Comments

I definitely didn't find it too challenging. I played through the entire demo on Easy

I think you might be on to something there, chief.

I'm old enough to have played the shareware and full release of Quake back when it was released and back then it really was top tier stuff. I too played it on Easy back then, while also using cheats because I mainly enjoyed messing around with my friends.

I've only recently (around 2020) gone back and played through those classic FPS games like Doom 1 & 2, Quake 1 and even Half-Life. This time however I played each of them on harder difficulties and had a much better time with it.

As with Half-Life, Quake has a very active mapping/modding community so it's worth getting the full game if you're into that. There's a back catalogue of over 25 years of custom content available to play

Hard to say why it wouldn't retrigger if you hit the button again without seeing the actual map file unfortunately. Something or multiple things must be set to either play once or to be killed after being triggered. It depends on which part of it doesn't work the second time you press the button.

Pretty bold to jump right into working on a mod with a team. However, I do believe that is one of the best ways to work on a project. Having people around who can immediately test your map and give feedback is incredibly useful, not to mention inspiring.

I worked solo on maps for years and either cancelled most of the things I started or only released very short maps, beatable within 10-15 minutes. With The Core however, I stuck with it for long enough to get another mapper, Archie to join the project. Same goes for the TWHL Tower mods. Working with a team really is the only way I can maintain focus on a project, as well as releasing something that lasts longer than a lunch break.

Would you care to add more details? The screenshot isn't great, nor is the description. What prefabs are contained in this download?

I wouldn't trust this Urby guy. The Core still isn't done 11 years later and I think what he was feeling in the video was "release-envy" since he'd never released anything worthy of Map of the Month himself. Screw that guy. I don't know him. Never heard of him even. Nope.

It's good to see you around again. I had hoped that my review wouldn't taken too seriously. I had a real thing for Zero Punctuation at the time and that caused me to emulate Yahtzee Crowshaw's style of exaggerating the negatives in a map/mod but not as well written or funny...

If it's any consolation, that review got the YouTube Poop treatment a year or so later:

I had a graphics intensive game lock up for me multiple times one night as I was just settling down for the weekend. Out of frustration, I powered off the system at the wall and went to bed. The next morning, I attempted to power up my PC only to be greeted by a system recovery message, followed by a corrupted data warning which resulted in the system recovery getting stuck in a loop. I'd blown my Windows 7 installation away somehow.

I spent a good portion of my weekend reinstalling Windows and all my drivers just to get my PC back in a functional state.

"Science team? You think he was responsible? Sabotage maybe?"

Just so you know, your upload only contains the .map file and not a playable .bsp

As for the texture stretching, either you're mapping with UV lock enabled or your using the "Fit" button all the time. Both of these are best avoided.

Definitely a challenging map but with a handful of issues which make it a little unfair at times. In the starting area, there appears to be an issue with some of your entities, such as the doors and the lit of the crate. For some reason, from certain angles these are blocking the player's bullets, meaning you can empty your entire stock of magnum ammo into the grunt outside and hit nothing but the air in front of him.

Also, the grunt fights in the office, even in the office are wholly unfair to the player. The mounted gun at the end of the hall cannot be stopped, even if you kill the grunt shooting it. This combined with the tight spaces and enemies at every possible angle mean that this is a near impossible gauntlet which took me multiple attempts. I love a challenging grunt fight, but the issue here is the small space and vast amounts of clutter which turn it into an exercise in slowly peaking around corners and chipping away at whoever you see first before you can move on to the next target.

On the level design front, try to make use of func_detail for the various objects and vehicles around the map. This will prevent your brushwork getting carved up like so, and save you some compiling headaches down the road:

I think we might be in the presence of a modern day John Carmack here. This sounds like incredible progress man, and certainly something I'm going to be keeping an eye on. I've been fortunate enough to work within the indie games industry for the last couple of years, but to be able to make something of my own from the ground up is enticing to say the least. Just need to get my neurodivergent brain in line so that I can actually knuckle down and put the work in.

Your third map does not include a trigger_changelevel back to the second. Even if you do not intend for the player to go back to the previous map, you must include the trigger to go there. Make it use only and keep it out of the way somewhere.

I totally understand the first point, feeling like mapping takes a looong time, even to do basic rooms. I often struggle with this as well. In fact, it's something I've been dwelling on more recently, in regards to work and my level design side job. Even when I'm working on a map, which I thoroughly enjoy doing, my focus isn't quite 100% or I find ways to procrastinate.

I've been working with Hammer / JACK for 20+ years and TrenchBroom (for work) for around 2 years and I'm pretty familiar with the ins and outs of the software. Still, things seem to take me much longer than other people in the modding community or working on the same project at work.

I've since reached out to my GP about possible undiagnosed ADHD and I'm awaiting a response from a consultant.

This could be a possible explanation and might even be a factor with your second point: Retaining the information that you're taking in while playing official maps for inspiration.

I am more accepting of blockouts these days since I HAVE to do them for work. I can appreciate that it's difficult to get a feel for the map while working with a blockout since I felt the same way initially and I just couldn't make it work. Now however, I think I will be blocking out all of my future levels. Blockouts mean that you can nail down the basic layout and gameplay for your map, and can make adjustments very quickly.

In the past I would just make areas look as nice as possible and then shoehorn gameplay into them, often having to move around a lot of small details where the gameplay demanded it. So my maps looked nice but played poorly. The one exception to this was Bridge the Gap, which I blocked out until I was happy with the gameplay, then textured and lit. The outcome was... a pretty ugly map that played OK. Then I made Bridge the Gap 2.0 based on the first map and put in more effort detailing. So I think blockouts can be tricky to get to grips with at first, but once you realise their true purpose (super basic gameplay focused template which can be quickly edited and compiled) they really do help.

First of all, I'm sure that this is referencing a franchise that I am not familiar with so I can't really comment on that side of things. I'm going into this totally blind.

From the perspective of a Half-Life mod and as a map pack, this is a strange one with some room for improvement. A series of incredibly short maps, some which feature action and some which do not. There is very little plot to guide the player, but basically when the action kicks off the mod is a grunt fest. On the hardest difficulty there isn't a lot of health for the player. I was stuck with 6HP for the last couple of fights (which included assassins) which quickly devolved into corner peaking, shotgun blasting tedium.

From a mapping point of view, there are a lot of little niggles throughout that make it obvious that the grid was either disabled or set really low in the editor. There are a ton of single unit gaps or lips on brushes which you can sometimes get snagged on as well as causing some ugly lighting issues.

Overall I would say this one is an oddity, maybe worth checking out but with a number of issues that can cause frustration.

I have my own set of dev textures which I prefer to use, but the hand drawn graphics representing the entities are great.

I can't judge the map too harshly as you said yourself that it is unfinished. However, what is there is pretty nicely detailed and textured. The major issue is the gameplay. Fighting zombies with a crowbar, especially on Hard is not really entertaining. On top of that, when I eventually found the pistol, I was forced into an unskippable cutscene and was killed by zombies. I assume this was the end of the map.

One small note, the plants in the park area block player movement... That's annoying.

7 random images really, rather than memes. I assume you don't get a lot of free time.

Checked them all out. It reminds of the various test maps I made when I first started mapping. Back then I never had access to the Internet and TWHL certainly didn't exist, but a part of me wishes I had held on to some of my earlier test maps.

Though these maps are largely unfinished and in some cases a little pointless, it is fun to explore your early mapping days. Thanks for the upload.

Having now played the map with the missing models now included in the download, I have to say it still seems a little broken in places. The skybox in the screenshots doesn't appear to have been included either which means the map is dimly lit while occurring in broad daylight.The first map simply consists of an exterior with a loading screen once you approach the front door. What's inside is fairly basic. Almost entirely pitch black rooms some of which have a few headcrabs or headcrab zombies inside between very chunky furniture. You can find a magnum on the second floor, along with a crowbar which I never used. It's also possible to climb back outside via the window in the magnum room.There are a number of custom textures used, but a lot of them are fairly blurry, like the lockers in the entrance and what I think are medicine cabinets in the nurses office?There does appear to be a secret passage up to the roof where you can find a radio, but otherwise this map doesn't appear to have an ending.

Certainly not a bad map for a first attempt, but there's a lot of mistakes with the upload and there isn't a whole lot of challenge on offer.

Your map will not run, it is missing essential model files:

Out of my control

• Get official diagnosis of ADHD
• Get medication for the above (if applicable)

Possibly within my control

• Improve my commitment and focus to all of my various responsibilities based on the above (ADHD meds or therapy)
• Decide whether to stick with and dedicate myself to Web SysAdmin or seek employment in Game Dev which I would prefer but have no background in

Definitely within my control

• Ship my first commercial game. (Phantom Fury, baby!)
• Put a considerable dent in Half-Life: The Core. Hopefully release the damn thing but who knows
• Actually do some hiking, which I enjoy

Not important but would be nice

• Play Starfield

Cool looking prototype. Congratulations.

Are you intending to keep working on this and release it to some extent down the line? Somewhere like Steam or Itch.io?

That sounds neat. I see no reason to back out on that idea. Go for it I say.

Yup, as it says in the full brief: "Create a map or a series of maps in which the luminescent sludge plays a prominent role. An obstacle to be overcome or a deadly environmental weapon to be used."

Perhaps it could start out as a massive hindrance to the player until they grab an HEV suit and then it's harmless and they can get past a lake of the stuff to exit the level. Maybe the player has no weapons but they can deal with grunts or headcrabs by flushing toxic waste into an area to attract bullsquids. It can be used for decorative purposes as well, but I would say definitely try to factor it into the gameplay.

Quite surprising to see a release that looks this good pop up out of nowhere. Nice job. Playing on hard as you suggest definitely IS a challenge. In fact, starting you off against shotgun grunts and grenadiers I would say is downright evil.

However, I would say that you have missed a couple of tricks in regards to the Christmas theming for this mini-mod. You've got the plates of cookies lying around, yeah? I would have made these the health kits. Likewise there are gift-wrapped boxes everywhere which you cannot bust open to get much needed items, especially at the start.

Otherwise, a fairly challenging gruntfest and a nice little surprise release just before Christmas.

Would a script count as programming? (I wanna use a custom .cfg of my own + some other stuff)

So long as you don't edit any base game files (use a mini-mod if you must) but by coding I mean nothing that is going to alter the way the game plays or the ways that entities work. Just remember that I will be judging the maps and their use of toxic waste and other such slimes.

...Happy birthday?

Well holy shit! It's Raver. I made your avatar...

Please find a new avatar.

That's awesome. Best of luck to you.

Singleplayer map where soldiers are struggling to contain a breach at their Xen alien zoo (Xoo?). The whole deal. Enclosures for the creatures, restaurants/cafes, bathrooms, a gift shop and a multi-storey car park.

Very nice work. It's great to see a full set like this that isn't ridiculously hi-poly and includes all the appropriate sprites and p_ w_ models. Only think left is for it to be given to the hgrunts

You even accounted for goldsource's v_model weirdness with the scaling. Nice! I hope you consider doing more. ( I'm partial to the SA80 rifle myself )

I was considering writing up an unofficial mini contest where people design a map from a written brief / walkthrough. Maybe I'll pitch that officially tomorrow.

Not bad for what I assume is an early attempt at mapping. It's a refreshing change to see a map with a nodegraph so at least the grunts actually engage the player. One thing I will say is that the rotating doors around the map are a little excessive, especially in the tighter interior spaces. These can get stuck on corpses and can make it tricky for the AI to navigate, even with great node placement.

Overall, design wise, it's very basic and the building interiors don't really resemble anything, besides perhaps the bar. However, that just throws into perspective how silent the map is outside of combat. It would be good to hear some ambience in the outdoor areas.

The map was a fairly easy, even on the Hardest difficulty. Giving the player almost full suit charge from the start makes the opening fights trivial and by the end I was decimating entire squads with explosives before they could get a shot off.

Also, something I see far too often is this issue with fences and ladders. Is suspect this is because it LOOKS correct in JACK, when actually it's wrong. You should use the Solid rendermode, not Additive.Also, try making the fences func_illusionary so you and the grunts can actually shoot through it, and then use clip brushes to prevent the player and grunts walking through it.

Stick with it. I hope to see more maps from you in future, and seeing how your levels develop.

I don't really like Source models being ported over the GoldSRC. They rarely come out well. In terms of the animations, this one is just straight up broken / unusable for anything besides standing around, looking glitched.

Jamie, you are consistently terrible at sharing images...

I felt a chill when I started reading... but by the end I was pretty chill.

Happy 30th. It's all downhill from here.

Man, I've not touched Overgrowth in ages. I think I enjoyed the development videos more than the final product, but it felt only fair to throw some money their way.

I'd say you've got a very solid couple of maps here. My only critiques would be nit-picking really. The one or two large sealed doors that I guess would be the means of getting stuff in and out of the area are just flat surfaces, flush with the wall. I would personally build them as though they were going to open, even if they're not going to. Just inset them a little or build a supporting frame around them.

At first I was concerned that there were node graph files included with the map, and upon loading into the map I couldn't see any node paths. However, I see that these are indeed included and just limited to the combat areas. While this prevents grunts from pursuing you if you leave the area, this is actually a really clever way of preventing the player from leading the grunts into a single file death trap. Nice work there.

Otherwise, I'd have to agree with what PsyWarVet has said already: It's very heavy on the crates. It'd be great to see some alternate forms of cover in there. Maybe a couple of military trucks to explain their presence as well as a forklift or two. The original maps in WHG featured some overhead cranes and pulleys as well.

Like I said previously though, two VERY solid maps and they absolutely hit the nail on the head in terms of that classic Half-Life design. Hope to see more from you in the future.

You should consider using -wadinclude when you compile, so people don't need unnecessary .wads all over their valve directory.

Not a bad little detail map, though there's not really a lot to do in it. The light beams coming in through the windows and door look terrible, but the ones coming out of the vent (for some reason) look much better, even if they make no logical sense. Also, some of the props like the coffee mugs and coffee machine are hilariously wrong. I'm not saying I wouldn't appreciate a coffee mug bigger than my head, but still...

So overall, some pretty nice props and a lot of cool details, though some are a little overkill and wouldn't be ideal for a traditional singleplayer map.

Yeah, try and avoid carving as a general rule. It almost always results in terrible splitting of brushes and a ton of off-grid vertexes which will ultimately cause compile issues which can be difficult to resolve. You can get a much neater effect using the arch tool and a little vertex manipulation like so:

First of all, this map looks incredible. The way in which you handled the look of the ocean is ingenious, though up close the illusion is somewhat broken with the lack of a sea bed beneath the water. Hey ho, the limitations of GoldSource.

I can see this being a very fun jaunt with two or three other players, but any more than that would be a struggle to acquire the more powerful weapons. It does seem as though the person who holds the long jump would be at a much greater advantage when it comes to reaching some of the more powerful weapons which are out of reach with the standard jump height. My major concern when looking at the screenshots here in the vault were the sightlines, but I'm happy to say that in game they're nowhere near as far as I was expecting.

I like the little intractable elements dotted about as well, which really sells the entire theme of the map. I'm more of a single player man myself, and though I'm certain this would be a ton of fun, it has left me pining for a single player Half-Life campaign with a Caribbean setting with this same level of polish. Well done.

Not sure why you'd upload screenshots to the vault rather than a thread... but you can take in-game screenshots with F5.

Solid reference, Lou.

That's exciting stuff. Please keep us up to speed throughout your journey.

17!? Happy Birthday!

Man... I'm more than TWO cambreaKers