Flat-Life
HL
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- Name
- Flat-Life
- By
-
ChickenFist - Type
- Mod
- Engine
- Goldsource
- Game
- Half-Life
- Category
- Completed
- Included
- Mod files
- Created
- 16 years ago2008-03-28 18:51:43 UTC
- Updated
- 8 years ago2016-08-13 21:34:30 UTC
- Views
- 7353
- Downloads
- 1791
- Comments
- 20
- Rating
- 4.86 (7)
- Reviews
- 4
Map of the Month winner for March 2008!
(I know this isn't technically a map, but hell, I want to have a chance for MOTM! :D)
Flat-Life is a singleplayer/multiplayer goldsource mod turning the game to a 2D-ish platform shooter type game.
Currently in Version 1.2. Be sure to try multiplayer! ^^
Flat-Life is a singleplayer/multiplayer goldsource mod turning the game to a 2D-ish platform shooter type game.
Currently in Version 1.2. Be sure to try multiplayer! ^^
20 Comments
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While I think this mod is great, it isn't living up to its full potential.
..and I miss using a (left arrow) and d (right arrow) to walk/strafe sidewards.
There's better hosting out there. one that's free and easy is gmail. open up a gmail account (you don't need an invite anymore) and go to this link:
http://pages.google.com/?pli=1
You can upload up to 100MB of hassle-free hotlinkable goodness : )
But thanks for the hosting tip anyway...
downloading... = )
Originality 9/10
While this kind of game in well known, the fact that it uses a FPS engine is quite spectacular.
Playability 9/10
While it may take some time to grasp the controls and physics, it is really fun and easy to play.
Visuals 10/10
Some great maps are included that really show off the appeal that this kind of game can provide.
Cleanliness 9/10
Minor nitpicks here and there but nothing serious. This version has not yet crashed on me.
User Options 10/10
There is full user customisation with mapping resources and even setting the new graphics to suit your computer.
Total 10/10 (5 stars)
Naturally, 5 STARS!! A great mod ChickenFist, you have done very well, keep improving it, there are heaps more things you can do to this mod!
Texturing — 8.1
Ambience — 8.8
Lighting — 7.6
Gameplay — 8.7
AVGN Video Review
Bottom Line
The charming retro-feel of the good ol' sidescrollers combined with our favorite FPS. A brilliant, well executed idea.Texturing — 8
Ambience — 10
Lighting — 8
Gameplay — 8
Angry Scottswoman Video Review
Bottom Line
Overall, it's a really neat concept, which while sadly falling flat on its face in singleplayer is more than redeemed by the exceptionally fun multiplayer.Texturing — 6
Ambience — 4
Lighting — 7
Gameplay — 9
Live Video Review
Bottom Line
Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus, Tetrisitus. "Gah!"Texturing — 6.4
Ambience — 7.5
Lighting — 7
Gameplay — 9.6
Review
2D games, especially platformers are indisputably an undying genre - a respected fatherly figure in gaming nowadays. Be it an emulated NES version of Super Mario Bros, the adventures of Sam & Max, or plain simple tetris - playing them gives you that warm nostalgic feeling you'd get as a six-year-old mashing your game pad like there's no tomorrow and hoping the gaming time limit set by your parents won't run out anytime soon. Flat-Life brings you back to just those childhood times and by combining them with a bit of crowbar, shotgun & headcrabs provides you with one of the most enjoyable and fresh Half-Life experiences ever.Obviously, the main thing making this mod so darn awesome is gameplay. Now there's no new monsters or vehicles or an egon gun that pierces walls, derives its targets of their flesh leaving nothing but bones and also has the powers of the gravity gun (write this one down, ChickenFist!). Actually, your arsenal, friends and foes haven't changed a bit. It's the way you see and interact with your environment which has, and that's right where the fun begins. Even if at first something as simple as a change in perspective doesn't sound too impressive, sticking with Half-Life's 3D renderer and putting the player in a 2-D perspective side-scroller or a top-down view shooter turns Flat-Life into something really special.Sadly, some problems are there to ruin the fun. First of all, there are multiple stability issues, especially in multiplayer games. Sometimes the only way to successfully start or join a game is when you're already in-game, meaning you have to load a random map in singleplayer before you can connect to any server. Loading saved games is also sometimes a bitch, causing crashes and other problems. Also, .mid music playback seems to have problems working after a mapchange or load. However, the vast majority of these issues is fixed on version 1.3, which will hopefully be released depending on the author's laziness. Stability aside, there are some other problems as well. The main thing eating my donuts and overcooking my casseroles is the crosshair in side-view, inaccurate and static. Even if its position would represent the trajectory of the bullet perfectly, it would still be pretty hard to aim, as it's always placed three steps from the player, making it very hard to predict whether you'll miss or not at longer range. Something like the RPG laser spot, showing you exactly what your bullet is going to end up in would be a real savior in this case. Somewhat dodgy player movement in some cases can also be a problem, especially when navigating through the various jumping puzzles most FL maps are full of. Even though tampering with Half-Life's physics system is annoying, some alterations in player velocity control to make it more responsive and precise should be considered.Beneath these issues, however, lie the various neat extra additions to the overall experience. Stuff like extra gibs/gore add some nice slapstick humour, the aforementioned buggy, yet nostalgia-inducing chiptone playback give it the right sound, while the neat shader water effects provide the eye candy. And of course, the very main thing making me forget any instability or singleplayer issues described earlier is the multiplayer. It's like you're in control of this special magnifying glass that instead of concentrated heat emits tiny lead showers, explosives and wee little crowbar bruises. Burning those pesky ants trying to capture your flag has never been so fun. Having spent a bit over an hour playing with my co-reviewers, I can't help but praise the multiplayer (which is why my final gameplay score is fairly buffed) and feel sad about the lack of suitable quality maps. With three different game modes (plain/team deathmatch and ctf) and a variety of powerups, there's plenty of unused mapping potential there. Hell, there's even some primitive custom-made bots for you to test things with.From a mapping perspective, the initial mod package doesn't feature any of the more impressive works released by the community, making impressions and variety feel a tad weak at first. In both singleplayer and multiplayer, most maps are fairly crude and dull, showing little of what Flat-Life has to offer. Visual aspects such as architecture, texturing or lighting were mostly functional, rarely showing anything more impressive. The only stock singleplayer map to display something more interesting seemed to be Operation Iceflow, yet in the end it proved nothing more than average both in aesthetics and ambience. The only exception to this was the infamous Tetrisitus, featuring a rather unique theme, however it was weak in every other field and overall frustrating to play due to the limited player view distance. Multiplayer maps were mostly nothing more than functional arenas with little attention paid to visuals (the only exception being ctf_egypt).Bottom Line
Even with its multiple issues, this is one unique bundle of fun you should definitely give a shot. There's plenty of community-made content of higher quality to try out and if you're capable of gathering 3-6 people willing to go multiplayer, you have absolutely no excuse to miss out on the immense oldschool fun Flat-Life can provide.Ohshi-.
EDIT: and 1.2 doesn't crash as much as the old versions.
well deserved!