History of ORION:

The actual idea of ORION dates back over 7 years ago. The project of ORION actually started under the development IP name of Incoming. I was playing Counter-Strike (beta 4 I think it was) on my favorite map de_railroad. I met a guy in that game, his name was WhiteRabbit. We started talking. We eventually got on the subject of game development. So initially I bring up my game idea and he loves it. I later find out that he was a modeler. Bam, we start Incoming. Over the course of two years, the team grew to well over 30+ members. A lot of accomplishments were made during those two years of work. Ambitious ones at that. We were the first game using the Half-Life 1 engine to incorporate Drivable Vehicles with Usable Turrets. That was insane at the time. Not to mention the first game to also incorporate Flyable Vehicles (with passenger seats as well). Things were going great. Websites wanting to interview us came at us left and right, website exclusives. We were at the top of the game. But at the end of that 2 year period... committments came up during the time of around Fall. Team members had college, works, wives, jobs. Things got a bit heavy. So the team and Planethalflife.com (our hosters at the time, way back when) decided to put Incoming on Pause.

Well, 5 years later, Incoming is back with the Source engine. Including nearly everything from the Origional (including its Founder), and refining some of its old methods to make it even better along with a bunch of new features to make it feel even more epic.

About ORION:

This game is about being "fun" while giving you a tactical-type feel. The mod features plenty of weapons, both ballistic and plasma and cell-based. This is for both story purposes and to also garner towards players that prefer certain types of weapons. It is making everyone happy while staying true to the story. The game also features both Drivable Vehicles (with usable turrets) and Flyable Vehicles (just as the first Incoming did). This will add a new dimension to the online gaming of Source. On top of that, some maps feature the Animal AI, whether it being a T-rex walking around or a group of Raptors (NPC controlled). This game is all about constant action as well as tight and focused game (and gun) play.

Features List:

.Drivable Vehicles
.Flyable Vehicles
.7 Maps
.Upgrade System (class-based)
.Unique HUD / Radar
.NPC Creatures (dinosaurs) during network play
.Class-based Team-play
.Unique Shaders: Depth-of-Field, Motion Blur, Shield Distortion .20 plus weapons
.Interactive Game-Mode (ViTAL)
.Weapon Specific Features: Iron sights, fire-modes, melee attacks
.+more

Map List:

.vt_nanko
.vt_strike
.vt_catchment
.vt_quagmire
.vt_bare
.vt_splinter
.vt_edge
.vt_depth
.vt_shadow
.vt_oasis

Basic Story:

It was Earths last days. What was once a living, breathing, and very ambitious world is now on its last breath. The year is 2172. Earth has run its course with resources, leaving little to none.

There are three major powers in the world at this time. The NAF (North America Faction) which owns the majority of the lands, as well as the EUF (European United Faction) as well as the Government in the Far East. During these times the three major powers have formed treaties and agreements and act as one large world power. Resources have become so bare that the Government has taken it upon themselves to ration out the foods to the citizens. In order to do this they established the City of Cera located off the coast of Africa as the major city. Forcing major businesses and companies to re-located into Cera causing many of the workers to move there as well. They had also established reasonably priced housing in Cera in order to move the poor in. Doing so made it easier to ration out food, water, and clothing at a faster pace. But doing so also caused problems. People of Cera had formed rebel alliance groups. These groups became well-trained as well as very organized. Their families were dieing of starvation, dehydration as well as illnesses from malnutrition. The Rebels were only fighting to survive. Having all of the companies, businesses and government offices located in Cera made it very easy for the Rebel Alliances to do bombings as well as raids. This caused the Government to begin the Carrier Project as well as the more extreme, Phoenix Project.

Civil War lasted for 5 years on Earth. Many died, resources were lost. This put the Government in a terrible dilemma. In the year 2174 the Government began researching and searching for a suitable environment to ?start over?. After 10 years of looking they had found exactly what they were hoping for in the Dawn Galaxy. They code named the planet ?Orion?. In the next 5 years they began getting ready for a landing on Orion.

While scientists were studying Orion they saw signs of life. It had puzzled them as it was a very rare breed of life, beasts. In the year 2192 the first batch of scientists and military soldiers had landed on Orion and began setting up communication bases in order to contact Earth. They set up communication towers, bunkers, and bases in order to conduct their tests. Every week more scientists and marines arrived.

They studied the planet and began tests on the environment. Once realizing that the planet was suitable, and surprisingly nearly an exact copy of Earth, the Government had to make people aware of the situation. This had caused more rebel outbreaks since the poor would have a hard time affording living there, or even affording to get there. Civil war continued for another 4 years.

The year is 2220. The Carrier Project has been completed and the Phoenix Project will be done within the next 10 years. The first batch of Carrier Marines were sent to Orion in order to preserve the safety of the Scientists.

The year is 2232. The Phoenix Project is being finalized and the first batches of Phoenix Warriors are sent through out the City of Cera to maintain peace and order. Over the course of 2232 to 2240 only one Phoenix Warrior died in a war in Cera.

2240. The citizens of Orion notice strange marks in the sky over Orion. Blue streaks of light during the day time with loud sounds that would howl. They couldn?t figure out what they were, but a team of scientists were ordered to stop working on Orion and focus on the mysterious streaks of light.

2241. One of the Military Communication bases located in the Tera region in the snow covered mountains loses signal.

2242. The War starts.

Early Incoming Images from Half Life¹: