--- Mod of the Month : November 2007 WINNER ---
http://www.twhl.co.za/motm.php?id=5We're now on Version 1.1

In case you haven't seen the thread...
The Citizen is a Single-Player mod, set parallel to the events of the original Half-Life 2. The player takes the role of an ordinary man, pushed over the edge by the oppressive regime controlling his life.
His home trashed, his family dead, The Citizen leaves his apartment for the last time. He seeks new friends, and a way to help the human resistance to smash the iron grip of the Combine. What follows is a winding tale of betrayal, determination and grief.
Many obstacles lie in his path which require a sleek combination of agility, stealth, intelligence, and sheer violence to overcome.
This is the mod that Kasperg and I have been making for the past 8 months.
We hope you enjoy playing it, as much as we enjoyed making it.
You can read more about the mod, and see screenshots, a trailer, and other reviews of it on PlanetPhillip with the following link:-
http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-citizen-half-life-2/One note - the crackly sound on the trailer is only on the trailer, it doesn't happen in the game.
First person to find the secret ending gets a skip full of w00t.

I get 10kb/s... urgh.
I've been looking forward to playing this, but whith that download speed.. sorry :<
If it's bad for you - use this one:-
http://timmeh.me.uk/mirrors/The%20Citizen.rar
I decided to update the main download link with that one. It seems a lot faster, and it won't make you wait in line.
I'll try it tomorrow then, and then I'll try to make you guys a decent review.
Have to wait until tomorrow though.
I know you're not going to make any major changes, but I get frustrated at times when negotiating tight corners in the air boat.
Unless there is a vast area to drive the air boat, getting it around small spaces can be trying on the nerves.
I've found a few Easter Eggs so far. They're nicely incorporated into the game.
For example, once the guy told you to get his TV for him, I don't think it's necessary to spell out it again. And many of the text prompts, like "Follow her" and such, are not needed, in my opinion.
Some earlier parts would be better if the lighting is brighter, because the player doesn't have the HEV suit yet, so there's no flash light to illuminate certain dark areas of the map.
We will definately be doing an update at some point. Since release, there are a few fairly big bugs that have been uncovered. They don't affect everyone, so there's a fair chance you'll get through without problems. But if you do see any problems, let us know. We're going to fix them.
If the airboat is annoying you too much, it won't stop you finishing the game if you want to leave it behind. And even if you keep it for as long as you can, you won't have it for a very long time.
I hope you enjoy the rest of it
One more thing, the detonator for the explosives (where there are two rappelling Combines plus a sniper) was very difficult to trigger. Most of the times when I "used" it, I ended up picking up the entire device instead of triggering the detonator.
I am sure you are aware of this problem already, but inside the church, you have some model occluders that prevents the Combine soldiers from being rendered. As a result, if you fight those enemies from inside the church, they're invisible.
You have to move the occluders further back, behind those soldiers.
Texturing — 7.5
Ambience — 8.5
Lighting — 7
Gameplay — 9
Guest Video Review
Bottom Line
Overall, The Citizen was worth waiting for. It turned out to be a mod that features refreshingly different gameplay elements, almost professional voice acting, funny dialogs and moments, which brought back some nice memories of the Half-Life series.Texturing — 8
Ambience — 10
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 9
Video Review
Bottom Line
Overall, The Citizen is an extremely well designed mod which, despite a few small nags, is immensely fun to play throughout, and as it ends somewhat abruptly, I look forward to being placed in this unnamed citizen's shoes again in The Citizen 2.Texturing — 8
Ambience — 7
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 5
Guest Video Review
Bottom Line
Though this mod is the best thing to turn up in the TWHL map vault this month I wasn't looking forward to it in the same way I'm waiting for 6 - D or Flat-Life. However, having played it I must admit I was pleasently suprised. The maps are just as gorgeous as you would expect from a Playbus / Kasperg production and if the duo ever release an update which fixes some of the gameplay elements (e.g. Reducing the number of F**KING MANHACKS!) then It would be worth replaying. Until then, I'll keep waiting.Texturing — 7
Ambience — 8
Lighting — 9
Gameplay — 8
Review
This mod, being a collaboration between some of the best independent mappers out there, Kasperg and Playbus, was definitely something to look forward to with great anxiety and huge expectation. Five minutes after the first release, when pretty much every PlanetPhillip member had already finished it and found all the secret areas, half the community here had already gotten their hands on it. Lots of discussion was spawned and before you know it - TWHL was being torn apart by intense arguing, which later evolved into flamewars, resulting in other, much stronger repercussions.To Citizen or not To Citizen?That was the question. Answer time.- The two following paragraphs contain my horribly long-winded opinion and overall thoughts on gameplay in this mod. It's more tips & suggestions for developers, so feel free to skip it if you're not interested in that kind of stuff.Bottom Line
Overall, I think The Citizen was worth waiting for. With great gameplay elements, overall good looks and lots of room for improvement, its one mod you shouldn't miss. In short: To Citizen!A few people have mentioned, in the reviews and also elsewhere, that they're waiting for the update. Well, the update is still coming, and is in fact mostly complete.
There's just one snag that needs to be gotten around, and that has been hindered by Kasperg's mysterious vanishing from my internets lately. I haven't heard from him in weeks.
Anyway, visually it ranges from ok-ish (too narrow, cramped and linear parts, such as the flooded city part) to pretty good (other city parts - great backgrounds!, the convention center).
Technically, it also fluctuates: some parts were neatly done, others were buggy and easily broken (convention center - elite mask was pitch black? tv show room shields didn't open, nothing happened?).
The same goes gameplay-wise. Some parts were fun and had good combat and puzzles. Other parts were horrible (strider + sniper + assault afterwards, without even pointing at the RPG?!).
There's some points I'd definitely change:
- Leeches in sewers? That water is fairly shallow, while HL2 learned us that leeches only inhabit deep water. Don't break HL2 'rules', or if you do, make it obvious that you do.
- Instantly killing the player when he steps out of the shop early in the game is not fun nor necessary (just put a sniper somewhere, or a raid car with machinegun or such, that'll get the message across to stay inside without the frustration of an unforseen instant-kill).
- Providing endless supplies of manhacks can be extremely frustrating, especially when combatting soldiers and trying to find some sort of button or whatever else will open a door. That's when I see cheating as justified, heh. Kudos to ent_remove. Stupid manhack spawner.

- Provide more sense of direction. Some parts are just guesswork for a newcomer. Various area's don't focus on where to go next. With lighting, architecture and scripted events, a player can be 'guided' to a next area.
All in all, a fair mod, but some points just hold it down. Some fixes and tweaks here and there and I'd really enjoy it, but for now, I'm sorry, it doesn't really do it for me.PS: Is the elite suit supposed to blind you? ...
It is fixed in the update, along with many other things.
The update is back on track again, and will be released pretty soon.
Changes in the new version:-
- Overlay problems for people running in DirectX7 mode are fixed.
- Fixed the squad turning on you in certain circumstances.
- Fixed being able to get into jail without offending.

- Fixed the churchbell spawning too many NPC's
- Improved skyboxes in some maps
- Some minor general gameplay changes
- Some minor acting scene and cue changes
- Some lighting additions and changes
- Some decal additions and changes
- Additional detail work in some areas
- Additional dramatic music at the ending
- A small scene has been added to the secret ending, along with Andy B's Explorer Award plaque

- Added texts to indicate when an easter egg is found
- Repositioned all existing in-game text
Enjoy!