Oohh pretty cool. I like!
You know what would be even cooler? If you applied
… to the grating on the floor, then bumped down the lightmap scale for the walls and ceiling! 
(Also, turn on some sort of AA while taking screenshots… I forgot to do this with some of my Hazard Course screens and I regret it deeply).
Uplink is really kinda “meh” from a gameplay/technology perspective unlike The Lost Coast which at least offered a technological showcase (HDR lighting) and a boss fight. I’m not exactly sure what this chapter was meant to offer and it kinda makes sense that it got cut from HL proper.
Some suggestions for improving the remake:
- Regarding adding the names in game of the $5 donations, I’d recommend making this subtle (as opposed to a locker room or something) as it could negatively affect the immersion of the game. An easy way to do this is at the opening chapter, where the names on the list could appear on a computer monitor. Something to the effect of this:
Lambda Core personnel
-Science team:
[insert names]
- Security:
[insert names]
This has the advantage of not being intrusive and also bypasses a potential issue where you get too many donors. You can simply extend the list. Just make sure to allocate the names such that the Science team isn’t A-M while security is N-Z (you want a mix of them in the different groups).
-
The radar dish layout in HL uplink is incredibly stupid/unrealistic, especially having the different agencies (e.g. CIA) as lights SURROUNDING the dish. Not to mention that it’s indoors. To make this area make more sense, first have a control panel near the dish that lets the player TOGGLE between the agencies. That way you can delete the lame lights surrounding the dish. When the player chooses the correct agency and pushes the button to send the transmission, you can script the dome to open wide and have the scientist elevate Gordon and the radar dish such that it’s outside, giving you a wonderful nighttime view. It’s a nice reward that reinforces the iconic nature of the scene.
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I think either the presence of some Agrunts or black ops would help to spice up the feel of this chapter…you don’t want to introduce too many enemy types here but one new enemy type should help improve gameplay. Canonically, both enemies have already made an appearance by this time (~Lambda Core) so their inclusion would make sense.
-
The warehouse sections are really begging for the presence of black ops as they actually make effective use of the vertical terrain, which give this storage area some gameplay purpose. They could be placed either in the first section, where they would make a major substitution for the HECU (4 would be ideal here), or you could add a pair at the base of the radar dish (not effective terrain use) or after the HECU/vort section, which is probably the best placement to not affect the feel of the chapter. If you decide to implement this, make sure to keep the black ops AWAY from the HECU sections, as they don’t work together. Their presence makes sense w/in the story as they are attempting to suppress the research facility’s contact w/the outside world.
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Agrunts can simply be placed w/the vort warp-ins. If you opt for the black ops instead (which I think is better for gameplay), the Agrunts can simply make a cameo as corpses in the warehouses. That would justify the HECU’s presence and especially the .50 cal emplacements in the first area.
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Do not use an electricity effect when the metal corridor falls toward the end of the chapter. While it was there in HL, it’s not only unrealistic but also discourages players from climbing into the shaft.
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The houndeye toward the end of the chapter is meant to lure the player into a zombie trap. Consider making it temporarily invincible such that players can’t wreck the script.
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Use the same fadeout sequence from The Lost Coast for the end of Uplink…it actually creates the effect that the Gman is extracting you, which makes sense cuz obviously you survive and appear in HL2. This would also let you keep some consistency w/HL canon, or at least Valve’s technological showcase chapters.
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Regarding the voice acting, you should consider contacting the BMS voice actors or the devs to get their assistance. Either that or search out some other voice actors now that can do Barney and the scientist. If you don’t do this, the mod will most likely not be integrated w/BMS as there’s legal reasons why the devs can’t use these assets. Obviously, this would be a shame. Also, don’t forget to release the final version of this mod under a Creative Commons Licence.
That’s it for now. Good luck!
Open beta aswell, cause I guess we can find more bugs if we all work together like on Texts’ maps
@Wangman: I’m nearly at the end of the development cycle, so I can’t take any more suggestions.
About #9: I don’t expect the BMS devs to release this remake with their product. Plus I would never have them integrate this into their storyline either, because that’s not what it’s meant to be. As for Uplink’s speech assets: they were released with the demo, what was called “shareware” at the time, so using those won’t be a problem.
If the BMS devs are interested in releasing Uplink with an update of BM, I would obviously have their voice actors redo the speech, along with some other things like the garg animations. But again: unlikely scenario.
@dragunov: Beta testing is in final phase now so no more use for public beta. It’s also a lot easier for me to manage a small team.
You can always use the charity version as the last beta and make some improvements for the real final version later. The main issue is just the radar tower layout…it’s utterly nonsensical.
I know. I even dedicated a commentary track to that exact issue, explaining why the receiver dome remains as it is.
In other news, this little project was voted into the Top 100 of best Mods of 2012 on MODDB! And therefore it’s currently nominated as Best Upcoming MOD for Half-Life 2.
If you like my work, please consider voting for it on MODDB! You can find it by scrolling down to Upcoming Mods and clicking on the Half-Life 2 button. Thank you for your vote 
Would you be able to implement the same commentary feature as in the Half Life 2 Episodes? And did you say on the ModDB page that you’re planning commentary for the whole level?
Yup, I’ve added the same system as Valve uses. I’ve recorded 13 commentaries for the MOD Sadly I don’t have the best recording gear, but the quality is good enough to be clearly understood. Plus it has subtitles, so it’ll be fine.
Yay! So that means it’ll be toggle-able in the menu select?
MOTY2012[/SIZE]
Released: I’ve voted Black Mesa
Upcoming:I’ve voted Black Mesa:Uplink
Y’all in the forums should do the same.
Don’t worry.
They’ll work in the same way of HL2 or TF2: it’s a Source engine feature
Yup, I’ve reinplented the option in the menu.
Please can you tell me how you added new chapter in chapter selection when you click new game ? Because I’m making my own Xen for Black Mesa and I really need this feature.
I can tell you how it works but be aware that the problem with your Xen remake is that the actual BM Xen maps will overwrite your chapters as soon as it is released or vice versa. A manual load might be better to prevent conflicts. I used the chapter0 slot, which was unused by Black Mesa, so I bypassed that problem.
Anyway, check the info here to see how it’s done.
Okay thanks ! I will see what I can do.
Few days remaining and we’ll be playing Uplink!