Archives for February 2010

• Please note that these are publication date on this site, NOT the actual release date of the maps and mods

About two months ago jjawinte wrote something that I have been pondering for a while. He said:

Valve couldn’t have done it better for the Half Life franchise. Subtle changes have been made through the years of course, but they never strayed from the anchoring elements of the story, and should the franchise continue further, I pray that they never do.

You are stranded in a Ravenholm-style village.

Find a radio and call for help, that is if you can survive long enough.

The streets are wider than Ravenholm but don’t expect an easy stroll through the town!

Starting out in some form of storage or industrial area, you need to make you way to the central shaft.

There, you may be able to effect your escape.

A short single player map, where Gordon is separated from his rebel teammates and has to fight his way through a Combine controlled apartment complex.

You encounter a variety of enemies and have to be careful of any open areas.

This week’s poll is taken from the discussion from Outpost 16 where Alyx says “fuck“. Initially the discussion started out as to whether it was out of character for her but quickly moved onto whether it fitted the HL universe.

I am torn.

Set in an abandoned underground car park, you must fight the never-ending attack of various headcrabs.

However, all is not lost because you have a friendly Rollermine to assist you. Good Luck!

“The Game Master’s Lair challenges the player with three “Classic Game” Puzzles inspired by Milton Bradley’s Simon Game, ATARI’s Breakout, and the game show “Let’s Make a Deal.”

The Level is intended to fit within the Half-Life universe, but showcase unique gameplay atypical of a combat oriented First Person Shooter. The player is armed with only the basic physics cannon and must solve each puzzle to advance. The level’s difficulty must be accessible to all skills levels.”

The author describes this map as a “strange and hostile world where survival means fighting, fleeing, or both. Preferably onto a train.”

The map contains M.C.Escher designs and is not called Abstract for nothing. Expect to jump between various locations with no rhyme or reason.

God, I hope I am wrong but have you noticed how nearly all Valve-focused websites just seem to be regurgitating news?

It’s certainly not my intention to upset other webmasters but when I look around that’s all I seem to see.

I’m not really a big fan of vehicles in games, but I fully appreciate how they break up gameplay, allow players the opportunity to cover large distances etc.

Each vehicle in the Half-Life series has had the environment matched to it. Whilst that might sound obvious it doesn’t always seem to work that way in mods or even in games.

The first part in a series of short episodes.

Simply, follow the route and get to and then into the van.

Everything is included in one BSP file.

Good luck solider!

This is a cinematic portfolio piece. You and Alyx must support Echo Team in their attempt to attack Outpost 16.

Things don’t go quite the way you or they expected.

You have action and some puzzles to deal with, oh and don’t hang around looking at the beautiful view, if you linger you die!

This map is a Guildhall scripting project, where the player controls a crane and must kill some metrocops and free some rebels.

The crane allows you to pick and drop exploding barrels, and accurately position the drop via a mini screen on the crane control deck

Somebody sent me these images, saying they were from Moscow.

I don’t know if that’s true or not but they look pretty interesting. I especially like Image 9, the stairway.

You find yourself on a ship heading towards a small dock.

A Combine Gunship is shadowing your every move and the only thing to do is enter the barrel facility and escape using whatever means you can (conveniently) find.

A simple puzzle mod, with a little action and a brand new gameplay mechanic.

The death of the Nihilanth threw the Xenian army into disarray, and the subsequent portal storms stranded many on Earth in the wake of Combine occupation.

After once more having to endure existence beneath the totalitarian boot of their cosmic nemesis, they have searched for a way out. Now, buried in the heart of a dilapidated university, they’ve found it.

If ever a real place was crying out to be made into a mod, then this is it: Oil Rocks (Neft Dashlari).

It’s a city built on the Caspian Sea and was built to extract oil just after the end of the Second World War.

There are so many possibilities for this city for the developer, that I am surprised something like it has never been seen.

I loved Opposing Force and presume you did too. The inclusion of new enemies was very important and these enemies, called Race X have never been seen since and too my knowledge never been acknowledged in Half-Life 2 or the episodes (please correct me if I am wrong).

So, the poll question simple: Would you like to see the return of Race X?