Silent Storm engine

Features

The engine features an advanced physics model – nearly all structures are destructible, and ragdoll physics is employed for bodies Three-dimensional mapping allows for obstruction calculations and cover effects from any direction. Bullets ricochet, and their stopping power depends on the strength of the weapon. Also modeled are materials' effectiveness at stopping ordnance and visibility based on lighting conditions. All these effects are, however, exaggerated for a more cinematic experience (e.g., a hail of non-fatal bullets only makes the target shake, but a single fatal bullet can send the target flying), which has been praised by some reviewers as a feature. Reviewer Greg Kasavin commented that "pray and spray" tactics are quite viable, as the game uses silhouettes to mark enemies' estimated positions when they happen to lie out of eyesight but within earshot.

Mechanics common to role-playing video games are also featured, such as the ability for characters to be customized over time. The player's units gain experience points over time for completing actions, which can later be spent on purchasing new skills and abilities. The engine also uses an action point system, whereby players can select from various actions, such as firing modes, stances and forms of movement. A sequel, Silent Storm: Sentinels, introduced weapon degradation to the series.

Reception

The engine has been praised for its ability – commonly found in RTS – to allow users to select and issue orders to multiple units at once, and weapon and environmental sounds, role-playing elements and "squad-based tactical combat".

Criticisms include the engine not taking into account the relative position of objects in 3-dimensional space when making selections using the mouse. For instance, when selecting and issuing actions to a group of soldiers, the selection may include soldiers that occupy different elevations, making the orders nonsensical. Finally, the engine has been criticized for the length of time required for the artificial intelligence to complete its turns, a lack of any multiplayer support and the uncooperativeness of its camera controls.

References

References

1. Knudsen, Kurt. (September 30, 2003). "Silent Storm Interview". GamersHell.
2. VanDyk, Dave. (September 28, 2004). "Silent Storm: Sentinels Review". [[GameShark]].
3. Clare, Oliver. (December 9, 2006). "Night Watch". [[Eurogamer]].
4. Coffey, Robert. (February 2006). "Hammer & Sickle". [[Computer Gaming World]].
5. (May 16, 2007). "Gamers Gate launch worldwide download premiere: Day Watch". GameZone.
6. Nino, Mike. (2005). "Heroes of Might and Magic 5 interview". StrategyCore.
7. (28 August 2007). "Jagged Alliance 3 Interview".
8. (18 September 2021). "Jagged Alliance 3 is in development again and coming to PC "soon"". [[Gamer Network]].
9. Rausch, Allen. (February 25, 2004). "GameSpy: Silent Storm Review". [[GameSpy]].
10. Coffey, Robert. (April 2004). "Silent Storm". [[Computer Gaming World]].
11. Kasavin, Greg. (January 26, 2004). "Silent Storm (PC)". [[CNET]].
12. (January 15, 2004). "Q&A: Silent Storm developers". [[GameSpot]].
13. "Hammer & Sickle Review". [[Yahoo! Games]].
14. (June 4, 2004). "G4 - Reviews - Silent Storm". [[X-Play]].