Comments - DaGopher

Er, I can't download that. I got the beta though, so I'll just wait till I get home and try it out.

The new look threw me off for a while, but I'm getting used to it. :) Looks awesome so far.

The only thing that I can see that might have been better in v1 is the background color. Maybe you should make v2's a little less bright. As is, it's like waking up in the morning and staring straight at the lights. ;) And it makes parts of the site look blank. Anyone else agree? If not, I'll just change my monitor settings when using the site. Or wear sunglasses...

Did changing to v2 make the mod's "Last Updated" values change? Or did Covenant Unleashed really get an upgrade? *crosses fingers for the latter*

And can you set it up so we can edit or delete our comments? Maybe not delete, but atleast edit. Not everyone is a fond of editing their spelling as I am, but I think it's safe to say that we'd all like to fix a url from time to time. And preview doesn't always help - like when I put up a link to a file on my part of a server, and then I have to move the file later...

I've tried this thing, it rocks. Only problem is, the weapons may be a little bit too powerful...if such a thing is possible. Game balance is rather off, but who cares? It's fun to play, even if you only carry two weapons around. Anyway, here's an overview:

Note: I am writing this assuming you have the default controls. Keep that in mind when I talk about pressing a button. I am also going to leave tips for newbs; please do not be offended, I do not think that most people on this site will need them, I just don't want the two or three who do asking any questions. And this punctuation right *here* means a word is stressed.

VISUAL EFFECTS:
The entire look of the game is changed, and the bases have giant hangars on the sides. Can't do it justice in a description, you have to see it yourself. The guns look different, the map is more purplish (in a cool way), the MCs shine...

If you start a server with this mod, and others play it without the mod, they'll see normal blood gulch stuff. This makes for many a "What the @$%!? What the @#$% hit me?!" comments, and is highly amusing.

WEAPONS:
The homing rockets are pretty well balanced, really; you have a good time to hide behind something (as long as you were keeping to cover in the first place), and the rocket only tracks if it is launched straight at a foe. Note that all rockets are homing, not just the one from the infanry rocket launcher, like in Halo 2.

The shotgun, AR, and flamethrower are now plasma looking, and they do more damage.

The pistol's fire rate is slowed down significantly, but a hit from it has the kinetic effect of a grenade. Not the damage of a grenade, mind you, the damage hasn't changed at all; but it has the abilty to fling enemies and vehicles around. Good for knocking people out of vehicles.

The plasma rifle now has a 2x zoom ability. It is also a one hit kill in melee.

The fuel rod gun and plasma pistol are, as far as I can tell, unchanged. I don't know how to get a needler into bloodgulch - I don't thinks its possible, even - so I don't know if it is different.

The best weapon is the Sniper Rifle. Yes, thats right, better than the rocket launcher. You can dodge the launcher by hiding behind a wall and letting it hit that, or by doing the same with a building. You can't dodge the sniper rounds. It has had three changes made:
1) It looks different.
2) It can hold up to 48 rounds of spare ammunition.
3) When you fire, it launches a giant needle. As I already said, it flies at the same speed as the old sniper rifle, and is therefore undodgable. When the needle hits, it explodes. Multiple times. In rapid succesion. Starting immediately. It makes the victim jerk a few times, and then he dies. Even after he is dead, his corpse flops around like a fish out of water.
The overall result is that a single sniper hit anywhere on the body (even with shields and health set to max in the game settings, and an overshield to boot) results in death. There is a delay, but not much of one (about 1/4 to 1/2 a second), and with your opponent's screen jumping around he can't hit you anyway.
If the enemy is in a vehicle, then he takes more than one shot - but the full clip can put anything down.

VEHICLES:
The ghost looks different, and you lie in it like you would a Banshee. Otherwise, it seems to be the same as the old version. Only changes were to it's graphics, and to it's spawn positions.

As went the ghost, so went the covenant turret.

The Scorpion has had it's guns removed. Yes, you heard me. But it's immune to rockets. It's immunity does not extend to other weapons, however. It's basically a transport, until your foes figure out that the sniper rifle is king, whereupon it becomes basically a deathtrap.

The Banshee looks more like a jet. And the fuel rod gun has been replaced with a rockey launcher. The rockets home, of course.

The Warthogs are now called "Kestrels"; when you walk up to one, it says "Press "E" to Enter Kestrel".

Rocket Hog Changes:
1) The rocket hog drives like a ghost, complete with hovering.
2) The sideseater's aiming reticule is off. When he gets in, he gets stuck on third person view; hopefully this will be fixed.
3) The rockets it fires now home in on targets.

The machine gun hog has been drastically modified. Here are the changes:
1) It doesn't hover. It flies. It's flight controls are hard to explain, but it can be much faster than a Banshee, and it can hover much more effectively. It is difficult to fly at first (especially if noone explains the basics to you), but once you're used to the controls they are pretty cool.
2) The gun on the back is gone. POOF! The "gunner" just hangs onto the back of the hog while you fly along. He has no weapon, and his @$$ is exposed to enemy fire. I would advise against anyone being a gunner on this hog. Unless you are playing against me, of course.
3) Remember how I said the scorpion's gun was gone? Want to guess where it went? Right onto the machine gun hog. It doesn't show up on the vehicle when you look at it, but the main cannon shots. The fire rate is way up and fully automatic - you can keep a single spot covered in explosion indefinitely by placing the reticule over it and holding down the left mouse button. And the controls are slaved to the drivers seat. You don't have to wait for the vehicle to turn toward the target, it fires right wherever you're target reticule is. The shot looks like it comes from where the machine gun used to be.

FLYING THE MACHINE GUN HOG:
Pressing "W" causes the vehicle to move forward very quickly, but it tries to force the nose down. If you run the hog into the ground, you will be unable to lift the nose back up without either getting out or waiting for a few seconds for it to tilt back. Either way, you will probably not survive.

Pressing "S" causes the vehicle to move straight up, in a vector roughly normal to the roof. This means that if you tilt forward, you go slowly forward.

When you first get in, the vehicle's engine is off. When you use either "W" or "S", it turns on. When the engine is on, even if you are not pressing any buttons, the hog will float to a certain height. The engine will not turn off until you get out. While the engine is on, it is difficult to pick up friends, or pull the nose out of the ground.

When taking off, tap "S" to start the enginie and let the hog float up, hold "S" to go up faster. Holding it will help you get out of enemy fire, but it will also slam you against things.

Once the hog is up and flying, it *can* be driven without the use of "S' or "W" - you can tilt down in a direction and it will start to glide that way. Think hover craft, but high above the ground. This process has only slow acceleration; it's like standing still in the middle of them map. Don't use it unless you have a good reason, wish to die, or are playing me.

In short, when you get in, press and release "S" to turn on the engine, and let it rise to a good position - once clear of any obstacles in front of you. Then point the nose up, and in the direction you want to go, and press and hold "W" to accelarate forward. you'll have to keep moving the nose up as holding "W" has a tendency to force it down. Remember, if you nose the hog into the ground, it is a #%$&# to get it back up. You will cross the lenghtwise map in under a second when using "W", and usually fly into a wall. Once you're where you want to be, use small tilts of the hog, or large tilts combined with holding "S" to keep yourself in position. To kill someone, put the large cirlce over them and hold down the left mouse button.

RANKINGS:
Best Weapon: Sniper Rifle
2nd Best Weapon: Rocket Launcher
Interesting Weapons: Pistol, Plasma Rifle
Improved-But-Still-Not-Good-Enough Weapons: Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Flamethrower
Unchanged Weapons: Plasma Pistol, Fuel Rod Gun
(Needler Unavailable)

Best Vehicle: Machine Gun Hog
2nd Best Vehicle: Rocket Hog
3rd Best Vehicle: Banshee
Unchanged: Ghost, Turret
Worst Vehicle: Scorpion (Immunity to the second best weapon isn't too usefull when it makes you a perfect target for the best one. And outside of CTF, who needs an unarmed transport?)

STRATEGY:
With the weapons as deadly as they are, winning is basically a matter of finding your enemy before he finds you.

Use the Sniper Rifle. It's close to your spawn points, there is no reason not to pick up this superweapon.

For a second weapon, get the Rocket Launcher. If you have a really good reason (the only one I can think of right now is "Someone else already took the Sniper Rifle and Rocket Launchers."), you can use the Pistol, Plasma Rifle, Fuel Rod Gun, or Flamethrower. No other weapons are worth picking up. Ever.

Don't use vehicles. *Period*. The sniper rifle and rocket launcher improvements make them all deathtraps. The hogs' firepower is *almost* worth the risk, but only almost.

As in normal Halo, *never* stand still. Don't stay in one area too long either.

Stay out of the open. With the sniper rifle giving 1-hit-kills regardless of hit placement, snipers may aim for the torso. And thats a *very* easy target to hit with 25% or better accuracy, even if the target is moving.

THE ULTIMATE SLAYER STRATEGY:
Carry the sniper rifle. Also carry a rocket launcher *if* you are sure you can get it without dying. Keep out of vehicles at all times. Hide in the cliffs and caves. Use the sniper rifle on infantry and tanks, and rocket anyone in a vehicle other than a scorpion (rockets are almost as effective as sniper shots here, and you can save the sniper ammo). Change areas frequently, but stick to the caves and cliffs. Always remember the 3 Second Rule: "If anyone knows where you are for 3 seconds, you're dead."

TIPS:
When you download this mod, first save a copy of the bloodgulch, sounds, and bitmap ".map" files; that way you can turn the mod off by moving the modded files to another folder and putting the old ones back in. Its much faster than reinstalling the game.

*Don't* play CTF with this without a time limit. *Ever*.