Commented 1 year ago2023-02-05 00:18:50 UTC
in vault item: GemeraldComment #105083
That was... interesting. I agree with Urba Nebula, there are a lot of HECU marines to fight, and its pretty unbalanced. The minimalism is certainly strong, however i think its part of the artstyle? There is almost no plot, or story or at least "Where the hell am i even going?"
This is a somehow decent quality mod. Its good, but just for one or two playtroughs.
Aw thanks, but I wouldn't compare myself to Carmack in the slightest, though I will admit I draw heavy inspiration from some of his philosophy. I see him as a tinkerer who prefers practical & simplistic solutions, at least did back in the 90s, dunno how he is nowadays. And I happen to share that preference.
Anyway oof, I appear to have a nasty cold right now.
Commented 1 year ago2023-02-03 16:56:23 UTC
in vault item: Borealis PrefabComment #105051
May I port this prefab to the Source engine for my Half-Life 2 mod, "Half-Life 2 Episode 3: The Return"? I will only be using it for the exterior portion. Thank you.
Commented 1 year ago2023-02-03 15:43:35 UTC
in vault item: Borealis PrefabComment #105050
May I port this prefab to the Source engine for my Half-Life 2 mod, "Half-Life 2 Episode 3: The Return"? I will only be using it for the exterior portion. Thank you.
Commented 1 year ago2023-02-01 04:08:45 UTC
in vault item: Die-Way 2 demo2.0Comment #105045
Played again on Hard, its a lot better now! Here is some more feedback:
There are no autosaves! it's a good idea to place them before fights or dangerous areas, or the player will have to start all over again if he forgets to save
The player can get stuck if he jumps on the chair in the starting room
First fight is much more fair, good work there
Office corridor fight is better, but I liked the old pushable crate, maybe you could create another similar area later on where you have to push a crate to avoid getting shot, I just think that's a nice idea
Jumping on the large crate in the green goop room is possible, but too difficult, might be a good idea to add another floating crate next to it
In the corridor behind the switch that lowers the goop, the door behind the zombie opens if touched (it should be a fake door)
Very minor details:
The toilet stalls don't have toilets in them
The hand dryer sound plays forever if you press its button, it should ideally play for a few seconds then turn off, every time the button is pressed
I recommend using a trigger_endsection to send the player to the main menu when reaching the end
You're doing well, the gamplay here is fun! Keep going!
Edit: I looked at the sources and there's a few more things:
The info_landmark entities should be in the exact same spot relative to the map
In the first map
In the second map
In the first map, there is a window on the outside that matches the wall right over the sofa in the corridor fight, but inside, the wall has no windows
The wall in question... Wait, how did that grafitti get there?
In the editor, the front door and the window lead nowhere
Commented 1 year ago2023-02-01 02:57:01 UTC
in journal: Little thoughts. Comment #105044
These two points fit my own experience to a T. I've tried making sketches and blockouts before, but none of that helped me design an environment for a map. The sketches didn't go anywhere because I found it annoying to represent a 3d environment in 2d paper (when that was not the point) and the blockouts did little to get me to think of the finer details - and sometimes I'd just stare at the editor, panning the camera view around without any idea what to change next.
For months now I've been trying to make a small campaign, maybe just a single map in size, that I can release and get feedback on to better grasp HL level design before starting to make full-on mods with assets and code and whatnot. I didn't really have a clear goal other than that, so the map keeps changing and changing - it's still a blockout almost entirely made of grid textures - but it's beginning to settle into a defined shape now. I think what made me stick with this particular blockout is that, for all the others, I was trying to either create an entire environment I could "populate" with gameplay later, or build a level around a single central setpiece; but for this one, I tried to make the map complement the gameplay, and that spurred me on to keep adding to it, despite the fact that even the basic layout was still far from clear. Urby is right, blockouts shine when you want to know if what you're doing is fun.
Just like yourself, I want to make maps that make realistic sense, but I feel like I'm becoming more lenient on that front now. After revisiting Valve's maps and playing a bunch of mods to see what I could learn from them, I started to think the map design of classic HL isn't really much less abstract than good ol' Quake, in the "feeling like a real place" sense. And I kinda like that slightly liminal vibe anyway, so now I'm focusing more on making a place that is fun to traverse and fight in, though the realism is still an important factor that determines what kind of place the map will be. For example, I decided to make this map end with the player riding one of those big diagonal elevators up into the darkness, so to make sense, the map will be a deep underground storage area like the one at the start of the Lambda Core chapter. Building it ended up becoming a bit of a cycle where sometimes the gameplay informs what the map will have, and then what the map has determines what kind gameplay fits best, so it's all starting to converge into a clearer picture now.
About Trenchbroom, I actually learned to use it a bit (but didn't make any finished maps) and I can confirm it really is better for translating that 3d space you see in your head into the screen. It can be faster too, when you get used to it and learn the shortcuts - I recommend Markie's tutorials for these. I never tried to use it for Half-Life though, I'll have to see if exporting to J.A.C.K. works smoothly or not.
Oh, and, about ADHD: I've already asked my mom multiple times if I was ever diagnosed with it as a kid, but can't seem to ever remember what she said. Maybe it's because, by the time she answered, I already stopped paying attention...
Commented 1 year ago2023-01-31 05:49:13 UTC
in vault item: Die-Way 2 demo2.0Comment #105041
I like these maps, even though they start very hard and then get easier - it should be the other way around! I played it on Normal difficulty, and the first battle with the grunts is still way too punishing. Cover is necessary to fight all those soldiers, but the cover becomes a death trap almost immediately when the grenades start to fly. The GL grenades were the worst - they can kill almost without warning because they explode on contact, unlike the hand grenades which give the player time to escape. A fight like that would feel more adequate as a conclusion, rather than a beginning. The office fight was interesting - most people who played HL would see a grunt using a mounted gun and think, "Ah yes, kill the grunt to stop it", and then feel confused when they can't shoot the grunt at all. I know I did. I don't know if that's bad or good, though: on one hand, confusing the player may lead to frustration, but on the other hand, it made me stop and think about what I really had to do, which gave this encounter a puzzle-like quality that I really enjoyed.
A couple nitpicks minor issues:
The "battery" for the detonator is short enough to walk over, so it has to be pushed while crouching (or thrown with the Use key)
If the player jumps on top of the armored vehicle near the detonator crate, he will fall inside it and may get stuck
Some of the walls inside the office area look a bit too thin
All in all, there is some interesting gameplay going on, but the difficulty needs balance. Good luck!
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
I agree with Urba Nebula, there are a lot of HECU marines to fight, and its pretty unbalanced.
The minimalism is certainly strong, however i think its part of the artstyle?
There is almost no plot, or story or at least "Where the hell am i even going?"
This is a somehow decent quality mod. Its good, but just for one or two playtroughs.
Grate work
Also update: I have 82 kg right now. Progress is real.
Anyway oof, I appear to have a nasty cold right now.
Here is some more feedback:
- There are no autosaves! it's a good idea to place them before fights or dangerous areas, or the player will have to start all over again if he forgets to save
- The player can get stuck if he jumps on the chair in the starting room
- First fight is much more fair, good work there
- Office corridor fight is better, but I liked the old pushable crate, maybe you could create another similar area later on where you have to push a crate to avoid getting shot, I just think that's a nice idea
- Jumping on the large crate in the green goop room is possible, but too difficult, might be a good idea to add another floating crate next to it
- In the corridor behind the switch that lowers the goop, the door behind the zombie opens if touched (it should be a fake door)
Very minor details:- The toilet stalls don't have toilets in them
- The hand dryer sound plays forever if you press its button, it should ideally play for a few seconds then turn off, every time the button is pressed
- I recommend using a trigger_endsection to send the player to the main menu when reaching the end
You're doing well, the gamplay here is fun! Keep going!Edit: I looked at the sources and there's a few more things:
For months now I've been trying to make a small campaign, maybe just a single map in size, that I can release and get feedback on to better grasp HL level design before starting to make full-on mods with assets and code and whatnot. I didn't really have a clear goal other than that, so the map keeps changing and changing - it's still a blockout almost entirely made of grid textures - but it's beginning to settle into a defined shape now. I think what made me stick with this particular blockout is that, for all the others, I was trying to either create an entire environment I could "populate" with gameplay later, or build a level around a single central setpiece; but for this one, I tried to make the map complement the gameplay, and that spurred me on to keep adding to it, despite the fact that even the basic layout was still far from clear. Urby is right, blockouts shine when you want to know if what you're doing is fun.
Just like yourself, I want to make maps that make realistic sense, but I feel like I'm becoming more lenient on that front now. After revisiting Valve's maps and playing a bunch of mods to see what I could learn from them, I started to think the map design of classic HL isn't really much less abstract than good ol' Quake, in the "feeling like a real place" sense. And I kinda like that slightly liminal vibe anyway, so now I'm focusing more on making a place that is fun to traverse and fight in, though the realism is still an important factor that determines what kind of place the map will be. For example, I decided to make this map end with the player riding one of those big diagonal elevators up into the darkness, so to make sense, the map will be a deep underground storage area like the one at the start of the Lambda Core chapter. Building it ended up becoming a bit of a cycle where sometimes the gameplay informs what the map will have, and then what the map has determines what kind gameplay fits best, so it's all starting to converge into a clearer picture now.
About Trenchbroom, I actually learned to use it a bit (but didn't make any finished maps) and I can confirm it really is better for translating that 3d space you see in your head into the screen. It can be faster too, when you get used to it and learn the shortcuts - I recommend Markie's tutorials for these. I never tried to use it for Half-Life though, I'll have to see if exporting to J.A.C.K. works smoothly or not.
Oh, and, about ADHD: I've already asked my mom multiple times if I was ever diagnosed with it as a kid, but can't seem to ever remember what she said. Maybe it's because, by the time she answered, I already stopped paying attention...
I played it on Normal difficulty, and the first battle with the grunts is still way too punishing. Cover is necessary to fight all those soldiers, but the cover becomes a death trap almost immediately when the grenades start to fly. The GL grenades were the worst - they can kill almost without warning because they explode on contact, unlike the hand grenades which give the player time to escape. A fight like that would feel more adequate as a conclusion, rather than a beginning.
The office fight was interesting - most people who played HL would see a grunt using a mounted gun and think, "Ah yes, kill the grunt to stop it", and then feel confused when they can't shoot the grunt at all. I know I did. I don't know if that's bad or good, though: on one hand, confusing the player may lead to frustration, but on the other hand, it made me stop and think about what I really had to do, which gave this encounter a puzzle-like quality that I really enjoyed.
A couple nitpicks minor issues:
- The "battery" for the detonator is short enough to walk over, so it has to be pushed while crouching (or thrown with the Use key)
- If the player jumps on top of the armored vehicle near the detonator crate, he will fall inside it and may get stuck
- Some of the walls inside the office area look a bit too thin
All in all, there is some interesting gameplay going on, but the difficulty needs balance. Good luck!