[map] HL2:Return of the Resistance CH1

This is a a discussion topic for the map "HL2:Return of the Resistance CH1" by whiteLegion which can be found here

Map description:

Chapter 1: ... live to fight another day. Is a Single player story in the making for HL2. Chapter 1 includes the first 4 maps. Browse the related link for more details and pictures.

Map screenshots:

According to the author, this is the first installment for a series of HL2 single player maps. Judging from the high-quality mapping, I conclude that whiteLegion is probably a professional game designer. The attention to detail is top-rate, and the maps look almost like official Valve maps.

That said, these maps perhaps resemble too much like the official single player game. The theme and architecture of the maps are taken directly out of HL2, and the overall feel of the maps doesn't really offer anything new. Even the storyline is straight out of the single player game.

But that's not to say there aren't any creativity that went into the maps. The gameplay at times offer something relatively refreshing. One shining example for this is the indoor level where the player hunts (and was hunted) by a squad of combine soldiers. It's more like a cat-and-mouse maze game than a shooter, and this offers tremendous tension and thrill for the player. Every turn of corner potentially yields a shotgun toting combine.

Another innovation in this map is the use of cameras on a display screen. It's fascinating to watch what's going on outside the building when the player gets to switch between different cameras. That was extremely well executed.

However, towards the end of the map series, I was confronted with a frustratingly number of combines. After the initial onslaught, I struggle to stay alive as I watch my ammo dwindle. After dying a few times, the fun element drastically diminishes and a repetitive tedium sets in. Either provide the player with more powerful weapon in facing this large number of enemies to balance out the gameplay, or introduce additional variations. Getting killed is exhilarating...up to a point.

Performance is good for these maps, largely because the author masterfully divided the play area into logical sections. There were a few spots that the framerates dropped, but it wasn't too noticeable.

In summary, the map is beautifully constructed and the gameplay is fun, but perhaps occasionally too challenging.

Verdict

Highly recommended, but be prepared to fight for your life.

Gordon Freeman is fighting with the Resistance in a city when he hears that the Combine have launched a satellite to use as a weapon to stop the Resistance. He must fight his way through the city to figure out a way to deactivate it before it becomes operational.

Return of the Resistance CH1 is the level in a four-part series. The story was initially interesting, although a bit cliche. You play as our favorite hero, you're in a city similar at least in appearance to City 17 to fight with the Resistance, and the Combine have a all-powerful superweapon that can kill all the good guys, and only you can save the day. Nothing new, but it works. Unfortunately, there was no plot development in the level; if I had not read the story summary, I wouldn't have had a clue what in the heck was going on. However, this level has some perks. Read on for the full deal.

Architecture is decent in RotR. There was a pretty good flow to the level, everything blended together fairly well. There was nothing that stuck out like a sore thumb. There were also some fairly nice details, such as interiors having a few details such as beds, washing machines, crates, etc so there was more than bare walls to look at, new damaged floor sections (or at least I didn't recognize them), and a good use of the z-axis. The stairs were a nice touch to the buildings, and being able to look down on other areas or to see where you have been is a good way of tying a level together to give it a more unified feeling. The architecture does have a few drawbacks though- it suffers from being extremely linear. There are few places to explore that are off of the beaten path. The author should haved added more extra rooms and places to go, also more than one way to accomplish things would be nice. For example, if you see a patrolling squad of Combine in the distance, give the player a option to either attack them head on, slip around them, or reward them for exploration by giving them a cool way kill them with maybe a turret. The level is occasionally boxy as well with some rather simple rooms, but this is made up for by the occasionally impressive design of the buildings on the streets. There are some common sense and reality issues with some areas also. The streets were rather narrow and some of the curves have very sharp angles. Sometimes its difficult for the buggy to navigate some of the corners, so I doubt cars would be able to navigate easily, even if it was a one lane street. There is also the occasional area where you walk beside a building that has windows but when you step inside there are none.

Texturing is fairly well done, with realistic choices that followed together nicely. There are no ugly spots it is absolutely tacky. However, there are a few issues. There is the occasional hallway with nice, clean, white walls. Now my question is that if there is a war going on, who in the heck is taking the time to cleans these walls? It's also near some combat points, so in theory one would believe they would have some sort of damage.

The enhancements are rather nicely done. There are a ton of scripted areas, ranging from headcrab canisters flying down in front of your face to dropships to enemies smashing through doors. The scripts are well done and add some very nice touches I might add. I like the previously mentioned door-smashing by the Combine, along with the medical center (although it I found it a bit odd how he out guns blazing after just being healed a few seconds ago). The enemy placement was intelligent, if overabundant. Sometimes it got downright frustrating to keep hitting the Quick Load button, particularly at areas where either the Combine keep spawning or you go up against +5 in open areas +3-4 in enclosed areas. Occasionally you also had little cover, while when used sometimes can intentionally cause feelings of desperation and a panic in the the player, turned out to be annoying in this level due to the amount of enemies. Also the enemy spawning occasionally has its own problems. In indoor areas where you to have 2 to 3 Combine coming out of a force field at a time, followed by another wave as soon as their dead doesn't make logical sense. Why would the Combine wait around the corner for when their friends died to make an entrance? Why wouldn't they all attack at once? And even if they are coming from a different area, what are the odds of them arriving just as their last buddy just died? Also the few zombies also seemed a bit out of place. I found myself wondering why hadn't the Combine killed them before now.

Item placement was average at best. Most of the time health is a major issue, requiring Quick Loading if you get down too low just because you can't find any, and your load has a higher health than you have right now. There needs to be more health and armor or fewer enemies. Maybe some experts out there can do just fine with whats given, but I have a feeling for most people it's going to raising the level from "challenging" to "extremely difficult", and in the process taking away some of it's fun factor. Guns and ammo were along similar lines. You normally are fine ammo wise after a firefight, you pick up a ton of ammo off dead Combine. The problem is during the fight. Your principal weapons are the submachine gun and the Combine assault rifle. These weapons aren't bad and they defiantly have their uses in tactical situations. Unfortunately, you don't get to use them to their full effect most of the time. The outdoor areas are sometimes very painful with you trying to snipe off Combine with the pistol or the above mentioned rifles, all the while they are shooting back with the same weapons back at you. Problem with this is that while you are struggling to get in enough hits to drop that one guy, everybody else is blasting away at full auto, and eventually they make enough combined hits to take you down. Plus indoors is hectic, trying to out maneuver and kill 6 or so Combine in a small room without a shotgun. The author needs to give serious consideration into adding a little more variety in the available weapons to vary the combat and make life a bit smoother. Actual placement was good though, you find items laying on tables, in crates, etc. In other words, where you would anticipate finding items, not just some laying randomly in the street.

On a side note, the buggy is placed rather oddly. I'm under the assumption that this is just the one that was captured in the coastal level in the main game, but there is nothing to confirm this. While it was odd to find it, the author did a good job of trying to make the player use it through the streets, which shows the author was thinking. Also the gravity gun appearance is unusual as well. It left me trying to figure out why was is there rather than being guarded or something.
One complaint that I have is that there is no really genuine custom content in the level that I could find or notice. After all the scripted sequences and decent architecture, I was disappointed to find no other custom content besides the level. Some dialog, textures, models, etc would have been excellent touches, and probably could have added some much, much needed plot development.

Another good point about this level is that it created a excellent City 17-ish atmosphere. While no, it's not very original, it is very well done. The author was trying to create the Gordon Freeman-original storyish setting, and accomplished just that. It's looks with have you thinking your still in City 17 whether you actually are or not (guess we'll find out from the author later). It also at times had a good chaotic atmosphere, it felt like you were really right square in the middle of a war. There are no big holes in the atmosphere other than occasionally things get quiet - too quiet for a war. During these slow periods there should be faint shelling and blasting sounds so it seems like there is still plenty going on, its just that the player's not in the thick of it.

During playing I had no technical issues, the level seemed to be optimized well. I did occasionally experience slow down in frame rate, however I gag my system for all I can get, so if you are pushing your system, expect this to choke it down every once in a while. The Intro was nice with the level name showing up on the screen as the ending Credit sequence (however short it is). However, my game just stopped at the end of the Credits, I didn't get dumped back to the Main menu, causing me to restart my system at the end of it. It would be nice if the author would do something about this in the future. Also a small installer would be nice, one that automatically placed the needed files in the correct locations. I've seen this done with older games such as Jedi Knight and MotS, so I would assume it would be possible for Half-Life 2 as well.

This is a reasonably solid level with good scripting and and is fairly pretty to boot. The author obviously didn't just slap it together, but put some time into it. However it does suffer some flaws in occasionally boring architecture, realism/logic issues, and some occasionally downright frustrating difficulty, to the point where it's almost a chore other than fun. It also has decent replayablity, probably with the difficulty toned down the second time around. This level definitely disserves a download and a play through. It certainly deserves more downloads than the 34 at the time of this review

Verdict

Dispite some flaws, this level is definitely worth a play though. Go ahead and download it.

According to the author, this is the first installment for a series of HL2 single player maps. Judging from the high-quality mapping, I conclude that whiteLegion is probably a professional game designer. The attention to detail is top-rate, and the maps look almost like official Valve maps.

That said, these maps perhaps resemble too much like the official single player game. The theme and architecture of the maps are taken directly out of HL2, and the overall feel of the maps doesn't really offer anything new. Even the storyline is straight out of the single player game.

But that's not to say there aren't any creativity that went into the maps. The gameplay at times offer something relatively refreshing. One shining example for this is the indoor level where the player hunts (and was hunted) by a squad of combine soldiers. It's more like a cat-and-mouse maze game than a shooter, and this offers tremendous tension and thrill for the player. Every turn of corner potentially yields a shotgun toting combine.

Another innovation in this map is the use of cameras on a display screen. It's fascinating to watch what's going on outside the building when the player gets to switch between different cameras. That was extremely well executed.

However, towards the end of the map series, I was confronted with a frustratingly number of combines. After the initial onslaught, I struggle to stay alive as I watch my ammo dwindle. After dying a few times, the fun element drastically diminishes and a repetitive tedium sets in. Either provide the player with more powerful weapon in facing this large number of enemies to balance out the gameplay, or introduce additional variations. Getting killed is exhilarating...up to a point.

Performance is good for these maps, largely because the author masterfully divided the play area into logical sections. There were a few spots that the framerates dropped, but it wasn't too noticeable.

In summary, the map is beautifully constructed and the gameplay is fun, but perhaps occasionally too challenging.

Design

Gameplay

Verdict
Highly recommended, but be prepared to fight for your life.

Pros
Beautifully made, with attention to detail. Great gameplay.

Design
Resembles too closely to the official HL2 single player game. Too difficult.

Gordon Freeman is fighting with the Resistance in a city when he hears that the Combine have launched a satellite to use as a weapon to stop the Resistance. He must fight his way through the city to figure out a way to deactivate it before it becomes operational.

Return of the Resistance CH1 is the level in a four-part series. The story was initially interesting, although a bit cliche. You play as our favorite hero, you're in a city similar at least in appearance to City 17 to fight with the Resistance, and the Combine have a all-powerful superweapon that can kill all the good guys, and only you can save the day. Nothing new, but it works. Unfortunately, there was no plot development in the level; if I had not read the story summary, I wouldn't have had a clue what in the heck was going on. However, this level has some perks. Read on for the full deal.

Architecture is decent in RotR. There was a pretty good flow to the level, everything blended together fairly well. There was nothing that stuck out like a sore thumb. There were also some fairly nice details, such as interiors having a few details such as beds, washing machines, crates, etc so there was more than bare walls to look at, new damaged floor sections (or at least I didn't recognize them), and a good use of the z-axis. The stairs were a nice touch to the buildings, and being able to look down on other areas or to see where you have been is a good way of tying a level together to give it a more unified feeling. The architecture does have a few drawbacks though- it suffers from being extremely linear. There are few places to explore that are off of the beaten path. The author should haved added more extra rooms and places to go, also more than one way to accomplish things would be nice. For example, if you see a patrolling squad of Combine in the distance, give the player a option to either attack them head on, slip around them, or reward them for exploration by giving them a cool way kill them with maybe a turret. The level is occasionally boxy as well with some rather simple rooms, but this is made up for by the occasionally impressive design of the buildings on the streets. There are some common sense and reality issues with some areas also. The streets were rather narrow and some of the curves have very sharp angles. Sometimes its difficult for the buggy to navigate some of the corners, so I doubt cars would be able to navigate easily, even if it was a one lane street. There is also the occasional area where you walk beside a building that has windows but when you step inside there are none.

Texturing is fairly well done, with realistic choices that followed together nicely. There are no ugly spots it is absolutely tacky. However, there are a few issues. There is the occasional hallway with nice, clean, white walls. Now my question is that if there is a war going on, who in the heck is taking the time to cleans these walls? It's also near some combat points, so in theory one would believe they would have some sort of damage.

The enhancements are rather nicely done. There are a ton of scripted areas, ranging from headcrab canisters flying down in front of your face to dropships to enemies smashing through doors. The scripts are well done and add some very nice touches I might add. I like the previously mentioned door-smashing by the Combine, along with the medical center (although it I found it a bit odd how he out guns blazing after just being healed a few seconds ago). The enemy placement was intelligent, if overabundant. Sometimes it got downright frustrating to keep hitting the Quick Load button, particularly at areas where either the Combine keep spawning or you go up against +5 in open areas +3-4 in enclosed areas. Occasionally you also had little cover, while when used sometimes can intentionally cause feelings of desperation and a panic in the the player, turned out to be annoying in this level due to the amount of enemies. Also the enemy spawning occasionally has its own problems. In indoor areas where you to have 2 to 3 Combine coming out of a force field at a time, followed by another wave as soon as their dead doesn't make logical sense. Why would the Combine wait around the corner for when their friends died to make an entrance? Why wouldn't they all attack at once? And even if they are coming from a different area, what are the odds of them arriving just as their last buddy just died? Also the few zombies also seemed a bit out of place. I found myself wondering why hadn't the Combine killed them before now.

Item placement was average at best. Most of the time health is a major issue, requiring Quick Loading if you get down too low just because you can't find any, and your load has a higher health than you have right now. There needs to be more health and armor or fewer enemies. Maybe some experts out there can do just fine with whats given, but I have a feeling for most people it's going to raising the level from "challenging" to "extremely difficult", and in the process taking away some of it's fun factor. Guns and ammo were along similar lines. You normally are fine ammo wise after a firefight, you pick up a ton of ammo off dead Combine. The problem is during the fight. Your principal weapons are the submachine gun and the Combine assault rifle. These weapons aren't bad and they defiantly have their uses in tactical situations. Unfortunately, you don't get to use them to their full effect most of the time. The outdoor areas are sometimes very painful with you trying to snipe off Combine with the pistol or the above mentioned rifles, all the while they are shooting back with the same weapons back at you. Problem with this is that while you are struggling to get in enough hits to drop that one guy, everybody else is blasting away at full auto, and eventually they make enough combined hits to take you down. Plus indoors is hectic, trying to out maneuver and kill 6 or so Combine in a small room without a shotgun. The author needs to give serious consideration into adding a little more variety in the available weapons to vary the combat and make life a bit smoother. Actual placement was good though, you find items laying on tables, in crates, etc. In other words, where you would anticipate finding items, not just some laying randomly in the street.

On a side note, the buggy is placed rather oddly. I'm under the assumption that this is just the one that was captured in the coastal level in the main game, but there is nothing to confirm this. While it was odd to find it, the author did a good job of trying to make the player use it through the streets, which shows the author was thinking. Also the gravity gun appearance is unusual as well. It left me trying to figure out why was is there rather than being guarded or something.
One complaint that I have is that there is no really genuine custom content in the level that I could find or notice. After all the scripted sequences and decent architecture, I was disappointed to find no other custom content besides the level. Some dialog, textures, models, etc would have been excellent touches, and probably could have added some much, much needed plot development.

Another good point about this level is that it created a excellent City 17-ish atmosphere. While no, it's not very original, it is very well done. The author was trying to create the Gordon Freeman-original storyish setting, and accomplished just that. It's looks with have you thinking your still in City 17 whether you actually are or not (guess we'll find out from the author later). It also at times had a good chaotic atmosphere, it felt like you were really right square in the middle of a war. There are no big holes in the atmosphere other than occasionally things get quiet - too quiet for a war. During these slow periods there should be faint shelling and blasting sounds so it seems like there is still plenty going on, its just that the player's not in the thick of it.

During playing I had no technical issues, the level seemed to be optimized well. I did occasionally experience slow down in frame rate, however I gag my system for all I can get, so if you are pushing your system, expect this to choke it down every once in a while. The Intro was nice with the level name showing up on the screen as the ending Credit sequence (however short it is). However, my game just stopped at the end of the Credits, I didn't get dumped back to the Main menu, causing me to restart my system at the end of it. It would be nice if the author would do something about this in the future. Also a small installer would be nice, one that automatically placed the needed files in the correct locations. I've seen this done with older games such as Jedi Knight and MotS, so I would assume it would be possible for Half-Life 2 as well.

This is a reasonably solid level with good scripting and and is fairly pretty to boot. The author obviously didn't just slap it together, but put some time into it. However it does suffer some flaws in occasionally boring architecture, realism/logic issues, and some occasionally downright frustrating difficulty, to the point where it's almost a chore other than fun. It also has decent replayablity, probably with the difficulty toned down the second time around. This level definitely disserves a download and a play through. It certainly deserves more downloads than the 34 at the time of this review

Design

Gameplay

Verdict
Dispite some flaws, this level is definitely worth a play though. Go ahead and download it.

Pros
Good scripting, some nice architecture, well put together, author obivously cared enough to put time into the level.

Design
Outragous difficulty, some dull architecture, some realism/logic issues, generic story, no custom enhancements.

I know it was released long ago, but I just checked it out.
Most of it is very good in terms of ideas and concepts. For example, sounds, lighting and layout were great. But there were a lot of bland places in terms of architecture. It was a little less consistent in that sense.
Gameplay was fun, which was probably the main objective.
The only bug I want to mention is one of the level changes with the buggy. Since I was going uphill and accelerating, when the next level was loaded (I went to the kitchen for a moment) the buggy just slided down the slope and reloaded the previous level!

I'll see it to tomorrow if I can.I looks very good rom the screen shots.