SiN Episodes - Frequently Asked Questions - Singleplayer
The following is singleplayer frequently asked questions about Sin Episodes from around 2005 and was written by Steve Hessel at Ritualistic, where more information about its creation can be found at the overall FAQ page.
Singleplayer
2.01 What is the story of SiN Episodes?
After Elexis' escape at the end of SiN, HardCorps leader John Blade has tried for almost four years to take down SinTEK and its now resurfaced CEO, Elexis Sinclaire. At the beginning of Emergence, Blade and HardCorps raid a U4 facility linked to an increase in mutant activity. Blade hopes to find ties to Elexis and SinTEK, allowing him to regain his credibility and take her down. Elexis, however, has a unique interest in Blade, and their history is tied together far more than he knows.
2.02 Who are the main characters of SiN Episodes?
Security expert Colonel John R. Blade is the main character of SiN Episodes. Blade runs HardCorps, an elite security force protecting the citizens of Freeport City. Joining Blade are JC, his trusty hacker sidekick, and Jessica Cannon, a hot-headed rookie Blade has taken under his wings. Blade and his team take on Elexis Sinclaire, the brilliant and seductive bio-chemist in control of SinTEK Industries, who wants to accelerate humanity�s evolution through unethical experiments and genetics. For more information about the main characters of SiN Episodes, check out the characters section.
2.03 How many and what kind of weapons will there be in SiN Episodes?
The first chapter of SiN Episodes will feature roughly half a dozen weapons, including Blade�s Magnum pistol, a shotgun, an assault rifle and grenades. Ritual is paying particular attention to making sure that each and every weapon remains useful over the course of the game, even in the later levels. For more information about the weapons in SiN Episodes, check out the weapons section.
2.04 Will any of the weapons feature alternate firing modes?
All of the weapons in SiN Episodes will have an alternate firing mode. The Magnum can now fire a depleted uranium shell that can pentrate lighter materials, allowing you to take out enemies hiding behind doors and crates. For more information about the weapons in SiN Episodes, check out the weapons section.
2.05 What enemies will I face in SiN Episodes?
SiN Episodes will feature a wide variety of enemies, including humans, mutants and mechanical. SinTEK has been experimenting with an entire new generation of mutants, while some of villain Radek's mercenaries are equipped with jetpacks, allowing them to attack from virtually any angle.
2.06 Will there be vehicles in SiN Episodes?
SiN Episodes will feature a multitude of vehicles. Some, such as Blade's patrol car, will be able to be controlled by the player, while others, such as civilian cars or HardCorps dropships, are controlled by the AI.
2.07 Will the game depict excessive violence, such as blood and gore?
The game is expected to feature over-the-top violence and gore.
2.08 Will SiN Episodes feature action-based outcomes like the original SiN?
Action-based outcomes (ABOs for short) were one of the main features of the first SiN. They are basically "decision points" for the player that have several different outcomes, directly affecting what the player experiences in the game. They can be as insignificant as opening a valve in one level, causing an area to be flooded later on, or as significant as being able to visit different locations depending on your actions.
For SiN Episodes, Ritual is implementing several episode-spanning ABOs, meaning that your actions in one episode affect what happens in the subsequent installment. Ritual is even experimenting with community-driven ABOs, where if the majority of players decides to take a certain action in one episode, the outcome of that action will be global, affecting all other players. The extent of this feature has not yet been determined, but it certainly presents a few interesting opportunities.
2.09 Will there be squad-based combat in SiN Episodes?
While SiN Episodes: Emergence has Blade mostly taking out enemies on his own, there will be several instances of both Jessica Cannon as well as other HC units covering Blade and helping him dispose of his enemies.
2.10 What is the Context Look system?
Context Look allows NPCs to react directly to what the player is looking at. If Blade for example spent a lot of time checking out Jessica's polygons, she will kindly encourage him to get on with the mission. Or if JC needs Blade to find a certain object in a room full of stuff, he will be able to go "No, that's not it, that's just a <object>." until the player comes across the right device.
2.11 Has Ritual made any improvements to the Source AI?
Many tweaks have been made to the AI, such as NPCs helping fallen comrades to get back on their feet, taking hostages, or dynamically reacting and interacting otherwise with their surroundings.
2.12 How interactive will the environments be in SiN Episodes?
SiN Episodes builds directly on the level of interactivity established by both SiN and Wages of SiN. In other words, you can still destroy and/or use everything in sight. On top of that, SiN Episodes takes full advantage of Source's Havok physics engine, so all the items in the game world react physically correct to being shot at and thrown.
2.13 Will SiN Episodes feature locational damage?
Like the first SiN, SiN Episodes features locational damage, rewarding accuracy and allowing players to take enemies down faster with deadly headshots. In addition, vehicles in SiN Episodes consist of multiple damage zones, enabling players to shoot off certain parts and literally blow vehicles to pieces.
2.14 What is the vehicle positioning system?
The vehicle positioning system allows players to move freely and smoothly around the interior of the HardCorps patrol car while it is being driven by Jessica. It is even possible to lean out the various windows and the moon roof in order to get a better shot at enemies, but this carries the risk of being an easier target.
2.15 Will the main characters be voiced by the same actors as in SiN?
Yes, SiN Episodes once again features Eric Mills as John R. Blade, Hannah Logan as Elexis Sinclaire and Billy O'Sullivan as JC. Additionally, Jen Taylor (Halo, No One Lives Forever) has signed on as the voice of Blade's new sidekick Jessica Cannon, while David Scully (Halo, Tron 2.0) voices Freeport City's newest crime lord Viktor Radek.
2.16 Who will be creating the music for SiN Episodes?
SiN Episodes' soundtrack is composed by Zak Belica, who also did the music for Sin, and all of Ritual's other titles. Stylistically, the soundtrack has changed to a more incidental approach, meaning music will only play during key sequences of the game to increase its dramatic impact. Each episode also features unique themes that mirror the events and characters featured in it. Emergence, for example, features a James Bond-style song called "What's the World Come to?", featuring Sarah Ravenscroft on lyrics. The soundtrack for the first episode, Emergence, is now available on iTunes. For more information, check out the Soundtrack section on the official SiN Episodes website.
2.17 How many difficulty settings will SiN Episodes include?
SiN Episodes utilizes a unique dynamic difficulty system officially called Personal Challenge System™, in which the game adjusts the difficulty in accordance with how you play the game. For example, more enemies will team up on you if you are playing through the game easily, or enemies will stand near hazards if you are finding it difficult. These changes will be seamless to the player.
The Personal Challenge system features two sliders allowing the player to control the general level of difficulty, as well as how fast the system should adapt. Additionally, the game also features a mode called HardCorps, where saving is disabled and the game ends when the player dies. The HardCorps mode then generates a score based on the difficulty settings and how far the player made it. Check out the Dynamic Difficulty section for more information on the Personal Challenge System.
2.18 Will there be any sort of stats system in game?
SiN Episodes tracks a huge number of statistics as part of the Dynamic Difficulty system. Most of these statistics are accessible in the game, so you can get a pretty good idea of how you're doing. On top of that, the game assigns you a title that matches your play style throughout the episode, so if you tend to hop around a lot while picking enemies off with the Magnum, you might get to be an Elite Bunny Hopping Magnum Master. Ritual is even considering making these statistics available online, so you can see how you measure up compared to your friends.
2.19 What is Arena Mode?
Arena Mode is a new single player mode that will be released for free to all SiN Episodes: Emergence players. In Arena Mode, the player takes on infinite waves of baddies in specially designed levels, trying to get the highest score possible. The enemies are governed by the dynamic difficulty system and the score is calculated based on a variety of factors, including difficulty, enemies killed, and passed time.
2.20 When will Arena Mode be available?
The Arena Mode add-on is currently on track for a release at the end of June.