Reviews

BloodBath 6

Homepage: http://www.planetshogo.com/bloodbath
Download: Mod v6.0

The Basics
BloodBath 6 is the latest revision of the former client-side rez turned sweet mod. In version 6, Wraith and company have tried to make the game less laggy while still keeping all the anime-style action.

The Gameplay
As with previous versions, BloodBath 6 takes almost all the weapons in Shogo and cranks 'em up. To help offset all the carnage, you have a slightly higher armor limit. Every weapon (except the knives) have zoom capability like the assault rifle. Besides that, there's a modified HUD (Heads Up Display). Many of the weapons have changed since BloodBath 5.0.1. Here's the low-down:

MCA

The Bolter: The Bolter is basically a pulse cannon with faster firing. It now uses the laser cannon model

HV (High Velocity) Laser: This faster-firing cousin of the old laser cannon uses the on-foot machine gun model. Its firing rate makes it a very effective close-range weapon.

Heavy Spider Cannon: This one has a very interesting and very unique new model and firing animation. It spits out spiders at an alarming rate (after an initial spin-up time) which take much longer to detonate than before.

Bullgut Mark 2: The quad rockets travel more quickly and fly in a slightly tighter pattern. This is my preferred MCA weapon.

Slug Rifle Mark 6: The sniper rifle is now a fast-firing machine gun. It even fires this fast when zoomed in!

RHVC: RHVC means Rotary High Velocity Cannon. It has the same sweet gatling-gun model (it even spins down!) from BB5. It is more like the shredder than the juggernaut that it replaces.

Barbie's Dream Shredder: Same model as the original shredder--only it's, gulp, pink. This weapon proves that Wraith has a really bizarre sense of humor (I like that!). It is essentially the same as the old shredder, with slightly higher blast radius.

APA-5 (Antimatter Particle Accelerator): My big complaint with BB5 was that this weapon was completely emasculated. Wraith has given it a lot more oompf, but it requires you to have much better aim than the Red Riot does. Like BB5, the APA-5 uses the TOW model.

On Foot

Katana: The knife has been replaced with this nice thin-bladed sword. Perfect for those reenactments of old Saturday Night Live "Samuri Delicatessen" sketches.

Laser Rifle: At last, you can spawn in with a real weapon! This all-new model fires much like the MCA laser cannon, only far less accurately. What it loses in accuracy it makes up in pure firing speed.

Boom Stick: Basically a rapid-fire shotgun with a very nice new model. A very effective close-quarters weapon.

Chain Gun: It uses the same model as the RHVC and is not unlike the chain gun in Wolfenstein, Quake II, etc. Much more accurate than the machine gun it replaces.

Sniper Rifle: It has a new rifle model, but I wonder why the firing rate is so slow in a mod like BB6? It's firing rate is much like the original MCA sniper rifle.

Energy Hose: I'll just quote what I put in my BB5 review, because it hasn't changed: When I first saw the name for this gun, I thought, "That's a stupid name." Now that I've played, it makes sense. Again, it uses a variation of the machine gun model. It fires energy grenades (the blue ones) at a lighting-fast pace. This one will really test how fast your graphics card is.

Kato Pistol: This new revolver model fires kato grenades faster that fly more quickly and last longer than the original kato grenades. This is now a very effective weapon--I like using it a lot.

MACE II: MACE = Matter-Antimatter Conversion Emitter. It uses the Red Riot model and shoots, um, cars. Really. These cars travel very slowly but do massive damage.

Voodoo Doll: This new squeaky toy takes longer to fire, but when it does, it unleashes a horrific amount of violence. Having said that, you need to be pretty accurate and its long firing time makes you a convenient target.

Just like BB5, when you score a critical hit, instead of getting a message saying, "CRITICAL HIT!", it says, "SHAZAM!". Since I am old enough to remember when Shazam was on T.V., I got a big kick out of that.

Some Screenshots
(Click for a 640x480 view)

Katana	Energy Hose
Voodoo Doll

Thanks to Quantus, Ghost, and test for help with the screenshots!
The Good
This mod is just as much fun as its predecessors. Fortunately the weapons, especially the RHVC and the Dream Shredder, have been changed so they don't tax your system so much and cause so much lag.

The APA-5 is a big improvement over BB5. It does dish out a ton of damage, but not as much as the Red Riot and you have to be far more accurate to use it effectively. Well done.

You can actually see the new weapons in other players' hands (instead of the regular Shogo weapon) and as power-ups on the ground.

If you like Shogo multiplayer (and who doesn't?) you'll love BloodBath. 'Nuff said.

The Bad
The energy hose still creates an aweful lot of lag because of how it taxes your video and sound systems. Overall though, BB6 is much less laggy than BB5.

Wraith notes in the BB6 readme that the skins will not show up properly on some weapons if you have Shogo set to use 16-bit textures. The only weapons I've had problems with are the on-foot laser rifle and boom stick. No matter if I'm using 16-bit or 8-bit textures, I never see skins on those weapons.

The MCA Dream Shredder and the on-foot sniper rifle are disappointing. I understand why the Shredder was tuned down from BB5 because it was a lag monster. It would be more useful if the firing rate were slightly increased.

The sniper rifle, well, I don't think I'll ever use it. BB6 is a fast-paced mod and the sniper rifle is slow as molasses in January. If it were an "instant kill" weapon, that would be one thing, but it isn't. My suggestion? Make it an "instant kill" weapon! That would keep the violence up while rewarding good marksmanship at the same time (although it would be a camper's dream weapon then).

Where did the new skins from BB5 go? I liked them!

The Conclusion
Ahh, BloodBath. I've played this mod more than any other. It is simple, quick, online-gaming fun. Isn't that what deathmatch is supposed to be? If you haven't already, try using this mod in single player. It's a blast!

If you plan on running a BB6 server, I suggest cranking up the respawn rate. You go through ammo so fast, you can run out rather quickly. An increased respawn rate will ensure that there's plenty of rapid-fire action to go around. I suggest setting it to 6.

Because of the level-change bug in TOW Arena, the EZ-Net Shogo server is now a BloodBath 6 server. It is running 24/7 at games.ez-net.com:27888. We RIPpers regularly practice there. Feel free to stop by any time!

And yes, Wraith, you still are my hero :)