A Brief History of the CMT SPVX ProjectA long, long time ago, nearly twenty years to be exact, Microsoft Games released Halo: Combat Evolved, and in doing so, changed the face of gaming forever. As part of this monumental moment in gaming history, Gearbox Interactive, while tasked with porting the game to PC, also took the initiative to release Halo: Custom Edition, a packaged version of the game's source code, along with editing tools, in the hopes of inspiring creative minds into keeping the game alive long after its release through the creation of user-generated content. Thanks to this forward-looking decision, despite waning interest and a vanishing player-base, new material has continued to emerge for the PC version of Halo: CE, much of which can still be found here at HaloMaps.org for those who still adhere to this aging title. Among the loyal and crafty minds behind this stream of maps, mods and other creations was a group known as the Custom Mapping Team, who were dedicated to keeping the elderly game up to date, even when Microsoft abandoned the PC with regards to releasing further Halo titles on it. So deep was their love for the game that several years after its original release, the team undertook a massive effort to upgrade and improve the original single-player campaign, an effort that came to be known as CMT's SPV1, or 'Single-Player Version 1'. This colossal update added new weapons, new AI and even some new areas, breathing new life into the Master Chief's original battle for the fate of the galaxy. However, as the name suggested, it was by no means designed as a final effort. It wasn't long after SPV1 was released that immediate rumblings began about SPV2, promised as bigger, better and all-around more badass than the first. Unfortunately, at the same time, internal divisions and inevitable exhaustion caused the breakup of the majority of the team, leaving disappointed players with only a few beta versions of the updated levels, which would've included even more new material, such as expanded levels and the introduction of Brutes, filling a canonical gap between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. CMT's SPV1 added a mountain of new features, particularly new weapons, such as the flamethrower. Originally an exclusive for the PC version of Halo's multiplayer mode, this weapon allowed new tactics when dealing with the fearsome Flood later in the campaign. Years passed, and it seemed like the project would never get back off the ground. Halo 3 came and went, and for a while interest again surged in the Halo: Custom Edition community. A few other groups tried their hands at making custom single-player campaigns of their own, notably the devs behind Project Lumoria, a full multi-level campaign featuring original voice-acting and level design. Through it all though, silence reigned for the CMT SPVX project. Then, one day, it was officially announced that SPV2 had been cancelled in favor of moving directly to SPV3. The remaining devs stated they had not given up, and were recruiting new talent, while also explaining that their vision would require more work than previously thought. Their hopes for SPV2 had run up against the limitations of the original Blam! engine the game had been made on, and as such, they were switching to the new and improved 'Open Sauce' system, which pushed the aging software to its very limits, with new lighting and particle effects to ensure the best visuals possible. SPV2 would've featuring the inclusion of vastly expanded levels, improved graphics, new game mechanics, and new weapons, such as the Halo 2 Covenant Carbine. As proof of their word, in 2012, the devs released a beta map of the third mission of the original campaign, 'Truth and Reconciliation', teasing all the changes they planned to implement. The response of support was enormous, even by the depleted standards of the community. The effect was somewhat buoyed by Microsoft's announcement of its intent not to release Halo: Anniversary (published for XBox One the previous year) for the PC, leaving SPV3 as the last hope for fans of the original mouse-and-keyboard experience. Work continued, and in 2016, another map was released: The Silent Cartographer Evolved. This new take on Halo's fourth mission took the group's efforts to another level, featuring not just a remake of the original map, but an entirely new and revamped experience, with new weapons, new encounters and revised level design so big as to render it a whole new experience. Shortly after, SPV3.0.2 released, offering fans the ability to play the first half of the original campaign, up to and including the 'Assault on the Control Room'. With so much already prepared, and regular vidocs from the new team leader, Masterz1337, fans knew that it would only be a matter of time before they had what they'd been waiting for. What is SPV3?That time has finally arrived. SPV3.1 is now available for download on CMT's official Reddit page. So what exactly does that entail? Well, provided you own Halo for the PC and were wise enough to keep the box and the registration key, you now have the opportunity to play not just a direct rip of Halo: Anniversary, but something magnificent, and even more fun; the culmination of twelve years of dedication and effort from some of the most hardcore fans the shooter genre has to offer. SPV3.1 comes equipped to install Halo: Custom Edition and the required Open Sauce source code with its own integrated installer, saving you the trouble of hunting down both. It also does automatic updates, and allows you to tinker with the graphics before startup. Oh, and did I mention, it runs at 60FPS? The new Open Sauce software really brings out the best in the old Halo. The flat grays and greens and blurry textures have been replaced or spruced up. Sure, it's still enormously out of date, but compared to the original, it might as well be running on UE4. Beyond that, there's the gameplay aspect. Enemy difficulty has been enormously enhanced and redesigned. The game no longer features an 'Easy' difficulty setting, your only options being 'Normal', 'Heroic', 'Legendary' and 'Noble' (doubtlessly a nod to Halo; Reach, Bungie's final entry to the series). Furthermore, the rearrangement of enemies in encounters makes for a tougher fight. Now, every fight with an Elite feels like a frantic life-or-death confrontation, as his subordinates spray you down with suppressing fire. You have to approach things tactically or die. Even then, old strategies like jumping to dodge Hunters as they charge are still present, but require more skill, as their speed has been increased and their animations expanded. Enemy variety has also been improved, with Hunters in particular now coming in multiple flavors with heavy weapons you can loot from their corpses once you bring them down. In fact most enemies will vary their choice of weapons, adding an extra layer of unpredictability to every battle, especially when later on some of them start employing human guns. Speaking of weapons, SPV3.1 also features a variety of guns and vehicles from across the Halo franchise, as well as a few not found in any of the games or books, being the product of the devs themselves. The best examples of this are the Brute weapons. Building on the original choice to include the alien primates in the old SPV2 Beta, the Custom Mapping Team has added its own spin on their primitive arsenal. Brute Plasma Rifles, originally noted in Halo 2 for their ability to fire faster than the normal energy weapons used by Elites, now fire slower, but hit with much more force, at the same time overheating twice as quickly. Similarly, the Brute Plasma Pistol (one of the novel developer additions) functions as a hand-held shotgun during normal firing, while launching a massive orb of destruction when fully charged, which detonates on impact like a shell full of napalm, covering enemies in super-heated burning liquid that continues to damage them. Also of interest are the vehicles. The old Spirit dropships originally used by the Covenant have all been replaced with Phantoms, which can be destroyed before they land if you're determined enough. In fact all vehicles can suffer damage and be destroyed too, something only Covenant vehicles were subject to in the original Halo: Combat Evolved. Again, new and improved vehicles on all sides add to the fun. The Covenant Banshee now shares the air with the UNSC Sparrowhawk gunship, a vehicle originally introduced in Halo Wars. While less maneuverable than its alien counterpart, the Sparrowhawk makes up for it in endurance and its ability to hover in place (the latter being of questionable usefulness when everyone is shooting at you). The Silent Cartographer Evolved is still included in the final package, and more than worth a playthrough. Like the original, it offers multiple paths to your objective, but with a much more pronounced level of difficulty and a higher call for good strategy. It'd be foolish to try and enumerate every change CMT has made to the game, and it'd spoil the surprise as well, but suffice to say, they are vast and far-reaching. If anything, SPV3 reminds me of the mod MetaDOOM, which similarly combines elements from across the franchise for the purpose of improved gameplay. Beyond the basic gameplay itself, the mod includes toggleable skulls to alter difficulty from the pause menu, and lore-filled terminals and datapads like those found in later Halo titles, many of which contain references dedicated fans will recognized (though admittedly they could've been better written). Also, there are plenty of little easter eggs to be found by the determined seeker looking for a fresh thrill. It really is a quintessential re-imagining of the original game, containing a vast number of alterations and improvements on a scale I have almost never seen, to the point that it might as well be an entirely new game. Of course, it's not perfect. Given it's 3.1 status, there are still bugs to be fixed. The parts of the audio and music obviously taken from Halo: Anniversary are prone to minor or even major hiccups. Some enemies suffer bugged animations, in particular the new Flood combat forms, which can lead to no end of irritation. There were also some sections I could've done without, particularly towards the end, when the difficulty ramped up enormously with the sheer volume of enemies you were facing (though this might've been intentional to engender an air of urgency). And of course there's a fair share of graphical glitches that inevitably turn up in any new game that's been heavily tinkered with. That said, it still runs superbly on most systems, and most issues can be dealt with through a simple reboot of the game or restart of the level. I would also indicate that the inclusion of the ability to receive automatic updates through the installer means the devs are aware of these problems and intend to fix them. Also featured in SPV3: silenced weapons, pre-mission loadout selection, the VISR system from Halo 3: ODST, a usable Jackal arm-shield, improved weather effects...the list goes on and on and on. It might be easier to just say what's not in the game! All in all, CMT SPV3 is a masterpiece, a work of love and sweat and tears that deserves to be appreciated, especially after spending twelve years drifting in and out of development hell, as so many projects of its scale and size do. Given the small size of the surviving Halo PC community, it's not surprising that this hasn't gotten more news, but nevertheless, if you like shooters and have wanted to play Halo without buying an XBox, this is your chance. After all, it's not too hard to simply google a good registration code from the internet (virtually any will do), meaning that this might as well be a AAA game, for FREE. So what are you waiting for, soldier!? The fight is still on, and the universe isn't going to save itself! Strap on that MJOLNIR armor and kick some alien ass like it's 2001!
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Among it's announcements during this year's E3 conference, Bethesda Softworks announced the impending release of a sequel to The Evil Within. Set three years after the events of the original game, the sequel will put players back in the blood-soaked shoes of rogue detective Sebastian Castellanos in his quest to uncover a conspiracy that has claimed his family. As before, the game will take place in the hellish dream-world of the STEM system, a machine designed to link human brains together for psychiatric treatment, and around which the first game's plot revolved. This time, however, the detective will reenter the nightmare with a purpose: to save his missing daughter, Lily, and to get at the truth behind Mobius, the mysterious organization responsible for her disappearance. Like its predecessor, The Evil Within 2 will feature a variety of horrific and twisted monsters generated by the unhinged minds that dwell as psychic remnants inside the system, and which Sebastian will have to overcome if he wants to save his missing daughter. However, where the world in the first game was the product of a single, controlling influence (the psychopathic Ruvik), Sebastian will be forced to move through a world under the influence of a whole host of madmen, each with their own deranged agenda. Bethesda's newest trailer provides backstory for one of these inmates now running the asylum; the mysterious photographer Stephano Valentino, who seems as eager to find Lily as Sebastian himself. His mad ramblings suggest that whoever controls Lily will be able to control the world inside STEM with the same ease as its creator, which adds a sense of urgency and motivation the original game lacked. Whether or not Sebastian is able to escape the eye of this cruel maniac will have to be seen, when the game releases on October 13th. Until then, you can watch the full trailer below! |
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