The Team at Play2Improve has been hard at work on FPS Trainer since the innovative training and coaching service for First-Person-Shooter games was announced in late 2010. The response to the initial press release was very positive. So much so that the hosts of the original website, immediately collapsed under the tsunami of visitors. As did the second, leaving FPS Trainer high and dry, with thousands of screaming fans trying to register and log in.
However, with new, infinitely powerful hosting, FPS Trainer is back and is now, officially, in BETA. The service has already been updated, upgraded and improved since it was first announced. However Play2Improve is offering a huge range of new features and content over the next several weeks, including…
- Dedicated servers to help avoid connectivity problems and enable players to have a smoother game experience
- A Play Now mode to allow players to jump straight into a game
- A major graphical overhaul to add advanced lighting, animation and special effects (with the same low-spec minimum requirements)
- Enhanced single-player training bots to help players practice their skills in a (relatively) safe environment
- Advanced metrics to enable players to visually track their progress and increasing skills over time
- New coaching assists to help with:
- Accuracy by providing real-time feedback for each shot fired
- A comprehensive post-match analysis mode to help players review exactly what happened in the previous game (starting with the kill-shot visualisation, or KillViz)
- Plus lots more coaching features coming soon
Upcoming new features will include:
- A full replay mode with more in-depth post-match analysis
- A peer coaching framework, allowing advanced players to effectively coach novices and intermediates
- Guest celebrity coaches from the professional gaming world
- A smartphone app to enable players to receive more advanced real-time coaching feedback and advice as they play
Alongside the standard free version of the game, the release of the first premium content packs for FPS Trainer: FPS Trainer Tactical (for realistic team-based tactical shooters, such as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike) and FPS Trainer HD (a downloadable high definition version of the game) will shortly be announced.
In addition, the mouse and keyboard controls, will be joined by gamepad support, allowing console players to hone their skills and develop their moves in the biggest selling console titles too.
Play2Improve is heading out to San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference and will be on the Scottish Development International stand (#714) over the course of the event. To meet up with them, contact the MD, Matt Seeney.
We’ll be catching up with Matt, the mysterious astz! and the rest of the team once they’re back from GDC. In the meantime, head over to the website and register for the new and improved FPS Trainer service.