Building a Better Sniper: Ghost Warrior

The original Sniper: Ghost Warrior didn't do too well on the IGN review scale, but that didn't stop gamers from buying more than one million copies of the game. With that experience under its belt, developer City Interactive is primed to release Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 in 2012. This time, producer Michael Sroczynski says the team is ready to capitalize on the lessons of the first game and put its new engine to the test.

IGN: First and foremost: what did the development team think about going into Ghost Warrior 2? What did the team take away from the original?

Michael Sroczynski: The first Sniper: Ghost Warrior was a tremendous sales success for us. In fact we just announced last week that we have sold over 2 million copies since we released the game. The sales performance combined with the positive user feedback that we gathered confirmed to us that there is a strong interest in the gaming market for sniping based shooters.

In developing the original Sniper: Ghost Warrior, we had some technological limitations that prevented us from implementing some of our team's design ideas. However, once we announced that we would be making the sequel using the CryEngine3 – the team got very excited. We knew we could now bring ideas to reality and take the sniping experience to the next level.

IGN: How has Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 changed from its predecessor? How has it stayed the same?

Michael Sroczynski: The Sniper: Ghost Warrior community provided us with a lot of good feedback. We have over 250,000 followers on our Sniper Facebook page and we've received some amazing feedback. Our community helped to give us a very clear understanding of what players enjoyed the most, what areas needed improvement and what should be eliminated from the game entirely.


All of the ballistic and stealth mechanics that fans loved in the original game were improved upon and included in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. When lining up a sniper shot, the player needs to take a couple of factors into consideration: wind strength and direction, distance to the target, the sniper's physical state (maintaining a low heart rate will help keep the scope steady) and environmental factors such as rain, fog, terrain, etc. Additionally, shooting tactics are important and can help a payer get through levels faster. For example, sometimes it pays to take a bit more time to observe the enemies before firing. With patience, there is the possibility to line-up a double-kill. This saves on bullets, helps to avoid detection and most importantly looks incredibly cool! Also waiting for a target, even indoors, to move into a position behind a penetrable surface where your round can get through will help the player advance.

The story in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 takes the player to some visually stunning environments including streets of war torn Sarajevo, the lush tropical jungles of Burma and the vast panoramic mountains of Tibet. While progressing through the main story line, plot twists will call on players to deal with a lot of unexpected situations providing much more variety than in the original Sniper: Ghost Warrior.

Of course we are keenly aware of some of the AI limitations that existed in the original Sniper: Ghost Warrior and we have addressed that for the sequel. The new AI that we have implemented makes the stealth moments and fighting scenarios extremely authentic. The enemies will shorten distance, take cover to keep out of the line of fire, launch smoke grenades to keep them safe and may even attempt a flanking maneuver to surprise the player. We've also added the ability for players who are adept at sneaking around quietly to perform stealth kills or take out enemies with a silencer.

IGN: In what ways have the multiplayer levels been designed to encourage sniping?

Michael Sroczynski: Multiplayer offers a unique experience that can't really be compared to other multi-player titles in the market. In Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2, everyone is a sniper and keeping a low profile is crucial if you want to survive. We have added elements however that will encourage players to avoid creating a stalemate situation and we will be officially disclosing additional information about the mode's mechanics in the future.

IGN: According to our notes, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 features a story written by "acclaimed writers." Could you discuss their previous works and what they're bringing to the Sniper story?

Michael Sroczynski: The writer who is working with us on the story and the script is known for titles such as The Saboteur, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal just to name a few. Working with someone of this caliber gave the story a bit more depth, plot twists and gameplay situations that force the player to make unexpected choices, keeping them on the edge of their seat. Also, dialogues sound very natural. I can't go into much detail about the storyline, but I can say that we have some fantastic cinematics that have been produced that create a very compelling experience!


IGN: What was it like working with CryEngine3?
Michael Sroczynski: When working with a third-party engine two things are important from the developer's point of view: the set of tools must match the requirement of the project that you're working on and you need great support from the engine's creators in order to make the process as swift and efficient as possible. And with Crytek and CryEngine3, both of these were fulfilled.

The third-generation of the CryEngine allowed us to upgrade a lot of crucial features. All of the issues addressed by the community in the first game were fixed in the sequel: the AI is smart and behaves authentically; the player has the ability to take extra long sniper shots, etc. New features have also been added such as smoke grenades, thermo and night vision goggles, drivable vehicles and more!

Additionally, the CryEngine 3 has enabled us to create breathtaking environments - just check out the screenshots that were recently published.

IGN: Will players feel comfortable jumping right into Ghost Warrior 2 without playing the original?

Michael Sroczynski: For sure. The game is designed to suit both casual and hardcore players. Also the story is fresh and new- jumping in without ever playing the original is easy.

IGN: What has the team most excited for the Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 launch?

Michael Sroczynski: We are very excited that on its current level of completion, Sniper 2 is far more deep and exciting than its predecessor. Working with a tool as powerful as the CryEngine3 gives us a lot to work with and has been a truly memorable experience. We hope Ghost Warrior fans feel the same!

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