After almost 10 years, FakeFactory releases the final version of his Cinematic Mod for HL2, CM 2013 Final, and ends further development on it.
He may return to the project, once the Source 2 engine is finally released.
Good riddance.
And the world rejoiced.
Not so much, from what he was able to squeeze out of and accomplish using the antiquated Source 1 engine. Review the changelogs during the course of the Cinematic Mod’s development.
I’ll have to try this one out I don’t think I ever got around to it. Also what was the name of that other HL2 overhaul? I thought there was supposed to be a final version of it coming out sometime soon as well.
Maybe if you had the damned technical skill to use your resources effectively and efficiently you wouldn’t feel that way so harshly.
Anyway, this news bothers me less than the fact that I accidentally tipped over an empty water bottle just now.
Why isn’t that empty water bottle in your recycle bin, already? Do so, before you trip on it and fly headfirst into your Zenith 20" TV.
I had a link to the mod’s forum, but I just discovered they’ve gone into hiding, for some reason?
If only that was complemented with a proper aesthetical sensibility instead of completely changing the mood of the game with out of place models and music.
Sure, you can argue that’s optional but come on, that’s nothing but the actual intention of the author.
You know, it is named Cinematic mod. The whole purpose is to transform it into something that looks like a Hollywood production.
I’ve never played it but It does look quite polished. I heard he wanted to code for BMS but he was de-nied
EDIT: Did anyone ever get around to deleting all of the ridiculous porn graffiti, literally every twenty feet? I suspended my disbelief with half foot thick titanium cables but that shit was just too ridiculous, even for fakefactory.
Some of the stuff was pretty cool but there were a number of things I disliked. For instance, the new character models. Half looked like aliens trying to imitate humans based on anime characters, the others looked alright but nothing like their original counterparts. Barney got changed from a normal looking, slightly overweight security guard to some square-jawed action hero type. And Alyx was changed from a regular, practical, no-nonsense action woman into some borderline porn model. Second was the music, which was all taken from well-known movie soundtracks and such, and every time I hear the music I’m like, “Wait…what? Where do I know this from?” Third was the odd foliage. CM made the foliage much more lush, which is alright, although it makes things a bit less dreary, which is kind of the point, and some of the trees look downright weird and bloated. And then there is apparently the porn graffiti, which I didn’t even notice.
Anyway I know some of this is optional and can be turned off, and some of this may have been changed since I last tried it, but the point is that FakeFactory’s mod has always reflected his specific ideals for Half-Life 2, and that of course divided fans of the game. Some appreciated his changes, some didn’t. I think the reason that people here are so vehement about the mod is because they appreciated Valve’s original vision, and would have been happy to have a simple graphical update or even a BM-style remake, but not one that differs so greatly from the original, like CM’s does.
The thing about it that irks me is that the lack of thought put into the mod is astounding. Often the placement of things and just the things themselves don’t make any sense. It’s like Uwe Boll ate some transformers dvds, the batman soundtrack and a playboy magazine then opened up hammer and just had bowel movements all over everything.
That was a wonderful image 
I just looked into this mod and WTF? In some cases they did good work improving the terrain but everything else seems moronic. Alyx looks like a porn star, Barnie looks like somebody else entirely, and I’m sure it only gets worse from there.
The models and soundtrack are completely optional, turn those off and you’ve got HL2 as you know it with much better textures and effects.
That’s the cinematic mod in a nutshell.
It’s the young modder’s “might as well throw THIS in there” mentality. What’s sad is that it lasted for 10 years.
I don’t think he’s that young I remember reading about the fake factory mod seven years ago on his website and I’m pretty sure he said he was forty something at the time so who knows he might be fifty something now.