Sonedecker Interview
Posted by Rocky on Wednesday, December 31 2003
This week we were lucky enough to interview John Sonedecker about Combat Elite, the brand new shooter from Battleborne. We took the opportunity to ask about his departure from Red Storm, the Battleborne team and of course all about Combat Elite.

".. there is no other fully 3d real time rendered game that looks as nice as Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers.... Of course graphics aren't everything. I think we have achieved an almost perfect balance of run-and-gun action and tactical game play as well."

Read the full interview here.

Forum Awards!
Posted by Rocky on Sunday, December 28 2003
If you like taking part in Polls, it's your lucky day. The Staff now present the Ghost Recon Forum Awards, containing over 50 polls to vote in spread over 3 categories! Each Poll option has been selected through a process of nominations made by fans over the past few weeks. Thanks go out to zjj for all her work on making this possible!

For forum regulars we have the Humorous Categories. These 12 polls name and shame forum regulars in fun polls such as Most Humorous Poster, Best Name, and Poster who needs a life away from here!

There are 19 polls under the General Category. Again these polls are aimed at fans who have used the forums before, either to ask for help, discuss clans or for any other reason. You can vote for the Best Thread, or Most Helpful Tech Support or Most Addicted Poster for example.

For the final Category we turn to the hugely popular subject of Modding! In here you will find 25 polls allowing you the opportunity to vote for the best mods and modders. So if you have ever played a mod and really enjoyed it, here's your chance to say your own thank you to the modders. Across the 25 polls you'll have the chance to vote for the Best Map Modder, Most Influential Modder, and best Weapons Modder amongst others. Note that some Categories have Part A and Part B polls.

So to summarise there are 3 Categories, you don't need to vote in every poll, just browse the three sections and take your pick! If you have enjoyed the forums and Ghost Recon mods over the past year, give a little back and make a few votes now!

Humorous Polls | General Polls | Modding Polls

Combat Elite
Posted by Rocky on Thursday, December 25 2003
We have a real scoop for you here, call it a slightly late Christmas present! As you will know from earlier news posts, Battleborne (of Ossetian Woodlands fame) are producing a new shooter to be released by Acclaim on consoles around Q2 2004.

We can reveal that the game is called Combat Elite : WWII Paratrooper and we have acquired some extremely hot footage grabbed from the PS2 version. Download the 5Mb version here, or the 20Mb version here.

Note that this is early development game footage, and may not be indicative of the final product - it's certainly intriguing footage though. The movie shows off various aspects of the game that raise some interesting gameplay questions, questions we hope to have the answers to shortly. In the meantime, enjoy the movie and feel free to discuss it in our PC Games forum.

Merry Christmas
Posted by Rocky on Thursday, December 25 2003
It's that time of year again, so on behalf of all the Staff here at Ghost Recon.net I'd like to wish all our visitors a Merry Christmas and also the very best for the coming year.

It's been a great year for Ghost Recon, with some truly outstanding mods released by some hard working hardcore Ghost Recon fans, who deserve a large round of applause for their efforts, take a bow - you know who you are!

The coming year is also looking good for some great Ghost Recon mods, as our recent round up proved. Of course we are all waiting with increasing tension for news of a sequel for Ghost Recon, let's hope we found out soon what those bright guys and gals at Red Storm are working on early in the new year. Of course we are tracking the whole next generation of Tactical Shooters in our PC Games forum here.

We will have news on what an ex Red Storm employee is up to though. John Sonedecker has granted us a series of interviews from his new home at Battleborne. Expect to see exactly what this talented and exciting game developer is working on revealed right here in a day or two.

We have quite alot of updates to make early next year too. The Staff have been working with some forum regulars to bring you brand new mission walkthroughs, including some for popular mods, and also alot of updates for the Arms section. Expect to see those in January 2004. Our Ghost Recon dedicated game server will be opened up to the public shortly too, so watch out for details on that and join us in some coop games soon!

I have also commissioned a short movie to celebrate the continuing success and popularity of Ghost Recon.net, it's called Mad World and should be ready for viewing in January 2004.

To top all of that off, later today we are releasing a Santa Ghost Recon mission from one of the [GRNET] Team - NYR_32, so if you want the chance to rescue Santa, check back later on!

Finally, I'd like to thank the Staff for their hard work over the past year, the GR.net Supporters, the forum regulars for making this an interesting place to visit every day, and the thousands of Ghost Recon fans who still come here every day, keeping the community alive!

Have a safe and happy festive season!

Arms Update
Posted by Rocky on Saturday, December 20 2003
Chems has updated the Arms section with two new reports. The MH-60K Blackhawk can be found here, and details of the BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle can be found here.

Forum Awards!!!
Posted by zjj on Tuesday, December 16 2003
It's that time of the year!  Where we sit around and watch the endless parade of awards being shown on TV and wonder who voted for them?!  Often saying to yourself, "No one asked my opinion."

We are asking for your opinion.  GhostRecon.net would like to recognize people from our own forums for various awards; however, we need nominations from you. Tell us who you think is the most influential modder, or which mods you think are the best ever made, or the most recognized clan, or .... The categories seem endless, but see for your self. You can see the complete list of categories and submit your nominations here.

Ubi Soft in Court
Posted by Rocky on Monday, December 15 2003
Ghost Recon and Raven Shield publisher Ubi Soft slipped under our radar when they fired an injunction in the direction of Electronic Arts back in September this year. The recent result of the court case did not escape us however, as Ubi Soft have won their case in a surprising result that has disappointed many in the games industry.

As explained at Game Industry.biz back in September...

"Ubisoft has applied for an injunction to prevent key staff who worked on the Splinter Cell project from taking new jobs with Electronic Arts, a move which it claims breaks a clause in their contracts"

This move by Ubi Soft was prompted by the defection of 5 developers to Electronic Arts, a move that Ubi Soft maintained broke a clause in their conditions of employment, even though they left Ubi Soft months before.

According to this weblog, Ubi Soft's case was upheld recently in a judgement at the Qu�bec Court of Appeal when they found in favour of the company.

Quite why so many of the development team were so keen to leave Ubi Soft is not known. Another high profile developer to leave this year of course was John Sonedecker, who is now employed as Creative Director with relative newcomers Battleborne. Ghost Recon fans will of course remember Battleborne for their excellent Ghost Recon mod released back in May 2002, and they are now working on a new console game!

3d Glasses - ATi
Posted by Rocky on Monday, December 8 2003
A while back I published a review for eDimernsional's 3d glasses running on a Nvidia system. We now have another review, this time for ATi card owners.

"I may seem a bit excited here, but this effect is one you just have to see to believe. It cannot be duplicated in a 2D world. I also tried out a few weapon mods. It's incredible how much effort these modders put into their work, and in this 3D world, it really shows!"

Read Dark Ranger's full review here. [Note that eDimensional are running a shipping-free offer in the run up to Christmas]

GR2 Editorial
Posted by Rocky on Saturday, December 6 2003
CR6 has posted an editorial on the current speculation about Ghost Recon 2, clearing up some of the myths and explaining the XBox connection, read it here.