Combat Simulator

—Combat Simulator is the multiplayer mode featured in Perfect Dark, although it can be played solo. The multiplayer is played via split-screen with a maximum of 4 players and 8 Simulants (AI controlled bots). By creating a profile, players can track their statistics, rank, and create a custom character by matching a variety of heads and bodies.

Challenges

See Also: Challenges

The game has 30 challenges for the player to complete, which can be done solo or with up to 4 players. These challenges consist of various multiplayer scenarios with certain conditions that must be met in order to win. At first, only the first ten challenges are available, but, more, increasingly difficult ones are unlocked as the player progresses through them, along with new scenarios, maps, and character models to be used in normal multiplayer.

Advanced Setup

The Advanced Setup option grants the player(s) access to tons of options to change their games' behavior. They can change the scenario, arena, limits, Simulants and more. This gives the player(s) an almost infinite variety of ways to play. Settings can be saved to and loaded from the Game Pak or any Memory Paks installed in the connected controllers—each medium holding four storage slots.

Scenarios

Scenarios are the different game modes that can be played in a multiplayer match. Any game scenario can be played with up to eight teams (except for Capture the Case which only permits up to four). Every scenario aside from Combat also allows for a Kills Score option, whereby kills contribute to a player's or team's score in addition to the usual scoring conditions. You are given a few scenarios to start with, but as more Challenges are completed, more scenarios become available. The Simulants' orders vary depending on the scenario chosen.

• Combat is the standard deathmatch mode, the goal being to attain a certain number of kills before the other players, or to make the highest number of kills within a time limit.

• Hold the Briefcase (truncated to "Briefcase") involves finding a briefcase located somewhere in the map and holding onto it. The player or team holding the briefcase scores one (1) point every thirty (30) seconds the briefcase carrier remains alive. When the case carrier is killed, the case is dropped right at his or her position—it is not spawned at another location in the arena unless the player fell into a void. The case carrier cannot voluntarily drop the briefcase or hand it off to a team member. The briefcase carrier cannot collect Shield pickups while carrying it, but is otherwise able to use every other weapon and gadget at his or her disposal. Even though the briefcase can be selected from the pause menu inventory page, the carrier cannot be disarmed of the case—it is only dropped upon the player's death. Two of the three "Normal" team Simulant commands are replaced with "Get Case," directing the Simulant(s) to either try to obtain the briefcase or protect the team member carrying it. Options control if the case carrier's position is displayed on the radar or if the case carrier is highlighted green. No other players can see how much time is left for the next point—only the case carrier receives an on-screen countdown timer.

Unclaimed briefcase

• Hacker Central ("Hacker") involves finding a Data Uplink and a indestructible static laptop ("terminal") somewhere in the map, downloading information off of it for points. Hacking the laptop takes twenty (20) seconds and scores two points for the successful player or team. However, one is unable to attack when using the Data Uplink and also must remain close to the laptop for the entire duration of the hack—equipping a weapon, moving too far or getting pushed away will cancel the download and it must be resumed from the beginning. The carrier of the Data Uplink cannot drop it other than by getting killed If the Data Uplink carrier is killed, the Data Uplink is not dropped but immediately spawned elsewhere in the arena. Although each arena has a number of predetermined locations the terminal can spawn, it will remain at one location for the duration of the match. Two of the three "Normal" team Simulant commands are replaced with "Download," directing the Simulant(s) to either obtain the Data Uplink and download at the laptop, or to protect the team member carrying it. If a Simulant is downloading at the terminal and an enemy player or Simulant enters the vicinity, the Simulant will make no effort to retreat or defend itself, even if attacked. Options dictate whether the Data Uplink (and the carrier) and terminal are highlighted green or if their positions are displayed on the radar.

Unclaimed datauplink N64

Terminal N64

• Pop a Cap ("Pop") involves one player or Simulant being selected at random as the victim. If the victim remains alive for thirty (30) seconds, he or she or the team scores one point. Killing the target victim scores two points for that player or team. When the victim is killed, another random player immediately becomes the new victim. Two of the three "Normal" team Simulant commands are replaced with "Pop Cap," directing the Simulant(s) to go after the victim or protect the victim if he or she is a teammate. Options dictate whether the target is highlighted green or if his or her position is displayed on the radar.

• King of the Hill ("Hill") is a team-based scenario in which a team must secure a random, green-colored neutral zone of the map known as the "Hill". When occupied, the shading of the Hill changes to the color of the team in control. Each arena has a set of pre-determined areas that define the Hill(s) and optionally cycle after captures. To score points, at least one member of a team must remain alive within the boundaries of the Hill for the entire duration of the capture time (10–120 seconds; 20 is the default). If an enemy team member enters an occupied Hill, the countdown timer is paused until all opposing team players are killed or leave the boundaries. The only players that can see the countdown timer are members of the controlling team. A team receives one point for each living team member inside the Hill when the countdown timer ends. Each contributing team member does not have to remain in the Hill for the entire duration of the countdown—it is only the number of team members at the moment the countdown ends. An option dictates whether the Hill is mobile (i.e., the Hill moves to another area in the Arena after capture), or static wherein the one area remains the Hill for the duration of the match. The location of the Hill can also be hidden from the radar. Two of the three "Normal" team Simulant commands are replaced with "Def[end] Hill" and "Hold Hill, instructing the Simulant(s) to behave similarly to the standard "Defend" and "Hold" commands, but specifically at the Hill.

Unclaimed hill N64

Red team controls hill N64

• Capture the Case ("Capture") is a team-only scenario for up to four teams, and a variant of the traditional "Capture the Flag" game mode. Teams must acquire an opposing team's briefcase from their base, and then return it to their own case to score points. One briefcase can be carried by a player at a time and a team earns three points per capture. A team does not need to retrieve and carry their stolen briefcase back to their base—killing the enemy carrier instantly returns the case to its base. Team members always spawn within their base. The Simulant commands "Defend" and "Hold" are replaced with "Get Case" and "Save Case," leaving three spots for "Normal" behavior as per Combat.

Red teams base N64

Unique commands for team bots N64

Arenas

The game comes with 16 arenas, three of which are classic maps from GoldenEye 007. Only a few maps are available at first, but completing Challenges and the game's main campaign will unlock the rest.

• Skedar
• Pipes
• Ravine
• G5 Building
• Sewers
• Warehouse
• Grid
• Ruins
• Area 52
• Base
• Fortress
• Villa
• Car Park
• Temple (Classic Map)
• Complex (Classic Map)
• Felicity (Classic Map)

Simulants

See Also: Simulant

The number of simulants in any one advanced set up game can range from 0 to 8. If a player has a Sim on their side, they can set it to different tasks by holding "A" and pressing "Z" twice. Holding "R" will affect all at once on his/her team. These tasks include:

• Attack - Allows the player to choose a target for the Simulant. The Simulant will then deliberately charge and attack this target, shooting at any who get in its way.
• Follow - The Simulant will follow the player but will stray if an enemy is seen or is in need of ammo.
• Protect - Similar to "Follow", and the Simulant will defend the player to the end.
• Defend - Defends the player's current position, but will stray if an enemy, or is in need of ammo.
• Hold - Similar to "Defend", the simulant will defend the player's exact position of command to the end. It will not stray for ammo if it runs out.

Simulants have a several difficulty settings so that their aims and motives are different.

• MeatSims are the easiest of all the Simulants to defeat and are, therefore, the best choice for beginner players. It is not very intelligent, and its shooting skills are very poor.
• EasySims have basic skills and intelligence, but can still be dangerous.
• NormalSims are skilled as an average human player.
• HardSims are as skilled as a good human player.
• PerfectSims are the most intelligent and skilled human-level Simulants. Most players will eventually want to use them as their skills improve.
• DarkSims are prototype cyborgs developed by dataDyne to counteract Carrington operatives. This gives them abilities not possible with other Simulants.

Simulants also have special type settings, which can be combined with their difficulty settings.

• PeaceSims protest the use of weapons. They will go around the level hunting for guns that are lying around and hoard them, so that players cannot use them. On the plus side, killing one will cause them to drop a few.
• ShieldSims always go for maximum shield protection. If they lose any shield energy, they will go and search for a new one. Pretty useless if there are no shields on the map.
• RocketSims prefer weapons which make big explosions over conventional handguns or automatics. This also extends to weapons which have explosive secondary functions.
• KazeSims will stop at nothing to destroy its target. It is very aggressive and never keeps its distance, even when holding a grenade! Be very careful of an adversary who is not afraid to die.
• FistSims protest the use of weapons in a similar way to the PeaceSim. However, it has no such reservations when it comes to unarmed combat. It will always try to use its fists to attack or disarm its opponent.
• PreySims prefer to prey on the weak in order to get easier kills. It will look for players who have just respawned, have an inferior weapon, or are low on health.
• CowardSims do not really want to fight and will try to survive by running away. It may sometimes attack, but only if the opponent has an inferior weapon. Draw out a better gun or shoot it, and it will flee.
• JudgeSims have a strong sense of justice and despises the tactics of the PreySim. It will always try to kill the winning player in order to even up the score.
• FeudSims pick a random target and will pursue them until the game is over. Even if it is killed, it will still bear its grudge.
• SpeedSims have been trained for speed. They can easily outrun a human player, so it's no use running away from a SpeedSim unless you know some good shortcuts.
• TurtleSims, by default, wear a prototype shield generator developed by dataDyne scientists. The generator projects a protective shield around its host, which has twice the strength of a normal shield. Unfortunately, it also restricts the hosts movement.
• VengeSims always attack the player who last killed it, so be careful.

Player Appearance

A player can customize their characters physical appearance from a variety of different head and body types seen throughout the game. Different heads can be mixed and matched with different bodies for interesting and often humorous results (such as a Joanna head on an Elvis body).

Unfortunately, the XBLA version has restricted many of these options (for example, a Joanna body can now only be combined with a Joanna head).

Awards and Ranks

Awards are given to the player when a game has finished. Whether or not the player earned multiple awards in one match, only two are shown at the end.

• "Most Honorable" - Awarded by avoiding shooting people in the back and unarmed people.
• "Most Dishonorable" - Awarded by shooting people from behind.
• "Most Deadly" - Awarded by having the highest kill/death ratio.
• "Most Harmless" - Awarded by having the smallest kill/death ratio.
• "Most Cowardly" - Awarded by hiding from enemies.
• "Most Suicidal" - Awarded by killing yourself the most (with explosives, falling off edges, etc.).
• "Most Professional" - Awarded by having the highest kill/shot ratio.
• "Most Frantic" - Awarded by running around the most. The player must average more than 10 km/h.
• "Longest Life" - Awarded by living the longest.
• "Shortest Life" - Awarded by living the least amount of time.
• "Least Shielded" - Awarded by having picking up no Shields or just one shield for the duration of the match.
• "Who Needs Ammo?" - Awarded by shooting less than 100 times.
• "Best Protected" - Awarded by picking up more than six Shields.
• "Marksmanship Award" - Awarded by having the highest number of headshots.
• "Double Kill" - Awarded by killing two enemies at once.
• "Triple Kill" - Awarded by killing three enemies at once.
• "Quad Kill" - Awarded by killing four enemies at once.

There are also special awards that grant the player a star medal, the amount which is displayed on the players statistic page.

• KillMaster Medal (Red) - Earned by killing the most enemies.
• Head Shot Medal (Yellow) - Earned by scoring the most headshots.
• Accuracy Medal (Green) - Earned by being the most accurate.

• Survivor Medal (Blue) - Earned by surviving the longest between deaths.

Ultimately, a players overall "Rank" will increase. Their rank is determined by their playtime, awards, and other statistics. There are 21 ranking levels in total...

• 21 - Beginner
• 20 - Trainee
• 19 - Amateur
• 18 - Rookie
• 17 - Novice
• 16 - Trooper
• 15 - Agent
• 14 - Star Agent
• 13 - Special Agent
• 12 - Expert
• 11 - Veteran
• 10 - Professional
• 9 - Dangerous
• 8 - Deadly
• 7 - Killer
• 6 - Assassin
• 5 - Lethal
• 4 - Elite
• 3 - Invincible
• 2 - Near Perfect
• 1 - Perfect

Leaderboard Crowns

Ninja - While information about this Crown is inconclusive, the general consensus is that to earn it, you must earn all of the awards and special awards available in the combat simulator at least once. See "Awards & Ranks" above for information regarding how to earn each award and special award.

Gamer Picture 1 - While not required to earn the "Crowning Glory" achievement, or to earn 201% completion, to earn this Crown, you must play a combat simulator game in split-screen at least once. This can be done with two separate controllers, or by having a friend with you. Simply play a game in split-screen to earn the Crown.