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[edit] Empires (mod) article WIP

Empires mod

Developer(s) Brenodi Design
Designer(s) Justin "Krenzo" Krenz
Engine Source engine
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date March 4, 2006 (1.0)
Genre(s) First-person shooter/Real-Time Strategy
Mode(s) multiplayer
Input methods Keyboard and mouse

Empires is a total conversion modification for Half-Life 2 game. The game play consists of hybrid First-Person Shooter (FPS)/Real-Time Strategy (RTS) elements. RTS is played out by the commander of either team, in a similar fashion to any ordinary RTS game. The FPS part is played out by the soldiers on the battlefield. The link between the two modes is seamless, with the commander being able to hop between FPS and RTS modes at will.

[edit] Overview

Empires takes place in a near-future alternate universe. It is set in the middle of a conflict between the Brenodi Empire (BE) and the rebel Northern Faction (NF). Players are divided into two teams (BE vs. NF), and then fight it out on foot or in a variety of vehicles, including Jeeps, Armored Personnel Carriers, and Tanks. One player from each team serves as the commander, who directs his team through the battle.


[edit] Gameplay

In the main Command gamemode, there are two primary battlefield roles- that of the commander, and that of the player.

At the beginning of each round one player from each team is chosen to serve as that team's commander. This player plays in the style of a traditional RTS, setting up bases and outposts, and commanding the players on his team. The commander occupies a command vehicle (CV) that is heavily armored, but extremely vulnerable. When this vehicle is destroyed the round ends.

All other players on a team play from the viewpoint of a traditional FPS, fighting the other team and building the commander placed buildings, with the ultimate goal of either destroying the enemy CV or forcing the enemy team to run out of tickets. Players can choose from four classes: Engineer, Grenadier, Rifleman, and Scout.

  • Engineer - The Engineer is a combination builder-medic-mechanic, and as such is arguably the most versatile class in the game. He builds the buildings that are placed by the commander (similar to the construction unit in an RTS), and can also heal and revive his teammates, as well as repair their vehicles. The engineer is armed with a choice of Submachine Guns for personal defense. He also carries Seismic grenades, which are highly effective against enemy buildings.
  • Grenadier - The Grenadier is the anti-vehicle class. His primary weapon is a guided Rocket Launcher which doubles as an anti-building Mortar. He also carries pressure activated Land Mines.
  • Rifleman - The Rifleman is the most traditional fighting class; he serves an anti-infantry role. The rifleman's is equipped with a choice of Assault Rifles or a Heavy Machine Gun. He also carries either anti-infantry fragmentation grenades or sticky anti-tank grenades.
  • Scout - The scout acts in a reconnaissance-sabotage role; it is the special ops class. It is primarily suited to harassing the enemy team, such as by sneaking into an enemy base and sabotaging their structures. The scout also carries powerful Gestapo binoculars that allow them not only to have a view of the battlefield, but mark the locations of enemy structures for their team. The scout's arsenal consists of either a light scoped rifle or a choice of Submachine Guns. The scouts also gets a choice of smoke grenades to create a thick smokescreen or concussion grenades, which leave players in their area of effect blinded and deafened, and also temporarily disable enemy turrets.


Empires also supports a Conquest gamemode, with gameplay similar to that seen in the Battlefield series of games. In this gamemode there is no commander, and the players attempt to capture flagged control points. The game ends when either all of a team's reinforcement tickets run out, or when all players on a team die and cannot respawn.

[edit] History

Empires began in February 2003 as a mod for computer game Battlefield 1942. Two versions were released on this engine [1][2], but engine limitations forced the developers to move to another engine. Initial plans were made to move the mod to Far Cry's CryENGINE, and some work was done within the game's level editor, but poor initial mod support turned Empires away. Half Life 2's Source engine was chosen in July of 2004[3]. Empires was first released on Source on March 4, 2006[4]. It has since received several patches and developer support is still ongoing. Empires 2.0, a second version of the mod, containing numerous bug fixes and features as well as optimizations, was released on November 30, 2007[5]. The current version is Empires 2.12.

[edit] Press

Various magazines, websites and other reputable media of notice that covered Empires. Update with proper info and links.

  • Computer Games June 2006 Issue 187 (Half page article)
  • PC Action (date? issue?)(Full page) (german) (1.0 included on dvd)
  • Gamestar July 2006 (german) (1.05 included on dvd)
  • PC Games July 2006 (german)
  • PCGamer UK 2006 (date? issue?)
  • Planethalflife (Motw features)
  • Moddb (review, award).
  • CVG interview.
  • Xfire support (though it´s not working correctly yet)

[edit] Verifiable Download Counts

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.download.com/Battlefield-1942-Empires-mod/3000-7450_4-10255963.html
  2. ^ http://www.fileplanet.com/96758/0/0/0/section/Mod_Files
  3. ^ http://www.empiresmod.com/newsArchives.php
  4. ^ http://www.empiresmod.com/index.php
  5. ^ http://www.moddb.com/mods/2570/empires/news/24648/empires-20-client-released