Category: General News

Rock, Paper, Shotgun Interviews Carlos Montero, Lead Developer of Black Mesa: Source

May 9th, 2012 · By Vic · 14 Comments

It seems like everything even remotely Half-Life related is ultimately doomed to spend some time in some manner of development hell, limbo or purgatory. No one knows this better than the modders still hard at work on Black Mesa: Source, a remake/reimagining of the original Half-Life, built on the modern-day Source engine, and in the works since late 2004. It’s a colossal endeavor for a team of maybe two dozen amateur developers. With no actual budget, their only resource is time, and they have had a lot of it.

Now, Rock, Paper, Shotgun have managed to ”crowbar the answers” out of Carlos “cman2k” Montero, project lead of BM:S, in an insightful and well-done two-part interview. Let’s take a look at part 1, after the jump.

Portal 2′s Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC Is Finally Here!

May 8th, 2012 · By Vic · 13 Comments

At last, Portal 2′s second DLC release, the Perpetual Testing Initiative, has been released to all owners of Portal 2 for free! Featuring a brand new easy-to-use “Puzzle Maker” toolkit for creating your own test chambers, alongside integration with the Steam Workshop, allowing near-instant uploading, rating, sharing, downloading and playing custom levels; and a new side-story featuring Cave Johnson – you absolutely cannot miss this thing. If all goes well, Portal 2 should be downloading and installing the new DLC update as you’re reading this article. In addition, Portal 2′s Steam Workshop section is now live.

If your Portal 2 has not updated yet, and is showing no signs of doing so, consider simply starting up the game/restarting Steam/verifying your game cache; or in some cases, uninstalling Portal 2 (but don’t worry, the Steam Cloud will restore everything). Keep in mind that it is a sizeable update, with an average size of 815 MB.

While you wait for the download to finish, check out the redesigned official Portal 2 website, and consider reading Cave Johnson’s rant about building more test chambers, as well as Valve’s simple guide on setting up your own test chamber in the new Puzzle Maker. You might also be interested in reading my impressions of the Perpetual Testing Initiative itself, which you’ll find in our review. Once all that’s done… get testing!

Steamcast Podcast Is Coming To An End, Final Episode To Be Recorded Live In 14 Hours [UPDATE]

May 7th, 2012 · By Vic · 10 Comments

[UPDATE: The recording is now long over, and Steamcast has come to an end. Final episodes have yet to be released in downloadable MP3 form, so stay tuned!]

After almost 3 years of activity, the Steamcast podcast is closing its doors. Later today, they will be recording their last episode ever – Episode #99. Set to be recorded live in 14 hours (at precisely 12AM, midnight GMT), it will be a 3-hour special during which they’ll be discussing Steamcast itself, telling stories about its creation, its development and its life. They will be inviting listeners to call in live, come onto the show, and talk with the 3 hosts: Sam, Brad and Saurabh.

In addition, they’ll be giving out free games during the live recording, including a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta key. In order to win these, you’ll need to be tuned in to the live stream, as well as be present in the Steamcast Steam Community group’s chatroom while they are recording.

While I won’t be able to make it for the first hour or so, I will almost certainly be present for the rest of the episode, and I might even call in live to chat with the hosts, as well as any other listeners. For more information, check out their announcement.

Vic’s Thoughts On: The Portal 2′s Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC; Or Why Portal 2′s Future Is Looking Very Bright

May 2nd, 2012 · By Vic · 27 Comments

As you may or may not know, I wasn’t exactly pleased with Portal 2′s first DLC outing – “Peer Review“. While the Challenge Mode added much-needed replay value to the game, it really should have been in the game from launch. The only other bit of content in there, the new ”Art Therapy” co-op course, was rather disappointing, with poor writing and plot, as well as some meager and poorly balanced gameplay offerings.

I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that all free DLC is automatically good – you have to draw the line somewhere. And solid feedback will help make future releases better. For instance, the poor reactions to L4D1′s underwhelming ”Crash Course” almost certainly helped Valve build better L4D DLC in the form of L4D2′s “The Passing” (although later on they did let us down again with “The Sacrifice“). So we needn’t be afraid to voice our opinions.

But enough about all that. Here we are, with Portal 2′s second, and perhaps final DLC release almost upon us. The Perpetual Testing Initiative promises to turn Portal 2 into a never-ending house of pure science, providing it with enough replayability and content to feed 5 full-priced Call of Duty games. But does it fulfill that promise?

Oh My God, Someone Is Making An Animated Portal Movie

April 30th, 2012 · By Vic · 7 Comments

Since Portal 2′s release in April of last year, we’ve seen the release of a number of terrific fan-films: the poignant and clever “Outside Aperture“; the intriguing but lovely “Portal: No Escape“; and of course, the hilarious “Aperture: A Triumph of Science“. They serve as testaments to the community’s dedication, and appreciation for the world that Valve has so masterfully crafted. But every once in a while, one of those amazing projects comes around that’s just so promising, you can’t help but just be stunned. And this is one of them!

Analyzing The New Portal 2 Puzzle Maker

April 28th, 2012 · By Vic · 16 Comments

In little over a week, on the 8th of May, Valve will release the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC, for Portal 2, or PeTI. Featuring a simple, yet versatile puzzle creator/editor toolkit that can interface with the advanced Hammer Editor, and integration with the Steam Workshop, allowing you to freely upload, rate, comment, and download anyone’s puzzle chambers – it may not be a new singleplayer test course or a set of advanced chambers, but it will give Portal 2 new life, and keep its community active for the foreseeable future.

A trailer for the PeTI was released yesterday, and while most of it is another hilarious Cave Johnson infographic short, it includes a sneak peek at the PeTI’s puzzle maker in action towards the end. Let’s take a look!

CS: Global Offensive Beta Receives New Update, Featuring Improved Recoil And Movement

April 28th, 2012 · By Vic · 7 Comments

Week 12 of the CS:GO beta has brought yet another significant update, featuring a ton of excellent changes – improved recoil; improved movement; a SE version of DE_Aztec with all fog, particles and props completely removed for competitive play; assists added to the kill/death notification messages; and a whole bunch of changes to the maps themselves, including adjusted bloom and post-processing, as well as modified ambient sound content for improved playing experience.

And, of course, the CS:GO SDK has been released, but it is currently in very limited distribution, and only a few mapmakers currently have access to it. A shame, but hopefully we’ll all get to try it out in due time. As always, a new batch of beta invites has gone out to survey applicants – so check your Library! Overall, a terrific update – be sure to take a look at the official blog post and changelog.

I’m unbelievably proud of Valve – they could have released CS:GO in late 2011, as nothing more than a cheap, mediocre downloadable re-release. Instead, they are truly listening to player feedback and using it to build what may eventually become the greatest Counter-Strike game yet. And that’s what Valve is all about.

Portal 2 “Perpetual Testing Initiative” DLC Trailer Revealed [UPDATED]

April 27th, 2012 · By Vic · 32 Comments

[UPDATE]: More details on the Puzzle Maker – apparently, you will be able to export Puzzle Maker maps to the Hammer Editor for extra detail and design. In addition, Hammer-made maps can be uploaded to the Workshop. You won’t be able to import Hammer maps to the Puzzle Maker, but hopefully, much like co-op support, this will be added to the PTI following its release.]

What would a Portal-related announcement be without a wacky, non-canon trailer short from Cave Johnson providing some manner of insane backstory to whatever is vehind the announcement? It’d be… a trailer-less announcement, that’s what! Thankfully, that’s never a possibility when you’re dealing with Aperture.