Credit: Rezza

WELCOME to the inaugural issue of VIRTUAL SOLDIER magazine. The gaming worlds soon to be premiere online magazine for news, reviews and everything all around gaming. Every month well be bringing you a host of interactive features including videos, reviews, images, and interviews to our wide gaming audience absolutely free. So,whatdoesourfirstissuehaveinstore for our readers? Well, we take a look at some of the new video games that are cur-rently in the works by EA studios, who brought youtheawardwinningBattlefieldseries.Thenwe give you an interview with one of Project Realitys development team members, which is sure to be exciting and informative. And you must check out the new video reviews and community based videos that move from, not just PR, but also to other games. From First-Person-Shooters to Role-Playing-Games, we at VIRTUAL SOLDIER magazine, hope that we can continue to offer free, informative, media to the general gaming public.

sylent/shooter

Editors Note...

04 Britains Big CatWe check out the new Panther CLV for both ArmA2 and Project Reality

04

05 reliving the PastThe highlights of PR maps from the beginning to the current

07 TeamworkWe interview one of the largest gam-ing communities out there. Tactical Gamer.

13 game snacksWe take a look at some of the fastest and healthy snacks to eat while raiding avillageorholdingafirebase.

13

12 sounds of warWe compare the two ambient sounds of BFBC2 and PR as of v0.95

Britains Big Cat

Since this issue is basically about Proj-ect Realitys newest and forth coming version, v0.92 we think that one of the newest vehicles should be featured in this issue. And man is it good look-ing. Thats right! the British Panther CLV or Command and Liason Vehicle has been devel-oped for Project Reality, since the Developent team seemed to pull this one off from right under our noses. In real life, this vehicle is built to pro-vide tactical and strategic mobility to forces on the ground. In Project Reality it will be replacing the land rover light vehicles role. As you can see the turret is now replaced with a remote turret similar to the turret on the crows HMMV. Now we know that this is precision equipment and should only be used in extreme circumstances to ensure the safety of the troops in our squad. Unfortunately thats not our idea of fun. We can just picture ourselves driving these things reck-lessly through the streets of Basrah or in the jungle. Which raises the question. Will and does the Panther have a higher armour count in-game then that of the Land Rover? Well we cant tell you that. But we can tell you that it looks amaz-ing. Both forms of the Panther look amazing infact. A work of art if you will. The desert ver-sion looks like an evil machine on the prowel while the jungle version has the same aura about it but with a little more, simplicity. Compared to the real life panther is easy to see why our Development team is known for amazing work both in function-ality and looks. And anything that looks amazing, has to be amazing.

Ah The Good Ol DaysWith new releases, comes new maps. And with new maps, goes old maps. If you have played Project Reality for at least 3 releases than Im sure you know what I am talking about. Since Project Reality has grown up, out of the stages of inferior-ness to the hugley popular game it is now, it has had its fair of both good and bad maps. Some maps being phased out because they were just horrible. Some being phased because they lacked what PR was trying to give to the community, and the rest because Project Reality simply outgrew them. Due to the addition of new things into Project Reality, the gameplay has changed significantly since the beginning.These in turn made maps obsolete and they just didnt hold enough texture to make them fun

playing. Althought these maps have been removed and will most likely never be seen again, we have come across a video by one of the Project Reality commu-nity members. GoreZiad has put together a compilation of the maps that Project Reality has had, and has. Entitled Project Reality- Then and Now, it sure gave us a sense of nostalgia while watching and we hope it gives you the same feel-ing. And to all the new play-ers of Project Reality, it will give you an insight to what PR was and the history to how it came to be what it is.

Hi Tactical Gamer thanks for taking the time to do this interview for us!

Now to jump straight into it, would you mind giving us a bit of background on the Tactical Gamer Community?

-Absolutely. Tactical Gamer wasnt always Tactical Gamer. It was started under the name Network 42 Profes-sional Counter Strike. Way back in the late 90s. Tactical Gamer was started to approach games in a more chal-lenging manner where players try to enhance their skills, work together as a team to accomplish goals and go up against other people with the same mindset.

Looking around your website I see that you note on numerous occasions that you call yourselves a community rather than a clan. Would you mind explaining the difference between the two?

-Clans are often times a closed group of players where you have to be invited and / or voted in to become a mem-ber. And typically a player can only be a member of one clan at a time.

We refer to ourselves as an open community because we welcome players and clans to be a part of our commu-nity. The only requirements are that you agree to our Primer and abide by our server rules.

Referring back to my previous question, do you think this has beneFits in a heavily teamwork based game like Project Reality, over being part of a rigid command structure that some clans have?

-I believe that both can be just as successful. Being an open community means we do have clans that participate as part of this community. We also have what is called an In-House Squad IHS system which is effectively a subset of players that practice, train, and play together as a squad. These IHS players become a cohesive unit on the battlefield.

These squads also have learned to play side-by-side and incorporate excellent communication standards and a command hierarchy. This then spreads to non-IHS players who pick up on these skills and overall we have a bet-ter quality of play.

Your Project Reality server is one of the most popular servers out there, any tips for other clans trying to achieve this same feat?

-Tactical Gamer has been around much longer than Project Reality so we were able to come into PR with a strong player-base. However I feel that weve continued to have success because we strive to follow the Primer (mentioned above) and maintain a level of respect and maturity towards each other.

Heres a quote (not verbatim) I remember reading a while back but I cant for the life of me remember who wrote it....

The rules are our map and the Primer is our compass.

Clan Interview:By Thomas A a.k.a SUGNAT

When playing on your server I notice that Mumble is a large factor in your server, but would you say that mumble should be integrated into the Project Reality Mod to replace the VOIP?

This is a tough question to answer for a variety of reasons. Technically speaking, Mumble is already integrated into the mod as it is now included in the Project Reality installer and will be for all future versions. Additionally, the Project Reality development team have worked very closely with the Mumble development team to get PR-specific customizations included into Mumble that have really helped its acceptance within the PR community.

Should it replace VOIP? In my opinion I would have to say no, it should not be an official replacement for the BF2 VOIP system for a variety of reasons:- Some players cannot use Mumble because of hardware or software conFlicts- Some players choose not to use Mumble because of personal preferences- Some servers have only a single mumble channel which has multiple positive and negative sides, but with regard speciFically to the question means that you lose the ability to communicate solely with your squad mates without anyone else hearing

I think Mumble is a wonderful enhancement to Project Reality and, when used properly, adds an entirely new dimension to the player immersion into the game and enhances the experience tremendously. However, it should ultimately remain a personal choice if a player wishes to use the software or not if it is not included in the box for BattleField 2.

With the news that Project Reality will be creating a mod for ARMA 2, will Tactical Gamer be following them across?

Tactical Gamer has a great working relationship with Project Reality, stretching back many years, with a great many joint members. There have been, and continue to be a great many testers, contributors and map mak-ers from TG who contribute to the PR ideal. As ArmA GO, I certainly want that, and can already see that trend continue. I know a great many members of the TG community are very excited by PRA2, I have an in-box full of questions to attest to it! And to that end, TG has applied for an ofFicial PR: ArmA 2 license.

Now coming back to yourselves, care to give some details on how to join your community for our readers?

Simply register on our forums, read our Primer, and say hello. Thats it!

Interview Conducted by SUGNAT (PR JOURNALIST)

Interview Completed by Apophis (TG Founder(taken via Asch)) Asch (TG Admin and GO) d1sp0sabl3H3r0: (PR GO) Jeepo_SAS (ArmAGO)(GO=GameOfficer)

Monthly Picks

Featured PhotoCredit: Rezza

Credit: Frosty2200

Credit: Stealth Cobbler

Second Place

Third Place

We would like to congratulate the winners of the month of August, Monthly picks. Each photo was picked by our magazine team and ranked accordlingly. This will be ongoing every issue of the magazine and maybe as we continue in development the winners will get some prizes. Who knows. Until then keep up the great work.

Virtual Soldier Team

Credit: KarateDoug

Credit: Jigsaw

Fourth Place

Fifth Place

Sometimes when youre surFing the internet, you never know what youre gonna Find. I had found this video about a home made DIY video game that I thought all our readers should see. It shows you that with the right time and effort you really can create something amazing.

Completed by one guy in... it took approimately 2 months to complete. Using a small 1:28 scale model of a remote control car Fitted with a camera and lights so you can see clearly while driving around.

When the driver gets careless and crashes a car people around the track watching have to help out by RESET-ING the car. Much like a video game does once you crash. i.e the RESET button.

All we can hope for now is that they maker will incorpo-rate more than one car to race around the track inspired by the popular nintendo game WIPEOUT.

The game appropritaly called RACER is based in Ger-many. Their website is called www.sputnic.tv/racer and we encourage people to check it out. Although this is an old idea and was released in 2009 its still pretty cool.

We included the video via a link to the website since we dont own the rights to actually call this ours. We would like to thank stupidvideos.com for letting us use this.

Amazing things from big ideas

Since we have already done a vehicle review in this issue of VIRTUAL SOLDIER we decided that we would take a look at the new distance sounds that will hopefully be incorporated into v0.95.

Since this version of Project Reality is sure to include many new vehicles, maybe some maps, and hopefully new ways to play the game. I guess sounds were kind of a given need.

But needless to say the sound team delivered. During their trip to record sound for Project Reality, they also recorded some distance sounds which you will hear when people are shooting far away.

The thing that is truly amazing about the work that the team has done is that, they created an immersive, exciting environment with the new sounds. Now bare in mind that these sounds are still on the BF2 engine and therefore will be limited to the ways they can be made. But if you compare another EA game such as BF:BC2 to the new sounds the PR team has made. They sound fairly similar. We have included the two videos for you to watch.

Now this is where it becomes amazing. The PR team has achieved almost the same results using an outdated engine from 2005 as the new Frostbite engine using a dynamic sound en-gine. Now mind you there is a slight difference but none the less its still pleasing to the ear to hear a gun sound so realistic in an outdated game. So we take our hats off to the sound team for showing us gamers some of the most amazing work that Im sure most of us have heard. Especially on an outdated engine.

Now we are hoping that the new sounds dont add a whole other gigabyte to the already large PR game folder. But well have to wait until v0.95 to see.

the sounds of battle rage on

When it comes to sitting at home doing various things, you cant go hungry, can you? Well, Youre probably wondering, what the heck can I get with-out spending too much time on an excursion for food? In this article, Ill show you some snacks that are easy to obtain from your kitchen pantry, but also healthy for you. What is a good snack to grab if your playing a game or doing something else? Well this list iswhat my top three snacks to grab would be.

1. Pretzels (Mini)

-Sure, they might look pretty mediocre to you, but they are quite an alternative to potato chipsand such, they are pretty good if theyre salted, but you could dip them in a multitude of thingsto make them more on par to your tastes for food.

2. Popcorn

-Lets say Pretzels arent your thing, Popcorn can be consumed in many different ways, itsquite a universal taste depending on what you put on it, or how you eat it. I personally Findthat a bowl of popcorn is good when you are trying to study or concen-trate on something,its also quite Filling if you ask me.

3. Chips (Potato/Tortilla)

-Cant really argue with this, its one of the less healthy thing to grab, then again, who eatshealthy snacks nowadays? Chips can be anything really, from those potato chips to mypersonal favorite, Tortilla chips. Either way, both are good to eat, de-pending on what theFlavor is.In the end, Ive been fond of all three of these snacks, you can be too. The chips arent thebest cause well, theyre fried and so on and so forth, but otherwise, I prefer pretzels the most,just some salt on them is Fine.

Quick and easy snacksBy: Ryan T a.k,a Spartan0189

Button 1: