Thanks guys, we spent a lot of time on it. Glad to see it's appreciated! :P

Although Rock 24 takes place in a high-security combine prison and once again forces our all-time favorite hero Gordon Freeman to perform a critical rescue operation, this Singleplayer scenario never feels like a Nova Prospekt clone. From the unique introduction on board of a fishing vessel over the bizarre Prison interiors up to the showdown with a huge hangar-door opening up to a beautifully sunlit mountain scape, the campaign never looses the player in tedious puzzles, boring corridors or endless hordes of enemies.

The battles are done quite interestingly, several scripted scenes, many of which involve your fellow inmate Richard G. Newell, are fun and memorable. Some of the lighting is a bit too old-school for a HL2 map with extreme colors and blocky brush-based lights. But considering HL2's fairly grayish texture-set, the authors managed to succeed in one important aspect: The levels never look boring. Sometimes you'd wish that some custom, more colorful texturing would have been used instead of flashy lights to achieve the effect. Also the huge piles of boring crates used as a filler everywhere, some rather randomly placed props as well as very rough brush- and displacement work here and there take away from the eyecandy. Ultimately, however, Rock 24 is very good and original looking for using the standard HL2 themes.

Rock 24 has also plenty of custom voice acting. Unlike the mumbling you usually hear in user-made mods the voices are crystal clear and on par with HL2's mostly. I'm not a big fan of game-voice-acting in general, not even HL2's, but for a hobby project it's quite remarkable!

There are two bugs I encountered. One was a sentry being stuck in the elevator with the combines that caused it to never move up. The other was when Newell was giving me a surprisingly logical explanation for why we have to kill all enemies before continuing but never bothered to let go of the MG and open the door for me. Both required a reload. Although I had worse bugs in HL2 and many people won't even encounter these, that was a bit of a turn-off. But still better than having to search for a hidden switch for 20 minutes - which the authors cleverly avoided. You always see where to go next which is very important for a SP game.

If there is one thing I would have liked to see more of (in HL2 mods in general, by the way) then it would be scenes that present combine soldiers as less of a group of moving targets and more as a squad that actually outsmarts the player. The only point where I really felt like this in HL2 was the Nova Prospekt level where you set up sentries and see the combines throwing them over by sneaking up from behind or using grenades, only seeing the player himself as a secondary target. That was a powerful example of their AI system. But mostly (even in original HL2) you only see them as cannon-fodder, running straight into your shotgun, which is a real waste of potential. HL1 has a lot of 3-party fights with Human Soldiers vs Alien Soldiers vs Gordon which creates really unique scenarios. HL2 has very little of this and I'd love to see more diverse and tactical fights and less chaotic carnage between always the same combine/rebel groups. Rebels are rather boring IMO.

Rock 24 is simply one of the best SP scenarios ever made for HL2. Right up there with Minverva or the somewhat strange DayHard, which I equally enjoyed. There is room for improvement, though. It hasn't the consistent amount of eyecandy like Minerva, neither it has the interactivity of original HL(2) SP gameplay. But onsidering that the authors, Henley Bailey and Richard Acherki, basically learned mapping on the fly with this project I can only guess what excellent stuff they will produce for coming SP mods (which are announced). I hope it will involve scenes as interactive as the sentry challenge in Nova Prospekt but in a theme far away from prison cells. Everyone who has one or two hours to spare should give this mod a try.

Design

Gameplay

Verdict
One of the best HL2 SP experiences to date. Can't wait for the next. Play it!

Pros
A nice flow, some beautiful settings and fun scripted sequences.

Design
Sometimes blocky brushwork, a few minor bugs, ordinary storyline, some repetitive combine fights

Rock 24 starts out with Gordon Freeman (who you play) on a fishing vessel, manned by rebels, headed towards an unstable, ready-to-collapse Combine prison facility called "Rock 24". You and the rebels are attempting to rescue a rebel scientist named Richard G. Newell. Very early on, after an encounter with several gunships, you are knocked off the vessel and wake up in a prison cell deep within Rock 24. From here on out you must work together with Richard Newell to help each other reach the surface and escape.

Rock 24, despite being a prison, is loaded with original environments; you'll rarely think "Hey, I saw that in Nova Prospekt" or "This looks a lot City 17". In Rock 24, you'll travel through varying prison environments (cells, control centers, hubs), an elevator shaft system, rock environments and tunnels, and some outdoor areas. Nearly each of Rock 24's six chapters has its own unique feel and style, which is undoubtedly a great thing. Rock 24 has several puzzles for you to solve as well, though one or two have rather cliche setups (such as "run back there and flip that switch for me so that by the time you get back, something will have happened to your return path and you'll have to find an alternate route around"). However, there are only a couple puzzles like this, so they don't feel very annoying or unrealistic at all.

Visually, Rock 24 is great-looking, especially considering the amount of ground you'll cover. There is a lot of attention to detail, including a lot of very nice high-resolution lightmapping and dynamic flickering/toggling lights. Environmental effects abound as well - from lasers to sparks to smoke, everything looks great (kudos to the creators for making great-looking smoke instead of blobby "this is supposed to be smoke, just pretend it is" particles). One thing to note is the presence of several cool physics visual sequences, including a pipe swinging down to break through a thick concrete wall, crumbling rocks falling down around you, and a Combine APC crashing into a pillar (taking a chunk out of it and busting down fences in the process). One thing to note is a frame rate drop in only one or two large areas - nothing worth marking the mod down for. The only other little visual complaint I can come up with is that a tad bit of the animation on characters is a little over-the-top (characters will sometimes make gestures when they probably wouldn't if they were real people) - again, nothing big at all.

And finally, gameplay. Rock 24's gameplay is a lot of fun, with around an average amount of action, but still plenty of it interspersed throughout each level. Despite this, Rock 24 still comes off as being primarily a puzzle/objective-style set of levels than action-oriented ones (your primary goal is to reach the surface, and Combine assault you along the way intermittently - you're always moving up and forward). This is a very welcome break from mods that provide a ton of action and a silly story as an afterthought. A couple notable bits of action include a large-scale battle inside Rock 24's huge, fortified main entrance area, and in particular the ending battle with - literally - nearly a hundred soldiers.

To sum up, Rock 24 is a very professionally-done set of six chapters. The flow is great, gameplay is very good and rarely repetitive, puzzles are generally fun, and Rock 24 looks great to boot - and all of this from a team of two people. Rock 24 is the best "new storyline" HL2 SP mod I've ever played, and for giving the player something new, fun and original - and despite any very small flaws it may have - it deserves a 10/10. We need more mods like this.

Design

Gameplay

Verdict
The best all-new-storyline HL2SP mod I've ever played - great gameplay, visuals, flow and design. Something for everyone.

Pros
Very professional and detailed, long play time (between 1 and 2 hours), original story, lots of fun.

Design
Very little... a couple of the puzzle set-ups, a couple out-of-place animation gestures.

Although Rock 24 takes place in a high-security combine prison and once again forces our all-time favorite hero Gordon Freeman to perform a critical rescue operation, this Singleplayer scenario never feels like a Nova Prospekt clone. From the unique introduction on board of a fishing vessel over the bizarre Prison interiors up to the showdown with a huge hangar-door opening up to a beautifully sunlit mountain scape, the campaign never looses the player in tedious puzzles, boring corridors or endless hordes of enemies.

The battles are done quite interestingly, several scripted scenes, many of which involve your fellow inmate Richard G. Newell, are fun and memorable. Some of the lighting is a bit too old-school for a HL2 map with extreme colors and blocky brush-based lights. But considering HL2's fairly grayish texture-set, the authors managed to succeed in one important aspect: The levels never look boring. Sometimes you'd wish that some custom, more colorful texturing would have been used instead of flashy lights to achieve the effect. Also the huge piles of boring crates used as a filler everywhere, some rather randomly placed props as well as very rough brush- and displacement work here and there take away from the eyecandy. Ultimately, however, Rock 24 is very good and original looking for using the standard HL2 themes.

Rock 24 has also plenty of custom voice acting. Unlike the mumbling you usually hear in user-made mods the voices are crystal clear and on par with HL2's mostly. I'm not a big fan of game-voice-acting in general, not even HL2's, but for a hobby project it's quite remarkable!

There are two bugs I encountered. One was a sentry being stuck in the elevator with the combines that caused it to never move up. The other was when Newell was giving me a surprisingly logical explanation for why we have to kill all enemies before continuing but never bothered to let go of the MG and open the door for me. Both required a reload. Although I had worse bugs in HL2 and many people won't even encounter these, that was a bit of a turn-off. But still better than having to search for a hidden switch for 20 minutes - which the authors cleverly avoided. You always see where to go next which is very important for a SP game.

If there is one thing I would have liked to see more of (in HL2 mods in general, by the way) then it would be scenes that present combine soldiers as less of a group of moving targets and more as a squad that actually outsmarts the player. The only point where I really felt like this in HL2 was the Nova Prospekt level where you set up sentries and see the combines throwing them over by sneaking up from behind or using grenades, only seeing the player himself as a secondary target. That was a powerful example of their AI system. But mostly (even in original HL2) you only see them as cannon-fodder, running straight into your shotgun, which is a real waste of potential. HL1 has a lot of 3-party fights with Human Soldiers vs Alien Soldiers vs Gordon which creates really unique scenarios. HL2 has very little of this and I'd love to see more diverse and tactical fights and less chaotic carnage between always the same combine/rebel groups. Rebels are rather boring IMO.

Rock 24 is simply one of the best SP scenarios ever made for HL2. Right up there with Minverva or the somewhat strange DayHard, which I equally enjoyed. There is room for improvement, though. It hasn't the consistent amount of eyecandy like Minerva, neither it has the interactivity of original HL(2) SP gameplay. But onsidering that the authors, Henley Bailey and Richard Acherki, basically learned mapping on the fly with this project I can only guess what excellent stuff they will produce for coming SP mods (which are announced). I hope it will involve scenes as interactive as the sentry challenge in Nova Prospekt but in a theme far away from prison cells. Everyone who has one or two hours to spare should give this mod a try.

Verdict

One of the best HL2 SP experiences to date. Can't wait for the next. Play it!

Rock 24 starts out with Gordon Freeman (who you play) on a fishing vessel, manned by rebels, headed towards an unstable, ready-to-collapse Combine prison facility called "Rock 24". You and the rebels are attempting to rescue a rebel scientist named Richard G. Newell. Very early on, after an encounter with several gunships, you are knocked off the vessel and wake up in a prison cell deep within Rock 24. From here on out you must work together with Richard Newell to help each other reach the surface and escape.

Rock 24, despite being a prison, is loaded with original environments; you'll rarely think "Hey, I saw that in Nova Prospekt" or "This looks a lot City 17". In Rock 24, you'll travel through varying prison environments (cells, control centers, hubs), an elevator shaft system, rock environments and tunnels, and some outdoor areas. Nearly each of Rock 24's six chapters has its own unique feel and style, which is undoubtedly a great thing. Rock 24 has several puzzles for you to solve as well, though one or two have rather cliche setups (such as "run back there and flip that switch for me so that by the time you get back, something will have happened to your return path and you'll have to find an alternate route around"). However, there are only a couple puzzles like this, so they don't feel very annoying or unrealistic at all.

Visually, Rock 24 is great-looking, especially considering the amount of ground you'll cover. There is a lot of attention to detail, including a lot of very nice high-resolution lightmapping and dynamic flickering/toggling lights. Environmental effects abound as well - from lasers to sparks to smoke, everything looks great (kudos to the creators for making great-looking smoke instead of blobby "this is supposed to be smoke, just pretend it is" particles). One thing to note is the presence of several cool physics visual sequences, including a pipe swinging down to break through a thick concrete wall, crumbling rocks falling down around you, and a Combine APC crashing into a pillar (taking a chunk out of it and busting down fences in the process). One thing to note is a frame rate drop in only one or two large areas - nothing worth marking the mod down for. The only other little visual complaint I can come up with is that a tad bit of the animation on characters is a little over-the-top (characters will sometimes make gestures when they probably wouldn't if they were real people) - again, nothing big at all.

And finally, gameplay. Rock 24's gameplay is a lot of fun, with around an average amount of action, but still plenty of it interspersed throughout each level. Despite this, Rock 24 still comes off as being primarily a puzzle/objective-style set of levels than action-oriented ones (your primary goal is to reach the surface, and Combine assault you along the way intermittently - you're always moving up and forward). This is a very welcome break from mods that provide a ton of action and a silly story as an afterthought. A couple notable bits of action include a large-scale battle inside Rock 24's huge, fortified main entrance area, and in particular the ending battle with - literally - nearly a hundred soldiers.

To sum up, Rock 24 is a very professionally-done set of six chapters. The flow is great, gameplay is very good and rarely repetitive, puzzles are generally fun, and Rock 24 looks great to boot - and all of this from a team of two people. Rock 24 is the best "new storyline" HL2 SP mod I've ever played, and for giving the player something new, fun and original - and despite any very small flaws it may have - it deserves a 10/10. We need more mods like this.

Verdict

The best all-new-storyline HL2SP mod I've ever played - great gameplay, visuals, flow and design. Something for everyone.

Nice mod

I played this after it was first posted on Halfwit. This is a very good mod, the story is good, the setting is realistic, there were some slow parts, but action prevailed for the most part. I only have gripes about the voice acting, but I dislike almost all voice acting, so don't take it too hard. :P

I played this mod after seeing the Steam news. Pretty enjoyable experience, with some great, memorable parts to it.

Unfortunately the performance was on the low side, especially in those area's, and there's a few parts here and there that didn't look as polished as the whole, but overall, a good mod, providing a fun experience. Especially the rebels cheering at the end, that was pretty funny.

I got somewhere into the second chapter before I couldn't take it anymore. Everything was too cluttered and a lot of it didn't make any sense...

Also, I noticed a lot of things that shouldn't have been. For example, a lot of props were intersecting walls into another area that was accessible by the player. In my case, it was a sprinkler pipe that ended abruptly.. and even if it were to continue, it would not have made sense being in the middle of the wall. Right before I shut the game down, there was a scanner stuck in-between prison bars. Was the clip texture used often? I got snagged on almost everything and it appears that some of the npcs had the same problem; most likely due to improper placement.

There's a lot more I didn't like, but it's not necessary for me to rant it all out. However, I did like the fact that you had some originality to your work. I'm sure you had even more to show, but honestly, I got so frustrated trying to get to places that I just lost my interest in finishing.

Overall I think this was a very good SP map pack. Most of the level design is good, and the custom scripting, skinning, voice acting etc. made it feel like a fresh experience.
There were a lot of areas I specially liked, like the cell area you wake up in, or the metallic stairs in the cave with the boulder.
My main complaints would be performance (some areas ran very badly compared to the whole HL2 or HL2 Ep1) and I found many displacement surfaces across the maps which looked too pointy and unnatural IMO.
Overall, I give it an 8/10. Without the bugs, it could easily be a 9. And it could be a 10 if It had even more original settings.
Good luck in your next mod!