I am gonna be honest
having ‘‘martial arts’’ in a weapon slot sounds painfully dumb
also, I get that you say that OpFor is non-canon, but HL2 beta content is even more non-canon
I don’t see why the Race X couldn’t at least have some mention in your mod, seeing as they just appear in OpFor
It’s what the Black ops do at melee range though (think female sins). I feel like w/o it, you’d be missing the flavor of the experience. That being said, it does potentially have slight overlap w/the baton, so we’ll see.
Besides, it won’t say “martial arts” when you toggle weapons…it would just be a punch/kick icon. Can’t be much worse than a stupid wrench.
Re edit:
To be honest, I love Race X, especially the shock troopers…the problem is that the only thing Valve confirmed was canon was the nuke. If you look at what’s problematic w/OpFor, the only issues that really affect canon are Race X and the zombie evolutions (I think this is minor). Also, the goals of Race X are unclear but it would be cool to see them in the biodome or as specimens. You could probably get their models from the OpFor remake.
what, you don’t like OpFor or something?
I love OpFor…it’s way better than shitty Blue Shift which offered NOTHING in terms of new enemies, gameplay or weapons. However, I do think Blue Shift is canon even if Valve says otherwise, as there’s nothing in it which conflicts.
I think OpFor is the precursor of the squad based combat seen in HL2 and it really offered a lot in terms of gameplay.
and it’s more canon than HL2- beta content
c’mon, at least some kind of easter egg!
Easter eggs?
How about briefly seeing Alyx, before she gets in a teleport with the G-Man?
How about a guy in QE telling you something about a “crazy guy in a powered reactive armor”?
How about hearing gunfire as you leave the nuke you just set up, hinting that Shephard is closing in, perhaps being able to observe him for a brief moment?
How about spotting a Black Mesa SUV leaving the facility in the distance in the first (second) chapter? (cough Barney Calhoun cough)
How about hearing two scientists fight a bullsquid, one of them loosing his leg, without actually seeing or being otherwise capable of interfering with the scene? (You know WHO I’m talking about)
And of course, going through the same general way Freeman does, when you get to Lambda Core.
I am really liking this concept. It doesn’t conflict with Half-Life in any major ways, it has a story that’s more in depth than the usual “You’re trapped in Black Mesa! Get out alive!” that I see in many mods, and it’s got that vague feeling I’ve come to love and expect from Half-Life. Has anyone contacted you about taking this project up? I’d be jumping on the team wagon like crazy, but I both have the level design imagination of a walnut and have two other projects, already. If You ever act on this, and start forming a team to get it done then I’d definitely follow and maybe help in whatever way I could.
Some of these are pretty cool and could conceivably be done, but this project is just in the concept stages so easter eggs are a long way away. To humor you though:
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Gman doesn’t rescue Alyx, at least not entirely…she’s a baby at this time and Eli grabs her at Black Mesa daycare.
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At the time of my chapter, the QE complex is not yet under military control and Gordon hasn’t arrived yet. The soldiers are dispatched after the player gets the stranded HECU to their base.
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Shep comes much later…however some of the black ops guarding the nuke will stay behind during the evac (as fodder for Shep’s team).
The other suggestions are potentially implementable.
Sounds good, I’ve already had someone PM me regarding being a level designer. My main goal right now is just to finish the pitch bible…then I’ll try to advertise it in earnest. I have to get the gameplay mechanics down and try to make sure that every chapter is innovative but realistically implementable. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to chime in as I’m all ears…I’ll continue to update the OP in the coming days as well.
How about portraying the Black Ops very ruthless, different than the portrayal of the HECU in OpFor, for example?
Instead of needing scientists or other personnel to proceed, I think you should (togheter with the level designers) try to make the level design more squad based and with more creative ways to like, solving puzzles and that kinda of stuff
Ya, I thought the portrayal of the HECU in OpFor was a cop-out…it should have been part of your mission to eliminate BM staff but I understand why they made the change.
As for the black ops they ARE ruthless…they do kill all scientists/guards except the Lambda team because they are absolutely critical for operating teleporter tech. However, you have to give these guys some redeeming value and at least some semblance of conscience or the players won’t identify w/them. This is kind of me taking a page from Valve. They had to go through several iterations to make Alyx a cool wing-woman rather than a nagger.
So, will security guards be enemies?
Could I suggest you to allow them to also use the MP5 or use with more accuracy their weapons?
After all, I doubt any security guard would be friendly after the army killed so many of them
That’s the plan. Some of the scientists may wield glocks as well (think Kleiner after Entanglement).
but scientists aren’t that accurate
Now would be the best time to learn.
They shall have Civil Protection AI…10% accuracy at point blank range!
In other news, just added a sample dialog section under Black Ops and fleshed out some gameplay. I’m working on dialog for the opening chapter which I’ll probably post tomorrow. Been reading up on alot of military slang too.
Lookin’ pretty good so far.
Added the introductory sequence and dialogue for Chapter 1 in the OP. For your convenience:
Op 1: We are not alone…just got reports of unidentified objects in the sky. Looks like Goose 3 and Goose 7 crashed by the canyon a while back.
Op 2: Guess that’s why we’re stuck in these slow-ass trucks. What the hell are we doing in BFE anyway? The military’s already here.
Op 3: Heh, babysitting probably. Can’t trust those damn grunts for nothing…they all got a serious case of rectal cranial inversion. [Laughs from all operatives]. Nothing but bulletstops man.
Op 2: What the…hey, you see that? [Agrunts and cannons warp in, energy blasts in the distance] Shit, we’ve got hostiles!
Op 1: Brace for impact! [Screen turns white, player temporarily blacks out].
Op 3: Fast movers inbound!
[Player sees mantas approaching, one of which destroys a humvee. As the player fades in and out of consciousness, he sees an Agrunt slamming an operative face-first on the ground and another being killed by a vort blast. A third operative starts retreating toward you.]
Various Ops: Man down, man down! Dammit, behind the hummers…NOW! Suppressive fire. Focus em down. Shit, more ETs inbound!
[Player blacks out …a while later:]
Op 1: Alpha Mike Foxtrot. Nice job.
Abbreviations:
Goose=Osprey. Goose 7 is Shep’s team, Goose 3 is the other Osprey in the OpFor intro
BFE=Bum fucked egypt…e.g. a wasteland
Bulletstop=Cannon fodder
Fast movers=Fighter jets but in this case mantas
ET=Extraterrestrial
Alpha Mike Foxtrot=Adios motherfuckers
lol, rectal cranial inversion
that’s actually very good, but I think they should be slightly less ‘‘intelligent’’ and more dumb
Hah, military lingo is really a goldmine. The only tricky part is to make it decipherable in context for the average person. I do want to keep it for the black ops though to make their dialogue distinct from the HECU. As for making them stupid, naah. That’s the HECU’s job.
thinking again, yeah
makes more sense