- won't feature a main menu
- access missions and modes via a hub area
- this area is explored by Sam Fisher
- missions will be selected by talking to fellow agents
- you can also select missions via a map screen
- this screen displays the status of online friends for co-op opportunities
- hub area ties into the story of Forth Echelon being a covert unit that's situated in a plane
- the idea to drop the menu came from director Maxime Beland's frustrations with how multiplayer modes often feel disconnected from the campaign
- money earned in all modes contributes to the same unified economy, the SMI (Strategic Mission Interface)
- spend money on customizable loadouts
- the plan can be upgraded to improve the in-game radar as well as boost the health regeneration speed in the campaign and co-op

"When you're playing [most games] often it feels like single-player is like a tutorial to play adversarial, or there's co-op but it's an after thought and it's just like some missions on the side that has no value. For us, we've tried to make a game where everything has a lot of value, and everything was rewarded the same way.

"So basically the idea is regardless of where you play, you're going to be making money. If you want, you could buy the game, skip the first mission, and play 30 hours of co-op with your friends, go through the entire co-op content. Upgrade Sam, upgrade the plane, upgrade everything, then start playing single-player, because that's what we do, right?

"Just like an MMO, if you want to not do the quests and just grind on the side until you're super strong, you can do it, it's your game. I'm a strong believer in it's my game until we release it, and then it's your game. So you want to play how you want." - Maxime Beland
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