Recently Valve introduced new tools for the Dota 2 Workshop. But these are no meager ‘Authoring Tools’, this a full blown, updated, next gen, set of tools. Complete with a new version of Hammer, a Material Editor, and a Model Editor. 

My name is Jim Partridge and I’m a modder primarily for Half-Life 2. My previous work includes Half-Life 2: Deep Down, Half-Life 2: Daylight and numerous PlanetPhillip competition entries. I decided to join LambdaGeneration this year as a contributor for the site’s Modding & Development section. My primary interest is in level design with a focus on gameplay, I’m a gameplay nerd in fact… Join me in my nerdiness!

PlanetPhillip has updated his ‘MapTap’ software to make it even easier for you to install and run single-player maps for the Half-Life and Portal series.

The free application, now updated to version 2.5 (release candidate 1), allows anyone to download, install and run hundreds of maps made by the community.

It’s finally here! Once again, PlanetPhillip has brought us relief from the mod drought, by releasing AssassinateVille, the latest in a long line of mapping competitions.

Planetphillip is kicking off 2014 with a bang! The site is planning many mapping competitions over the course of the year and the first has just been announced : Assassinateville.

You have received a message from your “employer”. One particular person is proving “troublesome” and must be eliminated. You will not be told exactly who this is until you are sent to the area.

Use any method necessary to assassinate this person.

Specific instructions may given at the time of learning of the person.

The competition is running from today until 6am GMT on the 3rd of February so open that editor and start laying those brushes!

Full details about the competition including all the rules and regulations can be found over on PlanetPhillip.com

There is truly no time to rest in the world of Half-Life 2 custom maps at the moment. The first 3×10 mapping competition (Ambushville) yielded nine levels for your enjoyment, now Defendville ups that number to ten!

The theme was again simple but with plenty of room for interpretation. Create a level in 10 days where the player defends a location, with a short prep time before the assault begins. Enjoy!

Defendville can be downloaded from PlanetPhillip right now for the cost of 60.4 Earth megabytes.

The year is 1998. A previously unknown group of game developers known as Valve Software has just released Half-Life. Of course it becomes an instant hit, entertaining a generation of gamers worldwide. But beyond that, buried away on the CD-ROM inside that ridiculously big cardboard game box is a program called “Worldcraft”. According to a note at the back of the instruction manual (remember those?) this program would allow fans to “create a replica of their garage or a fantastic alien world”. And create they did. With this tool, now known as Hammer, at their disposal, the possibilities have been almost endless. From Counter-Strike to Ricochet, from Black Mesa to deep space to World War II France, the community created a tidal wave of new adventures, far beyond what anyone might have anticipated. Fifteen years later, we show no sign of stopping.

Play testing and the process of gathering actionable feedback on game levels can be a tricky thing. Everyone plays games differently, and I’m sure we all know that guy / girl who gets stuck on the most basic puzzle sequence in a level. As level designers we try and limit these progress blockers as much as possible with clear and understandable designs but inevitably some will slip through. But wait, there is hope! A group of individuals exist whose purpose is to test, test, test until these wrinkles are no more. GladOS would be proud of the men and women of the Beta Testers Collective.

As many of you may be aware, PlanetPhillip.com recently held the first of three planned mapping competitions, which would require level designers to create a map in ten days and feature the player being ambushed by enemy forces as the main attraction. “Build a map in ten days? How hard can that really be?” I naively asked myself. As it turns out it’s pretty damn hard! Let me tell you a story…

Isn’t it always the way – you have no Half-Life 2 maps to play and then nine come along all at once!