This is the first look at the new characters and weapons available with the Confrontation Cold Front DLC pack!

New Special Forces

With the purchase of the DLC, players will have access to a new Special Force group: the Russian Spetsnaz (SPZ).
For this Force, we created two highly detailed heads as well as a light, medium and heavy variant of their own torso and leg armor. Additionally, the Spetsnaz have their own camouflage pattern, headgear and unique voice-over.
During the Character Art research development for the DLC, one surprise discovery was the amount of American made gear that equips foreign armies. From backpacks, to armor, to helmets and camo, each of our selections are based on real load outs from the modern battlefield.

New Arctic Mercenaries

Mercenary characters have been completely updated for the SOCOM: Confrontation Cold Front DLC. Featuring new Arctic setting heads and bodies in a variety of styles, these new characters are available in light, medium and heavy armor. In addition, new camouflage and headgear has been added to the assortment of items available for Mercenaries.

Weapons from left to right:
Character 1 – M82A1A + Thermal Scope + Bipod 3
Character 2 – 552 + Foregrip + Suppressor 1
Character 3 – VAL + Thermal Scope
Character 4 – 9mm SUB + Red Dot Scope + Suppressor 2

New Weapons

Specifically for the DLC, we are offering the AG-94 assault rifle, available exclusively for the Russian Spetsnaz. Players will also have access to the Commandos’ fast-firing AK-107 and the Mercenaries’ covert VAL. In addition, Specialization CE Weapons are available exclusively to owners of the SOCOM: Confrontation Cold Front DLC. (see below).

Command Equity/Specialization Weapons

Another addition to the DLC is the Command Equity (CE)/Specializations feature.

With this feature, each player can select one weapon class as their Primary Specialization and another as their Secondary Specialization from the list of available weapon types. By Specializing in a weapon class, players will gain statistical bonuses in three categories that are significant to the type of weapon they Specialize in.

· Specializations for both Primary and Secondary Weapon Classes

· CE Points earned in Ranked games from Kills and Kill Assists

· CE Rewards in the form of unique CE Weapons and Attachments

By collecting enough CE points, players can earn unique CE Weapons and Attachments

The Dutch Korps Commandotroepen (KCT) and the Italian COMSUBIN are two Special Forces new to Patch 1.60. For each new Force we created two highly detailed heads as well as a light, medium and heavy variant of their torso and leg armor. Additionally, the new Forces have their own specific camouflage patterns, headgear and unique voice-overs. In developing the character art for 1.60 and DLC, accuracy and realism were the main focus. A good portion of the character development time was spent researching military forums, reference images and watching videos to build up a solid concept.

Dutch KCT
Weapons from left to right:
Character 1 – SR-25 + High Scope + Bipod 3
Character 2 – 417 + Foregrip + Acog scope
Character 3 – AK-74 + GL36
Character 4 – 417 + Suppressor 2 + Laser sight

Italian COMBUSIN
Weapons from left to right:
Character 1 – SPAS-15
Character 2 – MK48 Machine Gun + Front Grip
Character 3 – AK74 + Medium Scope + GL36 Grenade Launcher
Character 4 – HK5 SD + reflex scope + laser sight

New Weapons

For Patch 1.60, we created two new primary weapons: the 417 assault rifle for the Dutch KCT and the SPAS-15 shotgun for the Italian COMSUBIN. Four new weapons will be available to all players: the 9mm Sub and M82A1A for the Mercenaries and the AK-74 and SR-25 for the Commandos. It’s interesting to note that all these weapons were built by one artist. This approach to weapon creation is beneficial for consistency but challenging for the artist since researching reference textures and photos is a lengthy process.

The team has been working hard on all the new content and we can’t wait to get it up on the PSN for you! Watch this site or the SOCOM blog for the full details coming soon!

Unlike Blizzard, however, battles on Vigilance take place shortly after snowfall , the sun shining brightly through the clouds. Distinct red and blue building colours are used to aid the player’s navigation throughout the level.

All of the great sniper locations have been retained in Vigilance. Players can use explosives to expose secret passageways throughout the level in order to gain a significant tactical advantage in certain game modes. We have also brought turrets back to Vigilance and made them more effective in controlling choke points on the map.

We carried over many other aspects of Vigilance that fans will appreciate such as birds that have been placed throughout the map to provide a bit more life to the often quiet streets. We have also retained some of the somewhat quirky aspects from previous iterations of the map such as a bicycle that lies in the middle of map that has no collision.

The biggest art challenge we faced with Vigilance in updating to PS3 from PS2 was giving the different sides of the level some uniqueness to aid orientation. During the formation of buildings, terrain and other details, it was easy for a user to lose his way in the back alleys of this little town. This issue was solved by iterating on the red and blue color coding of buildings mentioned previously, and adding unique props.

Lower side of the Village- showing the Rubble Fires and view to the Church Tower.

Upper side of the Village- showing the crossing of the destroyed bridge and Water Drainage.

Aerial view of the Village- lots of great hiding places to remember.

]]> http://www.slantsixgames.com/2009/11/16/vigilance/feed/ http://www.slantsixgames.com/2009/08/24/confrontation-patch-15-confirmed/ http://www.slantsixgames.com/2009/08/24/confrontation-patch-15-confirmed/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:08:49 +0000 Zoe http://www.slantsixgames.com/?p=482 For all you Confrontation fans out there, be sure to get online tomorrow and download the newest patch fresh off the press. After a busy summer of fixes and updates, Sony has confirmed the release of our 1.5 patch! Thanks so much for all your support and patience over the past months. Want more details? Be sure to read the latest post on the official SOCOM blog.

IGN “Best of E3 Awards”
Winner – Best PSP Shooter
-IGN

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 Slant Six Interview and Footage
-Hip Hop Gamer

E3 09: Sony Opens E3, Makes Community Feel at Home
-Ve3tro

E3 09: SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, Interview with Kevin Franklin
-Ve3tro  

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 Hands-On Preview
-G4TV

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 Co-op Trailer
-GameSpot

E3: PSPgo and SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 on the Show Floor
-Games Radar

E3 09: Sony relaunches PSP with a superb game line-up (PSP)
-Games Radar

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 (PSP)
-Game Shark

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 E3 Trailer
-Game Trailers

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3
-Game Zone

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 Reloaded
-IGN

E3 Offers High-Tech Economic Boost
-KABC

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3
-Kombo

Playtest: The Top 10 DS and PSP Games from E3 2009
-Pocket Gamer

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 First Details
-PSPWorld

Veteran PSP Devs Continue to Innovate
-Sarcastic Gamer

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 3 (PSP) Gets 4 Player Co-op
-WorthPlaying

“What’s better than killing terrorists with a silenced machine gun? How about doing it with three of your best friends? SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 packs a brand new campaign for you and your friends to tackle as part of a four-man SEALs crew. You can customize your weapon sets, craft squad attack plans, and so much more. “

You can check out the official awards page here!

Some of our friends in the press have already been playing the latest build, that now includes the recently announced four player cooperative play! You can read their thoughts on the co-op play experience here. We’re looking forward to receiving feedback from those of you who get your hands on the game next week!

“After an afternoon of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, I can tell you that I’m ready to convert to the Church of Slant Six as well as call my bud and tell him he might want to think about buying a PSP and preordering this game.”
-IGN

G4 TV: Hands-On: SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3

GameTrailers: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 Depth Interview

IGN: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 Hands-On

Joystiq: New SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 Screens Emerge

Spike.com: SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo Debut

TotalPlayStation.com: Fireteam Times Three

GameSpot: SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 Hands-On Preview

GameSpy: Deadly SEALs Converge on PSP Once More

Thanks again to all of you who continue to write and give feedback. You’re patience and support (and even the ranting and stomping of feet) is important to our efforts here. The team is hard at work on a 1.5 update that will continue to improve the online play experience, as mentioned at the official SOCOM blog. Now stop reading and go get that 1.42 update!

You can see a detailed breakdown of just what will be discussed here. If you’re attending GDC, be sure to stop in and say hello on Friday morning at 10:30am. If you say you read about his talk on this blog, he might be nice enough to offer you a lollipop.

]]> http://www.slantsixgames.com/2009/03/18/technical-director-paul-martin-to-speak-at-gdc-2009/feed/ http://www.slantsixgames.com/2009/03/15/socom-confrontation-takes-over-europe/ http://www.slantsixgames.com/2009/03/15/socom-confrontation-takes-over-europe/#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:13:05 +0000 Zoe http://dev.slantsixgames.com/2009/03/18/socom-confrontation-takes-over-europe/ Great news! We’ve released Confrontation to a rabid audience of European fans and early non-credible sources on the internet suggest we’re debuting in the top ten games for the week. Not that we need the internet to tell us we’re cool or anything… but you know… it is nice to hear.