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Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising - First Look Preview
Derek dela Fuente
13/04/2004
We take a look at Novalogic's latest military simulator...
Joint Operations is a multiplayer extravaganza that has been in development since May 2003. With NovaLogicâs rich background in military simulations â“ they have been playing with the design concept of developing a massive online battlefield shooter but it is only with the revolutionary advances that has been made with the Black Hawk Engine over the last three years that they felt that they can really do justice to such a release.
Joel Taubel, the Producer of Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising, who leads a team of 45 based out of NovaLogicâs Head Quarters in Calabasas, Los Angeles, spoke about the final touches and backdrop for this title.
Joint Operations takes gamers to Indonesia in the near future where the country is on the verge of disintegration. Gamers can play as either a member of the multinational Joint Operations Force or as a member of a powerful Indonesian separatist group. Teamwork is essential. Both sides are equipped with their own unique variety of modern weapons and player controlled land, sea and air vehicles to achieve their mission objectives and ultimate victory. Terrains range from beautiful, coastal islands to misty, dense jungles, all adding to the intense and chaotic atmosphere only experienced in large-scale, multiplayer combat over the Internet or LAN.
âFrom day one, our vision for Joint Ops has been very different from our other franchises. For example, the Delta Force franchise focuses on footbased combat in small teams. For Joint Ops we are really focusing on large teams playing together over large expansive terrains, using land, sea and air vehicles co-operatively, as well as on-ground combat tactics, to complete their objectives.â
Joint Operations begins with the fictional collapse of the Indonesian government in 2006. In the ensuing chaos, a well-funded separatist movement seizes control of the Indonesian government and their military assets. The separatist movement starts to grow and begins to threaten western targets and assets. Joint Operations (a collection of forces from countries around the world; US, British, French, German, Russian and Indonesian) are called in to intervene and restore peace and order.
Gamers can choose to play one of several classes of soldier (sniper, medic, gunner, engineer, etc.) for either the Joint Ops team or for the Indonesian Rebels. Each side has a choice of weapons and vehicles at their disposal.
âThe majority of our research on the Indonesian setting and climate has been done though the Internet and military publications, so the game is based on locations in Indonesia that exist, but we have used artistic license to re-create generic maps and terrains for the purposes of the game. So what youâll see in the game is a terrain that could be in that part of the world. We have created variety of settings, everything from deep jungle ruins with rivers winding endlessly to mountain villages, rice paddies and coastal towns and islands.â
âOur enhanced Black Hawk engine has helped us fine tune everything and the superior rendering technology of this engine has allowed us to introduce super foliated jungle terrains, with incredible detail and superior viewing distances. Some of our maps are 4X6KM with viewing distances up to 1KM! We havenât seen that in any other game yet. We have also included a time of day cycle in the game, so you can use the rising sun at your back to your advantage when taking out targets that canât see you, or you could find yourself blinded by the setting sun and not see that sniper on the top of the building that takes you out! Youâll also see the shadows change during the game, along with the environmental sounds.â
There will be approximately 35 different modern day weapon variations in Joint Ops, everything from your standard M9 Bayonet knife through to the FIM-92 Stinger. In addition to the assault rifles and submachine guns, sniper rifles, other speciality weapons and explosives, players can also man fixed weapons on vehicles, some of which pack a mean punch. Several of these weapons are available to each team, but each side also has specific weapons assigned to them.
âIn terms of authenticity, our art team spent a long time researching each of these weapons to make sure that they âfeltâ authentic in the game, not only in terms of looks but also in accuracy of rounds fired, etc. We were able to rent just about every weapon that appears in the game, fire it ourselves from varying distances (which enhanced our audio knowledge of the experience of using the weapon), and record it. We also hired a first-rate Hollywood weapons recordist, along with an incredible microphone collection, to lend his expertise. So the end result is that we implemented several different sound recordings for each weapon in the game. This gives players a different sound when they are firing the gun to when they are standing next to a team mate firing or when they are being fired upon by the enemy.â
In Joint Ops Novalogic is introducing a new multiplayer game type; Advance & Secure. The objective in A&S is to advance on enemy bases and fight to take them over. Once you have captured a base you have to defend it from being re-captured by the enemy, while advancing onto the next base to capture that. So teamwork and tactics are essential. The ideas is to get people to work together, so that they donât just jump into the nearest jeep and drive off, but they wait for their team mates to man the mounted 50-cal and jump in the empty seats, so they can drive into an enemy camp with full force! There will also be awards for players for team tactical play in the stat games, so if you want good stats thereâs an incentive to be the pilot of that Little Bird or a driver of that Mark V boat!
The team is also looking at including several of the other most popular MP game types, like Capture the Flag, Team King of the Hill, as well as Co-op, etc. and has spent a great deal of time developing and fine tuning their server side technology on NovaWorld. They will have been testing over 100 players at one time, so expect to see the largest FPS battlefields of this game type ever released.
Joel was eager to speak about the single player missions and the kind of diversity that was on offer.
âThe single player component of the game will feature around 9 single player missions including co-operative play. Joint Ops is predominantly a multiplayer game, but the single player missions will allow the player to get used to the massive environments, vehicle control and weapons handling and, most importantly, the tactics needed to survive. One of the cool levels Iâve played involves driving an FAV (fast attack vehicle) with AI team mates through winding, bumpy, jungle dirt roads and then suddenly coming up on the enemy and having an all out gun fight. It gets your heart racing because itâs fast paced and you never know whatâs around the corner.â
Joint Ops has land, sea and air vehicles, which equates to differing roles and actions undertaken. Gamers can fly helicopters, pilot boats, and drive fast attack vehicles as part of a skilled combat team, firing on the move. Players will be able take control of 29 land, air and sea vehicles in game, some of which are hefty and can transport several other vehicles and troops. The team like to call this their âvehicle hierarchyâ. Imagine transporting two four FAVâs along with a number of your team mates in an LCAC (large hovercraft) from one island to another, across an expanse of water and unloading them on a secluded beach to launch a surprise attack on the enemyâs base over the hill. They wonât know whatâs hit them!!!
The Joint Operations team will utilize US military vehicles including the Stryker, LCAC, Mark V and MH-60 Black Hawk, among others.
The Indonesian Rebels will have access to a range of Indonesian, and European vehicles adapted for the terrain. Some of the vehicles you can control include an Armoured Jeep, the NBO-105 multi-purpose helicopter, an Armoured Patrol boat and much more.
With the massive amount of detail, fun or serious was the questions put to Joel! âJoint Ops is serious fun and we have spent more time on the game play elements (e.g. interactive environmental effects, variety of vehicles and weapons, vehicle handling and balancing the game, etc.) than on exploding buildings or trees, or elaborate death sequences. Iâm not saying we donât have BIG explosions in the game. We have that. You should see when vehicles are taken out with a Stinger or a Black Hawk or Puma is blown out of the sky. But what weâve concentrated on is immersing the player in the game, so that when you hear a chopper in the distance, youâll panic and run for cover because you know that that angel of death (Little Bird with mini-guns) WILL kill you when it flies over your base raining hell fire from above!â
âAnother great thing is that the time of day can change in our game, and we have dynamic sound elements that change along with it. So when you see the sun go down, the birds stop chirping, and the crickets and frogs start!â
âFinally, we were able to record authentic Indonesian Gamelan orchestras for use in the game's score. We spent a weekend recording both Balinese and Javanese orchestras at the California Institute of the Artsâ
Joel ended by summing up his by-line on the game.
âJoint Ops is a seriously fun, large-scale, multiplayer game, with a multitude of serious weaponry, powerful vehicles and huge environments that will blow you away.â
