Conflict:Arising HL2 mod, needs ideas and opinions

[altitude2k]

i am a member of a newly formed HL2 mod, called Conflict:Arising. the idea is one that some friends and i have had for a while, but because of the large scale of the mod, were unable to implement into the HL engine (as we have extensive experience in HL modding, and would prefer to use this engine). enter HL2...

here's the lowdown:

basic outline
there will be huge maps, probably as big as HL2 will allow, with simple terrain, such as plains, deserts, mountainous, tundra etc. there will be two teams, each will start at opposite ends of the map. they will both start with a command centre building, providing basic supplies, such as an armoury and infirmary. also, within this command centre there will be a console, that will allow members of the team to construct simple buildings to form a base such as vehicle depot, intelligence, and defence systems (i.e. turrets) much in the same way as an RTS such as c&c, but much scaled down. there will be some way, possibly a voting system, but this is looking to be revised to a more team-friendly method, to let the whole team have a say in what is built, and what is researched (new weapons, vehicles). this could also be changed, if a team is confident in one person, then they can allow control of all their resources to them. vehicles will play a very important role, from ground buggies, to airborne troop carriers and fighters. each team will compete for a certain goal, such as CTF or domination. there could also be another mode of play, where the base is pre-constructed, so beginners and people who just want to shoot and kill can just join a server and fight, rather than take part in a whole campaign.

there are a few things i want to get across, though. i am very aware that the idea of someone controlling the team from a console sounds very similar to natural selection. i have no intention of copying this, and i would prefer control over resource management was down to the team as a whole, rather than one person. secondly, this will not be a 'mix' of FPS and RTS...it will purely be an FPS where the team has the ability to construct their base. there will not be one person who will COMMAND troops, although communication and coordination between troops will be necessary.

aims of the mod
i want this mod, to try and bring in a community of gamers who are more interested in campaign-based games and strategic gaming than pure close-combat fighting, although it should appeal to the latter as well. people should be able to enjoy the benefits of using vehicles, much in the way we see players in halo use the warthogs during multiplayer, but with a large number of different vehicles, each with different applications. most current mods always seem to play out very similarly from one game to the next. the ability to construct buildings, and research new items within limitations of resources, could dramatically change the outcome, and the way each game plays out. this is something i think is lacking with a lot of current games.



well there it is. this is in early stages of planning, and needs refining. i'm asking the modding community for constructive critisism, preferably as well as an alternative idea to what is critisised. i need to bounce ideas off skilled modders, who are aware of engine limits, and what is wanted from gamers.

any skilled modders who would like to be part of this project, then please contact me at [email protected], and we'll take it from there. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[altitude2k]

anyone?

 

[dawdler]

What can we say?
Its a good idea, though a bit conventional... You didnt say anything about weaponry, or even time period in question (in other words, only know 50% of what it is).
The only thing I see as odd is the name, Conflict: Arising
Conflict Arising is more logical, the : in between is what makes it odd

 

[Majestic XII]

I love the idea, i have a similar idea in my head. I like the idea of building things. Its not bad to copy anything that is good, its just dumb to NOT do it.

Do you got anyhome page for it yet? How is the team?

I hope you can do this mod, may the force of modding be with you!

 

[ComradeBadger]

interesting... sounds like a blend of Battlezone and UT2004. heres hoping you pull it off. Are the buildings you build enterable?

 

[SidewinderX]

Sounds a bit like Savage, but proberly at a differnt time period. If I could tell what savage does right and wrong it might help you, but unfortantly there's an NDA.

 

[Kwartjuh]

Seems like the market is really in danger of becoming crowded for the MP mods... Good luck though!

 

[Majestic XII]

Originally posted by Kwartjuh
Seems like the market is really in danger of becoming crowded for the MP mods... Good luck though!

Yepp, you have to take a risk when you make a MP mod. If you have, let say 10 players from the start, and you need around 20 players for a good game. if its only 3 peple on the server when a player join he/she thinks "ah crap, only 3 players...it cant be fun then" and delete the mod. many players will do this and finaly, you dont have any players left....its sad but thats how it goes.

You really need to build up a good and large fanbase to have it going.

 

[altitude2k]

hey thanks guys

we're in the stage of just doing concepts, and refining the ideas that we have. the list of vehicles, weapons and buildings isn't finalised yet, but it'll go *something* like the this:

VEHICLES:

- Buggy (can carry 4 troops, has mounted machine gun)
- Hoverbike (can carry 2 troops, no mounted weaponary, but passenger can use their weapon)
- APC (can carry 6 troops plus driver, heavily armoured but no mounted weaponary)
- Tank (can carry 3 troops; driver, shell cannon operator and anti aircraft missile operator)
- Fighter (flying vehicle, can carry 2 troops, forward facing guns)
- Bomber (flying vehicle, can carry 2 troops, bombs operated by passenger)
- Troop Carrier (flying vehicle, can carry 8 troops plus pilot, no weaponary, heavy armour)

there should be more added at a later stage. demo model for troop carrier in progress. concepts for troop carrier and hoverbike are complete.

WEAPONS:

- Punch
- Pistol
- Assault Rifle
- Sniper Rifle
- Rocket Launcher
- Grenades
- Land Mines (possibly)

if you look at that list they're all pretty standard FPS weapons. i just think that that is all you'll ever really need. they all perform well at specific tasks, and i don't really want to change that. it also helps players as they'll be immediately familiar with them, and their applications.

BUILDINGS:

- Command Centre (already in place when the game starts. this is where the commander will remain, and the point at which each base will start)
- Armoury (troops can 'order' and pick up specific weaponary at a cost to the team's resource pool. will possibly be part of the command centre)
- Infirmary (troops can regain health here, possibly part of the command centre)
- Resource Centre (there will be multiple of these dotted around the map, where any team can capture, and retrieve the resources for their team. think of them similar to the Oil Refinaries in Red Alert)
- Power Stations
- Vehicle Depot (troops can order vehicles, and they will be constructed, taking a certain amount of time)
- Sentry Towers (mounted machine guns)
- Anti-Aircraft Missile Towers

again, there will probably be more added to the list at a later time. the defense towers may be constructed in a similar way to the component towers of Tiberian Sun, where a component tower is made, and on top of that you can construct whatever kind of defense you want.

the buildings WILL be enterable. the command centres and the resource centres will be made as part of the map, however all the other buildings will probably have to be models for them to be albe to be placed down on the map. the problem here, is that if you have to enter them, then the poly count for these models will go through the roof. we've decided to work it through teleporters. we'll tie a teleport entity to the entrance of the buildings, so when you enter them, it will take you to another part of the map. so what we plan to do is create (outside the main map) a load of building interiors that you can walk around in. as such, there will be a limit to the number of certian buildings you can construct (although the HL2 map sizes are huge, they're still only *so* big!). so that you can locate your team members, and for the commander to see where everyone is from a top-down view, we will use a system where there will be an ACTUAL player coordinate, as well as a RELATIVE player coordinate calculated by the position of the building that they are in.

the official team so far is just a friend and myself as co-leaders. i can do mapping, and the other does coding. i have a friend that is willing to do a little bit of modelling for us, but we will need a full time modeller. there's one or two other people who've also said they're willing to help out (one of which does work for sven coop). if anyone is interested in joining the team, in any aspect (we need everything from mappers to 2D artists) then contact me at [email protected], or on this thread, and we'll take it from there.

i hope this has answered all your questions.

and yeah, the : doesn't make much sense. Conflict Arising is a lot better

 

[Majestic XII]

Its good, its very good. i want to play it now!

One thing though. the building thingy you wrote about..

i think its much better to have it in the building instead to teleport them away. That was enemies and allies can see if someone if in there.

 

[ComradeBadger]

I'm with majestic.... you should be able to see if an enemy structure is deserted or not otherwise, you'll run in there, and get owned by about 20 ppl .... yeh, I think if you pull this off this is gonna be great

 

[dawdler]

Yeah, it sounds sweet
But just something:
Its... well, ordinary. All those weapons and rifles and vehicles, it what we have seen 100 times over and over again, even if its different models. Its not a bad thing, but I would consider trying to spice them up a bit

 

[ShinRa]

Sounds like fun! Best of luck to you!

 

[altitude2k]

the thing with the buildings, is that there will be control panels everywhere doing different things, like ordering weapons etc. the weapons then have to spawn in certain locations as well, is another example. there will be a huge amount of entities in use. trying to accurately tie them to each building model is just going to be too difficult. the polycount for each one would be obscene, and then can you imagine having to skin these things?! if there's a way to place buildings constructed from brushes (i.e. made in the map editor) wherever you want in a map, in HL2 i will definately look into it and give it a shot. as it stands, to place buildings wherever you want, you have to use TriAPI and models. the command center will actually be made on the map (they don't need to be models, because they can't be placed), as will the resource centres, so you can see if people are in THOSE buildings (and are in actual fact the only buildings that you'll really need to see if they are occupied - like if you want to attack their base, the command centre is what you need to take over. and if you want to take a resource centre for more resources). the other buildings aren't really necessary to capture. in actual fact, there won't be THAT many buildings other than the above that you'll ever need to enter. the vehicle depot will probably be an open-a.ir pad, so that the vehicles can just be driven off (this may change so that it is an inside building, and the vehicles spawn on the outside), the defense towers will be automatic or controlled from the command centre. the only places you'll need to actually go into, is the infirmary, the armoury (assuming these are both going to be seperate buildings), and possibly the power stations, although these too can be maintained from the command centre. i really don't think that having models that you can enter, that are extremely detailed, with so many entities having to be tied to them can really be justified. i appreciate the comments, it has made me properly think about why or why not to have this feature. it may turn out that we will be able to manipulate the maps so that you can have buildings constructed as part of the map, but it seems unlikely.

as for the weapons, we do intend to adjust them, so that they're not just the same as in any other game. like a second function, or whatever. i just don't think it's necessary to have fantastic new weapons that do weird and wonderful things. these weapons just all do their job, and well. details on the weapons are being looked at now.

we also have a render of a VERY quick and simple model of the troop transporter. it is only a quicky, to whet your appetites

 

[DirtySanchez]

sounds good to me.

 

[altitude2k]

thanks, man. and dirty sanchez is a f**king AWESOME show!