New Joint Operations interview

[lil_dude]

Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising is NovaLogic's swish and suave modern-day combat game featuring a full single-player campaign and multiplayer madness for an impressive 64 players. Lick and the taste is sweet, especially the online/LAN component that combines foot-soldier firefights with vehicle-based action; naturally, many of the vehicles in the title can support multiple players, with battle-hardened comrades assuming unique on-board roles. Look out, Battlefield 1942.
We recently spent some time discussing Operations: Typhoon Rising with producer Joel Taubel...

What's Joint Operations all about?

Taubel: Joint Operations is a military term for bringing together all facets of a military operation including land, sea and air forces, to fight as a joint team to achieve a common goal.

Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising takes place in the near future in Indonesia and is a contemporary military first-person shooter. While the missions in the game are not based on any actual historical events, they are loosely based on current themes of conflict in that part of the world.


Why develop Joint Operations? What set you on the road to development, and what are you aiming to achieve with the title?

Taubel: Joint Operations is a new franchise that allows gamers to do much more than they could in a typical Delta Force game, which concentrates on team-based ground combat. We want to remain loyal to the Delta Force brand, and the fans and stay true to the type of gameplay they have come to expect and enjoy in that series of games.

We have always had the ability to fly and drive military vehicles in our tank and flight sims and we started thinking a few years back why not develop a game that supports both ground troops and drivable vehicles? So Joint Operations was born, and we finally reached the stage with our engine that we knew we could not only develop an incredibly addictive and fun game with these features in, but that it had the potential to set the standard in graphical and multiplayer technology.

In what ways will Joint Operations offer a gameplay experience above and beyond that of other multiplayer-focussed titles?

Taubel: Joint Ops is set in a contemporary theatre of war with modern day vehicles and weapons etc. and this hasn't been done before in this particular genre. Among other things, the engine also has the ability to render environments of unprecedented object density and shows off dramatic time of day environmental effects, which can affect gameplay.

So, one minute you are playing in a vast outdoor environment with the sun at your back which makes you practically invisible to your blinded opponent, and the next minute you are deep in the jungle surrounded by dense foliage and who knows how many enemies until you bump into them!


We're guessing that you're going for a more arcade style of play - is that the case?

Taubel: Absolutely. We want to keep the gameplay fast and fun. If we added in too many realism factors then we would start to slow the game down. We have made strides towards realism, but in a way that won't have a negative impact to what we are trying to achieve gameplay-wise.

Can you tell us more about the multiplayer modes featuring in the game, especially co-op play?

Taubel: We are bringing back all our favourites from the Delta Force series, such as Team Deathmatch, Team King of the Hill, Flagball, and Capture the Flag, as well as some new ones. We have been experimenting with an objective-based game type. We are busy play testing one new game type that will knock your socks off.

What about missions? What sorts of objectives will be trying to complete, and what locations will we find ourselves in?

Taubel: The single-player missions are geared more towards getting familiar with the vehicles for multiplayer, but they are still solid missions. Therefore, the player will find himself deep in the jungle, navigating a small river via zodiac to rescue a downed pilot. Another will find the player flying escort and destroying SAM sites so the Blackhawks can land safely.

The single-player missions will be spread out over Bali, Java and Jakarta. The action in both single-player and multiplayer spreads across deep jungles, muddy river beds, rice paddies, islands, urban towns, and modern market places.

How else will single-player Joint Operations differ from multiplayer? Will it use AI bots, for example, and how "real" will these be?

Taubel: Our single-player missions are not just bots in the multiplayer maps, they have been designed separately. There is a storyline that spans Indonesia in about 10 missions. Players will be able to pilot several craft and run some very real missions.

What types of vehicles are we going to get to use, and will multiple players be able to perform different roles in one vehicle? Could we get an example of the latter?

Taubel: Joint Ops has land, sea and air vehicles in it which serve as both ground transport and troop and vehicle transport. For example, you can fly the Chinook helicopter and use it to transport an attack vehicle as well as ground troops, but you can also use it as an attack vehicle (it has minigun emplacements on it). The fast-moving armoured vehicle has a .50 cal mounted on it, so you can have a driver, a guy manning the .50 cal and three passengers firing weapons all at once.

In what other ways does vehicle use stand out in Joint Operations?

Taubel: As described above, the vehicle hierarchy in the air and on the sea is pretty unique. For example, LCAC's can carry up to three vehicles and troops across an expanse of water.

Battlefield 1942 cleverly used the same controls for FPS combat and vehicle use. Are you going down the same route?

Taubel: Yes we are. We didn't want to bog the player down with having to rememorise the keyboard based on what he is piloting or driving. The FPS controls lends itself very nicely from on-foot combat to vehicle based combat.

We are also adding in options for users to use their mouse for steering. This way, steering can be analogue and not an "on/off" situation that you would run into with the keyboard. If you don't like to use the mouse, just set it back to how you like it. We are making a lot of options in the settings - this way everyone can play the way they like.

What nation forces will be represented in the game, and can you give us an idea of the weapons and equipment we're going to get to utilise as foot soldiers?

Taubel: The game pits a Joint Operations force against the insurgent Indonesian troops. The Joint Ops side will utilise several vehicles that are in today's headlines. Players will be able to fly Blackhawks, Chinooks, Littlebirds, Five and a Half ton trucks, Fast Attack Vehicles, and All Terrain Vehicles, as a Joint Operations soldier. The Joint Ops team will also use several familiar weapons: the M4; the M16; SAW (also known as the M249); M60; emplaced Mark 19; and others.

The Indonesian team will be attacking in vehicles such as the Super Puma, BTR-80 and Mi-26. The Indonesian team will be facing the Joint Ops team with AK-47's, AK-74's, RPG's, and PKM's among several other weapons.

What key elements of Joint Operations do you think will especially appeal to PC gamers? Why?

Taubel: In addition to the fast-paced action, drivable vehicles and stunning environments, several key features of Joint Operations require team work. The mortar team will benefit from a Forward Observer picking targets. The pilot will benefit from the gunners taking out the opposing team. The assault force will benefit from the snipers pinning the enemy down.

Joint Operations offers an opportunity to work together on a level not matched by other games in our market.

[.enfo.]

koooooooooool

[BOVA]

Yeah yeah Joel. WHAT ABOUT COOP? Novalogic said joint ops would have COOP enabled when nova first started bragging about the game. I have heard nothing since. I will ask again Joel. WHAT ABOUT COOP JOEL? When the game comes off the shelf is COOPERATIVE MODE going to be fully enabled or not? When is novalogic going to answer this question Joel huh? WHEN!!!! I want COOP COOP COOP COOP!!! While your at it fix BHD so it to can have COOP!
No Joel I'm not mad, it's gone beyond that. I am freaking infuriated. I speak for all cooperative gamers.

[DeathRow]

sound's good...but we'll see

[steel]

hehe

[BADDOG]

Like the man said......sounds good but we will have to wait and see!


Regards

[~?~]

yup sounds good... but it will either be a bust or a new up!

[=TDLF= Pl@tinum]

I am going to buy the game for sure

[~?~]

Yah, i am gonna get prolly both JO and TS. Hopefully both games will carry me over till summer. Cause I am bored of BHD & I am getting bored of Cod already.

[Hellfighter]

Originally posted by ~?~
Yah, i am gonna get prolly both JO and TS. Hopefully both games will carry me over till summer. Cause I am bored of BHD & I am getting bored of Cod already.

think i may do the same.