Use your newfound knowledge to make your own mod. Maybe then you’ll understand how challenging is making levels that make sense.
already have done some stuff quite a few times, all very time consuming stuff, I used to map for CSS and done a bit with HL2DM and planned to do a mod for that too… I only started looking at single player last year but the stuff you can do is pretty fun… I like creating death traps in single player,
The only problem is that you know how to beat it because you put it together, but yeah, if only I had the time to finish off some of the ideas I have had, work comes first and It is quiet at the minute so I got some spare time to mess about with stuff, just doing some little projects to keep me ticking over. YES I AM BORED 
I want alive scientists too, but i dont want them on bigmomma level.
That actually brings up a point…
I DO want them on bigmomma level. That way she has someone besides us to fuck up at a molecular level… And actually look threatening.
The Gonarch never really seemed to intimidating to be even with it’s size and strong attacks. Some crash test dummies could rectify that.
But it’s way too late for anything like that.
I’m pretty sure the Gonarch and the ending boss levels are very hard to make nice and challeging…
These were very strange and not so fun chapters in HL1 I’m pretty sure I’ve read somewhere that they would totally change most of the Xen chapters so maybe the mod team tries to make something awesome of those chapters, and that might be one of the many things that keeps the mod from being released.
On the steam BM dev team group u can always see people working on the SDK, but not so much to, I have no idea if that means there are few things left to be done or if they lack people …
@Ronster: I’m sure it’s true that most elevator shafts have ladders in them. As for your picture, where the top of the elevator is actually open to show the ladder, yeah, that seems unlikely, but have you ever been in an industrial elevator? We have freight elevators in a couple of the buildings on my campus where I’ve worked, and they’re designed for functionality, rather than aesthetics. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see an elevator designed like the one you screenshotted
There probably already is an elevator LIKE that.
It’d be neat to see an alive-but-about-to-be-fucked scientist on Xen (near the end of the game but before the Nihilanth) in a battered, war-torn HEV suit, out of his fucking mind in complete fear and disturbance, incoharently rambling on about a large horrible monster, therefore acting as a suspenseful device for forshadowing the Nihilanth to players who don’t know what awaits them and bc it would be a very neat scene to have in Xen.
^ I like it, hope they put it in the mod. I can picture the scientist now:
“It wants our land… it never asks but it takes…they defile us!..hes not man, hes not man…screaming…I just wanna go home…” :freeman: walks on while the scientist keeps rambling.
Fuck yeah, bro. You know what i’m talking about.
EDIT: I’m moving that Insane HEV scientist idea to the suggestion thread hopefully to get some attention. i think the general idea is pretty simple and would be a memorable scene for players to really set the “Oh shitt…” mood before facing the final battle.
You might as well have a huge-ass sign pointing towards the portal saying “LARGE HORRIBLE MIND CONTROLLING FLOATING ALIEN BABY THIS WAY”.
While that idea isn’t ideal, but decent. I do agree that the Nihilanth could use some build up. Because it felt kind of random at first.
But I have to admit, that small, quiet space platform with the red portal was very intimidating. I always remember the scientist quotes being heard near that part.
"Big day today, freeman. "
"Thank God, you’re here! "
"Get him out of there, shut down the equipment and someone get him out! "
"It wasn’t meant to do this in the first place. "
Even less graceful then the crazy marine in Halo CE…
Wait…
That IS the crazy marine in Halo CE.
but, but, iss cool… some other members agree… it’s gotta be atleast somewhat worth it. it would be a a lil sequence to take in before facing the big motherfucker setting an appropriate mood.
and brokenfridgehinge: It’s not thaaat exaggerated. lol. i think a poor lil scientist in xen mumbling in fear wouldn’t be a big spoiler. it would just show the player that a horrible thing awaits.
EDIT: and the scientist’s gibberish doesn’t have to be audible. so it’s really not that much of a difficult scene to implement- scientist in the fetal position, with a some fun lines to read for him. It’s a good foreshadowing device and doesn’t give too much away obviously. It just lets the player know shits rough.
I agree… awesome Idea… He wouldn’t even really have to say anything… just look and sound scared shitless.
It was used to great effect in “Point Insertion,” with the pacing Citizen talking about the trains. That’s how to use it properly.
As for that elevator map I saw on the last page, that looks pretty rad. I’d definitely want a look at the VMF to see if I can fix your elevator problem. Failing that, you can always trigger the drop to happen when the player clears the ledge. I think you could parent a playerclip or something.
:awesome:
Haha what game is that?
:facepalm:
Borderlands, champ.