MINERVA: Episodic, Single-Player Half-Life 2
Journey from City 1 - part INFECTED! - posted by Cargo Cult on Tuesday August 5 2008
Back in Britain. Suitcase returned home late on Sunday. Best development thus far: I've developed a bad cold. I blame my little sister, the Typhoid Mary that she is.
Atchoo.
Edit 2008-08-06: Still, I managed to see some intriguing industrial stuff near Alfreton, a couple of miles from where my parents live - who needs to go anywhere more exotic? Eastern Europe, eat your heart out! Amber Valley can out-derelict you any day! ;-)
Article Comments (now closed)
2. Rainy
Posted by AndyMacK at 10:45PM, Tuesday August 5 2008
What, the rainy one?
Actually, the weather in Scotland hasn't been as bad as I expected this time of year.
3. Rainy
Posted by Velvet Fist, Iron Glove at 8:41AM, Wednesday August 6 2008
Don't worry, AndyMacK - I'm sure it's storing up all the bad to unleash on us in the near future. Today is looking like the start of that.
4. september warm up
Posted by Omega at 9:35AM, Wednesday August 6 2008
I found this thing to be rather INTERESTING
5. True
Posted by AndyMacK at 10:53PM, Wednesday August 6 2008
True... It's been raining solid since 2pm today :(
and... that is quite derelict. Wow.
6. Wait...
Posted by Arsnof at 1:50AM, Thursday August 7 2008
Isn't that first picture from the level where you had Combine shooting at you an' you had to crawl an' there were all sorts of zombie torsos everywhere?
I hated that part.
7. In reply to Arsnof
Posted by windlab at 12:56PM, Thursday August 7 2008
That's the first thing I thought of as well, but I enjoyed the level, despite the feeling that it was just there to slow you down.
8. Great scott
Posted by kast at 2:24PM, Thursday August 7 2008
You're right! I can even see the white van's that act as gates.
Zombies sighted in Derbyshire? I would not be surprised, frankly.
9. Alfreton
Posted by Alex at 5:36PM, Thursday August 7 2008
Those pictures look interesting.
Alfreton eh? Close to me - I live in Derby.
10. Zombies
Posted by Yar Kramer at 12:23AM, Saturday August 9 2008
Now I'm trying to imagine headcrab-zombies as they'd look in "real life" ...
11. RE: Zombies
Posted by kast at 1:35AM, Saturday August 9 2008
I'm blaming you if I have nightmares tonight! :P
12. Fame and fortune
Posted by Birdoman at 5:15PM, Sunday August 10 2008
Adam - when are you going to have you own little blurb on http://www.valvesoftware.com/people.html ?
13. City 1
Posted by Evan at 8:06PM, Sunday August 10 2008
I particularly like the second and final pictures. The view from the trees nicely accents the cold, rusted steel and mechanical colors of the abandoned cars. Something about the scrap in that alley as well attracts me. I think again it is the plant-life and how it grows amongst the ruins regardless.
Considering it, the second to last with the brick building looks quite nice as well. It feels fortress-like with its height, not to mention the razor-wired fence. Though, again, the earth manages to reclaim itself upon it no matter how much it tries to fortify itself.
I think you should try to implement things like that in future works, perhaps in Chronoclasm, should any derelict areas show up (which I am sure there will be).
14. SCIENCE!
Posted by Cargo Cult at 9:41PM, Friday August 15 2008
http://www.petermccready.com/
VR panorama whatsit thingies of INSIDE CERN. With ambient sounds.
15. LHC
Posted by Pace at 7:50AM, Saturday August 16 2008
Anyone know when they might start getting meaningful results out of the thing?
16. re LHC
Posted by fuzz at 3:30PM, Saturday August 16 2008
First particles have gone in to the ring, I think they're going to have full contra rotating beams in september, and the first collisions in october, so any time after that really.
Unless they accidentally open a hole in reality and <i>things</i> come through.
17. CERN
Posted by kast at 3:51PM, Saturday August 16 2008
There's a lot of colour in that panorama. Makes me think of Mirror's Edge. Which makes me wonder just how much computing power would be required to recreate that area in HL2 or Mirror's Edge's respective engines.
I pity the guy who activates the first collision, and just hope he's got a HEV suit and a crowbar ready.
18. CERN
Posted by fuzz at 8:46PM, Saturday August 16 2008
Sod a crowbar, I'd rather have our benevolent mistress on my side any day of the week...
19. I'll do it.
Posted by AndyMacK at 12:52AM, Sunday August 17 2008
I suppose that everyone will chicken out of it, so I, I with my sui of Plate Armour (+12 if you like that kindof thing) and my Hand-and-a-half Sword (also +12, and flaming) shall take over.
Some things need to be done.
21. Painless
Posted by U-Mu-La-Mah-Ri at 3:09PM, Monday August 18 2008
Well at least if they do unravel the fabric of the universe, we'll probably never even know
22. Awesome
Posted by Sortie at 3:13PM, Monday August 18 2008
And I who is just about to consturct a small-scale nuclear powerplant deep underground, just beneath the nest of the gone-godlike /reFast powered digitally evolved Artificial Intelligence! It is now known such places are much more wired and colorful than previously believed!
Also if you are going to construct an AI by the means of using digital evolution, don't.
24. Japanese thing
Posted by Yar Kramer at 5:00PM, Tuesday August 19 2008
Hmm ... with assistance from Google Translate, and a "how to sign up for NicoVideo" guide, it appears to be a video playthrough of Metastatis with a running commentary. Seems to be doing a "Let's Play, Tokyo division" thing. He seems to like it a lot.
25. A bit of translation...
Posted by Campaignjunkie at 11:35PM, Tuesday August 19 2008
My sister-in-law is Japanese and was on hand to translate some of the commentary... In general the guy seems confused / frustrated about basic aspects of, well, EVERYTHING. He spends the first few minutes talking about the basic story: "I'm playing a game called Minerva... this is set on an island... etc." and now some choice quotes:
(Looking at one of the beached ships) "This is a ship... hmm, I don't know."
(Fighting rollermines) "Oh these are annoying."
(Fighting combine soldiers) "Oh these guys are annoying!"
(Firing SMG1) "This gun sucks!"
I think the fact that he can't read / understand any of the radio transmissions is KIND OF impeding his comprehension of the story. LocWorks has their work cut out for them! ;)
26. snow
Posted by Pace at 8:14AM, Wednesday August 20 2008
In case this might be news Mr. Cult (and still relevant), these guys have implemented snow which looks quite good:
http://www.hlssmod.com/showthread.php?p=5313#post5313
27. Work!
Posted by Dirty Norris at 12:00AM, Wednesday August 27 2008
I think Adam should spend less time on my TF2 server and more time mapping :P
28. Image for you
Posted by fstanchina at 2:43PM, Thursday August 28 2008
When I looked casually at the first image, I thought it was a high quality rendering of that famous battle. Scary how I tend to confuse reality with fiction.
Anyhow, few days ago I was trying to overtake this truck, when I noticed a familiar word on the door, so I immediately pulled out the shotg...erm, camera:
http://www.stanchina.net/~flavio/pics/Minerva-truck.jpg
Sorry for the poor quality, but that's what my cell phone camera can do. And taking pictures with one hand while keeping the motorbike going straight - and three meters from a 20-ton truck - with the remaining hand wouldn't be remembered as the smartest thing to do if it ended in disaster.
29. ah!
Posted by kast at 7:00PM, Thursday August 28 2008
Clearly that truck was transporting replacement parts for Minerva's lab/satellite/clone factory/AI network!
30. Re: kast
Posted by Yar Kramer at 8:14PM, Thursday August 28 2008
I'm pretty sure it's fairly safe just to say "or whatever."
31. The Road to Oblivion
Posted by Baffled at 9:33PM, Sunday August 31 2008
I fear MINERVA is going into storage!
A long hibernation in some secret location in what looks like the French/Swiss Alps?
Oh the pain we shall all suffer by Her absence!
I think Ralph Waldo Emmerson describes our torment best:
Thou already slumberest deep;
Woe and want thou canst outsleep;
Want and woe, which torture us,
Thy sleep makes ridiculous.
32. Re: The Road to Oblivion
Posted by Nightshade at 6:52AM, Wednesday September 3 2008
"This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper." - T.S Eliot
33. Re: Re: The Road to Oblivion
Posted by Pace at 8:06AM, Wednesday September 3 2008
"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes." -DNA
34. Re: Re: Re: The Road to Oblivion
Posted by Yar Kramer at 2:25AM, Monday September 8 2008
"And then it's nothing but frozen death, the tea-time of the gods and an eternity of cold." -- Terry Pratchett
Article is now closed for commenting.
1. Weather
Posted by fuzz at 6:31PM, Tuesday August 5 2008
Hope you're enjoying our lovely british summer today then :/