Further Data Incoming... news

Before we get into Chapter 2, lets jump ahead a bit. How about Chapter 4? You've seen the monolithic blast door which comprises the emergency entrance to the X-Lab, some of you have even tried to blow it open with an inhuman amount of explosives. Whats behind that door? Lets take a peek. Lets take a peek... Beyond the threshold.

The X-Lab has always been an enigma in the greater scheme of Half-Life's development. What little is known points to it being the earliest predecessor to the Lambda Complex. The few screenshots we have of the X-Lab, and the snippets of it in the Half-Life Alpha point to it being a very vast & abstract location, embodying the Quake-like roots of Half-Life more than any of the other chapters. I believe its mystery works fully to its advantage as a concept, presenting near infinite creative freedom to re-imagine the location into something that truly lives up to that mystery.

"The massive reactor at the core of the X-Lab requires a gargantuan amount of coolant & water to keep the heat that it constantly generates under control. After preventing a meltdown so catastrophic it could vaporize the facility entirely, you'll have to make your way through many of the subsystems that control the reactor until you reach the teleportation labs where the remainder of your colleagues await."

You'll have noticed that the yellow bullsquids congregating in the coolant reservoir weren't going out of their way to attack the player. They're docile! (Unless provoked, of course). This is to further distinguish one variant from the other, as the white bullsquid variant is rigorously hostile to anything in it's path.

This map was designed to serve as the foundation for what's to come of the X-Labs. I built it over the course of one week, and hauled ass to get it ready in time to present for this article. The X-Lab has always been the final frontier of Half-Life's cut content, and I want to do it justice as best I can, so hang tight! I'll absolutely have more of it to show in the future.

Now you've seen Chapter 4, or at least an approximation of what to expect of it for when I get down to doing the rest of it. What about Chapter 2, Uplink & aligning that damned satellite array? Well, you've got quite a bit of work to do before you can head down & plunge the depths of the X-Labs. (and so do I, quite literally!)

As I touched on a bit in the first article, a good portion of the remaining chapters are fairly far into development.

Chapter 2 will consist of the quest to unseal the dome & align the satellite array within to transmit the "All clear" signal to the USNRC. Gordon will have quite a few errands to run around the primary site to achieve his goal & proceed to safety with his colleagues waiting for him back at the auxiliary site. After linking up with the remaining personnel fortified within the command center, you know what needs to be done. You'll have to head to the Data Control subsystem beneath the site, in order to reset the main power. You'll also have to head over to the archival labs, and make your way to the High Security File Storage area in order to acquire a new set of codes for the USNRC "All clear" signal.

The latter half of the chapter will take you through several areas of interest, namely a section of the site dedicated to sonic weapons research & acoustic destruction. The situation these marines have gotten themselves into speaks for itself, clearly they've managed to lock themselves inside of the sound stage, behind several feet of reinforced steel. You have the upper hand in this situation, and can easily get the jump on them, given you can find something strong enough to blow open the enclosure using the sound equipment within. That fancy "Equivocator" device seems like it'll do the trick.

The soundbooth is currently undergoing a refit & slight redesign, and I'll touch on it more in another update sometime in the new year. I've put alot of thought into bringing this sequence to life, and I'm stoked to go into more detail about it when I bring the rest of the level up to speed.

The other main area you'll be spending your time in Chapter 2 in prior to heading into the dome itself is Data Control subsystems, or as its original counterpart is called, Datacore. This entire area is currently undergoing a full redesign, and I believe it'll shape up to be one of the most intense areas in the mod from its combat alone. I won't spoil much about it, but I've got some absolutely insane ideas for it.

Before Communications Center was cut from the base game, Valve had planned to feature a rogue security guard in the lobby of datacore's Alpha counterpart. I've got many things in mind to do this idea the justice that Valve simply didn't have time to do during the development of Half-Life, honing in on the psychological effects the disaster could have had on some of the facility personnel, especially those who lived long enough to see the true horrors of the resonance cascade.

And finally, the focal point of chapter 2, and one of the primary focal points of the mod as a whole.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to build the dome & the array within up to feel like a proper goal, like the player just reached the peak of the mountain looking over the entire facility below.

I evaluated alot of different options for how I'd approach the dome before settling on what it shaped up to be. The satellite array has been completely re-designed with Soviet/Cold War era radar equipment in mind, as one of Half-Life's own aesthetic inspirations is Cold War era technology. A full on parabolic dish on a raised pedestal, compared to the tiny antenna featured in the original Uplink.

In closing, Chapter 2 is well underway, and I'm confident that a release will come sooner than later. Chapter 1, and 2, are only the beginning. There is still so much more to come.

Don't forget to vote, not just for Signal Lost, but for any mods you enjoyed throughout the year! There are tons of amazing projects out there that deserve all the love & support you can give them! To name just a few that absolutely deserve your vote, give the stellar Dark Interval, Raising the Bar: Redux, and Black Mesa: Blue Shift a look! For upcoming mods, absolutely give Gunship Mark II's Half-Life: MMod, and Pipeline Software's Half-Life: Dark Matter a vote! If even a single person goes & votes for these mods from this article, than I know it'd mean alot to all of the amazing & talented people making them, be sure & share the love!