Winter Contingency *2016 UPDATE* news

Perhaps the most notable development, is that we have entered into a collaboration with the team behind the Halo: Custom Edition- SPV3 Mod.

What is Halo CE: SPV3?

It is a complete overhaul to Halo Combat Evolved, the likes of which has never been done before.

SPV3 vastly extends the levels, the enemy rosters, weapons, and game mechanics of the original halo, well beyond anything seen in a Halo game.



Having played the SPV3 beta myself, I cannot stress enough how original and engaging the gameplay has become over the original halos. While it is still recognizable as the classic Halo 1 we all loved, it has been greatly enhanced by the new selections of lore-friendly weaponry, brand new locations, and original enemies.

As aficionados of the extended Halo lore, we also enjoy how very well SPV3 represents the halo universe described in the novels.

Like our colleagues at SPV3, we also are doing our best to represent the halo universe in our own development of Winter Contingency.

It’s important to know that our development doesn’t only involve mission making, map creating, or the exporting of objects,

but also the invention of new game mechanics that don’t exist in Men of War.

This involves discovering new code commands, experimenting with the game engine, and writing new programs. All of which takes time.
Thanks to everyone’s patience and our diligence, we have some things to show for that.

Needler Supercombine-Explosions

In the halo games, the needler is defined by its ability to explode enemies in a shower of pink glass.
Because we took the time- we were able to re-create needler explosions for our needlers in Men of War

Each successful needle hit has a 1/7 chance of detonating in a deadly blast that can kill its target, and knockdown nearby soldiers.

one in seven may not seem like much, but when there are dozens of needles, it presents a serious risk. Think your soldiers have a position on lock? It only takes one needle blast to turn the tables against you.

A single Covie soldier with a needler now is more of a threat. A whole horde of needler wielding enemies is extremely dangerous. You will have to keep your soldiers in cover and prioritize taking our needler armed enemies.

Active Camouflage

Just like in halo, we have made it possible for soldiers in Men of War to use active camo, which conceals them against enemies, until they attack. Should the camouflaged unit escape line of sight, it will become hidden again.

Units that are active camouflaged will not be noticed or targeted by enemies. In order for you to fight camouflaged units, you will have to order your units to fire upon them, or wait for the camo units to attack first.

I recommend the first option, as camo units will move into close quarters before engaging, where they will have the advantage.

Target Locator/Artillery Strikes

Some of the most epic moments of Halo Reach involved using the laser-designator to call down artillery on covie heads.

With the time we’ve spent, we were able to re-create that weapon for Winter Contingency

Functional Recharging Energy Shields

Perhaps the greatest of the new innovations, using complex scripting, Offensivebias was able to create energy shields for covenant elites.

These shields will absorb 60% - 100%* of bullet damage against an elite- leaving its health undamaged. You will be able to tell because bullets will spark off and ricochet on an active shield.

If the shield absorbs enough damage, it overloads and is removed for ~10 seconds. While the shield is overloaded the elite will take the normal 100% of incoming bullet damage to their health bar.

Once the shield recharges, the elite will take reduced/no damage to its health.

As in Halo, plasma weaponry will overload shields faster, and we are working on adding overcharged plasma pistol shots as a mechanic

Ammunition Types

Although the current prototype isn’t meant for Winter Contingency, Offensivebias was able to make it possible for a weapon to use multiple types of ammunition, each with a unique effect.



This is based on the scripts used by vanilla Men of War vehicles, which allow them to use different shells.

Our hope is to create special ammo types that can be used against enemies, or to assist in certain situations. Shotgun slugs, anti-shield ammo, illuminating tracer rounds, explosive ammo,

the applications are limitless.

The goal of our demo will be to evaluate the community’s opinion of our basic content, and also provide some more familiar Men of War gameplay before we move into the newer mechanics.

There are still many changes we would like to make to the engine to enhance your experience. But if we tried to update those modified core files -after a release- there is a greater chance of bugs and errors that could render the mod inoperable, and we lack the means to staff a support center.

As such, we still have some ways to go before we release in full measure.
There are some things we need/want to work on:

• Vehicles: what’s a good mod without vehicles? “Us”, evidently… we are still looking for ways to make this work

• Sticky plasma grenades: you can’t stick them… yet. But we are making progress here

• Maps/Missions: lots of partially completed maps, and a few finished ones, but not quite enough to make a full game. We will eventually preview some that we have completed

• Spartans?: we have the energy shields now, could this mean our big green friends will be making an entrance?

• Alien blood/gore fx: almost have it done, working on improved textures.

If you have a question, please make sure to read this update before you ask!

We will be happy to answer any of your questions regarding the new engine mechanics, etc.