Fan-Made Half-Life HD Remake Ain't Dead Yet

[Marik2]

Hope that they take some animation cues from this

Been keeping an eye out for this project and I do hope it will come eventually

 

[MarsProbe]

I wonder if they remembered to take into account the broken physics of the original game...

Either way, should it come out id like to give the refurbished ancient FPS another whirl.

I'm kinda depressed that there aren't any Xen screens yet. Still, if this is what the rest of the game will look like, then I don't think Xen will be a disappointment in the eye-candy department.

Well, Xen was and still is not the most fondly remembered level of Half-Life. So im not exactly doomsaying over that.

I know I'm in the minority when it comes to this (though not, I must stress to point out, the only one as we all know nobody is ever "the only one") but I quite liked the Xen levels in Half-Life. Not my favourite section by any means, those honours go to Questionable Ethics and Surface Tension. But still, way back then, dropping into that strange alien realm after my trip through Black Mesa was still a standout moment for me. It will be interesting to see how Xen turns out in this new version.

I probably spent more time in Worldcraft making half-complete Xen "levels" than I did any other type back when it was around as well...

 

[Sentox6]

mid-early late alpha

Maybe it's because I'm lacking sleep, and it's only mid-early late morning, but I found this pretty hilarious.

 

[Luca72]

I've made a resolution to not get excited about any game involving Gordon Freeman til I have it in my hand (er... or downloading on Steam I guess), but this has always looked damn good and seems to be getting even better. Have they mentioned releasing a beta, even for the single player game? It might be a good idea to let players go through it freely and give the team feedback on what needs to be fixed.

 

[gigastar]

I wonder if they remembered to take into account the broken physics of the original game...

Either way, should it come out id like to give the refurbished ancient FPS another whirl.

I'm kinda depressed that there aren't any Xen screens yet. Still, if this is what the rest of the game will look like, then I don't think Xen will be a disappointment in the eye-candy department.

Well, Xen was and still is not the most fondly remembered level of Half-Life. So im not exactly doomsaying over that.

I know I'm in the minority when it comes to this (though not, I must stress to point out, the only one as we all know nobody is ever "the only one") but I quite liked the Xen levels in Half-Life. Not my favourite section by any means, those honours go to Questionable Ethics and Surface Tension. But still, way back then, dropping into that strange alien realm after my trip through Black Mesa was still a standout moment for me. It will be interesting to see how Xen turns out in this new version.

I probably spent more time in Worldcraft making half-complete Xen "levels" than I did any other type back when it was around as well...

Well because i knew there was a minority that did like the level i neglected using an absolute.

Anyway my reasons for my dislike of Xen are pretty much summed up by this excerpt from this TvTropes page [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DisappointingLastLevel].

Xen from Half-Life, the former Trope Namer. With annoying jumping puzzles, extremely unbalanced gameplay and extremely unbalanced gameplay during annoying jumping puzzles. Which is unfortunate, as the Xen levels have the best art style in the entire game, and if the lack of playtesting had not made it repetitive and boring, it could have been a very satisfying conclusion. However, subjective trope; it's not uncommon for players to report enjoying the Xen section.

It's as though Valve fundamentally forgot what made the previous experience in the earlier Black Mesa part of Half-Life so fun and full of life. Xen has no scripted events, no NPC interaction (though this can be forgiven for the nature of Xen) and no puzzles with the depth of the ones found earlier. It also lacks the immersion Black Mesa had. Despite that Black Mesa was now decrepit and hostile, the world was lively and interacted with you; immersed you. In contrast, Xen feels like you're playing through a poorly designed level in a video game; the immersion was lost. Progression is tedious and possibly driven solely by the urge of the player to finish the game, rather than the player progressing because the game just flowed as was the case during Black Mesa.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

I thought there already was a Half Life: Source game, I think I have it on Steam.

 

[Robert Ewing]

God I remember that winter 2009 release date. At least they're following valves message. Never, ever release a game in time.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Looks like even half-life mods are on "Valve time."

 

[Steve the Pocket]

I thought there already was a Half Life: Source game, I think I have it on Steam.

That was more of a port than a remake. They didn't replace any of the game's assets; they just recompiled the maps in a new engine.

 

[Don Savik]

People said the platforming was bad in Xen, but honestly I loved it. It was such a nice change of pace to be platforming around in a mostly gun based game. Despite its flaws (which I was surprised to read about after playing it and liking it), I think more shooters should take a note from it.

That you should break up the shooting with other elements that are FUN (not you mass defect and your space mining) so the game doesn't feel stale.

Sadly, not many games have a "Xen level" in this respect

 

[Soviet Steve]

I might be old fashioned but...

Spoiler

is generally a bad sign. I hope this happens but I don't expect much at this stage. D:

 

[Metalrocks]

wow, its still alive.
looks good though. maybe this time we actually will get this mod. thank god i still can play the original on steam and i dont mean the source HL. the original game with the graphics from 98.

 

[SextusMaximus]

Shit, guys - been years; glad the projects still going though. Although why are we given screens when we already have a trailer? Whatever, still looking forward to it!

 

[duchaked]

at this rate, Valve might as well step in and give em a hand.

hell, I'd pay for it as a retail release :]

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Shiny, I may have break out my HL2 discs once this thing is out in the wild.

 

[endtherapture]

To everyone saying about the Xen levels - I heard those are parts of the game they are completely remaking, and I bloody well hope that's true.

 

[SpAc3man]

I've been following this mod since before the 2009 release scandal and they have been making quite a bit of progress. They don't update the Twitter feed any more but there is a lot of activity in the forums. Especially in the "Enquiries about the mod" thread.

Here are some more images that have been posted very recently

Spoiler

I'm kinda depressed that there aren't any Xen screens yet. Still, if this is what the rest of the game will look like, then I don't think Xen will be a disappointment in the eye-candy department.

Xen is completely off limits to any sort of media release. They are keeping it a surprise until release.

The best you will get are these manta images

Spoiler

MAN that looks sweet. Judging from a couple of those shots, they've upgraded to the 2011 engine with the new lighting effects. Maybe that's what's been keeping them all this time.

From what I have gather by checking into the forums on the site every now and then for the last 3 or 4 years they are still using the 2007 engine. Most of the current work is bug fixing.

 

[EHKOS]

I like the fact that by the time they finish it will be outdated again, then they'll have to redo it with the Cryengine 4.

 

[Korak the Mad]

I can't wait until this thing comes out, it looks amazing!