From the three phone calls I received that night along with video messages I can confirm that: A) Drinks were drunk. B) Merriment was had. C) Dicks were kicked.
Thanks for the responses guys. We're not concerned about Ivory being on the Autistic Spectrum. It's not something that can be "fixed" as such. She's not broken, she's just Autistic. It's already clear that when she wants something, she will fight for it. While at the moment that means tantrums and screaming, when she's older I'm certain it will become passion and drive.
The primary school that she's got a placement with is actually my old school, and we know they have a fantastic reputation for learning support. In fact, Ivory's key person at nursery has said today that she thinks Ivory would actually benefit going to school as normal. Early days yet, and there are a lot of meetings and assessments still to come, but overall we're staying positive.
@Bruce: No hate here, but Ivory is actually long done with her vaccinations. Next one isn't until she's between 12 and 13. Personally, that's not something I would be willing to do. Again, I'm not concerned that Ivory is on the spectrum and I much prefer that over her being vulnerable against measles, polio or rubella.
It wasn't sudden by any means, no. She was always slow to start speaking. She didn't even babble very much when she was younger. Not like her younger brother now who doesn't stop babbling.
We just figured she was quiet, until we saw her together with her cousin (2 week age difference)
He was attempting to talk in sentences while she resorted to pointing, grunting and saying only one or two words.
Commented 5 years ago2019-05-27 14:27:44 UTC
in journal: Giant DumpComment #102012
Always good to have a vent. Sorry to hear about everything that's going on, but every cloud has a silver lining as they say. Best of luck to Lyssa! Strange that you should mention being diagnosed with autism. We're pretty sure that's what is coming with our daughter...
Happy to hear you're still working on SMJ, and I'd be more than willing to help out with the story anyway I can. I have no professional writing experience, but I certainly enjoy it.
Commented 5 years ago2019-05-19 17:58:10 UTC
in vault item: The_Tube2019Comment #101997
I just checked this out. Having not played the original before and only experiencing this version running around on my own, the improvements seem minimal at first. However, I cannot deny that some of the more major changes are a definite improvement. The 2019 map is more open, which would allow for some interesting firefights. There are also far fewer item and weapon pick ups in dead ends which were a big no-no in the original. The texture changes mean that you can differentiate the various sections more easily and the clip and illusionary brushes for doorways and signs respectively mean that you aren't getting snagged while long jumping around the corridors.
Would love to try this out on the server some time.
Commented 5 years ago2019-04-24 13:04:14 UTC
in journal: Mapping out the futureComment #101965
Well shit. You've been here longer than me. Haha! Welcome back. I'll be perfectly honest, as much as I like Sledge, I've taken to JACK more recently, so I might not be of much assistance with your questions.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 5 years ago2019-03-14 00:38:05 UTC
in poll: French Bread ShowdownComment #101903
"Of course I regularly devour a baguette with some tuna and sweetcorn or a bowl of hot soup." Urby raises a fist to the sky, "However, croissants are the ultimate breakfast nom and as we all well know, that's the most important nom of the day! Hyaah!"
With a kick of his spurs, Urby glides away on his giant sentient croissant and explodes.
Commented 5 years ago2019-03-10 16:32:53 UTC
in vault item: E-Lab-orateComment #101884
Thanks for the playthrough 2much. I see you skipped most of the ammo pickups. I made the map pretty sadistic for people who didn't explore the areas fully.
Absolutely stunning bit of work. Very classic Half-Life feel throughout, with the difficulty dialed up a few notches. Had some deaths at the hands of the slaves and marines, as well as sheer stupidity and ham handed handling during the platforming sections.
A nice use of puzzles and a lot of backtracking, but it's all labelled so clearly with the use of new enemies spawned in and in one case a friendly NPC showing up to help out.
In my opinion, it could have done with a little more in the way of storytelling. What was there was amusingly dark which is just the ticket in my book. However, some audio logs, or at least a living scientist or two to explain what exactly was going on in the facility wouldn't have gone amiss. Also, the state of the place in general was somewhat confusing. There was a lot of visible rock and offices and break areas looked somewhat makeshift, all crammed in together. However, I could not tell if this was due to a collapse or simply hasty construction.
Took me about 40 minutes to complete and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Commented 5 years ago2018-12-27 14:10:31 UTC
in news: Competition 35 Results!Comment #101694
I totally missed this until Jessie posted in the shoutbox. Would it be possible to make the most recent competition more prominent on the homepage. It was more so before the results were out.
Looks interesting. Will have to check this out when I get home. One thing I will say is that the lighting in the screenshots looks really strange, like the really defined light spots on the ceilings.
Commented 5 years ago2018-12-09 21:44:40 UTC
in vault item: Demo of my unnamed modComment #101676
Well, I downloaded the .bsp directly but you've used counterstrike textures and not -wadincluded them in the compile, so most of the walls are purple checkerboards.
Commented 5 years ago2018-11-29 23:31:45 UTC
in journal: Video editing softwareComment #101641
I've only really got experience with Sony Vegas Movie Studio but I love it. It's expensive if you go for the latest version, but older versions tend to be much cheaper but you sacrifice functionality/features.
Commented 5 years ago2018-11-25 23:33:36 UTC
in vault item: Tunnel VisionComment #101636
Wow... Well I would certainly be surprised if this doesn't get first place in the competition. Seven maps!? That's insane!
Played on hard as recommended and it was certainly challenging in some areas. I think for the most part I was running around with 100HP, but the various combat encounters were often frantic and I wound up in the red a number of times. I must admit that it was getting a little tedious at the start given the number of zombies and headcrabs, as I would engage these with the crowbar to conserve ammunition and whittling their health down took a long time.
There are quite a few areas that serve as little more than combat arenas and as such they lack detail or do not make a lot of sense. One example that comes to mind is the crossroad shaped section which had a single office in one wall... The middle section with the laser cannon was also a little bland in terms of detail and lighting.
However, not once was the game play dull, including the Half-Life staples of combat and platforming with the occasional bit of exploration which was always rewarded.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable map pack that hits a lot of the beats from the original campaign without simply copying it.
Bug Report: I noticed that with the electrical arcs that appear after the generator starts up, the trigger_hurt doesn't always disable properly for the first one. In two play throughs I took a chunk of damage when the beams were off, but only on the first one. The other two work fine.
Commented 6 years ago2018-10-17 13:48:38 UTC
in journal: MemoriesComment #101559
Glad to see you're still popping in from time to time, Satch. I have to admit now that I have kids and a load of more mature friends, I am starting to seek my entertainment elsewhere. I love gaming and mapping and the TWHL community, but as my kids get older I will be looking to do more and more with them, out of the house.
Of course I will simply stop making maps one day in the future, but not just yet, and it is highly unlikely that I will ever stop gaming full stop.
Retirement seems so very far away at the moment that I couldn't even imagine how I'd spend that time, but I guess I'll have a better idea closer to the time... (38 years to go yet...)
I don't really do unusual purchases these days. It's either gaming related or buying or replacing something functional for the house. Not sure if missing out or just becoming one of these "adults" I hear so much about...
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
A) Drinks were drunk.
B) Merriment was had.
C) Dicks were kicked.
As for people thrown by her age, trust me, I'm as shocked as you and I was there.
Hell, my son is nearly 18 months already...
The primary school that she's got a placement with is actually my old school, and we know they have a fantastic reputation for learning support. In fact, Ivory's key person at nursery has said today that she thinks Ivory would actually benefit going to school as normal. Early days yet, and there are a lot of meetings and assessments still to come, but overall we're staying positive.
@Bruce: No hate here, but Ivory is actually long done with her vaccinations. Next one isn't until she's between 12 and 13. Personally, that's not something I would be willing to do. Again, I'm not concerned that Ivory is on the spectrum and I much prefer that over her being vulnerable against measles, polio or rubella.
We just figured she was quiet, until we saw her together with her cousin (2 week age difference)
He was attempting to talk in sentences while she resorted to pointing, grunting and saying only one or two words.
Happy to hear you're still working on SMJ, and I'd be more than willing to help out with the story anyway I can. I have no professional writing experience, but I certainly enjoy it.
Would love to try this out on the server some time.
With a kick of his spurs, Urby glides away on his giant sentient croissant and explodes.
...Time for bed I reckon.
I'm not changing it because I refuse to give words that level of power.
I bake mooks!
A nice use of puzzles and a lot of backtracking, but it's all labelled so clearly with the use of new enemies spawned in and in one case a friendly NPC showing up to help out.
In my opinion, it could have done with a little more in the way of storytelling. What was there was amusingly dark which is just the ticket in my book. However, some audio logs, or at least a living scientist or two to explain what exactly was going on in the facility wouldn't have gone amiss. Also, the state of the place in general was somewhat confusing. There was a lot of visible rock and offices and break areas looked somewhat makeshift, all crammed in together. However, I could not tell if this was due to a collapse or simply hasty construction.
Took me about 40 minutes to complete and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Did you use the old compile tools because if you did I would consider recompiling using Vluzacn's tools: http://forums.svencoop.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16257
I'll give up.
Played on hard as recommended and it was certainly challenging in some areas. I think for the most part I was running around with 100HP, but the various combat encounters were often frantic and I wound up in the red a number of times. I must admit that it was getting a little tedious at the start given the number of zombies and headcrabs, as I would engage these with the crowbar to conserve ammunition and whittling their health down took a long time.
There are quite a few areas that serve as little more than combat arenas and as such they lack detail or do not make a lot of sense. One example that comes to mind is the crossroad shaped section which had a single office in one wall... The middle section with the laser cannon was also a little bland in terms of detail and lighting.
However, not once was the game play dull, including the Half-Life staples of combat and platforming with the occasional bit of exploration which was always rewarded.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable map pack that hits a lot of the beats from the original campaign without simply copying it.
Bug Report: I noticed that with the electrical arcs that appear after the generator starts up, the trigger_hurt doesn't always disable properly for the first one. In two play throughs I took a chunk of damage when the beams were off, but only on the first one. The other two work fine.
Of course I will simply stop making maps one day in the future, but not just yet, and it is highly unlikely that I will ever stop gaming full stop.
Retirement seems so very far away at the moment that I couldn't even imagine how I'd spend that time, but I guess I'll have a better idea closer to the time... (38 years to go yet...)