Block OPS INFO

Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer details are, not surprisingly, thin on the ground at this early stage in development. But if you were to scour the official World at War forums you’d be able to find some interesting multiplayer titbits (if you looked hard enough).

Treyarch’s Multiplayer Design Director, David Vonderhaar, frequents the CoD forums and has left some interesting nuggets of Black Ops multiplayer details amongst his posts. Some of the details Vonderhaar talks about strongly suggests that the firm will ditch a lot of the imbalances of MW2 multiplayer.

* While they’ve tried having custom killstreaks for each class, that seemed to complicate the ‘purity and speed’ of Create a Class.
* Consequently, it’s fair to assume that customizable killstreaks are all but confirmed.
* At this stage in development, killstreaks stack and carry over if you die, but do not contribute to further killstreaks (hence eliminating the ‘camping for killstreaks’ problem of Modern Warfare 2).
* Treyarch are not fans of Commando, the extended melee range perk in Modern Warfare 2, and it is unlikely to return.
* They’ve tried a ‘manned’ version of the Sentry Gun killstreak, but weren’t fans.
* We may well see a return to pistols as the only available sidearm, or perhaps a choice between pistols and launchers. Vahn and many of the team are not fans of shotguns and machine pistols as secondary weapons – it gives a player ‘too much firepower’.
* The knife may well become a secondary weapon – although Vahn didn’t want to say too much.
* Finally, don’t expect the nuke to return as a killstreak. Vahn says they are not fans of a game-ending killstreak

Additional details have surfaced on Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops, with confirmation of adversarial multiplayer in the game (fairly obviously) and 2-4 player co-op to boot, as well as teases about the kind of missions and weaponry players will be using in the game.

A couple of First Impressions articles over on USA Today have confirmed a reconnaissance mission featuring the SR-71 Blackbird (as was briefly hinted at in the teaser trailer), where players lead a team of NPC soldiers on the ground from an aerial view aboard the Blackbird.

The mission, set in Russia's Ural Mountains, is to direct the team on the ground around a Russian convoy by pointing them to waypoints on the ground, although players don't actually get to fly the plane. The mission is reportedly similar in style to Modern Warfare's AC-130 level.

Two main characters will be featured in Black Ops' single-player campaign, who will be involved in "multiple covert international conflicts" apparently. Treyarch has brought a couple of consultants on board to help research the project.

One of these consultants is Major John Plaster, a veteran of the Studies and Operations Group (SOG) from the Vietnam War (and can we just say, we called it), and there's Sonny Puzikas as well, who's a former Soviet special forces operative.

Both were able to provide Treyarch with details about special operatives during the Cold War period, such as how they were trained, their combat outfits, and the weapons they'd carry. One example of this is a military grade crossbow that has already been spotted in the game, which Treyarch's Mark Lamia explained in a little more detail:

"The specific crossbow in the game is based off the design of a military grade crossbow. The use of our crossbow was inspired by a story we heard about from Major Plaster about a member of SOG who would equip himself with a bow for some of his real-life missions, and our research, which showed its use by indigenous warriors in Vietnam that fought with special forces. In our case here, it served this mission as a dual-purpose weapon used for stealth, and one which when modified, could stealthily and precisely place a lethal explosive at range."

The weapon is also alleged to have the same control mechanic of earlier Modern Warfare games, where players click down on the thumbstick to hold their breath and steady their aim.

Hate them or love them, customizable killstreak rewards has been the most game-changing alteration to Modern Warfare 2 from the previous CoD Games. With a choice of 15 different rewards, players can now customize their killstreaks to them. Some choose to pick up lots of 3, 4 and 5 killstreaks, others work their way up to the bigger 11 killstreaks, and still others gun for the big 25 killstreak, the Tactical Nuke.

With the rumours that Call of Duty: Vietnam will be heavily based on the Modern Warfare 2 engine, we can look forward to a whole new range of killstreaks. Ideas over in the Treyarch forums include Napalm strikes, B-52 bombers and teammate-assisted mortar. However, old suggestions such as artillery and dogs are still around.

What’s different about the Treyarch forums is that the developers actually come and speak to their players, get feedback, and let them know about their progress. For example, here’s what Vahn, a Treyarch dev, had to say on the subject of having different killstreak rewards for each class:

We tried this and didn’t like it. That doesn’t mean we won’t try it again. At least one of my co-workers LOVED IT and he cried a little when I removed it.

It complicates the purity and speed of Create a Class, which by itself has to evolve and thus gets more complicated.

More directly, I’m listening to all the feedback about not having as many / complex / deadly killstreaks.

That feedback means that most classes, most of the time, have the same Killstreaks available in each of them by nature of not having as many killstreaks available at each of the key levels.

Vahn

Also, particularly interesting is the suggestion from Vahn that killstreaks would no longer contribute to further killstreaks in Call of Duty 7:

We love the stacking as well as the fact that it can carry between lives. What I don’t love is the fact that kills from killstreaks count towards your next killstreak.

That’s how you get the guys who rack up insane K:D ratios. If those guys had to go out into the field and shoot people, you wouldn’t see as much killstreak spam.

A great topic worthy of it’s own thread, really. We talk about those 3 things a lot.

Should kills from killstreaks count towards your next killstreak?

Should killstreaks continue to stack?

Should killstreaks you earned survive your death?

Our current implementation is: No, Yes, Yes. But anything can change during development.

Vahn

It’s certainly refreshing to see a game developer taking an active role in the community, and working to address problems from previous games. Fans will also be relieved to see that Treyarch are not fans of Commando (the MW2 perk) either, and it appears that they have no plans to implement that.

What are your ideas? Leave a comment and let us know – the best ideas will get a feature!

Will i like it yes but will there be commie zombies?