Basic Description:

HL S:AAB is a teambased mod like TF, but is set in the universe of Space: Above and Beyond. Each team is a squad of marines, equiped with all the weapons from the show. Every map will have objectives for each team, which must be occomplished in order to win, though personal frags are also awarded. Rather than have classes like in standard TF though, each player selects from a list of special equipment, like in Action Quake. Some equipment is standard and always available for selection, while other packs may only be available on certain maps, as the mission dictates. Each squad will have a designated squad leader or "captain" who should lead the squad, and will be the only player to have access to communications and other special abilities.

Standard Weapons:

Regardless of their selection of special equipment, each marine is given standard marine issue for accomplishing the goals of his mission. All marines wear a standard uniform including chest/shoulder armor and a helmet (this is usually the ground pounding helmet, but the self-contained bubble helmet with breather may be included on some maps). All marines are armed with the standard M590 rifle (with scope but sans grenade launcher) and the USMC K-Bar hand-to-hand knife. The rifle comes with several clips of ammo, though expect to be in danger of running out during more heated missions. Special equipment packs available on certain maps may give players an entirely new set of weaponry, replacing the standard issue equipment.

Special Equipment Packs:

Each marine may pick from a selection of special equipment packs to better complete his mission. Each normally available pack contains only a single type of item. This is an unrealistic portayal of equipment distribution and may limit marine in the field but is purely by design. For gameplay issues, each marine will be forced (or at least nudged) into a specific role based on what equipment he chooses. In real life, a marine squad is a well trained unit that operates as a whole; in pick-up internet games this is not possible, and so game constraints must be created to establish that sense of unity and dependency. The special equipment packs are as follows:

Basic - An M70 semi-automatic pistol with two clips of ammo. This may seem useless, but on longer missions you WILL run out of ammo, and having a sidearm with extra ammo can be a real lifesaver. The pistol is also decent for precision sniping (perhaps better than the rifle). Grenades - Two standard frag grenades. Grenades are not only extremely dangerous weapons, but also highly useful tactical instruments. Their most important tactical use is to clear an unexplored region of any unseen enemies; especially useful (though also dangerous) when maneuvering through tunnel systems. Seeker Grenade - A single LIDAR guided homing grenade. These are ideal for destroying a well positioned enemy in a tight space like a tunnel or corridor. It is a powerful and an invaluable tactical weapon, so be sure not to waste it. Night Vision Goggles - Light Amplification goggles with x10 zoom capability. Extremely useful on night missions, and a valuable tool for spotting enemies at long range. Squad captains are advised to take this.

Equipment packs which are standardized but nontheless not commonly available on most maps follow (the restrictions on these items is due to play balance issues, and to avoid players picking items that are useless given the current mission):

Claymore Mines - Two motion sensitive claymore mines. These can be placed on the ground and used to foritfy a position or waylay the enemy. The explosive force is less than that of a grenade (primarily for play balance issues) but is still capable of taking out multiple targets. Obviously, they cannot by thrown and take a moment to place, unlike grenades. All claymores setup by a squad can also be detonated remotely by the squad leader by radio signal. Satchel Charges - A powerful timed explosive. These are used to take out ground fortifications, supply dumps, and other enemy fixtures. They are set on a variable timed delay which can be canceled at the source (not by radio) by any member of the friendly team. An enemy team member may attempt to disable it, but may accidentally cause premature detonation. Only one attempt to disable a charge may be made by any given non-friendly team: additional attempts will prompt a warning and if the player proceeds, the charge willl automatically be detonated prematurely (some maps may have modifications on these rules). Scanner - A hand-held motion tracker. Displays the position of any nearby enemy troop movement. Due to restrictions on HUD graphic representations, the in-game version will only show the direciton to the nearest enemy unit. A skilled scanner operator should be able to triangulate the enemy's position and relay it to his teammates. May not be included. Taser Pistol - A sleek handgun that fires independant (non wire-linked) taser darts. Desiged to incapasitate most humans with a single shot. Comes with a limited ammo supply, but invaluable for capturing an enemy target or shell-shocked friendly. May not be included. Sniper Rifle - Replaces the standard rifle with a high powered sniper rifle. Uses armor piercing rounds and comes with a x10 zoom scope (in scenarios where NV goggles are permitted with the sniper rifle, the zoom levels are NOT cumulative). The rifle is extremely high powered and perfect for silent infiltration missions, but does not fire very rapidly and has a limited ammo supply: it is therefore undesirable in a close firefight. Missions with small team size limit are likely to allow the sniper rifle in conjuncture with night vision goggles and the M70 sidearm.

Game Play:

Like in Action Quake, HL S:AAB is designed with elimination style play in mind. In other words, once a team member is dead, he typicaly cannot respawn and simply pick up where he left off (depending on the map). In such a case, the player would be entertained some other way: either by watching the game progress in observer mode, or by being teleported to a smalled section of the map which might take the form of a lounge (where he could chat with other eliminated players), a small free-for-all arena, or a target range. This elimination style was chosen for realism, to strengthen team cohesion (it's hard to accomplish a mission with half your squad dead), and to make players be more fearful of dying (no suicide attacks).

However, many maps will still allow respawning in the typical fassion. Players will wait for a few seconds (so that their death has more significant meaning to tham and their team) and is then spawned normally. Missions where a squad comes in on an ISSAPC (personnel transport) or has permanent fortification will typically allow respawning, while maps that feature behind-enemy-lines type missions will not.

Class Selection:

Players entering a game will be given a menu from which to choose their team and specal equipment pack, just like in TFC. Players who have been eliminated and are about to respawn will typically be allowed to change their selected equipment pack, but not their team. Any explosives or other devices left on the map by the respawning player will be removed if he changes equipment packs. If he does not change pack, any placed items will be missing from his inventory and remain on the field as though they had been used (this is to prevent an overabundance of mines/satchels, etc.).

Team Captains:

The leader of a given squad or team is its captain. The captain will typically issue orders and will lead the squad's movement across the level. Though team captains have no way to actually enforce orders, many missions cannot be completed without their cooperation. In addition, any half-way decent player knows that a coherent squad is not only more likely to complete its objective, but is also much more fun to be in. Captains wear a special skin (with red decoration) and are the only squad member that have access to communications. Communications normally include the remote detonation of satchel charges and the final call for extraction (or lift-off if the ISSAPC is already waiting), but some maps may also allow the use of cover fire, airstrikes, and so forth.

It is hoped that a system could be implemented to allow team captains to make gestures as in Quake 2, though binding a few important messages to certain keys would suffice.

The first player to join a given team is automatically designated the captain for that team, and will normally remain so until the end of the mission (level). If the captain is killed, the person who joined the team after the previous captain will assume that role. A promoted player will retain his current position on the field (rather than respawning), but will be given a chance to switch special equipment packs with the previous captain; if he does so, all items, both on the field and unused, will be transferred to the new captain (this feature is included in case the captain carried some special item necessary to complete the mission). Even if a killed captain is respawning, a new cpatain is still selected.

A squad captain may also choose to volentarily resign his position and return to being a normal grunt. This can be accomplished via an impulse or key command (with confirmation). When a captain resigns, he loses any special items assigned to him as the captain, but retains his current position (ammo, items, etc. remain as used). Imediately after a resignaiton, the second player to have joined the server is promoted, as detailed above; he still retains his position, but is not given the opportunity to switch items with the former captain (with the exception of special items, which he recieves automatically).

Finally, a captain can be remvoed by his teammates if he is not playing within the game's spirit (i.e. going off on his own, or not calling in the final airstrike). It takes three players to forcibly remove a captain, unless there are fewer than four people on that team, in which case it takes only two. To demote their commander, the necessary number of players must make a vote for it (via impulse command or confirmed key press). This vote is publicly announced to the entire team, including the current captain. Should two additional people do the same, the captain will be forcibly demoted as though he had resigned. The next player in line will then assume the role, while the previous captain will be moved to the bottom of the waiting list (as though he just joined the server).

Alien Hazards:

Although there are no imediate plans to allow chig teams (mainly since so little is known about them), some missions may involve chig technology either as a to-be-recovered or, more likely, as hazards (i.e. booby traps). Here's a breif run down on posssible appearing technology:

Buzz-Beams - High-tech pressure sensitive anti-personell mines; these things are nasty. Often placed in dark areas, you won't know you've stepped on one until it's too late. Once activated, the mine projects two white energy beams upward and sweeps them back and forth to clear anything in the imediate area. Fear-Weapon - First seen on the planet Tartarus by the USMC, the chig fear weapons stimulates a section of the human brain associated with fear memories. This causes hallucinations, and schitozphrenic behavior (which has historically led to marines turning against one another). The weapon's activation is accompanied by bright pulses of white light and a similar noise. The technology behind the weapon is unknown and it's area of effect is quite substantial, though the frequency of the attacks is limited. Repeated exposure lessen's each victim's resistance to the weapon, worsening his condition each time. In game terms, a hallucinatory effect like the one produced by the spie's gas grenade in TFC is likely (though it will be more subtle and with fewer explosions/purotechnics). Booby-Traps - The chigs have been known to wire the bodies of deceased marines with a variety of explosive devices. They are typically motion sensitive, and thus similar to our claymores. These might be fitted to the equipment packs of dead marines in the field, or to the body of a dying friendly soldier (placement would be semi-random to keep things interesting after repeated playings of the same map).

USMC Operations

Many of the missions in HL S:AAB will be unconventional firstperson shooter fare. Many will include additional support by friendly forces to complete the mission objective. Following is a list of special precedures/support that may be available to a marien squad on a given mission.

HALO Jump - While marines will usually simply spawn in a landed ISSAPC, in a bunker, or in the open, some missions may require disrcete entry into enemy territory. A High Altitude/Low Opening parachute jump from an ISSPV will alow a marine squad to silently penetrate an enemy perimiter. Cove Fire - An ISSPV or squadron of Hammerhead can be called in to deliver a wave of cover fire to allow a marine unit to escape its current position if under heavy enemy fire.

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