Tour of the current release
Welcome to Sven Co-op v4! This new version of Sven Co-op has been a long time coming, five years at the last count! We hope it has been worth the wait.
Since the last major release in December 2003 the team has undergone a lot of changes, but development has continued. We'd like to thank our community for their patience and loyalty over the development cycle.
We hope this version lives up to your expectations and you'll enjoy playing the new Sven Co-op!
Remember, this tour only covers the major changes of this release! We have a massive list of changes, which can be found at our change log.
Contents
New features
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Reviving
As well as healing, players can now revive other players and friendly NPC's with their medkits. To revive a dead player or NPC, your medkit will need at least 50 health points stored. Get close to the other player or NPC and use the secondary fire. This will bring them back to life at 50% health. As in previous versions, you cannot heal or revive yourself with the medkit. Instead you will need to use the medic command to call for assistance. If you are dead, you can still use the use the medic command to notify other players that you are in need of revival if you haven't been gibbed (body ripped apart). This feature encourages players to work together. In many maps it can be a long walk back to the front line. By reviving a player they can return to the fight immediately. It's also worth noting that you will keep all your equipment when revived. |
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Repairing
The pipe wrench can repair friendly sentry turrets, mini-turrets and turrets. Simply hit the friendly turret with primary or secondary fire and it will regain hitpoints. You can repair the turret back to 100% of it's original health. |
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Ledge climbing
In previous versions of Sven Co-op you would need another player to reach higher places. As of Sven Co-op 4.0 the player can grab ledges and pull themselves up. (feature can be disabled by individual mappers) You can grab ledges on objects that are slightly taller than the player is. Anything higher and you'll need another player to help you up. Players can now also climb onto other players. If you need a boost from another player, you do not longer need to wait for him to duck, but you can directly climb on him. This can save valuable time in critical conditions. |
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Attacking while running
Many monsters can now run and shoot at the same time. Some more powerful attacks (i.e. Voltigores purple lightning attack) still need to be fired stationary. Just like the player, monsters will be less accurate while running. |
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3rd person view aiming
The 3rd person view (chase camera) now has dynamic crosshair aiming. The player model will no longer block your field of view as in previous versions of Sven Co-op. The view will reset to first person if there isn't enough space for the chasecam to show your player model (i.e. when the player presses his back to a wall). As soon as there is enough space between the chasecam and the player it will switch back again. |
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Difficulty balance
There is now a new game play system where the difficulty will be balanced by the amount of players currently playing on the server. If between 2 and 5 players are on the server, players are given a damage bonus. This means they can take down enemies faster. 2 players will recieve 1.8 times normal damage. 3 players 1.4 times, 4 players 1.2 times, 5 players 1.1 times. If there are 6 or more players on the server, the damage bonus will be disabled. Damage bonus is disabled if there is only 1 person playing. This is mainly for mappers to test out their maps with their skill configurations at normal. |
New weapons
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Desert eagle
The desert eagle is a powerful pistol, but rather inaccurate in single fire mode. You can increase the accuracy considerably by enabling the barrel-mounted laser pointer at the cost of a slower fire rate. The rate of fire is better than the .357 magnum and offers 7 shots, however less powerful. |
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MP5A3 submachine gun
The MP5A3 is a light submachine gun, which holds 30 round clips. It has a mounted scope for zooming and a relatively high rate of fire. That and the low reloading time makes it an effective assault weapon. |
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SPAS-12 shotgun
The SPAS-12 shotgun offers very powerful blasts in single or automatic fire of 8 rounds. Automatic fire (gas operated) takes only a matter of seconds in to use all 8 shells, making it an extremely powerful weapon. It takes a little longer to reload, so make sure you have enough cover to do so. Automatic mode is also less accurate than single shots. |
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M16 assault rifle with M203 grenade launcher
The M16 is the grunts' standard issue, not always with a grenade launcher. The players' M16 will always have a grenade launcher. To use it, press secondary fire to insert a grenade into the barrel, then press secondary fire again when you're ready to launch it. An M16 round consists of 30 5.56mm bullets fired in 3-round bursts. 10 assault rifle grenades can be held, but only 1 inside the grenade launcher at a time. |
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M249 SAW
The M249 SAW (squad automatic weapon) is a powerful machine gun with a high firing rate and damage. It can be used to provide supporting fire for teammates. It has a belt of 200 5.56mm rounds, but also suffers high reload time. |
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Spore launcher
The spore launcher is an artilary support weapon, firing deadly acidic spores with massive splash damage. Not to be used in confined spaces! The small plant that produces spores has also been implemented. |
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Shock rifle
The shock roaches dropped by dead shock troppers can be picked up and used for a short time as your own electric weapon. Be sure to dispose of it before it self-destructs in your face! Like the minigun, you must use a live shock roach to obtain this weapon rather than simply walking over it. |
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Mortar cannon
The fixed mortar cannon from Opposing Force has been implemented in Sven Co-op 4.0. Players and enemies can use this cannon as heavy artillery support for advancing troops. |
Important changes to old weapons:
- Several weapon models have been updated to super-definition (SD) quality
- The crowbar can now be thrown at enemies to do damage with +alt1 (default Mouse3, middle click)
- The pipe wrench can now repair friendly sentry guns and turrets by hitting them with primary fire
- The minigun is no longer automatically picked up. To pick up the minigun you must look at it and press the use key (default E)
- You can pick up your satchel charges in case you want to relocate them by using them (default E). This can also be done by kicking them. Move over your satchel charge to kick it forward (aka satchel football)
New characters
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Human grunt with RPG
As the name suggests, this new grunt carries a rocket propelled grenade launcher. The RPG grunt uses his weapon strategically. He will not fire at hostiles if friendly units are within the splash zone. Futhermore, he will attempt to run away from foes as soon they get a little too close for him to fire the RPG safely. Also, just like players, the RPG Grunt is able to use the laser guidance system on the Rocket Launcher to guide the rocket, this makes him an extremely dangerous foe at a long range. |
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Bodyguard
Highly trained, the bodyguard is entrusted with guarding VIPs, buildings, or objects, even at the cost of his own life. Consistantly aware of all threats and highly skilled in combat techniques, he can handle a wide selection of weapons including the 9mm pistol, desert eagle, MP5, shotgun, minigun, dual uzi, and sniper rifle. The bodyguard is fast and has superb accuracy, so be especially careful when you encounter this foe. |
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Stukabat
Sven Co-op has blown life into one of Valve's concept monsters. This Xen creature has the ability to fly and dive-attack you with his acid claws. It can contaminate players with its acid and they'll take damage over time. The Stukabat isn't a very dangerous creature, but can be quite the trouble as soon they come in packs. Watch those skies! |
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Kingpin
A high ranking Xen warrior with a range of attacks and a shield, which reflects various projectiles. The shield must be destroyed before you can even scratch this monster. It can also fire energy beams and energy orbs that home in on targets. |
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Tor
Tor is the newest boss-level enemy in Sven Co-op. Armed with a powerful staff, Tor is a commander of the Xen Forces who invaded the Earth. Strong, smart, and fast, Tor is a challenging opponent in combat. His staff can strike you with high amounts of damage. As well as being a strong warrior, Tor can teleport alien grunts into the battle for support. Try to take him down before he has summoned an entire army to destroy your team! |
Important changes to old characters:
- Many monsters now have the ability to run and shoot
- The Gargantua now has the ability to bite the head off hostiles and players. Also, his melee attack (arm swing) will now send hostiles flying into the air
- Barnacles now have an extra firm grip on players, preventing them from reaching for weapons, making them much more dangerous. Another player or allied NPC must kill the barnacle to save the captive player from certain death
- Grunts and male assassins will fire their MP5 or SAW on automatic instead of burst fire. The M16 is fired in burst fire
New maps
Important changes to old maps:
- All old official maps (including the map packs) have been tested and adjusted to current game play and features
- Sandstone has been completely redesigned by Hezus
- Incoming has been updated by BMT (with a couple of new surprises and secrets added)
New effects
- Sven Co-op uses Fmod to replace the traditional Half-life sound system. With this new system, Sven Co-op can use better quality sounds and use MP3 support without any limits
- New effects have been added to make the game visually more attractive. Water splashes when objects hit the surface, weapons show smoke puffs and light effects while firing, and many more!
- Monsters now properly lip-sync when saying custom sound files