The Hidden : Source Players Guide

The Hidden: A HL2 Multiplayer Total Conversion

A Light In The Dark

General Overview
Hidden Source places the player into adrenaline fueled, tension filled scenarios from high tech labs through abandoned train depots to murky, cold sewer systems. Playing either as part of an eight man Infinitum Research Intercept Squad (I.R.I.S.) or as Subject 617 AKA "The Hidden". As a member of IRIS the player must locate and destroy the Hidden, as the Hidden the player must evade capture and use all abilities at his disposal to turn the tables on his aggressors.
Once you have joined a Hidden Source server you will need to navigate the Personnel and Weapon Selection screens.
Game Modes
In "The Hidden" there are currently two simple, yet fun game modes: Standard play and 'OverRun'.
Standard Play
A) Simple "Hidden vs. IRIS" gameplay. The Hidden is on his own against the IRIS team and has to eliminate them. To do so he uses a Kabar knife, "home-made" pipebombs and various special abilities. In return, the IRIS team has a large arsenal at their disposal. The IRIS team proceeds to hunt the nearly invisible 'Hidden'. The one person in the IRIS team who manages to kill the Hidden then becomes the Hidden himself. The round then restarts with the new Hidden. If the Hidden dies due to other reasons or the round time runs out before the Hidden manages to wipe out the IRIS team then a new Hidden is also chosen.

B) However, if the Hidden manages to successfully wipe out the IRIS team then the player who was the Hidden in that round will continue to be the Hidden in the next round. To give all players a chance at being the Hidden, it is possible to set the maximum of Hidden rounds in the server options. If the maximum Hidden round limit is reached then a new Hidden is automatically chosen.

OverRun Play

Similiar to the 'Standard Play' option, it is "The Hidden vs. the IRIS team" but with a twist. In this game mode, the Hidden does not have any pipebombs. Instead though he gets infinite lives. Also, when he kills a player they also become a Hidden. This continues until there is only one IRIS player left. When this happens, a "survival time" of 15 seconds starts. If the last IRIS player manages to survive these 15 seconds then he gains extra points to his score. The final remaining IRIS member always becomes the first Hidden in the next round.

Personnel Selection Screen Overview

On the Personnel screen you must select an IRIS team member to play as for the round. Holding your mouse over a character will give you information on that character. You can change your character at anytime by bringing up the Personnel screen in game (default key 'M'). Characters that are still available on the server will have an empty checkbox, characters taken by other players will have a red strike through their name. When you confirm your character by clicking the appropriate name, a green tick will appear in the checkbox to confirm your choice.

Next you must select what combat role you wish to take on for the round. Players can select either to be Assault or Support. Holding your mouse over a role will give you information on that role.

The Assault role is expected to be at the fore of any violent engagement. The Assault role has access to the full range of weaponary in the Infinitum Research armoury.

The Support role is tasked with aiding the rest of their squad. The supply class can, once a team member has requested ammo resupply via the radio menu (default key 'G'), give that team member an extra clip for both the primary and secondary weapon that they are carrying, if that member has sufficent space. They can only re-supply each team member after a radio request and only once per round. The Supply class are also supplied with three laser alarms for detection of adversaries. A side effect of the support role is that he can only wield either the lightweight FN P90 or the FN303 effectively in combat.

If the player wishes to spectate a round, they can select the surveillance option, where they will be able to view the round via either the level security cameras or by the IRIS head mounted cameras. If a player wishes to forgo the chance of playing as Subject 617, and therefore ONLY ever play as an IRIS team member, they can click the 'Forfeit Hidden Selection' option. If you wish to regain Hidden Selection, simply uncheck the box. Once all fields are selected, select confirm to continue to the Loadout Selection screen.

Loadout Selection Screen Overview

The Loadout Screen allows the player to choose a primary and secondary weapon as well as a piece of additional equipment. Players may only have ONE primary, ONE secondary and ONE additional equipment per round, although the loadout can be changed in preperation for consecutive rounds at anytime by bringing up the Loadout Screen (default key '<'). Any combination of primary, secondary and additional equipment may be selected at the players discretion. As a weapon is selected, a green tick will appear in the checkbox to confirm selection.

If the Assault role was selected, all weapons are available for selection. However, a side effect of the Support role means that only the FN303 or the FN P90 can be selected. Once the player has selected their loadout, they can press "Enter Field of Operations" and will join the game at the start of the next round.

Primary Weapons

FN2000 Assault Rifle

The FN2000 rifle is a gas operated, rotating bolt, select fire weapon in a bullpup layout. As standard it comes with a 1.6X magnification scope and other modules such as LAMs or flashlights can be added. It has a 30 round capacity and highest muzzle velocity.

FN P90 Sub Machine Gun

Developed as a solution in arming troops who needed compact firepower for conducting special operations, such as vehicle drivers and support personnel, the P90 is the optimum mix of compact size, hit probabilty, sustained firepower and terminal ballistics. It has a 50 round capacity and a medium muzzle velocity.

Remington 870 MCS Shotgun

The Remington 870 MCS pump action shotgun can be configured for an operators specific mission requirements. The 870 has proven track record for reliability and is as tough as nails. It has a 8 shell capacity and a high muzzle velocity but short range due to its spread.

FN 303 Less Lethal Launcher

Originally designed for crowd control, this weapon fires capsules that deliver a chemical payload to a target. Infinitum Research has approved it for administering the manufactured chemical ‘Sarin Oxime’ to Subject 617. Upon contact with the target the capsule shatters, the payload evaporates and the resultant gas is inhaled. The chemical has been manufactured to be harmless to the inoculated IRIS but disrupts key neurological and biological processes in Subject 617’s body. Repeated administration will result in a loss of motor function control and unconsciousness. Warning: anyone hit by a capsule will experience a loss in perception as the irritant gas come in contact with the mucus membranes.

Secondary Weapons

FN FiveSeven

This lightweight pistol fires a 5.7mm bullet that will defeat most armour in military service today. Its low recoil impulse results in virtually no muzzle climb and gives increased hit probability. The FiveSeven has a 20 round capacity with low/medium muzzle velocity.

FNP9

This pistol is an optimal balance of size and capacity. The FNP-9 is larger than the FiveSeven with a greater calibre round and therefore a smaller magazine, it packs more punch per round. The FNP-9 has a 15 round capacity and a medium muzzle velocity.

Additional Equipment

Laser Aiming Module

The Laser Aiming Module (LAM) is mounted on all of your firearms and projects a green dot into the world to assist with aiming. It can be toggled on and off to suit the situation.

Flashlight

This rail-mounted torch projects a tight cone of white light, useful for illuminating surroundings and basic aiming. It can be toggled on and off to suit the situation.

Light Amplification Goggles

The LAGs use photon gathering technology to intensify dim areas. Wearing them in brightly lit areas can inflict a detriment on your visual acuity.

Sonic Trip Alarm

This device uses a laser based sensor which is ‘tripped’ by an object passing through it. It emits a loud alarm and indicates it’s location on the IRIS HUD. The laser will react to anything passing through it, including the IRIS and world debris.

Adrenaline Shot

This syringe contains three shots of an adrenaline based compound developed by IR. Once administered, the subject gains a burst of speed for a few seconds. Side effects are blurred vision from the substantial increase of adrenline in the body.

Radar

Built into the HUD of all IRIS team members is a radar that tracks the location of any other team mates within a fixed range. Subject 617 does not show up on the radar. White blips represent Assault class team members and green blips represent Support class members, making rallying easier to co-ordinate.

Subject 617 Abilities Explained

When a player becomes the Hidden, they do not have a selection of weapons to choose from. The only weaponary Subject 617 has is a Kabar (a combat knife), stolen from one of the victims during his escape from IR labs and three 'home-made' pipebombs. On first impressions this seems a little unfair, however the Hidden also has a wide range of special abilites brought on from the experiments carried out on him.

The Pounce (Press Pounce key to pounce. Recommended that players looks up slightly when pressing the key for greater effect)

The Pounce is essential to the Hidden's survival. Using this special ability allows the Hidden to gain access to areas the Infinitum team cannot. It is useful for both closing the distance between himself and his adversaries as well as a quick escape method. However the Pounce is governed by the Hidden's stamina and a total of about four or five pounces consecutively are possible before the Hidden must rest and regain strength for a short while.

The Slash (Press Primary fire key)

The Hidden will use his Kabar to simply slash his opponent, inflicting damage. Of course it is no where near as strong as the 'Pigsticker', yet 3-4 slashes are enough to kill a completely undamaged victim. Also, the slash is much faster than the Pigsticker and allows the 'Feeding' option.

The Pigsticker (Press Secondary fire key)

The Hidden has gained super strength from the testing and experiments carried out on him and is able to plunge his knife with super strength into his adversaries at close range, literally dismembering the victim. This makes for a one hit kill attack, but is loud, messy and leaves no way of gaining health via feeding. Due to its powerful nature, the "Pigstick" has a build up time of a few seconds.

Note: Pigsticker is a server variable, it is possible the Pigsticker attack maybe disabled on certain servers.

The Wall Grab (Press pounce key whilst when close to wall to cling to it, press any key to let go. Highly recommended to jump or pounce at wall first)

The Hidden is be able to cling to the walls and ceilings of the level. This can be used to launch a surprise attack on the marines or as a quick hide away. The wall grab also drains away the Hidden's stamina, but at a considerably slower rate than pouncing. The Hidden can cling for approximately eight seconds before he is forced to let go.

Feeding (Press Primary Fire key whilst next to a corpse and aiming at the body)

The Hidden regains health when feeding upon the body of the team members that he eliminates. However, the mess that feeding creates will be visible for all to see, the body will shake about and blood will be seen lashing about the victim. An added problem is that dismembered bodies (either by pipebomb or pigsticker) cannot be fed upon and are useless to the Hidden.

Object Manipulation (Press USE key near a physics object)

Whilst the IRIS have their hands full and cannot pick up world items, Subject 617 has no such problem. He is able to pick many of the world items to be used as a distraction or as a weapon, launching them at the enemy either by hand or the pigsticker. The Hidden can also pick up the corpses of his victims and uses these as a distraction, carry them away for later feeding or pin them up.

Corpse Pinning (Whilst holding a body, face a wall or ceiling and press Secondary Fire key)

When the Hidden has killed an adversary, he can pick up the body and pin it to wall, floors and ceilings. This can be used to hide a body away for feeding upon later, or purely to distress and scare the remaining IRIS members.

Health Perception 'Aura' (Hold down Additional Equipment Key to use, only works whilst stationary)

When the Hidden closes in on a potential victim, his heightened senses allow him to detect the pheromones around that person by concentrating upon the area around the victim. The Hidden sees this as an aura surrounding the player. A green aura dictates that the player is in good health, a yellow/orange aura dictates lighly wounded and dark red shows the player is seriously wounded and is an easy one slash kill. As this requires a high degree of concentration on the part of 617, it can only be seen whilst he is stationary, moving around will automatically return to his normal view.

Gameplay Tips and Hints

Use pounce as much as possible. This is by far the quickest way to get around the map.
The Hidden has a secondary attack on his knife called the "Pig-sticker". It spells instant death for whoever is on the receiving end. Bare in mind that it takes a couple of seconds to wind up so make sure you start well ahead of schedule. A true master will be able to start it off and then leap into an opponent.
Looking up and then pouncing while running forward will send you right up in the air. This is a good tactic to get in close to people, sometimes you can land on their head without them noticing, then its pigsticker time.
You'd be surprised how often people forget to look upwards. As the Hidden, there are very few places that are inaccessible. Pouncing from above is one of the most effective tactics.
Remember that the Hidden has pipe bombs. These are especially useful for dislodging campers as well as splitting up a large group of people.
Be wary of large groups. Running into a large group of people is a pretty fast way of getting killed, use those pipe bombs to split them up.
Don't cower in a corner, it's good way to get a pipe bomb landing at your feet.
Keep moving. The longer you stand still, the greater the chance of attack.
Listen to the sounds around you. This can often give away the Hiddens location or warn of imminent attack.
Stay together if possible. You stand a better chance with other people, unless of course the Hidden uses his pipe bombs which means you'll probably get blown up in the event of an attack.
Don't waste your ammo. You only get so much and its often wasted on reloads, then you're down to your pistol - back against the wall time.
If you see the Hidden, don't let on. Simply run up to the Hidden as if you haven't seen it and then give it a lead salad.
If attacked by the Hidden, keep moving! Run backwards, changing direction all the time to avoid a knife in the head.
The Hidden is most visible when he's moving. You can quickly develop an eye for this movement and look for it.

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