Raising the Bar: Redux mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Hey folks! Today we are very excited to release the Depot Demo for RTBR's Division 3! If you want no further spoilers on what's in store, then you can go to ModDB and download it right now from RTBR's files section. If you'd like to learn more about what to expect, stick around, and we'll break down what's new in this demo.

Steambow Electrical Bolt

In our last major update, we revealed the Steambow – our take on the classic crossbow. However, it's not merely a reskin; in addition to a double-barrelled system, it also has a charge-up alternate fire. The batteries on the side of the weapon will glow, and depending on the charge level – one, two, or all three batteries – the resultant projectile will release an electrical pulse of intensifying damage and radius. In the full release of Division 3, you will obtain the Steambow not long before the Antlion Caves, where we imagine its AOE attacks will be very useful for stopping hordes of bugs in their tracks; but in the depot, it serves a great area denial role against Combine soldiers.

Tau Cannon Energy Leeching

We were very keen to integrate the Tau Cannon into RTBR's arsenal in a way that allowed it to remain a power weapon without completely breaking the balance of the game; simultaneously, we didn't want the somewhat immersion breaking effect that would happen by spreading convenient isotope boxes all over the game. So, we conceived of another way to keep the Tau Cannon's ammo stocked and in check. The player can leech the energy from a suit charger, at a rate of one ammo per two suit energy, sacrificing survivability for raw damage output. This mechanic will be explained to the player in a narrative setpiece prior to the depot, but in the demo, the first few suit chargers you come across will provide a HUD hint indicating the functionality.

OICW Secondary Grenade Magazine

The iconic OICW is finally in your hands in the depot demo, and we've gone to great lengths to make sure our version of this weapon does not disappoint. Punchy sound design and solid damage makes short work of most enemies in your path, with a scoped in attack that fires slower but has pinpoint accuracy to reward taking out enemies at tactical ranges. Meanwhile, the grenade launcher allows the player to carry up to six grenades, but in return, the OICW has a secondary reload system with two grenades per magazine. This has a new hotkey, bound to T by default, and new HUD elements to make sure you can keep track of your secondary ammo.

Long-Range Hunter Behavior

In our May 2023 update, we revealed our hunter redesign, as well as the alternate variant, the Long-Range hunter (based heavily off of the ministrider, as it existed in Episode One). In the demo, you'll fight this variant first-hand when it's introduced in the Depotyard's major visual setpiece, the underground storage area, where ample platforms provide great mobility to the hunters in these arenas. The Long-Range Hunter will not actively chase the player into short range, but instead charges up a volley at very long range, and then peppers the player with a barrage of hitscan pulse bullets that, if not properly prepared, can quickly demolish your health reserves. The intended dichotomy here is for the ordinary hunter to pressure the player out of cover...right into the waiting jaws of its more strategic cousin.

Depotyard

That concludes our look at the major new mechanics awaiting you in this demo, but of course, the highlight will be the new maps themselves – almost our entire depot journey, which will form the back third of Division 3. The Depotyard's underground storage area is impressively huge, giving a glimpse at the resources the Combine has at their disposal, and is a brilliant setpiece to the introduction of hunters.

Depot01

Meanwhile, the fully-art passed chasm area of depot01 is a great look at the Combine's machinery at its best – water-extracting pumps still operating to drain what little H2O still exists in the wasteland. Here, Combine resistance goes up a notch, even as a familiar ally returns to aid the player, and new allies can be made that will go some way to setting the record straight for the Freeman.

Depot02

Depot02 sees the Combine's multi-front defense begin to crack, as Antlions breach the depot, incensed at the assault on their hive. Meanwhile, as the player wreaks havoc, they will walk face-first into a massive skirmish between the Combine garrison and assaulting Antlions that sees both vying to either overwhelm or hold the line.

Depot03

The final map of the demo lets you even the odds – now with a pheropod in your hands, it's time to assume your place as the Antlion's new liege and lead both the standard soldiers and the addition of Workers in the RTBR take on this sequence. Here, the Combine's garrison is at its absolute peak, deep within the depot, but even that will not stop them being overwhelmed by the sheer mountain of flesh at your disposal.

Weapon Animations

The Division 3 demo will see the most weapons in the player's arsenal at once so far, and is a contender for the most new weapons introduced in a single release of the mod. Silent has had his head down animating some of the most technically challenging weapons in our entire arsenal, and his work does not disappoint; whilst USAR has worked with other members of the team to provide punchy, iconic sound design. Take a look for yourself at what's in store!

Crosshairs

All of our weapons now have unique crosshairs, created by Randomcat/Kris, and our HUD has a custom quickinfo to boot. These crosshairs are sprite-based and many are inspired by those used in HL1, whilst others are original inventions. We think this brings a great bit of visual flair to our arsenal, helping to make each weapon feel unique, and is worth a bit of special mention. All of our weapons have received this treatment, not just those found in Division 3, so look forward to seeing how your favourite weapon has been represented!

Combine Emitter

Lastly, we've showcased a number of Aidan's takes on key Combine props so far, but this release is the first time you'll get to take a look at them yourself. Just in time for the demo, Aidan's remodel of the Emitter prop – something we use very frequently for detailing in Combine areas – fits in with the rest of our props superbly, toning up the detail and keeping in line with the rest of our Combine art style.

The One They Call Kahn

But of course, this demo is just a small snippet of Division 3. It remains our most ambitious Division yet, introducing new characters, enemies, and mechanics aplenty. We'll not yet spoil the details on who – or what – you'll meet here, but there will be a momentary reprieve early in your Wasteland journey as an eccentric ally has made their home in the ruins of an old-world Submarine, beached on the forgotten seabed...

Finishing Up

And that's all, folks, for our Demo release update! We're so excited to put out our first taste of Division 3, and we hope it'll give you plenty to look forward to for the final version of the Wasteland chapter. After some time to rest and recuperate, we'll be back to work, heads-down, on the rest of Division 3 – and to that end, these are the roles we're looking for to get the ball rolling faster than ever:

• Captain Vance – We've yet to find our perfect Captain Vance and we encourage people to apply over on our Casting Call Club page!

• 3D Modellers – We're always looking for more talented 3D modellers with hard-surface experience

• Level Designers – We're looking for blockout mappers with great gameplay sense to shore up parts of Division 3 and push ahead on Division 4, as well as talented art passers to help get the rest of Division 3 up to snuff visually

• Video Editor – Whilst not a direct impact on development, we're always looking to engage more with our community and so someone happy to edit videos for the YouTube channel – particularly montages of our semi-regular streams – would be great to have onboard.

If any of these roles look good to you, please add the username, kralich, on Discord. Thanks for following along, enjoy the Division 3 depot demo, and stick around! We're far from finished pushing exciting new updates for RTBR and beyond.