Entropy : Zero - Uprising mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

It has been well over half a year since we released the first Episode of Entropy : Zero - Uprising. Since then, the mod has gathered over 25.000 downloads with a ModDb rating of 9/10. Thank you all for playing and enjoying our mod! Since ModDB’s Mod of the Year is currently on-going, we would really appreciate it if you would consider voting for us!

That aside, let us get into it. This article is divided into eight sections:

• General information on Episode 2
• Reintroducing the cast
• New mechanics
• New weapon animations
• Advanced responses for Bec and Bloody
• New team members
• Media
• A glimpse behind the scenes

General information on Episode 2

Uprising’s second episode continues from the endings in Episode 1 in which Bloody was not killed. The player once again steps in the boots of the Civil Protection officer known as Victor-Sixty. Having sustained fatal injuries dealt by the Traitors, Victor spent several days recovering in a Combine pod.

Once recovered, he finds himself stuck in the height of the uprising, awakening only one day before Freeman’s arrival and Breen’s subsequent death.

Episode 2 is developed on Entropy : Zero 2 and uses a few of its features, such as the new enemy types and weapons.

Reintroducing the cast

With the exception of Victor, time did not stand still for Uprising’s cast. They all had to adapt to their surroundings. Here’s how they changed:

Bec is the one character with the fewest changes, he merely loosened up a little. Bec now uses Barney’s animation set, making him move more fluently and no longer fire from the hip. This change was made to set him apart from the other Civil Protection units, as well as humanizing him more.

Bloody once again returns, now bloodier than ever, this time carrying an MP5k as well as a shotgun. Over time, he has started to collect reserve health vials and batteries to help him survive in the harsh conditions of the war-torn streets.

The Traitor Lead reappears as the main antagonist of the game. Only this time wielding a weapon unique to her: the AR-M1 - a modernized version of the AKK.
She also uses Alyx’ animation set and her visual design has slightly evolved to be more distinct.

New mechanics

This is where it gets interesting. We have taken a few liberties with Entropy : Zero 2’s gameplay. Here is a video showcasing some of the new features:

The health vial feature fundamentally changes how health vials work. Instead of being immediately consumed, health vials are now stored in the player’s inventory and can be instantly consumed by pressing a special key (default bind is X). This enables far more aggressive playstyles, since it is now possible to heal directly, without needing to look for health in the middle of a fight. There is a limit, however. Players cannot carry more than five health vials at the same time.

Another newly introduced mechanic was added to the stunstick: since the stunstick and the kick share the same function as a melee weapon, the stunstick has been given another role as a utility tool. The stunstick can now overcharge certain devices, which can be useful when solving puzzles or exploring.

Last but not least: explocrates! These crates contain explosive items and as such explode when shot, but only when shot! Breaking them using either the kick or the stunstick will reward all the volatile weaponry one could dream of!

New weapon animations

For the second episode, we wanted to make full use of EZ2’s new animations, while still retaining some of Victor’s identity. That is why we got Cyonsia, the lead animator for EZ2, to reanimate the MP5k and revolver in a way which resembles the original animations seen in the first episode.

Advanced responses for Bec and Bloody

One missed opportunity in Episode 1 was the lack of interaction between Bec and Bloody, but that is to change! Since the player will spend a lot of time with both of these characters simultaneously, we expanded the response system of these characters. They will now respond to each other (confirming or disagreeing), call out more enemy types and pay more attention to Victor.

Bec’s response system now bolsters 175 voice lines (in comparison: Episode 1 only had around 80) and Bloody, previously only having 49 voice lines in his response system, now has 103 lines, with more to come!

These responses are also affected by a dynamic system we call “BTS”. If the player has a high BTS, Bec and Bloody will act differently than they would if the player had a low BTS. We have not yet decided how much we will share about this system, as it is rather huge, so for now we will leave it up to your speculation!

New team members

To suit the needs of the expanding scope of this episode, we have elected to get new team members on board. Please welcome Clatronix and Critfish, our new mappers and texture artists!

Clatronix has been one of our best playtesters and contributors ever since early 2021, showing a deep understanding and passion for the project. He has been a huge help during Episode 1’s development and is now continuing this habit in a more official manner.

Critfish worked together with Filipad on earlier mapping projects and has displayed a great skill at detailing maps in City 17’s style as well as understanding fun gameplay, which is why we couldn’t decline when he approached us.

Both of them have already contributed several things, some of which were already shown (the explocrate, for example). Since both of them have talents in art-passing, this means that you will be able to expect a more consistent visual quality in Episode 2, below you can see how some of that can look.

Media

A glimpse behind the scenes

Sadly, since we have been occupied with other things, we still have not been able to work on the developer commentary playthrough. We might find the time for it if we scored a place in the top 100 in mods of the year, though! ;)

In the meantime, you can enjoy this playlist of behind the scenes videos which were created during Episode 1’s development, if you haven’t already seen it!

Thank you for reading! We hope to see you again in the next one, whenever that may be...