DEMO DELAYED

Just in from Helios is the announcement that the Demo is going to be “delayed”. Now only PC users post release will get a demo. It was noted this was done to improve quality of there final demo presentation.

[Helios]

Whilst we had originally planned to release a demo prior to launch, these plans have now had to be changed. The demo plans now are that we will now be releasing a single player and co-op demo on PC only post launch of the full game.

The main factor in this decision is to ensure that the full game gets 100% focus and attention before it’s released. We know how long many of you have waited for this game, and we want it to be as polished as it can possibly be for your enjoyment, and this is why the demo has had to be pushed back.

Readmore and comment at source.

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Preview - Gamespot Updated MP Hands-On

Flanking the new video is a preview of the MP of OFP:DR. At a quick glance at the preview reads alot of CM’s marketing so use your judgment when reading, it seem alot of “hype”.

[Helios]

Just posted up now, and after reading the article it appears to be based on the console versions, though of course it is entirely possible to play 4v4 with AI teammates on the PC as well

http://us.gamespot.com/xbox360/actio…&mode=previews
“Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is about as far from run-and-gun action as you can imagine, and that slower pace will require a measure of patience on behalf of the player who will need to front-load lots of planning into a level before the bullets start flying. Those with a head for strategy, heads up: Dragon Rising is set for deployment on October 6.”

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New Screens – 6 New screens from the PVP video

Found by Swooph

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PVP Teaser Video

This video is 1:19 long and shows off MP skirmishing. The video is simple, however it shows a quick look Helicopter combat, draw distance, terrain quality, tank combat and urban fighting.

Please be aware that the member in question hasn’t played the game but is basing he’s preview on video’s as well as other information currently available to us. Still, it’s very nicely written and may have some information previously unknown to you so enjoy.

[Tanky]

That Dragon Looks Awfully Like an Attack Chopper!A Preview of OFDR for Consoles by Community Member ‘tanky’

(please be aware that some of this will be info which other previews have access to but I fear that mine will be better written with less of the BS…it’ll certainly be no worse than what we’ve been reading!!)

In 2001, the world of gaming changed forever when Codemasters teamed up with Bohemia Interactive to bring us the mind-numbingly epic Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. The game was cutting edge, ahead of its time. I remember standing in PC World with my dad, telekinetically willing him to part with his hard-earned for a big dirty Nvidia beast-card! It was for one reason alone…I wanted to do a McFly and travel back in time, back to a time of huge body-warmers, mullets, puffball skirts and most importantly, politico-military tensions between superpowers! For all you youngsters out there, this time was known as the 1980s.

The first Flashpoint saw us thrust upon a group of three islands to calm a pending international incident. The game itself was huge with plenty of missions, mods and places to cower from the Spetznatz. Among other things like driving vehicles and ordering a platoon to move on a target, it allowed the player to choose (to an extent) how to achieve the objectives set out by the commanding officers and the script was open-ended. I even remember allowing a grunt to drive me away from a successful fire-fight in one of the large forests, I’d been struggling with this mission, I finally got out alive and the guy crashed the damn jeep…back to the start!! This was realism on a level far superior to anything else before and, arguably since.

Now it’s 2009 and there’s trouble brewing in near-future Skira, a purpose-built oil-rich (need we say more?) island off the coasts of Japan and Russia (what’s with all the time travelling…I haven’t even seen a flux capacitor yet!?). Importantly, Codemasters managed to maintain the legal rights to the brand following an acrimonious split with Bohemia Interactive, now this new Flashpoint (or Dragon Rising) promises to be even more spectacular than the first, even more brutal and ultra-realistic.

The developers have utilised every inch given to them by the powerful in-house Ego engine and the game features an impressive draw-distance of over 30k. On that note, the player can wage war on (and trek or drive around) some 226km2 of lovingly crafted land mass which will feature an array of buildings and abandoned installations including houses, farms and even an oil refinery. The game also features around sixty weapons and over thirty vehicles, each optimised down to the finest detail, audio and visual. Incidentally, the graphics are definitely above average and the sounds of war in the game will make you think you’ve crawled inside the barrel of a Howitzer just before someone yells ‘Fire!’. You’ll also know when you’ve been hit because you and your men will die, probably slowly as you trundle towards your goals…better get some field dressings out!

Importantly, the player will be given control of three marines as his fireteam become tasked with accomplishing various objectives on the island (and the smaller island of Skirinka). These guys can fight like lords and will be controlled with an impressively deep radial menu which, like anything new to the FPS genre, will take a little getting used to, but it’s well worth it. About ten minutes after complaining because you sent your boys into an enemy stronghold when all you wanted was a tight spread V-formation, you’ll be ordering them to kick down doors and kick some PLA ass while they’re at it.

The single player game takes the player through eleven expansive missions with plenty of replay value added by the interesting difficulty settings which Codemasters have seemed particularly proud of in they’re Developer Diary video series. The default setting gives the player more help by having a full HUD including a target reticule, compass, ammo indicators and health information regarding the boys in your team. The next level up takes away some of this and Hardcore mode which “is turning it right up to eleven” according to lead producer Sion Lenton, strips out any semblance of the ‘help-me-at-every-turn’ HUD which some gamers perhaps expect as a result of the undoubtedly influential COD series. Gamers won’t become “bullet-sponges” because of the difficulty settings according to producer Tim Browne; instead they will just receive less help when it comes to taking on the might of the PLA.

The multiplayer game offers three modes of play. There will be a co-op mode available which allows the player to team up with three other humans and play the campaign game (though there is a tether distance of 275metres). ‘Annihilation’ will take the form of a more typical death-match, pitting four teams of four (one human, three CPU) against another four teams on the opposing side. ‘Infiltration’ is an interesting proposition which will see two teams of well-equipped spec-ops face off against six teams of ill-prepared grunts. Sparks will fly, my friends.

In terms of the fans of the game, one should expect to see the reinvigoration of the massive cult following which made the last game what it was. Having said that, the videos released by Codemasters seem to receiving a great deal of attention online, which suggests that there will also be a new glut of fans. Moreover, the forums are brimming with campers, happy AND unhappy- because it’s not out yet. There is little to no info on the release date of a demo but the game itself spawns in the US on the 6th of October and in the UK on the 9th. Very exciting times methinks.

In closing, I can’t wait to order my boys in to take down some other fool’s team online, nor can I wait to bust some PLA ass with the arsenal that Codemasters will be providing. See you on the battlefield, friends, shoot early, shoot often…actually that’s probably a bad idea in this game…PM me instead!

Discussion

This new interview found by hero member illuminator reveals some new information, mainly that of multiplayer. One of my personal bugbears was the ranking system but it wont be to the extent of unlockables which should be fine for now:

° There is an Online Ranking system (highest rank: Brigade general), you dont get new features, you just see, how long did you play and some information about your skill.
° No clan features (like a Squad logo) at release, maybe after relase via DLC.
° Grenade explosion can divulse arms (hm, didn’t see that in my preview code).
° There is a 3rd view spectator view within the MP mode (switch every 3 seconds from one soldiert to the next).
° No custom skins or uniforms at release, maybe later after release via DLC.
° After disconnect in MP, the free slot will be filled out by AI. Then you have to wait until the mission end to rejoin.
° SpecOps AI has a better moral, so it’s harder to beat them.
° You have to install some local files to play on PS3.

Discussion

Preview/Interview

A new Czech Preview was found by PanVlk47 and the previewer talks about the game being not as hardcore etc… as the community was led to believe.

Also contains some new in-game footage

Preview

Discussion

An excellent preview and a must watch, the sound becomes fuzzy after 7 minuites but the full transcript is available on all of the other pages once it does do this.

Preview

Discussion

Stuff.co.nz has released an OFP:DR Preview, it can be read here.

In the preview, the journalists play the radar mission one that is already played by an high amount of game journalists.

According to the previewers, Nature is the true star in Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. The sounds sounds very realistic and convincing, and, even while the version their played is still a beta, the sounds already sound like it’s a final version of the game.

The article closes down with:

“A Gears of War or Killzone clone it is not. For PC owners, the real question here will be whether the numerous fans of the original can be convinced to put down ArmA 2 and sacrifice a bit of realism for something a little less intense.”

The article is located here.

Thanks to community member 1Mystic-G A new, spanish preview was found. The translation can be found here.

• According to the preview, Year 2009 will be known to gamers as “The year of the Dragon”. Realism and spectacle walk hand in hand in Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, according to the preview, and is a worthy competitor for ArmA 2.

• To cover large distances, vehicles are a must. however, sometimes you’d might prefer walking to stay unseen.

• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will have to do with reduced graphics, compared with other shooters which where released recently. However, it’s definitely worth the sacrifice, since the realism will profiteer from it, and the size of the island as well.

The translated preview can be found here. The original post from 1Mystic-G can be found here

A new preview has been found on One up.

First Paragraph:

Most military-themed games are either roller-coaster shooters (the Call of Duty franchise) or shooters with tactical elements (Rainbow Six); the original Operation Flashpoint fitted neither of those distinctions, as it was more of an “infantry in war” simulator. That is, instead of filling your screen with spectacle and flourish while leading you down a very deliberately-designed experience, Operation Flashpoint just placed you in the world with yourself, some gear, a mission objective, a detailed array of systems (movement, weapons, A.I., etc.) to consider, and the freedom to figure out how to fulfill your missions with your toolset. It was simultaneously hardcore, tense, unforgiving, and exhilarating at times. So while the original developers have moved on to the ArmA franchise, Codemasters is trying to recapture some of OF’s intense infantry-simulation magic with Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising.

- Thierry Nguyen

Thanks MassOne,

Source

Thanks to heroes member ubermachtig, a new dutch preview was found. The pages have been translated for you:

Page 1, Page 2, Page 3
The preview states a couple of important things:

• In the version they played, switching from easy to hard ONLY changed the HUD elements. The AI didn’t improve skill in any way.
• The first mission was relatively easy, the second one was pretty diffcult, and let the writer realised how deathly a single bullet was. He never used the restart button so much in a game
• Graphical aspect – Where ArmA 2 went down on dated engine techniques, Operation Flashpoint shows how to do everything better
• there where no graphical differences between the X-Box and the PC version, according to the writer

• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is far from perfect, and the writer wonders if CM puts it together correctly in the upcoming 2 months, prior to the release.
• The weapon models look very nice, and are detailed till the slightest details
• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is more then just a very hard game
• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is not made for the average cod player, they had to restart the mission multiple times to eventually achieve the required goal
• The weapon models look very nice, and are detailed till the slightest details
• The game is very realistic, and includes multiple difficult challenges, like suddenly being surrounded
• You’re gonna need your team to accomplish a mission, you’re worth nothing when lone-wolfing

Original post

Here you go another preview. Still haven’t had the time to read this one before sending it out – so no review still from me. As noted before heard this is a really detailed and important preview to read. The thread didn’t get to many hits though.

Thanks PhilipLarkin,

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