Future plans blog - malortie

Context

This article is a follow up to my previously written article,
which can be found here. If you wish to get a better grasp
at my current situation and why I am currently writing this
article, feel free to read.

About 1 1/2 week ago I finished my semester but I could not
write this announcement until I would have found employment.
I found a work as a software developer and am expected to
begin work in about 2 weeks.

Current state of Source engine

More than a year ago, I did write this blog post in which
I explained the lessening support for Source Engine and
how I believed it could potentially become nearly impossible
to develop for the Source Engine in the upcoming years due
to the end support of compilers that remain capable of
compiling Source Engine projects. In this blog, I explained
that I was willing to attempt porting most of the Source mods
to Garry's mod. I realized that it would work well in cases where
mods would only contain new levels, or only new weapons. However
mods that include altered HL2 NPCs or entirely new NPCs would
require myself to implement an equivalent of the entire AI system
for Source. While one could rewrite a system based on it's actual
code, Garry's mod API was not enough flexible to alter engine
coded NPCs such as antlions, citizens, combine soldiers, etc...
Due to both engine AI code and mine overlapping each other,
the resulting NPC behaviors would not be stable.

S&box (Sandbox)

A few months ago, I came across this game which appears
to ressemble to a possible successor for Garry's mod.
Upon viewing WIP videos, I was impressed. It appears that
Facepunch Studios is working on a prototype of a sandbox
theme game, which could eventually result in an actual game.
As explained in this document, it appears that the game would
be able to import Source Engine maps along with models and
materials. I began to wonder if this game could be an
appropriate alternative for porting mods to a more recent
engine (UE4).

Unreal Engine 4

Following this reasoning, I began working with the Unreal Engine.
So far, I am enjoying it. Starting from the available FPS sample,
I continued by importing Half-Life 1 models into the game, making
them play sequences, etc. The reason for working with the Unreal Engine
is to familiarize with it's use until the release of S&box but also
to try to bring a proof of concept for mods running under this new
engine. Such an opportunity could potentially represent a way to
attract a new generation of level designers for both HL 1/2 games.
Technologies evolve and it is possible that in the long run, HL games
could end up having compatibility issues for which one could not fix
because of Source's unreleased engine source code. At this point, I do
believe that a migration or even a complete port of the game's source
code should be done on a more recent engine in order to allow classic
HL 1/2 mods to continue living. Please bear in mind that this only
represents my opinion.

What should I do?

At this time, I am still uncertain with the direction to take.
Since the beginning of the year, I have had a couple of requests
for porting several mods to Source 2013. On the other hand, I am
still willing to attempt to bring a proof of concept of HL mods on
the Unreal Engine but such work is still really in early development.

You can submit your vote here.

Patience is always appreciated

I do enjoy playing games, mods and experiencing the creativity of
the modding community and I consider it to be an important part of
my spare time. Please bear in mind that I have higher priorities in
real life than working on game mod related projects, so I may not
always be able to deliver updates on time as I would have announced
previously. I can promise you that I will do my best to communicate
how the situation evolves and changes, but I will not be able to
tell how long delays might be.

Thank you for your comprehension.

Sincerely,
malortie.