Then and Now

That was fun. I should do something similar with an old map of mine that I made when I first started mapping.

Good stuff.

you cannot start at the second map via the console because no suit is given, and the player will likely be stuck in the first vent area without a flashlight.
Good point... edited the description. - Urby

That aside, the improvement is definitely there. Especially compared to this map http://twhl.info/vault.php?map=3629

Also there are like 50 other maps/mods where you start in a jail or prison and have to escape. No idea why mappers like this theme so much

5 stars for improvement!
The first version was the standard, blandly lit, nonsensical and empty rooms that we all started making.

The second version was much more coherent, organic feeling, and detailed, but with keeping the same setting and encounter constraints as the original.

+ Excellent use of textures
+ Good use of ambient and scripted sounds
+ Very detailed furnishings and props

+/- Itty bitty filing cabinets. Seem a bit off since we're used to the massive HL ones, but they're also so cute! :3

- Very dark. When there was lighting it was used exceptionally well, but I had to rely on my flashlight a lot just to get my basic bearings
- No autosaves. I can see how you wouldn't think it was necessary, considering the short, simple, and mainly showcasey purpose, and I would not have normally noticed this, but I tried to kill the ichthyosaurs the first time, ran out of ammo, and then ended up in the Hazard Course.

I like it. I might consider doing a similar thing myself at some point, if not for my schedule and the fact that I don't think a single rmf from my early days still exists. (A mix of shame, lack of external backups, and harddrive failure/format-enabled reuse.)
As 2much noted, 'escaping from jail' is used a lot - I know I used it at least once, and I can think of a few other people who did as well. I guess it gives an easy excuse to start with no equipment and give a feeling of persecution/pressure?

Yeah, starting in a cell is overdone, but it wasn't back in '99. Well, it may have been. I didn't have the Internet back then...

Regarding the file cabinets Jeff, they currently stand at 48 units / inches which is a little shorter than the average of 52. Larger cabinets would have looked odd alongside the desks which were also built to scale (to the nearest inch), but yeah, I see where you're coming from. They are kinda diddy looking.

This is inspiring.

Good blast of classic Half-Lifing!
If you can map this well how come all your maps in The Core are so shit?

I know, right? It's crazy.

Fun little map.

Does this strike anyone else as a good idea for a mini-compo? As in, someone builds a little series of super basic rooms, each with a distinct idea, and people have to re-imagine the map while maintaining those ideas, maybe tying them all together with a unique theme? So long as you enter the room and go "oh this is the flooded room" or "this is the office area", I imagine it could be pretty open to interpretation and varied world themes.

Just a thought.

That is an AMAZING idea

Amazing idea. I think I might have a ton of unfinished stuff.

I like that idea. Also, I like the idea of this map, but not the execution. I find myself extremely surprised by the degradation of Urby's skills since 1999. The older portion of the map was fantastic, especially considering it's age, with varied lighting and intricate detailing that made the map feel alive. The remade portion however, I was shocked by.
Urby, who supposedly is an experienced mapper, making such obvious mistakes as sticking a pointlight in a room with no source, or having a thick metal blast door get broken by a single hit with a crowbar? I am vicariously ashamed, and frankly I interpret this upload as a cry for help. Urby probably did this because slitting his wrists in a bathroom or overdosing on over the counter painkillers would likely go unnoticed by us as we only know him through the internet.

But seriously, it was good. Probably the only real flaw in the newer version was the fact that as a location in a building the ichthyosaur pool didn't make much sense. Apart from the underwater bits, there was only one entrance to this large area.
The older portion, I won't offer any serious critique of.

Too dark. Can't see anything even with gamma pumped up to 3 and brightness up to 4.

You have a flashlight...

Not on the second map. No flashlight and not enough ammo.

You're fired.

Then play the first map first silly. Flashlight problem solved.

What about the ammo?

A interesting pair of maps showcasing how a concept can be improved upon. I found the later map to be pretty fun, albeit pretty short.

Finished it with 6hp.

@DiscoStu. Shoot better. Don't kill the ichys.

I'd like you to post a video showing how to finish the map without killing those.

Quite the progress
Can you post the .rmf please? I'd learn a lot from the second map's lighting, I'd be very grateful!

Nice work Urby this was some fascinating experience a true time travel..

Didn't realize you've been mapping for hl for that long outstanding!

Is it really a map pack with such a small tiny size 430kb ?

LOOKS LIKE LITTLE HAS CHANGED

Blast from the past!