I really like Half-life's deathmatch, and I want to see it in HL2 as well. In this post, I'll explain why making HL2DM is a good idea, and how the community should go about it. Of course, my opinions reflect the fact that I'm a HLDM fan (I'm in an XDM clan), an experienced programmer with a simple HL mod under my belt, and a physics geek. But please don't let that stop you from considering what I've written.
HLDM is the skeleton for all multiplayer mods -- all such mods are modified versions of the deathmatch source (or, later on, the TFC source). Note that most of the mods that were made, but not necessarily released, fell within a small distance of HLDM, since few had the resources at their disposal to create entirely new content (mods like NS and CS are the exception). The point is that most of the HL2 mods that will be created will fall within a small distance of the content (and code, and therefore game play) on which they were based.
Think about it. What would you rather see: hundreds of near-clones of CS:S, or hundreds of near-clones of HL2DM? That's what this boils down to. I'd argue that the game play possibilities derived from HL2DM (with weapons like the manipulator) are much more intriguing than those derived from CS:S. Note that this is a separate issue from which game is better in and of itself. The player-minutes don't lie: CS:S is more popular. But it's not as suitable as a base for small-scale mod development.
I love playing HL mods with little tweaks like Rocket Crowbar, Oz deathmatch, and Deathmatch Plus, each of which likely took fewer than 100 hours to create. I've spent hours upon hours in nearly empty DM+ servers just goofing around. IMAGINE what one could do with a DM+ version of HL2DM: building simple structures with the manipulator, crashing vehicles into each other and driving up canyon walls, sending stuff flying across the level with huge explosions, building a raft out of barrels and propelling yourself by shooting weights off the back end...
Picture this: you're a first-time mod maker, and you want to try some stuff out. Given that you have access to CS:S and HL2DM, you could either (1) play with the damage of certain guns in CS:S, which you can't test without having someone else in the server, or (2) make the manipulator gun more powerful and throw a car across a canyon. I know which one I'd pick.
It's absolutely critical that HL2DM be available to the mod community shortly after the SDK is released. Otherwise, mod makers will jump on the CS:S bandwagon, and we'll have the mess of CS:S clones.
I've browsed online a bit for mod teams that are going to make HL2DM once the SDK comes out. One is at http://www.jhgamers.com/mcg_forums/ . They seem focused on adding extra cool features and on creating new content. I haven't found any other sites after browsing for about 20 minutes -- though I'm sure there are others -- but most probably follow some variation on this theme, which is making HL2DM a feature-packed game in and of itself.
This isn't what Half-Life's deathmatch was intended to be. HLDM implements the minimal set of features for vanilla deathmatch, and no more. Want CTF or King of the Hill? Create a separate mod. The right way to go about HL2DM, then, is to mimic HLDM as closely as possible: create a skeleton with the BARE MINIMUM of features, make it gold-plated and bug-free, and release the source to the community, keeping it updated with each new SDK release. Without this kind of direction, what will there be in the HL2 community but tens of competing versions of HLDM, each with its own unique set of features?
This call to action is based on a bit of speculation; that is, I'm assuming that the SDK will only include CS:S in the way of multiplayer. But if the SDK includes HL2DM, why wouldn't Half-Life 2 include it? Perhaps Valve will actually release a version of HL2DM later on. Perhaps the Sven Co-op team, which is probably creating a co-op mode for HL2 (don't remember where I heard that), is also working on deathmatch.
Maybe I'm just too much of a fan(atic). But I see real unique game play potential with mods derived from something like HL2DM, and it would be a real shame not to see that potential realized.
Just my $0.02.
(Btw, I am willing to help out in such a project, although my time is severely constrained because of college.)
HLDM is the skeleton for all multiplayer mods -- all such mods are modified versions of the deathmatch source (or, later on, the TFC source). Note that most of the mods that were made, but not necessarily released, fell within a small distance of HLDM, since few had the resources at their disposal to create entirely new content (mods like NS and CS are the exception). The point is that most of the HL2 mods that will be created will fall within a small distance of the content (and code, and therefore game play) on which they were based.
Think about it. What would you rather see: hundreds of near-clones of CS:S, or hundreds of near-clones of HL2DM? That's what this boils down to. I'd argue that the game play possibilities derived from HL2DM (with weapons like the manipulator) are much more intriguing than those derived from CS:S. Note that this is a separate issue from which game is better in and of itself. The player-minutes don't lie: CS:S is more popular. But it's not as suitable as a base for small-scale mod development.
I love playing HL mods with little tweaks like Rocket Crowbar, Oz deathmatch, and Deathmatch Plus, each of which likely took fewer than 100 hours to create. I've spent hours upon hours in nearly empty DM+ servers just goofing around. IMAGINE what one could do with a DM+ version of HL2DM: building simple structures with the manipulator, crashing vehicles into each other and driving up canyon walls, sending stuff flying across the level with huge explosions, building a raft out of barrels and propelling yourself by shooting weights off the back end...
Picture this: you're a first-time mod maker, and you want to try some stuff out. Given that you have access to CS:S and HL2DM, you could either (1) play with the damage of certain guns in CS:S, which you can't test without having someone else in the server, or (2) make the manipulator gun more powerful and throw a car across a canyon. I know which one I'd pick.
It's absolutely critical that HL2DM be available to the mod community shortly after the SDK is released. Otherwise, mod makers will jump on the CS:S bandwagon, and we'll have the mess of CS:S clones.
I've browsed online a bit for mod teams that are going to make HL2DM once the SDK comes out. One is at http://www.jhgamers.com/mcg_forums/ . They seem focused on adding extra cool features and on creating new content. I haven't found any other sites after browsing for about 20 minutes -- though I'm sure there are others -- but most probably follow some variation on this theme, which is making HL2DM a feature-packed game in and of itself.
This isn't what Half-Life's deathmatch was intended to be. HLDM implements the minimal set of features for vanilla deathmatch, and no more. Want CTF or King of the Hill? Create a separate mod. The right way to go about HL2DM, then, is to mimic HLDM as closely as possible: create a skeleton with the BARE MINIMUM of features, make it gold-plated and bug-free, and release the source to the community, keeping it updated with each new SDK release. Without this kind of direction, what will there be in the HL2 community but tens of competing versions of HLDM, each with its own unique set of features?
This call to action is based on a bit of speculation; that is, I'm assuming that the SDK will only include CS:S in the way of multiplayer. But if the SDK includes HL2DM, why wouldn't Half-Life 2 include it? Perhaps Valve will actually release a version of HL2DM later on. Perhaps the Sven Co-op team, which is probably creating a co-op mode for HL2 (don't remember where I heard that), is also working on deathmatch.
Maybe I'm just too much of a fan(atic). But I see real unique game play potential with mods derived from something like HL2DM, and it would be a real shame not to see that potential realized.
Just my $0.02.
(Btw, I am willing to help out in such a project, although my time is severely constrained because of college.)
