Journals
I'm drawing this just from observation, particularly of this sub, but I think it'd be interesting to share with you what I think are the three generations of Half-Life fandom.
These are not meant to be definitive, and I don't claim it to be. Pardon any inaccuracies.
I personally am a bit too young for HL when it came out, but back in those days we don't have internet and the latest rig in the house so my brothers and I are stuck with HL and the mods for way longer (in other words we're way behind on the latest gaming goings on). Counter Strike has a place on all three of us. I therefore am comfortable identifying myself as the first generation.
p.s. the choice of "three" is purely coincidental.
The First Generation
These are the people who were there when the original Half-Life and expansions came out. They've picked up and followed the franchise and the glorious modscene of GoldSrc. If asked "which Half-Life" to play, they'd always point to the original GoldSrc version.The Second Generation
These are the people who were attracted to the series around the time of Half-Life 2 and its episodes, including the Source leak fiasco. They would still be familiar with the original HL, but maybe not too much on the GoldSrc modscene. If asked "which Half-Life" to play, they'd probably point to the Source version.The Third Generation
These are the people whose first contact with the series is probably the "Half-Life 3" meme. Having only played contemporary modern games, they might find HL2 to be a bit old in comparison, and the original HL "ancient" and sub-par to their standards. They'll be the one to ask "which Half-Life" version to play.These are not meant to be definitive, and I don't claim it to be. Pardon any inaccuracies.
I personally am a bit too young for HL when it came out, but back in those days we don't have internet and the latest rig in the house so my brothers and I are stuck with HL and the mods for way longer (in other words we're way behind on the latest gaming goings on). Counter Strike has a place on all three of us. I therefore am comfortable identifying myself as the first generation.
p.s. the choice of "three" is purely coincidental.
After the Black Mesa Incident, the global economy must have fundamentally changed. The shift in human population towards the fortified cities during the Portal Storms must have crippled the rural industries, especially industrial-scale agriculture. Then the Seven Hour War happened, which would have done the same thing to those urban centers and vital industries. By the time Gordon Freeman was dropped into City 17, 20+ years have passed and we would have seen the economy stabilized under Combine rule. I'd like to infer from the in-game world which industry survives, and even thrived, under Combine rule.
Before we start, I'd like to think that at least around City 17 there is no such thing as a scorched earth policy being carried out as we see that most of the vital infrastructure remains intact. Maybe other places prior to the 7hr War was totally scorched, and we just don't get to see it.
As for meat, maybe headcrabs have become the new chicken. It could even be the case that standard rations citizens receive are just headcrab puree. Large scale animal agriculture ceased, and game animals would have been virtually poached to extinction.
Local trade in the from of black markets thrive. I'd imagine that apart from food, the other stuffs traded would have been antiques from pre-Combine era or things smuggled out of Combine-controlled industries.
Also the bridges and tunnels seems to have been maintained by human tech instead of Combine tech so the civil construction industry chain is also intact and completely servient to the Combine. They do need to do this as the razor train is physically taller than conventional trains for some reason, and you can see developer oversight in some cases where the tall razor train clips through tunnel ceilings in C17.
Telecommunication technology and infrastructure might have been maintained and co-opted by the Combine, for Breencasts and local communication between Combine cities.
Meanwhile the manufacturing of materials for the human-made-but-used-by-the-Combine infrastructure might have been outsourced to local companies, though unlikely.
Some interesting things that are still being manufactured (i.e. normal things you can see in HL2 that is obviously not 20 years old) includes oil and oil drums, wooden crates, soft drinks, office furniture, and some electrical and electronic products (lights, beverage machine and TV).
Let me know if I missed something, or anything you have in mind.
Before we start, I'd like to think that at least around City 17 there is no such thing as a scorched earth policy being carried out as we see that most of the vital infrastructure remains intact. Maybe other places prior to the 7hr War was totally scorched, and we just don't get to see it.
Food
First and foremost, food production would have been subsistence based, done by individual citizens (discreetly if they have to), and any surplus would have been traded in the black market. We know this because we see greens being prepared in the BME kitchen, and by the fact that Lamarr eats grade-A watermelons.As for meat, maybe headcrabs have become the new chicken. It could even be the case that standard rations citizens receive are just headcrab puree. Large scale animal agriculture ceased, and game animals would have been virtually poached to extinction.
Resource extraction
We see many abandoned mines, but maybe we've been only to one type of mine (coal mine), as a lot of resource extraction is still talking place because of the products that we can see (see Manufacturing section). This includes iron ore to make steel for the rails, and oil to fill that many explosive barrels that Gordon Frohman ordered. Maybe the reason we're not seeing them much is because the Combine is mining most stuffs in other places in the Solar System which they would definitely have superior technology for.Trade
Global trade has all but collapsed except for Combine-essential commodities as trade infrastructure was destroyed or made unusable. Destroyed and unsafe highways and railways, and ports are all dry because of sea level drop. The remaining large-scale trade would be Combine-controlled, between Combine cities and for Combine-essential commodities, facilitated by the rail infrastructure that they opted to use for general transportation.Local trade in the from of black markets thrive. I'd imagine that apart from food, the other stuffs traded would have been antiques from pre-Combine era or things smuggled out of Combine-controlled industries.
Human apparel, weaponry, supplies
Very obviously the Combine has been manufacturing the standard denim that its citizens wear, though as for what material it's made from it is probably synthetic. The weapons and armour and health supplies that the human combine forces use would be manufactured on-world, as it's primitive teleportation tech is reserved to transport more critical cargo.Healthcare
IDK if the Combine cares about basic human healthcare more than it cares about turning them all into transhuman forces which has been demonstrated in HL2 that they have had the infrastucture for. The hospitals in HL2 doesn't look totally trashed so the Combine must has been offering basic healthcare through Breen's own volition, in order to maintain some level of support from the citizens.Education, entertainment and arts
Officially nonexistent apart from the extremely small production staff that supports the Breencasts.Infrastructure
The Combine has its own construction technology but it also seems to heavily use the rail infrastructure, so the rail industry chain must have been more or less intact. This includes everything in the chain, from making the steel for the rails, the sleepers, the rock quarries that supplies the ballasting, the specialist track laying and maintenance machinery and personnel, the signalling.Also the bridges and tunnels seems to have been maintained by human tech instead of Combine tech so the civil construction industry chain is also intact and completely servient to the Combine. They do need to do this as the razor train is physically taller than conventional trains for some reason, and you can see developer oversight in some cases where the tall razor train clips through tunnel ceilings in C17.
Telecommunication technology and infrastructure might have been maintained and co-opted by the Combine, for Breencasts and local communication between Combine cities.
Manufacturing
As stated previously, some level of manufacturing is maintained, it's just the matter of whether it's Combine-controlled or Combine-linked. Most probably clothing, weapony, supplies, and ration production is Combined controlled, manufactured inside the citadels or other combine-built facilities. Manufacturing of Combine materials and tech (eg their blue steel, force fields, gunships, etc.) would have been combine-controlled.Meanwhile the manufacturing of materials for the human-made-but-used-by-the-Combine infrastructure might have been outsourced to local companies, though unlikely.
Some interesting things that are still being manufactured (i.e. normal things you can see in HL2 that is obviously not 20 years old) includes oil and oil drums, wooden crates, soft drinks, office furniture, and some electrical and electronic products (lights, beverage machine and TV).
Law Enforcement
Last but not least, Enforcement: Civil Protection is a career path guaranteed to get you on the Combine's good side. You could go up the ranks (losing your humanity along the way) and would be surely, maybe, eventually, integrated into the Universal Union citizenry. Also, better rations (though how they make it much better than headcrab puree is unknown.)Conclusion
In conclusion, there are still a lot of industries needed to maintain a civilization, and a lot of jobs around in the Half-Life universe. It's just a pity that the only thing we see in HL2 are enforcement officers on-duty, and normal citizens off-duty. It would be interesting to see City 17 during rush hour and at night where we might see a lot more people coming off of work. Imagine working as Combine Oil and Gas Engineer, or Breen's make-up artist, or Combine nurse, or Combine electrician, or being the guy that restocks Breen's water reserve vending machines.Let me know if I missed something, or anything you have in mind.
Time passes and we get old. And we set up plans which we often never imagined having set up.
I'm happy to have released 3 maps for Counter-Strike at the end of the previous decade. What will be next ones?
I bought a Sony hi-fi equipment, a digital audio clock, which I never imagined having so fast. What else am I going to buy next?
Everything needs to be organized to have a well-paved and peaceful path.
Don't give up on your dreams and plans if you have one. I already have mine.
I'm happy to have released 3 maps for Counter-Strike at the end of the previous decade. What will be next ones?
I bought a Sony hi-fi equipment, a digital audio clock, which I never imagined having so fast. What else am I going to buy next?
Everything needs to be organized to have a well-paved and peaceful path.
Don't give up on your dreams and plans if you have one. I already have mine.
After reading the notes on monster_nihilanth, how it's very specifically coded to interface with specifically named entities in the map etc, and how awfully basic the retail map was, I became interested in experiencing what an alternative, reimagined Nihilanth's chamber would look like.
I feel like this would be a good opportunity for a competition (or a compendium mod) but seeing that TWGL is still ongoing I've been postponing. Plus the fact that I don't feel like shouldering the burden of judging a mapping competition, because I don't matter in the grand scheme of things, or even on the day to day.
I do also want to have a go at this. I wanted to go back to the concept (or a fan theory at this point, idk which) that Nihilanth was imagined as a giant alien baby that Gabe thought of as the personification of his unborn child at the time (Gray), and of Xen being more organic in the conceptual stage. I imagined Nihilanth's chamber as a uterus with life support structures surrounding and protruding the walls, and the mini-chambers being organically connected, taking a little inspiration from the HL2 beytah citadel advisor level (see right).
look at those curves!
However, two problems hindered my ideas:
But I still feel there's value to be had in this. I might have a go at my idea again, but at the same time I wanted to experience others' take of the core concept. I probably shouldn't participate if I'm judging, but I'm 95% sure I wouldn't make the deadline if I participate. And TWGL is still not out.
I feel so incompetent. Cool idea though.
p.s. Black Mesa doesn't count.
I feel like this would be a good opportunity for a competition (or a compendium mod) but seeing that TWGL is still ongoing I've been postponing. Plus the fact that I don't feel like shouldering the burden of judging a mapping competition, because I don't matter in the grand scheme of things, or even on the day to day.
I do also want to have a go at this. I wanted to go back to the concept (or a fan theory at this point, idk which) that Nihilanth was imagined as a giant alien baby that Gabe thought of as the personification of his unborn child at the time (Gray), and of Xen being more organic in the conceptual stage. I imagined Nihilanth's chamber as a uterus with life support structures surrounding and protruding the walls, and the mini-chambers being organically connected, taking a little inspiration from the HL2 beytah citadel advisor level (see right).
look at those curves!- There are no good texture sets.
- I just can't get JACK to align the textures how I wanted. I wanted the fine-grained control of a 3D modelling UV mapping, but instead had to rely on completely arbitrary Hammer/JACK view angle hacks that is just impossible to get to align to an organic structure.
- The alternative is to model the outer walls in a 3D modelling program but I suck at that more. I feel at least competent in CSG.
But I still feel there's value to be had in this. I might have a go at my idea again, but at the same time I wanted to experience others' take of the core concept. I probably shouldn't participate if I'm judging, but I'm 95% sure I wouldn't make the deadline if I participate. And TWGL is still not out.
I feel so incompetent. Cool idea though.
p.s. Black Mesa doesn't count.
So I was scrolling Scratch (please don't ask why I do this, I'm pretty sure it's self-esteem related) and I came across a project on Explore called "The Mast." Turns out it's a full-3D first-person game with a fantastic story and great gameplay. Its art style is consistent throughout, and the graphics were frankly unreal for something rendered in Scratch. The experience I had while playing this game was only surpassed by the experience when I teleported to Xen in Black Mesa. Yeah. It almost rivals Black Mesa Xen in terms of how it made me feel.
The first room of the game, rendered at 480x360p resolution
The areas in the game were somehow beautifully detailed and charmingly minimalistic at the same time, and it really just took my breath away.
This incredible lighting, I would never expect this from a Scratch project
But most of all, it was a calming experience. Unlike Quake and other games I've been playing recently (so, basically just Quake), it felt like a break itself, instead of something to take a break from.
I mean, just look at this view of the "mast" the game is named after
I would highly recommend this game to literally any member of the human race, it's that good. You can play it here.
The first room of the game, rendered at 480x360p resolutionThis incredible lighting, I would never expect this from a Scratch projectI mean, just look at this view of the "mast" the game is named after
So the moving went great!
Slowly getting set up at the new place now. I'm exhausted, but it feels great here. Even with boxes and bags and disassembled furniture all over the place, it's still so much more spacious than the old place! The neighbours here say hi back when you greet them unlike back at the old street where they'd just look at you weird for trying to be friendly. The stove and oven are working perfectly and no cabinet doors insisting on staying open! Finally, a home!
– Erty
Slowly getting set up at the new place now. I'm exhausted, but it feels great here. Even with boxes and bags and disassembled furniture all over the place, it's still so much more spacious than the old place! The neighbours here say hi back when you greet them unlike back at the old street where they'd just look at you weird for trying to be friendly. The stove and oven are working perfectly and no cabinet doors insisting on staying open! Finally, a home!
– Erty
So here I'm sitting surrounded by moving boxes. Even using a couple as a makeshift desk.
Moving is stressful. Even if I've moved a few times before, it feels a bit extra stressful this time around. Part of it is that I have a job this time, and at that job there was suddenly a lot of extra stuff happening that coincides with the moving (at least I get Friday off so I get to spend that day moving most of the stuff to the new apartment).
I also have some issues with anxiety, and it gets excarberated by cramped spaces. It's not outright claustrophobia, but a persistent discomfort. The bad air ventilation in this tiny underground basement apartment probably isn't helping either. It has been very draining and there was also that whole pandemic business going on too, causing us to spend more time in this tiny basement than what's good for us. Now that we're two days away from the big moving day, that tiny space we had available is now filled with moving boxes and disassembled furniture pieces and bags. In other words, my anxiety is all over the place. 🙃
At the same time I know things will be so much better once this is over with. Just a few more days.
That's also part of why I'm writing these journals. Writing things kinda helps me with stress, as do drawing or painting (though all my drawing/painting things are packed away so writing it is, for now). Apparently writing code is calming too, which I hadn't noticed before.
This is my third journal entry in just a week, after not writing any at all, ever, on this site, and just last night I did my fourth alpha (pre-) release of the Obj2GoldSmd converter and sent it out to the testers today (I sure hope they don't feel like I'm spamming or pestering them at this rate 😅).
Now I don't believe us moving will magically solve everything, but it will make a lot of things better.
Just to be able to stand and stretch without my arms hitting a ceiling, to be able to walk around, and to feel like I have the space to breath, in my own home, I've missed those things so much.
– Erty
Moving is stressful. Even if I've moved a few times before, it feels a bit extra stressful this time around. Part of it is that I have a job this time, and at that job there was suddenly a lot of extra stuff happening that coincides with the moving (at least I get Friday off so I get to spend that day moving most of the stuff to the new apartment).
I also have some issues with anxiety, and it gets excarberated by cramped spaces. It's not outright claustrophobia, but a persistent discomfort. The bad air ventilation in this tiny underground basement apartment probably isn't helping either. It has been very draining and there was also that whole pandemic business going on too, causing us to spend more time in this tiny basement than what's good for us. Now that we're two days away from the big moving day, that tiny space we had available is now filled with moving boxes and disassembled furniture pieces and bags. In other words, my anxiety is all over the place. 🙃
At the same time I know things will be so much better once this is over with. Just a few more days.
That's also part of why I'm writing these journals. Writing things kinda helps me with stress, as do drawing or painting (though all my drawing/painting things are packed away so writing it is, for now). Apparently writing code is calming too, which I hadn't noticed before.
This is my third journal entry in just a week, after not writing any at all, ever, on this site, and just last night I did my fourth alpha (pre-) release of the Obj2GoldSmd converter and sent it out to the testers today (I sure hope they don't feel like I'm spamming or pestering them at this rate 😅).
Now I don't believe us moving will magically solve everything, but it will make a lot of things better.
Just to be able to stand and stretch without my arms hitting a ceiling, to be able to walk around, and to feel like I have the space to breath, in my own home, I've missed those things so much.
– Erty
Hi again!
I thought that now that I've broken the ice with making journals, I could talk a bit about the obj-to-smd converter I've been working on.I mentioned it in my previous journal entry and I've talked about it in the Discord server. The project basically began as a test to see how easy it'd be to convert an .obj exported from J.A.C.K into a .smd file that could be compiled into a studio model for goldsrc. Apparently it wasn't that hard and it didn't take too long until I had something basic working.
Other people had shown interest in the project, and I could see the potential it could offer to other mappers, so I decided to build on the project to make it into something others could use. I added a logger to display info in the console and save warnings and errors to a file. I added the functionality for it to write a .qc file for a basic static prop along with the .smd to make compilation easier and faster. I set up a condition to make it skip any faces with NULL texture. I made it collect all textures with {-prefix and write a $texrendermode-entry for each one to make them use the masked mode.
Then I sent out this alpha version of the program to a few select individuals that had agreed to test it.
I've already gotten some very valuable feedback from two of them. The first helped me track down a coordinate system related error I had missed. The other brought to my attention some errors with the logging and input prompt which I hadn't noticed earlier either, and gave me an idea for how to make the program a bit more convenient to use.
During my own testing I had mostly just focused on whether all the polygons seemed right, whether the UV maps were correct, that weird geometry didn't throw exceptions here and there, and that sort of stuff. These two testers were able to notice things I wasn't paying attention to. This is why this sort of testing is very valuable and I appreciate the help a lot! Their names are already included in a special thanks section in the readme that will be included in a full release of the program.
Currently I'm working on a class for reading Wad3 files. This feature was inspired by the second tester.
The problem with the .obj file from J.A.C.K and the assosciated .mtl file is that they only include a reference to the texture used, but not the texture file itself. So in order to compile the model one would need to manually extract the textures from the assosciated .wad package and place it in the work directory. A solution we came up with was to let the program look for .wad packages in the work directory and search them for the textures by name, and automatically extract them. One would still need to place the .wad into the work directory, but that's definitely a whole lot less work than manual extraction. Especially when the model contains many different textures.
Before I started on the above feature I was working on a smooth shading functionality. I'm not completely sure how an user would turn on the feature, but so far I've thought of just looking up a
_smooth[x] keyword in the end of the filename where x is the angle threshold and not using x (or using 0) would smooth all edges. I think the Wad3 support is far more useful and should be prioritized, so I switched to working on that instead.
After I finish the two features mentioned above I want to add some commandline support to the program. Currently it works by just drag-and-dropping the .obj file onto the executable which is plenty good enough for the typical use but one might want to be able to mess with various options, such as whether to not skip NULL-textured faces, not automatically set masked rendermode on {-textures, and setting a different output folder. Possibly also the ability to set various .qc options as well, such as $scale, $origin and $gamma.
I also want to add in support for reading .rmf/.jmf as well instead of just .obj (many thanks to Captain P for showing me the MESS code for parsing those!) This will make the program useful to even more mappers and break down the paywall due to the .obj export only being supported by J.A.C.K.
– Erty
Hi!
So apparently I've been on this site for over 17 years and not even once written a journal entry. I decided it's time to change that.I don't know if I should introduce myself or if that's a bit too late. Perhaps I should. I've spoken to many here but I doubt any actually know much about me.
I'm Erty. What is there to say about me? I love swimming. Back when I was in high school and uni people called me a "crazy scientist" because I built a lot of cool tech and high voltage stuff, like tesla coils and ion thrusters, and owned a piece of fluorescent uranium ore sample. I'm bisexual and a mess. I'm 30 years old as of writing. I used to draw and paint a lot but haven't done much of that the last years (unless you count making textures). I think bananas are pretty cool. I started my goldsrc mapping adventure about 20 years ago, messing around with an early version of HLSDK and finding Worldcraft.
I guess part of why I haven't written any journal entries, or contributed more than a handful of things for most of that time comes from having been afraid of getting too invested in mapping, or any creative process at all. I've been pretty good at starting projects, but terrible at finishing them. I've only published a handful of vault items, and later removed them. So why bother trying being a part of a community I won't contribute to? I'm just here with nothing to share. I had many such thoughts back then.
Well, a lot of shit happened during those years, the first two decades of the new millenium, an entire third of my entire life just full of chaos.
Looking back I understand better than to blame myself for not being as "productive as I could have been". Maybe participating more in the community could have helped encourage me to finish more projects instead of giving up when I felt like nothing mattered. Hell, perhaps the community here or elsewhere could have helped reminding me that some things do matter.
But all of that is in the past. My life is better now. I have a great partner. We've bought our first apartment together and moving in a week. We're packing like hell for that. There's also much to do at work. While a lot of things are happening right now, it's in a good way. I still have depression and PTSD, and it still gets in the way sometimes, but it's a lot less than it used to and things are stable enough for me to actually finish my projects. I participated in a SC mapping collab (Ragemap) two years in a row and currently participating in this year's collab as well. I've become more active on this site and various other communities. You might even have seen me around in the TWHL or SC discord servers.
Apart from Ragemap I have some other projects I'm working on. There's another unannounced mapping collab, and a pirate-themed map series I've been working on (perhaps I will tell more about it later on, after I finish moving). This week I began working on a program for converting .obj files exported from Jack to .smd files along with a .qc, all ready for compiling. Today I sent out an alpha version of it to a select few members of the mapping communities to help me test it. I hope it works well enough to fully release it soon and hope that at least some people find it useful. I'm planning on adding rmf/jmf support to it after the release of the first full version (thanks to Captain P for showing me the parser from MESS!)
Well there we go. My first journal entry. A bit about myself, a bit about the past, and a bit about the now.
Maybe the "bit" is an understatement. Heh.
First off, sorry for the journal spamming. The last two journals on this site (three, counting this one) have all been by me. Sorry.
Okay, so I am a bisexual man, and I have a crush on this guy (we'll call him Clyde here). He's hot, he's funny, he's nice, I'm pretty sure he's gay, he has everything going for him. He and I are friends of course, and I think he knows I like him, but I just don't know where to go with this. At this point in writing this, I am starting to cry and I don't know why. What do I do? I don't want to be single anymore but I don't know how to ask him out and despite my extrovert tendencies I'm super nervous around him and I just... Help. Please.
Okay, so I am a bisexual man, and I have a crush on this guy (we'll call him Clyde here). He's hot, he's funny, he's nice, I'm pretty sure he's gay, he has everything going for him. He and I are friends of course, and I think he knows I like him, but I just don't know where to go with this. At this point in writing this, I am starting to cry and I don't know why. What do I do? I don't want to be single anymore but I don't know how to ask him out and despite my extrovert tendencies I'm super nervous around him and I just... Help. Please.
In my last journal, I mentioned that I had played Quake for the first time. Well, I now have a registered copy (still using the same source port though), and I was going to record some gameplay for my youtube channel. So I set up some software for recording, got everything arranged just right, and played the game for about an hour and a half straight. Once I hit the end of the first chapter, I went to stop recording. However, for some reason (possibly user error), when I told it to stop recording, it didn't save my recording and instead started a new one. So all I have to show for a painful hour and a half of hard gaming is a 17-second clip of me wondering why it hasn't proceeded to the next screen for the video recording software.
I have so many regrets.
I have so many regrets.
Today I played Quake for the first time. It was the Shareware build, as I wasn't about to buy it before knowing if I enjoyed it or not, but I did play it. It was fun. I found the old low-poly graphics strangely amusing, and I was honestly impressed by some of the lighting. I mean, it obviously wasn't any better than Half-Life's lighting, but I was expecting it to be worse.
As far as gameplay goes, it was new. I definitely didn't find it too challenging. I played through the entire demo on Easy, only dying once in the final boss fight. There were plenty of "oh shit" moments, though. For some reason (and I'm pretty sure it was just a quirk of the source port I was using), I didn't have a crosshair, so I ended up having to guess where my shots would land. Thankfully, I was relatively good at this. I enjoyed the music (thanks, Trent Rezzner?) and I found the NINs on the nailgun ammo hilarious. Some of the gameplay seemed a little half-baked, but that's from the perspective of someone who is about 10 years younger than the game. It was probably fine for when it came out.
Overall, I enjoyed it and plan to purchase the full version on Steam, and I would probably give my experience a 4/5.
As far as gameplay goes, it was new. I definitely didn't find it too challenging. I played through the entire demo on Easy, only dying once in the final boss fight. There were plenty of "oh shit" moments, though. For some reason (and I'm pretty sure it was just a quirk of the source port I was using), I didn't have a crosshair, so I ended up having to guess where my shots would land. Thankfully, I was relatively good at this. I enjoyed the music (thanks, Trent Rezzner?) and I found the NINs on the nailgun ammo hilarious. Some of the gameplay seemed a little half-baked, but that's from the perspective of someone who is about 10 years younger than the game. It was probably fine for when it came out.
Overall, I enjoyed it and plan to purchase the full version on Steam, and I would probably give my experience a 4/5.
what was just a test map progressively wanted it to be a one shot map and i'm really proud on what i've done so far
i haven't named it yet but i'll only show for now the beginning section i got inspiration from questionable ethics that i put my brain on very hard to make:my only problem with it would be retriggering it after all of the killing/checking is done for some reason hitting the button again just won't seem to trigger it again if anyone could help me with it would be really helpful also to consider i made it with like four invsible func_doors and some multi managers
i haven't named it yet but i'll only show for now the beginning section i got inspiration from questionable ethics that i put my brain on very hard to make:my only problem with it would be retriggering it after all of the killing/checking is done for some reason hitting the button again just won't seem to trigger it again if anyone could help me with it would be really helpful also to consider i made it with like four invsible func_doors and some multi managers
Zinc - This thing that powers our remotes and keeps us away from the flu
In 1746, an inquisitive alchemist called Andreas Marggraf found an elusive metal deep in the heart of the German highlands. He was looking for the famous Philosopher's Stone when he discovered a silvery-blue element he christened "Zinc." Andreas, enchanted by its malleability and corrosion resistance, rapidly understood that zinc has its own distinct magical characteristics. People from all around the world began to harness the potential of zinc as word of his discovery spread. They used it to galvanize iron and steel, preserving their ships and towns from rust, and farmers utilized it to provide crucial nutrients to crops.The alchemists of the modern age, known as chemists, experimented with Zinc to create innovative batteries that powered the dreams of a new generation. And so, Zinc, the marvelous discovery born of a quest for the Philosopher's Stone, continued to weave its enchanting tale of transformation throughout the world.
From a metallurgical perspective, as a moderately reactive metal, Zinc prefers to avoid solitude, seeking companionship with other elements in compounds and alloys
I think that about describes how I feel after this milestone. Although I always preferred my solitude for reading and satisfying my curiosities, I'm starting to understand better and better the importance of spending time with others. As with anything else in life, it's a balance.If I am observing enough, there are quite some distinct changes between me from 10 years ago and today. For one, I don't have that lust I used to have - this is a bit ridiculous but it's a notable change. Or perhaps it's a consequence of unrequited love, idk. And on that note, most of my anxiety and panic attacks are gone, probably restored to a more healthy level (I've had serious issues with anxiety during my college years) Maybe this is what growing old means. Less reactivity. There's also some understanding of the world I'm living in and long term plans.
I am more fascinated than ever with the progress of AI, and disturbed equally by how small progress has been in other areas of humanity (political, peace etc.). We are living in interesting times.
Otherwise I'm in good shape and probably healthy for my age. I noted a decrease in the performance of my eyesight, but that was triggered during the pandemic. I really should make an appointment to the optometrist/ophthalmologist for a complete eye exam as this worries me.
In other ways I feel about life in general, I've replayed some Talos Principle recently and had a pleasant surprise. This message sums it up:
