In this Single Player mod you play the role of Jamil Lee, who is a young member of the civilian resistance, taken by the Combine and currently imprisoned in Nova Prospekt.
Numbness and rage.
Fright and anger.
I open my eyes. Oh, well. My cell is pitch dark anyhow.
“Block E1”. I heard their inhuman voices.
Lying on this cold metal bed, I stretch my arms along my sides.
This must be the right posture to fit in a pod.
I do not tolerate the idea of not being ready.
Yes, but ready for what?
No, I won’t give way to grief.
A squeaky sound…
No, no way. It can’t be true.
The door opens, light replaces darkness.
I will ask for a reason later. Now I have a choice to take. An easy one.
I will run the hell out of here, whatever it takes.
It’s time to get a little revenge.
It’s time to start my own riot act.
- Title: Riot Act
- Filename: hl2-sp-riot-act.7z
- Original Filename: Riot_Act_1.0.exe
- Size : 81.40MB
- Author: Riot Act Team
- Date Released: 27 July 2007
Download to your HDD [81.4MB]
You can still use it with MapTap once you have downloaded it.
- Copy the half-life 2 riot act folder into your …\Steam\SteamApps\sourcemods folder.
- Restart or start Steam.
- Sky Mesa should now be listed in your Library tab.
If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.
Please note: These statistics are valid from December 2010
-
7,322Overall
-
0Today
-
9Last 7 days
-
31Last 30 days
-
414365 days
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 11 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours, 41 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 45 Mins by crowbar
Longest: 3 Hours by Winterman
Total Time Played: 20 Hours, 15 Mins
If you believe this release is missing important tags, please suggest them in a comment?
I’ve played the first few minutes of this and it looks very good. The story seems to fit perfectly with the main events of Half-Life.
The voice acting is very good too.
Full review and plenty more screenshots and gameplay video to follow tomorrow.
I also hope to post an interview with the authors very soon.
Also the installer allows you to choose you installation path as well, which should avoid some of the recent problems.
I just have 2 things to say
1) quality
2)
Note there are a couple of potential spoilers ahead (although I’ve tried to stay vague).
Firstly, the second level seems to have a bit of a balance issue; I was playing on normal and spent most of that level on the brink of death, health felt just right through the rest of the pack, so it seems like that level could have done with some more health kits or armour.
The other main issues I had were technical ones; there were a few places where it seemed like I got stuck with no way out, one at a cage in water, where it seemed like I couldn’t jump out without a buoyancy aid (so if you didn’t get one first you were stuck). At another point I fell down a pit with no apparent way out. Also, at the “ride”, it seemed like you got stuck if you didn’t make the containers start moving first. I’ll give the pack some benefit of the doubt in this regard though, since I was playing it pretty late (and could have overlooked some obvious stuff). Also, at the giant Antlion, you could see outside the level through parts of the pit it comes from.
As a last nitpick, the ladders on the ending bridge could have done with a light to highlight them or something (That kind of feels like “dumbing down” to me in a lot of instances, but this was a dangerous section where finding things easy is important).
Story was pretty thin, I have to admit there were a couple of points where I got a kind of “wait, why am I doing this again?” feeling. It seems like the story text here is all you are really given. It does come together at the end though, and “escape!” could be divulged easily enough considering you are in a prison.
Those were pretty much the only issues I had, the rest of the design is top-notch and could have come straight from HL2. It was also interesting to see a pack using the bugbait, although the Antlion AI seemed a little passive at times (I threw it somewhere and they just sat there in a few instances, which I don’t recall happening in HL2). There were also some well placed turrets and small puzzles.
It’s definitely play it now material, especially with what a lot of HL2 mods are like (although the general quality seems to be rising now). The lack of story isn’t as big an issue as it was with Awakening since it can be inferred much easier here (as I said earlier “escape” is pretty obvious here; in Awakening you were Shepard who had arose to, err, do something).
Woah, that came out about double the size I expected, and I didn’t even get into the gameplay much. I forgot to add that another reason it’s a “play it now” is because it’s nice to see a themed map/pack that feels like a complement to the original, rather than an inferior clone.
Oh I’d love to play it, but the installer says I don’t have Steam installed…
I realy enjoyed this one, only had one very minor slowdown, probaly cause I keep my vid settings at max! I feel this was very well made and fit right in with the orginal HL2 theme!! Also it installed to the right spot the first time!
Absolutly —
“Riot Act” is easily one of the best mods of 2007! I just finished it and it’s a great ride. Best of all each level is fairly diverse! The creators make great use of the existing Half-Life 2 objects/backgrounds and create something new (but famaliar). Kudos to them for allowing you to see more of the inner workings of the Combine.
One of the great ones, deffinitely up there. If you haven’t already;
From [url=http://uoz.multiplayer.it/ra/index.php?content=about]Riot Act’s About page[/url]:
Q: I can’t install it! It keeps me saying that I don’t have Steam installed!
A: You can fix it, do as follows:
1. Open regedit
2. Locate your HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Valve\Steam directory
3. Right click on the right pane a create a new “string value”
4. Name it “InstallPath” without the quotes
5. Right click on in and modify it: put you Steam installation path, should be something like C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\
6. Restart the installer
I don’t care to much for stories so I can’t complain about that. My only gripe is health. There are times where my health is very low and there is a shortage of health packs. Overall though, I do like the game and the puzzles. Hope we get more of these type of games to play. Many thanks.
So far I am very impressed. Like most people, I have certain dislikes such as wave after wave of bad guys coming at me. I suggest cutting the number of baddies to a manageable level. I am super pleased with the extraction and loading which bugs me too often. This mod can stand as am example of how to to it. I am happy to say
play it now. (The green button wasn’t working for me.)
This mod is one of the best I played for HL 2. Map quality is very good in every way (details, enemy and item placing, etc). Surely the story wasn’t the most important thing the designers watched for, but it wasn’t necesary for the concept of the mod.
Even I teamed up with Ant Lions Again, something I ever wanted to do again. Sure there’s no vehicles to drive, but the ant lions are there! and in some way the presence of those bugs didn’t make the game “very easy” like Nova Prospekt chap. of HL2. I had to use them in more tactical ways.
I like when a game give me the right number of supplies to make the game more tactical, but sometimes I missed the .357.
4.5/5 I give before, or better.
There is only one reason I’m downloading this mod, and that reason is that you have a very nice looking banner on the main page with a lot of good comments.
This is fun. Really fun. The voice acting is slightly wonky compared to the original male voice, but definately not embarassingly bad.
This is the way a mod for Half-life 2 should be, and even better, it’s not about Gordon.
Thank you, Yochanan for the useful info. I just did that and I’ll try installing it tomorrow when I have some free time. Again, thanks!
GREAT!
GREAT!
GREAT!
IN ONE WORD: EXCELLENT MOD.
Maybe one of the 5 best mods ever made.
Just finished the mod……AWESOME!!! does not do it justice!My only (small) complaint is that the antlion AI could have been a little smarter.
Finished and must use more space to say this is what an excellent mod has. One minor, well major, problem. The really good ones are way too short. I wasn’t disappointed at the ending. I was disappoints that it ended.
I loved this mod. The end scene was beautifully put together.
My only complaint was right in the beginning when you need ammo, they repeat the same line over and over. An ammo box or more given to you would reduce this
Regardless, Great mod
Compared to the plethora of crap HL2 mods out there, this one is a a breath of fresh air. It’s an example of how a mod should be made, and all aspiring modders should take a look at it. I hope these guys continue their excellent work.
I am having trouble, I am only on level 1 and experiencing freeze-ups, any ldeas? No problem with other mods, reduced down to 800 x 600 seemed to progress better but crashed again again.
I experienced the freeze ups as well, but soon figured out it does it everytime a music track starts to play – passed those white double doors with laser behind it for example. I restarted my computer and the problem went away, but try waiting a few moments longer incase the track is “loading”
All I can suggest.
Wow, I was thoroughly impressed with this one. I had a lot of fun playing it which I put down to SUPERB level design (with regards to layout, enemy placement, etc.) Some of the set-pieces were awesome. I loved the bridge at the end, and the gunship battle area.
Like every mod, it’s not without it’s faults. Thankfully they were nothing major but there were a few things I noticed which I’ll explain…
1. As MMAN said, health was pretty scarce at one point. Particularly around the part where you go outside and face the APC.
2. I was also unsure of whether I was meant to get my allies to follow me into the building or not on the same part. A bit of dialogue would have been good, your companion saying “Go on without me!” or something.
3. I don’t know if I’m just being stupid but I could not for the life of me work out how to get the rocket launcher. I tried using the (single) crate to jump over the fence or on to the dumpster but it was too small. In the end I had to noclip because I was getting killed my the gunship. I couldn’t work out what to do after that either, when the citizen appeared on the other side of the fence.
4. A pistol or 357 would have been nice.
5. The Antlion Guard battle was made a bit redundant when you could back up through the narrow passageway and just keep rolling grenades under it. It works better if you trap the player and force them to keep running.
6. I noticed the skybox in the Antlion Guard’s pit aswell.
7. Story and dialogue was pretty scarce. After the initial welcoming I was hoping for some more chatter.
8. There was a general lack of detail in the maps. They could have done with a lot more props and debris.
Anyway, as I said, these were pretty minor things (except maybe the rocket launcher). I have to say, I thought the Combine-tech areas of the prison were exceptionally well made and looked like they could have come straight from HL2.
I highly recommend this mod.
This is a superb mod. The time it has been being worked on, the modders have really made a great job there. Designed maps coherently within architetures current to that of normal Half Life2, while playing it you will be able to recap some places alike in both game and mod. Voice acting is something quite uncommon in this mod, which has been very well applied with intensity and emotion where necessary. Another great aspect for those who do this, when I opened up the mod I was impressed that more than half of the mod MBs size was applied within maps. This made me happy since made mods out there make maps with 2 ~4 MBs, but the rest of the content heavy out to be sometimes nearly as big as 30MB in the total file size with sounds, and some things that shows themsevles unnecesary in certain cases. For what, if you like Half Life 2 mods, and appreciate a good work, you can definitely download this one here and have fun more than just a single time.
I must be the only person, but I didn’t like this mod at all. I was quite glad when it ended.
The guy at the beginning who kept getting in my way in firefights so he could give me ammo really annoyed me and the antlions got in the way but didn’t give me ammo! Fortunately they can’t speak like Mr Take Some Ammo.
The mapping was OK but the architecture was boring. I quite liked the bridge sequence but it didn’t last long.
If you’ve got nothing better to do (like cut your toenails) and don’t mind annoying gameplay and lacklustre visuals then…
ps Did anyone else have to noclip through the gate after destroying the Gunship?
The rebel on the other side should shoot the lock after you attempt to talk to him.
After finally getting a chance to play this I’m very impressed with the quality and attention to detail.The only thing that bugged me was the strider but thats probably because I hate them lol.
I had a problem with the gate Jumbles.
After shooting down the gunships the rebel didn’t appear.
After noclipping through however, he appeared and I continued the game.
Very impressive to say the least. I hope they release more mods with quality as high as this.
I had the same issue with the rebel that first didn’t appear at the gate…
Appart from that I really compare this release with the first of the author which was well appreciated the long night.
I think it was a strong solid release with great architecture (especially the end bridge and environment) and with a well use of enemies placement, use of antlion and ‘secret” places where you can always find some extra health…
The gameplay even if it sadly misses a storyline flows in the right direction, the Prison seems perhaps a little to repetitive and makes you mad with dewashed blue en yellow color. Puzzle are easy to understand but add the little thinking needed in every HL release. Also the custom voice acting and the music used where well fitting.
Is there anything to complain… some sort of the body armor that recharges (would have prefer to pick several time a new armor), the disapoint hand skin (not enough detail and too white looking), the fact that it dramaticaly slow down in the end (bridge) part (could the author just split the brigde part to avoid this?).
In conclusion an interesting good release that will give you for arround 1h 30 an enjoyable experience. I consider it’s perhaps a little too classic (except last bridge) to be part of my top 5 best mods but it’s certainly is part of my top 10…
so if you still didn’t
I’d like to go back and have another go at the gate – I really don’t like cheating to complete a game – but I uninstalled the mod and deleted the download as soon as I’d finished.
Maybe if this mod was updated – gameplay improved and this bug fixed – then I might give it another go
Fun mod, well done
Only had a chance to play for a few minutes yesterday but I can say that its a very well done mod. Very easy to install and runs very smoothly without any frame rate drops (Ive had mods have bad frame rates even though I didn’t have anything running in the background).
On normal it is fairly difficult, but that could be because I’ve been playing a lot of Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and Rainbow Six lately and the guns actually have accuracy. You can use the same tactics with the rifle on Half Life 2.
I found the lighting to be very well done and the atmosphere that the lighting creates along with the architecture feels very similar to the Nova Prospekt level in Half Life 2 that this game parallels.
All in all, I say:
(P.S. First time using the images, clicking on the image below didn’t seem to do anything, so I tried using some html. Let’s hope it worked :P)
I was updating the code, which is why it probably didn’t work. Everything should work fine now. I’ve edited your comment to include the correct code.
Excellent
Hehe, thanks Phillip! It was a tiny Play It Now symbol for a while there 😛
I just finished this. Fantastic mod. Riot Act is up there with Minerva in my mind. I only have two gripes. In one act I struggled through with less than 50 health at all times playing on normal. A few more health packs in the second level would be nice. Also, during the battle with the gunships, I was confused about how to get the RPG. I only discovered the ladder by accident after a few failed attempts to carry a wooden box across the battlefield to hop a fence.One small bug, since the developer seems to be looking here (also a tiny spoiler): When you board the pod and the squad mate is killed, the HUD icon for a squad stayed up for a while. Not sure if this is a problem inherent with Half Life 2 or an isolated bug.
Pretty good. Not jaw-dropping, but still a good mod. I didn’t encounter any bugs. If you enjoyed the Nova Prospekt chapter of HL2, you’ll really like this. But I honestly thought it dragged a little too far– I got a little sick of walking through area after area of the prison. And the ending is very mediocre too, though the bridge was pretty neat.
If you like SP mods, you’ll probably get one good run out of this one. Just don’t have your hopes up for anything out-of-the-box of what you’ve already played in HL2.
I agree with many of the points made by Jimbo and Jumbles. (Lol.)
In my opinion, this mod is simply ‘solid’, with the added label of “what other mods should relate to.’
It’s not really innovative, bar the very well made bridge on the last map. Gameplay is solid. Some fun fights, with good enemy placement and great layouts.
However, my opinions and tastes come again with some gameplay styles. I’m not really fond of arenas where enemies swarm at you from three dimensions. That part with the second (Or third?) mounted pulse gun was very annoying. (I usually enjoy arena maps or arena segements.) In fact, I’m not sure of the author’s intentions here. Was it an arena?
An arena is usually where the player is held up in a single area, with multiple enemies swarming in. The player can only proceed when he/she has killed a certain number of enemies or a time limit as been reached. At the aforementioned area, I could just skip this place entirely and proceed onwards. In fact, I ignored many of the soldiers, did what I had to do, and let the antlions deal with the soldiers.
Of course that’s just nitpicking. But as I said, gameplay was solid but fun. Nothing innovative, though… Bar, once again, the bridge area.
Actually, while I’m on that, that area was a little… Lacking, actually. While the concept was innovative (Gameplay wise.) it lacked good execution and real “oomph.” The strider was easy to dodge… And did you even have to kill it? I think I could’ve just nicked off down to that boat and be done with it. (I’m not sure, since I’ve only played once…) I just think there could’ve been more to that area gameplay wise that would’ve spiced it up!
Again, this is just nitpicking, and my own tastes come into this.
Design was (Here’s that word again…) solid! But alot of it was innovative and interesting. (Like… Yep, that’s right… THE BRIDGE!!!) Nothing really wrong with design, but Jumbles is right to point out how some of the design is quite boring. I, myself, found many places where the design could’ve had the benefit of more deeper lighting and more trimwork. But still, design was solid.
I have to nitpick on design, though. The cart/rail (I forgot the name… And I call myself a Half-Life fan!) sequence in the Nova Prospekt Depot (But I can still balance it out with what I DO know!) felt… Pretty useless actually. But it ended with a moment that made me think “cool!’, so that’s good. But still, it felt useless. Maybe more set pieces, eye-candy, vistas…
Oh yeah, I must say while the voice acting was clear and with good quality, the acting (No offense to the actor.) felt very ‘static’. But again, that’s just nitpicking.
To conclude, I’ll have to disagree with Jumbles on something, though… I did like the mod! It was fun and reasonably enjoyable! I trusted the comments here with the plethora of “PLAY IT!” icons, and I wasn’t dissapointed. But the mod is still not too innovative (Bar… THE BRIDGE… Oh, and it’s nice to see those exploding Combine locks as shown in HL2:Episode 1…) and is simply a solid achievement.
But like I (And like many other people have…) said above, the mod is what other mods should relate to. It’s the type of thing modders should take notes off of.
And there you go.
By the way, I chose “CONSIDER IT,” because… Well, my review pretty much sums it up. But It’s just that I’ve decided to go with my tastes and opinions rather then if going with the “other players will get a kick out of it,” sort of thing. It’s just that I like to see lots of innovation and I have styles of gameplay which I prefer.
I know what your thinking… “Go play a total conversion” or something, (Although most people here are pretty accepting of others… And freindly!) but I like to play these sort of mods, because it adds to the experience. (Of the actual gaming universe defined in the game itself (In this case, the Half-Life franchise.) that is.)
Oh yeah, and the mod was relatively bug-free, (On my end, it seems. Others have encountered that bug after the gunship battle with the citizen not opening the gate.) which is a big plus!
Actually, looking back, the gunship battle WAS pretty interesting. I liked how you had to jump over that stuff to get the RPG, then jump out. And it was FUN! (Thought it was a tad frustrating, however.)
Very good presentation and overall design.
It’s true that the Nova Prospekt theme is nothing new, but that was part of the idea and it’s pulled off extremely well. Some areas might feel empty in visual terms, but the fast paced combat makes you forget that.
It doesn’t offer anything specially new, but I repeat that was not really the objective. The combat and some of the vistas make it definately worth your time.
I haven’t seen many people set a mod actually in Nova Prospekt itself. Especially not where you play as another prisoner.
The biggest prison EVER? It is in this mod! After crash upon crash, and freezing again and again I lowered my resolution to 1024×768 and reset everything to the lower settings….even using the -heapsize 512000 and finally I got to finish it….Very very impressive and I am going to have another go, which is a rare thing these days!
Brilliantly thought out and fabulous architecture, even if the prison goes on for ever….good traps and a couple of places where the only thing to do is cut & run rather than stay and be decimated.
Definitely a:
No tech problem whatsoever. Ran like a breeze.
Much better, imho, than HL2: Ep1!
Could have been longer though… maybe with some buggy drive in the end ?… A final trip along the coast?…
Ok. Ok. I’m acting like a kid here 😉
Seriously. This mod is high quality all the way! Many thanks for this great HL2 moment.
I’m really happy you enjoyed Riot Act. Your comments pay me back for all the effort I put in.
Thanks
A Few VERY minor bugs at times but it’s all worth it And the bridge part is brilliant
Review
Not sure this mod has much in the way of a story line, not that it’s ever stopped dedicated HL players in the past. After a short intro showing the Combine running a-muck again through the tenement buildings, you find yourself within Nova Prospekt Cellblock.
Much of the early stages are set within the prison complex, and whilst the design was adequate, the scenery does get a bit repetitive. The combat is intense with strong waves of Combine supported by attacking scanners and turret guns. The intensity of these encounters are draining both on ammo and health. You will need to keep a watch on supplies and reserves of both.
You also encounter both Antlions and their guard, however, you need to find out for yourself which side these sand creatures are on. I have never found the prison concept the most ideal setting for Antlions, they always appear out of place in the confined surroundings of Nova Prospekt.
As with the original HL2 game, the prison part is a long sequence which gives little relief to the enclosed, stereotype architecture of Nova Prospekt and its cellblocks. A few openings and puzzle solving sequences do offer a change to the gameplay without ever taxing the player. The prison sequence was well balanced in terms of the gameplay mix, if a bit short on supplies. Furthermore, it flowed well with ample encounters to keep you on your toes and in anticipation of what was to come next.
The mod finally opens up with an outside encounter against Combine troops and Gunships. Whilst the architecture of this sequence is nothing special, the setting does afford a well designed layout for the job at hand, namely dealing with some heavy hardware amidst a secondary engagement against well positioned troops.
Having acquired the help of an NPC, the mod takes on a new environment of the Citadel. Here the structures and textures are those of the original HL2 game. We also get to ride the clanking Stalker transit system, which gives good views of some admirably constructed Citadel structures made more impressive with good use of light and reflecting angles.
The grand architecture is kept to the end level which is a superb piece of design and script. Without giving to much of the action away, the bridge sequence is by far the best part of the mod. A unique piece of mapping and gameplay for which the author deserves much praise.
In many respects the sequence draws upon the bridge levels from the original HL2 game. This is not to say that the sequence matches the grandeur and depth of the original. Nevertheless, the author has produced a fine piece of mapping, with an intriguing mix of action and involvement set upon an impressive bridge design with a coastal surround.
The bridge and ending sequence left me wishing that the author had spent less time mapping the prison sequences, to give us more levels amidst the big outdoors. I enjoyed the serenity of the end sequence, giving time to admire the the coastline, the fading bridge structure and the merging ocean.
Summary
Tough in parts with intense combat requiring conservative use of ammo, with a care to health levels.
Some fine set pieces, with more than adequate design throughout, if somewhat repetitive in places with sparse incidental content in some areas.
New stuff included good if limited voice acting. An NPC which appeared to have a new skin and a unique piece of mapping with the well crafted bridge and end sequence.
Good use of the HL2 cast both alien and humanoid, along with Combine and their hardware, makes the mod solid in content.
The environmental settings were too limited, with the Nova Prospekt theme taking up, for me, too much of the mod’s content and the resultant gameplay.
Puzzles for the main part are find the right button to progress, plus some good but simple climbing routines.
I have a few issues with the mod, and whilst I did not encounter the trigger problems reported by some PlanetPhillip readers, I did encounter a string of freeze-ups all within the first level of the mod. I have no explanation for these freeze-ups which always necessitated in booting my machine. They never occurred in the same place and whilst frustrating, they did not deter me from continuing the mod. Having read all the posts so far listed regarding the mod on PlanetPhillip, this would not appear to be a common issue.
Negative Points
— Lack of differing environmental settings
— Repetitive enclosed surroundings in part
— Weak storyline
Positive Points
— Some fine architectural set pieces
— Intense Combine encounters
— Good mix of HL2 cast and hardware
Conclusion
Without too much deliberation, this is a fine mod well worth the download and a recommendation to go Play It Now.
Maybe not a classic, nor one of my top 4 or 5, but it’s fun to play and has a lot of quality. Let’s hope we get more from this very talented and established author. I am sure there is the promise of even better things to come.
My Recommendation
Just finished playing; well designed, enjoyable mod. I can only imagine the technical nous required to compile a modification for a game like Half-Life 2, so any quibbles with the story are not worth mentioning. No bugs or freezes for me either. Thanks, Germano.
a real shame that my pc also frooze up, and only restarting my pc was a option. when that happens 2 to 3 times I stop playi8ng, doesn’t matter how good the mod is. so I hope the makers release a patch of some sort to fix this issue.
because I only played the first map I can’t comment on the rest of the mod, ( or is it a sp-mappack? think that is what it is, seems everybody calls the last 2 years something a mod, even when it doesn’t add something new).
but I couldn’t help that it all looked like a clone of the original HL2 prison sp-maps. did you copy parts of those, don’t say you did. but some windows of control rooms just looked alike the prison maps.
leon
so, because of the freezes I have to say;
not only for my systhem, it’s freezes on many pc’s)
Wish you could click on a user name on here for PVT’s.. But I understand that would just complicate P’s already over flowing plate.. But SPY if you get this.. There is some way to fix that. It may have installed into the wrong folder..It’s some thing dumb and easy to fix..Ask Phillip since reaching me isn’t possible. He will help you..great guy…
After reading SPY’s comment maybe the Freeze-Ups in level 1 are far more common then my review would suggest. Mr author please be aware.
Phillip, I changed the name of the file in the basic details on this one as you had it “hl2-sp-riot-act.rar” when it’s actually “Riot_Act_1.0.exe”.
I can’t wait to play this one. Many different recommendations and comments!
While I would like to play this, unfortunatly I can’t install it! I’m running a version of Half-Life 2 that doesn’t use Steam (I’ve bought the HL2 DVD, it’s not illegal… kinda) and since the installer won’t run if it doesn’t detect Steam, I’m a little stuck.
Could anyone give me a hand?
You can try unpacking it into a folder on your desktop. I do that no matter what then put it where it goes because some of the mods are not steam mods, but work fine in steamapps/sourcemods. I just made a folder called Mod Transfer, when it unpacks into that it should create it’s own folder and it might ask you if you want it to, click yes if it does. Then you should be able to just put that in the HL2 folder in your program files. It will look some thing like this c/programfiles/Halflife2.. Cut it folder and all and paste it into the HL2 folder there. OR you can just create a folder named Riot Act on the desktop so you can find it, but make sure it didn’t create a Riot Act folder inside that one, that is the one you want to cut & paste into HL2
I thoroughly enjoyed this mod. Great job on the environment, good traps and even a few good puzzles. Like a couple others mentioned, it would have been nice to have more interaction with the other prisoners. Sticking around a little longer and when they stop following you, it would be nice to know why or at least a confirmation that they are staying put so you know it’s not a bug.
My favorite parts:
The gunship where you have to double stack the boxes. This was pretty challenging. (The guy came to break the lock for me not problem.)
The bridge was excellent. Even though you didn’t really have to kill the strider, I did it just for fun.
Great Job!!!
help, I started playing this on my old computer xp started fine. got hit by lighting. had to get another. vista home. now when I download the rar file it shows up in the steamapps but wont play. I downloaded the exe and it shows but when I try to play steam says I need the skd server installed. so I did that, it comes up then crashes with a error, I dont have it handy sorry. I am thinking its a vista issue. I had the same problem with awakening but when I downloaded the exe it started playing. any one any ideas/help.
Is it just me or is the arena after the water area near the start of the game rediculously hard? I usually play on most HL games on hard mode but at this point I had to tone it down to medium and I still couldn’t do it!! Is this just a bug as the combines rush doesn’t seem to stop? Moving down to easy seems slightly depressing but it might be the only option at this rate!
i don’t know why or how. but it started working. no errors. guess the last steam update fixed something. anyway I look forward to the riot.
Gameplay:
You take the role as Jamil Lee who was caught and imprisoned in Nova Prospekt. The door of your cell opens of which you decide to take revenge and cause your own riot act. You take control just inside your cell and the adventure starts pretty much here and throughout a series of maps that take place in Nova Prospekt.
However the modification is a very enjoyable one at that with plenty of variety, action and locations with a decent sense of flow. This one includes some new voice acting, not a whole lot but a good amount to make some of the cutscenes feel fresh when encountering them, such as the one at the start after going up the flight of stairs. The modification pretty much plays like the original levels of Nova Prospekt with your Combine Soldiers in balanced amounts to the respawning Antlions either attack you or helping you out.
As already mentioned, the flow is really good from location to location as you take short breaks, solve a simple puzzle or pull a switch then back into combat be it small or large. Difficulty can range depending in what location you’re at, but there are plenty of resources and some other rebels to help you out. Weapons the player recieves during play are given at a slow but controlled rate, they aren’t all thrown into your hands during the early maps but spread out between them which adds to the challenge of using what you have.
And then you have variety be it for a few seconds or several minutes as you’ll encounter different locations and enemies to match such as the Gunship fight or the railway bridge. Everything fits well together and almost feels like an expansion of the story rather than a modification, but lacks something brand new to improve that aspect that much more, but nothing too major of a disappointment. I was hoping for more near the end, but unfortunately the adventure ended.
Design:
Sticks close to that of the original Nova Prospekt and keeps consistent throughout with several other interesting locations to gaze upon during play. Design is definitely above average and top notch in the aspects of structure, texturing and lighting. The structure is pretty much solid, and follows the design concept of how Nova Prospekt was originally made. However other locations expand on this such as the lower areas and places that have Combine structure throughout in the later levels.
Texturing is again close to the original with fitting combinations, used well throughout. Lighting is moderate and copies the original feeling of locations with its sickly, cold looking green-blue tones in larger areas while the yellow tones give a warm feeling that pretty much feels like a replica of the prison. This combination again keeps the levels looking well designed and consistent, feeling very close to the original game.
Conclusion:
Really enjoyable experience, balanced and varied gameplay with excellent design throughout.
Rating: 90%
I had trouble with the download untill 2 weeks ago when a new one would finally work.
I like this mod the game play had a good variety health was scarce but just enough to keep going the arena was a bit of a problem untill you got your teamates across.The antlion guardian wasn’t too bad untill he could come half way through the wall and hit you.I didn’t try and go thru without taking down the strider because I like when they finally drop.
When you leave on the boat at the end they could have dressed it up a bit no luxury cruise.
definitely the best mod ive ever played. only problem was health when I played on normal or hard 😉
As is my style (or lack thereof) I will go through the bad (and good) points in turn, first :
THE BAD:
Intro was a little short
When you first get to take over the use of a Combine gun emplacement, all the enemies that come at you come from the same (right) side of the doorframe, meaning you can just mow them down ridiculously easily.
Towards the start there’s a sealed off room full of ammo etc but I can’t get into it (is there any way to do this ?)
The middle of the game is frustratingly hard almost to the point I got so fed up I stopped playing.
THE GOOD:
Visual Effects on the Intro (overlays, greyscale, blurring etc) were a nice touch
Voice Acting was pretty good for a mod
I’m not 100% sure I’m right but I think at least one of the character models was new (facially) which made a change (and it was done well)
Reskinning on hands and effect/colour on weapon displays on HUD
Really liked the diagonal criss cross security beams (and the tidy little hidden stash just after them)
The section on the rails (in the pod) and the bridge section were both well executed.
SUMMARY:
A good quality mod (if you like Nova Prospekt), offers little in terms of new gameplay but is enjoyable nonetheless (if you can push yourself through the insanely frustrating middle section), is at least worth a try.
Nice action and good voice acting. A bit short but good and definatly worth playing.
i can’t seem to run it at all
for some reason when I launch it
the launch box does its validating and then closes
then nothing happens after that
what do I do to make it launch and play
This mod is clearly very well put together, I do have to agree with uberviolence however. Some parts were extremely hard, I got to the point of turning on buddha mode to smite them right off the map. Other then that I really enjoyed the mod. The voice acting was real great, and the visual effects in the intro were an absolute nice touch. The maps had a great design packed with action along the way. 4 stars for the effort.
Pathfinding, goodness gracious that hurt my damn head. So much backtracking to get your guys to follow you , other wise they’ll be stuck at stairs the whole time.
other then that, it was great, although as I said above, pathfinding hurts.
119 mb of pure action and a whole lot of fun. This has to be in the top ten of best HL2 mods ever made. Not only does it have a great easy installer but I had no bugs at all. Not one. It played flawless. This one was made so well it almost seems like it was done by Valve. The artwork is great with all the buildings and water looking very realistic. The ocean looked and sounded very real and I was actually getting a little seasick at the end.. This is the second time I’ve played this one and I’m glad I did. For some reason it seemed different this time. More action. For some reason I didn’t make any comments last time but I give this one an A+ AND I’d consider this one a favorite for sure. Good work guys-thanks and keep em comin!
I’m enjoying this mod but I appear to be a bit stuck. I’m in the courtyard at the beginning of section 3. I’ve killed the gunships and the soldiers after which, according to the walkthrough, (which I consulted after I’d got stuck), “… a rebel will open the door that blocks your passage.”
Well, I guess said rebel hasn’t read the script, because there is no indication of a way out. The only door I can see is down the steps by the rocket launcher ammo box and it remains closed whatever I do. There are a couple of gates – the one I came in through and one on the other side of the courtyard by a dumpster – but I can’t get them to open either, nor can I jump the fence.
It’s a while since this thread was updated, I know, but does anyone remember what to do next? A hint would be useful here. Many thanks,
Janus21
I think I remember this part. I had trouble with the gunship I think. If I remember correctly, the gates just open, but I could be wrong.
If I get time I’ll load it up and play through again. If the gate works for me I’ll send you a save.
Can anybody else, who still has this installed, help Janus21?
Sorted it! But only by going back and starting again from scratch.Initially, I re-started the courtyard scene from the beginning and there was a difference – this time, after I’d killed the gunships and marines, a single rebel was standing on the other side of the fence. He spoke to me briefly but nothing I could do could make him move and open the gate (as I supected he was supposed to).Got a bit brassed with the whole scene so started a new game from scratch, rattled through the earlier levels and, now that I knew what to do, dispatched the gunships and marines as quickly as I could. Sure enough, this time the rebel was only too pleased to help by shooting the lock off the gate.Now, I’m on the bridge pinned down by the strider and thinking, “if only I hadn’t wasted those rockets earlier…”. Enjoying it a lot, though. Recommended!
Thanks for your help,
Pingback: Geek-Gaming » Blog Archive » Half-Life2: Riot Act
for me I like gameplay, storyline and level designer it’s great mod
Great game I liked the tatoo in her hand was pretty cool. and the game has a great story, gameplay, and even bugbait!
Great well made mod that fits in well with the half-life 2 story! loved it!
just got around to playing this. Very nice mod with a storyline. I wonder if the developers looked at blueprints of prisons when they mapped out the mod. very cool and balanced action and puzzles.
give it a whirl.
This really is a sweet mod. I’ve played this one over and over and over..I’ll play it again and again too!.. It’s well made, no seams, good story.. just click that download button… You want to, you do, just admit it and getter done! You will not regret it.. it is a full install exe..
Wow, homies! This is a great-ass mod! In fact it was the first singleplayer hl2 mod I’ve ever played!
[spoiler]
At first I thought prisoners were just taken into pods, and this lady wakes up in a cell. Those Combines forgot to lock the cell, wow! Got captured by Metrocops, a great beginning! Getting friends, and fighting every Soldier I see was awesome, and you start off fighting Antlions, and then gain a Bugbait, not much mods with the Bugbait. This was a little much like the Nova Prospekt chapter from HL2, but heh. The stupidest thing I did in this mod, is the room with the Poison Zombie and Fast Headcrabs, I just died. Also citizen taking over the APC to destroy another one, I always wanted to see that! What would’ve been better for the ending is Nova Prospekt blowing up, like the end sequence to HL2: EP1.
[/spoiler]
Whatever, this was a great mod, and I’m proud!
Just replayed this and think it deserves its HOF status. enjoyable from start to finish with a wide variety of areas, enemies, puzzles and environments. Interaction with the rebels was nice and the always useful antlion bait ( love that ) As some have commented the middle areas do get tough but are quite doable with a little strategy and persistence.
no problems for me as far as glitches or loading or bugs of any kind. A great re playable fun mod
This mod has Ee`s can you tag this?
I don’t understand, can you explain please.
Really awesome mod. Just finished it. Great gameplay.
this is a excellent mod and extremely well put together…. and allthough I had problems at the gate part ( were the guy comes out and shoots the lock from the gate… on the first two occasions he came out the door and stood at the gate looking confused ) it worked after some editing to the game.info file ( changed the SteamAppId )
apart from that small bug the game was thoroughly enjoyable… and had a good mix of puzzles and action…. so thats why ive awarded riot act a “play it now” recommendation
if like me you enjoy good old fashioned hl2 mods then you wont be dissapointed with this ……also if you like this mod then you should also like “penetration ”
great mod
I can’t play it, because when I hit new game the screen is just black, nothing else. I can hear some shooting and some other voices but thats it. Please could someone help me here!?
It sounds as though the 1min intro cut-scene isn’t playing properly for you. After selecting “New Game” can you get the console up? If so try loading the first map manually, enter ‘map ra_c1l1″ + return. What happens?
Failing that, is your HL2 ok? Do other HL2 mods work properly, and in the Steam option Properties/Updates do you have “Always keep this game up to date” selected?
Thanks for the tip, but I already got it to work. 🙂
Good job. You can post your findings, in case anyone else has the same problem as you…
Excellent Nova Prospekt style mod. Has custom voice acting that doesn’t sound grainy or anything. I had a lot of fun with it, and that battle with the APC and all the Combine was awesome. I also really liked the bridge part, it was really atmospheric. The puzzles were pretty easy but that didn’t bother me. Escaping at the end was satisfying. The only complaint I have with it is that the boat you escape on was a background prop so it looked pretty weird in comparison to everything else. If you like HL2 and specifically Nova Prospekt, you should definitely play this one.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 10 Minutes
I’m redoing this review because I’ve become much better at it now.
Riot Act is a great Nova Prospekt levelset. You play as Jamil, a rebel who was captured by the Combine. The voice acting in this mod is great, but I do kind of wish there were more clips for giving me ammo because I heard “Here, Jamil, Ammo!” a whole lot. The mapping is excellent and the puzzles are interesting. There are some good battles too. You actually get Combine armor instead of a HEV suit. It doesn’t make a gameplay difference but it’s a nice change of pace. There’s an awesome battle with some a gunship at one point, as well as an equally as awesome and perhaps more challenging battle with a bunch of Combine coming out of an APC. My favourite part is the bridge, which is very atmospheric and reminds me a lot of that part from Highway 17 of the original HL2, except with a Strider instead of a gunship. My only complaint is that *SLIGHT SPOILER* the boat you escape on is a background prop so it looks very rough and blocky compared to the rest of the mod. *SPOILERS END HERE* I would say more, but there’s really nothing else to say. It’s a great mod and if you have HL2 you should certainly have this one installed.
Pingback: Riot Act | Jelly's Half-Life Mod Reviews
Pingback: Riot Act (Revised) | Jelly's Half-Life Mod Reviews
I haven’t fully played through Riot Act, but I did want to run this by anyone who may come into problems running it.
I did have trouble getting this mod to run at first, and this is what I would like to suggest to others. In most cases you may need to alter the Game Info Sheet that is located in a modification’s directory. In this case I strongly advise that you “Do Not Alter The Game Info Sheet”.
I attempted to do this to fix Riot Act in this case it won’t work. If you do decide to install Riot Act I strongly suggest downloading the Executable version as oppose to the Zip version.
When you have downloaded Riot Act you will notice a Riot Act Launcher on your Desktop use that to launch the mod instead of launching it through your Steam Menu. I think the custom launcher also updates the mod properly to run you may want to look at the Game Info Sheet, so you can get an idea of the difference in pathways.
That was a mistake I kept making when I thought the mod was broken I hope “My Two Cents” will hope someone else who might also make the mistake of manually altering the Game Info Sheet to fix the mod.
I just installed the mod using the compressed folder and ran it perfectly, with no changes needed.
I recommend all RTSL readers do that and only worry if you have problems thereafter.
Why does this have so many good reviews? I guess back then people had lower expectations for mods. Most parts of this mod are solid at best. Yeah you have basic but functional level geometry, some smaller and some bigger fights, and it has a small story, but apart from that the mod offers nothing, and the fights are pretty basic. No interesting enemy placement or encounters, you don’t even have many weapons, which might make sense for the scenario, but not for game design.
If you plan to play this mod today, you can skip this without any doubt.
But I want to say that this isn’t some lazy ass mod. The creator clearly had a “vision” and implemented that, put effort into it. Btw, the intro is weird as hell, weird fades and weird camera movement and feels completely pointless.
Oh and one last thing, the mouse feels extremely weird in this mod, like it has some crazy mouse acceleration or like the mouse is actually emulating an analog stick, it was a pain playing like this.
Manually
Hard
45 Minutes
Just like Crowbar finds my reviews strange, so I find his strange.
This is an absolutely fantastic mod. The gameplay is varied, the flow just right, the lighting and design feels perfect for a Nova Prospekt location.
There’s little story besides trying to escape a prison but it’s not always the story but how it’s told.
Not being Freeman is always good and the addition of the hand tattoo isn’t exactly revolutionary, but it’s the combination of the whole solid package.
For me, this has more inventiveness and creativity than the recently released(and sold!) Prospekt game.
All in all, this is a great mod and I highly recommend you play it.
Using Gauge
Hard
2 Hours
I get a ‘missing executable’ error every time I try running it from the Steam library, and the mod is hopelessly broken when run with Gauge. I’d like to play this.
I decided to replay this mod yesterday, and would still recommend it like I did almost 9 years ago. It’s still fun, reasonably lengthy and has enough creativity to keep you entertained throughout.
However, I agree with crowbar in the sense that I feel it hasn’t aged that well visually and leaves a lot to be desired in comparison with all that has come after it. (To be honest, I replayed Route Kanal yesterday and I also think that particular part of HL2 has aged terribly in terms of lighting and blockiness/emptiness).
While there aren’t any particular navigation problems or the option to really get lost, there is an excessive need for the flashlight and too many area transitions done with the same grey door.
In terms of pacing it’s very constant, which is good at the beginning but tends to become tiresome near the end. It takes a while to reach the more combine-y parts of the prison and really get the sense that you are making progress instead of running in circles around the facility. If we made a “screenshot test” and told players who have played this (recently or ages ago) to put several screenshots of Riot Act in chronological order, it wouldn’t be an easy task. Obviously this is bound to happen if the setting is a prison, but perhaps something else could’ve been done to indicate progress. I think HL2 had different wall colours in the various sections of Nova Prospekt.
In any case, that’s enough nitpicking. Riot Act was and still is a worthy addition to the HL2 modding world.
For those HL2 fans who love Nova Prospekt and wish they could have more, I think this mod does a good job of extending the map. Good voice acting, the story is pretty good, and the environment-quality feels natural. However, I found some of the map layouts maze-like, and that felt a little unnatural. The persistent combat was challenging, but without puzzles to break it all up, it was a bit over-bearing. But all in all I think it was worth playing.
Manually
Medium
2 Hours
This mod isn’t too bad at all, although there isn’t anything special about it either. It doesn’t do anything wrong but it doesn’t do anything special, it’s an average experience. Also, play on easy, there is a lot of enemies at a couple of points and for someone with average skill like me I had some difficulty with it on normal.
Manually
Easy
1 Hour
A very fantastic mod. It was a ride from start to finish.
I love the idea of taking care of your fellow prisoners as much as possible. Although, their AI can be shortcoming but that’s the engine’s fault. Probably.
Great level design that stays true to the original Nova Prospekt design, a hellhole prison “infested” by Combine tech.
This mod was quite challenging, you can consider armor batteries gifts from haven….almost literally. However, the difficulty also comes from (probably) the Source engine update that broke it. There were 2 instances were you are supposed to use the mounted machinegun, but they fire blanks! But the true kicker is the Strider, it was quite frustrating to have it locked on to you with its canon and almost always one-hit kills you.
But those issues cannot hold up to the experience this mod provides.
Manually
Medium
3 Hours
Riot Act
I like this mod, it’s an enjoyable experience the whole way through and I’d strongly recommend anyone whole plays Half-Life to try it. The levels meld well with the original HL2 Nova Prospekt and I found the story to be just fine. Most of the encounters were fine, but I’ll say one thing, the Strider wasn’t fun.
In the end, I’d recommend anyone play this.
Manually
Hard
2 Hours, 45 Minutes
I seriously enjoyed this mod. The level design wasn’t too bad (though I did get lost a few times, that’s on me). The enemy spawn rates and toughness were challenging for me on Normal, but I’ve never been the best Half-Life player, I’m way better when I’m able to aim and stuff.
But other than some slight frustration at my lack of skill, I did in fact beat this one. I thought the mod overall was fantastic, and I’d love to play something like that again, see more of the player character’s story would be interesting (I don’t know if that’s been done, so apologies if it has).
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 30 Minutes
Oops, I made a formatting mistake TmT
Good not great. Nothing new here. Bridge seemed like a waste. All that work involved in setting it up and there is just a strider. Worth a single play through.
Manually
Easy
1 Hour
Really good mod. It’s not a long mod so it wouldn’t bore you, and neither it too short, a golden middle. Enemies not so bullet spongy, but you die pretty quickly too, so fights now even more faster and interesting, almost alway you fighting or with your human buddies or antlion friends. Mod have a couple “boss battles” – nothing usual, two combine gunships at once, antlion guard and strider at the end of the mod. Story is just “You should escape from Nova Prospekt”.
I like this mod.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
Riot Act is a classic mod with that crisp Half-Life 2 simplicity. The entire mod is based in Nova Prospekt and it sure does feel like Nova Prospekt. There’s plenty of non-stop shooting, decent voice acting and distinct areas.
My only problem with this mod was my FOV was stuck at 75, however this is probably due to the mod running on an older version of the Source Engine.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 20 Minutes