One night, Gordon Freeman was going home from work. It was late at night and he was in a hurry. The car’s engine purred quietly and inside was pretty comfortable.
Beyond the car’s window was a cold, cold night and black mountains against a dark sky could be seen in the background.
He was listening to a local station on the radio and was on the last stretch of his journey; the two canyons and the torturous mountain road.
He passed the first canyon with no trouble over the new bridge. It was the second one that sometimes caused problems, as the wooden bridge was over 30 years old. And, unfortunately for Freeman, today was the day it collapsed!
His car fell to canyon floor and Freeman lost consciousness.
Coming to, Freeman found himself in the water near his car.
Fortunately, this canyon wasn’t too high and he had survived. But the canyon’s walls were too vertical and smooth, so it was impossible to climb back to the bridge…………
Please note: I have taken the liberty of re-writing the original story – Phillip
“This map is a result of competition held by Game.exe magazine. They initiated Half-Life single player competition back in 97 year. I decided to participate. In result I got the 3rd place and got my face printed in mag. Nice, isn’t it? 😉 Ok, the map itself has 3 submaps. And it features some kind of a story written with numerous of misspellings. My English was much worse that time than now. Now it isn’t perfect as well 😉 Anyway, I got bored making this map so you can be a bit disappointed by its ending and want more. Sorry, I was kinda ran out of fuel that time. But anyway, the map got a good response from players, which is good.”
This was January 2017’s Classic of the Month mod.
- Title: Prisoner of Event
- File Name: hl1-sp-prisoner-of-event-steam.7z
- Original File Name: sigur.zip
- Size : 1.26MB
- Author: Dmitry Svetlichny AKA Vondur
- Date Released: 16 March 1999
Download directly into MapTap [1.26MB]
You MUST have MapTap installed before using this link.
Download to your HDD [1.26MB]
You can still use it with MapTap once you have downloaded it.
- Copy the prisonerofevent folder into your Steam Half-Life folder.
- Restart or start Steam.
- Prisoner of Event should now be listed in your Library tab.
If you require more help, please visit the Help page.
The playthrough below is part of the Classic of the Month Event, run by Don AKA Unq.
Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.
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3,419Overall
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0Today
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131365 days
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 6 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 2 Hours, 32 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 13 Mins by Cardiomyopathy
Longest: 15 Hours by Ttiki
Total Time Played: 17 Hours, 44 Mins
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this one is an enjoyable release from a prolific mapper from before 2000
whew how old is it
Good but short.
I loved this mod. It was the right length for me, had a Black Mesa setting, a few buttons to press, some nice enemy locations and just enough ammo.
For such a small file size you get everything quite a lot of gameplay.
I didn’t get into the small security room and forgot to go back and try again.
My only complaint is that it didn’t have a crowbar and I feel that every BM style mods should have one.
Anyway, I got, stuck right at the beginning, between some rocks but a quick reload solved that. The canyon after the rocks is great (image 03), as is the building (image 04) and I felt a thrill of expectation as I descended.
A great little mod with some nice layouts – well worth your time.
This is the second Half-Life mod I’ve played. The first was The Silo Station.
Freeman was driving home, and then the old bridge collapsed. The place with broken bridge is done well, but it’s possible to get stuck between the stone and canyon wall. Few clip brushes would be nice. Also it’s possible to miss the crowbar, which is [spoiler]on the plank near the car.[/spoiler]
There are beautiful and original canyon and bunker waiting for us.
Inside there is an impressive architecture, challenging fights with aliens. It is interesting and there is a place for a small surprise [spoiler]Wow, there are rooms under the green liquid![/spoiler]
There is a secret place – the guard’s room, it is seen behind the glass that there are batteries and ammunition.
It is sad that this mod ends abruptly and we will never find out what happened next. However, I like it for impressive architecture and interesting exploration.
Again, this is one my favourite addons. I love the beginning.
A really, really good map pack with some impressive level design easily on par with Valve together with some solid and fun combat. Taking in consideration that this was made in 1999 makes it even more impressive.
One of the best bits about this map pack for me isn’t just the actual design of the maps and combat but the fact that the author almost perfectly balanced the ammo ratio throughout it. When you’re running out of ammo and think for yourself that you’re going to have to resort to grenade throwing you spot a ammo pack just in the brink of time. This makes combat so much fun instead of having loads of different ammo types all fully loaded for its corresponding weapon.
Some criticism would be pointed at the beginning; the crowbar is very easy to miss as I did on my playthrough and had to break crates and vents with my firearms.
Also, even though the ammo ratio is almost perfect the map pack is overall a bit too easy since you get a lot of health packs/stations and batteries. As such a playthrough on hard is recommended.
A great mod with two massive flaws.
It’s so sad that I have to give such a great and enjoyable mod a “Think Twice”. I really should be giving it a “Play it Now” or “Personal Favourite”. The action of this mod was superb. Instead of using the shotgun and 9mmAR all the time like you do in most of the mods, this one requires you to improvise and use grenades as you would a normal weapon in some areas, like in Radix. It’s also challenging in areas, for example the area with an Alien Grunt and Vortigaunt on one side and you are on the other side. I also liked the fact that you can get to the acid removal button without having to go all around the building. Multiple ways are always fun.
Time to get to the main flaws. Like in Phobos you do not have a crowbar and so if you run out of ammo you are screwed. The other flaw which makes this worse is that there is very little ammo. I ended up running past headcrabs and shooting the Vortigaunts and Alien Grunts without missing or taking damage. This makes me wonder why I gave Phobos a higher rating than this because this was much better. I guess I’ll have to redo my review for Phobos.
The action is fun but the lack of crowbar ruins it.
Of course, me being an idiot I just realised that some of the other reviews pointed out that there IS in fact a crowbar on the map. Silly me. The author of this mod still should of made it so that the Crowbar is near enough unmissable and so that is why it gets a “Play it Now” instead of “Personal Favourite”. My favourite of the 100SDoN so far.
It wasn’t until I got to the tower I realised I’d played this before a long time ago. For the time it was a great map and it still stands the test of time. Yes it’s a bit blocky by today’s standards but its still very playable and I enjoyed playing it again. There was enough ammo and health to allow a smooth flow but the canyon at the beginning could have been shorter or a few hazards included. Fortunately I found the crowbar near the car so I could get to the canyon.
For the time this was made this stands head and shoulders above many of its contemporaries (not all but many) its just a pity it was never finished. What I’m curious to know is how people missed the crowbar as it is not hidden.
As discussed above, there is a crowbar at the start and it’s a fault of the design not to require the player to pick it up before leaving the first area.
This is a very solid 3-map pack set in Black Mesa or at least a similar facility. It looks really good, especially being from 1999 and using stock textures. The combat is fun, you’ll be facing all aliens for once which is a nice break from the norm. And it’s nice that you’re rewarded for breaking nearly every single crate (and there are a lot) with ammo, armor, or health. The balance is good, with your main enemies being a mix of slaves and alien grunts which are no slouches especially on the difficult setting.
I like the multiple paths you can take and the side areas – it’s not labyrinthine though, and it doesn’t force you to diverge from your main path to explore, although you’re rewarded for doing so.
The faults? The aforementioned crowbar situation is one. The areas tend to look a little repetitive in the middle section and I actually got crossed up and headed in the wrong direction for a while before realizing I’d been through there before. There’s no real story to speak of (Gordon wrecked his SUV on the way home one day) and there’s not a satisfying ending.
Okay, I have just replayed the end section and I can’t find a way into the security office. perhaps you are not supposed to. Anyway, there’s no vent or other way inside but the control panel on the wall opens the door from the inside.
I have tried closing the main doors on the area below and also further on, flipping the switch which opens the shutters but neither helps.
Has anybody found a way in?
You mean the booth with the dead security guard just outside? You can get in there a bit further on in the area that is split in two with a hole in the middle that also has that green slimy water and a bullsquid at the bottom. Jump down there and check the small area that the bullsquid stood in and there should be a small entrance with a ladder inside. Just keep going forward while dispatching the headcrabs in the vent until you drop down into the security booth.
Yes, to get in the security booth you go into the pool with the leeches (and bullsquid) and at one end is a ladder up to some vents. It ends in the ceiling of that room and you can grab the stuff, but new enemies come along outside and you’ll have to retrace your steps a bit.
I enjoyed this one, although there’s not much of a plot, the action makes up for that.
The mod flows from one encounter to the next without getting boring or repetitive, with plenty of encounters well match with ammo and health, allowing the pace to zips along in classic HL1 style.
The set designs were typical but sound, appearing realistic and convincing in layout and textures.
You get to ride the train, for I think, the first time this summer, but unfortunately the fun is too short lived, leaving you wishing for more.
More then happy to rank this better then my original posting, however, anything beyond a PIL requires a bit more content, longevity and maybe a storyline, possibly some original and creative content.
Just to add that my notes show H16 ranked this 6/10 with EH10 scoring it 6.8/10.
OK I have the feeling here that we have a quality piece, maybe, because is product of a competition from year 97!!!! about 14 years of this, oh god and is still feeling fresh as a gorgeous lettuce!, I mean, that’s why this mod should be at the top, because is so well designed, and it feels like original HL1 playing, so that’s why I loved it, altough I know getting the crowbar could be hard becauseit was so well hidden underneath, those big wood sticks fallen from the bridge, and rocks, indeed myself I didn’t see the crowbar at all, it just stteped by when I passed walikng there, I didn’t explore too much at the first, and that’s why I haven’t the crowbar!!, which surelly with it should have been so more fun, I loved the battles, but most of all, the mapping layout very clever, and with a great environment!, the lenght for this mod was just right, and that’s why is also sweet to play it, but on the other hand, that could be an inconvenient because you want more good quality action even if it’s just a bit minutes more of it!
I would love to see the other 2 mods that compited into that competition, because if this was cool, the other 2 must be even cooler!!, also I think moding competitions gave us really some good pieces, so I think if Phillip runs a HL1 comp. surely we could see really cool maps!!
Oh I almost forgot!, I loved the main structure where the mod beggins, is so cool, in a kind of CMB style, but so much before we had the CMB invassion, so that’s a really cool detail, also the part when u drain the green liquid and, voila!!, another great mapping section appears, is just brilliant!, so u must play this!!
Hello, people.
Was surprised to get a few hits from this site on my humble site. Was even more surprised to see this old rusty level reviewed and people actually enjoying it these times! It all turned me to fire up HL1 and replay this 12 year old level, was kinda fun and felt nostalgic. Though I wonder how people managed to miss crowbar. I put it on the path near spawnpoint. That was designer” mistake it seems, I had to emphasize its placement somehow.
Spoiler alert: As for the room with the dead guard, it’s accessible from the water further on your path 😉
I liked playing this little mod, though I will say I must have missed a lot of things due to not trying hard enough to explore different locations. I never got into the security booth, at any rate.
I will say that I kept having to restart the game at the beginning because I kept getting trapped between boulders. Not just one of them, but several different locations where a small enough gap existed to fall into, and just not enough to climb back out.
Ah well – it was fun. The enemies were pretty tame but I played Easy mode. 🙂
Again, I think there is nothing new I can say.
I never have been so on the fence about a mod as I do now. It lacks any storyline but like any hl1 mod it doesn’t matter. It has some good level design and has 2 path ways to go about doing it, one that makes you go a long way and another that gets you straight to the objective. It has a nice start (a car crash is always one I like as its not done often and you get to see some rough terrain), it has good level design and its ammo is scarce (which I love it when mods does this as it makes the player think as to how to utilize it best and give the crowbar some love).
But the mod just sort of ends.. No real reason for it and no conclusion, and it was very short. Short mods always get way to generous a score. its easy to make a really good short mod, a long mod requires consistency in its design and thats when most modders find it difficult to bring quality gameplay. I can’t give it more then 3 stars for a mod that barely passes the 10 minute mark.
Very short minimod, but filled with nifty ideas such as the design, combat and atmosphere.
There are also quite many flaws, like it’s shouting for a story as it starts very interesting and mysterious, but there is none, and there aren’t any puzzles too, unfortunately! Then, the length is just too short, it only takes a few minutes…
What I don’t understand is people complaining about less ammo, there is quite much of it, especially (contact) grenades, but there’s like no need to use the normal hand grenades when you have the AR with maxed out contact grenades…
Another thing is, that I don’t see an option to choose a way to go as for me it’s strictly linear^
All in all, if you have spare time for same “braindead” action, go play it, it’s worth it!
Pro’s:
-Plenty of action – compared to the modsize
-Neat leveldesign, good lighting – sometimes, just boxy and grey
-Good atmosphere
-A few scripts (new spawned aliens)
-Semi-secret areas (guard booth and contact grenades for the AR)
-Short tramride
-No bugs (except a few door glitches sometimes, but rarely)
Con’s:
-Very, very short (~5-15 mins, depending on your skills and how long need to check out everything)
-Balancing – there IS lot of ammo and the combat is average, play on hard!
-No story in the game
-No puzzles at all
-Some undetailed areas
-No HEV at start (there are avoidable headcrab(s) before getting it)
-Crowbar can be missed easily and first
-Sudden end
Conclusion: Don’t get me wrong, I know there is quite lot of con’s above, but I like this mod as it was pretty much fun, and due to it’s age it’s still impressive what Vondur was creating that early, much respect! 🙂
Prisoner of Event is Vondur’s one and only Half-Life single player episode, though he has released a number of single player and deathmatch maps for the Quake games. This includes two Quake packs reviewed here at Ten Four: The Castle of Koohoo and the massive Nehahra, for which Vondur was one of the mappers. Though Prisoner of Event felt a bit inconsistent in its design, it also shows some flashes of great layout. But overall it leaves you wanting more.
A simple background is supplied – you, as good ol’ Gordon Freeman, are on your way home when the bridge you are on collapses, leaving you trapped but unharmed in a canyon. From there you stumble upon a (what else?) base in the desert where some Xen aliens are up to no good.
As I mentioned above, the design of Prisoner of Event is rather inconsistent. Overall, the beginning of the pack, which takes place outdoors, is a poorly designed section. The car crash scene is done well, but the canyon and the immediate following areas leading up to the base entrance are downright ugly compared to the quality of the rest of the map. Speaking of which, that is where Prisoner of Event really shines – the base design. The interior architecture is not jaw-dropping but it is extremely well done and consistent with the Half-Life style. The layout is clever as well, with some out-of-the-way areas and some simple puzzles to complete. It’s too bad this pack ended so abruptly – I really would’ve loved to see more of the base, as I felt this was certainly the pack’s strong point.
The combat is relatively humdrum, as you only face the weaker aliens and you are limited to the standard military weaponry. Though if played on difficult (which I recommend) this pack can provide even seasoned players with some challenge.
In general, Prisoner of Event was a good, short pack when it was released but definitely pales in comparison when reviewed years later. It feels like a brief preview of a larger pack, but alas, it appears that Vondur is not continuing with Half-Life mapping. It’s too bad, really, since the last two-thirds of this pack show some great architecture and design.
Notes
This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Saturday, 4th August, 2001 by Unquenque.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four Website, which is now offline. Permission has been granted to republish the full review and more details can be found on the About page.
This is another BM style classic.
We start in a wrecked car which, somewhere near there is a crowbar so don’t get confused people.
The combat is good, the atmosphere was great and the textures are well placed. Not a lot to say. Though, the only problem I have is that the ending is very disappointing.
Play it RIGHT NOW!
This small half life mod is really fun to play when you have nothing to do!
The level design is a half life level design, simple! But it’s the level design we all love in this marvelous game!
However, The LOD is really good for a half life maps! And the lightning is really good as well.
The story is a small and quick story. This is not what the mod have been made for! And I’m not sure if I really understand it, but hey, let’s be honest, this mod was just for the gorgeous combat!
Talking about combat:
This mod turns around the combat against the alien and not against the soldiers. And, besides the author often uses the Alien Grunts, the mod is really easy. I’ve played on normal and if you are an aggressive player, it will be pretty easy!
Try out this mod. It’s small, but really good! (pervets mind, go away!)
Using Gauge
Medium
15 Hours
This one was a short but pretty fun mod, there’s a cool section were you have to drain a radioactive waste pool to reveal a new path through the map, and the combat was just in the right difficulty, the only problem would be at the start, were the crowbar is at a easily missable spot, but other than that little problem, it was nice mod
Manually
Medium
20 Minutes
Good mod. The map is designed very nicely. It would be better if there are more contents, such as fights with the soldiers.
Manually
Medium
30 Minutes
This was fun, play it!
Simple short good old mod.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
Short mod that you fight xenians and impressive design.
Manually
Hard
13 Minutes
Prisoner of Event had me onboard with the readme – the story and it’s translation really hit the right spot. It starts off a bit rocky (ha) since there’s a few boulders you can get stuck behind and have to noclip out from.
But after that it’s all smooth sailing. This is the first mapset (starting from 1998) that I’ve seen that has a good sense of pacing. It contrasts open, semi non-linear areas at the start with more linear and cramped hallways. Headcrabs are used in incidental combat in between larger set pieces/arenas.
The maps visuals are well thought out, particularly the texturing and detailing. Combat is chunky and plays well. The map doesn’t feel unfair at any point and you always have enough ammo to deal with the myriad of aliens.
This is a fantastic mapset and I’d love to play 1st and 2nd place in the Game.exe competition.
Manually
Hard
21 Minutes
Full review coming soon
I crashed my car and got up from that crash and saw a crowbar on the floor. And used this crowbar to break the rocks. So I placed my self near them, picked some water battles and spent the entire night breaking those boulders with my lightweight crowbar. If I would have explosives nothing of this would happen, it will be easy peasy. The problem is that I never have the right equipment in the right moment. And the canyon it has a very strange appearence, it’s like a road. And if you fall down from the 3rd floor to the second you never go back to the third. I can go down, but I can’t climb back up. This is because of the night effect, sometimes the stars falls from the star and I fall from the cliff.
Manually
Hard
20 Minutes