Rock 24

for Half-Life 2

17th November 2006

About

The mod takes place on a previously abandoned cliff-side prison. The combine have moved in and are re-using the prison as a place to hold rebel leaders. Gordon is required to infiltrate, free the Rebel leader and escape from the facility.

Basic Details
  • Title: Rock 24
  • Original Filename: sdk2013-sp-rock-24.7z
  • Original Filename: Setup.exe
  • Size : 206.90MB
  • Author: Henley Bailey & Richard Acherki
  • Date Released: 18 November 2006
Important Note

It’s well worth reading the mod’s homepage for further information, especially the “Known issues” section which contains pertinent and useful info.

Download Options

Download to your HDD [177MB]

Manual Installation Instructions

If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.

This mod contains fixes most issues related to engine branch incompatibility and is designed to run using the latest “Beta” of Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer.

The patch which has been incorporated into the file was created by Marc-Antoine Lortie AKA malortie and Koneko created the RTSL file with the patch incorporated.

More detailed installation instructions are included in the file, in a file called “README_fix.txt”

Ensure that you have Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer installed and configured to use the latest beta, “incoming”.
If not set it:

  • Right-click on Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer.
  • Go to the “Betas” tab.
  • Change “Select the beta you would opt into” option to “incoming”.
  • (Optionally restart Steam).

Next verify the integrity of game cache for Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer.

  • Right-click on Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer.
  • Go to the “Local Files” tab.
  • Click “Verify Integrity of Tool cache…”
  • Wait until game cache inspection is completed.
  • Optionally launch Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer to update game data files).

Continue with the instructions below.

  • Copy the Rock 24 folder into your SourceMods folder.
  • Restart or start Steam.
  • Rock 24 should now be listed in your Library tab.

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a medium size image.

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3
Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!

16 recommendations, average score: 4.56 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1 (what's that?)
Total Downloads

Please note: These statistics are valid from December 2010

  • 2,069
    Overall
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  • 8
    Last 7 days
  • 20
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  • 313
    365 days
Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 5 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 5 Users

Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours, 44 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 40 Mins by Daken50
Longest: 3 Hours by RandomBonnie
Total Time Played: 8 Hours, 41 Mins
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172 Comments

  1. I LOVE thet look of this mod. It’s exactly how I like mods to be. Corridors not too narrow, military-type base. I’m really excited about this one.

    FYI: I added it even though it’s still in developemnt because it doesn’t have a moddb profile and therefore you might have missed it, as I did!

    I’ve emailed th author asking for an interview or preview, so let’s hope!

  2. geekofalltrades

    Those screens make me think of “Die-Hard.” 😛

  3. Those are some good looking screenies. It does remind me quite a bit of the Kamchatka Militray Base from SOFII – but that’s not a bad thing!

  4. AI

    Phillip ya beat Half-Life files on getting this posted!! I was just on their site and it’s not listed yet!! I had DL the video they had and it looked good! already dl the file will give it a try tonite. Nice screenshots above!

  5. Jimbo

    Is anyone else having trouble with the installer? When I attempt to install, it does not ask me for a directory or anything. Then it skips every file in the whole installation and says “Complete”.

  6. AI

    #5 Only took 12.5 min to down load but check your file size, the setup.exe file should be 206mb! I had no problem with the install, it puts all files into your HL2 sourcemods, folder name Rock24. It does install very fast!
    Plays nice and looks good!

  7. Jimbo

    Thanks for the help A I, but I’ve downloaded it twice now and I have the same problem– it goes to the install screen and I cant set an output path. it tries to install in “\Rock24” but it ends up skipping all the files because it’s not set to any folder. Weird. Any help would be appreciated!

  8. works fine for me and I did not get an option on ehere to install.It just put in the source mod folder.is your game not installed on c:\pro……? if not look in C for the folder and move it to source mods folder

  9. bumtown

    amazing mod!

  10. PasserbywhoplaysHL

    And now I have something to look forward to when I finally finish the pile of work in front of me!!

    (Sorry PP for not replying to your message yet, life is very hectic here at the moment – the short answer is “great idea” – but I need to think about the details… and am snowed under with work at present.)

  11. SmokersCough

    If you are having trouble with the installer, it’s likely to be an issue with valve having two install directories, originally it was steam but then changed to valve, we are uploading a zip for people with problems, be up soon :)Btw is there any cahcne you can update the rock 24 homepage to http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Rock_24

  12. Jazz man

    I managed to get a good swing in with this mod. It’s Quite fun! Custom skins, Custom voice acting and about 3 custom models. All I really got to say is, download a copy of this mod and see for yourself.

  13. I’ve upadted the link. IF I give you FTP details can you uplaod it to my server and then I can copy it very quickly to the Filecloud server.

  14. Mint_Sauce

    Uploading now, will take an hour for it to reach you!

  15. Okay, the new version is now available in zip form. I’m off to play it so don’t expect any updates for a few hours.

  16. Dufferx

    I downloaded it from FileFront and it loaded as slick as a whistle where it was supposed to and it runs just fine. I did have one “what maybe” glich when it went dark as Freemnan went overboard. It stayed dark for what seemed like forever and so I rebooted. Second time around it ran OK. Might have been my machine. From what I have seen it is a definite keeper.

  17. bumtown

    um… that was a loading screen.

  18. Jimbo

    Alright the zip file worked! Thanks a lot! The mod is very good. Took an hour or so to get through. I did run into a few small bugs, but it didn’t take away from the gameplay (the man who you rescue– when he uses the eye-scanner, he repeats himself. Stuff like that). The voice acting was above average compared to other mods (not perfect, but still good). Excellent work though. The elevator part scared me. I figured it out right in time! I was thirsty for a good hl2 mod as it’s been sort of dead in the hl2 Single-Player mod releases, and this filled me right up. Nice work.

  19. This is a good bit of HL2 mapping – certainly one of the best mods/ map packs released so far for HL2.

    It is driven by a story that is well presented – Doctor Newell points you in the right direction and you get going. The voice acting is mostly convincing and the facial animations fit well with the script – I particularly liked the look of anger on the boat captains face in the opening scene.

    The story works well – there’s a reason you are in a cell on Rock 24; you don’t just turn up there due to some random events that occurred before the mod starts.

    Plenty of action dispersed with some puzzles – although in honesty most of the puzzles are a bit “samey” (find and push button/ throw switch), but there are a couple of very original ideas in there too.

    I really liked Doc Newell – he doesn’t just follow you around blindly and get in your way and he’s pretty goddamn hardcore for a scientist (a bit like Gordon Freeman without the hazard suit!) – he even makes up for abandoning you here and there by sneaking off and rescuing a fellow resistance member while you stay out of his way – a brilliant idea that makes Newell more than just a plot device, it gives him some personality.

    The combat is pacey and keeps your adrenaline up and there are some good atmospheric settings as well. I really liked the section with the headcrabs and the creepy blue lighting and the contrast between big open areas and more obstructed corridors is excellent as you never feel like you are having the same fight twice. And there are some split-level fights where if you aren’t careful you can get hit from above, below and the sides simultaneously!

    And no flood of fast zombies anywhere to be found – good work as personally I am sick of custom HL2 maps that stick you in narrow areas and send handfuls of fast zombies after you while you are armed with only an SMG. This is not “challenging” – it is bloody annoying.

    I ran into a couple of minor bugs; there’s an area where you call a lift up (which has several soldiers in it), I had cleared the room with the lift controls in of sentry guns using a grenade and one of the sentry guns fell down the shaft and jammed between the floor of the lift and a light fitting preventing the lift from coming up (I tried blowing it clear again but it was too firmly wedged), and the APC didn’t hit the pillar the first time around which prevented me from progressing (and also leaving me open to being shot to death by the APC’s still working turret!). Like I said – these were minor and only happened once each, other than that it ran flawlessly.

    Oh – and the PSP joke: brilliant nerd humour for all us gamers!

  20. Dufferx

    Yes, did finally figure it was a loading point. This mod was outstanding in my point of view. I particularly liked the great finale. On the other hand, I didn’t much care for the elevator part, but that’s life!

  21. I downloaded it from FileFront and it loaded as slick as a whistle where it was supposed to and it runs just fine. I did have one “what maybe” glich when it went dark as Freemnan went overboard. It stayed dark for what seemed like forever and so I rebooted. Second time around it ran OK. Might have been my machine. From what I have seen it is a definite keeper.

    I had the same experience and all I did was hit “enter” and the rest went real smooth.

  22. So, who has found the secrets yet?

    Also planning on publishing an interview with the creators of this excellent mod tomorrow or Tuesday. Stay Tuned.

  23. Zockopa

    Very good SP-Mod. So far one of the best ones for HL2.

  24. Okay, my mini-review.

    This is a superb mod! The mapping is excellent, storyline solid, voice acting good, architecture inventive. Instead of just making a XXXX mod, the authors decide to add a few special features. The rescuee (Newell) and the Rescuer (Freeman) work together to escape a crumbling prison. Besides a couple of minor bugs (Newell froze on me once) the execution is almost as slick as the retail releases from Valve.

    There’s walking, running, crawling, jumping shooting and puzzles solving. What more could a player want? Well, here’s the crux. I didn’t really enjoy playing this mod. I can sit back and truly admire the work and acknowledge the skill and effort that has gone into it but I was left with the same feeling I had after playing both episodes of Minerva.

    For me it was too much a showcase of the abilities and talents of the creators than a mod that was fun to play. I accept that I am probably alone in this case but I want to be honest. I still rank it equal third in my all time list of HL2 mods (I’ll post that list soon!) but want gameplay not cinematics.

    I’m not entirely sure of my reasons for feeling this way but perhaps it just simply jealousy? I truly want to be able to create something this good but know that at the moment I can’t. It could just be the fact I like a different type of mod/game.

    I also felt a little emasculated by Newell. In most mods, Freeman (You) is the all-powerful, all-conquering hero. In Rock 24 I felt that Newell was condescending and I relied on him too much.

    The bottom line? Fantastic, brilliant, clever, well-made, creative but ultimately unsatisfying. Would I recommend you download and play it? Absolutely, the chances are you will love it.

    BTW, nice review liddl3monk3y. I also liked the headcrab section.

    OOOO, spooky. This is the 24th comment!

  25. Henley

    Thanks for spending your time reviewing our mod, I’m glad it’s in your top three! 😀

    Your comment, “For me it was too much a showcase of the abilities and talents of the creators than a mod that was fun to play. ”

    I understand what you’re saying, as we were still learning Hammer at the time we wanted to see what we could make with it. I guess the result is a lot of different ideas, we felt this would be interesting to the player as we took them on a ride and they’d never really know what to expect next and also we got to grips with a lot of the more complex entity work! 🙂

    I guess at the end of the days it’s horses for courses, some people said they would have preferred more puzzles others say more action, less puzzles.

    Thanks again for your review and hosting/helping us out, cheers! 😀

  26. I guess at the end of the days it’s horses for courses, some people said they would have preferred more puzzles others say more action, less puzzles.

    That’s the point. You can’t please all the poeple all the time. It just comes down to personal preference.

    I hope I managed to express sincere respect and appreciation of your work because it really was great.

    Did anybody spot my error in typing emancipation instead of emasculation?

  27. I enjoyed this mod very much.It has a little of everything for everybody.I put in in my top 5 mods for HL2.

  28. abbas

    Hello!
    Please Tell Me Number Of The Rock24 Levels and maps (I Wish you Say that mod have over 10 Amazing maps or levels!)

  29. I don’t know if I am stuck or if I got a gaming bug…in map 3 on one time you need to open a valve to break the tube but your friend told you to broke the chain since I was not point ar the right way to broke it I decided to climb putting box one on an other an reach the command floor broke the chain but also acivated the switch…now some moment after you fiend opens the second retinial door that lead you to this place in order to open and activate something whish as already been done so what next need to happen.. normally?

  30. I broke it easily by shooting the block its attached to so I didn’t have that trouble.If I have time tonight I’ll try it the way you did and see if there is a way to progress.

  31. You didnt change the game doing it that way.All you did was open the gate.You dont even need to break the chain if you climb up and activate the button.The combine bullets do it for ya(at least on my attemps).After that go through to next stage,plug in cord and activate console

  32. AI

    If you all go to the basic details and hit the link with the authors names, they explane breafly some bugs in the game, which fit some of the problems talked about here! They also said they would like to know if players ran into them! Please read it! It does a better job than me!!!

  33. abbas

    Come on Guys!
    Please Tell Me Number Of The Rock24 Levels and maps. I’m Waiting For Answer Before I Download This Mod.

  34. play it… so you know the number of maps…if you open the file it contains 8 maps (including the credits map) but most of bsp file are over 10MB.

    ‘After that go through to next stage,plug in cord and activate console” thanks Andy I don’t figure it out but I will try tonight

  35. As Stef says, just download the mod abbas and play it. It’s not about quantity but quality and this mod is pure quality.

  36. I don’t know if I am stuck or if I got a gaming bug…in map 3 on one time you need to open a valve to break the tube but your friend told you to broke the chain since I was not point ar the right way to broke it I decided to climb putting box one on an other an reach the command floor broke the chain but also acivated the switch…now some moment after you fiend opens the second retinial door that lead you to this place in order to open and activate something whish as already been done so what next need to happen.. normally?

    I walk arround and decided to restart the game…and effectively at the first time you friend stay at the door so that he can not desactivate the force field when I resctarted and didn’t activate the switch everything went perfect…I could manage to finish the rest and enjoy it… I like the way the mod surprise you even if sometime you friend tells you too much and spoil the thinking. Also ending was a little too easy fight…defenetly worth to play and certainly waiting for something new end fresh wsich could only be better…

  37. I liked Myst.Got every release of it 😉

  38. geekofalltrades

    For whatever reason, I cannot seem to download this file from the filecloud server. Every time I try, the download freezes.

  39. Zeek

    Great Mod guys certainly in the top 10

  40. Ivan

    Guys, why you don’t use the rar, it is definitely better than zip?
    This mod could be 10-20% less than 206mb if was packed by rar.

  41. Guys, why you don’t use the rar, it is definitely better than zip?
    This mod could be 10-20% less than 206mb if was packed by rar.

    I have just uploaded what was supplied to me. Maybe this weekend I will repack it.

  42. Ivan

    thank in advance 🙂

  43. Mint_Sauce

    We didn’t use .rar as some people don’t know what they are (I know I know) and XP doesn’t have native support for them. We just tried to make as nice and simple for everyone at all skill levels.

  44. I’m uploading a rar’d version(176mb) to Phillip that he can use if he wishes or have 2 links maybe.As far as rar is concerned the new winzip now supports rar.

  45. alsobozzie

    I had no problem installing, but I seem to have a problem with my keyboard. I cannot change weapons or “run’, but crouching and movement is ok. Are you supposed to be able to change weapons?

  46. you cant run/sprint or change weapons without the suit and you dont have one at the start of the game excluding the intro on the ship.

  47. reflex

    I have the same problem, I’m already playing level 3 and I can not change weapons. Also I don’t see the ammount of live or ammo. My screen is totally clean, just Freeman’s hands and the rest of the normal things, but no indication numbers. I was hoping to find the suit, but nothing. I can reload my weapons, but I can not select them. I can not run either.
    ??????????

  48. the suit is in the first level off of the locker rooms.You pull a switch on one side of the room and a door opens on the other side

  49. reflex

    I swear that I can’t find it..
    can you be more specific please.. I must be blind!
    Thanks!

  50. When you break out of jail and go through the vents you end up in hallway.when you go down the hallway a cutscene starts.When its over go through the doors on the right into a locker room.Go through another set of doors to some more lockers.On the left side of this room is a switch,use it.A door on the right otherside of the room will open.The suit is in there.

  51. reflex

    Got it… but that door never opens. It’s closed as a rock. It’s there anything I have to do in order to open it?

  52. There is a red lite on the switch.When you activate it it will be green.On the door with the suit is a red lite.It will turn green also and open.

  53. reflex

    Oh no… I mean, I can’t open the door that gives acces to the lockers room in first place, from the main hall. After the cutscene, I tried to opened it, and I can see through the glass a combine soldier and a prisioner in the other side (lockers room), but there’s no way I can open the f**** door.(!) I’ve tried to find a way to open it, but no results.

    ???????

    and thanks a lot for your help, andyb

  54. the only combine and prisoner I see are at the left doors.go to the right

  55. reflex

    Well, maybe it’s a glitch in my game, cause the door at the right is closed, and it doesn’t open. Unless I have to do do something to have it opened. Should I ?????

  56. there are 4 doorways here.You come out of one.The one on the left is locked.On the other side of the room is a doorway with a forcefield.The doorway to right is the only way to go.Its a double door and only one half opens.And you need to use your “use” key to open it.

  57. reflex

    Hey andyb
    Thanks a lot for your help, budy.

    Now I’m stuck in the place where the snipper is in the tower. There is a door that goes to the helicopter, but there is a forcefield and I can’t go on. There is an RPG right next to the entrance.

    ????

  58. There are 2 buildings there.Each has a weapon.Take your pick and shoot the sniper.Once he’s dead there is a magical power surge/short and the forcefield goes away.RPG is what I used but be quick and make sure you got lots of health.Also the door to the one building wont open till the sniper shoots it.

  59. The Abandoned Workshops

    Gameplay:
    One thing that makes this modification fresh is the new voice acting made for it which is done well compared to a few other releases. Fresh because the cut scenes throughout are worth listening to instead of the same old default character voices that will eventually get boring to hear again. The mod is split into a few chapters but overall I found it to be a short but it remained solid until the end with a few bugs here and there.

    The first level is set on a boat with an introduction to your mission from a rebel before the combine helicopters start to attack, and this section remains easy. From then on, you?re stuck in a combine prison and must escape with the character you were told to save by the rebel at the start. Lots of cut scenes and interesting ideas to continue onward with the gameplay such as the large pipe idea, without spoiling anything. You’ll be fighting several combine soldiers and a few zombies and barnacles later but nothing too difficult.

    As you venture into different areas you?ll keep coming to some nice ideas that will keep you immersed to play on, especially the elevator shaft sequence that was a great highlight and the scene before that too, which I won?t spoil either. I haven?t found all the bugs as mentioned above, but I experienced one after the large pipe sequence where the other character following me wouldn?t continue his sequences making it impossible to continue forward, which will happen if you go ahead of the planned flow. It happened to me when I pressed a console from the other side of a gate, so avoid doing this even if it looks possible.

    Design:
    The structure throughout the modification isn?t the greatest but it?s decent enough that creates good levels throughout the few chapters and giving an instant idea of how the area is formed. All the corridors and other rooms were a decent size that didn?t cause any faults in some of the fights but a majority of it was detailed using a lot of props that made it a little boring.

    However the texturing was good enough like the structure and fit where they were assigned to and used well. Lighting was moderate throughout but the red lighting was quite annoying in spots, since I don?t like the intensity of the colour used especially with my eyes. There were a few atmospheric locations in a few levels, some of them are the view from the ceiling windows and the other one is from the tower the sniper is from, it made the location feel huge. Secondly, the way the facility is falling to bits adds to the atmosphere again that anything can happen which makes things more interesting.

    Conclusion:
    Fresh, solid mod with new voice acting and decent design throughout. Worthwhile release.

    Rating: 90%

  60. Fluffy the Hamster

    Number of Maps: 6
    Score: 4 out of 5
    Annoyance Rating: Alot. Some puzzles are *#@!ing impossible.
    Lighting: Too varied to say, but everything is reasonably bright.
    Architecture: Convincingly Combine prison-esque with an emphasis on pipes and some duct-work.
    Textures: Appropriate, though outstanding in areas.
    New Models/Skins/Etc.: Nay/Yay/New music, voices, etc.
    Gameplay: Puzzlingly combine murder with a dash of zombination and a lack of antlions.

    Story?:
    You are, for heavens sake, Gordon “Intergalactic planetary intergalactic” Freeman and you have boarded a fishing ship to invade an enemy base to rescue one Richard “Stop touching me, Gordon. It tickles.” G. Newell, as opposed to fishing like any normal person would do. Of course, things go wrong and you are thrown to the seas and captured by the Combine. In the back of your brain, you scratch another line in your skull to mark another time that you’ve been captured.

    Onwards:
    The first thing you may or may not think is the arse kicking of the ship that you have set your doomsday feet on. Yes. Worship it’s amazement for the short time as it exists, before the ship is destroyed by those evil Combine helicopters that always arrive to mess things up. After a short talking with your soon-to-be-captured superior officer, you are forced to approach the outer walls and shoot down a helicopter. Fortuantly, having a PhD in Theoretical Physics also covers swimming, as you are forced to take a nose dive into the sea. Woosh, woosh. Load next map!

    Okay, so that was an intense beginning, Where am I? Oh, hello. Yes, yes. Tell me your *secret* plan right infront of the metropolice. A sneaky trap, eh? Tricky. Find an object to throw at that panel over there? Sure, why not. Whoa! Shocking!

    So, the beginning starts with the awesomest of awesomest and gets the pumping of the blood immediately. You get to meet that Richard guy, who rigged your escape (God forbid that you don’t have an exit route). You get to indirectly kill an oppressor through the power of your mind. After that, you must escape to.. Yes.. A vent. Almost makes you *miss* headcrabs, doesn’t it?

    The mod is a jaunt through tactical and puzzling action. Your main man is Richard, whom provides indirect assistance (Essentially filling the role that Alyx usually does) until you meet him a second time in person. You save other citizens, but these are few and far between. Richard serves a more active role after you rescue him. He’s not as cool as Barney, or as sexy as Alyx, but he will serve you well regardless.

    Gameplay is essentially Half-Life 2. It’s more of the tried and true, essentially. Instead of the other mods, who try to be different with weapons, models and such. Rock 24 instead focuses on creating a believable and useful NPC to follow through the storyline. It does it quite well, but it still leaves anyone who’s downloads mods for a change something to be desired.

    The graphics are nice enough. Nothing too brain overwhelming, but nothing of the puke colour either. Apart from the boring blue suit, you also meet a multi-coloured set of citizens, most of which are expelling fluids of the red variety onto the floor. Once you reach the surface, the graphics take a turn from dark, depressing combine engineering to a more bright, human side.

    Smart-eyed bastards will note the fact that there is several windows to the outside world, yet no way to get through them. How considerately depressive.

    Voice overs are aplenty, and most of them arn’t that bad. Richard’s voice isn’t perfect, but it’s probably one of the best voice overs i’v heard in a mod. Most of the other voice overs don’t measure up to them. Fortuantly, They a few and far between, so things are happier. The worst offender is the Man With Rocket Launcher, who’s voice possibly turned me psychologically deaf.

    Map design is distinctively mirroring Half-Life 2’s usual mapping. It’s not too stellar, but it enjoyably gets the job done. Maps are well constructed, well textured and well populated. There’s even an elevator that drops down to the ground at 50 MPH. A nice nod toward’s Half-Life, I suppose. Even retina scanners are populated around the areas, requiring you to employ the services of a nearby NPC to open.

    This is close to a perfect mod. What’s the problem with it? It’s not perfect. There are a few errors (Most to do with NPC scripts) and some of the puzzles are hard to figure out. You fight most of your enemies yourself, rather visiting the dead bodies of your friends rather then live ones. There’s also a lack of antlions, which was slightly depressing, but whatever.

    Summary:
    Massive slaughter of Combines of every kind, to the help of your friend in an orange jumpsuit. Zombies linger around to answer to your crowbar throws a little variety into the party.

  61. Quintesse

    I don’t know what’s wrong, but the mod installs fine, it shows up in the Steam list but each time I want to play it an error pops up saying that the game isn’t available at the moment?

    Does anyone have any idea how to fix that?

  62. I’m not sure but it has happened to a few people(Not just for this game either).Try reinstalling steam and see if that will fix it.

  63. fenrir

    Hi, I am stucked in outbreak (3)shortly after Richard says to me: We have to kill all enemies before we can go on…do you here me Gordon? or sth like this. Then me and Richard uses two fixed machine guns to kill all combines. Then there is a force field and I can’t open it. Richard still holds the postition on the MG, though there are no more combines left. How do I open the force-field?

  64. Hi, I am stucked in outbreak (3)shortly after Richard says to me:

    Happened to me too. I think it’s a bug that has been mentioned somewhere. I simply went back to a slightly earlier save point and played again.

    It worked for me first time but you may have to try other saves, depending on how far back you went.

  65. SmokersCough

    I’m almost 100% sure I fixed the Richard being stuck on the gun, upon killing all the enemies it should force him off it, look around the whole area, there may be a combine troop standing still somewhere. 🙂

  66. Quintesse

    Even tried on a completely different system but still no go. Damn, I was so looking forward to playing this.

  67. fenrir

    No, sorry. I tried loading different savegame and walked through this area for hours. But he doesnt move away from the gun…I gave it up and played HL2 Deathmatch 😉

  68. Even tried on a completely different system but still no go. Damn, I was so looking forward to playing this.

    Let me ask you this.Do you have HL2 or HL2 Episode 1?

  69. Quintesse

    Let me ask you this.Do you have HL2 or HL2 Episode 1?

    Both, I first installed Rock24 without them installed,then I tried again with only HL2 installed and finally I tried with both.

    Basically tried everything that was suggested in this page: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Talk:Rock_24

  70. b3d

    Hey! Im still playing this mod, I really like it so far. But I was wondering if there is a walkthrough for it. Dont ask why, but I like to use a walkthrough sometimes when I play games like these.

    Thanks 🙂

  71. It doesn’t have a walkthrough because it was generally consider easy enough not to need one. However I would like to get into the habit of adding something like a walkthrough for almost all mods.

    If you get stuck don’t be afraid to ask for help because there are plenty of regular readers willing to help out.

    Your comment reminded me that there are supposed to be a few minor secrets within the mod and I haven’t found out about them. Has anybody else?

  72. Could of sworn I posted allready today that I’d do one but just for parts that maynot catch a normal players eye.I gotta get rid of this flu.I’ll trade the flu for a bottle of beer.Hell I’ll buy a beer if someone takes it.

    Good night.

  73. Oldy

    Great mod guys – really enjoying playing it but have got stuck again 🙁

    I am in the d3_theescape map and have jumped the gap in the bridge, killed the combine and used the explosives to knock out the plug.

    What do I need to do to move onto the next bit? The console in this room has a switch but it is de-activated. I have also tried using the boxes to climb onto the building in the middle of the hanger but once I get over there you still cant progress.

    TIA for any help you can give…

  74. just stand at the console and wait for your buddy to talk to you through the console screen.

  75. Oldy

    just stand at the console and wait for your buddy to talk to you through the console screen.

    Thanks for your help but after 15 mins waiting at the console still no joy. In fact, “my buddy” hasnt moved and is stood at the entrance to the hanger and is as useful as a chocolate teapot!

    Has anyone else suffered the same problem?

  76. SmokersCough

    Might be a bug i’m afraid, we did have a few issues with Richard Not triggering the message sequence. Try loading a save prior to that.

  77. Oldy

    [quote comment=”60091″]Might be a bug i’m afraid, we did have a few issues with Richard Not triggering the message sequence. Try loading a save prior to that.

    Thanks for the tip. I have tried to reload from the level b4 but still no joy. Will try again and let you know.

    Even with the slight bugs its a great mod – thx for the effort you have both put into it :)[/quote]

    Ok – 2nd reload worked a treat – straight thru til the end! Loved the final, sheer class – thanks once again 🙂

  78. dobo

    Ok sure you guys found the puzzle easily, call me Dumbo but I’m stuck after the stairway crashes and Gordon has to find a way to go up using the elevator.
    Can’t find a means to use it.
    Is there a way to get to the switch to turn off power (water is deadly) or a way to enter the small room adjacent to the shaft ?
    Please brighten a dull bulb …

  79. SmokersCough

    Indeed there is, Look at the water and you can see it becomes electrified every so often, try jumping in there when it’s not electrified!!!

    Good luck.

  80. jase

    There are 2 buildings there.Each has a weapon.Take your pick and shoot the sniper.Once he’s dead there is a magical power surge/short and the forcefield goes away.RPG is what I used but be quick and make sure you got lots of health.Also the door to the one building wont open till the sniper shoots it.

    Hi
    im just wondering… u could see the sniper, right?

    because the bullets just look like there coming from the wall to me. So im basicly just shooting the wall over and over again. 🙁

    tried restarting the level, still no sniper shows up.

  81. im just wondering… u could see the sniper, right?

    Yes, I believe I did but you won’t have long to look (unless you cheat and use God mode) because he will hit you very quickly. I used a rocket and aimed at the window, IIRC

  82. jase

    yep, just tried out a rpg and it work fine..

    What a great mod, the finishing battle and ending was superb

  83. Teus

    Hi, im stuck trying to free Richard. I find him in the jail, then he ask me to turn the valve. I break the door lock, turn the valve, the pipes on the top explodes and nothing happens. He is still in the cell. Im doing something wrong or this is a bug?

    Thanks for any help!

    By the way, really a nice mod! 🙂

  84. SmokersCough

    Richard also tells you to shoot the chain out above the security area. So look around for a chain to shoot out. 🙂

  85. Teus

    Thanks dude! Now it worked! My english is bad so I dont understood when he said “chain”. Unfortunally there is no subtitle to help me.
    Also, my video card is old and the chain is not visible from the ground, so I give some random shots to the top until I find the right place!

    Thanks again! Excelent Mod!!!!

    By the way, there is any place where I can get some modding tutorials? I tried the valve developers site, but there is not much tutorials on their site.

  86. Anonymous

    i am stuck early on in wake up call, in the deserted landing. tried everything I can think of, with no result. please help a confused old man.

  87. SmokersCough

    Can you be more specific, do you mean after you have escaped the cell, are you trying to get out of the room?

  88. Anonymous

    sorry – I mean once you have left your cell, got past the sentinel guns, and the door shuts behind you. you’re in a hub-type area with a closed room in the centre. I have tried everything from short-circuiting the loose cable hanging by the light at one end to using the barrels to climb over the force field. I’ve tried the level three times now and am totally stuck. help!

  89. After you leave your cell & crawl through the vents, drop down & go immediately to the room in front of you & disable the sentry guns. Walk forward & the door will shut behind you. Now, going towards the circular structure in the room, make a right & go through the doors. You will see some lockers, go right again & you will see a set of doors on your left & on your right (but directly in front of you). Go through the doors on the left hand side. You’ll see a fence with 3 switches behind them. Throw the switch with the red light until it goes green. When you turn around to leave the fenced area, you’ll see a bright green light & door that has opened up across the room. Follow through to that room. Voila, HEV suit. Then go out of this area via the other set of doors on your left (coming out of the HEV room). Walk back to the circular structure. Richard will be talking to you. Climb around the stairs to the top & take out the combines that start attacking across the catwalks. After you have killed them, go back down the spiral stairs & Richard will have gotten you access inside the circular room. Once inside the room, he will eventually get a weapons cabinet to open. Grab what you can. He, also, will disable the forcefield. Push the red button on the console at the end of the stairs & a door at the top on your right will open up. Go up the stairs, through the door.

    I truly hope that’s right area you were talking about since you right after the cell & forcefield.

  90. I cant believe people find this a hard part.Maybe I should do a video just for this section?

  91. Now, now. We shouldn’t undermine the intelligence of people needing help. That’s what we’re here for (sometimes). Goodness knows, you’ve leant lots of help to me in places that were clearly obvious to other people. Heck, I’m just glad I could help somebody else instead of them helping me!

  92. SmokersCough

    To be honest I think it might have been a bit of bad design, I didn’t make it obvious that the doors can open, especially if one of the double doors doesn’t open (the right hand one) then the player may just think they are both shut! IT’s THE LEFT HAND DOOR UNDER THE BRIDGE THAT THE GUARD WALKS UNDER 🙂

  93. *cough, cough*

    did everybody get that?

  94. Anonymous

    to be honest I thought I was stupid. but I tried those doors on the off chance and they didn’t work – as you say I must have tried the right hand ones. are you sure they look like openable doors? they didn’t to me. whether I am in a minority or not I don’t know.

    anyway, thank you very much for your help – looking forward to the rest of the game now!

  95. You were probably just having a bad day & looked at them funny! 🙂 The problem I had (which I never figured out & had to noclip through) was the next part after G-man’s appearance. If anyone would like to share the secret there, I’d like to play through it again proper.

  96. No secret.Go to the door and hit the “use ” key.

  97. Doh! How completely moronic I feel now. It’s the other door that opens up, but only briefly. I guess I never made it around to the other side of the fence to see it open. I actually thought it was a bug of some sort. As always, thanks andyb.

  98. Kyle Johnston

    Rating: 5/5
    Good: Plenty of action, Superb architecture and level design, Great voice acting.
    Bad: Original Half-Life 2 weapons and enemies.

    Review:
    This gem came to me by way of a short email message, and I am very glad I received it. In Rock 24, you play as Gordon Freeman, who while enjoying a ride on a fishing vessel, is attacked by the dastardly Combine. Your overall mission is to free Richard G. Newell, a brilliant scientist working for the rebel resistance. However, you quickly become entangled in the same predicament Newell is. Your mission is to find Newell and escape the prison on Rock 24.

    Rock 24 has all the right bits in all the right places. There is lots of action throughout the course of the game, and you won’t be disappointed with any of it. Each encounter with the Combine is different and unique, which brings me to my next point – the level design and architecture. Exploring Rock 24 when you have a breather will really tip you off to the time and effort put in by the developers. It really feels and looks like a prison. Concrete walls, warning signs, individual cells… the whole nine yards. The architecture of the maps is logical and interesting, with computers in the right places, turret stations in appropriate places, and switches and gizmos placed well too.

    Finally, Rock 24 has some of the best new voice acting of any mod I’ve played, Half-Life 1-based or Source-based. When the characters talk, it doesn’t sound like it was done in the basement of a house using a $10 Logitech microphone. It sounds exactly like a regular retail game – there is no echo, static, or any distortion at all. And of course, in the Source engine there is lip-synching, and Rock 24 has this as well. The characters” mouths move with the words they are saying.

    The lack of custom/new weapons and enemy models is all that is keeping Rock 24 from being the first Source-based mod to receive the Excellence Award. Personally, I don’t like the Half-Life 2 weapons, so if your mod has custom weapons, you’re already in very good territory. And as for the enemies, character modeling can be difficult, but it would be nice to see some really brand-spankin” new ones as well in future mods of all sorts. Lastly, how does Newell get to walk around the prison freely while I am stuck in a cell? And how does he know how to operate everything the Combine has? Ah well, these are but small quibbles, so overall I would definitely recommend downloading of Rock 24, and of course, playing it as well.

  99. Fred

    Well done game, but I just got stuck early into it.

    I am in the wakeupcall map in a room called D7. I turned off the electricity in the booth and now I can see sky above the room.

    I am tired of walking in circles. How do I get out of here?

  100. There is a ladder on the wall near the other cell you weren’t in. Use it to climb up & around. You’ll eventually see a vent to crawl through.

  101. SmokersCough

    If you are talking about the wires hanging from the ceiling that were electrified, then the way out is via vent.

    Look around and you can see it! Try walking up the metal beam that is sticking out of the rubble.

  102. Fred

    I’m impressed. That is an excellant mod. You should be proud of it. 5/5

    With some mods, you finish and you are glad. Not the case with this one. I kept wanting it to go on and on.

  103. Flammable

    Awesome mod… but I’m stuck on the big room where there’s a large vehicle in the corner, a huge pile of boxes, and a broken bridge. I jumped over the bridge, and blew up the plug to destroy the forcefield to get into that small room… but I can’t figure out what to do now?

  104. SmokersCough

    If you look carefully in that small room Richard should appear on the screen and tell you to press the button, at a certain time it will turn green and then you should press it. If not you may have run into a bug, try reloading a save.

  105. Flammable

    Ended up reloading a save, and it worked. Thanks!

  106. Telios

    Hi.
    I am stuck in the room with the circular locked
    room and forcefield blocking the two stairs.
    I went to the switch and got into the HEV room
    and returned to the main area. Climbed up to the
    top of the circular room, but no combines to take out. And Richard is not talking to me. The map seems dead. There are no triggers happening.
    Map name: d1_wakeupcall_02.
    Please help.

  107. SmokersCough

    Hi Telios,
    have you actually picked up the HEV suit, you must do so before Richard will contact you. If you have then chances are that you have encountered a bug, (sorry about that) Try reloading a previous save and let me know what happens.

  108. Telios

    Hi Telios,
    have you actually picked up the HEV suit, you must do so before Richard will contact you. If you have then chances are that you have encountered a bug, (sorry about that) Try reloading a previous save and let me know what happens.

    I finally got it going last nevening. It’s functioning correctly now. Thanks for the help.
    Great game, I love it.

  109. jack

    Ok I feel embarrassed, but how the hell do you get passed the first helicopter, right out the bat you come out and shoot at it, all the guys die pretty quick and I’ve been shooting at it, Ive hit it with rockets at least 25 times… am I supposed to shoot something on the ship? cause Ive shot that and a lot on it several times, and nothing, hell Ive shot every thing and nothing happens. please help, I really must be missing something.

    PS for the guy who is having problems switching weapons, use one of the SMOD variants, strip all the files that are unnecessary and would overwrite important game info, so you just have the core and the guns and such, and merge it into the rock24 file, It lets you drop guns, so you can drop and cycle by dropping and picking up.

  110. jack

    ok, nvm lol I shot the helicopter about 10 more times and it died, just a tad bit of advice and no offense is meant cause you have one helluva level set going for you that looks like it took a tremendous amount of work… something I learned from the hard core super inflated super stat based type games as well as the generic what is now console like shoot’em ups (aka second generation pc shooters like quake and such) well, its that repeatedly smacking a guy till he dies, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, (to stress my anguish do note that I didn’t use copy paste for that) in the same fashion till you run out of some obscene amount of hit points that make no sense as to the level that your at, and while thats really beside the point as that the repeatedly smacking is retarded enough, it just plain isn’t fun.

    To be specific its not only obviously redundant, but its tedious, its mind numbing, I wont even go into the carpel tunnel thing, and most of all its been done so many times that its insulting.

    Mabey Im so passionate about this because somewhere along the line I became a huge tactical shooter fan, but variety is everything in a game and people need to do something new, hell thats why I wont play the vanilla hl2’s combat scheme as that generic run n gun is boring as hell. Thankfully the smod and smod tactics exist, and I wish all of you could play this mod the way I play, but Im not sure if I can release my version of the ST since Its been modded and tweaked in every way, but since its based off of their original program set up Im reluctant to do so… either way, what Im trying to get at is that well… why would you make a fight where you shot at a chopper in the same fashion, with no developmental signs of when its going to die, FOR OVER TEN MINUTES!!!!

    Fortunately this is not a poster child for what I was ranting about up there, just that one part, please, its much much cooler if you actually have a fight, not a spiting match, see FEAR or MANHUNT or Condemned or Riddick for what I mean by that.

    Sorry for the rant, really, just kinda got going there, but I do hope you can understand just what I mean by it.

    PS: most of that anger isn’t directed at you guys.

  111. Sergio

    Please can anyone help me with this mod … I’m stuck on the 1st level after a shoot the second chopter .. then what???

  112. Sergio, I had to start this one again to remember. For me, I didn’t get to take the 2nd chopper down. In the midst of the battle, the screen fades to white & you hear Gordon breathing & then the next map loads where you wake up in your cell.

  113. Sergio

    lol .. that’s funny .. maybe I’m too good, I wans’t suppose to get the 2nd chopter …

    thx anyway, but I started the 2nd level manually and got to the end already

    Pretty good mod though

  114. J

    I have made it past the section with where “Richard will be talking to you. Climb around the stairs to the top & take out the combines that start attacking across the catwalks. After you have killed them, go back down the spiral stairs & Richard will have gotten you access inside the circular room. Once inside the room, he will eventually get a weapons cabinet to open. Grab what you can. He, also, will disable the forcefield. Push the red button on the console at the end of the stairs & a door at the top on your right will open up. Go up the stairs, through the door.”
    I make it to where the vortigaunts appear and give me some power… then I can climb past the rubble – I am able to enter the little room with a zombie and the “hazardous waste” but I can’t get past this point…. I see a hole in a brick (cinder block) wall with a light on a generator – but I cant fit thru there…where do I go from here????

  115. Ha … refer to post #97, J. Had the same problem.

  116. J

    Doh! How completely moronic I feel now. It’s the other door that opens up, but only briefly. I guess I never made it around to the other side of the fence to see it open. I actually thought it was a bug of some sort. As always, thanks andyb.

    hmmmm, that didn’t help….i have the door control panel glowing green – the door with the zombie is open – what other door am I looking for… I tried the “use” key on them all with no luck

  117. Go back to the console & press the button again – the door on the other side of the fence (the side you broke the lock on) will open momentarily. That’s why I had the problem & thought it was a bug. You can’t see it open standing at the console & it only stays open a limited amount of time so I was just never fast enough (or clever) to back up & look.

  118. I’ll just have to wonder what lies beyond the first four minutes of this mod. What happened to me is: My comrades and I dispatch the first gunship that appears. But as soon as the second appears, I’m left alone. Then, a second gunship appears. There are no health or suit power-ups. There were two ammo boxes to start with, but one of them has disappeared. The only ammo box that is left requires me to go through fire to access it, and every time–and I do mean every time–I finally get to it, I am immediately killed with a bomb. I can get a couple rounds of rocket launch ammo from fallen comrades, but these gunships take an ungodly number of direct hits to take down (how many is it–five? six? ten?). Cover is scarce.

    I found this mod way, way too hard, even on Easy mode. I tried a couple dozen times, and then gave up. Downright aggravating.

  119. Your supposed to lose the battle with the gunships.putting it in god mode wont help you need to be captured in the first part in order for the mod to continue.

  120. I haven’t used god mode with Rock 24–I hate cheating (I normally have sv_cheats set to 0 in fact).

    But I understand now. I do lose the battle with the gunships. I get blown up, right off the ship. The first time this happened, though, the second map didn’t seem to load. Maybe I didn’t wait long enough–because it seemed clear to me I had been killed! (Nearly dead to begin with, then blown 100 yards from a near-direct-hit with a missle!) After the first time that happened, I didn’t wait at all after being blown off the ship–I just hit F9 immediately.

    I just tried it without hitting F9, though, and [b]Wakeup Call[/b] does indeed load. Thanks for the advice.

  121. **SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT**
    **SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT**

    These comments contain minor spoilers!

    I just finished playing this mod. Some random comments:

    The voice acting was pretty flat and therefore not very good (sorry). But…there was voice acting, and having it added a very important dimension and level of interest. I wish more maps/mods included it.

    As can be seen in my first comment above, I had some trouble with the first map. It wasn’t obvious at all to me that rather than being dead, I was about to enter the second map. I really appreciate the basic concept, though: Rather than defeating all enemies, you lose and are captured instead. I just wish it had been done a bit differently.

    I encountered some problems. For example, in one spot, I had just come down off a lift, and went forward a bit, where I found Dr. Newell. But he said absolutely nothing. I eventually assumed I had to go back and kill a couple enemies I’d simply rushed past a moment ago–and rush past I did, because that’s more realistic to me (i.e. less risky, and to conserve ammo). After killing those enemies, Dr. Newell finally spoke. But I missed most of it, since we were so far apart at that point.

    There were a few things that seemed…goofy to me, for lack of a better word. For example, in one spot (right before I got on the aforementioned lift that took me down), the two men who were fighting with me stayed behind. But…why? There were no enemies around, nor anything for them to do, nor anywhere for them to go. It made no sense to me. In another spot, a female NPC said (in an emotionless tone) “I’m too injured to go with you” (or words to that effect). But she looked absolutely fine.

    I didn’t care for the elevator sequence, which essentially requires the player to die before figuring out what course needs to be taken to proceed. I was glad to be a Quick Save addict when that happened.

    The endgame was ridiculously difficult. I went against my usual tendencies at that point, and simply enabled god mode, to avoid frustration.

    This mod looked great. The environment was more realistic and more thoughtfully designed than most I’ve seen. But for some reason, playing it seemed to be as much work as fun for me. As a result, I played it in short intervals, rather than my usual several-hour gaming excursions.

  122. JT

    HELP! newbie trying to escape the BIG BIG room with the small fire burning in the middle, with one tall broken walkway overhead and a chained fence towards the other end that you cannot seem to get into. This is not long after re-uniting with the prisoner guy outside the elevator. There are bloodcurdling screams coming from the other side of the big room. I cannot figure out what the next part of the puzzle is. i’ve tried stacking boxes to jump over the fence, I’ve tried running and jumping to the other side of the broken walkway, etc. No luck. Thanks for helping!

  123. If I’m thinking of where you are there is a set of stairs.Climb up and jump over the broken part of the walkway and go to the console and listen to what they have to say.Oh and stand on the railing to get mor distance.

  124. Yeah, you have to make that jump and it is possible. You might want to do a quick save right before that part so you don’t have to keep walking back up the stairs. Once you have made the jump & killed the baddies, your friend tells you what to do to get past the blue forcefield. Hope we helped!

  125. JT

    THANKS!!! damn now I finished this game!

  126. Mel
    Play It Now!

    The story is one of rescue and escape.

    After the intro sequence gliding over the S.S. Rebellion at sea, the opening map finds Freeman receiving his mission details: find and rescue rebel leader Richard G. Newell. The action is soon to commence.

    On easy setting the mod gives a couple of hours play time. With the 200Mb plus download I was expecting longer play time, but this mod does pack a lot of content.

    The essence of the mod once you release Newell, is to jointly fight and navigate your way to freedom. This is achieved by interactive gameplay between the two main characters, with Newell providing both help and hindrance, depending on how he feels when you the player, get around to playing the mod, or what mood he is in when you next reload. it’s not all bad with plenty of opportunities to separate and go your own way to carry out tasks and experience some more typical elements of HL2 gameplay.

    There is not a great variety of the HL2 cast with mostly common Combine troops, supporting scanners with the odd turret gun emplacement. Except for one major encounter with headcrabs the alien world is thinly represented. There are few other enemy forms that await you, but that’s another story.

    The interaction with Newell continues to the end of the mod, in some ways it may have been better after a period of joint encounters, for the authors to cut Freeman loose and then maybe join up again with the end scene. After a time the inconsistency of Newell’s actions and reactions drags the pace of the mod down and you end up feeling like leaving him. Yes, sad I know, but it’s only a game.

    The set design is good if limited due to much of the mod taking place within the HL2 prison complex. The best of the design and layout is afforded to the two main battles scenes against the Combine. Here the architecture opens up giving the players opportunities to demonstrate their gaming skills within sets admirably designed, scripted and orchestrated on a grander scale.

    Textures and attention to detail is adequate, with neither having much significance to the prison area, and little need for incidental furbishing elsewhere.

    The puzzle and task solving elements are mainly negated with the influence of Newell, who if not close at hand always manages to find a screen to interfere with the proceedings.

    The mod contains some new stuff noticeably in the form of Newell with face-lifts to some other members of the rebel force, these are convincing and have you thinking if they were part of the original HL2 cast. Lots of new voice acting with again Newell being the leading actor. His voice was good, if a bit like Barney form HL2. The other cast members are not so good and it would have been better if they had kept their mouths shut. Also some of Newell’s voice was drowned out by background sound effects, which I thought was bad scripting. The introduction and first level based upon the ship would appear to be a unique piece of work. The ship is well designed but the set is a bit cramped for action play. Also, the cabin furniture looked out of place, I am being picky now.

    Now for the “not so good bit”. There are some issues with this mod that I don’t think should be dodged and I see no reason why potential players should undergo the frustration that I and others experienced. However, in fairness, it’s possible to play through the entry mod without encountering any of the following. The biggest issue I and many other players had is with the lift sequence but I will do my best not to give spoilers here. it’s not difficult to figure out what is required to complete this sequence; achieving it is another matter. The key is to trigger a means of escape from the lift. You may need repeated attempts for this to either trigger or activate in time.

    It appears that some of Newell’s actions are triggered by voice scripts and if you don’t keep to the intended paths these may not trigger leaving you wondering “what next”. I also got killed in a few places without any apparent reason. Just to add that the level loading on the ship is very long and you lose the loading screen and caption, give it time.

    Negatives
    Trigger Issues.
    Limited use of HL2 cast & hardware.
    Some bad voice acting.
    NPC script issues.

    Positives
    New content including Skins.
    Some good voice acting.
    Some good NPC scripting.
    Well executed Combine battles.

    Conclusion
    The highlight of the mod for me are the two major pitch battles against the Combine. Almost every other aspect of the mod has good and not so good elements. Newell’s actions were positive at times leading from the front, whilst on other occasions he did nothing with his back to the action. At times you did not know who was leading whom. The voice acting was likewise hit and miss and you can make similar analogies with gameplay and the overall content. What there was, was good but a lot seemed missing.

    This is still a good mod and if you can play through without encountering some of the issues, it’s a very enjoyable experience ranking alongside some of the best HL2 custom mods to date. Nevertheless, I cannot help thinking that the mod was not tested to the full, with the few issues raised being simplistic in form and obvious by their presence.

    Thanks to the “Two Blokes”, look forward to more from you in the future.

  127. Henley Bailey
    Play It Now!

    Thanks for the review Mel, the problems you encountered were mainly due to not wanting to spend another 6 months on something we wern’t getting paid for. There came a time where we decided we needed to just wrap it up and get it out.

    Neither of us could keep spending the time we were on developing Rock 24, it was so much work you wouldn’t believe it.

    So, we got it to a state where we decided people would get a decent experience, hopefully without experiencing the bugs we knew of. Obviously, some people would get bugs we didn’t know about as we only had our rigs to test out on. Luckily we have both worked as games testers so could do a lot of the testing ourselves.

    We did send it out to 4 other hl2 guys who played through and gave us their thoughts and bugs. We fixed as many as we could but had to leave some as things that may appear simple or an oversight could actually be a huge headache for us to fix… so we didn’t. 🙂

    Anyway, glad you recommend it and hope others will give modding a go so we can play some new stuff too!! ;D

    Cheers,

    Henley.

  128. Mel

    Nice of you to respond Henley. I can fully imagine the need to pull the plug, there must come a time when you reach saturation point and run the risk of doing more harm then good, also a need to get on with life. it’s easy for someone like me to say something is simplistic and obvious, but another matter for the developers to actually change and correct an issue, so I must apologies for sounding a bit presumptuous in my conclusions.

    All at PlanetPhillip appreciate the work, effort, time, sweat and tears that must go into a project of this size, and we thank you once again.

  129. DustArma

    **SPOILER ALERT**

    I didn’t care for the elevator sequence, which essentially requires the player to die before figuring out what course needs to be taken to proceed. I was glad to be a Quick Save addict when that happened.

    lol, I didn’t die the first time on the elevator sequence, but I didn’t jump in time but instead of dieing, I landed in one of the grids around there, only taking 20hp damage, but obviously I had to restart because there was no way for me to get there without using noclip, so I just reloaded andm spent most of the ride in top of the elevator =P

  130. Mel

    Yes, I experienced the same, what amazes me with this elevator sequence is that when it works as intended, it’s smooth and sweet.

  131. Ezequielhl
    Play It Now!

    This mod is great! The mapping is the best of it: precios triggered sequences and visually stuning maps.

    There’s something not very good with the enemy placement, but this is a must-play mod for everyone HL2 fan =D

  132. wezeys

    yeah! this mod is so awsome I played it over 10 times!

  133. Lantathae
    Play It Now!

    I really have no complaints t all about this mod. I only downloaded it last week and I’ve played it through twice because it is just brilliant. The voice acting is a lot better than any other mod that I’ve played and the action is well balanced. I personally like the fact that there are no anitlions but there could have done with being more zombies.

  134. Anon-01084
    Avoid It!

    The puzzles were all annoying and frequently didn’t make much sense. To its credit, however, it did not have the no cheating things that The Citizen had, so I was able to skip through some of the more annoying ones. Unfortunately, that seemed to be what most of this mod consisted of. The fighting was mediocre at best and not much thought seemed to be put into making it interesting in the least. More like they made the levels then put the NPCs in as a afterthought. Sorry, but I have to say:

  135. Mistress of Pain
    Play It Now!

    Very awesome game, especially for someone like me who really doesn’t have the time to always sit down and play a game that is 6 to 10 hours long. It has a few flaws. The combat is a bit sporadic and some of the puzzles can be a pain…specifically the incident with the elevator. Still I recommend to any fan of Half-Life!

  136. StonedEmoCat
    Play It Now!

    This is a very great mod. It is a full game, and is full of action. This actually doesn’t veer too far from the true storyline.

    @phillip: This is a final version. They released it on the Valve Dev Wiki.

  137. This is a final version. They released it on the Valve Dev Wiki.

    I believe the version I have is the latest version.

  138. Kyouryuu
    Play It Now!

    Unlike others, I saw the elevator bit coming a mile away. I mean, come on, it’s Half-Life! City 17 is bereft of elevator inspectors, AMIRIGHT?

    But back to the mod, people have already said what they thought was good about it and I mostly echo it. The mod did a pretty good job of setting up the scenario and establishing Newell as a recurring character. The architecture is… different. Not in a bad way, but it’s not what you’d expect coming from the Half-Life universe. Though I never quite understood where Rock 24 was situated, the scripted sequences with rocks crashing through windows and such really gave the impression that the place was falling apart.

    I’ll focus on the parts that I thought were odd. SPOILERS ahead.

    – The sniper confrontation is just awkward. You sneak your way over to the hut with the rocket launcher and, where is the sniper coming from? That sci-fi looking building on the horizon? That guy has some aim! Trying to return fire is difficult since your movements are controlling the rocket and you are invariably trying to get out of the sniper’s line of fire.

    – The fact that Newell can die. In the “chain room,” after the Combine invade, I wasn’t aware of the mounted guns in the hallway, so I tried to actually defeat the Combine on my own and Newell died in the process and without warning. Using the mounted gun, it was pretty trivial however. The chains themselves confused me a bit. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re going to have an NPC bark orders at the player, you ought to have a couple variants on the line and make them repeat it every 20-30 seconds as appropriate. Some of us just don’t get it the first time.

    – The ending confrontation with the rebels versus the Combine Soldiers… something just felt broken about it. The Combine kept spawning from an unseen location, leaping down the platforms, and immediately die at the hands of the rebels. I didn’t even have to intervene as I watched some 20-30 Combine jump to their deaths. Very odd.

    But minor issues aside, it’s still a fairly enjoyable experience and well worth playing. There is some unique stuff going on here that’s worth checking out.

  139. Jeff
    Play It Later

    Overall, this was a very good experience. The storyline and most of the voice acting were engaging, but it’s greatest strength was also it’s weakness.

    Your rescuee was annoying at times, and the occasional cameragrabs were intensely annoying and disorienting. At one point, the solution was to let this mad scientist rescue the girl, while Gordon watched from the shadows. What’s up with that!?!

    Overall, ham-handed storytelling techniques occasionally got in the way of an otherwise excellently executed story.

  140. antipancake

    Ok so.

    I can’t get past the elevator part. I get in, press the button, the doors close, then I go up. Then I Fall. I always die. Then, I put buddha on to see what to do, but im just stuck in the elevator. I cant get out.

    Any help?

  141. Gotta keep the vort alive and get him in the elevator if I remember right.I know for sure he can’t die

  142. Scratch that.I was thinking of a different mod.

  143. SPOILER ALERT!
    antipancake:

    As soon as you hit the elevator button, climb out onto the roof on the considerately placed crates; then ride to the top, where you must jump to the other elevator car before the one you’re on falls.

  144. Play It Now!

    Damnnation, that was a fun, short mod. Some of the trigger points were odd, and I had a helluva time getting out of the first scene in the prison, but once I figured out how this thing was built, it was a good run, and kept me interested. Yes, the vioce acting was a bit “flat”, but whaddya expect from amateurs?? And no, that’s not a dig: it’s a defense. No way y’all would have what you needed to make voices that sounded “professional”, and I don’t think it detracted from it one bit.Henley et al: good job. And thanks, I think most of us truly appreciated it.

  145. badblood

    The levels in this mod are of good quality; you do feel that this is a prison converted for more nefarious Combine purposes. However, I think other elements of the game fall short.

    First off, this scientist you’re supposed to be rescuing seems like a self-insert Gary Stu. I mean, why is he free to run around the whole prison without so much as a slap on the wrist? When he meets Gordon in his jail cell, the Metrocop tells him to get out of there instead of getting the ass-beating he richly deserves. Another time, he tells Gordon to stay put while he goes rescue a rebel woman (played by his girlfriend!). Gee, thanks for playing the game for me. I mean, seriously, why bother getting Gordon to rescue this guy when he can clearly take care of himself? Heck, why is Gordon in this game? Why not make the scientist the main character?

    Also, what was with the Vortigaunts doing their Vortessence ritual in the middle of the prison (and just disappearing after that)? It had nothing to do with the story, and seemed like they were there simply for the cool factor.

    About the voice acting; the scientist and the first rebel you meet on the boat were decent, if a little flat. However, the others… not so much. The Metrocop sounded particularly dorky, which didn’t help with the lines he was given (“Don’t mess us around!”). The woman you rescued was also obviously reading off a script. The end rebel is also guilty of this, but had the double whammy of having bad sound quality (the microphone crackles as he speaks).

    As mentioned, the camera grabs were distracting, and ruined the immersion.

    Anyway, I’d play this just to have a look at the level design (the huge hangar door was one of the highlights). Otherwise, it wasn’t a very fun game to go through, and I’d reserve it for when you have nothing better to do.

  146. I’ve got a problem… The link for the file seems dead… Where can I find it???

  147. FRD

    Already in the first mission (overboard) the guy isn’t talking (I guess the trigger isn’t right?). I come in the captains room and there is just a guy standing in front of me and don’t saying anything. I can put on the HEV suit but that didn’t change anything..
    I would really play this mod! Could you please help me to solve it?
    PS when going directly to the second mission, the graphics are popping up all the time so there’s something wrong too, maybe a Source Engine update that broke the mod?

    1. Kasperg

      Yes, the Source Engine update broke the mod. It uses a different system for the precache of WAV files for scenes that will only make them work with scripts (I’m guessing Rock 24 used wavs directly, as The Citizen). As for the graphics popping up, the new version of the HL2 engine we have now is weaker and has a much lower limit for polygon drawing. This has been happening to many other mods.

      1. FRD

        This fix linked to in the bottom of the post worked.
        The triggering is now good, but there is still no sound coming from the persons conversation. He is making hand and face movements but isnt saying anything. Thanks to Phillip for showing me the fix! 🙂

          1. The fix/link that edited the gameid stuff.

            1. Anon_223218

              where is the fix link, as I have the same problem.

  148. Anon_226806

    i’m stuck at the very beginning. the guy won’t talk and I can’t get out of the room. what’s the problem?

  149. Anon_229194

    i’m stuck at the beginning room! the npc won’t talk he’s just standing there!

  150. Anon_229195

    oh sorry I didnt see the comment above
    lol

  151. Play It Now!

    GREAT MOD! I really loved the part with the Metrocop bullying a female prisoner saying, “Move it, bitch!” I’ve ALWAYS wanted a Metrocop to say that line! XD

  152. Play It Now!

    I forgot that I had played this mod a ways back and never put up a comment which this time was a plus for me. I loved this mod from start to finish, it was well put together with a wide variety of areas and objectives to do. Yes it had a few flaws and glitches such as the elevator sequences which was somewhat frustrating but that didnt take anything away from me for the mod as a whole.

    As Jasper so kindly placed in his comment above you do need to go to the link he posted for the “fix” since the valve update, its a simple dload. Overall I would recommend this older mod to anyone who has yet to play it

  153. wut

    This mod is broken.

    I can’t get past the first guy in the game. He just stands there, not talking at all. The fixes that were pointed out earlier don’t work either.

    1. 2muchvideogames

      Source updates have broken this mod very badly, but don’t fret, it’s still playable. There is a long steam forum thread that tells what to do to get this mod to work. That said, the mod isn’t worth all this hassle as I’ve played so far. The first map features a bunch of minute-long freezes for some reason, and later maps are prone to script breaking. I’ve already broken the gameplay two times, first when I opened a door by using a button on the other side of that door, and second when I jumped from a broken railing up a staircase that I wasn’t supposed to be able to get to. Lack of subtitles is also a big thing for me, although subtitles are quite an easy thing to do in mods, these blokes didn’t do it. Certainly worth a play, but in my opinion, not worth all the work to get it playable.

  154. I’d love to play this but Steam broke it horribly and the link to the fix is down. Could someone put it back up somewhere or something please?

  155. Jottle

    Anyone have a new link to the steam fix v3? would like to play this.

    1. Try the MapTap beta, it may fix it.

  156. There is again a SteamAppId Problem !!!

  157. So many mods don’t work these days. Human Error, Eye of the Storm, Citizen for example.

    MapTap shuts down if I try to install some 7z files – eg darkstar.

    Many thanks for the effort that goes into the app though. It’s enabled me to play and replay many mods.

  158. This release has now been updated to work with the Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer engine.

    Full details have been added to the post and in the new download.

    You can see all the other releases that have been update via the TAG: SDK2013 Updated. Remember, releases get updated regularly, so check back often.

  159. this is best prison break mod ever
    The voice acting,level design.story,etc…
    I LOVE IT!

  160. Play It Later

    Worth playing.

  161. Play It Later

    This one is a bit of a mixed bag. I don’t want to be overly critical because it’s clearly the result of a ton of work (and I’m now playing it 14 years after it came out), but there are problems if you look at it with a critical eye.

    Pros:
    – Excellent detail and use of brushes/textures – I think this mod creates a more realistic ‘regular’ prison feel than Nova Prospekt (which had that specific ‘political dissident prison’ feel), in a lot of ways, and has more variety in terms of textures and props

    – An actual story that recycles assets and tropes from HL canon in a fitting way

    – Return of the ‘Subject Terminated’ death messages a’la original HL, which I’ve always loved

    – Custom voiceovers are of a higher quality than is often seen in non-pro Source mods, as well as being (mostly) lipsynced properly

    – Appropriate and timely use of ‘cutscenes’ with camera movement control and choreography

    – Much longer than your average mod, with lots of distinct levels

    Cons:
    – Despite looking fine with ai_show_wireframe, combat feels a little bit janky. Enemies often don’t move as you’d expect, just stand still, or are funnelled toward you into a barrel shoot

    – Voiceover volume is inconsistent sometimes – often they are too quiet to hear properly, then one will play with clear clipping artifacts (this is just a pet peeve of mine as from an audio engineering point of view, it’s very easy to avoid, even if the mixing with ambient sounds can be harder). A lack of subtitles doesn’t help with the above either

    – Despite looking great, sometimes the amount of props and size of the levels makes movement cramped; the dreaded situation where you ‘bounce’ down corridors because the props are too wide to allow movement of the player hull

    – Lots of miscellaneous bugs (dissapearing props, the infamous buggy elevator scene I had to noclip through)

    Overall it’s decent with some minor annoyances, so just be prepared to godmode or noclip past the buggy parts.

  162. Play It Now!

    Great looking. Plays great. Couple of issues when you first start. Items ghost in and out while you are in the cell. Could have used a few more scattered combine here and there to break up the dead spots but still good. Like the “Raiders” nod.

  163. Personal Favourite

    This is very much a personal favorite of mine. I never heard of it until I came across it using the page’s randomizer. I played it once and I am about to play it again. It took me just about an hour to beat it. That is including me not knowing exactly where all the triggers and enemies are. If you are reading this, please play it now. I thought it was old, I thought it was going to be one of those mods that didn’t age well. I was so wrong. The only thing I wish could be improved is just the quality of life fixes that I might do for myself when I have time. Props only slightly disappeared (and reappeared) in the second map and I have no idea why.

    Score Sheet

    Usage of space and world brushes: 9/10
    Oh my god. Where do I even begin? I have a lot of great things to say. The corridors felt like they were designed with moving large boxes in mind and not just there to move prisoners. I think I actually like this prison better than Nova Prospekt. I know Proskect was designed with Alcatraz in mind, but this abandoned prison just seems so much larger. Reviewing my footage, I will say that the brush work definitely seems dated. It seems blocky and flat in areas, but still blew me away that this from 2006. Only 2 years after hl2 came out.

    Visuals 7/10
    I know I praised the brush work, but the visuals didn’t impress me as much. A lot more could’ve been done that was included in HL2. I don’t know how Valve did it, but the displacements seemed lacking in most areas of the prison. Usage of particles is kinda minimal. The thing that impressed me the most is the boat ride on the way to the prison and the in-game cut scenes. I think that saved it from being a 60%. The reason I give it only 70% though is there is a lot of glitchiness with the props in a lot of areas that didn’t really sit well with me.

    Gameplay: 8/10
    Again, the boat ride at the beginning saved this from being lower. I loved that intro sequence. I didn’t find it frustrating at any point, but I did notice I didn’t really loose that much health. Maybe I just got lucky, but I only died a few times at the beginning and at the end with a poorly timed quick save. The ending thought seemed a bit silly, combine soldiers were just pouring out of like two exit doors that were very close to one another. I could just RPG them until the stopped spawning. OH! I just remembered that somehow the creators of Rock 24 got combine jumping working. It looks a bit silly, but I don’t remember jumping quite that extreme at any point in the run.

    Final Score: 24/30 – 80%

    Final Comments: Personal favorite of mine. I only have two personal favorites so far that I have ever played. A lot have come close, but this mod itched my brain in just the right spot. I think it had something to do with the in-game cut scenes. I love that kind of camera work.

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