Dark Interval is a restoration/revision mod that lets you play Half-Life 2 as it could have been. Using Valve's early concepts, we're creating new maps, models, textures, and custom dialogue. The mod is released in episodes, the most recent being Dark Interval: Part I - an intro chapter to the bigger story.
Combine March
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Cue either Combine Harvester or Miscount Detected.
Is this going to be in-game, or is this just "concept art?"
Of course it's in-game. They march along the street and all.
Are the crab synths proper npc's now?
Yes, but not for chapter 2.
Alright, by the way, does chapter 2 remove the yellow circle around tghe cremator?
That was range of his attack. And since code is being remade anyway (again), this testing detail is not there anymore.
Inepticus I'll elaborate on this one. They were always 'proper npcs' as in, they always had their own entity, npc_crabsynth, and some AI. These ones are npcs and not dummies, but you won't be fighting them in the city during the first chapters. They're like that first strider walking in the background in d1_trainstation_02.
I see, is there a possibility of seeing a vortigaunt synth enemy in the future?
I always thought it was weird how the combine used humans as soldiers but didn't do the same for the vortigaunts.
But they use them as slaves. As a power source.
Vortigaunts are locked inside vorti-cells and have their bio-energy syphoned from them (very reminiscent of The Matrix). Maybe they're not compatible with synth tehcnology, who knows. Vortigaunts are a hive-mentality species, so maybe disconnecting them makes them disfunctional, which is why they cannot be transformed.
Instead they are treated... basically as fuel, so their 'rank' is even lower than that of the stalkers.
Hey, any updates on this? just played Chapter I.
Well human slaves also exist, workers, stalkers, yet there are also soldiers.
The hive-mentality thing isn't an issue since the combine can either modify the way they behave (like they did with the soldiers), they can also be controlled remotely or put in a squad.
It not only brings more enemy variety but it also makes sense since the vorts are stronger than humans and thay can make a good adition to a squad, maybe they can help with powering broken combine stuff when in battle and so on.
Plus the ai is there, though there might have to be a few changes done to the attack charge speed.
Also I don't think the combine has a shortage on vortigaunts, I'm sure Earth has plenty and if not the combine have already enslaved them so it wouldn't make sense for the combine not to make synths out of them.
We can go on and on about what Combine can and should do, it's a bit pointles. Hey why no synth antlions? Surely the Combine can do that! Hey what about modified synth zombies, they already shelling rebel camps, why not. Oh let's make synthetic bullsquids do, they can shoot Combine balls instead of acid spit.
Everything has its niche. Humans become soldiers or become Stalkers. Vorts become living power cells. Maybe they're too worthless for the Combine, maybe the Combine cannot sustain them in modified form. All I know is I'm not a fan of "let's stick anything into everything and make synth version of everything", it's boring. I never saw a good fan-art of a new synth enemy. It's always either overdone, or repetetive and copying other sucn works. I even saw someone blatanly copying Reaper design from Mass Effect and calling it his new Combine synth units. I don't want to spend time and effort trying to come up with something that always, on historical basis, made me cringe.
I do want more variety in enemies, and I'm looking for that variety in something we haven't got to experience a lot and few people at all tried to expand on it - Xen fauna. New creaturs. Old creatures, from Raising the Bar book. So many examples left unrealised. For me, this is way more interesting.
Seems like a lot of excuses not to do something interesting with an already existing enemy. Vortigaunts not being useful in combat doesn't make sense, if anything they are more skilled and interesting to fight than the boring combine soldiers.
After seeing your comment about doing something different with the air exchange chapter I thought you would be more open minded to new ideas instead of just recycling ideas from early concepts that are clearly not thought out well.
Anyways it's your mod, I won't bother you anymore.
So, if a developer rejects your "great idea", then he is a close-minded **** and don't deserve your precious advice?.. Don't you think it is too selfish to judge like that?
What looks interesting and cool for you, doesn't have to look like that for other people. Usually developers have A LOT of ideas (their own and from other people too). And too few of time, of course. Even if they like the idea, trying to implement all the things they like will soon turn into development hell, when nothing is properly done, working in any sense, etc. Therefore, careful choose of what is really precious and what will work with all other things already put into, is important.
It doesn't mean that you shouldn't ever talk with the developer. If you really want to help, your advice is always appreciated. But don't push, and don't get offended, when they reject your proposition. They probably have reasons to do so. Finally, it is their work, and it is volunteer work. It is too cruel to force them doing things, which aren't interesting for them... There is actually a lot of routine and dull work when trying to do something cool too.
In this case, Cvoxalury just wasn't got interested in your proposition, and he tried to explain why. It is up to you to accept or not his answer, but in any way it won't change much.
You probably think, that your proposition is something small and inexpensive to do. You're wrong. If we are going to do serious work, it always requires much of attention, even for "small" things. And sometimes to create something new from scratch is just easier than to rework something already present.
"So, if a developer rejects your "great idea", then he is a close-minded **** and don't deserve your precious advice?"
No, but great assumptions.
Synth antlions? No thanks, they've already taken over enough of Earth already.
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