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PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

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'America's Army: Overmatch' Adds Co-op

by Rainier on July 12, 2006 @ 11:15 a.m. PDT

When Overmatch, currently in late beta, is released later this summer, it will debut several new features. America's Army has been focused on objective-based, multiplayer gameplay, but with Overmatch two new missions will be added that will pit Rangers and Special Forces against an overwhelming force of Enemy AI Soldiers and Vehicles. Read more for details ...

Co-Op Gameplay vs. a new AI Enemy

To date, America's Army has been singularly focused upon objective-based, multiplayer gameplay in missions set against a balanced human enemy. With Overmatch, we'll debut two new missions that will pit Rangers and Special Forces against an overwhelming force of Enemy AI Soldiers and Vehicles. Rather than presenting players with the one-to-one odds, as is customary in our current missions, these two new levels represent asymmetric conflict; wherein the enemy outnumbers the U.S. forces by upwards of three-, four- and even five-to-one! The new AI enemy represents a more organized military force than the insurgency/terrorist antagonists of our multiplayer missions.

Here's a quick description of this AI and how it differs from the kind of AI you'll see in other games:

  • 4 AI Soldier classes: Infantry, Sergeants (NCOs), Officers and Commandos - each can be distinguished by their voices, headgear and weaponry.
  • 3 AI Vehicles: T-62 Tank, BMP-1 Infanry Fighting Vehicle and BTR-80 Armored Personnel Carrier - each with different movement, armor and weaponry.
  • 9 Mental States: Each AI possesses a morale level ranging from Brave to Normal to Concerned to Suppressed to Panicked.
  • 9 Types of Orders: AI are assigned to follow specific Primary Orders (Patrol, Guard, Ambush) and will shift to Secondary Orders when engaged (Hunt, Defend, Harass).
  • 150 new Opfor-ese phrases: AI will use contextual speech based on their mental state and the interrupts that compel their reactions; players will be able to recognize whether an AI is panicked versus attacking, for example.
  • 12 different Interrupts: AI will react to a variety of specific combat events (such as: see grenade, bullet whip, take injury).
  • 25 Combat Actions: AI will be individually directed to perform a wide variety of specific actions (such as: Cower, Suppress, Fire Blind, Advance).
  • AI is subject to CEM: it is vital our AI be subject to the same battlefield conditions are human players, so CEM will impact AI's accuracy too!

Just a few examples of the various things you can expect: AI can spawn in random locations, can be suppressed, will react to overwhelming fire, will react aggressively to grenades, can engage with a variety of weapons (AK-47, AK74su, VSS, Smoke/frag grenades, RPG and RPK) against U.S. vehicles/soldiers, set random ambushes, call for mortar support and request reinforcements via BTR-80.

So get ready for 9-player Cooperative missions against a tough, entrenched and variable AI enemy. Fortunately, players are given a few new tools to apply in these missions.

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