...is alive! Kudos to Peter Tamte for not letting this project die without fight.
http://www.gamespot.com/features/six-days-in-fallujah-the-untold-story-6396567/?tag=Topslot%3bSixDaysInFallujah%3bSixDaysInFallujahThe (http://www.gamespot.com/features/six-days-in-fallujah-the-untold-story-6396567/?tag=Topslot%3bSixDaysInFallujah%3bSixDaysInFallujahThe)
Quote
In 2009, Konami announced it would no longer be publishing the Atomic Games-developed Six Days in Fallujah. Three years on, we speak to Atomic president Peter Tamte about the events that inspired the controversial title, the impact of Konami's decision, and the road ahead.
On April 27, 2009, Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun published comments from a Konami representative explaining the company's decision to back out of a publishing deal with developer Atomic Games over Six Days in Fallujah, a military shooter where the aim was to accurately re-create one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq War, which elicited some controversy:
"After seeing the reaction to the video game in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided ... not to sell it."
Atomic was caught by surprise. Konami had expressed its enthusiasm for the title just three weeks earlier, officially unveiling the game at a press event in San Francisco earlier the same month. By early May, the deal was off. As Konami made every effort to distance itself from Six Days in Fallujah, Atomic was left with no publisher, a half-finished game, and a steady torrent of bad press.
So, what went wrong? What caused Konami to abandon a project that had the backing of Iraqi war veterans and the aim to change expectations of what a video game can be?
First contact
Atomic Games was first approached by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in 2002 with a request to redesign the Close Combat series--a real-time tactical war game modelled after the Avalon Hill-developed board game Advanced Squad Leader and published by Microsoft--for specific USMC training purposes. By 2003, Atomic was working closely with the Marine Corps on developing a number of different training systems.
It was during the development of one of these systems--based on Atomic's squad-based military first-person shooter First to Fight--that the USMC assigned its first dozen or so Marines to help guide Atomic on everything from room-clearing tactics to weapon accuracy. Most of the Marines walking around the Atomic studio during that time had just returned from fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the first major military operation against Iraq by the United States. (The operation began on March 19, 2003, and ended on May 1, 2003, following an announcement made by then-US President George W Bush declaring the end of combat operations in Iraq.)
As Marines came and went, the same faces began to pop up again and again, until eventually Atomic development staff found themselves working with a core group of about a dozen Marines, most of them from the 3/1 unit (a battalion-level infantry and support personnel unit). Despite the fact that the group only met twice a year, friendships formed easily.
Atomic president Peter Tamte recalls that he knew the Marines were due to be deployed to Fallujah, but that no one at the studio knew anything about the battle until it was all over.
"It wasn't until they returned that we found out more than 40 percent of the 3/1 battalion was either killed or wounded in battle," Tamte told GameSpot.
The first Marine to contact Atomic after the battle was a sergeant who had been medevacked out of the area during the fighting. He wondered whether Tamte and his team would be interested in making a game based on his and other Marines' experiences of the conflict. Atomic said yes.
"Fortunately, while some had been wounded, all of the Marines we knew returned from Iraq," Tamte said. "They told us stories about Fallujah that reminded me of the World War II stories I grew up hearing, stories about 18-21-year-olds thrown into perilous situations where they have the opportunity to prove to themselves, and the world, what kind of humans they are. They have to make fundamental decisions not just about life and death, but about what they hold as their most important values."
When the Marines expressed interest in re-creating their experiences of Fallujah in the form of a video game, Tamte saw it as a chance to stretch the limits of the medium. After that, the stories started flowing: stories about creeping through darkened warehouses, schools, and homes; stories about ambushes and face-to-face combat; stories about Iraqi insurgents taking so much liquid adrenaline before a gunfight that it often took six or seven shots to bring them down.
"The biggest difference I noticed in the Marines before and after Fallujah was the realisation that the enemy was much tougher than we thought," Tamte said. "While there were certainly many tough fights during the initial Marine movement in 2003 from Kuwait to Baghdad, the battle for Fallujah was as tough as anything I had heard about from the Vietnam War or World War II."
"I met with Marines who, after being wounded, would get treatment and then beg to return to their unit because they didn't want their closest friends battling this enemy without their help."
The conflict in Fallujah
The Second Battle of Fallujah, or Operation Phantom Fury--labelled as the most heated urban firefight in recent US military history since the 1968 battle of Hue in Vietnam--was a joint US, British, and Iraqi offensive in November and December 2004. It was designed to clear the town of Fallujah of the Iraqi insurgency (estimated to be around 2000-3000 strong) ahead of the national Iraqi elections scheduled for January 2005. (The city of roughly 250,000 inhabitants had become a hiding place for Iraqi insurgents following the First Battle of Fallujah in April 2004, which saw the US Marines attack the city following the killing of four Blackwater security contractors.)
The combined US, Coalition, and British casualties following the end of the conflict numbered just over 200 fatalities and 1,000 wounded. It was later reported that thousands of Iraqi civilians died during the combined First and Second Battles of Fallujah, with a further estimated 200,000 people losing their homes in the conflict. (The Washington Post estimated that over 25 percent of the all the city's 39,000 homes were destroyed during the fighting, the intensity of which has been well documented.)
The aftermath offered little respite. Reports of anti-US sentiment in Fallujah gave way to renewed fighting between insurgents and US troops in the region, leading to the growing realisation that Fallujah had become a cautionary tale rather than a success story for the US military. Then, in 2010, came disturbing evidence of a possible link between battlefield residue and a dramatic spike in birth defects, cancer, leukaemia, and infant mortality in Fallujah.
Writing for The Guardian in December 2011, former US Marine and Fallujah veteran Ross Caputi spoke of his regret at the role he played in the 2004 conflict:
"It has been seven years, and the lies that justified the assault still perpetuate false beliefs about what we did. The US veterans who fought there still do not understand who they fought against, or what they were fighting for."
Did Tamte realise what he was walking into?
"I've spoken with very few people who have a Marine or Iraqi's understanding of the events [in Fallujah]," he said. "[But] wouldn't it be better for everyone if we gained this understanding while these events are unfolding, rather than waiting until it doesn't matter anymore?"
Tamte, who served as Bungie's executive vice-president from 1999 to 2001 before leaving to start Destineer Games and later acquiring Atomic Games in 2005, said that the goal of Six Days in Fallujah has always been to use the experiences, actions, and consequences of Marines fighting in the Fallujah conflict to give players a deeper understanding of the violent events that have helped shape recent history, while simultaneously changing expectations of what a video game can be.
"We had no reservations about making a video game about Fallujah--then or now," he said. "We've always seen Six Days in Fallujah as the opportunity to give people a better understanding of our post-9/11 world, and the different attitudes and cultures that are shaping it."
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in April 2009, Fallujah veteran and consultant on the game Mike Ergo highlighted the importance of video games as a storytelling medium for a new generation that responds to interactive experiences in a way that no other generation has.
"Video games can communicate the intensity and the gravity of war to an audience who wouldn't necessarily be watching the History Channel or reading about this in the classroom," Ergo told the Times. "In an age when everyone's always online or playing games, people's imaginations aren't what they were, sadly. For this group, books may not convey the same level of intensity and chaos of war that a game can."
Tamte agrees.
"We can do things in a video game that other forms of media can't, because we can make you the protagonist. Rather than watching somebody on a movie screen make tough split-second decisions, we can let you make these decisions yourself."
Konami, the fallout, and the road ahead
Tamte's vision for Six Days in Fallujah remains unchanged. The game uses Marines' accounts of the events in Fallujah to re-create a six-day period in the lives of several units fighting on the ground. Authenticity comes in the form of video interviews of Marines recounting their experiences of the battle, interspersed throughout the game, as well as near-perfect re-creations of Fallujah neighbourhoods using satellite photography.
Atomic wants everything in the game to be destructible, from individual bricks to entire buildings, in order to accurately re-create the intensity of urban combat and the complications that arise from situations that involve fighting in close quarters in a civilian-heavy environment. To achieve this, the development team built the game on a new game engine designed to handle realistic structural damage to infrastructure. (However, this engine was built for the current generation of hardware, which Tamte said will end before Six Days is ready. Atomic said it is not yet ready to reveal how this will affect the game's design.)
Despite so much of the game being based on the personal accounts of Marines who were there at the time, Tamte is resolute that neither he nor his team at Atomic are making a judgment call on what happened. The game, he insists, is not about whether the US or its allies should have invaded Iraq--it's about players experiencing something real.
"Many military shooters are a lot of fun to play, but they lack authenticity," he said. "At some point, you know what you're playing is a fictional account invented by game guys. A lot of the value of Six Days in Fallujah comes from the knowledge that you're experiencing what really happened."
(Tamte and his team decided against allowing players to assume the role of Iraqi insurgents in the game, choosing to tell the story from the point of view of the US and Iraqi forces. However, Tamte said that there will be a few non-US roles in the game, which are still being decided.)
But it was this emphasis on re-creating reality--a reality that at the time of Six Days in Fallujah's unveiling in 2009 was all too current--which led to widespread criticism of the game.
"There is nothing to celebrate in the death of people resisting an unjust and bloody occupation," British anti-war group Stop the War Coalition told media in April 2009.
"To make a game out of a war crime and to capitalise on the death and injury of thousands is sick. There will never be a time when it is appropriate for people to 'play' at committing atrocities. The massacre in Fallujah should be remembered with shame and horror, not glamorised and glossed over for entertainment."
Three weeks later, Konami cancelled its publishing deal with Atomic. Tamte said that the decision came as a shock to Atomic, which up to that point had received nothing but support from the publisher.
"There were literally no disagreements between Atomic and Konami's American team. We all saw Six Days in Fallujah the same way. It was the board of directors for Konami's parent company in Japan who just got freaked out about the controversy."
Tamte said that the board of directors of Konami's parent company in Japan ordered the US unit to pull out of Six Days because Konami "didn't want its brand associated with the controversy". He still believes this was a mistake.
"I think if they had waited longer to let our story be heard, they would have benefited from the outpouring of support we've received for Six Days in Fallujah as people began to understand more about what it really was contemplate new ideas about what a video game could be. This takes time. Unfortunately, Konami's board of directors didn't seem to understand."
More surprising than Konami's decision to walk away from Six Days in Fallujah was the amount of encouragement and feedback Atomic received following the loss of its biggest financial backer, including more offers of help from Marines who were eager to take part in the game's development. The challenge that Tamte and his team now face is gathering the money needed to finish the game, although not necessarily from another publisher.
"I would not say that we're focused on finding a publisher. Our focus is on finding adequate funding. The rest can get worked out."
Last year, Tamte started a new company, Theory.io, specialising in productivity software for tablets, mobile phones, and computers. While Theory.io won't be involved in Six Days in Fallujah, Tamte will still be involved with the project until its release, for which there is still no set time frame. While Tamte recognises that there will always be some people who don't want to see Six Days in Fallujah get made, the outpouring of support that Atomic has received has convinced him that the team's efforts will not go to waste.
"I know that the story we're going to help people experience is compelling. And, ultimately, this is what matters the most."
Good to know. Thanks for following this, JH!
Thanks for the heads-up....interesting piece.
Nice read. I was wondering what happened to that game.
Development still active? Maybe they should do go Kickstarter or something.
Quote from: jomni on September 17, 2012, 07:50:29 PM
Nice read. I was wondering what happened to that game.
Development still active? Maybe they should do go Kickstarter or something.
Yeah, if they can pull enough money on a Kickstarter, it MIGHT convince a publisher to take it on. Because they're still likely to need one for a full fledged team based shooter. Budgets for those tend to hit 8 digits pretty fast.
This is starting to come together very nicely. It is looking really great and appears to have come a long way during development. Hard to believe how long this has been in the cooker, but the time seems to be paying off.
I just wish there was some clue when release can be expected...
Looks great, day one purchase for me. Sounds like the campaign will be a blast. The replay ability sounds good too. They described endless dynamic tactical situations that the game engine cooks up on different parts of the map so it always seems fresh.
^^ Sounds like a sim version of the Warfighter card game!
Quote from: Sigwolf on May 23, 2023, 09:56:52 AMI just wish there was some clue when release can be expected...
This video, as well as a bunch of others that popped up yesterday, lead me to believe that we're getting close.
This looks interesting. Glad to hear the game has been resuscitated.
More footage. Can't wait to get my paws on this one.
Me too, can't wait for this one.
Not sure if you guys have noticed, but the game now has an early access date of June 22nd. We might be finally getting our hands on this.
Quote from: Skoop on June 01, 2023, 10:42:24 AMNot sure if you guys have noticed, but the game now has an early access date of June 22nd. We might be finally getting our hands on this.
Thought is awesome, day one early access for me.
Quote from: Skoop on June 01, 2023, 10:42:24 AMNot sure if you guys have noticed, but the game now has an early access date of June 22nd. We might be finally getting our hands on this.
...not sure if we've noticed?
:ROFL:
Quote from: Skoop on June 01, 2023, 10:42:24 AMNot sure if you guys have noticed, but the game now has an early access date of June 22nd. We might be finally getting our hands on this.
I, for one, had not. Thanks for the heads up.
As we get closer to first access, some details have come out. Early access initially will be mostly co op although can play solo without any teammate support, which they describe as hard. Also price will be $39.99. Official release targeted for 2024 and will also be on consoles. Although I wish more solo content right away, plan to still buy it on release since going to buy it eventually anyways so might as well.
Early Access FAQ
What content is included in Early Access?
At launch, Six Days in Fallujah includes four co-operative four-player missions based on events during the first two days in the northern part of the city. These missions are set in urban maps that are generated procedurally every time the game is played to recreate the uncertainty of combat along with unlimited replayability.
As Early Access develops, we will add AI-controlled teammates, more co-op missions, special operator missions, more troop nationalities, and a single-player campaign.
You'll also see us inject many new variables into each of these mission simulations, such as nighttime missions, weather effects, new buildings, more enemy types, civilians, and much more.
Why isn't the Campaign launching with Early Access?
We do plan to release Campaign missions during Early Access. But, we had to build our co-op simulation sandbox first, because it's the foundation of all our technology. Now that this is done, we need to polish up our teammate AI (it's actually pretty far along) and build our first campaign mission, which we'll release in Early Access once it's ready.
Can I play the fireteam cooperative mode solo with AI teammates?
Not quite yet. Although we could easily stick some friendly bots in the game right now, we have very ambitious plans for our single-player experience, starting with much better ways for players to direct this team during combat. Since it's really important that we get this right, we decided not to release any AI teammate capabilities until it's ready.
In the meantime, you can play the game solo. It's just very challenging.
Will I encounter civilians in Early Access?
Yes, but not on day one. Marines and Soldiers encountered very few civilians during the first couple days of the battle. But then the presence of civilians, and the ability of insurgents to blend in with these civilians, became a really big complication in the battle. We will introduce civilians into some missions as Early Access progresses.
Is Six Days still coming to console?
Absolutely. In fact, at different times during development, we've already had the game running on consoles. We plan to release on console simultaneously with the Full Release on PC in 2024.
Is there a content roadmap available for Early Access?
We plan to share a content roadmap in the coming weeks.
What is the pricing for Early Access?
The price for Early Access will be US$39.99. Pricing in other currencies will follow shortly on the Steam store at Steam's recommendations.
Disappointing about the lack of team AI at initial release, but certainly happy to see it confirmed that the single player experience is still a major focus.
Looking forward to the release tomorrow, even without initial focus on single player. A number of discussions hammering away at the developer for not including it from the start and some skeptics it will ever get included regardless of what the developer says. At least the forum will never let them forget their commitment:)
In any event, I'll be buying it and going it alone like Rambo until then:). Releases at 10am eastern time.
Released...greenmangaming has it for $33, so a little cheaper.
Mixed reviews on Steam thus far, seems like there is very little content in the early access. For me, the most annoying thing is the damn unskippable cutscene you have to watch every time you restart the mission.
Gameplay itself feels great so far.
Yep, that is annoying.
Finding it very difficult to play solo, I die in minutes without squad mates having my back. Plus, I haven't figured out how to call for help when injured as that timer goes so fast that I always die first.
It has a cool atmosphere so potential exists for sure...
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on June 22, 2023, 04:29:40 PMYep, that is annoying.
Finding it very difficult to play solo, I die in minutes without squad mates having my back. Plus, I haven't figured out how to call for help when injured as that timer goes so fast that I always die first.
It has a cool atmosphere so potential exists for sure...
I suspect the timer just instantly drops to 0 if you're the last one left to prevent wasting time sitting around.
Also, I'm not sure if there's a way to order the IFV to move, but it's rather annoying how it just seems to move and stop somewhat randomly based on how far along you've moved.
Yep, a lot to figure out on this one. You might be right about the medic situation on single player as who could come get me anyway. But if that is the case, trying to play this game in early access is going to be impossible to survive long enough to accomplish anything, at least on my limited skill level. I saw people say the AI is pretty dumb, but so far it has no issue lobbing mortars at me and sneaking up behind me, killing me quickly. Probably a lot different if playing co op and eventually with a squad so others can have your back.
Yeah, playing by myself the AI seems to do a decent job of flanking, taking cover, lobbing explosives at you, etc.
I also just noticed there's actually several missions available. I thought the only mission was the one with the sniper in the minaret, but I just fired it up again and there's one where you're protecting a convoy from VBIEDs. Still tough as nails, but I'm managed to actually score some kills here and there rather than just dying right away. No way to choose mission that I can see.
I have seen 2-3 different missions so far, thought I read somewhere (4) are currently available but I could be wrong. They all equally trash me quickly so I don't get to explore for that long. I am also using a controller as I can't use the keyboard/mouse on these games nowadays and it also needs some improvement in being able to aim and line up targets more easily.
I want to know if you can team with a friend or have to go with randoms? Can you group with a friend and then press play to join other humans or go in with just your friend and yourself? A friend got this you see and will be telling me if he likes it. Problem is the guy seems to buy every FPS on the planet and I am not really an FPS fan anymore.
I don't play online but there are options to Invite Friends and use matchmaking. I suspect its what you want, but I have no plans on using either.
You could try the rando coop. I mean, if the mission is that difficult solo, why not see how the rando match making goes. You might be surprised that some rando will actually revive you or cover your six.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on June 23, 2023, 09:11:53 AMI don't play online but there are options to Invite Friends and use matchmaking. I suspect its what you want, but I have no plans on using either.
Perfect thank you sir.
Here is what the developers roadmap looks like, seems like AI Teammates due by end of the year, although the skeptic in me thinks it will take longer as usually developers miss their initial goals. Seems quite a bit before we see the actual campaign fleshed out.
==============================================================================================================
Below, you'll find our roadmap for future content as we launch into Early Access on Steam. We'll also have a graphic to accompany this sometime next week.
Please remember that all timing and content is subject to change.
Q3-2023 (July – September):
Night-time missions, alongside other times-of-day
More weather varieties that affect vision and operations
Q4-2023 (October – December):
AI teammates you lead with our "Go" command
One additional co-op mission
More systemic variables within mission simulations
Q1-2024 (January – March):
First story campaign mission
Civilians in co-op and campaign
Additional co-op mission
Q2-2024 (April – June) and Beyond:
Special Operator missions
Play as other coalition nationalities
More co-op and story campaign missions
I'm concerned at the amount of attention this is getting here. I thought for sure this was the place that people would be chatting live about it.
I've put it on my wish list anyway - just in case.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on July 05, 2023, 12:38:01 AMI'm concerned at the amount of attention this is getting here. I thought for sure this was the place that people would be chatting live about it.
I've put it on my wish list anyway - just in case.
I think the current issue is the lack of single player content. The understanding seems to be that there will eventually be AI teammates and a single player campaign, but right now the game is hard as nails and just south of unplayable single player. And us being a a bunch of reclusive cranks, we prefer our single player games :twirl:
Agree......although I play my fair share of lone wolf single player games, the current setup for this game really doesn't play well with lone wolf in mind, it seems to be tuned assuming you have squad mates which currently don't exist. Just way too hard to survive any mission without your team having your back. I like the environment and suspect the game play, just can't live long enough to enjoy it. Hopefully when you get a squad changes that but until then pretty much going to sit on the shelf.
Quote from: al_infierno on July 05, 2023, 03:38:19 AMQuote from: JudgeDredd on July 05, 2023, 12:38:01 AMI'm concerned at the amount of attention this is getting here. I thought for sure this was the place that people would be chatting live about it.
I've put it on my wish list anyway - just in case.
I think the current issue is the lack of single player content. The understanding seems to be that there will eventually be AI teammates and a single player campaign, but right now the game is hard as nails and just south of unplayable single player. And us being a a bunch of reclusive cranks, we prefer our single player games :twirl:
Darn - should have checked here. Literally just pulled the trigger (ahem) on this. I do have in mind some mates to play it with mind you
Lack of SP at the moment is my only issue. Looking forward to the SP campaign, though.
Yeah, I'm hold out for the SP campaign too. looks great though, and It'll be in my library at some point.
Anyone try the new AI update?
I've only had time to run the training mission. I get the distinct impression that there is a very good game here...had it been released 10 years ago.
It's been in development for way too long and I think its clear that FPS technology surpassed this title long ago. I suspect this was the actual cause of the prolonged delay in releasing the AI update. They knew the game just couldn't compete by today's standard and had to rework a lot. It still feels very dated to me.
Anyway, just a very early impression from very limited play. We'll see.
I've played around 45 minutes so far. Did the first campaign mission and I'm really liking the go commands for my AI squad. Just tap that "C" command and the guys do a good job of running interference for you. I also tried the co-op skirmish mode with ai teammates. I did the Objective Virginia map again and same result with the "C" go commands mode. Bottom line is I've gotten a lot further in combat than ever before. I just need to put some more time in working with my squad and getting the movement tactics to jell. I'm feeling much more positive about this game's future progress. Man, this game is really gorgeous in this city setting, you feel like you're right there. And the sounds are top notch as well.
OK...I played the first campaign mission. The game is good and intense and I'm definitely enjoying it. But I still can't shake the feeling that it feels very dated. Doesn't mean its not a great addition to the genre, but it is clearly last generation tech.
So far the AI is useful and credible.
I'm not the biggest FPS or milsim player these days, but I absolutely loved the gameplay last time I tried it. The danger and lethality combined with the semi-random map generation made it feel fresh and new to me. I played it a stupid amount by myself and actually got close to finishing one of the missions solo, so I'll gladly take AI teammates! Still doesn't beat having actual teammates though
They listen to players and actually allow human players and ai teammates. So you can have best of both. I'll definitely be getting this in the next sale.
Is their a friends only with bots coop mode?
I can only handle this game in small doses. It is extremely intense and stressful. I would say they have done an excellent job of conveying the struggle of urban warfare, probably better than any title before it. It's worth noting that the Second Battle for Fallujah began on November 7 (I guess that explains the release timing of the AI update). I was playing yesterday and noticed on the timeline that the portion of the battle I was fighting occurred on November 9, the same day I was playing. Twenty years to the day. Pretty wild.
While I still feel overall that the game has a dated feel, it is unquestionably a unique achievement and a must have addition to any Grog's FPS library. The documentary portions of the game are extremely well-done too. The developers have treated this material with the utmost respect. It is unfortunate that they were the target of such ridicule, just for tackling this battle within the context of a "game". They deserve to be commended.
I am pleased that I took a punt on this earlier in early access as it now seems to be coming together well. My play-time to date is limited - as most have pointed out, this is not something to play SP - but I'm "looking forward" (= steeling my nerve) to trying the AI teammate mode.
Boy...the procedural missions can be sadistically tough. There is one I'm playing that requires my squad to clear out a weapons cache and a large group of terrorists with RPGS who are preventing Cobras from performing CAS for advancing Marine infantry. I've tried 2 or 3 times and the AO is a ruined city block where the enemy launches attacks from roof tops, from within ruined buildings, and every place in between. They attack from windows, holes in walls, basements, etc. Really nasty stuff. Just when I thought it couldn't get harder, one of missions loaded at night! There is a nearby AAV that launches flares periodically, but God damn. What a fight.
One aspect of the game I'm finding consistently frustrating is the enemy spawn system. While it undoubtedly adds to the replayability of each mission, it also can be immersion breaking. I've seen enemies literally spawn out of thin air and they tend to show up in areas that your squad has already cleared. For instance, if the mission is to clear a building, or destroy a mortar position on a roof, it is quite frequent in my experience to run into enemies again in the building we just cleared while exfiltrating to the rally point.
This definitely keeps the tension and anxiety ramped up...but God, we just killed 43 insurgents coming into the building and now there are another several back in the rooms we just cleared 2-3 minutes ago. There is literally no way to secure ground in the game, and while this may be realistic to an extent, I think in reality, Marines were operating in these districts with more than 4 men and an AAV, so establishing rear security and consolidating on secure objectives was a possibility. In the game, it isn't.
It does seem daft that a team of 4 would be sent into an urban area without any assets to secure the flanks and/or rear.
I've got this on my watchlist - waiting for the AI if I'm honest.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on November 12, 2024, 09:49:13 AMIt does seem daft that a team of 4 would be sent into an urban area without any assets to secure the flanks and/or rear.
I've got this on my watchlist - waiting for the AI if I'm honest.
The AI is in, JD! Overall, it is very good. I recommend it at this point. But beware! The Marines don't promise you a rose garden!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/8144/7143304097_1bb42f3a60.jpg)
bollox. I've just bought Sea Power 5 minutes ago!
oh well - in for a penny!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on November 12, 2024, 11:23:53 AMbollox. I've just bought Sea Power 5 minutes ago!
oh well - in for a penny!
Well, you can't go wrong with Sea Power either! I wouldn't regret that decision one bit!
As JH pointed out the AI was available, I had to buy this. It's been on my wishlist since it first came on the scene but I heard how difficult it was and online only just wasn't my jam. So I stuck it on the wishlist in the hopes it would get some AI.
So - now it's out, I had no excuse.
I've only played the first mission and I - loved it. It's very atmospheric and it looks great. Thank god my AI pals are better at spotting and taking out the enemy than I am - otherwise I'd be mincemeat.
I'm now swamped with The Last Hundred Yards (a boardgame), this and Sea Power for play time. DCS has - yet again - took a back seat - though I haven't totally wiped from my mind the fact that I want to learn the F-16.
Big update released. Some key improvements to AI (team and insurgent) and some QOL stuff with the AI Team Go! command system, with a lot of other enhancements and treats. Time to jump back into this pretty stressful and intense game.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1548850/view/519709875052217888 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1548850/view/519709875052217888)
How's the teammate AI in this? Last I played it was solo or multiplayer only. I almost beat an entire mission single-handed after about twenty tries.... almost.
Quote from: al_infierno on April 15, 2025, 05:49:07 PMHow's the teammate AI in this? Last I played it was solo or multiplayer only. I almost beat an entire mission single-handed after about twenty tries.... almost.
Its good.
Its a very solid SP game.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 15, 2025, 05:45:48 PMBig update released. Some key improvements to AI (team and insurgent) and some QOL stuff with the AI Team Go! command system, with a lot of other enhancements and treats. Time to jump back into this pretty stressful and intense game.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1548850/view/519709875052217888 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1548850/view/519709875052217888)
Good news
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 15, 2025, 05:45:48 PM...Time to jump back into this pretty stressful and intense game.
Ain't that the truth. Night missions - aaaaaaarrrrrgh!