Originally published on 3DGaming.net at…some point in 2000.
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Tomorrowland has drifted off the radar as 3DGN threw the goodies at you. And what goodies they have been. But like the ever-changing tides, the flow of content at 3DGN sometimes shifts, and everything old is new again.
So what is new now, you ask? Mods, my dear readers. Unlike the Tomorrowlands of the past, I’m not content with reporting the status of upcoming games. That’s been done before countless times, so I’d like to try something a little bit different this time.
I’d like to send a little love back to the mod community that has kept so many games alive and interesting. What would Quake 2 be like without Chaotic Dreams, Jailbreak, Lithium, RailArena? What would Half-Life be like without Counterstrike and TFC?
So what mods would I like most to discuss? I have a few in mind that seemed of interest, and for this week it’s first person shooter mods. Why first person shooters? Because I like them godammit! So you’re going to sit down and read about them!
Immediately upon deciding to write this article, I knew I wanted to pursue mods that would somehow stand out. Rather than discuss something such as Rocket Arena UT or LMCTF Quake 3, I wanted to discuss something new that hasn’t [to the best of my knowledge] been done before.
Half-Life: Blade Runner
The first mod comes our way from the wonderful lads at Terminus Studio, who are fervently working on a project that I personally am quite interested in: Half Life: BladeRunner. I’d like to believe that is the sort of path Westwood Studios would have pursued had they chosen to make BladeRunner a first person shooter style game, rather than the excellent adventure game they produced.
So what does Half Life: BladeRunner have to offer? Quite a bit actually, such as multiple modes of gameplay. Deathmatch is all fine and good, but who really cares anymore? It’s been done. BladeRunner means to offer something a bit more diverse, such as:
THE HUNTERS AND THE HUNTED. The Hunters and the Hunted will feature a group of Replicants on the run from special police units called BladeRunners, who track and execute them. Add a dash of ‘last man standing’ from Unreal Tournament and throw in a timer. The Reps have to wipe out the RepDetec within a certain amount of time and vice versa.
OFFWORLD. This mode could be called ‘Assault and Conquer.’ The premise of this mod is that BladeRunner units are holding a Replicant doctor hostage. Other Replicants have to rescue him as a first priority, with a second priority of killing all the BladeRunners. And the setting is on Mars rather than Los Angeles.
POLICE HQ. BladeRunners protect Police Chief Bryant from a Replicant assault.
HIDEOUT. Replicants must protect several doctors from BladeRunner units. If the BladeRunner units kill all the doctors and/or Replicants, they win. This could turn out to be a bit like TFC’s ‘The Hunted’ in design, which I personally wouldn’t mind, since The Hunted is an awesome game.
STREET CHASE. This mode of gameplay is somewhat akin to ‘one on one assault’ with npcs. BladeRunner units hunt Replicants who are trying to reach a certain point on a map.
TYRELL CORPORATION. BladeRunners must protect Tyrell, the head of the Tyrell Corporation, from a Replicant assault.
At the moment ideas are still being tossed about amongst the design team, so nothing is for certain. Nonetheless, the ideas already in consideration could make for an incredibly fun mod. This is an extremely interesting project that has had my attention since its inception.
Release Date: TBA
Developer: Terminus Studios
Official Site: N/A
Wheel of Time: Shadowed Destiny
The next mod is a project that can be described in one word: ambitious. Shadowed Destiny has officially earned its place in my mind as a mod that is truly by the fans and for the fans. I’m surprised to see a mod of such scope in development, due to the lack of interest in fantasy games in recent times.
Games such as Hexen II and Heretic II all but disappeared from the radar within months of release. I feared the same fate for Wheel of Time until I discovered that Game Knight Software had begun development on Shadowed Destiny, a mod that has acended to the position of expansion pack, rather than a simple mod.
So what’s Shadowed Destiny about? It’s a single player mod involving a newly raised Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah who is sent to investigate the whereabouts of a man who purportedly can channel. I don’t expect a brief five level expansion pack, for several reasons, one of which is the inclusion of fifteen new cutscenes. When was the last time a single player mission pack (free, no less) shipped with its own pre-rendered cut scenes?
Could cutscenes using the engine be done? Yes, but having videos to contribute to the story adds a great deal of narrative to the game. As well as the new cutscenes, the mod will include new levels, music, skins, and most likely new ter’angreals. We might even be allowed to channel more than ‘a trickle’ (that got kinda annoying in the single player game, didn’t it?).
In addition, the mod takes place in 248 AB (After Breaking), a scant amount of time after the Time of Madness. Why is this a significant detail? During the breaking [of the world], the physical shape of the planet was wildly altered by insane male channelers, and civilization was destroyed. Hopefully Game Knight will realize the significance of this and include famous sights of the period.
Release Date: TBA
Developer: Game Knight Software
Official Site: Shadowed Destiny
Half-Life: Goldeneye
The final mod of the evening is none other than 007 himself, James Bond, staring in Half-Life GoldenEye. Originally the project began as a series of deathmatch maps for Half-Life that were recreations of Rare’s GoldenEye, which shipped on the Nintendo 64. Due to the unwillingness of developers to develop a PC port, a group of talented individuals took it upon themselves to begin work on a multiplayer partial conversion, which will include most of the weapons from the original game, as well as skins for Bond, M, Q, Moonraker (dear god why?) and a variety of options.
One such option is randomly spawning weapons (which is guaranteed to piss off my camping whore of an editor), bot support and a new twist on making deathmatch more strategic: life is as important as death. Every time you die, you lose a kill, which makes staying alive imperative. This isn’t Die Hard, John McClane run-and-gun blitzkrieg attacks are no longer encouraged. Your new mission is to stay alive as long as possible and kill everyone else.
If there was ever a mod deserving of attention, this is it. Developers, pay attention to this mod, it might just own you. You too Carmack. You want the way of the future? I have three words for you: “Bond. James Bond.”
Release Date: TBA
Developer: Sponsored by HalfLife.net
Official Site: Goldeneye
That’s all for this week folks. Next week the sheep humpers at 3DGN shall bring more goodness to the table. Or something like that. Just like Bond, Tomorrowland shall return…
