- Joined
- Aug 8, 2004
- Messages
- 12,233
- Reaction score
- 241
Firstly, thanks to the Orion team for letting us get our grubby hands on their mod which has been in development 10 years now. We're really glad that Orion is actually going to be released after the hurdles the team have come up against over the years.[br]We played a handful of maps including incursion, geode, reactor and snowdrift. The maps range from desert expanses, snowy ridges and claustrophobic caves and power plants. The beta which is available on the 4th will come with 3 maps but once open to the public there will be a choice of 7 in total. We found the mapping to be well polished with team balance taken into consideration. Some classes are less effective in enclosed environments and this can dramatically change how the game plays. This mod is a total conversion so playing in a completely custom world design, which really gives the mod its own unique atmosphere, one very separate from Half Life.[br]
[br]The gameplay is pretty robust. There is only one game mode right now (CTF) which is undergoing some improvements before the beta release however the mechanics of opening up the flag room in incursion switched the focus of defence to a different area of the base. This makes for a more varied and engaging defensive strategy. I would like to see more variety of the CTF game mode, however I know that for future content updates the team have plans for much more exciting game modes (See Vital in interview).[br]Something we all agreed on is how great the weapons feel for each class. Right now there are 3 classes (Assault, Support & Sniper). Each have their own kits but all the weapons feel really solid and satisfying to fire. The models for each class and their weapons are of a very high standard, as are the animations. The weapon sounds get a special mention as they really add to the satisfaction of frantically gunning your opponents. As I mentioned before, some maps make certain classes significantly less effective. The assault class has a jet pack which allows you to reach high areas and move more quickly however in reactor there is little use for this, and the support class with its shotgun reign supreme.[br]Overall the 3 classes are well balanced and have their own niches. I understand balancing them has been a major mission for the team and since our playtest more work has gone into this (including giving the sniper class a cloak ability!).[br]
[br]This is just a beta right now, but my word there is a great deal of potential with Orion. Sure it's just 3 of the 5 classes, no vehicles or Vital game mode but this is a really well made total conversion which we found remarkably fun to play. Highlights for us were the jetpack, the incursion map and the beefy weapons.[br]There will be a closed beta on fileplanet from 4th December - 11th December, where you can try Orion for yourself. After this the Orion public beta will be available for download. See the Orion website for more details. Mod leader, Praz also took some time out with Halflife2.net to for an interview which you can read here.[br]Thanks to everyone who joined me and team Orion and added their thoughts to our preview - The Brick, taviow & DigiQ8[br]
<object ><param name="movie" value="http://www.moddb.com/media/embed/207494"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.moddb.com/media/embed/207494" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="true" ></embed></object>[br]Orion - Closed Beta - Gameplay Trailer (11-24-09) video - Mod DB
