Day 15 - Half-Life 2

OH SHI- its out

Well, I was certainley looking foward to this. I thourougly enjoyed the previous two installments, but not without my dislike of many things about them. Here, I found that many previous mistakes that have been made by Chris have continued in full force here. And I’m dissapointed. I really like Chris’ work, but he’s starting to take a turn for the worst. Here’s my little review for it:

Gameplay:
The beginning is similar to Day 14. Puzzles! Thumbs up for Chris, he has once again churned out some great puzzles and ideas and implemented them well. Not as ‘hard’ as Day 14’s big puzzle, but still quite fun. (Or funny!) During this is a simple zombie bash-up. Not very interesting, but done quite well. More of them might’ve been more fun. After the puzzles and zombie-bashing, though, everything falls down. Chris has once again done the same thing as Day 14 (After the puzzle segement - chuck a HUGE amount of soldiers in, and nothing else. (Excluding a strider.) At first, Chris did good with a few soldiers taking positions up rooftops. But other than that, just run and gun. There was a card-key chase involved. Fun, but it ended with more soldiers in my face! Seriously, Chris needs to think more about enemy placement, node-path placement, the amount of enemies involved in a battle. He should also think about much more strategic terrain (Like cover, different elevations, arenas etc.) in the game world. (For the players and enemies.) Overall, I was dissapointed with gameplay.

Design:
Design was average. Overall, very simplistic brushwork. It was very well done at the start, (The tunnels were quite well crafted and that ’shrine’ bit and the caves were excellent. Thumbs up.) but towards the end, it was very blocky, cramped and un-interesting. This is pretty much a dissapointment compared to the beautifully crafted beginning segment of Day 14. Seriously, if Chris managed to conjure up something like that, why can’t he be consistent. I’m guessing it’s that he’s not learned alot about creating urban-type settings. I realise this whole ’setting’ is a simulation in the game’s plot, but I don’t understand why it has to be so blocky and uninteresting. Texture choices were reasonably good, but areas like the tunnels at the beginning really needed some trimwork. The urban areas had some o.k. texture choices, but some where obviously not meant to be what they were used for and trimwork was very much needed there as well. Come to think of it the brushwork needed some trimwork there too! Lighting was good, but nothing more. There’s not really anything to complain about it, but nothing to really praise about it either.

Other Things:
The custom content was fine (Zombie pie!!!) and the scripting was excellent. Voice acting was quite good, but isn’t very clear. Not the best sound quality, but good for what it is. Certainley better than alot of other mods and maps. That’s with both sound quality AND acting. Thumbs up for that.

Overall, it’s very much flawed, but I think it’s pretty decent for about half-an-our’s game-time, give or take. I hope Chris’ next work will be a vast improvement over this. I haven’t given up on him. He showed originality and a bit of creativity in Day 13, and he strut his stuff with Day 14, (At least for the first half of the level.) so I’m confident with what he’ll conjure up with the next installment. Hopefully!

My maps certainly aren’t to everyones taste, and I’m the first to admit that they have their flaws.

I’m just pleased if anyone has a bit of fun with something I made (almost) alone in my bedroom in my spare time.

My next project is shaping up to be much different, I am working with another mapper (who is a real architect) to make a much different singleplayer story.

PlanetPhillip Said:

My maps certainly aren’t to everyones taste, and I’m the first to admit that they have their flaws.

I think that’s the perfect approach. Not everyone will like every map etc. Just build what you want to as best as you can and be damned!

That’s exactly what I plan to do when I eventually learn to map.

I agree with Phillip. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to more our your endeavors. I know that the criticism is meant to help and hope it is so and also taken as such.

This site is certainly a lot more active these days So many nice comments!

Thanks to all of you, especially Tony — your comment really made me smile.

I look forward to being able to give all you a go of my next project.

Another great mod by chris fox!

I love your style! You’ve done so much that ive never seen in any other mod.

Great job.

They keyboard options were changed. You have to set them back to default or how ever you like them.

then make a copy and rename it userconfig.cfg

Then any adjustments get made to that.Its either that or your shift key dont work.

Day 15:
This worked for me. Once again the author torments our hero with another chance to escape this time by way of drainage system, caves and bombed-out urban areas, and once again progress to freedom is blocked by hordes of foe barring the way.

It was good to note how gameplay had again been improved compared with both Day 13 & 14, and how the flow and connection of each level were far better scripted. I had just one problem, this was with level change part 2 which would not work via auto and resulted in being physically stuck at the start of the level, however this was easily resolved by loading level via console.

The author again shows talent to produce what appear to be uniquely designed sets and is not reluctant to attempt textures and colours other then the norm, this may not work all the time, nor may it work for all but it does add a note of uniqueness.

Much of the action and progress hinges around rebel dialog and this was well done, very much as Alyx in the original HL2, only this time its Anna who ably supports and nurses Dr Freeman along the way.

Once again the combat is challenging but beatable on normal mode, with the howlers in the cave being particularly tough to get through with life left.

The urban levels were also tough but I found the challenge fun and enjoyed them.

So we have come along way since day 13 with the author’s wicked sense for playing mind games, leaving Dr Freeman and all wondering if tomorrow will come.

In terms of game construction the author as also come along way since day 13, building on experience and no doubt feed back we now have promise of better things to come, even if it does mean more torment for Dr Freeman.

NoBob,
You need to make good use of the dums which are stored in the room with Anna.
Mel.

i have to agree that i am no puzzel fan at all, therefore i gess i shouldn’t play this one. but still i like to try it, becuase of the comments here, and how the screens look. i have played map1, untill i came stuck right after i met the girl in the sewer. she is talking about that the fence (where the suit is behind) is to strong of a human to break. so i tried to go on without, what can’t be done because of the zombies. and i have tried to stand close to that wooden wall with suit behind it, in the hope that the zombie would swim at me and hit the wooden fence instead. but that doesn’t help, like i said, i’m no puzzelfan. can someone please help me with this. after many times trying i cheated on to map 2 (download manulay). but you start without a weapon and fast zombies jump at you, what is also no solution.

leon

Sorry Andyno, that should read ‘drums’ which in this case means metal cylinder shaped barrels normal used for oil or fuel storing.

Thanks for the explanation Mel, but I still don’t know what to do. Where is that cave of howlers? I suppose you don’t mean the cave where’s a horde of ‘camping’ ’speedyzombies’ because there’s no way to survive.

I only used two drums/barrels to get over and back with suit.

Andyno, run straight into that cave of speed demons and jump into the coffin or whatever it is.you get more ammo to shoot them and after they die off abit jump into the other and get more ammo.

Also the switch in the middle coffin opens the gates to the stairways where anna is.

Oh, I didn’t use any drums. Thought perhaps mel had forgotten that they were supply boxes. Anyway, you take the two supply boxes in the office, where the young woman talks to you, down the corridor to the barrier by the HEV suit. Stack the boxes on the step near the wall, climb up onto the barrier, turn round and pick up the top supply box, and then jump over the barrier. Once you’ve got the suit, put the supply box on the table and jump back over the barrier…that’s how I did it anyway.

Chris Fox Said:

If you throw the zombie pie over the gate, the zombie will get angry and want it back, and will walk over and smash the gate.

Haha. It’s been amusing to see the different ways people have tried to get the HEV suit. I’ve really been holding myself on this one. I thought the clues were pretty clear - but maybe I was just having a good day.

Yeah, run through the caves full of speed zombies with no suit & no weapons. Maybe … if you’re suicidal. I’m sorry, but just what did everybody think the zombie pie was for?

mel Said:

Well Goddess I did run the caves and kill the zombies first without the suit.

You’re very brave!

Thought the Zombie Pie was a joke…Do remember the young woman saying that the zombie was guarding something important, but some pie?! And then to throw it over the fence? Oh well, at least I know something more about the author/mod designer’s thinking…

mel Said:

Yes I know.

I guess I was stupid to think that no-one would survive the big pile of zombies without getting the suit first….lesson learned!

Chris Fox Said:

Oh well, at least I know something more about the author/mod designer’s thinking

Yup, I’m a little touched

i didn’t feel the need to walk around with the pie, like the others i also thought it was just a prop laying around.
but i have said this already, why comment again is to say that as a mapper myself i know al to well that you never can imagen what players will all do and not do in your maps. therefore it’s strange to think of good puzzels, puzzels that can be solved by everyone.
leon

(i hate puzzels, haha)

Thanks Chris. It was fun.

In terms of graphics, the only issue I found was that if a combine was behind a door, arms would be appear through the door. The strider’s legs also seem to go through walls as it was walking. That was a bit unnerving, by the way, when you first hear the thudding, and the room shaking…then you realize what it is.

Finally play it and found it not so good as day14 but well worth the download the zombie pie was an excellent idea like the special stone ending was perhaps a little disaponting but logic

oh, I should mention how retarded in every way a thing can be retarded it is to take away the suit, no flashlight means YOU CANT SEE IN THE GODDAMN DARK.

Not seeing in the dark means you cant find pie’s to steal from poor zombies in the first place. Please dont make the suit a gameplay object, Leon pulls it off in coast because you can rebind keys to weapons and get them to work that way but he never left you in the dark. I might add I use SMOD TACTICS, a special version I will be releasing to the public pending permision and the ironsights eliminate a need for crosshairs, but thats another issue with taking away the suit.