ASCM IS FINISHED. Go check the release section.

[Ifafudafi]

A30 is ready. Check the Release section.

---

So after weeks of deliberation, I settled on a name I believed could represent the mod as concisely and accurately as possible while giving it a unique identity. Enjoy this look at Another Stupid Campaign Mod.

What, you might ask, does this mod do?

ASCM heavily revamps and heavily adds to Halo's weapon selection.
The arsenal overview video goes into more detail, but here's a quick list of the weapons currently designed and functioning. All of these are subject to change, of course.

Assault Rifle - Standard, all-purpose mid-range weapon with a 2x zoom. Holds 40 rounds at moderate accuracy, power, and rate of fire.
Battle Rifle - Long-range, 15-round headshot weapon with a slow rate of fire and a 3x zoom. Not H2/3's burst-fire BR; it's more like Reach's DMR.
SMG - 60-round bullet hose. Excellent close-range weapon.
Shotgun - 8 rounds. Devastating at short range, moderate effectiveness at mid-range.
Pistol - Mid-short range, 8-round headshot weapon. Has no zoom and isn't accurate enough to handle long-distance engagements but it's an excellent (if more situational) alternative to the Assault Rifle or the SMG.
Sniper Rifle - The one you know and love. Kicks like a mule, but is guaranteed to kill anything instantaneously providing you shoot it in the face. The only weapon other than the Rocket Launcher capable of bringing down a Hunter in one hit.
Rocket launcher - Its near pinpoint accuracy and large, powerful explosion is offset by a slow fire rate and two-round clip.
Plasma Rifle - Like the Assault Rifle, but blue Not as powerful as the Assault Rifle, but considerably more accurate and more easily found.
Plasma Beam - Headshot weapon with a 2.5x zoom and high rate of fire. Projectiles require a slight lead on moving targets due to their slow speed.
Plasma Spread - Launches 8 projectiles in a wide cone. Less effective than the Shotgun at short ranges but more useful at mid-short range.
Plasma Pistol - Primary fire is meh, but the charged shot homes in and instantly kills any shields. Great when supported with a headshot weapon or a Needler.
Fuel Rod Cannon - Launches explosive rounds in an arc. Not as powerful as the Rocket Launcher but capable of spreading a lot of pain over a wide area rather quickly.
Needler - Launches a bunch of homing needles at a high rate of fire. Needles will not attach to shielded targets, but will still do decent amounts of damage; 7 needles stuck into an unshielded target means an instant kill.
Impaler - Long-range weapon with a 3x zoom. Weaker than the Battle Rifle, but has less recoil and fires slightly faster. Needles will stick into anything, shields or otherwise. 7 needles into a target is an instant kill.
Eviscerator - Launches homing needles in an extremely wide cone. At short ranges, the needles spread out so widely they miss the target, and at long ranges, the needles dissipate, but at mid-ranges, it deals damage slightly greater than a full shotgun burst, while overpenetrating unshielded targets and bouncing off walls.

There are a couple of more in conceptual stages which may or may not be added in. Oh, and I know the Battle Rifle sounds a lot like the DMR (especially now that Bungie's bumped the DMR's clip size to 15) and the Impaler sounds a lot like the Needle Rifle, but I swear I came up with these ideas first.

ASCM almost completely overhauls Halo's particle system.
The Covenant's effect set is completely redone; most weapons and devices have their effects rebuilt from the ground up. Humans don't get quite as much love but still see improvements in almost all areas. The videos do a better job of showing this off than text ever could.

ASCM is about consistency.
Many of the most important and valuable aspects of a game are often the smallest. For example, the Plasma Pistol's projectiles would erupt into blue fire when shot against a tree, rather than the characteristic green effect. It's a small detail, but many of these little oversights begin to add up. ASCM's secondary goal is to provide the most coherent and polished experience possible, completely free of inconsistencies and rushed features.

ASCM is episodic.
Rather than spend aeons trying to keep interest high enough to warrant my continued efforts, I'll be releasing maps individually over time, with the goal being to get a10 through b40 out through the end of the summer. Each release will act as a sort of public beta test, allowing me to gather feedback both on a simply functional level (this weapon doesn't behave correctly) and a more subjective level (I don't like this weapon because blah blah blah.) Each new release will be retroactive, adding improvements and fixes to all maps released up to that point.

ASCM is open source.
While each individual map will be locked at first, the eventual bulk release of a10-b40 will be entirely unprotected. I've always believed the best way to learn is by example, so every bit of custom content in the mod will eventually be available for your ripping and viewing pleasure; any content not made by myself comes from something somebody else has already released publicly.

On the other side of things, however...

ASCM is a campaign mod.
A bit self-evident, but worth mentioning nonetheless. There's no multiplayer portion; the weapons are designed to work under the campaign's conditions. If anyone really really wants it, I can transplant the weapons into stock maps, but that's the most I could concievably do.

ASCM is not as big as CMT.
While a few of the recently released assets from the now-defunct SPv2 are utilized (since I can't model, animate, or texture at all), the additions are designed merely to revise the campaign, not overhaul it.

ASCM's weapons do not have new models or animations.
As stated above and in the videos, I have neither the skill nor the means to do anything but particle effects and tag editing, so the only visual difference between weapons outside of their particle sets will be colors, so that they may still be identified quickly.

ASCM does not add new enemies.
The tried and tested combo of Grunts/Jackals/Elites/Hunters is an excellently balanced set of encounters; Brutes end up being big dumb bullet sponges. The new weapons already introduce considerable variety, as each variant's AI is designed specifically around its weapon.

And to anticipate a couple of things...

When will ASCM be released?
Eventually. I'd rather not set a deadline to prevent rushing through something, but as stated above, I want to get a10 through b40 out before the Autumnal Equinox. As soon as I break out of alpha and have all the custom content in place and polished, you'll see a10 released. After that, the other maps should come quickly, as I'll just be tweaking and rebalancing things.

Can I do anything for ASCM?
Probably not, but if you're willing to model, animate, texture, and rig weapon models for entirely new guns, feel free, as there's no way on Earth I'll be able to do so.

But you guys don't care about boring words, so, as you might have noticed, I've been making a series of video previews, all of which I've reposted below; look for a new one every Wednesday. Also below are some screenshots highlighting all the fancy particle effects. Enjoy.

Videos:
7/21 - Plasma Rifle
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Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2kRtHv3baI)

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7/7 - Plasma Beam
PMRM5rJEGOw
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMRM5rJEGOw)

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6/30 - Needler
LW5cE1VFKm0
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW5cE1VFKm0)

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6/23 - Particle overview/Plasma Pistol
D0jQjWzayBw
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0jQjWzayBw)

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6/16 - Arsenal overview
mYmc8cKCIUw
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYmc8cKCIUw)

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6/9 - Blood effects
NnHAjz_fgqQ
Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnHAjz_fgqQ)

Pics (they're really big):
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5387/haloce2010062400011210.jpg
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/8667/haloce2010062400032682.jpg
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4937/haloce2010062400000733.jpg
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/3230/haloce2010062400165986.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6195/haloce2010062400040679.jpg
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4406/haloce2010062400041879.jpg
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2179/haloce2010062400204769.jpg
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/820/haloce2010062400043977.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/3307/haloce2010062400174850.jpg

[famer]

Good http://img.chw.net/foro/smilies/venita.gif

[Dwood]

shot tag mr ifaf.

[Con]

Spoilers are fine too.

[teh lag]

I can't say enough how much of a shame it would be for this mod to go without some accompanying custom models & animations.

There's already the BR that was in WOL's content pack (http://hce.halomaps.org/index.cfm?fid=4420), but I don't know of any decent-quality Covie stuff floating about that could be re-purposed. I would volunteer to make it happen but I have a feeling I've already bitten off more than I can chew for this summer.

[Ifafudafi]

words

Those BRs are just model files; they'd need animations, textures, and rigging, none of which I can do. Unless there are people willing to basically make every single part of a weapon except the particle effects, most guns are going to have to go without them. I'm already using CMT's SMG and I might use their Carbine for the Impaler or something, but that's really about it.

Of course don't let that discourage anyone as I'd be more than happy to have custom models and stuff, but there's no way in hell I'll be able to do them.

[Timo]

Seriously hoping you can get some weapons to go along with these effects. I'll still play regardless^^

[HDoan]

Those BRs are just model files; they'd need animations, textures, and rigging, none of which I can do. Unless there are people willing to basically make every single part of a weapon except the particle effects, most guns are going to have to go without them. I'm already using CMT's SMG and I might use their Carbine for the Impaler or something, but that's really about it.

Of course don't let that discourage anyone as I'd be more than happy to have custom models and stuff, but there's no way in hell I'll be able to do them.
I'll animate the BR from that map pack for you if you want.

[Ifafudafi]

That'd be awesome if you could, but the gun would still need a texture. I literally can't do anything with weapons beyond changing their behavior and particle sets.

[HDoan]

I can prob unwrap it but someone else would have to texture it.

[FRain]

Once i get my comp working, I can texture it. (this may be a week or two)

[HDoan]

You can prob use this crosshair I made for one of those plasma weapons.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/8312/36581475.png

[Ifafudafi]

New video up, this time detailing the Needler. Check the first post's video section.

[L0d3x]

I think your vidocs are pretty nice, at least "content-wise". I however dislike how it comes across as a "rushed" video. You simply speak a bit too fast imo, not that you aren't understandable, but you just sound very rushed. Try talking slower, unless you have some bandwith concerns, and in each MB uploaded it is vital that you are "efficient".

[Martini-562]

Besides the plasma and needle FX, are you also planning on spicing up other FX like fire, (human) explosions etc?

I like what you did to the needler explosions btw, it's also fun to see how the needles explode on the elite shields and deplete them causing the electric shock wave.

[n00ber]

Probably not, but if you're willing to model, animate, texture, and rig weapon models for entirely new guns, feel free, as there's no way on Earth I'll be able to do so.ill try, mostly with the model and animating because i definantly need some practice, but also with the weapon rigging.

[Ifafudafi]

I think your vidocs are pretty nice, at least "content-wise". I however dislike how it comes across as a "rushed" video. You simply speak a bit too fast imo, not that you aren't understandable, but you just sound very rushed. Try talking slower, unless you have some bandwith concerns, and in each MB uploaded it is vital that you are "efficient".

That's just how quickly I ordinarily speak, at least when reading off a script. I've actually been trying to consciously slow myself down, but apparently it's not quite enough. I'll work on it for the next one.


Besides the plasma and needle FX, are you also planning on spicing up other FX like fire, (human) explosions etc?
Yes, although I don't think the improvements will be quite as profound or good-looking as those on the Covenant's side, for the reasons explained in the particle video.


ill try, mostly with the model and animating because i definantly need some practice, but also with the weapon rigging.
Also keep in mind that I'm setting a very high quality bar for this, so if the models, animations, and skins don't cause you to spontaneously ejaculate inside your pants, I probably won't include them. That's why I'm not too hopeful about getting new models in; getting really, really good ones is extremely difficult these days.

[n00b1n8R]

So do you talk that fast IRL or is it just to cram it all into the video?

Seriously love the dev videos, can't say that enough. More people should do these (hint hint)

[Ifafudafi]

So do you talk that fast IRL or is it just to cram it all into the video?

That's just how quickly I ordinarily speak, at least when reading off a script. I've actually been trying to consciously slow myself down, but apparently it's not quite enough. I'll work on it for the next one.

I actually record the voiceovers first and then get footage to match the script.

[Ifafudafi]

What's that, Lassie? Ifafudafi posted another video that nobody's going to watch anyway?

See the video section in the first post, and happy Bungie Day

[Dwood]

Am I supposed to be able to hear your voice?

[n00b1n8R]

Jesus fuck you talked way too fast when you were explaining the guns stats :v:

[Ifafudafi]

Jesus fuck you talked way too fast when you were explaining the guns stats :v:

thatsthejoke.jpg

also video, check first post for that and an announcement-type thing

[Pooky]

Just going to add that I always liked the original PR firing sound better than the one introduced in Halo 2. The original sound had a sort of meaty, heavy feel that just sounds deadlier than the Halo 2 "pew pew" (though at least it wasn't as bad as the one in Halo 3).

[L0d3x]

thatsthejoke.jpg

also video, check first post for that and an announcement-type thing

Haha that was actually pretty funny. I love your plasma grenade effects btw.

[Ifafudafi]

Just going to add that I always liked the original PR firing sound better than the one introduced in Halo 2. The original sound had a sort of meaty, heavy feel that just sounds deadlier than the Halo 2 "pew pew" (though at least it wasn't as bad as the one in Halo 3).

There are two reasons for my choice, really: H1's PR sound was literally the exact same sound used by the Plasma Pistol. The different sounds not only differentiate the guns from an aesthetic standpoint, but they also serve to let the player know what's being fired at him as quickly as possible.

Besides, I always thought the PP's sound was more pew pew than the H2 PR, but that's probably just personal taste

[Ifafudafi]

shameless bump

a10 is now in the Release section; I'm saying that here because the Release section is tucked neatly away into a corner that nobody seems to look at (especially the people who approve the threads.)

I'd prefer if you guys put discussion of the individual release there and kept general stuff here, but that's assuming anyone posts about it in the first place.

Not sure when a30 will be out, as that'll be quite a big leap, but most of the hard stuff is already in place (I just need to find a model/animation set for the BR, spice up the Impaler's effects, and update some encounters.) I'll also want feedback from a10 so the next release date depends on how many people give me said feedback, which depends on how many people download it, so tell everyone you know

[assassinchief107]

A dream would come true, if you could change the 'Reload' near the reticule to an icon! Yes, do include 'No Grenades', 'No Ammo', and 'Low Ammo'. If you can't, just remove those indicators!

[Ifafudafi]

A30 released. Go download it so I have an excuse to finish the rest of the mod.

(also thank you for removing the got dang mod approval on releases, makes things much smoother)

[Cagerrin]

Downloaded, enjoying it so far.

A few things are bugging me, though. BR timing seems off, like it's just ever so slightly too long a delay between shots. Impaler sound really doesn't work, needs to be more, I dunno, visceral like the needler sound.

CMT FP hands are just... ugly. Particularly the hands, the thumb ends up distorted on pretty much every gun.

[ICEE]

Plasma beam forever.

[Tucker933]

I never played your a10 so this will be my first time feedback.
I liked a lot of your effects, definitely a different style than I'm used to seeing and I can tell a lot of time went into it, however there is still a lot of things that could use some work.
Most if not all of the human effects haven't even been touched, and I understand it might not be as fun to work with, but there is still a lot you can do with them, especially the frag nades.
Personally I felt all of the effects seemed too segregated and clean, nothing really blended into the other, which shouldn't be the case with effects. Effects aren't clean by nature, and a lot blends together to make a single amazing picture, they're built using layers.
I would also like to see more lens flares and some more dramatic dynamic lighting incorporated into your maps.
However, one thing I really liked was how you changed the projectile point of origins to actually on the weapon, rather than your visor so that when your weapon is obscured by cover, you aren't getting anything off. =P


I didn't play the level all the way through because I got bored, however I did find some bugs...
The first might actually be an easter egg however it looks as if you have a jackal on the wrong team near the rock slide encounter:
http://tucker933.com/ftp/misc/haloce-20100824-135825.jpg

Also, it looks like you forgot something here with this stage of the effect. =P Should be obvious...
http://tucker933.com/ftp/misc/haloce-20100824-140058a.jpg

Something that really bothered me was your red plasma rifle, there really isn't a reason to have so many variations of a weapon that carries the same overall role, and that being of mid ranged single fire. While it may have subtle differences over your Carbine and DMR (I'll just call as it that as it acts like one), when modifying gameplay you want as many specific roles as possible, and very little redundant ones, anything else is just distraction and clutter.
Other than that, I did notice an issue with it's firing sound, it will overlap and cut out when the weapon is fired in quick succession of twice or more at a time.

Another issue I noticed was the grenade display winks out of existence for a short time when reloading the Carbine.


Other than that, keep up the work, I can't wait till you finish. You can do sprites a hell of a lot better than I can.
Also, you could use some dynamic blood. =P

[Ifafudafi]

Woo, a lot more feedback this time around.


BR timing seems off, like it's just ever so slightly too long a delay between shots. The BR has a purposefully slow rate of fire to offset the fact that it's easily the most powerful long-range weapon outside of the Sniper Rifle. I originally had it firing quite a bit faster, but it was far, far too overpowered.

Impaler sound really doesn't work, needs to be more, I dunno, visceral like the needler sound. It's just H2's carbine. I think it fits nicely, but if I get any more complaints, I'll see if I can address it.

CMT FP hands are just... ugly. Particularly the hands, the thumb ends up distorted on pretty much every gun. I included the CMT cyborg stuff for a trial run. Everyone seems to love it or hate it; I'll lean toward whatever the majority is as soon as I get some feedback from the kids at Halomaps.



Most if not all of the human effects haven't even been touched, and I understand it might not be as fun to work with, but there is still a lot you can do with them, especially the frag nades. I do plan to give them a shot, but it's lower on the priority list. It's not just that I don't enjoy it, it's also that I'm not very good at it. I'll only include custom content if it's an improvement, and all the variations of human effects I'm working on right now are still pretty crappy.

Personally I felt all of the effects seemed too segregated and clean, nothing really blended into the other, which shouldn't be the case with effects. Effects aren't clean by nature, and a lot blends together to make a single amazing picture, they're built using layers. Personally, I think otherwise. The Covenant weapons (particularly the Plasma family), as I intend them, project an image of advanced efficency, relfected in the smoothness, cleanliness, and occasional minimalism in the particle effects. Human weapons are supposed to be more smoky and sparky, but as stated previously, those are last on the list, if I visit them at all.

I would also like to see more lens flares and some more dramatic dynamic lighting incorporated into your maps. I don't do environmental lighting. I have neither the skills nor the knowledge, and acquiring either is far beyond the scope of this mod. Lens flares are everywhere, though; there's a quick flash during explosions, the Plasma Grenade is practically made of them, every Convenant projectile has at least one attached, etc. I don't want to overstate them, however, to conform to my overall design philosophy.

It looks as if you have a jackal on the wrong team near the rock slide encounter: Noted. I'll take a look.

Also, it looks like you forgot something here with this stage of the effect. =P Should be obvious... Ugh. Don't know how that's slipped past me all this time. Noted.

<whatever you said about the Plasma Beam>. Believe me, if I wasn't taking into account weapon redundancy you'd see crap everywhere. I've scrapped 5 weapons for those very reasons, and 2 of them had their entire particle sets almost entirely finished. I was actually very shaky about including the PB, and still am. I included it in this release because:
-I felt that it filled a niche for a weapon more focused at mid-long ranges
-I felt that it also filled a niche for a weapon more suited for taking out large numbers of weak enemies (whereas the BR and Impaler are better for quickly taking out more powerful ones)
-I wanted to give the Jackals something besides Plasma Pistols to fire, since Plasma Rifles, in my eyes, belong exclusively to Elites.
I can, of course, just hand the Jackals some Impalers and be done with it, but I'll wait for a bit more feedback before I effectively axe the weapon. ICEE loves it, so it could easily end up like the Burst and be a weapon that some find brilliant and others don't use, which is perfectly fine with me (it implies that players are finding weapons that fit their play style rather than having to fit their play style to the weapon selection, which is great.)

Other than that, I did notice an issue with it's firing sound, it will overlap and cut out when the weapon is fired in quick succession of twice or more at a time. Noted. Easy fix.

Another issue I noticed was the grenade display winks out of existence for a short time when reloading the Carbine. Noted. I'll try and find the problem.

Keep it coming. This is exactly what I need

[FRain]

I don't like the pistol animations, mainly because the origins are pointed down.
But whoever did the BR anims needs to get a friggin award for best anims ever (except the melee is too slow)
also the sound for the plasma burst is epic
Also, clean up the AR firing sound, it's kinda muddy atm (needs more treble, less bass)

[ODX]

Battle Rifle is a combo between Teh Lag and ICEE...
Lag=Ready(?), Idle, Moving, Throw-Grenade
ICEE=Ready(?), Fire-1, Melee, Reload
Personally I don't like the beginning half of the reload but the second part is good. ICEE had to rush it a bit and you can see that.

In terms of the pistol...aside from its origin not being correct in terms of where it points, the CMT Rig also gave it a bit of a fucking-up with the thumb mainly. I 'could' fix it, but whether or not I had the time or motivation is a different story.

I'm currently working on some sniper animations, and I'm using the CMT Arms...which I find to be the best Halo-styled arm and rig so please keep it. If I can I'd may get some Plasma Rifle animations out too because I'm quite sick of seeing the animations warping around after they finish, etc. Again, "could do but whether I have time and motivation is another story."

[assassinchief107]

How about using H3MT icons? They fit your mod perfectly.

[EagerYoungSpaceCadet]

Don't scrap the Plasma Beam now, I just got used to the sound, the weapon rocks in so many aspects!

[Syuusuke]

Played it, didn't like it.

JK, what happened to the navpoints that were supposed to show up?

[FRain]

Played it, didn't like it.

JK, what happened to the navpoints that were supposed to show up?

They only show up if you dwadle and not go to the objective.

[assassinchief107]

I think it would be nicer making another version of this level.

[sevlag]

the battle rifle behaves like the DMR from reach (even the reticule made me think.."hey this is the DMR")
anyways the DMR behaves great, just it fires too slow and on legendary thats a problem, maybe speed it up a teeny tiny bit?

also i noticed on the hill instead of marines, there are two jackals that are friendly along side a friendly marine

[Ifafudafi]

well I'd hoped to have the whole mod finished before Reach but w/e. Two more maps to go

Check the Release section for the next map.

[Ifafudafi]

bump for attention

b30's out, which means you need to go download it, and then get three people you know to downloaded (while getting them to get three people they know etc. etc.)

[gf64]

Hey, the Eviscerator is too impracticable to use because the elites always hide behind rocks, or other stuff, making it impossible to super combine them, making it a worse choice than the br or even the pistol

[assassinchief107]

Hey, the Eviscerator is too impracticable to use because the elites always hide behind rocks, or other stuff, making it impossible to super combine them, making it a worse choice than the br or even the pistol
The Eviscerator doesn't super combine.. :/ It launches some homing (sorta) acid needles that cause alot of damage. It's useless in close range, it's most effective at mid range, the needles'll disappear in long range.

[Ifafudafi]

It's done. It's completely done. Go get it from the release section.

Halomaps will have links to each individual map in a week or so.

[Dwood]

I wish you would at least do the maw. :(

[sleepy1212]

fun stuff... br sucks and goddamn was it loud. enough so that i quick picking it up altogether. ^^i really liked the eviscerator, tore shit up with it