<s>
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
a	O
mecha	O
based	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Set	O
in	O
Dream	O
Pod	O
9	O
's	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
universe	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Activision	O
in	O
1999	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
;	O
it	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
Linux	B-Application
in	O
2000	O
by	O
Loki	O
Software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
the	O
1997	O
video	O
game	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
incorporates	O
third-person	O
and	O
stealth	O
elements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
began	O
during	O
the	O
autumn	O
of	O
1997	O
with	O
an	O
aggressive	O
13	O
month	O
schedule	O
which	O
aimed	O
to	O
ship	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
autumn	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
team	O
was	O
a	O
newly	O
formed	O
group	O
within	O
Activision	O
,	O
composed	O
of	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
and	O
brightest	O
employees	O
that	O
the	O
firm	O
had	O
available	O
,	O
each	O
of	O
whom	O
had	O
experience	O
working	O
on	O
several	O
3D	O
games	O
previously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
design	O
team	O
wanted	O
to	O
move	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
larger	O
BattleMech	O
style	O
gears	O
as	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
,	O
and	O
to	O
smaller	O
,	O
more	O
agile	O
gears	O
,	O
staying	O
truer	O
the	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
universe	O
and	O
allowing	O
for	O
faster	O
paced	O
and	O
more	O
diverse	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Built	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
the	O
first	O
priority	O
for	O
the	O
engine	O
was	O
stability	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
memory	B-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
and	O
leak	O
tracking	O
,	O
allowing	O
developers	O
to	O
spot	O
memory	B-Error_Name
leaks	I-Error_Name
as	O
soon	O
as	O
they	O
occurred	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
later	O
on	O
in	O
a	O
test	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
there	O
were	O
debates	O
within	O
the	O
team	O
regarding	O
the	O
issue	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
concluded	O
that	O
software	O
rendering	O
was	O
insufficient	O
to	O
deliver	O
on	O
the	O
teams	O
 '	O
visual	O
goals	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
support	O
was	O
dropped	O
from	O
the	O
engine	O
,	O
making	O
video	B-Device
cards	I-Device
a	O
necessity	O
to	O
run	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
targeting	O
only	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
equipped	O
machines	O
,	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
could	O
feature	O
more	O
units	O
on	O
screen	O
and	O
greater	O
environmental	O
detail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Offloading	O
the	O
visual	O
rendering	O
to	O
dedicated	O
video	B-Device
cards	I-Device
allowed	O
for	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
cycles	I-General_Concept
to	O
be	O
freed	O
up	O
for	O
other	O
uses	O
such	O
as	O
AI	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
approach	O
to	O
AI	B-Application
was	O
to	O
go	O
for	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
"	O
autopilot	O
"	O
system	O
,	O
whereby	O
non-player	O
characters	O
could	O
decide	O
for	O
themselves	O
what	O
objectives	O
to	O
achieve	O
and	O
how	O
to	O
go	O
about	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enemy	O
units	O
may	O
split	O
off	O
into	O
separate	O
fireteams	B-Application
,	O
call	O
upon	O
reinforcements	O
or	O
order	O
artillery	O
strikes	O
against	O
the	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiplayer	O
was	O
an	O
important	O
element	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
implemented	O
using	O
an	O
internal	O
Activision	O
networking	O
SDK	B-Application
early	O
in	O
development	O
,	O
before	O
even	O
the	O
single-player	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
experience	O
of	O
the	O
team	O
,	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
did	O
not	O
adhere	O
to	O
the	O
intended	O
schedule	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Dark	O
Side	O
engine	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
again	O
in	O
Activision	O
's	O
Interstate	B-Application
'	I-Application
82	I-Application
,	O
released	O
later	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1999	O
,	O
Loki	O
Software	O
was	O
assigned	O
to	O
port	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
across	O
to	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Application
port	O
took	O
Loki	O
Software	O
approximately	O
6	O
months	O
to	O
complete	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
described	O
by	O
Loki	O
as	O
"	O
their	O
most	O
challenging	O
product	O
to	O
date	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
uses	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
proprietary	O
Direct3D	B-Application
API	B-Application
for	O
graphical	O
rendering	O
,	O
Loki	O
had	O
to	O
port	O
this	O
to	O
OpenGL	B-Application
in	O
order	O
for	O
it	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
realise	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
3D	O
sound	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Loki	O
worked	O
with	O
support	O
from	O
Creative	O
Technology	O
to	O
build	O
an	O
open	O
standard	O
audio	O
API	B-Application
from	O
scratch	O
with	O
a	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
implementation	O
,	O
named	O
OpenAL	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
Direct3D	B-Application
game	O
to	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
OpenGL	B-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
implement	O
OpenAL	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Application
port	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
April	O
2000	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
demo	O
followed	O
in	O
June	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
favourable	O
reviews	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
GameRankings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
compared	O
favourably	O
to	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
,	O
with	O
PC	O
Zone	O
stating	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
huge	O
improvement	O
over	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
GameSpot	O
believing	O
that	O
Activision	O
had	O
redeemed	O
itself	O
for	O
the	O
failures	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
did	O
note	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
that	O
there	O
were	O
"	O
a	O
few	O
clipping	O
and	O
polygon-collision-detection	O
glitches	O
"	O
,	O
similar	O
detractions	O
were	O
noted	O
by	O
Linux	B-Application
Journal	O
and	O
IGN	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
,	O
NextGen	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
Journal	O
all	O
highlighted	O
the	O
sheer	O
number	O
of	O
options	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Response	O
to	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
was	O
mixed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
praised	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
as	O
challenging	O
,	O
and	O
PC	O
Zone	O
described	O
the	O
enemy	O
AI	B-Application
as	O
being	O
"	O
clued-up	O
on	O
battle	O
tactics	O
"	O
,	O
able	O
to	O
"	O
dodge	O
and	O
weave	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
place	O
"	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
seek	O
reinforcements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Gamer	O
UK	O
disagreed	O
,	O
accusing	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
of	O
being	O
"	O
absolutely	O
,	O
hilariously	O
terrible	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
view	O
shared	O
with	O
Linux	B-Application
Journal	O
,	O
who	O
described	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
as	O
being	O
"	O
basically	O
pathetic	O
"	O
,	O
both	O
critics	O
cited	O
examples	O
of	O
poor	O
pathfinding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
compared	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
element	O
favourably	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
rival	O
mecha	O
game	O
,	O
MechWarrior	B-Application
3	I-Application
,	O
but	O
,	O
like	O
Linux	B-Application
Journal	O
,	O
found	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
co-operative	O
multiplayer	O
a	O
disappointment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
Journal	O
looked	O
at	O
it	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
direction	O
though	O
,	O
pointing	O
out	O
that	O
once	O
mastered	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
payoff	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
is	O
extraordinary	O
;	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
control	O
a	O
player	O
has	O
in	O
HG2	O
is	O
amazing	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
1999	O
"	O
Science	O
Fiction	O
Simulator	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
to	O
Freespace	B-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
nominated	O
for	O
PC	O
PowerPlays	O
"	O
Best	O
Fantasy	O
Sim	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
to	O
MechWarrior	B-Application
3	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Activision	O
would	O
discontinue	O
development	O
on	O
the	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
franchise	O
in	O
2002	O
,	O
believing	O
that	O
strictly	O
PC	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
II	I-Application
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
viable	O
future	O
with	O
the	O
launch	O
and	O
growth	O
of	O
sixth	B-Application
generation	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
further	O
news	O
of	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
video	O
games	O
appeared	O
until	O
2012	O
,	O
when	O
Dream	O
Pod	O
9	O
announced	O
that	O
Stompy	O
Bot	O
Productions	O
were	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
new	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
Stompy	O
Bot	O
launched	O
a	O
crowdfunding	O
campaign	O
,	O
aiming	O
to	O
raise	O
$	O
900,000	O
towards	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Heavy	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
Assault	O
.	O
</s>
