It is nearly the same story as in Half-Life, but with a few differences. As Gordon Freeman you jumped into a teleport in the Half-Life level ‘Lambda Complex’ and entered the world of Xen.
In the altered story you don’t land in Xen, you land in another, unknown part of Black Mesa, because the scientist in the Lambda Complex mixed up the coordinates ‘a bit’. After a long unconsciousness you wake up and don’t know where you are, and you’ve lost your suit and all your weapons during the teleporting sequence! You heard the soldiers saying they’re going to fall out, but, however, some of them are still here and have the order to eliminate you, Gordon Freeman.
And you must find a way to escape from Black Mesa….
- Title: Times of Troubles
- File Name: hl1-sp-times-of-troubles-v12.7z
- Size : 10.7 Mb
- Author: Jan ‘fresco’ Ripper
- Date Released: 23 August 2003
- Notes: A HD fix available which must be used if you use the high definition pack from Blue Shift. There is an Easter Eggs page and also a Trainyard “Early dev” page worth checking out.
If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.
- Copy the tot folder into your …\Steam\SteamApps\common\Half-Life\ folder.
- Restart or start Steam.
- Times of Troubles should now be listed in your Library.
Please note: These statistics are valid from December 2010
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464Overall
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2Today
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2Last 7 days
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6Last 30 days
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88365 days
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 4 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours
Shortest: 0 Hours, 36 Mins by Cardiomyopathy
Longest: 1 Hours, 25 Mins by shaboo
Total Time Played: 4 Hours, 1 Mins
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Gameplay:
Action packed with a lot of exciting and interesting moments in this episode with a recognisable area from Blue Shift in the episode too. The mod isn’t too hard or too easy, with plenty of health through out and a good enemy balance. Travelling from location to location was done and thought out well too.
Design:
Above average, sometimes average is a few areas, but most areas detailed well with good lighting and well picked textures. Design in different areas look good and textures fit well in their locations and the destroyed locations look realistic.
Conclusion:
A good Half Life mod with good gameplay and design, worth playing this one!
Rating: 79%
Rating: 4/5
Good: Great map layouts (architecture); Scripted sequences are good; Easter eggs are cool!
Bad: Short; no new content.
Review:
This mod was fun to play. Made by Jan the Ripper, Times of Trouble has you once again assume the identity of the intrepid Gordon Freeman. ToT picks up after you have jumped into the giant teleport that in normal HL, takes you to Xen. In ToT, you are instead squeezed through the space-time continuum to another part of Black Mesa (fortunately no Xen!!)
Times of Troubles gradually (and nicely) pulls you in, without being too hard or easy at the same time. I got enough play time in, and it was all fun, never frustrating. From a lab, to a train yard, to the outside, you see many different places throughout all the maps. Speaking of the maps, they are all very well laid-out, without any noticeable errors that I could see. The architecture is top-notch, as are the scripted events that take place in a few spots. There are also a few “puzzles” that you will need to figure out, so it’s not all shoot-em up “n kill-em fighting.
There are a nice mix of aliens and grunts, but the deadly Black Ops/Assassins are absent (happily missed by myself and others I assume). The only negative things I can say about ToT are that its a bit short at only 7 maps (11.8MB is probably good for dial-uppers though), and there is no new content such as models or skins.
Overall however, I must recommend you download this one, as it’s a lot of fun, and worth your time!
Surprisingly I missed this mod when searching for good mods to play.Its very well done.Only beef I have and it may be that I just didn’t do something right,but is the end at the helicopter?I got a stupid barney standing there and he wont move or follow and if I get on the chopper nothing happens.Doesn’t seem to be anyplace else to go.
Anybody help me out? I’m in map2 near the infirmary. Can’t progress. There’s a thing on the wall that, when used, says ‘status: armed’.
Theres a broken hatch in the ceiling I can’t reach and nothing to climb on. Theres a breakable vent in another room with a zombie and a bigger thing saying ‘status: armed’. Can’t get in there either. Don’t want to noclip – would rather find the triggers but I have to admit I’m stuck.
You could contact the author is website is still update and he will certainly help you out ([email protected])
(he did help me a lot back when I played it) Otherway with a help of some screenshots or you last save I could perhaps help you out
Thanks Stef. I’ve mailed Jan but if I need more help I’ll do as you suggest with the screenshots/save. Do I mail them to Phillip?
since I can edit your post I saw you email adress I have send you a mail
hope I can help you 😉
Thanks Stef. And I have to you too!
Actually I am feeling a bit stoopid, some doors will open if the “use” key is pressed! Doh!
Must be losing my grip.
Andyb, post 3, kept Barney safe in the lift, eliminated the opposition, opened the gate with a switch down some tunnels. Went back to the chopper (osprey) and Barney was waiting in it. Joined him and off we flew into the sunset. The end. Fairly standard short mod. No zen world. Some aliens, some soldiers. Some chickens! 🙂 Detailed environments. Worth a quick blast for about an hour. Seems like a large file for the length of play. No bugs. 3.5/5
where do I need to copy the mod so I can play it
andrej – The mod has its own installer.
If you have Steam it will detect the correct location. eg:
c:\Program files\Steam\steamapps\[email protected]\half-life
If you do not have Steam then it’s:
c:\Sierra\Half-Life
or you can browse to your Half-Life folder from the installer dialogue.
The installer will create the folder for the mod.
thanks
i haven`t got time to play the mod but now when I tried to play it i`m starting new game then I get LOADING and nothing more the mod don`t want
to start some help
Are you using Steam or “old” sierra Half Life?
And, andrej, have you installed Blue Shift?
i`m using sierra half life and I don`t have blue
shift I can`t find my cd
Make sure your HL is version 1.1.1.0.
Just installed it to my Sierra directory and works fine, so there’s no problem with the mod itself (which is sometimes the case).
andrej, you don’t need blue shift. Just asked in case you have installed it, in which case you need the HD Fix patch. Which you haven’t, so dont bother.
Like goddess, I have installed with it no problems.
The readme and reviews say no bugs known.
If you have Win XP, delete the mod via Add/Remove programs in Control Panel.
Or manually deleting the game folder c:/Sierra/Half-Life/tot
Then reinstall to C:/Sierra/Half-Life
You should have a folder in there called tot containing 8 folders and 10 files.
i have half life version 1.1.0.4 can I directly update it to version 1.1.1.0
Yes. Download, double click the exe, you must browse to the HL folder during installation.
The installer will also update OpFor if you have it.
A short ride, but very fun while it last! You’ll find yourself in Blueshift locations!
Good game, smoth running, fairy easy, not much new,
Huh–I’m in the area where you have to kill the power to the tracks in order to proceed, I do that, run down the tracks, kill some grunts… and there doesn’t seem to be any way to continue. The elevator won’t open, the pair of doors with the areas pointing in opposite directions won’t open, the security area isn’t accessible, the glass to it is unbreakable… anyone have any ideas?
Through this point a good mod, well thought out.
It’s amazing how you can spin round and round without noticing any way out, take a break, then come back to the game and the solution is just sitting there, not that obvious, but even so, you’re wondering how you missed it the first time round!
There’s a crack in the booth’s glass, at the left end. You can shoot the door panel through the crack, enter the booth and activate the elevator.
Nice mod!
In the first maps, the lighting is nice, coming from below. I liked the overall architecture. But the corners are kind of rough, need a little polishing so not to stop when moving around them. The vent system isn’t the usual 90 degrees left and right style, so.. nice welcomed change!
New batteries and a new box texture, new models, probably from Blue Shift. I can’t say for sure, I think I played it a long time ago, but can’t remember the models, as I’ve seen so many conversions by now.
There was a sort of audio bug: sounds getting stuck and repeating.
The chicken part was indeed funny, even though I didn’t actually find any by myself. You can find an easter egg guide on the author’s site.
As for gameplay, the fights are balanced with plenty of sidetracking routes for exploration and some puzzling puzzles. The story itself is simple and classic and it works: get topside alive, with the help of Barney.
Iiii liked it. Definitely worth a play!
It’s a time of warranted entertainment, it deserve your attention.
Yay!!!
Now this is what I call a well-done mod!
But I’ve to admit that I didn’t realized there were areas from Blue Shift, so where? O:)
Only played BS for about 3 times hihi
So what have we here?
A standard story, but packed into a graphic orgy with nice puzzles, awesome combat and an outstanding design, high above average, I’d even say Valve quality!
Pro’s:
-Extremely superior level design and architecture, very detailed, always fitting plus nice lighting – a fest for the eyes!
-Excellent and good-balanced combat
-Some very nice puzzles
-Humor (“If you can read this, you’ve been eaten a lot of carrots!” / chickens! xD)
-Great atmosphere created by announcements, soldiers etc.
-Just feels like an official HL mod
-No long walkways
-Very nice and sometimes surprising scripts
Con’s:
-Pretty short, such a pity!
-Some puzzles are hard (at least that’s what I thought) but still logical
-Some mean placed enemies
-Minor bugs (clipping)
Overall it’s simply a must-play! PLAY IT NOW!
Reading the story supplied with Times of Troubles brings to mind a lot of other Half-Life single player mods and maps that fall into the “what if…” category – packs that use the original Half-Life experience as a basis, and then expand or branch out upon the story, but generally stay within the Black Mesa setting. Probably the best of the small packs that did this was Alternate Path, and that had the unique twist of dropping you back into the Questionable Ethics chapter of the main Half-Life game at the end. Black Mesa is hardly an original theme, and if done poorly can really doom a map pack to obscurity. But Times of Troubles is solidly up there with the best of the Black Mesa style packs, and is an enjoyable pack in its own right.
Nothing really stands out about Times of Troubles, other than the fact that it’s fairly polished and presented professionally. But by no means do I want to understate how important (and, unfortunately, rare) polish and professionalism are in a Half-Life mod. They really do go a long way toward improving the overall experience of playing a pack, and are all too often lacking even in the larger, higher-profile releases.
I take it back – there is one other thing that stands out about this pack: the gameplay (with the noted exception described in the next paragraph). This pack, though relatively short, was a lot of fun to play through. The flow is excellent, and the puzzles are clever but not obscure or disruptive. The architecture and lighting are good, but not outstanding, and fit well within the Black Mesa theme. There are a couple of rather memorable areas (including a familiar-looking area); I just wish that the battles in these areas were more challenging, which could have really made these areas into key setpieces.
The main complaint I have about Times of Troubles is that it’s just too damn easy. Even playing on difficult was a breeze. In just about every nook and cranny (or crate), there seems to be a health pack or battery, not to mention that you can produce a seemingly infinite number of soda cans that replenish your health one point at a time if you are really desperate. Combine that with the fact that there are essentially no challenging battles and you end up with a map pack whose quality is diminished by its simplicity. By the time you reach the final couple battles (which could normally be challenging depending on your health/armor and which weapons were available), you should have nearly full health and armor, and at least half a dozen contact grenades, which allows you to waltz through these areas without even breaking a sweat.
But that is really the only drawback to this pack. Overall it’s polished, fun to play, and fits very well in the Black Mesa milieu. It’s too easy in my opinion, but it’s a well-known fact that I like my Half-Life levels like I like my coffee: damn tough to swallow. If you haven’t played it yet, Times of Troubles is a high-quality pack worthy of your attention.
Notes
This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Wednesday, 31st August, 2005 by Unquenque.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four Website, which is now offline. Permission has been granted to republish the full review and more details can be found on the About page.
A very well done mod!
Nice textures, a good mixture of (logical, but not trivial) puzzles and fighting, great gameplay, and all makes a very polished and professional impression. I especially enjoyed the trainyard! With this mod you won’t be bored a single minute. Of course, I wish it was longer 🙂
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 25 Minutes
Nice! The map looks very nice, the combats and the puzzles are not too easy but not too hard. Especially the look of the trainyard (the rooms that we can see the sky) is very impressive. I like the real escape ending of the mod. Good mod!
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
Cool mod, nice mapping, but fix the ending; Barney can glitch and not let you end the game
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
I can’t believe im the first PF, but this mod is my favorite shorter mod and i don’t give PF to short mod except this one.
This is because not only it’s well designed and balanced, it’s also one the very rare mods designed in a BLUE SHIFT style, and has even an area from BLUE SHIFT.
The puzzle were clever as well.
Kudos to the creator.
Manually
Hard
36 Minutes
A fun short campaign, unfortunately the sequences are bugged. The ending is also bugged to the point I can’t see how you escape the facility. Barney never gets on the osprey.