EndVille

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

26th July 2013

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Here is the final part of the 3×24 Mapping Competition series.

The plan was to allow modders the chance to build a whole mod, in pieces, then give them extra time to join the pieces together into a separate mod.

This mod contains 3 entries.

EndVille Theme Details

The map must start with a BANG! Assume that this part of the map is after the main section of a mod, where the player has just performed the “reason” for the mod. It continues with the player having whacked the bee hvie and all hell has broken lose.

Your objective is to GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!

New entrants can start from a fresh area and invisible walls in the beginning will NOT be penalized.

It’s not important HOW the mod finishes; the player can escape, can get captured or even die – it’s up to you.

As mentioned above, in order to stop people creating their map “out of competition” time, the map must also include the following features:
1. The map must start with with the player learning where to go. How that happens is the mapper’s choice. It doesn’t have to be voice acting, so don’t limit yourself.
2. One huge “drop” must be included, although don’t think it means some difficult jumping section.
3. There should be plenty of exploding barrels.
4. There must be a least one secret area, either visibly obvious but difficult to reach or hidden in some way.
5. The ending should convey some emotion, so consider using a cut-scene and/or new music.

Standard 3×24 Rules
  • Maximum two maps per mapper per competition. (Updated from one)
  • 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 the right to release the map as part of the 3×24 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 or HL2: Ep2 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_pp_3x24.bsp
  • All entries must be sent to Phillip directly no later than the deadline.
Special Notes

Mappers are encouraged to include freely available assets, including textures, models, sounds and music. This will help the map stand out from other entries. However, the actual experience is much more important than simply including lots of new stuff.

Basic Details
  • Title: EndVille
  • File Name: hl2-ep2-sp-3x24mc-endville.7z
  • Size : 41.7MB
  • Author: Tony DeBlasio, Jason Gimba and The_Blazer
  • Date Released: 26 July 2013

Download Options

Download to your HDD [41.7MB]

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

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

Custom Gridview Icon

The fie above comes with three gridview icons. To use one, select “Grid View” in Steam (top right corner). Make sure you have saved the image to a location on your computer – you can’t use it from the compressed archive directly. Right click on “EndVille” and select “Set Custom Image”. Then browse to where you saved the image and choose it. Then click “Set Image” and that’s it.

Of course, you can create your own custom image if you prefer.

Excavation by Jason Gimba

This is Jason’s first entry to this competition series and uses custom voice work. The quality of the environments and general design is superb.
Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

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Missed Flight Part 3 by Tony DeBlasio

Tony is the only modder to enter all three parts and this map continues exactly where part 2 finished. Can you finally meet up with Alyx?
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
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Of Talons and Wings by The_Blazer

This was a late entry, but has been included in the mod. Since it was late it was not eligible for any prizes, but as the readme.txt says, it checked all the required boxes.
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
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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
And the winner is….

Only Missed Flight and Excavation were elgible for judging and it’s clear that Excavation is the stronger entry, both visually and design wise. So, therefore, Excavation is the winner.

I felt that Of Talons and Wings had some wonderful features and I might have had a harder time selecting a winner if it had been on time, but it wasn’t, so that’s that.

Your Turn to vote


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.

Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!
12 recommendations, average score: 4.75 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.69 (what's that?)
Total Downloads
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Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 11 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 11 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours, 27 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 30 Mins by Daken50
Longest: 2 Hours by vancanucksfan
Total Time Played: 15 Hours, 53 Mins
Categories (?)
Half-Life 2: Ep2 HL2-EP2 Mods Play
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52 Comments

  1. PlanetPhillip
    Phillip says Play It!

    The deadline for this came upon me very quickly and I nearly missed it. I was hoping for more entries, but I don’;t think it’s particularly the theme or time-scale that is the problem, just the current motivation of Source modders in general.

    Anyway, I have rated this as a Play It! and am sure you will enjoy the entries. Thanks to all those who entered.

    Missed Flight Part 3

    Have to admit that this drove me a little crazy. To many gates to be opened with the orange wheel. The barrels killed me a few times, which I felt was really unfair. It’s a competent entry but never really excited me.

    Excavation

    This is a beauty, but I didn’t feel it started with a bang and I couldn’t understand 90% of what the vortigaunt was saying. It exudes class and has some nice touches. Definitely, the most polished of the entries.

    Of Talons and Wings

    I love how The_Blazer checked all the requirements, I wish others would do that.

    Anyway, the map is well-constructed and having the choice at the end is a nice touch. Not only that but it’s an important choice.

    I’ll definitely have to replay this again.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 45 Minutes
    Reply

  2. Pingback: I Feel So Contested! ← Steam Contests

  3. The_Blazer
    Play It Now!

    (headlines still seem to be nonfunctional)

    —->WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD.<—-

    Definitely a competition to download, it only contains 3 entries but they're all quite nice, especially Excavation.

    MISSED FLIGHT PART 3:

    TonyDeBlasio certainly improved since his last two entries, because in this one I didn't have to struggle to understand where to go. The very first combat was very, very intense, and the radioactive areas pretty much impossible (I had to give myself health using the console) because there weren't enoungh objects to cross the toxic slime. The helicopter fights were a bit bland, but that's mainly because of the helicopter AI being pretty stupid unless you spend an entire month setting up all its paths, scripts and things like that.

    The environments were great but I feel that they weren't used to their full potential, especially since the NPCs battles were not all that great except for the very first one (it was very hard but entertaining nonetheless).

    EXCAVATION:

    Wow, a fantastic entry! The lighting is absolutely amazing, the geometry was very clever and unique, and all the areas were well-detailed. Gameplay-wise, this map excels in the use of combine NPCs. The part with the emplacement gun was challanging but not too hard, and reaching the gun felt very rewarding. The very last part where ***ATTENTION ENORMOUS SPOILER*** the Vort gets killed really took me by surprise, and the fact that he had helped me escape at the cost of his life definitely conveyed some emotion.

    This is the winner for me, this entry is filled with cool, balanced fights and has very few flaws – if none at all-.

    OF TALONS AND WINGS:

    Well, this was my own entry so I can't really review it, so I'll just point out a couple of things I'm not satisfied with. I'm a bit ashamed with the outdoor lighting, everything looks way too yellow, I should have probably toned that down a bit. I also noticed how I never trust the AI, as quite a few gameplay portions are scripted (namely the part before the ravine and the sniper part). It's a shame since Excavation proved me that with just a few combine soldiers you can make some pretty awesome firefights, I definitely need to learn from that map!

    Also, I can't seem to be able to respect deadlines. This happens to me a lot, I start something and I abandon it or finish it late, it doesn't necessarily have to be a map.

    IMPORTANT, THIS IS REALLY WEIRD.
    The acid-spitting antlion worker NPC (which was supposed to be the main enemy in the last cave) seems to be broken in this mod (at least for me). It only takes 1 pistol hit to instakill them and they don't seem to move around nor attack effectively. It's pretty weird, when I tested the map with Episode 2 they worked.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 30 Minutes
    Reply
    1. JG

      It’s funny that you mention using objects to cross the slime in Missed Flight 3. There is an Airboat in the level. I never found it until I was noclipping around, however, and it is possible (as you found) to move into the toxic area without it and have no means of going back.

      For those who want to know:
      [spoiler]When you emerge from the pipe at the start, look to your left. There is a staircase going up the wall. At the staircase landing, you see a chain link fence. Part of the fence doesn’t look like the rest, it looks like metal grating. You can use the Gravity Gun to pull a lower section off and crawl through. Once inside, break the vent on the wall (yes, it is a vent, not a decal) and you can crawl through the duct to reach the Airboat.[/spoiler]

      Also, I am happy you enjoyed Excavation. šŸ˜€ I haven’t played Of Talons and Wings yet. I might write up some thoughts now that the competition is over.

      Reply
    2. Hec

      QUOTE: I’m not satisfied with :QUOTE

      Well you should be!!, I think it was an awesome entry!! I just loved it and I think with some more combats against the CMB at the end this can be released as a lovely great little mod, I hope you improve it because it deserves it, I would definitely give your work a Personal Favorite recommendation! šŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. MisterAddy

    In Missed Flight Part 3, how do you get to the top floor of the building in the centre of the canals which a dropship landed on?

    EDIT: I worked it out, you have to find a lever for a generator.

    Reply
    1. Sparks

      Aargh! *SPOILER* Bah!

      Reply
      1. MisterAddy

        Sorry, but I figured other people would get stuck there.

        Reply
  5. Tony

    Hey Phillip, how did you get on to the heli platform. You’re only supposed to get there at the end, haha. Alas, the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.

    Reply
  6. Max

    “Unable to load manifest file “scripts/surfaceproperties_manifest.txt'”
    is this because of steampipe? if yes, there probably wont be any hope, since it won’t get out of the steampipe beta

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      I don’t know what that file is and is definitely not in the mod I released. None of the testers have had any issues with it. Try making an empty text file with that name and location and see what happens.

      Reply
      1. Max

        ok, so I reinstalled half life 2 and the second epsiode (i had them installed when I tried to launch this mod) but I just recently uninstalled them. I decided to reinstall them, both set not to opt into the steampipe betas and it works now.

        Reply
    2. JG

      A quick Google search reveals a lot about this error – it definitely predates the Steampipe update.

      The general consensus is that you should verify your game cache. I would right-click on each of your Half-Life 2 games (the original, Ep1 and Ep2), go Properties -> Local Files tab -> Verify Integrity of Game Cache.

      This seems to have fixed it for most users. I don’t know if there was any particular cause.

      Reply
  7. jrw1945

    it looks like all the new mods and maps are using the old steam system lately I can not play none of them on steam

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      This one has been specifically tested with the new format. I believe that everybody has or will be converted, so we are all in the same boat.

      If you are having trouble with this mod, give me more information and I will try to help.

      Reply
      1. Anon_850663

        the game will not start

        Reply
        1. PlanetPhillip

          That’s not helpful or useful information. Is it visible in your Steam library. What happens when you try to play it. Does it give any error messages. Do other EP2 mods work? Does EP2 work?

          Reply
      2. JG

        To my knowledge, everyone should be on Steampipe now, unless you’ve deliberately disconnected yourself from Steam or something.

        Reply
        1. PlanetPhillip

          Yes, and I am sure some people have done that.

          Reply
        2. Sparks

          Is it possible? I’ve tried but it will only work offline for a week or so, before refusing to launch anything without going online – every time I’ve tried it. Followed all the “working offline” guides – offline mode is just lip service as far as I can see.

          GABEN: “You’ll be connecting to me, and you’ll like it that way…”

          Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than shutting valve out of my PC. Seeing as they’re producing nothing new, all they do is screw up other people’s successful work so in that regard they’re harmful parasites.

          Request: If you have backups of SDK 2007 and HL1 & 2 pre-dungpipe update, or you have successfully worked offline from steam, please reply TVM.

          Reply
  8. Anon_850764

    Dove AND Hawk?
    At the end of Talons and Wings you can choose to save your team and become a Dove or destroy the machine and become a Hawk.
    I found a third option that I don’t think was intended.
    *** Spoiler Alert ***
    I stood near the button and threw a grenade over the wall and into the vent. I pushed the button after the grenade went in the vent but before the grenade exploded. The gate opened and the klaxon sounded, but my team stayed put! I went thru the gate and tried to herd them to the train but they wouldn’t go. I ran to the train and got on the platform on the end car, then I saw the team running to me. I started the train after my team got on board and then I got BOTH ending messages, first the Dove ranking and then the Hawk ranking.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      WAY TO GO! You created the Kobayashi Maru of EndVille.

      Reply
    2. The_Blazer

      Well, your little exploit is the very reason the wall separating the button and the machine exists in the first place.

      Weird, I was quite sure grenades couldn’t be thrown over it and still get into the machine, but apparently I was wrong. Oh well, I guess it’s my fault, I should have put a grenade-only collision volume above the wall.

      Reply
      1. PlanetPhillip

        Don’t feel too bad, I tried it too. There’s always somebody who will try and mess with your design – that’s part of the fun!

        Reply
      2. JG

        I was able to do it on the first attempt as well. It’s not a matter of throwing the grenades over the wall, it’s standing within grenade throwing distance in front of the machine, chucking the grenade, and running around the wall to push the button before the grenade fuse expires.

        While the “A or B” scenario is fine for EndVille, if you were to expand this level into a full mod, I would love to see this as a valid option. Typical to his ways, the G-Man puts you in his own Kobayashi Maru test with the assumption that you can only have one or the other – a no win scenario. It would be hugely satisfying to be able to do both to spite him. šŸ™‚

        Reply
    3. Hec

      <<<<<I stood near the button and threw a grenade over the wall and into the vent. I pushed the button after the grenade went in the vent but before the grenade exploded. The gate opened and the klaxon sounded, but my team stayed put! I went thru the gate and tried to herd them to the train but they wouldn’t go. I ran to the train and got on the platform on the end car, then I saw the team running to me. I started the train after my team got on board and then I got BOTH ending messages, first the Dove ranking and then the Hawk ranking. <<<<<

      So I guess that's the "legal" strategy to get both endings, I'm glad someone actually get this both endings to work!, I'd try it in the future šŸ™‚ šŸ™‚ šŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. JG
    Play It Now!

    At least, EndVille has been released! šŸ™‚

    Missed Flight, Part 3
    Tony has definitely improved over the course of this competition and his third entry is easily the best he has produced. Credit must also be given for entering all three competitions as well.

    In the third part, we pick up where we left off in the sewers. Using the Airboat to plow through the City 17 canals, we chase after a helicopter that will bring us to safety.

    Still, this entry has its share of issues. Chiefly, puzzles continue to be very obtuse at times. Case in point, you could go through this level without ever finding the Airboat and wonder why the toxic pits are so tedious to cross. Or, you could find the Airboat, and wonder why it is so tedious to punt it through the automatically closing gates. Likewise, the cause-and-effect of some situations is dubious. If you never pressed the garage door button in the first area, the Combine would never arrive with their fancy APCs. Similarly, opening an innocuous garage door in the last area is the only way to make a Combine Dropship arrive and spawn the enemies needed to burst the door leading forward.

    I think Tony is a competent mapper. He has the technical chops to manage fairly complex levels and events. We’ve come a long way from problems of trigger order and fidgety keypads. But, he needs to continue putting his work in front of more eyes and incorporating that feedback. What makes sense to him as a modder is proving to be convoluted for the player and if this is the style of map he wants to pursue, he will need to add more layers of hints to help everyone arrive at the intended solution.

    Of Talons and Wings
    I have to give Blazer credit for even attempting an Antlion cave environment. In my opinion, it is one of the more difficult themes to pull off because of all the displacement work, but he did quite well.

    I liked the false death at the start and thought the rebel voices were a nice touch. Relying on the rebels to fend off the Antlions while you collect health was a unique scenario.

    After the caves, the level opens up dramatically with a sniper section. It was awkward how you couldn’t manipulate the explosive barrels, and painting a path on the ground might have helped show the intended route from cover to cover. Still, it is a quality sniper encounter with no major frustration.

    Near the end, you come across “the choice.” The premise is pretty neat, even though it seems like the rebels could have found some way around the puddle of toxin. Amusingly, it is possible to do both choices if you want an awkward hybrid ending! Otherwise, depending on what you choose, you’ll be treated to an ending cutscene. I would have liked to see both choices as an option – if only to smite the G-Man (I assume it is the G-Man) giving you a black-or-white choice.

    There’s really nothing wrong with this quality entry. Almost everything seems to work as intended, it is fun to play, and the events are evenly dispersed around the map to prevent long segments of downtime. The only real mystery I came across was the four buildings in the railyard and the supplies inside them. Maybe the author planned on a battle here? Also, I wasn’t initially able to get the rebels to sit down on the train like Phillip did. I suspect that maybe one of them either died or got stuck somewhere, which prevented me from pressing the button to leave. šŸ™‚

    Excavation
    This was my entry and I am happy that people liked it. I would like to thank Jon and Brian for testing.

    I ended up learning a lot about how to tame the often suicidal Combine AI, the item_dynamic_resupply (which I never used before, believe it or not), and using a refract shader to stand in for water in order to improve the appearance of the func_water_analog. I was also happy to finally have an excuse to include a crossbow sniping section. I would recommend playing the map on Normal.

    Playtime: Guessing it was about 1 hour.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    1 Hour
    Reply
    1. Hec

      -QUOTE-I would have liked to see both choices as an option if only to smite the G-Man (I assume it is the G-Man) giving you a black-or-white choice-QUOTE-

      I totally agree with that, I also would’ve loved an hybrid “legal” end. šŸ™‚

      Reply
    2. Hec

      Oh by the way, your entry “Excavation” was also pretty great, but it made me feel like I want MORE!! I hope there’s a second part for it. Maybe in some near future?

      Reply
  10. Hec
    Play It Now!

    Well, this was a fantastic mod overall, indeed I’d say is the best of the three villes.

    Missed Flight Part 3
    Was the best of the three parts, tough the whole way to the end is winding and still narrow to maneuver especially in the airboat section, the whole combat feels nice, and the feeling of reaching Alyx at the end and get out of there is powerful, and that eerie G-Man Sighting makes it cool. Tough I’d prefer to have the gauss cannon mounted in the airboat to have some more action.

    Excavation
    Was really cool and polished, and the combat against the CMB was a total delight, tough I have to be honest in the point that I didn’t understand the story plot at all, I mean I know the costumed voice Vortigaunt told me I had to blow the excavation apparatus of the CMB where you start the map, but that never really happened, and I didn’t understand why I reached Alyx at the end of that gorgeous looking waterfall, I must have missed a lot of the dynamic dialogue where the Vorti was talking to us in our road through some speakers… So I recommend to put written the whole customized dialogue as CC in order to get better the spirit of the plot.

    Of Talons and Wings
    Was a brilliant entry, absolutely brilliant!!!! It was the one which I loved the most to play, and those 2 possible endings were a total array of cleverness. The combat was also a delight and allows you to make some strategy as planting some ambushes, tough I’d recommend to bring more CMB units to combat along with 2 or 4 Hunters to rise the mayhem and action at the part of the gates just before you reach the station at the end, and also maybe put some mounted guns positions if it’s possible.

    Also I have to say that is possible to actually finish the map making blowing the Depot-Fortress and rescuing the Rebels if you use “noclip”, tough I know that’s a rude way to end it, I’d recommend the mapper to make that actually possible by a “legal” move, I mean by using some hidden trick into the map itself, like grabbing some frags and throwing at the vents, and also hit the door button with a long distance accurate shoot, I mean by making 3 possible endings the map would be even cooler than the way it’s now.

    Is a shame it didn’t filled the requirements on time, because I totally voted for it as the “unofficial” winner entry. despite of this fact I think it absolutely deserve an honor mention.

    In conclusion I think I was a little bit rough by judging the Beginning-Middle and End Villes comps kind of just bad, this last entry showed that the mappers can deliver cool and entertaining entries in a relatively short period of time, some of the entries in the whole villes are even funnier than to play many long and complete mods.

    So good for it and I hope some more competitions are to hold in PP, because sometimes a little quantity of entries with clever touches, and creativeness, is definitely better than many entries that throw quality and fun away.., šŸ˜‰

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 35 Minutes
    Reply
    1. JG

      Since you weren’t the only one who couldn’t understand the voices (my bad), the setup is that you and the Vortigaunt made it to the Combine’s fancy computer, which was jamming communications from White Forest and hidden deep in the mines. The Vortigaunt says he’ll explode the device and that you need to get to the surface. Presumably, if there was an earlier part to this mod, you would have fought alongside the Vortigaunt to reach this point. The Vortigaunt only talks at the beginning and the end.

      The other voice, heard on the speakers, is the Combine PA – essentially the Overwatch AI of the mine. I wasn’t able to find a decent female voice at the time, so I compromised and did a Combine Soldier-styled VO. The Combine PA is meant to be only halfway legible. Just like the Civil Protection radios, my hope was that the player would pick up on a few key words while the rest fades into that 1984 newspeak drivel. The Combine PA doesn’t contribute anything useful to the story, but it is meant to acknowledge and reinforce the player’s actions (i.e. hey, someone activated the crane, go check that out). The biggest reason why I had the Combine PA was to justify the final battle, which is a staged affair with the parts of the canal machine activating between waves. I wanted to draw attention to what was happening with each wave (the gates opening, the canal filling with water).

      In a perfect world, I would have added closed captions, but CCs are not straightforward to add. It would have involved Phillip adding and compiling custom soundscripts and closed caption files and then having my level point to them. šŸ™‚

      Reply
  11. brianthesnail
    Personal Favourite

    theres been many “villes” done by planetphillip and I must thank phillip and the modders for the amazing work we have seen throughout the competitions
    however “endville” has produced some of the best maps ive seen in a long time and all entries were outstanding
    “Of Talons and Wings” reminded me of what hl2 mods used to look like,back when hl2 was released and the modding community scrambled to release their own work ….its a shame it wasn’t on time as it could of been a winner
    “Excavation” was a obvious winner… the quality of mapping is outstanding and Jason has obviously a talent in mapping and game creation …. the area,s of the map are immense and the custom voice work is significantly better than I expected from a user mod ….. a amazing piece of work and well worth first place
    “Missed Flight Part 3” was another excellent entry and the quality of work was outstanding … how did phillip manage to judge these entrys .. it must of give him one headache deciding the winner …. and personally I would of given a draw and awarded both “Missed Flight Part 3” and “excavation” a joint prize ….
    outstanding maps and a outstanding contest ….. what are we gonna do now ? ….

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 40 Minutes
    Reply
  12. vancanucksfan
    Play It Now!

    As always, I appreciate the work that the 3 authors put into this contest. I enjoyed playing all 3 maps despite my increasing problems with Valve updates (see below).

    Missed Flight Part 3 – I thought this was really good. It took me a little while to figure out the transport options but I liked having to do the setup with the gravity gun to escape. I didn’t like the exploding barrels though, as you had no real chance to avoid it and I thought that was unfair. The jumping puzzles were fun and the ending area was pretty well constructed.

    Excavation – this was my favourite. Great design throughout and good combat. The only thing was the muffled voices that I couldn’t understand were a little annoying. That is a small complaint for a very good entry. The waterfall at the end was really well done.

    Of Talons & Wings – this had some really strong points and some weak ones as well. I was a little frustrated at the beginning that there was a medic right there but she wouldn’t give me any healthkits. I do like the fact that you were so near death that you had to send the squad ahead of you for protection. But after awhile the ant lions got a little repetitive. Near the end of the tunnel I took a fork to the right, jumped over a ledge, and found my way out of the map. I think the author needed to make that ledge a little higher so I couldn’t do that. The choices for the ending were a very nice touch. I opted for “Hawk” the first time!

    That being said, my enjoyment of this contest mod was diminished a lot by my frustration with 2 problems caused by Valve Updates:

    1 – My character walks extremely slowly, and even when he jumps it looks like slow motion. So now I have to open the console and type “sv_alternateticks 0” every time I play a game to get back to the proper walking speed.

    2 – My computer freezes up every 5 minutes or so. It lasts about 20 seconds and is kind of like when you load an old HL1 map that doesn’t have the graph node built yet. This happens when I walk to a new area, or when I save sometimes. I have to wait for it to come back all the time and it really makes me angry. I don’t understand why Valve can’t just leave things that work alone!

    Anyways, enough ranting about that. Thanks Phillip for organizing the contest. it was refreshing to have some new content to play again, and I will definitely replay these entries again in the future.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    2 Hours
    Reply
    1. JG

      The momentary freeze on saving is something a number of Steampipe users have commented on. For me, it happens about half the time. Aside from manual quicksaving, many levels have autosaves built into them at key points which will occasionally have the same freezing effect.

      Reply
  13. Montag
    Play It Now!

    Outstanding A great end to a mapping competition. These three were a great conclusion. Thanks

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 45 Minutes
    Reply
  14. Doobman

    Downloaded endville, extracted to source mod, appears on steam game library,select game, endville screen appears, attempt to play…but no games on start menu.

    Reply
    1. JG

      What does “No games on start menu” mean?

      Reply
      1. PlanetPhillip

        I think he means there are no chapters images on the new game menu.

        Reply
    2. PlanetPhillip

      The only thing I can suggest at this stage is to download the file once more and try again. Do other Ep2 mods work. Are you on the new format yet?

      Reply
  15. Doobman

    Thanks for the replies…. No problem with other Ep2 mods. I have downloaded three times…same each time. No games listed on startt new game menu. How do I determine if I’m on new format???

    Reply
    1. JG

      Out of total curiosity, could you run them from the console by using “map excavation_pp_3x24” or something like that?

      I believe the sign that you are on the new format is that you have a folder called “Half-Life 2” inside steamapps/common and, within that, you have subfolders like “ep2” (Episode 2), “episodic” (Episode 1) and “hl2 (base Half-Life 2).

      Reply
  16. dougjp
    Play It Now!

    Very enjoyable, all of them! I’m in the group that thinks picking a winner from these three is very difficult. Depends on what is important I guess. I had rated, in no particular order because it was close, an 8/10, 7/10 and 7/10.

    Its very sad this is the last of this competition! There’s almost nothing to play any more. I’ve been downloading and playing HL1 maps and mods, all of which I’ve played before, but years ago.

    What platforms are FPS modders using these days (scifi games or otherwise), or has almost everyone just given up and gone fishing?

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    2 Hours
    Reply
  17. Sparks

    Yes, well I would have very much liked to play this ‘ville, but sadly those incompetents at valve have rendered-useless my paid-for issues of HL2, EP1 & 2 with the slow movement bug (ok, so easily fixed with sv_alternateticks 0 I know, but that’s not the point) and then destroyed many valuable mods (including this one) with their toxic turdpipe.

    Firstly, I only got 2 entries in the start menu – talons & claws was missing, maybe that’s a valve issue, maybe not – but certainly all the floating guns, broken props, non-disintegrating breakable items, broken audio (combine voices), broken movement – these are all valve ****-ups. They just do it over & over again. (Yes I did verify my local content.)

    Reply
    1. JG

      This mod was built for Steampipe and numerous users can vouch for the fact that it works on it.

      Have you tried outright removing your Half-Life 2 and Episodes and re-downloading them? It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if the Verify tool isn’t smart enough to distinguish the old installation versus the new installation. In the course of my modding, I did exactly this at some point and haven’t encountered any of these problems. Assuming we all get the same data from the source, it’s hard to imagine why the game would be so egregiously broken for some and not others.

      To be honest, your installation sounds so glitchy that I can only assume something was either horribly botched in the conversion process or you’ve got some rogue mod running around in your folders superseding the Steampipe changes.

      Reply
      1. Sparks

        Yes I’m not surprised to hear that – in fact when I ran an early version of Endville everything started ok – unfortunately I was in a rush & didn’t take it further than that, as subsequently the problems showed up with the Elites not spawning (just their guns), crates & barrels not disintegrating etc. etc. so I don’t really know if it was an issue in Endville (for me) all along. The slow movement bug & all the others came as a direct result of steampipe. HL2, EP1&2 worked as usual before, then after “conversion to a more efficient system” (or whatever) it was ALL screwed. I verified local content fully, but apparently this is how valve likes HL2 now – broken and unplayable. Frankly, I’m getting so that I don’t care much now – it looks like extensive reworking for all mods” gameinfo.txt, and apparently anything with custom dll’s is doomed anyway. Great.

        The issue seems to be the inconsistency between users for these different faults, having read & talked around, some people get one problem that others don’t and vice-versa.

        Since it worked fine before vlavle screwed it all up, if my installation is now broken it’s no-ones fault but vlavle’s – I haven’t used it for a while when it worked fine, and Endville was the last mod I installed (I doubt it is ‘dodgy” as I’d have read about it on PP) and I haven’t randomly screwed up my installation so it’s down to the GABEN’s clumsy little fingers.

        The movement bug and broken Combine audio are well reported by many, many users on the steam forums which is why I believe it to be a common vlavle-generated problem and not just a peculiarity of my system. So even if I did delete everything and re-download EVERYTHING (why the hell should I have to do that, vlavle??) I’ll probably get the same old broken, crap again. I’m not sure it’s worth it, I may just stick to HL1 – until they break that again.

        Reply
        1. JG

          I’m sorry that you are having problems, but you have such a laundry list of issues that I can’t imagine trying to analyze and diagnose all of them. I gave you a potential solution, the last ditch option. If that doesn’t solve your problem, I really don’t know what to say.

          Reply
  18. Ade
    Think Twice

    Got this mod working out of the box, I’m guessing it was packed post steampipe
    Alright, dare I start with Missed Flight part 3?..
    – starting in some canal.. if you say so! I’m guessing this was supposed to be the ending of Middleville that almost no one found
    – a padlock that broke!! but door won’t open.. never mind!
    – feel like I’m missing that train.. well now I’m just taking fire while I’m stuck below, already frustrated, who would’ve thought? yet another frustrating situation, a theme the author is in love with
    – and what do u know, what seems to be a rather large piece of metal is actually our way out, but then escaping with just 9 hp to end up in bio goo.. therefore I ragequit
    – screenshots say I should have a vehicle but those gates won’t open! bad/pixel hunting triggers, yet again? Who cares…..
    Playtime: 6 minutes wasted, so Avoid It at all costs!

    Excavation
    – the voice acting I’m guessing comes from the vort, but the source is somewhat higher and it’s bit loud, so I can’t be sure
    – it’s also impossible to pause it while going into the main menu or steam community, as well as other songs to come
    – have no idea how to get into the supply room, not sure if Phillip’s intent was to make it UNreachable
    – giving xbow before a long bridge with enemies at the end, that’s so predictable
    – most of the times I cannot make what the voice is saying
    – the drop was not really a drop, maybe there’s one later?
    – no idea what the wheel did and now imho there’s not enough health around for enemies that just pour in in an enclosed area
    – 2nd time around, noticed the chargers but the crates outside still give ammo instead of more health and batteries, which is a shame
    – I die before I make it out of the area because I finished the big fight with under 20hp
    – if u stand between the gate and the vort, he will just try to find a good spot to shoot but will never manage that (would’ve come up in beta testing)
    – oh the end is after an actual drop and after meeting Alyx that’s happy to see you for some reason, not sure what to make of all this, as far as I remember there were no previous entries for this and so it’s hard to sum up and end something that never really started.
    Not sure where I stand with this one, it made an effort at some voice acting, the areas are nice to look at, but spawning so many enemies only to increase difficulty is cheap imo, and the ending didn’t mean anything and wasn’t really connected to anything throughout the mod, as I remember the vort mentioning some explosion but don’t remember one, so.. “Maybe”?
    Playtime: 27 minutes

    3rd entry:
    – I think I got out of the map right from the get go, by crouching?..
    – once I go the right way, I die from a huge drop.. or so I thought, apparently I survived with 1 hp, well that’s not stressful at all
    – the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive tho
    – further along I noticed the hoppers are not killing the rebels
    – holy wall of text, telling me to choose.. well I chose to save the rebels and fight the combine but I lose them as a squad even tho I see 2 near me, so they stop following and have no idea what to do next; plus the button in the train doesn’t work
    – talk about copy pasting 2 rooms, then I find an invisible wall in front of train
    – feels like I messed up a trigger.. guess that’s it for me šŸ˜
    This felt really buggy right from the get go, and visually not that appealing, I mean the bad looking and huge, stretched out texture of the depot, plus everything being enclosed in high combine walls (with holes in them to get out of the playing area) in the middle of the field, it just makes no sense. Then shoot some antlions while healing up, then a bunch of combine, then some broken triggers, what can I say.. Again, “Maybe”?
    Playtime: 10 minutes, but I’m not sure what to count in or to leave out..

    Kind of a disappointment, for a final stage I was expecting spectacular entries but they’re all subpar.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    43 Minutes
    Reply
  19. MisterAddy
    Play It Now!

    I could have sworn I reviewed this when it was first posted! Well I guess I must be going mad, so now is as good a time as any to write one.

    My favourite of the three entries was Excavation because it seemed the most fun gameplay-wise. As others said the voice acting was baffling, but understandable considering the time limit.

    Missed Flight Part 3 I felt was the best of Tony’s entries. I didn’t have too many difficulties getting through it and it was fun to play. It didn’t really feel like a conclusion though considering that this was the only complete mod made.

    Of Talons and Wings was a really cool concept. The rest of the gameplay surrounding the choice was well done, although I recall the antlion tunnels being bland. The big blocks of text were annoying, but necessary to make it work.

    Overall this was a nice end to the mapping competition, even though we all wanted to see more full mods created.

    Reply
  20. rikersbeard
    Play It Now!

    Missed Flight Part 3:

    Nice opening gunfight led to a major moment of confusion! Toxic slime tunnel? I thought that there might be a raft like in the epic ā€œG-stringā€ then I was annoyed. So thereā€™s an airboat! (Checked Phillipsā€™s pix).

    TIP: Hitting stuff with the crowbar or using the grav-gun often rewards!

    I liked the route taken in this mod and it had a story element, especially with the vortā€™s little worshipping alter and a special friend at the end!
    Timed gates were annoying but timed just right as to be relatively easy.
    Why I jumped my airboat into a nest of explosive barrels is beyond me!
    Good mod with a dash of G-man to keep the HL flavour!

    Evacuation:

    A really good combat mod with ace visuals and many clever ideas. I dislike wave combat but this was well executed. The large amount of manhacks were a pain, missing one forced me from using the first gun position and they were just an annoyance in the control room!
    I loved the fact that the hunters couldnā€™t get in Ha ha!
    A really enjoyable mode with a nice atmosphere of foreboding.
    The ending was well handled and very cinematic with the waterfall!

    Of Talons and Wings:
    Nice mod but I could only get the Hawk or hybrid ending?
    I liked the use of my comrades in dealing with those antlions a clever use of npcā€™s!
    A good combat mod with a nice choice of ending, but I couldnā€™t get my chaps on the train!

    The mod I liked the best was ā€œMissed Flight Part 3ā€ Even though the best mod all round was ā€œEvacuationā€. I think the former seemed like an actual map from Half Life 2 whereas ā€œEvacuationā€ seemed like a scene from a sequel!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 25 Minutes
    Reply
  21. JoeJently

    So, i’ve downloaded both Ravenholmville and thelostjourneymod packs, and both of them worked fine and were downloaded without hassle, play perfectly well. Yet time and time again in trying to run EndVille, it will play the PlanetPhil intro, make it to the title screen, and then flash white, and never move on, just a blank white screen, I dunno what the problem is or how to fix it, help would be nice I want to try these out : (

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      Until I update all the *Ville mods, this should fix the issue for you: http://lambdageneration.com/modding/source/fixing-half-life-2-and-portal-mods-on-steampipe-a-quick-guide/

      Reply
  22. Daken50
    Play It Now!

    Excavation is top notch.

    Missed flight, there where a bunch of areas that the boat runs into a step that is just a bit too high. Seems like a small issue but it kills the flow.

    Talons: You basically have to take on all the combine yourself because you can’t let someone in the group die. But then later on you can choose to let them die to further the story. Didn’t care for it.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    30 Minutes
    Reply

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