My Halathon review


	/-/S'pht-Translator-Active/-/

My Halathon review

Posted By: rampancy Date: 2/4/05 8:47 a.m.
In Response To: halathon (tcm)

I couldn't wait to try it out, so I gave it a spin last night using my absolute favourite map of all time: Hell Hole v1.5, by Gary Simmons (aka "the Battle Cat").
Mods like this remind me of the hilarious weapons mods that came out years ago for Marathon, like "Marathon: Weapons of DOOM!" and Meowx Software's "Unreal Weapons" (the latter actually giving a pretty faithful port of the Unreal weapons (like the ASMD Shock Rifle) to Marathon Infinity, using a patched custom app-- it'd be cool if someone could port it over to AO using MML).
Since I was pretty tired (having worked until 2 am on a PowerPoint presentation), I played on Kindergarden, but I'll give it a shot on normal later.
Anyway, most of the weapons behave the way you'd expect them to if you've played through Halo:
M6D Pistol: 2-3 shots kills just about any ordinary monster you'd fight in the game, even major cyborgs, hunters and purple troopers. Since Hell Hole doesn't have F'lickta, MOAH's, MOAC's or Juggernauts, I can't comment on these enemies yet (I'll have to find a test map that does have them). the bullets also travel faster and are far more accurate than the .45 MMC at long distances
M5B Assault Rifle: Pretty much behaves like a retextured MA-75B, except that the firing arc seems to be a little tighter, like Rubicon's MA-75.
M5B Assault Rifle (Melee): You have to switch weapons to use the melee attack with the M5B, which I find odd -- I would have expected it to be simply rolled into the alt-fire of the normal firing mode of the M5B. Anyway, it works just like the melee attack in Halo, and to me looked about as powerful as using your fists in Marathon.
M19 SSM Launcher: This is the weapon that really impressed me. It's a straight-up port of Halo's SPKNR, and it even duplicates the way the dual launch tubes rotate between firings. Slick. Like with the M6D, there's no zoom function, but that doesn't matter since AO has a built-in zoom that can be used with all weapons anyway. The missiles look and act like the SPKNR missles from Marathon (I remember that the Halo missles didn't leave behind smoke trails).
M7057 Defoliant Projector: I don't see much difference between this weapon and the TOZT to be honest, but then again, I haven't played multiplayer Halo, and I haven't seen any footage of this weapon in action in the game. But it looks a lot like Halo's flamethrower, which is all that matters.
M90 Shotgun: It feels and sounds just like its namesake from Halo, and I'd hazard a guess and say that it's really not that different in its behavior from the WSTE-M, only without its infamous reloading mechanism. :)
Covenant Fuel Rod Gun: To me, this weapon was the biggest disappointment. I remember quite vividly trying to fight off Hunters lobbing fuel rods at me, and it was *tough*. However, the Fuel Rod Gun here seems unusually weak. There's little, if any splash damage, and even a direct hit on a green or orange fighter doesn't seem to do much damage. But it very much looks, sounds, and acts like the real thing. Then again, it's been a while since I've played through Halo, and my memory is infamously rusty. The authors apparently used the Enforcer Alien Weapon slot for this particular weapon -- it was somewhat amusing to shoot at Enforcers holding the M2-style Alien Weapon, only to see them drop Fuel Rod Guns when they died.
Covenant Plasma Rifle: Again, this weapon looks, acts, and sounds just like its Halo counterpart...only that it doesn't seem to overheat. :) An interesting point is that it seems to fire green drone bolts.
Covenant Plasma Pistol: It looks and works just like the plasma pistol in Halo, which in turn looked and worked just like the Zeus from Marathon. Interestingly, when you fire an overcharged shot, the shots are the green bolts fired by purple S'pht Compilers. Worthy of note is the overcharging animation: you see a little circular dial slowly go from green to green-red, to deep red as you overcharge the weapon. Nice. Again, this weapon doesn't seem to overheat either. :)
All in all, I was really impressed. You'd be likely to mistake this for a Halo -> Marathon TC, and the authors even mentioned that they might port over some maps, but I really doubt it. I'm sure that a group of skilled and dedicated map makers could do a good job of approximating the level architecture in Halo in AO, using textures from Halo, but I'm sure that Microsoft would probably serve you with a Cease-And-Desist letter. That being said, this project could be a great launching point for a scenario that could try to link up the Halo and Marathon universes more explicitly -- maybe a freak teleporter accident that switches the Marathon Marine and the Master Chief in a situation not unlike Star Trek TOS's "Mirror Universe" episode. It'd be at least amusing to have the Master Chief teleported to the Truth and Reconciliation by Cortana only to be spontaneously dumped into a level like Eupfhoria. :)
The only major bug I encountered is the HUD: at the 1024x512 + HUD resolution setting, the hud got stretched and cropped, such that all I got on my screen was the weapons manifest. Oh well. It is just alpha after all, but for an alpha it's remarkably well done. I'm looking forward to the high-res shapes they have displayed on their website, and to them bringing over other weapons like the Needler and the S2 AM Sniper Rifle, and grenades. It'd also be cool to see them bring in the flashlight too; I know from the demo of Chris Komarnicki's Killing Time that it is possible with the Marathon engine.

[ Post a Reply | Message Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg ]
Pre-2004 Posts

Replies:

halathon tcm 2/3/05 6:14 p.m.

Re: halathon rampancy 2/3/05 6:29 p.m.

are you on a mac? *NM* tcm 2/3/05 6:47 p.m.

yeah, tcm...10.3.7, DP 1.25 G4 *NM* *NM* rampancy 2/4/05 9:07 a.m.

Re: halathon ukimalefu 2/3/05 6:57 p.m.

Re: halathon Andromeda_5[Kilo] 2/4/05 2:22 a.m.

Re: halathon vaxuum BOB 2/4/05 3:49 a.m.

hal-athon. heh. *NM* tcm 2/4/05 3:58 a.m.

Good morning Dave.... *NM* Andromeda_5[Kilo] 2/4/05 8:21 a.m.

My Halathon review rampancy 2/4/05 8:47 a.m.

Re: My Halathon review Siphonopho 2/4/05 12:24 p.m.

Re: My Halathon review rampancy 2/4/05 1:37 p.m.

Re: My Halathon review nforcer 2/8/05 7:03 a.m.

Re: My Halathon review rampancy 2/9/05 3:22 p.m.

[ Post a Reply | Message Index | Read Prev Msg | Read Next Msg ]
Pre-2004 Posts

Your Name:
Your E-Mail Address:
Subject:
Message:
: I couldn't wait to try it out, so I gave it a spin last night using my : absolute favourite map of all time: Hell Hole v1.5, by Gary Simmons (aka : "the Battle Cat"). : Mods like this remind me of the hilarious weapons mods that came out years : ago for Marathon, like "Marathon: Weapons of DOOM!" and Meowx : Software's "Unreal Weapons" (the latter actually giving a pretty : faithful port of the Unreal weapons (like the ASMD Shock Rifle) to : Marathon Infinity, using a patched custom app-- it'd be cool if someone : could port it over to AO using MML). : Since I was pretty tired (having worked until 2 am on a PowerPoint : presentation), I played on Kindergarden, but I'll give it a shot on normal : later. : Anyway, most of the weapons behave the way you'd expect them to if you've : played through Halo: M6D Pistol: 2-3 shots kills just about any ordinary : monster you'd fight in the game, even major cyborgs, hunters and purple : troopers. Since Hell Hole doesn't have F'lickta, MOAH's, MOAC's or : Juggernauts, I can't comment on these enemies yet (I'll have to find a : test map that does have them). the bullets also travel faster and are far : more accurate than the .45 MMC at long distances : M5B Assault Rifle: Pretty much behaves like a retextured MA-75B, except that : the firing arc seems to be a little tighter, like Rubicon's MA-75. : M5B Assault Rifle (Melee): You have to switch weapons to use the melee attack : with the M5B, which I find odd -- I would have expected it to be simply : rolled into the alt-fire of the normal firing mode of the M5B. Anyway, it : works just like the melee attack in Halo, and to me looked about as : powerful as using your fists in Marathon. : M19 SSM Launcher: This is the weapon that really impressed me. It's a : straight-up port of Halo's SPKNR, and it even duplicates the way the dual : launch tubes rotate between firings. Slick. Like with the M6D, there's no : zoom function, but that doesn't matter since AO has a built-in zoom that : can be used with all weapons anyway. The missiles look and act like the : SPKNR missles from Marathon (I remember that the Halo missles didn't leave : behind smoke trails). : M7057 Defoliant Projector: I don't see much difference between this weapon : and the TOZT to be honest, but then again, I haven't played multiplayer : Halo, and I haven't seen any footage of this weapon in action in the game. : But it looks a lot like Halo's flamethrower, which is all that matters. : M90 Shotgun: It feels and sounds just like its namesake from Halo, and I'd : hazard a guess and say that it's really not that different in its behavior : from the WSTE-M, only without its infamous reloading mechanism. :) : Covenant Fuel Rod Gun: To me, this weapon was the biggest disappointment. I : remember quite vividly trying to fight off Hunters lobbing fuel rods at : me, and it was *tough*. However, the Fuel Rod Gun here seems unusually : weak. There's little, if any splash damage, and even a direct hit on a : green or orange fighter doesn't seem to do much damage. But it very much : looks, sounds, and acts like the real thing. Then again, it's been a while : since I've played through Halo, and my memory is infamously rusty. The : authors apparently used the Enforcer Alien Weapon slot for this particular : weapon -- it was somewhat amusing to shoot at Enforcers holding the : M2-style Alien Weapon, only to see them drop Fuel Rod Guns when they died. : Covenant Plasma Rifle: Again, this weapon looks, acts, and sounds just like : its Halo counterpart...only that it doesn't seem to overheat. :) An : interesting point is that it seems to fire green drone bolts. : Covenant Plasma Pistol: It looks and works just like the plasma pistol in : Halo, which in turn looked and worked just like the Zeus from Marathon. : Interestingly, when you fire an overcharged shot, the shots are the green : bolts fired by purple S'pht Compilers. Worthy of note is the overcharging : animation: you see a little circular dial slowly go from green to : green-red, to deep red as you overcharge the weapon. Nice. Again, this : weapon doesn't seem to overheat either. :) : All in all, I was really impressed. You'd be likely to mistake this for a : Halo -> Marathon TC, and the authors even mentioned that they might : port over some maps, but I really doubt it. I'm sure that a group of : skilled and dedicated map makers could do a good job of approximating the : level architecture in Halo in AO, using textures from Halo, but I'm sure : that Microsoft would probably serve you with a Cease-And-Desist letter. : That being said, this project could be a great launching point for a : scenario that could try to link up the Halo and Marathon universes more : explicitly -- maybe a freak teleporter accident that switches the Marathon : Marine and the Master Chief in a situation not unlike Star Trek TOS's : "Mirror Universe" episode. It'd be at least amusing to have the : Master Chief teleported to the Truth and Reconciliation by Cortana only to : be spontaneously dumped into a level like Eupfhoria. :) : The only major bug I encountered is the HUD: at the 1024x512 + HUD resolution : setting, the hud got stretched and cropped, such that all I got on my : screen was the weapons manifest. Oh well. It is just alpha after all, but : for an alpha it's remarkably well done. I'm looking forward to the : high-res shapes they have displayed on their website, and to them bringing : over other weapons like the Needler and the S2 AM Sniper Rifle, and : grenades. It'd also be cool to see them bring in the flashlight too; I : know from the demo of Chris Komarnicki's Killing Time that it is possible : with the Marathon engine.

If you'd like to include a link to another page with your message,
please provide both the URL address and the title of the page:
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:

If necessary, enter your password below:
Password:

Problems? Suggestions? Comments? Email maintainer@bungie.org
Marathon's Story Forum is maintained with WebBBS 5.12.

halathon	tcm	2/3/05 6:14 p.m.
Re: halathon	rampancy	2/3/05 6:29 p.m.
are you on a mac? NM	tcm	2/3/05 6:47 p.m.
yeah, tcm...10.3.7, DP 1.25 G4 NM NM	rampancy	2/4/05 9:07 a.m.
Re: halathon	ukimalefu	2/3/05 6:57 p.m.
Re: halathon	Andromeda_5[Kilo]	2/4/05 2:22 a.m.
Re: halathon	vaxuum BOB	2/4/05 3:49 a.m.
hal-athon. heh. NM	tcm	2/4/05 3:58 a.m.
Good morning Dave.... NM	Andromeda_5[Kilo]	2/4/05 8:21 a.m.
My Halathon review	rampancy	2/4/05 8:47 a.m.
Re: My Halathon review	Siphonopho	2/4/05 12:24 p.m.
Re: My Halathon review	rampancy	2/4/05 1:37 p.m.
Re: My Halathon review	nforcer	2/8/05 7:03 a.m.
Re: My Halathon review	rampancy	2/9/05 3:22 p.m.



	Your Name:
	Your E-Mail Address:
	Subject:
	Message: : I couldn't wait to try it out, so I gave it a spin last night using my : absolute favourite map of all time: Hell Hole v1.5, by Gary Simmons (aka : "the Battle Cat"). : Mods like this remind me of the hilarious weapons mods that came out years : ago for Marathon, like "Marathon: Weapons of DOOM!" and Meowx : Software's "Unreal Weapons" (the latter actually giving a pretty : faithful port of the Unreal weapons (like the ASMD Shock Rifle) to : Marathon Infinity, using a patched custom app-- it'd be cool if someone : could port it over to AO using MML). : Since I was pretty tired (having worked until 2 am on a PowerPoint : presentation), I played on Kindergarden, but I'll give it a shot on normal : later. : Anyway, most of the weapons behave the way you'd expect them to if you've : played through Halo: M6D Pistol: 2-3 shots kills just about any ordinary : monster you'd fight in the game, even major cyborgs, hunters and purple : troopers. Since Hell Hole doesn't have F'lickta, MOAH's, MOAC's or : Juggernauts, I can't comment on these enemies yet (I'll have to find a : test map that does have them). the bullets also travel faster and are far : more accurate than the .45 MMC at long distances : M5B Assault Rifle: Pretty much behaves like a retextured MA-75B, except that : the firing arc seems to be a little tighter, like Rubicon's MA-75. : M5B Assault Rifle (Melee): You have to switch weapons to use the melee attack : with the M5B, which I find odd -- I would have expected it to be simply : rolled into the alt-fire of the normal firing mode of the M5B. Anyway, it : works just like the melee attack in Halo, and to me looked about as : powerful as using your fists in Marathon. : M19 SSM Launcher: This is the weapon that really impressed me. It's a : straight-up port of Halo's SPKNR, and it even duplicates the way the dual : launch tubes rotate between firings. Slick. Like with the M6D, there's no : zoom function, but that doesn't matter since AO has a built-in zoom that : can be used with all weapons anyway. The missiles look and act like the : SPKNR missles from Marathon (I remember that the Halo missles didn't leave : behind smoke trails). : M7057 Defoliant Projector: I don't see much difference between this weapon : and the TOZT to be honest, but then again, I haven't played multiplayer : Halo, and I haven't seen any footage of this weapon in action in the game. : But it looks a lot like Halo's flamethrower, which is all that matters. : M90 Shotgun: It feels and sounds just like its namesake from Halo, and I'd : hazard a guess and say that it's really not that different in its behavior : from the WSTE-M, only without its infamous reloading mechanism. :) : Covenant Fuel Rod Gun: To me, this weapon was the biggest disappointment. I : remember quite vividly trying to fight off Hunters lobbing fuel rods at : me, and it was tough. However, the Fuel Rod Gun here seems unusually : weak. There's little, if any splash damage, and even a direct hit on a : green or orange fighter doesn't seem to do much damage. But it very much : looks, sounds, and acts like the real thing. Then again, it's been a while : since I've played through Halo, and my memory is infamously rusty. The : authors apparently used the Enforcer Alien Weapon slot for this particular : weapon -- it was somewhat amusing to shoot at Enforcers holding the : M2-style Alien Weapon, only to see them drop Fuel Rod Guns when they died. : Covenant Plasma Rifle: Again, this weapon looks, acts, and sounds just like : its Halo counterpart...only that it doesn't seem to overheat. :) An : interesting point is that it seems to fire green drone bolts. : Covenant Plasma Pistol: It looks and works just like the plasma pistol in : Halo, which in turn looked and worked just like the Zeus from Marathon. : Interestingly, when you fire an overcharged shot, the shots are the green : bolts fired by purple S'pht Compilers. Worthy of note is the overcharging : animation: you see a little circular dial slowly go from green to : green-red, to deep red as you overcharge the weapon. Nice. Again, this : weapon doesn't seem to overheat either. :) : All in all, I was really impressed. You'd be likely to mistake this for a : Halo -> Marathon TC, and the authors even mentioned that they might : port over some maps, but I really doubt it. I'm sure that a group of : skilled and dedicated map makers could do a good job of approximating the : level architecture in Halo in AO, using textures from Halo, but I'm sure : that Microsoft would probably serve you with a Cease-And-Desist letter. : That being said, this project could be a great launching point for a : scenario that could try to link up the Halo and Marathon universes more : explicitly -- maybe a freak teleporter accident that switches the Marathon : Marine and the Master Chief in a situation not unlike Star Trek TOS's : "Mirror Universe" episode. It'd be at least amusing to have the : Master Chief teleported to the Truth and Reconciliation by Cortana only to : be spontaneously dumped into a level like Eupfhoria. :) : The only major bug I encountered is the HUD: at the 1024x512 + HUD resolution : setting, the hud got stretched and cropped, such that all I got on my : screen was the weapons manifest. Oh well. It is just alpha after all, but : for an alpha it's remarkably well done. I'm looking forward to the : high-res shapes they have displayed on their website, and to them bringing : over other weapons like the Needler and the S2 AM Sniper Rifle, and : grenades. It'd also be cool to see them bring in the flashlight too; I : know from the demo of Chris Komarnicki's Killing Time that it is possible : with the Marathon engine.
	If you'd like to include a link to another page with your message, please provide both the URL address and the title of the page:
	Optional Link URL:
	Optional Link Title:
	If necessary, enter your password below:
	Password: