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Recruiting Help for Definitve EC Mod

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 6:58 pm
by rossmum
Well, a few site vets may remember around August/September last year I released a beta version (two actually) of Elite Combat: Silent Cartographer. General consensus on files.halomods was that apart from AI (the whole friendly human and enemy Covenant thing) it was a good mod. I decided after months of work it had become boring as hell and just gave up.

Now though, with the amount of advances in modding (better plugins thanks to Phenomena, improved (drastically) AI by MNC in Elite Battles, etc. I thought maybe some people would like to help me make a massively improved version, and, eventually, a final release version, then perhaps move on to AotCR, etc. I'm fairly experienced but I need:

-A really, really smart, all-round know-it-all person
-Experienced AI people (MNC I'm looking in your direction, I think... :roll: )
-Animators and modellers (if we finally discover how to bend Halo to our will, and by the looks of things here we're close, we'll be making new cinematics and BSP sections)
-Testers
-Anyone else willing to help

If you fit above criteria PM me or post here, also post ideas, suggestions, etc.

Thanks in advance

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:00 pm
by CtrlAltDestroy
I could make models and beta test.

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:02 pm
by rossmum
Ok, you're in! Anyone else? We desperately need better AI this time around :D

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:13 pm
by SunnySharma
You will never be able to make new BSP sections and Cutscenes for PC.

Cutscenes are scripted. You cannot get the core of them out, even out of CE maps you cannot.
BSP sections are compiled and clustered using a specific path for the engine. You cannot do that when the map is already compiled.

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 9:51 pm
by rossmum
Well, we can remake them with the new stuff! And I think someon'es trying to get the source code of GB too, I'm no software expert but I know that's extremely important, like the game engine or something...
:?

Thanks for the advice anyway.

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 4:21 am
by SunnySharma
We can already create new BSP's and Cinematics, but like I said, it's for CE, not PC.

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:52 pm
by Phenomena
i could help... and sunny, dont forget whats possible in CE is possible in PC, it just inolves a bit more work :P (well most of it is, everything else you just make in ce then rip to pc >_>)

but hunter i could help with the general all round modding (i mean who knows my plugins better then me :P [or i could make more :P] )
-A really, really smart, all-round know-it-all person
thats me :P and NMC wouldnt have been able to do that AI without my help :P

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:06 pm
by SunnySharma
Scripting=nono, because it fails to convert.

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:17 pm
by Phenomena
well sorrry :P

everything else converts fine (just ahvent figured out sounds yet )

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 3:38 pm
by M@ttBot=AA=
i will beta
and i could model too if some1 gave me full ms3d, u can talk to me on aim at mattbot2020

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 3:45 pm
by x13igDudex12
I can AI....im going to try to put a elite in a wraith now

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 4:34 pm
by rossmum
Wow... lots of responses :D Glad to have you all on the team.

I have a problem here though, not really relevant (well maybe it is), I'm runing SE 3.1 on Windows XP, my computer's fairly good, but I have trouble even getting 0.5 fps out of it... Never had that problem on ME :?

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 4:38 pm
by Phenomena
i had this problem once to, i just reformated and it fixed the problem :P (i needed to reformat anyway :P)

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 4:45 pm
by rossmum
I reformatted before because my computer was dying, but SE ran fine until then... odd... :?

EDIT: READ THIS:

Ok, here's what I have in plan for this mod. We probably won't get it this advanced, but hopefully close :P

At the start of the level, you are dropped by a Cov. dropship on the beach. You walk up and discuss the defences on the island with the ranking officer on the beach, a red veteran Elite standing near the 2nd line of defence (near the shields), when all of a sudden you hear a roaring noise as two Pelicans fly over your heads. You see a small, spherical object tumble from the Pelican's rear door and dive...just in time. The vet is not so lucky and is ripped apart from the blast (yes there will be blood and guts :twisted:) and you go beserk. Being a Zealot (Gold Spec. Ops. Elite), you whip out your energy sword and charge at the responsible Marine scum. You lunge and impale him with the sword, it goes right through him, and then he falls to the ground with a gaping whole in his chest (mmm...kebabs). This cinematic then fades into gameplay.

Your first objective is to hold the beach against the Marines. This is easier said than done, especially seeing the human apes have the Demon to back them up (yes this is written from a Covenant perspective, I don't hate other people). The Demon will tear through the Grunts and force the first line to fall back (as it does in the original level). From behind the shields, you have to lean out and take potshots at the enemy.

By this stage, Echo 419 will drop off a Warthog behind you, bypassing the 2nd and 3rd lines of defence. The Demon will flip an overturned, badly damaged Ghost and charge past all your forces to the Hog. He will then get in, as well as two Marines, then drive like mad towards the map room. On the way out E419 will be chased by a Banshee, which will then get shot down by the chaingun, adding a bit to the level of chaos :P

Now you must get to the map room to stop the Demon from accessing it, by the time you get there all the Cov. forces will be massacred with only a few Grunts left cowering behind crates, and a Pelican dropping off more Marines in front, where the overshield is. This will now be a double speed powerup, assisting you in killing the small force of Marines in the area. When you get to the map room door you find it has been locked down, a Zealot peering out from behind the small looking glass. Now you must hunt down and kill the Demon.

By this stage, the Demon will be battling his way to the security room. Run past the few surviving Covenant on the way, run into the storage room, past the two dead Hunters, down the hall...

The room has been unlocked. Now you must get to the map room and stop the Demon finding the contol centre. As you exit the security facility, you will hear a lot of screams and a loud explosion out side...odd. You scour the area, and find a lot of blood and a rocket launcher... but no human body...

Snipe the human survivors from the ledge using a Rod Rifle (the experimental predecessor to the Halo 2 Carbine), which can be found near the overshields. The survivors will be armed with pistols and most likely will be completely unaware of your presence-- the Grunts across form you on the ledge won't be so lucky however. Slide down the hill and hijack the flipped Warthog next to the wreckage of the dropship, then head back along the beach. You will be met with a scene of total destruction. Two ruined Ghosts. One crashed Banshee (PMI'd from Keyes). Blood and sand, piled high with human and Covenant corpses. There will even be the remains of a Warthog, torn apart by plasma grenades stuck near the engine. Continue on to the map room, where you will find only one surviving defender, a Hunter. He will remain outside and cover you while you proceed down, down, down...

Next, turn right to see the Shafted cutscene. You will be tackled by a petrified Grunt, who frantically tells you about the untold horrors that lie below. You brush him aside and reprimand him for his cowardice, jsut as a blood-curdling scream (Elite) echoes across the shaft. The Grunt just about wets itself and starts hopping up and don on the spot gibbering like an idiot (no need for any change then). An Elite will walk out to the platform and hand you his Rod Rifle. Using its 2.5x scope you zoom in across the shaft to see an Elite-sized shape, that just runs out, turns, and disappears into the shadow. You suspect that perhaps the Demon has a sniper rifle and is in fact a diversion, while the Marines search for the map, but consider it odd to use the Demon for such a menial task. You proceed through the facility, killing Marines as you encounter them, until you get to the map room and find the few Elite guards are dead. Damn, they made it...

Now your objective is to return to the surface. Simple enough, most of the Marines have already left, now only the rear guard ( :roll: ) to contend with. Once you reach the dropship it will take you on the short journey to the small island outpost a few klicks away, where you are mystified to find the entire, 200-strong garrison deserted, and the walls stained with the blood of your brothers... Grab the connecting flight out before you discover what happened through first hand experience.

^Crazyness... Hard as hell to do though :(

As some of you may see the storyline is partly different from the original EC:SC.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:47 am
by MasterNeoChief
Ouch ouch ouch... I'll gladly help, but you want to have Foehammer drop off the warthog whilst the battle is on. This requires trigger editing, which hasn't been really done, I think. Also cutscene editing isn't possible...

If the cutscenes and scripting for CE gets public, it'll be very possible ^^
Other than that... Tough... Very tough...

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:30 pm
by SunnySharma
Cutscene editing isn't possible in PC because you don't have a Game-Engine scripted camera editor. With promethues, it probably will be, but then again that is also limiting Halo PC.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:37 pm
by rossmum
I'm sure we'll find a way :P

I've been drawing up ideas for the Rod Rifle, basically I want it to bear fairly close resemblance to a Carbine, but with a definite air of improvisation. This will be echoed in the sounds, with a lot of rasping and clunking noises (unlike the smooth clicks of the Carbine).

I think we'll have to put it into a CE map, convert, then PMI it, apparently that's possible, if not we'll just remodel the Plasma Rifle (but leave the original as well, Knave knows how to do that) and then replace the Rocket Launcher with it and let some Elite Veterans us it.

In short, my concepts for the rifle look like crap, so if someone else canpost a good concept pic I'd appreciate it...

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:46 pm
by x13igDudex12
ok, with the AI.....i found something
Elites+Wraith=death
Elites+Ghost=death
Elites+scorpian=death
Elites+foot=death
Deathx4= :shock:
Elitesx5+Pelican=unknown....trying to find out :D

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:50 pm
by rossmum
Well what we actually need the AI to do is NOT be on the WRONG SIDE like they normally are in Elite mods, as well as getting them to behave like in the level description above...

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:55 pm
by x13igDudex12
well then il have to investigate that in HMT..... :arrow: