After much experimention and trial and error, I've successfully ran and have been running my own public "modded" servers for the past 3 years on and off... (some of you may have played on them listed as " MODality", "Modded Maps", "MODus Operandi", and more recently "Noobs Only!" )...
The only tools I used to accomplish this was Sparkedit, HMT and HHT and maybe their respective plugins. If you are going to attempt this, I suggest first getting familiar with the mentioned applications and also running your mods by downloading and installing Halo Dedicated Server & Multiplayer Maps (which will of course run in the background) and fire up Halo as you normally would and join "your" game. That way you should be able to see if everyone could "see" what you intended everyone to see. Make sure you do not screw around with the maps in your normal Halo directory.
But before I get into this, here's the rationale:
The dedicated server is hosting your modded map files in its own map directory. Each client that accesses/joins your server is running off his own maps in whatever directory they install HALO on. The maps for the most part should be identical. However if your mods include complex model injections like adding new vehicles, changing terrain, or radically changing physics or collision models for example, there will be a conflict in data sync between client side and server side. This results as an undesirable glitchy laggy effect during gameplay.. i.e. you may see a lot of skipping for no apparent reason while driving a vehicle such as a flying warthog etc. The only way to see the intended complex mod, is you will need the same (or very similar) modded map. Of course this defeats the purpose of creating a mod "everyone can see".
so.....
Here's a simple breakdown what can or can not be done if you want "everyone" to see the mod:
With Sparkedit, you CAN:
re-position, move, duplicate vehicles/weapons/items, in a map. You CAN also import additional "tags" -vehicles - to maps that normally dont have that kind of vehicle. For i.e. In Icefields you can import a banshee vehicle tag (which will then show up in the swap drop down menu), duplicate an existing vehicle such as a warthog then swap that vehicle with a banshee under the drop down menu. You can then duplicate up to the max limit 4 vehicles per side.
(To add beyond max limit of 4 vehicles requires another workaround which I will explain in a bit).
You CANT import scenery tags like trees and rocks or duplicate and reposition them. Attempting to do so will result in a laggy glitchy mod mentioned above.
You CAN add teleport markers -source and destination- to various places on the map. Like if you want get on the upper rim of Gephyrophobia which by the way is an interesting view... add a few warthogs up there and you can have a nice midnight drive on the snow covered hills. With teleport markers you can really extend the gameplay by having players go to places they normally cant. You can also achieve this by moving around respawn points as well. Try experimenting to see what works.
With HMT, here's what you CAN do:
[Bipd] you can remove fall damage. You CANT walk on walls.
[coll] You can swap certain collision models to remove some effects but this works to a limited extent. You'll have to test it by trial and error.
[proj] you can swap projectiles of various weapons (but "everyone" will not see the actual projectile but rather the effect. For i.e. you can replace a pistol bullet for a tank shell or a bag of shotgun pellets for a rockets (which by the way if you ever saw is quite fantastic) but not everyone will see it. Rather "everyone" will see the huge area of invisible damage and things flying about all coming from a pistol shot. So dont expect "everyone" to see wraith cannon fire from an assault rifle either.
[weap] you can modify weapons attributes, such as physics associated with projectiles, the # of ammunition per clip/per fire. Changing things like zoom levels say on sniper rifle or overheating on plasma weapons has no effect that "everyone" canl see.
[jpt!] you can change Damage effects from vehicles to weapons fire. You can set # for min-max damage range. You can also alter or add a force # to any weapon as well. i.e. set something like force of 40+ to create a super plasma rifle that can throw a tank miles into the air
[phys] you can change vehicle physics i.e. set warthogs or scorpion tanks gravity multiplier to low (less than 0.05) or zero gravity "0". Simply throw a nade and watch them float weightlessly to the sky. However attempting to ride them while changing any physics [vehi] attributes on vehicles will result in the unwanted glitch effect. But you can still have someone ride in the passenger or gunner seat of a hog and send them to the sky glitch free to view the world. Again experiment with it to see what works.
[scen] Tab: How to add vehicles in MAPs that dont have any or how to increase #max limt of 4 vehicles in a map.
OK say you want to add like 20 banshees and a few covenent turrets in a map like Boardingaction that normally dont have any vehicles at all and you want "everyone" see it. Well it can be done. Simply find the vehicle in [vehi] tab and change its attributes to match scenery item. Under Tag Information menu next to ID# you'll see 3 pull down menu items. For Vehicles, its "vehi-unit-obje". Change the desired vehicle to match scenery characteristic which will be "scen-obje-yyyy". Then go back to Sparkedit and import scenery tag. Your vehicle should now show up in the pull down list. Simply duplicate an existing scenery item such as a rock or a tree and then swap the duplicated scenery item to your desired vehicle you imported. Remember not to change the original scenery item as that would alter the map. By using this method you are also not limited to only 4 vehicles of any type. You can theoretically duplicate any amount (unless it overwhelms the server). Each vehicle will not be team specific also. I think I've done 30 vehicles at one time but it causes some real lag. This work around will also work by changing scenery with bipeds (to add inanimate Green Spartans Master Chiefs) to your map or things like skull oddballs or flags even. Experiment to see what works. There is however a catch to all this. You HAVE TO DISABLE VEHICLES FROM RESPAWNING. Otherwise it will crash your server. So create a separate map mode with no vehicles respawning to use this workaround.
Some things that DONT work right using HMT:
To name a few, changing vehicle attributes like speed or acceleration or swapping vehicle behavior will result in glitchy gameplay. Things like sky lighting, model textures, HUD displays cant be altered to allow "everyone" to see them. Certain things are listed in HMT but have no visible effect - like the gravity rifle.
With HHT, you can:
[Bipd] Under biped tab, you can change starting weapons - i.e. in Bloodgulch instead of starting with pistols and assault rifles you can start with fuel rods and rockets. However you have to change the map mode so that everyone starts with "generic" items instead of normal in order for the change to be in effect.
[scnr] In Scenario tab, you can change the default layout of weapons in various maps. Just find an existing map in this tab under "itmc" and then swap it for any other weapon listed in the pull down menu. Some are actually listed for various modes (such as CTF, Slayer, King of the Hill etc) so you will have to again experiment. After you swapped the item go to Sparkedit and you should see the old weapons layout changed with the new ones you selected. You can use Sparkedit now to reposition them or duplicate them.
I hope that helps.. these are just a few things I'm mentioning, there's probably a lot more you can do. If you want "everyone" to see a more complex mod like Ai and PMI (Perfect Model Injection), you're going to need someway to facillitate distribution of your modded map to "everyone". Now given the limitations, I'm sure you can come up with some kind of modded map that may be enjoyable to play. Again just try experimenting to see what works and what doesnt.
Cheers.
