At the beginning of Update 2, I mentioned we've been experimenting with the Alien Swarm engine. We ended up beginning to port the 2007 SDK template code to it, which is what Optic originally ran on.
For those who aren't aware, here's an explanation:
-When we started the game, it was on the 2007 template.
-A Source SDK update broke it, and no 2007 mods based on the template would launch.
-We moved to Source 2013, leading to these updates and us having to add classes and teams back.
-While we work, I've been experimenting with Alien Swarm in the background.
While the mod still runs on 2013 and we said it wouldn't run on Alien Swarm on Monday, if we manage to get the template working we'll be at the point we wanted to reach with these goals... and maybe a bit ahead.
If I fail to get it running on Alien Swarm the mod will continue as it is now, however if I do it will be an Alien Swarm mod, requiring just Alien Swarm to play, and that will be the end of the mod moving between versions of Source, but I digress: Let's get onto the main part of this post.
Here's the goals we had:
One: Polish and finalize the team menu.
Two: Finish the class system.
Three: Find the perfect speeds for each team.
Four: Start working on game types.
Five: Begin working on more maps.
What progress did we make?
One: The "tea" menu has now been finished.
Two: Class system remains unfinished for the time being, due to our experiments with Swarm.
Three: We found the perfect speeds for each team, with Hunters not being unbearably slow and Runners still feeling speedy to play as.
Four: Team deathmatch already exists; we're working on objective based modes now.
Five: One deathmatch map has been made: It's fast paced, easy to navigate, and very action packed.
An extra note: While experimenting with the damage of weapons and various "sneaky" routes through maps, we discovered making the Hunters completely dominate the Runners in combat and encouraging the Runners to hide and sneak around (and run away...) while the Hunters search for them leads to a pretty interesting and fun game...
On Monday, we'll see whether this mod will remain on Source SDK 2013!
After that, we'll start unveiling the new designs for the Hunters and Runners, with nearly all of their 3d models created.
See you then!
