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Delta Force: Task Force Dagger

by James Sterrett

Article Type: Interview
Article Date: April 30, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: Delta Force: Task Force Dagger
Category: Squad-based Tactical Shooter
Developer: Zombie
Publisher: NovaLogic
Release Date: May 2002
System Req: TBA
Files & Links: Click Here

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Delta Force: Task Force Dagger (TFD) will thrust players once more into the breach of voxel combat. Players can take the role of any of ten special forces characters in the game and fight through a series of battles set in the current war in Afghanistan, including missions in Kandahar and Tora Bora.

TFD is a stand-alone expansion of Delta Force: Land Warrior. TFD is being made by Zombie Studios, whose previous titles include Spec Ops: Rangers Lead the Way (and its eight variants), and Rainbow Six: Covert Ops Essentials, and the tank sim Spearhead. TFD is expected to include 25 missions, 17 new weapons, and support from Predator UAVs flying overhead.

Hoping to find out what was going on, we contacted Zombie Studios. Denied entry to their secret bunker complex (even when we offered to sign our names in Kool-Aid!), we were eventually permitted email access to Mark Long, president of Zombie Studios.

Booby-traps and chain-link fences

James Sterrett (J.S.): How closely are TFD's scenarios modeled on real battles in Afghanistan? Should we expect to be able to find the same terrain on maps and have similar orders of battle on the two sides, or is the simulation relatively loose?

Mark Long (M.L.): It's almost impossible to find open source material on the specifics of the battles in Afghanistan. We've designed levels around the targets and operations that the Pentagon has disclosed, but in the end it's more about the look and feel of the area than it is a "simulation".

J.S. Setting TFD in Afghanistan has kicked up a ruckus in some quarters. Is the stir on this issue good or bad for the game?

M.L. I think this is only true of the European press where the war is being analyzed differently than here in the US and Canada. Everyone I correspond with—including and especially the huge Delta Force fan base—is more concerned about gameplay than anything else.

Taking out an SA-6 with Frag Grenades

J.S. How are the ten different soldiers differentiated, other than by their kit?

M.L. The Land Warrior engine has a very elaborate data driven scheme for the definition of characters and weapons. Each character will have its balanced strengths and weaknesses, including a preferred set of weapons.

And we correlated these parameters to the training and mission profiles of each unit. So an Air Force CSAR is a great medic, but a weak sniper. And the SEAL is the best swimmer, but wears no body armor.

Storming the hangar

J.S. What have you learned through your collaboration with the military on this title, and how has it affected the development of TFD?

How each unit modifies its weapons, what custom LCE they're using, "MILSPEAK" slang, tactics, roles, missions—that kind of thing.

J.S. What has the Zombie team learned from its other military games (Rainbow 6: Covert Ops, the Spec Ops games, and Spearhead) that it can apply to TFD?

M.L. I 'd say the most important lesson is that's "It's about the game." Specializing in this genre is cool, but ultimately it's all about how fun it is to play.

Now offering courses in advanced airbase vandalism....

J.S. Could you explain your philosophy on balancing realism with gameplay?

M.L. The game needs to look and sound as real as possible, but that's where accuracy stops and gameplay begins. I'm not a big fan of simulations—at a certain point realism becomes tedious. But if you don't get the uniforms, equipment, vehicles, and tactics correct you'll hear about it from your players because many are ex-military.

Strangers in the night, exchanging shrapnel, staying out of the light...

J.S. Please describe the perfect AI for a game like TFD. How close does the game come to providing this kind of AI?

M.L. Well perfect AI is still a long way off no matter what engine you're talking about, but the Land Warrior AI and editor are pretty sophisticated. We've got trucks driving around with squads in the back that deploy and try to flank you. And cooperative AI like snipers orbiting above you in a black hawk, providing sniper coverage.

J.S. Please describe your favorite aspect of TFD, and explain its appeal. (What's the essence of fun in the game?)

M.L. We've got one big surprise coming that I know everyone is going to flip out over, and I can't tell you about it yet. But it's spelled P-R-E-D-A-T-O-R.

[J.S. So, is that UAV flying overhead going to be lobbing Hellfires? Hmmmm…?]

J.S. What part of TFD has been most difficult in development?

M.L. Trying to design a game based on a war that's ongoing.

Even better than potting pigeons in the park!

J.S. If you could change one thing about the game industry, what would it be, and why?

M.L. I'd like to see the ascendancy of the amateur mod community to a kind-of independent film status. In other words, a low-budget equivalent in games with an opportunity for publication and distribution.

With the budgets and teams growing every year, publishers can't afford to take risks on unproven teams. But if it was possible to have an "indie" developer have a game hit equivalent of "Reservoir Dogs", that would be great. We'd see more innovation and there would be a shorter path for new talent to the industry. Maybe something like a Sundance for games.

J.S. Thank you for answering our questions, Mark! Please don't shoot us as we sneak out with these screenshots…

Delta Force: Task Force Dagger should deploy into a store near you during the next few weeks (May of 2002).



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