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[WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Hello all! Those of you who frequent ModHalo.net or HaloMaps.org (or even the Halo 1 section on Bungie.net) may have seen this thread posted before. I recently joined this community, however I am not new to modding. I have been an active member of ModHalo.net for over a year and a half. Well basically, I'd like to tell you of the biggest project I've yet to work on (and honestly the only one I've worked on which demonstrates my current abilities). To begin, let me explain my niche in modding - I am a scripter, first and foremost. This has implications of AI, cutscenes, and overall gameplay development, which I do so enjoy. As the quote beneath my avatar so eloquently describes, my specialties are all of that plus the interesting addition of ui_widget_definitions. Yes, I know how to do most other aspects of modding, yet I frankly find no enjoyment in doing them, and to be quite honest I don't see myself as doing a good job with them :)
Before proceeding further, please do note that I have quite an ego and a decently-developed superiority complex, so pardon me if I happen to seem overly ambitious in my attempts to demonstrate proficiency.
What exactly is this project which I speak of? Well simply put, it is a custom campaign with a custom story. Shall I delve into greater detail? Of course! This campaign is a free-roam adventure in which you make all the decisions concerning how to proceed, similar to Borderlands. You choose the mission you'd like to do at that moment in time. You earn points, and decide how to spend them. Spend on what? Ah, that my friend might interest you as well. This campaign comes fully loaded with an arsenal of air support to choose from, which assists you from above in your quest of violence! But enough rambling on, allow me to show you in an organized list just what you can expect.
Overall Gameplay Description:
Your pause menu is the control panel for your entire experience in Red Skulls. You choose missions, purchase air support, travel to destinations, and configure various settings. All of these are outlined below.
- Missions: there are three mission categories from which to choose a mission... Research and Development, Tactical Assault, and Main Story. All missions award points and are important to complete the game, although only Main Story missions unlock new locations as you progress.
- Travel: as you progress in the main storyline, you will come across instances where you need to move your base of operations to a different location. Don't fret if you didn't complete all missions in the area you are currently in, as locations which you unlock are saved in your travel menu. By selecting an unlocked location, you summon immediate extraction to the desired area, and are able to resume the completion of any missions left untouched in that area.
- Air support, vehicles, and loadouts: support points are awarded to you for killing enemies and completing missions. Selecting the support menu from the RS control panel in your pause menu will allow you to spend these points on various air support types, weapon loadouts, and vehicles. After purchasing a support craft, it is yet to be decided whether or not to have it immediately deploy to the area or await your signal (via the flashlight, or possibly a button in the menu). Some of the air support types are listed in the next section.
- Customization: the customization menu allows for the setup of certain options and features. This includes the default automatic support used (orbital laser or orbital rocket strike, both listed in the next section), as well as the behavior of support which you purchase and summon. You also may choose whether or not to automatically travel to new locations when they are unlocked by beginning a certain mission, and other such small preferences.
Brief List and Description of Air Support:
This is a brief preview of some of the support types. Some of them have pictures, which I will add once my 5-day waiting period has expired, and when I do post them I'd like you to please note that they are from very early builds (for instance, one image contains heavy fog. This was an idea I had toyed with for a while but eventually abandoned.). I have not fully decided on these types, there may be more, and some of the ones included here may not end up in the final cut. Comment if you think of any support type you would enjoy seeing.
The Story:
And now, ladies and gentlemen, here you are: the story which encompasses this entire virtual 3d bloodbath. Written entirely by yours truly, it takes place in an alternate timeline within Halo. As a disclaimer, you may notice a bit of a bias toward Spartan II's. The reason for this is simple - I love Spartan II's. Aren't they the greatest? I love them so much that I made a story where I get to have them as my own, in my own private army :D And now here I am, making a campaign based on the very same. Enjoy reading, and if you decide to skip the following wall of text for the time being, please be sure to read it at some point in the future before playing. Sense is simply non-existent if you attempt playing without reading this :)
Quote:
Spartan II supersoldiers are an idea which the Red Skulls (a privately-owned military organization) purchased from Dr. Halsey of the UNSC, before she was able to patent said idea. Money does have its benefits, as it turns out. The program was perfected by the Red Skull research and development division. Participating children had a much higher survival rate, but the genetic alteration procedures were more painful than ever before. As a result, the overseers of the project decided that the best candidates would be infants, as they would not likely remember this horrible ordeal later in life, and emotional scarring would be reduced. Mjolnir armor, bought by the Red Skulls at the same time as the Spartan II design, was bestowed upon a Spartan when the initiate turned 19. This was the age at which it was determined the genetic enhancements would have taken full effect. They trained with their suit for 2 more years before, at the age of 21, being hand-picked by an officer to join that officer's team, at the Spartan Graduation ceremony. As is apparent, they were not designed to be expendable. Spartan IIs are not informed of their genetic enhancements during their 21 years of training, however. It was thought at the program's initiation that better results would be achieved if Spartans believed that all they did was under their own, naturally-given power. It was the duty of every commanding officer to inform his Spartans of this. Because of this, Spartans are often confused when they meet their normal-sized squadmates for the first time, being towering hulks in comparison.
Stunned by the success of their new supersoldiers, the owners of the RS organization began to contemplate purchasing other patented training methods and armor designs from the UNSC scientists that created them. After careful examination, ODST ballistic armor was selected as the preferred combat apparel to equip Red Skull standard troopers. Spartan IIs, coupled with Red Skull soldiers wearing ODST armor (renamed LAAPs: Lightly-Armored Assault Personnel), formed such a devastating combination in combat that other military organizations began to attempt their own supersoldier programs, such as the Cyberdyne program of the Hollywood Knight organization. The UNSC, too, began work on another supersoldier project, directed by Dr. Halsey, dubbed the Spartan III project. This project favored lighter armor in favor of mobility and flexibility, and incorporated less genetic alterations to reach a 100% survival rate of participants. Paired with marines who had even less armor, the new project only saw mild success, and on many occasions Red Skull squads were dispatched to rescue UNSC soldiers and supersoldiers. Spartan IIs see Spartan IIIs the same way they see marines. In fact, most Spartan IIs prefer fighting alongside their LAAP companions rather than Spartan IIIs, if ever given the choice in joint operations with the UNSC. Spartan II Brigadier General Franklin Marcello had this to say on Spartan IIIs in the UNSC: "They take risks that they can't handle and put their squads in danger, because the name 'Spartan' gives them a feeling of invincibility, when in fact they are not worthy to be called such. They are nothing like us; they would like to think that they are our brethren, but they are not"
You are a new Spartan II, fresh out of training. Your squad is already deployed in a canyon, and they eagerly await your arrival. Your commanding officer has seen fit to put you in charge of this outpost, as no major conflict is expected to develop here, and you need the experience. After all, a bunch of untrained separatists can't possibly be a major threat... right?
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
sounds cool, but it would be a lot of work for only one person.
don't you have some people who help you?
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
{XG}Gijs007
sounds cool, but it would be a lot of work for only one person.
don't you have some people who help you?
I don't, however I do occasionally ask favors of others I know. I am doing all the scripting, UI work, AI work, and story design myself. Mainly I am doing this project as my first big entrance into the community (it's really the only one I've worked on to take advantage of all my skills) and earn credibility among CE people. As I've been on ModHalo.net since 2009, I've earned many people's respect and have released some small things but I really haven't released something large enough (in my opinion).
I started this project in July 2010, and even then I wasn't "full-blown" in the modding niche I so badly wanted to occupy, so as I learned in the months that followed, I ended up restarting several times due to overhauling my plans for the project to the point that the existing build could not be converted to meet the new standards I had set. As of the beginning of 2011, I have thoroughly learned my desired area of expertise (solo map gameplay development [scripting, UI, AI, etc.]) and I have in mind everything that I intend to implement, and so the last time I restarted should indeed remain the last time.
The project began as a linear campaign, with not much of a plan to design and provide players with new campaign elements and ideas, however in its current state I do hope that it will pave the way for more of its kind. Many new modders have told me that seeing this concept inspired them to begin modding; hearing that always boosts me on and removes any boredom which may have crept into the back of my mind.
One of my newly acquired skills which I do hope to develop further is animation.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Man, this looks really impressive for a one man project. I'm looking forward to playing it :)
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Thank you :D
P.S. I just recently began watching Dr. Who.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Here is a small video that will show you one of the small things I've done recently. Read the description for a full explanation. Opinions on it are appreciated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu7x_Iw95vk
Also, menu is finished. I'll edit this post soon with a video of that.
Lastly, I've got a request of anyone who's willing: the SPI biped (Spartan 3) is what I'm hoping to use as, well, the Spartan 3s of the UNSC: http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4889 My problem is this - the goal of my campaign is to be as Halo-realistic as possible, and the SPI biped that I linked to is too large (they're the size of Spartan 2s, Spartan 3s were the size of normal humans). I would greatly appreciate the favor if someone were able to scale the model down for me, and get it to use marine animations. You would be credited, of course.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Triple posting and heavy bampin' for epic updates.
This project is now under the full power of the Red Skull Engineering Corps. (a team headed by me), members of which include Lodex, Darkhalo003, Pepzee, Lonesface, Rerout343, and Skidrow925. The Spartan 3 was successfully scaled and allowed to use marine animations.
Speaking of animations, I've recently learned animating (just the past 4 months; line break FTW). Here's a really shitty one I made when I was learning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ChE0aByYf4
He was going to be standing in the back of a dropship (that explains his arm, eh?) and then grab a gun off the wall. Scrapped obviously, for newer things, but it wasn't a bad start.
Other stuff, other stuff... Red Skulls will now function with a new variable - time of day! The clock I wrote is below:
Code:
(global short seconds 0)
(global short minutes 0)
(global short hours 0)
(global short days 0)
(global short weekday 5)
(global string dayofweek "Thursday")
(script continuous clock
(if (>= seconds 5) (begin
(set minutes (+ minutes 1))
(set seconds 0)
))
(if (>= minutes 6) (begin
(set hours (+ hours 1))
(set minutes 0)
))
(if (>= hours 24) (begin
(set days (+ days 1))
(if (< weekday 7) (set weekday (+ weekday 1)) (set weekday 1))
(if (= weekday 1) (set dayofweek "Sunday"))
(if (= weekday 2) (set dayofweek "Monday"))
(if (= weekday 3) (set dayofweek "Tuesday"))
(if (= weekday 4) (set dayofweek "Wednesday"))
(if (= weekday 5) (set dayofweek "Thursday"))
(if (= weekday 6) (set dayofweek "Friday"))
(if (= weekday 7) (set dayofweek "Saturday"))
(set hours 0)
))
)
(script continuous metronome
(sleep 30)
(set seconds (+ seconds 1))
)
The script itself took like 30 seconds to write, but I'm amazed that this idea has evaded me so long. Many noteworthy free-roam campaigns incorporate the time of day as a gameplay element wonderfully, such as Red Dead Redemption by which this campaign was heavily inspired. The time has been scaled to what I believe to be appropriate considering the time people will likely spend on a Halo 1 map - 30 seconds of real time is equivalent to an hour of game time. There are 5 seconds per minute and 6 minutes per hour in the game. It also tells you the day of the week which I added for no apparent reason. The time of day can be used to control many things, most obviously of all being whether it is night or day. We currently are not sure whether it will switch between the two if the time reaches that point while you're just standing around in an area, or if it will check the clock only when you travel to determine whether you arrive at the destination at night or in the daytime. Opinions are welcome.
Here is the health regeneration script the campaign will use, if you want to see it (in case you want to use it, I've bolded out the parts you'll need to enter your own information into):
Code:
(script static unit player
(unit (list_get (players) 0))
)
(global real health_increment 0)
(script static real shield
(unit_get_shield (player))
)
(script static real health
(unit_get_health (player))
)
(script static real unchanged_shield
(* (shield) [your biped's shield strength])
)
(script static real health_number
(* (health) [your biped's health])
)
(script static real health_lost
(- [your biped's health] (health_number))
)
(script static void increase
(unit_set_current_vitality (player) (+ (health_number) health_increment) (unchanged_shield))
)
(script static real health_increment_set
(set health_increment (/ (health_lost) 20))
)
(script continuous health_recharge
(sleep_until (and (< (health) 1) (= (shield) 1)))
(health_increment_set)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
(sleep 15)
(increase)
)
Once your shield is recharged, it heals 5% of your lost health every half a second, over the course of 10 seconds (which is the same amount of time health takes to regenerate in Halo 3).
More about the team; if you think you'd like to join (for whatever reason) go ahead and add me on Xfire (cerealkillingincorporated) and we'll talk about it. Third-person animators are specifically welcome, because I am the only one on the team so far, and I'm not exactly a veteran at it.
Team page: http://www.xfire.com/communities/rsec/
Story update: the entire campaign has been determined to take place 21 years after the initiation of the Spartan 2 program, and it is set entirely on the world Tyer (pronounced "teer") which has been known for heavy rebel and smuggler activity as of late.
Questions? Opinions? Comments on my good looks? Post them, you dumb hooker!
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Can I steal your health script/can you help me in PM's so that it works when you're crouching? I like this project, looking forward (or maybe somewhat to the left) to it. You're ugly. Who you callin' a hooker?
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Thanks Pyong. Nut, are you asking if I can set it so that it only heals when you crouch?
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Can't wait for this! You're very talented! =)
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Thanks. I'm hoping to add some more detail to the story; got an idea for possibly seven rebel leaders you need to kill from listening to the song "All Seven" by Prince.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The_Cereal_Killer
Thanks Pyong. Nut, are you asking if I can set it so that it only heals when you crouch?
I'd like a version of it that does that for my crap, if it's possible.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Sadly there is no script function to test for the player crouching, sorry.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Oh, okay. I'll just steal your regen script then :downs:
Anysways, just a vauge question... will there be a Vulture in this? You know, the brick from HaloWars?
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
I doubt it - I haven't seen any vulture models out and we've already got a badass motherfucking gunship to use (that gunship is one of the few things I'll keep a secret until release).
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Elite Killa
Can't wait for this! You're very talented! =)
you don't happen to be from halomaps or something, right?
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
I started on Modhalo, then came here but didn't post much for a while, then went over to Halomaps, and more recently I'm on Halomods. So I'm pretty much everywhere and I haven't seen Elite Killa that I recall.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The_Cereal_Killer
I started on Modhalo, then came here but didn't post much for a while, then went over to Halomaps, and more recently I'm on Halomods. So I'm pretty much everywhere and I haven't seen Elite Killa that I recall.
I have three maps on Halomaps but they're crap. I don't post on the forums there, either.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
By the way, I'd really appreciate opinions on this:
Quote:
We currently are not sure whether it will switch between the two if the time reaches that point while you're just standing around in an area, or if it will check the clock only when you travel to determine whether you arrive at the destination at night or in the daytime.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
I don't think it would really matter. Lighting is an aesthetic more than anything, unless its night, becuase night requires stealth in gameplay and other things. IMO, I would rather have specified times of day rather than a changing one...
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
I can see why you might say that. Generally I just think it's something that hasn't been done before yet is perfectly doable and practical for gameplay use, so I'd like to see what comes of it.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
I'd love to see the map change between night and day while you're playing (like in Crysis) just for the sake of it being cool.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
I wouldn't mind time changing as long as it only happens between missions.
EG: It's afternoon, you go over to the island, now it's dusk, you go to the next area, it's night, and so on.
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
you guys are aware that Rambo has done this to some extent for bloodcreek right? just saying...
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Re: [WIP] The Red Skulls: a custom free-roam campaign.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hr3shy
you guys are aware that Rambo has done this to some extent for bloodcreek right? just saying...
That's MP though. This is SP. It is a bit of a different experience in that term.
However, TCK, I think we should keep day and night static honestly. I feel we have more control over the environment that way.
