Research And Development

for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

18th July 2009

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Research and Development is a puzzle-centric mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two featuring an unarmed player but plenty of violent mayhem.

The player has NO weapons and there is no shooting at all. However that doesn’t mean you can’t kill things, but 95% of the mod is about solving the puzzles that are presented to you in a very natural way.

This was August 2017’s Classic of the Month mod.

Basic Details
  • Title: Research and Development
  • File Name: hl2-ep2-sp-research-and-development-sdk-base-2013-sp.7z
  • Size : 55MB
  • Author: Marcello Bortolino
  • Date Released: 17 July 2009
Gauge Users

Sorry, but this file is too large to load directly into Gauge. Please download it first.

Download Options

Download to your HDD [55MB]
You can still use it with Gauge once you have downloaded it.

Installation Instructions

There are detailed installation instructions in the README_fix.txt file, which is in the Research and Development folder.

Important Note

When using the keypad buttons in this mod, position the ‘finger’ cursor over the desired numeral and then ‘use’ it [E key] to activate the keypad button. Left-mouse-click will not work.

When exiting “Mr. Whirly”, if you get stuck so that your movement keys are still controlling “Mr. Whirly” even though you are outside of it, activate the console and type ent_fire ui deactivate + enter. This will restore normal movement control. For convenience whilst playing, this function can be bound to a key (e.g. “p”) by typing into the console bind p “ent_fire ui deactivate” + enter. (Include the speechmarks.)

Panoramic View

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Please Note: Panoramic images only are available in full screen mode. You can either open one by clicking the image link above or by saving it to your computer and then opening it locally.

How to use: Once the image is open and your cursor is on the image, press and hold your left mouse button and move around the image. Use your mouse wheel to scroll in and out of the panoramic image.

Playthrough Videos

The playthrough below is part of the Classic of the Month Event, run by Don AKA Unq.

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 800 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

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Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!
60 recommendations, average score: 4.87 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.22 (what's that?)
Total Downloads

Please note: These statistics are valid from December 2010

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Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 15 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 14 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 3 Hours, 27 Mins
Shortest: 1 Hours, 30 Mins by Losilof39
Longest: 5 Hours by DarkShift
Total Time Played: 51 Hours, 52 Mins
Categories (?)
Half-Life 2: Ep2 HL2-EP2 Mods Play
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168 Comments

  1. PlanetPhillip
    Phillip's Favourite

    Some mods should be reviewed and this is one of them. It shouldn’t be reviewed simply because it should be played. You may get a little frustrated with some of the puzzles but they are all quite simple really. Heck, I beat it without any help, so that means you sure can.

    Visuals
    Beautiful, no other word for it. Areas are detailed but I had no performance issues at all. The indoors areas seemed to be well light and outdoors was just perfect.

    Gameplay
    Puzzles, obviously, but they are a lot more involved than what you are used to. The great thing about them is that they are perfectly suited to the environment. I don’t want to spoil anything for you but there is a great one with a fuse. So simple AFTER you see it, you wonder why nobody did it before (maybe they did, I just don’t remember).

    Layout/Design
    This is a masterclass in small areas made to feel very large. I specifically remember playing for 15 minutes and coming back to almost the same point, but across a fence and thinking “IS this all I’ve travelled?” (In a positive sense!)

    The Negatives
    There are some bad things, little bugs like trucks you can walk through and minor points like that, but considering the size that’s understandable, even with a fairly large beta team.

    However, I felt some puzzles were repeated too much, especially the pipe ones. Of course, it’s easy for me to complain when all I can do is make some simple walls etc, but they just felt like fillers.

    Summary
    Can’t wait for the mappers on PP to start discussing this because their view will be particularly interesting to. Clearly, one of the best mods ever made, even if I wish there were some actual shooting.

    I might even replay this on a cold and dark winter night, looking for all the stuff I am sure I missed.

    5 Words Or Less Review

    Superb, amazing, creative and riveting!

    Reply
  2. civanT
    Personal Favourite

    Best Half Life 2 mod ever.

    Valve can learn something from this mod.

    Visually amazing. Gameplay is nearly perfect and so much fun. All new puzzle and gameplay mechanics makes you feel you are playing something entirely new.

    This is the mod we all were waiting for.

    Recommended to all HL2 players.

    PS: crosshair 1

    Reply
  3. ~Jazz~
    Personal Favourite

    Before I start, there was an updated version of the mod put out on there moddb, I suggest you get it if your having problems with some of the puzzles.. It’s also in a handy Installer for people who don” t know how to open ZIPS. Moving on,

    I did want to write a review, but seeing as Phillip beat me too it. I said to myself “Skip it” The mod has professionally done mapping, interesting puzzles that will have your head scratching for a bit, And is totally worth the re-play value.. hell I even took out my stopwatch to see how fast I can complete it like portals.. Play it now! you won’t forget it!

    Reply
  4. Jasper
    Personal Favourite

    At long last the best mod ever has reached us. I had already downloaded from eleswhere and played three times before the posting here and commented:
    ‘Brilliant, intelligent, hugely imaginative and great game play.
    Normally I dislike puzzle mods but this works – big time.
    From controling an antlion to fighting combine to herding antlion guards(!) to knocking a Strider on the head – literally – in the most innovative ways.
    With a scrapheap (junkyard) challenge thrown in for good measure.
    Superb,Bortolino,the best mod of all time – the best game of all time?
    There is no order of Supreme Merit that is worthy enough of awarding to this masterpiece.’
    Nothing is overdone – it is hard. Yes some things are repeated but only as training for the much harder parts of the mod and definitely not “fillers’.
    The fuse puzzle is but a variant of a fairground game – there many and much better ones – keen observation and sound logic required.
    The tag “non-combat” is wrong, wrong wrong.
    There is plenty of combat. You will find out. Eg take out 2 helicopters and a gunship and a a Strider – just examples.
    It is this simple: It is a puzzle mod but the puzzles are mature (ref the infantile ‘very hard mod’).
    It is a combat mod.
    Meanwhile, I have a days work to catch up else the cat won’t get fed.

    Reply
    1. Jasper

      Sorry, forgot.
      The first HOF worthy of awarding this year – the jury is still out on SM.

      Reply
  5. Kyouryuu
    Play It Now!

    It’s great, but far from perfect. As far as “best mod ever” goes, when I put this up against something like Minerva, it’s like comparing apples and oranges. One mod is puzzle-centric, focusing on creating interesting and original scenarios without firing a shot. The other is trying to present a new experience within the familiar gameplay mechanics of the core game.

    R&D is filled with novel ideas that will surely find their way into other mods. Throughout its roughly 2-3 hour run time, it never runs out of new things to do. Just when one mechanic loses steam, another one takes its place.

    The visuals are uniformly excellent, no two ways about it. This is Valve-quality stuff. In many mods of this length, you can tell where the author spent the most time detailing an area. Here, it’s consistent the whole way through. Sound is also used very well as a key to various puzzles. Music is placed skillfully to ramp up the intensity.

    The mod also has a handful of great spots where you are forced to MacGuyver yourself some weapons. These are truly creative moments, hunting for the right parts and assembling them into your tool of destruction. Many games, let alone mods, have tried and failed to create these types of mechanics. To see it done so seamlessly and effortlessly here is a treat.

    So why not a “Personal Favorite” then?

    While most things about the mod are fantastic, there are enough frustrating parts that would deter me from wanting to play it again. In general, it comes down to the author showing some restraint and knowing when “enough is enough.” When using a new gameplay mechanic, it’s common to add layers of complexity on top of it. But you have to know when there’s enough too. Whether it’s the incessant and frustrating grenades on the train ride, the battle with the hard-to-hit gunship, the fuse box puzzle, or the way your car would seem to break down at certain inopportune moments, it just felt excessive.

    That said, it’s very much a mod worth playing and a solid contender for the PP mod of the year. It succeeds in blowing almost everything else released this year out of the water.

    Reply
  6. Kasperg

    I’m stuck in the room seen in screenshot number 22. Most of the puzzles so far have been fun and rewarding, but if this is the tone of what’s to come, I’ll probably quit very soon. I do not live inside the author’s head and unintuitive puzzles aren’t my thing.
    I see numbers and colors, but the color sequence doesn’t activate the machine. Using the numbers in order instead of the colors doesn’t have any effect either. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    1. enablerbr

      did you break open the box with the padlock on it? that has the combination.

      Reply
      1. Kasperg

        Yes, I opened it. But what I found inside wasn’t an intuitive combination.
        Green + Blue + Yellow + Red is what I found inside, which didn’t work in the keypad. Changing the order to numerical to account for the twisting of the wires (Blue + Red + Yellow + Green) didn’t work either.
        Unless there’s a hidden key for a no-color input, it certainly isn’t something easy or logical.

        Reply
        1. Jasper

          The box shows you which colours match which numbers.
          Make a note!
          Then at the panel read the colurs left to right and key the numbers in that sequence.
          You will have to do this once more later.

          Reply
          1. Kasperg

            Thanks, I finally understood what it was asking.
            As beautiful as this mod is, I’m going to pass. Every single explosive barrel I’ve met in the HL2 universe could be picked up until I reached the room with the balancing platform. If the basic rules of HL2 have to be twisted and corrupted in order for these puzzles to work, I say no thanks.
            This is a prime example of how a convincing set of scenarios can be potentially ruined by forced situations and logic-defying elements. A pity because the first few puzzles seemed to be integrated into the maps. It’s the other way around I don’t like.

            Reply
            1. Jasper

              That’s a great pity. You are one of the commentators I value and read. Some barrels can be moved, the others are stuck down for a purpose. The mod improves as it progresses.
              The train ride is from hell.

              Reply
              1. Kasperg

                I’ll try again when I’m in a better mood then. There were some interesting things design-wise I wrote down which I do want to put into a little review. 🙂

                Reply
                1. enablerbr

                  i thought the colour equals number was very straight forward and simple. the only prolem I had with that puzzle was me trying to find where the numbers were in the 1st place.

                  i somehow thought the microwave was linked to the padlock box. I felt so stupid when all I had to do was pick up a brick and hit it. 🙂

                  Reply
                  1. Archaic

                    can you give me screenshots of where you were looking to press the correct buttons in the second puzzle.

                    im having a real hard time pressing the right button.

                    im about to try to find and kill this guy for not putting a hud on the damn thing.

                    Reply
  7. MikeS

    If ever a mod needed a walkthough it’s this one. I can’t tell if I’m stuck through my own stupidity or whether I’m encountering a bug.

    Reply
    1. civanT

      Considering this is an “Adventure” game, not an action game, yes this mod needs a walkthrough. All adventure games have one. Also believe me, it’s not the bugs. Try some adventure games and you’ll understand.

      Reply
  8. Len

    Enormously fun, despite the odd bug. More from this author, please!

    Reply
  9. grabbie
    Personal Favourite

    I loved this mod. Some of the puzzles made me stop and think about what needed to be done even if I was staring at the solution the whole time. This mod was a nice change of pace. I did notice the odd bugs esp the truck you can walk right through that was mentioned.

    There was one puzzle that I thought could have used two ways to solve. Spoiler ahead: If you look at pic 69-70, the ladder breaks forcing you to go around. When you get to the door at the new top, the electricity killed me. My first thought was to go back down and climb up the ladder in pic 69. The water is high enough for you to use it but you simply can’t. You should be able to use both ways to get around since the ladder/door led you to the exact same spot. End Spoiler

    Reply
    1. Kyouryuu

      I agree with that. There was a lot of back-and-forth with that ladder. It’s clearly within reach, but you can’t interact with it. At first I thought there was something wrong with the mod, but then I went back and realized I had to destroy every last pipe – I missed a couple – and then it turns out you don’t use the ladder at all.

      I’d prefer the ladder completely breakaway if we were never intended to use it!

      Reply
  10. Ixon

    In the second map whenever I break the green cube with zombie,the game crashes.Did any1 other than me expirience this bug?

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      I didn’t. Are you breaking the cube outside?

      Reply
  11. Francesco Poli
    Maybe?

    I’d love nothing more than a great puzzle mod, but the more I play the ones available, the less impressed I am. Clever puzzles only work when they’re well presented and the solution is not just clever but also reliable. R&D has many poorly presented puzzles with unreliable, glitchy solutions.

    While not as bad as Portal Prelude or The Trap, it’s damn time mod developers understood that it’s no fun whatsoever to just randomly mess around with stuff until you stumble upon the puzzle – let alone the solution! It’s even less fun when the solution presents itself, but is difficult to pull off not because of any skill required (but why do I need arcadelike reflexes in a puzzle game? Wasn’t this about using your brain rather than twitch reflexes?), but because of unreliable programming.

    Chapter 4’s final fuse puzzle requires pixel-perfect navigation in an extremely glitchy environment, with very bad collision detection. Thank God for quicksave, or I’d have noclipped through that door but fast! And right afterwards, a crane puzzle that was just frustrating, with no hint or semblance of hint to what to do. Then it was followed by one of the glitchiest puzzles I have ever seen, where the solution seems to be random jumps and gravity pushes, hoping to get to the other side of this pushy floor.

    What about the turrets in Chapter 3? You can easily disarm them with the Gravity Gun, but then an invisible force kills you when you walk in front of where they were, because You Didn’t Do It The Right Way. Are you kidding me?

    But possibly the clearest example of undertesting is the horribly broken button pushing interface right on the second level. This was fixed in a later release, although it’s still not fully reliable, but how could such a significant problem even make it out of pre-alpha testing? It is IMPOSSIBLE, I repeat, IMPOSSIBLE to beat that puzzle without the new interface. (Which required me to restart the game. And chapters don’t even unlock, another old HL2 bug that this mod, like several others, seem to carry over. Thanks a lot!) There is no rhyme nor reason to pressing those buttons without the indicator hand, and even knowing the solution it is impossible to input it.

    That such an issue made it out of alpha, let alone beta, further proves that testing on this mod wasn’t half as stringent as it should’ve been. It’s too bad, because there is plenty of cool action and interesting situations in there! Maybe a sequel…

    PS: while it’s cool to build your very own vehicle of mass destruction (although all you really do is follow strict instructions with no room for improvisation), it’d be a ton more fun if it didn’t handle like a greased pinball on ice.

    Reply
    1. civanT

      You are wrong, big time. This mod is not broken or unfinished at all. I’m suspecting that there is a problem with your computer, because there is no other explanation. I didn’t see anything that didn’t work or stuck or even hard to do in the mod, let alone using cheats. Only wrong thing was that there was no crosshair while using keypad, but I simply typed “crosshair 1” to console and the problem is solved.

      I don’t know why you don’t like reflex based puzzle games but it’s not like every game is same. This was reflex based and considering it was HL2 mod, that was pretty predictable.

      Anyway, you have your right to don’t like it, but I don’t find your reasons believable.

      Reply
      1. Kyouryuu

        I have to agree with the fusebox puzzle’s poor collision detection though. The boundaries of what will destroy your fuse seem to extend well beyond the walls. I found it was important to stand in a particular place to do the puzzle as well, as shown in Phillip’s screenshot, because when you initially grab the fuse, it seems like you have to push it up against something to orient it with your Gravity Gun and it’s something you just can’t do if you’re standing next to the puzzle.

        Either way, it’s far too meticulous and it felt like I was playing a difficult game of Operation. My chief complaint with the mod is the excessive difficulty in some of its design and this is the foremost example of it. Did they really need to have the fuse vanish when you touched the edge? Did someone think that would be fun?

        Reply
    2. Jasper

      A rant monstrously unfair to the author. It seems to me that this mod is not for you.
      Just be honest and say so and move on.
      If you do not get it right, the mod does not allow you to proceed – quite right and important for this mod.
      You and a very few others, here and elsewhere. whine about the fuse box puzzle – yes you need to be in the right position and then it is a doddle to do.
      The hardest bit was the train ride from hell, great fun when accomplished with a vast sense of achievement.
      It is beyond belief that you are unable to simply state that this mod is not for you and just give one or two stars and have done.

      Reply
      1. Kyouryuu

        The overarching problem with the train ride, and don’t forget I gave this a “Play it Now,” is that there’s too much chaos in its design.

        If a mod or a game is meant to be hard, the player has to be able to learn something from their failures. That little morsel of information needed to get past the situation on the next go-around. The premise being that if a player essentially repeats what they did before, but makes a minor tweak to avoid what killed them, they’ll be just fine.

        Mostly because of the naturally random nature of the grenades, I felt my passage of that segment was based more on luck than skill, which isn’t a desirable trait to me.

        Reply
        1. Archaic

          really? for the most part you just sit there and the grenades miss.

          toss the zombines” back at them and ignore the soldiers” thrown ones.

          …and adopt a luxguard sheet, it’ll save you from the sniper.

          Reply
  12. Bluncheonmeat
    Personal Favourite

    I went in expecting a somewhat good mod, but came out having played one of the best (if not the best) sp mods I’ve ever seen. People like to compare this to Minerva, but they are really in two different genres. The design quality of both mods are top notch, but if I were to compare, I honestly could say this was more fun. When I was playing my first run through, I simply could not believe my eyes. You can only imagine the creativity that went into making this mod. There were quite a number of pleasant surprises throughout the whole game. What made this great for me was the little little details that were put into everything.

    Even from a design perspective, this is quite impressive. Lots of custom content. I can image how many of the puzzles were created, but many evidently took a lot of skill to pull off. Of course there may be a number of bugs (though the only one I encountered in my play through was the frustrating buttons), but it should be expected in a mod of this complexity with a one man design team.

    Overall, this is a superior mod and everyone should at least give it a try.

    Reply
  13. lalabox

    This was really great.

    Though one thing that was absolutely infuriating was that without crosshairs, I found it almost impossible to press the right button or pull the right switch much of the time. Which, if you’ve played it, you will agree that that can be quite vital.

    Reply
    1. Jasper

      Yup, that is a serious fault. If you know how to use the console then crosshair 1. Others have alluded to this

      Reply
    2. Berrie

      It’s been fixed in the latest version.

      Reply
  14. tattie

    Bladdy hell, this was hard but I enjoyed every minute of it!

    Reply
  15. Zeeek
    Play It Now!

    Whatever the issues listed in the previous posts this is still an outstanding piece of work for which the author should be congatulated. I’d rather see some guiding/suggesting comments than people tearing at the issues – remember this is unpaid work. My thanks to the author anway for a very entertaining piece of work.

    Reply
  16. Da Fat Cat

    Best mod ever.

    Reply
  17. PlanetPhillip

    I’ve added video walkthroughs links to the main post, just under the panoramic.

    Reply
  18. imadestroyer

    This is easily the best mod of 2009. Beautiful.

    Reply
  19. Brian

    Anyone have a problem dismounting from Mr. Whirly? I can part way but after jumping the truck trailer I can’t. I think it’s my setup as I had the same problem with that mod with the magnetic crane. Any ideas? I let steam check all the cache files, didn’t help. Thanks, Brian

    Reply
    1. Kyouryuu

      I certainly had problems getting forcefully ejected from the car and being unable to get back in. Sometimes the vehicle has a mind of its own – it keeps moving and breaking through things even after you’ve left it.

      Sadly, it’s not the most graceful custom vehicle out there.

      Reply
    2. geekofalltrades

      I’m having this exact same issue, and it’s preventing me from proceeding any further. Anyone have any ideas?

      Reply
  20. Clunkfish
    Personal Favourite

    Pure class. Inventive, innovative, funny, exciting, immersive, visually fantastic. This is professional quality stuff and the author deserves the very highest praise. This one’s in my personal Hall of Fame!

    Reply
  21. Anon-00035
    Play It Now!

    Best way to describe this would be, Half-Life 2, but instead of playing as Gordon Freeman, you’re playing as MacGuyver. Invent your way out of hazardous situations. Use lab and factory equipment to explosive ends. Suprise the heavily armed baddies with pure ingenuity.

    A great premise pulled off with the skill and tenacity of a master craftsman. Bravo!!

    Reply
  22. Anonymous

    This was a very good mod that lasted quite a while (a rarity among most of the custom SP mods I’ve played recently. However a few slight annoyances that irked me (Spoilers ahead).

    I’m playing the version off moddb so when you mouseover one of the buttons for the keypad a “hand” icon pops up, to me at least this implied that I should be clicking the buttons not pressing use on them (the crosshair was also up which is enough and would not have led to me thinking the wrong thing).

    In a similar vein the second keypad used the same color coding as the first leading me to not initially looking for the second wiring “diagram”. This could easily be solved by changing the colors on it.

    To those that had problems with the train section it seemed fairly straight forward once you knew where the enemies were spawned. Watch for grenades coming to you gravity gun grab em and then toss em away. Not too bad.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      I’m playing the version off moddb so when you mouseover one of the buttons for the keypad a “hand” icon pops up
      That’s the same version as available here. That’s why I didn’t post this mod as early as some sites because the author suggested I wait for the updated version, which I did.

      I believe that some commenters here are using their experiences with the earlier version to review it.

      Reply
  23. Archaic
    Personal Favourite

    Let me start off by saying, this felt enormously like half-life without the gun fighting.

    having said that, know that R&D transcends its shooter roots and is a full fledged adventure game, right down to the bosses whom require some ingenuity to defeat.

    each level is denoted with a custom graphic near the beginning, followed by puzzles and “combat” following the theme implied by the title.

    solving the puzzles is rewarding, and mis-solving some can be entertaining as well.

    other than some small bugs, the only part that irritated me was the un-intuitive second keypad [the shovel points to the solution].

    if this guy and adam foster worked together on a project, nothing would be fun anymore.

    closing comments:

    play it now or forever hold your peace.

    Reply
  24. Davie
    Personal Favourite

    This mod was simply amazing. The environment was very detailed, and the whole thing looked like it could easily be part of HL2 Episode 2. The puzzles were very clever and with a little logical thinking, not too difficult to solve. Admittedly, a little gunplay would have been nice, but the general quality of the mod easily makes up for it. R & D does things no other mod or even Valve has done before, making it certainly the most innovative mod released. It does things in a new and different way than the usual HL2 gameplay. Any Half-Life fan should play this immediately.
    Also, it has the most badass boss fight ever. XD

    Reply
  25. MonoLife

    Super mod!
    Very much it was pleasant to me.

    Reply
  26. geekofalltrades
    Personal Favourite

    haHA! I discovered a solution! If you’re experiencing the bug where you can’t get out of the Eviscerator, just open up your console and type:

    ent_fire ui deactivate

    (When you want to get out.) With that, I was able to finally finish, and I must say that while some of the puzzles are just *barely* frustrating enough to warrant less than 100% (I gave this mod 9/10 over on moddb), it’s still one of my all-time favorites. Most of the puzzles solve intuitively and satisfyingly. The mod has a great sense of humor, too!

    Reply
    1. Brian

      Thanks so much Geek! That works for me!!!! This is the best mod I ever played!

      Reply
  27. Jasper

    I never had the problem of getting out of Mr. Whirly.
    E (or your bound Use key) then turn away from the front then Jump with Forward. Sometimes I had to back off and then jump to get out.
    Mr. Whirly went nowhere without me, so this should work just fine.

    Reply
  28. tungsten

    this mod has kept me amused for days so difficult but rewarding the best thing since half life came to life in the nineties,i never thought I would enjoy a mod without weapons just your brains fantastic

    Reply
  29. Jeff
    Play It Now!

    A horribly inventive mod that always kept me entertained up until it frustrated the hell out of me.
    A few new mechanics here were pretty much impossible for me to discover on my own (breaking pipes and knocking out ceiling tiles ) and required using a video walkthrough. Valve would have found a magical way to demonstrate these behaviors before your life or progress depended on them.

    So, believe all the hype, but be prepared to feel a little stupid in places until you figure out the tricks.

    Reply
    1. imadestroyer

      You didn’t notice the steam coming out of the pipes in the weak spots? I didn’t have any trouble figuring this out on my own. It was just subtle enough to not be obvious.

      Reply
  30. Woja

    Quite simply the most innovative and enjoyable mod I’ve yet had the pleasure to play!

    Reply
  31. Dan Silvester
    Personal Favourite

    This is my fave mod of 2009. As said the enviroments are very detailed and ooze proffesionalism; this guy is a natural.
    Add maybe a little gun play into the fold and you just get the perfect game!

    Utterly fantastic.

    Reply
  32. Ratzoid

    Anybody have a problem steering the Evisorator whilygig thingy? I can only turn in one direction… Any ideas? Great mod still.

    Reply
  33. Ratzoid

    What a DINGBAT I am , I had forgotten that I had bound my turning keys to other than default. God, what an idiot All the way to the last part. Oh well, I’ll probably play it again.

    Reply
  34. Chris Fox
    Personal Favourite

    Perhaps the best mod I’ve ever seen.

    I like non-combative mods to begin with, so this is right up my street. I expected it to be quite impressive just from the screenshots, but I really wasn’t prepared for just how awesome it really is.

    Everything is remarkably well presented and I don’t feel qualified to give the looks any criticism at all. The attention to detail is very good everywhere. Everything seems in the right scale, and all the environments are very believable as well as pretty. The lighting is great. The sound is great. Everything is great. I think it looks professional!

    I did not experience any real bugs while playing, which given the complexity of the puzzles coupled with how much I like to f**k about while playing, is just incredible.

    I did end up in a couple of death-loops though, due to a strange auto-save point on the traintrack section. But that was the only problem I had.

    A couple of the puzzles have odd elements (like not being able to pick up certain objects until a certain time) but considering the design of the puzzles, I completely understand why it is done this way from a technical point of view.

    Many of the sections of this mod are simply inspired, like the whirlygig which is an outstanding achievement, and the varied puzzles which mostly always manage to remain interesting and fun. It was nice being able to battle the enemy without doing any shooting myself. And it’s nice to see some genuinely creative gameplay ideas.

    The best mod I’ve played this year so far, and by a long way.

    Reply
  35. irondragons
    Personal Favourite

    [spoilers]God darn. This mod is incredible.

    I just love the way this mod is really sophisticated for the first few maps and then suddenly plunges into complete obscurity/craziness in the last 2 maps. It almost feels as though the author went crazy as he drew to the end of making this mod.

    And I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at a game since the first time I played Max Payne. Soaring through the air on a metal walkway was probably one of the best moments of my life. Fighting 3 antlion kings off with a propeller is a close second.

    I thoroughly recommend this mod. It’s got pace and it’s also got craziness. It’s innovative and flowy. It’s Ingenius and quirky. I could go on.

    What really boggles my mind is how fun this mod really is but how refined it is at the same time. Usually the most fun I’d have from mods is just those ‘so bad it’s brilliant” mods like Zombie Master for example, but this mod is something else. It isn’t ‘so bad it’s brilliant” in terms of fun, it’s ‘so good it’s absolutely incredible” in terms of fun.

    Conclusion : Probably the best 3rd party puzzle mod ever, if not one of my favourite source mods.

    Reply
  36. slurm23
    Personal Favourite

    I can only join those, who claim this to be the best mod for HL2 up until now… The gameplay is smooth, the puzzles are challenging, yet still fair and the level design is gorgeous. This mod is at least as original as Portal was and it could have easily been an official Valve release!

    While playing R&D, I couldn’t stop wondering if this is not the ‘real” continuation of those classic point and click adventures, that I loved so much a decade ago… It somehow has the same “feel” to it, even though it’s obviously more of a genuine FPS – only without the weapons 😉

    Reply
  37. mlabird

    Mr. Whirly was fanstastic! Very much fun! Now just let me shoot a few headcrabs and it would be perfect. nearly there now. Great Job!

    Reply
  38. andyb

    Very cool mod.Very difficult at times and easy at other times.Sometimes things went a bit fast where you have difficulty thinking far enough ahead so you dont die but its all possible.

    Reply
  39. Phil Bolton

    Asolutely splendid!!!

    Too many things to say! Speechless, I am!

    Reply
  40. Gypsy Jim
    Personal Favourite

    Has their ever been another Mod that has had so many “Personal Favourite” recommendations?? I can’t think of any.I’d try to add my review, but it’s all been said.Truly a Mod of beauty, fun, humour, challenge, and entertainment. If this is really a one-person effort, then Valve ought to be knocking on the door any day now…….Simply brilliant.

    Reply
  41. lefthome
    Personal Favourite

    Definitely up there on the list of all time best mods. In my top 5 for sure. Inventive beyond words. Valve needs to contact these people. Visually beautiful as well.

    The only part I found frustrating was that gunship battle… but I always hate working under pressure like that.

    It felt very rewarding to figure out most of these puzzles and witness the chaos and destruction you unleash.

    Mr. Whirly is an all time classic that I would love to see more of.

    GOOD WORK!

    Reply
  42. Esswok

    well this is a first for me

    I can’t get through the first screen

    I have never asked I guess I got old and have Alzheimers or add or just got mental.
    I must have missed orientation

    I have actually re started 4~6 times something I have never done.

    Usually you can not do anything that will stop you from progress, and you can not change anything that will stop progress.

    I must believe that I am supposed to get the antlion to go outside to distract the Combine and somehow I will get a crowbar to break the wood covering the door.

    I do not get it, it has a good feel at the start and your comments make it sound promising. is this incomplete.

    Reply

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  44. Richard van den Burg

    @ Esswok,

    You have to guide your antlion with your bugbait through the maze , when the antlion gets outside, it will do all the killing for you (throw bigbait to the enemy and your antlion will do all the work) The antlion will allso break the wood covering the door, so you can get out.
    Or take a look at the video walkthrough part 1
    Play on, the mod gets better and better after this.

    Reply
  45. Richard van den Burg

    So many “Personal Favorites” , is it really that good?
    YES it is !!
    Totally awesome, pure eye-candy, I will replay this one more than once.

    Reply
  46. Zoomba

    One of the best mods I’ve played, easily top 5. So many challenges, and the ending battle?! Puhleeze! Valve quality here. It felt like a legit release.

    Reply
  47. toby

    I signed up on this site to say thank you to the author of R&D which is a very high quality mod. I’m very, very impressed by the intuitive puzzels and physics. This was awesome! Thank You!

    Reply
  48. diolator

    Ingenious.

    Reply
  49. SolidFake
    Personal Favourite

    Oh dude, at first I thought “No weapons? This mod will get so boring!”
    But I was wrong, in all parts.
    This mod is really one of the best I’ve ever played.
    The puzzles are very clever and most of them are designed in an fantastic way. I never had problems with the puzzles and I really really liked some ideas like the microwave ^^
    Puzzles made by a genius, why did noone think of beeing on a railcar while zombines appear and you have to push away their nades?
    What surprised me the most was that the mod is full of action, and that without any single weapon and as a puzzle mod! (yes yes, gravity gun and antlion).
    (Noooo, why did my antlion die? I loved him so much :O )
    The visuals are stunning and fit perfectly together, there’s nearly not a single wrong set texture and it let’s you of really beeing in a facility.

    Simply a must play and probably the most innovative mod ever made!

    Reply
  50. Sirrocco

    Wow. Stunning. Incredible. It will be a long til anyone tops this work of art.

    Blew me away………..

    Reply
  51. shora

    Best mod ever created
    loved it
    loved it
    loved it

    I feel guilty for not paying to play this awesome game

    Reply
  52. Anon-00036

    Marcello Bortolino didn’t make it.
    Matt Bortolino did. And he did an awesome job of it too.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      I recieved an email about the mod from Marcello Bortolino but signed Matt.

      Reply
  53. Jasper

    Shame. Walkthroughs.
    Not needed and, hopefully, no self-respecting gamer will use them.
    I didn’t and, happily, lots of others played and completed before they even were posted.
    To those who have not yet played, don’t use the walkthroughs – they will destroy your enjoyment and the whole “raison d’etre” of this wonderful game.
    You are supposed to work them out for yourself. That is the reason for the game. That is why you will enjoy it.

    Reply
  54. fasteddie
    Personal Favourite

    All I can say is fantastic!!! C’mon Jasper lighten up. I had to use the walkthrough on occasion and it never downgraded my thorough enjoyement of this masterpiece. On the contrary it lessened the frustration level. My congrats to those who did not use it though. I guess I have a long way to go to obtain your puzzle solving abilities.

    Reply
  55. Anonymous

    The rar file is in my sourcemods folder but doesnt show on steam. wtf?

    Reply
    1. ebsiman

      You need to have episode 2.

      Reply
  56. Anonymous

    And I dont know ho to extract it: im seeing if I can download extraction software.

    Reply
  57. Anonymous

    OK its fine now its working.

    Reply
  58. Anonymous

    Why cant you edit your comment!??? Its still not working even the extracted folder is in SourceMods folder inside steamapps.

    Reply
  59. denizen
    Maybe?

    This mod starts off quite well and is very enjoyable, but at some point it starts catching some kind of gross hollywood-esque virus of unintelligence and crass overstatement. Then it just becomes silly, pretty much like all hollywood crap.

    Reply
  60. Anonymous

    Nice mod

    Reply
  61. Wolfen Victrocious
    Play It Now!

    This mod is almost pure brilliance. It takes you out of the normal mindset of violence after violence and says” Here, solve this puzzle.” You never g et a gun through the whole thing and the only thing close is the Gravity Gun. The puzzles rang from ” get the antlion through the maze” to ” how do I get the light to the end of this series of mirror like objects?” The game tries not to make you repeat puzzles and the only backtracking is for your own mistakes.

    All in all the game was fun, had brilliant level design, neat theme, and worked well in practice.

    Now don’t stand around reading these reviews, get to it! Download this brilliant mod and try it out now.

    Reply
  62. Lars
    Personal Favourite

    A lot of good stuff has already been written about this mod, and I agree. The environments are full and well-developed. The diagrams for how to build Mr Whirly or the nitro-booster made me go “Awesome!” The puzzles definitely break new ground in what can be done with the HL2 universe. There were many moments of “Cool!”

    That being said, the mod could benefit from more extensive playtesting — there were times when I got stuck longer than was enjoyable, stuck not in “how to I do that” but “what am I supposed to do next?” I can’t blame the author in general for being obscure… there are usually plenty of arrows around to clue you in.

    But a couple of places were obscure for me. Like, in the courtyard area with the rotating crane boom and the swinging walks. It would be helpful to know which thing to do first. Otherwise there are too many other possibilities to puzzle over at once. Also, the metal beam that’s key to a later step… I assumed it was immovable, since most of the other stuff lying around was; and when I tried to move it while standing on the ground, it seemed immovable. To re-try every possibly loose object after changing my own location seems tedious.Anyway, these are things that playtesting will reveal.

    I also fell victim to the getting out-of-and-back-into-Mr-Whirly bug, even though I downloaded the version that was supposed to fix it. (Maybe I should have restarted Steam?) Thankfully I was able to use the console command workaround.

    As I think someone else commented, there were a number of places where plausibility took a back seat to puzzle mechanics. E.g. barrels being unmovable for no apparent reason. But I know this can be a hard tension to resolve well, and I would rather enjoy a good puzzle than have it ruined or cut in order to stay plausible. However the solutions need to be physically plausible, otherwise the player has to just guess!

    The above spills plenty of ink on what could be improved, but it bears repeating that I’m very impressed with this mod. The author is really inventive and obviously enjoyed playing around with new ideas, like the magnetic ladder. He also takes existing ideas and stretches them in fun new directions… like fighting off the gunship and helicopter with dropmines and those electric ball thingies. Even more rare is that the inventiveness is accompanied by artistry and care in developing environments.

    I say, Valve hire him, put him in charge of a small team, give him guidance from someone with industry experience, and see how he can be empowered to produce great new, interesting stuff.

    Reply
  63. Pedro

    Just added the Nitrous, but I use LMB to go forward,,
    I have changed it to Left CTL but still no boost,,,

    Reply
  64. Muzzow
    Personal Favourite

    For me, this is the best mod ever made. It’s cleverly done, with a superb environment, gorgeous level details and it’s entertaining all the time. I have to admit that I needed the walkthrough one or two times, but that didn’t ruin the fun for me.
    The only thing I didn’t like was the, well, let’s call it “boss fight” right at the end. And the vehicle was a pain to move around. Aside from that – no crititcs.

    Solving just puzzles and purely using your brain to advance – AND the phyisics engine but without the use of a single weapon at all, is fantastic. I wish there would be more mods like that. Awesome. I had a lot of fun and I’ve even played some puzzles a third or even a fourth time (right the first time I worked myself through the mod) just because it was so much fun. This is my personal favorite.

    Reply
  65. Misguided

    What console command?? I still can’t get out of mister whirly without him running off. I read all the replies, did I miss one?

    Thanks for helping

    Reply
  66. gsp1995

    One of the best mod’s I’ve ever played!

    Reply
  67. Mr. Whirly sucks ass.

    I have a serious bug going on. Whenever I try to get out of the vehicle, I just stand up inside the thing and it keeps running. When I jump out of it I can’t move and spins around and cuts me in half. I can’t even noclip to get out of the way. What is this bullshit and how do I fix it?

    Reply
  68. TB Biggs

    Genius. Brilliant. Masterpiece.

    Reply
  69. Zaphod
    Personal Favourite

    Not even Valve can make puzzles as well as this. It starts out good, then it gets better and after that it gets even better. Fantastic visuals, fantastic game play,fantastic everything!

    Drop everything and play it now. There is research to be done!

    Reply
  70. Mel
    Maybe?

    Will I have given this a good go, but in the end my dislike of puzzle oriented mods got the better. No doubt that this is a very clever and extremely well crafted mod, which I had hoped from the start was going to be a fine balanced between action and puzzle solving, unfortunately for me it soon reduces to puzzle solving only, and after the first two sections as shown via the walk through, I begin to loss interest with just puzzle solving.

    it’s the shear continues puzzle solving effort that does not hold my attention and I just long for some mayhem, actions and typical Half Life adventure, some of the puzzles are far too complex for me and without help I would not got as far as I did. So I can’t say I enjoyed this mod such that I could not highly recommend it and for me it’s only a maybe.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      It’s a shame you didn’t like it, but I can easily see that if puzzles aren’t your thing then it’s definitely not the mod for you.

      Reply
  71. Sudsy

    Pure genius! It stands alongside the Mona Lisa as a great piece of art!

    Mr. Bortolino I salute you. It has been an honor to play it. I hope you have more genius brewing!

    Reply
  72. ChaK_

    That game was a blast, simply.

    So much thanks modders for making such thing. I loved it from the beggining to the very end.

    9/10, -1 just for the little problems in car handling (personal opinion)

    Reply
  73. Mel

    Finally got the gravity gun, think the effort caused permanent brain damage, now on the rail track and making progress.

    Reply
    1. civanT

      Come on man, it can’t be that bad ^^,

      Reply
  74. Mel

    it’s very linear in some places, the rail track ride for instance; this sequence would have been far better had there been stop/start controls, so much opportunity to get off and deal with situations, an opportunity missed I think, and if like me you get off anyway to have a look around all the sets are only skin deep. I do understand that it was designed that way and working out what pipe to hit, activating the rail levels and evading incoming was fun and well done, but had this been HL in the real sense of things then for sure the gameplay would have been far more varied.

    Reply
  75. Blood
    Personal Favourite

    This is excellent. Took me some time to figure out how to progress through each puzzle. Sometimes I was just thinking WTF?!? But, a little patience and, as always, keen observation helps you win the day 🙂 What I really liked about it was the originality of the design. Some of the areas look great. Top marks.

    Reply
  76. zck2020

    Word cannot describe the awesomeness of this mod.

    Reply
  77. tommiezat
    Personal Favourite

    This mod just rocks, even if im not the greatest at solving puzzles I totally agree with Bloods comment above. a little patience and time to look at the task at hand will give you a good feeling when the task is completed. this is a well thought out mod and seemed to be well tested as I had no issues. as phillip noted you may not have any firepower weapons but you can still kill things lol this ones a keeper. thanks to the developer.

    Reply
  78. Mega Sean 45

    Great mod! This is like a Half-Life version of Portal. Just no Portal gun, no GLaDOS, and there are Combines, Antlions, and Zombies.

    Reply
  79. Harmondale2
    Personal Favourite

    DO NOT WAIT! PLAY NOW!

    it is certainly the cleverest, and most fun mod out there, not as atmospheric as MINERVA but you’ll have too much fun to care, all mods should aspire to be this good, so many clever puzzles and mechanics and filled with suprises. A little short maybe but saying you want more of something just shows how good it is! 😀

    Reply
  80. ailmanki
    Personal Favourite

    This one is very special, some parts are not reaching the quality it could, yet the ideas and all is awesome. Feels more like HL then HL2, which is great.
    Seems a bit difficult altough I did run through… but HL2 is definitely easier from thinking part.
    [spoiler]The A-Team part is very funny, also the part where you have to build the gun is nicely done…[/spoiler]

    Reply
  81. ebsiman

    What is the console command to get out of the whirly. I loaded the July 17 release and that doesn’t work. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. eeVee

      ent_fire ui deactivate

      Reply
    2. ebsiman

      The command to deactivate the whirly is ent_fire ui deactivate

      It can be found at http://thierrygagnon.com/en-article203.html along with other things.

      Reply
  82. Robspace1
    Personal Favourite

    Great! Just Great! This mod is the most fun I have ever had with ANY video game. This mod is so unique, complex, well thought out and completely over the top in qualtiy construction that if the author or authors are not making alot of money with video games soon, then someone has really messed up. This is so good it should be for sale if only a tad longer.
    I used no walkthrough, didn’t even know there was one, but I’m real glad I didn’t. If you like to work out some really good physics type puzzles, then get this now! It took me a while to figure it all out but having just finished I feel real good about having completed this with no help.

    If you like blood and guts and run and gun type mods, then keep going but if you want a fantastic experience that will put your mind to work and really get the grey matter cooking, then grab this and have fun. It’s just a real one of a kind masterpiece. I will be playing it again.

    Reply
  83. Freeman M.D.
    Personal Favourite

    Definite favorite. AMAZING graphics, gaming interface fit for a king, and puzzles that took serious thought, but were still fun. I’ve never played a better game, to be honest with you. I genuinely believe that you could work for Valve as one of the gamemakers.

    Reply
  84. Zekiran
    Personal Favourite

    Like many others who love puzzles and adore the gravity gun, this mod is fantastic. If you don’t like puzzles, don’t play it – it’s going to be too much for you.

    I *did* have to use walkthrough hints, and there were parts which were “20 minutes finishing the puzzle and an hour of wondering what to do next’. However, since the whole rest of the visuals and cleverness of the mod was overwhelming, those things I don’t think should ever detract from someone wanting to play or not.

    LOVED mr Whirly. In fact I have an easier time piloting that thing than darn near any other vehicle in the Half Life games. Maybe it’s seeing your controls… The humor and particularly the wild ending were FILLED with awesome. It appeared to be aimed at exactly my age group (35-45) with its pop culture hints. I was yelling and hooting at the end, and THAT is the sign of a GREAT mod.

    Play it. Use the walkthroughs if needed, there’s nothing wrong with that. All over, thumbs up. If I had ten thumbs they’d all be up.

    Reply
  85. Hardcore

    MAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!! this is not one of the best mods i’ve played BUT THE BEEESSTTTT MOD I’vE PLAYED SO FAR!!!!! this is AWESOOME..! MY CONGRATS to the author, you should work for Valve! can’t wait to see your other projects!!

    Reply
  86. Edbiker

    A quality mod. Beautiful level design. Interesting puzzles and nicely paced. The amount of work that must have gone into this is mind blowing.

    Reply
  87. joe_freeman

    Just wanted to mention I had to use the Episode 2 mods fix on the “Get Mods Working” page to get this mod to work even though this mod is listed as not needing a fix. Many many missing things and textures until I used the fix…but now all is good. Great mod!!!!

    Reply
  88. joe_freeman

    Ok…I am at a loss here now. Last night I fixed gameinfo.txt and R&D ran great. This morning Steam apparently changed stuff (again) and now R&D will not load…all I get is “could not load library client”. Anyone know what the heck is wrong now??????

    P.S. Yes I already put back the original gameinfo.txt…still same loading error…

    Reply
  89. joe_freeman

    apparently steam updated yet again since my last post. I went back to using original gameinfo.txt AND I copied bin folder from “offshore” to R&D. R&D is now currently working again but I’m not sure if what I did or something steam did fixed problem…

    Reply
  90. benq3000

    Can’t say any freaking thing.
    This mod is perfect.
    Perfect mapping, perfect puzzles, perfect designs, PERFECTIONESS!
    Absolutely the best mod in existence of HL.

    Reply
  91. House
    Personal Favourite

    First of all, this puzzle game was the BESTEST I’ve played in my life! It was so fun! I couldn’t really believe it! It was so fun! I cannot even believe I played a mod like this! The only levels that were very hard for is the chapter where you build a car and you drive it. barrnicles always got me and my parts of the car at that part. IT was also hard getting the antlion guards into the cages. A little hard having to kill the strider with the car. Thats the only chapter hard for me. (Which was the last one. Last chapters are supposed to be hard right?)
    Everything else was SPECTACULAR!

    Reply
  92. OG Loc

    Wow! The creater is a genius! I found a mod that you can cause lots of violance without using guns or a suit! The Gunship fight was pretty hard though.

    Reply
  93. Jack

    Excellent mod, the helicopter fights were awesome.

    Reply
  94. geekofalltrades

    Leaving this comment retrospectively…

    Research & Development is a great puzzle mod and a breath of fresh air for the HL2 universe. Its cheeky sense of humor isn’t remiss, either.

    Reply
  95. zlandael
    Personal Favourite

    Definitely a good mod, before the [spoiler]Mr. Whirly glitch[/spoiler]
    The puzzles were quite innovative, like using the ladder a few times in order to reach the top of the structure, or using the gravity gun strategically to navigate the small cell-like thing in the electrical maze. All in all, a great mod for Episode 2.

    Reply
  96. Ade
    Personal Favourite

    2 years now and this is still rockin. 459 downloads form this site alone yet I’m still wondering how we can get more people to play this. I can see why its #1 in Most Personal Favorite Recommendations. Can’t wait to play it AGAIN. Best HL2/EP2 mod ever, the engine at its best. Sexual chocolate, as some might say.
    I can sit here for hours thinking of ways to praise every lil thing about it, and not repeating everyone else’s words, yet I know words don’t do it justice. A few images, maybe even videos can try. Best if you play it, you’ll feel extraordinary! And try to finish it without walkthroughs, it’s really rewarding. A friend of mine said “I feel so smart now” after only a few minutes in it. Oh yes, I recommended it to friends already and in here I recommend it to most if not all players of all types, even though I’m a puzzle fan. I feel it really appeals to everyone and the recommendation system sure shows it.
    Again, this is truly a classic, a keeper. Excels in every level.
    Nuff said. Go play it! Now!

    Reply
  97. brianthesnail

    Just finsished “research and development” today and im impressed… this is unlike any other mod and would be good enough for sale to the general public as a game and not a mod…. however it would need to be longer and cleaned up around the edges
    however as a mod its awesome….. its unique as you dont use any weapons… and with just the gravity gun its been compared to portal by some critics
    but as a mod I give it 10/10 …… it kept me hooked from start to finish and the level design is among the best I have even seen…… the puzzles are hard but not too hard… and the use of the gravity gun to solve some of these puzzles is clever
    finally I love the way matt used the doors to paint the level name on… clever and works well
    amazing mod and extremely clever and talented modder
    well done matt

    Reply
  98. Reuben
    Play It Now!

    This was a very interesting mod. The good bits were particularly good, but unfortunately the frustrating bits brought it down. The more action-orientated scenes were not as good as the pure puzzle-based bits, in my opinion. Also, the vehicle was incredibly hard to handle. I understand that’s part of the charm, since it’s supposed to be a crude DIY car, but it just made it incredibly frustrating.

    Reply
  99. Aazell

    I’m about half way through this mod and it’s just stunning.

    What stands out here is not the graphical quality (although it is superb), it’s the attention to the innovative puzzles. The mapper gets what a good game puzzle should be about.

    Tell the player what they are trying to achieve, present the player with the obsticals and what they have to work with, then let them work out the HOW.

    The puzzles are so well designed using this mentality, I think it was clear at every step of the way what I had to do, if not it became very clear, very quickly and provided wonderful Eureka! moments when you crack the puzzle.

    So much satisfaction.

    Its also nice to see a mod that provides plenty of action without giving the player an offensive weapon. The whole, On A Rail style section is a fantastic example of how removing the weapon from the player can up the stakes.

    I know this has been about for a while now but it’s without doubt the best mod I’ve ever played and the most fun I’ve had in a while.

    Reply
  100. vancanucksfan

    I went to replay this mod, and now you can no longer exit properly from the buggy. Does anybody know of a way to fix this?

    Reply
    1. vancanucksfan

      OK, I found the solution somewhere. Type “ent_fire ui deactivate” at the console

      Reply
  101. MrFishcake
    Personal Favourite

    This mod has a good length, A variety of different tasks to complete (Mainly Puzzles) and all the scenarios and playstyles are different. It is great fun all the way through, Quite challenging at times too, but I managed to complete the whole game without any help.

    Pros:

    -Great Scenarios
    -Challenging Puzzles
    -Lots of different things to do
    -Quite long

    Cons:
    -Can be very tedious at times ([spoiler]Barnacles and Fuses…[/spoiler])
    -a few small bugs

    Reply
  102. riticulin
    Personal Favourite

    This game is a perfect marriage of Portal-style game play and Half-Life 2 aesthetics.

    It is extremely enjoyable.

    The puzzles are very well constructed, and don’t rely on mindless wandering and nitpicking in order to solve. Logic and good observation are what are required.

    The way action is incorporated is fairly brilliant. The “combat” sequences were really satisfying both viscerally and intellectually. I felt satisfied I had figured out the puzzle, and enjoyed blowing up some assholes at the same time.

    Part of the reason this mod is among my very favorites, is because it’s so unique. The only other mod that I think comes close to this kind of game play is the Sprucecape Map Pack. And I find that pretty unfortunate. I would love to have more mods like this one.

    Reply
  103. Hec
    Personal Favourite

    What’s going on!!, I haven’t reviewed this yet too!!!, thanks god and Phillip mostly for his absolutely brilliant mod-map matrix idea!! that i’m here.

    Well what can not tell you about this?!!, heck not many things. THIS IS JUST DEFINITELY A CLASSIC IN HL2 MODDING HISTORY. So that means you MUST play this one in order to turn yourself into a decent HL MOd gamer.

    Yep, this is a classic because its gameplay and dynamic plto is just brilliant, very very inovative,. entretaned and fun just using the GRAVGUN!, I know ther have been attempts to run some map competitions centered into the exclusive use of the gravgun, but excuse me, I think in my opinion ALL have failed, thers simply nothing best with the gravgun as main tool-weapon, than the maps you will face here in R&D.

    the textures are amazing along with terrific light effects, and i’m telling you I played this master piece about 3 years ago!!, so yep this is a special mod you can hardly forget.

    So come on you MUST PLAY this amazing classic mod.

    Reply

  104. Pingback: Level Design Portfolios | QuakeWiki

  105. Ade

    Can I add a PF every time I play it?

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      Only if you suffer from a particular type of amnesia called “Modulitus”.

      Reply
  106. musterfox

    Hi Phillip,
    Just to let you know that the download link to Gamesmodding gives a “website not found” error while the one for FileFront (Gamefront) gives a “page not found” error.
    Cheers

    Reply
    1. Sparks

      Link now updated to current version.

      Reply
  107. Yohan

    The download for this mod is missing.

    Reply
    1. Sparks

      Link now updated to current version.

      Reply
  108. TrevorMag

    I have a problem in Chapter 2, entering the code digits into the keypad to get the energy cube.
    NB: this is NOT the well-known old problem, where the wrong buttons were being pressed by mistake (which was solved by “crosshair 1”)
    I have the newest version, with crosshairs AND “finger-cursor” when I approach the keypad.
    No matter where or how I press, NOTHING lights up – not the “ring” around the button digit, not the coloured lights above the keypad. Nothing. It is as if the mouse button clicks are being completely ignored.
    I am running Windows 7, 64-bit.
    Additional info:
    The console is frantically scrolling this message:

    Material models/magnusson_teleporter/magnusson_teleporter_fxglow1 does not support vertex format used by the mesh (maybe missing fields or mismatched vertex compression?), mesh will not be rendered. Grab a programmer!

    If anyone has any ideas, please share them. I cannot progress any further into the game.

    Reply
    1. PlanetPhillip

      I suspect the error is due to an update from Steam and not your or the mod’s fault. Maybe a reader can offer more helpful advice.

      Reply
    2. Sparks

      Since this mod worked perfectly for me a couple of months ago, I started by writing a rude reply about Valve’s continued mod vandalism. Then I figured I would try and give weapon_gravgren (which is what the energy cube effect is based on, I’m almost certain), and then I made an embarrassing discovery.

      You don’t click on the buttons, you “use” them (E) and they work fine.

      “Ahem.” Oops..

      Still, at least it’s not been broken (yet)! Happy R&Ding

      Reply
      1. TrevorMag

        Thank you very much Sparks. I’ll confirm it tonight, but I’m sure you’ve nailed it.
        I’m 25% embarrassed, but not a single percentage point more: the way the mouse cursor turns into a finger is more than a “hint” to press the mouse button – it’s hardcore blatant. Still, the rest of the mod is awesome, but a one-person show can’t afford level of QA and play testing that the major studios can.

        Reply
        1. Sparks

          Agreed. I read that the “finger” cursor was an addition after people complained that the cursor wasn’t clear enough and/or they ended up pressing random buttons by mistake, but it is still a bit counter intuitive though. I meant I was embarrassed as I’d played it through recently, and forgotten that point already!

          Yes, it’s an excellent mod (must be high on Gabe’s “Break It!!” list) but I will warn you that there’s an extremely difficult/frustrating bit coming up where you have to to MANY things simultaneously. I won’t spoil it, but it involves a train cart ride. Quick save like mad here; literally all the time, but do persevere through it as it calms down immediately after and becomes fun again.

          Reply
  109. noogie
    Play It Now!

    Brilliantly made, but it became a bit of a chore. It felt like it needed some npc’s to carry the story along. As it is just feels like an endless grind, with no feeling of progession or how far through you are.

    [spoiler]Also some of the sections were horrible F9-fests: eg train section, and the helicopters. And on the subject of helicopters: doing it once was ok, even if it was ripped straight from ep2, but having to do the same thing again for the gunship, then again for another helicopter was tedious.

    Although I like puzzle games like Portal and Unmechanical, I felt this would have been much better with more traditional HL/HL2 gameplay – with a nice balance of the puzzles interspersed with combat , and exploration, all tacked together with a bit more story.
    [/spoiler]

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    3 Hours, 35 Minutes
    Reply
    1. Sparks

      Yes, the train section (specifically with the homing-zombines and simultaneous hail of insta-exploding grenades) was definitely a pain and a chore, as you say, constant quick-saving being mandatory. You make a good point about the lack of balance with not enough conventional HL2 content plus nasty difficulty spikes (like the train). It’s clear that the mod is a showcase for the clever mechanics, and whilst they are good, a better balance and consistent (or ramping) difficulty would have improved an already very good mod.

      Reply
  110. K12T6

    Definitely one of my favourite mods out there. It does things a lot differently than many other HL2 mods, and it does them very well. A must play for anyone looking for a new and fun HL2 experience!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Hard
    Playtime:
    4 Hours
    Reply
  111. ambbb
    Personal Favourite

    This is probably the best half life 2 mod ever released. I think it should be considered an “official” mod, it’s really that good.
    First of all, your only weapon in the entire game is the gravity gun. This is atypical, you have to kill the enemies using objects around or even using you car.
    The rare quality about this mod is that it’s not just half life 2 with a slightly different graphic, like most mods seem to be, instead each level introduces dynamics and ideas not present in the official game.
    Play it NOW!

    Reply
  112. Darth_Sylph

    when I try to download the game, it says. “file not found”
    might wanna fix that Phillip

    Reply
  113. rikersbeard
    Play It Later

    First off, congratulations on an old but fully working mod!
    I never finished this originally, maybe it was too frustrating, my old PC was slow or my old keyboard was just rubbish. So it familiar but feels fresh now.
    This mod would be ingenious if it was not for one pretty major flaw; it’s random difficulty levels!
    For example trapping a half-zombie in a lift cage, where you close both gates to ensnare it to keep the lift down. It’s a frustrating exercise in timing but once completed you enter a simple puzzle that is not a puzzle, but it fools!
    Then the infamous train ride of difficulty! Here the quick save key is a life savour, but even after several frustration replays there was always that one grenade too many and a forgotten quick save press to induce too much swearing! Repetition gave easily become boredom. I used god mode to get back to that point and cleared it, ironically without needing ‘god’, I caught that one grenade this time!
    But the real aberration is the insanely hard, first helicopter fight in the somewhat shielded tower! I needed three attempts to thwart that mine-dropping chopper! Only to then face other and a gunship on an even less sheltered tower. It took five plus minutes on ‘god mode’ to finally drop that gunship! Simply insane! Rant over…
    The rest is a delight of interesting puzzles, including antlion driving and especially the hazardous animal storage and the delightful lab of colours! And the humour, I forgot there was so much in this mod.
    But then another frustration; a tedious onslaught of roller mines and another hard to target helio. Agh!
    Well at least that fuse box didn’t require long tedious repeated retracing just to open the door! L
    The rail yard I was stuck on needed a walkthrough hint as I had blocked the solution. That proved interesting and fun then I was spoilt by a super tedious electrical problem, just to move a few feet to a ladder! Why?
    Then it was construction time and the famous buggy ride, where “Mr Whirly” performed flawlessly, the driver not so much!
    Running over a strider, never easy, finished this mod.
    A brilliant piece of work marred only by a few over, tedious and stupidly difficult events that seemed unwarranted. Not the train but those helicopters! Only once no-clipped to pass that tiny spark of a problem in the rail yard.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    3 Hours, 7 Minutes
    Reply
    1. rikersbeard

      I simply refuse to believe I was the fastest to finish! Maybe my brain was in gear those few days!
      Simply unfathomable!

      Reply
  114. DarkShift
    Personal Favourite

    R and D is the greatest HL2 mod ever made (in “vanilla”, Underhell would win but it’s a TC),

    it’s fun, there are various situations where you need to scratch your head, and it has a high replay-value. Modding at genius-level. VALVe would have been proud.

    From “resonance cascades” of explosions to kill dozens of Zombies, to the final fight against a Strider with a strange customized “car”, going through fighting Hunter-Choppers only with the bombs they shoot at you, it’s just epicness after epicness, an experience no one will ever put in place in terms of modding.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    5 Hours
    Reply
  115. Beretta2006
    Personal Favourite

    Easily my favorite mod yet for HL2 EP2. I loved every second of the mod and the atmosphere was one of the best i had ever seen! I would highly recommend you play this mod! 10/10

    Installed:
    Using Gauge
    Difficulty Played At:
    Easy
    Playtime:
    3 Hours
    Reply
  116. adobery
    Personal Favourite

    My absolute favorite. So ingenious. Played it years ago, then again a few years later, and will likely play it again.

    It needs a puzzle tag added though, as that definitely applies, but does not show up in a search for that.

    Reply
  117. speedvoltage
    Personal Favourite

    My vote for this will be “Play it Now”, with it being a personal favorite.

    Let’s be honest here, I enjoyed R&D’s puzzles far more than any Portal games I’ve played. It’s perhaps due to 2 things:

    1) It is set in the Half-Life universe.
    2)It uses Havok’s physics engine to perfection in some of the puzzles.

    From a level designer standpoint, this was pure awesomeness from the beginning to the end.

    My favorite moment was likely Whirly. Although difficult to drive due to the fact that it’s a physbox and making it move is controlled through phys_thruster entities.

    Easily the best mod I’ve ever played.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Hard
    Playtime:
    3 Hours
    Reply
  118. Steve
    Personal Favourite

    I don’t normally go for mods based on puzzles only, but this is so different to everything else I’ve played in the genre. Wow, it’s so cool with lots of great ideas – I’ve gotta get myself some of that bulletproof glass for starters lol and that electrified train track part was incredible. Never did it bore or become OTT (except the frustrating gunship scenes on the small roof area)

    It was a little vague in some parts where I felt it could have been a little more obvious and also my Mac had issues getting the little bulletproof truck built. For some reason, I couldn’t pull the fan out of the wall no matter what I tried. So I noclipped that and played without the little truck until the map loaded the next stage and it respawned. This meant I beat THREE antlion guards on foot!!!! Yes, I ran around and turned the wheel juuuust enough to crawl through. Okay, I didn’t beat them but more panicking escaped… but come on, three antlion guards and I did it without dying! 😀

    The Strider scene was funny and a good end to what was a fantastic adventure. I must say that I loved the level designs throughout, the indoor parts where intriguing and the outdoor regions had that feeling of being so large and atmospheric. In fact, a part of me would love to take these and make an action mod! However, as is, the best puzzle based mod I’ve personally ever played.

    Reply
  119. Saltbaron
    Personal Favourite

    One of the best mods I would say.
    This Mod reminds me that Half – life is not all about shooting and gunning down rows of Combine, zombies or antlions. Most of the time all I knew that puzzles were swich a doohiky or put a box somewhere buts this just expanded my mind what can be done with Half – life.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    4 Hours, 20 Minutes
    Reply
  120. KostyanWest

    Oh, it was great! I even don’t thought that mod may be so interesting. I will not write a lot. But I want to report a only thing that I didn’t like – a huge amount of scripts. Sometimes you don’t know you should to do because the crate that in usual HL2 always is physical and breakable here is static until the script is actived.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Hard
    Playtime:
    3 Hours, 20 Minutes
    Reply
  121. BlueDemon75
    Play It Now!

    So the basic premise of the mod is: Emphasis on puzzles.

    The combine attack a rebel research facility you work on, no weapons or crowbars this time around, you gonna need to use your mind to escape.

    Let’s jump in to positives and negatives.

    positives:

    + Great puzzles.
    + Smart use of the physics.
    + Great level design, it’s not your average environment made with assets trown
    together.
    + Levels are not excessively difficult (with a few exceptions, I’m looking at you train ride)
    + Didn’t find any bugs on my playthrough.
    + Most important of all, it’s fun.

    negatives (coulnd’t find many) :

    – It has it’s fair share of ”weird” gimmicks (like any other mod, not really a deal breaker)
    – 3 helicopter battles one after another got boring fast

    TL;DR:
    It’s great just play it already!

    My favorite moment: The car for sure, never had such fun with a vehicle in the source engine before.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    3 Hours

    Reply
  122. Winterman
    Personal Favourite

    Incredible experience! This mod makes a puzzle-only extremely fun and engaging!

    I really love the final showdown too, it was a pure awesome ride!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    4 Hours
    Reply
  123. Avantgarde95
    Personal Favourite

    One of the best HL2 mods. Creative and beautiful.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    3 Hours
    Reply
  124. Losilof39
    Play It Now!

    It’s a well made mod. Clever design and puzzle. Liked some of the major fights and the idea of using other tools to kill the enemies instead of shooting.

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    1 Hour, 30 Minutes
    Reply
  125. Daken50
    Play It Later

    Puzzles are not my thing. But it looks and plays great.

    Reply
  126. Tuberculosis
    Play It Now!

    Very fun and creative!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Hard
    Playtime:
    5 Hours
    Reply
  127. geckardo
    Personal Favourite

    Possibly the best mod ever released for Half-Life 2: Episode 2. I made an account for this website to tell you to play it, NOW! You won’t regret it!

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Hard
    Playtime:
    4 Hours
    Reply
  128. Diclonius Limeony
    Personal Favourite

    Very Good

    Installed:
    Manually
    Difficulty Played At:
    Medium
    Playtime:
    2 Hours
    Reply

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