Aether - A Half-Life 2: Episode 2 singleplayer map

[Miigga]

Aether is a singleplayer action-puzzle map for Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

This map rewards the player for exploring places that you don't really have to visit. I suggest looking around, you might find some hidden weapon stashes.

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?92p5jic8jcs190d (rar file)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KL8KHQOD (rar file)
http://www.mediafire.com/?qi3k9cuh9gxz6c6 (zip file)

How to install and play:
1. Download the file
2. Use winrar/winzip to open it
3. Extract the contents to Steam\steamapps\yourname\half-life 2 episode two\ep2\maps
4. Launch HL2:ep2
5. Write "map aether" in the console and press enter

Screenshots:


















Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?92p5jic8jcs190d (rar file)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KL8KHQOD (rar file)
http://www.mediafire.com/?qi3k9cuh9gxz6c6 (zip file)

My previous singleplayer maps: (if you liked this one, you might also enjoy these)
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=100629
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=97274
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=92213
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=81254
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=76971
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=67852
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=41257
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=47283
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=52752
http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=54527


Feedback is appreciated. I hope you all enjoy this map.

[Saxon]

From the screens it looks pretty good, though there are some misplaced props which detract from the detail - or at least they don't look like they blend in with the scenery.

For instance the barrier prop here - looks really clean next to the muddy floor.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f34/M ... er0010.jpg

Also the red painted wall of this building (and the decal on it) look kind of out of place.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f34/M ... er0014.jpg

I think you have great skill as a mapper, you could really improve your presentation if you give thought to small things like that

[gravityshot]

The map looks great...Thanks.

[Turd Ferguson]

I think Im gonna download and try this.. I'll post my review later on when I get the chance.

[stoopdapoop]

Fun map, difficulty was perfect, I died twice, but for stupid reasons. The way the weapons were spread out was particularly nice.

I strongly dislike stacking "puzzles" though, so I wasn't happy about the couple of times I had to stack things, even though one of them was completely optional.

Good length, visuals were good but inconsistent, I'd give specific examples but I forgot what things bugged me

You should submit this to planetphillip.com if you haven't done so already.

[OhSnap]

I gave it a playthru, so here's a few thoughts of mine on it;

I liked the beginning, the stuff with the hunter. Good foreshadowing. I still got wrecked when you finally interact with the two hunters. I think I did it the 'correct' way, but going through the gauntlet still killed me twice. There's no health/shield pickups anywhere near there so that was stressing.

It's possible to get stuck on the part with the fence and the two grabbers (or whatever they're called. The things on the ceiling with the long tongues that grab you... you know what I'm talking about!)

Not sure if there's an alternate route over the fence if you kill them before you get over it, but relying on a gate-key mechanic that requires enemies to be alive, in an FPS, seems kinda iffy.

I got stuck in the pit with the ammo cache.

Where you jump down the hole in the floor, and move to the other side of the looked room. Couldn't get out, had to noclip.

I was seriously ammo starved in the beginning on the first few fights, the one before, and after the train and the first ant lions. I had to wait for the soldiers to throw grenades at me and throw em back with the gravity gun. There's almost no phys obs in the level to use as ammo. That made me sad.

The three crates against the fence in the underground worm area made me try and get over the fence by stacking them up. It looks like you can get over the fence that way, but I'm guessing there's clips there. Visual language issue, I would have made the fence go up to the top of the cave.

Indestructible crates to get out of underground worm area. +10 points

I couldn't find the key to open the door. I looked for about 5 minutes and then no clipped through the door. =(

The ant lion queen was a surprise. Didn't expect it to show up. Some kind of foreshadowing could have played on building up tension for the fight.

Pacing issue for the last two fights, since they're pretty much back to back.

All in all, fairly solid map. Mostly consistent puzzle design with the visual cues. Had an issue with finding the key to the puzzle, before the puzzle, several times (explosives detonator) which made me feel like I was stumbling through your map, rather than actually solving the puzzle by exploration.

[aaron_da_killa]

Looks fun, I shall try it if I have enough free time.

[Miigga]

It's possible to get stuck on the part with the fence and the two grabbers (or whatever they're called. The things on the ceiling with the long tongues that grab you... you know what I'm talking about!)

Not sure if there's an alternate route over the fence if you kill them before you get over it, but relying on a gate-key mechanic that requires enemies to be alive, in an FPS, seems kinda iffy.

If you kill both barnacles, you can still use oil drums to get past that spot.

I got stuck in the pit with the ammo cache.

Where you jump down the hole in the floor, and move to the other side of the looked room. Couldn't get out, had to noclip.

There's a barrel and a wooden crate

I was seriously ammo starved in the beginning on the first few fights, the one before, and after the train and the first ant lions. I had to wait for the soldiers to throw grenades at me and throw em back with the gravity gun. There's almost no phys obs in the level to use as ammo. That made me sad.

Yeah perhaps I could've added more ammo in the map. If you explore a bunch and you find some of the weapon stashes, you shouldn't be too low on ammo, though.

I couldn't find the key to open the door. I looked for about 5 minutes and then no clipped through the door. =(

The key is in a pretty obvious location, right next to the antlion grub. It is lit up and it makes some noise so I figured it would be a good way to draw the player's attention there. One of the playtesters said the key was too easy to find.

[Pink Panther]

That was enjoyable, though the stacking puzzles got really annoying. The physics engine doesn't like to play nice when you have more than two objects on top of each other. There were a few minor problems, and I felt very defeated when I found the key after ten minutes of searching (including going back down into the antlion tunnel to search). I didn't realize that dying equates to the end of a demo recording, so the playthrough I had captured is nothing more than a minute and thirty eight seconds of footage, otherwise I'd send it to you for analysis in hopes that it will benefit you.

Some mechanics were good (the Hunters and the gauntlet were nice), others weren't (stacking). You definitely know how to do visuals, but I still think you need to work on story and realism. These map packs you've made are undoubtedly fun, but it'd be interesting to see you do something with story.

(Oh, by the way - the jump with the car at the beginning was awesome - I wish we could've used the vehicle more)

[Miigga]

I felt very defeated when I found the key after ten minutes of searching (including going back down into the antlion tunnel to search).

Many have told me that the key is too hard to find. This is odd, because the only playtester who commented about the key said that it was too easy to find. Oh well.

I didn't realize that dying equates to the end of a demo recording, so the playthrough I had captured is nothing more than a minute and thirty eight seconds of footage, otherwise I'd send it to you for analysis in hopes that it will benefit you.

That's a shame because I certainly would have wanted to watch that.

(Oh, by the way - the jump with the car at the beginning was awesome - I wish we could've used the vehicle more)

The car was originally meant to be used a lot more but in playtesting it turned out that the car encourages the player to rush through without exploring, causing the player to miss weapon stashes and stuff like that. This is why I made it a 5-second-car. It's admittedly a bit silly.

These map packs you've made are undoubtedly fun, but it'd be interesting to see you do something with story.

I feel that if a mod/map has a storyline, it had better be good. Usually it's mediocre and it just bothers me, in which case it would be better to just have no story at all. That's how I see it, at least.