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Operations
Debrief

 

OPERATIONS

To ready yourself and your team for a custom mission, or a mission in a custom career, you will be taken to Operations. This set of menus allows you to make choices about how you want your team to be structured, equipped, and outfitted, and where you want your team to insert into the mission area. You may also choose gameplay augmentations and custom scenarios from these screens.

Operations is divided into three screens: Ops, Mission, and Gear. In single-player mode, the screen defaults to the Mission menu.

Located at the bottom right of the Operations screen is the SWAT Eagle surrounded by three option tabs; Operations, Call Up, and Main. Pass your cursor over the SWAT Eagle and the tabs to highlight. Click on the highlighted SWAT Eagle or a highlighted tab to select. Clicking on the SWAT Eagle brings up the Options Menu. Clicking on the Call Up tab returns you to the mission selection screen. Clicking on the Main tab takes you back to SWAT3’s Main Menu.

The SWAT Eagle and associated options are persistent between Ops, Mission and Gear.

Ops

In Ops, you configure the structure of the teams and choose what positions you want filled by AI, and what position you yourself wish to have on the team. You may choose to be element leader, or a team assaulter. Augmentations and scenarios are also chosen here, and the mission briefing is displayed.

Scenario Selection

Co-Op

In Co-Operative mode, the first step is to determine if you wish to play the mission's standard scenario, or a custom MOD scenario. This option is only available in mission mode, as the missions are pre-set in career mode. At the top-right hand corner of the Ops screen is a box that contains the current mission briefing and objectives list. You may scroll through the briefing by clicking the arrows to the right of the briefing box. Above the box is the name of the current scenario and an arrow. Click this arrow to open a list of available scenarios; click to select the scenario of your choice. If the "Random Objectives" scenario is chosen, fields will appear that represent the number of hostages, suspects, and civilians that will be placed in the mission area when the game begins. Use the arrows located to the right of each field to increase or decrease the number in the field, or press the Random button to the far right of the field to set the field to a random value.

Deathmatch

In any of the Deathmatch variations, the scenario briefing is replaced by several fields that represent the game parameters: Max Score, Suspects, Civilians, Timer, and Lives. Each field has two arrows directly to the right which are used to change the value in the field, and, depending on the field, a Random button which will set the value randomly at game start.

Max Score can be set to a value or can be left blank. If blank, there is no maximum score, and thus, the game cannot end based on score. If it is set to a value, the game will end when one player reaches the maximum score.

The Suspects and Civilians fields can be set to a value, including zero or a random value. These fields designate how many suspects and civilians will be placed in the mission area when the game begins.

The Timer can be set to designate a certain amount of game duration. If the timer is left blank, the game cannot end based on time elapsed. If the timer is set to a value, that value represents the number of minutes that will pass during the game before the game ends.

The Lives field indicates the number of times that each player will be able to re-enter the mission area after being neutralized. You may leave it blank to give each player indefinite lives, or set it to a value to limit their number of lives.

 

Game Mode Augmentations

Below the briefing box is a space for check boxes that toggle gameplay augmentations. These vary from game mode to game mode.

Co-Op

Co-operative mode contains the Assumable AI augmentation. If you choose to turn this feature on, you may assume control of the next AI officer on your team should you be neutralized. During the game, if you are neutralized, press the ESCAPE key to bring up the in-game menu. Click the “Assum. AI” tab to immediately assume control of the next AI officer on your team.

Deathmatch

Deathmatch mode contains several augmentations, including Paintball mode which can be activated in any deathmatch game type and is explained below, as well as augmentations that are unique to the game type that you have selected.

For Standard and Team Deathmatch modes, the Respawn AI augmentation is available. Activating the Respawn AI augmentation box will cause all AI characters removed from the map, by neutralization or evacuation, to return to the game in a random location.

For Team Deathmatch, the Base Camp augmentation is available. This augmentation, if activated, will designate the starting locations of each team in the game to be their “Base Camp”. Once a player has been neutralized, they will respawn at their team’s base camp. If this option is deactivated, players will respawn in random locations on the map if they are neutralized.

For Last Man Standing, the Life Support augmentation is available. This augmentation, if active, will give each player a “life meter” that will slowly drain away as the game progresses. If it falls to zero, the player is neutralized. To recharge these meters, players must wound or neutralize suspects or other players. This discourages the practice of “camping”.

Paintball Mode

Paintball Mode is a unique way to play SWAT3 deathmatch. The color of the boxes that contain the names of the players in the current game represent the color of paint each player has for their weapon.

Paintball has its own set of rules and changes:

All players now shoot paintballs, rather than bullets, from their weapons. Each players’ paintball color is determined automatically before the mission begins. Suspects, however, will always fire orange paintballs.

If you are hit with a paintball, your screen will flash the color of the paintball you were hit with.

The effects of body armor are negated; every player, suspect, and hostage is equally vulnerable to a paintball hit. However, damage is relative; a direct hit to the head with a paintball does not deal as much “damage” as a hit to the hand.

Paintballs are fired at much lower velocities than bullets; in paintball mode, your shots will not penetrate any surfaces, nor will they pass through any other characters. Paintballs will leave a visible “splat” of paint on any surface or character they hit.

 

Team Setup

The next step is to determine the structure of the teams you want in the mission. In the center of the screen, you will see two columns of five boxes each. Each column represents a five-man entry team. The left column is team one, in which four AI assaulters have been assigned, and  to which you are assigned the role of element leader, and the right column is team two, which is initially empty. To assign an AI assaulter to any one of these slots, click on the arrow to the right of the slot name, and choose from the available options in the drop-down list. You may select "AI" to fill the slot with a new AI assaulter. You may also select the name of a previously placed AI assaulter to move him to the new slot, you may select your own name to move yourself to that spot, and you may select Closed to empty the slot of any assaulter currently placed in it.

In Co-Operative mode, these two teams work in tandem to accomplish mission objectives. In Team Deathmatch, they compete head-to-head for points. In Last Man Standing and Deathmatch play, each team member fights against all of the others for supremacy.

Note that in Co-Operative and Team Deathmatch, the game cannot start if either team has assaulters but no leader. If a team has assaulters, it must have a leader for the game to begin.

 

Mission

The Mission tab provides you with information about the mission area you will be entering, and, in Co-Operative mode, allows you to set entry points for your team(s). On the right hand side of the screen is the current briefing for the upcoming mission. You can scroll through the briefing by clicking the arrows to the right of the briefing text.

To the left of the briefing box is a shot of the current mission location, for your reference. Below the briefing box are your entry point / mode of entry selectors; two sets of boxes, one for each team, identify the team's entry point and tactical mode of entry: stealth or dynamic, for the mission. Click the arrows to the left and right of each box to change the entry point and tactical mode of entry for your team(s). When you are satisfied with your choices, simply leave them displayed on-screen, and they will be applied when the mission begins.

In Team Deathmatch, the option for activating the “Base Camp” augmentation will appear. For more information on gameplay augmentations, see above. In Standard Deathmatch and Last Man Standing modes, the Mission screen is unavailable.

 

Gear

The Gear tab allows you to access weapons and equipment for yourself and the other assaulters. The Gear screen is separated into two menus, the Gear menu and the Weapons menu. By default, the Gear menu is shown. To move between the two menus, click either the Gear or the Weapons tabs located at the top-left hand corner of the screen.

Gear

In the Gear menu, you can configure the character types and camouflage selections for each of the assaulters. On the left hand side of the screen is a list of the assaulters that are assigned to the mission. To select an assaulter to equip, click on their name. Directly to the right of the assaulter list is a list of character types. You may scroll through this list by clicking on the arrows to the lower left of the list. To choose a character type for the selected assaulter, click the name of the character type you want to assign from the list. If you are satisfied with the character type, leave it selected on-screen.

Note: Character types have certain attributes that affect their mobility and protection. A heavy assaulter may have more protection from bullets than a light assaulter, but cannot move as quickly.

If you find that a particular character type is appropriate for the entire squad of assaulters, you may click the Assign To All button located at the lower-left hand side of the menu to apply the currently selected character attributes to all assaulters.

You may additionally choose a camouflage style for your team. On the right side of the screen is a list of available camo styles, with a swatch of the currently selected camo above the list for your reference. Scroll through the list by clicking on the arrows to the right of the box, and select a camo by clicking on its name. When you are satisfied with your choice, leave the camo selected on-screen.

Weapons

In the Weapons screen, you may choose the primary and secondary weapon configurations for yourself and your assaulters, as well as your tactical aids.

Weapons and tactical aids are chosen from three separate lists, accessible by the named tabs above the center list: Primary, Secondary, and Tactical Aid. Clicking on one of the tabs will switch the list contents to that category and display the currently selected assaulter's weapon if Primary or Secondary is selected.

The list of assaulters is shown on the left hand side of the screen. Select the assaulter you wish to outfit by clicking on their name. If you are currently in Primary or Secondary weapon selection mode, the current assaulter's weapon selection will be highlighted in the weapon list, shown to the right of the assaulter list. This list is scrollable; you may click the arrows to the left of the list to scroll the contents. A graphic of the currently selected weapon will be shown to the right of the weapon list, along with two boxes below the graphic representing the amounts of primary and secondary ammo that are currently assigned to the current assaulter for the selected weapon. If you would like to change the amounts of a specific ammunition carried, you may click the arrow to the left of the ammunition name to decrease the amount, and click the arrow to the right of the ammunition name to increase the amount. Note that the assaulter only has a limited amount of space available; increasing the amount of one ammunition type may decrease the amount of the other type. 

In choosing tactical aids, you may select the quantities of each type of tactical aid for the current assaulter. To do so, enter tactical aid selection mode by clicking the "Tactical Aid" button above the central list, and then select a tactical aid from the list by clicking on its name. Below the graphic of the tactical aid is a box, in which is displayed the number of these devices carried by the current assaulter. To increase or decrease the amount, click the arrows on either side of the box. Note that the assaulter has limited space, and so increasing the amount of one tactical aid may decrease the amount of the others.

Finally, should you find that a certain combination of weapons, ammunition, and tactical aids is suitable for all assaulters on your team, you may click the "Assign to All" button located to the lower left of the central list, after selecting the weapons, ammunition, and tactical aids for the current assaulter that you wish each assaulter to carry. The selection will be immediately applied.

 

Go! Go! Go!

When you have made your team, gear, and mission selections, click the "Go! Go! Go!" button to begin the mission.

 


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