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'Black Mesa,' the fan-made 'Half-Life' remake, finally has a release date
Black Mesa has had a lengthy development journey, to say the least. In 2006, fans of Half-Life decided to port the game to the then-new Source engine (upon which Half-Life 2 was based). Valve had actually done so itself, but the results were poor. Crowbar Collective aimed to make a version of Half-Life that offered the same level of polish as its 2004 sequel. But as a small team, updates have been sporadic. Finally, 14 years after the first Black Mesa mod was released, the full version of the game will launch on March 5th via Steam.
Cyberpunk Half-Life 2 mod, NeoTokyo, now available on Steam for free
Five years after it debuted as a fan-crafted Half-Life 2 modification, and following a lengthy Greenlight campaign, NeoTokyo has arrived on Steam as a standalone release. Best described as an amalgamation of Counter-Strike's creeping, deliberate gunplay and sci-fi influences that fall somewhere between Neuromancer and Ghost In The Shell, NeoTokyo has earned a devoted following over the past half-decade. That should only increase, as the standalone Steam release bears a $0 price tag, and does not require players own Half-Life 2 or any other game containing the Source engine. Full technical specs and game details on NeoTokyo can now be found on the game's Steam page. [Image: Studio Radi-8]
Dear Esther dev ditches Source for Unity after unpleasant surprises
For the past two months, environment artist Robert Briscoe has been working to make Dear Esther run in Unity, rather than Valve's Source Engine, and he has some pretty gifs to show for it. He's bringing the entire game to Unity, six years after it launched as a free Source engine mod and two years after it launched as a separate game, also in Source. In a blog post, Briscoe asks the question on everyone's mind, "Why would you want to port Dear Esther, a fully finished game on a solid engine, over to an entirely new engine so late after release?" Thankfully, he also answers the question, with a bit of background information: Briscoe, thechineseroom's Dan Pinchbeck and Jessica Curry, and coder Jack Morgan made the 2012 PC launch game, and then the team split to work on their own things (Amnesia, anyone?). Briscoe outsourced the Mac and Linux ports of Dear Esther to two separate teams, which have since dissolved and stopped bug-fixing those versions. Another, native Linux port, is still in beta and looks like it's staying that way. Briscoe received a "huge bill" for the middleware included in Source Engine but not covered in the original licensing deal. The team wasn't aware of the middleware or its fees before getting the bill, and it had to pay for a separate license for each platform. "It was a big hit financially, which put us at a loss in terms of the Mac and Linux ports," Briscoe says.
PSA: The Stanley Parable is out now, 20 percent off
The Stanley Parable is now available on Steam, and is 20 percent off ($11.99) until October 23. Originally a Half-Life 2 mod, the first-person exploration game centers on Stanley, employee number 427 of a nameless company, who pushes buttons on a keyboard at his desk as instructions appear on a monitor. Compared to the 2011 mod, The Stanley Parable "returns with new content, new ideas, a fresh coat of visual paint," and voice-overs by Kevan Brighting. The game's description underscores the "everything is not as it seems" nature of the game, as over time "meaning begins to arise, the paradoxes might start to make sense." Developer Galactic Cafe encourages players to check out the game's demo to learn more, which is also available through Steam.
Left 4 Dead 2 Steam beta introduces 'Extended Mutation System'
The Left 4 Dead 2 beta program has added the Extended Mutation System, an expanded toolset for modders to author custom scripts controlling enemy behavior, spawn points and custom game types. A Valve-created survival variant, called Holdout, is included as a Mutation example.Valve has published a wiki page detailing everything possible with the Extended Mutation System for budding directors, explaining the scripting language used in the game and some of the finer points of Mutation modding. Throughout this test phase, Valve will monitor what Mutations players come up with, fix bugs when needed and keep a close eye out for any features that may be missing.If you're in the Left 4 Dead 2 beta program – if you want in, this is probably the best place to ask for an invite – you can get cracking on your own custom Mutations right now.
Newell: Valve building Source 2 engine, Ricochet 2 is in development
Valve head honcho Gabe Newell got a visit from fans on 4chan.org's /v/ board for his birthday, and after paying $2.50 to unlock a real-life Mann Co. crate with a TF2 Soldier hat inside, he stuck around to talk shop. The first question (Newell specifically warned against questions about Half-Life 3) was, paraphrased from the above recording, "Is Valve working on a new Source engine?"Newell answered, "We've been working on new engine stuff for a while." The audio then became garbled, but subtitles read, "We've just been waiting for a game to roll it out with." Regardless of the incomprehensible audio, someone asked a straightforward follow-up question: "Is it more than just an extension to Source? Like, is it an entirely new engine?""Yeah," Newell said.In August a group uncovered code for a "Source 2 engine" in the Source Filmmaker application, alongside "Source 2 tools" icons. The engine was labeled "next-gen."Also during /v/'s Valve takeover, Newell and co. confirmed that Ricochet 2 is in development.
Report: Source 2 references buried in Source Filmmaker code
Valve fans are getting more than machinima film editing tools in the Source Filmmaker application, apparently – savvy code hackers at ValveTime.net uncovered references in the code to a "Source 2 engine," indicating that a second iteration of Valve's "Source" engine is in the works. The references go beyond text, as several tool icons (labeled "Source 2 tools") were also found.Moreover, the engine is labeled as "next-gen," hinting at what its likely application will be – next-gen video games. Valve has yet to announce any next-gen projects, and the company's never said a word about its next Source iteration.Half-Life 2, the Left 4 Dead series, and several other Valve games are based on the original Source architecture, dating all the way back to 2004. It's been criticized in recent years for inflexibility and agedness, and a reboot certainly wouldn't hurt. Valve had yet to respond to request for comment as of publishing.
Valve reportedly preparing second-generation Source engine, kinda explains the Episode Three delay
ValveTime has dug through the Source Filmmaker code to reveal references to "Source 2," reportedly a next-generation revamp of Valve's famous game engine. Given that the three major consoles are all due a refresh, it's unsurprising to see preparations being made. That said, however, the second (and major) launch title for the original Source was Half Life 2, so we're gonna be getting a complaint letter ready if we don't get some more time with Gordon, Alyx and Dog in a beautifully rendered future dystopia.
Valve Source Filmmaker makes a movie out of any Source game, now you're directing with Portals (video)
Creating machinima with a video game engine usually requires accepting one of two truths: either that it will require a lot of fudging or that it will have all the sophistication of playing with action figures. Valve Software isn't very happy with that dichotomy, which is why it's posting its very own movie-making tool, Source Filmmaker, as a public beta. Any game that runs on the Source engine, whether it's Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2 or another in the family, can have gameplay run-throughs edited and dissected right down to custom facial expressions. As Valve expounds in the video after the break, throwing a gaming-grade PC at the task gives directors the advantage of seeing exactly how any changes will look in the final scene; there's no rough wireframes or pre-rendering here. Budding Francis Ford Coppolas can sign up for an invitation to the Filmmaker beta at the project page. If you'd just like to see how far someone can go with the end results, we've also included the latest Team Fortress 2 character profile video, Meet the Pyro, after the jump.
'Dear Esther' now launching in early 2012, moved over to Portal 2 engine
It's strange, isn't it? The day after we're supposed to give thanks for all the special things in life, we subject ourselves to unknown abuse all in the name of saving a buck. Let's instead give thanks for indie game projects that you won't ever find under the heel of a particularly ill-tempered Walmart shopper on this or any other Black Friday. Like Dear Esther for example, the promising Half Life 2 mod turned real boy, coming to Steam ... when exactly? The more calendrically challenged amongst you may not have realized this, but Dear Esther has already missed its proposed summer 2011 release window so you'll be glad to know it hasn't been summarily forgotten. Developer Dan Pinchbeck says the project has been successfully ported to the Portal 2 engine, and discussions with Valve indicate a release "very likely to be either the end of January or the beginning of February next year." Right alongside Episode 3, right guys? Guys? %Gallery-140285%
Nexon Europe gearing up for Vindictus closed beta
Better late than never, right? That's what Nexon Europe is hoping its fans are saying about the late arrival of Vindictus. The free-to-play title launched in Korea in January 2010, then it took a bow in North America in October 2010, but the game is just now getting around to its European closed beta phase. The beta begins on September 15th, and testers will need a key to participate. Registration happens on the game's official website, and there's more info on the Vindictus Europe Facebook page as well. Nexon has also released a new trailer to mark the occasion -- view it after the break. [Source: Nexon Europe press release]
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive trailer is wholly inoffensive
The first gameplay trailer for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is actually quite pleasing. That is, if you're into the fast-paced slaughter of virtual opponents. It's okay, folks -- they're terrorists, so that's kinda how these things work.%Gallery-131820%
Portal 2 Authoring Tools now available in beta for PC gamers
Finished Portal 2 but haven't had your fill of Aperture Science testing chambers? Aside from handing out a slew of free content in the coming months, Valve is releasing the Portal 2 Authoring Tools -- essentially giving PC users access to some of the nuts and bolts behind the developer's critical hit. The tools are free for owners of the game on PC, and can be found in the Tools tab of Steam accounts. As with previous Source Engine mod kits released by Valve, you'll be able to employ all of the game's assets: single player and co-op levels, character skins, sound effects, music, and 3D models are all at your disposal. Beyond the basics, Valve is including an updated version of Faceposer (facial animation software), some "examples maps and instances to help build new maps," and an "updated suite of command-line compiling utilities." That last part sounds dangerous, so we'll leave it up to you to figure out what it does.
Dear Esther HL2 mod remake to be commercially released this summer
Selected in December as Mod DB's annual "Best Upcoming Mod," Dear Esther is actually a remake of a 2008 Half-Life 2 Source-engine mod by the same name. The original mod was developed by indie studio thechineseroom (at the University of Portsmouth, UK) and was "stumbled across" by Robert Briscoe, a former level designer at DICE who had worked on Mirror's Edge. While "far from perfect," Dear Esther had both intrigued and inspired Briscoe, he wrote in May 2009, describing it as "an interactive painting or story, told through the eyes of a dying man on a journey to try and make peace with his tormented mind." "The whole thing is enveloped in deep mystery and hidden meanings," he continued, "I had the idea of taking the groundwork for the mod and develop [sic] it into a fully fledged, production-quality product." Briscoe took his idea to the original creative director Dan Pinchbeck, who "was very enthusiastic about it, giving me his full support on the project." 21 months of steady development later and the Dear Esther remake is on track for a commercial release this summer on Steam. That's right -- Pinchbeck and Briscoe approached Valve, which was "impressed enough to grant a Source license for a full independent release," recounts today's announcement (oddly dated July 30, 2010) on the just launched dear-esther.com. "Rob was creating something so extraordinary," Pinchbeck told PC Gamer UK in the new issue (via Beefjack), "[that] it deserved a wider audience than we could give it as a mod." You can get a glimpse of Briscoe's recreation in the June 2010 test footage postead after the break. [Pictured: work-in-progress screenshot; source: Robert Briscoe's Devblog]
G-Star 2010: Vindictus wins big for Nexon
Vindictus has hacked its way into the hearts of many players, with its can-do attitude and liberal stance on how many decapitations make your actions morally justified. Apparently, the players aren't the only ones in love with the game, as it has managed to walk away from the G-Star 2010 convention with so many awards that the development team can build a house. The 2010 Korean Game Awards taking place on the show floor awarded Nexon's game the grand prize as well as six other awards for excellence. The win was a first for Nexon, and it was followed by a half-dozen other awards including the Popular Game Award (in the Online Game category) and all four technical creation categories (Game Planning/Scenario, Game Graphics, Game Character, and Game Sound). CEO Seo Min thanked the organizers for the honors as well as Vindictus players for making the game such a success. Free-to-play games have come a long way as a whole, but if the bevy of awards is any indication, Vindictus is a cut above the rest.
CHIP-8 emulation comes to Half-Life 2, you can finally retire your Telmac 1800 (video)
We've seen quite a few programming projects lately, from CPUs built in the world of Minecraft to a full-blown Game Boy emulator in JavaScript. And now? Wiremod forum member Techni has taken the CHIP-8 virtual machine and got it up 'n running in the Garry's Mod sandbox for the Source game engine. Sure, CHIP-8 has been around since the 70s, and since it's small and easy to program it has a following that persists to this day -- but that said, we never expected to see it running Space Invaders from inside a game of Half-Life 2, in all its 8-bit glory. That's what we call progress! Or at least a satisfying hack. See it in action for yourself after the break. [Thanks, Jason]
'Hybrid' XBLA shooter announced by 5th Cell, due 2011
The countdown on Scribblenauts developer 5th Cell's site ran its course last night, revealing the somewhat surprising identity of the studio's next project: An Xbox Live Arcade third-person shooter called Hybrid. The game, which is built with the Source Engine, has players enlist in one of two opposing forces, Paladins or Variants. Aside from their titles, these two factions seem to exhibit other differences, as evidenced in the trailer posted after the jump. For instance, one's good at taking cover, while the other does parkour. 5th Cell promises that Hybrid will provide "a completely new gameplay experience never seen before in the genre," a claim that might not be so outrageous given the studio's innovations in the puzzle-platformer genre through its Scribblenauts series. If we were a betting site, we'd wager that the wall-to-ceiling-running shown in the trailer has something to do with said innovativeness -- but seeing as how Hybrid's due for release sometime in 2011, it might be a little too early for such baseless conjecture. %Gallery-106255%
5TH Cell counting down to XBLA announcement [update]
Scribblenauts developer 5TH Cell is about to reveal its next game, which it has been teasing for almost a year -- but there's a bit more teasing to do before that happens. The developer posted a seven-day countdown for the title on its site, revealing in a press release that the end of the countdown -- Thursday, October 28 at 10pm PDT Friday, October 29 at 1am EDT and 1am PDT -- will coincide with the reveal of the new title on Spike TV. A brief teaser will also be shown tonight. According to the press release, the game will be "a completely new experience for Xbox Live Arcade players." 5TH Cell's Jeremiah Slaczka has previously told Joystiq that the company's next original game would use the Source Engine. We'll find out more in ... seven days, and counting. Update: 5TH Cell informed us that it sent out the incorrect time yesterday. You'll be able to see the reveal on Friday, October 29 at 1am EDT/PDT.
Vindictus open beta off to an early start
Looking to get a head start on some F2P dungeon-crawling, vampire staking, and goblin smashing? It's your lucky night, as Nexon America has let us know that the Vindictus open beta has left the terminal a bit ahead of schedule. The festivities include the game's newly accessible third episode, the aforementioned new mobs, and a new dungeon (Ainle), which you can enter from boat dock three. Inside, you'll encounter a town overrun with fireball-flinging undead and assorted underworld minions, many of which can be picked up and used as thrown weapons thanks to the game's Source Engine physics. In addition to the new content, early access beta players will be able to retain their characters, rank, and loot when Vindictus officially launches later this month. Check out more of our Vindictus coverage, including video of the game's grappling moves, or head over to the official web site for more info.
Vindictus beta key giveaway round 2: Don't miss out again!
OK, so we knew you guys would be interested in slicing demons in half, but we had no clue how much you really wanted to slice demons in half. We had 2,000 beta keys to give away for Vindictus, and you guys cleaned us out in two hours! Thank you so much! To celebrate how fast you cleaned us out the first time, we've been given 2,000 more beta keys from our friends at Nexon! Just like last time, these keys, once redeemed, will get you into the beta and give you two more keys to give to your friends! Each key redeemed spawns two more, like the never-ending Fomor forces you're about to face! If you'd like to help us out, post your unused friend keys in the comments so we can help spread the love! Or, if you want to chat with your fellow MMOers, come join us in the Massively.com chat room, where you can trade keys, talk about your favorite games, and meet the Massively.com editors! Either point your IRC client to irc.quakenet.org and go to the #massively channel, or hook up with us on our webchat, located at http://webchat.quakenet.org, and put massively in for the channel name! But, you want Vindictus keys, don't you! Hit the continue reading button to find out how to claim a key!
