MP5k: What's the story?

[benlen]

Okay, in the final version of Half Life 2, the SMG Gordon and the resistance fighters carry is clearly an MP7, the most obvious feature being it's front grip that folds in or out depending on the users preference to either fire with one or two hands.
My real question is this: In Half Life 2, the MP7 carries a 45 round magazine, and in the demo trailers, it takes 30 rounds, a magazine used by the MP5k. My question is, why did Valve do this? Clearly the gun that Barney carried in the demo trailers was the MP5k, though the weapon that Alyx throws to Gordon, an MP5k, miraculously changed in mid-air to an MP7. Does anyone know the reason behind this? Was this a huge slip up by Valve that they only noticed after releasing the demo trailers? Was the MP5k originally supposed to be the main SMG but was changed during development to the MP7 and the render wasn't changed in time for the trailers? Or was the MP5k merely some form of placeholder?

Thanks a lot,

Ben

 

[JoeCLawrence]

I believe the MP5k was just used as a placeholder. Its in all the earlier shots with all of the other unfinished placeholer models, so thats what I always assumed.

 

[benlen]

Hmm, interesting. Thank you very much,

ben

 

[kupocake]

Was the MP5k originally supposed to be the main SMG but was changed during development to the MP7 and the render wasn't changed in time for the trailers?

Seems most likely to me. Valve's gut reaction would probably have been to put an MP5 of some sort in their next game for familiarity - something we see in a number of weapons pretty much carried over from Half-Life 1. When they caught wind of the MP7 project, they decided to use that instead. From a design perspective, the MP7 works better. It has an oppressive look about it, looks more modern, and is in some intangiable way simply more believeable as a standard issue, easily portable weapon that can be carried by an oppressive police and military force, in the near future.

I'm most certainly no gun expert, but the reason why they initially thought "MP5k" rather than your average MP5 is probably something to do with the urban environment. It's a far more compact gun (better for swinging around in tight corridors) and the kind of thing they hand out as a defensive side-arm in the place of a pistol? If they put one in, you get a sort of smooth, natural hierarchy of weapons forming in the loadout, because you can have the player later find a better automatic weapon.

 

[rambler]

i'd like to see someone recreate those scenes by modding. it wouldn't be that hard. kleiners lab, the script which is still in other scenes, the strider coming through the wall.

actually, i was impressed with the ai of the striders, if you spawn one and go into a building it will lower itself in order to try and see you.

also, you know when the metro cops slap you unconcious in the first chapter, and when breen smacks you with the grav gun in the last chapter, theres this nice little fp animation where you start off looking at the ceiling but then you get yourself up. does anyone know if theres a console command for that?

also does anyone know how to trigger animations for NPC's? i can trigger any sound for any npc, or any speech, but not the animations to go with them.

alyx for instance has that little hair briush, and the leaning forward, spreading hands kind of shrug she does. you see it the first time when she says 'nice to finally meet you' (i think). they must be somewhere.

 

[benlen]

i'd like to see someone recreate those scenes by modding. it wouldn't be that hard. kleiners lab, the script which is still in other scenes, the strider coming through the wall.

So would I. That was a great scene. Though, of all of the demos I would love to see in the game, it would probably be Barney's "Remember when we thought Black Mesa was as bad as it could get?". I love that trailer, the whole flanking manuever and then the Combine Dropship.

 

[rambler]

yeah, actually now that i think of it, i was really dissapointed when i found that that wasn't in the final build. that looked really cool. you don't really fight with barney in the game, and you don't really do much streetfighting in that way.

 

[Drackard]

We can only hope in the future episodes that they will include a lot more teaming with barney

 

[benlen]

you don't really fight with barney in the game, and you don't really do much streetfighting in that way.

Exactly. Fighting the striders in the more 'old fashioned' style of the city streets would have been much cooler and given you more manuverability than all the rubble and crashed buildings of 'Follow Freeman!'

ben

 

[Victor2]

Okay, in the final version of Half Life 2, the SMG Gordon and the resistance fighters carry is clearly an MP7, the most obvious feature being it's front grip that folds in or out depending on the users preference to either fire with one or two hands.
My real question is this: In Half Life 2, the MP7 carries a 45 round magazine, and in the demo trailers, it takes 30 rounds, a magazine used by the MP5k. My question is, why did Valve do this? Clearly the gun that Barney carried in the demo trailers was the MP5k, though the weapon that Alyx throws to Gordon, an MP5k, miraculously changed in mid-air to an MP7. Does anyone know the reason behind this? Was this a huge slip up by Valve that they only noticed after releasing the demo trailers? Was the MP5k originally supposed to be the main SMG but was changed during development to the MP7 and the render wasn't changed in time for the trailers? Or was the MP5k merely some form of placeholder?

Thanks a lot,

Ben

I don´t know but changing the weapon MP5K to the MP7 was a crappy job, they (valve) forgot to change the reloading animations for NPC´s, so when you see a combine (or CP) or a Resistance changing magazines it will look like as if he was reloading a MP5K

PS:but that doesn´t truly matter since none of theses guns can ****in hold an UNDERBARREL GRENADE LAUNCHER!!!!!!

 

[Asknoone]

Exactly. Fighting the striders in the more 'old fashioned' style of the city streets would have been much cooler and given you more manuverability than all the rubble and crashed buildings of 'Follow Freeman!'

ben

I enjoyed fighting the Striders in the Nexus plaza.

yeah, actually now that i think of it, i was really dissapointed when i found that that wasn't in the final build. that looked really cool. you don't really fight with barney in the game, and you don't really do much streetfighting in that way.

Apart from in the abandoned warehouse, the Nexus courtyard, the Nexus building and the foot of the Citadel. But the former and latter don't count much, I suppose.

There wasn't much fighting, but I certainly didn't miss the barricade storm with Barney.

 

[kupocake]

PS:but that doesn´t truly matter since none of theses guns can ****in hold an UNDERBARREL GRENADE LAUNCHER!!!!!!

The combine is an alien race which can create a helicopter that looks like a seal and an insect at the same time. By comparrison, modifying a human weapon to give it a grenade launching facility is hardly one of the trials of hercules.

 

[rambler]

i think he was annoyed because none of them had one, not because the combine couldn't make one.

you know i know it's silly, but i never even considered the idea that there will be more weapons in aftermath. there probably will be.