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Soldier of Fortune What Went Right What Went Wrong A Direct Hit

Originally slated for an 18-month development cycle, Soldier of Fortune ended up taking nearly two years, a considerable undertaking that in the end allowed a talented group of developers to really shine. As with all projects, SoF had its problems, but for the most part things went well thanks to the efforts of an incredible team of people, and Soldier of Fortune has quickly become one of Raven Software's best-accepted titles.

A direct hit.

With strong sales to date and a solid Internet community, SoF has exceeded many people's expectations, including our own. We've been very happy for the large number of good reviews, both in print magazines and on the Internet, and we are helping to support the online community as much as we can. From a development viewpoint, SoF allowed the Raven team to grow and mature, and many lessons that we learned are now being put to use in our next set of products. Of course, no project ever runs smoothly, but with each new game we gain more understanding of what it takes to make the next one better.

Game Data

Soldier of Fortune Raven Software Madison, WI http://www.ravensoft.com Publisher: Activision Full-Time Developers: 20 (on average) Contractors: 2 Budget: Multi-million-dollar budget Length of Development: 23 months Release Date: March 2000 Platforms: Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Linux Hardware Used: Dell Pentium 550 with 128MB RAM, 18GB hard drive, and a TNT2 Software Used: Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 6.0, 3D Studio Max 2.x, Softimage 3D, Photoshop notable Technologies: Licensed the Quake 2 engine from id Software (using OpenGL), motion-capture data from House of Moves, force feedback, A3D/EAX 3D sound, World Opponent Network (WON) matchmaking services Project Size: 406,044 lines of code, 602 files

 

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