It doesn't take much to get me thinking about Monolith's classic FPS FEAR, but it's barely left my thoughts since Warner Bros' baffling decision to shut down the veteran studio, which also created games like No One Lives Forever and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Yet it's Monolith's 2005 shooter that is my favourite of its games, mainly thanks to its landmark AI design. Its army of clones was eerily capable of outflanking and outfoxing you as you battled through the game's office complexes and research labs.
Hence, any game that strives to create genuinely smart-seeming enemies is likely to grab my attention, which is why this unassuming development video of a Korean tactical shooter caught my eye. Project TH (short for 'Project Two Hearts') is a third-person stealth-action game with shades of Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon: Wildlands. But it was a recent overview of the game's enemy navigation and movement systems that got me thinking about Monolith's classic FPS.
"In Project TH, the AI system is designed to actively utilize environmental structures to apply continuous pressure on the player," explains developer EVR Studio in the video's description. "To achieve this, we have integrated situational awareness AI with dynamic navigation, allowing the AI to employ tactical movement strategies rather than simply pursuing the player along linear paths."
Going further, EVR points out that "Instead of following a predetermined route, the AI dynamically recalculates its path in real time, tracking the player’s movement and selecting the most effective tactical maneuvers". Such manoeuvres include some familiar abilities like vaulting over ledges and opening doors, but the AI can also apparently enter structures from windows and drop down from higher leges. You can see an example of the latter about a minute into the video, when an enemy soldier drops down right in front of the player and immediately tries to engage them in melee combat.
But it's more the general movements of the AI, rather than anything specific, that bring to mind FEAR's slow-motion gunfights. The way enemies move to encircle the player, pressing from different directions in a cold and measured fashion. This is particularly clear at the end of the video, where two enemies enter a room from a door and a window almost simultaneously, while a third climbs a stack of boxes to reach the same level as the player.
"The AI prioritizes environment-driven movement, ensuring that it does not simply chase but rather applies tactical pressure by leveraging the game world effectively," EVR Studio points out. "Through real-time path recalculations and dynamic navigation systems, AI agents can intelligently flank, intercept, and adapt to the player’s movements, making every combat encounter unpredictable and intense."
Not everything is the same, of course. This is a different style of game, a third-person cover shooter rather than an FPS, which means it has a more deliberate, less frantic pace. But the way it all moves gives me that same sense of being in a room with enemies trying not just to outgun you, but outthink you.
There's no word on when Project TH will be released. Despite being around for a few years, it still seems to be heavily in development. But it's now officially on my radar, and I'll be keeping a close eye on how it progresses.
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