CrossbowVille

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

14th January 2012

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Well, here it is. The entries from the CrossbowVille mapping Competition.

The objective was to create an interesting release that used the Crossbow as the main weapon.

The mod contains 3 entries, with varying styles.

I would like to thank the competition’s sponsors; SteamContests.Com and Tt Esports.com and of course, the modders who entered.

Enjoy!

Basic Details
  • Title: CrossbowVille
  • File Name: hl2-ep2-sp-ppmc-crossbowville.7z
  • Size : 96.20MB
  • Author: Justin Carlton AKA Sneakyspeckman, Jacob Heywood, Nicole Brauer AKA VoEC
  • Date Released: 14 January 2012

Download Options

Download to your HDD [96.2MB]

THIS FILE MUST NOT BE HOSTED ANYWHERE EXCEPT HERE
If you see a website hosting it or linking to any other location besides PlanetPhillip.Com please contact me.

Installation Instructions
  • Copy the crossbowville folder into your SourceMods folder.
  • Restart or start Steam.
  • CrossbowVille should now be listed in your Library tab.

If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.

Important Note about the chapters

It seems that if you haven’t finished all the chapters in Episode Two (and maybe HL2 and EP1 if you have them installed), then only one or two of the chapters will be unlocked. They should be all unlocked when you first start the mod, but if they isn’t the case, then you can just play through them in order. They are in size order anyway, so the first one is the smallest.

You can manually edit a configuration file and unlock them but with only 3 chapters it’s hardly worth it.

And the winners are…

In first place is Cognition. I feel it did a good job of making the crossbow something other than a long-range killer. The visual design mixed Combine with something I can’t quite put my finger. The atmosphere was never scary but I always had the idea something might pop out at any minute.

The puzzles were difficult enough to take a few moments to figure out but not make you hate them. All in all a deserving winner.

In second place is The Coriolis Effect. It tried to do a lot of things in a short space and it almost accomplished them. The scale and design was excellent but with a map this big a LOT of beta testing is needed.

So, here are the details of each entry. You chance to vote is at the bottom.

Diminutive Strife by Justin Carlton AKA SneakySpeckMan

This is quite short an entry and starts off in a canal. The player is lead through various areas until he reaches the first main challenge: a sniper.

I quite enjoyed it but found it was possible to see out of the map. It’s in the area with the the yellow forklift truck. It’s not a huge problem but it really wasn’t hard to find and a forklift truck is begging to be climbed on!

After the sniper, we have a little puzzle with the electrical fittings, followed by the finale. It features a few hunters which can cause you some hairy moments, but it’s certainly doable.

I found the part with the Sniper fun and was hoping to return the favour to the oncoming soldiers, but I found the manhacks too much of a distraction.

All in all it’s a fun level and worth your time.

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

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
Cognition by Jacob Heywood

This was a wonderful level. Not only does it look great but I had a lot of fun playing it. The crossbow is used as a puzzle solver and there is no combat.

One puzzle had me stumped for a while because I was trying to get the columns all up, which is NOt what you need to do. The addition of a few manhacks are each solution may have been a nice touch, but that’s cool.

All in all a great twist to using the crossbow and should have you stracthing your head a few times.

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

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
The Coriolis Effect by VoEC

Two huge maps, plenty of combat and some great views. So, why didn’t it win? Well, firslty, I got out of the map almost immediately. That’s a big No No for me.

Secondly, once I got into the warehouse I got a lot of stutter. I don’t have the greatest PC in the world but it runs all but a few mods perfectly.

Next, comes the train station. It’s just too dark and the crossbow was never designed to be used in dark, cramped spaces. Once outside I thought things would really get going but shooting from above was too easy. I didn’t feel challenged.

The final battle was better but again it was a little too cramped and the way to destroy the helicopters was a little silly.

Now, don’t get me wrong, these are some fantastic levels and if they are adapted slightly (shotgun in the train area), more optimization, they would make a great mod. But as something used for the crossbow, they didn’t really excite me.

Definitely worth your time and take a look at the maps’ readme (in the ReadMe folder) for some added chalenges.

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

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

Playthrough Videos

The playthrough below is provided by Custom Gamer as part of The Ville Retrospective event.
See more of his playthroughs on this site: VP: Custom Gamer.

Your chance to vote


Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!
19 recommendations, average score: 4.79 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.27 (what's that?)
Total Downloads
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    Overall
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Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 2 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 2 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 0 Hours, 53 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 30 Mins by Daken50
Longest: 1 Hours, 15 Mins by MinorLimes021
Total Time Played: 1 Hours, 45 Mins
Categories (?)
Half-Life 2: Ep2 HL2-EP2 Mods Play
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51 Comments

  1. PlanetPhillip
    Phillip says Play It!

    Well, I have already given my review about each mod in the post itself, but I need to add something here to have the recommendation image.

    I was worried only 3 entries was bad but I enjoyed them all in their own way.

    Thanks to everybody involved and I hope you enjoy the mod.

    Reply
    1. s.anchev

      I’ve read your twitter post about this competition maybe being your last due to lack of entries. But I don’t think you should stop : what is good? Having 10 entries but 8 are them being bad? Or 3 entries and all of them being cool??

      Reply
      1. PlanetPhillip

        That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have to pay the prize money!

        Reply
        1. s.anchev

          Oh, well, I didn’t think about that -_-

          But come on, 2012 is likely gonna be the swan swong of Goldsrc and Source modding, 2011 was already pretty light, of course there were some non-HL mod’s which were good, but :
          -GoldSrc?? When Cry of Fear will be released, HL1 modding will be dead.

          -Source?? There are so many over-ambitious mod’s that some of them won’t make a full release until 1 or 2 years ahead, IF their teams stay together or if they don’t have personal or other problems until that.
          And I’m not counting these “episodic” mods closing on cliffhangers, knowing that so many of them won’t have a sequel… I can already dig their graves in the cemetery of “here lies a bunch of incredible ideas which didn’t make it in the end”.

          (I mean, Titan XCIX will see its end perhaps in 2 years, 1187 team is pretty damn mute about Ep 2, and what about Underhell, that 6 episode planned mod, which will probably see its end in… 2016….).

          Besides, many people are changing from Source engine to another, Unreal 3 engine or Cry engine…

          We don’t need much competitions, but from time to time, when a great idea come in… For example, HalloweenVille has too be reconducted on october.

          Reply
          1. George Campbell

            Im sure mappers would wan’t to join a competition not just for prize money, but either bragging rights or just motivation to make better maps! Try a little/no prize competition? and see if there are many entries.

            Reply
          2. Unq

            GoldSrc?? When Cry of Fear will be released, HL1 modding will be dead.

            Bah! O ye of little faith!

            Reply
  2. George Campbell
    Play It Now!

    This is a very good collection of maps with multiple uses for the crossbow.

    What there was of Diminutive Strife was fun. The mapping looked very nice. It could have been longer. 4/5

    Cognition was fun, maybe frustrating! The puzzles, to me, were hard. But when a puzzle was solved, it was rewarding. The ending was… unexpected. It could have been better with some combat. A lot of thought must have been put into this, and it looks very well mapped too, however it was a little boring, so: 3/5

    The Coriolis Effect was the most fun! With really nice mapping. Fun combat in open areas with the crossbow, nice puzzles and a few nice touches like [spoiler]killing the combine with the vent duct[/spoiler]. 5/5 (not that it was perfect, just comparison with the other maps).

    Reply
  3. Anon_357809

    Whens the next “insert cool theme here” ville contest going to be?

    Reply
    1. Radu "IceMan" Tănasie

      How about antlionville? It could certainly be interesting to have a map where you have to fight using your antlions.

      Reply
      1. PlanetPhillip

        I haven’t decided yet, but CrossbowVille might be the last competition. Modders don’t seem interested any more.

        Reply
        1. Radu "IceMan" Tănasie

          I don’t think it was a matter of interest, but rather of preference. I really wanted to participate in the next [name]ville, but when I saw that the winning theme was “crossbowville” I immediately lost all motivation. As fun as crossbows are I just couldn’t imagine interesting scenarios using it. There would have probably been more entries if the theme was “bossville”. That’s just my opinion.

          Also, you should do a bit more advertising on level design forums, because if it weren’t for Podcast17 or me browsing the site daily, I probably wouldn’t have heard of any of these competitions. I would be happy to promote any future competitions on several forums, if there will be any.

          Reply
          1. PlanetPhillip

            There would have probably been more entries if the theme was “bossville”. That’s just my opinion.

            That’s the problem right there. For every theme I suggest or use there are a bunch of people who don’t like it. That’s why I tried having pro designers choose the theme but that just resulted in some very “samey” levels.

            Of course, I don’t expect everybody to like all themes, but no matter what I choose there are always complaints.

            I used to do a lot more advertising and I usually send a press release to all the big sites, but they just don’t care.

            Reply
            1. Radu "IceMan" Tănasie

              For every theme I suggest or use there are a bunch of people who don’t like it

              Why not try picking a more neutral theme, which leaves every gameplay aspect to be decided by the mapper, but requires him to implement the action in a specific environment. For instance, a watery location, which could be at sea, a harbor, sewers, etc.

              That’s why I tried having pro designers choose the theme but that just resulted in some very “samey” levels.

              I believe that’s because they were limited to a certain gameplay type. If you restrict the mapper to a certain weapon or enemy, every level will be nearly played the same. Of course, the same thing could happen to a location theme, but this time it’s the appearence that looks nearly the same, the way in which the maps are played being entirely different.

              Reply
  4. sneakyspeckman

    Congrats to the the two winners. My entry ended up being much shorter than I had originally planned due to time constraints, which unfortunately meant that I was unable to implement most of the puzzles I had thought up. Making a map in a week didn’t give me any time to have it play tested, hence the forklift. Sorry Phillip!

    The Coriolis Effect was my favorite and was very fun to play. I can also appreciate the quality of work that went into it. The environments were believable and they had a great atmosphere. The combat was kept fresh throughout the two maps, preventing it from becoming repetitive.

    Cognition had some good puzzles and some very nice mapping. Unfortunately, the experience was somewhat ruined for me due to several frustrating ones.

    Overall well worth your time to play.

    P.S.
    [spoiler]There are three ways to kill the sniper. [/spoiler]

    Reply
    1. VoEC

      I did like your map very much. For something made in only a week and not being playtested it is really good.
      I especially loved the part where you have to fight the sniper. I actually wanted to do soemthing similar in my map but I just couldn’t get it right. You made it quite fun. I also enjoyed that you than take his position and have to snipe the approaching combine, That was a great idea.

      Sad that you had to cut some puzzles, I would have loved to see some more. But still, a great entry.

      [spoiler]3 ways? …
      1. Throwing a grenade.
      2. Probably walking up to him and killing him directly?
      And what could be the third?[/spoiler]

      Reply
  5. EmoLevelDesigner
    Play It Now!

    What I instantly liked about this release is that before downloading I looked at the screenshots and all maps looked good, no poorly designed ones.

    Diminutive Strife

    We start in the canals. The design is interesting and atmospheric, with great attention to small details. For example, when I was walking through the canals, I saw fallen leaves on the ground, this made me look up and see the tree. Nice detail.

    After the canals you can jump on the loader and see that there’s nothing behind the fence 🙁 And you can see the sniper, but your arrows just fly through him without causing any harm 🙁 I think that this can be avoided by placing a combine soldier (or some other means to detect the hit) there who killtargets/removes/destroys the sniper after his death.

    As for the gameplay, I didn’t find it special, we’re just forced to use the crossbow most of the time, and that’s all.

    Overall, this map is a great breath of Half-Life2 atmosphere, it captures the turmoil that happened after Freeman teleported to the Breen’s office very well.

    Cognition

    Designed in original style. The author browsed through the textures, and found the ones that would fit very well with the combine metal textures.

    The puzzles are done well and everything’s thought out: there are clues and crates with crossbow ammo around. Somehow I managed to quickly solve the columns puzzle by randomly using the levers. But beware: the puzzles are very challenging and confusing. I managed to solve them all by myself, but that required effort.

    In the room with the barrels there is something on the wall that looks like it should have been a ladder. I think that it’s better to put the ladder there or remove this thing altogether. My solution of that area involved jumping with aid of exploding a barrel under me, and that’s probably not what the author intended.

    The Coriolis Effect

    Interesting place in the forest. Nice introduction of the crossbow and mission briefing. New papers on the walls are of Valve quality.

    The Crossbow combat is fun and doesn’t feel forced. It fits the stealth assault theme well.

    There are broken stairs where it’s possible to climb there using crate and barrel, but there’s an invisible wall. This moment feels unnatural and artificial. And the moment when an invisible wall around the railway carriage prevented me from getting to the other side of the room was annoying. The darkness of that room didn’t help either, so I ended up completing that place with mat_fullbright 1, after which I noticed that the invisible wall prevents from reaching the supply crate!

    I was disappointed with having to spend a long time in the dark indoor areas. But stunning outdoor areas of this map are really worth visiting.

    The author managed to realise destroying a helicopter with the crossbow, which is funny.

    Conclusion: I liked all maps equally, don’t have a favorite map this time. Every map has something great, but also something that drags it down. But every one of them has strong and original atmosphere, so they are worth checking out despite their flaws.

    And I feel that this is one of the best PlanetPhillip Competition releases, because it doesn’t have maps of poor quality. It’s better to have less maps but higher quality.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      and that’s probably not what the author intended.

      I think that’s exactly what the author wanted to happen.

      Reply
      1. shadowmancer471

        Actually the idea was to use the unbreakable blue barrel found on the ledge in the pipe-room (with the two buttons), and then stack this with the explosive barrel to reach the ledge.
        I wasn’t aware that this puzzle could be exploited like this

        Reply
        1. PlanetPhillip

          That’s what I meant, I just didn’t read his comment properly. I just saw “exploding barrel” and “jumping” and thought meant stacking them and then jumping the last part.

          Sorry for the confusion.

          Reply
        2. Gradius

          I think it would have been a very good idea to move those two rooms closer together then. I ended up using those barrels in conjunction (well, actually I threw one up and then spammed E + Spacebar and floaty-jumped with the other one) but the big distance between the barrel and the puzzle made it feel unintended.

          Reply
  6. pfoot
    Personal Favourite

    Worth a download JUST for “The Coriolis Effect”

    The other maps aren’t worth a play through in my opinion, ellogical, lots of frustrating illogical puzzles and overall mediocre.

    Reply
  7. william
    Personal Favourite

    After playing through the first map I couldn’t believe there could be a better entry. Diminutive Strife is beautiful to look at, it has some excellent design choices (for some reason I really loved the stacked steel beams), and how smooth the gameplay felt was really welcomed. [spoiler]I found the electrical cable puzzle to be a little random, and the hunter battle afterwards to be a little cumbersome. I did really like how you could drop the beam from the crane onto the hunter[/spoiler]. I think this map needed to work more on their puzzle elements, utilize the lambda symbols a bit more to release traps and such.

    At the beginning of Cognition, I was a bit overwhelmed. The design of the maps seemed to be a bit haphazard, multiple corridors with textures that seem to blend into each other. Some of the puzzles of cognition were very obvious and easy, but the one with the exploding barrel took me way longer to figure out than I would have wanted to; the solution isn’t exactly obvious. [spoiler]At first I attempted to shoot the magnetic device into the pipes because I knew the solution would have something to do with that. It wasn’t until later I found out that there is another hook in the background; which looks like part of the conveyor structure[/spoiler]. I wasn’t too impressed with Cognition, where I thought it was a pretty good puzzle solving map, it didn’t leave me with a sense of excitement in the end, just frustration. What really bugged me though was that the crossbow boxes (for ammo) had the SMG on the label, I didn’t realize that’s where I got crossbow ammo until later on in the map… call me stupid, but why wasn’t this changed? It’s clear you can do it because in the the third map there is a box with a crossbow marked on it.

    The Coriolis Effect is a fantastic map, I didn’t have the optimization issues that Phillip did, but it’s a shame that it (sorta) broke the rules a bit. I felt overall this map as better executed than Diminutive Strife and I found that I used the crossbow almost exclusively. It’s long, full of combat and left me with a good feeling.. One thing though.. is this really how you solve this puzzle?
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/p17william/screenshot/631862291232505899
    If so… that’s terribly bad design. Oh!! And I brought the gnome through the entirety of the two maps so I’m pretty proud about myself on that front.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      One thing though.. is this really how you solve this puzzle?

      No, there’s a button on the other side of the room, hidden behind a wooden palette. It’s a bit silly really because why would the button be there?

      Reply
      1. VoEC

        One thing though.. is this really how you solve this puzzle?

        Actually your supposed to…
        [spoiler]Shoot the button with your crossbow while standing in the elevator.[/spoiler]
        It is a bit like the one puzzle in Cognition.

        it’s a bit silly really because why would the button be there?

        I don’t want to nag (if that is the right word), but the button is there because it is a freight elevator and no one is supposed to get on there. They used it to quickly transport train parts from the workshop and loading bay down for painting. People are supposed to use the stairs, but they are locked behind a gate. Also: Stairs are to lame for Gordan Freeman! 😀

        Reply
  8. PlanetPhillip

    It seems that if you haven’t finished all the chapters in Episode Two (and maybe HL2 and EP1 if you have them installed), then only one or two of the chapters will be unlocked. They should be all unlocked when you first start the mod, but if they isn’t the case, then you can just play through them in order. They are in size order anyway, so the first one is the smallest.

    You can manually edit a configuration file and unlock them but with only 3 chapters it’s hardly worth it.

    Reply
  9. Hec

    Im really stuck in cognition entry, please anyone can help me with the part where are 3 buttons, it seems that u have to hit them with the crosbow shoot, but the speed of that weapon is just not enough to press the 3 of them on time!!!!!!, what the hell can I do????

    i passed the part wher the big yellow magneto is, but now I don’t really know what to do in the buttons part….

    Helpy HELP!!

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      it seems that u have to hit them with the crosbow shoot, but the speed of that weapon is just not enough to press the 3 of them on time!!!!!!, what the hell can I do????

      That’s exactly what you have to do and you do have enough time. Try and stand close to where my screenshot is taken and don’t use the zoom.

      It took me about 20 tries.

      Reply
      1. shadowmancer471

        Or you could shoot the lone button on the left and run and press the other two
        It seems I could have drastically improved player directioning.

        Reply
        1. Hec

          Oh thanks my friends, I actually solved it “manually” pressing the closer 2 of them and then sprinting to press the third!, that one was a tricky one! thanks 4 ur help 🙂

          Reply
  10. Bolx
    Personal Favourite

    First I have to say well done to the respective authors as each entry had it’s merits. Also a thank you to Phillip for yet another ” Ville” competition for us players to enjoy, but I’m sad to hear this may be the last one. This is far and away my favourite so far.

    Diminutive Strife:
    A nice looking but short entry which was fun to play!

    it’s nicely made (at least to my non Modders/Mappers eye) entry which would have been a great part of a larger mod. Even reading the review’s I doubt many will be able to resist climbing the forklift truck. The blockage on the ladder was a bit of a pain, I tried shooting it with the pistol before jumping into the water, to no avail but the crossbow with one shot dislodged it? As Emo has said;

    you can see the sniper, but your arrows just fly through him without causing any harm

    in other words you can’t snipe the sniper!

    Personally I felt the electrical puzzle was a bit superfluous, for what the entry was about but at the end of the day this was a nice solid entry, however if this had been released on it’s own I would have tended towards a play it later.

    Cognition:
    Very Portal-esque with a hint of Miigga’s find multiple objects to open a door. I’m not not a fan of Portal but I do like Miigga’s maps/mods!

    OK, it’s easy to see why this is the winner, it looks superb but it’s just not the style I enjoy. For me at least looks alone don’t make a map/mod enjoyable. I can see why others have enjoyed this, as reading posts for various mods/maps on PP over the years I have rough idea of the consensus of opinion. Maybe I have different expectations of a mod/map from others but this. My personal view of this one is a maybe, sorry if others disagree but we all have different tastes.

    The Coriolis effect:
    By far my favourite of the three entries, despite a few flaws. It was what I ask of a map/mod, fun!

    The fact that I only had the crowbar and crossbow made it an interesting challenge. With a little more polish this could have quite a nice looking mod but some of the dark areas let it down a bit, however it did have a HL2 series look and feel. The gameplay could have been a bit harder but in general was enough to be fun. An area I liked and could have wasted a lot of time in was overlooking the train yard with the combine fighting various types of zombies and some headcrabs, it was just like some theme-park attractions where you have limitless ammo and the targets pop up again, childish but fun.

    To some extent the method of taking down the chopper was a little silly but at least the author used his imagination and a nod to the Magnusson Device.

    For me this has to be a play it now.

    Overall I have to view the entries as a single entity and although I could not call any of them a personal favourite the overall concept is.

    Reply
  11. thelastlambda
    Play It Now!

    Although it was only 3 maps, these were extremely high quality and definitely deserve a play it now… maybe even a personal favorite if there was one more

    Diminutive Strife
    Good map, good ideas, it’s too short to be considered great. The part with the door was a bit confusing but I finally nailed the right combo. Some of the combat was way too close for a crossbow and its pretty easy to skip the last battle if you move fast enough.

    Cognition
    I won’t lie, I got pissed off at this map. Since there was absolutely no direction, I had to figure it out all on my own. That being said, I loved it. It probably took the longest amount of time because of the sheer amount of thinking you had to do to get all the right puzzles. It was a fun portal-esque map with some interesting solutions. Definitely best use of crossbow but if you added some enemies near the end that could have been really cool; however, the ending was awesome nonetheless and really doesn’t need enemies as it would ruin balance.

    The Coriolis Effect
    I liked this map pretty much on equal footing with Cognition. It was big and it had soo many fine details that many mappers may not use. It was not inventive in the use of the crossbow and I fear that is why it lost. It felt like it had potential to be a mod and it did try some cool, yet weird things with exploding mine balls. A good map that stands fine on its own yet could use improvements in overall gameplay.

    Reply
  12. vancanucksfan
    Play It Now!

    I quite enjoyed playing the maps from this competition. It’s a shame there weren’t more entries.

    Diminutive Strife – nice map but a little on the short side – 3rd Place

    Cognition – great map, with difficult puzzles where I unfortunately struggled for awhile before the light bulb went off – 1st Place

    The Coriolis Effect – a fun couple of maps to play, but there were problems. There were a lot of invisible walls which are annoying. I would see somewhere that I thought I could explore, and there was always boxes lying around, so I would stack them up only to find there was an invisible wall preventing me from climbing onto something. Also, near the end the combine and enemies in the big open yard seemed to spawn endlessly, which I am not a fan of. Overall this was fun to play despite those issues – 2nd Place

    I am definitely looking forward to playing the entries for the next PP competition!

    Reply
  13. Hec
    Play It Now!

    Ah crosbowVlle, in the end so much better inquality terms, than the past GravgunVille. Just three entries but really worth playing the 3 of them.

    The first entry, diminutive strife, it was my fav. of the three, why??, becasue u have simple combat and the main goal using the crosbow, long distance target kill, also here it is involved, some of environmental combat, and the part where the sniper is is the best of it.

    The second one, Cognition is also good, and this is in the 2nd place for my likings, because reminded me the old gold classic, “The Trap” Mod, if it was not like that, definitely presented us a really clever use of the crosbow, and all if the puzzles involve it, so I really like that detail.

    The third one, Coriolis Effect, I think was obviously the longest of the 3, but I felt it as a more of a hell combat than just to use only the crosbow, maybe the AR2 with limmited ammo would have come very handy for this one, also it has its clever parts, but specially the end was a living HELL!!, I mean u have to take more than 5!!!, Hunters to the grave and a helicopter, in which i’d love to use the RPG better than having to shoot that mine hanging from heli’s belly!!!!!!, so its good but let me tell u if u love to kill hunters with the crosbow then this specific entry is for you!!

    Overall a pretty good competition, not quantity but quality is what u get, I hope this one is at least the last comp. for many months, I love another comp. but definitely in 6 months latter or more! just to rest.

    And if we ballance and analize the history of the competitions, I think Sniperville and Hunterville remains as classic comps, this one is good but just to far to be a PF classic competition.

    Reply
  14. ETWO

    Wow, Cognition was surprisingly bad. After randomly finishing 1 puzzle I just quit. If the author have had added more clues, it would have been a fantastic map.

    The concept itself of crossbow only puzzle map is fantastic though.

    Reply
  15. vicarman
    Play It Now!

    Hiya. this is quite an interesting competition and being a fan of the crossbow, it suits my style of play.

    However, I am stuck in the final section of cognition where there is the steaming pipe. I can see the wheel, but try as I might, I cannot seem to work out how to dislodge it. any thoughts?

    Ta.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      You need to hit two buttons almost at the same time. To view one button you need to stand on the wodden plank near the first button. Just make sure the line of sight is clear. if You need more help I’ll be very specific.

      Reply
  16. s.anchev
    Play It Now!

    Allrrrrrriiight, after the G String debacle, I thought it’ll be my last mod playing, but I couldn’t end with such a purge, could I??

    Well, here is another -Ville competition which is great, each of the 3 entries has its own style, they really managed to use greatly this single weapon.

    I thought before this competition “oKAY, wow, we’re going to have a giant map where we are immobile and shooting combine on the bottom, lol”, but in the end, modders gave me many interesting things : puzzles, but also some interesting battles.

    Coriolis Effect was especially very good, varied, and the last battle make it really worth the download. After the infamous Copter battle in Research and Development, someone else managed to give us another inventive copter battle… At first, I was just “meh?, lol wut I’ve only a crossbow, give me the RPG, help, Oh my god, Hunters now, this is a joke, right?”, then I saw the solution and I was catch by this good idea.

    Cognition is pretty cool also, using crossbow with a puzzle map is pretty interesting and make me scratch my head a few times. Very cool.

    Well, that’s it, another cool competition. in the end, only G-gunville was the only “incident” in all of these competitions, but I think Phillip, you should really continue this competition, even without “prizes”, I don’t think seriously it will change things for the modders…

    Reply
    1. Shadowmancer471

      What about Diminuative Strife?

      Reply
      1. s.anchev

        It was cool, especially the sniper part. But I was More touched by the 2 other entries. But D. Strife was not bad at all, and That’s why I’ve got a PIN to this mod.

        Reply
  17. Blue Lightning

    When I get some free time I look forward to trying these!

    In the mean time Phillip, mabye much of the HL2 community moved on, but there will always be a core. Hell, I playtest (even beta test) single-player Duke Nukem 3D maps, which are STILL being made. We are talking about a game from 1996! We might get a map per month if we are lucky, but a core community will always exist. So dont give up!

    Reply

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  19. tommiezat
    Play It Now!

    Definitely worth playing. I avoid trying to rate too harshly or criticize maps that are offered thru a PP “ville” competition because of the deadlines and time constraints the authors are under so I thank each entrant on a job well done. As noted previously in
    Dim Strife it was possible to jump to places not intended and getting stuck, behind the small fenced in area as an example but although a short play it was fun.

    Cognition was really cool with some unique puzzle solving solutions that were very frustrating with lack of direction, I’m not sure I went to all the areas as there were doors with arrows leading out that I never entered although I did get all “necessary equipment ” to reach the final but as I stated because of a competition I don’t fault the map

    Coriolis was my top pick, good mix and I liked the seldom used choice for the heli battle

    Thanks To All

    Reply
  20. dougjp
    Play It Now!

    I think this was easily the mapping competition with the highest average quality. As a result, I feel like there was more enjoyment here, even with the limited number of maps. Thanks to all the mappers, excellent work!

    I rated each after I played, and my top pick was The Coriolus Effect, just like the way I see the voting has been so far. I really enjoyed it all, only found it a bit too easy. Diminutive Strife was a close 2nd and fell short only because of the short length and (unusual for me) I was negatively distracted by a detail, that bulletproof enemy standing by where the sniper was. I loved the layout, specifically placement of cover, the battles were interesting and the little puzzle with the electric cables was OK too. Cognition was last despite the beautiful layout and obvious complexity of details and planning, because of a few of the puzzles which I grew to hate. I couldn’t have finished the map without coming back here and finding at least hints of spoilers. That rarely happens but when it does, its the death knell in terms of a voting score for me. The HL series doesn’t have objectives, layout maps and so on like, for example, Crysis or FarCry. So its more important to have puzzles which are more intuitive or risk losing the audience, IMHO.

    Reply
  21. Ade
    Maybe?

    There’s always one entry per ville that has to be frustrating for me, well in this case there were 2… Diminutive Strife might have been the mediocre one but in the end the other 2 just left me bitter.

    Cognition had hard puzzles and invisible walls, I couldn’t for the life of me get in the room with 3 buttons without noclip, I couldn’t even get in the previous room because it was behind a door boarded up with unbreakable wood! That I foolishly tried for 20 minutes to break with crossbow ricochets, then gave up, noclipped, took the last valve but then couldn’t get out with it because of the invisible walls where the glass seemed to be broken.. So I noclipped again through the final gate and the ending was meh.
    Coriolis effect had bad fps all throughout, I’m surprised I didn’t rage quit cus of my headache, every step of the way I was praying it would be over, so I’d rather have a short but polished map with good gameplay than long boring unoptimized (and pitch black at times ugh) map.

    I could’ve done with a few nades, idk the constraints for this, but sometimes the xbow is the worst weapon you can have against turrets! And not being able to pickup enemy weapons was also frustrating, so I’m giving this the first Maybe.

    Reply
    1. Dirk

      You don’t get ricochets if you stop the wheel turning!

      Reply
  22. docteurklein

    The coriolis effect simply was wonderful.

    Reply
  23. Neon Minerva
    Play It Later

    Here we go again:

    Diminutive Strife
    It is good

    Fun little canal map. Has a sniper and some hunters for variety, and a lot of crossbow action. The puzzle with the plugs was a bit odd, but apart from that I enjoyed this map, although it’s very short.

    Cognition
    It is great!

    A very clever puzzle map, and it looks nice too. Uses the crossbow in fun ways. I can’t say much considering it’s a map about solving puzzles, but I recommend it.

    The Coriolis Effect
    It is good

    I enjoy the environments, and the combat is pretty good, focusing on the crossbow (but you also get a pistol and crowbar). I also like how the level interconnects. There’s an easy way to break a part of the map as I found, but apart from that, it’s a really good mapset that I recommend. The final battle is also really cool.

    Overall

    This is a good set of maps. I recommend you check them out, as they’re all worth playing. My favourite was Cognition because I like puzzle maps, but they’re all very good. Next up, DoorVille!

    Reply
  24. Steve
    Play It Now!
    Diminutive Strife
    It is good

    I thought this started off rather well but it would have been nice to have the crossbow from the very start with the initial outdoor parts populated by distant soldiers. Because these are cool places and well-design too… However, I must admit, I loved the part which had the running man being chased by two soldiers: it’s details like this which add a grander scale to the world we’re in. Loved it.

    What follows is interesting and informs you of Manhacks that you should then wary of appearing. Nice designs to the map from start to here also I thought. Once we’ve later took the plunge and headed towards the shipyard with the sniper things really do get tough!!

    I had to play it coy and take me time so much rather than being a Rambo! Save regularly too!! I found the soldiers were easier to deal with near the door, shutting it each time one was killed. Perhaps because of lacking skills? But maybe also because ammo is pretty low!

    Wow that sniper was hard and then he comes for you good style too. Glad I saved lol. Watch out for a little ammo and health near the entrance too.

    The power cables were okay to figure out, even for me! But this lead onto the weakest part of the whole map. Three hunters! I didn’t really see the point of these here but at least I had places to take cover, that was good. With pick-ups too.

    Ending was quite well done even though the guys didn’t talk. I liked the peep through the door! Lol

    A good map this and very hard in places too.

    Cognition
    It is okay

    I wasn’t too sure about this at all. I didn’t get much and what I saw didn’t seem to do anything but I continued on a pulled what I thought was a useless lever. Then I remembered about the wheel… This unlocks the door and takes you through to a new puzzle.

    I think if you love these puzzler maps then this would be right up your street. However, for me things are often overwhelming and many times it’s just too much. Wheres the fun…

    The Coriolis Effect
    It is WOW!

    As soon as the map began, I had high hopes. I loved the swinging tyre and the building looked so inviting! Sneaky headcrabs inside so watch out!

    What follows is a fantastic place and something which I’ve mentioned in other reviews before. Large areas with soldiers to pick-off using the crossbow. Sure, this is a CrossbowVILLE, but these situations to be in are superb fun. And this is a perfect part of the map, I only wish there were more soldiers for all the ammo I’ve got…

    Inside is a little tooooo dark for my liking. Sure, I like atmosphere but it’s just too damn dark. However, I gotta admit the design of the factory is excellent with nice hints from flares too. I just knew that vent wasn’t going to hold!!

    Afterwards, there are more creepy scenes and once again there’s no shortage ammo, which is great. But it eventually leads onto the train/warehouse part which is just way too dark. Walking inside the train was so incredibly dark but not in an atmospheric way but in a squinting way lol.

    I loved the way those spiders emerged and I had barrels to roll and explode. Very satisfying, even if it’s too dark to fully appreciate it!

    By the time I reached Crane Control, I was outta ammo and once again in a dark place… controlling this was difficult because it was too dark. But I eventually got there and found what looks like an old DARK office. Interesting yet predictable scenes. Still too dark but it worked well. It’s almost like the author made such a perfect map but then thought “how can I make it harder… let’s remove lighting!”.

    Loving what follows after this. Looking through the window shows us exactly where we are which gives a good sense of the scary day had! Leads onto a cool scene with the gun turret and everywhere has lights!! Yippee!!

    I’m laughing with embarrassment here as I didn’t instantly see how to unblock the doorway. Ugh why wasn’t I looking up?? Lol brilliant little puzzle!

    This eventually leads through to one of my favourite scenes ever with regards to a crossbow and a situation playing out by itself. Constantly spawning zombies and Combine Soldiers might sound rubbish and anything constantly spawning usually is. But this time we can talk it easy and watch or join in. Brilliant.

    Everything that follows is interesting with great action all the way to flipping the switch that leads to the gunship. Travel back a little and we enter into the dark warehouse for a Hunter fest / gunship battle which is fun. But, again, perhaps a little too dark? But that’s not such a big deal here, just noticeable because of the previous level that’s all, I guess.

    Overall, this is brilliant and I loved The Coriolis Effect!

    Reply
  25. MinorLimes021
    Play It Now!

    While this only contains 3 entries, I enjoyed all of them and wasn’t expecting them to be not as bad as I thought.

    Diminutive Effect
    It is good

    Gameplay was normal, but still decent at best. Combat was also as usual as I thought. At one area, combat seemed passive at first, however, it gotten difficult as I was suddenly horded with CP’s coming at me (luckily I was able to kill all of them without dying). Design was well done at most parts. While it is a good entry, it didn’t convince me enough to give this is better rating.

    Cognition
    It is great!

    This entry was really good, I give that in! However, I wish there was at least a better direction (meaning a feature that would remind the player to do something first). There was also one area where I struggled to figure out how to climb the ledge to get to the vent. I found out that you either just needed a prop to jump over, which was hard to realize since there were almost no props to be found except a barrel you can find at another area. This is still a really detailed entry with at least some enjoyable puzzles.

    The Coriolis Effect
    It is WOW!

    It started off boring at first with the combat, but as I played through it soon began to pick up. I loved the design placed into this entry and the features included (e.g. pushing buttons using a crossbow, exploding bombs attached to a hunter chopper, destroying the camera guarding the forcefield). It was in my opinion the best map I played in this competition and I would play it again.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 15 Minutes
    Reply
  26. Daken50
    Play It Later

    Spoiler. The Coriolis Effect was the only one I like. The problem with it being great was the chopper. Hitting that spinning bomb was annoying.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    30 Minutes
    Reply
  27. Captain Crap
    Play It Now!

    I’ll review each map sooner or later but they’re all great btw.

    Reply

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