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How would you "fix" Splinter Cell?

Deerock71

Member
comedy central adam demamp GIF by Workaholics
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
Take it away from Ubisoft and give it to Kojima. He's obviously the best at making stealth games.
i was initially thinking KojiPro myself, but splinter cell is clearly more of a stealth game type thing. MGS is more focused on the story, splinter cell is more focused on the gameplay, the stealth
I don't know if kojima knows how to do stealth to the same extent splinter cell can
 

wipeout364

Member
I would put a rewind feature similar to Grid allowing you to rewind up to 30 seconds. That way when you get spotted you can rewind back to where you were and learn the levels without restarting or turning the game into COD.

This would be optional and just put in difficulties that utilize it or not. I think people get frustrated with stealth and when they blow it try going loud with guns blazing because there is no other option. Rewind would allow them to play the game as intended without getting frustrated.
 

bender

What time is it?
The series went to shit after Double Agent (OG XBox version). I'm not sure a game modeled after Chaos Theory would be viable in the market, sadly.

I would put a rewind feature similar to Grid allowing you to rewind up to 30 seconds. That way when you get spotted you can rewind back to where you were and learn the levels without restarting or turning the game into COD.

This would be optional and just put in difficulties that utilize it or not. I think people get frustrated with stealth and when they blow it try going loud with guns blazing because there is no other option. Rewind would allow them to play the game as intended without getting frustrated.

Chaos Theory had a rewind feature in the form of the knife.
 
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wipeout364

Member
The series went to shit after Double Agent (OG XBox version). I'm not sure a game modeled after Chaos Theory would be viable in the market, sadly.



Chaos Theory had a rewind feature in the form of the knife.
It’s a hard thing to figure out. Games are so expensive and companies want such massive sales it makes it hard for a smaller single player franchise to get released. They almost need to farm these games out to smaller studios, make it lower budget so they are able to deliver what the core fans want out of the franchise without worrying about moving 10 million units.
 

bender

What time is it?
It’s a hard thing to figure out. Games are so expensive and companies want such massive sales it makes it hard for a smaller single player franchise to get released. They almost need to farm these games out to smaller studios, make it lower budget so they are able to deliver what the core fans want out of the franchise without worrying about moving 10 million units.

Sad but true. And being Ubisoft, they'd make it open world which would balloon the production costs. Chaos Theory is still one of my favorite games of all time and Splinter Cell on the OG XBox was so creative with their online co-op and amazing versus multi-player modes starting with Pandora Tomorrow. The later entries saw movement speed greatly increase and the introduction of stuff like last know position and mark and execute. They were already trying to capture a larger audience by taking the more realistic aspects out of the game but that was par for the course for Ubisoft and Tom Clancy games as GRAW and R6:Vegas felt really far removed from their series roots. And all those changes finally led us to whatever the fuck Rainbow Six Extraction is. I say be glad Sam is dead.
 
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Sybrix

Member
It needs to go back to it's roots, excellent stealth gameplay, compelling story and interesting characters.

Regarding MP - Spies vs Mercs was such an awesome unique experience, they could easily build on this and bring it up to date with modern interpretations.

There is lots Splinter Cell can learn from Metal Gear Solid V, you can slag MGSVs story but you cannot fault the gameplay of MGSV.

Ubisoft tried to make Watchdogs the Splinter Cell for the next generation, it failed because the stories sucked, characters sucked and the gameplay was boring and generic.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Adam Carolla has a great rant about guys who won't participate in hypotheticals.

Would you rather smooch Betty White or Nancy Pelosi?

"Neither bro, I'm not into old women."

This thread attracted all of those guys, lol.
 
Also OP, we can see the appeal the genre has with the amount of replies this thread gets. If it were about God of War or Halo, you'd have 20 pages of comments by now.

Quite sad indeed.
 

SteadyEvo

Member
The premise is to put your feet in the shoes of Ubisoft. A company that wants to continue growing their major IP.
The first step is to stop milking assassins creed. If I remember correctly the 1st 3 games were solid. Then they had Sam doing missions in broad daylight wearing street clothes. I won’t say those games sucked but they weren’t as interesting as sneaking in office buildings and parking garages.

Go back to the basics. Night missions, sticking to the shadows, emphasis on stealth while punishing run and gun attempts. And cool gadgets.

And keep it fairly linear. NO OPEN WORLD 🌎
 
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Apocryphon

Member
Adam Carolla has a great rant about guys who won't participate in hypotheticals.

Would you rather smooch Betty White or Nancy Pelosi?

"Neither bro, I'm not into old women."

This thread attracted all of those guys, lol.
The hypothetical you posed in the OP is just as stupid as asking somebody who they would rather smooch[?] between Betty White and Nancy fucking Pelosi. There's zero value to be found.

Clearly people are happy to discuss Splinter Cell, but just because you didn't get answers you like you want to project the fault onto the people responding? It's a shit proposition mate.

Nobody cares about Ubisoft making money because they have shown that they couldn't give a flying fuck about making amazing games anymore. We care about the IP not the bastard IP holder.
 

Punished Miku

Gold Member
  • Which games are the standouts?
Blacklist is phenomenal. No one gives it proper credit.

Pros:
  • Marking enemies. Copied in almost every stealth game since. They invented it.
  • Best cover system in any TPS ever made. Fluid traversal between cover spots with slick animations. Extremely polished movement options better than any stealth game.
  • Execute option. Invented it. Copied by other games.
  • Ghost, or Panther playstyles fully supported. No death runs on every level possible.
  • Very good multiplayer with multiple modes.
  • Fantastic melee take down kill animations. Some of the coolest knife kills in a game
Cons:

Can't think of any.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
The first step is to stop milking assassins creed. If I remember correctly the 1st 3 games were solid. Then they had Sam doing missions in broad daylight wearing street clothes. I won’t say those games sucked but they weren’t as interesting as sneaking in office buildings and parking garages.

Go back to the basics. Night missions, sticking to the shadows, emphasis on stealth while punishing run and gun attempts. And cool gadgets.

And keep it fairly linear. NO OPEN WORLD 🌎

I'm with you in the fact that I think the first 3 Splinter Cell games were the best of the franchise.

The problem is that the sales trajectory of the first 3 games went in the wrong direction. Splinter Cell sold 6+ million copies. Pandora Tomorrow sold 3+ million copies. Chaos Theory sold 2.5+ million copies.

They changed the formula because it wasn't working from a commercial standpoint.

I'm not with you in the fact that I think open world is a must for Splinter Cell to break out.

Bloodborne + Sekiro sold 2 or 3 million copies.

Elden Ring is going to reach 20 million copies eventually.

I can't see another linear Splinter Cell doing much differently than the first 7 Splinter Cell games.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Which games are the standouts?

The first game sold the best.

I'd argue the next 2 (PT + CT) are considered the best in terms of fan reception, but they sold half as much as the first.

The hypothetical you posed in the OP is just as stupid as asking somebody who they would rather smooch[?] between Betty White and Nancy fucking Pelosi. There's zero value to be found.

You'd smooch Betty White? Pelosi was at least a hottie 10 years ago. You have poor taste in older women.
 
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Chronicle

Member
Leave family members out. Leave out: 'it was me all along. Hahahaha'. Leave out: 'I'm going rogue'. Leave out: 'he's the best op there is and then disobey orders at the drop of a hat.'

Chaos theory or Double Agent mercs/spies. Just leave it.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Basically, fuse Chaos Theory with Blacklist. And keep microtransactions out of it.

Fuse a game that sold 2.5 million copies with a game that sold 2 million copies...doesn't that give you a game that projects to sell 2.25 million copies?

Ubisoft wants Splinter Cell to be a major franchise with commercial heft.
 

Kathanan

Member
I would remove firearms.. and add some more gadgets, a drone for recon like in wildlands.. a special gun that can shoot rubber balls (for knockouts and destroy light sources) and a zap device built in the front. Maybe see
through option on the goggles.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
To fix it financially for greedy pubs it has to be a worse game I guess. Follow the open world/sandbox/unlock craze like MGSV instead of give us more great levels and design like Blacklist (which to improve upon I'd get rid of the money/unlocks system altogether rather than give it more of that).
 

Ozrimandias

Member
To make a good Splinter Cell, Ubi must stay true to the roots of the franchise.

- Get Rid of the "Open World" formula
- Big is not equal to good, so throw into the trash can large lifeless maps (*cough Watch dogs 2 *cough)
- Instead of Large Scenarios, change them for Deep Scenarios
- Get rid of "Follow what the people want", and create a unique experience. Like From Software has been doing creating almost a new genre with "Souls"
- Look what IO has been doing with Hitman
- Bring back Michael Ironside, I don't care about playing with another protagonist that is not Sam, but Sam is the core of Splinter Cell.
- Please, no stupid personalization like Fortnite, etc (like R6 Siege the last years)
- Full Strategic
- Blacklist and Chaos Theory inspiration.


I would LOVE to play another Splinter Cell, but I haven't bought a single Ubisoft game because I'm tired of the generic and lifeless their games are. Also, they've almost prostituted the Tom Clancy franchise with Xdefiant, a generic Ghost Recon Frontline, a lackluster Ghost Recon Breakpoint, etc.
 

mortal

Gold Member

How would you "fix" Splinter Cell?

Make it a very realistic hardcore stealth game for a hardcore audience, returning the series to its roots.
Improved iterations of what was done in the original Splinter Cell trilogy.
Maybe also taking a page out of IO Interactive's Hitman trilogy for the level design. Just mostly spitballing here, some of which might work and some might not.

• Improved physics engine and player mobility.
• Limit the amount of gear that Sam/the player can realistically carry at once.
• Fall damage that can injure Sam at various parts of his body such as shoulder, ankle, or leg injuries that would impair player mobility.
• Being shot can lead to bleeding that impacts Sam's base stamina, and can also leave blood trails if left untreated.
• Clever and dynamic AI that responds to the player's choices throughout the level.
1. AI that can shoot out lights themselves, coordinate to flank, ambush, etc.​
2. If there are surveillance cameras present in the environment, security personnel in the control room will be able to coordinate with other enemies to track your movements,​
either until you take out all the cameras and/or the enemies in the control room.​
• Handcrafted environments with various points of entry and exit.
• Environments with a considerable amount of interactivity and granular detail. Allowing for more player improvisation during missions.
• Missions with changing conditions in lighting and weather that influence gameplay and AI behaviors.
1. Mission starts at dusk and gets progressively darker till night falls.​
2. Mission starts as storm encroaches. Playing in a storm leads to decreased visibility and hearing for both the player and AI. Newly formed puddles allow reflection to be seen.​
3. Tracking water indoors and being suspended from the ceiling while dripping wet will draw attention to your position.​
• Both the player and AI make use of ray traced reflections to spot/track. Enemies can see your reflection on wet/mirrored surfaces, windows, and vice versa.
• Every single artificial light source in the environment can be interacted with and can be shot or turned off.
• Improved sound design that compliments the noise mechanics. Taking advantage of 3D audio on platforms.

Give the IP to a team that is passionate about creating a pure hardcore stealth game.
 
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EDMIX

Member
splinter-cell-sam-goggles.jpg


Fix meaning, to get the franchise back on track in terms of financial viability.

The Splinter Cell remake has been confirmed, but it's likely a test for Ubisoft to see how strong the IP still is in the modern market.

To date, there have been 7 Splinter Cell games made and the franchise has officially sold 31 million copies according to Ubisoft. That's an average of 4.5 million copies per game release.

How would you shake up the series so that there's potential to sell 10+ million copies?

SC_Reveal.jpg


To move past 10 million? hmmm

1. Make it open world like Wildlands and give many targets and areas to kidnap, kill, steal etc. From rural to city areas like you see in Hitman.

2. Allow for co-op, he is already talking with people over his mic and given info, maybe have another player helping on a mission like taking out the lights, power, communications, making a distraction, gaining intel on a location etc.

3. Ability to be a double agent at any time. Like betray your team, go to the other side and sabotage lol
 

SteadyEvo

Member
Fuse a game that sold 2.5 million copies with a game that sold 2 million copies...doesn't that give you a game that projects to sell 2.25 million copies?

Ubisoft wants Splinter Cell to be a major franchise with commercial heft.
If you’re only concerned with sales then they should copy Fortnite and Warzone.

Sam Fisher Battle Royale. Drop 100 spies in a huge map. May the bear man win. Fuck quality. We’re all about numbers.

Add free to play and pay to win 🏆
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
I just don't see Splinter Cell working as well in a large open world setting. Hitman style with large sandbox levels might work.

Devs are forgetting the art of the level and how games can be changed up with a change of setting. Open world typically just results in a whole lot of basically the same environments. Not to say I won't at least give it a shot regardless of what Ubi does to it. I'm hoping the remake of the first game is a good one.
 
Blacklist is phenomenal. No one gives it proper credit.

Pros:
  • Marking enemies. Copied in almost every stealth game since. They invented it.
  • Best cover system in any TPS ever made. Fluid traversal between cover spots with slick animations. Extremely polished movement options better than any stealth game.
  • Execute option. Invented it. Copied by other games.
  • Ghost, or Panther playstyles fully supported. No death runs on every level possible.
  • Very good multiplayer with multiple modes.
  • Fantastic melee take down kill animations. Some of the coolest knife kills in a game
Cons:

Can't think of any.
My man... it's funny how your list couldn't be further away from what the essence of Splinter Cell is for my tastes. All your "pros" are "cons" for me. Allow me to elaborate:

- Marking: A cheat inserted to negate the need of getting a better sense of your surroundings for yourself. You don't need to keep track of the enemies yourself, the game does it for you. It decreases the tension, therefore, decreases the sense of accomplishment.

- Cover system: Another cheat. One button click to move from cover to cover. Before we had to time our movements and keep track of the speed we were going at and the sound we were making. Negates all skills needed to get close to the guards or evade them altogether.

- Execute option: Another cheat. One button click to take out every enemy you have marked. The goal of being a Splinter Cell agent is not to keep a record of the amount of guys you kill, no one is supposed to know you were even there. If you do want to take everyone out, do it with honor at least! Plan your path, figure out in which order you are going to eliminate your targets, which gadgets are you gonna use or lack thereof and execute YOURSELF! Oh and don't get detected. Make Lambert proud son!

- Playstyles: Only being a ghost is what being a stealthy agent is all about.

- Multiplayer: The modes presented in Blacklist were watered down versions of what Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory offered. You had to be there to remember!

- Animations: I have to agree with you on this one. They really nailed it on that front.
 

Havoc2049

Member
I felt Chaos Theory had the best campaign in the series, although the original Splinter Cell campaign was almost just as good. I enjoyed the Pandora Tomorrow version of Spies vs. Mercs the best. Combine the two and update the multiplayer suite and ship it out. Also, make it relevant and have Sam go on a mission or two in Ukraine and take out some Russian mercs.
 
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GenericUser

Member
I think it doesn't need any fixing tbh. Back then, the marked was just oversaturated with stealth action games so they went out of fashion. But the market has changed and I genuinely believe there is a solid amount of people, that would be interested in a Splinter Cell game in the vein of the first 3 titles, especially Chaos Theory.

So I think, they should simply reuse the old formula and combine it with todays graphical and gameplay standards.
 
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Sybrix

Member
Blacklist is phenomenal. No one gives it proper credit.

Pros:
  • Marking enemies. Copied in almost every stealth game since. They invented it.
  • Best cover system in any TPS ever made. Fluid traversal between cover spots with slick animations. Extremely polished movement options better than any stealth game.
  • Execute option. Invented it. Copied by other games.
  • Ghost, or Panther playstyles fully supported. No death runs on every level possible.
  • Very good multiplayer with multiple modes.
  • Fantastic melee take down kill animations. Some of the coolest knife kills in a game
Cons:

Can't think of any.

Is this a troll post?

I can only assume Blacklist was your first Splinter Cell game, everything Blacklist did is what sunk Splinter Cell.

Marking enemies is basically wall hacking, it completely removes the suspense element from the game because you can see threats through walls.

The cover system is vastly better in MGS V and should be adopted by any future SC game.

Execute option is a stupid gimmick that added some bullshit 'cool' element to the game to appeal to the 'bruh kids', idiotic.

Irrespective of the ghost etc options, the above features being in the game in the first place already ruin the experience, the AI is altered and the gameworld is already altered to aligned with these features.

Spies Vs Mercs is the best SC MP and should be revived for any new SC game

Again with these kill animations....... their idiotic and appeal to the lowest common denominator, go play COD if you want big explosions, slo-mo stupid action fast and furious bullshit.

Splinter Cell was a methodical stealth game and should remain so, it should be treated like a game of chess and that's what made the early SC go great and that not being present in subsequent SC games is why SC doesnt exist today.
 
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BLAUcopter

Gold Member
Just replay Chaos Theory.
Fuck Conviction and Blacklist.
I'd rather the series stay dead.
I enjoyed Conviction and have played it through multiple times. And that's with being a huge fan of the OG SC games. Can't keep doing the same shit each time....
 
I think the publisher is more of a problem for the Splinter Cell franchise than the game itself. Just look at Hitman, sold by Square because it did not meet their expectations and IO is doing fine now by themselves. They were passionate about their product at the start, but got sucked into a big publisher, escaped them again and continue now their journey. Blood Money perfected the old rather limited formula and I guess the newer entries expanded and polished what the freedom of Absolution allowed.
Splinter Cell, like Ass Creed, was close to perfect from the start, it just needed to stay focused and don't add bs fans don't want and potential new fans don't care for that much anyway. Also Thief, Deus Ex or Mirrors Edge. Those games would be fine, if they don't try to cater to dudebros or whoever, try to be a huge success and just focus on their strengths, reward stealth and stay away from killing everyone to be a viable option and be happy within a niche market. Hitman doesn't look at all like they have to produce on a small budget. All those kind of similar franchises could too. As Ubisoft, doing a terrible XIII remake, making BG&E, both first releases not at all selling much and NOT have something with the much more mass appeal Sam Fisher, the three dots were a signature element like Lara Crofts protruding triangles, is ludicrous.
PoP though could be made more succesful when turning it into something like Trackmania on PC. With an editor and rather simple but tons of levels. Include a story campaign, like LBP, but make the amount of levels the selling point.
 
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MMaRsu

Banned
The premise is to put your feet in the shoes of Ubisoft. A company that wants to continue growing their major IP.
Yeah, its just never going to happen.

Splinter Cell fans want Chaos Theory 2, but Ubishit gives us Sam Fisher in Wildlands.

The company has lost all touch with its fanbase.
 

MMaRsu

Banned
Sure.. but outside of the fact that they own the IP, why do I care about Ubisoft? Even if I did, it's nonsense that everything these companies put out needs to sell 10 fucking million copies. Literally look at what has happened to Assassin's Creed following this line of thinking.

I'd rather have a smaller budget and less commercial Splinter Cell that's basically Chaos Theory but harder. No reason why that couldn't be considered successful. But sure, put a fucking team of 300 on it 😂
300 is miniscule fot Ubisoft, who typically employs over 2000 people on a single game.
 
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