Archive for November 2011


CrossbowVille Mapping Competition

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

I am pleased to announce the next mapping competition: CrossbowVille.

Full details can be found on the competition’s page: CrossbowVille.

I suggest you read the page carefully, because there is one new rule that is related to the sponsors that is very important.


30th November 2011 37 Comments

HalloweenVille

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Enjoy being scared? This mapping competition challenged mappers to make a scary scene. No combat was required but allowed.

There are 5 entries in this mappack. The maps can be played in any order. I have listed them in the order I received them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alex from JustMakeGames for providing the motivation to run the competition and TheHappyCloud for providing the prize.

In addition, I would like to thank all the entrants. GREAT WORKS GUYS!

Don’t forget to play late at night with all the lights out!

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Total Downloads: 6,55722nd November 2011
57 Comments and 21 recommendations, most say "Play It Now!"

Poll Question 249 – Is Portal 1 better than Portal 2?

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

I’m not a huge Portal fan but I do enjoy the occasional map or mod.

There’s been more debate about which is better: Portal 1 or Portal 2 than for HL1 or HL2, mainly because they are both on the “same” engine and any comparison naturally gravitates towards visual aspects.


10th November 2011 36 Comments

Mod and Map Archetypes

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

Let me start by saying that this article will not list archetypes, but is a call to the PP community to help define them.

The reason I am asking is because I read this BBC article and it started me thinking about how we could apply that to Half-Life maps and mods.

Ideally, we would have no more than 7, as I could then write a 7 Series article, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves.


6th November 2011 15 Comments

Operation Gargantua

for Half-Life

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

You have been given a mission of entering a military base and destroying a Gargantua.

The base is well protected and you will need to keep your wits about you.

Intelligence suggests there are plenty of weapons and ammo within the base.

Good Luck!

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Total Downloads: 2,9186th November 2011
15 Comments and 12 recommendations, most say "Play It Now!"

The MapTap Winner is

Update: MapTap has been replaced by Gauge.

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

I officially launched MapTap on 1st October 2011. It is designed to make using SP maps a LOT easier.

I’s been fairly successful but I feel I should have done more work before the launch to ensure that enough tested files were available.

Herr_Alien and I have been working very hard behind the scenes and the next update will be a big step forward. We have about 5 new features planned for future updates too.

Anyway, back on the first of the month, I said there would be a game giveaway to one random Map Tap user.

Considering how unsuccessful the last two attempts at selecting a winner were, it is time to try a new way.

SEND ME YOUR ID AND KEY

To find your details, go to the About button. It will display your ID and Key.


6th November 2011 29 Comments

7 Reasons I hope Ep3 is the last Half-Life game – The 7 Series

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

The title of this post has got to have shocked you.

“Phillip must want the Half-Life games to keep coming.”

Yes, I do, but on a fixed schedule. Every 3 years is about right for me. Fixed engine too – no updates to break mods or any of those shenanigans.

But the world and Valve don’t revolve around what I want – quite right too!

So, here are 7 reasons I hope Ep3 is the last Half-Life game.

Don’t forget to add your own in the comments.


6th November 2011 24 Comments