Thanks for your support, hopefully this will bring more old members back on the forums !
Reminder of the Google Docs link of the final letter : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...TFF7IqT7zm5wM/
We are many to dream of a new Splinter Cell game going back to the roots of the franchise. If you allow, I'll add your nickname to the list.
Thanks again to everyone posting here for the first time, that's encouraging.
I invite everyone to read the full letter if you have the time: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...TFF7IqT7zm5wM/
For those who don't, I am summing up its main elements :
• Our main goal : we want this letter to create a positive and constructive collaboration between them and us Splinter Cell fans by getting us involved as soon as possible in the development process, like IO Interactive did with their fans in 2016 when they were creating the new Hitman trilogy.
• We say that we would like to play the vertical slice demo inspired by Hitman (if the rumor about it is true) and give detailed and constructive feedback to the dev team.
• We detailed our hopes, expectations but also our fears (see paragraphs 7 and 9). To make it short: we would like to see a smaller scale production with a true return to the roots, a clear and strong emphasis on stealth and a focus on only one playstyle (ghost with a slow pace). On the other hand a lot us dislike the direction other Tom Clancy's franchises and more globally all Ubisoft titles are taking right now, and we don't want to see this happen to our beloved franchise.
• We addressed a paragraph (§10) about the current state of the stealth genre, explaining how this genre has declined this last decade and how Splinter Cell could seize this opportunity to successfully redefine stealth again in a market where it wouldn't have any competition.
• To end, we assure once again that we are open, available and we want to work positively and hand-in-hand with a team of developers in order to produce the best Splinter Cell game to push both the genre and the franchise into new horizons.
I think to be relevant Splinter Cell would have to deviate quite dramatically from Ubisoft's current template. Ghost Recon Breakpoint basically ticks every box they've been aiming for since forever ago. It's the play your way mil-sim, with literally Sam Fisher having his own chapter in the story; Splinter Cell cosmetic gear strewn throughout. Ubisoft would be competing with itself if it released a "live-service, play-your-way, mil-sim" with Splinter Cell cosmetics.
Older game models can be very popular though; what Capcom did with the Resident Evil 2 remake was pretty cool. Maybe that's a decent point of reference for how traditional Splinter Cell could be updated. Focus on the micro details and build a very precise player experience. Even visually, the lights and shadows in the game aren't just cosmetics; the rules of light and shadow stealth say that casting a shadow on the player means something. The game needs to visually represent that. It's why daytime levels don't really work, and why Blacklist visually fell off--it just looked like a game--the sometimes lights meant things, other times they were just there to fill screen space.