Rainbow six:

[Major Fubar 0]

This looks like it could be good, everything that GR and Black Thorn weren't:

Rainbow Six: Raven Shield

I was a HUGE fan of Rogue Spear and Urban Ops (my fave FPS until OFP came out), hopefully this may be a return to form.

[timmy 0]

yes, i am very eagerly awaiting this game

[ralphwiggum 6]

looks ok...seems like it can scratch that CQB aspect OFP can't scratch on me....

[USSoldier11B 0]

I was a huge Rainbow Six/ Rogue Spear fan before OFP. I just played it so much that I can't stand to look at it anymore. I haven't bought GR yet. Don't know if I ever will either.

[Guest]

I really like the R6 series. GR was a great disappointment. Hope they get back on track now.

[timmy 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ May 02 2002,07:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I really like the R6 series. GR was a great disappointment. Hope they get back on track now.<span id='postcolor'>

i liked Ghost Recon. it was a mix of Rogue Spear and ofp. It had better detailed graphics than RS and OFP, and it is great online. Ive played with 35 other people before with no lag at all, and it was great fun.

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

One of the aspects that make OFP so great is the ability to use vehicles on a large terrain. GR had vehicles which were very nice to look at and to hear, but you couldn't use them. Also the terrain wasn't as big as OFP's. But it had more detail though. But i didn't like it as much as OFP.

[Satchel 0]

I have high expectations in Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, both concerning realism and overal gameplay.

For close quarters battle coupled with tactical planning, Rainbow6 and Rogue Spear set a standard at their time together with SWAT3, i´m confident R6 3 could set a new standard.

Here an interview with the producer:

Chadi 'Leviat' Lebbos, the Producer for Raven Shield.

1.) You´re a member of the Ubi Soft development team in Montreal, Canada: What projects have you worked on in the past and what exactly is your job as a producer for Raven Shield?

My first big responsibility at Ubi Soft was in 1997, where I was asked to start and manage a localization studio. This gave me experience in project management, dealing with 3rd party developers, marketing, human resources … you name it. 4 years later, I was asked to be an associate producer on RAINBOW SIX - RAVEN SHIELD, I jumped at the opportunity and became involved when the game was nothing more than a sheet of paper. I can’t believe the amount of work that has been done to it since then. A couple months later, I was promoted to producer. You can imagine what my reaction was!

Being a producer on Raven Shield, I always need to keep in mind that we’re not dealing with any old game here….it’s Rainbow Six. I need to make sure the standards of quality in terms of gameplay remains consistent, and combined with graphics and sound, everything needs to be balanced perfectly and of the highest quality in order to bring the best possible experience to our fans.

As the manager of the project and the development team, I need to make sure everyone has everything they need to work efficiently. Working closely with Red Storm, I provide all of the proper guidelines that will help us achieve our goals.

Finally, marketing and PR rely on me to provide them news on the progression of the games development!

2.) Continuing the Rainbow Six-Series is a major challenge - Red Storm set very high standards with their products – Is this the source of your motivation or is it simply one of many challenges you face with Raven Shield?

Developing the next in the Rainbow Six series is a privilege. This franchise, along with Half Life, is probably the most popular within the FPS market so the pressure is onto make Raven Shield a unique experience! We need to make good decisions to preserve the authenticity of the franchise and add innovations that will surprise Rainbow Six and FPS fans. So in answer to your question, yes, it is definitely a challenge for us.

However, it’s also a source of motivation for us. The development team is made up of Rainbow Six fans so we definitely started on the right track!

3.) What is the story/environment that Raven Shield is set in?

We’ve picked mission environments in interesting locales. Each map needs to be “unique†in terms of graphics, game play and sounds. There will be a variety of environments such as snow, desert, mountain, day, night, rain, outdoor… mostly in Europe and South America. Of course, locations have been selected according to the story line and the major plot.

4.) Use of the new Unreal Warfare engine gives you new possibilities. Do you think Raven Shield will remain true to the Rainbow Six-Series by advancing the game to the next level? What are the advantages of the new engine? Do you think it will allow you to set new standards?

The Unreal technology needs to be adapted to our own needs – We’re not developing Unreal… we’re developing Rainbow Six 3. However, this engine is a great start for us because, while we work towards adapting the engine, our editors can begin work on the layout. Because the game content alone is a big developmental challenge, I thought it would be more beneficial for us to put our efforts towards optimizing the game play and basic features rather than the engine itself… the Unreal engine is a powerful tool for both 3D rendering and script AI. It will surely contribute to the quality of the game.

The basic Rainbow Six AI is huge compared to any other FPS on the market; which takes up a large chunk of the memory budget… Even if the graphics are outstanding, I think (wish) that Raven Shield will set new standards with its controls and its AI.

5.) Are you supported by Red Storm? If so, how? Do you receive any consultation and/or support by members of the US Elite Police Teams?

As we did with Black Thorn, we constantly work with RSE. The storyline is mostly managed by RSE and the game design is supported by RSE. Also, many of our decisions are discussed with RSE first. They know the franchise better than anyone and it’s important to have feedback from them on any and all parts of our work.

We want this game to be the most realistic Elite Police tactical simulator out there. To better achieve this, the development team leaders have been trained by the GTI SQ team (elite hostage-rescue team in Montreal, Canada). Moreover, we are working closely with a member of the LAPD Tactics team. His advise has been helpful in the design of certain gadgets, tactics and character reactions in the game itself.

6.) Producing such a major title means a lot of creative work and fun for everyone in the team, but it also means stress and the need to make difficult decisions. What were the biggest problems and challenges you’ve had to face so far?

Aside from the many technical challenges, one of the biggest obstacles is the selection of the features (choosing from hundreds! that will make Raven Shield not only the next great game in the series, but also an awesome title with many innovations that would please both Rainbow Six fans and FPS gamers.

7.) What is your favorite game feature and why?

I really like the new peek & crouch controls which are quite ground-breaking. It doesn’t affect the way I’m accustomed to playing Rogue Spear, but if I need more precision and more control, it’s useful in helping me discover ways of shooting the enemy that I couldn’t do in Rogue Spear.

[WKK Gimbal 0]

I hope they fix the AI.

All the games they yet have done, the AI simply stand and wait for you to pass a keyhole, then they kill you through it.

No proper movement or counter measures by AI ... just stand and shoot.

[RedStorm 0]

And the lack of a 1st person weapon view is always a great dissapointment too

[Tex -USMC- 0]

yeah, first person weapon is a thing that the series definitely needs. I know it doesnt seem like a really big deal, but not being able to see it just sort of disconnects the player from the game.

Also, a prone feature is needed for snipers. How incredibly lame is sitting down cross-legged to fire a .50 cal sniper rifle?

[Aculaud 0]

I'll definitely download the demo. I'd love to see some really expansive urban environments with buildings you can go into and shoot out of.

[timmy 0]

who knows, they might add a prone pistion. It wouldnt be that hard. And as for the gun not being shown, i dont think thats that big of a deal, but i would like it in the game.

[IceFire 0]

Those grafics are incredible. The indoor picture of the room almost looks real!

But yeah, It would feel strange not to have a weapon view after play OPF for so long!

[Aculaud 0]

yeah, OFP has the best first person weapon view iv ever played with. That was one thing that really got to me about the R6 series. As Tex said, it really disconnects you from the game. I fealt like i was some kind of armed camera moving around doing the mission instead of a rainbow operative. Still, I cant wait to see those graphics in full motion.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

One last thing I want: I want really good AI! If you have read the book, and I am pretty sure you all have, one of the best parts was realising that the terrorists are people too, in that they get nervous, get trigger happy, and sometimes just panic. I would love to have AI that was somewhat like Thiefs AI (in that they have voices, and will say things like "what was that?" etc.), but had more freedom of movement. One thing that sucked about R6 and RS were that the Ts were really just patrol guns, either staying in one spot, or on a set pattern, never deviating. I liked the way Ts would run away after being wounded, but that could be just the start. Think: a T screaming to get down when a flashbang rolls through the door, hostages panicking, screaming, running all over the place, your teammates yelling at them to get down, Ts cursing at you in their native language, all that good stuff. I think it would make the game really hectic, i.e. fun

[Aculaud 0]

That idea has my blessing! One of the things i hated about the AI in the R6 series was how inhumanly good they were at killing you. pull the trigger half a second too late, and youre dead. And they were always a hundred percent accurate too. Never missed once. Of course, we also had the choice of auto targeting, but i would be shocked if anyone actually used that.

[christophercles 0]

Its not rainbow six 3, there was never a number 2. And the reason that people hated the fact that if you oulled the trigger to late was because it was realistic. In real life, im pretty sure terrorist wouldnt say "uh oh, guys hold your fire, he tripped over, give him a chance".

I like the fact that you can do things like kneel, instead of crouching or going prone, and how you can open a door part of the way instead of it flying open and exposing yourself to the enemy. And the fact that its using the next gen unreal engine is extremely impressive.

[Major Fubar 0]

Wasn't Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (including the addons Urban Ops, Covert Ops and Black Thorn) Rainbow Six 2?

[morbid 0]

About the ai, I've definately seen the terrorists in rogue spear panick and run away, and the hostages too.

[sgtvor 0]

Yep...Rogue Spear was most definitely a sequel to the original Rainbow Six game. Raven Shield could logically be called Rainbow Six 3.

Vor.

[Aculaud 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (morbid @ May 04 2002,03:45)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">About the ai, I've definately seen the terrorists in rogue spear panick and run away, and the hostages too.<span id='postcolor'>

WHEN!?!?!?! And under what circumstances!?!? They never ran from me, unless they were out of ammo, which they never were cause they only need one damn shot. Is there some sort of intimidation button or something?

[christophercles 0]

No it wasnt it was a spinoff, thats why this, the sequal is being called number 2.

[Satchel 0]

Don´t know about an intimidation button, but the AI "Tangos" in R6 and RS definitely panic and flee, almost always after they had been wounded and are unable to locate you, i.e. where the shot came from, happens often if you use silenced weapons or sniper rifles.

Sometimes they even go bezerk kamikaze style, or try to evade grenades, and at times go hunting after your team etc.

Reaction time of the Tango AI is pretty fast, if you´re a slowmo than RS & co could be really appearing to difficult..it´s about split seconds and precision most of the time, totally unlike OFP where you have all time of the world to aim and fire, mostly because of slow AI and missing CQB, the latter is usually very fast.

The lean command therefore is invaluable in R6/RS, as flashbangs are.

You cannot say AI is bad in RS or R6, although sometimes it has it´s stupid moments, especially if a whole bunch of tangos heading your way (in particular when coming up a ladder or stairs), it´s easy to pick them off if they are standing in line just waiting to get shoot one after another.

from time to time someone gets dislocated from your team, because he´s running against a wall, problems with pathfinding...nothing spectacular, if OFP would have buildings to the extent of RS, R6 than it would be sometimes messy too i guess.

One thing OFP´s AI has in advantage is teamwork and cohesion, AI seems to coordinate in OFP, however according to previews and interviews Rainbow Six3 will most probably top that.

[Decimus 2]

@Aculaud:

I've seen it as well. For instance on the first level (the museum), playing lone wolf with 30 terrorists, I remember shooting at the terrorist in one of the top rooms and hitting that stupid pyramid in a glass thing and the terrorist ran around the corner. And the hostages always panic if a bullet hits near them.