Ronin mod for Half-Life

Ro"nin", n. [Jap. r[=o]-nin, fr. Chin. lang profligate, lawless + j[^e]n (old sound n[=i]n) man.]

In Japan, under the feudal system, a samurai who had renounced his clan or who had been discharged or ostracized and had become a wanderer without a lord; an outcast; an outlaw.

The origional idea behind Ronin was to create a multiplayer experience that was drastically different from any multiplayer mod out there currently. Every (with the exception of only a few) have guns as their main focus. Guns are all well and good but I wanted to create something different. I decided on an all melee weapons mod. My hope is that with the correct design a mod using only melee weapons will be just as entertaining as one with only firearms. Ronin is set in the not to distant future where a great war has destroyed civilization and forced the remaining survivors to use a blade as their only defense. The world of Ronin resembles that of a wasteland, a dry, dark, unpredictable desert. Survivors left from the war have survived since by becomming nomads, roaming the wastes and searching for tools and junk left over from the war.

There are three different ways to play Ronin. The first is a Free-For-All Deathmatch mode in which all players choose their weapon and match wits with anyone and everyone. This mode will resemble a match in classic Half Life deathmatch. The winner is the one who has slain the most oponents. The second mode will be a Team Based Deathmatch mode in which players will join two different teams and battle against the opposing force. Hopefully a Capture The Flag mode will also be adapted into the team based deathmatch mode. The third and final mode will be an Arena Dule. Player will join up and each player will dule against one other opponent. The winner of the match will stay in play while another player is put in to challenge him.

The fighting system of Ronin will resemble that of Jedi Knight II: Outcast. The game will not be simply a "run and gun" situation (unless you want to play it as such). The direction in which you move while attacking will determine the kind of attack you put forth. For instance if you are strafing right and quickly press the attack button quickly you will do a quick chop to your right side. Additional things may be added such as 2 or 3 special moves that would help you make your oponent vulnerable to attack. Power-ups are also an option but we will have to see how they work out in practice before there official.

In the world of Ronin both ancient and modern bladed weapons will be used. We plan to impliment everything from Japanese Katanas and Sais, to Scottish Claymores and Halberds, to Arabic Simitars. Every weapon will have it's own strenghts and weaknesses. For example, Sais are a set of small but sharp Japanese blades (Raphiel from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles used them). The Sais will have a very quick strike and have a better chance of hitting the oponent because there are two of them, but they woun't be the best blade for defense. On the other hand, a Double Sided Battleaxe would have a very damaging attack and would be able to defend nicely against an oncomming attack, but it will be very slow and would load down the player, making him move a bit slower. I am not sure if I will put in a secondary weapon or side arm because I'm not sure if its nessecary or not but there is always the possibility. The same goes for armor and one use weapons (such as grenades). They don't seem like something that would be needed but they could very well be in the game.

I think I've covered pretty much everything here. If you have any questions or I left something very importaint please contact me. My contact information is on the Team page and the Contact page.