Jagged Alliance 3 Using Silent Storm Engine

[Jason]

<strong>[ Update ]</strong>

<p>Russian magazine Game World Navigator managed to interrogate <a href="http://www.f3games.com/" target="_blank" title="F3">F3 Games</a> about some of the details of <strong>Jagged Alliance 3</strong>, the JA2 sequel <a href="http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=16442" target="_blank">recently revealed</a> to be in the works by F3, Akella, and Strategy First. The interview is print only and in Russian, but Snap at <a href="http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000201" target="_blank" title="Bear's Pit">The Bear's Pit</a> was nice enough to gather the important points, such as the fact that JA3 uses a modified <a href="http://www.nival.com/silentstorm/" target="_blank" title="SS">Silent Storm</a> engine.</p> <ul><li>Game is published by Akella and developed by F3 - a fairly new team, but composed of veterans from other developers (several from Nival).</li><li>The game is built on a modified Silent Storm engine with updated graphics, improved physics, FX, and damage model.</li><li>There will be no more militia training and sector defense, because players supposedly don't like micro-management. The focus will be shifted towards combat and away from economics. As for strategy, the focus will be on missions, rather than on conquering territory.</li><li>The player can command only one squad of up to 6 (maybe 8) mercs.</li><li>Inventory handling will be simplified, particularly with respect to ammo. [In SS they used a backpack model with no item stacking.]</li><li>The player's avatar will be generated without the personality quiz.</li><li>Combat mechanics, RPG system, merc hiring, weapon repair, healing, etc. are all transplanted from JA2 with little or no change...</li><li>...except for the turn system: instead of having alternating turns for different teams, the order will be determined by character initiative. This system is said to be more conductive for multiplayer [although, AFAIK, multiplayer is not planned for this game].</li><li>There will be night and day, plus weather effects, which can be seen on the strategic map.</li><li>The team can move around the global world on foot or on wheels. However, on the tactical map vehicles are stationary. They can be used to store stuff, and some can shoot as well.</li><li>Key locations are designed, but "random encounters" will be randomized. [I am not sure just how much freedom of movement the player will have on the global map.]</li><li>There will be 40 mercs (12 of them new), plus 40 NPCs.</li><li>Plot: the president-for-life in a banana republic is fighting local insurgency, while a neighboring country opened a second front in a bid to annex some territory. Meanwhile, an international corporation is conducting some sinister experiments in the country.</li><li>You can play for one of 4 factions, each with its unique bonuses. In addition, there will be a 5th, non-playable faction - something having to do with a sci-fi subplot (which, as in JA2, can be turned on or off in the options).</li><li>Income will come mainly from your employer (whoever it may be). You can also sell stuff to merchants... if you can find them.</li><li>Merc relations will be modeled after JA2. Opposing factions will routinely hire mercs from AIM (remember Mike?...)</li><li>There will be 20 key objectives given by your employer, plus, as in JA2, optional side quests obtained from NPCs. Missions are non-linear: more like JA2 missions (e.g. taking control of SAMs or liberating Tixa) than like in Silent Storm.</li><li>Weapons will be reworked, with many JA2 weapons dropped and some new ones added - both well-known and experimental. Weapon specs will be adjusted to emphasize differences between different models. More different ammo types will be added. There will be more different armour, with heavier armour impeding movement. No more mortars. There will be anti-materiel rifles (12.7mm) and stationary heavy MGs.</li><li>Initial load-out will be more generous than in JA2.</li><li>No more cats. No bugs either.</li><li>No information on release date.</li></ul> <p>The <a href="http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000201" target="_blank" title="Bear's Pit">post</a> also includes several prototype screenshots. </p><p>Spotted @ <a href="http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/forums/ultimatebb.php">Bear's Pit</a></p>

 

[Fresh]

ZOMG! Modern day wargame with SS-engine is what I've had on my xmas-list for santa the last few years.

 

[puppyonastik]

Very excited to hear it's being made on the Silent Storm engine, however the idea of no sector defence and militia is very depressing. With out those features It'll just feel like an SS clone rather than a JA sequel. Hopefully the devs and strategy first change their minds or at least give us the ability to mod such things in.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Wow, that's awesome news. I still don't know how it'll turn out, but this gives me more faith in the game being good.

 

[Balor]

Hmm, mixed bag. Still 7,62 has priority over it.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Awesome indeed. Just so long as they don't implement any stupid Panzerkliens and this has a high chance of being good.

 

[Fresh]

Mmm, Panzerkleins would suck ass. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the "scifi-option"-facton turns out to be some kind of guys sporting shiny mechas... but as long as they make it optional..

 

[k_bits]

All good except sector defense and militia training being cut.

 

[LCJr.]

I still have faith Akella will completely screw the whole thing up. Looks like they're off to a good start by neutering the strategic layer.

 

[Llyranor]

Well, better news than previously.

Without Sirtech, though, doubtful they'll be able to retain JA2's humor.

 

[Fresh]

SFI-Richard (edited) just posted an incredibly eloquent and coherent response (compared to other developers/PR-guys) in the linked thread. It's well worth checking out:

Originally posted by Richard:
[QB] The encounters are random but they are not.

The randomness is based on the fact that when close to a patrolled area, or an area where other non player controlled are located, the world size will be related into a chance of encountering that other unit.

There are instances where the encounter would be automatic and the perfect example would be when both sides are using the same road. In that case, the chance of encounter would be 100%. There is still the possibility that one of the two units desires to move stealthily and would therefore get off the road to avoid an encounter, thereby reducing the chances of an encounter.

Basically, the strategic AI will move units around and the concentration of units in an area will increase the chances of encounters.

In that sense it is random but then again it is not quite random neither.

No, there won’t be bugs but there will be other types of sci-fi related items. Of course, we are hoping that there won’t be software bugs either.

No, machine guns don’t destroy concrete walls and that should not happen neither.

JA3 will not use SS stats system.

We lose the militia in a sense because the militia is either hired by factions or that the forces that protect the areas are military units provided by factions. There may still be some training involved but the player will not manage how many militias/militaries/agents should be hired here or there.

@Lytinwheedle:

The non-specific maps were already part of the original team design for good reasons:
The world is way too big and prohibits using pre-made maps to cover it all.
The world size even prohibits keeping those maps stored.
A world definition under the hood will help generate maps that make sense relative to what they should have been in the area with far less complications and little predictability.

Also, the kinds of spawning you are talking about are irrelevant to map generation.
First off, they should not appear that way in JA3.
Encounters in the middle of a fight or while an area is occupied by a player will be dependant on their direction of approach for units entry into the area. Their initial placement will also depend on the area’s layout (from city sector to city sector, streets would have to be used generally speaking).
This is how it worked in JA2.

The importance of logistics is related to the strategic map more than they are related to particular tactical maps.

On the strategic map, you get all the actual choke points represented. These are the locations where you can force an encounter.
If it is a bridge, a mountain pass, whatever it may be, you get to set yourself up there (or the enemy does) and mount an ambush if that is what is desired. Blocking passage or using topography to one’s advantage is dealt at the strategic level first. Other generic areas in the middle of nowhere really need not be saved just for the sake of it. What you could do in JA2 you still can at that level, the terrain will often simply not be as predictable.

In relation to weapons, the weapon range may also affect short distance and indoor combat. Other aspects that will require weapon concealment and/or stealth will also impact the weapon of choice, which should be influenced on context and merc abilities.

I want a more versatile used of weapons in JA3, where sniping makes sense where it does and where a scope does not help shooting a fast running target within short distance but rather hinders.

Of course, I expect (I will surely do that myself) people to cherish their first long weapon they get.

As in JA2, you did not really conquer territory but occupied key locations.
As modeled with JA2’s militia training, not all areas would be occupied, it was simply not physically possible with the resources you had at your disposal. What was important was the control of key locations so that the key facilities (that included resources) and your overall loyalty rate would be better, generally allowing better revenues.

The net effect was the impression of gaining territory but it was never the case. Of course, the AI would generally go after the nearest and more important targets, although not always, giving the impression of a ‘front’.

In JA3, territory is also tied to main locations around which the interest gravitates, therefore moving the front around.

About the crouched walk, I have met over there a Russian military consultant that assures me that this is the way you would move around with heavy equipment if you wanted to remain prone.
The problem remains for moving around with lighter equipment, like a handgun or knife while not carrying that much equipment on your back.
You may be getting several crouch animations based on context.

@Bearpit
40 NPCs means 40 main characters with dialogue. There will of course be more characters in the game who will have more limited levels of interactions with other characters or the player.

The game colors must be taken in context. When you do some research, it is sometimes surprising what types of environments you can find.

Yes, your squad will be busy although you should be able to get some backup mercs to do some chores back at the base or camp. (Meaning that there may be more chars available than those numbers but they won’t be able to work in different areas simultaneously.

@Kropotkin
Simplified backpack was a design choice made by the original team.
Some of the reasons made sense and I chose to stick with it.
The backpack was not that complex anyway and the mercs will still be limited in what they can carry if only because of weight, which quickly became problematic for most mercs until they trained their strength like there was nothing else to do.

@Shadow21
Yes, there are item attachments.

@Shrike
The SS skill system does not belong to JA

@Sophocles
It is really no more mission driven than JA2 was. Actually, the heart of JA2 was totally based on missions, targets if you prefer, that when taken over stepped up certain factors such as level of the opposition (their number and level) and their carried weapon, which in turn allowed the player to upgrade.

Yes you could go into any territory you wanted at your own peril but it really was an ‘open’ mission structure.

In fact, this is no different but it does support a more complex structure because of the weighted interaction between so many competing factions.

So, besides the smaller number of teams and the difference with militia involvement, I say that this game is an upgrade in scope.

The interaction with the environment will be more complex and will involve more possibilities. It will also be less predictable. [/QB]

 

[Jason]

If Richard Therrien was a superhero, his name would be "Damage Control" and his costume would include a hardhat in some way.

 

[LCJr.]

And it's Strategy First-Richard not SirTech.

I'm with baby arm, Damage Controlman to the rescue. Seems he was saying everything was hunky dory in JA-land right up until they pulled the plug on the first batch of commies.

 

[Fresh]

Featuring a semi-conscious flame-proof body suit:

 

[Jason]

That is wonderful. You need to post it at The Bear's Pit or SFI Forums or in my dreams or something.

 

[Greenskin13]

I'm liking this idea that opposing factions will be hiring from AIM as well. I wonder if Ivan will ever turn his gun on Igor....

We definitely should kick that picture up to Richard. I wonder if he'd be honored or insulted.

 

[Fresh]

Sorry I couldn't resist one more:

 

[LCJr.]

So much for my New Year's resolution not to be such an asshole.
http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/forums/u ... p=1#000022

 

[The_scorpion]

main problem i see is some 6-8 mercs at a time...

i hope i got that wrong and you can only command 8 guys in tactical but having others hired to do other thigs elsewhere.

sad thing about sequels is you never get enough info to really know enough...

 

[Severian Silk]

There will be no more militia training and sector defense, because players supposedly don't like micro-management. The focus will be shifted towards combat and away from economics. As for strategy, the focus will be on missions, rather than on conquering territory.

That's not good. It's one of the things that made JA2 special.

...except for the turn system: instead of having alternating turns for different teams, the order will be determined by character initiative. This system is said to be more conductive for multiplayer [although, AFAIK, multiplayer is not planned for this game].

This is an improvement.

Key locations are designed, but "random encounters" will be randomized. [I am not sure just how much freedom of movement the player will have on the global map.]

I don't like random encounters. Purely random stuff always leeches some of the life out of games (like roguelikes, Final Fantasy and pure sandbox games). You won't be able to "search-and-destroy" roving bands of soldiers. [edit] Just read that bit about the game "sort of not being random".

Overall, my excitement for the game has grown tenfold having learned that Mist Land is no longer the one developing the game.