Badass Combine News #1

Any Half-Life 2 fan, no matter how much time he/she spent playing it, knows how flawed the Combine Soldier really is.

Sure it's AI is not really that bad, sometimes it can have it's moments of brilliance.

Unfortunately, this is overshadowed by some of it's well known tactical deficiencies, like suicide-charging you with reckless abandon (further emphasized in "Our Benefactors" chapter), refusing to take cover while under fire, preferring to stand still without firing a bullet and being obnoxiously sluggish compared to Half-Life's HECU Marines.

For being genetically modified, post-human killing machines, the Combine Soldier was a let down to many Half-Life fans.

Badass Combine, however, addresses many of these issues regarding it's AI, to a point they will be just as good as they are supposed to be.

Below, almost 13 minutes of footage, with a semi-detailed breakdown below each video

Badass Combine:
00:08: Combine Soldier spots the player. The radio chatter indicates he is not alone. The soldier alerts his unseen and distant squad members.
00:09: The soldier receives damage from the player's pistol, immediately forcing him into cover. The injured soldier awaits his squad mates, instead of dealing with the player by himself. Take notice on how agile the soldier is.
00:22: Soldier's squad members arrive and start attacking the player.
00:40: Beyond this mark, the squad's teamwork is in full effect and their agility is fully displayed.
00::50: The player tries to exploit their AI, expecting them to charge his position in the open. This attempt is foiled at 00:52.

Half-Life 2:
01:13: Combine Soldier spots the player. No chatter comes from him, he's alone.
01:14: The soldier receives damage from the player's pistol, miraculously forcing him into cover while shooting. Notice how he sacrifices mobility for the ability to strafe-fire and gains momentum slower.
01:30: The player tries to exploit his AI. The attempt is successful and the soldier suicidally charges his position.
01:54: The soldier is killed and the player, out of disgust, commits suicide by blowing himself up at 01:57.

Badass Combine:
00:08: Dispatched Combine troops engage the player. Instead of charging the player's position, they stand their ground. Further display of the soldier's agility is shown. The squad is wiped out at 00:58.
01:27: The player is engaged by another squad, after slowly recharging his health and suit. Their behavior is no different from the previous squad.
01:41: Combine Elite launches an energy ball, being picked up the player two seconds later and launched against it's original owner. The Elite takes cover from the incoming ball at 01:44. Another soldier does the same thing at 01:49.
02:40: The events from 01:41 happen again, further emphasized at 02:49, when two soldiers take cover from an incoming energy ball.

Half-Life 2:
03:32: Dispatched Combine troops engage the player and charge his position, only deciding to open fire at 03:38.
03:41: The player engages himself in melee combat and wipes out the squad at 03:44
03:57: More Combine stupidity, heavily emphasized from 04:02 to 04:12. Another squad is dispatched at 04:14, forcing the player to fall back to a nearby suit charger at 04:23
04:40: The player's contempt for the soldier's AI is visibly shown by negatively shaking his head. Another squad is wiped out at 04:55.
05:27: The last two squads are wiped out after showing off their "impressive" AI

This video displays not only the ability to spawn Combine Elites and Prison Guards via-command console/binded key, but also the option to spawn allied Combine troops, who fight for the Resistance.

The mod is not the first one to have Combine troops to the rebel's side. Years ago, SMOD featured these, but they were nothing more than citizens using Combine models. Here, these are the very NPCs the player confronts during the events of HL2, as evidenced by their radio chatter.

On the marks of 00:12 and 01:34, i have assigned the soldiers via-console to the same squad used by the rebels (ent_fire !picker setsquad player_squad).

Many of the positive traits shown on the previous videos are shown here as well.

Hope you guys enjoyed, and have a good day!