OPSAT SMI Interface - Explored | Forums

[sgt_brent]

Surely a nice idea, but that would be very hard to pull off and you are walking on a thin path there, because for something like this to work in a stealth game you need to really hit the nail.

More extreme things have happened, FYI.

You need to have more faith in the talent residing within the walls of Ubisoft Toronto. You act like it's a small team of first year college programming students sitting in those offices.

Ubisoft Toronto studio employs hundreds of very talented and experienced individuals who are more right to make the decision as to what is possible, what is realistic, and what can fit into the budget for SC7. We are here to provide ideas and feedback for them to consider.

They took on an even bigger challenge with creating the SMI system in the first place. With this idea, all they have to do is continue with the solid foundation they have.

[Dome500]

All I'm saying is I am not sure if Ubisoft will take the risk.

Because in the end - it all comes down to the publisher....

[sgt_brent]

If it were up to this community to worry about what the publisher thinks about community ideas, we would all be seeing deposits into our bank accounts from Ubisoft every two weeks.

It isn't.

It is up to us to come up with ideas, and give feedback to the people who are tasked with sorting through ideas. THEN people receiving said bi-weekly deposits decide whether the publisher cares enough to pursue the ideas.

[SolidSage]

Didn't read the thread but wanted to chime in on how I feel about the SMI and UI. I do dig the concept of the SMI but honestly, I kind of miss the simplified set up of SCC. Four boxes with fields that the player could tweak super easy, press Ready To Play and that's it, game on. Now I have to load up, access the SMI, change what it shows as it never shows everything at the outset it seems, search through missions to see which is the one I want to play and then it's on to customization or difficulty setting then load in.
THEN, story load up that I have to skip, then into the mission and it's confining parameters that don't seem to be adjustable.

SMI is a cool idea but I don't think it actually made things much quicker really, instead it seems to show off a bunch of cool graphics (looks like an AC map) and tech, and that's about it. Maybe it's better in the switching out between SP to Coop to MP but I honestly don't often stop a mission once I start it to jump into a match with someone else, so kind of not so useful for me.


An OPSAT that offers me a menu similar in concept to SCC's would be good, let me adjust my content settings and then get right into the action, the delays are more and more noticeable as time goes on.
In short, streamlined interfaces are desirable for me. Rather than having layers and layers of UI to dig through to get to the game play.

[sgt_brent]

^ I understand that this idea does not sit well with casual type players. The OPSAT, SATCOM, and even the new SMI interface are things that please long-time lovers of Splinter Cell, myself obviously included in that group.

Some want a quick and easy hack-and-slash game experience that I like to call "plug and play" - whereas some want to feel invested into the world with rich and diverse gameplay options.

Among a lot of different points, I think modern gaming needs to advance to include a lot more deep and extensive elements, if a title wants to become, or remain "triple A". Simply hanging a bunch of plastic boxes on Walmart shelves that offer a generic plug-and-play experience does not sit right with me, and that's one thing that's wrong with this industry.

Sorry, Sage. We both know how completely different our play-styles and desires are, pal. The SMI only pushed us deeper into the world, and I think the next step is to go even further into the technology behind Splinter Cell and 4E.

[SolidSage]

Yes but the SMI makes me be Sam as he accesses his world. I want the game to be my tool box and I want to access it as the Player. Instant gratification. I want the key to go in the lock and have the car start up, not talk to some dude on ONstar for 10 minutes while I wait for the motor to warm up.

Nothing to do with HOW I play as much as how quickly I can get to playing.

How may times do I need to hear Grim inform of a dead drop that I already picked up or something similar? Yes, I like the immersion too but there are times when I have limited time to play and I want to get in and do it. SCC let me do it.

[sgt_brent]

I'm not sure I find the Blacklist SMI UI as tough to navigate - if that's what you mean. I remember the play-test had emphasis on how I navigated it, at one point.

I know you were a big fan of Deniable Ops, and for good reason. It was that quick and easy way to pick what you wanted to do, and jump into it, easily. I think that comes with it being Deniable Ops. It wasn't narrative driven, whereas the 4E missions in Blacklist all are. (Read the book - It's awesome how it relates to some of the Grimm and Kobin missions).

This companion app would allow you to CREATE that Deniable Ops mission while sitting in line at the dentist, SAVE it to ShadowNET for friends to see and take on, but then later when you're home, jump into that mission and go. I feel like that's a pretty seamless way to work it.

[Dome500]

I agree with Sage here.

A nice option would be to be able to acess the OPSAT at any time, that means in a mission and aboard the Paladin.

So let's say you acess the OPSAT aboard the Paladin (no matter where you stand) and it's a direct Link to the SMI.

The sp and coop missions are shown like in Blacklist, but in addition there is the D-Ops Mode which is shown like SvM on the map (in form of a symbol).

So you acess the "D-Ops" symbol and then you are in a menu with customizable options (like difficulty, enemy density, allowed weapons, objective mode, special rules, etc.) and you can choose the map you want to play and if you want to play solo or invite a friend. Then you press "start" and it goes right into the action like it was in D-Ops.

[sgt_brent]

So I could be standing next to the SMI table, but still open my OPSAT to do the same things as if I had started the SMI?

Talk about redundant.

I think perhaps separating SP/co-op/MP and Deniable Ops into two different sections. Perhaps the SMI operates story related content, with cutscenes whereas the OPSAT operates the Deniable Ops game modes, along with the customization and social layouts for those missions.

I don't think any competent game designer would have everything available from two locations. It makes either one of them irrelevant. One access point. The HUB works really well for narrative driven things.

Just an idea. Not sure how to best organize it.

[Dome500]

So I could be standing next to the SMI table, but still open my OPSAT to do the same things as if I had started the SMI?

Talk about redundant.

No, absolutely not, because you can do it in mission and anywhere on the Paladin. that means if you are in the cockpit you do not have to walk down and to the SMI table to acess the missions, you can just jump right in.

Also, with the way I imagine the D-Ops 2.0 mode you could just jump into playing without any story context, which is pretty much what Sage wants if I understand that right. And that is also what I would like. On top of that, being able to use every map you want in D-Ops then would also be cool.

Sages point is about simplicity.

He said that in Blacklist you have to go to the SMI, then access it, then Click on one of the missions, then start the briefing, then jump the briefing cutscene, then choose difficulty and click Launch Mission and then you have to skip another cutscene until you can finally play.

Now this might be okay if you want to play story, but if you just want to jump in an have some gameplay at a map of your choice, something like the D-Ops 2.0 would be a nice mode to play all maps upon, solo and with a partner and just go right into the action.

The OPSAT interface could assist in minimizing the time and effort it takes to start playing.

Of course it's just a little addition, but there is on the other hand not much work needed to establish this little option in the SMI-Pause-Menu / OPSAT Menu.

I think perhaps separating SP/co-op/MP and Deniable Ops into two different sections. Perhaps the SMI operates story related content, with cutscenes whereas the OPSAT operates the Deniable Ops game modes, along with the customization and social layouts for those missions.

Then again, this would be too separated and we would have players who wouldn't even know D-Ops 2.0 exists in the game.

If you make both available for both you make the experience seamless.

Do you want the immersion of going to the table and looking on the map and modes there? Or do you want to quick-access the SMI via your OPSAT?

I don't think any competent game designer would have everything available from two locations. It makes either one of them irrelevant. One access point. The HUB works really well for narrative driven things.

But they already have in Blacklist.

You can ace's the SMI map either by going to the map and looking on it or by going into the pause menu and choosing "SMI map".