PlanetPhillip

The pack contains Black Mesa style environments, outdoor areas, driving sections and plenty of action. Without giving away any spoilers, the last map contains an innovative use of a trainyard.

So, how many romantics reading this? Probably not many. I am and I’m not ashamed of it but in this case I don’t want a love interest in Half-Life.>

A simple canal map.

In Rebellion, you play as Mandella, colonel in the Confederation, a powerful military force. At the beginning, you explore the mothership as you’re asked by admiral Spade to attend your briefing.

A Portal map with some interesting puzzles.

White forest is gathering underground resistance fighters, as they straggle from the shattered remains of city 17 and surrounding areas.

Well, everybody and his dog have different theories about the G-Man. The question is whether ultimately he is evil.

Work your way from the train station to a huge Combine Facility and don’t leave until you have destroyed it!

This is really the very first Poll Question back on 26 October 2006: Have you crowbarred Barney for his ammo?. I decide to ask it again but this time with Alyx.

A simple, linear map, it has some strange texture combinations but it’s quite fun to play.

A set of corridors that eventually lead outside, assuming you can make it that far!

I’ve been a vocal opponent of Episodes almost from the beginning. I don’t like them and feel they have stifled the modding community by making modders unsure which engine they should make the mod for.

Not another rant, but more of an introspection. Nearly 4 years ago I wrote a piece called Location, Location, Location in which I shared my thoughts about the locations used in Half-Life 2.

This little map is the result of a challenge I gave Dylan when he said he was bored. It’s amazing what you can do with two hours!

Jump into the portal and reach the 3 fighting Striders. What else can I tell you? The first and only speech is in Russian but you don’t really need to know what he says. Just run, think, shoot and kill!

A simple map that only requires “Speedy in, speedy out” solutions. Apparently there is an Easter Egg, can you find it?

Follow the text instructions and enetr the research facility and help those inside. Simply? Of course not. Get to it Freeman!

The player is a Resistance agent sent to investigate the status of a previously overrun base. Upon entry, he finds lingering Combine forces that spring a trap, forcing him to blast his way back out of the base.

A simple map where you have to find Maria and help her escape. Rito made this map whilst being directed by his sister. Any complaints, blame her!

My first thought is that generally it’s a bad idea but if mod teams like those mentioned above didn’t exist then we wouldn’t get to play games/mods in those fictional universes.

The player wakes up in a destroyed laboratory. He must unravel past events to escape the city and avoid the zombie hordes.

Camp Trip combines the gameplay of a first person shooter with the structure of a role-playing game. Players find and receive quests, exploring a story-rich environment and battling the combine.

You play as a Combine Soldier attacking a Rebel base.

Whilst the Half-Life series never really went crazy with regard to vehicles there have always been fun things to drive or ride.

A Partial conversion where the player finds out that his life and surroundings are not exactly what he expected.

A collection of three maps, where the player is seemily set for execution. Fortunately help arrives and events take a turn for the better, or do they?

A simple one level map where the player has to fight against three different types of headcrabs.

Infiltrate a Rebel base with a little stealth play and then clear the base of rebels and set some explosives. Can you get out in time?

You can play the Ravenholm mod now in preparation for the future episodic release of John’s travels, Eye of the Storm.

Assume the 1 long mod has 15 levels and the 5 mods have 3 levels each. Also assume that the gameplay time and quality of the levels are the same, which would you prefer?

A video review of the site changes, the poll questions, articles published, The Mod Of The Year 2008 and, of course, the maps and mods.

This is a single player adventure through a surreal underground fortress and features original textures, original voice acting and music and two new weapons.

Escape from Prison. A small linear map that provides some combat but no puzzles.

A beta release, where you need to escape from a prison surrounded by ice and snow.

He seems such an interesting character, that it seems a shame he hasn’t been used by mod makers or Valve. It would make a perfect expansion, what happened before and after Gordon Freeman arrived.

I’ve always known I am too soft when it comes to reviews of maps and mods listed on the site. Well, no more. IT’S TIME TO BE A BAD ASS…..

You start in a prison cell and have to escape. Make your way to the train and get ready for at least one stop along the way.

The Headcrabs have evolved! Evolved with a variety of different traits. Your objective is to rid the space station OXYGENIUM of them and where ever else it takes you!

A pure puzzle mod that adds an interesting story setting to the mix.

I just added a mod called The Real 2 and the author claimed, via his website, that when you finished it you would be a better player. I don’t believe that, unless the mod is specifically designed to improve a player’s skill via specific practices.

Last night I had this strange dream where I was using the crowbar to flick headcrabs in the air and then bat them like a baseball. It’s not the first HL-related dream I have had either!

A video review of the site changes, the poll questions, articles published, feature highlights and, of course, the maps and mods posted on the site in February 2009.

A simple but pretty outdoor arena map. There actually seems to be a number of kills required before the map ends, although I couldn’t tell you exactly how many.

I recently found a Source Utility called Source Sauce and wanted to share it with you.

A simple map with a few rooms.

This goes back to Poll Question 111, where I asked about one long or 5 short mods. With 5 short mods, if you don’t like what you are playing, you can stop and you don’t have to worry too much about missing some great levels. With a long mod if you don’t like what you are playing you have to consider whether the mod gets better.

You play as Number 42, a Combine soldier sent to kill Gordon Freeman.

Explore the haunted house and return to your car…if you dare!

In this map, the player takes control of Gordon Freeman as he flees from impending Combine forces. The chase takes Gordon into a dank section of City-17’s canals

I was chatting with Your Evil Twin this week about a mod he had start a long time ago called Critical Mass.

A simple set of rooms with various effects. There is some combat. Nothing more, nothing less.

Can you survive the waves of Headcrabs? It’s a one-area map with a few hundred headcrabs. Fear not! Father Grigori is there to help.

A room, plenty of Metrocops and manhacks and your rebel buddies. Can you win?

I really enjoyed co-founding and co-hosting Podcast 17 but unfortunately I couldn’t continue for various reasons. I always wanted to start my own show but with a much more defined focus. Podcast 17 covers many topics that don’t interest me.

Escape the cell and fight your way to the Gman.

Escape from the Combine

To really do this question justice I think a detailed analysis of the mods released would need to be presented. However, until that happens we will have to just use our memories and wander blindly into the discussion!

I want the site to be as fast and easy to use as possible. The way I use it is very different from readers, and long term readers ause it very differently from new readers. Therefore the only way for me to know how you use it is to ask!

Gordon Freeman is trying to help liberate City 16. He’s heading down the stairs to fight, but he’s going to have a nasty surprise. He’s trapped, and has to use his skills to try to help the citizens of City 16 without leaving the building.

“Betrayal takes place after episode 2, and features Gordon and 2 rebel accomplices breaking into a Combine controlled prison. Hoping to use the mysterious re-emergence of Dr. Breen as a diversion, Gorond and his colleages attempt to rescue their imprisoned friends”

Gordon Freeman has been captured and taken to a Combine facility just outside of Nova Prospekt. Alyx Vance recovers the gravity-gun and gives it to Freeman (the player) which he then must use to escape the Combine facility

“After many wars between the humans and the Combine most of the technology is destroyed so people and Combine join forces against the only unaffected enemy – the undead. Of course not everyone is so happy about having the combine as a friends and you are one of those people.Your goal is to escape the prison you are thrown in and make your way to the freedom.”

You play as Corporal Adrian Shepherd, awakened from the statis field, where you find yourself in a small deserted town called….Ravenholm!

Regular readers will know that I dislike playing with squads. Mainly becasue they are more trouble than they are worth! Squad Romeo did a good job but I don’t remember any others. I am surprised that the community hasn’t made more maps with squads.

A video review of the site changes, the poll questions, articles published, feature highlights and, of course, the maps and mods posted on the site in March 2009.

A barn, a group of Metrocops, a small selection of weapons and and never ending supply of zombies and headcrabs. Perfect for a winter’s evening, or not!

A simple “defend-the-base” type map. It has 600 Antlions!

Just a simple battle between you, fast zombies and some Combine soldiers around some buildings.

Following on from last week’s poll, this week I ask about specific NPCs. The image above is taken from Azure Sheep, where if my memory serves me you had to protect Kate, a female security guard.

A short single player map where you are sent to assassinate a Russian oligark and escape his guards.

“A SteamCard is a simple way to display your stats from the Steam Community, just like a Live! Gamercard.

A portfolio piece designed to explore and explain game to player communication. Don’t worry, it’s a proper playable map but it has commentary points for those that are interested.

Make your way from Station 23 to Station 25, if you can.

This week’s poll question is inspired by Jason Gimba AKA Kyouryuu who commented on Dangerous World Demo that after 15 minutes of trying to get past the gate he noclipped through.

Escape the prison and join your brother in the fight against the Combine.

This is the mod author vision of what happens 6 years after Half-Life. You are up against the Combine. What more do you need to know?

Another “first map” released on the community. Find Alyx in this short, linear map.

Regular readers will know that I never replay mods. Although that may be about to change. There’s been such a dearth of good mods lately I think I’ll try a few good ones again.

“Dark World will bring you into your darkest nightmare. It is in hazardous areas, destroyed buildings and dark settings.”

Your objective it to find and return an energy source back to the scientists. The map is set in a Black Mesa style base.

A 5 room map where you have to solve the 4 simple puzzles to “release” Harry the Headcrab

A level where you don’t have much time to find the rebel and lead him to freedom.

Find a way into the factory and clear it.

A survival style level where you defend a remote farm from hordes of Headcrabs.

Escape the holding cell and get back to the buggy.

Protect the supply line from burning fast zombies. Think it sounds easy? Think again.

Get to the cache of ammo and health and then escape.

Before we get into specifics, let’s be clear about something. There will always be people who can just step into something and do it well.

Apparently it’s a remake of the second map from Doom II

A 3 mappack, that was supposed to be part of something larger. Work your way through a base, killing the zombies, grunts and special ops.

You are on a space station, when suddenly everything goes crazy and your confinement is over. Can you escape?

You play a soldier working their way through the Black Mesa Research facility at the same time as Adrian Shepard.

Personally I only play one mod at a time because my attention span is so short I would forget what each mods is about.

An old beta/demo with missing textures. It’s still playable and finsihing in the repair garage. A word of warning – it’s pretty hard.

This is your chance to play one author’s vision of what Episode Three could contain.

A survival, horror map with a frantic outdoor, timed section, followed by a sewer section with a few surprises. Features a cool ending.

Work your way through a space station and find the portal to escape.

Find you way to the hostage and lead him to safety.

This article was origianlly published 02 February 2005 and I have posted it on the frontpage again today for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s connected with the next poll question and secondly becasue I felt it deserved more attention. Enjoy.

You and a small squad of rebels must fight of the attack waves of antlions and fast zombies.

Yesterday I posted an old article called Cybergame Players Need Coaches Too!, in which I discussed skill acquisition when playing video games. I know many amongst you feel that just playing SP games is enough. However, I feel you are wrong and would like to try and convince you.

You play as Gordon again and your objective is pretty much the same as the original game: escape the base.

A curfew locks down the city, but Gordon must go through a Combine Security building in order to get across town. Because the route Gordon must take takes him through a building controlled by the Combine, the mission does not go smoothly.

Your helicopter was shot down near an airport. Find the plane and get out, then clean up the second airport.

Escape from the prison. Apparently the map contains an Easter Egg.

I can’t tell you much about this mod except that it is supposed to be a leak. There are some levels from the E3 demonstration and plenty of levels I haven’t seen before.

Between PP and City17 I think that we have 99% of all SP maps and mods released, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great maps and mods waiting to be found.

A weird level where you get jumped around various parts of a city, assuming you get past the Striders and Gunship. Good Luck.

“Gordon Freeman finds himself outside the entrance to an unknown part of the Black Mesa Facility… I know, it sounds awesome, right?

A demo for a now dead mod that allows you to play part of the second level.

Escape the base, not much else to say really.

A story based mod that leads you through a variety of interesting environments to your ultimate objective.

A very simple arena style map, reading this description will almost take the same time as playing the map!

Another simple arena/survial map. You fight against antlions and fast headcrabs with an AR2, both hand held and mounted

This mod features some intense action scenes, but most of these come later on, much of the earlier parts of the mod are focused on adventure and storytelling.

You have stayed in the house after the Combine arrived and the zombies started to appear. It’s time to venture outside…

When I first thought about this I thought that it must be regular updates but now that I really think about it I probably prefer just suddently hearing about it.

“Gordon Freeman must investigate a lab that has ceased communication with the outside world. Only seconds after arriving, Gordon discovers that the lab’s research on zombies has left them to a horrible fate.”

A simple one map mod, where you must escape from City 5.

A partial conversion of an underground lab where scientists have been experimenting on a new drug to wipe out all forms of infection that humans can aquire.

So there I was watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s when it occurred to me I was watching a film nearly 50 years old.

Can you find the hidden city? Plenty of driving and exploring required.

You find yourself in a wasteland with one isolated train stop. All you need to do is reach the waiting rebel and you can travel to freedom

A normal day in your Combine controlled apartment goes horribly wrong. Can you and your friends escape?

“Ghost In The Machine is an experiment in gameplay scripting that allows the player to modify their environment by “hacking” into the security system of a Combine citadel.”

Using the airboat and stopping off at certain points, the player must use the sewers to bypass a Combine blockade

With the Gravity Gun, a clever and resourceful rebel and your intelligence, is it possible to escape from the Combine?

I was shown a poem last week that was designed to be read from front-to-back OR back-to-front. I’m not exactly sure whether sections are read in reverse or even how it works but it certainly got me thinking. Would it be possible to do this for a linear level?

Another “Escape” mod. Work your way through various environments to finally reach the Buggy.

I loved Half-Life 2: Episode Two and I presume you did. Once I became accustomed to the Magnusson Device AKA The Strider Buster I really enjoyed using it but am disspaointed to see that no EP2 mods have used it. Why do you think that is?

The objective of the site, website and project is to encourage, cajole and blackmail modders into converting DeathMatch maps for Half-Life 2 into simple Single Player maps.

Can you reach the end without cheating?

I have a small confession – I rarely read reviews, except for moderation purposes. However, when I do read reviews I generally prefer to read from a mappers point of view.

Heart Of Evil: Napalm Edition IS NOW AVAILABLE!

After-Life 2 is the story of a player moving through a world which is slowly deconstructing around them. It is a struggle for survival not just literally, but also metaphysically. In a first-person shooter, you (the player) inhabit the body of a character in the story of the game. What happens when the character you’re playing knows they’re being played?

Valve has its faults. No organization is perfect. I’m still a little angry with them for falling into the Episode pitfall, but that’s another matter.

You find yourself outside a deserted missile launch facility. Your objective is get in and pass through it. You encounter a small variety of enemies and need to explore to fight your route.

I wasn’t a big fan of Xen, probably because I’m not a good jumper.

There was a Half-Life 2 mod called Transitions that allowed players to visit Xen again with updated textures but it wasn’t that popular, probably because the start required you to do nothing for a little while.

Are you brave enough to explore the G-Man’s mansion? In this slightly scary mod you have to work your way through a mansion looking for keys and fighting enemies. Expect some surprises and maybe a few hidden items.

Play in the dark with the lights out to get the best effect. Unless you are too scared. Want me to call your mommy?

A Resistance listening post suddenly goes off-air and you are sent in to find out what happened to the original support crew and get the station back online. Your journey begins as a rowing boat coasts towards the landing point. Who knows what you will encounter, both on the way up to the tower and on your way down.

Media Update: July 2009. 8 New screenshots have been released. See them first on PlanetPhillip.

This post contains all the information, images and other promotional material that is released for The Citizen 2.

There’s even a cool panoramic image available!

You start outside a large mansion and your objective is to reach the G-Man.

Of course you need to find the right door and the right room, so start searching each room carefully for clues and keys.

Play with the lights out to get the best from this map.

This is a single player map made for SMC Mapping Competition 4. The theme was Mars.

In this map you find yourself in a laboratory where something has gone horribly wrong.

Find Eli and do what he tells you to do.

Let me clarify that this question is specifically is interested in community made maps and mods, not retail games, films or other forms of entertainment. Now, with that out of the way my answer is No. Reviews are reviews not feedback or beta testing responses.

That said a lot can be learnt by the author if they listen carefully.

Another escape the prison map. This one contains large Combine architecture, with long balconies from which the Combine can attack you.

It was made for an SMC mapping competition, over 4 years ago, so take that into account when reviewing it.

Under certain radiation exposure this artifact opens a portal. Presumably the portal will lead to another artifact in the parallel world. Mission: Enter the portal and find the artifact in the parallel world. You will receive our new development, a suit that will allow you to safely get through the portal, and theoretically protect you from possible dangers in the parallel world. Once you have found the artifact, press this button on your suit and you will get teleported back to the Black Mesa laboratory.

This is a remake of Black Ops, it use the AM Rebirth Code (Which is pretty freaking cool) and adds 3 new weapons, as well a various graphical updates.

There are no story changes or any changes to the original maps.

Don’t miss the training room for some useful information.

You find yourself seemingly alone in an underground base, probably on Mars.

Explore the areas open to you and see what you can find.

In fact, if you look carefully the base has a few surprises and perhaps even a means of escape.

This was an entry for the SMC Mapping Competition 4.

Allow me to introduce three seemingly unrelated points and then try to bring them together.

Apparently that’s what clever writers do, so I thought I’d try it.

I once remember reading that snakes can only “see” you when you are moving.

This is another entry from the Source Modification Centre’s Mapping Competition 4.

It seems that a portal transfer went wrong or at least not as exactly planned and you find yourself in an underground base.

Find your way around and see what you can discover.

Research and Development is a puzzle-centric mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two featuring an unarmed player but plenty of violent mayhem.

The player has NO weapons and there is no shooting at all. However that doesn’t mean you can’t kill things, but 95% of the mod is about solving the puzzles that are presented to you in a very natural way.

As I was working earlier this week I got messaged by a modder (who is gonna release a very cool EP2 mod soon), asking me what I thought about a particular band’s music and including it in a mod.

It’s a great question because it’s been done hundreds of times before but it’s never really talked about.

Of course, technically it’s wrong but like lots of things in real life, it’s almost accepted.

This was an entry inthe Source Modification Centre’s Mapping Competition 2.

It’s a very strange one and requires a little lateral thinking.

Veiw the screenshots before you commit yourself to downloading and playing.

I know a lot of people will say that that you should just review a mod on what you play but I don’t think that’s possible.

Research and Development was released last week and was made by one person in around 6 months. I honestly believe that makes the mod even more impressive.

You find yourself in an alley that leads to a small trainstation.

From there you need to follow the clues and reach a specific point.

Be careful because your way is blocked at certain points and the use of the airboat is recommended, although not required.

Another entry for a very old mapping competition. I am sure you will realize that this didn’t win!

You start off in a prison cell and things just get worse.

Can you survive the final test?

This map was originally made for HL2 Deathmatch but due to its nature it is possible to play it in Half-Life 2 or even Garry’s Mod.

It takes place in a drydock and the player has the ability to start certain physics effects.

It can be a resource hog, although being a few years old now most players shouldn’t have much trouble running it.

Let’s start with a definition.

Clearly we don’t “need” to even play games or mods but the question is asking what you do once you have the ability to move onto the next part of the game and after you have finished exploring for ammo, health or other goodies.

This is an updated and extended version of Slums.

You are disorientated and lost. You regain full awareness in what looks to be a storage room in an apartment block.

Work your way through a variety of environments to find your way to freedom.

This was the first entry for my DM2SP competition. It re-converts the DM_Lockdown map back into an SP map.

However, it adds a small group of rebels to rescue and escape via a helicopter.

There’s even a simple puzzle to drop the forcefield.

For the very first PP Podcast I am joined by Matt Glanville AKA CrowbarSka, maker of Union and the soon to be released Corn Of The Dead.

We discuss 5 selected mods from July 2009 and also chat a little bit about viewpoints. The show lasts just under 38 minutes.

I hope you enjoy the show and please don’t hesitate to provide feedback about the format etc.

This mod continues from the end of Pyramid and sets the player in a world where the sea is rising.

You encounter almost all of Half-Life 2’s enemies and a great outdoor area.

There is some interesting backtracking and even a bonus map if you are lucky.

I want to talk about consciousness and gaming. I’ll touch on a number of areas and all of them deserve more depth and detail than I’ve given them. The purpose of this article is to explore some ideas and hopefully be the catalyst for some interesting discussions.

So, let’s get started.

Where are you? Not where are you sitting but where is your consciousness? Is it purely in you brain or is your brain a conduit from which it accesses the physical world?

This is a rescue mission. You need to rescue Uriah, a Vortigaunt.

Be careful though because if he dies the mission ends. In fact you have to protect him from himself because he is very brave.

Can you get him out of his cell and lead him to a Portal? Good Luck

On a recent broadcast of Podcast17.com Emanuel said he prefered no voice acting to bad voice acting.

That got me thinking What do I prefer? To be honest I’m not sure. Of course the continual problem with these types of poll questions is that it really depends.

This is a Russian mod, with English subtitles, that lets you play as Gordon Freeman before that fateful day.

As the name suggests it takes you through your induction and some training.

There’s no combat, but you do need to use your crowbar to help a fellow scientist.

This was due to be part of a 4-part mappack but is now available as a single map.

The map starts just after you have found and released Dog from a Combine storage area.

Your objective is to get him and yourself to the chopper to be extracted.

Gordon arrives on a single carriage to provide support for daring resistance operation in City 12.

You objective is to lure a Strider into the open so that it can be destroyed and studied.

Of course, the Combine have other ideas. With a few rebels you set out to try.

There’s little doubt that Research & Development is one of the greatest mod ever made for any game. It’s beautiful, thouyght provoking and fun to play.

In fact I think it’s so good I started to wonder whether it would spawn “clone” mods. WIll other mod authors start to create similar mods? Maybe, but more importantly I hope it makes authors realize that puzzles can be so much more interesting.

So, do you think it will spawn more puzzles mods?

This map is a 97% puzzle map.

You simply need to solve the puzzles to progress.

Set mostly indoors, you will find most puzzles straight forward but some may have you scratching your head.

You probably know that I have been on holiday. Now that I am back I have a list of maps and mods to play through and it got me wondering how you play your mods.

If I didn’t run this site I would probably collect a few and them play them once or twice a week, but since I do run this site I have to play them as soon as I hear about them so that I can keep the site up to date.

This is a release of what seems to be a dead mod – which is a HUGE shame.

Play your way through various parts of an underground station and connected buildings.

Can you return back to the rebels and make your escape?

Only time will tell.

Provenance is a short singleplayer mod for Half-Life 2 where the player explores a section of the lab (known as Sector B) as Gordon Freeman. It’s purpose is more of a portfolio mod.

So says the author. I just wish all portfolio pieces were this good!

“You’re sitting in your bedroom playing some half life when you hear an explosion outside your window.
You look outside and see the entire house surrounded by combine (I guess the RIAA finally tracked your mp3 collection down). You should be able to lose them by escaping into the reserve behind your house.”

This mini-partial-conversion was made for a mapping competition.

It features a medieval theme, some Quake touches and a great soundscape.

Enemies and weapons are all from the Half-Life universe.

CALM DOWN!

TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS

YOU ARE OVER-REACTING

You haven’t even read exactly what I am talking about yet.

A short map that takes you through some early outdoor sections.

Leads you underground on your way to who knows where.

Make sure you take the gnome with you for that final victory.

AT 30,000 FEET… you are almost 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) above sea level. The human body is not made for these conditions. Temperatures are can plummet to -60F (-51C), the brain is starved for oxygen and each step is a new experience in pure agony. It’s difficult to breathe. It’s difficult to think. It’s difficult to move. And you still have to endure another 444 feet (0.14 kilometers) to get to the peak. So much for the good news.

It’s Ours Now takes place shortly after the defeat of the Combine striders at the end of Episode 2.

The level is set in White Forest at a base formerly used as a Combine base of operations.

The player must fight off the Combine that is attempting to retake the base. The objective of this level is to provide the player with a three to four minute transition between one map and another while giving the player a shooting mini-game in the process.

Here is another short map from Miigga.

It’s no different from the others posted so far; keep going until you find the end.

No story, no clear objective, bu fun nevertheless.

Plenty of action in this one.

Starting outside a small cabin, isolated in the woods, you make your way through various areas and rooms, some with traps.

Use your observational skills to locate the solutions to puzzles and progress.

A treasure chest awaits those skilled and smart enough to find it.

Left to our own devices we often fall into a rut. We do the same thing, over and over again.

The thought of changing seems painful and hard work. Sometimes situations force us to do something in a different way and it’s great, we wonder why we didn’t make the change sooner.

There is a phrase in English: “A change is as good as a rest”.

The thought of resting from gaming is a scary one for me, so let’s try a change!

Welcome to Challenge Number 01.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the first challenge.

I had the opportunity to have a chat with Brian Roycewicz AKA Tundra_Cool, the author of provenance.

We chatted for just over 30 minutes and covered a number of topics.

In fact, there is exclusive news about Provenance 2!

You play as a Combine soldier, who is part of a squad sent to destroy a rebel missile base.

Your objective is to set two charges deep within the base.

You will also need to stop the launch of a missile and then make a hasty escape from the base before it explodes.

To be honest I can’t remember what the official word from Valve is regarding this.

I thought they had said that it would continue after EP3, but I’ll be honest with you, I am starting to think that EP3 will be the end of an era.

Let’s hope it’s just silly emotions of an old fool.

Starting in a room, you have no idea what is about to happen!

Get on the walkway and all hell breaks loose. Even with plenty of rebels to help you it’s hard to survive.

Can you survive and find Alyx and her waiting Jalopy?

This is a PlanetPhillip exclusive! This mod contains two maps that were built as proof of concept maps for the 99 Bolts: Chasing Winona mod.

Your main weapon, as the name suggests, is the crossbow, although you do collect other weapons on the way.

The first map is an open area with irradiated areas that you must avoid, it also contains friendly and enemy rebels. The second is a labyrinthine collection of corridors that you must traverse to get some grenades that allow your rebel friends to enter in the city.

You may have noticed a new section in my review of a map or mod. It’s called My Playing Statistics and display some statistics at the end of a map or mod.

I want to take the idea even further and present my idea in detail.

Thanks go to Thomas AKA Editor321 for misunderstanding a question and starting the ball rolling.

Welcome to Challenge Number 02.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the second challenge.

A small map made for a competition. As you can guess from the title, it is supposed to be scary.

After starting in a small room, you make your way through a larger building.

The question is, where do you finish? The place your started?

Strider Mountain has to be the longest/largest/biggest mod ever made, don’t you think?

As you can see from the comments, it’s received a mixed reception, with most giving it a Personal Favourite recommendation image.

This poll isn’t about the mod itself, but about how you played it

I have a background in skill acquisition and performance analysis. For me the concept of continually trying to improve in everything we do is natural. For many, applying this concept to gaming is strange, especially single player gaming.

I have written about this particular subject before with Cybergame players need coaches too and more to the point of this article: the Single Player Playing Guide.

A simple orange textured room with spawning enemies and your own spawn control centre.

This never-ending map allows you to spawn a few types of enemies and plenty of ammo and allies

Spawn the crates to build a tower to reach the top room and make life really hard!

Welcome to Challenge Number 03.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the third challenge.

A never-ending map, with a green hue in the back from where zombies are spawned.

You and your fellow rebels are at the other end waiting for the onslaught.

Father Gregori is in the middle, doing his best to help you.

As the name suggests, you go back to Black Mesa. It’s a sparse area with some Grunts and Vortigaunts.

There’s only 1 headcrab to be found in the whole mod, which is a good thing.

Gargs can be found in various places throughout the mod, no need to look too hard, it’s not as if you could miss them, is it?

I wish I had more time, but then again, who doesn’t?

My problem is that there is never enough time to follow and keep up to date with all the interesting mods.

Every mod should ensure that they have an RSS feed available to help interested players get the latest information as soon as it’s released

Here is a text interview I had with Magnar Jenssen the author of Mission Improbable.

It was conducted over a couple of emails with quite a long gap between. It doesn’t read disjointed to me but you may not it.

So, here it is, enjoy!

Welcome to Challenge Number 04.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the Fourth challenge.

CSS SCI FI 3: Hardwired is a single-player modification for Half-Life 2. Waking up to find himself an augmented clone of Gordon Freeman, the player must fight time-travelling Combine forces and other enemies across 42 unique and replayable missions.

Missions are set in 18 retail and 24 custom Counter-Strike: Source maps, which are installed intact to the player’s CS:S game folder. The mod edits the entity data for each map as it is loaded, adding and modifying entities to create a seamless single-player experience. The maps remain unchanged and are fully playable in Counter-Strike: Source. Maps have been contributed by established designers, including Bluestrike, Schuzak and d00ds.com. Combat locations range from a snow-covered country church to a dense pine forest to a sun-baked tropical island.

Starting in a very large walled area, you need to get the buggy.

Once over the wall you find a lot of Metrocops and a Strider.

Can you reach the end and kill them all?

Surprise, surprise, you need to escape from a prison. Find the key to your cell and your journey will begin.

Look everywhere and don’t leave any crate unturned.

You even get to drive the airboat, if you can get that far, that is.

here we go again. Another prison escape. This time you get to use the Gravity Gun!

I hope you can swim, because it starts with a fall into some deep and dark water.

After that, things become a little easier, asssuming you don’t mind heights.

Very few mods actually require an executable.

Most just need a properly packed SourceMods folder. Generally players seem to prefer the folders but some like the executables.

I worry that some mod teams make executables because they think it’s more professional.

Welcome to Challenge Number 05.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the fifth challenge.

Just in case you missed it, I thought I would promote it here.

Because Gordon Freeman won the GameSpot’s “All Time Greatest Game Hero” award to Half-Life’s Dr. Gordon Freeman they are offering all Half-Life games at 55.8% off!

HOLY HEADCRABS! That means you can get all the HL SP games for 9.99 Euros! It’s a pity you can’t swap the Team Fortress Classic that comes with that package for Lost Coast.

A puzzle and action map from miigga. This one is a little longer than his other releases.

The players starts in a room after dropping through a drain cover (nice touch).

Work your way through the indoor areas until you reach the….
What? You thought I was going to spoil it for you?

Gabe Newell has said there is a good reason that they can’t talk about progress for Episode Three and I think it’s because they are working on a new Source engine, or at least a huge update for the current version.

There’s only so much tweaking you can do before you have to start afresh; it’s the same with hardware. Some changes can’t be incremental.

After recording the latest episode of Podcast 17 I decide to sit down and watch an episode of House M.D.

It was from the sixth season, number three, called Epic Fail. It starts with a scene very similar to Doom 3 and for a moment I wondered whether I was watching the right show.

My interest was obviously piqued but as usual the way game and gamers are represented on T.V. was woeful. This is another example that demonstrates the way mainstream media clearly has no real idea about gaming.

Welcome to Challenge Number 06.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the sixth challenge.

I have a terrible memory, and it’s not just age.

I can remember the very first SP FPS game I tried (and hated) Kingdon Honor Guard, the next FPS I tried (and LOVED!) Unreal Tournament and the first SP game I played all the way through: Unreal.

I even remember walking around a PC store and seeing Half-Life but not wanting to try it because I was worried I would lose my love of Unreal.

After waking up in the rubbish, you realize you need to get across to the other side of town.

Apparently a plane awaits you that can take you to safety.

Work your way through the sreets and even some sewers, join with a few rebels and get to that plane!

Welcome to Challenge Number 07.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the seventh challenge.

Sickening Sanity takes place in the sleepy town of Stillbury.

As government forces suddenly take up position around the abandoned Stillbury Hospital, you, as an unnamed protagonist, decide to investigate the matter further.

Can you survive the ancient horrors that stir in the bowels of the old building?

I can’t believe I haven’t asked this question before.

They way we play must affect the types of maps and mods we prefer, to waht degreee I don’t know, but I am sure it does.

I also wonder whether we change our playing style as we get better and older.

What do you think?

Shock! Horror! Surprise! You have to escape from a prison.

Conveniently there is an explosion and that is the start of your escape.

You even get some rebels to help you.

Continue where Escape 1 finished. This time you get more rebel friends and even a rocket launcher!

That’s the good new. The bad news is that some of the mod is outside and it’s dark.

Watch out for those zombies!

Welcome to Challenge Number 08.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the Eighth challenge.

I believe that we have a duty to share something we love if we feel it is beneficial to others. Playing Half-Life games falls into this category for me.

I am probably older than you, sure I’m not the oldest visitor to this site (He is around 80 years old I think) but older than most. Most of my friends have children and don’t really play PC games, well maybe the occasional game on the Wii, but that’s it.

Your brother has been taken by combine and your mission to get your brother back.

Your brother is in the Resistance but you prefer a more concilitary approach.

Unfortunately your brother is arrested by the Combine and tortured until he revealed some rebel secrets.

Welcome to Challenge Number 09.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the ninth and penultimate challenge.

Welcome to Challenge Number 10.

If you don’t know what the Challenge Series 2009 is all about, please read the Introduction.

Onto the tenth and final challenge (at least for this year).

You are tasked with protecting some Combine terminals that contains useful information.

Unfortunately, the Combine now know you have access to these terminals and send in soldiers to destroy them.

Can you survive and protect the terminals until Alyx arrives with re-inforcements?

This is a slightly more complicated sequel to Explosions 1.

Your objective is to reach the offices and enter the portal-type device.

Many obstacles block your way and the careful use of the exploding barrels will ensure your success.

I’m talking about long mods, not just short, twenty-minute things.

My first thought would be If you can then it couldn’t have been that hard, but I’ve been playing long enough to know that there are some great players out there.

I’m trying to think if I have got really far in a mod and died. It’s possible, but unlikely for me.

Firstly, I’d like to thank everybody who accepted my challenges and posted comments.

I am hoping that more players took the challenges than actually commented, but who knows.

I enjoyed creating the challenges and writing the posts each week, and I hope you did too.

I am very happy to announce that I have 3 copies of Zombie Shooter 2 to giveaway courtesy of BlueWolf72 and Zombie Shooter 2.

There are two ways to enter your name into the pot; firstly write a 10,000 word essay on the financial implications to research institutions due to the Black Mesa incident or secondly send me an email with the subject Zombie Shooter 2 Giveaway. The email doesn’t have to have any content but I am curious to hear why you feel you should win one of the games!

The winners will be chosen at random on Saturday at 9:00PM GMT.

Remember Joutomaa? No? Well, open the link and come back when you have finished reading/playing.

Yes? Good because a few weeks ago the author contacted me with some screenshots and a video of the next chapter and I’ve only just made the time to post the details.

Like Zombies? Want to kill them and then “buy” upgrades? If you do then this could be the greatest map you play today!

Play in an arena with a number of areas, each with certain types of enemies. These enemies can chase you all over the place, so don’t relax.

Use your “cash” wisely to ensure the maximum amount of damage for the minimum amount of expenditure.

Starting out with the Jalopy and Alyx, you progress through the mountain terrain, be careful, the road is not exactly smooth.

Unfortunately, your way is block (did you expect otherwise?) and you must open the gate.

Don’t relax too soon as the Combine and its friends appear to do their best to stop you.

Putting aside the question of whether mods should even be releasing demos, once they do, do you think that they should remove them once they get old?

The problem, as I see it, is that unless it’s taken down potential players might still download it and base their opinion of the mod on it. If it’s the best a mod team can do, fine, but if, like most mods they get better as time goes on, then wouldn’t it be better to simply remove it?

You start in an empty reception area. Explore the rooms carefully, you never know what you might find.

As you progress you become a little disorientated, but don’t worry, it will pass.

The question is would you prefer to stay that way when you find out what awaits you?

Against my better judgement I have decided to try and run a single player mapping competition. I really hope is a success because I would like to run one every 4 or 6 months.

The theme for this one is: A Combine Sniper.

Everything you need to know is in the main post but please don’t hesitate to ask for clarification.

You start in a pit with two crawling zombies and a Stalker. Can you find the way out? If you can then more zombies await you.

Does the pit hold the secret to your escape or will the generator lead to freedom?

Find the answers to these and other questions in this very short map

After much planning, work and hair-pulling, I am very pleased to announce that the new recommendation system is now online.

A PlanetPhillip reader, called Kalkin, kindly offered to write the code needed and I can’t express my gratitude enough for everything he has done so far.

Theories abound about the Gman and every man and his dog think they know who he is, but will we ever learn the truth about Gman?

I doubt that Valve will completely tell us everything, that aura of mystery is very important and always leaves the door open for other adventures in various forms of media.

City 17 Episode 1 is a mod that is slowly evolving into something that will amaze and surprise you.

I only cover a few In Development mods and am pleased that Gear, the team behind the mod, have agreed to work closely with me.

I have some media and an audio interview for you, so read on and enjoy!

I was lucky enough to get the Gear team online and chatted with them.

We talk about the City 17 Episode 1, its evolution, Maxsi Distribution System and a whole lot more.

It’s only available as a download so that it doesn’t crash my server – Sorry Stream lovers. It is 35Mb compressed file with a 41Mb MP3 inside. Enjoy!

You are Frank Harrison, a rebel, who lives near City 17.

You wake up and find that the Citadel looks like it is about to explode and those scientists are urging you to flee the city.

No need to tell you twice! Off you go and good luck – you’ll need it.

Starting in a small room, you need to work your way to the extraction point on the roof.

You will encounter plenty of Combine soldiers, and a few dropdown turrets, a hidden panel and one zombie.

Don’t worry about the screaming girl; you can’t reach her – or can you?

Firstly, sorry for being a few days late with this poll – I was in bed ill for most of the weekend and I have to admit I kinda enjoyed the rest!

I was talking to William and Emanuel from Podcast 17 a few weeks ago, just before we started recording and we could hear Emanuel playign a mod. he said he was windowed and William said he also plays windowed.

At this time of year I normally write some sort of wish list for the following year (2007, 2009 (not sure what happened to 2008!)), but this year I decided to be much more specific. This year I am going to talk about what I would like to see in mods.

I have decided to split it into two articles, so that we can discuss each point in greater detail. So, without further ado, here are the first six.

Starting in an underground prison cell, you need to fight your way to the surface.

Once there, you will find a train station and hopefully a train will lead you to your next encounter.

The final challenge is a Combine chopper, that won’t be easy to destroy.

Yesterday I wrote about six things I wanted to see in mods in 2010, today I write about 6 more.

Some of the things I wrote about yesterday could be quite hard to implement properly, but that’s the point. If the things were too easy then we would probably have already seen them.

What I really want to see is something that is challenging for the modder and something that is new and exciting for the player.

There must be hundreds of possible ideas and these are just a few of mine.

Full disclosure: I am not a level designer. I have started the slow path to becoming one, but this article is based on my knowledge and experience in a non-gaming environment. Secondly, I am publishing this earlier than I planned because Kyouryuu mentioned this exact same thing in his comment yesterday and I didn’t want to seem as I was stealing his point.

Starting in a dead end of a square, you need to follow the path to some rebels being held captive.

Of course, there are lots of Combine trying to stop you, so relax, the day is just starting.

The level features non-standard HL2 weapons but no new enemies.

I know a lot of players get bored with the standard assets of the games, but I am not one of them. As long as the modder knows how to use them wisely, them I am a happy headcrab.

Given the choice I much prefer a mod team spend the time on making more maps and therefore more gameplay for me. Of course, the usual It Depends rings loudly in the air, but these polls are just for a little fun and we must assume that the quality of the new content is the same as the new maps

Starting in a prison cell, you need to make you way to the surface.

Once there, things get a little more interesting, in fact, your whole world is about to change.

Combine Mountain Complex is a fun and challenging first release.

There doesn’t seem to be a story but the objective is fairly clear. Get the HEV suit, find more batteries and use the elevator.

There are two puzzles and plenty of action, which should leave you wanting more.

Reach the vortigaunt for a mini-speech and the map ends.

I was lucky, I waited until HL, OP and BS were released, so I could play them straight after each other, thereby living through each story in the right order.

These minor details are very important to me. As many readers may know I HATE spoilers, even the smallest detail is a spoiler to me. However, I do recognize that many people don’t really care that much.

Start in a lobby and explore the Black Mesa Research Facility.

Of course, you will find plenty of enemies and obstacles in your way, so move carefully and pay attention to the signs.

Only the smart and fearless will succeed!