although Genestealers can be dispatched with a round

or two from a Storm Bolter, the amount of the aliens coming into the level from different

points make the player create a defensive formation covering the other members of the

squad while engaging in the mission objective.


Space Hulk adheres to the lore of the universe quite well and the board game it was based

on. In terms of immersion and realism the multiple camera views provide so much

ambience and foreboding along with the sound effects even with the graphics at the time.

The effectiveness of the two types of combatant in the game increases the desperate

position of the player, constantly outnumbered and forced to keep moving to stay ahead

of the game and not get bogged down in one position or another.




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14 Realism in Star Wars Republic Commando

As Republic Commando is set in the Star Wars universe, there comes a slight issue with

realism in terms of comparison with the modern world.


The player, at most points, is in control of a squad of four commandos which is a realistic

number in terms of the standard fire team setups. Although each member is described at

being a specialist in different fields, such as sniping or demolition, there is no actual

difference between the members. The incapacitation mechanic causes squad members to

go down if they‟ve taken too much damage. They can be revived by any member of the

remaining squad. The main point of realism here is that the player can also be

incapacitated rather than just killed outright like many other games.

14.2 Levelling

There is little levelling in the Republic Commando, although the scripted collection of

each weapon upgrade offers a learning curve if nothing else. The realism of only finding

these key weapon systems down mine shafts or in cut of areas is called into question as if

the team are really a commando unit, shouldn‟t they have this equipment already?

14.3 Control

The movement in Republic Commando offers a full realistic range of options only

missing out a prone position. The team commands offer a full range of options especially

the context sensitive orders, such as setting up specific weapon positions on relevant

terrain pieces. This allows the player to choose how to complete each section offering a

good level of realism. When using general commands such as „defend this position‟ all

the team members not currently on terrain pieces will follow the command – there is no

way to order individual squad members.

14.4 Equipment

Although there is a real lack of actual equipment in terms of different weapons as the

player‟s main blaster simply has extensions to change its fire type, standard, sniper or

explosive. This is a good gameplay feature as when the weapon switches the player can

actually see the extension being fitted. This fits in well with the technological

background of the game and the universe it is set in.




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14.5 Terrain

The terrain used in Republic Commando is of high quality and can be considered realistic

for each environment it represents. The linearity of some areas is a slight issue as when

in a huge star ship there would probably be more than one route to each section. The

support cover terrain pieces provide excellent gameplay options as well as giving a good

realistic system where, in some sections, the player must move their team up from

position to position covering each other as they go. The only downside to the support

cover is that each position is set to be a specific type of weapon placement which, for

example, if is an anti-armour placement tells the player that they will be coming up

against heavy troops or enemy armour.

14.6 Feedback

The feedback in Republic Commando consists of the heads up display and verbal

messages from the squad or from the operational commander. The heads up display

provides a realistically simple display with basic symbols to indicate the current situation

such as the status of each team member and their current orders. The context command

options appear as an overlay when they are near to the players crosshairs which allows

the player to focus on a combat and deal with things in their own time without having a

huge arrow pointing at various options.

14.7 Opposition

The opposition in Republic Commando accurately depicts the trade federation and their

allies as seen in the Star Wars films. The A.I of the enemies faced is not particularly

realistic, most will find a position to stand and fire at the player until they are destroyed,

others will simply run as fast as possible towards the player‟s squad and attack with

melee weapons.


Republic Commando follows much of the lore of the Star Wars universe quite

convincingly which adds to the immersion of the game. Simple systems such as the

situations where a player can be incapacitated and still give basic orders to their squad

adds a realistic measure as they can order the squad to either continue the fight ignoring

their fallen commander, or to rush to the players position to attempt to revive them as

quickly as possible. There are no large elements that detract from the realistic aspects of

the game other than its linearity.




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15 Realism in Hidden & Dangerous

Hidden & Dangerous takes place during World War II, the player taking control of an

SAS squad during multiple campaigns. Even on the easier difficulties, the game gives a

high level of realism when it comes to weapon damage, as soldiers from either side

cannot survive many shots at all.


Using the standard fire team set up of four soldiers, and having another set of troops in

reserve for each campaign gives Hidden & Dangerous a good start to its level of realism.

If soldiers are killed in missions then they are lost for the entirety of the remaining game.

These members can be replaced with the reserve troops, but after they are gone, it is

entirely possible to have less than four soldiers in missions.

15.2 Levelling

There is no levelling system within Hidden & Dangerous which, although the soldiers are

part of the SAS, the game is set up at the start of the SAS‟s service where most of the

soldiers where in fact volunteers for potentially suicidal missions. The lack of it does not

detract from the game as losing a soldier is already a large setback.

15.3 Control

Hidden & Dangerous offers a two control options, which can be switched between at any

point. While the player is in direct control mode they can select any soldier to control,

and control them from first or third person. The ability to switch between first and third

person causes a break from immersion in the game which is amplified by the fact that the

player can switch in between soldiers during the mission, so the player does not

effectively have a player character. The tactical view offers a paused time environment

to plan advanced manoeuvres without having to worry about being shot at. This

gameplay element makes for good gameplay, but lowers the level of realism while

playing.

15.4 Equipment

The equipment in Hidden & Dangerous is all recreations of the weapons and kit available

from when the game is set. One of the most realistic parts of the game comes with the

equipment as during each campaign, the player will most likely run out of ammunition

for the weapons that they have brought with them and must switch to using Axis weapons

scavenged from dead enemies. The weapon damage in Hidden & Dangerous proves to

be highly realistic if not slightly harsh; the player cannot simply rush their squad into the

enemy as they will be gunned down every time. This forces the player to take a more

realistic approach to the game.




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15.5 Terrain

The terrain in Hidden & Dangerous is relatively sparse in some missions and cluttered in

others. Overall the detail of the terrain is uninspiring even in the re-mastered deluxe

version. With no trajectory calculations on weapons fire, having the high ground gives

no benefit as it would do in reality, however crossfire situations can be set up to give the

player a huge advantage against massed enemy units.

15.6 Feedback

The statistics for each soldier have various effects on the game but mainly when the A.I

takes control of squad members. Accuracy is shown in the players character (if in first

person) with the weapons sights being slightly off centre from the central crosshairs

which makes little sense as a weapon will fire down its sights no matter how accurate the

soldier is. Systems such as the ancillary sights lower the realism of the game, even if

they are the only way to aim when not in first person, as a giant yellow line appears from

the weapon to wherever it is pointing.

15.7 Opposition

There are not many different types of enemies present in Hidden & Dangerous; however

this does reflect the state of the time when the game is based. The standard Axis soldier

is slightly worse than each member of the players‟ squad which allows for the player to

beat the odds if they use tactically superior techniques. The enemies A.I is not

particularly intelligent as they will respond to every attack in the same way, simply

getting all the soldiers in the area to move into range of the player‟s soldiers and fire at

them with no regard for themselves.


Although some parts of the game such as the terrain and opposition lower the realism of

the game, other elements such as the squad and their equipment compensate for the over

all realism of the game. One issue that could be raised is the soldiers the player can take

for reserves. In the second campaign the players‟ aircraft is shot down and the squad

must make it out of a patrolled forest. In this mission the player only has the four

soldiers selected for the mission without explanation of where the other soldiers have

gone during the mission. Although the reserves are a good system so the player can

replace dead squad members, there is a lack of realism in where they are during the

campaign.




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16 Realism in Rainbow 6: Vegas

Rainbow 6: Vegas brings together many well presented gameplay elements as well as

realistic elements. The game offers both covert and aggressive options for either play

style.


Having a three man team, when not operating alone, gives a valid realistic squad size due

to the covert nature of the team. One of the issues with the team comes from when an A.I

member becomes incapacitated. The issue is that the squad members can be revived

while if the player becomes incapacitated then they die and must restart from the last

checkpoint.

16.2 Levelling

There is no levelling in Rainbow 6 Vegas al all, this is understandable as all the

operatives would not be in a special forces unit if they where not already at the peak of

their combat skills.

16.3 Control

Vegas offers a full range of movement controls as well as context sensitive commands

depending on the situation in question. By allowing the player to choose how to

approach each section gives a greater immersion than simply telling them how to do

every area. The squad commands also allow the player to proceed how they see fit.

Taking doors for example, the player has an array of different options on how to breach

them, from using explosives to throwing different types of grenades each giving a

different effect. The only downside to the squad control is that each individual member

may not be given orders; any orders are carried out by both the other members of the

squad.

16.4 Equipment

The equipment in Vegas is based on modern weapons available allowing a variety of

different setups to be taken and tailored by the player. The player may also select which,

if any, extensions they want for each weapon although these are mainly different types of

scopes. Allowing the player to select their weapons without restriction for each mission

furthers the immersion aspect as the player is meant to be a specialist and so should be

able to select whatever weapons they deem viable for each situation.




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16.5 Terrain

The terrain in Vegas is mostly the indoor aspects of casinos, such as row upon row of

gambling machines, and the hotels that usually correspond to them. The terrain is

generally realistic as if a slot machine is shot at it will usually break. One of the major

issues with realism is caused by terrain; the cover mechanic. When the player uses cover,

the camera will show a third person view of the player which can be used to see around

corners that would, in first person, be out of sight.

16.6 Feedback

The verbal feedback from the squad provides a realistic experience as they will inform

the player of enemies and if they take them out as well as give tactical suggestions on the

current situations. The tactical map allows the player to quickly asses the local area and

the placement of objectives as well as the whereabouts of any spotted enemies. This

system provides good gameplay and aspects of realism as it would be likely that the

structure of the current surroundings would be accessible.

16.7 Opposition

The enemies in Vegas are all of the same strain; terrorists. In the early stages of the

game, they are not particularly difficult to deal with but throughout the game become

much better equipped as well as getting better A.I patterns. Enemies will either find their

own cover and fire from that point or rush towards the player and his team. When both

types of A.I come into play, the player must make sound tactical judgements of how and

where to take on larger forces of terrorists.


Rainbow 6 Vegas offers many realistic aspects in its gameplay especially with the

weapon options open to the player. Issues such as the cover system lower the generally

realistic game. Although the squad and context sensitive provide a wealth of realistic

options the fact that the other members of the squad can not be split up cuts down actual

tactical options and realism. For every realistic element of the game, there is an

unrealistic part that counters the level of immersion.




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17 Realism in Raven Squad

Although set in the present day, Raven Squad lacks realism in almost every aspect. The

tried to split genres between first person and real time tactics and although elements from

both exist, both are poor.


Each of the two squads the player has control over consists of three members, this would

be acceptable if each member functioned as an independent unit however the three man

teams must stay together at all times, destroying any aspect of realism in this regard.

17.2 Levelling

Raven Squad lacks any sort of levelling system, the game simply gets harder from start to

finish.

17.3 Control

The control system that is attempted is a good idea in principle but not in the way it has

been implemented. Using a satellite map with the actual people present rather than just

blips gives a good system however the switching between the tactical view and the first

person view causes issues. This is one of the few first person games in the modern ear

where the player can switch control to any of the six soldiers on the battlefield which

lowers the games immersion factor as the player does not effectively play as one of the

characters.

17.4 Equipment

The approach to weapons in Raven Squad shows a real lack in terms of realism, Although

the two weapon system is viable, the fact that each soldier has his own weapons and

cannot change them with anything else and the worrying state that the characters main

weapons have unlimited ammunition destroys all aspects of realism. Some of the weapon

choices also cause questions to be raised. Why would a sniper‟s main weapon be a

machine pistol, when the only member with smoke grenades has an M16 with a rifle

scope as his primary weapon? The only compensation is that the secondary weapons

have limited ammunition but when the primary weapons don‟t, it makes little sense.

17.5 Terrain

Raven Squad‟s terrain is little more than for show. Each mission is on a linear path that

the player cannot separate from at any point. The only sense of difference comes from

which area of cover to move each squad to.




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17.6 Feedback

As with the other elements in Raven Squad, the feedback lacks any sort of realistic

effects. The heads up display is a huge icon at the bottom of the screen and the vocal

responses are extremely repetitive. When ever a move order is given in the tactical view

the squad leader will always say the same thing.

17.7 Opposition

The opposition in Raven Squad offer a small amount of realism, as they are generally

found in patrols of three guarding areas of importance, but the comparison between the

health of the players units and the enemies is quite large. The player can literally send in

both squads into a camp of enemy soldiers and come out on top.


Raven Squad shows a real lack of realism and gameplay at the same time. The breaking

factors of unlimited ammunition and squads that must stay together gives the player little

to do other than launch frontal assaults against every enemy position or simply hold some

cover and wait for the enemy to come to them. If aspects such as these where fixed, the

way in which the tactical camera is used may work much better.




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18 Realism in Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Dragon Rising sets a benchmark for realism in games. The games realism is controlled

by the difficulty settings, while as the easiest provides much information such as the

heads up display, the hardest difficulty gives the player nothing at all. Although the

research war carried out on the normal difficulty it is important to note this feature.


The player‟s team is set to four members, a standard military fire team. The player‟s

support, if they have any comes in the form of other fire teams, sometimes whole

companies of them however the structure remains real to military standards. The only

point of realism failing is where if a member of the player‟s fire team is killed a

replacement appears after a short amount of time. This only occurs on the easier

difficulties where the realism is toned down anyway.

18.2 Levelling

There is no levelling in Dragon Rising in terms of the player‟s fire team(s) becoming any

better through the course of the campaign. This could be seen as slightly unrealistic due

to the fact that combat experience generally increases the skills of those fighting however

if you take into account that the troops are already trained and have most likely seen

combat before it follows that they are not going to learn much during a campaign.

18.3 Control

The level of control in Dragon Rising is extensive to say the least. The controls for the

player‟s character offer everything but jumping, which is not exactly a common function

when you‟re carrying a full pack of equipment anyway. The squad controls offers an

extensive list of options and tactical possibilities from the first person view all following

a correct military pattern. Finally the satellite map allows the player to give exact

commands on positions out of sight. Although the satellite imagery only shows blips

rather than an actual images it can be supposed that it is tracking signals rather than

images such as noted in the research into Project Odin in the literature review.

18.4 Equipment

The equipment in Dragon Rising follows a strict realistic pattern. Not only are the

weapons real world weapons with real extensions, but even the firing and reloading is

realistic. The player must factor in weapon ranges and wind speed for all of their

weapons. The only issue with equipment come with the fact that the player may not

select the weapons they wish to take onto missions even though they are a fire team

commander. This stops the player from being unprepared as if they are going to be

coming up against enemy armour; they are usually given some sort of anti tank

weaponry. The fire team also follows a realistic pattern as each member is usually a




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specialist in some way, always including a medic who is able to treat more serious

wounds.

18.5 Terrain

Dragon Rising uses extremely realistic terrain which needs to be used to the players

advantage as springing ambushes from tree lines and using high ground to fire from gives

much better odds of the player winning the combat. Terrain pieces can be blown up or

damaged with heavier weapons which allows for advanced tactics to be used throughout

the game.

18.6 Feedback

The feedback in Dragon Rising differs depending on the difficulty setting of the game.

All aspects of the HUD dare removed on the hardest difficulty (including the crosshairs)

while the easier settings provide detailed information on everything from enemy

positions to ammunition levels.

The vocal feedback from members of the fire team also proves realistic with short

concise pieces of information such as relative locations of enemy forces and damage

reports. The player‟s characters commands also give correct military procedure even if

the movement orders are long winded as the six figure co-ordinates are given which takes

quite some time.

18.7 Opposition

The player faces Chinese forces with equally realistic weapons and health to the players

own. The tactics of the enemy react to the player in a limited scale – some of the enemy

movements are programmed and can be prepared against if the player fails the first time

round.


Dragon Rising, especially on the hardest difficulty, is one of the most realistic combat

simulations publicly available. As the hardest difficulty provides the player with nothing

but a weapon in front of them, it gives an extremely realistic feel to the game. Even on

the lower difficulties, the gameplay provides a highly realistic experience.




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19 Conclusions of Game Research

The research on every game gave detailed information on how the game was created and

the systems within. Rather than taking each mechanic in turn and assessing the viability

for using them in a game based on both their implications to realism and gameplay, this

project will look into the most realistic parts of the games and then form a game from

them taking the each system inside the mechanics. See Appendices for full research.

19.1 Existing Tactical Control Systems

As the main goal of this project is to see if control elements of real and tern based tactics

games can be used in first person shooter games, it is important to look at the games

which already have some sort of system to do this with. While some of these have

comprehensive systems there are issues with each one.

19.1.1 Space Hulk

Space Hulk system of switching between first person and top down was innovative for its

time as was its system of multiple cameras so that the play could see what was happening

for each member of the squad. Although this provides a huge amount of tactical

information, the ability to change into freeze time and effectively pause the game in order

to give multiple commands for different Terminators using the top down view detracts

from the fast paced nature of the game and any realism.

19.1.2 Hidden & Dangerous

Hidden & Dangerous has a similar quick switch system between first/third person view

and top down as Space Hulk. The main difference is the much greater level of control in

the top down view. In realistic terms the simple switching between first and third person

view as well as the ability, like Space Hulk, to change between characters does not work.

19.1.3 Raven Squad

Raven Squad‟s attempts at merging the two genres culminated in a poor example of both.

The game lacks any attempt at a realistic solution crossing the two game types. The

controls only allow for the actual movement of the two squads as units rather than each

member unlike other games. The lack of any real combat simulation in either game type

shows that the amalgamation between genres can be made, but must have enough

realistic elements to give good gameplay.




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19.1.4 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Dragon Rising is, by far, the best game researched in terms of both realism and

gameplay. The first person controls and the extension to the top down view give a

comprehensive level of operations. The only issues with the control mechanism is the

instant switching between the top down and first person views with no equipment to do

this with. Other than that, the top down control is scaleable but only shows a graphical

representation of the units on the battlefield rather than actual models.

19.2 Using Project Odin

Based on the research from the literature review, the Project Odin system described in

Theatres of War gives a real life example of a squad control system. This relies on

having both forces on the ground as well as overhead; either aircraft or satellites. The

more units with cameras the more accurate the information sent back to the control

centre. From this the commanders can give accurate information about any section of the

battlefield including enemy numbers and positions. A very basic model of this can be

seen in Spacehulk, where every member of the squad is always giving information to the

player via their camera which translates onto the top down view in terms of sighting

enemy units and terrain in maps where the scanners cannot penetrate. For the

requirement of realism in this project, the player will be playing as a single character

rather than being able to switch between units. As such there is a matter of cluttering the

actual display with too much information. Spacehulk was able to have its multiple

camera system due to the very limited graphical requirements of the game, a game such

as Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has a much higher demand for the graphic engine

and only rendering one view at a time. Using Dragon Rising again, having three other

cameras on the main view would obscure too much of the screen for the player to have a

full view that a soldier would need.

As the information gathered is being sent back to a control centre of some kind, it would

make more sense that a squad leader could access this via some sort of mobile interface

when they need to rather than having a constant overview obscuring their view, in a

similar way to when the map overlay is called in Rainbow 6: Vegas.

19.3 Quick Squad Command System

Based on the information gathered from the game research it is clear that it is important

to have a set of commands that can be given from the first person view so that the player

may make quick commands without having to resort to a tactical map. The quick simple

set from Republic Commando may be too simplistic for a realistic game, while the

command radial from Dragon Rising can take too long if the command is not in the

context area on the first circle. There is also a matter of user control, as if the game is

developed for a console as well as PC then the number of controls available to the player,

in terms to buttons, is significantly decreased.




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20 Mechanics for Game Design

Based on the information gathered from both the literature review and the game research

there is enough data to create a game that includes the realistic and gameplay elements

found and to have a squad command system that encapsulates the principle behind

Project Odin as well as providing good gameplay.

This section will provide a brief overview of the mechanics and where the original idea

came from and how it will be manipulated to fit in with this new game. The full details

of the game will be shown in the Games Design Document that will accompany this

project.

20.1 Basis for Game

In order to take full advantage of the information gathered there are a few requirements

for the game to be designed. In regards to the project the game must be a Tactical

Shooter. In order to get the best focus on realism, the game must be set in the present or

near future. This will allow the use of current weapons seen throughout other games

which will provide the player with general knowledge about the effectiveness of the

weaponry. By setting the game in the near future it gives the opportunity to create an

event to base the game around and allows for some new technology to be available to the

player. With the need for squad command, the player must also have at least one squad

to command. Using the Project Odin system it should be possible to give the player

control of one character but also have the command of multiple squads.


From a realistic standpoint, the game requires the player to be in control of a small squad

such as the fire teams found in Dragon Rising or the covert team from Rainbow 6: Vegas.

By making the game into a more military than covert game will allow the use of military

tactics and strategy guides to assist with the exact manoeuvres to be found within the

game.

One of the main issues with the squad is to have some kind of system that allows for the

healing of units but not as quickly as a simple health kit like Raven Squad, or a recovery

injection like Rainbow 6: Vegas. These systems lack any realism as if a soldier has just

been gunned down, no amount of injections would be able to heal so many bullet

wounds. The system of having a field medic in the squad would make more sense, as is

seen in Dragon Rising. The other issue about the squad is them being killed. To make

the game as realistic as possible it must be possible for every member of the squad to be

killed which would result in them being removed from the mission and the rest of the

game, as seen in games such as both UFO‟s and Fallout Tactics.




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20.3 Levelling

None of the tactical shooters researched had any sort of squad development in terms of

levelling although games such as Hidden and Dangerous do have some statistics that can

influence the gameplay. Keeping with the military standpoint it is reasonable to assume

that someone who is a field medic has superior knowledge of treating wounds than a

combat engineer, who will most likely know more about explosives than others. With

regards to this a system similar to UFO: Enemy Unknown‟s will be implemented. This

gives the opportunity for squad members to be moulded into specialist soldiers by the

actions they take. For example a soldier who keeps using anti-tank weaponry will

develop more skill with that weapon than a soldier who has never fired one before. A set

of skills will be designed to take account of multiple different weapon types and general

statistics that can be increased by specific experience. This will also focus the player on

trying not to get their squad killed. Statistics will be moved to this section for the games

design document.

20.4 Control

The standard set of controls needs to be implemented so the player can move and look

around in a realistic way. This can be taken from almost any of the tactical shooters

researched. There needs to a system of squad commands available from the first person

view which need to be relatively simple so that they can be issues in the heat of combat.

As previously discussed the commands don‟t need to be overly simplistic.

The main part of the control mechanic is the main part of the research, the top down

tactical view to allow long range commands to take place, as discussed it will be similar

to the principles behind Project Odin. Rather than having the player take control from the

information centre, the player will be able to access the information on a mobile device

which will then correlate information to the rest of the team or other teams if they are

added to the game.

20.5 Equipment

In order to maintain a realistic experience, the weapons used will be based on actual

weaponry used by armed forces today. Borrowing from the standard game system of

being able to carry two weapons will allow the player to have specialist equipment as

well as standard weapons so a soldier with an anti-tank weapon can also have an assault

rifle to deal with normal foot troops. By having a system where the player can control

the load-out of their squad will let the player tailor their team to take on a mission in the

way the player prefers. Using a system similar to UFO: Aftermath mixed with Rainbow

6: Vegas‟ would let the player quickly set up a squad or multiple squads.




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20.6 Terrain

The terrain should be as topographically correct as possible if it is taken from real world

locations. The terrain also needs to be in a free flowing environment, not covered with

squares like some of the real and turn based tactical games. The use of cover is a

contentious issue, as taking cover is an important part of defence, but having a system

like Rainbow 6: Vegas where the players view is taken from first to third person ruins the

immersion and realism of the game. Having terrain features such as Republic

Commando‟s support cover where a unit can provide fire support would give more

tactical freedom to the player as the option is always available if they wish to use it.

20.7 Feedback

Feedback splits into three sections, firstly the statistics that will be used which is linked

with the levelling system which has already been described and will be moved to the

levelling section. The second part of the feedback section is the vocal chatter from the

players‟ squad and the other voice notification for other sources. Clear concise messages

need to be given without being overly repetitive like the single responses from Raven

Squad. Rainbow 6: Vegas does this very well and although Dragon Rising also has its

good sides, the way in which co-ordinates are read out after some of the commands takes

far too long. The third section is the heads up display and the display on the top down

view. For complete realism, such as Dragon Rising‟s hardest difficulty nothing is shown

on the HUD. Republic Commando gets around the issue of having an ammo count on the

HUD by displaying one on the weapon. If there is an actual piece of technology that does

this then it shall be used. For other display it would be possible to mount a small display

on a helmet similar to an autocue that could be accessed. As for the switching for the top

down view, a mobile device would be most likely such as a large PDA like system which

is strapped to the characters arm.

20.8 Opposition

Opposition is the most game dependent mechanic as games from the Warhammer 40,000

universe will most likely have Chaos Marines to fight against while enemies in the

Battletech universe will consist of enemy Mech‟s and their support. As this game will be

based on the present or near future environment, it makes sense to have some realistic

keeping. Who ever the enemy is, they will be relatively similar to the player‟s forces

although they will most likely start off easier to defeat in the early stages and much

harder in the closing stages of the game. Their equipment will be of a similar nature to

the player‟s which will allow the player to switch weapons with downed enemies if they

decide to for any reason.




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21 Further Work

As the main goal of this project was to see if control elements of real and turn based

tactics games could be used in first person shooters has been completed as has a large

amount of research into the realism elements of games and their effect on gameplay it can

be said that this project is successful as the adjoining games design document will show.

Further work in the areas of additional games for research or the further breakdown of

mechanics could enhance the amount of information gathered by this project.

21.1 Additional Games

As only twelve games where researched there will most likely be many more games with

different ways of fulfilling the mechanics set down in this project. With additional games

it would be possible to see if their where any trends that have been taken from a much

older game and then transferred to many later games. If this was the case it should be

possible to track that game back and see why the mechanic solution was so popular.

21.2 Breakdown of Mechanics

As mentioned at the start of the project, there are probably many different ways in which

to break a game down, the seven mechanics discussed within this document are just one

way of doing it. There was also an issue with the crossover between levelling and

feedback covering the statistics of units. This could have been implemented into another

section but due to the general lack of levelling in the tactical shooters would have been of

little use for that section. A further breakdown of the mechanics into even smaller

elements, in a way that a mechanic could be defined as a group of sub mechanics could

potentially reveal more information especially with the aforementioned trends between

games.




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22 References

22.1 General References

Adams D. (2006): The state of the RTS – Dan Adams 2006 hosted on IGN

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/700/700747p1.html

Bjork S. & Holopainen J. (2005): Patterns in Game Design

Published by Charles River Media 2005 ISBN: 1-5845-0354-8

Department of Defence Dictionary (2009): Department of Defence Dictionary of Military

and Associated Terms – Joint Publication 1-02 April 2001 – Amended October 2009

Strategy: Page 529

(B) Tactics: Page 544

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf

Emrich A. (2010): Course Analogy: Strategy vs. Tactics

http://www.alanemrich.com/PGD/PGD_Strategy.htm

Torus Games (2010): Torus Games - Digital Concepts 2010

http://www.torusgames.com/digitalConcepts.php

Walker M. (2002): Strategy Gaming: Part V - Real-Time vs. Turn-Based hosted on

Gamespy

http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/february02/strategygames05/

22.2 Literature Review Material

Lenoir J. and Lowood H. (2003): Theatres of War: The Military-Entertainment

Complex 2003 - Stanford University

Hollings K. (2010): From Gameboy to Armageddon - BBC Radio 3 – February 21st 2010

22.3 Research Material – Not Directly Referenced

Dr. Bull S. (2004): World War II Infantry Tactics: Company and Battalion

Published by Osprey Publishing 2004 ISBN: 1-8417-6663-8

Dr. Bull S. (2004): World War II Infantry Tactics: Squad and Platoon

Published by Osprey Publishing 2004 ISBN: 1-8417-6662-3

Larsen. C (2005): Light Infantry Tactics for Small Teams

Published by Author House 2005 ISBN: 1-4184-7207-7

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/700/700747p1.html

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf

http://www.alanemrich.com/PGD/PGD_Strategy.htm

http://www.torusgames.com/digitalConcepts.php

http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/february02/strategygames05/




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22.4 Games/Game Systems Referenced

America’s Army (2002): Developed and published by the U.S. Army

Fallout Tactics (2001): Developed by Micro Forte

Published by 14 Degrees East

Firefight (1976): Designed by Irad B. Hardy and Jim Dunnigan

Published by Nike and Cooper Espanola, Simulations Publications Inc and Tactical

Studies Rules.

Full Spectrum Warrior (2004): Developed by Pandemic Studios

Published by THQ

Hidden & Dangerous (1999): Developed by Illusion Softworks

Published by Take-Two Interactive.

MechCommander 2 (2001): Developed by FASA Interactive

Published by Microsoft

Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising (2009): Developed and Published by Codemasters

Spacehulk (1993): Developed and Published by Electronic Arts

Star Wars Republic Commando (2005): Developed by LucasArts

Published by LucasArts and Activision

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Vegas (2006): Developed and Published by Ubisoft

UFO Aftermath (2003): Developed by ALTAR Interactive

Published by Cenega / Tri Synergy Inc

Unreal Tournament (1999): Developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes

Published by GT Interactive

Warhammer: (1983 Onwards): Owned by Games Workshop

Warhammer 40,000 (1987 Onwards): Owned by Games Workshop

Warhammer 40,000 Chaos Gate (1998): Developed by Random Games Inc

Published by Strategic Simulations Inc

Warhammer 40,000 Squad Command (2007): Developed by RedLynx

Published by THQ




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22.5 Weapon Research

Popenker, Maxim R. (2010): World Guns: Modern Firearms & Ammunition,

Encyclopedia of firearms and ammunition of the XX and XXI centuries.

http://world.guns.ru/

Genitron.com (2010): The Handgun Information Source

http://www.genitron.com/

22.6 Additional Images

Images of Soldiers – In Game Design Document

Istockphoto

http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php

IGN – Images of Game Titles / Box Art

http://uk.ign.com

http://world.guns.ru/

http://www.genitron.com/

http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php

http://uk.ign.com/




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Appendices

Appendix

Game Page

Appendix A

Research on UFO Aftermath 51

Appendix B

Research on MechCommander 2 60

Appendix C

Research on Fallout Tactics 71

Appendix D

Research on Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate 82

Appendix E

Research on UFO Enemy Unknown 92

Appendix F

Research on Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command 103

Appendix G

Research on Spacehulk 113

Appendix H

Research on Star Wars: Republic Commando 120

Appendix I

Research on Hidden & Dangerous 128

Appendix J

Research on Rainbow 6: Vegas 136

Appendix K

Research on Raven Squad 146

Appendix L

Research on Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 153




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A. Research on UFO: Aftermath

A.1 UFO Aftermath: Information

UFO Aftermath was released in 2003 by Cengena and was developed by ALTAR

Interactive.

A.2 Background on UFO Aftermath

UFO Aftermath is set in the year 2004. On May 24th

an alien craft appeared in Earths

orbit and released huge clouds of spores over the world which obscured the sun. Soon

the clouds started to rain down and buried almost everything, killing off most of the

higher life forms on the planet. Some people survived in bunkers and the Council of

Earth where created putting the player in command of the best remaining soldiers as part

of Phoenix Company. The Players objective is to find out what has happened and seek

revenge.




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A.3 Mechanic Research

A.3.1 Force and Composition

The player has control of a company of troops that starts with only two soldiers but builds

up as the game progresses; the player will receive more troops than can be taken on

missions in case soldiers are killed in missions.

In each mission the player may have up to seven operatives, however in rescue missions

the player may only take up to six operatives as the rescued personnel takes up one slot

when they are collected from their drop point.

A.3.2 Levelling

Each soldier gains experience based on what they do in missions:

- Spotting an enemy

- Wounding an enemy

- Killing an enemy

- Completing mission objectives

o Finding rescue target

o Destroying enemy supplies

o Recovering wounded enemies

- Being seriously injured

Each time a soldier gains enough experience to get to the next level the player chooses

which attribute to increase, which in turn increases certain skills.

There are six attributes, three physical and three mental:

Strength – Influencing mainly capacity and heavy weapon skills.

Agility – Influencing mainly speed and rifle skills.

Dexterity – Influencing mainly dodging and handgun skills.

Willpower – Influencing mainly psi power and marksmanship skills.

Intelligence – Influencing mainly aliens and medical skills.

Perception – Influencing mainly observation and stealth skills.

Each of the six attributes and skills can be at one of the following stages:

Awful, Poor, Average, Good, Very Good, Excellent, Heroic, and Super Heroic

Skills will be discussed in the feedback mechanic section.




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A.3.3 Control

The player controls up to seven operatives during missions from a birds eye view that can

be rotated and moved from almost top down to around thirty degrees from the ground.

The player can command any number of troops at any time depending on if they are

selected and do not have any effects that stops them from completing orders such as

temporary paralysis.

Order can be given in real time and executed immediately or in pause time, where they

will be executed as soon as the player un-pauses the game. Many orders may be stacked

so a soldier can be ordered to move to a location, pull a grenade from their belt, throw the

grenade and then move off for example.

Movement control

- Move: The standard right click control orders the selected operatives to move to

the mouse‟s location, or as close as possible to it.

- Wait: The soldier will wait in their current state for more orders rather than

interrupting with a pause event. (see feedback)

- Run / Walk: Switches the way in which the soldier moves, running is faster but

makes more noise and lowers the perception of the operative.

- Crouch / Stand: Switches between a crouch and normal stance. A crouching

soldier can hide behind low level terrain as it cuts line of sight however if ordered

to move, the operative will stand up again.

Weapon Control

- Fire: The standard control when the cursor moves over an enemy. If it is possible

for at least one of the selected soldiers to fire at the target the cursor goes green.

- Direct Fire: This orders the selected soldiers to fire at a specific point on the

ground rather than an enemy target. This command is better for using heavy

weapons such as RPG‟s and grenades.

- Reload: This orders the operative to switch out their current ammunition for a

new magazine even if the current magazine still has ammunition left in it.

- Throw: This orders the soldier to throw the object selected which can be used for

grenades, or to throw a weapon or equipment to a point on the ground.




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Additional Control

There are additional of operations which can be performed that have not already

been covered by movement or weapon control.

- Manipulate: The manipulate command allows the player to open doors; however

this can also be done by right clicking on a door.

- Access inventory: This automatically pauses the game, as the entire screen

switches over to the personnel section where all the skills and attributes of each

soldier in the current squad can be seen as well as their equipment load out. This

screen is used to move equipment from different sections of the soldier. For

example, moving a sniper rifle from the characters hands and putting it in his

backpack and moving a pistol from their belt to their hands for an internal mission

section.

A.3.4 Equipment

Each soldier has a total of thirty four equipment slots, twenty five in the backpack and

nine on the belt as well as a pair of hands. Soldiers also have a weight limit that can be

exceeded but will slow the operative down. Each piece of equipment has a size relative

to the equipment slots, for example a standard grenade takes up one slot and weighs

0.7kg while a plasma rifle takes up ten slots (5x2) and weighs 5.0Kg as well as each clip

taking two slots and weighing 2.0Kg. The hands can either carry two small objects or

weapons, such as a pistol and a medikit or one larger weapon, from a submachine gun to

a rocket launcher.




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Standard Equipment

There are a huge variety of real world weapons as well as the alien weapons and

eventually hybrid weapons systems developed by the player later on in the game. A

simple overview will be provided with examples.

- Handguns: Handguns are generally lightweight and short ranged however some

can provide an exceptional amount of damage. Examples range from the FN

Five-seveN Tactical, a relatively low damage weapon to the HK PDW/MP7 a sub

machine gun capable of a high rate of fire and a decent damage ratio.

- Rifles: Rifles is the largest weapon section and contains weapons from shotguns,

such as the Neostead which can unleash more damage than some of the heavy

weapons, but has a very limited range. Rifles also include assault rifles, the best

mix of range and firepower, and sniper rifles.

- Heavy: The heavy section contains high damage and long ranged weapons with a

low rate of fire ranging from the RPG7 to the hybrid Rocket Spitter.

- Other: One of the smallest sections, this generally contains all the different types

of grenades, fragmentation, incendiary, smoke and acid. This also contains the

less general equipment, Medikits and flares.

- Armour: The last section contains the different types of armour that have been

found, recovered, developed or backward engineered. Each type of armour has a

different effectiveness against different types of damage, for example, Heavy

Armour has high resistances to most types of damage – especially human

weapons (hard and soft rounds) while the alien Sky Armour has a higher

resistance to alien weapons such as Laser and Plasma damage.




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A.3.5 Terrain

UFO Aftermath is based on Earth and as such tries to reflect the environment of whatever

climate and area the mission is in, for example a mission get in the arctic will be a snow

map with very little in the way of terrain features other than hills and valleys. As well as

external missions there are also missions that take place in buildings or alien ships, these

are much more cramped and dangerous. In terms of terrain features such as abandoned

cars and fences, most things are destructible although it requires an explosive attack to

damage or demolish them.

The terrain falls into 4 categories:

- Empty: The area contains nothing that affects movement or line of sight and can

be walked over normally.

- Small Feature: The area contains some form of object that stops movement but

can be destroyed with a grenade or other explosive.

- Large Feature: The area contains a high concrete wall or is a car or bus. These

objects will block movement and line of sight but again can be removed with

enough explosives. Doors also fall into this section as they can be opened

manually, they can also be blown up.

- Non destructible: Generally interior walls and some exterior walls or objects

cannot be damaged, moved over or seen through. This includes full houses and

outer walls of bunkers.

A.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in UFO Aftermath comes in several forms from statistics, audio, video and

text.

Statistics

The Attributes, noted earlier, each affect a set of skills which can also be trained

up one point with a specific training system within the strategic game rather than

the tactical one. There are four sets of skills: Combat, Defence, Detection and

Other.

- Marksmanship: Dictates the chances of hitting with a sniper rifle.

- Rifles: Dictates the chances of hitting with an assault rifle and shotgun.

- Handguns: Dictates the chances of hitting with pistols and submachine guns.

- Launchers: Dictates the chances of hitting with rocket/missile launchers.

- Throwing: Influences the accuracy and range of throwing items and grenades

including grenade launchers.

- Psi Power: Dictates the chances of withstanding psionic attacks.

- Hit points: The amount of health each soldier has is dependant on this skill.

- Speed: How fast the soldier walks and runs.




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- Dodging: This is the soldier‟s ability to avoid being hit.

- Observation: This shows the soldier‟s ability to notice enemies.

- Stealth: This is the soldier‟s ability to avoid detection by enemies.

- Aliens: This skill influences the abilities of the soldier to critically hit enemies.

- Medical: This is the soldier‟s abilities to use medikits in combat.

- Capacity: This dictates the weight the soldier can carry without being slowed

down.

Audio Notification

During missions, operatives will often give responses to events and orders. There

are many phrases used although only a few are noted for each scenario.

- “Good to go”/ “awaiting orders”: The soldier has been selected or has finished

his current orders.

- “Not possible sir” / “No can do”: The order given last cannot be completed for

some reason, invalid move or enemy not in line of sight.

- “I see one” / “look over there”: The soldier has spotted an enemy for the first

time. If the enemy disappears from sight and then reappears, no response is

given.

- “I‟m hit” / “I‟m in trouble”: The soldier has just been hit and has lost some

health.

- “Enemy down” / “He went down”: The soldier has managed to incapacitate the

enemy rather than kill them outright.

- “I got him” / “He‟s dead”: The soldier has managed to kill an enemy.

- “He‟s gone” / “Can‟t see him now”: The soldier can no longer see an enemy they

where previously shooting at.




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Video Notification

During missions there are two types of Video notification, screen events and

display elements.

- Screen move and pause: Whenever a soldier makes a voice notification, the

camera will move to their location and pause the game, unless an enemy has been

spotted.

- Enemy spin and pause: If an enemy is spotted and it is the first enemy of its type,

for example the first Danglefly seen in the mission, then the screen will move to

its location, zoom down to the 30 degree angle and spin around it before

returning to the birds eye view. The game will also pause.

- Enemy move and pause: If an enemy that‟s type has already been seen, for

example the second Danglefly in a mission, the camera will simply move to show

where the enemy has been seen.

- Screen Markers: The screen shows small arrows pointing to the locations of each

operative in the squad (colour coded) and white hollow arrows pointing towards

any living enemy, even if they are incapacitated.

Text Notification

At the top of the screen is a text area which informs the player of every event that

has occurred and shows the last message unless the dropdown is show to see all

recorded messages. The more important text notification occurs when attempting

to attack an enemy. When the cursor moves over an enemy or a direct attack

order is issued a small % marker appears with the likelihood of each soldier order

to attack or hitting the target (colour coded).

A.3.7 Opposition

Opposition in UFO Aftermath come in two general groups, the Transgenants and the

Reticulons.

The Transgenants are effectively mutated humans that randomly roam around the Earth

trying to kill any normal humans they come across. Transgenants come in four stages,

basic, large, armed and biomass.

Basic Transgenants are generally humanoid in constitution but have some major

mutation, such as a second life form living inside of them. Most basic Transgenants can

carry small arms and some can carry rifles.

Large Transgenants are creatures larger than humans that have been mutated such as Car

crabs, huge hermit crabs that use cars as their shells.




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Armed Transgenants are the basic Transgenants but have been armed by the Reticulons

and as such can carry anything from laser pistols to Rocket Spitters.

Biomass Transgenants are creatures made from the biomass that starts to cover the Earth

in the later stages of the game. They are much more resilient than normal Transgenants

and most have special abilities such as paralysing beams.

Reticulons are the alien species trying to invade Earth. Reticulons only appear when the

player manages to shoot down a UFO or takes a mission involving UFO‟s or alien bases.

Reticulons get progressively harder as they get better armour and weaponry as the game

progresses.




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B. Research on MechCommander 2

B.1 MechCommander 2: Information

MechCommnder 2 was released in 2001 by Microsoft and was developed by FASA

interactive.

B.2 Background on MechCommander 2

MechCommander 2 is based on the BattleTech universe where battlefields are dominated

by bipedal war machines known as BattleMechs, or Mechs for short. MechCommander 2

takes place on and nearby the Planet Carver V, where due to the war in the Chaos March

skirmishes between the local factions have started to escalate into a full war. The players

Mecenary company have been called in by house Steiner in order to assist them to defeat

the Davion and Liao forces.




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B.3 Mechanic Research

B.3.1 Force and Composition

The player is in control of a mercenary company consisting of Pilots and Mechs and has

an array of support options at their disposal. During any given mission the player is

given a drop weight, which relates to the total Mech weight the player can deploy at the

start of a mission. For example is the drop weight is 160 Tons, then the player may take

Mechs up to that weight, although they may deploy under weight, so a pair of 80 ton

Mechs could be taken or a 100 ton and a 60 ton Mech.

The player is limited to a total of 8 Mechs for deployment but this may be increased

during the mission with use of Support points. Support points allow the player to use

abilities such as call in aerial bombardments, repair trucks, salvage craft and others

during the course of a mission. Each support option costs a different amount of points, so

a scout helicopter costs less than salvaging a defeated enemy Mech.

B.3.2 Levelling

Each pilot gains experience for participating in a mission and then more for their actions:

- Defeating an enemy Mech

- Defeating an enemy vehicle

- Completing various mission objectives

- Being seriously injured but not ejecting.

Each time a pilot gains enough experience, they are awarded in rank which then allows

the player to give them a special ability. These generally consist in proficiency with

weapon types, but can also have other various effects. There are three levels a pilot can

ascend to. There are three sets of skills that can be assigned depending on the level

reached however lower level skills can be applied instead of higher level skills depending

on what specialties the player wants each pilot to have.

Skills will be discussed in the feedback mechanic section.




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B.3.3 Control

The player controls all the friendly units on the battlefield, this includes the Mechs from

the initial drop, (up to eight) and then any mobile support assets that are called for

including salvaged enemy Mechs.

Most orders can be given to individual Mechs or vehicles, or given to multiple selected

units. Some commands can only be executed by Mechs with specific equipment

onboard.

Movement control

- Move: The standard right click control orders the pilot/s to move directly to the

selected location at a walking speed.

- Run: Running will make the Mech move at a much faster rate; however this

causes more sound to be made and reduces the pilot‟s awareness.

- Jump Jets: Only Mechs equipped with Jump Jets may perform a jump. The jump

takes the Mech into the air and toward the specified location. Jumps may be

performed in unison with a capture command. (See additional control)

- Guard: The Mech will move close to the selected guard target and attack any

enemies that come within range.

- Stop: The Mech will stop moving and disengage any orders and attacks.

Weapon Control

- Standard Attack: This orders the pilot to attack the selected target using their own

engagement preferences.

- Attack from Position: This orders the pilot to hold position and fire with the

relevant ranged weapons depending on the enemy‟s position.

- Long Range Attack: This orders the pilot to stay at long range and only use long

range weapons to engage the target.

- Medium Range Attack: This orders the pilot to engage at middle distance using

only weapons to that effect.

- Short Range Attack: This orders the pilot to close in and engage at short range

with smaller firearms.




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Additional Control



- Repair: Certain battlefields and areas have field bases which are designed to refit

and repair damage to Mechs. These will not replace destroyed components such

as arms or torso weapons.

- Capture: Many structures can be captured rather than destroyed. Only Mechs can

capture buildings. Buildings that can be captured in this way include turret

control towers, which switch all the corresponding turrets to attack the players

opposition rather than the player. Rader stations can also be controlled, giving a

radar image of the area. Resource bunkers and trucks can be captured which give

the player additional support points to call in reinforcements. Other things

include HQ and mobile HQ, gate controls and field bases.

Support Options

There are a variety of support options open to the player during missions as long

as they have the required support points to use them.

- Scout Helicopter: This drops a small helicopter which has a high sight range and

a good radar range. It has little armour or firepower and can be destroyed easily.

- Sensor Beacon: This drops a radar pod on any selected area. The radar will show

any enemies in the area but quickly dissipates.

- Minelayer: This drops a truck that can be ordered to set numerous mine fields up

that will cause damage to enemies and specifically enemy Mechs legs. Once all

mines have been deployed the truck is disabled.

- Repair Truck: This drops a truck that works in the same way as a field base. The

truck can only fix a limited amount of damage before it is disabled.

- Arial Bombardment: The player can call in a wing of bombers that can decimate

an area. They are especially useful for setting off chain reactions or taking out

enemy turret controls.

- Fixed Artillery: This drops an artillery platform at a chosen location. The

platform is armed with a single, long range cannon with high damage potential.

The platform cannot move and can only fire on targets which either it can see or

that can be seen by any unit the player controls.

- Salvage Craft: This drops a helicopter containing the next available Mech pilot

from the player‟s roster. The helicopter will fix an enemy Mech that has been

defeated but not destroyed. The Mech will only be repaired a small amount but

like all repairs, missing parts will not be replaced.




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B.3.4 Equipment

Each Mech has a can carry a variety of weapons and equipment; however they are limited

with three systems. Each Mech has a number of hard points, where weapons or

equipment can be mounted. Each hard point is a single square, however most Mechs

have multiple hard points next to each other to create larger sections. Each piece of

equipment has a size; a Machine gun array takes up one space while a Long Tom

Artillery Cannon takes up ten (2x5).

Mechs are also limited by heat capacity. Each weapon has a heat level that, when all

components are added together must be less than or equal to the Mechs heat capacity.

Different weapon types have different heat outputs, for example laser weapons have a

higher heat output than ballistic weapons. Heat sinks may be added to increase the heat

capacity of a Mech but they take up one hard point.

Finally, Mechs have an armour limit. This is the maximum level of armour that can be

equipped onto a Mech. All Mechs already have at least half their armour capacity taken

up by the internal structure than cannot be modified but the remaining allowance can be

used with additional armour which takes up a single hard point.

Equipment can be gathered in two different ways. Either the player manages to salvage

the pieces at the end of a mission or buys them from the Mech lab. Money is gained for

fulfilling objectives during the course of the game or by selling salvaged Mechs and

equipment.

Standard Equipment

The equipment in MechCommander 2 is separated into four different aspects.

- Ballistic Weapons: This section contains all of the slug based projectile weapons

that can be equipped. These range from the Machine gun array, a last resort

weapon with very low damage potential, to the Long Tom Artillery Cannon, a

mobile artillery piece capable of high damage and does not require line of sight.

The most common weapons in this section are Autocannons, burst firing high

explosive cannons, which come in a variety of configurations from ultra light to

heavy.

- Energy Weapons: This section contains all the weapons that do not require

ammunition. The three main types of weapons in the category are Lasers - a

direct beam weapon, Pulse Lasers – Lasers that fire for a short period of time

rather than in single shots and finally PPC‟s or Particle Projection Cannons a

weapon that fires ions at extreme velocities.

- Missile Weapons: This section contains the three types of missile based weapons

in MechCommander 2. LRM‟s or Long Range Missiles have a pair of

configurations, standard and swarm, swarm missiles consist of multiple warhead

shots that separate and explode in an area rather than concentrating on the target




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directly. Streak SRMs fire a stream of missiles at there target from short range

have better fire rates than LRMs. The Thunderbolt missile is the last missile in

this section. A single missile capable of inflicting massive damage against

armoured targets.

- Components: This section contains the non offensive equipment including Jump

Jets, which can only be equipped by certain Mechs, Armour and Heat Sinks

B.3.5 Terrain

MechCommander 2 is mostly set on the planet Carver V, which resembles Earth in many

ways. Each section of the campaign moves from different landscapes, from small islands

with jungle terrain to open desert.




- Small Scenery: Objects such as fences and very small buildings which do not

block line of sight. These objects can be destroyed with weapons fire or by

simply walking over them.

- Large Scenery: Larger objects such as trees, reinforced walls and large buildings

than block line of sight that can be destroyed by weapons fire.




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- Defensive buildings: Defensive buildings consist of a single turret mounted

weapon that will attack any enemy unit that comes within range of it. Defensive

buildings are controlled by turret control buildings and also require a turret

generator to function. Destroying any of these will deactivate the turret.

- Capture-able buildings: Buildings such as turret controls and radar stations can be

captured giving the player the functionality of the building as long as it stays

intact and in the players control.

B.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in MechCommander 2 comes in several forms from statistics, audio, video

and Radar.

Statistics

Although the Mechs themselves do not gain experience, the Pilots do. Pilots have

two general statistics and then up to four rank abilities each of which is gained

after the pilot has gained a level.

The general statistics are:

- Gunnery Skill: The pilot‟s skills with the weapons systems in any given Mech.

- Piloting Skill: The pilot‟s skill with the movement and control of any given

Mech.

The rank abilities are gained after a pilot has gained enough experience to go up a

level. When a Pilot gains a rank the player may choose a specialty from the rank

they have obtained or one from a previous rank.

Regular Specialties:

- Light Mech: General Abilities increase when using a Light Mech.

- Light Autocannon: Accuracy with Light Autocannons increases.

- Medium Autocannon: Accuracy with Medium Autocannons increases.

- SRM: Accuracy with SRM‟s increases.

- Small Arms: Accuracy with Machine Guns and Flamers increases.

- Sensor: More detailed sensor data is gathered.

- Toughness: Pilots can survive more damage so will eject rather than get killed.

Veteran Specialties:

- Medium Mech: General Abilities increase when using a Medium Mech.

- Pulse Lasers: Accuracy with Pulse Lasers increases.

- ER Lasers: Accuracy with Extended Range Lasers increases.

- LRM: Accuracy with LRM‟s increases.

- Scouting: Increases the pilot‟s line of sight.

- Jump Jets: Gives the pilot longer jump distances.




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Elite Specialties:

- Heavy Mech: General Abilities increase when using a Heavy Mech.

- PPC: Accuracy with PPC‟s increases.

- Heavy Autocannon: Accuracy with Heavy Autocannons increases.

- Short Range: Short range weapons accuracy increases.

- Medium Range: Medium range weapons accuracy increases.

- Long Range: Long range weapons accuracy increases.

Ace Specialties:

- Assault Mech: General Abilities increase when using an Assault Mech.

- Gauss: Accuracy with Gauss weapons increases.

- Sharpshooter: Pilots have higher chances of getting headshots on enemy Mechs.

Audio Notification

At the beginning of each mission a transmission from the support officer will

outline the mission objectives and sometimes additional information about the

area. After that certain triggers will cause an audio message from different people

regarding the situation as it changes.

As well as the briefings from people, the pilots will update there status when

something happens. Each order received will also result in a beep noise even if

the pilot does not give a verbal response. Often a pilot will identify themselves by

there call sign before responding.




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- “Target acknowledged”/ “Copy that target”: The pilot confirms their attack

orders.

- “That‟s a negative” / “Unable to comply”: The order given last cannot be

completed for some reason, usually an attack on a unit that has just been

destroyed.

- “I, I. I‟m on guard” / “Guard order confirmed”: The pilot confirms a Guard unit

order.

- “Stopping” / “Rodger that”: the Pilot confirms a Stop command.

- “Target eliminated” / “Guess he didn‟t make it”: The pilot has managed to

destroy or cripple an enemy Mech or destroy a vehicle.

- “I‟m in trouble” / “Under attack”: The Pilots Mech is taking damage.

- “I‟m hurt” / “I‟m bleeding pretty bad”: The Pilot has been injured from incoming

fire.

Video Notification

During missions there are two types of Video notification, battlefield display and

radar display.

Battlefield Display

- Health Bars and unit Types: Above every unit that can bee seen a health bar is

displayed above it. If the player moves the mouse over a unit its name will

appear underneath it.

- The players HUD shows the player controlled units in action with a detailed

damage display for each. The HUD also displays mission objectives and support

options available.

- Radar overlay: The radar targets that have been detected appear on the battlefield

screen if they cannot be seen but are within sensor range. All enemy units appear

as a 3d diamond unless the player has a pilot with the Sensor or Scouting

specialties in which case the targets appear as cubes for Mechs or cylinders for

vehicles.

- Colour overlay: When the player moves their mouse over a destroyable object,

including a friendly Mech, a colour is displayed over the object in either green, to

indicate friendly, white to indicate neutral or red to indicate enemy.

Radar Notification

The radar consists of a mini-map showing the operational area including the

following additional items.

- Green blips: These represent the player‟s controllable forces.

- Blue blips: These represent friendly, but uncontrollable units.

- Red blips: These represent enemies within sensor range.

- Green radar: A green circle eminates from any of the players units with radars.




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- Red radar: Similar radar displays show the enemies radar range.

- Primary objectives: The mini-map shows the locations of all the primary

objectives that have locations. (some objectives consist of destroying all enemy

forces)

- Secondary objectives: The mini-map also shows the locations of all the

secondary objects that have locations.

B.3.7 Opposition

Opposition in MechCommander 2 come in three types:

Enemy Mechs are the main opposition, they are identical to the Mechs that the player

uses but most have a standard load-out suited to the Mech rather than specific roles.

Special characters and their bodyguards have highly modified weapon load-outs rather

than the standard outfit. There are generally more enemy Mechs I missions than the

player can deploy at the start however they tend to be of much lower weight and therefore

damage potential.

Vehicles form the secondary opposition, although there are usually a lot more enemy

vehicles than Mechs most have very little damage potential to health. Vehicles range

from Armoured Cars, which carry a single Machine gun array, which makes it little more

than an irritation to even the lightest of Mechs to the heavy Storm tank which weighs as

much as a medium Mech and is armed with a pair of powerful PPC‟s.




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The last form of opposition is the numerous base defence weapon systems and arrays.

These can either be destroyed as previously described or can be captured and used against

enemy targets.




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C. Research on Fallout Tactics

C.1 Fallout Tactics: Information

Fallout Tactics was released in 2001 by 14 Degrees East and was developed by Micro

Forte.

C.2 Background on Fallout Tactics

Fallout Tactics is based in a post apocalyptic world in the Fallout universe. The player

takes charge of a team from the Brotherhood of Steal, an organisation set on restoring the

population of earth by securing as many people as possible using the advanced weapons

available to them. Fallout Tactics, unlike the previous two games in the series, is based

on combat tactics during set missions rather than the exploration of the environment in a

free roaming story.

Note:

Fallout Tactics can be played as a Real Time Tactical game or as a Turn Based Tactical

Game. For this research it will be considered as a Real Time Tactical Game.




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C.3 Mechanic Research

C.3.1 Force and Composition

The player is in control of a squad from the Brotherhood of steal. This squad can consist

of between 1 and 6 members each with a highly developed skill set which is modified via

the levelling system.

The squads‟ leader is created by the player at the start of the game and is the only

character that must survive and that cannot be swapped out for other characters for each

mission.

In order to increase, decrease or change members of the squad, the player must be at a

bunker, I.E. not during a mission, and talk with the master of recruits who will offer an

array of new recruits. The further through the game, the better candidates can be used in

the squad. The downfall to this is that each new recruit ideally need to be equipped with

weaponry and ammunition which must be bought at a high cost, or found during

missions.

Vehicles may also be used during missions; they do not take up a squad member slot.

C.3.2 Levelling

Each soldier gains experience for completing specific mission objectives or for

eliminating enemies.

As each character gathers enough experience, they will gain a level which gives them

points to spend on their Skills, Attributes and Perks.

Due to the large array of skills that can be upgraded, the squad will benefit from each

member specialising in different areas of expertise.

Skills, Attributes and Perks will be discussed in the feedback section.




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C.3.3 Control

The player has control of their squad: between one and six people. The player can give

commands to each individual soldier or to multiple soldiers when selected together.

Movement control

- Move: Left clicking will order the soldier to move to the location, if there is

something present at the specific location, a separate cursor will appear with a

message telling the player what is there. E.g. Chest.

- Run: It is possible to make a soldier run to a new location in the same manor as

walking, but faster. While running the soldier can perform no other actions and is

more likely to be noticed.

- Stand/Crouch/Prone: The player may decide the stance of each soldier

individually, by selecting the corresponding option. Crouching lowers the profile

of the soldier making them a smaller target and possibly hiding them behind

cover. Going prone makes the soldier much less likely to be noticed but also

drastically slows the soldier down.

Weapon Control

- Standard Attack: By right clicking on an enemy or on an open space, the soldier

will fire their currently selected weapon at the target selected.

- Switch Weapon: Each soldier can have two weapons for immediate use.

Selecting the other weapon will make the soldier switch to this weapon.

- Reload: If the weapon is not at full capacity for its ammunition it may be

reloaded from the ammo reserves in the soldiers‟ capacity.

- Weapon Mode: If the current weapon has the option of different fire modes, for

example Single fire or Burst fire. Then the type may be changed.

- Target Mode: If the current weapon is of the appropriate type and weapon mode,

then the soldier may be told to aim for a specific point on enemy targets. These

options appear in a pop up screen and are: Head, Right/Left Arms, Right/Left

Legs, Groin, Torso or Eyes. Hits in specific places can result in specific damage,

hitting in the eyes will sometimes cause the target to go blind for example.




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Additional Control



- Sentry Mode – Off/Defensive/Aggressive: Sentry mode allows soldier to act on

their own accord if an enemy is spotted. When in defensive, the soldier will

inform the player that an enemy has been spotted and will only fire if they are

shot at. With aggressive selected, the soldier will automatically fire at an enemy

if one is spotted.

- Sentry %: The Sentry Mode may be modified so that soldiers will not fire at

enemies unless they have a specific % chance of hitting them, this may be set to 1,

33, 66 or 95%. This stops soldiers wasting ammunition on far off targets.

- Open Skills Menu: This opens the skills window to allow the soldier to attempt a

specialised operation. This will be discussed in Skill Control below.

- Open Inventory: This will open the soldiers‟ inventory and allow changes to what

the player is carrying. It also allows changes such as changing the ammunition

types on weapons, E.G. from standard bullets to hollow points. The inventory

menu is a click and drag system, so there are no actually commands within it,

other than to close it.

- Open Character window: Opening the character window shows the full status of

the soldier, including all their statistics, skills, and perks. This screen is used to

level up skills and abilities after a level has been gained.

- Open Pip-boy: The Pip-boy is used to view briefings, dialogue, archives and the

map of the current mission/area. No commands can be given with the Pip-boy.

Skill Control

During missions, soldiers may attempt to perform specific operations. These have

a percentage next to them showing how likely the operation will be to succeed.

- Sneak: If a sneak is successful, the soldier becomes effectively invisible and can

move normally without being spotted. If the soldier moves too close to an enemy

or takes any drastic action, such as firing then the sneaking stops and the soldier

behaves normally again.

- Lockpick: Opening locked objects such as doors or storage devices requires a

lockpick skill. The more difficult the lock, the higher the skill needs to be.

Certain impliments increase the chances of opening locked objects.

- Steal: This skill allows the soldier to attempt to steal items from enemies or

NPC‟s. This skill can also be used to give them an item without them knowing.

- Traps: This skill allows soldiers to attempt to disarm traps. If failed the trap will

be set off.

- First Aid: This skill allows a soldier to attempt to heal basic wounds. This

requires the soldier to have medical equipment in there hands. If failed, the

soldier may do further damage to the recipient.




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- Doctor: This skill allows soldier to perform much more complex procedures such

as healing major wounds or crippled limbs. As with first aid specific equipment

must be in the characters hand and if failed the soldier may do further damage to

the recipient.

- Science: This skill allows for the interaction between the soldier and any sort of

computer or scientific object.

- Repair: This skill allows a soldier to attempt to repair a broken item or vehicle.

C.3.4 Equipment

Each soldier can carry as many items as the player wants, however this is limited by the

strength of each soldier. As soon as their weight limit has been reached the player can

still add items to their inventory, but they will be significantly slowed.

Each soldier may have two items to hand at any one time. This may be, for example, a

sniper rifle and a sub machine gun so the player can quickly switch weapons without

having to open their inventory – which does not pause the game.

Equipment can be gathered in two ways. Firstly the player can buy a limited number of

items, weapons and supplies in any of the bunkers before or after a mission. The second

way to obtain equipment is to either find it in storage on a mission or to kill an enemy

then take his equipment.

Equipment can be gathered in two different ways. Either the player manages to salvage

the pieces at the end of a mission or buys them from the Mech lab. Money is gained for

fulfilling objectives during the course of the game or by selling salvaged Mechs and

equipment.

Standard Equipment

The equipment in Fallout Tactics is separated into two wide categories: Combat and

Non-combat.

Combat equipment is separated into seven groups.

- Armour: Equipping armour increases the resistance of the soldier.

- Small Guns: Small Guns is the largest category within combat equipment. It

consists of pistols, sub machine guns, shotguns, rifles and small grenade

launchers.

- Big Guns: Heavy projectile weapons are found in this section, mainly consisting

of machine guns, mini-guns and rocket launchers.

- Energy Weapons: This section contains all the energy based weapons, - laser and

plasma.




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- Melee Weapons: Knifes and large blunt objects fill this section. Their close

range nature makes them almost useless in later stages of the game.

- Throwing Weapons: This section mainly consists of grenades and other

improvised explosives but also contains items such as throwing stars.

- Unarmed Weapons: These weapons are worn rather than held. Knuckle dusters

and weapon enhanced gloves fill this section.

Non Combat equipment is separated into ten groups.

- Ammunition: Weapons take specific size ammunition, for example the AK47

requires 9mm rounds, and however there are three types of 9mm rounds, Ball

(standard), Armour Piercing, and Hollow Point. Rather than magazines,

ammunition is collected together in individual bullets.

- Books: Books are one of the only pre war information sources to be found. Each

book will increase a skill in its relevant subject.

- Chemicals: This section contains drugs. Mainly narcotics with good short term

effects, but some soon make the soldier addicted to the substance.

- Drinks: Like Chemicals, most drinks have a short term positive effect; however

alcohol will dull soldiers‟ abilities if they drink too much.

- Food: Eating most types of food will restore a small amount of health or have

other positive effects. There are, however some foods that will have negative

effects.

- Keys: Keys are used to open locked doors without having to resort to breaking

them down or picking the lock.

- Medical Supplies: There are a variety of different Medical supplies, each with

their own usage. First aid kits can cure light wounds while Stim packs give a

burst of health but later will reduce health drastically.

- Tools: Tools generally consist of types of lock picks; however tool bags can be

used for multiple purposes.

- Traps: Traps can be set up at key locations and will go off if an enemy triggers

them. Traps range from simple bull horn traps – making a loud sound when

triggered, to high explosives.

- Utility: These items are mostly mission specific allowing for the completion of

the scenario.




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C.3.5 Terrain

Fallout Tactics is mostly set on Earth after the aftermath from World War III. This

mostly consists of ravaged wastelands with scattered villages across its surface. Some

larger towns remain that have been converted into makeshift fortresses. Under the

surface stands a number of Vaults – bunkers built before the war, most of which where

not finished in time. Most missions take place in villages or towns, but random

encounters take place in arid desert wasteland.




- Small Scenery: Objects such as fences and very small buildings which do not

block line of sight but will give a negative modifier for firing accuracy.

- Large Scenery: Larger objects such as trees, signposts and other similar

structures. These again do not block line of sight but do give a much higher

negative modifier for firing.

- Low Walls: Most missions are set up in towns or villages and use low walls to

block access to other areas of the map. They do not block line of sight as long as

the soldier is relatively close to the wall and is not crouching or prone.

- High Walls/Buildings: High Walls usually represent buildings. Some buildings

have sections of broken walls that allow soldiers to pass through and enter the

building. High walls block line of sight completely.

- Doors: Doors are placed on Low or High Walls. Some are unlocked which allow

soldiers to simply open them and move through. Others are locked and require

lock-picking. Mission critical locks always have a key that can be found,

however picking the lock is always a safer option.

- Crates/Containers: Consisting of a wide variety of object types, these objects

usually contain equipment of some type generally depending on its type. For

example, fridges usually contain food or drink, and lockers generally contain

some sort of weapon or ammunition.




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C.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Fallout Tactics comes in several forms from statistics, text notifications

and mini-map.

Statistics

Each soldier gains experience as they complete missions, kill enemies and

successfully use skills. All experience except skill experience is shared with all

members of the squad. When they get enough experience, they level up gaining

additional skill points. There are three main statistic branches, Character

Statistics, Derived Statistics and skills. There are also two additional sections –

Traits and Perks.

Character Statistics

These statistics are predefined for soldiers except for the players‟ main

character whose points can be placed where ever the player decides. Once

this is set, only status changes can change these figures.

- Strength: Strength shows the soldiers physical ability in carrying equipment,

using larger weapons and close combat ability.

- Perception: This is the soldier‟s ability to notice the environment surrounding

them. Weapon range is increased with higher perception.

- Endurance: The soldiers‟ ability to withstand damage and physical exertion. This

affects hit points and resistances.

- Charisma: This skill is vital for leadership. Higher charisma gives boosts to other

soldiers‟ abilities and also the soldiers‟ ability to barter.

- Agility: This defines the soldiers speed and dexterity. More agile soldiers are

faster at performing actions.

- Luck: Luck affects everything. Having high Luck can make the difference in any

situation.

Derived Statistics

These statistics are based on the Character Statistics. These statistics can

not be modified directly, but can be altered with changes to Character

Statistics (during character creation) or with equipment carried.

- Hit Points: How much damage a soldier can take before they die. Hit points are

gained when a soldier levels up and is based on their Endurance and Strength.

- Armour Class: This is how likely the character is to get hit and is based on

Agility and the armour being worn.

- Melee Damage: Based on Strength, this is how much damage a character deals in

hand to hand combat.

- Bonus Damage: This is the percentage of additional damage dealt in all forms of

combat based on race, traits and Perks.

- Damage Resistance: This is the physical damage which is ignored based on the

type of armour worn.




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- Poison Resistance: Based on Endurance, this shows the percentage of poison

damage that is negated.

- Radiation Resistance: This is the same as poison resistance, but for radiation.

This can be modified by armour and anti-radiation chemicals.

- Action Points: This defines the time between actions. (Note: In turn based

gameplay, this is particularly critical as it defines how much each soldier can do

during their turn.

- Carry Weight: This defines the maximum weight of equipment that can be

carried by the soldier.

- Heal Rate: This is how fast the soldiers‟ health recovers. This also gives bonuses

when the soldier is healed using equipment.

- Critical Chance: This gives the percentage chance that a characters hit will be

critical – dealing extra damage.

- Skill Rate: This shows how many skill points are gained for gaining a level.

- Perk Rate: This shows how many levels are needed before additional Perk may

be gained.

Skills

These statistics are based on the Character Statistics. But can be modified

when the soldier gains a level, the number of additional skill points gained

is defined by the Skill Rate statistic.

- Small Guns: How proficient the soldier is with the use of Small Guns.

- Big Guns: How proficient the soldier is with the use of Big Guns.

- Energy Weapons: How proficient the soldier is with the use of Energy Weapons.

- Unarmed: How proficient the soldier is using unarmed weapons.

- Melee Weapons: How proficient the soldier is with the use of Melee Weapons.

- Throwing Weapons: The accuracy of the soldiers throwing.

- First Aid: How proficient the soldier is with the use of First Aid Kits.

- Doctor: How proficient the soldier is with the use of Doctor‟s Bag‟s.

- Sneak: The soldiers‟ ability to sneak.

- Lockpick: The soldiers‟ ability to pick locks.

- Steal: The soldiers‟ ability to steal or covertly place objects.

- Traps: The soldiers‟ ability to notice, disarm and setup explosives and traps.

- Science: The soldiers‟ knowledge of scientific equipment such as chemicals and

computers.

- Repair: The soldiers‟ competence with the repairing of broken items and

vehicles.

- Piloting: The soldiers‟ ability with the operation of vehicles. The higher the skill

the faster vehicles will move during combat.

- Barter: The soldiers‟ competence is bartering items for money, and money for

items.

- Gambling: The soldiers. Skill at playing any sort of gambling games.

- Outdoorsman: The soldiers‟ affinity with outdoor environments – such as plants

and animals.




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Traits

Traits are selected when the player creates their main character. Traits are

unique abilities that have both a positive effect as well as a negative effect.

The Traits available depend on the race of the character. There are twenty

six different traits which have different effects to skills.

An example trait is Finesse which lowers the general damage caused by the

soldiers‟ weapons but increases the chance of critical hits.

Perks

Perks are like traits but have less of an effect but have no negative effects.

Unlike Traits, Perks are gained when characters level up, but depending

on the Perk Rate, only after the soldier has levelled up a number of times.

Perks can be selected depending on the race of the character as well as

certain statistics.

An example Perk is „Bonus Rate of Fire‟ which makes firing weapons faster and

still remain accurate. The requirements are a Perception of 6, Intelligence of 6,

Agility of 7 and the character to be at level 15.

Text Notification

As there is no audio for speech, text messages convey all notifications as well as

enemy speech.

When an action such as opening a door is performed but it is locked, a text

notification will appear above the door that says „Locked‟. If the door is then

successfully picked or unsuccessfully picked, a message will appear to that effect.

If the lock is too complex for the soldier then a message appears stating that it

„Looks Difficult‟.

This type of notification is seen for all skills when they are used but carry their

own messages relating to what action is trying to be performed.

Other text notification comes in the form of hit percentages. When the player

moves the cursor over an enemy text appears above their head informing the

player of what the target is and the % of hitting the target. If multiple soldiers are

selected then the % shows the worst figure.

Enemies will also talk to each other or throw insults at the player‟s squad. These

are extremely varied.




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Mini-map Notification

The mini-map is a small basic representation of the environment. The map covers

a larger area than is shown on the playing screen.

- Black Areas: This represents open terrain.

- White Blips: These represent the players squad, weather they are selected or not.

- Green Blips: These represent friendly, but uncontrollable units.

- Red Blips: These represent enemies.

- Blue Box: This shows the playing screen in respect to the size of the mini-map.

- Green Lines: This shows walls large scenery that can block line of sight or

movement.

C.3.7 Opposition

Opposition in Fallout Tactics are similar to the squad members that the player can have,

there are a few exceptions such as animals.

Enemy raiders are the most common type of enemy, especially in the early stages of the

game. These are basically identical to the players soldiers, although have lesser statistics.

There are however a lot more of them.

Other enemy types found during missions are Humans, Mutants, Super Mutants, Ghouls,

Death Claws, Dogs and Robots. Each is similar to the players‟ squad but all come with a

different set of skills and abilities as well as health and equipment.

Enemies can generally carry the same equipment as the player‟s squad which allows the

player to take the equipment from dead enemies and use it.

During random encounters the most likely opposition are mutated creatures who make

their home in the desert wastelands.




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D. Research on Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate

D.1 Chaos Gate: Information

Chaos Gate was released in 1998 by SSI inc and developed by Random Games inc.

D.2 Background on Chaos Gate

Chaos Gate is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and depicts a struggle between a

contingent of Space Marines from the Ultramarine chapter against Chaos Space Marines

of the Word Bearers chapter, sworn enemies from millennia ago. The player is given

multiple squads that can be configured to face any challenge. During the course of the

game, the player first recovers an artefact that leads to the location of the Chaos Gate, a

warp gate allowing quick deployment of Chaos forces. The game follows the marines‟

progress and eventually ends in a clash between them and the current captain of the Word

Bearers chapter.




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D.3 Mechanic Research

D.3.1 Force and Composition

Chaos gate‟s missions allow the player to take between one and three, five man squads as

well as up to five characters (from different classes) Access to multiple squads and each

character is based on the progression through the story line. For example, in the first

mission only one squad and no characters may be selected and the squad must be a

tactical squad.

The five man squads available are as follows. Individual members may be exchanged

between squads

Tactical Squad: The mainstay of Space Marine force, there are seven squads of

which to choose from. Their equipment is standard issue allowing for one special or

heavy weapon.

Devastator Squad: Identical to the Tactical Squad, except the squad may be

equipped with an additional heavy weapon and no special weapons. There is only

one Devastator Squad.

Assault Squad: Assault Squads are set up for hand to hand combat. Each member

of the squad is equipped with a pistol and a close combat weapon as well as a jump

pack. There is only one Assault Squad.

Terminator Squad: Terminators are equipped with Tactical Dreadnought armour

which increases protection massively; they are slower and cannot pickup items in

mission. There is only one Terminator Squad and all members of the squad need the

Crux Terminatus in order to be swapped in.

There are also five classes of characters to add once they are unlocked.

Librarian: Librarians can channel psychic powers onto the battlefield with a

multitude of different effects, from speeding up his companions to throwing lightning

bolts at the enemy. There are five Librarians to choose from.

Techmarine: Techmarines are the artificers and machine manipulators in the Space

Marine force. There are two Techmarines to choose from.

Apothecary: Apothecaries are highly trained medics capable of healing major

injuries during the course of a battle. There are two Apothacaries to choose from.

Chaplain: Chaplains are the embodiment of the spirit of the chapter and as such

have a massive boost on the moral of nearby troops. There are two Chaplains to

choose from.




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Captain: Captain Kruger is the commander of the Ultramarines 2nd

company in

Chaos Gate. His influence on the battlefield is boosts moral of nearby troops. There

is only one Captain.

As well as Marines, certain levels have the option of taking a vehicle.

Rhino: The Rhino is a troop transport vehicle; able to move a squad of marines in

the safety of its armoured hull otherwise it is lightly armed.

Predator: The Predator is based on the Rhino chassis however its transport capacity

has been replaced by a turret and a pair of anti infantry sponsors.

Dreadnought: The Dreadnought is a large humanoid war machine with the

firepower of a tank and the manoeuvrability of a troop.

Land Speeder: The Land Speeder is a high speed weapons platform capable of

moving vast distances while providing fire support.

D.3.2 Levelling

Levelling in Chaos Gate is based on an experience point scale. Points are added for

every successful action taken, for example if a marine fire twice but hits only once, only

the hit will be added to their experience.

Experience is calculated at the end of a mission.

Experience is given for the following.

- Participating in a mission

- Hitting an enemy, with both ranged and close combat weapons

- Killing an enemy – the amount increases based on the class of an enemy, for

example killing a Chaos Cultist is not worth as many points as killing a Greater

Demon.

- Successfully casting a psychic power/manipulating machinery/healing marines;

for Librarian, Techmarine and Apothecary only, respectively.

- Completing mission objective.

There are five levels that each marine can be

- Marine: The basic level of marine with between 0 and 999 experience points.

- Veteran: The first upgraded level for marines with 1000 to 2299 experience.

- Hero: The second upgraded level for marines with 2300 to 3599 experience.

- Mighty Hero: The final level for marines with 3600 and over experience.




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Every time a marine reaches a new level they gain a statistics increase to their current

levels described in (10.3.6)

Marines can also be awarded Honour Badges for completing specific criteria.

- Marksman‟s Honour: To have hit ten targets during a single mission.

- Imperial Laurel: To have completed a mission objective.

- Purity Seal: To have completed five missions without being broken.

- Crux Terminatus: To kill five enemies during a mission.

The Crux Terminatus is the only honour badge that affects the gameplay in any way;

Marines with the Crux can be swapped into the Terminator Squad.

D.3.3 Control

The player may control up to three, five man squads as well as five characters and one

vehicle. During the players turn every unit may perform as many commands as they have

action points for. The more action points, the more commands. Action points are

increased as the marine gains a level.

Movement control

During the players turn the player may perform the following movement based

commands.

- Walk: Basic move command makes the unit move to the designated point but

will stop if he sees a new enemy unit.

- Run: Takes only halve the action point of walking but will not stop when a new

enemy is located.

- Rotate: The unit may rotate to change their field of view and fire, there are eight

directions.

- Crouch/Stand: The unit drops into a crouched position; this gains a slight amount

of accuracy but can also hide the unit behind small objects.

Note that Terminators and Vehicles may not Run or Crouch.




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Weapon Control

During the players turn the player may perform the following weapon based commands.

- Fire: The unit will attack the targeted enemy with their currently selected

weapon. This includes hand to hand weapons.

- Direct Fire: The unit will fire attack the target area or object, such as a door, with

their currently selected weapon.

- Aim Mode (on/off): The unit switches to Aim mode it greatly increase their

chances of hitting a target with a ranged weapon, this costs double the action

points of a normal shot.

Inventory Options

During the players turn the player may perform the following inventory based

commands.

- Open Inventory: The unit opens their inventory screen and allows for

manipulation of equipment.

- Reload (Ammo Selected): The unit reloads their ranged weapon with the selected

ammunition.

- Unblock: The unit unblocks their ranged weapon after a malfunction.

- Use Med-kit (Med-kit Selected): The unit heals a portion of their health, using up

a Med-kit.

- Use Scanner (Scanner Selected): The unit uses a scanner to located unseen

nearby enemies.

- Throw Grenade (Grenade Selected): The unit throws the currently selected

grenade at the designated target.

- Use Melta bomb (Melta bomb Selected): The unit then attaches the Melta bomb

to the selected target after setting a turn timer for its detonation.

- Pickup (Next to Inventory holding unit/crate): If possible the unit picks up the

selected item from its current location, if it is a weapon then the marines

corresponding weapon is replaced by the new one.

- Drop: The unit drops the selected item on the ground.

Note that Vehicles do not Inventories and Terminators may only Unblock their weapons.




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Additional Commands

As well as movement, weapon and inventory commands, there are some commands

which do not fall into these categories.

Librarian only

- Psychic Powers: Allows the Librarian to attempt to cast one of their powers.

Once the power is selected then the unit may cast it on a targeted square.

Apothecary Only

- Heal: The apothecary heals a portion of health from the selected friendly marine,

as long as they are next to each other.

Miscellaneous

- Overwatch: The Overwatch command allow a unit to use any spare action points

in the enemies turn after their first action. This allows the set up of ambushes, as

units will fire at enemies if they suddenly appear and are in range.




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D.3.4 Equipment

Each unit may only hold two weapons, one ranged and one close combat. They can carry

twelve Items/Grenades/Clips and store one additional clip in their ranged weapon. All

weapons have corresponding ammunition clips.

Standard Equipment

Weapons

- Bolter: The standard weapon of space marines, it provides good range and

damage.

- Combat Knife: A large blade that serves as a close combat weapon for Marines.

- Bolt Pistol: The standard weapon for assault marines and characters, a smaller

version of the Bolter.

- Chainsward: The standard close combat weapon for assault marines and

characters.

- Storm Bolter: A double barrelled Bolter used only by Terminators

- Powerfist: A power field assisted fist is the standard close combat weapon for

Terminators.

Items

- Scanner: A device that detects unseen enemies within proximity.

- Med-Kit: An item capable of healing a portion of the user‟s health.

Additional Equipment

As well as the previously mentioned weapons and items there are a variety of

grenades with a multitude of effects, special weapons with short to medium range

tactical effects and heavy weapons capable of either laying down a hail of fire or

launching single extremely powerful attacks.




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D.3.5 Terrain

The Terrain in Chaos Gate bears a resemblance to the current world or ship the player is

fighting on for example, on a swamp planet there are lakes and vast amounts of low level

terrain such as plants and small trees, whilst on an industrial world, areas are filled with

large machinery and pipe works as well as a large amount of high level walkways.


- Empty: The terrain square has nothing but flat or a gradient of ground which may

be moved over freely. There are no other effects.

- Low Level: The terrain can not be walked over and causes a slight negative

modifier to targeting enemies behind it. It can be destroyed.

- High Level: The terrain can not be walked over and blocks line of sight

completely. It can be destroyed.

- Wall Section: This terrain element is a solid wall that cannot be damaged or seen

through.

- Door: This feature can be opened or closed by its corresponding switch or

permanently opened by causing enough damage to it.

- Impassable: This feature, usually a lake or Lava cannot be moved through at all.




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D.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Chaos Gate comes in two main categories: Statistics and Voice

Response.

Statistics

There are ten statistics that deal with the battlefield performance of marines, these

are all randomly generated at the start of the game and can only be modified by

gaining levels (10.3.2)

- Action Points: Shows how many remaining Action Points are left to use this turn.

- Health: Shows the current health level of the marine, if this reaches zero they die.

- Armour: Shows the current status of the marines‟ armour, the higher the value

the more likely attacks will deal less damage to health.

- Ballistic Skill: Shows the overall percentage chance for ranged attacks to hit

enemies, this number is then modified by any obstacles in the way.

- Weapon Skill: Shows the percentage chance of hitting with a melee weapon.

This can be modified with certain weapons.

- Strength: This determines the distance grenades can be thrown and for

calculating melee damage

- Toughness: This determines the marines‟ ability to resist damage along with his

Armour.

- Initiative: This determines the order of melee combat and who fires first in

Overwatch.

- Attacks: This shows the number of attacks a marine makes in every round of

melee combat.

- Leadership: This determines if a marine will „break‟ from combat if he or other

marines are hit or wounded. The higher the leadership the less likely he is to

break.




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Voice Response

During the course of a mission, many events are given attention by a verbal alert

by the marine in question. Only a few of the phrases have been noted, though

there are more for each occurrence.

- “Enemy located/sighted”: A new enemy has been seen by the marine.

- “I do not understand the order” / “I cannot comply”): The marine does not have

enough remaining action points to proceed with the current operation.

- “Out of ammunition” / “My weapon is empty”: The marine‟s current weapon

needs to be reloaded.

- “Weapon malfunction” / “My weapon is jammed”: The marine‟s current weapon

is now jammed and must be unblocked.

- “I am wounded” / “Call and Apothecary”: the marine has just taken damage to his

health rather than his armour.

- “Stand fast brothers” / “Marine down”: the marine has died.

As well as responses from the marines there is often a taunting of the enemy just

before an attack is made, for example, “You die by the Emperors hand” or “For

the Chapter”

Chaos marines, the main opposition often shout phrases during their own turn but

also as a response to being fired upon. These are things such as “Your aim is

weak” or “Your skills are poor” they also respond when they themselves are

killed.

D.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in Chaos Gate are Chaos forces of the Word Bearer Chapter. These

include everything from cultists, un-armoured and lightly armed heretics to extremely

powerful Greater Demons. In general terms the chaos and imperial forces are equally

matched, Marines against Chaos Marines, Terminators against Chaos Terminators. The

main differences are with the demons that chaos use, as they have no direct opposite.




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E. Research on UFO: Enemy Unknown

E.1 UFO: Enemy Unknown: Information

UFO: Enemy Unknown or X-Com: UFO Defence was released in 1994 on the Amiga and

DOS then in the Playstation in 1995 by Microprose and developed by Mythos Games.

E.2 Background on UFO: Enemy Unknown

UFO: Enemy Unknown is set on earth in the year 1999 where reports of attacks,

experiments and abductions has caused a global panic to the threat of this alien menace.

Individual countries such as Japan have attempted to counter the threat by creating their

own anti alien force. After 5 months of operations they had yet to take out a single UFO.

Based on the fact that an individual country could not face of the Aliens by themselves,

the worlds economic powers gathered and decided to create and fund a world wide

organisation to combat the aliens. This organisation was called the Extraterrestrial

Combat Unit or X-Com for short. The player has been given total command of X-Com

from spending the funding offered to tactical control in each mission.




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Note

UFO: Enemy Unknown is split into two systems, the strategic and the tactical. This

research will focus on the tactical element, which consists of a squad of soldiers

assaulting/defending against the aliens on any given mission. It is important to note that

the strategic game has a huge influence on the tactical gameplay as this is where new

soldiers are bought and technology advanced as well as an intricate funding mechanic

which limits the player by placing them under a budget which is altered depending on the

successfulness of their tactical games. For example if the player succeeds in a crashing a

UFO in Japan, and then successfully goes on to eliminate the aliens who survived via a

tactical mission the player will receive additional funding from Japan. This system works

both ways, so if the player ignores UFO‟s over a country, their funding will dramatically

decrease.

The strategic game also includes the usage of scientists for the research of captured alien

equipment and the development of new technologies, which the player must fund from

buying enough scientists, funding the research and to have enough living space and

science labs in the relevant base. This process is replicated with the production of new

equipment with engineers and factories.

Due to the massive extent of the game and all of the strategic parts, the tactical game is

still a prime example of the mechanics that this report is looking for so the game will still

be researched although sections of the strategic gameplay will be noted if and when they

are required for the understanding of limitations within the tactical game.




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E.3 Mechanic Research

E.3.1 Force and Composition

Enemy Unknown‟s missions allow the player to take a number of soldiers into each battle

depending on the type of transport craft that is available. The basic Skyranger can hold

14 spaces while the Avenger, only available later in the game can hold 26. Each space

can be filled with a soldier; alternatively a 2x2 square may be filled with a HWP (Heavy

Weapons Platform) During a base defence mission, all the soldiers and HWP‟s in the

base during the attack will be present on the mission even if there is not enough

equipment to arm them.

Each soldier, by themselves and especially at the beginning of the game, is not a

particularly effective unit however a squad of multiple soldiers dramatically increases

their flexibility and survivability.

HWP‟s on the other hand are effectively small tanks capable of taking and giving large

amounts of damage from the start of the game. HWP‟s have a bad side that they do not

gain experience in anyway. This makes them a gamble as having a heavy support unit

that can be used to move into unknown space and, depending on the weapon, cause high

damage as well as be expendable – you can simply buy another one and only lose out on

the cost – the downside is that the players soldiers will miss out on valuable experience in

incapacitating or killing aliens.

E.3.2 Levelling

There are two systems of levelling in Enemy Unknown. The first is mission experience

where rather than having all of the soldier statistics increase, only those that have been

used in the mission increase. For example if a soldier carrying a heavy weapon such as a

rocket launcher and is effectively overburdened but still moves as far as possible on each

of his turns but does not fire then as long as he survives the mission his mission

experience will give him an increase in his strength statistic but not in accuracy.

Individual mission experience is not shown after a mission but total mission experience

can be seen by viewing the solders statistics when they return to base.

Unit statistics will be covered in the Feedback section later in this report.

The second levelling system is ranks. Ranks are based on the total number of soldiers the

player has worldwide and the general experience of the soldiers in question. Only

soldiers that have just completed a tactical mission can be promoted. Ranks can only be

gained one at a time, so just because there are 30 soldiers, a Rookie cannot be directly

promoted to Commander.




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- Rookie: The soldier is new and has not participated in a tactical mission or has

gained no or very little mission experience.

- Squaddie: The soldier has participated in at least one tactical mission and has

gained some mission experience.

- Sergeant: There can be one Sergeant for every 5 soldiers; the best available

Squaddie is promoted if there is a position available.

- Captain: There can be one Captain for every 11 soldiers; the best available

Sergeant is promoted if there is a position available.

- Colonel: There can be one Colonel for every 23 soldiers; the best available

Captain is promoted if there is a position available.

- Commander: There can only be one Commander and in order to get one, there

must by at least 30 soldiers. The best Colonel is promoted if there is no

Commander.

The higher the rank, the higher the overall morale will be during a tactical mission for all

soldiers and not just the highest ranking. This makes the soldiers more resistant to

panicking however, if the ranked soldier in question is killed then the other soldiers will

suffer a higher moral loss than if a Rookie died.

E.3.3 Control

The player controls the forces in each mission in the same way. All soldiers and HWP‟s

start within the transport vehicle, HWP‟s are always closest to the door as they tend to

have more time units than solders. All actions from firing to turning to face a direction

require a certain number of time units. Different weapons require different amounts of

points depending on what they are. In base defence missions, all personnel start in

random places around a representation of the base built in the strategic section of the

game and aliens attack though the hangers. In base assault missions, the squad start

inside one or more elevators.

Movement control


commands.

- Move: The move command will make the selected soldier/HWP attempt to move

to the designated point. If the unit runs out of time units or sees/gets shot at by

an enemy they will stop where they are.

- Turn: The unit will turn to face the direction of where the command was given.

There are 8 directions on the isometric grid in tactical missions.

- Stand/Kneel: Soldiers can either be standing or crouching. Lines of sight are

based on the height of a unit so crouching can sometimes give lines though

windows etc. Kneeling also has the advantage of making the soldier a smaller

target.




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- Ascend/Descend: If the unit is in an elevator or grav-lift, they may move up and

down as long as there nothing blocking them on the floor above or below,

depending on the direction they wish to travel. Soldiers wearing flying suits may

use these commands to float and fly around the map above ground level.

Weapon Control

During the players turn the player may perform the following weapon based commands.

The weapon must be in the soldier‟s hands and must be loaded.

- Aimed Shot: The unit will fire its selected weapon as accurately as possible. This

takes up a large amount of time units.

- Snap Shot: The unit will fire its selected weapon without aiming. This is only

useful for close range or heavy weapons. This however, does not require as

many time units as an aimed shot.

- Auto Shot: The unit will fire its selected weapon in burst mode. Three shots are

fired in rapid succession but are not aimed. Some weapons do not have an Auto

Shot function including many heavy weapons.

- Prime Grenade: If the soldier has a grenade in their hands they may prime it to

explode for between 0 and 23 turns. A grenade will start its count down after it

has been thrown.

- Throw: Soldiers use this command to throw a primed grenade or other item such

as Electro Flares. This command can also be used to throw equipment such as

weapons but has no effect against enemies.

- Hit: If a soldier is next to an alien they may use their weapon to physically attack

them. Some weapons are only usable in this way, such as stunsticks.

Inventory Options

During the players turn the player may perform the following inventory based

commands.

- Open Inventory: The soldier opens their inventory in order to pick up, drop,

reload or move items around. There are no specific commands as the display is a

simple click and move interface. Weapons are reloaded by moving a new clip on

to the weapon in question. Soldiers can pick up objects from the floor if they are

standing on top of them. This includes aliens and their weapons, however if the

weapon has not been researched it cannot be fired.




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Additional Commands

Certain pieces of equipment such as med kits and motion sensors have unique control

systems but are activated in the same ways weapons are, by clicking then choosing an

option from the list available. Other than these pieces of equipment there is one final

mechanism for control which should be inspected.

Each soldier/HWP will always have one of the selected options selected.

- No Limitation: The unit will use all of their time units in order to fulfil the last

command given without any other consideration.

- Reserve, Snap Shot: The unit will attempt to fulfil the last command given but

will save enough time units to fire a snap shot should an enemy appear in the

aliens turn.

- Reserve, Auto Shot: The unit will attempt to fulfil the last command given but

will save enough time units to fire an auto Shot should an enemy appear in the

aliens turn.

- Reserve, Aimed Shot: The unit will attempt to fulfil the last command given but

will save enough time units to fire an aimed shot should an enemy appear in the

aliens‟ turn.

E.3.4 Equipment

Each soldier has 23 slots for inventory plus a pair of hands, each of which can take an

object of any size. The inventory slots are placed in the following configuration: One

3x3 backpack, four sets of 1x2 holders for the shoulders and legs and the remaining 6

slots in a position that would be a 2x4 grid but without the lower central two slots. This

makes weapon placements difficult as even pistols are 2x1 in size so could only be placed

in the hands, the backpack or on the sides of a belt. Soldiers may also be equipped with

armour.

Standard Equipment

There is a huge array of weapons and equipment available in UFO: Enemy

Unknown, but most of it can be confined to be of a weapon type and technology type for

example there are many different types of pistol, including standard, laser and plasma.

General Weapons

- Pistol: Small and relatively inaccurate, the pistol is weakest offensive weapon of

any class.

- Rifle: Rifles are the standard armament type, providing higher accuracy and

damage compared with the pistol equivalent.

- Heavy/Cannon: The heavier versions of the arms type give a much greater

damage ratio, but take more time units to use.




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Weapon Types

- Standard: The standard earth made guns are still effective against un-armoured

aliens, while the heavy weapons available also have multiple ammunition types

from high explosive to incendiary.

- Laser: Laser weapons are the earth‟s first progression in weapons technology,

having only needed to refine the weapon rather than make it from scratch. Lasers

are generally more powerful than standard weapons but not by much. The main

benefit for Laser weapons is that they do not require ammunition.

- Plasma: Plasma weapons are the first type of weapons to be gathered by XCOM

forces and are the aliens‟ standard issue. Plasma weapons deal much greater

damage than laser weapons but cost additional materials to have them produced.

- Fusion: Fusion weapons only come in one form. The Blaster is a heavy weapon

that fires an intelligent round capable of hitting multiple units in different places

around the map with a single shot. These weapons are extremely powerful and

even in power armour soldiers are lucky to survive.

Additional Weapons

As well as the standard set of weapons there, are also a variety of other offensive

gear.

- Grenades: Grenades come in a few forms. Standard grenades and Alien grenades

both work on a explosive system, while Proximity grenades only detonate when

something gets too close. High explosives also work like grenades, but are much

bigger and more powerful.

- Psi Amp: The Psi Amp is a psionic device that lets soldiers attack with their

minds. The Psi Amp can be used in two ways. Firstly the weapon may be used

to cause a panic reaction in an enemy, making them either freeze, drop their

weaponry and run or go berserk and shoot randomly. The Amp may also be used

to attempt mind control of an alien, although unlikely to work, the alien

temporarily takes order from the player.

- Stun Weapons: The Stun Stick and Stun Bomb incapacitate the enemy instead of

actually harming them. In this way the player may capture a live alien rather

than just its corpse.

Items

There are also a certain amount of non offensive items that can be used.

- Medi-Kit: An item capable of healing a wound, using stimulant to awaken an

unconscious solider or pain killers to increase their moral.

- Motion Scanner: The motion scanner can be used to show a small screen which

shows any nearby movement from the previous Alien turn.

- Electro Flare: The Electro Flare is thrown on the ground to illuminate a large

region.

- Mind Probe: A Mind Probe can be used to detect an alien‟s statistics and rank.




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Armour

Soldiers may be equipped with different types as armour as long as they have

been researched and manufactured.

- None: The default for each soldier. The XCOM uniform provides almost no

defence against income fire.

- Personal Armour: A modest upgrade from the minimal protection of the uniform.

Personal Armour gives a solid defence but will not stop heavier weapons.

- Power Suit: Power Armour provides much more protection than Personal

Armour.

- Flying Armour: Flying Armour provides only a token increase in protection from

the Power Suit but allows the soldier to float and fly in missions.

E.3.5 Terrain

The Terrain in Enemy consists of an isometric battlefield where ever the XCOM unit is

deployed. The actual terrain is dependant on the area of the world the mission takes

place. For example urban locations will be full of buildings, while desert regions will

have sparse terrain features but will have more hills.


- Empty: The terrain square has nothing but flat or a gradient of ground which may

be moved over freely. There are no other effects.

- Ground Cover: The terrain square has an environmental feature such as long

grass or farming crops, this drops the energy of a solider walking through them

faster than empty squares.

- Small Destructible: The terrain consists of a small object that can bee seen past

but will decrease chances of hitting a target behind it.

- Large Destructible: The terrain consists of a large object that blocks line of site

but can be destroyed. Most walls fall into this category. Some have explosive

reactions, such as petrol pumps detonating if they are shot at.

- Large Indestructible: the terrain consists of a large object that blocks line of sight

which cannot be destroyed although may have a damaged appearance when

attacked. Walls in alien craft and bases are in this category.




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- Door: Doors come in two varieties, destructible and indestructible. Doors block

line of sight and can only be opened by moving through them or on to the square

where they are. Doors on alien craft are, like the walls indestructible, however

all other doors can be destroyed.

- Impassable: The terrain square is filled with water or some other impassable

obstacle which stops units moving through.

- Airspace: Later in the game, the player can develop Flying Suits, which enable

soldiers to float and fly. There is a maximum height to which these units may

ascend to.

E.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Chaos Gate comes in two main categories: Statistics and Text

Notification.

Statistics

There are twelve personal statistics and five armour statistics for every soldier.

HWP‟s have the same however some are ignored such as morale.

- Time Units: Each command takes a number of time units. Having more time

units enables the soldier to perform more actions.

- Energy: This has an effect on every action. Energy is decreased by the soldier

performing draining action like walking through Ground Cover, or being over

encumbered.

- Health: This is the soldier‟s health. It decreases if the soldier is hit by weapons

fire. It if reaches zero, the soldier dies.

- Fatal Wounds: This shows if the soldier has sustained a wound that will affect

him for the rest of the mission. Wounds will drain health every turn if not treated

with a medi-kit.

- Bravery: This gives the likelihood of morale decreasing during the tactical

mission. The higher the number the less likely the soldier is to loose moral, and

the less morale they will lose.

- Morale: This shows the current state of the soldier in terms of composure. This

figure will decrease if the soldier is shot at or another soldier is shot at. If a

soldier near to them the figure will drop more. This is still dependent on the




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bravery score. If morale drops lower than 50% of its original value then there is

a chance the soldier will panic.

- Reactions: The reactions score defines who will fire first in the aliens turn if time

units have been reserved for aimed, snap or auto shots.

- Firing Accuracy: This shows how good the soldier/HWP is good at firing. The

weapon being used also contributes to the actual shot.

- Throwing Accuracy: This shows the accuracy that the soldier has in throwing

objects. When an item is thrown a square is selected then the soldier attempts to

throw the object to that square but will sometimes miss.

- Strength: This shows how strong the soldier is. This affects actions such as

throwing objects and the ability to carry more equipment and not being weighed

down by it.

- Psi Strength: This shows the soldiers ability to negate psionic attacks from

aliens.

- Psi Skill: This shows the ability the soldier has for the purposes of using the mind

probe and the Psi Amp. The higher the skill the more likely an attack will

succeed.

Armour Statistics

The five statistics for armour act in the same way. If the armour is hit, the

number will reduce and therefore be less effective. The armour is split between

the following: Front, Left, Right, Rear and underside.

Text Notification

As there is no voice acting within the game most of the notification, such as if a

shot hits are purely on screen and must be watched. However when there is an

issue with a unit not being able to do something, there is a text response at the

bottom of the screen. Below are a few examples which cover most events.

- Not Enough Time Units! : The unit does not have enough time units left to

perform the selected action.

- Time Units Reserved for (x) Shot! (Where x is aimed, snap or auto): The unit

does not have enough time units left to perform the selected action as well as

have their reserve for a shot in the aliens turn.

- No Line of Fire! : The unit cannot see the designated target and therefore cannot

fire at it.




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E.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in Enemy Unknown consists of a multitude of types of aliens all of which

have been genetically created and modified to fulfil different tasks. Most breeds have

ranks but unlike the XCOM ranks, the differences are directly shown in the statistics and

the higher ranks such as navigator and commander are needed to be captured to progress

research later in the game.

Sectoids: The „little gray men‟ are usually the first aliens to be encountered; they tend to

work on their own even though they are not particularly powerful individually.

Snakemen: More resilient than the small Sectoids, the Snakemen are also faster making

them much more dangerous.

Floaters: Floaters are essentially humanoid but have antigravity devices replacing their

legs, allowing them to move freely over terrain although this gives them a disadvantage

when it comes to cover.

Chrysalids: The fastest alien species which can only attack with its powerful claws.

Each victim it kills is infested with life sustaining eggs which turn the host to a zombie

state before finally eating them from the inside to become yet another Chrysalid.

Reapers: Reapers are little more than massive carnivorous creatures trained to cause

terror. They are extremely hardy, though relatively slow.

Mutons: The Mutons are humanoid with extensive cybernetic enhancements they are all

round soldiers stronger and faster than their human counterparts.

Etherials: The leaders of the invasion of Earth, Etherials are extremely rare and

powerful. Rather relying on physical weapons they have great psychic capabilities.

Celatids: Celatids are odd looking floating creatures that launch globs of venom at their

enemies if they get too close.

Silacoids: Silacoids are silicon based life forms that look somewhat like rocks. They are

strangely fast for their appearance but still have considerable strength.

Cyberdisks: Cyberdisks are large floating disks which are mentally controlled. They

consist of a Plasma cannon and very resistant armour.

Sectopods: Sectopods are robotic machines that act as support weapons for the Alien

assaults and are often found in base defence missions as the front line units.




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F. Research on Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command

F.1 Squad Command: Information

Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command was released in 2007 on the PSP and DS by THQ

and developed by RedLynx

F.2 Background on Squad Command

Squad Command is set In the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The player controls squads

of Space Marines from the Ultramarines and Grey Knight chapters fighting against the

Chaos forces of the Word Bearer legion. The game takes place on a planet under siege

from within. The corruption of Chaos is spreading through the planet and it is up to the

Ultramarines and Grey Knights to stop the great enemy.

Missions escalate from clearing a facility of Cultists to attempting to destroy a Chaos

Alter. The Chaos forces leave their best troops for the final few battles, but so do the

joint forces of the Imperium.




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F.3 Mechanic Research

F.3.1 Force and Composition

Each mission in Squad command consists of the player controlling six units. This may

consist of any of the following: Scout, Space Marine, Terminator, Grey Knight

Terminator, Land Speeder, Dreadnought, Predator, Whirlwind and Land Raider.

Each unit type has different statistics and weapon options however the player can not

select which units to take on a mission, only their weapon options.

The Land Speeder, Dreadnought, Predator, Whirlwind and the Land Raider are all

vehicles and, if they are present within a mission, there will only ever be one. As with

the other units their weapon options are configurable.

F.3.2 Levelling

There is only a very basic levelling system in Squad Command. As the game progresses,

both the players forces become better – consisting of Grey Knight Terminators rather

than Scouts, and the opposition becomes harder to beat by the additional enemies on

missions and the better the enemy types – from Cultists to Obliterators.

F.3.3 Control

The player controls the forces in each mission in the same way. All the units under the

players‟ command start in predetermined positions on the battle field. Each unit has a

different amount of Action Points, which are used every time the unit performs an action

on the battlefield. Each type of unit has a different amount of Action Points which can be

altered slightly by changing their weapon options.

Movement control


commands.

- Move: The move cursor on screen shows how many Action Points it will take to

move to the area in question with a set of green arrows showing the path he will

take to get there. The unit will always attempt to keep enough Action Points to

fire a shot after they move, but they can go over this – the last few arrows turn

red to show that, if the unit makes this move, they will not have enough Action

Points left to fire.

- Turn: Turning does not take any Action Points to complete and is activated by

switching to aim mode.




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- Stand/Kneel: Units can either be standing or crouching. Terminators, and Grey

Knight Terminators cannot crouch due to their armour and vehicles can not

crouch either.

Weapon Control

During the players‟ turn units can perform the following weapon based options.

- Target Mode: This changes the movement cursor to the target spot. This can be

used to turn the unit for Overwatch firing (discussed later) or can be used to

attack targets. Units may shoot at enemies or terrain. The Target spot is shown

on screen as a small black circle with a line drawn from the unit selected. A red

dot is shown on where the shot is likely to hit, which will be somewhere on the

line between the black dot and the unit.

o Aiming: When a shot is lined up and accepted a display appears with a

number in the middle, this number represents the amount of Action Points

that will be assigned to the shot. The more points, the more likely the

shot is to hit. Different weapons require a different minimum level of

action points to fire. For example, a bolter requires a minimum of four

AP‟s to fire, while a Psy Cannon needs eight.

- Area Weapons: Some weapons affect a short area infront of the unit, rather than

having a single ranged shot, such as shotguns and flamers. The range of these

weapons is equal to the Overwatch Fire Field.

- Ordinance Weapons: The Dreadnought and Whirlwind‟s missile launcher fire in

a different way than normal. As they are indirect fire weapons, they do not have

a target spot. Instead they have a circle display which shows where the missile

barrage will land. The further away from the unit firing, the larger the circle gets

– this can be offset by using more action points for the attack.

- Overwatch and Fire Fields: Using the Target Mode, a unit can be made to turn,

this will also show the units Fire Field, which is represented by a green cone

from the front of the unit. If, during the enemies turn, an enemy moves into this

field (and the friendly unit has enough Action Points) they will be automatically

shot at by the friendly unit, using all their Action Points remaining with the

accuracy bonus.

o Enemy Overwatch: The enemy also has an Overwatch mode which is

represented by red cones from each of their units. This works in exactly

the same way as the player‟s Overwatch.

Note that both players‟ Overwatch has a limited range, which is

not the maximum range of the units‟ weapon.




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F.3.4 Equipment

Each unit is equipped with a Primary Weapon which cannot be changed, but has infinite

ammunition. Each unit may also be given a Secondary Weapon although they don‟t have

to have one.

Adding a secondary weapon will reduce the amount of Action Points the unit has each

turn. Adding additional ammunition for the Secondary Weapon will also reduce the

number of action points the unit has per turn.

Unit Weapons

- Scout Weapons: The Scouts Primary weapon is the Bolter, a semi automatic light

rocket launcher that fires mass reactive shells. Good against light to medium

enemy infantry.

o Secondary Weapons

Sniper Rifle: The Sniper Rifle is capable of causing high damage

against light and medium infantry and has a better accuracy base

than most other weapons.

Shotgun: The shotgun is an area effect blast weapon capable of

taking down medium infantry at point blank range.

Missile Launcher: The Missile launcher fires an anti tank round

which is equally deadly to enemy infantry and terrain.

- Space Marine: Marines also use the Bolter as their Primary Weapon.

o Secondary Weapons

Plasma Gun: The Plasma Gun fires a round of superheated gas

which explodes on impact causing high damage even to vehicles.

Lascannon: The Lascannon is a shoulder fired laser weapon

capable of causing massive damage to vehicles and infantry alike.

Chainsword: The Chainsword is a close combat weapon which

can kill an enemy marine in a single hit. Unusually, the

Chainsword does not require ammunition and does not take up

any Action Points to equip.

Missile Launcher: This is identical to the Scout Weapon.

- Terminator: Terminators where huge armour tough enough to withstand a large

amount of damage. Their Primary Weapon is the Powerfist, a servo assisted

gauntlet with a powerfield that can take apart enemy vehicles and infantry apart

in close combat.

o Secondary Weapons

Storm Bolter: The Storm Bolter is a larger version of the standard

Bolter with a faster rate of fire and higher damage potential.

Heavy Flamer: An area affect weapon able to remove enemies

even from behind cover.




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o Grey Knight Terminator: Grey Knights are the foremost experts in

destroying the demonic threat. All of their weapons do additional damage

to deamons. Grey Knight Terminators are equipped with Nemisis Force

Weapons, a close combat weapon that can kill most enemy infantry in a

single hit.

o Secondary Weapons

Psycannon: The Psycannon is a high velocity cannon which fires a

blessed round which deals heavy damage to its target.

Incinerator: The Incinerator is an enhanced version of the Heavy

Flamer with the same general statistics, except it does more

damage to deamons.

Storm Bolter: This is identical to the Terminators Storm Bolter.

- Dreadnought: The Dreadnought is huge mechanical walker with tough armour

and heavy weapons. The Dreadnought is primarily armed with a Powerfist.

o Secondary Weapons

Twinlinked Lascannon: The Twinlinked Lascannon is similar to

the Marine weapon except that there are a pair of Lascannon firing

instead of just a single one.

Assault Cannon: The Assault Cannnon is a high power chain gun

capable of cutting down enemy infantry quickly.

Missile Launcher: The Missile Launcher for the Dreadnought is

unlike the Scout weapon. The larger multi launch system fires in

an indirect manner, raining missiles down on the enemy.

- Predator: Predators are the main battle tank of the Space Marine forces. Its

Primary Weapon is the Autocannon, a large cannon with large blast range and

damage.

o Secondary Weapons:

o Sponson Heavy Bolters: A pair of Heavy Bolters, one either side of the

tank. Heavy Bolters are much bigger and more powerful than the

standard Bolter.

o Sponson Lascannons: A pair of Lascannon mounted on the side of the

Predator. They are the same as the Marine weapon.

- Land Speeder: The Land Speeder is a two man skimmer, floating above the

battlefield with high speed and manoeuvrability making up for its lack of armour.

Land Speeders are armed with a single Heavy Bolter.

o Secondary Weapons

Assault Cannon: The Assault Cannnon is identical to the

Dreadnought weapon.

Heavy Flamer: The Heavy Flamer is identical to the Terminator

weapon.

- Land Raider: The Land Raider is a massive tank used for only the most

dangerous missions. It is armed with a pair of Twinlinked Lascannon.

o Secondary Weapon

Twinlinked Heavy Bolter: This is identical to the Predators

weapon.




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- Whirlwind: The Whirlwind is a fire support tank equipped with a Missile

Launcher similar to the Dreadnought weapon, but on a bigger scale.

o Secondary Weapon

Storm Bolter: This is identical to the Terminator weapon.

F.3.5 Terrain

All the missions in Squad Command are all based on an industrial world and as such are

all heavily featured with industrial equipment, and as the world is under attack from the

forces of Chaos, many of the structures are in a ruined state.


- Empty: The area has nothing but flat ground which may be moved over freely.

There are no other effects.

- Small Destructible: The terrain consists of a small object that can bee seen past

but will decrease chances of hitting a target behind it. If damaged enough it will

explode.

- Large Destructible: Some walls and other large objects can be used for cover but

can be destroyed with enough firepower.

- Large Indestructible: Larger walls and structures fall into this category. There

are often holes, or windows that a line of sight can be traced, so they are not

totally indefensible.

- Impassable: The terrain square is filled with debris or there is not enough room to

pass though a pair of obstacles. Note that vehicles require more room to move

than infantry. So a Scout may be able to move through a gap a Land Raider

could not.




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F.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Squad Command comes in five main categories: Statistics, HUD, Radar,

Text Notification and Voice Response.

Statistics

Every unit has a pair of statistics as well as a multitude for their secondary

weapons. All troops of the same type will have the same statistics, for example

all Scouts are identical to each other, and all Grey Knight Terminators are the

same.

- Unit Statistics

o Health: This is how much health the unit has, if it reaches zero, the unit

dies/is destroyed.

o AP: This is how many Action Points the unit has each turn. The better

the unit, the more AP they have.

- Secondary Weapon Statistics: Primary weapons do not display their statistics.

o Damage: How much damage a direct hit from the weapon will cause.

o Attack Type: Shows what type of weapon it is, this could be Melee,

Projectile, Ballistic or Explosive.

o Use Cost: This shows the minimum number of action points required to

fire the weapon, if no additional points are spent on accuracy.

o AP Weight: This shows how many Action Points the unit will have

removed each turn for having the weapon opposed to not having it.

o Ammunition: Shows how many rounds the weapon has. This is usually

how many individual shots the weapon can fire, but some weapons fire

more than one shot when firing. Each set of ammunition „Weighs‟ one

more Action Point.

HUD

The HUD is the tactical overlay on the screen with pieces of information at

various points.

- Squad Indicator: Each member of the squad is shown on the right hand side of

the screen as a small image. Under their picture is a pair of bars, one showing the

remaining health and the other showing remaining Action Points.

- Unit Detail: When a unit is selected, a display on the bottom of the screen shows

a selection of information.

o Unit image: This shows a more defined picture of the unit.

o Weapon Select: This shows the units weapons and remaining ammunition

for their Secondary Weapon if one was taken. The selected weapon

appears with a yellow background. The unselected weapon has a black

background.

o Action Points: This shows the remaining action points in numbers the unit

has.

o Health: This shows how much health the unit has in numbers.




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o Stance: The stance button shows if the unit is currently standing or

crouching.

o Move/Target Mode: The button to toggle movement and target mode

shows what is currently selected.

- Unit Selection: The unit selected on the battlefield is show by a green circle and a

Fire Field indicator.

Radar

The radar display is shown on the top screen (on the DS version) and shows, in

real time any changes.

- Battle Map: The radar shows the entirety of the tactical area that can be moved

around.

- Terrain: White lines show the areas of impassable terrain such as walls or large

indestructible objects.

- Screen Area: The area that can be seen on the play screen is shown as a white

rectangle on the Battle Map.

- Sight Range: Each unit can see a certain distance; this is shown by a circle that if

an enemy is within, they are revealed. The whole squads‟ sight range is shown as

a large conglomeration.

- Green Blips: Green Blips represent the players units on the Battle Map. The

currently selected unit also shows its Fire Field.

- Green Squares: Green Squares represent the players Vehicle if they have one.

- Red Blips: Red Blips represent enemy units within Sight Range of any of the

players‟ units.

- Red Squares: Red Squares represent enemy vehicles.

- Objective Markers: If the mission has a specific objective then a large target

marker is visible on the Battle Map even if there

- Sound Sensor: At the top of the screen is a sound sensor which shows a wave

pattern when ever a sound is made, such as weapons fire or movement. During

the enemy turn, if an enemy moves or fires a large red circle appears from where

ever the sound is being generated from even if it is outside the squads sight

range.




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Text Notification

There are multiple sections where information is displayed as a text message.

- Action Point Expenditure: When ever the player is about to make an action that

takes up Action Points a display shows how much.

o Movement AP‟s: When moving is selected a number appears next too the

cursor showing how many AP‟s will be spent by moving the distance.

o Accuracy AP‟s: When deciding how many AP‟s to spend on firing

accuracy, the number is displayed.

- Damage: When ever any damage is dealt, through weapons fire or otherwise, the

amount of damage is shown at each point where it is received. For example a

missile launcher will hit an area rather than a specific point so will show multiple

damage scores.

- Kill Notification: When a unit is killed/destroyed, a text message appears at the

top of the screen saying what has been killed and by whom or what.

Voice Response

Each unit has a set of voice responses that are played when ever anything happens

to the unit. This is not an exhaustive list.

- “As you command” / “Moving Out”: When ever the player gives a movement

command.

- “I am wounded” / “”Emperor, give me strength” When ever a unit is hit and not

killed.

- Enemy forces will also speak when ever they are hit.




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F.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in Squad Command is comprised of the forces of Chaos from the Word

Bearer legion. For many parts, the Chaos forces have direct equivalents to the players‟

forces.

Unlike the Space Marine forces, Chaos forces consist of more than six units and can

consist of multiple vehicles instead of just one.

Cultists: These are un-armoured humans drawn to Chaos. They are weaker than Scouts

and are equipped with Bolters.

Chaos Marines: Chaos Marines are identical to Space Marines in that they carry Bolters

and a Secondary Weapon from the same list.

Chaos Terminator: Chaos terminators are identical to Terminators, carrying Powerfists

and a Secondary weapon from the same list.

Obliterators: Obliterators are amalgamations of man, machine and corrupting energies.

They are extremely tough and carry Lascannons.

Chaos Dreadnought: Chaos Dreadnoughts are the same as Dreadnoughts except that they

are armed with a Powerfist and Twinlinked Heavy Bolters.

Chaos Predator: Chaos Predators are identical to Predators, carrying an Autocannon and

Secondary weapon from the same list.

Chaos Land Raider: Chaos Land Raiders are identical to Land Raiders, armed with a pair

of Twin linked Lascannon and optional Heavy Bolters.

Defiler: A huge possessed, spider like, mechanical walker. Defilers have a large amount

of health and are armed with a Battle Cannon, a short range artillery gun, and Heavy

Flamers.




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G. Research on Space Hulk

G.1 Space Hulk: Information

Space Hulk was released in 1993 by Electronic Arts and was developed by Nick Wilson

and Electronic Arts.

G.2 Background on Space Hulk

Space Hulk is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, where humanity is spread

throughout the galaxy but is besieged on all sides by aliens and heretics. Space Hulk is

based on the Death Wing Terminators of the Dark Angle Chapter. A distress signal from

a long lost captain of the chapter appears in a distant system near to where he originally

disappeared after fighting off the Genestealers delivered by a vast hulk, an amalgamation

of broken ships melded together in the chaos of the Warp. Terminators are now sent to

investigate the signal in order to find out there lost brother.




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G.3 Mechanic Research

G.3.1 Force and Composition

Space Hulk always determines the number of Terminators the player controls in any

given mission. Squads of Terminators consist of either a single Terminator or five

Terminators.

The player will either get a single Terminator, five Terminators or ten Terminators

In most missions the squad‟s weaponry is already chosen for the player and may not be

altered.

G.3.2 Levelling

There is no levelling during the course of the campaign in terms of the increase in skills

of the Terminators. The only change is that the later missions all have ten Terminators to

control rather than just five, with the exception of the last mission which has only one

Terminator.

G.3.3 Control

The player is in command of the Terminators in the mission however they all have a

certain level of self control. The player effectively controls one Terminator directly but

has cameras on every Terminator in the squad which certain commands can be given

through. As well as the first person element, the player may go into the strategic view

and give real time commands or go into „Freeze Time‟ mode for further planning.

Movement control

First Person View

When viewing from a Terminator the player may control that Terminator in the

following ways.

- Move: The Terminator moves one space, forward or backwards depending on the

command.

- Turn: The Terminator rotates on the spot to either the left or to the right

depending on the command.




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Strategic View

When in strategic view the player may set movement orders to each Terminator

individually. Orders will be carried out individually when the „Go‟ button is

pressed. All orders for all Terminators will be carried out if the player returns to

the First Person View.

The advantage of using the Strategic View is that the player can stack orders

together for every terminator and not just give a single command to one

Terminator at a time.

- Move: A Terminator may be commanded to move to any space on the hulk, this is

indicated by a series of red arrows.

- Turn: Identical to the command in First Person View.

Weapon Control

First Person View

When viewing from a Terminator the player may control that Terminator and the

other Terminators in his squad in the following way. When there are five

Terminators in a squad the player can see from a camera on each one. The player

may use weapon commands on any of the Terminators using their camera

window. Close combat weapons can only be used if in contact with a door. Close

combat weapons are automatically used if the Terminator is engaged by a

Genestealer, the outcome being decided by the computer.

- Primary Weapon: The Terminator whose camera is clicked on fires/attacks with

their Primary weapon.

- Secondary Weapon: The Terminator whose camera is clicked on fires/attacks

with their Secondary weapon.

- Special Effect: The Terminator whose camera is clicked on used the special

effect of their weapon if it has one. For example the Assault Cannon fires one

round at a time normally but can fire all its remaining ammunition with the use of

the Special Effect.




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Strategic View

When viewing from the Strategic View the play can order the following weapon

based commands to each Terminator.

- Primary Weapon: The selected Terminator will fire/use their Primary weapon

at/on the selected target.

- Secondary Weapon: The selected Terminator will fire/use their Secondary

weapon at/on the selected target.

- Field of Fire (on/off): This shows the total possible coverage of the Terminators

weapons. It does not have any additionally use.

- Shots to Fire (1-5): When a fire command is given the player may also select the

number of rounds to be fired, between one and five.

Additional Control



First Person View

- Pick Up: The Terminator picks up an item directly in front of them if one is

present. The item will be dropped if the Terminator is engaged in close combat

with a Genestealer.

- Open Door: Moving in the direction of a door will open it when next to one.

- Switch Squads: This switches the view between the two squads of Terminators if

a second one is present. Terminators 1-5 are in one squad and 6-10 are in the

second.




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Strategic View

- Open Door: This orders the Terminator to open a selected door.

- Close Door: This orders the Terminator to close a door, if it is possible to close

them.

- Cancel Commands: This removes the last stacked order from the list for the

selected Terminator.

- Switch Squads: This switches the view between the two squads of Terminators if

a second one is present. Terminators 1-5 are in one squad and 6-10 are in the

second.

G.3.4 Equipment

Each Terminator may have two weapons; however Lightning Claws and the Thunder

Hammer and Storm Shield both take up both weapon slots. With the other weapons, a

Terminator must have a ranged weapon and a close combat weapon. In most missions,

all equipment has been already selected and cannot be changed.

Standard Equipment

Weapons

- Storm Bolter: A rapid firing gun that is standard issue to Terminators, it has

unlimited ammunition.

- Assault Cannon: A heavy, six barrelled Gatling cannon that provides fire support,

it only has ten shots. The Assault Cannon has the special effect of being able to

fire all the remaining ammunition in one burst.

- Heavy Flamer: A short ranged flamethrower that covers a 3x3 area directly in

front of the user in deadly flame that lingers for a short period. The Heavy

Flamer can be used to fire downwards killing the user and anything immediately

around him.

- Power Glove: A huge hydraulic assisted fist capable of crushing almost anything.

It is the standard close combat weapon for Terminators.

- Power Sword: The power Sword is a massive blade with a power field

surrounding it. It is much faster than the Power Glove.

- Chain Fist: A Power Glove with a huge chainsaw attached below it. The Chain

Fist makes short work of re-enforced bulkheads that could not be cleared in any

other way.

- Lightning Claws: A pair of multi bladed claws each surrounded with power

fields, the Lightning Claws are the fastest close combat weapons available. They

come at the cost of loosing any sort of ranged attack.

- Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield: A war hammer with an inbuilt generator that

causes a power surge on contact capable of making solid objects explode. The

Storm Shield provides an even higher level of protection than Terminator

armour. The Thunder Hammer may be used to self destruct causing the

Terminator and anything immediately surrounding him to vaporise.




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G.3.5 Terrain

Space Hulk is set in three different environments, Caverns, Broken Hulks and New

Hulks. Each is technically the same, just with a different artistic style. Space Hulk is

separated into squares that are used for movement rather than general space.


- Empty: The Square contains nothing and can be walked on.

- Wall: The wall stops anything moving through it.

- Ambush: Giving the appearance of a normal wall, the Ambush point will spawn a

Genestealer as soon as a Terminator gets near or goes past it.

- Spawn Point: The spawn point generates new Genestealers depending on the

mission. Spawn points are always at the end of corridors.

- Door: Doors block movement for Genestealers but can be opened and closed by

Terminators or can be shot open permanently.

- Bulkhead: Bulkheads are re0enforced doors that cannot be opened by normal

methods. A Terminator armed with a Chain Fist can cut through one.

G.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Space Hulk comes from blips of the strategic view, suit cameras and

voice/sound notifications.

Blips

Blips are markers on the map where scanners indicate the position of

Genestealers. Blips that come into sight range change into Genestealer icons.

When a blip is present in the Terminators small map section a warning tone

sounds on and off until the Generstealer is killed or moves away.

Suit Cameras

The first person view shows not only the current Terminators view but also that of

the other four members of his squad, if they are present. This allows the player to

keep track of each Terminator whilst in first person view.

Voice/sound Notification

During missions there are a few Voice and sound notification of events that are

taking place.

- The Howl: During missions it is common for Genestealers to enter the mission

from predefined Spawn points. When they do this a Genestealer Howl is heard

notifying the player.




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- Death: Both Genestealers and Terminators make a death sound when they are

killed. A dead Terminators camera is replaced with rolling static.

- “Incoming on X”: When two squads are involved in the mission a notification is

given when a Genestealer is approaching a Terminator in the currently unselected

squad. For example if the player was currently with squad one, and a

Genestealer was moving towards Terminator seven the voice would say

“Incoming on Seven”

- “Ambush”: If an ambush is set off then a Terminator shouts an ambush warning.

G.3.7 Opposition

The main opposition in Space Hulk come in the form of Genestealers, savage humanoids

with four clawed arms and a tough carapace. They are the perfect blend of speed, stealth

and brute force; in numbers they are more than a match for a Terminator. Genestealers

main weakness is their lack of ranged capabilities however they are at good odds at

taking down a Terminator in close combat.

As well as Genestealers, there is also another pair of enemies, the Magus and the

Patriarch. The Magus is corrupted psychic with vast powers; they only appear on a few

certain missions. The Magus has a ranged psychic attack. The Patriarch is the original

Genestealer in the cult. Much larger and deadlier than a normal Genestealer it is

significantly harder to kill.




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H. Research on Star Wars: Republic Commando

H.1 Star Wars: Republic Commando: Information

Republic Commando was released in 2005 by LucasArts and Activision and was

developed by LucasArts.

H.2 Background on Star Wars: Republic Commando

Republic Commando is set in the Star Wars universe and takes place during the clone

wars. The player takes the role as a clone commando in charge of an elite squad of

highly trained clone warriors. The campaign takes the player through many different

parts of the universe including battles on an abandoned imperial ship to supporting a

Wookiee colony that had been overrun by Trandoshan slavers.




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H.3 Mechanic Research

H.3.1 Force and Composition

Republic Commando allows the player to play as a single commando, the leader of Delta

Squad. In most levels of the game the player also has the other members of Delta Squad

supporting them. This consists of three other commandos with the same capabilities as

the player other than they cannot give orders to the squad.

Early on and in some later stages of the game the player fights alone or with a reduced

number of commandos.

H.3.2 Levelling

There is very little levelling in terms of equipment or any skill based system in Republic

Commando, during the course of the first few missions, the player accumulated the

attachments for their main weapon. The difficulty of the game also increases

dramatically from start to finish.

H.3.3 Control

The player is in command of Delta Squad when they are working as a unit rather than

individually. The player has direct control (plays as) the squads leader.

The games control system is solely in fist person view from the squad leader.

Movement control

- The player has all standard movement controls of modern games.

o Directional orientation

o Eight way directional movement

o Crouch

o Jump

o Walk/Run

Weapon Control

- The player has the following weapon based commands.

o Fire current weapon

o Weapon select

o Weapon Zoom

o Throw detonator

o Detonator select

o Reload

o Melee attack




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Additional Control

- The player has the following additional commands including squad commands.

o Use/Activate/Pickup – This allows the player to interact with the

environment. The actions range from opening doors, hacking consoles

and detonating placed explosives.

o Cycle Visor – This allows the player to change the view from the standard

view to the heat sensor view which provides a lower detail, black and

white image however it shows enemies further away and allows the player

to navigate through dark sections of the game.

o Revive squad member – This allows the player to revive a squad mate

who has been incapacitated by enemy action.

- Player down commands – If the player loses all their health, they fall to the floor

but do not die if there are any other squad members present who are not

incapacitated.

o Continue orders – The other members of the squad will continue whatever

orders they where given before the player was incapacitated.

o Revive – This orders a member of the squad to revive the player rather

than continuing with their objectives.

- Team Commands – The player has the ability to give orders to the members of

Delta Squad if they are present in the mission area.

o Engage target – The other members of the squad will attack a target

selected by the player until it is destroyed.

o Provide cover from location – Certain areas have an icon on them that

means the player can order one of the members of Delta Squad to use the

cover provided and the specific weapon that it lends itself to, the sniper

attachment, the anti-armour attachment or a turret.

o Place Explosives – This orders a single member of the squad to place an

explosive on a specific object. Explosives can only be placed on certain

objects. The player may do this themselves without using the squad.

o Breach Door – The squad will stack up and plant an explosive on a door.

The squad will then blow the door and throw a detonator and then move

through the door and attack enemies. The player may do this themselves

without using the squad.

o Hack Door – One member of the squad will open the door by overriding

its controls. Hacking doors makes less noise than breaching them so does

not alert enemies to the squad‟s presence. The player may do this

themselves without using the squad.

o Search and Destroy – The player orders the squad to move though the

current area and attack any enemies found. The squad will not move too

far ahead of the player.




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o Form Up – The player can order the team to return to formation in which

they will follow the player and engage any enemies encountered.

o Secure Area – The player can order the squad to guard a particular

location on the ground. The squad will move near to the location and

attack any enemies that come.

o Cancel Manoeuvre – The player may cancel any operation either

individually or for the whole squad. This makes them available for more

orders

H.3.4 Equipment

Each member of the squad is equipped with the same weaponry, the player may pickup a

secondary weapon dropped by an enemy. The other members of the team will only use

the blaster unless ordered to provide covering fire.

Standard Equipment

Weapons

- Pistol: This side arm is the last resort to the player. It has an unlimited amount of

ammo but can only be fired at a slow rate as it must recharge if it fired too

quickly.

- Blaster: This standard weapon is an automatic laser rifle which can deal with

most enemies. The blaster can be modified with an attachment to change its

attack.

o Sniper attachment: The sniper attachment allows the player to use the

blaster as a sniper rifle with zoom capabilities. The sniper rifle can kill

most standard enemies with a single shot. The sniper attachment has

separate ammunition to the Blaster.

o Anti-Armour attachment: The anti-armour attachment gives the player a

high explosive grenade launcher that is extremely effective against all

enemies and especially larger mechanical opponents.

- Secondary weapons range from shotguns to rocket launchers. The more powerful

the weapon, the less ammunition it comes with.

Detonators

- Detonators are grenades which come in a variety of functions.

o Thermal: A standard explosive that detonates on impact.

o EC: An electro static charge that disrupts machines and shields.

o Sonic: A detonator that can stick to surfaces which explodes on contact

with enemies or after a short time if it is not triggered.

o Flashbug: A detonator that releases an extremely bright light that

disorientates enemies.




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H.3.5 Terrain

Republic Commando takes places in many different types of environments, from forest

planets to the interior of space ships.

The terrain falls into the following categories:

- Empty: The area contains nothing and can be moved over normally.

- Blocking Terrain: The levels in Republic Commando are generally linear and as

such have wall or terrain sections which block the player from moving out of the

confines of the mission.

- General Terrain: High and low level terrain which gives the player cover from

incoming fire. Low level terrain will only protect the player if they crouch.

- Support Cover: Certain terrain pieces allow the player to order a team member to

provide support fire from, in either a sniper or anti-armour capacity.

- Automatic Door: Automatic doors will open as soon as the player or a member of

the squad moves near to them. Search and Destroy orders will make the squad

move though the door and secure the next room.

- Locked Door: Locked doors do not open when the player or a squad member

moves near to them. Locked doors usually have two ways of opening.

Breaching the door blows the locking mechanism apart but alerts enemies in the

room. Hacking the door via a console turns the door into an Automatic door and

does not attract enemy attention when opened.

- Consoles: Consoles are mission specific and operates a nearby system, weather it

be a door, as previously mentioned or some other objective that requires its use.

- Turrets: Similar to Support Cover a player or team member may use a turret to

provide fire support from the turrets location.

H.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Republic Commando comes in a few forms, firstly HUD notifications

and then Voice Notifications.

HUD

The Heads Up Display gives the player general information about what is going

on around him and also his current status.

- Shield and health: The player‟s current shield and health status are located on the

HUD, shields regenerate over time, but health needs to be refilled at specific

„Bacta‟ points located at different areas in each mission.

- Team health and order: Above the players shield indicator, each of the other three

members of the squad have a small icon which shows what their current order is,

e.g. a sniper symbol appears if they have been told to provide sniper support from

a terrain piece. The icon is also a specific colour depending on the health of the




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team member, green, yellow, orange or red. Green being at full or near to full

health and red being in the last ten percent of health.

- Command Notification: If the player looks near to a terrain piece that a team

member can provide cover from, a hackable console or a door then a marker

appears over the location, a ghost image of where the team or team member

would stand as well as a text message at the top of the screen telling the player

what the action to be performed would be.

- Ammunition: Although not technically on the HUD, the remaining ammunition is

displayed on the current weapon I a way that it is clearly visible. The amount of

ammunition remaining in the current clip is also visible.

- Detonator display: The detonator display shows the remaining amount of

detonators of each type that the player has and the currently selected type.




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Voice Notification

During missions there are voice responses as well as notification.

The players‟ character issues orders by speaking them as well as making a visual

sign with his hands. For example:

- “Concentrate fire, team”, “Attack my target”: The order for engaging a selected

target.

- “Set up there Commando”, “Provide support”: The order for providing cover

from a Cover Support area.

The other orders that can be given are voiced in a similar way, - by stating them

along with a hand movement with the same meaning.

The team members sometimes respond to orders but not always. They will also

give certain notice of events.

- “Providing cover”, “Reviving delta”, “Returning to formation”: When an order is

acknowledged by a team member. – The exact phrase is conditional on the

specific order.

- “Cover me”, “Reloading”: The team member informs the player when they are

out of ammunition and need to reload.

The members of the squad will often talk to each other about the mission or other

elements within a level. This sometimes includes tactical suggestions and options

for the player to consider.

H.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in republic Commando depends on where the mission is based; however

there are a few common enemies.

Droid Opposition:

The most common enemy is the standard Droid, a basic enemy with very little self

preservation AI. They generally stand still and fire at the squad as soon as they are in

range.

Super Battle Droids are also a common opponent, although not as common as normal

Droids. Super Battle Droids are much tougher than the standard Droids and take a lot

more firepower to bring down.

Droidekas are a rare unit that usually work in pairs. They cannot be destroyed with

conventional weapons due to their powerful shields. Explosives, special secondary

weapons and melee weapons are the only way to destroy them.




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Geonosian Opposition:

Geonosians come in two forms, the basic soldier and the „Elite‟. The soldiers have wings

and will fly towards the squad, landing from time to time and to attack with a close

combat weapon but can and will operate turrets if they find them. They are not

particularly tough but there are generally a lot of them. Elite Geonosians carry a focused

beam weapon that sends a stream of energy at its target. The beam weapon can take out

the shields of a commando as well as the majority of their health if they do not find cover

quickly.

Trandoshan Opposition:

Trandoshans appear in three guises; slavers, mercenaries and hunters. Slavers are fast

moving humanoids with either a shotgun or a small repeater but always have a pair of

knifes as backup or if the player or team get too close. Mercenaries are better armed and

armoured carrying automatic weapons or sonic weapons capable of high damage. Heavy

Mercenaries are huge creatures equipped with a huge Gatling cannon and have a vast

amount of health.

Additional Opposition:

There are many other enemies in Republic Commando; however most only appear once

or twice such as Spider Drones or Magna Guard. These enemies are difficult to defeat

and require special tactics for each encounter.




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I. Research on Hidden & Dangerous

I.1 Hidden & Dangerous Information

Hidden & Dangerous was released in 1999 by Take-Two Interactive and developed by

Illusion Softworks. Versions for the Dreamcast and Playstation where also created with

additional developers and producers.

I.2 Background on Hidden & Dangerous

Hidden & Dangerous is set during World War II where the player controls four man SAS

teams in a number of missions. The game focuses on team manoeuvring and stealth and

works on a harsh level of realism in terms of weapon damage. The multiple campaigns

take the player all over Europe.

The version being researched is Hidden and Dangerous Deluxe, an updated version

featuring enhancements to the engine, the AI, tactical planning and graphics.




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I.3 Mechanic Research

I.3.1 Force and Composition

During Hidden & Dangerous the player generally has control of a four man SAS team.

The player can either take direct control of a single soldier or can use the tactical map to

give the soldiers orders in paused time which they attempt to carry out. In this way the

player sees as they would by controlling a soldier but with the soldier responding to the

orders given in the tactical screen. The player can switch between and control any of the

soldiers at any point of the mission.

During each campaign the player may select up to eight soldiers, four of which can be

used at anytime in a single mission. If a soldier dies in a mission the player must

continue with the reduced number of soldiers for the rest of the campaign.

I.3.2 Levelling

There is no levelling in terms of incrementing skills or abilities for the soldiers in Hidden

& Dangerous however the difficulty of the game increases from start to end.

I.3.3 Control

There are two modes of control in Hidden & Dangerous, Direct Command and via the

Tactical Map. When in Direct Command whatever soldier is being controlled can give

simple local orders.

Multiple orders in the Tactical Map may be given, in order to give a soldier a route to

travel, or to hold at a certain location and await a signal before assaulting a position.

Movement control

Direct Command




o Stand/Crouch/Go Prone

o Jump

o Walk/Run

o Silent Movement

o Rotate Upper Body

o Centre Body




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Tactical Map Controls

- With the Tactical Map the player can order the following:

o Move


Weapon Control

Direct Command


o Fire current weapon/throw grenade

o Low Grenade Throw

o Weapon Zoom, if applicable

o Reload


- With the tactical map the player can only order a basic attack command.

o Attack – The selected soldier will attack with whatever weapon they

currently have equipped.

Additional Control

Direct Command

- The player has the following additional commands.


environment. The actions range from climbing ladders to getting

inventory items from dead soldiers.

o Inventory – This allows the selected soldier to cycle through their

inventory which can consist of weapons and equipment.

o Drop current item – This allows the soldier to drop whatever they are

currently carrying in their hands.

- Local Commands – The player may issue local commands that any friendly unit

will follow if they are within a certain distance.

o Follow Me – Other soldier will follow the player‟s soldier. They will also

assume the same stance as the player‟s soldier.

o Stop – The other soldiers will hold position.

o Move On – The other soldiers will move a short distance ahead of the

players.

o Hey – This makes any soldier move out of the way of the player‟s soldier.

It can also be used as a signal for a wait command (given in the tactical

map)




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o Hold Fire – This makes the other soldiers disengage the enemy and orders

them not to shoot on sight. If the player fires, then the other soldiers will

also start firing again.

o Remove order – This removes the last order given to the current soldier.

(This is only applicable if the player has issued the soldier with an order in

the tactical map and is watching them carry it out.)


- With the tactical map, the player can order their solders to do the following:

o Use – This commands the soldier to use a specific object, this may be

anything from a ladder to a fixed weapon.

o Use Inventory – This allows the player to order a soldier to use an item

from their inventory such as planting a mine or time bomb.

- Tactical Commands – The player may issue tactical commands that will be

followed wherever the other soldiers are.

o Follow – The selected soldier will follow another soldier.

o Guard – The selected soldier will guard the selected location. If he is

manning a fixed weapon he will use it as soon as the enemy come within

range.

o Wait - The soldier will wait at the specified location. The soldier will

continue with the rest of their orders as soon as a signal is given, such as

the Hey command, a signal flare or a fired shot from the player.




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I.3.4 Equipment

Equipment is selected before each campaign. The player must use this equipment or

anything they pick up during the missions of that particular campaign. It is possible to be

unable to finish a mission due to not having required equipment such as explosives. The

player may get the game to select the equipment for a campaign and for each mission

which will ensure that there is enough special equipment for the campaign. A Maximum

of 320kg can be taken into each campaign.

Each soldier can carry as many items as needed and is only limited by weight. The

amount each soldier can carry is dependent on their strength statistic. If a soldier has

strength 100% then they may carry 50kg of equipment.

As well as using equipment, the soldiers can mount and operate multiple vehicles, from

motorbikes to tanks.

Standard Equipment

There are a multitude of different weapons in Hidden & Dangerous. All equipment

filters into three categories: Weapons, explosives and miscellaneous.

Weapons

- Pistols: Back up weapons with little stopping power. Pistols are short range and

must be fired with accuracy to deal any damage.

- Submachine Guns: Submachine Guns are lightweight and capable of rapid fire,

although best used in short bursts or single shots. The submachine gun is the

most common weapon in Hidden & Dangerous.

- Machine Guns: Extremely dangerous anti infantry weapons, machine guns have a

high range and damage. The downside is that they weigh a significant amount

and can only be fired while prone.

- Bazookas: Missile and rocket launchers are available to deal with enemy armour.

Opposed to Machine Guns, Bazookas cannot be fired while prone.

Explosives

- Grenades: Grenades are small explosives that are useful for dealing with enemies

in confined locations. There are two types, Timed – which detonate after a few

seconds, and Contact – which explode as soon as they hit something.

- Mines: Mines are explosives triggered when they are moved over. Mines come

in two forms, anti-infantry and anti-tank.

- Time Bomb: Time bombs are simple but large explosives with a timing device

attached. The player can set a countdown timer to explode from after the device

is set in place.




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Miscellaneous

- Knife: Knifes are silent weapons that do not require ammunition, although

getting close enough without alerting the victim is difficult.

- Binoculars: Binoculars allow the player to see greater distances with better

clarity.

- Transmitters: Transmitters send a signal that is picked up by off map support

such as artillery and navel forces. After the transmitter is activated a short time is

given to get away from it before the support starts to attack the source of the

signal.

- Disguises: It is possible to pick up clothing from certain places. (not dead

enemies) These can be put on to form a disguise which allows the player to

move unnoticed through enemy lines. Disguises will not hold up to close

scrutiny and will be blown if the player is holding a weapon, or the wrong type of

weapon.

I.3.5 Terrain

Hidden & Dangerous does not use a vast amount of different terrain types unlike other

games. For the most part missions are based around open areas as the objective is to

attempt to move undetected through the mission.



- Blocking Terrain: High level walls for buildings are often found within Hidden &

Dangerous




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incoming fire. Low level terrain will only protect the player if they crouch or go

prone.

- Interactive elements: There are some interactive elements within levels such as

ladders that can be climbed to doors which can be opened or shut.

I.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Republic Commando comes in two forms: Statistics and HUD

notifications. Other than the voice orders given when giving an order, there is no other

voice notifications.

Statistics

Each soldier has five statistics which determine how good they are at different

actions. All the skills are measured in a percentage value: 100% being perfect or

maximum.

- Shooting: This shows how accurate the soldier is with all weapons. Based on the

percentage system, a soldier with 70% accuracy will hit 7 out of ever 10 shots he

takes. This is reflected when the player is controlling the character and uses the

sights on their weapon – the sights do not line up with the crosshair on screen.

- Reaction: The better the value, the faster the soldier will react to enemies. While

controlling the soldier this statistic is ignored.

- Stealth: This figure shows how good the soldier is at remaining undiscovered. It

also reflects how much noise they make while moving.

- Strength: This statistic shows how much the soldier can carry during missions.

100% is equal to 50kg.

- Endurance: This figure represents the health of the soldier. The higher the

number, the more health they have.

HUD

The Heads Up Display gives the player a very limited amount of information.

- Ancillary Site: The Ancillary Site is a line that points from the weapon to the

crosshairs location. It is only visible while the player is viewing the soldier from

a 3rd

person view.

- Compass: There is a small compass at the top right of the screen, this informs the

player which way they are facing, but serves no other purpose.

- Ammo count: Below the compass is an ammo count system, showing the number

of full magazines left as well as the number of bullets left in the current

magazine.




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- Team Health: At the bottom of the screen is a portrait of the members of the

team, one is highlighted, showing who the player is controlling. This has a small

health bar next to each face. If a soldier dies the portrait is replaced with a skull.

- Team Orders: Next to the portrait of each soldier a small box containing a

graphical representation of what the soldier is currently doing is shown.

I.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in Hidden & Dangerous comes in the form of Axis soldiers, mainly

German. Each Axis soldier is generally worse than the members of the SAS team but

make up for the deficit by having much greater numbers.

If the player is not particularly stealthy, then their actions will draw more attention from

guards causing a fire fight where the player could have simply walked around them in

disguise.

The enemy soldiers do not act alone; there is usually some sort of supporting vehicles at

some point within each campaign, although rarely in each mission. These vehicles, such

as tanks, can either be destroyed or used against the enemies by covertly killing the crew.




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J. Research on Rainbow 6: Vegas

J.1 Rainbow 6: Vegas Information

R6: Vegas was published by Ubisoft in 2006 and Developed by Ubisoft Monteal. Vegas

is available on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The version being researched is the

Xbox 360 version, although most if not all features remain the same.

J.2 Background on R6: Vegas

Vegas is set in 2010, and is based around the operations of the Rainbow team, a Special

Forces group specialising in covert operations. After an initial situation of having two

members of the team captured in Mexico, the team leader Logan Keller is sent to Las

Vegas to deal with a related terrorist attack where he links up with some of the other

members of the team.




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J.3 Mechanic Research

J.3.1 Force and Composition

The takes on the role as the team leader of the Rainbow team, Logan Keller. For most

missions the player is accompanied by a pair of operatives from the team.

As the team leader, the player can issue orders for the other members of the squad.

J.3.2 Levelling

There is no levelling in terms of incrementing skills or abilities for the soldiers in Vegas

however the difficulty of the game increases from start to end.

J.3.3 Control

All the control in R6: Vegas is through the first person. This includes both the player

control as well as the order system for the other members of the squad.

Movement control




o Stand/Crouch

o Take Cover: This switches the view to a third person camera view and

shows the player with their back against a wall or other suitable terrain

piece. This view lets the player see around the corner of walls and other

objects and allows them to set up shots before they break cover and fire.

Weapon Control



o Zoom Mode (Look through Sighting)

o Reload

o Switch Main weapon (Switches between the two main weapons, not

pistols)

Full Weapon Select (hold button) Opens weapon display allowing

the selection of current grenade type and select weapons including

pistols.

o Weapon options opens weapon option menu for current weapon.

Fire Select: Allows the player to select which fire type they want,

such as single shot, burst fire and automatic, depending on the

weapon type.

Silencer: Some weapons may be fitted with a silencer to lower the

detection of shots.




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Additional Control


o Use/Activate/Pickup/Jump Over – This allows the player to interact with

the environment.

o Switch Vision type: Switches between the last vision type and normal

vision.

Select Vision type (hold): Allows the player to either select Night

vision or Thermal optics.

Team Control


o Rules of Engagement: The player may either select Infiltration or Assault

mode. In Infiltrate, the team will attempt to remain hidden rather than

attacking any enemy they can see. They will also equip silencers if they

have appropriate weapons. The current rules of engagement affect certain

context sensitive orders.

o Move To: Orders the team to move to your cursor.

o Hold/Regroup: Orders the team to either hold their positions or follow the

player.

o Tag: This orders the team to kill the enemy the player has tagged. This is

most prevalent when using a snake cam to look under doors.

o Move to Door: This orders the team to stack up on the door and prepare

for a breaching procedure.

Under Assault RoE:

Breach and Clear: The team use a breaching charge on the

door to make a disorientating explosion allowing the team

to move in and kill the enemies inside.

Open and Clear: The team will silently open the door and

attack the enemies inside.

Frag and Clear: The team open the door and throw a

Fragmentation grenade through. After it explodes, the team

move through and attack and enemies.

Under Infiltrate RoE:

Flash and Clear: The team open the door and throw a

Flashbang in. After it explodes, the team move in and

attack any enemies.

Open and Clear: This is the same as the assault option.

Smoke and Clear: The team throw a smoke grenade into

the room and then move in and attack any enemies.

o Context Commands: At certain areas in missions such as „Fast Rope‟

points, a command is shown for the team to move to said points. A further

menu is given when they get there with orders to move down or up, etc.




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J.3.4 Equipment

Each member of the team is equipped with weapons that cannot be changed except that

of the team leader, the player‟s character. The rest of the team have an infinite amount of

ammunition and equipment whereas the player is limited in these aspects.

The player may select two Primary weapons and a pistol as well as two pieces of

equipment. The player may make their selection at the start of a new mission area when

they are being transported in the helicopter, or at the start of mission zones where an

equipment locker is located. This will also fully replenish all the ammunition and

equipment expended by the player.

The player may also swap their weapons with killed enemies‟ weapons which they drop

on the floor.

Standard Equipment

There are five different sets of Primary weapons, one set of pistols and five different

types of equipment the player may choose between.

Weapons

- Primary: The player‟s two primary weapons are chosen from this list. The player

may, if they wish select two of the same types of weapons for their primary

selection, for example a pair of sub machine guns. All weapons may be equipped

with a single attachment.

o Submachine Guns: Lightweight and fast firing, Submachine guns are are

good at close to medium range combat.

Reflex Scope: This provides a sight with a red dot in the centre of

a circle giving the player a better idea of accuracy.

Laser Sight: This provides an extension that displays a red beam

to where the gun is aimed. This can be seen by enemies at short

range.

Rifle Scope: This attaches a small zoom to the scope as well as a

much more accurate crosshair..

o Light Machine Guns: Large rapid firing weapon capable of suppressing

fire while the rest of the team moves in.

Reflex, Laser and Rifle Scopes (as Submachine guns)

Recoil Control Stick: This lowers the recoil for each shot,

improving the accuracy of fire.

o Assault Rifle: Assault rifles are general purpose weapons most effective

at medium to long ranges.

Reflex, and Laser Scopes (as Submachine guns)

ACOG Scope: This gives a quicker aim time than the reflex scope,

but does not support all lighting conditions.

6X Scope: This gives a 6X Zoom attachment to the sights of the

weapon.




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o Sniper Rifles: Sniper Rifles are long range pinpoint weapons able to kill

enemies before they can even see the firer. Sniper Rifles must have one

of the following attachments.

6X zoom (as Assault Rifles)

12X zoom: This is the same as the 6X scope, but is at 12 times

magnification rather than 6.

6X, 12X Scope: This provides both a 6X and a 12X scope and the

ability to switch between them.

o Shotgun: Shotguns are very short range weapons, although what they lack

in range and ubiquity they make up for in damage.

Reflex, Laser or Rifle Scopes (as Submachine guns)

o Pistols: Pistols are a standard sidearm which is the players last resort in

case they run out of ammunition.

Laser Sight (as Submachine gun)

High Capacity Mag: This replaces the standard weapon magazine

with one with additional rounds in.

Equipment: Selectable

- Grenades: The selectable equipment in R6: Vegas comes in the form of grenades.

There are five types that can be chosen.

o Frag: The standard explosive grenade with a small area of effect but high

damage capacity.

o Incendiary: Rather than an explosive, the Incendiary grenade releases a

cloud of fuel and then ignites it, leaving a large area of fire damage.

o Flashbang: Flashbangs are, rather than damaging, a distraction weapon.

The Flashbang detonates with a blinding flash and a high pitch sound,

disorientating anyone within sight of it.

o Smoke: Smoke grenades, like Flashbangs, are not directly offencive.

Smoke grenades release a large amount of smoke that, without thermal

optic equipment, is impossible to see through.

o Breaching Charge: Breaching Charges can be placed on doors in order to

blow them through. Although the rest of the team can do this, the player

may choose to enter a room from two directions at once, or simply make a

distraction.

Equipment: Always Usable

- Snake Cam: Snake Cams are used to look under doors into the room. They can

be used to „Tag‟ enemies inside the rooms, so when the team enter they will take

out the designated targets first.

- Night Vision: The Night Vision converts the normal view image into a black and

green one, where it is easier to pick out movement, although detail is lost.

- Thermal Optics: Thermal Optics changes the normal view to a heat sensitive one.

Blue denotes little or no heat, so walls appear as this, while red and yellow show

body heat. Thermal Optics has a very limited range.




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- MedKit: MedKits are used to heal downed team members. If a team member

takes too much damage at any time they will be downed and must be revived

within a certain time limit before the mission is failed. If the player takes too

much damage, the mission is failed instantly.

J.3.5 Terrain

For the main part, R6: Vegas is based in Las Vegas. Most of the scenery reflects this as

the team move through huge casinos and hotels.



- High Terrain: High level terrain which blocks line of sight and can not be moved

through. High level terrain can be used to take cover, although it is only effective

when at a corner.

- Low Terrain: Low level terrain such as small walls and slot machines will bloke

line of sight, if the player or enemy is crouched behind them. They can be used

to take cover. The player will pop up from the cover to shoot rather than going

around.

- Doors: Most doors are assault-able. If they can be opened then they can be

breached by the team. Doorways can also be assaulted in the same way, although

there is much less protection against incoming fire, and it is more likely that

enemies will spot the team as they stack up.

- Fast Rope/Rappel points: These points allow the player, and the team, to descend

from a higher location to a lower one. Fast Rope is a straight down operation

while Rappelling offers additional options.

o Move down: The player and team can move down the Rappel normally.

o Move up: The player and team can move up the Rappel upwards.

o Jump down: The player and team can jump down instead of walking

down normally; this allows them to move past windows undetected.

o Break window: This can only be performed when there is a window close

to the player or teams‟ position. This will cause the player or team to

shoot the window and then smash through it.

While using rope, the player and team will draw their pistol as they

can use it one handed.

- Equipment Locker: Equipment Lockers are found at the start of most mission

zones within each larger mission. Equipment Lockers are used to rearm before

the mission area either to simply replenish ammunition and equipment, or to

change the weapons carried.




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J.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Vegas comes in many forms: Voice and HUD notifications in the First

Person view and the schematics in the Map Display.

Voice Notification

During missions team members and the intel officer will communicate with the

player to update them on their situation and to acknowledge orders.

- Mission updates: During missions, the intel officer will update the player if any

part of the mission changes, or with additional intelligence if it arises.

- Team comments: during the mission team member will offer advice or criticism

about the current situation.

o Advice: This is always a triggered mission event, such as telling the

player that there are two ways down and giving them reasons to take one

over the other or otherwise.

o Criticism: If the player makes an unorthodox decision such as setting up a

breaching charge when there is no one in the room then one of the team

members will sometimes say things like “That was tactically unsound

sir.”

- Command Notification: When the player makes any command, the team leader

speaks the command out. This applies to everything from ordering the squad to




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move, to change from assault to infiltrate and even to attach silencers. One team

member will usually acknowledge the command.

- Squad notices: When a member of the squad notices and enemy. Which usually

come in the form of the following:

o “Tango Spotted”/”Contact Tango”: If the team member has seen an enemy

target.

o “No Contact”/”Lost Contact”: If all the targets in view disappear, i.e. go

out of line of sight.

o “Threat Neutralised”/”Tango Down”: If the team member kills an enemy.

o “Friendly Fire”/”Check your Target”: If the player shoots at a team

member.

HUD

The Heads Up Display gives the player a limited amount of information. Many

menus are available from the HUD such as the weapon select and weapon options

menus.

- Ammo: At the bottom of the screen is a pair of bars, one to the left the other to

the right. The one of the right shows the name of the current gun equipped with

the remaining ammunition in the clip and the number of remaining clips

displayed underneath. There is a small picture showing the fire type of the

weapon. The bar to the left displays the type of equipment selected (grenades)

and the number remaining.

- Team Orders: The bottom left of the screen displays the current team order,

either Infiltrate or Assault.

- Objective Marker: A white circle with a display in how many metres shows the

distance to the next mission objective.

o Sub Menus: Some menus are called up rather than being there all the

time.

Weapon section: The Weapon Selection menu appears in the

centre of the screen as a cross shape. The player may select a

weapon to equip or a grenade type to select.

Weapon Options: Like the weapon select menu, the weapon

option menu appears in the centre of the screen. The weapon

options available show up and can be selected to change them.

They include the silencer toggle, fire type select and laser sight

toggle if it is equipped.

- Down Notice: If one or both of the other team members are injured enough to

make then incapacitated a large notice appears on the left side of the screen with

the name in yellow. After a short time the name turns red. If the team member/s

are not healed soon they will die and the mission will be failed.




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Map Display

The Map Display can be called up at anytime during a mission. It displays the

schematics of the local area as an overlay on the HUD. The map shows the

following:

- Walls: The walls are displayed as solid yellow lines showing the limits of the

area as well as any terrain that can be used as cover.

- Ladders: Ladders are shown as a small set of bars on the map where ever they are.

- Rope: Both fast rope and rappel lines are shown as the same icon on the map.

They are displayed as a small image of a rappelling man.

- Objective: The Objective is shown as a small white square with no corners.

- Mobile points: Unlike the above items, there are some things that can move

around and are more prominent.

o Green Circle: Green circles represent members of the Rainbow team. A

small arrow shows the direction they are facing.

o Red Circle: Red circles represent enemies. Like the green circles they

have a small arrow showing which way they are facing. These only

appear when a member of the squad can see them.

o White Circle: White circles represent hostages and civilians. As with the

others they have a small arrow showing which way they are facing.

o Green Cross: green crosses represent a member of the team who has been

incapacitated.




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J.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in R6: Vegas comes in the form of Terrorists. To start with they lack

training or decent weaponry. This changes throughout the game where in the later stages

they are highly trained and heavily armed.

The alertness of the opposition rises throughout the game as with the general training of

the enemies. This, and the positioning of enemy forces increments the difficulty of the

game as it progresses as the player if forces to make more tactical decisions like

breaching multiple doors at the same time in order to disorientate enemies.




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K. Research on Raven Squad

K.1 Raven Squad Information

Raven Squad was published by Evolved Games and SouthPeak Interactive in 2009 and

Developed by Atomic Motion. Raven Squad is available on PC and Xbox 360. The

version being researched is the Xbox 360 version, although most, if not all features

remain the same.

K.2 Background on Raven Squad

Raven Squad is set in 2011 where a mercenary group, Raven Squad, is sent to recover a

package from a crashed aircraft in the Amazon. On their way there their transport is

destroyed and only six member of the nine man team remain and must retrieve their

objective and get out of the Amazon avoiding a civil war.




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K.3 Mechanic Research

K.3.1 Force and Composition

Most of the missions in Raven Squad consist of two, three man teams. The player may

control anyone of the soldiers and their respective squad at anytime in first person. The

player may also switch to an overhead view and control the squads in a real time tactical

way.

K.3.2 Levelling

There is no levelling in terms of incrementing skills or abilities for the soldiers in Raven

Squad however the difficulty of the game increases from start to end.

K.3.3 Control

Raven squad allows the player to either control any of the soldiers from the team in first

person view or change to an overhead view to control them in a tactical fashion.

In first person view whoever the player is controlling leads the squad and they will follow

him as such. There are however, no squad commands such as ordering them to hold at a

specific location.

Movement control

First Person




o Stand/Crouch

Movement control

Tactical View

o The player may select either squad

o Move: The player can order a squad to move to a viable location. The

player can change the move to a run which is faster.

Move to Cover: The squad takes up position behind an object

which provides them cover.

Weapon Control

First Person



o Zoom (Look through Sighting)

o Reload

o Switch Weapon: Switches between normal and Skill weapons.




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Weapon Control

Tactical View

o Attack target: This tells the squad to attack and enemy or destroyable

object.

o Skill Weapon Attack: This orders a selected soldier to use their Skill

weapon to attack a target.

Additional Control

First Person

o Switch Team member: Switches to a member of the same team.

o Switch Teams: Switches to the other Team.

K.3.4 Equipment

Each member of Raven Squad is equipped with an individual set of weapons. This

includes one standard weapon which has infinite ammunition but still required reloading

and a Skill Weapon which is a specialist weapon which has very limited ammunition,

although extra ammo can be found during missions.

Standard Equipment

The six members of the squad have the following weapons. Some weapons are

actual weapons, while others are not immediately recognisable.

Assault Team

Paladin:

Primary: Assault Rifle: A modified Ak-47 with no scope, a decent short to long

range weapon with decent damage.




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Skill: Light Machine Gun: A M249 SAW with high fire rate capable of

providing good suppressing fire. Unlike the other Skill Weapons, this has a large

amount of ammunition.

Oso:

Primary: Sub Machine Gun: A standard MP5 with no scope, a deadly weapon

at short ranges.

Skill: Frag Grenades: A standard fragmentation grenade. Very tricky to throw

but can kill enemies instantly.

Thor:

Primary: Shotgun: An unknown shotgun model which provides close range

support but lacks any long range capacity.

Skill: Rocket Launcher: An M136 AT4 which provides heavy damage to a large

area and is key to destroying enemy vehicles.

Infiltration Team

Shadow:

Primary: Sub Machine Gun: A modified Mac 11 with extended stock. Good at

short ranges, but lacking at long distances.

Skill: Sniper Rifle: An unknown rifle model design with a magnifying rifle

scope, can kill instantly.

Flash:

Primary: Assault Rifle: An unknown assault rifle with no extensions. Good at

short to medium range, but lacks accuracy at long range.

Skill: Flash Bangs: Flash Bangs explode with a blinding light and high pitch

sound, disorientating anyone near it.

Zombie:

Primary: Assault Rifle: A modified M16 with a sniper scope, good for taking

out targets at any range and is almost as good at sniping as Shadows sniper rifle.

Skill: Smoke Grenades: Smoke grenades provide cover wherever they are

thrown. This stops both the enemy and the player seeing through the smoke area.

Additional Equipment:

- Med Gun: The Med Gun can be used by anyone to heal an incapacitated squad

member.

- Med Kit: This is picked up in missions and is used instantly to heal all members

of the three man squad to full health.

- Skill Ammo: This is picked up in missions and replaces all the Skill ammunition

for the corresponding team, either the Assault Team or the Infiltration Team.




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K.3.5 Terrain

Raven Squad is set in the Amazonian jungle in the middle of a civil war. The jungle

mainly consists of dense foliage with heavily beaten tracks with the occasional

settlement, camp or ruin.



- High Terrain: High level terrain which blocks line of sight and can not be moved

through. This section encompasses buildings and other tall objects.

- Cover: Cover comes in many forms, from low level walls to woodpiles and small

vehicles. Cover can be used in the strategic view and will snap the selected

squad to defensive positions behind the cover.

- Blocking Terrain: The areas around empty terrain is filled with a dense jungle

environment which cannot be moved through and that blocks line of sight.

- Health Crate: Health Crates can be picked up in the strategic view and will fully

heal the three members of the squad how pick it up rather than all six members of

the company.

- Skill Ammo: Skill Ammo fully restores the squads Skill weapon ammunition.

Skill Ammo comes in different colours so that only one squad may pick it up,

yellow for the infiltration squad and blue for the assault squad.

K.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Raven Squad comes in many forms: Voice and HUD notifications in the

First Person view and the schematics in the Map Display.

Voice Notification

During missions Paladin, the main character and company leader, will give

mission updates and potential strategies from the player to decide on. The

surveillance operative will also offer insight to the mission including noting the

player of the presence of enemy forces. Shadow, the other squad leader will

sometimes offer his opinion as well.

- Mission updates: During missions, the surveillance operative will update the

player if any part of the mission changes or with additional intelligence if it

arises. Paladin and Shadow will sometimes contribute to this.

- Command Notification: When the player makes a move using the strategic map

the team leader will respond with a simple response, such as “Moving”, or

“Engaging”

- Squad notices: When something happens to a member of either squad a

notification from that soldier is spoken:




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o “I‟m Hit”/”Someone‟s shooting me”: The squad member is under attack

and taking damage.

o “Got him”/”Enemy Down”: The squad member has killed an enemy.

o “X is down”: Another team member will say this if a member of their

team is incapacitated. For example “Oso is down”

HUD

The Heads Up Display gives the player a limited amount of information. The

main HUD element is present in both first person and tactical views.

- Squad Details: The squad detail section at the bottom centre of the screen shows

the following.

o Current Squad: The display shows the status of the currently selected

squad, blue for assault, yellow for infiltration.

o Health: A bar under the name of each squad member shows how much

health the soldier has. The bar changes from green to yellow and then to

red depending on the amount of health remaining.

o Skill Ammo: A small image of the soldier Skill weapon is shown with a

number showing how much ammo they have for their skill weapon.

o Current weapon Ammunition: This shows the selected soldiers current

ammunition for whatever weapon they have equipped.

- Compass: The compass is only shown in the First person view and is represented

by a line with NESW displayed on it. Team members are shown with a blue

arrow and objectives with a white arrow.




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Tactical View

The Tactical view can be switched to at any point from the First person view.

- Overhead view: The tactical view is the same as the first person view just from

an overhead angle.

- Team location: As each team stays together they can be selected and seen by a

squad location icon, blue for the assault squad and yellow for the infiltration

squad.

- Enemy location: Enemy squads, like the players squads consists of three

members and are shown as red diamonds.

- Objective Marker: The next objective area is marked with a white circle.

- Off Screen Location: If either of the players squads or the next objective marker

are not on the screen an arrow, blue, yellow or white is displayed at the edge of

the screen pointing towards their current location.

- Skill Ammo: The location of Skill ammunition and its squad colour is shown in

the tactical view.

- Health Crates: Health crates are shown on the tactical map.

K.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in Raven Squad comes in the form of militias from the civil war raging

across the Amazonian jungle. For the most part, they are three man squads with assault

rifles and no other equipment.

Occasionally there are enemy vehicles such as jeeps witch can be destroyed with enough

firepower. Other enemy vehicles include transport helicopters which can drop enemy

squads behind the players‟ teams.

Later in the game, the enemies gain better equipment and even their own skill weapons

on a par with the players‟ weapons.




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L. Research on Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

L.1 Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Information

Dragon Rising was developed and published by Codemasters in 2009. Dragon rising is

available on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The version being researched is the Xbox

360 version, although most if not all features remain the same.

L.2 Background on Dragon Rising

Dragon Rising is set in an alternate timeline where a large scale economic crash has

caused massive problems across the face of the planet. A small island, Skira, has been

found to contain massive amounts of oil. The Chinese PLA seizes control of the island

from the Russian Federation. Russia starts to take action on the Chinese mainland and

asks the United States to intervene and retake Skira, in line with agreements made after

the cold war. Dragon Rising starts with the initial US incursion to the island and the

escalating confrontation with China‟s forces.




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L.3 Mechanic Research

L.3.1 Force and Composition

In each mission, the player commands a four man fire team and takes direct control of the

team leader. The characters change but the composition remains the same. In some

missions the player may receive support from other elements of the company such as

other fire teams or vehicles. The fire team may use a vehicle during the missions if one is

provided or salvaged. If a member of the squad is killed, they will be replaced after a

period of time, but only on the lesser difficulties.

The player may also use Fire Support Missions if and when they come available. These

missions are usually only available to use at specific points and will only last until

objectives have been completed before becoming unavailable again.

L.3.2 Levelling

There is no levelling in terms of incrementing skills or abilities for the soldiers in Dragon

Rising however the difficulty of the game increases from start to end. The difficulty of

the game does however drastically affect parts of the game. For example in the harder

settings, the player looses much of their HUD including crosshairs and hit notification.

L.3.3 Control

There are two modes of control within Dragon Rising, First Person and Command Map.

While in First Person the player has direct control of the fire team leader and can give

squad and support commands.

While in the Command Map the player no longer has control of the team leader but can

give detailed squad controls as well as stack commands for the squad. The Command

Map shows the entire island of Skira but focuses on the operational area of the specific

mission, using basic geometry to represent objects, assets and enemies on the battlefield

rather than providing a satellite image showing a more detailed view.

All orders available in First Person are available in the Command Map. The commands

can however be given on a location that is not visible in First Person, such as behind a

hill. Orders can be given to the squad (as details below) but also to individual members.

The command system for team members and support comes in the form of the Radial

Command, which features an extensive amount of commands.

Movement control





o Sprint




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Weapon Control

Direct Command


o Fire current weapon/throw grenade

o Aim Mode (Look through Sighting)

o Reload

o Change Fire Mode (Single/Burst/Automatic) – If applicable

o Ammunition selection for weapons and extensions (an M16 with grenade

launcher has the types Full Metal Jacket, HE Grenade and HEDP

Grenade.)

o Switch weapons/equipment (Held down for full selection on presses once

for quick switch)

Additional Control

Direct Command



environment. The actions range from climbing ladders to getting

inventory items from dead soldiers.

o Interact with inventory – this allows the player to change their two

weapons with weapons found on enemies or in storage areas.

Radial Commands - The Radial Command interface starts with a pair of standard options, Tactical and

Orders as well as a pair of context commands.

o Context Commands – These will change depending on what is under the

centre of the radial. If there is passable ground then the two options will

be Move and Follow me. If an enemy is under the radial, then the second

option disappears and the first will change to Engage. These commands

can be accessed through the Tactical and Movement sections as well.

- Tactical – This consists of three further menus and one command.

Medic – This commands the squads‟ medic to come and heal the

team leader. If the leader is not injured this will not be selectable.

o Formation

Column – This orders the team to move into a line formation one

behind the other.

Wedge – This orders the team to move into a chevron pattern with

the team leader at the front and the team behind.

Line – This orders the team to move as a line side by side.

Vee – This orders the squad to move into a chevron, but the

inverse of the Wedge formation.




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o Spread

Normal – This orders the team to stay about two metres apart in

their formation

Tight – This orders the team to stay around one meter apart.

Combat – This orders the team to stay around five meters apart.

o ROE (Rules of Engagement)

Return Fire – This orders the squad to only fire if fired upon first.

Fire at Will – This orders the squad to fire if they can see an enemy

and they can damage/kill them. A sniper will not shoot at a tank.

Fire on my Lead – This orders the squad to only engage after the

player fires a shot.

Hold Fire – This orders the squad to not fire at any target at all.

- Orders – This consists of four further menus.

o Fire

Suppress – This orders the squad to fire at a specific point.

Engage – This orders the squad to attack a specific unit. (Only

appears when an enemy is under the radial.

Hold Fire – This orders the squad to stop firing.

o Movement

Move – This orders the squad to move to the designated location

Move Fast – This orders the squad to run to the designated

location.

Follow Me – This orders the squad to follow the team leader.

Exit – This orders the squad to exit from a vehicle or building.

o Offence

Assault – This orders the squad to attack a location, the squad will

move slowly, one by one, covering each other as they move to the

location.

Flank Left – This orders the squad to assault a position but from

the left hand side of the team leader.

Flank Right – This orders the squad to assault a position but from

the right hand side of the team leader.

Halt – This orders the squad to stop at their current locations.

o Defence

Defend – This orders the squad to move to the location and spread

out near it attacking any enemy that gets close.

Follow Me – This orders the squad to follow the team leader.

Fall Back – This orders the squad pull back from a location. As

with assaulting, one soldier moves first followed by the others.

Halt – This orders the squad to stop at their current locations.




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Fire Mission Commands - Air Strike

o Light Missile

Fire for Effect – This launches the air strike. The small missile is

good against clustered infantry or light vehicles.

o Heavy Missile

Fire For Effect – The Heavy Missile is good against large

formations of infantry and most vehicles.

o JDAM Missile Strike

Fire For Effect – The JDAM is a heavy duty missile and warhead

for effectively taking out clustered vehicles and buildings.

- Artillery

o Light Mortar/Heavy Mortar/Howitzer

High Explosive/Smoke

Scattered – Fires all mortar shells in quick succession

hitting around the general area with little precision.

Barrage – Fires mortar shells with two seconds between

each impact. This is much more centralised but takes

longer from start to finish.

Tight – Quickly fires three sets of three shells close to

target coordinates causing larger damage where the volleys

hit.

Harassing – Fires the mortars slowly with little accuracy on

the actual target.

o After the type selections are made, the player must

then press „Fire for Effect‟ to launch the attack.




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L.3.4 Equipment

Rather than being able to choose equipment and weapon options, the players squad is

assigned a weapon set that is applicable to the current squads designation and mission

objectives. For example, a mission where the player takes control of „Dagger One Bravo‟

an Anti-Tank team the squad consists of the team leader with a rocket launcher as his

secondary weapon, and an Anti-Tank specialist with the same weapons. The squad also

comes with a Machine gunner and a Medic.

The player carries up to four weapons, a Primary, which is usually an assault riffle of

some kind, a Secondary weapon which is mission dependant, if they have one at all. The

player also gets a Pistol as a last resort weapon and a combat knife. Weapons can only be

switched with others of the same group, so an assault rifle could not be swapped for a

rocket launcher.

During the course of a mission the player may change their weapons if they find a dead

soldier or an equipment locker.

Standard Equipment

There are a many different weapons in Dragon Rising. Each are set within the

groups of Primary, Secondary and Pistols. There are other types of combat

equipment that can be carried if given or found.

Weapons

- Primary: Primary weapons are the soldiers‟ general combat weapon. Some come

with specialist features such as special sights, but do not decrease the weapons

general combat ability.




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o Assault Rifles – Assault rifles provides good anti infantry cover. Most of

the rifles available are M16‟s or M4‟s with combat attachments. Assault

rifles can be used as sniper rifles if the conditions allow.

o Sub Machine Guns – These weapons provide short range anti infantry

cover but are usually augmented with a specialist secondary weapon.

o Shotguns – A very close quarter‟s weapon effective at assaulting buildings

with.

o Light Machine Guns – A light support weapon capable of proving

extensive suppressive fire and excels at taking on multiple enemy

formations with its high rate of fire and damage.

- Secondary: Secondary weapons are specialist pieces of equipment with very little

room for ubiquity.

o Sniper Rifles – Snipers can provide pinpoint accuracy at extreme range.

They lose combat potential as soon as a fire fight gets into close quarters.

o Grenade launchers – High powered launchers can provide good cover

against groups of enemy infantry or light armour.

o Rocket Launchers – Rocket Launchers come in many varieties. Most are

anti tank weapons but there are multiple anti infantry and anti air

launchers. Many launchers have multiple ammunition types.

- Pistols: There are only two types of pistol available, the US and the PLA

equivalent. Every soldier is equipped with this sidearm as a last resort weapon if

they run out of ammunition for their other weapons.

- Combat Knife: Every soldier carries some kind of knife as a final resort if their

pistol runs out of ammo. The knife can also be used to kill enemies silently, but

getting close without being noticed is almost impossible.

Equipment

- Mines: There are a variety of different mine types. Some anti infantry, some anti

tank and some general purpose.

- Grenades: There are two types of grenade, explosive and smoke. Explosive

grenades are short range weapons with a small initial blast radius, but with a

larger area of damage from flying shrapnel.

- Field Dressings: These can be used by anyone to stop light wounds from

bleeding, which if unchecked can incapacitate a soldier.

- Medic Kits: A more extensive piece of medical equipment. It is capable of

clearing all ailments a soldier can receive from enemy or friendly fire, except

death.

- Demolition Charges: Demo charges are small but powerful explosives used by

teams to take out enemies installations. Once planted, charges must be

detonated.

- Binoculars: Binoculars give the user a greater range of view albeit in a smaller

arc of view. Weapons cannot be fired while using binoculars.

- Night Vision Goggles: In night fighting situations, night vision equipment allows

the user to see much more clearly.




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L.3.5 Terrain

Dragon Rising is based on the island of Skira, with a relatively temperate climate, and

open country. The main terrain is based on open ground with clumps of forests and small

towns and bases dotted around.



- Blocking Terrain: High level walls for buildings are often found within Dragon

Rising


incoming fire.

- Low level terrain will only protect the player if they crouch or go prone. Some

sections of low level terrain such as sandbags or small walls can be jumped over

- Doors: Some doors can be opened and assaulted through to gain access to the

interior of the building.

- Weapon Lockers: Some missions, usually with enemy bases or towns contain

crates or lockers with additional weapons and ammunition inside.

L.3.6 Feedback

The feedback in Dragon Rising comes in many forms: Voice and HUD notifications in

the First Person view and the Satiate Imagery in the Command Map.

Voice Notification

Each soldier has five statistics which determine how good they are at different

actions. All the skills are measured in a percentage value: 100% being perfect or

maximum.

- Mission updates: At the start of each mission the player is briefed on their

mission and objectives. During missions the player will be updated with how the

mission is proceeding as well as new orders for their fire team. The most

common type of communication is informing the player that they must hurry up

with their current objective. The player is also informed when support options

are available such as mortar fire missions. If the player chooses not to use the

fire missions within their allotted operational slot, the player is told that the

support is once again unavailable.

- Command Notification: When the player makes any command, the team leader

speaks the command out.

o “Move, Grid, zero, two, hotel, x-ray three, Yankee, two” Movement and

assault commands are always given with a six point grid reference which

is spoken out.

o “Flank Left” “Engage Enemy” “Column” Etc. Most other orders are

simple instructions.




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“On my Way” / “Affirmative” is the usual response from just one

soldier, rather than on an individual basis.

- Squad notices: When a member of the squad notices and enemy. Which usually

come in the form of the following:

o “Shots Fired” If the soldier is shot at and has not seen the enemy.

o “Contact, Rifleman, 100 metres, west.” The enemy type, range and

relative position change depending on what the actually are.

- Squad Reports

o “Target, Rifleman is eliminated.” Telling the player an enemy has been

killed.

o “I‟m hit” / “I‟m not getting paid enough for this s***” The soldier is

wounded and should be treated with a field dressing.

o “Medic” The soldier has been incapacitated and needs to be treated by a

medic before they bleed out.

o “Four is down” A soldier, in this case, number four, has been killed.

o “Wound Treated” The medic has successfully treated the wounded soldier.

HUD

The Heads Up Display gives the player a great deal of information.

- Squad View: The four members of the fire team are displayed as small images in

the top left of the screen. It shows the type of soldier, e.g. medic, sniper, and

their general health. A white background represents good health, yellow for

slightly wounded, orange for heavily wounded and red for incapacitated or dead.

o The squad view can also show which soldiers will be affected by the next

order given, by a yellow indicator to the side of them.

o The squad view can also show each soldiers formation, spread and ROE

type.

- Compass: There is a large compass across the top of the screen with an eight

point directional display on, (North, North East, East etc.)

o The compass also shows the next objective indicator, telling the player

where to go.

o The compass will show a red arrow for every enemy that has been spotted

and is in sight of a friendly unit.

- Weapon section: The weapon section usually only displays the current weapon,

but it is where the weapon options are changed.

o Current weapon: This shows a picture of the current weapon with its

name underneath. Next to the image is the ammunition count, showing

how many rounds are left in the magazine and how many magazines are

remaining. Under the ammo count is the shot selector showing if the

weapon is in single shot, burst fire or automatic.

o Ammunition Select: Holding the ammo select button will show a menu

above the weapon image showing all the ammunition types that the player

has for the weapon. This is generally for switching between a rifle and

it‟s under slung grenade launcher.




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o Weapon Select: Like the ammunition Select, a list of all the weapons and

equipment appear and can be selected to be equipped.

- Hit and Blood Status: When the player is hit a red zone appears on the screen

showing where the shot came from. If the player is wounded by the shot an

image of a man appears in the left corner of the screen with where ever was

wounded appearing in red. A hollow circle appears next to the wound marker if

the player is bleeding from the wound. The circle slowly decreases, if/when if it

completely disappears the player will become incapacitated from blood loss.

- Stance: A small image of a soldier is present at the bottom left of the screen and

shows what stance the player is in. Standing, Crouching or Prone.

- RV Indicator: On lower difficulty settings RV points are given to give the player

an idea of how to approach the next objective.

- Radial Command: The radial command is shown in the centre of the players view

when it is activated. The fire support command options also appear in the same

way.

- Hit indicator: If the player hits an enemy a small white circle with dots appears

on the target. If the player kills the target then the colour changes to red. This

only appears in the lower difficulty settings.

L.3.7 Opposition

The opposition in Dragon Rising comes in the form of China‟s PLA. Soldiers are the

most common enemy although they are all not identical. The further on through the

game the combat potential of the enemy soldiers increases dramatically.

AS well as soldiers, the player must face enemy armour from simple jeeps which can be

taken out by shooting the crew or repetitive hits from a light machine gun to tanks which

need ant tank weapons such as rocket launchers or well placed mines to take them out.

Most missions within Dragon Rising are based on completing objectives within certain

unknown time limits. For example and early mission requires the player to take out a

mortar spotting team before the convoy of APC‟s are destroyed by the incoming fire.

Being too slow causes some or all of the APC‟s to be destroyed which although does not

directly fail the mission, makes the next part extremely difficult, as the player must

defend a small town from an enemy assault, in this case with no support squads. If the

player saves the convoy then the defence is made much easier as the player has the

support of three APC‟s and the other squads in the company.

by michael beardwood 06196705 meng (hons) computer games … · 6.3.1 space hulk 15 . tactical...

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