40K Source

(http://www.chromeangel.co.uk/Exterminatus/cloaked.jpg)

why should this marine be worried?

oh oh i know i know! *raises ahnd and waves it about*

*watches the hand just slide of the wrist*
ooooo aaahhhhh

i reckon the dirty great big lictor standing there preparing to disembowl him might be a cause for concern

very nice stealth modeling

uh-oh. A semi-transparent, big, angry alien thing.
I would be scared :P

good thing!!

Nice.

But perhaps a bit too well hidden.
If it takes me 20 sec in a battle to figure the outline of the bugger, it might be a bit overpowered.

thats it sationary, trust me you see it when it moves.

we need a screenshot of an area and we should hide 3-5 Lictors in and play spot the lictor :D

im planning that, but first we need more nids in game so they can hide with them

Yipe, I can hardly see it. Excellent. I like the idea of being somewhat visible while on the move, but a lot of games that have stealth mechanics are just as easy to spot when you're stationary.

F.E.A.R. was great fun, the Stealth Assassins used some really awesome light distortion technology, and it was SO satisfying letting rip at one with your Assault Rifle (this gun really gives the impression of 'pull the trigger and hang on!') and watching him flicker as the occasional bullet clips him. Never bothered me none that this gun was innaccurate as hell, you just shredded everything around what you're trying to hit :P Especially in the office missions. Sections of roof tiling, plaster dust and shredded upholstery go flying EVERYWHERE when you loose a salvo. Waste paper baskets will be collected and thrown by a stray bullet, spewing trash everyhwere. Desktops turn into hurricanes of smashed plastic and shredded paper... AND THEN, as if that wasn't enough of a sfx orgasm, you get treated to the dramatic 'settling' bit, where the smoke slowly clears, the wreckage settles, and you get to see wether you bagged another baddie, or wether he's crawling along the cieling about to nail you one... That game was like being in a movie. Sorry to go OT, but I have to tell this story. The part of the office missions where you're in an elevator, and soldiers have called the elevator on all levels, to slow you down and pick you off in a confined space. The first time it happened I activated my Reflexes and charged out, gunning them down in seconds. Second floor, tried the same tactic. The doors open, and in slow-mo, I see a hand grenade come flying through the opening doors, as I'm running out, without thinking, I duck. Grenade sails overhead into the elevator, and I continue on. This time the soldiers are hugging cover, and opened up the moment I cleared the elevator doors. I charge along the walkway right between them, watching my health diminish as I frantically run for cover. Still in slow-mo because of Reflexes, I watch a bullet streak past me and obliterate a pot-plant. Pieces go flying everywhere, in glorious slow-mo. A soldier steps out from the shadows around a corner, shotgun in hand, and I swear he was grinning inside his helmet, point-blank shot, with me running right at him. I've got a moment to think, because it's STILL in slow-mo, so I keep going, and nail him with a flying scissor-kick. He goes flying back, and the second part to the kick SMASHES his head against the wall. He ain't getting back up. This whole time, I can hear and see bullets smashing and ripping into the walls around me, filling the air with dust, as well as puncturing me quite a bit. I belt around the corner, de-activate Slow-Mo, and get into a protracted firefight, leaning around the corner and letting off a few shots before one of them could get a decent shot on me. Every time I stop leaning I see bullets tear apart the corner I was just peeking around, in oh-so-Hollywood style. By the time the gunfight ended, the air was choked with dust, every single thing in the corridor had been destroyed, and there was wreckage everywhere. That particular little battle won the entire game for me.

F.E.A.R. was OK, very repetitive baddies (with 0 blending between animations), repetitive maps, bullet holes the size of your torso and generally lacking in originality.  That said the features it borrowed from other original games like HL, Deus EX, Soldier of Fortune and Max Payne were well combined.  I've been replaying it a bit recently.

Did the lights just flicker?...

I'm gonna keep this T section going, is it just me that's still surprised at the lack of modding interest in FEAR given the graphical quality of it? When I first completed I thought, 'Yeah, Let's see some Mods', only to find that there's virtually nothing to be found.

Now it's not like there's not an SDK or anything. I just thought it was really surprising how little modding interest there was.

I think because it would be a daunting project to make something even remotely as polished and presentable as the original F.E.A.R. The devil is in the fine details, and FEAR is loaded with 'em...

Not to mention all the design variables. When you create an object, you don't just have to skin it, you have to apply a weight property, destruction hp, reaction factors (what kind of debris it will spray when shot), lighting surface type (reflective, matte, etc)... and then to do it to every single object in a map...

So long story short, no-one could be bothered? That's unfortunate, I would've loved to see something on FEAR, and I know I bitch without doing anything, but well I can't be bothered neither.

*WAVES HIS HAND THROUGH THE AIR*

you will stay on topic, these are the tyranids your looking for...

Sorry for the digression Typheron, if you'll let me put in my tup'enny bit, I think that the alpha channel is rated too high (it's too transparent). Perhaps around 75% would be more appropriate or a light distortion effect, providing that the Source engine can provide one of course.

You really need to see it in action to properly assess whether it's too difficult to spot or not, ideally with other visible models running around blasting stuff to distract you. Hmm, I'm just stating the obvious aren't I :D I like it though. Reminds me abit of Predators from Alien vs Predator. Hopefully the balancing will be better than AVP though!

Well, I believe the F.E.A.R. discussion has merit, as their stealth assassins use a very cool 'stealth' mechanic. From what I've seen, they are pretty much invisible. Even while moving. BUT, sharp-contrast areas like where light hilights a sharp edge on his armour, or his outline when standing in front of a light, show up as a transparant white line. Essentially this means he can be rediculously easy to spot in some places, but in others is Ten Ninjas. Personally I think it's much more realistic than games like Halo where they just make you 95% transparent.

Is there any way the Source engine can do that?

I think F.E.A.R. just used refraction (the Predator influence again...), we are using some of that in the Lictors cloaking, but not dependant on it.