Half Life 2: Raising the Bar REDUX: Update V2.9 news

Hi, everyone. Welcome to Update V2.9, from the Raising the Bar Redux team. This update, we’re showcasing more map progress, some team updates, a new animation set made in-house for the pistol, and some overhauls to existing weapons.

Team Update

First off, given the volume of the new additions to the team since the last update, I’d like to personally welcome aboard the four new team members we’ve had: Our two new programmers, Kajtek and navewindre, are currently working on fixing the broken and outdated source code from the old build version of RTB, paving the way for new additions later on like NPCs and other features we’ve discussed but aren’t ready to reveal at this time. We also took on two new dedicated animators: Wildchee, and brendaymn, both of whom have already gotten straight to work animating on the mod. Wildchee’s work on the pistol will be seen later this update; as for brendaymn, we hope to showcase some of his work next update.

rtbr_d1_construction Progress

The first map to showcase is the construction site. As has been seen over time, more and more detail and work is being put into the environment by Jan. With skybox details beginning to take shape, as well as the more obvious elements of what makes a construction site being expanded upon, the level is beginning to really come together.

rtbr_d1_consulplaza Progress

With most of the initial part of the map now completed, Delta has been working on expanding upon the events within the consul plaza. Featuring combat elements and some interesting architecture, as well as water source textures used, with permission, from TopHATTWaffle, he’s begun shaping one of the more claustrophobic levels in the first chapter.

Animations: Pistol

As previously mentioned, we’ve taken on two new animators who have begun work animating the weapons to feel fresh compared to the old HL2 standard. Take a look at Wildchee’s pistol animations:

Models Updates: MP5K

With new weapon passes taking place, we went back to the MP5K and touched up its texture to make it fit better with the theming of the other weapons. Its base textures also required some work, being fairly low quality in areas, and so the entire texture has received an overhaul both in its look and in the settings in the material file. More passes on weapons like the SMG and Shotgun are planned in response to feedback about details.

Models Updates: OICW

Finally, and perhaps most impressively, we are pleased to showcase our brand-new and done from-scratch OICW model (from the old repo by The.Mr.Zip Moddb.com)! A model was created by the old RTB team but it had numerous errors and lacked textures of any kind. Leo Ratner, an often-time outside contributor to the mod, picked up the baton and made the weapon look extremely good, taking full advantage of the additional detailing possible. With his help, the OICW is set to be a faithful yet much-improved homage to a fan-favourite weapon of the Beta era of HL2’s development. He is also working on a brand-new animation set for the OICW, sealing the deal and providing a significant and exciting asset for players to utilise throughout the game.

Finishing Up

That concludes the article of Update V2.9! As you can see, progress continues steadily from update to update. Before ending, we’d like to announce a few roles we’re looking for on the team at this moment:

• An experienced mapper (like Owen)
• A music composer

If these positions interest you, please add me on discord at Kralich#0901. All of the details about job postings will also be in the video update.

Thanks for watching, and tune in next time for more!