Half-Life 2: Amalgam Zenith hopes to be many things. The main goal is the complete replacement of the entire HL2 asset library with newer, higher quality overhauls or alternatives. To ensure we are making the best experience one can reasonably obtain, we've been rounding up some of the best HL2 mod makers from around the world and utilizing parts of their popular pre-existing standalone mods where we can. In doing so, we are removing the need for players to manually install tens and even sometimes hundreds of mods themselves to get a more modern HD look. This has the added bonus of removing the headache of troubleshooting personal mod packs and going more in depth than any one player ever could.
Have you ever noticed how some sprites have a near invisible halo of compression artifacts or end sharply when they should have a gradual fade out? Is it a little too obvious that a light is sometimes no more than a static image? Did it ever seem a bit strange that a beam is just a wiggly tape of a repeating texture? We noticed, and we fixed it.
We've been experimenting with some of the more exotic features available for source's sprites, and decided to start with the gravity gun. Watch as the core glow dances with exotic energy, no longer just a static image, but the result of the interference between multiple chaotically generated effects. Watch the lighting twist and morph, traveling towards your target with purpose and weight unlike the simple arc of orange tape that came before. Watch as your punt distorts the air with as much force as your projectile. Zero point energy has never looked so good. No custom particle programming here. Its all in the texture, and we plan on doing a lot more textures.