“Project 25 is a single player episode, made by me, with 30 minutes of playtime set in the Half-Life 2 universe. The episode is a part of my final year project to get a Bachelour of art. The goal is to create a unique single player experience while still keeping the episode true to the original. Voice acting is performed by Kelly Harrigan, Edwyn Tiong and Emelie Isacsson. Choreography, manuscript, story, level design, lighting and overall visuals are made by me. All textures, props are made by Valve Corporation.”
- Title: Project 25
- File Name: hl2-ep2-sp-project-25.rar
- Size : 21.41Mb
- Author: Filip Coulianos
- Date Released: 17 April 2009
- Source: marnamai sent me the link to the Interlopers.net Thread
- This mod requires Half-life 2, Episode One and Epsiode Two. I have labeled it Ep2 in the hope that most player who have EP2 also have the other games. It is possible that you can play this mod with only Ep2 installed if you have the OB SDK installed. I’m not sure.
- This mod also comes with a text questionnaire and I urge all PP readers who play this mod to complete it and return it to the author.
- Copy the Project 25 folder into your SourceMods folder.
- Restart or start Steam.
- Project 25 should now be listed in your Games tab.
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WARNING: The screenshots may contain spoilers.
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17th April 2009
Half-Life 2: Ep2, Single Player Mods and Maps
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17th April 2009
WOW, two Hall Of Fame 2009 entries on the same day!
This mod has a sensible setting (not story), great voice acting (Except for the very last second – more on that later), beautiful visuals and great gameplay.
let’s look at the above in a little more detail. Firstly, I’ve called this a setting because in 30 minutes of gameplay you can’t really have a great story unless you have text or cutscenes. That’s not a criticism of the mo, just a mini-rant that I’ll expand on another time.
The voice acting really is pretty good, definitely a cut above most mods. That last part? Well…SPOILER BELOW
When Alyx speaks to you it’s just silly. Up to that point everything was fantastic but this slightly took the edge of it. It’s amazing how something so small can affect you, isn’t it? Let’s not dwell on that because that really is the only negative.
Onto the visuals. Perhaps the use of HDR is annoying, but that’s me rather than the mod. I don’t actually like HDR very much and generally turn it off anyway. It’s hard to believe that one person made this in 3 months because just looking at the screenshots makes you think there is a team involved.
And that brings me to the gameplay. There were a couple of jumping sections, a couple of puzzles with the power plugs (I did get mine stuck, so be careful where you throw or drag them!), some nice sections with a fairly unobtrusive squad.
The last area is absolutely fragtastic and the author should be very proud of himself.
All in all a brilliant piece of work.
Mini Bug report: It’s possible to fall through the fall in the radioactive slug at the beginning. (See image 3). It’s not a big deal becasue only idiots like me go running around radioactive slug anyway.
5 Words Or Less Review
I just loved the ending.
Useful Links
Frequently Asked Questions | Commenting Guide | Recommendation Images Guide
17th April 2009
Looks good, plays nice. Unexpectedly good for one man development. I enjoyed it mostly. But again there were some performance issues for me. Maybe it is just me, two unoptimized mod at the same time is a little interesting.
Mod uses Episode 2 elements real good, so this is a good mod.
17th April 2009
While not perfect, these couple of maps do have a professional feel about them, both in art direction and overall solid gameplay.
While it’s not free of problems (I actually managed to totally break the puzzle with the plugs due to HL2′s terrible cable physics), the pacing is quite good and you spend the right amount of time in each area. Progress makes sense, and the enemy placement and importante increases as you go on until a nice final battle.
There are some occassional small moments of confussion, as for example finding a door exactly the same as others you just opened (that is, a fence-door without a lock) that now has just become eye candy. While the lighting is quite good, upon closer inspection it’s not always corresponding to the object emitting light, and in some places it seemed there wasn’t any. Phantom lighting is not the only thing that needs a source, as some Combine force fields magically appear without any force field supports nearby. I guess the author woul’ve fixed these issues with more time, as it’s clear he masters props and their placement.
As civanT mentioned, I suffered a very noticeable framerate drop while going into the second section of the tunnel. Be it the HDR lighting, props, npcs, sprites etc, that area was above the engines capabilities.
If you are looking for a short fun couple of maps with solid visuals and gameplay, don’t waste a second and download this. Most of the issues I found are certainly things you might not see at first. As for the issues that affect gameplay, none are really show-stoppers so you’ll be fine.
18th April 2009
It’s not perfect, it’s not epic, but it’s definately fantastic!
The sniper puzzle was one of the best puzzles I’ve seen in a long time in a mod.
I agree, the author should be proud of himself.
18th April 2009
Whilst this is a well constructed mod with plenty of action it however gives us nothing new. The whole mod seems to follow a familiar theme set within surrounds that could have come from countless other mods, the action was also very predictable and for me the mod was lacking any uniqueness in either gameplay or set design..
The end encounter with the Gunship was ill constructed, having to keep going down stair into a cellar to reload with a squad of rebels following and blocking your ever move was not smart. One of the girl rebels gets stuck in the cellar and if this happens on the stairs then you need to reload and hope see get stuck else where.
None of the above should deter any one from downloading and playing Project 25, compared with most of the recent postings this has a lot to offer. It won’t make my HOF but then who cares.
18th April 2009
I would say this mod is a “Play It Now” relative to a lot of the other drivel that has come out recently, but it would be a “Play it Later” otherwise.
It’s not a bad mod, but it ultimately failed to make me “feel” anything. I never understood what was at my destination, so when I was told it was overrun and how we needed to get to another destination, I was apathetic and just going through the motions. A collapsed tunnel lined with radioactive slime, forcing me to use the Gravity Gun. A wire puzzle straight out of that radio tower area in Episode 2. Find batteries to open a gate. Stop me if you heard this one before.
To its credit, you don’t see many mods using these features (except that battery bit – all the kids are doing it now) or integrating the Gravity Gun this seamlessly into gameplay. But then, because the puzzle is so familiar, it doesn’t do anything thought-provoking and therefore exudes a “been there, done that” feeling. The moment with the Combine Sniper could have been a novel idea, but the furniture was too imprecise to move.
The levels themselves are pretty well designed. The tenement complex and the surrounding ruins were definitely standouts. Comparatively, the latter half of the tunnel sequence didn’t feel optimized at all and the bright lighting didn’t seem appropriate. The part with the Combine forcefields in the tunnels definitely had some quirks to it and would have benefit from some playtesting. Aside from being unable to shoot through them, it wasn’t clear when they were deactivated.
I share mel’s criticism with the final area. While it looks great, it’s poorly designed for a Combine Gunship battle. Not only is there the issue of going back and forth to the ammo cache (my rebels were picked off by that sniper pretty early, admittedly), but the Gunship itself was too far away. When I launched a rocket, most of the time it would just get shot down. It didn’t feel like there was much skill to the battle. Just get lucky and hope the Gunship doesn’t notice your incoming projectile?
So, in conclusion, if you’re looking for a good mod that will hold your attention for a half-hour, this is worth checking out.
18th April 2009
Am I the only one to have a problem right at he start of the mod?
When I first materialise I am stuck between the TV and the sofa, and can’t move. I can jump and crouch but no moving!
Used noclip and all well therafter!
Apart from that – well worth playing!!!!
18th April 2009
I don’t remember there being a TV and sofa anywhere in this mod? oO
The only fault I noticed at the start – and maybe it’s just me – was that the Game Volume slider was set to zero. No sound at the beginning. Took me a bit to figure out what was wrong, and the first time that’s happened in a mod.
18th April 2009
Volume was also set to zero for me. Forgot to mention that.
18th April 2009
Yes, me too. I also forgot to mention that.
18th April 2009
I believe that Phil’s comment was meant for Dangerous World.
18th April 2009
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Gordon. You’re alright.
18th April 2009
i did your results and emailed them to you today. should i keep my answers tooo my self???? naw. it was great, i hope after you get your degree you will make us more and longer mods to play.
p.s. if your teacher doesnt like it or gives you a bad grade, pease remind him/her i am very good with a crowbar. hehe. good luck….
18th April 2009
Brilliant. We want more!! PLEASE!!!!
I think Alyx turning up is just a way to end it. Pity that.
The last area was very well designed. It was obviously deliberate to make it awkward to shoot the gunship.
This just added to the challenge and the satisfaction in victory.
If it was longer I would give it a ‘Personal Favoutite’. Well done Filip Coulianos and team.
19th April 2009
Aw, this is one of those mods that leaves you wanting more.
Nice one.
19th April 2009
Not really a Hall-of-Famer (too short) or a Personal Favorite (occasional frame-rate issues and clipping problems); but definitely a Play-it-Now. Congrats to the author for a much-better-than-average map pack.
19th April 2009
I thought it was pretty good but there were some flaws which prevented it from getting top marks. The main one is the frame rate. I have a high-end PC and I was experiencing some serious slow-down, particularly in the tunnel. This is nothing to do with the engine, it is because of poor optimization on the designer’s part. This shows a clear lack of understanding of areaportals and hint brushes, which are crucial for making your map run smoothly.
I also found most of the combat to be somewhat mundane as I could avoid firing a single bullet in many instances. For example, I jumped past nearly all the barnacles, I let the Combine and zombies kill each other, and I let my team mates kill most of the Combine at the end. I kind of made me feel like I wasn’t really needed.
The visuals were mostly good save for a certain je ne sais quoi that kept them from being great. The voice acting was good, except for the woman who comes to show you the rocket launcher at the end.
It has potential and is a blast to play for a little while, but I would not agree that it’s worthy of the Hall of Fame until these annoyances have been addressed.
19th April 2009
I liked every minute, especially the last area, very well done.
No framerate problems for me, but one of the squadmembers blocked the stairs, had to reload.
The sniper was very easy to kill, one handgrenade through the window did the job.
It was short, but every minute was worth playing.
21st April 2009
Not a lot to add to the previous comments, but I enjoyed the game and action immensely. Alyx voice-acting at the end was a bit over the top, but good for a laugh.
21st April 2009
A great mod all around. I chose the coward’s way out with the sniper, and regretted not being able to go back and off ‘em. Otherwise I had a great time. The final area was mildly disorienting, but once I figured out where the combine would arrive, it was reasonable. A strong showing from the developer!
28th April 2009
Fun mod. Well made.
28th April 2009
Downloaded it and played most of it. While I can say it’s quite a nice mod, and looks professionally done, I had a few issues with it. Mainly with framerates in certain areas or when looking in certain directions. i.e when in the underground car park/tunnel near the beginning. Looking towards the fire at the end and walking towards hit my framerates pretty bad, even after dropping down to 800×600 with everything on low.
I can play HL2 Episode 1 and 2 with everything on high with HDR on full and 4xAA.I’m intrigued to know why this happens, as it’s not the only mod that it happens on.
Despite the problems above I’ve decided to give it 4 stars.
29th April 2009
Maybe it’s me just getting too damn spoiled with all the other mods and fps games out there but this was no way a demo that should be considered for the Hall Of Fame. It has no originality at all and it was not even scary or that much of a challenge at any time. We have allready figured out that a sniper is really an easy kill using the rocket launcher so that was a no brainer and the electrical cord switch puzzle was fun for a minute but then what?
There was nothing here to keep me really excited or wanting more. But then I just played Fear 2 and Halo and Alpha Prime , which does take a little thinking to work through.The original Hl2 has some of the best and toughest puzzles around and kept me working to finish. This was too easy and has no heavy action feel to it. There is nothing new in this at all and even though it is done well and looks good, it lacks any real excitemnt.
The fighing is all done pretty much in one open area which is a bombed out group of buildings and I did all that hunting around for the batteries for nothing! It’s also hard to fight the enemy in this type of enviroment with all the debri and it makes it hard to tell the good guys from the bad when their far off or shooting from different levels of the buildings. So, it is worth playing but I really hope the whole mod is alot more exciting and more of a challenge then this was. The voices were ok but for me their a minor part of a game anyway. Just there for directions anyway, dosen’t do anything to enhance the gameplay.. I hope the author can try to get away from HL a little and come up with some original storyline besides just the basic rescue.
18th May 2009
I thought it was very good, also liked the puzzles. Unfortunately way to short, but it
is what it is. Not bad at all though… Wish more mods were the same. JUST LONGER!
29th December 2009
I just finished giving this a run and had a wonderful time.
I enjoyed the fact that one individual could accomplish such a nice piece in such a short time.Content was good, visuals were great, played smoothly and the combat was just right.I particularly enjoyed the last map.It showed so much post-battle destruction so well and created a good atmosphere for the hunting around and slaughtering combine.I’d love to add more, but it’s quite late.
22nd January 2010
Other than frame rate issues in the beginning, this mod played smoothly with no glitches or bugs.
The final map with the gunship and combine battle made for a nice challenge. Lots of places to take cover and pick off combine and take shots at the gunship as it circled around the map. Visuals were nearly perfect.
Anytime there are rebels following me in a confined area, they always seem to get in my way. However, I didn’t have to say “get the **** out of my way” too many times. They don’t listen anyway.
The addition of zombies trying to beat their way thru a force field made me laugh. Not long enough for a PF but a solid PIN.
16th March 2010
Short, but is incredibly good. Content quality is as good as Valve’s. Didn’t expect voice acting to turn out so well on a user made mod. I’m impressed. Play it now! You won’t be disappointed.
10th June 2010
Great design, great ambiance, great and stressful battles, some puzzles… And an epic final battle…
And like Phillip, a very un-useful final line for Alyx…
But overall, for all this short mod, yet with some challenge : if you search a good mod… What else?