Software:Global Warfare

Global Warfare
Developer(s)	GW Development Team
Engine	GoldSrc
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Linux
Release	September 9, 2005
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Global Warfare (GW) is a multiplayer modification for Half-Life. The project was the brain child of Aggro_Boy, Sasquatch and alX, who formed the original GW team. It uses the GoldSrc engine, but has some unique gimmicks added to it that cannot (or rarely) be found in other modifications. Such additions include: Lens flare effect, weather effects (rain and snow), its own particle engine for debris, and 3D muzzle flashes. Beta 1.0 of Global Warfare was released on June 8, 2001. Global Warfare was presented at the 2002 Half-Life Mod Expo in Dallas.

Gameplay

Global Warfare is set in a fictional conflict in the Middle East where an extremist group, the Arab Liberation Force (ALF), fights against the United Nations / Coalition Forces. Offering very detailed models and maps, a lot of effort was put in creating a seemingly realistic environment. However, as far as the gameplay is concerned, the game was never meant to be a combat simulator, and was thus kept uncomplicated and fast-paced similar to the Half-Life team deathmatch.

The game lets the player choose from five different player classes, some of which are needed to complete map objectives:

• Infantry - Can be equipped with a machine gun and carries three grenades.
• Medic - Able to use a medkit to heal team mates and himself.
• Radioman - Marks strategic targets on airstrike-maps. Also, every 20 team points 1 radioman will be able to call in a supply drop off, that holds extra grenades, and 40mm grenade launchers with devastating firepower.
• Engineer - Equipped with C4 (sometimes needed to complete objectives, but can also be used as a weapon) and three anti personnel mines. Engineers can also defuse mines, even after somebody has stepped on them (they blow up when stepping off again).
• Snipers - Equipped with a scoped sniper rifle.

The latest release includes ten maps. Maps in Global Warfare can have four different map objectives:

• Territory - Capture territory until the entire map belongs to your team. Territory is captured via a capture zone, a position on the map where players must remain for 15 seconds to capture it. Territory maps consist of five of these capture zones, and they must be captured in a fixed order.
• Demolition - Plant C4 explosives at a strategic point, while the other team attempts to prevent this. This can only be done by an engineer. By default, you have 10 minutes to complete this objective, or the defending team wins.
• Airstrike - Mark a strategic target for allied planes to bomb. This can be done by the Radioman in two ways (depending on the map): pointing a laser targeter at the objective for 30 seconds or planting a GPS device on the target. By default, you have 10 minutes to complete this objective, or the defending team wins.
• Intelligence - Kill the general (first enemy player to spawn) and capture important documents from the enemy. Offense team members must pick up the documents and carry them back to their LZ. The documents may be held in a safe sometimes, requiring an engineer to break it open with C4.

The game also features an in-game 2D map where the location of the objectives, your team mates, the landing zones, and important paths are marked.

Further additions to the regular Half-Life team deathmatch include: Prone position (enabling players to make up less of a target while increasing accuracy) and timed grenades (allowing players to pull the pin and wait a few seconds before actually throwing the grenade).

Troop transports

Once the player has selected their class and weapons, they spawn at the team base. In order to get to the combat area, the player boards a transport: an APC or a Black Hawk helicopter, where the player actually sits visibly with their team mates. These periodically transport troops into battle. Killed players re-spawn at their base. The first person to enter the transport gains control of the transport's gun.

Transports can be destroyed by the enemy team with a LAW or Stinger missile, which can be found at their base. With their transport destroyed, there are no more reinforcements coming, thus making it much easier for the enemy team to complete objectives, although a new transport will arrive after a period of time (default time is one minute). Should a team destroy the enemy transport and then kill all enemy troops in the battlezone before their new transport arrives, they win the round.

However, when carrying those heavy rocket launchers, the player becomes very slow and cannot use other weapons; therefore, teamplay plays a big part in reaching the enemies LZ in order to destroy their transport.

Weapons

Overall, there are 28 weapons available in the game. Every player gets to choose a pistol and a primary weapon, and is furthermore equipped with a knife and various explosives (depending on the player class). There are three different basic assault rifles available for each team, including such famous guns as the M16A2 for the U.N., or the AK-47 for the Arab Liberation Forces. Additionally, each player class is offered a special weapon that can also be chosen as the player's primary weapon.

Campaign system

The game features a campaign system, grouping similar maps together and allowing a team not only to win a map, but to win an entire campaign. Despite the game's name "Global" Warfare, it only includes one campaign, the desert campaign. This is because further campaigns were originally meant to be added with later releases (such as a winter campaign for Beta 2). Unfortunately, due to a lack of team members, those campaigns could never be realized, even though most winter maps and all U.N. player models had already been created. Therefore, Beta 2 was never released; instead, to still release some of what had been worked on over all the years, Beta 1.5 was released.

External links

• Global Warfare on moddb.com
• Archived copy of the former official website