2.3 Steams Forward! news - Pirates, Vikings, & Knights II mod for Half-Life 2

Good afternoon my friends! Today we have for you some exciting news and media on 2.3.

Let's get started!

Shield Combat Changes
Most of you have already played 2.2 and previous versions (If you haven't... What are you waiting for! Download Now!). In 2.2 the shield is mostly useful against ranged weapons and some of the smaller melee weapons. Altogether, it needed some improvement and that's exactly what we've given it in 2.3!
For starters, bashing has been improved. We've added the ability to charge the bash for better timing and damage. In addition to the charge, the shield's hit-detection has been changed to an arc-based system like the other weapons. What this means is when the player bashes with the shield, any single player standing within the arc of the bash will be stunned! Shield bashing will also knock a chest out of an enemy's hand.
A health meter has also been added to shields. Shields now block all damage from both melee and ranged weapons, taking the damage instead of the player. When the health runs out, the shield is disabled until fixed. Any damage done to the shield can be repaired by grabbing an armor pickup.

Skirmisher Changes and Additions
The Skirmisher is undergoing some changes to make him better in melee situations. The pistol's accuracy has been reduced, while the damage has been increased. This means that the pistol will still be a viable weapon, though it won't be as easy to "kite" enemies around the map.
A new ability has also been added to the Skirmisher's arsenal to make him better at dodging. This new ability is the double-jump! When a Skirmisher jumps, he will be able to perform a second jump mid-air. This will not give him much extra height, but is very effective for dodging since he can change direction mid-air!

Gestir Progress and Information
The Gestir is in his final testing stages, most of his abilities have been implemented and his langseax is now in-game.
The spear has a cool new feature called "Defensive mode". When defensive mode is activated with alternate attack, the Gestir gains attack damage and push-back, but loses speed. It can be very effective in some situations, though should be used sparingly.
Currently, the Gestir's special is a spear charge. Because it's similar to the Huscarl's special, we hope to change the Huscarl's in a future release.

Blunderbuss Push-Back
The captain's Blunderbuss is now equipped with a little extra bang. The enemy is pushed back by the blast of the gun, the power of the push depends on their range. This helps the captain in melee situations and can be extremely satisfying when fighting by a cliff.

Particle Effects and Pickups
A few new particle effects have been added including the flame on the captain's special and an effect on the special bar to help the user know when it is full.

In the screen shot you also get a glimpse at the new pickups. Instead of team-specific ammo and armor, all pick-ups are now global like the health. Health pickups now restore a smaller fraction of health instantly and the rest regenerates over time.

Another cool particle effect added to the game is the weapon glow. Enemy weapons will glow when they are at full-charge, warning you to back-off instead of trying to block. Fully charged weapons can penetrate your block, so it's much better to try to dodge instead.

Chest Special
One of our favorite new changes is the ability to activate a chest special. When your special meter is full and you're carrying a chest, you can now unleash a burst of speed to get away from enemies faster. This comes in very handy in many situations and adds an additional level of strategy to the booty game-mode.

That's all for now, be sure to keep an eye out on our forums for more information! You should also join our Official Game Group for special events and updates! Players in our Official Game Group will also have a cool scoreboard tag when 2.3 comes out to make them that much better than anyone not in the group!