So it’s been a little too long since our last instalment of In Development. Let’s rectify that, shall we?
Articles related to Source Engine
No More Room in Hell 1.09 Released
This 1 year anniversary release builds right off of the 1.08 released back in August. National Guard zombies, animated medical items, and more await!
Community Spotlight: Gamma Energy
“Gamma Energy” is a mod for Portal which revisits the troubles of Aperture Science.
Originally released in 2010 by Christopher Dollard, the mod contains almost 30 Test Chamber levels which each feature unique and intricate puzzles, complete with turrets, acid pools and lazers.
XboxAhoy’s Excellent Half-Life Retrospective
The popular “XboxAhoy” YouTube channel, which is a member of the Machinima.com gaming network, just uploaded an excellent retrospective video analysis that explores Valve’s success with the original Half-Life.
Written by Stuart Brown, the video analysis highlights the early influences of Half-Life, such as Quake as well as the affect that Half-Life’s release had upon the FPS in genre, including the modding scene as well as Valve’s later developments with Team Fortress, Steam and the Source engine.
If you have a spare 20 minuets, it’s well worth a watch!
PlanetPhillip Announces ‘HorrorVille’ Mapping Challenge
As Halloween approaches, PlanetPhillip.com has today announced a new single-player mapping challenge for Half-Life 2: Episode 2 entitled “HorrorVille”.
The challenge will run from 12:00am Friday 17th October to 12:00pm (GMT) on Monday 3rd November, lasting 17 days.
The theme is obviously horror orientated and entrants are encouraged to make their maps as creatively scary as possible. The rules also require submissions to feature at least one weapon and enemy or one puzzle scenario, using only assets from the Half-Life 2 series of games.
The winner will be decided by a public vote and all maps submitted to a decent standard will have the chance to be included in a free HorrorVille mod after the challenge ends.
HorrorVille follows PlanetPhillip.com’s series of “ville” mapping challenges and competitions which compile publicly submitted single-player maps into free mods.
For more information, check out PlanetPhillip.com’s announcement post.
How to Create Custom Textures for the Source Engine
This tutorial will show you how to create custom textures for use in creating maps for the Source engine. The process is also the same for creating textures for models, sprays, mods and essentially any image data within any Source game.
Community Spotlight: One 4 Nine
“One 4 Nine” is a community created Left 4 Dead campaign made by Kevin “keved” Edwards.
It was originally released for Left 4 Dead in 2010, however it received a significant update in July this year. Since One 4 Nine’s initial release, it has been subject to critical acclaim, receiving a hefty 9.6/10 on ModDB and being elected as a “Featured Campaign” by Valve for it’s outstanding quality.
Puzzle Through a Forgotten Future in Steam, Tracks, Trouble and Riddles
Steam, Tracks, Trouble and Riddles is a mod that gives a very good first impression. After a well presented main menu, a slick comic-book introduction brings us forward to the year 2525, via an alternate history in which the failure to resolve the Cuba Missile Crisis leads to the extinction of humanity and the rise of the machines. It’s an intriguing backstory, and the promise of exploring a retro-futuristic world run by B-movie robots is definitely a compelling one.
A Guide to Lighting in Source – Part Two
If you followed Part One of this guide, you should have some idea about the Source engine’s basic lighting capabilities. Now let’s go a step further to look at the more advanced techniques that the engine has to offer, including the extra capabilities of Portal 2, CS:GO and Dota 2.
A Guide to Lighting in Source – Part One
Thanks to our previous Source tutorials you may have created an excellent map, but without lighting your players are going to feel left in the dark.
There are a range of different entities responsible for providing illumination in the Source engine, and the number and complexity of options open to you depends on which game you are mapping for. This guide will begin with basic lighting for Half-Life 2 and other Source 2007 games, before shedding some light on more complicated techniques.