Making My Own Half Life 2 Beta Map

Continuing on from the map I showed in the Ruins13 video.

❗Links❗

[writerlairchannel]

Making a game that existed in 2003 in 2023 (close to 2023) make sense

[teaboy]

The map looks great even with it being a little barren. That old intro also caught me off guard.

[matijajovic]

HL 2 beta video with the old intro? Now that's nostalgic!
Loved the dark and gritty TM atmosphere of the map. You can show the process next time if you want, I wouldn't mind it.

[infinite_data]

I don't know how much stuff is missing in this version of the engine, but here's some advice that would work in later versions and it might work here as well:
- For the sprites disappearing behind the lamp from some angles: env_sprite has a "Size of Glow Proxy Geometry" keyvalue. This determines (in Hammer Units) how deep you can "bury" a sprite in geometry before it stops rendering on top of it. Increase the value so that it is higher than the distance between the centre of the sprite and the surface of the lamp model.
- Spotlights (light_spot) have an inner and outer angle. The inner angle determines the size of the main, brighter circle, while the outer angle creates a dimmer halo around it. You could use this to have the lamp cast a clear bright circle on the ground with the inner angle and some more ambient light around the lamp with a high outer angle. There's also nothing stopping you from using both a spotlight for the circle effect and a weak point light for the ambient effect on surrounding walls.
- No idea if this exists in the old engine, but there is a fancy addition you can make to your spotlights - point_spotlight. This creates a customisable sprite that simulates a cone of diffused light in the air; that seems like a must have for the smoggy air of beta City 17. This entity can also cast its own light and it can get somewhat resource-intensive, so keep an eye on its keyvalues and flags.
- Most lamp models in HL2 have "on" and "off" skins. I realise you're using a beta model and it might simply lack the alternate skin, but I think it's somewhat jarring how the lightbulb itself is clearly not lit. If you haven't already, make sure there isn't a lit skin for that prop.
- It appears you've done this already, but light sprites should have their render mode keyvalue set to "World Space Glow".
If you need more basic mapping tips like this, you can contact me (preferably on Steam) - I'd be happy to help. I've never mapped for the beta specifically but it can't be that different from retail.

[lambdadoomer]

There is a quake engine game that has maps exactly like this one. Its called "Kingpin: A life of crime" and it came out in 1999. Not only you should play it, you should make a short documentary about it and compare it to Half-Life 1 and other GoldSrc games.

[anormalstreetlamp]

I'd love to map myself and even if you say you're not a good mapper it would be incredibly pleasant to see your process

[frgt]

I always dreamed of making my own source map. Never got into modding, maybe that's another checkpoint on my bucket list!

Really viby map rad! Fits the gritty beta atmosphere completely!

[arrowflintofficial]

It looks like it's coming along nicely. Maybe add something like a train bridge or just a normal road one for combine apcs or something to drive on and make it go overhead like in the e3 industrial sector to make it more visually interesting.

[boomdonuts]

This looks really cool! I can't wait to play your dark n gritty map!

[jess]

y’know beta stuff seems like a good opportunity for more of an artistic walking simulator kinda deal

[CatWithSambrero]

Yes more mapping videos in Hammer or J.A.C.K. would be cool

[springytaco]

rad becomes valve full time mapping editor and gets 500$ australian dollars per hour

P.S for the sprite issue i recommend you slightly move the sprite downwards OR put a couple sprites on each side

[ElmeriThePig]

-I appreciate the old intro. Already kinda nostalgic despite it has been only two ye... WAIT WHAT? TWO YEARS ALREADY??!
-I would like to see some mapping streams, but videos would be fine too.
-I would like to see Rad making his own HL1 or 2 mod, some day, that would be interesting. (I once tried to make a mod about Radhaz, but I didn't care. Maybe someday I do.)
-Semi-unrelated, but a fun fact: At 8:48 there's a poster that says "Lumi", it means "Snow" in Finnish and there's even the frost icon. I like to think that they took a lot inspiration from other European countries (which they actually did), but what if there's a parallel universe where Half-Life 2 takes place in Finland? Then the game would be even better than it already is. It's already the best game of all time, at least for me. There's also other Finnish references in HL2 Beta, like the billboard that says "Teräs", which means "Steel". It was replaced with the infamous "XCCR" billboard in the retail game.

[iancampbell]

you should definitely make more videos like this. amazing work, Rad

[koledone]

just like that one person in the live stream says

[luckmaster.exe_]

Nice Video Rad this map looks really nice i like it.

[DeeZeeX]

Nice work !
If that can help you with the streetlights : I watched a video about a lighting theory (I think it was on unreal though) and they said that if possible, you souhould add a point light, combined with a spotlight to make the lighting more realistic

[BoyOHBoy]

I wasn't expecting to see that opening SFM animation again.

[vincent]

Ah nothing better than coffee and some D&G to start the day.

[GasMaskCitizenBeta]

dark and gritty! anyway I really love the old intro!