{From Console Yourself.com}

Soldier of Fortune 2 Developer Interview

Posted on 26/04/03 by Steve
There are many PC first person shooters on the market, but none as gory as Soldier of Fortune. Now, it is heading for the Xbox, and will be Live compatable. With any luck everyone playing it will be over 18...

Questions were answered by Chip Burwell, who is the President of Gratuitous Games (the team handling the Xbox port of the game).

First off, how is the port coming along? Have you come across any major hurdles along the way?

The port offered a number of challenges. Most significant was the need to squeeze a game that takes 128 megs on the PC (plus video memory) into only 64 megs on the Xbox. Also, converting the OpenGL to DirectX was a large undertaking. However, at this time all of these issues have been resolved and we are very happy with the state of the game.

How long has the Xbox version of SOF2 been in development?

About 7-8 months.

For those gamers out there who have not played the PC version of the game, what does the single player mode entail, and have any changes been made since the PC version?

You are John Mullins - a patriot, weapons specialist, anti-terrorist mercenary and “Military Consultant” hired by a secret government agency known as “The Shop". You travel the globe in your efforts to take down a criminal organization that is threatening the world with their two-pronged Gemini Virus. There are 53 levels to the Single Player campaign with 25 military grade weapons at your disposal including the OICW, an ultra-secret combat weapon of the future. The Xbox version has been appropriately balanced for the console. We have added an auto-aim that can be turned on/off. We modified a few puzzles that gave people a tough time on the PC and now offer players the option to use run-and-gun or stealth techniques where stealth was mandatory on the PC.

Will the Xbox version have any exclusive features/maps?

Yes, there are five new multiplayer maps that are available from Xbox Live.

How does the game handle on a gamepad? Have you implemented any auto-aim like features to aid players?

One of the things that we're really proud of is the way the game plays. Normally, first person shooters are very difficult to get working well on a console. We feel that we've been very successful in getting the game to play well, and we think the console fans will be real happy with the way the game plays. Yes, we implemented auto-aim, which really helps with the targeting. However, for those players that really like a challenge, auto-aim can be turned off.

One of the major selling points of the PC version was its graphic depiction of gore. Will the Xbox version have the same levels of gore/violence?

Yes, all the gore is there.

Graphically the PC version of SOF2 was very impressive, have you made any changes to the game graphically for the Xbox?

We actually feel that the graphics are better on the Xbox. Everything is a bit more alive, as consoles often can do.

What game modes will be available in the single player portion of the game?

For Single Player there is the Campaign that consists of 53 levels, a Training level and a Single Player Random Mission Generator that actually generates a mission based on the settings the user selects.

One of the features that I myself (and a lot of other gamers) are looking forward to is the online aspect of the game. What are your thoughts on Xbox and, more specifically, Xbox Live as a platform?

Well, we've had a lot of fun testing the Xbox Live aspect of the game, and we expect this to be one of the better parts of the experience.

How easy has it been getting SOF2 to work online on the Xbox?

Xbox Live has a lot of requirements, but nothing has been too difficult.

Obviously voice communication will be included, but some games have had to restrict the communication using channels, will SOF2 use a similar system, or will you be able to freely talk to all of your team members (and everyone playing the game perhaps)?

From our experience, being able to talk to too many people at once isn't very fun. Everyone starts talking at once and no one can understand anything anyone says. So, we implemented two modes of voice communication. The first is proximity, where you can talk to the people that are near you. This happens by default. The second mode is a walkie-talkie mode, where you talk to people on your channel when you want to. This is important for team play. Having both systems gives the player the best of both worlds.

What is the maximum amount of people that can play a game at once?

12.

What gameplay modes will be available in the multiplayer part of the game, and are there any additions/changes to the modes from the PC version of SOF2?

The Multiplayer gameplay modes for both System Link and Live are:
DeathMatch,
Capture the Flag
Infiltration
Team Deathmatch
Demolition
Elimination

All the additional weapons and maps that have ever been released on the PC are included on the Xbox plus there are some additional Multiplayer levels that are unlockable through Xbox Live.

What would be the filters in the 'Optimatch' option?

You can filter by:
Game Type
Map Type
Max Players
Dedicated server or not
Min Connection Speed
Cycle Maps (yes\no)

Will SOF2 support downloadable content as well? If it will, what sort of content could we expect to see?

Yes. We have 5 all new maps available from Xbox Live content download.

When will Soldier of Fortune 2 be available to buy for the Xbox in Europe?

It will launch right around the same time as the US (US release date: 17/6/2003, UK: 20\6\2003).

Thank you for your time. Hope to see you online!

Gratuitous Games
Activision.co.uk
Xbox Live