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Global Operations Preview

We've got the scoop on Barking Dog's next game. Read on to see if it will stand up to Counter-Strike.

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There's no doubt that Counter-Strike is one of the most popular games of 2000. By perfectly blending team-based tactical action with fast-paced gameplay, the game's designers seem to have struck a chord with first-person shooter fans, as the Counter-Strike user base has steadily grown to staggering numbers from the days of the first beta's release in early 1999. Now, at any time during the day or night, you can choose to join one of literally thousands of Counter-Strike servers, a majority of which are up 24 hours a day. What's even more impressive is that the game was largely developed by two amateur designers in their spare time. But while most fans of the game are familiar with the story of its development, few people are aware that a professional team of designers did in fact help shape Counter-Strike. Early on in its development, the game caught the eye of Valve team members, who contracted Barking Dog Studios to add new content, implement some gameplay changes, and polish it up for the release of beta five. Barking Dog, which was also responsible for Homeworld: Cataclysm, is now working on a multiplayer team-oriented shooter of its own. Called Global Operations, this game has been in development for over nine months, using the latest version of Monolith's LithTech engine, and it is being touted by the company as a professional version of Counter-Strike.

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"Counter-Strike is a great game," says Jeff Barnhart, Global Operations producer, "but our game is going to be 100 times better." Admittedly, the two games do have a lot in common, and comparisons can't help but be drawn. Like in Counter-Strike, in Global Operations you will be split up into two teams, and you'll have to carry out a set of goals within a certain time limit while making sure that the opposing force doesn't get a chance to accomplish its tasks. While some goals can include the now-standard hostage-rescue scenario, wherein the counterterrorist team has to penetrate enemy defenses and extract a group of hostages unharmed within a certain amount of time, Global Operations will be composed mostly of interesting twists on the tried-and-true team-based gameplay modes.

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"One of our favorite scenarios is the South China Sea map," describes Barnhart. In this level, terrorists playing the role of an Indonesian paramilitary force will board and attack a giant oil tanker while the counterterrorists - Australian Special Forces - have to drive the attackers off and save the ship. There are 32 such real-world terrorist groups and counterterrorist organizations that you can choose to play as. But what makes Global Operations unique is that each of these groups is specific to its respective map. That is, if you're playing in the Spain level, the counterterrorist team will always be Ertzaintza, and the terrorists will always be Basque separatists. According to Barnhart, this adds a certain element of realism to the game, however minor, and serves as a tribute to more die-hard tactical simulators like Rainbow Six and Swat 3. Global Operations will have a total of 16 maps that are derived from actual hotspots from around the world.

While the final scenarios aren't all done yet, Barnhart did reveal the objectives of some completed maps. In Beirut, Lebanon, for example, the counterterrorist UN Peacekeepers will have to fight their way to a downed helicopter with a US ambassador still on board. During the Colombia mission, terrorist members of a drug cartel will have to prevent counterterrorists from storming their villa and assassinating the cartel boss. In Belfast, Ireland, a counteroperative group of British paratroopers will have to kidnap an Irish Republican Army officer and safely escort him to a British roadblock. The terrorist group, playing as the IRA, will have to intercept the counterterrorists and return their officer without harming him. This is an interesting play on the VIP modes of Counter-Strike and Team Fortress Classic, where the terrorist group is charged with killing the diplomat under escort. It's also interesting to note that the VIP in Global Operations will always be controlled by the computer. The designers at Barking Dog Studios feel that they've developed the game's AI to a point where computer-controlled characters will behave in a realistic fashion and will even adapt to constantly changing situations. In fact, one of the key points of Global Operations will be its ability to substitute human players with bots. To make the most out of the game, each level will have a recommended number of players for either team, and in situations where not all recommended slots are filled up, Global Operations will substitute human players with computer-controlled bots. Of course, this feature will be optional to the game's host.

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Another interesting aspect of the game is the unique abilities that you can select. Regardless of which side of the law you choose to play on, you can choose from six different specialties - sniper, recon, medic, heavy weapons, demolitions, and commando - each of which is designed to enhance specific combat abilities. The weapons you're allowed to buy depend on which specialty you choose. While Global Operations will have more than 36 licensed weapons, including eight handguns, six submachine guns, four shotguns, four machine guns, eight assault rifles, and six sniper rifles, you will initially be limited to a select few. For instance, only players who've chosen the sniper specialty will be able to purchase the H&K PSG-1, and only heavy-weapons specialists can buy an M-60. That doesn't mean that recon units, for example, won't be able to use a sniper rifle later in the game. Barnhart says that you can pick up any weapon dropped on the battlefield, although if you don't specialize in it, you won't be as proficient with that weapon. So if a recon player picks up a sniper rifle, he or she will be able to shoot it but not nearly as accurately as a player who specializes in sniping. Global Operations won't impose a limit on the number of specialties you will be allowed to choose, so if all 12 counterterrorists on a map want to be medics, all 12 can be medics. Thankfully you will be able to change specialties at the end of each round of battle. And interestingly enough, Barking Dog is actually modeling the distinct features of these six specialties onto the different player models. So while there might be 32 different teams available in Global Operations, each team has six unique models to accommodate the six different special abilities.

There will actually be a seventh special ability you'll be able to choose as well. Called the commander, this ability is limited to one player per side, and unlike the other six specialties, it doesn't place you in the battlefield. Instead, selecting this ability will open a unique interface composed of a number of windows, each of which depicts a live picture of the battlefield. These images are transmitted from shoulder-mounted cameras that each player carries. These cameras are designed to make it easier for the commander to coordinate an organized assault against the opposing team. The commander can enlarge any of these images by simply clicking on them and can even talk to the entire team or selected individuals at once. Interestingly enough, the shoulder-mounted cameras will remain functional even after a player has been killed. But the cameras are quite fragile, and a direct bullet or shrapnel hit will render it useless. Global Operations will support voice-over-IP technology, so issuing orders to your teammates will be a breeze. And since the LithTech 2.5 engine supports lip-synching technology, communication between teammates will look very realistic.

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While the commander feature sounds a little intimidating, Global Operations will actually be designed in such a way as to make it very easy for new users to jump right into the game. According to Barnhart, Barking Dog feels that Counter-Strike's steep learning curve has been an obstacle for interested gamers. The company's main point of contention is that once your player dies in Counter-Strike, you're forced to wait until the next round before you're allowed to play again. Global Operations addresses this feature by having player reinsertion every two minutes. Much like in the popular Half-Life mod Firearms, you start each mission in some type of military vehicle, be it a jeep or helicopter, and once you die, you respawn back at this point. At every two-minute interval, everyone who has respawned at the starting point is allowed back into the game. This process repeats itself until either team achieves its goals. This not only makes it easy for new players to quickly practice their skills, but it also lessens the chance of newbies getting singled out, since they'll be reinserted with a group of other players at once.

Global Operations' world will be brought to life using the latest iteration of the No One Lives Forever engine. Each character model will boast roughly 1200 polygons, and the levels will feature various weather effects and time of day and will be affected by dynamic lighting, meaning you will be able to shoot out light bulbs to create cover. Each gun has been painstakingly re-created with photo-realistic textures and sampled gunfire sounds. You'll be able to purchase three guns at a time - a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, and a sidearm - all of which will clearly be visible hanging off the player's 3D model. Additionally, there will be a number of special items you can buy to enhance the functionality of your weapons. These include nightscopes, laser sights, and three types of armor: light, medium, and heavy. And while some items will be available to all players, some will only work with a specific weapon.

Global Operations is still early in its development cycle. While Barking Dog Studios has been working on the game for nine months, Barnhart doesn't think it'll be ready before July 2001. Currently, the company is working on the game's single-player component, which is essentially multiplayer maps populated with bots, and on several training levels as well. However, even in its early stages, it's easy to judge the potential of Global Operations, which could easily become tomorrow's Counter-Strike.

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