Wirehead Studios

The final entry in the Strogg Troopers arsenal is the Phalanx Particle Cannon. (http://www.wireheadstudios.org/gallery/album35/stroggphalanx_shots)  Ever wonder what's better than a Rocket Launcher?  How about a compact double-barreled cannon that fires super-heated magnesium slugs in quick succession.  Give them both barrels and watch the gibs fly!  Uses special magnesium slugs for ammo, and spawns where Arena Gladiators would pick up a Nailgun.

(http://www.wireheadstudios.org/album/album35/stroggphalanx_shots.jpg)

To see them all in action, here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmaqKtnXPHs

So what's next?  As you may have noticed, there's not a large variety of characters in the videos posted recently.  The main 5 need to train the other combatants how to properly hold their new weapons, which means player model rigging and animation.  We also be cooking up some icons for the new guns, plus hunting down and fixing any bugs that crawl out along the way.   :slippy_thumb:

Did I hear this correctly? Class specific gibbing sounds as well?

And effects, too.  O_o  :!:  :ninja:

Looks awesome! All of the TA-related content so far is very exciting and I love seeing the various updates on it. It's really amazing to see that people are still developing content for Quake 3 even as we approach its 20th anniversary later this year.

I remember when I first tried out the Phalanx in the Reckoning, I wondered exactly what unique niche it served. As mentioned in the description on the gallery page, it's effectively a double-barreled rocket launcher. Undeniably useful, for sure, and great fun to use, but all it appeared to be at first glance was a beefed-up RL.

Then I realized that because the two bolts fired with a short delay in between, you could actually move your view around in-between shots to have the bolts go in different directions. This meant that you could choose between having the two bolts hit a single enemy for massive damage, or have them diverge and take on multiple enemies, at the cost of having the damage spread out. Once I realized that it immediately became one of my favorite examples of weapon design in the Quake series, as it is a terrific example of hiding tactical complexity within seemingly simplistic game mechanics. In a way, the Tribolt from Quake Champions could be considered its spiritual successor (though mixed in with a bit of Prox Launcher as well), as both employ the concept of high damage in a concentrated area versus low damage spread out over a wider area, and being able to switch between the two by moving the player's view around. I'm not sure if this kind of strategy was ever intended by the original developers, but it's really cool nonetheless.

Ahh yes, that's one of my favorite features of the Phalanx is how the one-two punch can be aimed that way.  It's funny that you bring up the tri-bolt from Champions as it's a weapon that, initially I did not like at all, being a fan of the Quake 2 grenade launcher.  That being said, I found many times I was picking it up a lot because I didn't spawn near one of the more "favored" weapons, and the bots would frag me from near full health with a single volley.  I started using it more and I've found it's actually a lot more useful that I expected, and I can land direct hits with it a LOT easier than I can with the rocket launcher.  It's an oddball gun that, if used correctly, can be devastating and yet it's very much overlooked by most players.  I hadn't made a connection with the Phalanx, but you're spot on with that!

I'm not sure what your Steam handle is, but if you want to friend me on Steam just send a request to Phoenix9000 and I'll add you.  I tend to lurk invisible a lot but that way we can live chat sometime about modding and Quake stuff in general.

Also, glad to meet you and welcome to the (largely quiet) Wirehead board!  :doom_thumb: