Competition 39: The Buddy System Created 4 years ago2020-04-06 17:39:17 UTC by monster_urby

You asked for it so here it is. A new mini-competition courtesy of yours truly. Something to do while the entire world is on lockdown...

You've got a little bit more time for this one, (eight weeks from right now) with the chance of it being extended further if the need arises.

I really enjoy this brief. Top marks, briefman

Stop looking at my briefs!

Is Sven-Coop allowed?

I believe not

In this competition, no. I would prefer if maps were strictly single-player for the sake of the community vote.

People are actually mapping for this, right? I feel like this one has been pretty quiet so far!

I've been trundling away in the background and have been posting wee bits in the WIP section in discord. There's definitely a couple of other people working on this as well from what I can tell

This is actually one I would have loved to make a map or series of maps for myself. Likely would have gone for a mini-mod starring a uniquely skinned and fully voiced Barney, but there is no way I have time for that. Maybe I will revisit the idea once The Core is out of my life.

I might be working on something.

Well... Holy balls.

Where the heck did that guy come from all of a sudden!

Yeah, what am I doing here all of a sudden?

I have been lurking a bit here recently though. Did some work for the teleportation competition a while ago, and later for TWHL Tower 2, but I didn't have enough inspiration for the first, and ran into some technical issues for the second. But this time I've got a clear picture of what I want to make, so I felt I was ready to post something.

Here's a work-in-progress screenshot:I'm going for a high-tech test environment style. The main room here is mostly done in terms of layout and coloring. Next step is to create a few additional rooms, then some scripting to get the main gameplay up and running. Then it's time for lighting and texture improvements, and maybe some finer details, depending on how much time I've got left.

Well, it's good to have you back. That's looking like a pretty solid foundation so far.

Hi , i was wondering if it is ok to submit a map for HL:S. My friend wants to join this competition but only has HL:S

I have no issues with that. It simply wasn't in the checklist of games I could select when setting up the competition.

Really excited for this. I only saw the competition was up yesterday so my entry might feel a bit rushed

Quick question regarding the rules; one of them was that no vanilla content must be overwritten.

If I submit as a mini-mod with some custom animations for certain stock HL characters and enemies, is that acceptable? Technically nothing is altered about the vanilla models on one's hard drive if it's done that way, as far as I know.

Thanks!

Indeed, as the rule says, mini-mods are a-ok. Overwriting /valve content is not.

Think I've got everything sorted so it works with no overwriting. Pleased with this! Thanks for the help guys.

Also great that I now know how to package mods, exciting stuff

Hey fellas, just to confirm, the close date is 23:59 on 1st June? As in...like, the end of the 1st, not the beginning?

Busting my rump on this little project at the moment and I think it's going to be right down to the wire. I think it's going to be 3 maps in the end and right now I'm bashing through map 2 as fast as humanly possible without making it rubbish lol

Obviously thought I'd check whether I have that "extra" day or not since it makes a big difference. If anything I think I may have to cut some ideas haha!

Cheers all. Hope your entries are going well, I look forward to playing them (while simultaneously praying my mini-mod format works).

I mean, all the information is on the briefing page

2020-06-01 23:59:59 UTC

Best of luck.

Haha...thanks, yeah. Just triple checking. You know what the mind is like late in the evening...

Only 25 hours left. No pressure!

Just over two hours left on the competition. If you're still working, better get things wrapped up and tested.

Almost there. Initiating wrap-up sequence in 3... 2... 1...

...and done. With less than an hour to spare. Phew.

Wow, I liked the other two entries. Played them this morning

Really nice brush work in your main room there Captain P, I almost thought it was Source when I went back into the maintenance halls. Kind of like the vibe you get in Stanley Parable and Portal. Though I got minor PTSD imagining the potential leaks and grid issues when doing the curved propeller wall and the curved line on the floor, lol.

Also liked the outdoor rocky levels Burnerman did. Neat cliffs and roof detailing! Bravo.

That's it people, wrap it up!

Now get in there and vote like it's November 2020 or something...

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 played through all of them, twice now. I'm impressed by just how much more content the other entries provided! hermanJnr.'s entry had some good surprises and cool sequences and generally worked pretty well. Burnerman56's entry had some good scenes and ideas as well, including good use of music and a few secrets sprinkled around, but relying on HL AI to stay alive long enough with so much combat is a risky thing and can result in some frustrating moments. Either way, I think both entries stuck to the theme very well, with a good balance between giving and receiving help.

I made some more notes so if any of you is interested in more detailed feedback (or if you want to give feedback on my entry), feel free to PM me.

@hermanJnr: the curved wall was done by creating a small and large cylinder, then vertex-manipulating tetrahedrons to line up with them. A bit tedious but fairly safe. The curved line was just a func_detail, so no risk of grid/leak issues. The lighting in the maintenance halls was mostly a combination of texture lights and chamfered edges to soften the transition between light and dark. I don't know how much of a difference Vluzacn's compile tools made compared to Zoner's, but from what I read it does come with some lighting improvements, so I think that helped as well.

I've just played the entries, they were all really good! It should be obvious, but remember that using all your 3 votes won't be very useful, so be sure to only vote for 1 or 2 entries

And the results are up! Congratulations to hermanJnr. for getting 1st Place!

A bunch of really great entries for this one, and I'm impressed at the amount of content you put out given the time limit.

To me: hermanJnr. > Burnerman56 > Captain P.

We all know how capable Captain P, that goes without saying. The map itself wasn't really about a "buddy" helping you out during your adventure though, at least this is what I gathered from the goal of this Compo. You push a button and your buddy, the fan, helps you escape while Burnerman's entry was all about you escaping with your fellow soldier(s).

hermanJnr's entry was the undisputed winner for me. It is basically a minimod with custom animations and voice acting. Mapping was a little basic but some setpieces like the warehouse battle made up for it.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

In my opinion, I would agree with that. I tend to write the summary of each map based on how the voting went. Personally, I'd say Captain P's entry is great, but in terms of the theme of the competition, it was my third place compared to the other two.

hermanJnr definitely deserved the win and I'm happy to see that others agreed with me as such.

Thanks guys, really pleased you enjoyed the maps!

The first ever project I have managed to finish, it was actually good having the time deadline because it made me take it to completion rather than having ideas and leaving them hanging. Learned a ton too.

My brushwork was definitely a little rough and basic because I was rushing so damn much towards the end, haha! I almost had to cut the warehouse showdown, but I'm really glad I managed to finish it instead. There are a lot of rather flat ceilings and walls to be sure

I really liked the creativity of Captain P's entry and I was rather impressed by Burnerman's brushwork. The scene where you herd the Engineer into the rail lift and it carries him through the canyon was neat in particular.

Learned things from playing through both those entries too. Bravo to everyone who took part.