Archive for November 2017

Lunar Descent

for Half-Life 2

“Lunar Descent is an action-adventure game, set on the Xterrier Lunar Colony. It mixes brutal combat, exploration and resource scavenging. To stay alive, players must be careful when dealing with enemies and ever mindful of their limited supplies.”

About

“It is set in the same universe as Dissolution, but is a totally standalone campaign. There is a heavy emphasis on both setting/location and survival (in the sense that you have to scavenge for supplies in order to survive). Combat is intense and enemies can only be bested if you gather the necessary supplies.

Lunar Descent features a totally new setting for players to explore with a rich backstory to become immersed in; an original soundtrack to complement the atmosphere; and an engaging plot told with the help of various talented voice actors from the community.”

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Total Downloads: 2,22126th November 2017
29 Comments and 11 recommendations with no significant bias

November 2017 Classic of the Month Livestream

I am ashamed. Ashamed I haven’t played nearly as many Half-Life 2 and Episode 2 mods as I should have. So I’m trying to rectify the situation bit by bit.

So November’s Classic of the Month is Mission Improbable by Magnar Jenssen. Yes, I’ve never played it but come join me for my first time through!

I’ll be streaming Sunday at 11am Eastern US Time (4pm in the UK, 5pm Central Europe).

As usual the stream will be on the RunThinkShootLive YouTube Channel. See you there!

25th November 2017 5 Comments

The Hammer Cup 2017 Short Story Event

This event has finished. There were four stories by three authors.

Below is the PDF for you to read at your leisure.

I hope you enjoy it.

The link is in the main post.

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I am pleased to announce another short story event. I hope this becomes a yearly event.

I would like readers to write a short story that uses one of the maps as its setting or one of the first four themes from the Hammer Cup 2017; Defend, Bridge, Toxic and Teleport.

This is an “event” NOT a challenge or competition. I am calling it an “event” because I would like to encourage as many people as possible to submit stories. I don’t only want people to submit if they think they can win.

I have no plans to offer a prize.

The maximum word count is 2,500, but that DOES NOT mean you must write that many. Even really short stories can be fun to read.

I understand that not everybody who uses this site is a native English speaker but the submission MUST be in English.

The submission must also be suitable for over 16 years old children to read. If I feel a submission is inappropriate for some readers, I will not publish it.

As with my previous story events (TREE Story event No.1 and TREE Story Event No.2) I will publish the submissions as a PDF, making it easier for people to read.

The deadline for submission is 31st December 2017.

Please email them to me directly: [email protected]

They can be part of the email or attached as .txt files.

DO NOT send them as word documents or other word processing formats.

DO NOT post them here as comments.

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to post them here.

19th November 2017 14 Comments

Opposing Force Birthday Livestream

As Half-Life 2 just becomes a teenager, the venerable Half-Life inches closer to a whopping 20 years since release! But that celebration is next year at this time.

However, its sibling release Half-Life: Opposing Force is turning 18 years old this very weekend, and we’re celebrating with a full Op4 livestream just like last year for HL!

I (Don) will be streaming Opposing Force starting Sunday the 19th at 1pm Eastern US, which is 6pm in the UK and 7pm in Central Europe.

The stream will be on the RTSL YouTube Channel.

17th November 2017 7 Comments

Re-Poll Question 001 – Have you Crowbarred Barney for his ammo?

In Half-Life, it is actually possible to kill Black Mesa guards and collect their ammo.

When PasserbywhoplaysHL asked the question “Have you Crowbarred Barney for his ammo?” I was shocked. Partly because I didn’t know you could and partly because it seemed pretty heartless.

I know it’s “just” a game but I feel that my actions within the game (within certain limits) should reflect my behaviour in real life. I don’t have fun just running around killing and shooting stuff. I want to play as part of a story etc, which is why MP has never appealed to me.

What about you?

Original Poll

You can find the original poll here: Poll Question 001 – Have you Crowbarred Barney for his ammo?

Time to vote
[poll id="34"]
About This Post

Back in 2006, I started a weekly poll. Each question was designed to encourage discussion, rather than simply “Yes!” or “No!” answers. Well, 2006 is a long time ago (11 years at the time of posting this) and the readership has changed. People have come and gone, as they always do, so I thought it might be fun to ask the same questions again.

Perhaps, the different readership will answer differently based on the years that have passed or perhaps they are simply different types of players. That in itself is an interesting question – a bit like new players to the franchise often prefer Black Mesa to the original Half-Life, simply because they never experienced HL when it was first released and have a completely different frame of reference.

Anyway, I plan to re-post all the questions in the same order, although not necessarily every week. So, if a new interesting question appears I will miss a week of the re-poll.

10th November 2017 20 Comments

The Hammer Cup 2017 – Challenge 5 – FusionVille

We’re here at last: the final challenge in The Hammer Cup 2017!

For this challenge we want you to pick 3 themes from the 2016 and 2017 Hammer Cup challenges, and creatively combine those themes into your perfect fusion map.

The deadline for submitting maps is: Monday 11th December 2017 – that’s two extra weeks!

8th November 2017 27 Comments

Half-Rats: Parasomnia

for Half-Life

July, 1883. Half-Rats is, as he usually seems to be; down on his luck and fretting for the future.

One fateful night, he carelessly decides to drown his sorrows with strong libations – and he runs up a tab at a pub he knows he can’t pay…

Remarkably; Instead of a reproachful speech and coarse removal, he is instead told a tale he can hardly believe.

A tale involving great riches, but even greater peril. If he was not so desperate, he wouldn’t conceive of embarking on what could be a wild goose chase to locate a forgotten and virtually unknown town.

Half-Rats’ doubts were abated somewhat when the publican shews his utmost sincerity – albeit in a strange and effusive manner – and draws him a rude map.

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Total Downloads: 8,0355th November 2017
9 Comments and 3 recommendations, most really enjoyed it!