Stealth-Shooter with Looting based on the Source-Engine Thread

07.10.2014

Hanzolo

Source Mod Concept

Topic: Stealth-Shooter with Looting based on the Source-Engine

First design draft

Introduction:

The following text should describe my idea of an arcade-style shooter with stealth-elements. As a great fan of the valve franchise I noticed that todays concepts of zombie games are very refreshing but nevertheless lack the look and feel of a valve title. The core elements of looting and surviving are very appealing but other core gameplay characteristics such as combat lacked precision due to overall game complexity and different focus of these games (and therefore different engines used). To state this even clearer: Combat in todays survival games is a pain in the arse for experienced fans of twitch-shooter FPSs. There still ain't nothing like the precise movement and combat of Half-Life (hence CS 1.6) in my opinion but that's a completely different topic I don't like to focus on right now. In this rough draft of a mod I'd like to focus on core elements which may form a Source Mod which combines the precision of valve-like combat and movement with arcade-survival mechanics. This should lead to a title which has a higher depth in gameplay than simple deathmatch and takes less effort to level up than a RPG-like shooter which shackles you to your character and saves Progress upon exiting. Matches should be fun and rewarding without chaining you to hours or days of playing. Defensive tactical and quiet gameplay will be more rewarded than rambo-like deathmatch play. Sound will be a big issue as well, as combat steps back in favor of smart play. More details are written below.

Core Elements of the game

Goal:

The main goal is rather classic: Dominate the highscore by fragging your opponents. The way to reach this Goal, however, will be completely different to a deathmatch-game. A new and unequipped player will have a hard time getting a kill done and needs to focus on complete different tactics than a fully equipped player with weapon, armor and healthkits who can act way more aggressive in reaching his goals.

Weapons:

There will only be a small amounf of weapons in each map. Each player can only take a few shots until he dies. There might also be close-combat attacks who are an instant kill if executed perfectly. Shooting out of pure suspicion is not feasible because you might just end out giving away your position and wasting your ammo of which you usually don't have much with you. The basic equipment could be a pistol with a few shots and some weapon for the close-combat kills. MPs, grenades, weapons with scopes and supportive items such as medkits are only available to more successful players. A possible way of achieving this could be money rewards for taking out opponents which you can then use to buy better equipment. A small amount of random item loot spots to keep the players going could also be thought of. Equipment of dead players can be taken off the ground.

Sound:

I can't stress this enough, but sound should be a major gameplay mechanic in this game. Every player, every weapon, every door and almost everything will emit sounds which can give away your position (or even more if you fire a weapon and people notice the type of armory you use). Footsteps, doors and various floors you cross also create a distinctive sound which you need to consider while moving through the map. It should always be a decision between being loud and aggressive to get that equipment or kill or playing it defensely and passive to use the surprising momentum of coming out of a dark cornor in which you were hiding until a player passed you.

Gameplay:

The gameplay should be coined by one overall guideline: Survive and make the smartest move. Whoever is unaware of his surroundings might just end up giving his fate into a smarter players hands. Whoever knows the map best, knows when to run and when to hide. Knows when to attack and when to hide. Whoever can evaluate his situations the best by considering his equipment and position. That player will be the most successful by the end of the map.

Rounds:

It should have a classical map rotation system with map times from 30-120 minutes per map to give enough time for players to equip and level-up. A death however should not lead to 2 hours of gaming being wasted, but should take a considerable amount of time to get back into the action. If you reconnect, map changed or you die you loose all your equipment and money and start off with the basic equipment (remember, this still is an arcade-game which should be fast-paced and fun). Players will become better by learning the game mechanics and maps. Skill is more important to succeed than plain time spent on the map.

Maps:

Maps should be arena-like and big enough for players to take several ways through the map. They should be able to hide in dark spots or rooms, behind desks and doors. A few larger areas are fine to suite the sniping playstyle. Some spots of each map should naturally attract more players than quieter spots of maps (for instance by staffing them with attractive items or weapon buying stations). The maps shouldn't be too large so that players can engage in combat situations every once in a while. It is important that instanc-action situations are not happening all the time to support the defensive sealth-like approach of the mod. Being aware or your surroundings should carry more heavy than just engaging the next fight which is already going on upon respawn. Possible Environments I can think of right now are a warehouse with surroundings or a Train Station.

Mod Development and Project Goal:

I am very aware of the fact that a lot of ambitious mod teams start off highly motivated and end up not releasing at all or quietly entering Hibernation upon a few nice shots. I know having too high goals is a big risk. Therefore I want to take a minimal approach in bringing this mod to life. I want to release an early version of this mod by the end of the year. I don't want to start by focussing on creating models, textures and maps, but rather begin with implementing the gameplay mechanics by using already available maps and weapons (stock HL2 or whatever is free to use out there). If time and manpower allows there might be more sexy-stuff as well, but short release cycles is more important to me right now. More Content and fancy stuff can be added whenever the core mechanics work out.

On my way to achieving this mod I am searching for experienced coders in the Source Mod development who are willing to participate in creating a first playable version until christmas arrives. Of course this mod will be released free of Charge and participation is voluntary. I'd like to say a few words about myself: I finished my studies and now work for a big IT company. Part of my job is developing an application with a team of software developers. Development should happen during our spare time and whenever we can and want to continue. I will try to keep everybody in touch to assure we keep on track with our goals and publish an alpha version by the end of the year.

If you are interested in participating as a coder (or Mapper, Modeller) or just like to state your opinions, please feel free to contact me or post here!

Regards,

Hanzolo

Edited by: hanzolo