Poly.nation

EDIT! : colour variants and different polycore camo schemes, refined 'anatomy'

2 hours, PSCS2, Airbrush tool


If there was a mod idea id love to do once my time is freed up, it would be this one right here. For the Source engine, and HL2, of course

Its full-on team based action multiplayer, with a free-form character building/fort-constructing twist. Its meant to be easy to pick up and play on the surface, perfect for those 'i need to kill something now' moods, but offers a very expansive, deep and engaging custom creation routine that promises infinite possibilities for dynamic gameplay.

You are a polymorph unit* that was created to wage wars on distant soil, able to withstand extreme gravity, pressure and generally hostile environments. Every year, new cores[they're classified under armour divisions] of units are manufactured and shipped to off world colony barracks to maintain the siege of alien galaxies. One fine day, the master race finds itself alone in its own dominion.

Abandoned, millenia of corrosion, weathering, and generally the passing of time itself have caused entire poly-Cores to malfunction or venture beyond mission protocol, gaining advanced sentience or just going plain bonkers. The largest deviation factor would be the need to replace and resupply individual units, for want of a prolonged core. As far as "emotions"/raw logic run, genocide as a means of replication and harvesting of nanofluid is perfectly acceptable... a requirement to survive. The evolution of the cores, to meet objectives long-lost in time.

The poly-nation, now divided into infinite sub-groupings, is flung into disarray as the new war for dominion begins.

Weapons are fully customisable with attachments and upgrades to suit a wide spectrum of playstyles; polymorphs can redefine their features, geometry, size etc with a selection of growth options, as well as a full blown dynamic melee combat system in place. Think 'playdough' gone evil. Walking, screaming, shooting, slashing. Think Sandman from spiderman, think eight legged mutant clay monsters.

Junk themed prefab-refab structures littering the battlefields, heavily reconfigurable and destroyable bases via realigning/constructing/melding barricades and sections; a world where every object can be used as a shelter, shield or weapon..even a trap... severable bodyparts can be blown off with a custom damage model, and ragdoll-inducing stun attacks help to elevate the sensations of battle in this smooth-paced, tactical-action RPG.



Without going into even more detail, i leave you with the very first mood sketch of what i envision the polys to feel like, and the range of customisation and outrageous flexibility that players can hope to enjoy.


(yes, that is a sledgehammer/hi-caliber MG)





* The polymorph in the game is a next generation nanotech-formed drone. This liquid based nanoform is highly adaptable and can repair itself and can learn to replicate itself over time. A single canister of the stuff can lead to a poly community being formed out of mere spacerock over time.
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pol·y·morph ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pl-môrf)
n.
Biology. An organism characterized by polymorphism.
Chemistry. A specific crystalline form of a compound that can crystallize in different forms.