Comments

That is a very uncomfortable picture of Rob.

I think you should make a new trailer in the same style of the Far Cry 3 E3 one. That was a crowd pleaser. Here, I'll get you started with the script:

INTRO (FADE FROM BLACK):
Suddenly... TITS. Tits everywhere.

From here I imagine there's some shooting, lots of fucks, and maybe the promise of more tits. Popularity for The Core will skyrocket, I promise you.

If you're not mapping for recognition you're doing it wrong also

srry i disgree strngly.

Unless your ultimate goal is to get hired as a result or something.

I mean there's a difference between trying to entertain people with your work, and trying to get your name all over shit. I couldn't care how many people know my name... if they enjoy the product, who cares. Again, most of us did not get into mapping - much less GOLDSOURCE MAPPING - for the money, so personal recognition is kinda silly unless you're trying to profit from it.

But do as you will.

I doubt it.

One day you will all understand.

every bruce comment

Everyone's face:

^^^^^
what?

HMM. Let me think.

Pizza
The Statue of Liberty
Empire State Building
Central Park
...Hot jazz clubs?

And about 999.995 other reasons Blitzkrieg surely knows

If your mod doesn't have any guts, nobody's ain't gonna hide it. So, shut the fuck up noobs.

If you're not mapping for recognition you're doing it wrong also. It's not so black and white.

"There are a million reasons why NY is as famous as it is"
I don't actually know any. Care to enlighten, anyone?

I'll PM you.

@Capt: It's from The Terminal.

I'm not a "watcher" on any site, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in the mod. Frankly, I'd be concerned more with final download numbers than your fan-base at this point.

For instance, I and many other people didn't play the They Hunger (HL1) series until years after its last installment had already been released. And yet I still consider myself a big fan of that trilogy.

And, frankly, though The Core looks very interesting, it does look very stylistically similar to a lot of other HL1 mods, which causes it to blend in amidst a sea of similar looking mods... even if it's entirely different and of way higher quality. You just can't tell stuff like that from screenshots and trailers.

I'd go so far as to say that most mods, SP ones in particular, do not gain a large following or recognition until after their release and subsequent review by members of the community.

Honestly, though, back when I was still making mods... I would have been extremely happy if maybe five or ten TWHL members played through it and really enjoyed it. If you're mapping for recognition, I feel like you're doing it wrong.

Gameplay videos. Its how I got the one comment that I ever got on ModDB for SMJ.

...wow i just made myself so very sad just now.

Stu!! Let me know when you're coming!!! I'll make a trip out there it's only 2 hours by train!

Fliers and sticker handouts at comic-con

Yeah. Why do you think so many people want Black Mesa: Source?

It had a kickass trailer.

If you wanna be really hardcore, look up Das Keyboards. You can get blank ones. Solid, jet black, no key markings at all.

Ah, I just checked in the basement, my last one wasn't that exact one as it didn't say k800 anywhere on the box (just logitech, no model name at all) but it looks damn near identical. mine was probably the cheapo lame version

Yep. New York City here I come. I'll make sure not to mail me there.

@Stojke: WTF

Yeah blitz agrees, my monitor(LED FHD) is bright all the time, even with a black screen and the brightness all the way down. (stark contrast to my lcd laptop screen where black is so dark it's reflecteve like glass)

It's hard for me to choose between the two because i like aspects of both, but if i had to choose one i'd take LED, just because i feel like it's less taxing on the eyes than a darker screen.

Oh, and NOW i understand what you mean by "mechanical" keyboard, just basically like the old-style original keyboards back in the day. YES, now that you mention it i very much miss the clickity-clack and light touch to them, i may just have to check out some comtemporary mechanical keyboards

What you need is not tons of weekly shots but one big trailer.

New York state or city? I assume city. Have fun! Don't get hit by a taxi! There are a million reasons why NY is as famous as it is so have a blast while you're there!

Same as me man. Walked into the store with the intention of getting a full HD monitor, found one that looked great, got it. I don't know if yours is LED, but mine is, and right next to my LCD Asus monitor, the difference is pretty noticable. The Asus handles darks so, so much better. It seems to me that the LEDs are just too bright, and even when displaying black they are lit completely. The result is pretty bad looking darkness in horror titles. It just doesn't get close to black. It displays black as a darkish grey due to the LEDs being lit still, I think.

Looks great in the day time, but at night in the dark, it's just not nearly as dynamic and broad as my #2.

What are mechanical keyboards? Ever seen video or a recording of a pro playing and their keyboard sounds like an AK47 firing? The keys have almost no resistance going, but when they get to the bottom, they make a loud, satisfying, snap. The result is that after prolonged use your fingers are less tired, because less force is needed for each stroke.

Most use what are called Cherry MX switches, just a different way of doing keys. The strokes are crisp and snappy, and the loud clicks are soooooo satisfying. Very popular among gamers and people who use computers all day for work, like a couple of my friends who do remote tech support.

But after you get one, any other keyboard you use feels mushy, soft, slow, and unresponsive.

Blitz when you're talking about monitors, what is the best way to go in your opinion for cost/quality? (i only picked up the acer on impulse, so i did no shopping around AT ALL. That said it's definitely the best monitor i've ever owned, since my eyes are used to my dull, old laptop screen

The keyboard is the logitech k800. I like it a lot, but i would love a chiclet-style keyboard with illuminated keys, as i think you would get less light spillage from the borders of the keys(in full darkness you get a kinda trippy vertigo/halo effect).

Are you considering an upgrade to a mechanical in the future?

What you mean when you say dis? i can haz intrigued

Holy crap did Phillip just appear in your journal and ask you to message him? Wow, just wow. I'm glad The Core is going strong, you guys really deserve an awesome release for all of the work you've put into it.

Nice setup man! I recently found out that Nvidia only supports 2 monitors per chip and that my 560ti only has one chip. I has a sad.

I guess my rigs not as done as I thought.

Awesome pick on the mouse, Logitech rules. People who suggest non-logitech mice have never owned a logitech mouse :P. I also have an Acer monitor as my primary and I gotta say I was a little disappointed in it. My #2 monitor was less than half the cost and looks so, so much better color-wise and the darks are so much darker. When A Machine for Pigs comes out I'm probably going to play it on that monitor instead of my primary. That's the last time I buy an LED monitor.

Its a little hard to tell from the pic but I think that exact keyboard was my last one before the Blackwidow. It was an awesome, awesome deal and looks very slick. Are you considering an upgrade to a mechanical in the future?

Also +1 for Fantomenk.

Sick setup my only concern would be a small mouse space, but I suppose that's to everyone's tastes.

I'm jelly of that mug.

Well, for what it's worth I think most of us here on TWHL are looking forward to it! Haven't played a good GldSrc mod in a bit, and The Core looks awesome.

Outdated tutorial, use vtfedit

Suggestions:

• Absolutely guaranteed weekly media updates. They won't be as high quality as the stuff we've been putting out (purely due to volume of work) and would be more like little sneak peaks at progress like the cliffs I posted in the WIP thread recently. Quality vs Frequency of updates.

A: Frequency of updates will keep you at the top of the mod page list, which may guarantee a small amount of new visitors. However, there aren't many visitors to begin with; if you have 600 ghost watchers who don't click the watch button, they prolly won't do it even if you update once a day.

• Objectives such as 600 watchers and we release all the RMFs upon release. 700 watchers and we release our textures under creative commons for anyone to use and modify, including high res originals etc etc.

A: This is pointless. Some people will make blank accounts to watch just so they can get the rmf's. Heck, it has happened on moddb that people will make multiple accouts JUST TO TROLL A CERTAIN MOD.

I understand that people like to see their work being tried out and all, but ultimately it should be your passion (however much left there is) that makes you want to finish this mod. Also the mod is nearing completion anyway so that should be another incentive. Alot of people, myself included, are 'ghost' watchers that knows almost everything going on in goldsrc mod development, but do not post many comments or watch anything. If it makes you feel better, know this: Once you release your mod, it will prolly get spreaded to the Russian, Czech, and French mod communities without you knowing. You will very likely have a larger audience than moddb numbers indicate. So rest assured that more than 400 people will play your mod. It's just that you won't ever get to know about it unless you search around. Good luck!

I thought those "evolution" videos were awesome. Sure, it's a pain in the ass if you didn't record, or don't have previous versions of the given map on your rig, but still, those things were kick-ass.

If you are willing and able to make moar on a regular basis, those would demonstrate like nothing else how much effort you guys put into the mod - and how cool it's gonna be, when it comes out.

Well, there isn't really a theme, but the map doesn't make sense either: there's a bridge across a room with boxes on the floor, but there's no access down there. And the room to which the bridge leads is empty, serves no purpose.

Thank you :).

Regular dev videos would be nice. Even if they don't help with the mod's popularity, it would be cool and educational. I know I'm always on the lookout for mapping tips from the pros, and I'm sure others are as well.

Looks great sir, especially for goldsource, though the theme is quite generic--is there even a theme? Also, great work for 7 hours(i can't even wipe my own butt in 7 hours) =P

This compo is taking way longer than it thought since i'm building mine from scratch and have no painting skills

Mate, you saw what I tried to do with my project? I did everything possible to get my video out on the internet but it wasn't until Kotaku that I reached 50,000 views.

And yet dumb videos like Meet the Heavy remixes are getting more than my project which took me half a year. In the end, you can't control popularity. You have to just spread it around and hope people enjoy it.

Surely knowing that myself and the rest of TWHL enjoys it is enough for you?

You should have gotten a bigger desk.

Well this was a nice presence.

Right, my friend. If the mod is great, you want it or not, it will spread like fire...

Dr. Amazing on Steam pointed me this way.

Wow that was fast Phillip, you lurker you! =)

The first thing I believe you need to do is be clear that popularity and quality are rarely linked.

Justin Beiber is a good example. Of course, quality is subjective, and the millions of teenagers think he is great. But it's unlikely they will be listening to them all their lives.

What I am trying to say is that more people play Source than GoldSource. Yes, I know you already knew that but reconcile yourself with the fact that your mod won't be more popular than some shitty source mappack. At least not until it is released. It's wrong but that's the way it is.

Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you shouldn't try and get more attention, just don't focus on numbers so much. Better to have 400 knowledgeable and sensible people than 700 idiots.

Word of Mouth is the best form of promotion and that comes from making a quality product or service.

To be honest no matter how good your PR and marketing, if the mod itself is not great than you won't get the downloads.

Keeping potential players interested is useful but not worth too much effort.

I wouldn't recommend weekly updates if all you are going to show is WIP. Go for monthly updates with quality work that encourages people to talk about your mod.

I know it's been popular to have watcher/like targets lately but personally I feel it's cheap. Either release the textures or don't. But don't connect it to something as superficial as watchers.

Dev videos are nice but mostly for devs.

Ask yourself this question: "What makes my mod different from other mods"?

When you have some answers, focus on highlighting those things in any PR work.

As Captain Terror said, I would be happy to discuss doing something with you. My site has the most dedicated readership/playership of SP mods, so they are your target audience.

Please contact me if you are interested.

"Maybe some how hook up with the BM:S team, since you are kinda doing the same thing they are, but with the goldsource engine. Maybe you could do some sort of cross-promotional thingie?"
Not a good idea, if the fans knew this you would get a truckload of hate rather than do anything good.

Trailer is a good idea to start with, dev logs also kind of ok.
Objectives i don't think is gonna do anything good for the long run. People are just going to download all the high quality tex and free .rmf w/o bothering to play much.

DiscoTsu has heroin in his bags! ADVANCE AND INTERDICT

can u hook up with phillip somehow?

i haven't been to planet phillip in AGES, but i'd think he'd be dying to do something special for this? (he gets a fair amount of traffic, right?)

Maybe some how hook up with the BM:S team, since you are kinda doing the same thing they are, but with the goldsource engine. Maybe you could do some sort of cross-promotional thingie?

Other than that i really don't know, besides going to every mapping site and starting a pimp thread..

On the other hand, i'd be happy to dress up like Barney, and give out The Core TM registered merchandise and flyers at the bars on weekends, might be fun

Have a nice trip!

There is a trailer planned, I am saying nothing more on that.