The Gamer's Quarter

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I did think the Antlion beach where you have to manipulate planks of wood to avoid stepping on the ground was brilliant, though. Especially when you're using the mechanic to find secret areas and climb on top of roofs and stuff.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Anyone know if there is a LEAN mod anywhere? it's driving me nuts.
_________________

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I don't get why people have such a big boner for leaning? I guess if you're used to doing it in other games you might miss it, but I don't. The game isn't really built around needing to lean.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I actually think it would benefit quite considerably from leaning. Would make combat that little bit more interesting.

Lots has happened since I last posted, I'm back in City 17 wich a bunch of people constantly apologising around me.
_________________

Cossix · . Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 87

I know that physics puzzles are pretty contrived NOW but when the game came out it was pretty much the first game with a physics engine as realized as what it had.

Scratchmonkey · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1439

Nah, they were contrived then too. I mean, I can appreciate that they built a neat physics engine; the kinds of puzzles that they resort to are pretty obviously WE BUILT A FUCKING PHYSICS ENGINE NOW USE IT CANTILEVERS EVERYWHERE WOOOOOOOOOO though.

Which is to say, you can be the first person to do it and still overdo it.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

FINISHED.

Final verdict: Eh, I dunno. I'm too tired. I already started episode one, though.
_________________

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Cycle should I play the rest of this game? I was at Nova Prospect when I last played.

Cossix · . Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 87

Cycle when you play through Episode 1 make sure you do it only using one bullet because I'm pretty sure that's the best way to play it! Use the gravity gun the rest of the time!

Note: Your one bullet is used to shoot a lock off a door!

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

What lock are you thinking of? I'm fairly certain they can also be removed with the Grav Gun.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

bleak · . Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 258

You get firearms before you get the grav gun in episode one I'm farily certain.
_________________

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

No. You start with the Grav Gun from the very beginning. It's given seconds after the game starts. It's the weapons you find about a third or so in-game.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cossix · . Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 87

There's a lock through a door right when you first get a gun. It's the only time in Episode 1 that you absolutely need to use a bullet.

Max Cola · . Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 43 Location: beep beep

I believe you get an achievement in the XBox 360 version for getting through Ep. 1 only using that one bullet. But that's not the point!
_________________
The only girl I've ever loved was born with roses in her eyes. But then they buried her alive, one evening 1945, with just her sister at her side, and only weeks before the guns all came and rained on everyone...

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

HARVEYJAMES, I'd say keep playing it. Once you get back to City 17, the game really picks up again and it's pretty pimp the rest of the way. There is even a new tram ride like the one in the first game! Nova Prospekt or whatever is a bit boring though, yeah. Storming the beach with the antlions was quite a thrill, but like most of the gimmicks they throw you, they overstay their welcome just a little.

I've already used guns in the episode! Man, I don't know, I can't imagine just using the grav gun. You get swamped by zombies and antlions. Man, you get swamped way too easily in this game, it just becomes annoying and breaks all the tension, plus I feel like a jerk leaving Alyx to get swamped by antlions while I plug the holes. These guys really don't know how to pace action. Also, I wish Alyx wasn't all like OH YOU ARE SO SMART, DR FREEMAN all the damn time. It was better in half-life 2 when she only talked when she really wanted to, made her a stronger character. Also, why did she go all shy after she hugged us, WHAT IS SHE, A HIGH SCOOL GIRL? Also, FUCK Freeman, he didn't even try to comfort her after her little episode, GOD I'm getting tired of this jerk!

Back to episode one!
_________________

Ketch · . Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 420

I'm thinking of replaying EP1 trying to play the 1 bullet rule (I think you can use grenades, rpgs etc though??). Should be interesting, may need a thread if any areas are really tricky.

Cossix · . Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 87

You CAN use grenades, but why bother? Use the Combine's grenades instead!

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Episode One was cool! Gonna play some team fortress then off to Ep 2.

EDIT: Team Fotress is hilarious and cool. SNIPERS DON'T SEEM OVERPOWERED!!!

Also the deus ex machina at the start of episode one is lame.
_________________

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Episode 2 has been pretty meh so far. Also, since when does glasdos work for the combine?

That part with the turrets in the cave system was pretty neat!

edit: ok fuck episode 2, i'm not bothering with this bullshit.
_________________

dhex · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:34 am Post subject:

huh. i found two far superior to one.
_________________

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I've found it rather tedious. I'm up to the strider invasion part and it's just not any fun and I'm not interested in finishing the rest of it.
_________________

The Great Unwashed · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:34 pm Post subject:

Uhm, the strider invasion part is the last part of it. So you're actually right at the end...? And have in fact, nearly finished it.

Why do you hate Episode 2 so much! It's way better than 1 was, and improved all the annoying niggles about the original HL2, in my opinion.
_________________

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Well gosh, I guess I might as well try to finish it then.

I don't hate it! I liked what they did with the flashlight, and driving isn't quite as bad mainly because the car doesn't flip over anymore, but man, FUCK hunters and those... vomit bug things. They aren't fun to fight! And really, I just think the core gameplay of Half-Life 2 is dead boring, and episode 2 didn't do much to change that. Things are a little more open I guess, which is nice, but ithe original mechanics aren't really built around open areas so it doesn't feel right. This bit with the striders has just been frustrating, too. Argh. Man. Screw those hunters. Also I like how you can't seem to be able to take striders down with rockets anymore even though I could do it fine previously! This is one thing I really hate about these games. Absolutely no room for creative thinking, even when there is no reason your idea shouldn't work. It's their way or the highway. I think I'd rather take the highway!
_________________

The Great Unwashed · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject:

No room for creative thinking? Think with physics*!

How to destroy a hunter? Hold a barrel in front of you, let them fill it with flechettes, then launch it into their face for megasplosionlulztimebonus.

I agree with you pretty much though, but I find the core gameplay a lot of fun, and I enjoy dicking around with the physics to see the results. So it's horses for courses, I guess? But you really should finish it! The ending is... well, spoilers aside, it's awesome.

*Or portals.
_________________

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Thanks for the tip! I should probably use the grabity gun more often... I pretty much forgot about it after Ravenholm, aside from a few places where it was obvious it would be handy.
_________________

The Great Unwashed · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:29 pm Post subject:

You whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Dude, the gravity gun is the single winning button in HL2. Seriously, that shit should be your primary weapon. Hurling buzzsaws and desks and explosive barrels around instead of wasting time looking for ammunition for your puny gun is the way HL2 rolls. Combine throws a grenade at you? Grenade back in his face! Fighting an Antlion Guard? Explosive barrels in their face! Zombies coming at you down a corridor? Crush them with a chair!

To the face!

Gravity Gun: It's Awesome (TM)
_________________

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Oh yeah, whenever I see something explosive I always pick it up, same with buzzsaws and all that stuff. I just mean, it was pretty much the only weapon you used at all in Ravenholm, so it felt like it was used much less afterwards.

Oh, another thing I hate about this strider bit, the pods keep dropping off them for no reason at all before I can pull a gun out and shoot it.

Alright, finally finished it. Eh. Really didn't feel enough for the characters to care about this SHOCKING turn of events.

Really, if anything, Half-Life 2 makes me realise just how far the medium needs to keep going. NOT THAT IT'S A BAD GAME, just yeah.

I think I'm dissapointed it's nowhere as cool as those beta videos made me think it would be. USE OBJECTS TO BLOCK DOORS AND WINDOWS, yeah right, and get in the way of the scripting? I don't think so!
_________________

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I think I may give Half-Life 2 another playthrough some time. It sure did some great things, but other things just bothered the heck out of me. So I don't know.

Anyway, what are the mods I must play! This is one of the main reasons I got this game. TAKING SUGGESTIONS.

Also, where is a good place to start ni regards to getting into modding myself? I've wanted to get back into that for a long time, and I like the Source engine (apart from the load times everywhere which could be a problem).
_________________

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Minerva: Metastasis and its companion Someplace Else.

Intriguing map design, partially inspired from Halo's The Silent Cartographer, and a premise reminiscent of the Marathon series.

Also Valve has since accepted it as canon, as far as I know.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Dracko that second map is for Half-Life 1! I don't have that!

Minerva is pretty fantastic though! I just finished it and it's extremely well made. The dialouge occasionally feels forced, and a couple parts could have been reworked a little towards the end, but for the most part this was pretty fantastic! Great level design and atmosphere! Love the whole vertical nature of the whole thing. I hope this guy got a job out of this.
_________________

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

I just finished Ep. 1 after a considerable amount of time off from it. Eh.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

I thought that was on purpose.

Feeding from Cycle's unrelenting energy, I started Ep. 2 shortly after finishing Ep. 1 today. I'm in the mines right now, and they're a mite boring, but the journeys through the ant lion nests were stellar. I will squish every goddamn pupa.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

This article sums up one of the bigger problems I have with Half-Life 2:

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2008/03/shut_up_and_save_the_world_the.php#comments

It's eeriely similar to an article once printed in my magazine.

I didn't like the Antlion nests! That part with the turrets and traffic lights was pretty great, though.

_________________

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

See, that was my least favorite part of the ant lion nests. Cycle, sometimes I have the sneaking suspicion that you and i are not, in fact, the same person.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

dhex · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:31 am Post subject:

i view the whole silence thing and the irony of his last name and all that as being both intentional and incidental. i like the blankness of it all, really, but such is the nature of taste.
_________________

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

Episode 2 is just darling. I agree with dessgeega that it's fan-service, but it's very well designed fanservice. I think it's better than the original game, and way better than episode one.

Hunters are a blast to fight.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Scratchmonkey · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1439

I've gotten to the (first?) Strider battle in the Citadel, which has been pretty fun so far.

HL2 is pretty much a perfect example in motion of how difficult it is to handle exposition in games. I mean, it does it relatively well and it still feels like a carnival ride when you start prodding at it.

ETA: Mr. Freeman's Wild Ride!

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

Done with Ep. 2. Really, it's the best game of the three. It all starts with the levels and environments. Look, I know there wasn't as much overt mise-en-scene as with Half-Life 2 to help with the narrative, but the atmosphere was much more eerie. All the sci-fi mayhem and dilapidation of Half-Life 2 seemed a natural consequence of the society. As gruesome as it all was, you couldn't quite say it was inappropriate. Somehow the cottages, lush greens, and timber-industrial facilities of episode 2 render the hunters and striders more terrifying. It's the sparse electric reds and blues of their systems that blend too uncomfortably well that produces the unease. The neon, fluid-slick ant-lion lairs brought on an oppressive claustrophobia unmatched by all the corridors, mines, air ducts, and elevator shafts of City 17.

Hey, should I know what the hell everyone is talking about when they say "our mutual friend"?

Edit: I realize I meant to write "unease" or "dis-ease" and instead wrote "disease," which didn't read quite right.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

THE G-MAN
_________________

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

Is he the Rod Serling dude?
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Who? He's the guy who's all like MR. FREEEEMMAAN
_________________

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

hosts The Twilight Zone.

anyhow, I'm pretty sure we mean the same person
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

dhex · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject:

you know, my best friend is a film studies guy (marring a film studies gal no less) and i've been seeing people use "mise-en-scene" to describe games for years now, and i still have no idea what it means.
_________________

Scratchmonkey · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1439

This is because it has a really wide range of usage. I'm guessing that Mr. Helicopter P means that the blocking and staging (level design, character placement, user "herding") in Episode 2 is less overt than it is in Half-Life 2.

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

actually, i meant the parts of a set that are used for storytelling via setting

and it's helicopterp. all one word.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

you can still call me mister.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

dhex · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:35 am Post subject:

i'll chalk this up to me just being dense.
_________________