Comments on: Minerva: Metastasis Trilogy – Half-Life 2: Ep1

By: Blue Lightning

Blue Lightning — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:29:02 +0000

Played it years ago…the first really great mod I ever played. HL2 quality. The author even showed Valve a new trick, a feature called “vertical mapping”, which reduces map loads. As many of you know Valve ended up hiring this guy (Adam Foster), brought him to Seattle from Europe, and gave him a six-figure salary. All because of this mod.

The atmophere, the gameplay, the mapping, all out of this world. This is a must have mod for any true HL2 fan. One of the very best.

By: Whatever You Want

Whatever You Want — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:36:20 +0000

I’m still relatively new to Half-Life 2 mods, but I could certainly tell that this was something special.

After playing Someplace Else a few days ago I decided to try this one to see if it was good and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. This mod was brilliant in pretty much every possible way, even the textures from HL2 and EP1 seemed to be placed brilliantly, and I often found myself lost in the awesomeness of them.

The gameplay for this was a great mix of combat and puzzles, both of which were very challenging and I often found myself spending quite a lot of time trying to kill big groups of Combine or trying to figure out a puzzle. It was frustrating in times because of it, but I think that they were well placed and fun nevertheless. I found myself running past quite a lot of enemies, especially near the beginning and end, also the puzzles seem very complex, but once you figure them out you will wonder why you didn’t notice it earlier (Combine camera puzzle is the perfect example) which is proof on how good this mod is.

The story was the other stand out area from this mod and it was done in the same style as in Someplace Else. This mod had a good story, but the way it was presented was fantastic and I actually stopped and tried to avoid battles to see what the person that was talking to you* was saying, although that being said the person did actually give you an idea of what to do in quite a lot of occasions. The ending of Depth Charge was brilliant and I think it probably should have ended there, but I was glad that I managed to get another chapter afterwards which concluded the mod.

Overall this is definitely worth playing, although I would recommend SE first.

*Who was that person anyway? A Xen alien or something? Was it the same person that was in Someplace Else? Was that who Minerva was?

By: brianthesnail

brianthesnail — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 09:57:13 +0000

what can you say about “Minerva: Metastasis” thats not allready been said…. this was actually one of the first hl2 mods i ever played however its only now i have decided to voice my opinions on the mod…..!
ive played this mod around 30 times in all difficulty settings and it never gets boring….. and in my opinion thats the sign of a good mod…. one you can go back to and never get bored….
however its not allways been plain sailing…. after that unhelpful steam update the game began to crash into a never ending loop…however a user created patch sorted this out allthough i did need to reinstall the mod
one thing that stands out with this mod is the amount of work thats gone into it…. adam foster spent over 2 years to create this mod.. and allthough many of us can create mods and maps to spend this long on one project is hard work….. so well done adam
in regards to the mod… well at this stage i would normally mention the negatives…. well with minerva this isnt any…… ive looked far and high but cant think of anything thats bad with this mod…. i could critisize the game crash however this wasnt the creators fault so that wouldnt be fair
allthough at first glance minerva may look like any other well designed mod its actually designed vertically …. so were many modders would use large area,s to create single maps adam found by vertical mapping you could cram more in with less loading screens
in terms of difficulty this is spot on…. its not too easy,however its not massively hard like other mods….just right…….
i would of gave this a personal favourite however this is held by “strider mountain” … however “minerva” …… comes a very close second…..
i could go on about minerva but hey…. download it and play it yourself…… this should of been released as a game… or included on the orange box compilation……
great mod
well done !

By: brianthesnail

brianthesnail — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:16:15 +0000

what can i say …. this was one of the first half life 2 mods i ever played and i was amazed by the amount of work that went into this ….. i liked the way adam foster used vertical mapping to get as much into a level without having to load…..
however due to one of valves updates this mod now crashes around 10 minutes into gameplay ….. i dont know if theres a fix for this ( if there is let me know )

By: denizen50

denizen50 — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:07:10 +0000

Huh… I could have sworn I left a comment for this, but I guess it was before I registered my account.
This is by a comfortable margin the best, highest quality and most compelling mod ever made. I have replayed it several times and I’m still somewhat amazed.

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:29:27 +0000

I have updated the post to include the latest version. It has the Source 2009 patch already included. Please read the included patch readme, as it may be relevant.

By: eld

eld — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:37:27 +0000

Crashing at the same spot with the exploding door.. Any fixes for this yet?? I enjoyed how the combines always seem to flank me in this game keeping me on my toes

By: Hec

Hec — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:47:57 +0000

Well what could i say on this one mod, is a personal favourite because it’s a classic, and i’m now able to post a comment because i’ve just recently played MINERVA mod again, this due to a very annoying bugg that it didn’t let me finished the mod the first time i played it back on 2008 or so. So this mod is defenitively a must must play it good lenght excellent well balanced combat and action betwen zombies and CMBS, a relly cool plot story and great details, i can see now why this project changed the life of his creator Adam Foster, whose now is working on valve and sure the next ep3 will have some touch of AF, i think, so well play it now and you probably won’t regeret, and if you guys had the same annoying bug as me download the last patch of the mod and play it!

Soo long! Hec.

By: Mako

Mako — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:32:03 +0000

I’m crashing at the same spot everyone else is, after you press the green button and a soldier blows the door.
So far the mod’s been okay, but nothing to write home about. Certainly nothing to deserve all the “amazing” and “best ever” worship I’ve seen. I can only assume it picks up somewhere after the crash. Guess I’ll never know.

By: breamer

breamer — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:16:30 +0000

Trully amazing! One of the best mods ever made!

By: geekofalltrades

geekofalltrades — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:03:17 +0000

Huh… I could have sworn I left a comment for this, but I guess it was before I registered my account (and those comments that I logged before registering an account have a tendency to mysteriously disappear). Needless to say, this mod is one of my personal favorites, for reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum in this thread already. For me, it’s mostly the storyline: the writing is crisp and honed, and delivers an intriguing story that leaves you begging for more.

By: OG Loc

OG Loc — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 01:32:15 +0000

Love this mod! No problems at all! I liked the environment, it kinda reminds me of Halo: Combat Evolved, and so does the music. Who was that prick giving me messages? I want a new boss next time.

By: keithinvietnam

keithinvietnam — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 10:13:46 +0000

It took Adam Foster, the sole author, about two and half years to complete Minerva: Metastasis, in three parts, and to me it's no surprise that Valve hired him to work on Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and Portal 2 after seeing his amazing work. Although it's set in the Half-Life 2 universe, this mod is more of a whole separate game, which is deeply engaging with an seemingly innocent start to the story. As you literally go deeper into the game, Adam's astounding attention to detail and thoroughly thought out map-making skills will be apparent. The storyline prompts you to keep up your curiosity until you feel you are really discovering something big that you must do something about. Adam's specialty seems to be indoor environments, and they vary from claustrophobic to enormous, with plenty of beautifully lit areas really helping to set the mood of mystery and being on your own in your "mission". The audio is very atmospheric, detailed and realistic, with music tracks reused from HL2, though sometimes not always matching perfectly with the events. The puzzles and battles are well-balanced, sometimes forcing me to think beyond my usual habits in HL2, realizing at times the best way to survive was to keep running instead of staying in one place. I particularly enjoyed the final ascent portion of the game, revisiting areas that required a complete change in strategy. Although Minerva is in many ways similar to the end of HL2 Episode 1 and the beginning of Episode 2, it is so very creative and for me, was a real joy to play - something I will think of when I try other mods. As such, it belongs in my Personal Favorites hall of fame.

My Ratings

GAMEPLAY	MAP DESIGN
Playability:	Detail:
Originality:	Puzzles:
Challenge:	Battles:
Storyline:	Lighting:
Variety:	Audio:

Notes on getting the mod to run properly

Being a latecomer to the HL2 mod scene had both advantages and disadvantages with playing Minerva: Metastasis. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait for all three parts to be released as most original players did, but unfortunately, the May 26 2010 update to the Source engine "broke" this mod (and many other mods) for many, causing Minerva to crash in the same spot, about 15 minutes into the game, every time I played. After searching online, I found a fix on ModDB which involved downloading a backup of older HL2:Ep1 assets files, copying them into the Metastasis mod folder, and adding a few special patched files. This finally got it working, all the way through to the end. If you are not afraid of copying and moving files around in your steam directory, then I do recommend taking the time to apply this fix so that you can experience this game in it's full glory, but if that sounds scary, or you are a Mac user, you can wait until Adam Foster posts his promised update to get Minerva: Metastasis working for everyone on Steam for Windows as well as Mac.

By: Olrick

Olrick — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:15:37 +0000

I think Metastasis is one the best mod for Half-Life 2. Great construction, story, action… and feeling it is part of something huge. First time I played it I haven’t got EP1 so it was incomplete but fantastic. Now I just re finished it and it’s a real pleasure.

By: tobytoolbag

tobytoolbag — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:22:43 +0000

Fantastic – one of the best mods I’ve played.

By: tymaxbeta

tymaxbeta — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:08:55 +0000

I can’t honestly tell you haw fantastic this mod is. If you like Half-Life 2, then you are going to love this, this really it true to the Half-Life world and holds fairly good story and continuity throughout, add that to a smashing plot twist which makes the mod even more enjoyable to play time and time again and this is a winner. In other words, go play this mod!

By: joe_freeman

joe_freeman — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:47:52 +0000

I have already looked at the “Mods Not Working” page. All it says for Minerva is: fix upcoming

Guess i will have to wait….

By: planetphillip

planetphillip — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:13:35 +0000

A recent update to the Source Engine has casued numerous issues for many mods. Please see the section Mods Not Working in the main section of the post above.

By: joe_freeman

joe_freeman — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:38:18 +0000

Just downloaded 6-19-10. Crashes for me too after going down to generators and pushing green button…..

By: Shark999

Shark999 — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:57:38 +0000

Ok thanks

By: Jasper

Jasper — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:34:44 +0000

It’s probably to do with latest Valve update which is causing many mods to not work.
Adam Foster (the author)is working on a fix.
You’ll just have to wait I think.

By: Shark999

Shark999 — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:33:36 +0000

Hellooo !

I have a little problem :

After I went into the pit, I push a button, Combines explode a door (do you see what part of the game I am talking about ?). After I killed them, I go upstairs and then… the game is just bugging. It doesn’t move anymore and the sounds are bugged. The only thing I can do is closing the game. I tried 3 times but the games still crashes. What can I do ?
Thx.

PS : Sorry if you don’t understand me, I don’t usually speak english :/

By: s.anchev

s.anchev — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 23:01:07 +0000

Well, what can I say that hasn’t been said??? The very first mod for HL2 I played…
Great design, difficulty perfectly balanced, great gameplay, numerous enemies, some puzzles well-thought using the capacities of the Havok engine, not too long but not too short…
Add to that the humour of the Glados-like/SHODAN-like Minerva, and you obtain the best mod of the HLverse, concurrencing the throne with Research and Development…

There is also the fact it could be in some way connected with the HLverse “canon”, without making plot holes… Well…

By: corey

corey — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:45:34 +0000

Hey, i’ve been getting a ton of errors with this mod . I installed Minerva: Metastasis after the patch on the 27th of May, so I’m thinking that might be the problem (check the homepage if you aren’t aware of how the new patch has messed up alot of 3rd party mods). Does anyone know if there’s a way to fix it? The fix posted on the homepage that suggested to edit the gameinfo txt file didn’t work for me.

Thanks

By: ginjaninja

ginjaninja — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:57:34 +0000

Adam Foster, you are a GENIUS!!! What can I say? Bloody awesome!

By: tommiezat

tommiezat — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:05:08 +0000

This is a must play In My Opinion. although it isn’t one of my PF’s there is alot of gameplay here. the author and team has put a great deal of thought and work into this, Thank You.

By: ailmanki

ailmanki — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:31:05 +0000

I love this one… very intense atmosphere, good layout and level design.

By: Harmondale2

Harmondale2 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:52:19 +0000

Possibly the best mod I have ever played! Wonderfully engaging story! Great character, great combat, brilliant island to explore, feels very believable as if it could be in the half-life canon. Highly recommended!

By: FireTime

FireTime — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:15:24 +0000

This is the best half-life universe mod I have ever played. (if not the best) The level design is very technical and flawless. The player always has a clear sense of where they need to go (except when on purpose) and the level design allows the player to experience how massive the world is. Even if the level was crap the one thing that keeps me hooked is the fantastic story telling along with back story that surrounds the character Minerva. Piecing together clues from the sudo-prequel “somewhere else” and the bits and pieces of text on the official mod website has me as intrigued as the mod its self.

Whether you play games for the story, the atmosphere, solving puzzles, or just shooting things Minerva Metastasis will not disappoint
PS: If you want a real challenge, play it on hard.

By: bambosze_babuni

bambosze_babuni — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:01:53 +0000

best.
hl2.
mod.
ever.
made.