aleixoteixeira

0 comments by aleixoteixeira on Aug 2nd, 2009 digg this super bookmark

Yes, it is OUT!

The new 1.75 version of Modular Combat has been released yesterday night, and many people joined us in the Modular Combat Steam community If you haven't played Modular Combat yet, you should definitely check it out! It is not one of the best HL² mods out there, but it is also an Action-RPG mod, and you surely won't find this kind of style everywhere. Some people wonder why this mod is so addictive, and I ask myself the same question every time I play: Why can't I stop playing this? Maybe it's because it's a level-based game, and the longer you play, the stronger you get, and you just can't stop getting stronger 'cause that's what the mod's about. Every time you level up, you can choose by up to 48different modules to customize your gameplay, like Teleport (which is the coolest movement module EVAH!), Jetpack, Fire and Ice grenades, Create minions and such. The gameplay possibility is huge and you can create many characters, each one with its style.

The new MC version has two new monsters (the Hunter, and the Zombine), and features a lot of changes on the modules, uncluding 12 new modules (48 total modules). As some of you know, the Modular Combat community is quickly growing up, and many players start to play the mod every day. The previous version of Modular Combat didn't need anything but Half-Life² and HL²:Deathmatch to run, but that has changed in this new version. You can't run it if you don't have HL²: Episode Two. Yes, that sucks, but HL²:EP2 offers a lot of new content and the team had to update it to a newer version.

About three weeks ago, I found out about the contest the MC team was about to run, and I thought about joining the contest, since I didn't have HL²:EP2 and I wouldn't be able to play the next version of MC. So, the contest was about you giving suggestions to the MC team, suggesting new modules to be added in the version that will be released after 1.75. I've suggested a module called Ghost, which raises your transparency and has a chance to make you invulnerable for some short time. I really didn't expect to win the contest, but I did! and these are the three modules on the top 3 list:

Ghost. Passive and Active. Increase suits transparency by 6.6…66%. Player will also gain ability to completely “ghost” any attack (attacks that might hit the play will deal no damage). Players also gains active module while allows them to walk through any prop for 0.5…5 seconds. Suggested by Aleixo Teixeira.

Headcrab Cannister. Active. Teleport in a headcrab canister containing 1…5 masterless headcrabs which are levels 1…10. Headcrabs will hate the first enemy they see more than anyone else. Suggested by Arkadiusz Gryska.

Slo-Mo. Active. Create a large slow-motion field which affects all enemies and projectiles within range for 5 seconds. Speed is reduced by 5…75%. Suggested by Trym Horgen.

I didn't really believe this kind of contest, I always thought people never got their prizes, so that's why I didn't really join contests like that. But since I really like Modular Combat and I didn't have anything to lose, why not to give the team some ideas? and HERE is the proof it was a real contest. Still, it wasn't like a nobel prize, but it meant a lot to me.Well, after that, I told Matt I could help them with some 2d art, since I'm currently in Graphic Design college, and that's something I usually do all the time... We started working together in a short time, and basically all my free time was dedicated to the new look of the mod design. I had to re-create all the module icons (48 icons), and also a few wallpapers, before the release of version 1.75. It was something that really pissed me off sometimes, 'cause some of the icons never looked the way I wanted them to be. But after some time, I was able to make it all look good, and with Matt's help, we made the mod look a lot better.The Modular Combat logo has been changed as well. Here, check it out:

Now, about the icons, I wanted to make them funny, but at the same time I didn't want to make it look like the mod was a total joke. Some of them, like the Fire Resist icon are pretty funny when you see them the real size. Here's an example of how the icons look like:
  

The icons were all made using Adobe's Illustrator, and all of them are easily editable. Some of them have the strokes too thin, and need to be changed because they didn't look so good in-game. But  that will be fixed in the next version of the mod. Here is a wallpaper that shows all the new module icons.Alright, so, I want to let you guys know that the next version is gonna be awesome, and we are already working on it. See you guys in game, and always remember: We've got a module for that.