Game Treatment

From Code43 Urban Warefare Wiki wiki.code43.net

The Game Treatment serves as an overview, or outline, for the project. In a professional game development environment, the treatment would be presented to publishers to gain their interest.

Executive Summary

Code 43: Urban Warfare is community driven. The open source nature of Code 43: Urban Warfare means that the community has an active role in the development and maintenance. From bug tracking to feature requests, the community has a close relationship with the development process and team. Including 3rd party development: maps, models, etc.
Code 43: Urban Warfare is a realism based tactical First Person Shooter. A well placed shot can result in the loss of limb function or instant death. Damage to limbs will increase weapon wobble and recoil, or impair a player's movement: be it speed or stance. Shot placement is done with actual aiming techniques: using the weapon-model's iron-sights or point shooting, instead of the typical crosshairs sprite.
Code 43: Urban Warfare provides several default game modes that correspond to varying levels of realism. These modes are primarily physics settings, which can be tweaked at the server configuration level for fine grained control.
Code 43: Urban Warfare is multiplayer driven. Players won't face the typical shortcomings of an all-knowing, or overtly stupid, artificial intelligence opponent. Every opponent is a real person, which means real skill, real tactics, and real challenge.
Code 43: Urban Warfare offers a multitude of game types, including several variations on the classics. From the standard death match (or free-for-all) to the intensly cooperative VIP escort-elimination. Most game types are team oriented, placing great emphasis on squad based strategy and cooperation.

Game Overview

High Concept

Urban warfare at its worst. A covert unit, speacializing in close quarters combat, fights crime across the globe: from mercenaries to bank robbers. When the local special operations force can't handle a situation, the TAC force is called into action.

Genre

Realism based tactical first person shooter. Close quarters combat with a variety of modern weapons in urban locales.

Hooks

Community driven, Open Source, development. The community has an active role in the development and maintenance.
Realistic injury system. Damage to limbs influences the capabilities of the player. Leg wounds can limit the player's speed and stance. Arm wounds will impede their ability to aim properly. Head or neck wounds result in death.
Real aiming techniques: reflexive shooting with an emphasis on iron sights and aimed quick kill, instead of the typical crosshairs sprite.
Entirely multiplayer. Every opponent is a real person, which means real skill, real tactics, and real challenge.
Inventory loadout system for gear instead of 'soldier classes'. Stamina and speed are influenced by the encumbrance of the gear in the player's inventory.

Gameplay Highlights

Leg wounds can limit the player's speed, slowing down or completely eliminating the ability to sprint or run. Leg wounds can also inhibit the player's ability to stand for long periods, if at all, forcing them to a crouched or crawling position.
Arm wounds will increase the natural wobble and sway of the weapon, and will increase the degree of recoil. Possibly even resulting in an incapacitated player if both arms are heavily damaged (so much so that they can't operate their equipment).
Head, neck, and certain unarmored body shots will result in instant death.
Reflexive shooting techniques, with emphasis on iron sights and quick kill, replace the typical crosshairs sprite found in most first person shooters. The techniques, coupled with respiration control, greatly improve the accuracy of shot placement.
Quick kill replaces the grossly unrealistic hip-shooting stance. The weapon's muzzle is held approximately two inches below the target, effectively placing the barrel parallel to the line of sight. The shooter learns to sight above the barrel, rather than along the barrel.
Accurate weapon modeling system. Ballistics incorporate specifics from each weapon. Rounds originate from the weapon's barrel, instead of an arbitrary point on the player model. Bullets ricochet and penotrate environmental objects as expected. Weapons recoil from shots, muzzles flash & smoke, and sway based on player movement.
Non-lethal wounds can be treated using a medical kit. Failure to treat severe wounds can result in "bleeding out", or death from blood loss. Most wounds can be self treated, and those that can't (realistically) be reached by the player must be tended to by another.
User-profile defined inventory loadout determines the default gear. An inventory quick-menu can be accessed in-game for various reasons: to maximize the efficiency of gear organization (ammo placement), to change out equipment between rounds, or abandon gear in the field.
Stamina, speed, and momentum/inertia are influenced by the encumbrance of the gear in the player's inventory. Overburdening the player will result in expending their stamina faster and having a slower normal pace, but won't leave them immobile. Abandoning gear in-game can increase agility, speed, and reduce the noise signature of the player.
The in-game camera is placed in the head of the player model for a true first person experience. The player can look down to see their arms, legs, weapon, etcetera, and the character's animations and movements correspond precisely to what they appear to be doing.
Freelook provides the ability for the player to look around independently of where they're aiming or moving.
Uninhibited movement. Fluid stance permits a player to raise and lower their posture, or lean left and right, by varying degrees using the mouse. There are also quick-keys to rapidly attain the common crouch and prone positions.
Obstacle navigation by mantling or climbing. The height of an obstacle will determine how the player has to overcome it. From a short step-up, which leaves the weapon ready, to a weapon-slung climb-assist over a wall: there are numerous methods to overcome obstructions.
Customizable controls preferences for toggle versus hold. Just about every action can be specified as either hold or toggle.
Statistics tracking available through the user-profile. For example, shot accuracy, locational shot accuracy, kills, deaths, etc.

Online Highlights

Server-side tournaments.
Several default game modes that correspond to varying levels of realism. These modes are primarily physics settings, which can be tweaked at the server configuration level for fine grained control.
Maps (schematics) of the levels are available for strategy planning and sharing.
Death Match. Your standard run-and-gun free for all, where the winner is determined by who has the most kills when the time limit runs out.
Team Death Match, the cooperative analogue to Death Match.
The Demolition gametype has teams attack and defend level based targets. A team will be tasked with destroying the target, while another will need to prevent the target's destruction.
Destroyed or Dead is a variation of Demolition gametype. The round only ends in two situations: the target is destroyed (bomb explodes), or all the people of a team have died. The type has three sub-variations as well: 1) the person who defused the bomb becomes the carrier, and is marked as such for the opposition. 2) the bomb stays where it was planted, and has to be re-set by the opposition. 3) the bomb stays where it was planted, and can be picked up and planted elsewhere.
A variety of capture the flag styles are available: including single-flag capture, standard ctf, reverse-base capture, and data extraction.
In VIP Escort/Execution the TAC force has to transport a VIP across the level, while mercenaries try to execute the target.
Hostage Escort/Rescue is similar to VIP-EE. Hostages have been taken by terrorists, who must force them across the level to an exit. The TAC force must rescue the hostages, and take them to an extraction zone. The terrorists need the hostages alive to make their demands.

Technology Highlights

High Dynamic Range Lighting. In dark environments, bright lights will diminish a player's ability to see. Looking into the sun, or other bright lights, will likewise inhibit the ability to see.
Sound modeling will capture a similar effect for hearing. The noise of a firefight can impair your hearing, and drown out the sound of footsteps or other ambient sounds.
Authentic combat sounds, and supersonic bullets contribute to the realistic immersion. Expect to hear snapping and popping when under fire, instead of the typical "whoosh" of a near miss.
3D audio techniques including head-related transfer function, wave field synthesis, and binaural recording.

Art and Audio Highlights

Textures created from photographs of real materials for levels.
Audio samples of the actual weapons.

Hardware

Personal Computer with a graphics processing unit supporting Shader Model 3.0, and an OpenGL driver supporting the OpenGL Shader Language. (GPUs newer than the GeForce 6600 GT and the ATI Radeon X1300 should be compatible.)

Production Details

Current Status

Although primarily still in the planning phase, the GPLv2 XreaL game/engine (a Quake3 based project) has been forked, relieved of all content we can't obtain licenses for, and rebranded for Code 43: Urban Warfare.

Identicle XreaL gameplay, with most of our own graphics (player models had a favorable license). Some GUI-specific elements have yet to be eliminated.

A forum, website, wiki, FTP server, and source repository have also been established.

Budget

All work is done on a volunteer basis.

Schedule

The pre-alpha has been postponed to January 1st, 2010. At the very least, it will provide entirely unique artwork for Code 43: Urban Warfare (models, GUIs, sounds, etc.). Ideally, however, it will provide the basis for the Locational Damage and Weapons System. Specifics will be made available in the form of more detailed milestones.

Game World

Backstory

The state of the world deteriorates ever more: the environment falters, resources diminish, anger and violence flourish. Overburdened by increasing hostilities, law enforcement loses control. To combat those who would capitalize on the global unrest, the U.N. authorizes the formation of a global collaborative: a covert unit, specializing in close quarters combat, to step in where the local task force fails.