Battlemage: War of the Planes Thread

So the original idea for this mod was that it would be really cool to have a guy blazing away with a pistol in one hand, and casting spells with the other. I've developed it a bit further, and, as I have zero programming, modelling, skinning, or levelling skills m'self, I am hoping someone will be interested enough to take my ideas and turn them in to something workable. So here goes.

Battlemage is the story of a secret war that is taking place over the nature of reality. Magic is real, but not in the sense of pointy-hatted robed guys muttering arcane words to access the power of the elements. Magic is what happens when a person taps into a different plane of existence, one in which the incredible things they do are made possible. The war is over the interpretation of magic, specifically, how it is tapped. This war rages over any number of infinite planes. But enough background. Here's the action.

There are three sides in Battlemage. Matches are team-based and take place between two factions. The factions are:

Psychomancers: They believe that the power of the planes is tapped through sheer will and mental discipline. Their advantage is that, in battle, they have access to all of their possible spells. The disadvantage is that it takes a few moments of meditation to switch spells, so it is not possible mid-fight.

Alchemists: This faction believes magic is a product of chemical potions. Their advantage is that they can switch spells at will, since they are all contained in ceramic bottles. Their disadvantage is that, while they can carry as many different spells as they want, they only have a limited number of times they can cast them before they run out of bottles.

Technomages: They do not believe in magic. They believe the amazing effects of their inventions are the product of science, despite breaking many laws of physics. Their advantage is that they have access to some of the most powerful magical effects in the game, and can create them as many times at they want. Their disadvantage is that they can only carry two of their fantastic weapons into battle.

All the factions also have access to a selection of real-world weapons. They do not do "realistic" damage, since mages are naturally more hardy than other people. Psychomancers and Alchemists can carry only one weapon, Technomages can carry one or two, but they are limited to two weapons total, magical or not. Here's a list of possible weapons:

One-handed:
9mm pistol
.50 caliber pistol
Uzi
Sawed-off shotgun/Handcannon

Two-handed:
Assault rifle
Submachinegun
Shotgun
Akimbo Pistols

Psychomancers and Alchemists can blaze away with one hand as they cast with the other if carrying a one-handed weapon. Two-handed weapons are more powerful, but they must be lowered in order to prepare and cast a spell.

Some Technomancer weapons:
Relativity Rifle: A sniper rifle that fires projectiles in excess of the speed of light. It is a one-shot kill and can fire through walls. The equipped x-ray scope lets the shooter identify targets. However, they may have a tough time telling their teammates from the enemy, since the scope only shows in silhouette. Also to counter the strength of this weapon, there will be either an extremely long recharge time (to the length of a few minutes) or the requirement that it be recharged from a dead body (thereby removing campers, since they must venture into the open before they can fire again).

Wormhole Gun:
Creates wormholes to link one place to another. The weilder may use it as an escape device by planting a beacon at their base, and then firing it at the ground when the fighting becomes too heavy. Or, they may place a beacon in a dangerous place, such as over a cliff, and use the gun to teleport enemies there. Or, if no beacon is placed, the gun will teleport the target to a random point on the map, which may result in a kill if the player reappears within a wall or floor, or high up in the air. Or, it may simply inconvenience the player or place them in a more advantageous position.

Singularity Grenade:
Sucks in anyone within radius in an auto-kill. But, if none are within range, it will turn on its creator for the energy it needs to remain open for the few seconds it exists.

Force Cannon:
Primary fire pushes the enemy back, doing damage if they hit something hard or if they fall off a ledge. Secondary fire creates a forward shield that repels anything fired at it.

Phaser:
Loosens the molecules of an object. Does some damage to an enemy, but is most deadly when used to trap someone in a floor, or to allow the user to walk through a wall.

Technomages also might have the ability to build AI turrets or bots.

Some Psychomancer spells:
Psychopyrics: Flamethrower-style spell. Lights enemies on fire for a few seconds.
Psychocryics: Freezes enemies for a brief time. Long enough to unload a clip into them.
Confuse: Blurs screen, reverses controls. Possibility for cool effects here.
Psychokinesis: Grab and move enemy or object briefly.
Shield: Lessens damage taken for a short time.

Some Alchemist spells:
Archon's Fire: Grenade-like thrown bottle.
Dust of Ibn-Gazi: Invisibility
Powder of Crete: Morph into a powerful melee form (werewolf, bear, minotaur?)
Ether Flash: Stun grenade

That's pretty much the concept. What does everyone think?

--Flaming Moose

Sounds cool. From what I read any way. I would be able to do some models for you, except I'm pretty busy with a bunch of other models.

Good idea man. Very original. I wish I could help you out too, being such a good idea. But I'm too busy heading up my own mod. Good luck.
snow

Well, if you ever started this i would help you, since i was the first one to post about making a mod with that kind of weapon/spell system . Did you get the idea off undying by any chance? If not then you need to play it. Actually, i'm also working on another mod at the moment, so i probably wouldn't be able to help you that much...

Err.... Good luck I guess

Hello, i have been thinking of a mod (probably Half-Life) where you get to choose 3 skills, and depending on the skills, you can do different things. Kinda like an advanced TFC.

e.g.A heavy weapons guy will have the ability to carry more weapons, but a sniper can hide in the shadows, and become semitransparent.

yo little brother use the post new thread button for that. please don't post in other peoples thread about something else

sorry, sounds cool anyway, FlamingMoose

Yeah, the idea from flaming moose rocks

Actually, the inspiration for this mod probably comes more from White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension more than anything else. I have played Undying, but I wasn't really thinking of it when I designed the mod. Cool game though.

--FlamingMoose

falming moose i have to tip my hat to you, great idea, hope things work out for ya.

p.s i suggest u use the half life 2 (the physiscs system would be a perfect fit)

- Edited By teh_fonx On Tue 16th, Dec 2003 @ 12:36:31pm

Yes, I agree. Finally an idea with some creativity behind it. Not many ideas here do so this is a breath of fresh air from most of the other stuff. Anyways, I wish you all the best with this mod.

Here's a few more ideas.

Gameplay modes: I really want to have a bunch of original game modes, particularly ones related to the "magic" and planar warfaare theme of the mod. "Gauntlet" is one idea I had.
Standard deathmatch, just for kicks.
Team deathmatch, 2-way and 3-way.
Gauntlet: Each team has a "portal" to guard. Opposing forces attempt to fight their way to the portal and hurl themselves in, presumably sending their mage to the next battle. First to reach a specified number wins

Spells: I think it's important the spells be really spectacular and unique, so scratch the Alchemist "grenade" and "stun grenade." The game should play as a fierce firefight, puncuated by crazy effects (visual and gameplay-oriented) as spells go off. Here's a few more ideas.
Arc of Zeus (psychomancer): A bolt of lightning that strikes its victim, then jumps to an enemy within range, then to another...
Archon's Fire (alchemist): Revised, a sort of "napalm grenade" that spreads liquid fire and sticks to whatever it touches.
Mask of Nyarlathotep (alchemist): Appear to be on an opposing team, until damaged.
Battlemind (psychomancer): Faster movement and reload, higher jump.

Also, another thing I think is neat is that, as the mod is planar warfare, maps could be anything. Medieval, modern, future, alien, whatever a mapper could think of. There could be a lot of variety there.

Anyway, how 'bout some constructive criticism?

--Moose

Or at least a place where I might find some modders who would be interested in producing this?

So how many people do you have helping you on this now? Cuz this is one idea that sure as hell better not die

ut2k3 is already released now and it has got a physics system too:P

Um... well, right now there's nobody but me on a "team" so any help would be hot. If someone wants to design a website or draw some concept art, that would be great. I agree with fonx that HL2 would be the best game to mod for this, so there's not much else to do right now.

Here's a few more gameplay modes:
Artifact (3-way CTF): Each of the three teams has two artifacts, power cells for TMs, focusing rods for PMs and ether flasks for Alchemists. If an artifact is captured from a team, that team is weakened significantly. This encourages alliance between two teams against a stronger one, who has captured more artifacts.

Dominion (Conquest variant): Similar to the conquest mode of DoD, but each domain captured provides a special effect, higher jumping, faster movement, enhanced weapons/spells, or an altering of the map. Maps would be non-linear, and strategy would come partially from which effect would be most useful. A higher-jump domain might be captured first, to access a secret passage to the door-opening domain, which would allow a crossfire on the stronger weapon domain, which would ease the assault on a chokepoint to the final domain.

Thanks for all your support!

--Moose

Oh I was hoping for Doom3 as there's no news of a OSX version of HL2, and I was hoping to get to play this some day Oh well, good luck to ya.

ps. Any cool ideas for a new name for the mod? I'm personally tired of names that just tell you what you are in the game. Also, Battlemage abbreviates "bm"

--Moose

Hmmm. I kinda like the old name. I'll try and think of something for you.

Definitely a good idea. I was thinking of mech and magic before I ultimately decided on the concept for our project.

Anyone here ever play Shadowrun..the PnP game? I just found out through back sources that the rights to it have been bought by ....

MICROSOFT.

I dont know if they are going to make an MMO out of it, but Shadowrun is a lot like this mod...and a hell of a lot of fun.

Hope you get some people to help!

Alfred Norris, VoodooFusion Studios
www.conflictomega.com

Nope never heard of it. Even so why the F##K did Microsoft have to buy it. The stinkin gready company.

Cuz it was one of the best PnP games ever in creation and most of my old school MMO friends would go nuts to play it MMO style.

That means.... MOOOOOOL:AAAAAHHH...what Gates lives on.