So i know nothing has been said about altering/improving the Marine’s AI but I was theorizing what moves they could do should they wish to do so, beside the obvious use of the mp5 grenades, perhaps as a dodge mechanic they do a dive to the left/right, or a roll of some sort and start shooting again in a kneeling position like when they crouch behind cover. Reply below some other moves they could do, but keep it semi-realistic in regards to what can be pulled off with a trained soldier (like no high flying jumps)
I agree that more rolling, crouching, and leaning out from walls would be good; at the moment the Marines don’t really move like soldiers trying to be fast and minimize their exposed area would.
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Agreed Admiral, perhaps the use of Alyx cover animations of hl2 ep2 could be utilized, most notably seen within the White Forest hotel ambush.
Sadly the Elite AGrunts were cut according to the devs in the discord, they won’t be using them, just the normal grunts with the new AI (inb4 I’m wrong or they bamboozled us lol)
Ah bummer, they were a cool concept, they act alot like the grunts prior to the Xen updates, slow and kinda clunky with the addition of the snark grenade. But I understand if it was cut, the Xen grunts are extremely fun to fight against, all the mobility and fun without the pain in the ass of the Black-ops.
Sterling do you have any ideas on what could be implemented to better the Marine’s in game?
Ok, I will just call the xen A-grunts elite ones, as they are much more danagerous.
Though personally I hope the elite ones are brought back in some way.
Like imagine if instead of the snark grenades which should really be given to the standard A grunts. They have twin hive hands and just spray you down iwth bees.
Doesn’t grunt use both hands to when firing from hivehand?
What is the A in A-grunts? Like Advanced-grunts?
Sterling, do you know anything about the upcoming Interloper maps? You said that the next map would feature conveyer belts, right? I guess, we’ll have some platforming to do here similiar to the earth bound platforming centric chapter with conveyer belts. I hope we’ll see the Grunts being kept in pods similiar to the original Interloper that are being transported on these conveyer belts. Maybe this map is going to be the most similiar to the original Interloper.
I wonder what maps 7 and 8 contain. I know there’s a ascension part (like an elevator ride) though I wonder if said part will start at map 7 already and continue all throughout map 8 or if it will be only one map long (so either map 7 or map 8).
I still hope for some normal gameplay in the Nihilanth chapter before fighting the boss, thus the chapter being on the longer side just like the other 3 Xen chapters that preceded it, mostly because gameplay and level design have been really great in Xen. After all, the devs kept secret about that chapter, especially on its length.
I just hope that we won’t end Interloper with a teleporter and are just right inside Nilianth’s chamber when the next chapter starts. After all the original Xen had a platforming section before the boss fight.
I think that the teleporting phase of Nihilanth will add length to that chapter as we need to find our way through small rooms just like in the original game.
I’m sure we’ll see more phases added to the fight and it being more of an actual fight than in the original Half Life. We’ll likely have to deal with a lot more attacks as well.
I think that the devs will really surprise us with Nihilanth and that this chapter will contain way more content than we thought. I don’t believe them that it’s just one map with the boss fight and that’s it. They’ve created so many assets for the Tower, organs that we didn’t see yet and other really neat looking stuctures and while some of them might be used for the remaining maps of Interloper I think a lot of them will also be used in the Nihilanth chapter with gameplay taking place in the most organic looking part of the tower. I expect 2 or three more maps before the actual boss fight with a really good atmosphere, some platforming, maybe a few more puzzles. After that a multi phase boss with the teleporting part being lengthy due to some more rooms that need to be traversed.
I don’t know, it’s just a feeling I have.
AGrunt is short for Alien Grunt.
I think they could implement more strategy to the soldiers, something a bit more than just run at you. I feel it would help make combat a bit more dynamic. but personally im not sure what they could do to fix their ai, im not the best to ask about this
I dont know much about the final 3 maps yet, only that they WILL have the Grunt pods and conveyor belts, We will see how the Agrunts are approved or discarded and thrown into that grinder, and there will be that elevator section, and we will see that tower’s organs.
Here are some gifs of those conveyor belts
And here is the elevator we will ride during the final interloper map
It also has these walls that will be used as cover
But here’s where things get interesting. The developers said that in these final maps, we will find out what the tower IS. Meaning there may be some sort of twist as to what this tower is or where it came from. My guess is that it has some sort of connection to Nihilanth.
Side note, there may be a segment where we are forced to fight the vortigaunts due to Controllers mind controlling them from a place where we cannot damage them, so sadly a pacifist vort run may be impossible but it makes sense from a gameplay standpoint. Also the top of the tower will contain the teleporter to Nihilanths chamber, which wont be SUPER organic and rather be quite rocky like a cave, yet will have organic elements to it as well as xenian tech. My guess is that Nihilanth’s Chamber is underneath the tower yet I have no evidence to support this. Though when we approach the portal, instead of hearing black mesa voice lines, we may hear Nihilanth’s breathing. Then of course once we enter Nihilanth’s chamber we fall a great distance to the floor and the epic battle begins.
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It would be enough if hecu had around 4 combat tactics and they would change these based on player’s equipped weapon. And based on weapon’s range, reload time and type of projectile, they will switch behavior, such as taking cover, strafing toward player, scattering, throwing grenades, etc.
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It would be nice if you will be teleported and fall to Nihi’s pit, there will be no light at the start. You will have some time to explore dark chamber with equipment, and shortly you will hear his breath but without any visual…
Jesus, this is gonna get good I can’t wait for the rest of Interloper! and going back to the Marine’s a-lot does have to be accounted for in the combat space, how will they react to re-programmed turrets, will they go to cover or shoot them? what about tripmines, or would they re-throw the grenades we throw at them. And when in cover could they peek to shoot us. Could they roll, or dive to avoid being shot, will they use the MP5 grenades, what about shotgunners how will they maximize damage? will they ambush players since they need to be close? What i’m saying is they’re is a-lot to consider from a game-play standpoint, hopefully if they do rework their AI they think of this stuff but I have confidence in them, just look at the new A-grunts they’re not only challenging, but fun to play against and that is tough to achieve but boy they nailed it yet again!
@ Sterling: Thanks for the info. I guess the info on the fact we’re going to see the conveyer belts with Alien Pods and the organs was given to you by the devs on the discord server?
Do you have any images of the pods and the organs as well?
As far as the infos go I (and just like with you this is just my prediction) expect the next map to be more or less on the ground - platforming on conveyer belts, fighting more Alien Grunts etc. Then map 6 is the big elevator ride with fighting segments (maybe the elevator stops at some point and you need to solve a puzzle in order for it to continue) and map 7 is basically some more gameplay at the very top of the tower, maybe innvolving yet another puzzle similiar to the last map of the Xen chapter in order to gain access to the rooftop.
The ending is really exciting to me because when you look at the tower from a distance in the Xen chapter you can see that the actual rooftop is seperated from the base of the tower. So I guess that the elevator ride either ends at the top of the base and you need to find your way up into the top section of the tower by platforming (maybe even involving manta rays) or you’re still riding the elevator which moves through a transperant pipe that connects the base with the top section and you’ll havea breathtaking scene. I think that inside that top section there’s the majority of the gameplay of the last map where you need to do stuff in order to reach the actual rooftop. Sorry if it sounds a bit weird as English is not my native language but I hope you can imagine what I mean.
The portal leading to Nihilanth is the bright red light that we see on the rooftop of the tower, right? So that means that we’ll end up on the rooftop of the tower outside? I think that would be a fantastic looking map with a great view on Xen from the top of the tower.
If you scroll up you can see my mega spoiler post which shows the organs and agrunt pods.
The elevator ride up the tower will be on the last map of Interloper, and yes we’ll be outside when we see the portal on top. The devs also confirmed that there won’t be manta ray riding.
I know all of my info through leaks in the files containing soundscapes and models
Are there any signs that player will encounter something/someone from science team except ammo pods?
Some assets hint at parts of Black mesa being teleported in to the Nihilanth’s chamber, implying things at the facility are getting worse.
Other than maybe another stargate looking thing like in Dr Horns secret gonarch lair lab? I don’t think so