Hello, everyone!
I am developing a single-player Half-Life 1 zombie apocalypse mod called Citybreak and would love to get feedback from the community on it!
The project is still in the very early stages, but I would love to hear your opinion on what I have so far, which currently spans 2 small areas.
The mod is in very early alpha phase.
I have been a Half-Life fan since the first game came out and always wanted to try my hand at a mod, but never got around to it until now. I’ll attach screenshots, some possible questions (with answers), and the download link below:
Direct Download: https://dudefuel.com/downloads/citybreak_alpha1.zip
Installation instructions: Simply unzip the “citybreak” folder to your Half-Life directory. (The “citybreak” folder should be in the same folder as the “valve” folder.) Steam should automagically detect it. (You will likely need to exit and reopen Steam for this to work, however.)
Screenshots:
Q&A (Feel free to ask any other questions in the comments.)
Q: Why did you choose to make a Half-Life 1 mod instead of a Half-Life 2 mod?
A: Mostly, nostalgia. I have loved HL1 since the late 90s. The Goldsource engine is quite remarkable to me. I also wanted to challenge myself with this project (and it has certainly been a challenge!). Working with an older engine creates a delicate give-and-take environment.
For example, I had to choose whether I was going to use high-resolution textures, pushing the engine to its limits—which would have also required me to program my own flashlight (because the native HL1 flashlight determines size based on texture scaling)—or work with the original standards for texture resolution.
This is just one of a number of problems that I have already had to address and for me it has been quite fun. I’ve never been one to need bleeding-edge graphics anyway. Personally, I think the aesthetic and gameplay is more important than anything else.
Q: How long is the current alpha?
A: Not long. It’s only two maps. Once you hit the title screen, the alpha is essentially over. Although, there is one more small area after (but this is mostly a placeholder).
Q: What Half-Life 1 SDK are you using for Citybreak?
A: I chose the Half-Life 1 Updated SDK. Github: https://github.com/twhl-community/halflife-updated
I didn’t want a bunch of fancy bells and whistles. So, that’s why I decided against projects like the HL1 Unified SDK. I really wanted to work with vanilla HL1 as much as possible.
Q: What major programming changes have been made so far?
A: So far, there are four major programming changes:
- Body Armor has been replaced with Stamina and the SHIFT key is now used to SPRINT instead of WALK. When stamina is depleted, the player cannot jump or sprint. Standing still recharges stamina quickly. Moving or attacking recharges stamina more slowly.
- Flashlight mechanics have been altered so that the flashlight no longer automatically recharges. Instead, the player has to find battery items inside the levels. If the flashlight battery dies… the flashlight is dead until you find more batteries. I also allow the player to essentially carry unlimited battery power. So, you can stock battery power for when it is really needed.
- Doors. OK, this was an annoying problem. I wanted doors to open and close based on touch, but this led to the problem of players becoming stuck. So, I had to rework the door touch code to make it so that the player can turn the door back the other way when stuck. I know it sounds boring but this took me a bit to figure out and code. So, I’m proud of it.
- “Everywhere” sounds have been reprogrammed to simulate 2d audio (non-spatial). In short, what this means is that “Play Everywhere” audio (i.e. background music) no longer shifts from left to right in the player’s ears as they move around the environment. This was something the Unified SDK would have provided out of the box, but I wanted to find my own solution.
Q: How do I know this isn’t some kind of virus? I’m scared of .zip files.
A: I totally get it. First off, it isn’t a virus. Second, I don’t know what else to say, honestly. If anyone has ideas for providing better security with releases, please let me know.
Q: When will the full game be released?
A: I honestly have no idea. At my current pace, I would expect a full release (beta or otherwise) by Fall of next year, but it could be sooner or later.
Q: Do you have a Patreon or other means of support?
A: Currently, no. If there is enough interest, I’m open to exploring it though. Never done anything like that before.
Q: Can I use assets from your mod in my own?
A: Yes, a lot of the content was generated by me, personally. The rest is mostly Creative Commons 0-licensed. But check the README file to be certain before using anything, just to make sure it doesn’t require attribution, etc.