The 72-Second Experiment

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

15th September 2018

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For this Experimental Mapping Challenge, entrants had to make a map that lasted just 72 seconds, but they only had 72 hours to make it!

A lot could happen in that time, so don’t think it will be easy.

In addition, you might need to learn the correct route, actions or sequence before you can actually finish it.

There are 12 official entries and 1 bonus entry for you to play.

Basic Details
  • Title: The 72-Second Experiment
  • Filename: hl2-ep2-sp-the-72-second-emc.7z
  • Size : 64.50MB
  • Author: AnonymoScoot, Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile, Derek AKA Taz, The One Epicplayer, Mark AKA Strontvlieg, Sockman, ethosaur, 1upD, JanKaszanka, Tabajara77, XBLAH, Niker107, matt71490 AKA Event Horizon, Jacob Heywood AKA Salamancer​
  • Date Released: 15 September 2018

Download Options

Download to your HDD [64.5MB]

CURRENTLY THIS RELEASE CAN NOT BE USED WITH GAUGE. SORRY

Manual Installation Instructions
  • Copy the “hl2-ep2-sp-the-72-second-emc” folder into your “SourceMods” folder.
  • Restart or start Steam.
  • RTSL – THE 72-SECOND EXPERIMENT should now be listed in your “Library” tab.

Reviewing

If you decide to use the Per-Map Opinion Images, please either watch the video below or use the file below:

The 72-Second Experiment Review Template

Thank you.

Theme Details

Let me put it simply: You have 72 hours to make a map with EXACTLY 72 seconds of playtime.

We often talk about how it’s better to have shorter, more polished maps than longer weaker ones. By “polished”, we do not just mean visuals (lighting, textures, environmental art), but also gameplay, interaction, storytelling, soundscapes etc.

You can make your map action packed or only have a few interactions. It could be a beautiful scene that the player walks through and relaxes, a non-stop gunfight, or anything in between.

For example, you could create a map that can be finished in 72-seconds but only if done perfectly. That would allow replayability in trying to find the optimum way to complete the map.

You can simply submit a map that can be played in one 72-second sitting.

Ideally, we would like the text to be kept to a minimum. Everything should really be contained within the 72-seconds gameplay.

Locations, events, style of map are all open. The only limitation is the 72 seconds.

Full details can be found on the The 72-Second Experiment announcement page.

Deadline

The deadline for submitting maps was:
11am UTC Monday 27th August 2018

Entries

Prison Break by AnonymoScoot
Elevator by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile
The Meet Up by Derek AKA Taz
Move it, Maggot! by The One Epicplayer
Convenient Exit by Mark AKA Strontvlieg
Freeware by Sockman
Cliff Confusion by ethosaur
Bootstrap by 1upD
Dawn by JanKaszanka
Sewers Surfer by Tabajara77
Fast Daze by XBLAH
Coordinate 72 by Niker107
Race Against Time by matt71490 AKA Event Horizon
Inevitable by Jacob Heywood AKA Salamancer

Phillip’s Favourite

Without doubt my favourite here was Niker107’s Coordinate72. Not only did it look good and play well, it had a nice twist.

Honourable mentions go to Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile for his Elevator, which I felt was very creative and to XBLAH for his clever but incredibly frustrating Fast Daze. At the time of publishing the mod, I still haven’t finished it!

The Experimental Mapping Challenges don’t have any official winner or prizes as they should be seen by mappers as an opportunity for some creative fun. That said, I’ll send a few games to the 3 authors above.

Community Poll

Time for you to share your thoughts! Vote for your top 3 maps. Poll closes 16th October 2018.
The bonus maps have not been included in this poll.

Which are are 3 favourite maps from The 72-Second Experiment?

  • Race Against Time by matt71490 AKA Event Horizon (4%, 7 Votes)
  • Coordinate 72 by Niker107 (13%, 21 Votes)
  • Fast Daze by XBLAH (11%, 18 Votes)
  • Sewers Surfer by Tabajara77 (12%, 19 Votes)
  • Dawn by JanKaszanka (6%, 10 Votes)
  • Bootstrap by 1upD (10%, 16 Votes)
  • Cliff Confusion by ethosaur (4%, 6 Votes)
  • Freeware by Sockman (7%, 12 Votes)
  • Convenient Exit by Mark AKA Strontvlieg (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Move it, Maggot! by The One Epicplayer (17%, 27 Votes)
  • The Meet Up by Derek AKA Taz (2%, 4 Votes)
  • Elevator by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile (10%, 17 Votes)
  • Prison Break by AnonymoScoot (2%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 72

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More About the Experimental Mapping Challenges

Experimental Mapping Challenges, also known as EMCs, are short challenges, normally 50 or 72 hours long, with a theme that severely restricts and limits what mappers can do. The themes are chosen to allow a wide range of artistic interpretation. In addition, they allow mappers to take risks and try things that in normal maps they might avoid.

For more details visit the Experimental Mapping Challenges homepage.

Release Versions

0.9 – Entrants version to check everything worked.
1.0 – THIS RELEASE: First public version. No serious issues known

Steam Gridview Images

There are 14 custom gridview images included in this release.
To use them, switch your Steam Library view to Gridview. Right click on RTSL – THE 72-SECOND EXPERIMENT and chose “Set Custom Image”.
Click “browse” when a small windows appears and navigate to your SourceMods folder and the “…sourcemods/hl2-ep2-sp-the-72-second-emc/steam-gridview-images/” folder and select the image of your choice.
You can of course, create your own image and use that.
The number of the images corresponds to the chapter.

General Entry Rules

Maximum two maps per mapper per competition.
The map must be original and not have been released publicly before.
The map must run in system with only Ep2 installed
By entering the competition you grant PlanetPhillip.Com & RunThinkShootLive.Com the right to release the map as part of the Ville Mod.
Maps must not appear before the release and for one month after the release of the mod.
No assets from retail games other than HL2, HL2: Ep1, HL2: Ep2 and Lost Coast are allowed.
Other assets are allowed with written permission from their original authors, which MUST be included in the entry.
Phillip’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into about it.
The map MUST have a proper name.
The map MUST have a proper filename: MapName_ABC.bsp (ABC is replaced with the code for the mapping challenge)
All entries must be sent to: [email protected] no later than the deadline.

Panoramics

I’ll add some if I get time.

Video

You can see Phillip’s initial playthrough videos of all the maps in his review below.

Screenshots

WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.
One row is one map, and the order of the rows AND individual images are not in the order of the mod or playthrough – I thought I would mix it up!

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!
8 recommendations, average score: 3.88 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.86 (what's that?)
Total Downloads
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Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 6 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 6 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours, 52 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 40 Mins by PlanetPhillip
Longest: 4 Hours by Hec
Total Time Played: 11 Hours, 10 Mins
Categories (?)
Half-Life 2: Ep2 HL2-EP2 Mods Play
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Jump to a review
Phillip says Play It!Play It LaterPlay It LaterPlay It Now!Play It LaterPlay It LaterThink TwiceMaybe?

20 Comments

  1. PlanetPhillip
    Phillip says Play It!

    I was excited by this challenge. I felt the theme was perfectly suited to the time frame and open enough to allow plenty of interpretations.

    Sometimes we focus too much on the playtime of a release and not enough of the experience. I am guilty of complaining that something wasn’t long enough, in fact, I did that recently in BossVille with Jason Gimba’s entry.
    It was a concise and perfectly rounded entry, but because it was so short I didn’t give it the credit it probably deserved.

    Anyway, let’s see what authors managed to created with such a short required playtime. In case you don’t know, this review contains spoilers.

    Prison Break by AnonymoScoot
    It is okay

    Just a simple idea here: escape the prison. The map seemed to suffer from some stutter near the beginning, but not enough to make it hard to play. I suppsoe the red glow was the warning lights but it felt too uniform. On my first playthrough I got lost. I don’t know if that was my fault or lack or visual communciation from the author. Perhaps too much of the map looked the same. I have no idea where some many of the citizens cam from but they certainly got in my way. The idea itself wasn’t bad but it might have been better if the prison looked bigger, without allowing me to get everywhere.

    All in all, a fair entry but not too exciting.

    Elevator by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile
    It is good

    I thought this was a clever entry. The intro perhaps runs for a little too long but in some ways that frustration about not being able to do anything adds to the rush once you can.

    There were some nice tricks to keep you wondering what happened and even though I completed it, I still don’t know what it is all about.

    I got Portal flashbacks and I tried to understand up from down but nothing to induce vertigo.

    All in all, I fun idea with some neat touches.

    The Meet Up by Derek AKA Taz
    It is okay

    There’s no doubt there is plenty of action but the closed quarters of the corridor and intra-fighting means it’s not very challenging. Might have been better if there were a few more twists and turns in the corridor and no lift.

    All in all, fun to sit back and watch the world burn but too easy even for me.

    Move it, Maggot! by The One Epicplayer
    It is good

    Great little idea. race against another citizen. Would have been fun with a Combine setting that sees the loser killed but as it satnds the OP4 feel is also cool. I felt a little cheated by being killed in the water rather than penalised with a ladder and I also got stuck on the final part which I felt wasn’t clear enough.

    That said, I enjoyed replaying it until I finally won.

    All in all, a great diea, well implemented.

    Convenient Exit by Mark AKA Strontvlieg
    It is okay

    Safe is the word I would use to describe this. It’s certainly not a bad entry and it follows some simple rules: show the player the exit, demonstrate the use of the saw blades etc, but I never felt excited by the map. MArk seemed to have chosen the safe option.

    Of course, that’s so easy for me tos ay, sitting at my desk with all the time to compose this revfiew but when you have 72 hours to make something, sometimes you keep it simple, but I would have hoped he was a little more adventurous.

    All in all, a competent yet mediocre entry. Sorry.

    Freeware by Sockman
    It is bad

    I didn’t like this. The idea of 5 different settings might have sounded cool but actualyl playing it felt disjointed. None of the areas looked good and were too easy. That said, I don’t think I actually reached the end and I suspect there was s special ending. Visually, it was ratehr harsh and the only area that could have been fun to play was the survive one. Variations on the idea of dodging items falling from the sky could have been fun.

    All in all, this entry lacked a flowing excitement for me.

    Cliff Confusion by ethosaur
    It is okay

    Perfect name, because I was certainly confused. not sure if it was soemthing to do with my system but the FOV seemed to keep changing and that drove me crazy. The map itslef was a simple idea; collect some idtems to get soemthing to work, and it was fairly fun to replay it until I completed it.

    All in all, I feel it lacked something clever.

    Bootstrap by 1UpD
    It is good

    Not sure if it was me being stupid but I felt that there could have been a better radio message at the beginning. Something along the lines of mentioning that the monitors “in each back section”. I was lost for quite a while and I felt that I had to play it a few times to udnerstand what I needed to do. Personally, I prefer the idea of understanding immediately even if I need a few tries to actually do it.

    The map looked good and the core concept was good too. Might have been more fun with 3 sections that required a little more work as I felt I simply avoid all contact with enemies etc.

    All in all, a cool idea and quite fun to play.

    Dawn by JanKaszanka
    It is okay

    Yes, strange name but quite a nice setting. Runnign through some streets to reach an unknown area. To be honest, it was too easy, and I liked the idea of the windows breaking and revealing more enemies. The exploding crate was just silly and the final battle could do with some re-configuring. The Combine soldiers ignored me too often. Apparently there could be a back-story to this, so replay it if you are interested.

    All in all, a fun entry but one that should have been clipped to stop people like me from climbing out the map.

    Sewers Surfer by Tabajara77
    It is okay

    I totally missed the gnome at the beginning and really need to replay it to find out what happens. I do like the concept but maybe an airboat would ahve been more fun – yes, that would require a lot of map but worth it.

    All in all, a good diea, fairly well implemented, if a little bland to look at at times.

    Fast Daze by XBLAH
    It is great!

    Great didea except it’s too freaking hard, at least for me. A really clever concept that plays well and seems to make sense. If you are a great player this could be really fun, but for people like me (and there are a lot of us playing) it was just too frustrating. I didn’t even get halfway through I don’t think.

    All in all, a potential polarising map that you either love or hate.

    Coordinate 72 by Niker107
    It is WOW!

    Not only does this look great but it’s also very fun to play. I don’t want to spoil it but let me just say that things are not what they seem.

    All in all, my clear winner. Just the right length and difficulty. Great map.

    Race Against Time by matt71490 AKA Event Horizo
    It is okay

    In some ways similar to Freeware, where you have various rooms to run through. Just like Freeware it suffers from this disjointed feeling. I’m not expecting everything to make sense but there didn’t seem to be a difficulty evolution or plan. Each room could be run through with very little interaction.

    The one gem is the two citizens sitting in front of the television. Scenes like that for all the other rooms could have been really interesting.

    All in all, a weird entry that left me wondering if I missed something.

    BONUS: XYZ by Salamancar
    It is great!

    I haven’t finsihed this map. I didn’t want to kjeep playing it for the video because that’s just frustrating for the viewer and it’s clear that Jacob has put a lot of work into this. It’s a fine line between cleaver and frustrating, and at the moment this is more frustrating than clever for me.

    I’ll definitely need to replay this a lot more but I’m not sure if I will ever finish it.

    All in all, very clever but being seriously afraid of spiders I might just leave peppermint around this one.

    Summary

    Well, that was pretty fun. It’s always cool to see what different mappers make with the same theme. I feel that this would be a great theme to run again. Sometimes player and mappers need to see what people have made and try again.

    Anyway, there’s different more than 72 seconds worth of gameplay in most of these entries and you will definitely NOT completely them all on your first try.

    I would like to thank each and every mapper who entered and finish by saying that even though each map is pretty short some really get the maximum out of thos 72 seconds!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    40 Minutes
    Reply
  2. Duke

    Sorry, I only tried 5 entries but what an utter waste of time, I barely had a chance to work out where I was, let alone play it or complete it…some will like it I guess, but really ?

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      Any entry that could be completed on the first try is probably not very good. Some are definitely worth replaying.

      Reply
    2. zoe

      I agree with Duke. This Challenge is simply a Trial and Error approach that just becomes frustrating after the first couple of tries. It defeats the purpose of HL2 if you have to rush past the details and any action going on with the NPCs. I like to take my time with the scenarios. Re-playability is a function of the elements I may have missed the first time or the different strategies that I could do against the NPCs.

      Not my cup of tea.

      Reply
      1. Steve

        Same here, sadly. I’ve tried a few but it’s also not why I play HL2 so not my cuppa tea either.

        Reply
  3. matt71490

    I wasn’t a huge fan of this idea at the start, but it grew on me. Overall though, I feel like many of these maps would have been much more fun to play without the 72 second limit. Sorry if some of these reviews aren’t quite as long as they probably should be, but with many of these maps there isn’t really much to say about them.

    Prison Break by AnonymoScoot
    It is okay

    Its fine I guess. Didn’t do much terribly wrong, but then again, nothing exceptional. To be honest, I thought it was kinda boring after a while. Still a nice idea though.

    Elevator by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile
    It is great!

    My personal favorite. I would give it a “wow” if it wasn’t for the lack of any real gameplay. Great job.

    The Meet Up by Derek AKA Taz
    It is good

    it felt like there was way too many enemies in the map, but aside from that I can’t think of much else wrong with this. The idea was good, the map looked and sounded nice, and overall, it wasn’t the worst way I could have spend 72 seconds.

    Move it, Maggot! by The One Epicplayer
    It is great!

    Great idea. Reminded me of boot camp in opposing force. To be honest, it did feel a bit too hard to me, but to be fair, I am not the best at jumping puzzles.

    Convenient Exit by Mark AKA Strontvlieg
    It is great!

    Hahaha, I knew this was stront’s map the second I loaded it. Not that this is a bad thing, of course, in fact, its one of the main reasons I enjoyed it. Looking for his trademarks in his maps is always fun. Anyways, this was one of the only maps to be heavily puzzle-based, and I commend it for that. The only issue with the map is that, to be honest, the puzzles were a bit too easy, and some were just ones taken from hl2. despite this, I still had a fun time playing it overall.

    Freeware by Sockman
    It is good

    Not really my thing. Wasn’t the worst thing i’ve played, but wasn’t all that fun overall.

    Cliff Confusion by ethosaur
    It is good

    I know that phillip already made this joke, but uh, yeah I was confused. The map looked nice, and seemed like it would have been more fun if I had a better understanding of what I was doing, but I didn’t. Maybe after another playthrough this map will resonate will me better, but overall, it was just “Okay”

    Bootstrap by 1upD
    It is good

    A really cool idea, but was still kind of confusing. I still enjoyed it though, and even though it began to drag with the last couple of playthroughs, the idea and visual presentation of the map was enough for me to earn an “its good”

    Dawn by JanKaszanka
    It is good

    It looked nice enough, and the combat felt fair and balanced. Ill probably forget about it within a day, but it was fun while it lasted.

    Sewers Surfer by Tabajara77
    It is okay

    I completely forgot about this until I replayed it. It wasn’t bad at all, but its another one of these maps that’s just “fine”- nothing wrong with it, but nothing interesting or special either.

    Fast Daze by XBLAH
    It is great!

    Had a great time with this one. One of the few maps here that I genuinely had fun repeating. Great visuals, fun and original idea, and a overall great experience. Great job.

    Coordinate 72 by Niker107
    It is great!

    Wow, this map is beautiful. Not only that, but this map has one of the best ideas in the entire challenge. I think the only thing I didn’t like about this map is a matter of personal taste, as I am not a fan of citadel levels due to their lack of cover and large amount of combine. Still though, this map wasn’t too bad in the difficulty department, and overall, is probably the most well made of the bunch. Great job.

    Race Against Time by matt71490 AKA Event Horizon

    The idea behind this map was a bit of an homage to Ferris Beullers Day Off. If you’ve seen the film, I am sure you know what scene I am talking about. I tried to keep a pretty straight path to each door throughout every room, so that the player never felt like they couldn’t keep sprinting. I also tried to make each room very unique from the others, so as to not only add more variety, but to also give the player the feeling of going a long distance. Each room got progressively smaller as well, to give a second sense of claustrophobia and urgency to compliment the one coming from the water wall behind you. This “water wall” was mainly something I added to help the player keep track of how much time they had left, and not allow them to simply sit there and wait out the 72 seconds.

    BONUS: Inevitable by Jacob Heywood AKA Salamancer
    It is great!

    Full Disclosure: I did playtest this map, so I might be biased. This map easily had the best atmosphere of the bunch, and is one of few half life 2 maps to genuinely feel “scary”. The shadow of the Phase Spider at the beginning was easily my favorite touch. I was also a huge fan of the random events occurring with each playthough. That was a really smart idea. The only real issue I have with this map is that it didn’t do the best job of explaining what you were supposed to be doing, or where you were supposed to go, so I was left confused for the majority of it. However, I imagine that this confusion was intentional, so as to add to the already well done horror. Great Job.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour
    Reply
    1. Robolovsky

      I agree with several of the comments above. Had this been a 5 minute challenge maybe this would all have been much more fun. Having to dash through each one like a maniac simply doesn’t do it for me which is a pity because there were some very clever entries, just not enough time to really appreciate them.

      Reply
  4. dougjp

    I’ll spend less than 72 seconds. I hated this, not my thing I guess. “times up your dead ha ha rinse and repeat”. Of the 14 I only rated 4 of them better than 3 out of 10. Cliff Confusion and Sewer Surfer were my favorites. I won’t record an overall recommendation as my 72 seconds are up!

    Reply
  5. Ethosaur

    I started with about less than 9 hours left on the clock when I made my map (Cliff confusion) so sadly it will be pretty confusing (pun intended).

    It was originally planned to have multiple endings, and many ways to solve the puzzle, but sadly it was pushed to about 3-4 endings/solutions, don’t quite remember. Thanks for playing though.

    Reply
  6. TolisXTRM
    Play It Later

    I liked this Ville more than I thought I would. While most maps are mostly good/great and fun to play (with some exceptions), what I really liked is that it was all done with the time constraints on mind – both the 72 hours and the 72 seconds – and that the use of this theme actually turned out to be really good.

    Prison Break
    It is okay

    I didn’t really enjoy this map that much. The whole experience felt too chaotic and frustrating, and I know that’s probably what a real prison break is like. The mapping and the lighting are bad IMO, the only color you’ll see is red and every room felt and played the same.

    Elevator
    It is good

    This was a really weird and creative entry, but unfortunately the lack of any gameplay at all bothered me a little (and I understand the issue with the time constraint). The concept is great and it’s executed really well, but personally, I just think it could have something a bit more.

    The Meet Up
    It is good

    Another good entry, but this one is much simpler than the previous one. The mapping is OK and the combat was fine. Not a lot more to say here.

    Move it, Maggot!
    It is great!

    Now this is the kind of map I expect from this competition; an original idea with a fast-paced execution. The mapping is basic, but that’s not what really matters here. I really enjoyed the race, though I think that the last part could have worked a bit better, but maybe that’s just me. Overall, pretty solid entry!

    Convenient Exit
    It is good

    I thought this map was OK. I thought the main idea behind this entry was smart, but I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I really liked the lighting in this map though. Another good entry here.

    Freeware
    It is okay

    This is a great concept for a theme like this, but it could have been executed way better. I really liked the short segments, but the maps in my opinion were just bad. Little to no lighting, blocky mapping and mainly just boring looking. I liked the – literally – breaking the wall moment near the end which is a plus. If this map was better looking, then it could have been one of my favorites.

    Cliff Confusion
    It is okay

    Another map that had a nice concept, but an OK execution. I believe that since it required many replays to complete, if there were more things to do, it would’ve been better. The mapping wasn’t that bad though, and I liked the fact that the FOV was constantly increasing for some reason.

    Bootstrap
    It is great!

    This was a very enjoyable entry but it was also – technically speaking – really good. The mapping and the lighting were both great and the areas didn’t really feel that similar. I also liked the HL2 Beta aesthetic. For some reason though, some of the textures were missing/corrupted for me. This is another entry that required many replays, but it didn’t really bother me this time. Great entry overall!

    Dawn
    It is good

    This is another entry with a really basic idea; to simply escape. Though in this case, this entry is quite difficult, and it may require multiple replays to complete. Sure, you could simply rush through the whole map like I did, or you could take your time and fight the soldiers; it’s up to you. Technically speaking, it wasn’t so bad either.

    Sewer Surfers
    It is good

    Yet another escape map, but this time you’re on the sewers. I really think the concept could have potential, but I think it would have been a bit better if you were on-rails (like in a cart fe). Still, this was a neat entry and the execution was actually really fun.

    Fast Daze
    It is WOW!

    When I finished this map I literally said “WOW”. This entry is really that good. Not only technically speaking, but mainly because of its concept and how clever it is implemented here. This is probably the most creative entry here and pretty much my favorite.

    Coordinate 72
    It is great!

    This is probably the most original entry here, since the mapper included the sole reason of replaying something; replay value. There are 2 endings (technically 3) in this map, and only if you replay this map many times can you get them all. I find that to be really clever and I haven’t seen many maps/mods do that. The entry itself is really damn good and very fun to play. Kudos to the author here!

    Race Against Time
    It is okay

    I gave this map an “It’s Okay” rating probably because I don’t get it, but honestly, I didn’t find this map that fun or special. Sure, the mapping is good, but other than that, this map just felt way too fast-paced. I beat this map by simply running forward and killing maybe 2 enemies. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t really feel this map was that enjoyable.

    BONUS: Inevitable
    It is okay

    This is the only map I haven’t finished and that’s because it’s just way, WAY too frustrating. I get why this map is good; the idea and the mapping are great, but this map can be so annoying sometimes. I know big, open maps are a good thing, but I honestly don't want to replay the same map around 25-30 times just to see its ending. If only the map was short and smaller, then it could have been one of my favorites.

    Reply
  7. zoe

    Is it possible to turn OFF the 72 second timer through the command console? I’d like to play these without the game ending abruptly.

    Reply
    1. Koneko

      I highly doubt it’s possible to remove the time restriction with a single command for all maps. You have to find an entity that triggers the game to end in each map individually and then kill the trigger with the console. Or remove all these triggers in the map files itself.

      Reply
    2. PlanetPhillip

      It doesn’t seem so. Two things you could try are
      1. host_timescale 0.5 – That slows down time by half. It would give you time to look around and decide with less pressure
      2. noclip – although I don’t think that’s really what you are interested in.

      Bear in mind, that the maps were designed to be played in 72-seconds and any changes would change, if not ruin, the feel.

      Reply
  8. Strontvlieg
    Play It Later

    Well, this was a weird theme but one that produced some surprisingly good and entertaining maps. Of the 2 hours and 10 minutes playtime I had from this mod, roughly one hour was sunk into the bonus entry Inevitable alone! My personal opinion per map below:

    Prison Break by AnonymoScoot
    It is okay

    A simple and straightforward objective in this map: escape the prison! One has to bunnyhop through a chaos of fleeing prisoners and shooting metrocops to reach the outside world. Nothing was seriously wrong with this map but it didn’t stood out either in this mappack.

    Elevator by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile
    It is good

    Peculiar entry involving a series of elevators and some messing with the players orientation. It took me a few tries before I could reach the end in time. It is always interesting when a map sort of deviates from usual/conventional environments.

    The Meet Up by Derek AKA Taz
    It is good

    A bit easy but it was fun wading through the fighting masses of zombies and metrocops and drop a grenade to add to the mayhem. If the player is somewhat fast, chances are he or she have to wait in a hallway before the map ends. An small issue that is also a thing in my entry!

    Move it, Maggot! by The One Epicplayer
    It is good

    Interesting entry that reminds me a little bit of HL: Opposing Force. The competing citizen is surprisingly well animated. Minor con was that the final bridge didn’t always seem to work, although I might have missed something. Overall an entertaining map!

    Convenient Exit by Mark AKA Strontvlieg

    No recommendation for this entry as I have made it myself. I think the main problem with this map is that it doesn’t stand out in this mappack. For instance, a map that does something out of the ordinary and polarizes opinions performs better in an experimental mapping challenge than a map that is technically OK but doesn’t do something ‘extreme’. Another issue with Convenient Exit is that it is too easy.

    Freeware by Sockman
    It is okay

    The ending section led me to believe that Matt71490 made this but it turned out it wasn’t! In this map, the player has to perform a series of tasks/challenge in order to progress. An interesting concept, if a bit roughly implemented.

    Cliff Confusion by ethosaur
    It is good

    This surprisingly expansive map was apparently made in just one night. Impressive! The player has to perform some tasks in order to get an elevator working. Good atmosphere and the changing FOV adds to that.

    Bootstrap by 1upD
    It is great!

    This one was challenging in the sense that it took me a bunch of playthroughs to understand what had to be done to complete the level. The map is quite expansive and nicely detailed, and this combined with the challenge of completing this level boosts this entry to my personal top-3 in this Ville!

    Dawn by JanKaszanka
    It is good

    I think this was the only map that I managed to complete in the first playthrough. Nevertheless, I found it entertaining to run through the urban environment while dealing with enemies in various ways.

    Sewers Surfer by Tabajara77
    It is good

    Again a big map considering the small timeframe the authors had to put together an entry and I was surprised sloped water volumes are actually possible in source! An interesting enemies and its always a plus to be able to sent metrocops flying by shooting nearby explosive barrels.

    Fast Daze by XBLAH
    It is good

    Fast Daze combines HL2 and those odd Japanese TV-shows. This entry was one of the hardest in this challenge and I think it took me 10-15 minutes to complete it. There was some initial confusion when explosive barrels were dropped nearby me and exploded due to me not seeing them. But I gotta admit those barrels were announced clearly so I might have dropped the ball regarding paying attention!

    Coordinate 72 by Niker107
    It is great!

    This map ends in my personal top-3 along Bootstrap due to the challenge and the visually high-quality environment! Apparently there are two ways to complete this map; I took the route through the corridor with the energy balls. Sound design was very good and the explosion at the end of this entry was spectacular and even a bit intimidating. Well done!

    Race Against Time by matt71490 AKA Event Horizon
    It is good

    A speedrun through a series of rooms and outdoor environments while an ominous wall of water gradually swallows the map behind me. Like I said before: being able to deal with enemies in various ways while on route is always a plus for me, so this entry was certainly fun!

    BONUS: Inevitable by Jacob Heywood AKA Salamancer
    It is WOW!

    This map would have been my personal number 1 in this mappack if it wasn’t a bonus entry. Well, it actually is but not ‘officially’ in the sense that it is a bonus entry. This map started off very confusing for me with the occasional scare when the ominous spider shows up with an eerie sound. Several times I though I had found THE way towards a succesfull end only to find out those were dead ends.
    I had to play this map in several sessions in order to avoid ‘burning out’. Don’t know how many playthroughs it took me, but after a total of roughly 45 minutes I actually zeroed in on the correct path. But this map wouldn’t surrender without a fight with my suit light flipping out of control and sounds leading me to believe my phone went off! However, after an hour I finally reach the required destination in time and exacted revenge on my 8-legged nemesis by burning it. This was a memorable entry but also one that polarizes heavily; it seems people either love it or hate it!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    2 Hours, 10 Minutes
    Reply
    1. Strontvlieg

      Huh, I notice that I only mentioned two entries as my personal top three! That doesn’t add up does it? In the ‘official’ mappack my personal top-3 is: Coordinate 72, Fast Daze and Bootstrap. And with Inevitable as the honourable mention.

      Reply
  9. Niker107
    Play It Now!
    PRISON BREAK by AnonymoScoot
    It is okay

    Prison Break is a very simple and quite laggy map with not a lot of detail, and the explanation behind why the player only has 72 seconds is also quite simple. However, with that said, I really like the concept. I’d personally love for a level like this to be part of a mod or a game (maybe on a more modern engine that could be optimized for a scene like this), because with a few more scripted events and better player guidance, the level could create a very interesting tense dynamic of running between bullets and people dropping dead all around you in a haze of panic.

    ELEVATOR by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile
    It is good

    Absolute mindf*&k. I love it. Although I don’t think it really fits the theme that well because it doesn’t have much to do with 72 seconds.

    THE MEET UP by Derek AKA Taz
    It is dire!

    The Meet Up was sadly not fun to play. There isn’t a clear indication that you have pressed the button that calls the elevator because of how much extra noise there is around, the rebels leaving after 72 seconds is a bit arbitrary, and in general it’s just a spamfest of NPCs.

    MOVE IT, MAGGOT! by The One Epicplayer
    It is great!

    Move It, Maggot is quite a creative take on the ‘Run!’ type map, mainly because I’m fond of having a resistance-run obstacle course. Overall, it’s rather fun and engaging, and some effort has clearly been put into the NPC interactions (which the player isn’t even meant to be paying attention to). However, there is the ability to finish the map __before__ the 72 second limit, which is technically against the rules of the theme.

    CONVENIENT EXIT by Mark AKA Strontvlieg
    It is bad

    I must say, Convenient Exit is a very nice looking map (mainly because of the use of a low lightmap scale and the custom lens flare effects, but it is generally quite atmospheric), but the gameplay is severely flawed. It’s good that the author teaches the player to use the ladder mechanic with sawblades, however right nearby there are some crates which look like they could be used for stacking, but they are instead blocked by an invisible wall. And the 72-second mechanic seems like a massive after thought; why does the door close after 72 seconds? What’s the backstory? It doesn’t really fit the theme that much.

    FREEWARE by Sockman
    It is good

    Okay fine, the map really doesn’t look that great, and was probably much easier to make than the others. But I think the delivery is amazing. I’m a sucker for ‘game within a game’-type games, fourth wall breaks, and the sort of… weird enironment of “You’re not quite sure what’s going on or who’s controlling everything, but they’re bad and you should probably try to get away,” that you see in games like Portal or The Stanley Parable. Very simple idea, awesome entry.
    PS. Crashing my game is rude

    CLIFF CONFUSION by ethosaur
    It is dire!

    Cliff Confusion had me seriously confused. Starting the map off with a big wall of text seems like a rather inefficient use of the player’s time; a more reasonable game design solution would’ve been to place the player next to a non-working generator, giving them the assumption that they must fix it without any further explanation. I completed the map on my second go after just finding the crowbar in the toilet and then getting the gas tank that I passed by on the way there and activating the elevator that way. It confuses me a bit as to why the map is so big and detailed when there is a possible solution that doesn’t even require the player to visit more than half of the map, or the house. My guess is that there wasn’t enough time to make sure the logic works correctly. In the future, with less time, it’d be a better idea to make something smaller and more polished.
    LATE EDIT: I later learned that the map actually has several ways to finish it and you’re meant to explore all of them, so I’ll probably replay the map when I have time, but it was still slightly disappointing that the thing that seemed most obvious to me is the easiest and quickest way to win, and also doesn’t even seem like the intended way.

    BOOTSTRAP by 1upD
    It is WOW!

    At first I hated Bootstrap because I didn’t quite get what I was meant to do, but from my second playthrough onwards I absolutely loved it, and I think this might just be the best entry in the competition. The subtle details hidden in the map, like the aging guy (which had me going “Wait, why did he just change” and then seeing the skeleton and going “OOOOH! That’s clever!”), the Borealis-related papers strewn about, the custom music and overall design of the map that fits and explains the theme of the challenge perfectly is astonishing to me. Very awesome entry!

    DAWN by JanKaszanka
    It is bad

    Dawn is a very nice-looking map and I think the author has a lot of potential with environmental design and detailing, however the gameplay is quite bland because the player essentially has to run past a bunch of metrocops while taking damage (because fighting them isn’t really a viable option) and there isn’t much gameplay aside from that.

    SEWERS SURFER by Tabajara77
    It is okay

    Personally I am really not a fan of racing on a track that only allows the player to swim because of the general lack of control. At first the map was infuriating, but after starting to use stuff like the explosive barrels and breaking the platforms under the metrocops it became easier. Still, I would say it was slightly monotone and there wasn’t much variation in gameplay.

    FAST DAZE by XBLAH
    It is WOW!

    It’s Wow, that says it all. This entry fits the theme of the challenge absolutely perfectly and while the initial laugh at “This is A Hole In The Wall!” was great, the ramp up in difficulty and the variety in gameplay is honestly amazing. And of course, the replayability of this entry is superb. AND the detailing is top notch, it does not look like a map made in 72 hours at all. Granted, it’s a pretty small space to detail, but it was utilized well and the attention to detail to the scenery and how the walls arrive at the player, everything has had a lot of love put into it. Amazing entry!

    RACE AGAINST TIME by matt71490 AK Event Horizon
    It is okay

    Race Against Time works off a fun concept but unfortunately as the goal was to ‘get through as many rooms as possible’, I just ran past all the enemies and straight to each exit door, without any penalties. Ideally there’d be some reason to actually fight the enemies, or make the battles so tight in terms of geometry that it’d be hard to just run by. I was also slightly disappointed that at the end the player has to wait for the 72 seconds to finish before the map ends with nothing to do.

    INEVITABLE by Jacob Heywood AKA Salamancer
    It is WOW!

    Inevitable is a brilliant entry, and one of the best maps I have personally played in a long time. I love the atmosphere, the location, and the gameplay. The level design of Inevitable is cleverly… designed to make the player explore the map in just the right way to find the shortcuts necessary to complete the map in time. The lighting has had a lot of effort put in, as did the detailing of the map and especially the sound design, which go miles towards making the map feel atmospheric, scary and desolate. I also particularly liked the random events that’d occasionally spice up the playthrough.
    [Potential for Full Mod] It’s not surprising that I would love to see this entry made into a full mod. I think there’s lots of potential for escaping the spider with and without a time limit, as well as interesting things you can do with lighting and how the spider seems to mess with electricity.

    Reply
  10. Lestythekid
    Play It Later

    Either I’m really bad at the game (Which might be the case), or some maps are too short to give clear instruction. Anyway, I spent about 80 minutes into this. So here I am, writing my third review for a mod, and still all my reviews are extremely short.

    Prison Break by AnonymoScoot
    It is okay

    Looks like a prison outbreak, plays like a prison outbreak too. There might be too many citizens inside the prison, and they all stand at the place blocking the way. Other than that this one looks decent. The map took me about 2 minutes.

    Elevator by Nitro-Ham AKA Nekophile
    It is okay

    It’s just like me taking elevator! It’s one of the maps that doesn’t involve any combat and intense action. Nothing too much to say about this map. This one took me 3 minutes since I missed the elevator some times.

    The Meet Up by Derek AKA Taz
    It is bad

    The Meet up was quite crowded with various stuffs, I died first time I played it. However, after finding the solution, the map ended abruptly. The map took me 2 minutes also.

    Move it, Maggot! by The One Epicplayer
    It is good

    Apparently we are really slow, and we compete with a NPC that’s also slow. Therefore, the race become intense. The map doesn’t have too much a problem, straight-going map with a near to none chance of being lost. It took me about 3 minutes to finish it.

    Convenient Exit by Mark AKA Strontvlieg
    It is bad

    Convenient Exit is one of few maps that I made in under 72 seconds, the idea of using the sawblades as ladders is good. But that’s about it, there’s not really too much memorable spots inside this map.

    Freeware by Sockman
    It is okay

    Freeware cuts the 72 seconds into small segments, requiring you to do task in it.
    Luckily, these tasks give you enough time to finish it. Also it got a secret. The map took me 4 minutes since I want to see the secret.

    Cliff Confusion by ethosaur
    It is good

    Multiple ways for you to leave the place, some can be easily found while others require you to take a detour. Whole map took me about 3 minutes, with 2 methods to finish the map founded.

    Also nice jump boost for me to go around faster in the map.

    Bootstrap by 1upD
    It is good

    The one map that got me confused and I need to look up the forum to get a hint. Well, radios are important after all I think. Idea is simple, but it worked out well. It took me 9 minutes (for real).

    Dawn by JanKaszanka
    It is good

    Dawn makes me have a plan of what to do instead of running and gunning. Also whether to stay and get supplies or keep on going needs to be put into thoughts. Took me about 2 minutes to finish.

    Sewers Surfer by Tabajara77
    It is okay

    It’s like poor man’s water slide since you’re in the sewer while your enemies try to take you down. It requires a little bit of tactic on how to face your enemies also. It took me about 3 minutes to pass it.

    Fast Daze by XBLAH
    It is great!

    This is the whole new type of map, Fast Daze tests your agility. It is also combined with several props for you to use in order for you to get to the end. Although you stay in the same place, it provides lots of fun. Took me 7 minutes because I can’t react that fast.

    Coordinate 72 by Niker107
    It is great!

    No time to joke around for this, Coordinate 72 got the actions and a little bit of difficulty. It also got multiple endings to provide replay value. The map took me roughly 6 minutes.

    Race Against Time by matt71490 AKA Event Horizon
    It is okay

    Hehe, I ran so fast that my game crashed at the end. As the map title said, you can literally run through enemies without doing any fights. Therefore, if there’s a few more enemy it could be more challenging. Took me about a minute.

    BONUS: Inevitable by Jacob Heywood AKA Salamancer
    It is WOW!

    This map my number 1 in the mappack, and it took me 31 minutes, over one-third of my play time. Inevitable is packed with horror atmosphere, also with the fear of unknown enemy (By the time you saw it you’re already killed). Map itself is enormous which left you many ways to go. However, stuck with the time limit you’re only able to go through the fastest way (There seems to be only one specific way to go). Being a trial and error map this might get love or hate, but overall a good entry.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 20 Minutes
    Reply
  11. Winterman
    Play It Later

    So the ville maps are 72-seconds long…..Well, time for a speedrun!

    Prison Break
    It is okay

    Goddamn what kind of start do we have. The map is a chaotic, extremely chaotic. The idea was good, having to escape in the midst of a prison riot. The execution, however, was a different story. The sheer amount of NPCs at the beginning causes frame rate drop. There’s like 800 civilian NPCs on screen! The directions weren’t clear too, you will wander around like a headless chicken on your first playthrough.

    The creator seems to just spawn a lot of NPCs to fight each other. I understand that the creators had only 3 days to make a map, but it could be done better with some scripted sequences. Adding the suit would be nice too, the tension was lost when you are in a timed escape and can’t run.

    Elevator
    It is great!

    Elevator-ception: The map. The first part confused me to no end, and this weird map keeps getting better as it progresses! It pulled this off without any kind of eye-catching visual, just a minimalistic concept. Impressive!

    Meet Up
    It is good

    Nice gameplay and a good map overall. Could have use less Manhacks. And they left without me!? F**king Hell!

    Move it, Maggot!
    It is good

    Well done! I really enjoyed replaying it until I won. I guess this is some sort of boot camp training for the Rebels. But the leech was too punishing, as Phillip said. And the end was not clear enough, like who’s gonna know that?

    Convenient Exit
    It is good

    Man, another race map? Alright. The race part wasn’t communicated clear since there’s no cue for it. The climbing using sawblades was very creative. And you can’t pick up the first hopper mine, that’s a bit cheap.

    Freeware
    It is okay

    While I enjoyed the map, it was way too easy. The second challenge was the only one that was challenging for me. I also thought there was a secret ending at the end, but nope!

    Cliff Confusion
    It is good

    This map….wait for it…..confused me a bit. (hahahahaha) The map was alright to play. Though, I felt like the board at the beginning needs less words. By the time you read it, you already wasted 10 seconds. Also, was I blessed by the FOV god? Because as the map progresses, my FOV increases like hell. Maybe because to help the player move faster, perhaps?

    Bootstrap
    It is good

    I know the visual and presentation is impressive, but this map suffers from gameplay issues. This map has the same problem like Cliff Confusion, giving something for the player to pay attention to instead of just instructing them from the start. Because the player is in a hurry, they will miss the way to proceed completely. I stared blank at the colored monitors not knowing what to do with them.

    Also, the replay ability is lost since you can cheese it from the start.

    The buttons also takes a little long to change the color, this one is my nitpick.

    Dawn
    It is good

    This is speedrun done right, for me. The map was enjoyable. I felt like the player should be given a Pistol from the start. So that some players can use its hidden ability. (Instant kill headshot if the player is crouched and the enemy is unaware of him) It reminds me of the Favela from Modern Warfare 2.

    Sewer Surfer
    It is good

    Good concept, awkward execution. Now, it was fun to play but I felt like it would be better if you are in the airboat and having the tunnel collapsing all around you. Having to swim like that feels very awkward. Also, crouch jumping doesn’t make you go faster.

    Fast Daze
    It is great!

    Man, this is some Dark Souls/Cuphead level of hard. The instruction was clear and very good. This map is very rewarding for completing it. For bonus point, I dare you to complete it without saving.

    Coordinate 72
    It is great!

    Good, very good! The fact that this is an alternate timeline (I think so) of an event in Half-Life 2 already got me engaged. It was a fun ride overall.

    That ending….goddamn.

    Race Against Time
    It is good

    For some reason, every single linear run maps always got my attention. This map is no exception, but it’s missing something. You barely fight enemies and pretty much avoid them altogether. It would be better to have them as an actual obstacle since I got to the end way before the timer runs out. I like the room with the couple, got me to laugh.

    Inevitable
    It is WOW!

    God, that was scary. Absolutely brilliant. This is the only map I didn’t finish. This is true horror, the tension, the fear, everything. It’s just sucks for me that it was too scary and too randomized for me to continue. I would like the map to be less confusing, to be honest. It has potential for a full mod, and if it becomes a mod I will complete it for sure! Now excuse me, I have a lot of soiled pants to wash.

    Conclusion

    While the entries are insanely short, I feel like they are very enjoyable. For the first place, Coordinate 72 earned it for me. Followed by Fast Daze on the second and Move it, Maggot in third. TRIPLE HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR THE BONUS MAP! It was so damn good! Next stop: PhaseVille.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    2 Hours
    Reply
  12. Hec
    Think Twice

    I really don’t want to sound grumpy on this review. And despite inside the competition, there are at least 3 entries that are definitely worthy, some with really interesting concepts, and with nice quality. I just hated the time restriction concept. In my personal opinion, I think I just hate games that don’t allow you to take your time or explore. And in real life, I hate to be in a rush all the time! So some entries in here were a total nightmare for me as a gamer.

    And well, because there were a lot of entries this time, I would say that most of them are very random and only a few of them actually stands out from the rest.

    I’d say for me the absolute winner is “Fast Daze”

    It is WOW!

    That entry was really clever and just beatable if you are a medium to hard skill gamer. You can beat it, and the whole context of what tasks you need to do are presented in a very cool way inside that big murder machine you have to escape! This is developed exactly in 72 seconds and again, I insist that difficulty skill it was no overkill, which let you experiment the sweet taste of victory at the end when you beat it.

    I also liked “Elevator”

    It is great!

    as the concept was kind of “artsy” and in some parts looked very abstract. And the last part when you become little inside a huge elevator was a great final touch.

    I appreciate “Bootstrap”

    It is good

    as it was inspired in Portal and actually it seems to take part inside the Borealis. Overall felt like a nice proof of concept, and although the gameplay dynamic was quite simple it was very nice the author took inspiration from the HL2-Portal plot.

    I also liked “Sewer Suffer” because it felt like a huge water slide and involves fast action in the whole map.

    “Move it Maggot!”

    It is good

    Also was good, and also made me remember the coop dynamic in some maps from Portal 2.

    “Coordinate 72” Was also nice

    It is okay

    , but I didn’t like the idea of mandatory having to sacrifice-kill Alyx. I think is kind of rude and unfair the fact that Alyx is a quite hated character in HL2. So in here one of the paths to actually save her is absolutely useless, and the path where you have to escape is useless too if you lose time exploring the map. And that’s a shame because the map is worthy to explore because of the details pictured in there. I had to cheat in the elevator zone to beat it barely on time.

    And well finally: “Inevitable”

    It is WOW!

    As a concept, it was a masterpiece! remember me to that peculiar SCP games where you have to watch out from some scary monsters. And well I have to tell you, this one is hard! very, very hard! Which is a shame because the 72 second s restriction it feels totally out of place and unfair. The fact is that this entry is about speedrun in HL2 at it’s best and it’s hard because you have to perform a perfect pathway to beat it on time which is almost impossible if you aren’t precise with the mouse and the jump keys in HL2. I spend more than 2 hours in a row trying to beat this one because it got me very engaged!!! And well, I have to tell you the frustration level it was very great. I couldn’t beat it, and I actually had to see a walkthrough on youtube (not the one that Phillip did, because he didn’t pass it like me). So, now that you’re advice, if you want to beat it, if you only dare to do it, I strongly recommend to look for that video walkthrough because there’s only one valid and only path to beat it, that by the way, involves a very difficult hard ass jump that makes you lose a lot of precious time!!! And in this entry you basically can’t lose a millisecond in that speedrun, I’d say “precision” and “speed” are the two keys to beat this monster map. Which it’s a shame, because the map is really huge and invites you to explore it, but sadly you never will have time to explore because that means DEATH! I would love to see this map released apart from this competition, with a more flexible and beatable modification on the very unfair 72 seconds restriction. And well it’s prefectly fixable, and that way more gamers could actually beat it. You know, I get to the flare flooded room like in 5 or 6 times out of the more than 80 times i try to beat it. And well I was so close to beat it!!!! in one ocasion i was only at very few milliseconds to reach the frakin flare but the time just Killed me! which it felt absoultely horrible as a gamer, too much FRUSTRATION!!! So I guess the author could fix it, and actually stop the time penalty once you reach the water in the Flare room! You know that would be a very nice fix to this one. I know it was meant to be in the competition, but as astand alone, or maybe with some more maps that time restriction could be out, and this would be a great mod! I hope the author conssider it.

    In conclusion, as you can see this competition had some great enries, but as a gamer I just hate and I think I always will hate the time constaraint’s in gaming. I hope this competiton don’t have a second sequel, I’d just hate it. Sorry.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    4 Hours
    Reply
  13. Daken50
    Maybe?

    They are ok, I guess. Not sure of the logic to have a time restriction (double time, 72 and 72). Last thing I would want is someone to rush through a map I spent valuable time on. I always wonder about maps like these. How amazing they might have been given more time. Disappointing.

    Reply

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