This is an unfinished image (excuse typos) from the Descent 2 intro featuring my hacked Black Pyro for Descent 3 multilayer, code named HAKBP30. In real life, the hacked ship featured weapons that fired 30% faster, used no energy, and was able to make short "warp" jumps (frequently mistaken as lag) using the secret "Standard Forced Impact Jump Drive". The modified .gam file provided a special "warp" effect for the actual "jump" and offered enhanced visuals for napalm rockets (fire should have glow), vauss cannon (weapon tracers and better audio), and more. This ship was once used to successfully steal the flag in a heavily guarded base in Worlds Apart 2, which invoked the response "lag" from at least one participant. Sadly, the HAPBP30 was decommissioned with the closing of PXO and the end of multilayer Descent3.
An alternate version of the mod was applied to the Phoenix (HAKP100) which was essentially a "no holds barred" version. It included an experimental phasing cloak allowing it to pass through most walls and weapon firing delays were set to a minimum. A controlled demonstration once crashed someone's computer because it could not handle the faster weapon effects. These technologies made the craft unsuitable for normal play, but the craft was once used to police Worlds Apart 2 when someone was stopping gameplay by taking the flag out of the level. The match ended in a truce because my opponent was using a less sophisticated "Enhanced Recoil Effect Jump Drive" to evade me in one of WA2's warp tunnels, and I wanted our drive technologies to remain secret (his drive allowed him to stay in the tunnel, but was otherwise inferior). It was one of my favorite matches in D3.
These were some of the best ship mods, but they were only shared with a select few. Great power means great responsibility. The goal was not to disrupt gameplay. The theory was that if they didn't know you were cheating and they were still enjoying the game, you could also enjoy the game with special powers and no one would mind. (the purpose is to have fun, and as long as your mods don't decrease the enjoyment from other players, they are legit). The community was usually very arrogant.. especially on the last point.. so I had no problem using the covert HAKBP30 in most situations.
I do not post multilayer hacks, but feel free to email me if you want to discuss theories behind these mods. I'm not guarding the information as I once did because the game is pretty much dead now. If mods serve to retain interest, then so be it.
