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Replaying the Splinter Cell Games


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So, I recently finally finished Splinter Cell: Blacklist. I had originally stopped playing it because of its huge balancing problems1. Other than that, it was an ok game, but it just didn't feel as splinter celly as the original titles. So I decided to revisit the original games, since it has been quite a few years having played those.

Replaying SC 1 felt so much more like being a top secret agent and the high difficulty felt very rewarding. No automated keypads, everything simply feels old-school, and I love it (Much like Deus Ex 1 compared to Deus Ex 2). However, there were still many technical issues, which made the game a little bit unfair occasionally. Also, some gameplay elements were simply kind of uncomfortable and inconsistent.

SC 2 (Pandora Tomorrow) basically solved almost all these issues, while retaining the old-school look-and-feel, and I am currently playing it excitedly. The movement has improved a lot, as did some comfort features, which make the overall flow of the game a lot better. It's wierd, it seems like I played this game a lot less than SC 1, although it is so much better. I can't really remember any of the levels. So far, I only found one weird thing about the game, which is that the alternative fire mode of the specialized machine gun is introduced comparatively late in the game, when I had already been using it excessively. Another thing to note is that there is an incompatibility with modern graphics drivers, which results in some problems with spot lights and their shadows. While there is an unofficial experimental fix to solve this issue, it doesn't fix it completely. This problem makes it very hard to ghost some missions. But I prefer the "only reloard on death"-type of gaming anyway, so no ghosting for me.

I post this thread here because I find it kind of interesting to have the side-by-side comparison of these games from a modern point of view. Back in the days, I was very young and maybe not as experienced in gaming as I am today. So, today, I can look at these games in a much more analytical way than before. I am about half way through SC 2 now. Next up, Chaos Theory and Double Agent. I definitely woun't replay Conviction, though, as everybody here will understand. ;-)

_______________________________
1You have to purchase equipment via money you earn through missions. Without having purchased the late-game ultra-sneak-gear, it is impossible to sneak up on enemies from the behind as they will hear you and turn around, which makes it impossible to KO brutes this way, who can only be KO'd from behind or from below or above. In my opinion, a game like this should always be balanced in such a way that you can finish the available missions right away with the available equipment and don't have to unlock better tools first.

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SC 1 felt like it had too much trial and error involved.

SC 2 felt like the first game, but made by a b-team who didn't necessarily understand that things were meant to be more stealth based, so they introduced laser sights and swat rolls.

 

Chaos Theory felt like the Thief sequel we never got.

I like to record difficult stealth games, and right now you wonderful people are the only ones delivering on that front.

Click here for the crappy channel where that happens.

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Did you guys manage to run Pandora Tomorrow on Windows 10? I can't get it to start, i always get the error message which is also described here, in the comments:

 

 

 

 

If only I could get that far. Game crashes at the intro with a 'General protection fault!' "History: UVideoPlayer::execPlay <- UObject::ProcessEvent <- (PandoraLaunchVideoUbiLogoMenu Transient.PandoraLaunchVideoUbiLogoMenu0, Function XIDInterf.PandoraPlayAVideoWindow.StopAndStartVideo.Tick) <- UInteractionMaster::Process_Tick <- UInteractionMaster::MasterProcessTick <- TickLevel <- UGameEngine::Tick <- UpdateWorld <- MainLoop"

 

I read it has to do with the copy protection. I also tried a no-cd crack (i own a legitimate copy of the game), but, unfortunately, that didn't work. Would love to play the game again... i have been playing part 1 and 3 not too long ago, but haven't played PT for ages, and i remember it being great.

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Komat Fix is partial.

 

Use dgVoodoo2 with "GeForce 4" preset (and crank up the memory to 256)

 

http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2.html

 

Now with SC1 shadowbuffer mode (the multi-shadows lighting system) working too.

Edited by lowenz

Task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody see. - E.S.

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SC 1 felt like it had too much trial and error involved.

SC 2 felt like the first game, but made by a b-team who didn't necessarily understand that things were meant to be more stealth based, so they introduced laser sights and swat rolls.

 

Chaos Theory felt like the Thief sequel we never got.

:D

Task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody see. - E.S.

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I read it has to do with the copy protection. I also tried a no-cd crack (i own a legitimate copy of the game), but, unfortunately, that didn't work. Would love to play the game again... i have been playing part 1 and 3 not too long ago, but haven't played PT for ages, and i remember it being great.

You must update to the lastest version an use the related No-CD.

Edited by lowenz

Task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody see. - E.S.

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The result in SC1 (dgVoodoo2 + shadowbuffer mode + widescreen fix) with PS3 textures :) ( https://thirteenag.github.io/wfp#sec6 )

If you use dgVoodoo2 AND the widescreen fix DO NOT USE the d3d8.ini and d3d8.dll of the widescreen fix package but dgVoodoo2 d3d8.dll.

 

splintercell_2016_08_03_11_33_47_170.png

Edited by lowenz

Task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody see. - E.S.

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Next up, Chaos Theory and Double Agent. I definitely woun't replay Conviction, though, as everybody here will understand. ;-)

 

Poor Conviction, is not that terrible :D

 

Chaos Theory is almost perfect but on Radeon GPUs the heat vision is not working.

You can fix with WineD3D 1.7.52 ( http://adolfintel.com/?p=wined3d/index.frag ) for Windows (it's a D3D->OpenGL wrapper)

 

I will post the fixes for Double Agent too (the vulgata about the lighting not working correctly is FALSE, the problem is much more convoluted and it's about the terrible management of the config files due to a bad console porting practice).

Edited by lowenz

Task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody see. - E.S.

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Poor Conviction, is not that terrible :D

 

Chaos Theory is almost perfect but on Radeon GPUs the heat vision is not working.

You can fix with WineD3D 1.7.52 ( http://adolfintel.com/?p=wined3d/index.frag ) for Windows (it's a D3D->OpenGL wrapper)

 

I will post the fixes for Double Agent too (the vulgata about the lighting not working correctly is FALSE, the problem is much more convoluted and it's about the terrible management of the config files due to a bad console porting practice).

Conviction isn't terrible, but it's not a Splinter Cell game.

Like Absolution to Hitman, it may be okay on it's own merits, but it's a spit in any fan's face and it misses the point of why people like the other games.

When your game is essentially lethal only, with minimal ghosting support no less, it isn't really a Splinter Cell game.

It can, however, be a good or fun game.

Edited by V-Man339
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I like to record difficult stealth games, and right now you wonderful people are the only ones delivering on that front.

Click here for the crappy channel where that happens.

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You must update to the lastest version an use the related No-CD.

 

Unfortunately i own the german version, and there seems to be no no-cd for that on GCW. :mellow: Edit: My bad, it's the Euro version, not the german one.

 

Edit 2: I just saw that the patches are merely for the multiplayer, so i can just patch the v1.0 version too. I will try that then.

Edited by chakkman
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Wow, all of a sudden something happens in this thread. :D

 

 

Did you guys manage to run Pandora Tomorrow on Windows 10? I can't get it to start, i always get the error message which is also described here, in the comments:

 

 

 

I read it has to do with the copy protection. I also tried a no-cd crack (i own a legitimate copy of the game), but, unfortunately, that didn't work. Would love to play the game again... i have been playing part 1 and 3 not too long ago, but haven't played PT for ages, and i remember it being great.

I am playing on windows 7. Good thing I never upgraded!! Maybe try virtualization with windows XP?

 

SC 1 felt like it had too much trial and error involved.

SC 2 felt like the first game, but made by a b-team who didn't necessarily understand that things were meant to be more stealth based, so they introduced laser sights and swat rolls.

 

Chaos Theory felt like the Thief sequel we never got.

Well, you have many options for scouting in SC 2 and it is actually mandatory to do so. No trial and error involved here. And the swat roll is a neat tool, I think. Allows for faster movement while sneaking.

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I feel a great sense of pointlessness as I announce that I did not actually expect this submission to meet standards.

https://www.speedrun.com/tom_clancys_splinter_cell_chaos_theory/Hokkaido#Any
Seriously, I have a greater sense of pride for the guides I've made.

I now understand speedrunner statements on degeneracy a great deal more.

I like to record difficult stealth games, and right now you wonderful people are the only ones delivering on that front.

Click here for the crappy channel where that happens.

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Always wondered what the point is of speedruns, other than that you know the game pretty well, and you know the level by heart. Especially for a Splinter Cell game, or any other stealth game, that way of playing robs you of everything those games represent.

To be honest it makes sense for plenty of genres, but yeah, stealth really isn't one due to it's minimalist nature.

I can safely say this world record doesn't feel as gratifying as the ghost videos I've done, or the guides I've made.

I like to record difficult stealth games, and right now you wonderful people are the only ones delivering on that front.

Click here for the crappy channel where that happens.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been playing some of these games over the past year or so. I was trying to get them to run mostly from a first person perspective & I've had mixed results. Chaos Theory worked out the best & I posted about it here: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/17717-splinter-cell-chaos-theory-first-person-mod/

 

I've actually been replaying that one again on the Oculus Rift with decent results. Chaos Theory really holds a special place in my heart & it's kind of magnificent just being in that world. I played through Pandora Tomorrow almost to the end, but got distracted & haven't gone back to finish. I'm in a similar spot with Double Agent, which I also got running ok in 1st person. But just a heads up, that PC port is really bad. The game has a bug where there's no sound unless you install it on your C drive. It's not like that for everyone, but sadly for me. Also, the mouse acceleration is abysmal & if you disable it in the system files, it inverts your mouse look in the menus & weapon/item select. I also experience CTDs too frequently. And sometimes my save games disappear. In those cases, I can go to level select & start from there, thankfully. But it's still annoying to lose any bit of progress. Also, the key rebinding is too limited. Not trying to be a downer, just want to give you a fair warning of what you're signing up for. It's really one of the worst PC ports I've ever played. As for the gameplay itself, I've enjoyed my time with it, generally speaking, but it's no Chaos Theory. There are some tedious side-tasks in the hub area where Sam is under cover. It just feels like busy work & a waste of my time. But I liked sneaking around most of the missions.

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I've been playing some of these games over the past year or so. I was trying to get them to run mostly from a first person perspective & I've had mixed results. Chaos Theory worked out the best & I posted about it here: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/17717-splinter-cell-chaos-theory-first-person-mod/

 

I've actually been replaying that one again on the Oculus Rift with decent results. Chaos Theory really holds a special place in my heart & it's kind of magnificent just being in that world. I played through Pandora Tomorrow almost to the end, but got distracted & haven't gone back to finish. I'm in a similar spot with Double Agent, which I also got running ok in 1st person. But just a heads up, that PC port is really bad. The game has a bug where there's no sound unless you install it on your C drive. It's not like that for everyone, but sadly for me. Also, the mouse acceleration is abysmal & if you disable it in the system files, it inverts your mouse look in the menus & weapon/item select. I also experience CTDs too frequently. And sometimes my save games disappear. In those cases, I can go to level select & start from there, thankfully. But it's still annoying to lose any bit of progress. Also, the key rebinding is too limited. Not trying to be a downer, just want to give you a fair warning of what you're signing up for. It's really one of the worst PC ports I've ever played. As for the gameplay itself, I've enjoyed my time with it, generally speaking, but it's no Chaos Theory. There are some tedious side-tasks in the hub area where Sam is under cover. It just feels like busy work & a waste of my time. But I liked sneaking around most of the missions.

Honestly the PC/next gen version of Double Agent isn't great, it was mostly done by Ubisoft Shanghai, whereas the original Xbox version of it was done by the Chaos Theory team at Ubisoft Montreal, so it ends up recommended by many for being a much better follow up on Chaos Theory than the PC version of DA.

 

Also, lots of silly stuff like moving at minimum speed while crouched someone somehow hears you.

Only ever saw stuff like that in DLC for Splinter Cell 1 and a few moments in Pandora Tomorrow (also Shanghai).

I like to record difficult stealth games, and right now you wonderful people are the only ones delivering on that front.

Click here for the crappy channel where that happens.

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Double Agent is mostly decent and the only real problem with the configuration isn't the "graphics" (sometimes it resets yes, but there's no particular tweaking needed) but the input (stupid key binding and mouse scaling).

Edited by lowenz

Task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody see. - E.S.

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