The Burton Equation mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

The Burton Equation - Update Four: The Last Call

Hey all! Once again, it has been some time since last I gave an update on the status of the mod, and today I have big news:

The Burton Equation is targeting 2024 for release.

TL;DR: TBE is getting close to being done and could release this year if things go according to plan, so this will be the last update article I do until release, unless 2024 is missed. Now, the longer answer...

In advance, I want to state that things could happen that mean 2024 is not viable. Unexpectedly terrible reactions to a mechanic or feature during playtesting; any personal issues that could crop up and therefore leech away my time; or just feeling there's more to do before shoving the mod out the door. And, of course, since I'm targeting a Steam release, ol' Valve might end up being the thing that stops the mod coming out in 2024, if their review process ends up being a blocker. But right now, things are looking good - the 20s, 40s, and 80s have all undergone beta testing, with feedback pending; and I am hoping to get Terminus in the same position by the end of April, or maybe early May. So the timeline looks like this:

Beta Preparation: Fully art passing every map, integrating lots of anecdotal and ad-hoc feedback, and implementing lots of additions that are needed to begin honing in on the final vision. We're about 4-6 weeks off of this step being complete.

Beta Testing: Put all chapters through for beta testing on fully art passed maps that have received an internal test from myself to push maps as far as possible before getting tested externally.

Testing Feedback: Once all chapters have been tested, it's time to barrel through all testing feedback for each chapter. It's less work to do feedback for a chapter than it is to build it, so I predict handling testing feedback for all chapters would take 1-2 months.

Final Preparation: This involves optimising all of the maps, placing down cubemaps, building cubemaps, and final-compiling all of the maps as a release candidate. I predict this to take about a week.

Final Testing: Once all of the beta testing feedback is complete, I'll allow a few weeks for final testing, where the first end-to-end test of TBE will take place.

Final Feedback: After that, back to the feedback grindstone - integrating all of the final bits of polish and uplifting what I can, fixing issues. Hopefully this takes less time than the initial feedback phase considering I will be polishing a finely moulded mod at this point.

Release Preparation: After all that, it's time to setup the Steam page, put the mod through for review with Valve, and seed PR material around the place to prepare for launch. That also means I should keep playing the mod to make sure everything is as polished as it can be, and any loose ends are tied up.

Release! Assuming all of the above goes according to plan, the mod will release - probably in the latter end of 2024. If something didn't go right, that's when this year becomes at risk, and early 2025 becomes more likely.

Given this goal, this article will be the last content update given out before the mod releases, unless the 2024 window is missed for some reason.

So, you've got the info, and I hope you're as excited as I am to see this thing finally finished. You've known about this mod for two years, but I've been working on it since 2018; it has been a fixture of my modding career, having learned lessons, developed my workflows, and become a better developer over the course of that time. I'm excited to finally finish this odyssey and put Zachary Burton's story out there. Without further ado, let's get into some of what has been taking place since the previous update!

Chapter One - Noir Art-Passed

In the prior updates, the 1920s had received gameplay revisions, but not yet the visual or mechanical overhaul that chapter needed. Now, the chapter has been fully art passed, mechanics overhauled, and beta tested. Feedback still needs integrating from that test which could see this and every other chapter still change substantially, but the visual style is finally here, and that means every chapter of TBE now has a strong artistic completion behind it. The 20s introduces you to Zachary Burton's story, and we'll yet see how a detective out-of-his-depth responds to the rigors of his environment.

Chapter Two - Sepia Overhauled

Sepia was art passed most of the way there in previous updates, but was missing some crucial atmospheric and gameplay elements to really tie the whole thing together. As you'll see later on, I decided every chapter needed a boss encounter of some type to punctuate the gameplay experience, and Sepia received a miniboss that, combined with its climactic finale, gives it some great finishing moments. Meanwhile, planes now fly overhead in randomised formations in a moody sky, whilst some of the older foundations of these maps were at last stripped out and refined to prep for the final release.

Chapter Three - Miami Consolidated

Miami received one of the strongest reactions out the gate during beta testing, but still has further it can be pushed both artistically and mechanically. But for the longest time, Miami was the only chapter complete enough to be representative of the final vision; with the latest beta testing rounds, I've found now that most of TBE channels the stylistic intent of the mod, and Miami has good bedfellows in the gameplay departments now with Sepia and Noir's overhauls.

Chapter Four - Terminus Engaged

At the time of writing, Terminus is now the last chapter to be beta tested, and I am currently in the process of revising this chapter - the last and most complex of all of the chapters in the mod - to prep for that beta testing. It has some of the most solid gameplay of the bunch in the streetwars segments, with a lot of my HL2 experience coming in handy as returning to City 17 feels like coming home. But the biggest thing yet to come in Terminus is the major addition I realised was needed in 2022 to tie TBE together, and after much experimentation and groundwork, I take inspiration from EZ2 and the mirror-image adversaries of some retro shooters like DUSK for the main antagonist of TBE.

Fabreen Castrucci - The Big Boss

Fabreen has been a name I've banded about as an antagonist in TBE since I first drew up the concept for the mod, a 20s-era gangster with a power-hungry streak. But until 2022, he was hinted at as having influence elsewhere, but the execution of that influence was lacking. Before 2021, he wasn't even intended as a major antagonist! TBE at that point didn't have one. But Zachary needs his foil, and so I integrated Fabreen much more heavily into the story. Your first fight with him will be in the 1920s, where the truth of his influence will begin to become apparent; and throughout the mod and time periods within, Fabreen will emerge again and again, until your final showdown in the Combine's time travel nexus in the final fight of Terminus. He is voiced by BoDiTVA (Bozhidar Tsekov), who brings a delightful maliciousness to his performance, with a new model by me that will help him stand out amongst his peers. His fights with the player will put him on a semi-equal footing, having his own inventory and using VScript to alter his behaviour depending on what weapon and tactic he has chosen to use. Initial reactions to this boss fight are very good, and the twists Terminus will introduce will no doubt make it all the sweeter.

The Sepia APC - Modified Combine Machinery

The other major new asset created just for TBE is this modified Combine APC, which has been given a Nazi camouflage pattern and kitbashed with many parts of German vehicles from Day of Defeat, plus numerous other modifications to the base model. This APC will be the last line of defence before the player breaches the radio bunker holding the 40s open to the Combine's time travellers.

Weaponry - The Final Counts

These three weapons are the last to be revealed for TBE - the USP, the Grenade, and the other of the Combine's modified arsenal, the Tesla-Shreck! This laser-guided Panzershreck still features the signature blast shield, only this time it's augmented with Combine energy tech. All three will have their role to play in their respective periods, and this rounds off what you can expect to get in your hands in TBE.

Comics - All That Remains...

These four comics are not the last to be revealed for TBE, but piecing them together with those seen so far, you'll get a good read on Zachary Burton's broad journey through time - facing threats he could have only heard in dramatizations on the radio, and facing the hard truth that whether or not he's out of his depth, he's the only man who can do it.

Conclusion

And that's it for the final content update of TBE! With this out of the way, I will now have my head down refining the mod's contents all the way up until release - running testing, concluding feedback, and prepping for launch. I will do an article on the launch day of TBE to announce its availability, and I am so excited for that day to come. The road's been long and full of challenges, but now, at last, the end's in sight.