Comments

Ugh...where to begin.

+Um, it ran without crashing?

-Texturing was God awful. While you did use texts that seemed to fit eachother, they were horribly aligned and stretched out.
-Scaling. The doors were way too big, make normal doors 96x64 units (most of the door texts are that size for a reason).
-Intersecting brushes in alot of places.
-Lighting was an awful shade of yellow.
-Setting/objectives made no sense whatsoever.
-ONLY ONE GUN. How in the living fuck do you expect the player to break through a room full of crates with 17 9mm shots?? (Sorry, but this just really pissed me off :/)
-When you break open the door to get to the "ladder", you can't climb up it. Nor can you open the hatch. Thats it? You made the player suffer through breaking all those boxes to reach an empty room?
-The door leading to the room full of boxes doesn't even open. I noclipped in there.
-NO SUIT. You NEED a flashlight for this map, yet you didn't give the player a suit. Huh?
-Monsters. Only 3 or 4 headcrabs, one of which was stuck in a wall (thats what causes that cloud of yellow dots).
-You used the "city" skybox. Theres a reason that was never used in the game - it looks like shit.
-You spelled "offices" wrong, btw.

Overall, this was really bad. Sorry. :/

Wow M_gargantua, lots of buggy crap you got there.
Ill try to fix them in the upcoming update.

I don't have Sven Co-op, but I can see from the screenshot that you stretched the wall textures across the room, the lights are too big, and you used a floor texture for the ceiling.

I'm not going to rate it though, because the gameplay could still be good.

great mod
I like the realistic stuff in the game.And also the first soda machine as well

things hunter said

but, now let me just tell you everything bad

- massive face spliting where the pipes meet the walls at that part where they come out of the ground
- some wierd face spliting elsewhere
- that big room felt very open
- when you get to use the gun the grunts don't really like to come around the corener (script it maybe?)
- two gargs error (which I liked, because you never see two gargs, even if it was an error)
- rocket lauchers useless because you don't have to kill the gargs.
- at that part before there where the vent falls, it took me about 10 minutes to figure the underside of the vent was open, you should make a few smaller holes in the top or side to show this to the player
- you could shoot the gman

+ awesome fun
+ much more ciematic then the original
+ uber scripted
+ good combat
+ good choice and giving of weapons
+ I got killed by the exploding coke machine
+ enough explosives
+ excelent architexture and design, I especially loved the part with the pipes coming from the ground, I was working on something like that for my current map and you had that one perfect. I have quite the affection for things that either make the world seem big or deep in this case. Concrete structures really give the player the sense that there is far more to the world then the path they are on, quite unlike locked doors, which seem really arbitrary

I only have the Steam version of Half-Life, and it worked fine for me.

I did what Muzzle said above, and there's no problem.

No you don't, just copy the uplink_ext folder from the zip file into your half-life folder in Steam, restart Steam, and open the games list. From there you can play it. No need to alter or remove any files that belong to Steam HL.

Hmm, It will work, I just need to place all your files/dll files/ etc in the correct directories in the Steam/steamapps/xyos212/half-life folder.

All these SP mods change Hl1 in Steam to the actual mod. While they are installed you cant play HL1 until they are removed. Ill place them in now.

Well, it should be working under steam, just extract everything in your Half-Life folder, pretty much like you do with won HL. The mod should appear in your games list after that. Try it. If it works, then yay.

I guess I cant play it since I have the Steam version. Mega sad face I really wish I could play it, it sounds like an excellent map, espically the custom coding

Just to be sure:

• Run this mod under vanilla Half-Life, not Steam
• Be sure to have vanilla Half-Life 1.1.1.0 running.

Ill place the houndeyes higher above the ground in the next update. Maybe that fixes it.

Yep, that's the houndeye I was referring to. I reloaded the level several times, and it was stuck in the ground every time I played.

Strange indeed.

I had no problems with the houndeyes, and I replayed that scene like 4 times (I wanted to kill all of them with one nade).

Really weird, the houndeyes work fine for me:

http://www.themightyatom.nl/projects/uplink_ext/houndeyes.wmv

You haven't really lived until you have played this series of maps.

My jaw was open the entire way I played through it, which probably explains the puddle of drool on my desk right now. I skipped lunch playing it, and I don't even feel hungry right now.

I noticed a lot of improvement over the original Valve mapping, and I am just astonished by how much better they are.

However, I did notice that I cannot kill the Garg, which is fine. I just moved on from that point after I shot him with all my RPG and grenades.

I also noticed the houndeye in the hallway leading up to the broken laboratory room. I think the houndeye is probably stuck in the floor brush, and that's why it cannot move. I don't think it's a scripting problem.

I am making a link to this map from my GamingParents site. It's just too beautiful to pass up.

"if you hurry to get to the gargantua scene there are 2 of them ^^"

Yeah, im aware of that... Ill fix that soon.

"- the messages say "DEMOTXT" all the time ^^ ?"

Hmmm, are you sure are using my titles.txt file and that is is placed in the uplink_ext folder? Im pretty sure you have, since its in the zip... It looks like it works for everyone else though...

awesomeness! I remember having played this before, but it must be so long ago that I can hardly remember. So beside the health/hev chargers I dont know what youve changed, but this was big fun to play!

2 things:

• if you hurry to get to the gargantua scene there are 2 of them ^^"

(which causes a conflict and they block each other)

• the messages say "DEMOTXT" all the time ^^ ?

Thanks Loffe and Caboose.

I could have made the garg scene longer, but i came very close to the max entities a map can have...

Hunter said he had some problems with the houndeyes in the hallway to the destroyed lab... The houdneyes are supposed to follow their scripted sequences as soon as the houndeyes spots the player (trigger condition: see player, mad at player).

Did that work well for you?

Yeah, Hunter pretty much got it.

After the Garg finished it's scripts, it just stood there. I even ran and jumped into it, but it didn't move at all.

That was pretty much the only problem I encountered though, so still, amazing job. Puts Valve to shame

I'm astounded. I knew you were a good mapper, Muzzle, but this good? Wow.
This is actually the first custom map I've ever felt that "feels" like the real half-life - I mean, if someone told me valve made this yesterday I'd buy it anyday.

Gameplay - well, it's the same as uplink, what can I say? Very well executed. Scripting was awesome, especially at the Gargantua fight. NPC Sequences all worked well without any problems.

Brushwork - extraordinary. It was so good I didn't even notice it, too busy fighting zombies, headcrabs, grunts and whatnot - but when you actually examine the surroundings it becomes clear that everything has been done with utmost care. The "broken" laboratory was probably my favourite.

Lighting - as good as it gets, really. No room for improvements, anywhere. Just excellent.

Any cons?.. not that I can think of. A 5, without a trace of doubt.

Im really proud of my Barney because:

• He reloads his gun after firing 17 shots.
• He has shell cassings.

Ooo, boy! I gotta try this out.

Thanks all.

Never had problems with the houndnyes though. Must be temporary... Don't know.

I know about the shovel, but you know that the HL engine always screwes up brushes that are placed like that.

Ill place some more weapons to kill the garg with in an upcoming update.

Says what Hunter says but adds:

Shovel looked dodgy where the slaves were buried.
I did not experience any invincible Gargs or Houndeyes so it was fine.

Great scripts and what nots...A bit short but hey it had quality written all over it.

puts on reviewing hat

Dude!

Gordon opens his eyes. He's in a corridoor. The ambience of destruction all around him. Taking a few careful steps forward, he runs back as the roof bends and cripples over him. The stress from the aerial bombings are too much for the old lab.
Edging forward, expecting the worst, he notices a security guard and a scientist talking animatedly. Coming closer he discovers that the blast door can not be opened without the signal code transmitting.
Only a fool would go down there to re-align the transmitter.
Both scientist and guard turn to look at Gordon.

What a mod. I mean really. The level of detail is astounding. From architecture to little items, everything has been made with the upmost care and precision (spade in the dirt, medical dripper above the cot etc)
The gameplay is very difficult (on hard mode, anyways) but not to the point that it seperates from the fun.
The ambient sound and atmosphere created in every location is inspired, and they bring the place to life.

Custom code and monsters are all very good, as well as the way they are implemented (like a berzillion scripts :D) all, again, very well made.

Also, a special mention to the sewery area, with all the grunts getting brutally torn appart by monsters. Fantastic.

Now onto the very few negative points.

1) a few of the scripts are a bit buggy. Specifically the hound-eyes before the Garg. One of them doesnt move and is invincible.

2) occasionally (VERY OCCASIONALY) there are a few mis-aligned textures, but not enough to distract the player. I was looking for bugs and was impressed to find so few.

3) I threw all my nades and rockets at the garg and it didnt die :S

4) too short!

---

Overall, simply astounding. Download this now.

Simply amazing.

Review later though, gotta go to work!

Gonna play it tonight.

Hurrah! DL'ing now!

"Did you see blue ladders in HL1 when you played in software mode? Nope. So it's not normal, and you should really fix it."

It's a bug on those computers. All maps, even the default ones such as cs_office, de_dust etc have blue ladders on those computers.

However I'm home now for a week so I'll try and have a go at this hammer!

Im i right when i say that HL:UE inspired you?

You got some nice scripted sequences there. But the walls, floors and ceillings are a bit bland. Add some trims, more grating, and some height differences. I like your airducts though.

I agree that it is maybe too small, but what little of it there is, is very nicely made.
You have talent. Put it to use on a nice big map =D

Definately worth 4.

"Maps without lights dont belong in the completed maps vault"

totally agree. The screenshot btw looks horrible.

It's alright, the map is a bit TO small, even with 2 people I predict lots of spawn killing.. the textures are on purpose, mmm kay, original I guess.

I kinda agree with Kasperg other than that..

I won't rate, because I never played that game, but if I had to, i'd go with a 2,5..

Thanks for the comments, I'll just add some extra stuff then update it here.

Hey pretty cool map!
Pros:
+ TONS of custom textures!
+ Animated textures!
+ Good recreation!!

Cons:
-The invisable ledge where where the SMG grenades are gets in the way when you are walking around the level. Why aren't they just on the side?

That's about it. Small map, small review. I love the look of this map and it looks quite fun. Small maps are always hectic. All in all 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

DO you want me to lie? I want his next map to be better.

Wow, quite a big description for a small map!

I rather liked it, since I have played this game and mainly its sequel, "Seiken Densetsu 3"
I think you did a pretty good job making the texture set, and the animating textures were a great retro touch

Things I would change:

-Add a fire sound next to the fireplaces!

-Make the trees a separate masked texture, and turn the sky into func_illusionary entities with a minimum light level of 5 for example. That way, it will give the illusion of being a sky instead of a box. Check my map tp_sacrifice to see what I mean.

-I would try to work on a bigger piece of scenario and participate in the competition Habboi has mentioned. Maybe one of the castles or something like that.

Heh funny cause there's a compo on Interlopers where you have to recreate a level from an existing game.

Looks rather good, the custom textures do the job and it actually inspires me to make my map idea someday.

there are no decals on the road... ?
the going inside sequence adds to the gameplay.
it gives the map a lot of speed.

One more thing I forgot to add: I'd really look into replacing those red computer mainframe things. They never look right for some reason.

Did you see blue ladders in HL1 when you played in software mode? Nope. So it's not normal, and you should really fix it.

And you have to have SOME kind of video card, whether it's integrated or not.

QUOTE FROM MCMITCHO
"and keep up the good work"
What are you on!? The whole concept ofr reviewing a persons map is to be completely honest and try to help them to make their next map better. This map is far from "good work."

QUOTE FROM CRAZYBOY11
"this could be made much better with a bit of work.
Pretty good for your first map!"

He never said it was his first map. He said it was a test map. Which means it is no where near worth 3 Stars. Also it would take more than a bit of work.

Definitely Bias in here.

Just downloaded it.

Pros:
None

Cons:

Full Bright
Horrible Texturing
Horrible Layout
NO Detail
Bad FPS (How do you get Bad FPS on this map?)

NOTE: I do not in anyway want to bash your map. I am simply more direct in my reviewing. I say it like it is and don't make it sound like something awesome. And I would hope all of you do the same for my maps as well, because useless information and critisizm isn't worth having.

Is this the Ansith I know?
You've certainly improved your mapping skills.

The first 2 rooms were really nice and the small sequences were a great touch, then after these 2 rooms, it became really bland, I guess you need to work on those..

I liked the small gman scenary, always does the trick.

Anyway, I do think you need to improve on the ceiling, true the whole map the ceiling was really really bland, same texture all over again with those big bad (slightly unneccasery, those give quite some light you know, you got 4 in 1 room, I think you could lesser them to 2 and then some other ceiling detail) lights. I would also use create some difference between the textures, ofcourse it's a lab, but you had the same floor and ceiling textures all over the map, even the lab textures got some difference between them.

I'm going with a 3, but with a bit more work, it'll be a 4 anytime soon.

Rather fun, image this with more players, rofl, shooting each other like mad people, not being able to aim properly, haha.

@ Exos

You shouldn't always rate on looks, this map obviously isn't made to be a pretty one, it's just to have some fun. Your seriousness is scary.
If you do give it a 1, then atleast be helpfull and give some advice.

Same goes for like iceworld, it's just a lot of fun, no matter how ugly it looks.

just do what they say and keep up the good work.

Well, if that map is fullbright, really do fix it.
Also, the texturing is repetive and this certainly is the first time I see a box made out of rocks..

Gameplay?
Well, i'll be honest, I haven't played but it just looks like a killbox to me..

Anyway, I would get a better screenshot were the ladder is normal and the map isn't fullbright, this way, people will actually download your map.

Good luck.

Looking at the screenshot I already know that map isn't worth 3 stars. There is definitely some Bias here. But I'll check it out later.

Hello, developers friend here.

The ladder is blue because the screenshot was taken on a computer without a GFX card which means it was using software rendering. It has been tested with a computer using openGL and the ladder is normal.

What do people that have played it think? Hows gameplay?

3) it could be that you didn't run RAD

4) is that a BLUE ladder i see in the screenshot?

Looks really nice. Quite a bit of detail in most places (like the wires going to the computers). The architecture is fairly nice, especially how you made the walls in the interconnecting hallways. The lighting is also very well done. The scripted sequences were good, as they never seemed to repetitive.

The only negative things I could find about it were quite subtle, and they may only be a matter of opinion. For instance, there seem to be too many security guards for such a small area, and I would personally change the ceiling texture to something less bland, such as the one used in the original lab environments.

You also might want to null all the faces on the glass chambers, except the ones that are facing the room, so they don't look weird when the see the corners from the side. You can even see an example of this in your screenshot.

Overall, a pretty neat map, but it could definitely use some expanding.