[WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Everything about HD, MD, and their mods.

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002
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[WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by 002 » Sun May 12, 2013 8:36 am

I remade Zombies entirely from scratch and nil let me borrow one of his servers for while I develop the gametype further. It's still a work-in-progress, so I won't be releasing it to your guys's hands just yet.
While the software technically only runs on Windows, the script has been optimized for Mac users
instead (CarnageChat is an example), plus it can be run on x86 architectures using WINE. HaloMD is required to play on the dedicated server.

The map voting list is:
  1. Blood Gulch
  2. Bune
  3. Completely Cemented, Completely Demented
  4. Corrupted
  5. Deep Space Arena
  6. Parallel Redux
  7. Crossing
Blue = Stock Map
Yellow = Downloaded Map

In order for mods to run, they have to:
  1. Be unprotected. Protecting maps makes it impossible for the script to find the right weapon tags by name. This is an automatic no-no! I will not ask the developer for the unprotected copy, either. If they don't want people accessing their tags, then that choice will be honored.
  2. Have a fast download speed. While bigger files will take longer, some maps with small file sizes also take forever. Nobody wants to sit around for 2 minutes for a download.
  3. Have no bugs that can distort or damage the game. The game has to be playable from start to finish without any major issues.
That's the bare minimum! Just because a mod is playable on zombies doesn't mean it's going to be liked. I generally test a mod before adding it so nobody complains to remove it if it doesn't work out. These things in particular are what I'm looking for:
  • Minimized overpowered weapons. Zombies need a chance to fight for themselves. That means no shotgun that shoots rockets, please.
  • A small size so it doesn't take forever to get from one side to another. Make sure it's still complex or elaborate in some way and not too small.
  • "Standard" gameplay is optional. This means the only thing you've added/changed is the map itself and left the physics, weapons, etc. intact. If you choose not to do this, please make your changes appealing, or else the mod may seem too dry.
  • Something in the mod that makes it appeal to players. A boring cube isn't going to be easy to like.
  • Map is not based on Blood Gulch. Blood Gulch isn't a very good map to play zombies in, and it's only in the mapcycle because of its popularity, and that it also came with HaloMD.
So, what is zombies? Red guys are the survivors and they're supposed to survive. Blue guys are zombies, and they're supposed to kill all of the survivors and turn them into zombies. The game ends when there are no survivors left. Simple, huh? If there are at least 10 players, then the player with the highest score will gain an extra life at the end of the game. The gametype is supposed to be like an arcade game, so scoring is much different.
150 points - Base score per kill.
75 points - Being a zombie or having an extra life.
75 points - On a killing spree.
75x points - Target was on a killing spree. x = killing spree length.
+20% - Killing the guy who got an extra life. You also gain half of his/her points.
+20% - Being the first zombie. Lasts entire game.
I made this topic to get feedback on it. If you've got any ideas or want me to change the mapcycle, then that's what this topic is for.[/size]


The server no longer hosts zombies and will likely never host it again. I will be working on:
  1. Commenting the code for programmers to understand it easily.
  2. Cleaning the code to take out a kilobyte or two and increasing overall performance.
  3. CPU efficiency increases.
  4. Releasing to public.
Last edited by 002 on Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:25 pm, edited 28 times in total.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by Sparky » Mon May 13, 2013 7:43 am

I was going to suggest Bloodgulch Extreme here. Then I took a #2 to the knee. Perhaps when it is revised.

Other suggestions:
- Random Starting Weapons Series
- Centrifugal Force
- Isle
- Crossing
- Nuclear Fallout
- Zombie Apocalypse Mod (with AI removed)
- Acrophobia
- Alien Homeworld
- Area 666 "Elite Station"
- B30 BSP Mod Pack
- The Backyard
- Bloodgulch - Alternate Universe
- Deep Space Arena or Covenant Playground
- Cytectic (haven't tried it though)
- Declaration 0x4D610000 (Tutorial map) or Air Tutorial 2 (no AI)
- Depot
- Environments Mod Series (see this gallery for screenshots to choose which one(s) to use)
- Falujah (it's a CE mod conversion on the HDM mod database)
- Flat Gulch (huge dimensions, but all visible)
- Fusion G1 (or Fusion Gulch, whatever)
- Galaxy Wars - Hangar Preview
- Galaxy Wars - Chapter 1: Outpost Omega
- Glowie Gulch (no noobs edition)
- The Grid
- Ivory Tower
- The Maze
- Moisture
- New Cytectic
- Night
- Nightmaps
- Omega
- Outpost 49
- Poem Mod
- Quarantine
- Remnants (haven't tried it)
- Recreation
- Sandpit
- Sector 508 (haven't tried it)
- Shaft (KW)
- Sky Arena Team Slayer
- Space Slopes
- Sphere
- Swamp Installation #4502-9
- The Pit
- Toxicity II
- Underwater Gulch
- The Volcano
- Weapons Evolved (ya rly)
- WoodFell
- Zanzibar
- Twin Towers
- Claustrophobia (002 said this map is protected)

I have a strategy suggestion: all the human players group together in one spot and defend against the zombie.
As the last human survivor, I think you should accumulate 5 points per second.


All those maps can be converted to full if not already converted.
Last edited by Sparky on Mon May 13, 2013 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by Sparky » Mon May 13, 2013 4:35 pm

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by rEsTnPeAcEz » Mon May 13, 2013 5:44 pm

Zombies should have an energy sword if the mods has it.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by TaxiService » Tue May 14, 2013 2:13 pm

a #2 as in a turd to the knee? :?

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by rEsTnPeAcEz » Fri May 17, 2013 10:41 am

I would like Galaxy Wars Hangar Preview to be in the map cycle. Also if you do that, the zombies should use energy swords instead of oddballs.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by 002 » Fri May 17, 2013 11:28 am

rEsTnPeAcEz wrote:Zombies should have an energy sword if the mods has it.
rEsTnPeAcEz wrote:I would like Galaxy Wars Hangar Preview to be in the map cycle. Also if you do that, the zombies should use energy swords instead of oddballs.
Because mods often times use different energy sword tags, the tag names would be inconsistent with each other, causing me to have to write the name of the tag for each mod. Weapons in zombies work like this:

Code: Select all

if player.team == ZOMBIE_TEAM 
	give player "weapons\ball\ball"
else
	give player "weapons\pistol\pistol"
	give player "weapons\shotgun\shotgun"
endif
Your idea sounds cool, but it's quite complicated right now. I'd have to make a long list of tags and check every time a player spawns. This would lead to heavy CPU usage and unbearable lag if I had to check a list of tags.

Code: Select all

if tag.exists("halo2\energy_sword\energy_sword") then
	give player "halo2\energy_sword\energy_sword"
elseif tag.exists("weapons\energy_sword\energy_sword") then
	give player "weapons\energy_sword\energy_sword"
elseif tag.exists("weapons\energy_swordh3\energy_swordh3") then
	give player "weapons\energy_swordh3\energy_swordh3"
elseif tag.exists("mister_author\sword\sword") then
	give player "mister_author\sword\sword"
… etc
If you have any better ideas on how to do this, then pop them in.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by rEsTnPeAcEz » Fri May 17, 2013 11:33 am

That is a good idea to check if it exists, I understand that it uses to much memory.
What about making a script just for Galaxy Wars Hangar Preview.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by nil » Fri May 17, 2013 11:40 am

Why do you want energy swords anyway? Seems kind of lame.
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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by rEsTnPeAcEz » Fri May 17, 2013 11:45 am

I like energy swords :D and in the infection game type for Halo Reach the zombies use energy swords.
But I also think that it should check if energy swords are in the map, if it is then it should use it instead of oddballs for a more Infection like game.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by TaxiService » Fri May 17, 2013 1:25 pm

002 you could do something like:
  1. at the beginning of the game, get a list of weapons
  2. check the weapon list for any weapon with "energy" and(/or?) "sword" in its tagname
  3. store that tag as a variable
  4. if player is in zombie team, give them that weapon.
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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by 002 » Fri May 17, 2013 1:39 pm

rEsTnPeAcEz wrote:That is a good idea to check if it exists, I understand that it uses to much memory.
What about making a script just for Galaxy Wars Hangar Preview.
It's actually harder than it looks to detect the map, plus I'd have to dig into the map every time it updates to locate the tag name and data to minimize CPU usage.
TaxiService wrote:002 you could do something like:
  1. at the beginning of the game, get a list of weapons
  2. check the weapon list for any weapon with "energy" and(/or?) "sword" in its tagname
  3. store that tag as a variable
  4. if player is in zombie team, give them that weapon.
The problem with doing that is that some weapons have either word in them and they end up being not the energy sword, which means that it could possibly give the wrong weapon to the zombies.

---

I went through the list of candidates very quickly and picked out the ones that might work, then rated them all based on how they would work.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/302 ... estlog.txt




Candidates:
  • Declaration/Tutorial NEEDS CONVERTED
  • Woodfell NEEDS CONVERTED
  • Galaxy Wars Hangar REQUIRES TEST
  • Depot ?
Incompatible Maps:
  • KW Shaft PROTECTED
  • Crossing DISPUTED VERSIONS - CRASHES OLD MD CLIENTS
All candidates will be added this weekend. I will add map voting later as the mapcycle grows.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by rEsTnPeAcEz » Fri May 17, 2013 2:15 pm

If Galaxy Wars Hangar Preview doesn't work with zombies, then ask Sparky to fix it.

002
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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by 002 » Fri May 17, 2013 2:37 pm

It's not Sparky's fault. Some maps simply aren't compatible with zombies because:

A) They're too big. (Phoenix 2)
B) They're too small. (Claustrophobia)
C) They're too complex. (The Grid)
D) They're not complex enough. (Flat Gulch)
E) The balance of the maps do not flow with the gametype. (Parallax Redux)
F) The gametype simply cannot run on them. (Deagle6)

Even some the best of maps won't work. The map designer isn't obligated to make it compatible with zombies, but to make it a good map.

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Re: [WIP] HaloMD Zombies Gametype

Post by Sparky » Fri May 17, 2013 7:27 pm

Rat Race would be fun, but conflicts with one of your rules.
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