Half-Life 25th Anniversary Update is here.
Going through this and seeing all the changes that have been made, plus watching the new documentary has granted me another opportunity of contemplation.
I keep falling back to questions like "What am I really doing here with this project?" or "What real purpose does any of this actually serve?".
This game is 25 years old. The fanbase is a conglomeration of people twice or half that age. At some point you'd figure we'd give it a rest after all this time.
I have since completed most of the campaigns for each Half-Life expansion. Opposing Force is the last one on the chopping block, and I'm more or less halfway through the first development phase for that.
There's still an enormous amount of work that needs to be done for the backend since everything has been restarted from the ground up not too long ago. I still haven't touched cooperative or deathmatch modes since I've established extremely rudimentary functionality over 5 years ago.
With the rise of Source 2's availability I've been itching to get the proper licensing to move the entire project over, but I'm sure that there are others out there that have already had months if not years of a head start, S&box being one example. I no longer have the equipment or necessary experience to even work within Source 2 currently, Source 1 has been very kind and extremely stable to work with in almost every system environment I've thrown at it, Source 2 demands a more modern workflow approach that I do not think I'm capable of integrating with.
I really want to ship this mod/game; but the more and more time I spend on it, the more I realize that it's not mine. Half-Life isn't my game. What gives me the right to declare a "better" version or iteration of a game that was developed in less than 2 years back in the late 90s, and the developers themselves don't really take time to reflect or think about it all to often.
I can launch this new 25th anniversary "update" to lay witness to bugs that have existed ever since it was ported to Steam, along side a plethora of new bugs and issues, some that even cause all sorts of compatibility problems especially with the decades of custom content that have existed.
Not only does this re-inspire me to want to ship this project more than ever, it also leaves a huge internal conflict within myself. If the company that made the game that I'm currently working to port to their newer engines (once again; one of many to do so) hasn't spend the time to fix 20 year old bugs, and instead modify things that weren't really that important or game changing in the first place; why should I even bother or waste my own time like I have been for years.
I've been stuck in the past for a very, very, long time. People have since moved on, buddies I used to stay up all night playing deathmatch on dial up have passed away; and my borderline obsessive behavior with this project is just simply nonsensical. My vision for what I want will surely never come to fruition. Half-Life will always be there, in the way that it was intended to be played, and it always has been; no matter what engine it exists on.
At this current moment I've decided to halt all development for Half-Life: Source Anthology.
This decision isn't final.
I plan to, at the very least, release all the raw map files after I get a chance to go through everything. Once I've compiled these assets together, I'll evaluate whether or not I truly want to call it quits and give these away.
STATUS... OUT OF RANGE.
At this current moment I've halted all development for Half-Life: Source Anthology. This decision isn't final.
Posted by woody on
I'm really sorry to hear about this. ;-;
wherever you decide to take things, I wish you luck.
Very understandable summary, it was always a HELL of an undertaking just for one dev.
The decision is yours, best of luck regardless!
Even after the 25th anniversary update, as of now, there still remains some unpatched bugs and glitches for the games. The flickering signs at the big elevator in Unforeseen Consequences and the explosives warehouse in Surface Tension still remain, as does the bugged out sequence where the scientist is grabbed by the Tentacle in Blast Pit.
And there are some glitches that were actually CAUSED by the update, but I've only seen them on Reddit, not in actual gameplay.
If Valve doesn't fix these, then I'd say that continuing with the development of Half-Life: Source Anthology is perfectly reasonable.
But if it really is that stressful on you, then you can stop and let someone else finish the project, or at least take a break for a little while. If you really want to ship the game though, than you can continue working on it. Your choice.
Also, I'm sorry if I've been bugging or pestering you a bit too much, I was just a bit antsy about getting a consistent version of the Half-Life 1 anthology.
It is fully understandable. You were working on not one, but the four HL campaigns. And then, not only porting them into Source, but also remaking them. Almost all on your own.
It would be good if the files were released, so your efforts wouldn't be wasted, but ultimately is your final decision.
In any case, you are free to pursue your own dreams, as everybody should be.