THE SITE
FEATURES
HL2 GUIDE
HL2 RESOURCES
EPISODIC CONTENT
CS:Source @ CS-Nation
HOSTED
AFFILIATES
|
 | |
We sat down with MadMechWarrior, founder of Eternal Silence 2; a Half-Life 2 modification. Going in-depth about the game aspects and features, it turned out to be a very rewarding conversation. Enjoy!
HLF's ShaDoW: Exactly what is Eternal Silence 2 all about? Can you tell us a little bit about the story?
The battles of ES2 are fought inside captial ships and in space combat with ships like the UTF bomber. |
Eternal Silence is a Half-Life 2 multiplayer mod set in a totally original universe. It basically simulates battles in deep space between gigantic capital ships. Players will be able to command, board and fly around in these ships, which will be able to move around a map as large as 32km by 32km. It's a very ambitious mod, but we think we can make it work.
The story takes place 550 years after Earth is mysteriously destroyed. The only survivors of that war, the military forces in space, have forged a new civilization across 9 systems.
The action begins when the Surrogate, a mysterious relic from Earth's time, is found, containing DNA and technology which was lost in the explosion. This finding sparks new ways of thinking, including democracy, and starts a renaissance. This creates friction within the UTF as more and more nations are declaring independency. Soon, a war begins and these nations form the Galactic Militia.
This is a short overview of the back-story in ES; there is a lot more to read, including a novella-length story, which takes place 50 years after the discovery of the Surrogate and during the height of the war, in the works by X-Ray, our writer. If you would like to learn more, don't hesitate to head to our website in the story section, X-Ray can tell the tale much better than I ever could. We are putting lots of time into the story, because it adds a layer of depth that most mods just don't have.
Sounds pretty exciting! How will this affect the gameplay — are there certain objectives to achieve victory?
The maps we will be featuring in the mod will be battles that will play pivotal roles in the story, we are open to creating a single player campaign also, but we already have our work cut out for us with the multiplayer modes, so that will have to wait. Some maps will be generic capital ship on capital ship sort of maps, but others will have more precise objectives, like disabling orbital guns or stealing technology. As a general rule, the idea is to control all the subsystems on the map.
What can you tell us about the game modes in ES2?
UTF grenade launcher: players will use a variety of weapons to achieve team objectives. |
At the moment we have 2 game modes planned, they both follow the global victory condition (controlling all the subsystems) but it is done in slightly different ways. The first mode which I will call Vanilla ES will allow any player to secure subsystems by waiting in the control zone until the capture is made. The second mode which I call Virus involves a special disk which contains information to infect or disinfect a subsystem. Both teams will be fighting to keep the disk and the hacker with the disk will be the only one able to capture subsystems. This should make for an interesting, football like game.
Where will this story take place? Are there any exotic locations or strange parts in space that the player will visit?
The story takes place in a group of 8 or so systems which are suited for human life. Each planet will have its own characteristics, the most exotic of them being Vehera, the planet the Surrogate orbits. It is a replica of earth's ecosystem and is the cleanest planet by far in known space. We will be covering nebulas, research stations, the surrogate itself, ship graveyards etc. The possibilities are endless.
Of course, no battle can be won without soldiers. What can you tell us about the infantry?
Marine concept art: well balanced player-classes are key to ES2's gameplay. |
The infantry is the most basic but the most important unit in Eternal Silence. He is the only one capable of capturing or destroying subsystems, which is what will inevitably end the game. The infantry is divided in 5 classes which are Assault, Heavy Weapons, Medic, Demo Expert and Hacker. Each of these classes will have a place in the teamwork structure of ES and they are all necessary to successfully attack or defend a capital ship. The Assault class is mainly offensive power; the Heavy Weapons class is defensive power. The Medic is support, and he will have a healing aura as well as a medical kit, to promote squads. The Demo expert will be a hit and run type character, specialized in destroying subsystems. The Hacker will be the captain's worst enemy, this class plays a pivotal role in the gameplay, he can activate spawns on remote subsystems and he can disable the captain's benefits for a substantial amount of time.
We hope that just the infantry side of the game will make ES fun to play, which is why we will be focusing on an infantry only release at first, followed by the ships and the captain.
Do both teams possess the same selection of classes, or does each side have its unique type?
Each team will have the same set of classes; however the benefits may vary depending on what side you're on. For instance a medic in the NGM might be more effective than in the UTF; however the UTF's hacker is highly trained and more effective than the NGM's. These are just examples; we have to try these out in beta testing first. There will be differences, but they won't be radical, it should make balancing a lot easier and in the end make the game more fun to play with less of a learning curve. | |
|  |
|
MODS HEADLINES
LATEST FILES
FORUMS
|
