Jump to content

The Specialists (mod)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by HashiriyaGDB (talk | contribs) at 19:43, 10 April 2006 (→Active powerups). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Specialists
Developer(s)The Specialists mod team
Designer(s)Filippo "Morfeo" De Luca & Lorenzo "John_Matrix" Pasini
EngineGoldSrc (modified Quake engine)
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseOctober 28 2002 (1.0)
December 30 2002 (1.5)
July 21 2003 (2.0)
April 30, 2004 (2.1)
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

The Specialists is a multiplayer mod for the popular first-person shooter computer game Half-Life. It is currently at version 2.1, released on April 30, 2004.

The game was created by Filippo "Morfeo" De Luca & Lorenzo "John_Matrix" Pasini. The Specialists 1.0 was first publicly released on October 2002, and is as of April 2004 at version 2.1. The Specialists 3.0 is in the making and it will be released in a year. More exact release date visit the official website.

Gameplay

"The Specialists, or TS, is a multiplayer action movie mod/total conversion for Valve's best selling first person shooter Half-Life." -From the official FAQ.

The Specialists is intended to resemble a generic action movie, and is often compared to the film Face/Off though several of the default models and some of the gameplay elements appear to be references to The Matrix. It contains over 29 weapons and many powerups. The object of the Deathmatch game mode is to get as many frags as you possibly can. Other options include The One Mode, where one player with enhanced abilities takes on all others until he is killed, therefore making his killer The One.

The Specialists employs some innovative features that make it a unique entry in the world of first-person shooters. The most notable is the ability to manipulate time to pass in slow motion in a multiplayer environment. Before The Specialists, "bullet-time gameplay", made famous by games such as Max Payne, was a plaything of single-player titles. The game also makes heavy use of stunts , and many stunt combinations can multiply the score awarded for killing opponents. Apart from shooting, the player can also perform melee attacks using a simple kung fu system. Although it is far from the first shooter to include stunting and kung fu (a notable spiritual predecessor The Opera), The Specialists combines the techniques of what came before it withits slow motion game play to produce a highly popular gaming experience.

Player Models

  • Agent - One of two characters from the famous movie "The Matrix" making an appearance in The Specialists.
  • Castor Troy - Armed with his trusty golden colts, and dressed to kill in his crushed velvet suit, Castor Troy is ready to "face off" against anyone... John Woo style.
  • Gordon Freeman - Half-life's famous action hero returns. Now he's got a black trenchcoat (left his HEV suit in a pawnshop)
  • The Hitman - Ruthless assassin dressed in a business suit. How wouldn't that fit in The Specialists? (Note the Hitman resembles Agent 47 from the Hitman games.)
  • Laurence - Another character from "The Matrix", based on Morpheus. Will you take the blue or the red pill? Your choice.
  • Merc - The first of two original The Specialists characters. Does almost anything for money, but doesn't want to show his face and hides it behind a black ski mask.
  • Seal - The other original The Specialists character, the Navy Seal. Always cleaning out the mess that the mercs create.

Movement & Stunts

The various stunts that can be performed are all dependent on the gauge to the left of players crosshair. He/She will notice that when he/she moves the mouse up and down, the dot in the gauge will move up and down as well, depending on where he/she look. The position of this dot when he/she perform a move dictates the kind of stunt he/she can do. Because the gauge is split into 3 categories, those are called high, medium and low moves.

Main Stunts

Flips: These are performed by tapping the jump key twice in quick succession. They will cause the player jump forward or sideways(depending on the direction of movement) and perform a flip in mid air. If this is performed when standing still player will do a standing backflip that will cause damage to other players if the other playee is near enogh. Standing backflip is only available if the player has 60 or more slots free.

  • High: Full flip, lands on feet.
  • Medium: Forward jumping flip, lands on back.
  • Low: Short flip, lands on back and slides forward.

Dives: A dive is performed by pressing the stunt key. Pressing the key once will launch the player forwards, sideways or backwards, depending on which way you are moving. The player will then land on the ground and stay prone until either jump or the stunt button is pressed again, at which point the player will rise to their feet. If the stunt button is held down when the player hits the ground after a dive, a forward roll will be performed and the player will rise straight to their feet, allowing much more freedom of movement.

  • High: Long dive capable of clearing obstacles.
  • Medium: Straight forward dive.
  • Low: Short dive which causes the player to slide along the ground.

Rolls: Rolls are mainly used as an evasive maneuver, they can be performed by Double Tapping the duck key, when player do this he/she will roll in the direction he/she is currently moving. As previously mentioned, after a dive a roll may also be performed by holding the stunt key as the player hits the floor. Rolls can be performed regardless of free slots.

Climbing: Player can climb up most walls for a short distance and even move along them. To do this player has to stand next to a wall and double tap jump key and he/she will pull himself/herself a short distance up the wall, holding down jump will cause him/her to do this again. If the player has 60 or more slots free, this move can be performed three times in succession. If the player has less slots free, the maximum number of climbs is two. To climb an object successfully the player must be looking at the object with his/her crosshair. If the object is lower in your field of view than the crosshair then the player will perform a flip instead of climbing

Other Moves

Bullet Dodge: When stationary, in either Slow Motion or Slow Pause, tapping the stunt key will make the player perform a bullet dodging move. A very useful move, however, he/she cannot fire while performing it and after doing so you will be on lying prone on the floor.

Wallflip: It is possible to perform wallflips simply by running into a wall and pressing the stunt key, players character will run up the wall and flip backwards off it, as well as looking very stylish, this can be a useful escape move.

Weight and Slots

Weight is a very important part of The Specialists. As it determines a large part of how you can play the game. Those who enjoy carrying vast amounts of firepower around with them will be very limited in the number of stunts that they can perform and the speed at which they can move. Whereas players armed with only knives or a pistol will been able to move very quickly and perform more stunts.

When you have no weapons you have 81 free slots (This has been changed to 100 in version 3.0). From this weight and down to 60 slots, you can perform all available moves. When you have weaponry that reduces you to under 60 slots, you can only perform moves in the medium and low category only. If you have less than 40 slots available, only low moves can be performed. If you want to know the kind of stunts that are available to you with your current configuration, just glance at the stunt gauge for the answer. You will notice that it will be either all white, or portions of it will be shaded red, to indicate in which area stunts are unavailable.

Powerups

The Specialists contains a variety of powerups. These can be separated into passive and active powerups.

Passive powerups

Passive powerups do not require activation: they last until the character is killed, and maintain their effect for the entire time.

Kung Fu: This powerup doubles the amount of damage that any kung fu attack deals, thus making one attack (the back kick) a one hit kill.

Super jump: The Super jump ability allows the character to make massive leaps. Useful for maps containing large buildings and outdoor scenes (ts_fall, ts_lobby, etc.). The longer you hold jump while superjumping, the higher you go. Sometimes you will receive falling damage if you jump too high.

Health: The Health powerup boosts your health up to 150 points, allowing you to take a lot more punishment before dropping. Once collected, your health will drop by 1 point per second until it returns to 100 or you get damaged to 100 or under it.

Grenade: Grenade powerup provides you with one frag grenade. Primary fire causes you to lob the grenade up and over obstacles, whilst secondary fire causes you to roll the grenade across the ground. It has a 5 second delay, before it explodes. This powerup is only available in Deathmatch games, and will also take up 15 slots in your inventory.

Kevlar: Kevlar gives the player increased protection against damage from bullets, knives, and grenade shrapnel, but it doesn't give any extra protection against kung fu attacks.

Active powerups

Active powerups must be activated to have an effect. Active powerups last for three or five seconds depending of wich powerup is used. Active powerups can be particularly devastating when used with an appropriate weapon. One may only carry one active powerup at a time.

Infinite Ammunition (Max. 3 Seconds): While this powerup is active, the amount of ammunition remaining in the player's gun does not decrease, regardless of how many shots are fired. One cannot fire with an empty weapon, however. In version 3.0, this powerup will be replaced by the "Double Ammo" powerup. This powerup gives the player's currently held gun a magazine of bullets carrying double the bullets that the magazine normally carries. It will have this effect even if there are zero bullets left in the gun. Unlike the other powerups, Double Ammo can be used in conjuction with any of the other powerups.

Slow Motion (Max. 5 Seconds): This powerup allows one to enter 'bullet time' in a manner similar to that of Max Payne computer games and The Matrix movies. Time appears to slow down in the game, with other players rendered incapable of moving at an ordinary speed, but the user moves faster.

Slow Pause (Max. 3 Seconds): Similar to Slow Motion, but far more effective. Under the effect of this, enemy characters come to a near total halt, while you can move almost as fast as if it weren't slow-motion. Bullets travel even slower than in Slow Motion, while thrown knives hang in mid air.

Double Fire-Rate (Max. 5 Seconds): When this powerup is active, all ammunition in the player's gun is fired at double the normal rate of fire. If a player is wielding a semi-automatic weapon (such as the GLOCK 20, Five-Seven, or the like), it is converted into an automatic weapon for the duration of the powerup. If a player is wielding a melee weapon, such as a katana, that weapon is swung around twice as fast, and knives can be thrown one after the other by holding the secondary fire button.

Weapons

The game contains over 29 weapons separated into 5 types: Pistols, Shotguns, Submachine guns, Rifles, and Special Purpose. Each is modeled realistically. Several of the pistols can be wielded akimbo. Nearly all weapons can be fitted with silencers, flashlights, scopes, or lasersights. Every weapon takes up a specific number of slots, and this affects the player speed. This gives the player a disadvantage if they decide to wield several heavy weapons, for they will significantly be slower.

Pistols

In the next version (3.0), a new single-shot hunting pistol called the Thompson Contender will be added, as well as a single Beretta Centurion handgun.

Submachine guns (SMGs)

Prior to version 2.1, an Ingram MAC-10 was in place of the UMP, but was removed for balancing reasons. In the next version (3.0), the Steyr TMP will be replaced by the Skorpion.

Shotguns

Rifles

Special purpose

Ammunition

The vast assortment of weapons featured in The Specialists use different kinds of ammunition. When a player runs low on ammunition, they can obtain more from fragged players' ammo vests.

Different kinds of ammunition featured in The Specialists:

Weapon Imbalances

One of the most common complaints with the mod is the imbalances caused by several weapons:

  • The AK-47 and M4A1 are considered to be overpowered, because they do a lot damage and they are quite accurate. Many people think AK-47 is more unbalanced than M4A1, but this is not true. The M4A1 is more accurate, does about the same damage as AK-47 and has a lower amount of recoil.
  • The HK MP5SD5 is generally hated due to the extremely low recoil and moderate damage it deals. It is also hated because of the fact that it is completely silent which is true to the real MP5SD, even though it subtracts a reasonable amount of fairness from the game.
  • The USAS-12 is generally considered worthless because the low damage it deals.
  • The Taurus Raging Bull is sometimes considered unbalanced because of its high damage and very quick reload time, even though the high amount of recoil helps balance it out.

Maps and Locales

The Specialists features a variety of maps and arenas to engage combat in.

Official Deathmatch Maps

  • Awaken - Oriental-style training facility for the martial arts. Made by Dredd
  • Bikini - A tropical holiday house overlooking a cliff face. Good close-quarters action map. Made by 3D_Mike
  • Casa - South-American paradise is a retreat for The Specialists after a hard days work. Made by Schmung
  • Central - A little-known station on the London Underground that suffered an undisclosed disaster just before its grand opening. Made by Schmung
  • Chateau - The chateau in The Matrix Reloaded. Made by Sm0lders
  • Dojo - The training Dojo shown in The Matrix movie. Made by 3D_Mike & Clan-Killer
  • Faculty - The Specialists Academy. Made by Schmung
  • Fall - Rooftops above the streets of GPC. Made by Clan-Killer
  • GPC - Take to the streets in this atmospheric close-quarter battle map, named in honour of TS' (alleged) elite. Also there are weapon restrictions on this map. Made by Clan-Killer
  • Greenhouse - Map with offices, warehouses and the vast titular greenhouse itself. Made by 3D_Mike
  • Hammertime - A construction site that is overrun by Specialists. Made by WillSchnevel
  • Henningsen - Having recently had the blood washed off the walls, windows replaced and a new lick of paint, Henningsen is once again open and ready for visitors. Made by Schmung & Morfeo
  • Heresy - This infamous church is still undergoing renovation. Made by Manah
  • Kissmeyerbasic - Beautifully designed office building. Made by Mazy
  • Panzibar - Panzibar Bar and Nightclub provides everything duelling Specialists could desire. Made by Schmung
  • Lobby - A remake of the famous "lobby scene' from The Matrix. The elevators go up to the roof. Made by Morfeo & Bido
  • Dietrich - A remake of Dietrich's apartment in John Woo's Face/Off. Made by Schmung
  • Metro - Caution must exercised in the tight corridors of this tube station and car park. Made by Clan-Killer
  • Ordeal - The murky confines of an abandoned military bunker provide the location for this large, atmospheric map where ranged combat is the order of the day. Made by WillSchnevel
  • Parking - Multi-storey car park. Made by Clan-Killer
  • Rundown - Portion of Rundown consists of a cramped underground section, which provides an excellent counterpoint to the expanse of abandoned buildings on the surface. Made by WillSchnevel
  • Urbannights - As noted in the manual, "this map defines the term 'massive'". A bustling metropolitan city block with buildings that can be entered and climbed. Made by CayleGeorge
  • Neobaroque - Arguably one of the most atmospheric TS maps. Neo baroque is a deserted mansion with dimly lit halways and menacing architecture. Made by Evil Taxi
  • Supertimor - A familiar name boasts an abandoned industrial area with excellent rooftop vantage points. Made by Mazy
  • Theatre - Theatre map with balconies and hallways. Made by X-Tender

Official Teamplay Maps

  • Avana - An abandoned Factory. The Specialists must fight off the Mercenaries and disable satellite uplinks that Mercenaries has set up. Made by Schmung
  • Harbor - A shipping docks. The Specialists must fight off the Mercenaries and defuse a timed bomb at a dockland arena. Made by Sm0lders
  • Corporate - The corporate headquarters of NashCorp. Attackers have to hack the mainfraim of Nashcorp. Made by Schmung
  • Stormshield - Military complex. The team with the most frags win. Made by Kruxus

Future Direction

As of 25/01/06, they are currently internally testing the newest TS 3.0 RC and they are working to get the game ready to be released to the public. They have said many times that they do not plan on making a version for Half-Life 2, which upset many fans. Reasons for this include lack of time and money.

Some of the new features in 3.0 will include:

  • Two new weapons, the G2 Contender and the Skorpion
  • Vast improvements to slow motion
  • A first person Kung Fu model
  • Wall diving
  • Fire, snow, rain, other particle system improvements
  • New maps
  • Many immersion improvements
  • Many bugs fixed
  • Blood amount setting (Low, Normal, Lots, Bloodbath, etc.)

Selected parts of the official FAQ

Taken from the official site. 

The Specialists Official FAQ.

Q. What is The Specialists?

A. The Specialists, or TS, is a multiplayer action movie mod/total conversion for Valve's best selling first person shooter Half-Life.

Q. Is TS a Matrix Mod?

A. No, although since the Matrix is an action movie, portions of the mod are influenced by the Wachowski brothers hit film.

Q. Who makes TS?

A. TS was conceived by the minds of Filippo "Morfeo" De Luca and Lorenzo "John_Matrix" Pasini. It has since been worked on by a large number of talented mappers, modelers, and the like from around the world. Read more about the history of TS in the official manual.

Q. Will there be a Specialists Source mod in the future?

A. No, it would be too much to make a source version of the game that would live up to the original. Plus, the original creators are both busy with real life and work. TS should survive for quite some time though.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Specialists_(mod)&oldid=47841344"