MINERVA - read-only archives

Hey. (I hope it's okay I post Demo 8 here, locworks got really angry last time, but I listened to what he said and kept it in mind when redesigning my systems.)

It has already been 3 months, and the next build of my mod is ready for release. My own testers had a thrill playing it and I hope you will enjoy playing it as well. I'm really happy with the amount of work I've done, and I'm proud to announce the following:

- Three new maps
- Completed Chapter 4
- A lot of fixes
- Automatic Updates (when mod is launched)
-

Altered Transmission - Demo 8 is the first mod to utilize the new Maxsi Distribution technology, which enables 'Automatic Updates' as well as tracking statistics. I showed the systems to some other developers and they were amazed by the possibilities. I've kept the systems so User-Friendly as possible and decided to be very open about the gameplay statistics that we recieved when you play the mod. Therefore I've made all the information we have recieved publicly available on the .

The Systems get your Steam Username when you install the mod and link it with your gameplay statistics, so if you enter your Steam Username on the you can view all information we've recieved about you. Your Steam Username will not be visible to anyone, and will never be shared with a third party. Your Steam Username can only be used to identify you and is worthless without your password. . For more information please see our .


ABOUT ALTERED TRANSMISSION)
City 12, Former Danish city Århus.

Every city left on Earth are under combine control, whether they know it or
not. In some of these cities resistance have been observed.
Things are different in City 12.

- Non-combine television was reintroduced.
- Half the Civil Protection is corrupt.
- The telephone system and later the Internet were restored.

Thanks to the resistance in City 12, the Combine is slowly losing control.


In Altered Transmission the player arrives at City 12. The resistance is
instantly aware of his presence and brings him to their HQ. Surprisingly, the
resistance has a task for him: Lead an assault into the Non-Citizen Area.

Altered Transmission is estimated 2/3 the length of Half-Life 2: Episode One
and is a detailed true recreation of a real city based on real-life photos and
satellite photos.


LINKS)
You can view some of the screenshots here!
http://www.maxsi.dk/comics/?id=26&issue=1

You can fine the website here, cryptic and containing little information of use!
http://www.maxsi.dk/at/


ABOUT DEMO 8)
Altered Transmission is developed using another method than just releasing it when it's done, and it's not made using Adam's episodic approach either. I believe in open development, therefore I am releasing every playable map along with all required content to run them, every third month. It's wrong calling them Demos, it's more alike Betas, but I just decied to call them demos.

The purpose of this release to test gameplay, not visuals. Please ignore any clearly unfished sections.

Demo 8 is 11 maps long and includes maps from all the chapters that will be in the final version. It takes about 1.5 hours to 2 hours to complete and shows the city from any angles.

Altered Transmission - Demo 8 requires Half-Life 2: Episode Two.


VIDEOS)
Here's a old video from Demo 4 showcasing the enormous outdoors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaBHwlxtE8g

Here's old another video from Demo 4 showcasing the beatifully crafted underground tunnels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqd1amud784

Here's a old trailer for Demo 5, officially unofficial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kCcw2QSU6o

You can directly download the Demo 8 installer from here
http://www.maxsi.dk/distribution/Altere ... taller.exe


KNOWN BUGS)
The nodegraph might not be built. I have built it and shipped it with the mod, but it still doesn't work correctly. If you recieve a message telling you that the node graph is being rebuilt, please wait 5 seconds and the map will be ready to play.

I need your feedback, so give the mod a try and come back with comments! ;-)

Crash report- Prewaves crashed hl2.exe on me, during the fight in the building with the double ramps. I don't know why, it's odd since I've never had a crash playing any previous segment of AT. I was recording a demo at the time, I don't know if it survived.

Hey Kenny.

Please browse to your Episode Two directory and find the newest .mdmp file. If the its date of creation is the time when the crash happened, please email the file to me or upload it somewhere and give me a link. I have the debug symbols, so I will be able to debug your crash and release an update through my 'Automatic Updates'.

The demo has most likely survived, try and see if it exists and if it's valid. Perhaps it contains enough information to recreate the crash? One other tester had issues with the first map as well, but he got it working by just trying again. I have never got the crash myself, so it must be a rare crash, or something I never thought about.

Thank you for your help.

Edit: According to my statistics you got past the first map and is on a late stage in the game. Still, try and see if you can find the .mdmp!

Cool! AT is like a short game that I play every few months, and that gets noticeably better each time, I actually look forward to it now :)
not going to have access to my gaming PC until the weekend, but then...

Haha. Short? This damn thing keeps getting bigger! :O

Edit:
Kenny, you are stuck in Evasion_04. You have to wait for your buddy to come and open the door for you using the scanner. If he doesn't come, then you won't miss much (only 5 seconds), simply go to the menu and launch Chapter 5.

I found the .mdmp file, can you send me your email so I can send as an attachment?

My Email is in the readme, but you can just send it to Sortie at Maxsi dot dk.

Demo 9- On shutdown, this error:

MaxsiFeedback couldn't open (file path to source mods)\Altered Transmission\bin\MaxsiDistribution.mis.
Please ensure this game is properly installed. For more information (go to website.).

Otherwise, I'm liking the new areas. Particuarly the penultimate map fighting up the staircase. Best use of that HL2EP2 song I could possibly ask for. The opening plaza scene suffers since it's difficult to draw the player's attention to where he must go (the building's entrance blended in a little *too* well, I spent a couple minutes just milling about the courtyard debating whether to throw a boot, Muntadar al-Zaidi style, at the local civil protection.

However, the ending- Minerva-esque and bizzare.

Liking the new color-tinting you've been tinkering with in the maps, noticing more of a green hue in a lot of your levels.

Please do not be alarmed that you got this error. The Distribution Systems in AT9 is broken and do not generate the required .mis files, nor does it update the product as it should. Stats, however, works fine.

I'm glad you liked the new areas, I agree that the plaza needs more work, but it's just the first released edition. I never intended to make some green hue in my maps, but yeah, by chance it's all over the place. I've always wanted to make interesting lightning, so making the night maps proved an interesting challege, but I'm not done with any map yet. ;-)

Oh and the ending? I did *steal* some innocent scripts from MINERVA, but I assure you, it has nothing to do with MINERVA in any way. And if you thought the ending was weird, you should have paid more attention to the events unfolding around you during the mod: Metrocops being slaughered by the Combine, Striders shooting down Dropships and APCs, automatic Combine Systems going crazy, just as if someone or something was intending to kill the whole city before the morning. Oh and a Citadel on fire, even though it's not City 17. Yes. A lot of strange things are going on, only leading to a stranger ending.

I got the corrupt police element, since one lets you out the door of the apartment in the first map. But who were the five elites that got slaughtered? What was going on there?

Also, in the campaign, there were several instances where combine accidentally shot others on their side (Specifically shotgun combine blowing away another shotgun combine in a double blast aimed at me) which I found hilarious.

This mod will be awesome. Hope some of the story makes its way into the 10th release.

Also, took a couple of screenshots of exploits I found in the maps.

The five elites at the end? They weren't slaughered, think of it as suicide, they decided a quick death instead of what the mushroom cloud offered. Or because they didn't want to see the aftermath of the real end of City 12, or because someone told them to kill themselves. I might cut them though, making the end a little different, but they draw the attention of the player, instead of having them watch the explosive sequence.
I know a lot of Altered Transmission doesn't make sense at first, but events are more carefully linked that people think, I just haven't told the story of Altered Transmission yet. But it's amazing what people understand from small gameplay elements and visual clues. I really look forward to telling the actual story of Altered Transmission using voice acting and faceposing. It isn't a story with a message, it's a story telling about the events referred to as "Altered Transmission".

COMBINE UNIVERSAL UNION

#C12-DOC-003378

REGARDING THE RECENT FAILURE
REFERED TO AS "ALTERED TRANSMISSION"

TRANSMISSION INTERCEPTED FROM
NON-EXISTING URBAN SECTOR C12
ON NOV 09 2027 17:02

HQ9 calling TV1 admin, TV1 admin come in. Over.

HQ9 calling TV1 admin, TV1 admin come in. Over.

TV1 admin here. Over.

We have received reports of hundreds of gunships flying north; you might have reason to be worried. Over.

Negative, the Combine are evading City 12. Over.

Oh. They are still in control of this area of the city, but we are preparing assaults against their major control points. Although we are worried about civilian causalities, HQ7 has reported striders heading our way. Over.

Hold on, I’ll get Faraday. Over.

This is George Faraday speaking. HQ9, your direct orders are to take control of Sector R by any means. We are trying to establish a secure buffer zone for civilians between the downtown ruins and the Combine forces. It’s critical that the area is secure before the sunset. If you have access to the Combine munitions depots, you can arm civilians. Over.

Our equipment is in a bad shape after the explosion, but we might have enough firepower to gain access to Combine depots. And we might have reasons to be worried, the Geiger counters are going crazy, so is any electronic equipment. Whatever happened, the citadel seems to be emitting ionising magnetic waves and loads of radiation. Over.

Confirmed, the downtown area is Hiroshima over again, do not proceed closer to the city than sector R. Over.

Understood, HQ9 out.

Oooh, I love when people comment on my choice of words. The chapter that this "takes place in" is called Evasion, simply becaused I liked the word, so I built a story around it.

You have to remember this is TV1's interpretation of the beginning of the failure referred to as "Altered Transmission." The TV1 admin has been taking control of City 12 since the beginning of the failure, and now the Combine are leaving City 12 as fast as possible, while the resistance try to kill them or make them go away faster.

Of course, the Combine isn't really being hunted, they just happen to be running already. As fast as they can, even though it'll turn out to be no use.

And Demo 10 will be released about 23rd June 2009.