Hamburgers

We have suffered more than you can know [at the hands of American imperialism]. But I don't see hamburgers as an accomplice. A single dish providing a balanced helping of nature's blessings: meat, grain and vegetable. How could anyone hate such a magnificent thing? (Code Talker, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain)

The hamburger is an American symbol. It is an icon of our victory over hunger. Every element of the humble hamburger is derived deeply from our American culture. The bread is the grain we carried from our English ancestors. The primary motivator that led cowboys to seek freedom in the Wild West was the growing beef industry.

It is the signature dish of the average fast food startup; fast food, which, as a concept, can be single-handedly thanked for both saving us from starvation, but also bringing us into a new age of poor health. (I suppose the tree whose branches reach heaven has roots which reach Hell.)

That being said, I don't particularly like traditional hamburgers. I'm the kind of asshole who will take the meat off the bun and eat it with ketchup. I used to eat a lot of Wendy's doublestacks this way. But as far as health is concerned, poultry is much better for you in the long run.

Gorillas

Time to start marketing the thing!

This is a project being worked on by myself, Windawz and Admer.

It takes place 61 years after The Water World Hell. It covers many political themes about the nature of corporate power, the ethics of monetizing the afterlife, the discussions surrounding mass riots, and the role police play in keeping order in spite of a corrupt system. (Funnily enough, I'd been working on this long before the riots here in the US and New York economically struggling. This mod may or may not have predicted the future.)

You can find the ModDB page here!

You need to use a multisource for this.

In the MASTER field for the trigger, you'll put in the name of the multisource. Then, whenever the multisource is triggered, you'll be able to activate the trigger_once.

Check the timestamp here: https://youtu.be/tRqV47Pk6pc?t=257

So far I've only played Burnerman56's entry, and damn I gotta say that was pretty great.

The detailing/lighting might have been bland, but the actual gameplay of it was really interesting. It actually made me feel like a squad leader, taking care of my boys and having them take care of me. Every element of the maps felt very deliberate, and the setpieces were damn cool. Reminded me heavily of how Valve might design a HL2 level.

Might've been a little glitchy at spots (but that's just half-life's AI at work) but it was a really cool entry. Especially impressive how many maps you fit in there in such short time.

I already disagree with some of the tools you recommended

Yeah, I realized after the fact that I forgot about Solokiller's model viewer. I included a note about that in the description and used that instead.

Otherwise, I think my choices are alright.

I-like-it-a-lot.

Thanks king

It establishes wild hypotheses and makes them feel real through elaborate arguments

Such is my specialty. you should see the political "debates" I spark in the discord.

I think It's a shame that alternative platforms are siphoning the activity.

Maybe it is, but at the end of the day it's still the same people coming together. If anything, Discord has made the community feel alot more active and alive in my opinion. The days of online forums being popular might be passing, it's so much easier just to chat live in real time.

And the mapping video is excellent as well. Earned a sub so I can watch the tutorial videos as they come out.

Thanks dpezzella! Comments like this get me excited to work on more of these.

Hey all, planning on doing a Half-Life mapping tutorial series on Youtube. There's not a whole lot of youtube content for half-life mapping, so I figured why not throw my hat into the ring. I've got friends who want to get into mapping and there's no really convenient, quick-paced videos to get them straight into it like there are for Source or other programs.

So far I've got 2 videos with more in the works.If you guys have any advice for making these tutorials better/what topics would benefit from having video coverage, lemme know. As I make them, I'll post them in this thread to keep track of them.

I think your problem might be that the map is too big. You've got a lot of separate areas all across the map. Can you try fitting them all much closer together more compactly and see if that fixes the problem?

About You

Name: Ezry B.
Age: 20 (seconds)
Hometown: Smalltown rural ohio (yeehaw)
Relationships: Currently in one, it's lovely
Occupation: Self-employed
Current goal(s): Graduate University & get my degree in accounting
Politics: Force is the ultimate authority. Nothing given has value. In order to defend Western values and assure the god-given rights of men we must defend ourselves from those of ill-intent, militarily and culturally. The West is losing its sense of meaning and identity as globalists/postmodernists develop a hatred of their own individuality and freedoms. The people of the Western world are so satiated with freedoms that they are begging governments to come and strip them away. Their governments have grown large and powerful. Their power is exploited by corporations to serve the interests not of individuals, but of consolidated groups. Our media, supply lines and many major companies are controlled by Chinese interests, the governance of whom are enemies of freedom and human rights. Hong Kong, one of the few bastions of liberty and free market capitalism is being crushed by the authoritarian regime. The United Nations, too, is dominated by Chinese interests, its members refusing to recognize the existence of Taiwan. Our politics are being arbitrarily divided. Deus Ex was right. The European Union is an MJ-12 front to destroy any semblance of individual nations or cultures, erasing the borders between to create one titanic super-government. Our culture is a sewer. We have lewd media. We're sexualizing young girls to the point where even I have a problem with it. Half-Life's outlook on unchecked immigration is bleak, but accurate. Donald Trump is simultaneously a bumbling imbecile with ADHD but also a cultural icon and hero for free market capitalism and the American identity. Socialism is an ideology dominated by upper-class white elitists with unfounded moral superiority. The government does not give us our rights; rather, their purpose is to defend them. The United Nations has an incorrect definition of what a "human right" is; they define the "right to work" as a human right, yet they do nothing as governments across the globe are shutting down business for the sake of stopping the coronavirus -- last I checked, rights are pre-ordained by our Creator (whoever you may believe that to be), so either these rights don't actually exist or the UN is weak and unwilling to stand for anything. Our systems of social security are built off of the backs of children, yet the people of this nation see no duty to reproduce and ensure future generations will continue to contribute to these systems. The only real human right that exists is the right to property. Sex is a spectrum. Gender is a man-made construct, as is race. Dancing is a violating of human rights. Free healthcare isn't the worst idea in the world, but a much better one is to destroy the concept of "health insurance." Personal responsibility is a greater value than utilitarianism 9/10 times. Ayn Rand had some funny ideas, but also some really good ones, too. Carl Benjamin was a good politician. Pedophiles are trying to co-opt the LGBT movement and how I feel about it depends on whether the science is in on the whole "born this way" argument for them. Sam Esmail had some brilliant political commentary in his tv show Mr Robot (which may be the best TV show ever made) but his Twitter is a garbage heap. Did I mention that nothing given has value? Starship Troopers was unironically the ideal model for society. Nationalism isn't inherently bad - dare one say, the idea of seeing nations as individual self-determining entities is inherently good! Communism is conspiracy to commit mass murder.
Religion: Atheist Christian

Favourite Things

Food: Chicken (blessed gains bird)
Hot drink: Warm water
Cold drink: Milkshakes (forbidden)
Snacks: I'm a sucker for sweets, ice cream especially
Movies: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is a masterpiece
Videogames: Final Fantasy series, Deus Ex, most of the Valve catalog
Music: David Bowie, John Maus, Men I Trust
Other: Love tabletop roleplaying

Disliked/Hated Things

Food: Most, I'm the pickiest eater in the world
Hot drink: Coffee (stinky)
Cold drink: Smoothies (stinky)
Snacks: Anything with peanut butter
Movies: The new Disney Star Wars films are pretty dreadful
Videogames: Dark Souls 2 (stinks)
Music: Most (bad)
Other: Fuck you Paul Gates

2. For the longest time I thought that info_landmark entities had to be in the EXACT same spot between maps. Again, I never realised the proper use of info_landmarks until Archie looked at some of my maps for The Core and asked me why some of them were WAAAY off in the corner of the grid. He laughed.

what the hell, they don't have to be in the same spots between maps? what do they even do

Hit hand is a really good game.

idk if you've ever played Hit-man, but it's alot like that except it's actually a secret handshake

Looks reasonable. I've no complaints with this draft.

Space Station 13 definitely, best roleplaying game ever made (roleplaying as in actual roleplaying)

Arma 3 is a really good game but has never been more than moderately popular, especially in the US

marital status

I can't make fun of incels?

political affiliation

nor ancaps??

age

nor boomers???

I feel partially responsible for this conundrum, as I'm usually the one who likes to stir up politics around here. I agree with most of the sentiments here and think this code of conduct could be a good idea.

I realize TWHL isn't exactly the place for it, but more often than not it's fun discussing politics and more ethically gray subjects with the people here. This is why I tend to keep it moreso on the discord rather than the forums these days, which I think could benefit from an extra room dedicated to talking about this kind of stuff. I've requested this before, but the idea is always countered that TWHL isn't the kind of place for this to begin with and shouldn't honor it, which is true, but regardless we still end up discussing it. In an age where everything is becoming political, politics is just one of the things people will be interested in discussing.

The code of conduct is a good idea, though more often than not it's easy to offend when no offense is met. On the subject of trans issues, just because the majority of us here from western countries support the transgender cause doesn't mean everyone will agree, as it's one of the most widely debated subjects in politics at the moment. As such, the people affected by this debate are very often offended as the merits of their own existence is discussed. Banning people for being skeptical/disbelieving of the science that has only in the last decade become accepted by most people is something I can see happening with the collective worldview that is had here at TWHL. A debate of this nature was what sparked this code of conduct being necessary. Furthermore, this kind of attitude may potentially alienate people from cultures that have not advanced to understanding these issues. Of course, obviously people with outright disrespect for trans folk don't belong here.

Just food for thought. I mostly agree with the sentiment behind these rules.

It, however, does not mean that speech is consequence-free, particularly if whatever is said breaks other laws.

I've never liked this argument against free speech, as the rule of consequences applies to pretty much everything in the world. You can't make levels for video games consequence-free either. I do agree with the sentiment that this is a private community that can and should be moderated, this is just an unrelated response to a phrase I see constantly repeated.

Perhaps a distinction needs to be made between comments that offend, and comments that intentionally harm or are unreasonably inconsiderate

The problem with this angle is that I don't think the person in question meant to intentionally harm, he let his personal experience give him an emotionally charged, incorrect opinion about trans issues.

Do newer VR solutions still require those pillar positional sensors to be placed around in a room? I thought the new Oculus uses cameras mounted on the headset and a gyro or something?

Only the Oculus quest does this, sadly. The Oculus Quest can't run decent games on its own, so you have to buy extra cables and whatnot to link it to your PC.

Shame that it's VR-only.

I think less than 1% of the Steam userbase has access to VR, from what I've seen, and having to fork over $300 to $1000 for a proper VR set is a bit of a problem.

Fog does indeed seem to be broken, I just tried. It says it needs OpenGL mode even though I am running OpenGL. Maybe some kind of additional dll file is required or something?

I recall having seen a forum thread about it, apparently the fog only works on a specific set of outdated drivers/hardware that nobody really uses anymore, so it's apparently obsolete.

I'm down.

Just need to think up an idea. The best levels tended to be the ones with a super unique idea, less the ones that were centered around combat. Hard to set up an interesting combat scenario with such a small map size, I think maybe 2 of the maps that tried it made it work.

note: a bug has popped up on my entry

if the SECURE ACCESS door doesnt open when the helicopter goes down, noclip through it (whoops)

Played through the other two entries. Lemme talk about them in the order I played.

Hydrocompression
Damn good map. Absolutely solid. Starts with a simple idea and then gradually expands on it in a way that feels natural; really good design, and visually well put together.

There was even one part where I got lost, but I followed the blinking lights on a pipe that took me to where I needed to be. That made my brain feel so HUGE when I put that together. Great signposting overall. The combat was also really good, varied locations that haven't been traditional combat arenas before - especially the part where you find the combine on the bridge.

All in all, really impressive work, especially from a design perspective.

fy_splash
Looks great, I like the use of func_vehicles, and the dolphin is really impressive. I thought it was a model before I saw your video.

Only problem is, multiplayer. If anyone here on TWHL wants to host it so we can properly play it, schedule it bc this map deserves a fair shake before the voting ends. Not much else I can say, sadly. I want to try it with people.

Finishing up my entry now. 4 maps, and it comes with a video intro and 30-page novella accompaniment. dont ask me why i just thought it was funny ok

Really impressive work, Orange! Those displacements look like they took a hell of a lot of time to put together, looks awesome.

Mapbase just released a trailer for what looks to be a new set of tools for Half-Life 2 mapping. Looks like Source is about to get some pretty exciting extra functionality.

that'd be super weird if I did

but if I did, then I guess some truths bear repeating

The problem is, Half-Life 2 & episodes aren't shooters at all, they're puzzle/driving games with weak shooting sections in between.

PB seems to have a pretty talented team. The big aspect of Half-Life that I'm most curious about is their take on level design, and how they're gonna deliver on the ending. It's gonna be a hard ending for them to pull off well, if they're drawing from epistle 3.

I dont think so, this looks like it's just for Team Fortress Classic

I'm a bigger fan of these minicompetitions. If you don't like the premise or don't have the time, it's not too long you have to wait before you have another change to get involved. Also you can just separately upload competition maps to the vault if you don't want them to get lost to time.

entry is ready

need to wrap up my map, only have 1 room left to finish before I start polishing/playtesting

Quick question for the last room I'm making for my entry, how do I get actual shadows to appear in this room?

What weapons would the player have other than the standard arsenal? (pistol/shotgun/smg) What custom weapons are planned? Also, would they be bullet weapons or lasers?

teleporter holocaust coming together nicely

May we all have the serenity to accept the things we cannot map, the courage to map the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen

This sounds pretty interesting! I'd like to assist with this mod if you're looking for extra hands.

So what kinda vibe are you going for with gameplay? Standard Half-Life survival horror while the character fights off the Vull, or is it gonna be more Starship Trooper-y with waves of grunts fighting alongside the player?

Are there any human enemies involved (i.e. the best part of Half-Life in general)?

What's gonna drive the main plot driver of the mod? Is there a villain? Is he separate from the Vull, and if so, what's he gonna do?

I do recall some 2 or 3 years ago Archie having said all of his maps were done and he was waiting on you.

Hm...

Played through each of the maps and I had a pretty fun time with em! Voted for Instant's because I think it was the most creative with the theme and had the most polish, but the others were pretty close. BoxFigs had a pretty well-designed puzzle map that was alot of fun, had me thinking with portals again, and CPrip's had some really fun combat. Interested to see how the voting turns out.

Can the entry be made of multiple maps?

Although I haven't played Titanfall 2, I hear the game's singleplayer campaign was very inspired by Half-Life. Hell, I'm pretty sure that game is on the Source engine. Whenever I get a few bucks I'll pick it up and try it out for myself.

Other than that, yeah there's not really that many shooters that embrace Half-Life's style. Especially not nowadays. Now, every shooter has to be an open-world game with survival elements or multiplayer only. I guess the industry has just kinda moved on from narrative shooters.

The only game I can think of that kinda has the spirit of Half-Life is probably something like Dark Souls, even though it's a radically different game. But to me, it has the same sense of being something new and groundbreaking, it has alot of enemy and weapon variety, and it has some of the best environmental storytelling I've seen in a game. So if you haven't already, check it out, I suppose.

blaming everything bad that happens in the world purely on a moral and educational system that would allegedly make guys feel like they have the right to commit mass shootings seems terribly baseless and simplistic to me.

Yeah, it is pretty simplistic. But it's not about feeling like "you have the right" to commit a mass shooting. It's a rebellion against the nature of living. It's rooted in resentment, powerlessness, and hatred. It's the spirit of a resentful Cain rebelling against god by killing that which he himself respects.

I think there is definitely a societal system in place which trains people to feel entitled.

(as though it would remain perfectly relevant and meaningful after all the changes in technology and civilization we've been through and will continue to go through).

It's to defend against tyranny and protect yourself as an individual. Only the most privileged people on Earth are comfortable enough to think they don't need a gun to defend themselves. The underprivileged must be allowed to defend themselves from harm.

The male experience is driven by the idea that no matter what happens, you must be manly.

I think you've got a strong point here. But at the same time, I think masculine traits are very positive and can be used to counterract evil, internally and externally.

I don't think it has anything to do with masculinity. Hell, if the guy had more masculine traits he probably wouldn't have been so resentful about reality. Emasculation, resentment, and powerlessness tend to be where these feelings come from. Hell, look at the manifestos of the Columbine kids and Elliot Rodgers.

Rodgers especially was obsessed with how tall he was, ashamed of how weak he was, and felt powerless when dealing with people. I wouldn't call these massive insecurities masculine traits. Entitlement, sure, but not masculine.

Reminds me of when Elliot Rodgers went partying and decided that if he couldn't get laid that particular night, he'd do his shooting.

Shootings come from a place of resentment, and disempowered/loser men are probably the most resentful creatures on the planet.

i randomly chose it's something I wanted to do when I was 10 and now I'm 19 and I haven't improved at all

Am I allowed to add voice acting to my entry?

ie is it pragmatic to edit SENTENCES.txt for my entry?