Sam and Grim use the SMI system.
The Strategic Mission Interface (or SMI) is a powerful analytics engine used by Fourth Echelon, located at the center of Command and Control on the C-147B Paladin. The SMI acts as the interface for all features in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, as well. The SMI is also linked with the Fourth Echelon OPSAT.
Overview
The SMI is designed as an all-in-one device for the player and is important to use in order to launch campaign missions and cooperative missions for both Sam Fisher and Isaac Briggs. The player can even access the multiplayer mode, Spies vs Mercs, from the SMI menu as well as keep track of challenges, unlocks, and progression status using the navigation menu. In Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the SMI acts as the player's main menu (or rather 'hub') to do everything in the game, making it a vital and important feature.
In the game, the SMI's main display computer is represented by a large touch surface table. The display theme is usually represented in digital 'squares' or 'blocks' that align themselves together to form a digital effect. The UI is smart, allowing the user to 'swipe' information around the face to be displayed on a nearby monitor (as evidenced during the opening cinematic). The new Fourth Echelon OPSAT can be calibrated with the SMI system by simply setting the OPSAT on the display, as Charlie Cole states, 'the SMI will handle the rest.'
Gone Dark
Gone Dark missions are a metagame found on the SMI map, which displays hints spread across the map located on the display. These are optional and do not have to be completed, however, completing these missions will grant the player with more points.
Trivia
- The SMI was meant to be a replacement for the traditional main menu screen, providing a seamless transition between the solo missions, co-op missions and Spies vs Mercs.