2) Please make extraction easier. I.E. Inside your folder, have a maps folder, and a sound folder with the respective files in each. Upon extracting into the valve folder, the files will go into the correct directories.
3) The screenshot looks like red with wood, and there's no places for the light to be coming from.
Anyway,
Wadinclude the textures and i'll be sure to give this another look.
It's short and sweet, and while my personal opinion is that it's rather pointless, I can appreciate that Black Mesa: Source is awesome enough to warrant a tribute like this.
"Hey, Mr.Freeman. I.. had a bunch of messages for you, but we had a system crash about 20 minutes ago and I'm still trying to.."Upon hearing Barney's famous greeting, you'll already have made your first steps into the first "real" part of Half-Life. Anomalous Materials, of all chapters in the game, was definitely the one I've re-played, explored and analyzed the most. Not exactly sure why, though I think mainly because it wasn't anything more than a large playground, much like an extension of the Hazard Course, where you could first admire HL's interactivity, detail and sheer beauty at point-blanc range, where you could jerk around endlessly pressing the wrong buttons, annoying your colleagues without getting lead chuffed in your face, a place where, unlike the rest of the game, nothing could go wrong.Ansith's map isn't simply the aforementioned c1a0 (the first map in Anomalous Materials) on steroids. Inspired by a screenshot of the same area in Black Mesa Source, a highly anticipated remake of the whole Half-Life 1 experience in the Source Engine, it's, like Hunter said, a remake of a screenshot of a remake. Long-winded introductions aside, let's get on with the actual review. Upon spawning in the map - you'll probably first notice the new added objects/rooms to the original lobby area. Most of them, like the nicely detailed benches, the large wall panel with monitors on it over the reception desk, more gadgets here and there, or just extra office stuff lying around really work right in the map and give it more depth/realism. However, there are some plain logic faults and other nitpicks amongst the new additions. Take both new security rooms (one with a scientist opening the doors for you in the room where you spawn, another with barney in it next to the security override switch), for instance: There's no entrances/passages leading to them in the area, despite both having exit doors. You could of course say there's no entrance in the lobby, though placing it somewhere far away from the room you need to access sounds pretty pointless and inefficient. Another small flaw, often overlooked by level designers, is adding extra-fine details in only some parts of the map, while leaving other areas much less detailed. For example, some of the new pipes or small wires could've been extended through walls/ceilings in the whole map to give them more credibility, as well as up the overall detail level.New things aside, most of the old stuff was also fairly pumped up. Nothing more than some extra curves on corners, bevels in walls and more detail in gadgets/furniture, yet it all looked the way it's supposed to be, added some nice detail and didn't deviate too far from the original.Texturing also hasn't changed much, in fact, it's pretty much the same as in the old c1a0. Nothing special, though overall well-fitting and without any bigger faults. Plus, I think texturing was probably the main thing tieing this remake with the original, so any bigger changes would've ruined that essential link. Another thing linking the remake to the original was ambience. Mostly adequate, it was all original HL sounds, placed near every sound source possible. The map also had ample env_sounds, which, if I recall correctly, were overlooked in the original lobby. A nice addition, commonly left out by other mappers.Much like other aspects, lighting was pretty decent. A bit dimmer and more atmospheric, it worked quite well in my opinion. Some extra lights pointing out the new additions, like the ones at the ceiling near the vents, worked very well. Overall - it, again, wasn't anything special, though it improved original lighting quite a lot. My only complaint for this department was adding too many random switched off lights. Now there's no problem in a bit of variation, though when every third light in your science facility is borked, no wonder serious problems like resonance cascades occur. Some of the switched off lights could be replaced by flickering ones, for e.g.The only real bigger problem (if you can call it that), however, occurred in gameplay. Even if the original wasn't an immense fragfest, it had all those nice scripted sequences you could trigger and play around with. In this map, though, apart from the Security Override button, none of the old ones were included. Enhancing the old sequences and adding them would've definitely made the map feel even fresher. Apart from those, the only other area with some action was the secret zombie room. A nice thing to add, though I'd prefer a secret button, which'd spawn zombies/monsters in the level, while instantly equipping you with the Egon. ^^
Bottom Line
Now I know you'd probably never point out the flaws I picked on when reviewing a normal map, though since this is a fairly small winner, guess I can allow myself to pick it all to the bone. So, in conclusion, I'd say it's a decent attempt at bringing some life into the old-as-hell original Black Mesa Lobby. Black Mesa Lobby Remake is something fresh, yet nostalgic and even with some smallest flaws, it's really something you should try while waiting for BM:S to come outI swear, I've never given any remake a rating this high. D:
The main area of the map, the lobby, is based of a screenshot from the lobby of the at time of writing yet to be released HL2 mod Black Mesa: Source. From a remake point of view, Ansiths lobby looks almost exactly the same like the lobby it is based on. Architecture, texturing and lightning look very similar. Even Ansiths brush-based prefabs (chairs, computers etc) are incredible similar to the models they need to resemble! The maps ambience, basicly your typical machinery sounds, might be a bit boring, but they work and never get annoying. Scripted sentences are carefully sorted out and do their part aswell. Counting this all up, the map (especially the lobby) has great atmosphere. But enough with the praising, because this map most certainly has its bad stuff. While the lobby is a awesome piece of work, it has its flaws. These flaws mostly regard bad texturing, but consider some architecture aswell. Leaving the lobby, I find myself walking in hallways and rooms with incredible bland lightning (and architecture), making the generic lab textures look awfull aswell. Another thing I must adress, is gameplay. This map just begs for more interactivity imho. The only thing I could press is the red security button! Where is the laptop and light switch which we could press in the original c1a0 for example! Cmon!
Bottom Line
While Ansiths map isn't anything breathtaking, Black Mesa Lobby HL1 Remake is a nice map with a cosy deja-vu feeling. It's certainly worth your time.
A well-made remake of the Black Mesa Lobby. Too bad, that it's only the lobby, I'm curious, how the other maps from the original HL1 would look with such detail.
This map is beautiful in its own way. It is a translation of dedication and attention to detail in the form of a well made map and deserves recognition from both TWHL and the Black Mesa Source team. The only let down is that there isn't really much entertainment value besides the tiny Easter egg.
Commented 16 years ago2008-02-29 21:34:09 UTC
in vault item: Kaufmann HouseComment #16474
Now that I have hl2 I got to check it out. Really cool, ive always wondered exactly how it was layed out and everything. Next best thing would be to plan a road trip! woo.
The black is deliberate. So you cannot see what is ahead, like you would if it wasn't 2D. The bullsquid was also deliberate so that you had some difficulty through the waterworks as a bullsquid shoots at you. Note that the shotgun is very bad for shooting thin enemies (turrets) and small ones (headcrabs)
Commented 16 years ago2008-02-27 23:24:41 UTC
in wiki page: Tutorial: ambient_genericComment #100724
I'm making a HLDM map that I want to put some music in. The music is about 1 minute 25 seconds. I've set it up with four ambient_generics, each set to play the WAV file, which IS 8 bit mono, and they all have Play Everywhere checked. No other flags are set. It looks right according to this tutorial, but the music won't repeat! Does anyone know what's going on?
Very nice map. why are the faces of the walls/cliffs facing u all black? when you go trough doors it all goes black and that sux. also at one place the map went all black for some reason. had to walk further to get light. except for that and some monsters that werent properly aligned (i couldnt shoot em) it is very very nice. 3.8 stars
Commented 16 years ago2008-02-27 11:03:38 UTC
in vault item: Awp_2tabere_v2Comment #16462
Thanks again . The trees are solid near the ground , because I used some clip-brushes ....
Oh well , the worst parts of the map are the spawn areas so I'll work a little more there . Maybe I'll use some custom textures on the spawn ares , what do you think ?
Oh , I'm currently working on the third version. And there will be a surprise . Anyway , It's a pain in the ass cuz' I'm making some cave tunnels ....and I can't make them flat ;D
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 16 years ago2008-02-27 01:27:15 UTC
in vault item: Awp_2tabere_v2Comment #16194
Texturing 9/10 Again, well textured but you didn't fix those ladders!
Team Balance 9/10 Much better this time around. A bit more cover for teams but the bridge could have used some extra cover as players trying to cross have little chance of making it across alive.
Design 7/10 The layout is the same so not much improvement here.
Ambience 8/10 Again, not much improvment. Adding some point-based sounds like water sloshing in the pool or birds or crickets, things like that really make a difference. Also, the lights on the outer walls near the bridge are really unnessecary.
Map Skill 9/10 Much, much nicer and neater. The sides were the most important change you made. One thing to remember about a map is that the areas you can't get to must look as good as or better than the ones you can. The bridge is good, breaks up the bland middle section much better and those trees aren't solid, you can use an invisible func_wall to fix that.
Total 8/10 (4 stars) You may have lost and gained some marks simply because you improved in some areas but didn't change/improve in others and when releasing a second version you should try to improve on all bases. Mind you though, you just came shy of 5 stars so a very good effort
Commented 16 years ago2008-02-27 01:26:24 UTC
in vault item: DM_LevitationComment #16458
Texturing 7/10 Very bland texturing but at least there were no texture errors.
Entity Placement 4/10 There is simply too much ammo and it is unevenly placed. Players who get to the top are basically in control with all the batteries up there and it is unfair for other players.
Design 6/10 This is a very basic design with no real feature to it but it works and it looks neat
Ambience 2/10 No sound - one dull blue light source, not very nice at all.
Map Skill 4/10 While you did a good job on the construction of this map you missed a trigger_hurt when you fall off the skybox so players get stuck down there until they die, which on a map like this will be very often.
Total 5/10 (2 stars) I had to choose between 2 stars and 3 stars and unfortunately I had to go for 2, simply because it is not a very solid based map, it is not original and it is a killbox. Take this map a little further and see what happens, it can really only get better and use some imagination next time, after all, it is set in space
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
The lobby was awesome, with the only downsides being the chairs (they look cheap tbh..) and the fact Barney was behind glass! The atmosphere was superb. However, the rest of the map didn't match the quality of the lobby, hence 4 stars instead of 5.
It's great to see how much you're improving, so keep it up!
Commented 16 years ago2008-02-24 14:18:38 UTC
in vault item: Scoutzknivez27Comment #16208
lmfao no i have no clue whosoever that is, but i guesse its nice my map is atleast getting into the public, as long as they dont change the name of it so i cant find it :/
so u can tell wes to go home because this one was all me lolz
Kyle1212: xX1gr01Xx .... sucha newb.
1) Please -wadinclude your textures. It's not hard at all to do with the compilator. You can pick that up here: http://twhl.co.za/forums.php?thread=14161
2) Please make extraction easier. I.E. Inside your folder, have a maps folder, and a sound folder with the respective files in each. Upon extracting into the valve folder, the files will go into the correct directories.
3) The screenshot looks like red with wood, and there's no places for the light to be coming from.
Anyway,
Wadinclude the textures and i'll be sure to give this another look.
Texturing — 9
Ambience — 9
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 0
Video Review
Bottom Line
It's short and sweet, and while my personal opinion is that it's rather pointless, I can appreciate that Black Mesa: Source is awesome enough to warrant a tribute like this.Texturing — 8.2
Ambience — 9
Lighting — 8.8
Gameplay — 6
Review
"Hey, Mr.Freeman. I.. had a bunch of messages for you, but we had a system crash about 20 minutes ago and I'm still trying to.."Upon hearing Barney's famous greeting, you'll already have made your first steps into the first "real" part of Half-Life. Anomalous Materials, of all chapters in the game, was definitely the one I've re-played, explored and analyzed the most. Not exactly sure why, though I think mainly because it wasn't anything more than a large playground, much like an extension of the Hazard Course, where you could first admire HL's interactivity, detail and sheer beauty at point-blanc range, where you could jerk around endlessly pressing the wrong buttons, annoying your colleagues without getting lead chuffed in your face, a place where, unlike the rest of the game, nothing could go wrong.Ansith's map isn't simply the aforementioned c1a0 (the first map in Anomalous Materials) on steroids. Inspired by a screenshot of the same area in Black Mesa Source, a highly anticipated remake of the whole Half-Life 1 experience in the Source Engine, it's, like Hunter said, a remake of a screenshot of a remake. Long-winded introductions aside, let's get on with the actual review. Upon spawning in the map - you'll probably first notice the new added objects/rooms to the original lobby area. Most of them, like the nicely detailed benches, the large wall panel with monitors on it over the reception desk, more gadgets here and there, or just extra office stuff lying around really work right in the map and give it more depth/realism. However, there are some plain logic faults and other nitpicks amongst the new additions. Take both new security rooms (one with a scientist opening the doors for you in the room where you spawn, another with barney in it next to the security override switch), for instance: There's no entrances/passages leading to them in the area, despite both having exit doors. You could of course say there's no entrance in the lobby, though placing it somewhere far away from the room you need to access sounds pretty pointless and inefficient. Another small flaw, often overlooked by level designers, is adding extra-fine details in only some parts of the map, while leaving other areas much less detailed. For example, some of the new pipes or small wires could've been extended through walls/ceilings in the whole map to give them more credibility, as well as up the overall detail level.New things aside, most of the old stuff was also fairly pumped up. Nothing more than some extra curves on corners, bevels in walls and more detail in gadgets/furniture, yet it all looked the way it's supposed to be, added some nice detail and didn't deviate too far from the original.Texturing also hasn't changed much, in fact, it's pretty much the same as in the old c1a0. Nothing special, though overall well-fitting and without any bigger faults. Plus, I think texturing was probably the main thing tieing this remake with the original, so any bigger changes would've ruined that essential link. Another thing linking the remake to the original was ambience. Mostly adequate, it was all original HL sounds, placed near every sound source possible. The map also had ample env_sounds, which, if I recall correctly, were overlooked in the original lobby. A nice addition, commonly left out by other mappers.Much like other aspects, lighting was pretty decent. A bit dimmer and more atmospheric, it worked quite well in my opinion. Some extra lights pointing out the new additions, like the ones at the ceiling near the vents, worked very well. Overall - it, again, wasn't anything special, though it improved original lighting quite a lot. My only complaint for this department was adding too many random switched off lights. Now there's no problem in a bit of variation, though when every third light in your science facility is borked, no wonder serious problems like resonance cascades occur. Some of the switched off lights could be replaced by flickering ones, for e.g.The only real bigger problem (if you can call it that), however, occurred in gameplay. Even if the original wasn't an immense fragfest, it had all those nice scripted sequences you could trigger and play around with. In this map, though, apart from the Security Override button, none of the old ones were included. Enhancing the old sequences and adding them would've definitely made the map feel even fresher. Apart from those, the only other area with some action was the secret zombie room. A nice thing to add, though I'd prefer a secret button, which'd spawn zombies/monsters in the level, while instantly equipping you with the Egon. ^^Bottom Line
Now I know you'd probably never point out the flaws I picked on when reviewing a normal map, though since this is a fairly small winner, guess I can allow myself to pick it all to the bone. So, in conclusion, I'd say it's a decent attempt at bringing some life into the old-as-hell original Black Mesa Lobby. Black Mesa Lobby Remake is something fresh, yet nostalgic and even with some smallest flaws, it's really something you should try while waiting for BM:S to come outI swear, I've never given any remake a rating this high. D:Texturing — 7.5
Ambience — 8
Lighting — 7
Gameplay — 5
Review
The main area of the map, the lobby, is based of a screenshot from the lobby of the at time of writing yet to be released HL2 mod Black Mesa: Source. From a remake point of view, Ansiths lobby looks almost exactly the same like the lobby it is based on. Architecture, texturing and lightning look very similar. Even Ansiths brush-based prefabs (chairs, computers etc) are incredible similar to the models they need to resemble! The maps ambience, basicly your typical machinery sounds, might be a bit boring, but they work and never get annoying. Scripted sentences are carefully sorted out and do their part aswell. Counting this all up, the map (especially the lobby) has great atmosphere. But enough with the praising, because this map most certainly has its bad stuff. While the lobby is a awesome piece of work, it has its flaws. These flaws mostly regard bad texturing, but consider some architecture aswell. Leaving the lobby, I find myself walking in hallways and rooms with incredible bland lightning (and architecture), making the generic lab textures look awfull aswell. Another thing I must adress, is gameplay. This map just begs for more interactivity imho. The only thing I could press is the red security button! Where is the laptop and light switch which we could press in the original c1a0 for example! Cmon!Bottom Line
While Ansiths map isn't anything breathtaking, Black Mesa Lobby HL1 Remake is a nice map with a cosy deja-vu feeling. It's certainly worth your time.Texturing — 8
Ambience — 7
Lighting — 8
Gameplay — 3
Video Review
Bottom Line
A well-made remake of the Black Mesa Lobby. Too bad, that it's only the lobby, I'm curious, how the other maps from the original HL1 would look with such detail.Texturing — 8
Ambience — 7
Lighting — 6.5
Gameplay — 6
Video Review
Bottom Line
This map is beautiful in its own way. It is a translation of dedication and attention to detail in the form of a well made map and deserves recognition from both TWHL and the Black Mesa Source team. The only let down is that there isn't really much entertainment value besides the tiny Easter egg.Playing it again, I marvel at how nice the brushwork is: The ramps, contraptions, and mechanisms are all very well built and clean.
The base map looks really nice too btw!
Under the paramaters of the challenge, I change my rating to 5 stars.
(I don't see an edit to adjust the rating, so I'll PM the Map Vault Moderators)
and im not talking about the black which wont let u see ahead, im talking about the black on the cliff faces......
To Skals, why not????
Show off some of my really crappy (older) talent. I find it still fun to play with the POD bot.
Also, I am making a CS-S version. much improved.
lol so why are u posting 4 year old maps any way....
One thing though, should it not be "breathe" rather than "breath" at the beginning?
[Edit] LOL ? wtf happened ?
Triplicate comments deleted
Oh well , the worst parts of the map are the spawn areas
Oh , I'm currently working on the third version. And there will be a surprise . Anyway , It's a pain in the ass cuz' I'm making some cave tunnels ....and I can't make them flat ;D
Again, well textured but you didn't fix those ladders!
Team Balance 9/10
Much better this time around. A bit more cover for teams but the bridge could have used some extra cover as players trying to cross have little chance of making it across alive.
Design 7/10
The layout is the same so not much improvement here.
Ambience 8/10
Again, not much improvment. Adding some point-based sounds like water sloshing in the pool or birds or crickets, things like that really make a difference. Also, the lights on the outer walls near the bridge are really unnessecary.
Map Skill 9/10
Much, much nicer and neater. The sides were the most important change you made. One thing to remember about a map is that the areas you can't get to must look as good as or better than the ones you can. The bridge is good, breaks up the bland middle section much better and those trees aren't solid, you can use an invisible func_wall to fix that.
Total 8/10 (4 stars)
You may have lost and gained some marks simply because you improved in some areas but didn't change/improve in others and when releasing a second version you should try to improve on all bases. Mind you though, you just came shy of 5 stars so a very good effort
Very bland texturing but at least there were no texture errors.
Entity Placement 4/10
There is simply too much ammo and it is unevenly placed. Players who get to the top are basically in control with all the batteries up there and it is unfair for other players.
Design 6/10
This is a very basic design with no real feature to it but it works and it looks neat
Ambience 2/10
No sound - one dull blue light source, not very nice at all.
Map Skill 4/10
While you did a good job on the construction of this map you missed a trigger_hurt when you fall off the skybox so players get stuck down there until they die, which on a map like this will be very often.
Total 5/10 (2 stars)
I had to choose between 2 stars and 3 stars and unfortunately I had to go for 2, simply because it is not a very solid based map, it is not original and it is a killbox. Take this map a little further and see what happens, it can really only get better and use some imagination next time, after all, it is set in space
Thanks TorQue[MoD]. Well written tutorial!
As for the neon sound - make sure it's placed in your sound/ambience folder.
It's great to see how much you're improving, so keep it up!
so u can tell wes to go home because this one was all me lolz
Will try it out once it's on in the server. ;>
You're the only one who keeps giving me ideas, that's why I love you so much <3