HL Mods that you should know about!

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:23 am

Well, its that time again. A new year, and new postings everywhere stating where they are, and if you should play them or not! What are they you say? Mods for Half-Life silly! I have a short list of the ones i've played recently, and I think they could use more fans. Love or hate them, some of these have some good ideas behind them which deserve some play.

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Ah, I love moddb, they have been so good to the modding community. All links and games should work and I played them recently using Steam, so they are compatiable! Just find the download area, and you're good to go.

If you have questions, comments, or complaints, post them! Of course, good comments are better than bad comments. Let me know what you think? Please! It would mean alot to me... *sniff*
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HL1 (Old school, baby.)
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Afraid of Monsters - http://mods.moddb.com/6145/Afraid-of-Monsters/

Note: "Ahhhhh! What was that!?!" kind of sums up this mod. It has a very creepy, yet fun Resident-evil feel to it, as well as an odd...uh, creepiness factor. This is not worth playing in the day, or very well awake. I recommend playing at night, with headphones, with very little or no sleep. I did, and sleeping was odd the next day. Has a few annoying puzzles, and low ammo count, so conserve or run like hell, its not like they wont catch up to you anyways. The last level is rather creepy too, it kinda got to me. It ends on a light note, so dont blame our drug user for being a loser at life, OK? He still goes where you all probally go.

Night At The Office - http://mods.moddb.com/951/Night-at-the-Office/

Note: Now this mod had a very challenging element to it. You are a worker for a parcel business of some sort (if I remember correctly) when suddenly you are under attack by terrorists! Why? Its clear near the end...but before you get there, you must crawl and sneak your way around until you find help, procure weapons, and dispense justice to these bastards. The ending itself however...made me want to throw myself out of a high-rise building, mainly because it was very, uh..yea. You'll see. Mainly the light, but you'll see! This mod has no hero's, only hapless victims! Was pretty fun anyways.

HL2 (Aha! On to the good stuff!)
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SMOD - http://www.geocities.jp/faster_down/smod_bak/

Note: I know its in Japanese, but the downloads are at the bottom, the most recent is at the top. If you click around long enough you can get t o the forums, which offer a decent translation as well. This one puts ALOT of fun (weapons, bullet-time, etc) into HL2. Normal SourceMods install applies, it will copy files over on its own (and is pretty small to boot!). Updated rather frequently..from what I understood anyways. This one might keep you busy for quite some time! Shame there are no custom maps...but great anyways.

HL2 Substance Gold - http://ludus1942.ngi.it/index.html

Note: I've been following this one since it was first announced, maybe you've heard of it? It really adds a sense of style to the original HL2 gameplay as well. Many features (weapon sets, MGS-type theme, different difficulties, etc.) and gets updated often enough to keep it alive. Rather large loading times for some, but it runs pretty smooth after the 1st or 2nd time in game. Read the readme just in case you arent sure what to click on first. Also, beat it to unlock an extra weapon set, which makes you into a virtual god, without the 'God-mode'. Once again..nothing really unique map-wise, but one of the modes makes it almost impossible to beat.

Mistake Of Pythagoras - http://mods.moddb.com/6422/Mistake-Of-Pythagoras/

Note: There is no real way to explain this mod, so play it and see what I mean. Its very weird, and is pretty damn challenging sometimes. However, this is one of the best and most original mods i've ever played. It was put together so well, after its over...you kinda go, "What the..." and think about playing again. Many puzzles, but nothing that shouldn't make your head explode. There is one rather cool section half-way through the mod, which I wish never ended. If you play it, you'll know what I mean. Definately worth a play in my book!

Combine Destiny - http://mods.moddb.com/4807/Combine-Destiny/

Note: I admit this one is a bit...average. However, it was rather challenging and a bit amusing. Your mission is to explore a deserted base...but what lerks inside doesnt want you there. Mainly dark areas, use your flashlights men! Shamefully it wasnt as long as I hoped it would be. However, I dont regret loading it up, mainly because the arcitecture was pretty nice, and the gameplay was rather solid, despite its somewhat frustrating nature. Beware that load when you 'fall' , it might take a minute to catch, so dont think its broken if it does.

Ravenholm - http://mods.moddb.com/4878/Ravenholm/

Note: No real explanation needed, since its pretty straight-forward from the get-go. Long mod, low ammo, you will have to think and move quickly to avoid getting eaten by ravenous hordes of zombies. Save often, but beware...apparently parts of the saves carry on through other maps near the end, creating long load times. Might want to reboot if it bugs you, I know I did. Also, beating it lets you play it through again, but with the gravity gun this time! Ok, so its not that great of a prize. By the way, its in Czech with subtitles. All in all, it's bit better than some other ones i've played, so...above-average.

The Island - http://mods.moddb.com/6197/The-Island/

Note: Very linear, and "not one of my best" as the maker puts it bluntly. Basically you are stuck on an island, with mutated people that are now horrific creatures, and you want off! (sounds like a bad TV show) I did however find it rather amusing, and it was a bit addictive. The part with all the leapers (you'll know if when you see it) was nuts, but do-able. It ended on a short note, leaving me wanting more. Overall, it wasnt that regretable. Maybe the maker will do something of an even higher caliber next time.[/b]

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Well, thats all I have run into so far in the past month or so. If I encounter more, i'll link them. (There were others, but I had a really, really bad time playing them, so i'll spare you those until I can put a decent posting of the 'Worst Mods' together some time in the near future.) Its hard to keep track of all these....sheesh.

Edit: Also, im trying to gather some of the much smaller mods and post their links as well. Some of them are pretty fun as well.

HomicidalApe · Post by **HomicidalApe** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:44 am

very cool, those 2 hl1 mods....i'll check those out for sure.

Emerica · Post by **Emerica** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 3:05 pm

Tell us your opinion when you are done playing them.

Riddick.j2 · Post by **Riddick.j2** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 3:32 pm

Yeah especially on that first one ape, sounds awesome.

Gr|m · Post by **Gr|m** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:02 am

are any of em multiplayer?

renesis · Post by **renesis** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:18 pm

Minerva?

http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/curtain.shtml

tubbins · Post by **tubbins** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:36 pm

Downloading Afraid of Monsters... looks badass

Edit: HOLY SHIT. This game's scary as hell

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:36 am

renesis wrote:Minerva?

Im not worthy to post that ;o

Besides, there has been no new map lately. The first installment was good enough, you cant really browse a site about HL2 SP mods, without stumbling over it.

Clutchmat|c · Post by **Clutchmat|c** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:20 pm

vegetarian! i miss playin cs wit you! back in the day......| Franky | Snatch | lol

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:09 pm

Ah, hey Franky. Yea, I sorta miss the old days too. Before Steam anyways.. (argh!)

I dont do much anymore, its hard to keep track of every damn thing that flys around these days. Now I usually play mods for HL2, and City of Heroes/Villains. I suppose maybe I got tired of multi-player for awhile. 6 years was about enough for me probally, maybe later this year i'll get back into the game.

MouseR · Post by **MouseR** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:53 am

Alien Swarm: Infested.

http://www.blackcatgames.com/swarm/

They have a mod out for UT2K4, It's damn good. I think everyone who has UT2K4 should try this out. You'll probably find no servers running it. It's a mod that really doesn't get the recognition that it needs.

If you're really into teamwork then this is a real treat.

A couple of the j2 members play so don't worry about playing by yourself. Myself, Locke, Sometime Bl4nk and Ripper.Blue plays. =)

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:54 am

I have UT2k4, I should install it some time. Im a bit bothered by the space it eats up though, so I have to free some.

venalicius · Post by **venalicius** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 6:29 pm

wssplat wrote:I have UT2k4, I should install it some time. Im a bit bothered by the space it eats up though, so I have to free some.

Thats great considering that this is the hl2 mods forum.

Post by **bl4nk** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:50 pm

venalicius wrote:
wssplat wrote:I have UT2k4, I should install it some time. Im a bit bothered by the space it eats up though, so I have to free some.
Thats great considering that this is the hl2 mods forum.

You really should read the other posts before trying to say something like that. :P

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:13 am

In case you havent heard about it on PHL or another HL-related website, the Single Player mod 'Causality Effect' is now out. I have yet to play it, but have time set aside tonight for such activities.

http://causalityeffect.irswedish.com/

Will post my after-thoughts once I complete this mod.

Also, this caught my eye recently.

Kaufmann House - http://www.twhl.co.za/mapvault_map.php?id=3657

If the download is too slow, this link should suffice as well - http://www.cstrike-planet.com/maps/969

As noted, it is NOT a playing map, but merely a showcase of what skill, and some floorplans can do in about a months time. It was rather nice looking if you ask me. It really shows that there are no real limits to hammer/source as long as you put in time and effort. Not worth your time if you just love to game however, but I found it rather pleasing to the eye. Might eat up FPS like mad though..I need a new card to really look at this beauty.