Highwaters Papermill addon - Half-Life 2

hdn_highwaters Beta 1 for Hidden: Source

2006/11/13
by scratch

Please post any suggestions / critics in the forums at www.hidden-source.com

MOTD:
This map was originally intended to be released for the "Factory Mapping Contest" started by a Hidden: Source Community member. But you know what happens to those contests quite easily - they just die - and so it did. So whoever wants to start a mapping contest, plan it properly or you'll fail inevitably, and that's not funny for those who want to participate.

Personal Notes:
This is my second map i've built for Hidden: Source and it's also my second map in total. Unfortunately i didn't plan the layout of the map before starting it, and as a result i had to optimize it quite a bit so the map doesn't run like crap. The most noticeable optimization is the fade distance of props, i'm not very happy about that, but at least the map should run fine now - and if the map runs fine for the majority of players, i'll increase the fade distance in the next release.

This map has been quite an experiment for me: Alot of detailed architecture which had to be optimized in order to increase the fps (and i'm still not done i guess), dozens of custom textures and last but not least the brush based machinery (due to the lack of a modeller) made me cry sometimes. I've even resized a standard HL2 model for the skybox.. see for yourself. So, including my first map (hdn_psychiatry) i've learned quite alot and i'm beginning to see another map.. for Beta 5.. ;)

Thanks to:
Jockum Skoglund aka hipshot (www.zfight.com) for the skybox (stormydays), downloaded at www.sourceprefabs.com,, and of course thanks to the Hidden: Source community at www.Hidden-Source.com and Interlopers at www.interlopers.net..

Bugs: There are some z-sorting issues again where brushes / models appear to be in front of translucent architecture (mainly glass) but they aren't - it is NOT an issue with the map, it's a graphics card problem (also called z-fighting).