Kenn Hoekstra recently took a minute out of his busy schedule to sit down and do an interview with us on Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix.

PCShooter: You are one of the most popular game developers in the industry, but can you tell the people who don't know you what you do at Raven at what a typical day is like?

KH: My name is Kenn Hoekstra and I'm the Project Administrator for Raven Software. A typical day for me doesn't really exist since no two days are ever alike for me. Right now I'm working on most of Raven's internal machine setup and hardware support in addition to online PR, writing the Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix script and building Jedi Knight 2 multiplayer levels on the side. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm popular in the industry. I'm just fortunate to have my name attached to so many titles at Raven.


PCShooter: What is the storyline for Soldier of Fortune II and what is John Mullins' involvement in this game?

KH: The story in Soldier of Fortune II involves a terrorist organization that develops a deadly virus and is threatening to use it on innocent people. John Mullins is dispatched to Colombia to investigate a virus attack and discovers a new terrorist threat he must track all over the globe. Overall, this story is much more in-depth and involved than in the original game with a lot more surprises, twists and turns. The storyline takes place after the original Soldier of Fortune, but the stories don't really overlap in any way. John Mullins, Madeline Taylor and Sam Gladstone will be reprising their roles from the original game.

The real-life John Mullins contributed some mission ideas based on things he's done in real life and helped us hammer out some of the finer details of the combat and weapons system.


PCShooter: What kind of enemies can we expect in this game? Can you explain a little about the AI and their relationship to what you call the LICH?

KH: The enemies in the game will be, for the most part, human. There might be attack dogs or something of that nature, but I'd say it's about 95% human and 5% "other." (Dogs/Vehicles etc.)

The LICH AI system in Soldier of Fortune 2 is going to be far more advanced than the AI of the original game. We've re-written the AI entirely from scratch without using any code from Quake III: Arena or from the original SoF.

The LICH Artificial Intelligence Toolbox is designed provide an expandable, functional, and modular collection of common tools to assist the AI programmer. These tools range from low level API modules which access entity, animation, file, and scripting systems, to Finite State Machines, Neural Networks, Path Finders, and much more.

The system is broken down into layers, including a Game Systems Layer, API, Motor Control, Senses and Moods, Short Term Decisions, Goals and Environmental Interaction. The goals of the system are:

- To make enemies use vision and hearing to detect player
- Enemy AI raises alarms
- The ability to return from full out action to stealth mode
- Enemies will interact with world objects and surroundings
- Enemies will react quickly to player and changes in surroundings
- Enemies will work in tandem
- Enemies will be interested in self-preservation
- AI will have perpetually raising difficulty levels

The AI in Soldier 2 goes far beyond the scope of anything seen in the
original game. The LICH system overall will make the enemies more
interactive with the environment by default, rather than having to be told specifically what to do in each instance with designer scripting or event triggers.


PCShooter: As far as technology goes, how does this game differ from the original SoF game?

KH: First and foremost, Soldier of Fortune 2 uses the Quake III: Team Arena engine, which is a significant technological jump from the Quake II engine used in the original SoF. Soldier 2 also includes the new LICH AI system, ICARUS 2 scripting language (adapted and modified from Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force), the GHOUL 2 rendering system and a host of other enhancements, including a dynamic music system and a variety of in-world environmental and special effects. From a technology standpoint, Soldier 2 is far more advanced than the original game.

PCShooter: Are you excited to be using the Quake 3 engine for SoF2? What are some graphical benefits to and down falls for this engine?

KH: Quake III: Team Arena is the most robust, versatile engine we've ever worked with. Graphics-wise, it's about the most advanced technology on the market and you can't beat it for versatility and modifiability. The upside is phenomenal, and we haven't really found a downside yet.


PCShooter: Will this game take a "monster" system and a "monster" graphics board to run? What are some preliminary specs required for SoF2?

KH: Soldier of Fortune 2 will be every bit as scalable as the original game when it comes to system requirements. There are a host of graphics options that can be turned on or off, up or down based on the power of your PC and your video card. We want gamers to be able to play the game on a modest system, but also provide plenty of "bells and whistles" for gamers with uber machines and next-gen equipment. As far as configurations go, I'd say (pure speculation) -
Minimum - PII 300 MHZ With 64 MB RAM And VOODOO3 Accelerator
Mid-Range - PIII 700 MHZ With 128 MB RAM and GeForce 2 Accelerator
High-End - P4 - 1.5GHZ With 256 MB RAM And Next-Generation Accelerator


PCShooter: We have heard that SoF won't be released with a multi-player option, is this the final decision or is it a possibility for after SoF2 is released?

KH: The fate of multiplayer is still up in the air. Anything is possible at this point, but we're not telling. ;)


PCShooter: Can you explain a little about the new Ghoul2 character animation engine?

KH: The GHOUL2 rendering system has many of the same capabilities as the original GHOUL system as well as a host of new features. Some of these features include:

a) Functionality as a true skeletal animation system
b) The ability to override any skeletal bone and have programmer-controlled body joints
c) The ability to run animations on specific parts of the body of each model
d) The ability to share animation skeletons across multiple character models
e) Bolt-on objects (backpacks, glasses, equipment, weapons, etc.) which can also be generated on the fly
f) Per-pixel collision detection
g) 36 damage zones on each enemy and character model
h) Multiple skin support for enemy variety
i) Much more

We learned a lot from the original GHOUL system and we were able to create a more robust, user-friendly GHOUL system which allows more flexibility than the first without sacrificing functionality. The damage location system GHOUL2 provides will be much improved and more detailed than in the original game.

PCShooter: With the media hyping up violence in video games, will SoF2 be shipped with parental controls as was the original SoF? Is this game as violent as the original?

KH: Yes, there will be a full password protected violence lockout in Soldier of Fortune 2, as the game is a mature-rated title and every bit as realistic (and more) as the original title.


PCShooter: Why do you think the FPS genre is so popular these days?

KH: I think the FPS market is a great place to showcase new technology. The "engine wars" have created great competition within the market and FPS games are constantly on the forefront of gameplay and graphical innovations. These graphical, gameplay and technology advances are passed on directly to FPS gamers who have new, exciting games to play every six months or so. There's also a great demand out there for action games and I think the FPS perspective is far and away the best for "pure" action games. That's where I think a lot of the popularity comes from...

PCShooter: How is the development going with SoF2, can you give us a brief update on its progress?

KH: We're pre-alpha right now. Levels are all architecturally complete and are being scripted right now. The storyline and script are done and we start voice recording later this month. We're in that stage right now where most things are done or approaching done and are being brought together to give us our first look at the "game," as opposed to individual game assets. As a whole, we're extremely happy with how Soldier 2 is looking right now.

PCShooter: When will we be able play SoF2!? (hehehehe)

KH: Winter...later this year or early next year.



PCShooter: Thanks for your time Kenn. We look forward to playing this game.