Project Reality
Encyclopedia
Project Reality is an unfinished series of tactical First-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...

 video games which aim to create a realistic combat environment and place great emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. Project Reality includes two modifications
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...

 for the computer game Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2 is a computer game by the Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE . During development, Trauma Studios contributed to the development of the game after it was acquired by DICE...

 on the PC, a modification
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...

 for the computer game ArmA 2
ArmA 2
ARMA 2 is a tactical shooter video game for the PC developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio. It is considered the spiritual successor in the Operation Flashpoint-series following its predecessor, ArmA: Armed Assault . ARMA 2 was released in June and July 2009...

, and an unreleased standalone sequel Project Reality 2 built on the C4 engine, still in pre-production development.

Focus on Realism

The weapons and vehicles in Project Reality have their properties modified for increased realism. Ballistics are adjusted to reflect those of real weapons, including characteristics such as bullet drop. Project Reality features a locational damage system. If a vehicle suffers heavy damage to its tracks, it will likely be immobilized. Likewise, damage dealt to the turret of a tank will immobilize the turret. Additionally, there is no health meter
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....

 as in the original BF2, and players who are wounded but not disabled by enemy fire will slowly have their health degrade unless they are treated by a medic
Combat medic
Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...

, to the point that they can die from exsanguination
Exsanguination
Exsanguination is the fatal process of hypovolemia , to a degree sufficient enough to cause death. One does not have to lose literally all of one's blood to cause death...

.

Focus on Teamwork

Although Project Reality started as simple realism mod (called mini-mods), its continued success mostly stems from its heavy focus on teamplay and adding new elements to the game that force players to cooperate and work together to be successful (including requiring a minimum two-man team to capture control points, making it impossible for individual players to capture one alone). Many new additions to the mod and game engine allow for tighter teamwork. The game mechanics in Project Reality have been greatly modified from standard Battlefield 2 in order to reward players that use teamwork and punish players that "lonewolf". In this way Project Reality is unique to most games, and is what continues to attract a wide global audience.

Game Modes

Project Reality features five game modes. Two of the game modes involve capturing and holding control points, similar to the Conquest mode of Battlefield 2, although control points must be captured in a certain order, AASv4 randomly chooses a capture route (a series of capture points) for a battle, giving many different areas on a map for firefights and replayability. Vehicle Warfare mode gives AAS a twist, by putting full emphasis on heavy vehicles, and restricting access to infantry kits. The Command and Control mode removes all control points, instead focusing combat around player built fortifications. The Insurgency mode, intended to simulate asymmetrical warfare, involves a conventional forces team searching for and destroying illegal weapon caches while the other team, the insurgents, try to defend them. The mod also features a co-op mode, where human players may play alongside with or against computer controlled players. Co-op can also serve as a single-player mode (with bots standing in for teammates). Partially due to the inclusion and limitations of the A.I., co-op is played with more relaxed rules (e.g. reduced timers, some limited kits can be selected on spawn, etc.) that also apply to human players.

Spawning

Players can no longer spawn
Spawning (computer gaming)
In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character or item. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction....

 at flags which their team is in control of, nor can players spawn on their squad leader. In PR, players can spawn at a permanent spawn point at their main base, at their squad's rally point, or at Forward Operating Bases.

Rally points are spawn points placed by the squad leader of a squad (as long as one other squad member is near the leader and the squad lead has an officer kit). Only the squad members of that squad may spawn on the rally point. These are primarily for regrouping the squad temporarily, and as such they expire after a short period, or if enemies get within a certain distance.

Forward Operating Bases are special player deployable assets. Squad leaders may place Forward Operating Bases if they have one supply crate dropped from a Logistics Truck or helicopter and an officer or combat engineer kit. A Firebase (as it tends to be called) can be reinforced with deployables when two supply crates are present, such as razor-wire fences, foxholes, an AA-turret, anti-tank wired-missile installation, mortar emplacements (two per team), and up to two heavy machine gun nests (per forward base). The Taliban faction is limited to an SPG-9 anti-tank gun, and mortars (two per team). These assets can be placed by any friendly squad leader (regardless of which one built the original outpost), and have to be built using the shovel, a tool most individual soldier kits carry.

Rally points and Forward Operating Bases may be over-run or destroyed. The one permanent spawn a team has is at their main base. This is typically the last flag able to be captured by the opposing team (other times the main base is close to the last flag, but not the flag itself). Almost all vehicles spawn at the main base of team.

The exception to all this is the insurgent team on the Insurgency game mode. In that case, the insurgents get spawn points on their weapons caches (or time-limited 'spawn caches'), however they lose the ability to spawn there if the weapons cache is destroyed or the enemy force gains intelligence about the cache. Along with these points, the insurgents can deploy and construct destructible Hideouts to spawn at, which act in a similar way to the Forward Operating Bases the Blufor can deploy.

Kits

Players can no longer spawn with all the kits that are ultimately available. A player may spawn as an Officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 (with or without scope on the primary weapon), Rifleman
Rifleman
Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...

 (again with or without scope), Combat Medic
Combat medic
Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...

 (limited to one per squad), Rifleman Specialist (not to be confused with special forces; he only carries some extra equipment like a shotgun and grappling hook
Grappling hook
A grappling hook is an anchor with multiple hooks , attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge...

, limited to 1 per squad as of .95), or Automatic Rifleman (limited to one per squad). In order to spawn with the Officer kit, a player must be a squad leader of a squad with 2 or more members. Other, more specialized kits such as the Heavy Anti-Tank, Light Anti-Tank, Anti-Aircraft, Sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....

, Marksman
Designated marksman
The designated marksman is a military marksman role in a U.S. infantry squad. The term sniper was used in Soviet doctrine although the soldiers using the Dragunov were the first to use a specifically designed designated marksman's rifle. Sniper is also used in Russian doctrine...

, Grenadier, Rifleman Anti Personnel
Anti-personnel weapon
An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to incapacitate people, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles.The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and...

, and Combat Engineer have to be requested (Officer, Automatic Rifleman and Combat Medic can be obtained in this fashion as well). This is done from a friendly APC and/or a friendly supply crate dropped by logistic trucks or larger transport helicopters. All these kits are limited in the amount that are available. The exceptions are Crewman and Pilot kits (see below). Kits can also be picked up from dead enemy soldiers, which is useful as taking a specialized kit will deny the enemy that kit until the soldier using the kit loses it. As of 0.95 enemy kits can no longer be used, with the exception of rifleman variants (Rifleman, Rifleman Specialist, Light AT and AP).

Crewman and Pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

 kits are needed to drive armored vehicles and pilot aircraft respectively. They are unlimited in number and may be requested from the entry points of the appropriate vehicle, or from a friendly supply crate.

Some specialized kits may be pickup kits. Pickup kits are laid on the ground and may be picked up as the name suggests. These are especially prevalent for the insurgent team. This is because the insurgents may not request kits in the normal fashion.

Vehicles and Weapons

Although Project Reality reuses some of the models
3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...

 from Battlefield 2, it also features many new weapons and vehicles (with some of the existing hardware from the original game being revamped to make it more realistic).

Maps

All of the maps in PR are new, including some based on real life locations, such as Basrah, Karbala
Karbala
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....

, Al Kufrah, Muttrah, the Korengal Valley, Helmand Province
Helmand Province
Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....

, the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

, Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....

, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

, and some based on generic fictional locations in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

, and around the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

.

In April 2011, a set of single-player maps were released that include refurbished versions of maps from the original BF2, including "Operation Road Rage", "Operation Harvest", "Midnight Sun", and "Road to Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...

".

Factions

Project Reality currently includes thirteen factions. These factions are categorized as conventional forces, militia, and insurgents.
Current conventional forces included are:
  • The United States Army
    United States Army
    The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

  • The United States Marine Corps
    United States Marine Corps
    The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

  • The British Armed Forces
    British Armed Forces
    The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

  • The Russian Army
    Russian Ground Forces
    The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...

  • The Israel Defense Forces
    Israel Defense Forces
    The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

  • The Bundeswehr
    Bundeswehr
    The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

     (German Army)
  • The Canadian Forces
    Canadian Forces
    The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

  • The Middle Eastern Coalition (a fictional alliance carried over from the original Battlefield 2)
  • The People's Liberation Army
    People's Liberation Army
    The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...



Conventional forces to be included in later patches are:
  • The Polish Armed Forces
    Polish Armed Forces
    Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej are the national defense forces of Poland...

  • The Dutch Armed Forces
  • The French Armed Forces
  • The Brazilian Armed Forces
  • The Norwegian Armed Forces
    Norwegian Armed Forces
    The Norwegian Armed Forces numbers about 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees. According to mobilisation plans , the strength during full mobilisation would be approximately 83,000 combatant personnel. Norway has mandatory military service for men and voluntary service for women...

  • The New Zealand Armed Forces


Current militia included are:
  • The Militia (represents resistance fighters from former Warsaw Pact
    Warsaw Pact
    The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

     countries)
  • Hamas
    Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
    The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of...



Militia to be included in later patches are:
  • The FARC
    Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
    The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...

  • Private Military Contractors


As of v0.96, the only 2 insurgent factions is the Iraqi Insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...

, and the Taliban

Project Reality 2

In Early 2009 it was revealed through the official Project Reality forums that a standalone successor Project Reality 2 is in pre-production.

While PR2 is still in the planning/experimentation stage, a license for the C4 Engine
C4 Engine
The C4 Engine is a computer game engine developed by Terathon Software that is used to create 3D games and other types of interactive virtual simulations for Windows , Mac OS X , and PlayStation 3...

 has been purchased as of 2010.

Project Reality: ARMA 2 (PR:ARMA2)

It has been announced by the Developers of Project Reality that a version called Project Reality: ARMA 2 will be released for the ARMA 2 game. The main aim for PR:ARMA2 is:

"To create an immersive modification for ARMA2, which focuses on encouraging teamwork through gameplay"

The following information is quoted from the official Project Reality website in reference to the new mod.

As with Project Realitys original conception on the Refractor 2 engine, at this stage PR:ARMA2 should be classed as a Mini-Mod; we have to start somewhere! Don't be fooled though, this release will by no means disappoint, due to the large number of high quality art assets already created by the Project Reality Team, and the considerable experience of the PR:ARMA2 Development Team on the Real Virtuality 3 engine!

PR:ARMA2 exists as a standalone modification requiring both ARMA 2
ArmA 2
ARMA 2 is a tactical shooter video game for the PC developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio. It is considered the spiritual successor in the Operation Flashpoint-series following its predecessor, ArmA: Armed Assault . ARMA 2 was released in June and July 2009...

 and ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead
ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead
ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead is a stand-alone expansion pack of the tactical shooter MilSim developed by Bohemia Interactive, ARMA 2...

. It remains self contained, self developing and does not rely on or use externally held add-ons from other sources where at all possible. What that means to the player is that it is a 'one stop shop' as an installation package, with no requirement for additional multiple add on packs.

PR:ARMA2 v0.1 BETA was released on September 2nd.

Project Reality: Vietnam (PR:V)

What was thought of as an April Fool's joke turned out to be quite real. In an announcement by Trahn Lee Liao, a developer of Eve of Destruction
Eve of Destruction (series)
Eve of Destruction , is a series of free PC mods for the first-person shooter Battlefield Game Series. EoD is set in Indochina, mainly Vietnam, covering a historic period from 1949 through 1973, known as the Indochina Wars. It is developed and maintained by volunteers organized as a community.The...

 Devs Team, which makes one of the premier Vietnam mods for the Battlefield series, it was stated that PR:V was in fact real. It states that PR:V is a joint co-operative effort between the mod teams of Project Reality: BF2 and Eve of Destruction. It was later also announced on www.realitymod.com.

Critical Response

Major game review websites, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 and GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...

 have both reviewed Project Reality. IGN review states "why all BF2 players should download this mod." while GameSpy says that "the mother of all realism mods [has] arrive[d] for BF2". PC Zone
PC Zone
PC Zone was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. PC Zone was founded in 1993.The magazine was published...

 Magazine also reviewed Project Reality, saying that "not only does it make the virtual warfare harsher, Project Reality also adds fantastic new maps, vehicles and weapons to the fray".

Awards

In 2006, Project Reality won Mod DB's
Mod DB
Player's Choice*Best Indie Game: Tremulous*Best Released Mod: Point of Existence 2*Best Unreleased Mod: Black Mesa*By genre-2005:*-2004:*-2003:*-2002:*- External links :* *...

 Silver Spanner in the Mod of the Year 2006 awards, with 80,000 votes in total, and out of 4,000 mods PR came in second place.

In 2007, Project Reality won a variety of awards, including GameFlood's $25,000 Mod & Map Contest in the category "Best FPS Mod", and Total Gaming Network's "Best Modification of 2007 Award". Furthermore, Project Reality won Mod DB's
Mod DB
Player's Choice*Best Indie Game: Tremulous*Best Released Mod: Point of Existence 2*Best Unreleased Mod: Black Mesa*By genre-2005:*-2004:*-2003:*-2002:*- External links :* *...

 Silver Spanner in the Mod of the Year 2007 awards.

In 2008, Project Reality won both Mod DB's Editors Choice of Best Multiplayer Mod and the Mod of the Year, which is player's choice. Project Reality was also included in Mod DB's Mod Hall of Fame (which lists the best game mods over the past fourteen years) in December 2010.

In 2010, Project Reality: Arma 2 won Mod DB's Players Choice of Best Upcoming Mod of the Year Award.

Press Coverage

Project Reality has been featured in a variety of magazines. It was featured in the February print edition of Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine was a computer gaming print magazine. It was formerly Computer Games Strategy Plus, and before that, Strategy Plus, which had been founded as Games International in the UK in 1988. While its initial focus was on strategy games, it covered a wide range of game genres...

, a magazine distributed in North America. Project Reality was published in the March issue of GameStar
GameStar
GameStar is a monthly released PC computer game magazine, published by the IDG Entertainment Media GmbH in Germany. In 2008 it had an average monthly circulation of 250,000 copies and is therefore the best sold PC computer game magazine in Europe. It is also being published in Hungary, the Czech...

 as well as being distributed on a CD with the magazine. It was also featured in the April 2008 edition of the Soldier Magazine
Soldier Magazine
SOLDIER Magazine, the official monthly publication of the British Army, is produced by an in-house team and published by the Ministry of Defence...

, the official magazine of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

. The game was also featured in the October 2010 issue of the Australian gaming magazine PC PowerPlay
PC PowerPlay
PC PowerPlay is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. Also available in New Zealand, PC PowerPlay focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for use on gaming computers...

, including interviews with the development staff.

See also

  • Battlefield 2
    Battlefield 2
    Battlefield 2 is a computer game by the Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE . During development, Trauma Studios contributed to the development of the game after it was acquired by DICE...

  • Battlefield (series)
    Battlefield (video game series)
    The Battlefield franchise is a series of computer and console games that started with the Windows/Mac game Battlefield 1942. The series is developed by the Swedish company EA Digital Illusions CE, and published by Electronic Arts. The games feature a greater focus on large maps, teamwork and...

  • ArmA 2
    ArmA 2
    ARMA 2 is a tactical shooter video game for the PC developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio. It is considered the spiritual successor in the Operation Flashpoint-series following its predecessor, ArmA: Armed Assault . ARMA 2 was released in June and July 2009...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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