From Earth is a new sci-fi themed Source engine modification. The game recently came out on Steam as a free mod for Half-Life 2, and so far, it has received a positive response from the community.

We recently covered the launch of INFRA – A new Source-based puzzle-adventure game.

Oskari Samiola, the lead developer of Infra and founder of Finnish game studio Loiste Interactive agreed to do an interview with LambdaGeneration to talk about the game and its development.

We will also be giving away 30 copies of Infra, details about this at the end of the article.

In addition, Oskari and his team have funded LambdaGeneration’s web hosting costs for the month, we gave them a shoutout in our sidebar to say thanks!

Prospekt is a single-player, stand-alone Source Engine game out now on Steam. Set in the Half-Life universe, players take on the role of corporal Adrian Shepherd, protagonist of Opposing Force. Revived from stasis, you are tasked with assisting Gordon Freeman with his trip to Nova Prospekt during the events of Half-Life 2.

Having released only last week, it is fair to say that Prospekt has already attracted a significant amount of criticism from the community. For the purposes of this review, we have chosen to take a systematic look at its strengths, and potential for improvement, in each of the key areas that apply to mods in general.

Please note, this review contains spoilers.

Could this be the Myst of the Source engine?

‘INFRA’ is a freshly released first-person puzzle adventure game. It was initially created as a Portal 2 modification, but became a standalone Source engine title after Steam Greenlight success in 2013.

Last month, Infra finally came out on Steam, and so far, it has received a fairly positive response from the community, including a nomination for IndieDB’s Indie of the Year Awards in December 2015. We take a quick look.

If Ravenholm wasn’t spooky enough, Transmissions : Element 120 is a single player mod set in the Half-Life universe following the events of Half-Life 2: Episode 2. After two years in the making, the mod has finally been released.

“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.

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.

Under the Radar is a series of articles on LambdaGeneration featuring maps and mods in the Valve Community that you might have missed.

Okay, so the last Under the Radar article was approximately forever ago, but work with me here! Under the Radar is back to bring you some obscure, under-appreciated or just downright weird maps and mods…

Many of us will have played through most of Valve’s titles and enjoyed them. When we’re wrapped up in the action or the story however, the rules of the game we’re playing are almost invisible to us.

As a level designer it often pays to take a step back and look at the purpose of the content of a level. Why things are placed where they are, what do they add to the gameplay and what can we learn from them.

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!