Syph0

Hey, anyone who might stumble across my page, I'm trying out development blogs for the first time. Exciting right?

In 2020, at the very start of lockdown, I wrote a synopsis for a mod called "Radiated." Radiated's basic premise is that you'd be stuck underground after the Citadel goes KABOOM at the very end of Half-Life 2: Episode One. Rogue Lambda developed the mod on and off until I was able to acquire the Vance team. Once we started working on "ReVance," I gave Radiated a makeover, called it "Half-Life: 2 Badlands," and then I put it in the corner. Out of sight, out of mind. It's only been recently that I've wanted to actually develop a project on my own to help advance my skills. And now that's become a reality. I've removed Badlands from Rogue Lambda so I can focus on it in my own time and at my own pace.

The current "plot" of Badlands might change, but what I currently have is this: "You are 'Yuri', a resistance member who managed to get onto Calhouns train out of the city. As the train ventures off, it is ambushed by a group of fleeing Combine Remnants and de-railed into an abandoned metro underneath City 17. You and a group of wounded resistance members must find a way out of the city, as the Dark Energy admitted from the blast is having drastic effects on you and any forms of life."

I originally wanted the rest of the resistance to die in the intro and have you and Calhoun attempt to escape together, but that really undermines all the effect Gordon undertakes in helping the resistance flee the city. In my mind, I'd want the mod to play out in a way that makes the player, and possibly Calhoun, venture around the metro and to the surface, getting supplies for the wounded and then leading them to the next area. If you've ever played the game "The Last Stand," you might be able to draw similarities. I'd also want different things to happen if you do lose a member of your group, like you don't have a lot of health, or there's more likely a chance of more enemies spawning in, stuff like that. Everything's very much in its conceptual stage.

alex_mmc is currently porting his item systems to BADLANDS, so that items give off particle effects, different sounds I'm very much butchering it but it's cool trust me. Once it's working I'll show you all, it's cool.

I haven't got to the point where I'm mapping yet but I'll get too it soon. Hopefully I can produce something kind of good looking to showcase to you all in the next one but I heavily doubt. It's what's been putting me off wanting to do a solo project, because mapping with hammer just sucks. Anyway, this one wasn't very long I just wanted to let the very few that follow me that a new, new, new BADLANDs is being worked on by yours truly.