The war report: Joint Ops: Escalation blitzed

150 players. All at once. We still can't get our heads around the scale of Joint Ops: Typhoon Rising's raging multiplayer battles, mostly because are heads are usually in pieces on the ground after getting sniped by one of the other 149 players.

But the fact is that there's a lot more to Joint Ops than how many people are gunning for you at the same time. Novalogic's shooter is one of the best online war games we've ever played, chucking at you as it does an awesome arsenal of weaponry, vehicles, game modes and professionally created and user-created downloadable content.

And as if that wasn't enough, the Joint Ops: Escalation pack was drafted into action on November 16. Expanding the conflict to the hazy tropical environments around South East Asia, Escalation introduces a battalion of new features like a third-person viewpoint for vehicles, airborne insertions into combat zones, new vehicles like dirt bikes and attack choppers and 25 new maps.

With so much to keep track of in Joint Ops' theatre of conflict we organised a briefing with General Joel Taubel of the Novalogic corps.

Okay. He's actually Joint Ops' producer, but we like to think of him as a General.

What were the main areas of Typhoon Rising that you wanted to improve and expand upon for the Escalation expansion pack?

Joel Taubel: We wanted to improve the whole experience of Typhoon Rising. We took a hard look at what we could improve across the board for both Typhoon Rising and Escalation. Reducing the sniper frustrations was big on our list. We also wanted to improve the physics of the vehicles, add a third person camera and create a better sense of awareness while driving.

For Escalation we added body armour, parachutes, tanks, attack choppers, dirt bikes, the new base defence weapons, greater survivability and new ammo types.

You addressed the criticism of the spawn points by reinforcing the surroundings in Escalation where you respawn. What other criticisms have been addressed?

Joel Taubel: The main criticism we have addressed is the effectiveness of the snipers. Several additions have been made to make playing as a Sniper a bit more challenging. Protective walls have been added around many of the spawn points, allowing spawning players a chance to gather their bearings before being exposed to enemy fire. Furthermore, the muzzle flash and smoke from a rifle is larger and last a bit longer, making it easier to spot Snipers from a distance.

Defending a base is now easier. All rear bases have been equipped with armor plated .50 cal. machine gun emplacements. Not only does the armor protect the operator from long-range gunfire, the emplacements also feature an advanced optics system with an 8x zoom and combination thermal imaging and night vision. This will allow the operator to locate distant targets during any lighting condition and neutralise the threat to the base.

We also added parachutes, made adjustments to the recoil system, tuned the machine gunners up to be more accurate, dampened the emplaced weapons on the vehicles, and implemented countless other tweaks and tunes. Our beta testers have been a huge help to us during the development period. They will argue about anything... and I mean anything! And they give you more feedback than you know what to do with. Some people might think that this is a bad thing. I don't think so. The best testers have been a huge help to us. Being able to sanity check your ideas with the active public has been a huge help. This was the second beta program we have run and it went better than the first beta.

Is the tropical haze of Escalation a deliberate attempt to reduce the effect of snipers?

Joel Taubel: Nope. We have taken other measures to reduce the effectiveness of the snipers. Snipers used to be a bit of a problem in Typhoon Rising, but after some careful decisions we have been able to reduce how effective the snipers are. Snipers were able to make kills from 800 meters away. From a gameplay perspective, that is not what we were trying to accomplish. We changed the way the sniper works because they were so effective at becoming a one man wrecking crew.

Was it difficult to integrate the new vehicles without affecting the balance of the game?

Joel Taubel: Not really. We had an overall game plan for Escalation. The first and foremost was to introduce the new vehicles and the second largest was to not throw the game out of balance. Sticking to our 'do no harm' mindset we have been able to add features to the game to constantly improve the experience of Joint Ops.

Can you tell us about some of the new maps? Kutu Arms Market has become something of a fan favourite so will we see more urban environments?

Joel Taubel: We will be doing more urban maps in the future but the extent of that is still yet to be determined. We also developed a method of map design that we have called 'Clustering'. This means that instead of having a long line of Command Points, we focus the action in areas by bringing them close together. This reduces the need for vehicular travel if you respawn at a base. It also increases the close quarters engagements significantly.

Can you reassure fans that dirt bikes are a realistic component of modern warfare?

Joel Taubel: The bike we got the inspiration from is known in the United States Marine Corps as the M1030M1 (also known as the MILMO). It is a 650cc dirt bike that can run on diesel fuel.

It is capable of transporting two passengers and light cargo like documents. This motorcycle is able to run on diesel fuel at 120 miles per gallon.

It is used largely for light reconnaissance in real life, but we decided to give it a larger role as they are very fun to use.

Another addition is the third-person view for driving vehicles, how much debate was there about the realism of this addition?

Joel Taubel: There wasn't much debate about this addition. A majority of us agree that being locked to the first person view while driving is not everyone's cup of tea. It makes the driving experience more rewarding when you can see around you. Landing helicopters used to be a chore as it was next to impossible to see objects below you. Now with the third person view you can see where you are setting down. The vehicles are easier to navigate through the battlefield, which means the games are more enjoyable as you have less chance of turning your buggy over in the middle of the battlefield.

How many of the new features have come directly from player comments?

Joel Taubel: That is a tough one. Some of these ideas have been floating around the company for a long time. It's hard to say where all of the ideas originally came from, but I am sure that there are a couple that originally came from our fan base.

With the amount of improvements, everything from the new damage model to NovaWorld and map-making tools, is there any room left for further expansion packs or even sequels?

Joel Taubel: Absolutely. We are just getting started. We are currently focusing on Co-Op games and finding ways to improve the experience. I won't comment on what is going to happen in the next year or two, but I will say that Joint Ops is very much alive at NovaLogic.

Joint Ops: Typhoon Rising and the expansion pack Joint Ops: Escalation are both available now. Check back soon for our definitive review.

CVG Staff