Raven Software Interview Our own Toxin has interviewed Kenn from Raven Software on their upcoming game, Solider of Fortune. Gamesurge: We're seeing a rash amount of realist games coming out now; how does Soldier of Fortune stack up against the competition?
Kenn: Soldier of Fortune is more of an action movie than a realistic simulation-type game. If you want action, Soldier of Fortune is the way to go.
Gamesurge: What will the multiplayer be like? Like Rogue Spear? or more like "deathmatch" games such as Quake 1-3 and Unreal Tournament?
Kenn: Soldier of Fortune is more like Quake 1-3 and UT for its deathmatch mode, but it offers other games like Capture The Flag, Arsenal, Assassin and team deathmatch as well. Our focus is on providing a story-driven single player experience, but deathmatch gamers won't be disappointed. We have several games and a host of options to customize your experience just the way you want it. Realism vs. Arcade style etc...
Gamesurge: A lot of people seem to hate the enemies resspawning in SoF what influenced this dicision?
Kenn: A lot of people have passed judgement on this feature without seeing it in action. It's not like in DooM where you gun down an enemy and he mystically re-appears in front of you. Enemies don't spawn in cleared out areas or dead ends...they just re-enter the level through logical points. We're putting the ability to turn off spawners in the final game, but to be honest, the game is much more fun and realistic with the spawners turned on.
Gamesurge: What kind of mission objectives will we be seeing? what kind of weapons? what kind of locales?
Kenn: Mission objectives range from gathering intelligence to saving hostages to destroying various objectives, all while furthering the storyline. There will be 12 weapons from real-world arsenals and ten different locations across the globe, including NYC, Iraq, Kosovo, Siberia and Japan.
Gamesurge: Will there be a Demo for SoF / will there be a "test" or will it go straight to the shelves?
Kenn: There's an OEM edition of Soldier of Fortune hitting retail shelves soon. We haven't made a final decision about a public demo yet, but we are leaning towards "yes." Whether the public demo will be single player, multiplayer or both has yet to be decided. Release date is also undecided.
Gamesurge: Will you be using the "1 shot kill" idea from Rogue Spear or do you ave to pummel the guy a little to kill him like Quake 1-3 etc.?
Kenn: One shot will kill depending on the weapon and where you hit the enemy. Head shots will kill you or your enemies instantly. Generally speaking, you will be able to take a good bit of damage before going down. Not as much as Quake 1-3, but more than in Rogue Spear. Balance is the key to the damage system in SoF. Fun is the bottom line...
Gamesurge: Will you allow MOD makers a littlcsess to the source code in order to make MODs and such?
Kenn: We'll be releasing tools and an editor on the net after gold release, but I'm not sure yet what all will be included. Stay tuned for more news about that... =)
Gamesurge: Lets say there is a demo, will you allow mod makers access to make mods for that?
Kenn: Good question...I don't know the answer.
Gamesurge: Do you think the FPS genre is getting a little bit over crowded?
Kenn: No...the FPS genre is going strong and there's a lot of life left in it.
Gamesurge: Most of the "new" FPS games stray away from the FPS idea (like Rogue Spear) are you going to stay "pure" FPS or stray a little bit?
Kenn: We're going for action and a pure FPS game. We stray a little bit, but FPS fans won't be disappointed. We stray only for innovation purposes...we want to give the gamer something new and innovative.
Gamesurge: What engine will you be using? Kenn: We're using a heavily modified Quake II engine with a new rendering system (GHOUL), new networking model and dozens of other enhancements. Graphics are on par with Quake III
Gamesurge: What about modem users (like me) will SoF run good on that? Most of the new fps games seem to require high-end operating systems and cable modems.
Kenn: You won't need a cable modem to play SoF effectively... Net performance in our early tests has been really good. Pentium 200, 48mb Ram and a 3d card are the specs for the game. Every aspect of the game is customizable so you can get the best performance out of your system. People with top of the line hardware will be able to take advantage of it, but it will run well on a low-end machine as well.
Gamesurge: What is the release date?
Kenn: We don't have an official date yet. We're pretty much done with the game...now we just have to tweak it and balance it. It's Activision's call at this point...we don't really know when. Kenn: How about "When it's done?" =)