Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 - Q&A Feature

The release of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 looms over us like an abseiling special-ops soldier descending in on a kill. Much like with GRAW and GRAW 2, Ubisoft has achieved a quick turnaround on this sequel, but what has that left in store for the tricky second game? TVG spoke to Vegas 2 Designer, Philippe Therien, to find out more.

TVG: We've heard that the story for Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 might be a prequel. What can you tell us about this?

The way it works is, at the beginning of the game in Rainbow 2, you will be before Vegas. So, you're going to get a specific game where it's before. After that you're going to move to a parallel to Vegas. While Logan was in Mexico, you play Bishop's team which is still in Vegas. So, you will get to see what was going on while Logan was lost in Mexico. At the end of the game it's after Vegas, so there's actually the prequel and sequel all in one.

TVG: So it's a prequel, a parallel story arc, and then the sequel?

Pretty much, yeah.

TVG: You've shown us two new multiplayer modes today, can you tell our readers a little bit about those?

Sure. Team Leader is where one person on each team is selected as the leader randomly. The leader allows their team to respawn. Now, how you win this game mode is either by having your leader reach the extraction point, or wiping out the entire other team. The trick is, the two leaders see each other on the HUD, so it makes things a little bit more complicated that there's really good communication on one team.

There are all sorts of tactics that can happen because, if your leader dies and you're still alive, it becomes survival mode for you. If you die, you don't come back, but you can still kill off the other team. It's really fun and it's sort of a take on the very popular VIP mode.

The other mode that we have is called Demolition. Demolition is a bit similar to the Bomb mode from Counter Strike. You have a bomb on the ground and whoever in the attacking team wants it can pick it up. Then you have to place it on one of two bomb sites. When the bomb has been placed, the bomb site will light up and both teams know where the bomb has been placed. That focuses the action on there with 60 second timer. The defending team has to diffuse it or it goes off.

Another trick that we added to that game mode is that, if the defenders drop the bomb or the carrier gets killed, the defenders can now see where the bomb is on their HUD. This really shifts the focus towards the bomb. A new choke-point will appear on the map because the bomb becomes the central point of interest. So, depending on where it is, it changes the map a lot.

It's game modes with very different ways of playing that never turns out the same.

TVG: Other than that, is it going to be the same line-up of other multiplayer games that we saw in the previous Vegas?

All the modes are there, except for Retrieval which we removed. We still have Retrieval inside Attack and Defend, which is retrieval of a briefcase before going to the extraction. But, overall the other game modes are all going to be there, except from the new ones of course, which we added.

TVG: Are you doing anything with the ranking system at all?

It's the same ranking system that we had before; the same leaderboards, everything's going to be there using Microsoft's rating system.

TVG: What about equipment and weaponry? Is that also the same or have you added some things there?

We added eleven new weapons. Some of the things that we added were a silenced sniper rifle, the SR25. There's a lot of stealth gameplay in the game so we felt it was important to add a silent sniper. Then there's an M468, which is an M16 equivalent that people have been asking for, for a long time. Other than that we added weapons in every category that we already had just to have more variety.

TVG: We're told the AI has been tweaked in Vegas 2. Exactly what elements of the AI have been improved?

The first thing that we modified was team AI in the sense of how they use cover. They do leapfrogging now. What that means is that when one takes cover, the other will start walking while he's being covered by the first guy; then they change places. So, instead of just running towards the point that you told them to while shooting, instead they take cover and shoot back.

Since there's bullet penetration in the game now, the AI is also aware of what is bad cover. Unless they have absolutely no choice, they're going to use good cover choices. This is all AI; it's not scripted in the levels. They do that because the guy knows that it's better for him.

TVG: How advanced is the new bullet penetration? Will different calibre bullets be more penetrating than others? So, will sniper rifle bullets penetrate through thicker walls than sub-machine gun bullets?

On paper, yes. However, in the game it's a lot simpler than that. Every material in the game has a value which says, is it being penetrated by bullets? And if it is, how much of it can go through? Then, for weapons we say which ones have more kick, then that affects the penetration as well.

It's a very simple system that you can get used to really quick. For example, shotguns are weapons that have some of the highest penetration values, so these things can shoot through a lot of objects. While playing, you'll get a good feel for it. Basically, if it should go through then there's a good chance that it will.

TVG: In the new multiplayer levels that we've played, such as the Convention Center, it's often hard to find cover. Not because there aren't opportunities for cover, but because they are often prone to bullet penetration, paper-thin walls for example...

It's actually very interesting because when we made that level, we weren't sure if we wanted to do bullet penetration in the first place - it sort of came out after. The thing is, if you do bullet penetration in a way that it's very organic - if it makes sense - then it just fits anywhere you put it.

When people look at the level they think, 'Oh, I could probably shoot through that,' then it works and you're satisfied. You don't really have to make a level to exploit it, because then you put fake cover - like fake sniper spots - and it's like, 'Go snipe there, but we'll make it weak so people can shoot you.' That's not much fun.

Instead, we prefer to build the level in a way that makes sense and then you use the system around it. As you've seen in the Training map, it's a lot of fun.

TVG: The ACES system (Advanced Combat Enhancement Specialisation) popped up a few times during our hands-on play. I had points given to me for a frag grenade kill, as well as a kill as a result of a flash bang. Is this going to make things more accessible to players who don't know the first game?

It is actually. It's so people can learn tactical gameplay and also so that when people unlock weapons, they're weapons that people will be able to use right away and not feel completely foreign with.

TVG: I suppose it also gives the hardcore gamer a perk system, encouraging them to pull-off more stylish kills...

Absolutely. If you're very good you'll get a lot more perks and level-up faster. You can go and use the weapons you want right away.

TVG: Can you tell us briefly about any new gameplay dynamics in the single-player, such as the control setup for example?

You can order your teammates to throw grenades now, so that's a very different thing. If you want them to put down smoke screens, or use flash bangs, they will do that. So, if you prefer to just carry frags with you, you can use the team to use their deterrents.

TVG would like to thank Philippe Therien, Game Designer on Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, for taking the time to speak to us about the game, which is due out on March 21st for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.