Story-Guy looking for Team. Op4-2?

[BrokenTripod]

Well, this will be the third forum I'm posting on regarding this. Hurray.

I am new here, and this is my first post. So cheers.

Well, now, to the point.

I've got a some-what indepth storyline for an Opposing Force 2 game, in which Adrian becomes a Combine in City 17, helping with the capture of Freeman.

I've got quite a bit more thought out, and I'll have to play HL2 again, just to be sure I can get the timing of things correct.

So, basically, I'm looking for a team who would be willing to make a continuation to Opposing Force.

 

[Yorick]

In my experience story-guys aren't usually good at leading mods because they don't know the amount of work required to go into one. Leaders usually work better as someone with experience in mapping, modeling, or coding. I consider myself to mainly be a story-guy, but I'm also a mapper, and soon I hope to be learning to code as well.

It might be a good idea to post what you have for experience. WHAT have you written that makes you believe your story to be so amazing? WHAt have you worked on that will convince people this mod will actually get done? HOW do you intend to actually get there? It's a damn long road.

Just trying to push things along, as best I know how. :E

 

[BrokenTripod]

In my experience story-guys aren't usually good at leading mods because they don't know the amount of work required to go into one. Leaders usually work better as someone with experience in mapping, modeling, or coding. I consider myself to mainly be a story-guy, but I'm also a mapper, and soon I hope to be learning to code as well.

It might be a good idea to post what you have for experience. WHAT have you written that makes you believe your story to be so amazing? WHAt have you worked on that will convince people this mod will actually get done? HOW do you intend to actually get there? It's a damn long road.

Just trying to push things along, as best I know how.

Ah huh. Thanks for the advice Yorick.

I also have experience with Mapping (Odd, you do too.) but I don't really have much experience with anything else. I can make untextured models fine, but I lack a decent photoshop program.

The thing that sucks is, I've never done anything that others have heard of. This'll also be my first attempt at a mod. Or at least, Storyline wise.

Hah.

Well, here's a thing I wrote on another forum. Basically the beginning of the game:

Firstly, it involves Adrian joining the Combine. His Osprey (The plane he was stuck on at the end) somehow falls out of the G-man's stasis, crashing. Possibly due to the fact that he's releasing Gordon around this time, also.

Adrian crashes in City 17, the Combine go to investigate. Adrian (Still in his Bodyarmor) gets out of the crash, the armor is disfunctional, flickering his HUD for a little. As he leaves, Combine watch him (Recall that he's a weird human from nowhere, wearing 10 year-old body armor) and after a bit of walking, a resistance team strikes the Combine, shooting at Adrian also. (Gas mask looks like the combine thing, doesn't it?) a Combine nearby dies, along with many of the other Combine. Adrian basically HAS to pick up the gun and fire at the Resistance, killing them. The Combine soon arive in their APCs and find Adrian, surrounded by Resistance bodies.

Huzzah, Combine knock him out and he becomes a Combine Elite. (Or he gradually gets promoted.)

The game involves his paths coinciding with Gordon's, and he occasionally is blocked off by the G-man.

I can get into more detail about it, and I'm willing to work with a Mod Team.

 

[crackhead]

good luck but i think youll find it very hard trying to start a mod now.

 

[Crispy]

good luck but i think youll find it very hard trying to start a mod now.

Starting a Mod is never easy

 

[pyropowered]

Starting a Mod is never easy

lol, starting a mod is extrememly easy...finishing one is hard.

 

[Afterburn3r]

lol, starting a mod is extrememly easy...finishing one is hard.

ha ha, that's so true, i've had so many fricken ideas for mods most of them being well thought out with gameplay mechanics etc. just finding a team willing to work on the mod is the difficult part :cheers:

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Take up mapping, try and produce a few maps that'd be in such a mod. When you get good at it, flash your maps at some people, and they'll finish things up for you.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Crispy]

lol, starting a mod is extrememly easy...finishing one is hard.

Well Played

(because "WP " is an unacceptably abbreviated message.

 

[crackhead]

because "WP " is an unacceptably abbreviated message.

lol i agree.

 

[sickre]

Opposing Fource:Source? Welcome to one year ago buddy.

 

[Asknoone]

Opposing Fource:Source? Welcome to one year ago buddy.

:| Read before you type.

Meh, I don't see why Adrian has to become Combine. I mean, just because he was military in OP4 doesn't mean he still has to be on the opposing force by default. Plus, I think the beginning needs some work - its doubtful the osprey would crash, especially where it is...and of all the places it would fall to.

 

[BrokenTripod]

Thank you Samon. Opposing Force: Source has died anyway.

This would be a continuation, NOT a Re-make. A few other modding teams have decided to put Adrian far away, in some other city, and in a resistance group. This does tie loosely to Opposing Force's...genre? I lost the word I was thinking of.

Well, it DOES have Adrian VS Alien enemies. Sure.

My continuation would have Adrian being close to Gordon, being in the same places as him, crossing his path. (As in the original) Adrian also would be fighting against some humans, and possibly Aliens (If I can think of a logical reason Combine would see Headcrabs.) The way this ties with the original is the killing scientists factor, and the kill alien factor.

I'd be using LOTS of minor details from HL2. One of the first would explain why the VERY first Strider walks by (With the APC in front, Recall that?) And it also explains why there are resistance being arrested, and also the APCs.

In Nova Prospekt, it would show exactly WHY the G-man walked up to the camera and fixed his tie (In my game, he's mocking Adrian's unaware-ness) and it also explains the combine you see lying down on the table in another camera.

The bulk of the game would be in City 17, and in Nova Prospekt.

And for Samon's questions:

Adrian becomes a Combine. Because I said so. Haha. Anyway, I didn't want to do what Opposing Shepard was doing, (Making him a resistance force) and I also thought of ways to tie the two storylines together better with Adrian being a Combine.

The osprey crashes in City 17. Why? Well, I've made up a reason.

The G-man stores his stasis people (Gordon and Adrian) in his own little space, and leaves them there in a stasis. When he lets them out, Gordon ends up on a train (Like the ending) and Adrian ends up on his Osprey, which is convientently placed in the air. The lack of a re-fueling causes it to crash, and he's being released near Gordon. Adrian's suit also has a failure due to lack of being charged for so many years, though that's just a small detail.

Realize that I could type much more, and much better, if only I had more time..

Farwell for now.

 

[crackhead]

Opposing Force: Source has died anyway.

was it ever actualy alive?

 

[Asknoone]

The G-man stores his stasis people (Gordon and Adrian) in his own little space, and leaves them there in a stasis. When he lets them out, Gordon ends up on a train (Like the ending) and Adrian ends up on his Osprey, which is convientently placed in the air. The lack of a re-fueling causes it to crash, and he's being released near Gordon. Adrian's suit also has a failure due to lack of being charged for so many years, though that's just a small detail.

Well, I wouldn't worry about Opposing Shepard

Gman stores people in a place where time does not exist, therefore, the Osprey wouldn't run out of fuel. And I don't think its running on fuel anyway, especially if you consider the train Gordon was on at the end of HL1 has no tracks to follow. Plus, if it fell it would simply continue falling no?

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

was it ever actualy alive?

Opposing Source

 

[BrokenTripod]

"Gman stores people in a place where time does not exist, therefore, the Osprey wouldn't run out of fuel. And I don't think its running on fuel anyway, especially if you consider the train Gordon was on at the end of HL1 has no tracks to follow. Plus, if it fell it would simply continue falling no?"

Well, does something actually say that time doesn't exist in there? (Just wondering where you got that from)

Sure, the osprey wouldn't run out of fuel. Perhaps it never had fuel?

The little details will have to be worked with a little later on...

Firstly, I need a team of people. And I have to do some other junk, such as play HL2 again, so I can get a good, detailed timeline of what happens when, and how much space there is between events, and such.

The game will also assume that Gordon is running through the game at a "Normal" pace, and not like the guy who beat it in..2 hours?

I haven't completely thought out the whole storyline, so it'll need more work later.

And hey, I just noticed Samon is a Mod. Yay.

 

[Pesmerga]

Story-Guy, aka Writer?

IMO if the main programmer doesn't already have the idea of the basic story in his head, he's not going to make the mod.

 

[Asknoone]

Well, does something actually say that time doesn't exist in there? (Just wondering where you got that from)
Sure, the osprey wouldn't run out of fuel. Perhaps it never had fuel?

Well, Eli says to Gordon "You haven't changed one iota."...And the Gman would actually like to keep Gordon alive, so you've got him drifting through a space where time does flow. How else would Shepard have survived did he not need food and water?

 

[Crispy]

This would be a continuation, NOT a Re-make. A few other modding teams have decided to put Adrian far away, in some other city, and in a resistance group. This does tie loosely to Opposing Force's...genre? I lost the word I was thinking of.

"Game mechanic"? "style of play"? "paradigm"?

It'd be a good Mod to get going. A strong story with not too much game asset generation to worry about, maybe one or two story-specific models (if needed) and the maps. Nice bit of plot-guided single-player mapping to get stuck into for a mapper with a mid-range experience.

 

[BrokenTripod]

Ah, okay, thanks Samon. The Adrian falling from no-where will need to be worked out a bit, but eventually, something should work..

And thanks for the words -Crispy-.

I believe I was thinking ofr style of play.

And the mod will be pretty easy to do, the main problem would be preserving the atmosphere of HL2. And there may be one or two story-specific models, though I doubt there'd be any more than that..

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I can see that the only coding work required would be possibly a weapon or two, which are reeeeeeeealy easy to code.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[BrokenTripod]

I made a sort of rough-outline of it (Very vague, takes up like 3/4 of a page of paper from the beginning of the game to the Anticitizen One chapter. (I have to replay the chapter and dissect it.)

So far it seems to be working well, though I have a single space which needs to be filled with some sort of attack on some resistance force as Gordon runs around the Route Canal and Airboat levels.

And I also have a few ideas, which would have to be discussed with the mod team (Or I'd do it myself if I never get a mod team.) about exactly what Adrian does during Gordon's visit to Ravenholm and his trip along the coast.

I've got two ideas of something that could happen (Which could possibly introduce a few new weapons, or leave Adrian in City 17, which would probably get boring..)

Well, if I can't get anyone for a while I'll just start up on it and see if that'll attract any attention..

 

[Crispy]

It might be nice to have a reveral of that situation. I really can't remember what the resistance are doing while Gordon goes off in the airboat, but it seems logical that while Gordon is on his own mission they might provide a distraction. Instead of an attack on the citizens, why not an attack by the citizens on the administration?

 

[Humidor]

This sounds like a map pack to me.
You're not changing the gameplay, and you won't require many custom models especially animated human and alien models (which are very work intensive)

If you have basic mapping skills, all you need to do is practice and you can make it by yourself! Every person you have to manage requires more time and more effort, which decreses your chances of finishing!

It doesn't need to be a big production and mod team! You can do it!

 

[BrokenTripod]

Yes, it would basically be a pack of maps, though I am hoping to have a custom HUD also, one that looked a bit more Combine.

And it may need a few models, though that'd only be if I decided to sent Adrian off to some new place.

And yes, I have basic mapping skills, and I could make this by myself (Though I was hoping to have a few people helping me, or something.

And to -Crispy-: I was thinking of something like that too. The rebelling forces attacking more that usual, and the Overwatch defending, mainly.

I was also thinking of implementing Barney into the game at some point, and I've also devised a way he could get away. Though I haven't yet found a significance for that yet..

Oh, and as a general question to people: Do you know whether or not we can decompile the HL2 maps and use them (Or parts of them) in our mod?

Of course, I'd give them credit for it and such. In the meantime, I'll get to work on the storyline, and possibly to decompiling the maps..

 

[Crispy]

I think this is the real question. It would be really nice to see the player as one of the Combine who storms the appartment and chases after Gordon. Ah, you'd have to make a Gordon model though. But even if you didn't you could still have the same sound files playing and make it seem like you were just two steps behind. If you didn't have quite a good enough Gordon model you could just show parts of him as he's running away (you'd need to script it with pinpoint-timing). You could even use this as a repeated theme in an inspired reversal of roles: each time your squad is called to specific areas there is evidence of Gordon having been there, or perhaps you catch glimpses of him in a way echoing Gordon's glimpses of the elusive G-man.

Technically I would side with using decompiled maps as OK as long as you didn't bastardise them by adding really poorly made sections. The way I see it it's common practise to use models, textures and the like for level packs, so why not parts of maps too?

It would have to be restricted to a minimum or you'd lose credibility with your audience for copy-paste modding. Also it may be that Valve are already in the process of doing the same thing, in which case they might contact to asking you to desist from further production. I think it would be advisable to contact Valve and ask them directly whether you can use map sections as well as models and whether it wouldn't be a waste of your time to proceed with the idea.

I'm fairly confident that Valve will be forthcoming on this. Afterall, you're not ripping their maps straight to another game, you're keeping it in the Half-Life Universe and paying homage in doing so.

The other benefit of having liaised with Valve is that people will take the Mod more seriously and you'll be able to use that to your advantage when recruiting mappers of a high calibre (which you'll need in order to live up to HL2 standards). There are definitely a few mappers who can do it, though. The MINERVA Episode 1 level pack is evidence of this. And there are a few members' work I've seen on these forums that are getting towards that standard as well, notably from the Valve DM contest at the beginning of this year (end of last year?).

 

[BrokenTripod]

Well, in reality, the timeline I've made (Which puts Adrian down as soon as Gordon is) doesn't allow Adrian to chase Gordon through the apartment.

In fact, Adrian would be getting Suited up (And possibly trained?) at this time. I'll also assume that Gordon is running though the game at a..."Normal" pace. Not like someone who did a 2 hour fast-run of the game.

And I probably won't have a Gordon model, but you will easily be able to tell where you are by looking around. At some parts, you may be ahead, or behind Gordon. You may even be REALLY close to Gordon, but not close enough to actually see him.

(EX: {Spoiler?} Anticitizen One: When Gordon uses the Gravity Gun to knock the powering ball out of the power cell [With Alyx's help, right before Alyx is captured] You will be one of the Combine actually chasing after him, and the door will close on you. This will be your first hint that Gordon is back, possibly. I have to play Anticitizen One again to get a good idea of what happens.)

I obviously wouldn't bastardise them by adding poorly made sections. If I think they look terrible, I'll spend more time on them, or try to get someone to help me, perhaps.

There will be parts which would simply be cut and pasted (See the Anticitizen One example above. Hard to do much to that courtyard.) and other parts will be entirely new. (Hopefully.)

And also, do you know who I should contact at Valve? (Which department, or which person)

I really hope that Valve isn't doing something like this. After all, they should be working on Aftermath. (Which means I might have to change some things of the storyline. [EX: Can't kill Dog off if he's in Aftermath.])

Well, if I can get a few map parts done, I should be able to convince some high calibre mappers. (Hopefully, again.)

 

[Crispy]

Try PM-ing a Mod leader that has already done so. Teddy / Fuzzy from Dystopia both have accounts on these forums. Or you could try searching the Valve developer pages.