This map was entered in TWHL’s competition 28 “map a dream.

You are Gordon Freeman who comes home after a long day in the lab.

Explore the house and follow any instructions you might find.

Sweet dreams!

The idea of an article about the science behind some aspects of the Half-Life games popped into my head when I was listening to a physics podcast. It was talking about Zero-Point Energy and of course I immediately recognized the term.

I performed a quick search to see if somebody else had already written something and was initially disappointed to find somebody had. However, after scanning it and seeing the author say that the “Zero Point Energy” was just “a pointless quasi-scientific name that has no serious grounding in genuine physics”, I decided I would write my own.

“It’s the night that lasts forever. You’ve just found a way back into the winding non-euclidean streets of Insomnia City after after a long soul search in the great white void.

All that matters now is survival, and what you will become. Paranoia has taught you much, but it’s time to move on, on to orders of time and space still stranger.”

You are trapped.

You and one security guard and perhaps a scientist.

With careful planning you might be able to escape.

Can you save the others though?

This morning, I posted a request on TWHL.info (the best GoldSource mapping community around) asking for people to let me know which maps and mods I should add to the site (expect the next few months to be GoldSource-rich with new content!)

Somebody suggested a map of theirs only to find out I had already added it. The reviews were not glowing but he accepted it with humility. Here is what he said “Unfortunately it was a rushed map( done in about a week), and most of the members there don’t know that so they judge accordingly. I don’t feel bad about that,such good criticism helps you discover your weaknesses.”

The fact it was made in such a short space of time, shouldn’t have anything to do with a review, but the reality is that it probably does. At least in my opinion.

You start in a large, bland room. Collect your ammo and HEV suit and let the action begin!

This is a “player’s” mappack.

Basically, it’s all about the gameplay. The layout and design is not meant to be real at all.

You just have to fight army grunts and keep going forward.

” You play as a Resistance member who finds himself in a mysterious place with no idea how he got there.”

Explore carefully as you never know what might be around the corner.

Keep your wits about you as nothing is as simple as it seems.

When I suggested the idea of level design critique videos to Jim, it was always with the hope of having the author benefit from Jim’s eye for detail.

After the first video, for Station 51 by Sam Combs, was streamed and made available on the RTSL YouTube channel, the response from the community was overwhelmingly positive.

Sam published his response to the video on his Tumblr blog and has kindly allowed me to republish it here.

Colonel Odessa Cubbage needs your help.

Together you can escape the city by train, but you must work as a team.

Don’t relax too soon though, because things have a way of catching up on you!

This is an updated and extended version of the map that was submitted to the CityStreetsVille mapping challenge.