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9/24/97

Nasty things that await you in Half-Life...

Half-Life got a great reception from gamers at ECTS in London recently. Here are some brief clips of a few of the features people found especially cool. (Sorry, none of these mpegs have sound.)

This gun turret's complex animation and ability to track movement is an example of one of the benefits of our skeletal animation system.

turret.mpg 2.7 meg

 

Many of the areas in Half-Life have complex duct work in the ceilings, which you can crawl around in. Here, some headcrabs make an unwelcome appearance by getting out of the ducts and breaking through the ceiling.


headcrab.mpg 1.2 meg

 

This is brief segment of a firefight between the player and a government "grunt." It shows the grunt ducking for cover, then lobbing a grenade before both he and the box he's hiding behind get pulverized by the player's grenade.

grunt.mpg 1.4 meg

 

7/9/97

You shoot at them, they take cover. What a concept.

These military grunts aren't just going to stand around and let you shoot them. They know bullet wounds hurt. You take aim, and they run or dive for cover, shouting to the rest of the squad to take evasive action. They'll hose you with machine gun fire, and if you're as smart as they are, you'll dive for cover, too. Don't think you're safe crouching behind the crates though. That clink you just heard was a grenade they rolled right up on your ass. And if that doesn't get you, the soldier you didn't see sneaking around while the rest distracted you will.
grunts1.avi 1.0 meg

 
The grunt group AI was one of the most interesting parts of our Half-Life demo at E3. It is eerie to see a group of enemies thinking and working together trying to eliminate you!

This first AVI shows what happens when you enter a room they're guarding. The leader spots you running out from behind a crate, quickly tosses a grenade, and shouts for everyone to take cover while he lays down supressing fire. (if you don't eat dirt, you eat lead.) When everyone is clear (watch the grunts in the background scatter!), the point man finds cover for himself. They'll then formulate a plan to take you out. The radio chatter you hear IS communication. They'll talk to each other with their headsets, and yell at you when you make 'em angry. (if you really want to piss them off, kill their medic.)
grunts2.avi 1.6 meg

 
These guys do actually think when they're in a situation. They aren't programmed to work in a special room or area. You can place a squad in any part of a level, and when they move out, they become aware. They look around and access their situation. They'll seek places to run to when retreating, or places to take cover behind when fired upon. They aren't kamikazes. They really do want to live.

In grunts2.avi a soldier thinks he can take me out. He half empties a clip in my hide when when I return fire and bust a cap in his ass. He yells out, tosses a grenade, and strafes to cover while radioing to his buddies for backup. If those crates weren't next to him, he might decide to run behind those Y-shaped ceiling supports, or maybe down the hall.

I bet he was puzzled as to why I didn't take a dirt nap when he filled me full of lead.

I guess combat school didn't teach him to fear God Mode. Heh.