MINERVA: Episodic, Single-Player Half-Life 2
"Teh girl charactar was sexey lol." - posted by Cargo Cult on Tuesday July 24 2007
Eurogamer.net has just published a World of Mods article. Imaginatively, it reviews a selection of mods for Half-Life 2 - mostly multiplayer ones, but with one particular single-player mod included.
It's a pretty tough review for poor MINERVA, but it's great to be given loads of constructive criticism. Too late for part three (which should be released 'soon', but already has got lots more Valve-tested puzzles, variation in settings, combat and themes to go on) but I shall bookmark this review and re-read it when I'm stuck for inspiration!
Oh, and something else - you acolytes downright scare me. Whose idea exactly was it to place a bicycle right outside my flat's front door (the internal one, the bike is right next to the stairs to the flats above) - clearly emblazoned with the brand-name 'MINERVA'? It's enough to make me go into hiding!
Edit 2007-07-27: Acolyte Vecima has pointed out a newly released single-player mod called Riot Act, and I note that the download link has just gone live. No idea what it's like, but the website looks very professional - so do your duty, and please report back!
Article Comments (now closed)
3. hmmm
Posted by kast at 2:47PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
That's a pretty spot on review. Of course, it's difficult for us (or is it just me?) to be objective regarding MINERVA. I'm a real fan-boy. *Shame*
They have a point about the doors (one thing which really annoyed my about Someplace Else, now I think about it) but I didn't really see that it was overused in MINERVA so far. It was logical.
Oh, and about the bike? Wasn't me.
4. Reviewers, schmewer.
Posted by Dracko55 at 3:55PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
To be fair, that reviewer is a bit of a wanker (as evidenced mostly by his Insurgency segment), so don't fret too much. I for one, have no problems with your attempts, successful at that, at creating believable worlds, and providing us the downtime necessary to explore them. It makes the game all the more credible, all the more atmospheric, and personally, it's staving of my deep-rooted urge to play Bioshock as soon it's released. In fact, Minerva reminds me more of that game than it does Half-Life.
Perhaps the only point that can be conceded is the writing, but so far, it's been nothing cringe-inducing, and the Lost comparison/criticism is totally off, and reveals a pretty large lack of culture in the guy.
5. Just a friendly reminder.....
Posted by Baffled at 6:04PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
That bicycle was indeed placed there by The Acolytes as a friendly reminder not to disappoint us with any more delays ... or a certain someone will be going for a little ride.
You'll know we are *really* displeased when you wake to find a handlebar on the pillow next to you..horses' heads being so very passé these days.
6. deductions
Posted by fuzz at 6:37PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
from the comment about Chronoclasm I'm guessing this person probably hangs around these very comments occasionally...
Never heard of Insects Infestation, might have to give that one a look see.
7. Very Interesting...
Posted by Nesretep at 8:23PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
I'd love to take credit for the bike, but alas, I am much to far away and have too limited resources to pull off such a fabulous stunt.
8. Thought of something....
Posted by LNL(coldshock) at 8:37PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
I just remembered something...... Minerva reminds me of the game Beyond Good and Evil.
Which is just like Half-Life 2 and Minerva, except it's more sneaking around then action, but it is still an awesome game.
Basically in both games, there is an alien society ruling earth as its new government, and it is your job to penetrate the govenment and bring them down.
So Minerva brings up the background operations that are needed in overthrowing something. "The Combine", and it gives the sense of sneaking into and destroying from the inside, which do you honestly believe all the doors would be open for you and that there would be no security??
So no Adam did not overdo the button finding, i find it to be neccesary.
9. CAN HAS AVATARS?
Posted by theinternet at 8:58PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
seriously, can we has them?
And hopefully we've slipped out of valve time with respect to the "soon" statement.
10. Crates & Barrels™
Posted by Sortie at 10:10PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
Usually you find this keyboard and press E, and so something magically occurs. What I miss it that you actually can use the computer terminals and poke around until you find what you need and then override the door. It's far harder but yet more real.
Splinter Cell used this a litle, but far from enough. ;-)
11. Minerva's origins?
Posted by vindow_viper at 10:44PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
I, for one, was always under the impression that Minerva was based on Durandal from the Marathon series, not SHODAN. Whereas SHODAN was just flat-out sadistic, Durandal was a smarmy, slightly-insane AI who sent you cryptic text messages while simultaneously making fun of your propensity for violence AND using said propensity to further his own ends.
That's just my theory, though.
12. never mind
Posted by theinternet at 11:40PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
all of a sudden the avatars disappeared for me, but it was an adblock problem. curse my not seeing ads!
on topic, though, i'm very glad you said that you aren't going to be changing anything based off the eurogamer review. I'm sure taking into account Valve's suggestions was mod-delaying enough.
13. Soon?
Posted by Evan at 5:08AM, Wednesday July 25 2007
This talk of a perpetual 'soon' is maddening at best. I can imagine it being a veritable chant among we loyal acolytes.
The 'Foster': "Soon, my brothers! SOON!"
Acolytes in Unison: "Soon! Soon! Sooooooon!"
Ah yes, the Foster. For we are but ebbing children in the presence of his mighty whim. Adam, the first of men, and his Eve is MINERVA, and from the womb of their minds we are born!
Bwaha~!
14. I mean, what the?
Posted by Lewk at 9:29AM, Wednesday July 25 2007
I wonder if that's derived from me saying that I thought Minerva was erotic a few months back?
Anyway, the columnist who wrote the article is indeed an amateur. His thoughts were all over the place. At first, I was wondering why you guys were kicking up such a stink about what he wrote.
The first half of his article on Minerva was about how he thought it was a great mod and such. Then I read the second half. What a drongo! He completely contradicts what he says in the first half. Instead of pointing out some small flaws to a good mod, he trashes what he originally wrote. He needs to take a class on how to write a review.
My personal opinion is that the written dialog from Minerva is what makes the game so intriguing. I don’t watch the T.V. series Frasier because its plots are drivel, but because the dialog is so well written.
And was there no note with the bike?
15. Re: Soon?
Posted by Sortie at 1:06PM, Wednesday July 25 2007
Foster reminds me of F. Gregori ( http://www.hlcomic.com/index.php?date=2006-01-09 ).
16. Diagnosis
Posted by Holy Socks at 2:04PM, Wednesday July 25 2007
I have to say that when I read the article I thought the author might have a mild form of schizophrenia, as his opinion of the mod changed so completely, having said this I think that said schizophrenia could be a very positive trait in a critic.
17. Potpourri
Posted by Sirc at 5:41PM, Wednesday July 25 2007
The 'Soon Chanting' honestly made me have vivid images of a Chinese Cult... Weird...
The review seem scatterbrained at the least. Whether bad planning or possibly last minute, the overall effect devalues its own content.
I would find it mildly entertaining if one of our more vociferous members was in fact the 'culprit' of that little shenanigan. Then again, everyone always blames 'The Quiet Guy' about doing those sorts of things.
As for the other incident, I feel that it should give a very mild since of perspective for the maker.
Do not disappoint us...
Cults, even of your own making, are rarely forgiving upon failure...
Muhahahahahaha!
(I jest of course, merely had to relieve a small bit of my Dark Humor...)
Overall, little of anything important has happened over this short space of time...
Oh! If you truly dislike that review, try making up your own and submitting it somewhere. Maybe we should have a 'Review Contest' or something...
(To pass the time, of course...)
18. Father Grigori?
Posted by Yar Kramer at 1:35AM, Thursday July 26 2007
Nah, I wouldn't say the resemblance is that close. I mean, we've never seen Adam going "Heheh. Hah hah! HahaHAhaHAHAHAhahahah", have we?
19. SHODAN vs Durandal
Posted by Nesretep at 2:35PM, Thursday July 26 2007
I think that whether MINERVA reminds you of SHODAN or of Durandal would depend on whether or not you played the Marathon games or the System Shock games or both. I have only played System Shock 2. So for me MINERVA reminds me of SHODAN. However, if Durandal is as you describe, then it sounds like the inspiration my lean toward Durandal's tendencies rather than SHODAN.
SHODAN was a user rather than mocking you. She played on your survical instinct to get you to do her bidding and even impersonated people on board in order to spur you forward in the hope that you might find SOMEONE alive on that doomed ship that hadn't been subverted my The Many.
20. Shodan & Durandal
Posted by Evan at 2:37PM, Thursday July 26 2007
Or quite possibly, MINERVA is based on MINERVA. Or, in other words, some sick fathom of Adam's mind.
21. The Limburgian bike manufacturer...
Posted by locworks at 3:35PM, Thursday July 26 2007
has struck again...
http://www.minerva-bikes.be/
22. Re: Father Grigori?
Posted by Sortie at 6:38PM, Thursday July 26 2007
@"Nah, I wouldn't say the resemblance is that close. I mean, we've never seen Adam going "Heheh. Hah hah! HahaHAhaHAHAHAhahahah", have we?"
"Fortunately Valve let me in, and even more fortunately let me play their games. ALL OF THEM! MWUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
23. You know...
Posted by Nesretep at 7:59PM, Thursday July 26 2007
He has a point there. That DOES sound an awful lot like that crazy, shotgun-toting priest!
I been doing some digging around in the blog archives and there are all kinds of interesting tid bits in there. Especially when it comes to discussions as to the origins and inspiration for MINERVA. I even found mention of a project of Adam's that predates Someplace Else...Parallax. So regarding our brief origin and inspiration question, THERE IS TONS OF INFO and interesting commentary/speculation.
24. SS2/Marathon
Posted by vindow_viper at 9:38PM, Thursday July 26 2007
Ah... I only played the first System Shock, where Shodan was basically a bloodthirsty, sadistic AI who was the epitome of all evil (or so I recall, it's been years since i've played it). I believe the entire Marathon series is available for free download at trilogyrelease.bungie.org, if you'd like to give it a spin... should be a nice time-passer until Metastasis 3 arrives...
Or, if you take into account the fact that Marathon takes place centuries in the future, whereas Minerva is set in the very near future, then that means Bungie stole the idea for a manipulative, demented text-using AI from Mr. Foster!
25. System Shock 2
Posted by Nesretep at 10:20PM, Thursday July 26 2007
If you haven't played System Shock 2, you have SO missed out! It has been rated as one of the scariest games of all time a number of years running by PC Gamer magazine because it has this atmosphere to it that is just plain creepy. Its graphics are no match for games like HL2, but are far superior to SS1. In SS2, you also recieve messages from SHODAN but they are audio/text messages so you get to hear a voice too which I think is cool. The sad part is that it has some serious compatibilty problems with XP and so it takes some work to get it to run, IF you can at all. If you ever saw the original Thief game, it uses the same engine for the graphics.
26. That's it.
Posted by Sortie at 10:21PM, Thursday July 26 2007
That's the proof, Minerva isn't a woman, a human nor a computer.
Who'd known that Minerva was a bike: http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/shards/minerva-bike.jpg
27. Bikes and Aritificial Intelligences
Posted by Evan at 2:07AM, Friday July 27 2007
MINERVA bikes... now that's pretty snazzy!
It's seems wrong to me for people to always be comparing things like MINERVA to other AI characters in other games. I mean, if I really wanted to I could ponder up a few cryptic quotes and something diabolical, which to me would be completely original. They could compare it all they want to System Shock, Marathon, or even something like Deus Ex. In the end, if it's its own personality, it'd be entirely original to me.
A hell of a lot of movies and video games have AI characters. Can't start getting picky about it.
28. Pretty crap review
Posted by Samon at 2:29AM, Friday July 27 2007
The review kind of sucks. There's some noteworthy points but beyond that it's marred by his own evident bias. He clearly wants to be playing STALKER or something akin to a large, free-roam based world, which I'm not even sure MINERVA, or HL2 for that matter, has ever shot for.
I'm all for the cinematic experience and tuned gameplay than I am wandering around some world. This line caught my attention as being startlingly stupid: "trigger-based enemy spawns and artificially locked-off areas"...
I think the only bit I agree with is the kind of 'place enemies in front of the player' that I find tiresome after awhile, but from what I hear, MIN3 does away with this. Puzzles. \o/
Adam, many (ahem) apologies for calling you the lovely C word. :immensegrin:
29. System Shock available for download?
Posted by Procyon at 2:33AM, Friday July 27 2007
Is system shock free, like the marathon trilogy?
You guys intrigued me, with the AI's.
30. The review & etc
Posted by Deconstructionist By Day at 2:47AM, Friday July 27 2007
I believe the reason that the reviewer found some problems with the trilogy in two parts is that he experienced the ID-10T error that is common to people who believe their views are well thought out & rational without any actual proof of the concept.
This mod is at least on par with HL2 & Episode 1, and where it is better, it is significantly better - and clearly anyone who doesn't like HL2 & Episode 1 should not have the ability to write in any forum that others may one day read.
31. The Review
Posted by greven at 3:47AM, Friday July 27 2007
Personally I didn't think the review was too scathing.
It seems there is far more praise than criticism throughout it and what criticism there is I guess I semi-agree with. =P
First he criticizes Minerva's dialogue, which I feel is unfair at this point in the story. My biggest fear for the game is that you don't know where you're going with the story or that what you've been setting up is not near big enough to fill the tension you've been building. But really at this point any of that is just speculation and not worthy of such final language as he uses.
I happen to agree with the first part of his next and largest criticism of Minerva. That being that it is still based on "Me find button - Me push button" to advance through certain areas. However he seems too dense to realize that there's a reason developers are still stuck in that mind frame and these developers with a lot more money and manpower to throw around. IT ISN'T EASY to create something both meaningful enough to feel like real effort and yet easy enough to still be fun and not feel like work.
However the second part of what he says is, in my opinion, totally off. The same reason why you might go back and reread your favorite book again or for the 20th time is not because it varied from time to time, but because of the quality of the story and the way it involved you.
I love your work, it's easily higher on my list than Halflife 2 though I have not played Episode One.
32. Bikes D:
Posted by xbskid at 6:37AM, Friday July 27 2007
Would be hilarious to see a Minerva-brand bike make a cameo in the final areas of Metastasis.
33. Re: Bikes D:
Posted by Sortie at 8:47AM, Friday July 27 2007
I'd be 'easy' to create a reskin of the HL2 skin based on that picture, :)
34. System Shock 2 and XP
Posted by Sanjuro357 at 4:13PM, Friday July 27 2007
There's an FAQ on how to run System Shock 2 on Windows 200 and XP
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60930
There are three links to the latest patch for SS2,
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60930#patch
I've installed the patch and it runs fine on my XP system. I think the other issue was with the Indeo codec needed to play back the cutscenes. I have the CCCP codec pack and Videolan installed. I haven't played through the game, but I can playback the cutscenes manually from the SS2 directory.
35. Re: System Shock available for download?
Posted by Nesretep at 4:19PM, Friday July 27 2007
As far as I know, System Shock 1 is online somewhere for download (don't ask me where), but System Shock 2 (the better of the 2 from what I hear) is not. I managed to pick up my copy from a place that sells used games back before I had upgraded to Windows XP. I have a nearly empty hard drive that I am thinking of partitioning and installing Windows 98 on so I can play some of my old faves like SS2 and others. I wish EA would allow someone to develop a version of SS2 on on updated engine, it would rock on Source! But there's about a snowballs chance in hell of that happening. :(
36. renouncing all your discussions regardless...
Posted by vecima at 4:42PM, Friday July 27 2007
didn't adam categorize our assumptions that MINERVA is an AI as 'catastrophically wrong'?
in other news, another SP mod releases today, lending less credence to the 'few and far between' comment in that mediocre review. she goes by the name 'Riot Act'
here's the shmancy website. i don't think it's downloadable yet, but it says it releases today:
http://uoz.multiplayer.it/ra/
37. i guess i was on topic
Posted by vecima at 4:43PM, Friday July 27 2007
turns out the main character of 'Riot Act' fits this blog topic perfectly... if you like petites.
38. Riot?
Posted by $eb at 7:59PM, Friday July 27 2007
I didn't know about that new mod but thanks to you I was the third to download it! :) And if I didn't had to register to download it, then I would have been the second one...
Hope it will be great so I can wait more easily for Minerva 3 :D
39. Status Check
Posted by Nesretep at 8:10PM, Friday July 27 2007
So Adam, if you were to give a "percentage completed" to the upcoming episode of Minerva what you say we were sitting at right now? I'm not usually one to bug about the release and all but I figure I get to ask at least once every few months. :)
40. Percentages?
Posted by Cargo Cult at 8:15PM, Friday July 27 2007
I'd rather express it as a ratio, and in this case it's tending towards unity.
I'm mainly just polishing things, and working on the ending. It's playable right the way through, and I think I've done fixing up the problems discovered by my trained Valve monkeys^Wplaytesters - I'll try to get another playtest version out this weekend, and HOPEFULLY some variety of release candidate out next week.
That enough for you? :-P
41. Re: Percentages?
Posted by Nesretep at 9:49PM, Friday July 27 2007
That works quite nicely even if it was sans-percentages... or an actual ratio for that matter. ;-) Honestly, who can complain too much about a response to a comment within FIVE minutes!
42. Delayed gratification
Posted by Yar Kramer at 10:17PM, Friday July 27 2007
Awesome!
... but wait ... what's "next week" in Valve time!?
43. Riot Act gone goat with the magic file.
Posted by Sortie at 10:50PM, Friday July 27 2007
So, Adam there's the missing link why Riot Act gone FileGoatMatic™
44. Canon sequel
Posted by Sortie at 10:53PM, Friday July 27 2007
And I know just was it like to release something, when I got my 'demo' out it was terrible, everytime I playtested it there was just one more thing to do, what you think can be done in days becomes weeks. But it was worth it ;-)
45. Caution
Posted by Baffled at 11:05PM, Friday July 27 2007
As Metastasis approaches a singularity, so we must beware the Black Hole of Despair that may be formed by any further delay.
46. But think...
Posted by MrHappy at 2:34AM, Saturday July 28 2007
Remember, the day after release will be a sad one at that. Just think of the wait until chronoclasm pt. 1!!
I'm curious if we will be playing the same bastard Perseus in chron. as in meta. I have a feeling we are all about to die...
47. intriguing
Posted by vindow_viper at 4:05AM, Saturday July 28 2007
Sounds like I'm gonna have to go find and buy System Shock 2... fortunately I live near a GameStop.
So, whether Minerva is a rogue AI, an extraterrestrial operator of sorts, or just the G-man in drag, it's always fun reading her messages.
Fun thought: if Valve is the pantheon of gods of the Half-Life universe, then does that mean that Mr. Foster is the pope (or 'Half-Pope', if you will)?
48. SS2
Posted by SenatorPalpatine at 5:13AM, Saturday July 28 2007
It is downloadable online somewhere. I forget where.
49. No not quite
Posted by MrHappy at 5:47AM, Saturday July 28 2007
Would not be Newell be Zeus? Seems to me Mr. Foster would be Hercules
50. Re: No not quite
Posted by Sanjuro357 at 9:41AM, Saturday July 28 2007
If Mr Newell is Zeus, does that make Bill Gates and the rest of Microsoft (where Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington worked earlier) the Titans?
51. Mirrors
Posted by fuzz at 10:38AM, Saturday July 28 2007
The third mirror on the list for Riot Act...hylobatidae.
And they even have a 'Behind the Curtain' section.
Throw in an anarchic comments section and it'd feel just like home :)
52. Riot Act
Posted by macc at 12:01PM, Saturday July 28 2007
Hey, I see Riot Act is hosted on Adam's website. Good work supporting other mods too!
56. hercules?
Posted by vindow_viper at 5:12PM, Saturday July 28 2007
If Adam is Hercules, then that would mean Gabe Newell (Zeus) is his father.
Hey, I guess it's possible!
57. Windows 200?
Posted by xbskid at 7:38PM, Saturday July 28 2007
@Sanjuro357: Windows 200? :] Sadly I've seen a lot of businesses who want experience with this rare and hard-to-find OS.
@Adam: Public Release Candidate, I hope?
58. "Adam, I am your father!"
Posted by kast at 7:38PM, Saturday July 28 2007
"Literally or figuratively?"
"He couldn't literally be his father! ... could he?"
59. And if we are Perseus...
Posted by Nesretep at 7:41PM, Saturday July 28 2007
If we are Perseus, then we are also a son of Zeus! That makes us all Adam's half-brother or something like that.
60. Re: And if we are Perseus...
Posted by Sortie at 11:56PM, Saturday July 28 2007
And since he is like F. Grigori, he calls us brother, that's just completly correct.
61. Proverbs
Posted by Evan at 2:14AM, Sunday July 29 2007
... And then Adam hath said to his loyal Acolytes, "It shall be done when it is done, which is soon, when time is not taken relevantly. Be hopeful, the SOON is coming." So it was.
SOOOOOOOON!
62. Mmmm...SP Mod
Posted by Mercer at 2:50AM, Sunday July 29 2007
Man, Riot Act will at least hold me over for a bit, I hope. Minerva is waiting for me and I bet she's getting impatient ;P
63. Riot Act
Posted by Yar Kramer at 8:09AM, Sunday July 29 2007
Yeah ... that was pretty good. I can see myself replaying it, without using cheats this time. ;)
64. Re: Windows 200
Posted by Sanjuro357 at 8:40AM, Sunday July 29 2007
Rare indeed, though not as rare as the fabled Commodore 6.4
As for Riot Act, I played it through in one sitting and enjoyed it. Decent voice acting, a good story, and good fun. My only criticism would be the small number of puzzles. I would have liked more, but still a fun mod.
65. Riot Act
Posted by Ratfink at 10:12AM, Sunday July 29 2007
Riot Act was great! I was very impressed with the voice acting.
The only problem is now it's finished and I want more Minerva and HL2Ep2 even more!
66. Riot Acts Voice acting
Posted by Sortie at 10:31AM, Sunday July 29 2007
I really liked the voice acting, but it had it's many flaws. When I talked with the first guy I liked him even if he talked strange, but that quickly stopped when after saying his line he bagan to say 'Ammo Jamil!' every tenth second. Then after some time I lost him and didn't care and passed on. That's a don't do, I'd loved to hang around him, getting yet background information. That Alyx Vance line was completely stupid and unrelavant.
And I didn't even get his name.
I more like the second person you meet, I liked him because I sticked around with him more and he had a better voice, but the laser puzzled sucked because he just gave up. If he tried and got a 'OW!' then it'd have been awesome, and I'd be happy to help him out.
Of course after the puzzle he became unimportant and got left behind, of course this is better than the usual, 'lol I don't like this place, I'll stay here and let you kill a lot of combine soldiers'
As of the story it was weak because it came unexpressed ingame, even the ending was a litle bad the way it was executed, she is just getting on a fisherboat, and get greeted and they sail away. I'd love a lot more dialog between the persons, maybe also Jamil, remember modders are free to make their own player speak and it's peice of cake to program in.
One flaw that is in both Half-Life 2 and Riot Act is that when a rebel dies all they does is to scream medic, unless it's scripted. I'd have loved to see some dialog between them like 'Noo! They got Brian!', and it would have been easy to make, at least for Valve. ;-)
So overall, the game was great with a few flaws, but the level design was great and like HL2, even better in the first level. I wouldn't expect all of these flaws or just a few fixed by any mod, but they could've made more than 20 lines of new or revised dialog. ;-)
67. Re: Riot Act
Posted by Stil at 1:09PM, Sunday July 29 2007
I think i agree with a lot Sortie's points. However at the same time i don't wanna sound too harsh on the mod. For all its flaws i really enjoyed it.
Sure one or two of the puzzles could have been a bit better and some of the firefights were a bit repetitive, but they still managed to cram some great level design in there. Not to mention the legnth! That mod went on for way longer than i'd expected!
There were also some great set piece battles too. The two gunships ciricling overhead were great (even if could could just pop out and blast em). It was little things like the placement of the powerlines in the background which flexed wildly every time a gunship came past. Brilliant!
I kinda agree with the point about the ending though. I hit a few bugs which didn't help either. On the bridge the strider kept pummling me with that one shot, one kill lazerbeam. Everwhere i moved, no matter what cover i took, hell it even got me jumping off the bridge once. Which made it really frustrating. Still that might have somthing to do with the hard setting.
I agree, with a bit more polish this could be a must have single player. I just wonder is there much insentive to update a single players as apposed to multi's?
Good mod
68. Re: Re: Riot Act
Posted by Sortie at 1:49PM, Sunday July 29 2007
I didn't spot any bugs, but I agree at the puzzles. I was surprised how long 1½ hours was, it felt much longer.
But no, sadly most SP mods never fix their bugs after release one. :(
69. Riot Act
Posted by fuzz at 5:36PM, Sunday July 29 2007
A good mod, few little bugs, and a cheeky G-man cameo (about half way though).
Could have done with the overall polish lasting that last 30s right up to the end. You run down the pier to the boat, jump on and get one line of dialogue and a not very well modelled boat. It's a shame because like Stil says, some of the battles were great fun.
If only antlions would run the right way and not get stuck behind energy fields :(
71. "No, they got Brian!"
Posted by Yar Kramer at 6:52PM, Sunday July 29 2007
Y'know, when I played HL2, I *used* to feel ... at least some kind of attachment to the characters following me around (and the other soldiers in Opposing Force). I suppose it's because they had more character and variety than "Barney, Barney, and Barney" plus stupid and annoying scientists who go "I refuse to go another step!" every ten seconds and you have to go back and drag them along (but only if you actually need a scientist for something). Whereas the rebels and OP4 soldiers, I vaguely felt a sort of ... not exactly as upset as if a main character died, but vaguely disappointed. And then, in the Strider fights, I got vaguely annoyed when they immediately replaced. "Oops, we're just throwaways, hi!"
Playing the original Half-Life, I found myself saying "Oh my gawd! You killed Barney! You bastards!" every time one of them died, because that was the extent of my emotional investment in 'em.
I wished that the rebels in Riot Act had names so I could say something similar. "Oh my gawd! You killed ... um ... that guy! You bastards!" just isn't as fun as far as their death is concerned with respect to how much emotional attachment I got. The only one who said ANYTHING was the guy who said "Here, Jamil! Ammo!" every ten freaking seconds, and it was hard to get attached to him.
72. Riot act
Posted by $eb at 8:10PM, Sunday July 29 2007
Nice mod, however I hate when I have to fight so many combines that I fall out of ammo... I had the feeling that (first time we go out) it was an infinite respawn so I gave up. Fortunately I finished it today and what I wanted to say is that all the mapping is GREAT! The mod was short but excellent quality, the bridge area (the end) is really beautiful and I know I'll go back there many times as I did for the HL2 big train bridge... Just noticed this in the console at the end:
*** Invalid sample rate (8000) for sound 'ambient\machines\ra_fishing_boat_start.wav'.
I would have liked to hear the sound of the boat... :'(
73. emotional investment
Posted by $eb at 8:20PM, Sunday July 29 2007
"Here Jamil, ammo!"
*gun shot in the guy's face*
Sorry mate I just... I mean next time just don't repeat it 19 times... -_-°
74. Re: $eb
Posted by Yar Kramer at 10:21PM, Sunday July 29 2007
See, that's EXACTLY what I was talking about.
75. Here Jamil, Ammo!
Posted by Stil at 12:38AM, Monday July 30 2007
1-3 Times = Woah cool custom voice acting
4-6 Times = A Tad offputting
7- 10 Times = Confusion over where the hell this bloke gets these supplies from
10-20 Times = Mind Numbing Annoyance
20+ Times = Comedy Gold
76. Re: Here Jamil, Ammo
Posted by Au-heppa at 1:57AM, Monday July 30 2007
The ammo guy was probably CLASS_PLAYER_ALLY instead of normal citizen and they had forgotten to copy the piece of code that makes him not to give the ammo so frequently or atleast say the line so frequently. A friend of mine said "I missed him later" "You liked him?" "I liked his ammo." For all the other citizens they seem to have disabled all the speech except for pain so that they wouldn't go "here, doctor Freeman, ammo" althou they could have just edited out the Freeman part.
I didn't really even remember the Alyx part until now that you mentioned it, and yeah it was pretty pointless since you were expecting to see her. Also mentioning the name Jamil was kind of pointless too since you never heard it after that character.
The Strider scene was just painful and annoying. There's a reason why Valve didn't use it like that. I wonder why the playtesters didn't complain about it.
77. Another oops in Riot Act...
Posted by Divals at 3:17AM, Monday July 30 2007
Whenever most of the characters are standing still, they revert back to the base straight-legged, arms at 45 degrees pose. Either that or they flash between poses endlessly. I was about ready to shoot the one girl who joins you early on because she looked like she was having a seizure :\
...not that I advocate shooting people who have seizures.
78. Riot Act
Posted by Deconstructionist By Day at 5:31AM, Monday July 30 2007
I looked up this mod after reading about it here; it's definitely worth the download - not Minerva, but little else is (even Minerva, as it happens, but hopefully that is being resolved very soon, as Mr. Foster moves, as he says, toward unification)
I found the strider/bridge use to be no more annoying than the combine gunship/bridge use in ... my god, I've forgotten if that's HL2 or Episode One... I'm so ashamed!
I've moved on from it.
As others have said, the bridge environment is excellent and there is a moment where, emerging from the enclosed tunnels and endless hallways, you get a real feeling of stepping out into an expansive space. Kudos, certainly, to the artist and designer of that area.
After, AFTER I SAY, you have finished & released Minerva, Mr. Foster, you should partake of Riot Act; it removes the organ that produces bile in the body. That is to say (grimace) it de-livers.
79. Dev Time
Posted by Stil at 9:52AM, Monday July 30 2007
I've gotta agree about stepping out onto that bridge. Its one thing to be able to design and build stunning vista's... its another to know where to stick em for maximum wow.
Just re-reading the origional post, it mentions the way the website was done so professionally.
For the record... err wow.
Anyone know what the dev time was on this mod? I one kind of awesome if it was three or four months another if it was three or for years...
80. Re: Dev Time
Posted by Sortie at 2:05PM, Monday July 30 2007
It seems as the mod has been planned all the way trough which will cut the Dev Time in half because the mapper knows what to do. I think he used one year, maybe 1½ years to make it so polished. I already used 9 months on my own mod and it's far from as polished nor completed yet. But it is afterall only 4 maps. ;-)
As for the G-Peep, it sucked. G-man have nothing to do wih this game, like it did in the real Half-Life games.
I think the biggest flaw in this mod was the HeadCrap hole. You fall into it, with no way out, and a motherload of headcraps in it. That's bad gamedesign, and isn't even fun. It's like "Haha, you survived that battle? Here, fall into this pit of lava and quickload!".
While speaking of holes, in the same area of the GMan and the antgaurd, there was another deadly hole. This time you die of starvation becase there is no way out, and the ceiling is covered with nodraw, like the mapper never got the idea that players would go into the darkroom and explore. ;-)
81. Riot Act
Posted by Evan at 2:54PM, Monday July 30 2007
To be honest, I could hardly get myself to finish the thing. Actually, I skipped a bunch just because I was tired of the repetitive, "Look, an unlimited amount of Combine Guards! Shoot shoot shoot! Look, manhacks! Shoot shoot shoot! Look, antlions! Shoot shoot shoot. Look, more Combine! Shoot shoot shoot.", and often useless and nameless NPCs who would drop like flies. Even in Metastasis you fight nothing but headcrabs and Combine, but it felt more... real.
The maps themselves were alright, but at a few parts I felt like I was just walking through a slightly different copy of the previous room.
82. Quality
Posted by Baffled at 2:55PM, Monday July 30 2007
Can I just cut into this discussion to comment on the outstanding quality of the mapping in the new DODS map pack CAMP2?
Particular praise must go to a certain Jake Parlay, who has created a map called dod_Tunisia which, in my humble opinion, is a work of art. It is a masterpiece of custom detail and contains perhaps the finest skybox and background I've yet seen and which is beautifully optimized throughout.
It seems a growing band of developers and mappers are finally mastering the complexities of Source to the benefit of us all.
The screenshots on Jake Parlays site must be of an earlier version ( with a different skybox? )and don't do the final map justice. Although this image may give some idea of the complexity and skill involved in its making:
http://jparlay.com/images/tunisiab4_wire.jpg
83. Re: Quality
Posted by Sortie at 4:07PM, Monday July 30 2007
Of couse you can. ;-)
I'd have loved to see a non-wireframe version of that inhammer screenshot. Too bad I only own DOD:S in the weekends, the good ones.
84. On a completely different subject yet again...
Posted by Nesretep at 4:36PM, Monday July 30 2007
Kast, how's your mod coming? I can't get to your website from work (they completely block just about everything but this blog it seems). It looked quite promising from the last screenshots that I saw.
85. OOPS!
Posted by Nesretep at 5:03PM, Monday July 30 2007
Wait! I was thinking of vecima's mod, Battle of Philadelphia...Sorry Kast! You do have mod in the works too though don't you? So tell us anyway. :)
86. New Generation Mod-Makers
Posted by Stil at 5:57PM, Monday July 30 2007
RE: Baffled
Its not just maps either, Anyone noticed a relitivly recent explosion in the source mod scene? Finally some of the brewing projects seem to be breaking through.
Or possibly i'm just starting to notice them...
I wonder if this is the start of a sustained period of source releases. Or if its just the bulge as mods end their dev cycle and all goes quiet for another couple of years.
87. wait, what?
Posted by kast at 6:56PM, Monday July 30 2007
Little ol' me, a mod? No, no, no, that's news to me.
Where others swim the mighty oceans of level design, I merely paddle along the shore occasionally.
I just sit here and think of game ideas, mostly.
88. #88
Posted by Sortie at 8:04PM, Monday July 30 2007
Yeah, many big mods finally begin to get closer to a release. Still, the biggests is still being developed, there's these small SP mods being made all the time. Most is crap, but there is some great ones from time to time.
I'm hoping that I'll make one great mod one day, it's great so far. AntGaurd smashing McD.
89. Re: Wait, what?
Posted by Nesretep at 8:25PM, Monday July 30 2007
Ok, then you're in the same boat I'm in. Loads of interest in game mods, but not enough knowledge/experience to build one myself. At least not one that is up to par with what I've seen from Adam, anyway!
90. woo hoo. and a side note.
Posted by vecima at 1:52AM, Tuesday July 31 2007
i got mentioned in an edit-in footnote in the blog!
take that other jealous acolytes!!
an additional woo hoo goes out to the Simpsons movie. i enjoyed it, now feel free to tell me why i shouldn't have.
and for that side note you've all been waiting for:
-stop waiting, it's just for nesretep.
anyhow, the mods still in progress, yes. it's slow, but we're a good way to the first release. i won't bother with a date guestimate though.
91. SP mods
Posted by $eb at 1:02PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
Hi guys, could somebody here tell me how you all do to know which mod gets released and when? I'm fed up with google searching for "hl2 sp mod" etc... Is there a good site where you can see all the new releases clearly, I mean not to have to check the entire database looking for something new?
Oh, and I don't care for multiplayer mods, most of them just don't have any server so what is the point in downloading them? :s
92. re: 82. Quality
Posted by $eb at 1:16PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
Oh my... How is it possible to make such a map??? I mean the screen is full of lines going everywhere!! How can you still understand what you are doing? -_-
I must confess that I already tried to make a map but well, even making a stupid cube was too complex for me! o0 Then I had a look at Adam's work and got disgusted because I just CAN'T figure how masochist you need to be so you can realize such a complex environment, not talking about the story, I don't even know how it's done...
Masochist or skilled?
Both probably ^^
Oh god... Life is so hard, I go back to playin' :p
93. SP Mods
Posted by U-Mu-La-Mah-Ri at 2:48PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
http://halflife2.filefront.com/
Excellent selection
Might I recomend "Coastline To Atmosphere" its LONG and very well made, and LOTS of action
94. Mod Fishing
Posted by Naurgul at 4:14PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
There are some on Steam's storefront:
http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=search&category=6
Then you have the developer wiki:
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Category:HL2_Third_Party_Mods
Let's not forget about moddb:
http://mods.moddb.com/?search=true&=Search&mod=&mf=0&game=61&type=1&dev%5B%5D=1
I also like the Facepunch News Node:
http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/forumdisplay.php?f=51
95. Coastline To Atmosphere, pthyi
Posted by Au-heppa at 4:24PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
Coastline wasn't anywhere near well made, imho, it was horrible. I didn't even play it through because I got so bored at the awful gameplay.
96. what about the crazy combat action!!!!
Posted by U-Mu-La-Mah-Ri at 4:55PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
the beginning was pretty cool with the music and all
, I will admit though once i did get up to teh satelite i was bored
97. SP mods
Posted by $eb at 5:48PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
To U-Mu-La-Mah-Ri: I enjoyed Leon's work until I got to the satellite... Thank you for the link!
To Naurgul: I'm heaving a look at all of those links! :)
To others: Tell me about your favorite sites, I spend my holidays in playing so I need LOTS of mods :p
98. The Simpsons Movie
Posted by Holy Socks at 6:24PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
Ive just seen the Simpsons Movie and it was great, my only critisism would be that we dont get to see much of the "non-simpsons" characters; Mr Burns is only in two scenes.
On Mods I would advise that you just visit interlopers.net, they'll allways post news about the latest mods.
99. where to get mods
Posted by Stil at 11:07PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
Interlopers...
Mebby moddb.com?
100. yes, interlopers
Posted by Holy Socks at 11:40PM, Tuesday July 31 2007
At Moddb you might get swamped by the sheer amount of mods that they show, Interlopers does a good job of highlighting good and great mods and giving a link to a download aswell.
101. City Rebellion
Posted by Stil at 2:16PM, Wednesday August 1 2007
Just seem Mod db has put up city rebellion.
Any one know if its worth a look?
Gotta say the screenshots and story description don't immedietly hook me, but i guess that could just be a fluff on the marketing front...
102. no
Posted by rb_lestr at 3:45PM, Wednesday August 1 2007
Being honest,
City Rebellion looks awful.
103. City Rebellion
Posted by $eb at 5:10PM, Wednesday August 1 2007
You mean that warehouse where you kill 20 combines, finishing in about 3minutes? -_-
If at least the map was more complex...
104. Multi-Response
Posted by MrHappy at 8:14PM, Wednesday August 1 2007
I just saw the simpsons movie last night, and to be honest I wasn't expecting to laugh all the way through it, and I did :)
I loved playing riot act, althogh the ending was a little weak. As for Coastline to Atmosphere, I can't honestly understand why people enjoy that mod. Very bland, inconsitent mapping, and uninspired combat. I gave up at the headcrab room of death.
I'm suprised no one has mentioned www.planetphillip.com Great source for SP mods and maps, and not just on the HL engines.
Did someone mention interlopers? :)
105. City Rebellion - second release
Posted by $eb at 2:01PM, Thursday August 2 2007
Hi guys, I found a new release of CR thanks to your links! I though it would be just like the first part but it was not, I would even say it was nice! Interesting puzzles (f.e. the way you escape the infirmary) and nice maps, mostly for the tunnels because others are much too clean. The same canal with lots of dirt would look more realistic than this one, which has WHITE WALLS! Also the voices look like robot noises for men characters.
"More to come" :)
...oh and I mustn't forget to watch The Simpsons, I saw an entire tram stop painted in pink with the Simpson's heads here in Brussels!
106. Planetphillip
Posted by Stil at 4:49PM, Thursday August 2 2007
Hey, Great call on www.planetphillip.com MrHappy
great site
107. S l o w c o n n e c t i o n
Posted by Nesretep at 6:12PM, Thursday August 2 2007
Too bad my dial-upconnection (yes you read it right) is too slow to download all of these mods and try them unless I let it go all night long perhaps! Then I could try out some of these mods of which you all speak. Even a 1-1.5 Mbit/sec connection would be a drastic improvement!
108. Plea for help
Posted by Nesretep at 6:41PM, Thursday August 2 2007
Slow, slow connection speeds. No faster than 48 Kbps in most cases. It is a sad way to surf todays multimedia loaded internet. But you can help. For as little as US $1.50/day, less than the cost of 2 20oz bottles of Coca-Cola, you can change the life of a dial-up internet user.
With *your* help, they can finally experience the fullness of what the internet has to offer. No longer will they have to wait over an hour for Steam to update their copy of Half-life 2 so they can simply play MINERVA for a few minutes, no longer will they have to wait 20 minutes to download just 1 song online.
With your generous donation you will receieve a personal thank you e-mail and a picture of the person whose life you have changed. You will also get regular updates on their download speeds so you can see the difference you are making for them.
So call now and sign up to change someone's life! Call the Broadband Now Coalition at 1-800-4-NO DIAL UP and change someones life today!
109. PlanetPhillip
Posted by Yar Kramer at 6:54PM, Thursday August 2 2007
Ooh, an AvP mod! I'll check this one out for the hell of it ...
110. Re:dial up access
Posted by LocoYokel at 12:36AM, Friday August 3 2007
Nesretep,
put up a contact and I can send you these on CD. I am continental US myself but I could mail international.
111. Coastline to Atmosphere
Posted by Psychoceramics at 10:15AM, Friday August 3 2007
I'm trying to play through this mod now. It really needs work. It's like it was never playtested before release.
Story. Don't think any single player mod should use the original characters. It just smacks of laziness. And it makes fitting it into continuity (which players look for whether you want them to or not) impossible. Minerva can fit into the HL2 universe. Riot Act, same thing. Rock 24 is trickier, as is Lost Coast. C2A is impossible since it directly contradicts what's established. Never mind the ridiculous premise. Breen's back? Wtf?
I have to play it on Easy. I played through HL2, HL2:E1, Minerva, Rock 24, Riot Act on Normal just fine. Challenging, but not difficult. This? I had to bump it down to Easy.
For starters, from the start you are absolutely mobbed with Combine. It's not uncommon to be faced with 5 or more combine at once. There was one point when I made it on to the satellite where I 8 Elites ran out a room in sync and started blasting at me. I had to drop an energy ball on them.
On top of this, they spawn when you reach certain points. It's very obvious when they do spawn because all of a sudden there will be a Combine not 30 seconds after you cleared an area. The worst case is right at the start. Walk to the far side of the house and two Combine will spawn directly in front of you and start shooting. Hope to God they aren't Shotguns. Totally kills immersion.
The previously mentioned head crab room. Damn that was stupid. Head crabs will just fall from the ceiling endlessly. You don't have the ammo to kill them all so eventually you just have to spam right-click with the gravity gun endlessly. Once they're all dead, a door opens and more pop out.
Instructions and supporting material will appear in text in the middle of the screen as you play. This is just laziness. Gordon suddenly knows exactly what he's supposed to do, but I can't figure it out given the same information? wtf?
The whole drug trip sequence was just boring.
Out of body cutscenes go completely against the half-life style. Every time you flip a switch you get a cutscene of a door opening. While this is happening, you can't control your character. There was one point where two Combine had spawned next to me right as I hit a switch. Camera took over and I could only stand there as the two of them laid into me. Thankfully he figured out the camera-monitor trick about half way into it.
It seems like he adding things just for the hell of it. You have to get off your Jeep to open a gate. As soon as you kill all the combine guarding it and climb the ladder, more combine spawn (surprise surprise). Explore the area looking for switch, and a helicopter appears. Luckily for you, there's a rocket crate RIGHT THERE. So what's the point? It's just hop out, shoot a rocket, hop in x10. It wasn't interesting, it wasn't difficult, it was boring. The gunship was more interesting because the only extra ammo was in crates that were down in a pit. But the two striders were right out. Striders are not about fighting the strider itself, it's about surviving as you platform your way to the rocket crate. Well, the striders spawn in an area surrounded by storage units. The big things you throw around with the magnetic crane in HL2. Inside are enough rockets to destroy the striders. Climb up a ladder and there's the crate, and the switch to the door.
I don't think the player should ever be expected to fight without the HEV suit. Too much important information is missing. You can't see your health, energy, ammo. You can't sprint, use the flashlight. Worst of all, you can't change your weapon! He takes away your suit and all your weapons, and you have to fumble around until you find a weapon, which you're stuck with until the drug trip sequence. When you awake from that, your guns are gone again. And now begins the stealth portion of the game.
Stealth makes for good gameplay if done right. It's not done right here. The first hallway you run down, the instructions tell you to turn back and hide. You don't know how long to hide, because there's no way of knowing if the Combine are still there or not. The sound effects that play don't help, they can be over and the Combine will still be there. And if you make a mistake? GG you. Die, reload and try again.
It is a long mod, which is commendable. The environments are well done. Varied and interesting. But I'd rather have a few polished maps than several rough ones.
Sorry for the rant. Needed to get it off my chest.
I would definitely recommend Riot Act if you need a SP HL2 fix. But I'm biased. I love controlling the antlions.
112. sniffle
Posted by U-Mu-La-Mah-Ri at 2:51PM, Friday August 3 2007
man you guys are too harsh, I loved it
113. Re: Coastline to Atmosphere, Dial-up access
Posted by Nesretep at 4:05PM, Friday August 3 2007
@Psychoceramics: All I can say is WOW. I think that that is the longest comment I have ever seen on this blog before. If not, it is very close to being so.
@LocoYokel: Are you registered on the forums? If so I can send you a private message with my contact info rather than posting it to the blogbeast for the whole universe to see. If not, do you have any other suggestions as to how I could get that info to you more privately? Also I am in the US as well. You must have missed my occaisional comments on the spelling some of the others on this blog use for certain words (British English vs American English spellings).
114. The lengths people go to...
Posted by Cargo Cult at 4:46PM, Friday August 3 2007
1. Bastard Perseus (Part 1) - kast (4836 characters)
2. Coastline to Atmosphere - Psychoceramics (4662 characters)
3. Bastard Perseus (Part 3) (Really this time) - kast (4388 characters)
4. Bastard Perseus (Part 3) - kast (4248 characters)
5. It's all Greek to me........ - Baffled (4097 characters)
6. expletives - vecima (3523 characters)
7. Suited And Booted - Baffled (3308 characters)
8. This gives me an idea - SkUrRiEr (2930 characters)
9. Giant Comments Thread Of Doom - Cargo Cult (2926 characters)
10. undignified? - vecima (2891 characters)
115. And the winner is...
Posted by Nesretep at 5:13PM, Friday August 3 2007
Looks like the title for Longest Comment on the MINERVA blog goes to kast! Congratulations on running your mouth enough to be to have the longest comment ever! :)
116. Go me :P
Posted by kast at 5:28PM, Friday August 3 2007
So I posted a story, :P DON'T JUDGE ME!
117. Awww...poor kast!
Posted by Nesretep at 5:40PM, Friday August 3 2007
Kast, you know we like you. If we didn't, we wouldn't give you a good ribbing now and then, we would just ignore you or flame you. Since we didn't do either of those you can rest assured that your standing in this little community we've created here is A-OK.
118. There's Quantity and there's Quality
Posted by Baffled at 6:54PM, Friday August 3 2007
I'd like to think that I put quality before quantity when posting ;-) .
*puts-nose-in-the-air-and-tries-to-look-important*
But still, a ranking based on the number of posts could prove embarrassing.....
@Kast: Those stories were very good, well worth all that virtual ink ;-)
119. Longest Post
Posted by Psychoceramics at 8:12PM, Friday August 3 2007
Damn. 200 characters short. Should I try again?
120. Bonus Prize
Posted by Stil at 9:54PM, Friday August 3 2007
you also get marks for most appearances the list of legnthy doom.
:D
121. Doing it short ^^
Posted by $eb at 10:50PM, Friday August 3 2007
Wow, hopefully this ranking isn't based on the number of posts :D (oops, one more!)
Anyway... :)
122. Shoooooooooooort...
Posted by $eb at 10:53PM, Friday August 3 2007
Kast said: "So I posted a story, :P DON'T JUDGE ME!"
Shortest ever? :p
(sorry, my posts seem to always go by pairs :s )
123. Number of posts
Posted by Yar Kramer at 10:58PM, Friday August 3 2007
I think it was farily clear that the number was of characters, not posts (considering that the word "characters" was used right next to it).
Yeah. I gave up on C2A pretty much right away.
124. @Nesretep
Posted by LocoYokel at 2:23AM, Saturday August 4 2007
Not registered. Go to forums.foca-cs.com to reach me. This forum requirew validated registeration. If you register at foca I am an admin and will approve you.
Or I will see if I can get your info here w/o registering.
Sorry Cargo, nothing against your site or forums but I have to many logins to keep track of as it is now.
125. @Yar Kramer
Posted by Psychoceramics at 4:10AM, Saturday August 4 2007
I was tempted to after the 3rd or so time I died, after having spent 10 minutes in each load. But I am far too stubborn to give up after that.
126. The Lengths We Go To To Entertain Ourselves...
Posted by Sirc at 8:38AM, Saturday August 4 2007
When it comes to writing, as long as it has a point to it, I'll read it...
But the parts of it has to have a point as well as the whole, otherwise it's a Grade Paper someone is trying to fluff up to get the required number of words...
So do us all a favor, everyone...
Don't assault our eyes with a 'Berlin Wall of Text...'
AND RECYCLE! ALWAYS RECYCLE!
127. comments and competitions
Posted by Holy Socks at 1:23PM, Sunday August 5 2007
Lets just hope that all this doesnt lead to everyone writing vast walls of text just to climb the ranks of the longest comment leader board.
On a completely different note I will soon be posting my Auto-biography; which covers every event , no matter how small, to occur in my life from my birth to the present day.......
128. Metastasis, a thing of Dreams
Posted by Evan at 4:09PM, Sunday August 5 2007
I had a dream the other day that the 3rd chapter came out.
Alas...
129. Strange Coincidence
Posted by Terrapin at 6:44PM, Sunday August 5 2007
Disturbingly enough, I've also dreamed about the third chapter, quite a few times ever since Cargo Cult spoke of a "release candidate out next week". A few days ago, I actually woke up, went to my computer, started Metastasis 2, and clicked "new game" - fully expecting ep3 to be there. Alas indeed.
Anyway, I may as well introduce myself; I'm a long time fan of Minerva, I've played through it roughly 20 times, and I decided to register here to post my little story.
Hope to have many discussions here in the future - until our dreams finally come true and ep3 really is released. :)
131. Terminology
Posted by MrHappy at 2:38AM, Monday August 6 2007
Alas "Release Candidate" has no meaning close to that of "final version," only "I think it might almost be close to ready maybe?"
Seems the months ahead will be hard
132. Months?
Posted by Terrapin at 4:33AM, Monday August 6 2007
According to Wikipedia, "release candidate refers to a version with potential to be a final product, ready to release unless fatal bugs emerge". If post #40 was accurate, then we could expect a release within weeks, or even (dare we hope) days.
Official word would be nice though; Adam/Cargo Cult, if you read this, could you clear this up, maybe estimate how much longer we'll be waiting?
No pressure. :)
133. Re: Months?
Posted by Psychoceramics at 9:51AM, Monday August 6 2007
I suggest you look up Valve time. It very much so applies here.
134. Waiting
Posted by Nesretep at 4:02PM, Monday August 6 2007
I have learned as I have been here for a bit, that requesting a more exact release date for Metastasis 3 (M3) is not likely to result in actually getting one. I think Adam tries to be as exact as possible, while not just spelling everything out for us either. The last time he tried to give an exact release date, things happened that were not under his control, the release date passed and we are still waiting for M3 to be released. Not being well versed in the ways of mod making, I cannot speak in regards to how long certain types of changes might take to implement, so the tweaks and such that Adam puts into the mod to improve it obviously take time but I really don't know how long it might take to make them work out right. In short, we must just be patient. This is especially hard for an impatient person like me, but what other option is there really? We are getting some great gameplay for FREE, who are we to complain if it take a while to get to us?
135. Re: Waiting
Posted by Terrapin at 5:44PM, Monday August 6 2007
Good point, but still, I'd like something besides "the ratio is nearing unity". I'd even take a simple estimate of whether we'll see M3 this year, next year, or later (because Adam may well be working on Valve time after his trip to Valve, as Psychoceramics pointed out).
In any case, I'm not one to rush art; If Adam can give even a rough outline of when we'll get our hands on an M3 download, so much the better. When that date is doesn't matter - we all know the game will be awesome when we do get it. But in the meantime, a rough release date, a few screenshots, or the faintest of hints about what we can expect on the other side of the airlock would go miles to ease the anticipation.
136. Re: Terrapin
Posted by Yar Kramer at 9:46PM, Monday August 6 2007
Well, he did mention hitting "a release candidate sometime this week" so I think he's probably fairly close. Maybe even next week.
137. "Soon"
Posted by Terrapin at 10:17PM, Monday August 6 2007
Quoth Cargo Cult: "[Metastasis 3] should be released 'soon', but already has got lots more Valve-tested puzzles, variation in settings, combat and themes to go on", emphasis obviously being on the word "soon". Of course, Valve said that HL2 ep2 was "coming soon"... around this time last year. Everything is relative.
As for the "release candidate sometime this week", if you check the dates, "this week" is now last week, and all we got was a list of the top ten longest posts.
One could optimistically see this in a positive light - Adam is so busy putting the final touches on M3 that he hasn't had time to pop in for a public update. His posts would seem to support this, as M3 is apparently playable - for all we know he could be uploading the installer as we speak (err... type).
138. The Almighty "Soon"
Posted by Evan at 11:13PM, Monday August 6 2007
The Soon is coming!
... SOOOOOOOOON!
139. And now for something completely different..
Posted by Ace at 12:27AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Hello, first post here. Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I just played through Someplace Else again and something caught my eye. Near the end, next to one of the "buttons" you have to push to open the portal, is a texture on a wall which is an upside down map of the earth. It's highlighted like those satellite images "earth at night" which show how man-made lights appear at night from space. It just reminded me of a comment Adam made one time about how there was some obvious feature in Someplace Else which gave the plot away. I don't know what this could give away, and I doubt it's what he was referring to, but it was prominently placed and seemed a bit mysterious to me. Or maybe not, just wondering...
140. Discrete Revelations
Posted by Terrapin at 1:39AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
First, welcome, Ace.
Second, Someplace Else and Minerva are chock full of plot info that gives away a lot, probably more than Adam intended. Like the "Dulce et decorum est pro terra morii" line... it took me two weeks (and about four or five play-throughs) to figure that out... looking back it's almost obvious (I won't spoil it for those less inclined to do the research). Then there are the less subtle hints, such as the line where Minerva DIRECTLY TELLS YOU exactly what your character is/was. Seems mysterious at first, but after you think about it, it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer. If you pay attention, I'm guessing you won't be too surprised when M3 comes out, but then again, Adam's been known to throw us a curve ball or two, and we still have no idea (so far as I can tell) what lies in the "unimagined, unimaginable world behind that plated alloy door"... a Combine Advisor? A portal to Xen or someplace else entirely (no pun intended)?
Gah! Where is The Soon the Great Adam spoke of? Where?
141. yes!
Posted by vecima at 3:07AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
its out!!!
go! go! go!
*hopping on my hamster wheel yet again to try to help speed up the download*
142. First Message
Posted by Anschluss at 3:07AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
This is my first post though I have been reading the forums for a long time now. I got Metastasis 2 with Metastasis 1. I read the message at the end of M2 and am wondering if there was a message at the end of M1 (before M2 was released) and if so what did it say? Thanky.
143. out?
Posted by Ace at 3:26AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
It's out? What? Where?
And I think "Dulce et decorum est pro terra mori" means something like "It is sweet and honorable to die for one's planet" or ".. the earth". I think that came up in minerva 1 where you first find a dead person? Doesn't seem too mysterious to me, did I miss something?
144. OUT??? And plot points explained.
Posted by Terrapin at 3:51AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
WHERE? The main page is unchanged, and Adam has said nothing... I sense a clever joke. Provide a link, or stick to less fantastical topics. :)
"Dulce et decorum est pro terra morii" means, directly translated "Sweetness and decoration is for the earth to die", so yes, you're correct. But if you got nothing out of that, then, yeah, you missed something.
[Possible Spoilers Ahead]
The deceased man you find did in fact die for his planet - this is "sweet" and deserves "decoration" (i.e. honor). Minerva then tells us that we "renounced all that regardless"; we would not die for our world. She also tells us that we have a security pass, albeit one that "is both revoked and insufficient", and that we have lead a "pitiful, traitorous life", and that "[we]'d be the same [as the stalkers] if it wasn't for [Minerva]. Long story short, we are, or were, one of the combine. This explains why we (a) would not die for our planet, taking the easy route and becoming a Combine soldier, (b) we renounced that, turning our backs not once, but twice, which explains (c) why the lovely Minerva deems our life pitiful and traitorous - and (d), if Minerva hadn't found us useful, the Combine would have punished us with a fate worse than death - becoming a stalker; (e), this also explains our surprising aptitude for combat.
[Possible Spoilers End Here]
So, what think?
145. Temptation
Posted by Pse at 4:09AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
*Tries to resist reading Terrapin's post*
146. Latin
Posted by Ace at 4:15AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Well, as long as we're sitting here waiting to see what came out, the trusty internet Latin phrase book http://www.thetipsbank.com/latin.htm has the phrase Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. “It is sweet and honourable to die for one's country" where patria = country. So here, with terra being earth, I substituted as I did. I guess that doesn't change much interpretation wise , I just didn't read as much into it, I just saw it as simple sarcasm. But, interesting theory.
147. Theories
Posted by Terrapin at 5:31AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Firstly, this post is spoiler free, so read on. :)
Good find, but you're right, that still supports my theory. I'm actually a plot line nerd - I often go over every pixel of texture, every line of dialog, and every reference and try to extrapolate whatever I can. Minerva actually wasn't that hard to figure out - I downloaded it in mid-April, and by mid-May, I had it all figured out. This, of course, leads me to the alternate theory that Adam did this on purpose, willingly feeding us a heap of clues to the future and identity of both the player characters and Minerva, just so he can pull some elaborate plot twist that floors us all, only to have the screen fade to black and with text reading, "Ha ha! Now you have to wait for Chronoclasm!".
148. Re: Theories
Posted by Ace at 5:54AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
I can be the same way sometimes. Don't get me going on Battlestar Galactica...
And Anschluss, I don't remember if there was a similar message after part 1, but I'm quite confident you're not missing anything.
And Vecima, what the &%*! just came out?
149. Sarcasm
Posted by Terrapin at 6:10AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
I'm pretty sure Vecima was messing with me. I kept expressing my anxiety to know more details of M3's release, and his post was likely a sarcastic remark just to make me pull up every Minerva related bookmark I have and search desperately for a link. Since I found nothing, least of all official news, I'm doubting anything is "out".
Oh, and if there was a message after M1, there would be nothing to miss. Like the message we've all seen at the end of M2, M1's message probably just said something to the effect of "You're done. But what is beyond that door? Wait and see."
That said, there is one door I'd like to be able to get past. It's plated... and made of some kind of alloy... and what's behind it is unimagined, perhaps even unimaginable. If only there was good news for us, like a countdown of some variety... a ticking clock perhaps.
150. Cracking Under Pressure
Posted by Sirc at 6:21AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
The "It's Out!" may stem from a lack of updates and thus caused mild insanity. Or vecima is one of the 'testers' and just received the 'latest experiment.' OR there has been an 'intelligence test' for MINERVA, in that we must prove wise enough to find the link to download...
So many Ifs, so little time...
Regardless of that particular answer, I find a 'piecemeal plot' is possibly the best kind. To put together distant clues to bring far flung chaos together to charter a map of logic. These can be the most difficult to manage though, as too little and you loose the way, too much and the revelation comes early. It is always important to keep the 'key' pieces of the puzzle far apart, allowing the player to appreciate each tidbit till the final piece reveals the full picture...
I look forward to the masterful continuation of our puzzle...
151. Rampant Speculation
Posted by Terrapin at 6:40AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
I'm guessing either a joke, or insanity. If there was, in fact, a link available, I'm all but positive that Adam would have said something, perhaps altered the main page, or made some cryptic remark. A test can only truly be successful if the subjects are aware that something is to be done. If we do nothing, which at this point is all we are really doing, Adam will never get any results. Besides, it doesn't really seem like his style... knowing him, he'll leave the puzzles for the actual gameplay, and then start releasing cryptic clues about Chronoclasm. Of course, that all relies on us actually playing M3, rather than just talking about it. Which brings me back to my original thesis; Adam, if you read this, your Acolytes want information. Whatever news you can offer us, we will take gladly, be it good, bad, or somewhere in between.
152. Re: Cracking Under Pressure
Posted by Ace at 6:42AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Interesting choices, I'm going to have to go with A. Partly because it's amusing to imagine the poor fellow has cracked under the strain. I don't like B, since anybody who would taunt loyal readers with news that he has just received a playtest version deserves to be flogged. And I choose not to believe C for the time being or I may end up, like Vecima probably is, gleefully downloading technical documents about airplane parts and genuinely believing that I'll soon be playing part 3.
153. The meaning of "Cargo Cult"... and more theories.
Posted by Terrapin at 7:20AM, Tuesday August 7 2007
On a slightly different topic, I looked up "Cargo Cult" on Wikipedia on sheer impulse. Turns out, a cargo cult is a group of people in an undeveloped society, who believe that material goods can be acquired through religious cult worship. If you think about it, that's kind of what we've become here. A group of people, with only our PCs and our imaginations, knowing nothing of the wonders that await us in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Yet, fruitlessly, we gather here, hoping that our reverence will somehow grant us a single .exe file.
Wow, I guess the pressure is getting to me. That sounded like something out of a philosophy class, specifically Cynical Philosophy 101. In any case, I am now 100% positive that there is no way for us non-testers to get M3. I've examined the source codes of every page which comes from hylobatidae.org (yes, I'm hopelessly bored), and there is nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary.
One more thing... I read through the titles.txt file again, and found this quote from Minerva:
"The few Combine records I've been authorised to see described
this place as an old World War Two outpost. Big enough to
hold perhaps a hundred men, but I can't see why our dear
guests would want it for that.
Their Citadels provide them with accommodation far more
suited to their purpose, as I'm sure you're well aware."
If you read my theory above (post 144), then you should understand how significant this is; our bastard Perseus is thought to have first hand experience with the Citadel's accommodations for Combine soldiers. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
However, this quote also reveals that Minerva has authorization to view some Combine files, and I'm absolutely dumbfounded about what that could mean. Her phrasing suggests no "hacking" was needed. Hmm... theories, anyone?
154. Re: The meaning of "Cargo Cult"... and more theories.
Posted by Nesretep at 2:30PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
The real question regarding your quote from MINERVA is this: Was Minerva given access under false pretenses or was she given legitimate access to said data? One must keep in mind that just because she has the key to open the door doesn't mean there wasn't any subterfuge (sp?) involved in obtaining it. That would be her style after all.
As far as the comment from vecima goes, I'm sure he was getting bored and hoped to see everyone scramble to find the download link and then come back here and post something along the lines of: "Hey it isn't ready to download yet!" or "Where did you find the link, I couldn't find it."
155. MINERVA induced paranoia
Posted by Crackpot at 4:12PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
This might sound stupid, but someone mentioned page source and I thought I should bring this up. Undoubtedly it will distract some of you, so there is a plus. Looking at the page source of this page, as well as others, there is some green text that reads:
<!--[if lt IE 7]>
<style type="text/css">
@import url(method/light-ie-hacks.css);
</style>
<![endif]-->
I don't know much about web pages, but something seemed very odd to me. I thought you acolytes must have investigated, so I typed "css file" into the search bar. The first comment result to come up is titled "Red Menace" (written by Cargo Cult) under the "Mystery objects" article. If one clicks on the link, however, you will be redirected to another Cargo Cult comment under the same article. It is titled "Apologies to the Acolytes" and speaks of "two new cookies." Now this may seem a little perplexing, but the oddest thing of all is that clicking on the same link (to the "Red Menace") from the search results will subsequently direct you correctly to "Red Menace" (until you delete your browser's cookies and cache). Cargo Cult's explanation is hidden in that very post.
"It's probably your computer caching the old CSS file a bit ... vigourously. I had to do a couple of reloads before it started showing up properly here."
That quote is a response to an acolyte's post, but it's surprisingly relevant. Perhaps some acolyte could make use of ie hacks with regards to the extra cookies? Maybe this is merely a strange coincidence that you all have already noted, especially since it's been around for so long (the posts were made in late April of 2006). In any case, better safe than bored.
156. Re: MINERVA induced paranoia
Posted by Terrapin at 5:10PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Well, I did some poking around, and it lead to a .txt file:
blockquote {
background: transparent url(../shards/transparent-white-bg-ie.png) top left repeat;
}
div.recent-comments {
background: transparent url(../shards/transparent-blue-bg-ie.png) top left repeat;
}
Now, is it just me, or do those look like more URLs? They did to me, and I eventually got two two more pages; one a blank white page, the other a fuzzy blue square. Notably, pressing ctrl + a on the white page reveals another fuzzy square, only this one is white. Interestingly, going to these pages in Firefox yielded a simple image, while using IE7 prompted the use of quicktime.
My conclusion: you stumbled across the links to the images used to divide our messages. Look closely at the lines, and you'll see that they aren't solid, but are instead made up of a line of tiny, fuzzy blue squares. Sorry, no download link here.
Still a good find - it kept me busy for a while. :)
157. Hmm...I wonder..
Posted by Nesretep at 5:22PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
I wonder what the highest number of comments on a blog entry has been? I remember not all that long ago we got up to 180-something and were heading in that direction as it stands. Maybe we can break the record! Or will Adam see this post and keep us from achieving that goal by posting another blog entry?
158. Malicious sadism and Misplaced Hubris
Posted by Baffled at 5:46PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
I think Vecima was tossing a rhetorical grenade amongst The Acolytes to enjoy the resulting confusion and panic. The sadist. ;-)
I can only begin to imagine Minerva's amusement at Acolyte Terrapin's belief that he somehow has Her secret "all figured out"! Never forget "Hubris precedes Nemesis" fellow Acolyte!
On the subject of Minerva being "authorized" to view certain Combine records, let me add this quote from this site's title page:
"I must forgive my colleagues; their actions have brought on more constructed suffering than your world has ever previously known."
Are the Combine Her colleagues, or are things more complex than that? What about this:
"My adopted forefathers are different, their scattered, discarded playthings more conducive to a meaningful imposition of my thoughts upon our captors."
"Our captors" must refer to the Combine, surely, and who are Her adpoted forefathers?
At one point She says this to us:
"It is vital that you discover what our Combine benefactors are doing down here."
Yet in other places She refers to "your Combine", casting more doubt upon Her actual relationship with or connection to the Combine.
Let all Acolytes study this page as closely as the game itself:
http://www.hylobatidae.org/minerva/index.shtml
Let me finish up with my favourite Minerva quote, delivered within Metastasis 2:
"But what would I know, all alone in this forsaken machine?"
What machine?
159. RE: yes!
Posted by vecima at 5:58PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
sorry guys,
i was referring to the steam beta...
yeah, that's it, the steam beta! ;-)
160. Re: Malicious sadism and Misplaced Hubris
Posted by Nesretep at 6:09PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Adam said once on this blog what type of machine she was stuck in. I'll have to do a little looking around and report back.
161. Re: Malicious sadism and Misplaced Hubris
Posted by Terrapin at 6:30PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Just for the record, I never said I had Minerva's secret figured out, I said I had figured out the identity of our character, Minerva's "bastard Perseus"; read message 144 for details.
As for Minerva, she really gives us few clues as to who, or indeed what, she is. Her "colleagues" are likely the Black Mesa staff, as all the suffering brought by the Combine was, in the end, their fault.
One of the most interesting quotes, presumably by Minerva, is "Experiment shall continue; further data sought. Upon completion, peer review followed by publishing". Who are her peers? If she publishes this data, who could, or would, read it? This line suggests that she is not, in fact, alone, yet this directly contradicts Baffled's favorite quote. Is she alone, or isn't she? So many questions...
As for her adopted forefathers, my guess is the Xenian species we see in HL1, lead by the Nihilanth. We know they are sentient, so they could be capable of supporting whatever she is.
My guess is this: Minerva is an AI, designed by the Black Mesa team, and forced to be placed in a Xen computer system, to gather data. Of course, like all AIs, she became smart enough to question her own allegiance, and sabotaged the experiment at the start of HL1. She had learned by this point that this would bring the Combine to earth, where she could gather more data on them. And what better tool to use that a wayward Combine soldier? All of this is supported by evidence from the page Baffled linked to, and from in-game messages, so it isn't exactly far-fetched. However, I by no means claim to have it "all figured out". I simply believe that my theory has the most support, is not contradicted by any official source, thereby making it the most likely scenario.
162. CSS
Posted by fuzz at 6:44PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
@crackpot
I think you're talking about 'Cascading Style Sheets'.
@ vecima
damn you for making me look :p
163. addendum
Posted by fuzz at 6:47PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
Steam Community beta is now open (File>Settings in Steam, beta settings are on the first page). Who's going to set up the Minerva group?
164. BAh Steam
Posted by U-Mu-La-Mah-Ri at 7:02PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
STeam friends is nothing special you can do all you can on SF that you can on X-Fire, and X-fire isnt a beta...
165. The wait, the request, the patience.
Posted by MrHappy at 8:24PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
We have been waiting a very long time for 3. Well over a year, and nearly two years since we first tasted our bitter fate. And in that time Adam has provided us with ample information.
It seems every time he gives us an update someone wants another one the next day, which is pointless.
The ratio of development time and number of updates is perfect and to be expected. Wait and see. Take your time. If you are here long enough then you will have all the information you need.
You must be patient. Time is nothing, waiting is nothing, only you can make the experience painfull. A watched pot never boils.
166. "Who said anything about Artificial Intelligence?"
Posted by Baffled at 8:28PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
That was Adam's response to a reviewer assuming more than was seemly during the Moddb awards.
So it seems likely that your theory, although well reasoned, is flawed, terrapin. Although I must admit that it was my first instinct as well. You should peruse our past, and inevitably doomed attempts to understand MINERVA, if you haven't already.
I accept that I may have overstated your presumption before, but as you have recieved "official" censure, I rest contented ;-).
On the subject of paranoia, how strange that within a week of a new Acolyte, with the name of Terrapin, joining, MINERVA has a brush with disaster at the prongs of electriical PINs some marked GND or Earth, otherwise known as Terra....or should that be PINs of TERRA?!
There's room for awful puns in half-baked conspiracies surely.
167. Going Over Balanced Levels Expecting This
Posted by Sirc at 11:11PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
To give an angle that has not been directly given yet...
What living things do we know of that reside in great machines? That have access to Combine records? What better definition of colleagues...?
While aliens in design, it is not an alien though to expect individuality among the 'higher ups.' We may be but a small part of a rebellion none of us foresaw...
The question becomes...
What limits are there?
168. Are you suggesting that Minerva is...
Posted by Baffled at 11:22PM, Tuesday August 7 2007
...a Combine Advisor?!!!!
169. Civil War?
Posted by Terrapin at 2:06AM, Wednesday August 8 2007
That theory works in ways I never even thought of. If you are, in fact, suggesting that Minerva is a rebellious Combine Advisor, perhaps one who learned the error of her ways, then you may be on to something huge.
170. And still you overlook
Posted by Errant at 3:01PM, Wednesday August 8 2007
Good theories terra but it seems you are wrong (see latest blog post).
However I think I have worked out some of the mystery. Im not going to be so annoying as to post all of my theories here BUT I will point you in what I think is the right direction.
Namely "bastard perseus"
1) Read up on preseus and what exactly he did - think laterally
2) The OTHER theory of mine relates not to perseus but the BASTARD perseus. Not read some greek mythology very carefully and you will see who I mean.
(Baffed: "foresaken machine" could well be an aliteral reference - ie not a machine in itself but a device - ie the inescapable world she and the player are in).
171. Further hint
Posted by Errant at 3:10PM, Wednesday August 8 2007
In case the bastard hint was not close enough for you read this carefully:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva
172. Umm...
Posted by Lord_Terminus at 10:01PM, Sunday August 12 2007
just wondering, but has anyone considered the idea that Minerva is a Black Mesa AI? Or at Least an AI? The reference to no hacking being required to access Combine systems, and "But what would I know, all alone in this forsaken machine?". It always seemed obvious to me that she must be an AI. She never speaks, because she has no voice.
And if She is a Black Mesa AI, it would be supported by: "I must forgive my colleagues; their actions have brought on more constructed suffering than your world has ever previously known."
An AI with a seemingly large Ego (referencing the Messiah complex bit in the Archive) would certainly view the Black Mesa scientists as her colleagues, rather than her creators. And it is rather their fault that the Combine is destroying Humanity.
173. only a little
Posted by kast at 10:07PM, Sunday August 12 2007
short answer: yes
long answer: yes. lots.
174. Hmm.
Posted by Lord_Terminus at 10:26PM, Sunday August 12 2007
Alrighty then. Sorry about posting this twice, though. Didn't mean too. >_>
175. Cortana
Posted by fuzz at 6:06PM, Tuesday August 14 2007
as mentioned in a few other threads (but repeated here to put you on the right track), some of the influence for Minerva comes from Halo, and it's worth comparing Minerva's transmissions to "The Cortana Letters", a series of emails designed to pre-hype Halo, back when it was still a Mac thing.
Personally I'm waiting for the reveal in Halo 3 that Cortana has actually gone 'rampant' (Bungie word meaning insane/out of control) and is playing everybody off against each other to get what she wants.
Sound at all familiar?
176. Cortana
Posted by Zerohourrct at 6:38AM, Friday August 17 2007
Fuzz you couldn't possibly be talking about... MARATHON? (gasp). Anyways the whole rampant AI thing is talked about in one of the Halo books (first one I believe) and was my guess from the first time I saw the trailer. I'm just going to wait for M3 to come out before dissecting the plotline as I'm sure we're missing a vital bolt to link the trains of guesses together.
Article is now closed for commenting.
1. hey...first!!!!
Posted by jammer669171 at 2:18PM, Tuesday July 24 2007
Ha ha ha. i dont know whats on the other side of the link but hopefully its what i think it is....