Overall, another fantastic Map Lab! I really liked the ooky-spooky space one and the idea for the UV(?) light spotting specters in the house was a neat idea.
Definitely check this one out!...
Classic Half-Life mod. No surprises, no super-graphics, just classic adventure...
Classic Run, Think, Survive and Live action...
Well, this one was a quick and cool map lab challenge, I think the winners are worthy, and most of the bonus entries were also pretty cool to play.
Overall I enjoyed the neat and quick action in all these releases, and I think the entries reflected the mods that were supposed to pay tribute.
I think it is a nice PN....
Arctoitea isn't an entry, it's the second line of the really long titled map on the line above....
Maybe you have to go back, and look for a similar symbol near the start of the map? ;)...
Huh, I can't believe I missed this one. Well, better late than never. SPOILER ALERT.
The Wayder Residence by Zapizard
[recimage id=2]
Well off to a good start but a little bit bland. Sure it this weird post apocalyptic Silent Hill like map right there but overall, it's just okay to me. It's not too scary.
DATA_RETRIEVED by beefbacon
[recimage id=5]
Now this is what I call an outstanding entry...
Playtime is shorter than 3hrs, I just watched playthroughs for like 2 entries so I took longer. Also, 'Arctoitea' entry is mentioned in the RTSL post, but missing from the pack I downloaded some days ago from here.
There's some art entries, some abstract ones, a few low effort or troll, but a good amount of other good entries to balance those out. Here are some honorable mentions, more in my stream:
The first entry had something I never saw before,
'KClO3' probably overall winner,
'Clockwo...
So here we have -so far- the biggest and longest map labs with 30 power entries.
So, as there were so many entries, I couldn't review every one of them, and instead I'll judge this one as a whole.
I was almost tempted to give this one a Personal Favorite recommendation but I won't because despite most entries being nicely done, without too many technical glitches, some were just faulty and frustrating, like "Nightfire" the one where you have to defend that bunker at night, which it was a...
What's Up, my name is Juan, im from Spain and i have really enjoyed playing retro FPS since i first time played ultimate doom ep1 thanks to doom 2016, i have tried most of the retro FPS and my fav one is Quake counting mods, if we dont count mods then half-life 1 is my fav one.
Im a doom speedrunner, i have set many many records in a short period of time but now i want to relax for a bit, the community is really welcoming. Im planning on speedrunning half-life and quake since i love the movem...
Fun short map based on La habana, Cuba. The map is good detailed and the progression is really good, worth playing IMO.
I managed to found an easter egg but i dont know what the button does :P...
This mod is literally "Crossing a Bridge: The Mod"
I honestly don't have much else to say other than praising the creator for making such a short and enjoyable project, quite well placed enemies, not at all complicated or difficult.
I liked it a lot, it's supposed to be a Demo, we'll see when it comes out complete...
HTC is the beginning of a Trilogy
For the beginning, I liked it a lot, it has some moments of tension that I couldn't handle because my hands were shaking, an interesting story to tell and the desire to know... what he did and who the protagonist is.
I liked it a lot, let's hope the level goes up the further the trilogy progresses...
Anti-Climax is a very curious mod
There are things that we can rescue from this mod
I love how this mod takes place after the main story as a direct continuation, something that not many mods do and that I would like more mods to do.
I love the dynamics of the portals in this mod, that it changes every so often and I love it
Yes, there are several bugs, for example it happened to me that precisely with the portals they bugged me several times and they teleported me to places that did n...
Hi there name's PlumpZombie, just a Valve fanboy and I heard a lot about this site so why not giving a try? I'll definitely check out some cool mods people make here.
Also I have a YouTube channel also called PlumpZombie lol, my channel will focus on Source and Goldsrc content from Valve, and community mods too.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzASOQLQGeMoL5EbF29VNQ...
Hi all. I'm just commenting here in order to prevent my account being deleted to inactivity. Long-time Half-Life fan looking for some fun mods. Thank you to the admin of the site as well as the mappers and modders in the community, active and defunct....
The continuation of faraon map (https://www.runthinkshootlive.com/posts/faraon), but have a problem with loading from previous map, so you need to load this separately with loosing HEV and your weapons
Personaly i have problem with crashes no matter how I try, so I can't finish this map...
Single vs Grunts short map, this was very fun 15 minutes, But it has problem with loading next faraon 2 map (https://www.runthinkshootlive.com/posts/faraon2/)
*Updated comment with Recommendation System and Additional Information...
I strongly recommend this Map Labs entry.
I think it's the one with the highest amount of entries amongst them all (maybe i'm wrong about that!) and a fair majority of them were pretty amazing. In fact, there are so many maps, that I decided to give up on judging each, singular one altogether, but I gotta say...
...Almost all of them were very fun to play or just experience. This competition's theme is genius and some of the mapmakers were really creative with it.
The...
From the opening cutscene, this mod was able to make an impressively cohesive atmosphere that felt like it really was a separate sector of Black Mesa. The use of original and custom textures worked to make each map feel related to the wider whole of the science facility, but while using instruments more relevant to the Gibson.
Aside from the environment, the maps felt very functional too. It was never difficult to understand where to go, despite the maze-like feel of a lot of corridor shoote...
I rise back from the dead, 1.5 year after my last post to review the new Halloween Horror stuff, as usual.
The Wayder Residence by
[recimage id=2]
Interesting first entry, the main point of interest is the computer room launching the Wayder protocol. It could have included an alternate ending where we are able to dig the right code and see what happens.
DATA_RETRIEVED by
[recimage id=4]
Technically pretty impressive (one of the very few proje...
This is a well designed map. Quality over quantity here. It's not too short, nor is it too long. I only died once to a mistimed RPG shot.
I'm not too familiar with the Cuban theme, but it was a nice change of pace from European HL2 maps.
Well done Coralilac!...
its a perfect mod for these!:
-Quite good mapping
-Fair balanced
-surprises
-scripts
-Good story
i will recommend to play!...
its a perfect mod for these!:
-Quite good mapping
-Fair balanced
-surprises
-scripts
-Good story
i will recommend to play!...
Another big mess valve style. On linux after upgrade when trying to access the "options" menu the game crashes. The same for all hl1 mods. On my both rigs (amd and intel). Last night I changed to compatibility mode (proton experimental) and the result was the same behaviour. After deleting and reinstalling Steam the problem is gone. Waste of time......
Oh MAN love the one-hit boxes. So satisfying.
Great intro and world-building with the resonating music. Good atmosphere. Kinda lame zombie combat, though. Too open and slow-paced.
Ambushes were brutal. I did enjoy the details, though, like exploring the room the soldiers came out of and seeing where I walked in on the security camera screen. Enemy placement felt more believable than the usual cramped, dark closets packed with soldiers.
God damn the SMG sux. Such a frustratingly ineff...
Almost gave this a Personal Favorite just to offset the unfair bad reviews. And it wouldn't have been far from the truth. 'Upper West Side" is super close to having been an all time PF map of mine. I got stuck on it so the entire challenge gets a Play It Now.
To avoid future low effort posts, hopefully the site admin will impose a minimum character rule like 50 when using the Recommendation system, since some can't even bother with 25. Or remove that recommendation since it's breaking rule #4...
Well, I've almost never used cheats on this one (only once - to run away from heli).
I completely did not understand the lack of crowbar in this game. It's either just because of my stupidity that I cannot find it, or the developer thoughtfully decided not to put it in the game. I've seen this trend before, where modders are trying to make an "espionage drama" out of Half-life or any other game and thinking that melee weapons will ruin the immersion or something like that. Which poorly fits the...
Seems like someone's first project... Or rather some test maps. But it was released by some german game journal named "Gamestar", at least this is what this says in the end credits. So it raises my suspicion about it being just a bunch of test maps. Have to use cheats in some places to be able to complete this mess.
Well, I'll try not to be a complete rude asshole, and say there were some good moments: like the snowy section on the final map. Like the developer finally figured out how to use t...
Delightful to play the original once again on its anniversary.
I hope this rejuvenates HL and that means it spawns a bunch of new SP maps!...
Unq - Orb - 2 weeks ago
Fixed, thanks....
I won't say anything about the other maps, but the Alien inspired Data_Retrieved was fantastic!...
Damn! The download link doesn't work on this one....
I'm rather new to the mods and half-life scene, but I have played all the big ones out there. All the ones that are recommended by people highly in the community. I love to discuss what makes mods great and IMO the best way to get high quality content for games we love....
So mods running fine for you?...
Yeah, exactly....
Well, the barrel puzzle itself was not that hard to figure out, but all the stuff you need to get that one piece, hiding in the corner, was a bit annoying in my opinion. It's a bad design, the mod creator should highlight that kind of stuff more obviously....
It like dev room map, just showcase unused models...
This one can be really tough, first levels you can just fast run through but then it becomes much tougher. Not to say it is bad thing, but some moment are complete BS in my opinion, especially where you have to climb a ladder and there a bunch of grunts awaiting you on the top, throwing nades while you barely got any health. It would be completely fine if it has more armory rooms, but I can find only ONE through the whole MOD! Not to mention main character DOES NOT HAVE ANY ENERGY WEAPONS! Also ...
I had my original Half-Life set to the beta cersion, and wasn't getting the 25th anniversary update.
Soon as i changed it to None in the beta program, it downloaded and updated.
Found this works perfectly, especially with opposing force and blue-shift too, as well as any custom maps I've thrown at it so far. Looks great on my 2k display.
Gonna TRY and see what Gunman Chronicles plays like....
Nice little mod. Pretty sure I've seen something like this already.
Complete playthrough: https://youtu.be/mqqew-WUjiw...
Headaches are part of the experience too I guess...
First of all, happy 25th anniversary to Half-Life. And with this mod, I've enjoyed it a lot more because this is a pretty decent one. Let's begin, first off the textures, level designs, story, they're all good. You're gonna have to go down to the world machine, get the data and escape, simple as that, straight forward clear and concise objective. There are also interesting puzzles, most of them use common sense but there are some that you need to use your brain a little more. The only downsides ...
Really abruptive ending, don't know if it was intended this was. Maybe this was just a bug of the Xash engine and it refused to play the final cutscene for some reason. But the good part is that some levels have some sort of non-linearity.
Complete playthrough: https://youtu.be/88LkJkRBUY8...
Ello
I'm sillyman
I don't have much to say here, but
I discovered HL and Valve through the XBOX 360 Orange Box Demo :]
Oh and i also played Portal : Still Alive on the same console too
Thanks for reading i guess...
Small, contained map that chooses to show the player the entire arena early and often. Allows you to ground yourself to gauge progression.
Good (re)use of space and nice atmosphere, although I was hoping for a little more Lab Practicum when staring out over the ocean. Toss in a long catwalk on the outside of the rig, staring off into the sunset with bridge music playing in the background for best effect.
Decent little map, but nothing really swayed me to convince you to drop everything t...
Intense, unrelenting combat. Positively thrilling. My blood has never pumped harder.
Sniper sequence was challenging, with help from the occasional bug.
Overall a nice segue in the Half-Life experience....
Nice mod, but I don't like this particular style of levels with narrow corridors, flooded with enemies. Sometimes it can get really frustrating.
If you don't want to play it yourself, here's a full playthrough:
Part 1 - https://youtu.be/aQNlyBF3UBw
Pat 2 - https://youtu.be/8ivUfsYmM_c...
After loading an add-on map, closing and restarting, now the console works .......
It might be they mean uplink content is part of the game. Confusing to me.
Another question, advanced options, ie; the console ( ~) seems to be inoperative or gone? How can it be activated?
To me if this is intentional, its a deal breaker and I want to uninstall, because add-on maps sometimes need 'crosshair 1', 'noclip' or other commands such as ai disabled fixes. In that case, how do I roll back to my original version?...
New content seems to be limited to multiplayer maps, if I'm not mistaken? In terms of SP maps, we have Uplink here (August 2012). I wonder is it the same, not counting the graphics improvements?
Otherwise I don't see much new....
Good design overall, good amount of puzzles, but not very satisfying gameplay....
From a game player's perspective only, IMO there is only one to try out of the 9. That one is #8, A Bridge Too Far, very enjoyable. #9 might be OK too, but it was too difficult to figure out for me....
Sorry, replied to the wrong comment. Site's design a bit wanky. And there is no way to edit nor delete your message, ok...
Alarms are part of the experience 😛...
Alarms are part of the experience :P...
Mapping is pretty cool (got really Kubrick-ish in the end), although the level design itself seems a bit simplistic. Game almost lost me on the "go and find another energy cube" part. I see why everyone is suggesting to "play it later". Difficulty wise this I consider this mod as easy, but shells are scarce, and you should be very careful trying not to waste all your HEV at once, because the HEV and health dispensers are only located on the start of each "floor". And there are almost no physics ...
Yeah, there is only an unfinished version on this site. Maybe there is a full version of this mod out there, but here's a "full" playthrough (I've bumped into a wall with some temporary texture and considering this as a completion):
https://youtu.be/lDwAmBJzPCU...
Nice little mod, a little bit pretentious in my opinion, but its ok. Have to use cheats to complete a maze (I hate mazes, sorry).
Complete playthrough on a Xash3D engine:
https://youtu.be/TPe1IWLJKYU...
Half-Life: The World Machine is a fantastic looking mod that aims to look more like a place from Ridley Scott's Alien universe than Half-Life. The entire mod has really detailed environments and good combat encounters.
This would be a "play it now" if it weren't for the constant noise. The mod is emulating Alien and therefore has lots of very fitting alarms sounding throughout Gibson, unfortunately these alarms NEVER STOP, almost the entire mod is a constant barrage of sound that will eventua...
Completely agree with the summary of this map in the comments above.
It is really a "Play It Now" based on gameplay, layout design, length and visuals, all of which are very good. However the constant noise, while appropriate for the theme, is way too much and grates on the brain as time goes on. There are a few areas which are potential "game stoppers" where the combination of too dark, no contrast colors and too hidden grates leave one searching for a way forward for long periods.
Also ...
Positively thrilling scripting! This one had me embarrassingly bobbing and weaving in the real world. Creative setups that take advantage of the Source engine's intricacies. Antlion's ragdolling that poor sap at the beginning, the mortar warzone aesthetic, that zombie bursting out of the boxes...
Combat is tense and chaotic. Felt very fair and balanced, which is a remarkable feat given all the ambushes and enemies attacking from all angles, something that usually feels cheap and unfair. Third...
A nice mini campaign, a little different from the usual Half-Life maps. On the positive side cool level design in the style of SF movies like "2001 A Space Odysee" and "Aliens" which doesn't really fit into the HL universe, but looks great nevertheless. On the negative side the campaign is a bit too long which makes you notice the repetition of the new elements and the continous alarm sounds really got on my nerves! I wonder if the developer is deaf or always turned the sound down ;). Still you ...
I enjoyed this one greatly!
Lovely Level Design, both visually and layout wise.
It really did nail this Overrun Cuba vibe.
Maybe the rooftop sequence could have done with a little more, but its def up there with General Half life2,
Well done,
Greatly appreciated u creating and sharing this!...
Also, the guy who did "Cold Hard Steele" is an utter genius.
And I would expect at least his whole CHS saga would be launched as a stand-alone full mod that contains the whole episodic progression...
I hope RTSL would encourage him to launch it as a full modding title, that would be a great way to actually have some old-school releases every now and then, as also some other cool entries in these labs and tubes, would also be totally worthy of being developed further....
Limitations breed creativity. Test Tubes like this are a prime example.
You may be right Sir... BUT only to some GENIOUS MAPPERS!! imagine how brilliant must a mapper be to craft an awesome entry like Big Cleanup in jus 1 or 2 weeks...
I gues NOT ALL mappers are going to get foster their creativity with those limits you mention.
As a pure gamer, I'd rather prefer a modder take his time to develop an awesome mod no matter if it took him years, and Cry of Fear I guess it could ...
I"IN MY OPINION, these tests are one of the reasons why the number of new maps has slowed to a tickle.
It used to be maps were made to proudly show one’s work to game players who admired those skills and appreciated the enjoyment they gave us ‘lesser mortals” 😉 Test Tubes has mostly eliminated that and turned it into what looks like periodic clubhouse meetings."
Totally agree with this, and sorry if Unq just dislikes these opinions, he is in his total right to run this si...
Well, too many entries in this map lab competition. So many, that I guess that is precisely the main problem with this mapping competition.
Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that we don't have great entries, as some of them are quite outstanding and even innovative in terms of gameplay. Also, some were quite fun to play along with the gaming challenge they bring.
I guess in my opinion, "Big Cleanup" totally deserves the winning position as it was a neat clever concept, that for some ...
I quite liked this, short and sweet, a bit too short perhaps and I'd love to see it expanded, but it is what it is, perhaps another time. Maybe a few classic Amercan cars lying about (that oddly still seem to work and someone can afford the fuel to run)...a smouldering cigar abandoned in an ash tray, a half consumed Cuba Libra maybe...whatever, plenty of scope without making it too cliche.
So yeah, nice one..I enjoyed it but wished there was more....
Thank you!...
A map for Game Players!
I loved this map, thank you for doing it. The main reason is the atmosphere and graphics that perfectly suited the Havana theme. Also the carefully thought out layout, with multiple areas not immediately obvious. It takes thinking to accomplish the objectives. Gameplay was good as well.
Definitely Play It Now!...
Note that this challenge was from over 3 years ago - Map Labs is alive and well....
Finally a map pack worth to play :)! It seems the time the mappers have is most important, the shorter the competition time, the more bad or unfinished maps are included. It looks as MapLabs is actually aware of this, because this pack was all about finishing maps ;)! Even walking simulators like Commuter or White Forest were great, I would really like to see a continuation of the latter. BTW the last map was strange, is MapLabs closing down?...
Glad you enjoyed, thanks for playing!...
A great little map with strong atmosphere and good gameplay, amazing for only 6 MB size!...
This one is pretty good! At first I thought the main objective is the listening post but after that, there's more to offer which is the best part. The combat is very balanced, some level designs are confusing but still easy to figure out where to go....
Ok, so, maybe this recommendation would be higher than a dull "Maybe?" but it is the 1st one that actually brought me trouble regarding some technical mishaps...
So that stated, the following entries: "Power Down Underground" and "Shortfire 2" literally had fcked up save, with power down not saving at all and at times just kicking to desktop, and Shortfire also with some broken quick saves that once you pressed "F6" kick you out to desktop. So yeah that wasn't very pleasant and just stained ...
Lots of these are hit or miss, I did enjoy Elevator though, the cell was also nice....
All of the maps are good, my favorite creative one was Mousetrap while the one i found the most enjoyment gameplay wise was The engine of a film....
I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to end and completed it in a single sitting, it has a very unique and fun style from its models, textures and sounds that works well throughout. The auto-bhop mechanic made combat and transversing the levels very fun and allowed for interesting stratergies / plays that would normally be incredibly difficult if not impossible. A relatively short playthrough but it likely worked out in it's favour as to not have the theming become boring or overplayed. You should...
Well, nevermind, it seems that "Power Down Underground by aaaaaaa, sequel to Urban Scramble in Crossfire" is faulty and it couldn't save, only this and the Craig Entry are f*cked up regarding saves......
Well, my saves were f*cked up after I played Craig Thorne 2... IDK if this has to do with having installed Crossfire and Two Rooms simultaneously.
Please help, how can I solve this issue, I pres "F6" and it apparently appears "saved" on the screen but then "F9" doesn't load anything and It also does not appear as any saved game on the load sub-menu...
How can I solve this, this happened with the underground power entry. And apparently, all entries are also unable to be saved and loaded....
If you get the error AI Disabled you can use a few commands to override this. Use the console command sv_cheats 1 to enable cheats and second use the console command ai_disable 0 to turn off the AI Disabled function. You can also force the commands if you can find one of the old files called the Valve.rc file which is usually in the cfg or configuration folder. You can edit the valve.rc file using a free coding program called Note Pad ++ right click on the valve.rc file click edit and place the ...
I don't believe that I insulted any specific maps as such, I only said that most were a waste of time or unfinished, which sadly has become a real trend lately (and is probably due to the short competition durations)....
Hello Wesp5, I’ve also been on this site for 10 years, and I partly agree with you, but still thanks to Unq for his work....
I haven't logged in here to comment in a long long time. But seeing these discouraging comments after I just finished this map pack (on Twitch but I won't shamelessly plug), I felt compelled to say something. And I sincerely hope no one alters my comment this time, please and thank you.
I can't pretend to know when or how the Map Labs and Map Labs Test Tube started and everything they stand for. But the description does say 'challenge' and not 'competition'. And the title does say 'test (tube...
As I said, negative reviews are fine and welcomed. But a lot of your recent comments have crossed into the realm of utter disrespect and rudeness - and that's why the comments are out of line and removed....
I played all the maps listed here since the place was called Planet Philip and honestly compared to what was released years ago, I am indeed disappointed. But if it is so clear to you how 24h competions work out, I will cease to post any comments. Weird enough nobody else does as well......
No one needs your crappy warnings to hear that a 24 hour map jam was made in 24 hours. Cut the crap, and stay out of the comment sections for projects you have no business with. Frankly I don't even believe you're trying these. You seem to just be dismissing people's work because you don't know what a game/map jam is and fail to see that limitations are an important part of the creative process, not something done to annoy you....
Sorry, but this is the way I experience most of these short competitions and I remember other players seeing it the same. It seems to me that 24 hours just isn't enough to produce anything substantial and players looking for it should be warned!...
This map is pretty good and it's fun in its own way
I like that it is full of details and secrets, both with the resemblance to several maps from the original game in the form of details, part 2 of the 6 that this map has is quite similar to Office Complex and I love it, plus there are many secrets for the attentive ones who check every corner of the map and I love that, not only was the creator dedicated to making references to the original game and making secrets even though this is a proje...
When you leave an absurdly negative comment, without any attempt at constructive criticism, I'm going to remove the comment. Of course negative reviews are acceptable, and of course many releases won't be your thing. But saying nothing beyond "a waste of time for both mappers and players" is unacceptably rude and insulting and will be removed....
Hello, why are my comments always removed from here? It say nowhere that you need to be registered to comment and my name alone should show that I am qualified to comment :(!...
Howdy, I'm WilliamPony
I've been playing Half-Life since a long time ago, maybe since 2010
I know that game because of Counter-Strike 1.6, so back then I was idly looking at the game folder until I found an .exe named hl.exe and played it, kinda nostalgic eh?
I also start my mapping journey since 2022 because of my obsession to that game
until now, I make various maps but didn't release it BUT now I did make a real map and have a story in it or i called it a mods...
Okay, as some of you, and I really mean the only ones who read my recommendations, which I think is almost no one, hehe, may noticed I truly hate the whole Map-Lab format releases. Well, an old adagio says "Never say never" and I think this applies to this recommendation. I never thought a hideous Map-Lab release would be a Personal Favorite to me. But this is the case indeed.
First of all, I think this Map-Lab concept is truly great, I mean, Doom is a unique FPS game, being really the first ...
Okay, so I've found the crossbow and it requires a little more exploration because you'd miss it easily. Now for my second playthrough, it's much easier to the point I didn't die once in one run. But my rating remains the same, play it later because of some cons I've stated....
This looks very familiar to me. It's as if I have played this before. If I am not mistaken, Sven Co-op has this mod as well and I remember playing it on Misfire's server. Anyway, let's get to the review. The combat is challenging, but not too frustrating. The level design is okay but I hate some parts where you have to backtrack like the game doesn't give me a hint on where to go. The story, it's getting tedious as other mods, simply escape from the facility. It doesn't matter if you're in Black...
The level design is poorly made. I can't get past the bathroom after flooding it...
Quite bland, it has some decent puzzles but was kinda boring for the most part....
Not a fan of this one....
