I think this mod has a lot of potential, and could be something special if you keep working on it. The main thing I would suggest is putting more work into sound - the use of soundscapes and ambient noise is crucial to achieving a creepy atmosphere. The pure silence just makes everything feel so lifeless. Look up a tutorial on env_soundscape entities, and best of luck in the future.
Not bad, not good either.
Weird shield/health depletion. Some frigates have faster shield regeneration then entire level 2 base weapon system, indicating poor balancing. Or lack there of. I don't think this mod is tested at all.
Laggy and bloated. Once back in 2.0 I hold this mod dear. But ever since space map and UI redesign, it's unplayable. Ignoring obvious nonce with some units balance.
I donno quite alot of mix feelings. I tried it 3 times in a span of a year just to see if it will grow on me, but no. I simply find new addition appalling. Content wise, good. Design. Absolute nonce.
Is it worth playing? Perhaps, some will find it interesting. For me, no. Maybe ever, if they don't bother making game, playable. Pretty to look at, but quite difficult to enjoy. I'll still play 2.0 from time to time. That one I recommend.
Decent gameplay, fun mechanics but kind of slow, okay to pretty good mapping, terrible story.
I am sorry, but the story of this is so bad, the ghost wife??????? wth????????? The manhack mechanic is pretty cool, the APC is cool (and is the APC used in EZ2) and the mapping is in between okay and pretty good, but otherwise big pass on this.
Mental Omega is rightfully seen as the best Red Alert 2 mod and one of the best mods ever made.
And I recognize the sheer scale and work put into MO is amazing. Unit and gameplay variety is pretty much unmatched by any other mod out there.
So, why am I giving this masterpiece only a measly 5 instead of a 10 then? Well, sadly at some point Mental Omega started to take some creative liberties that I personally find in poor taste.
I'm talking about the fourth, 100% fanfiction faction, or "fanfaction", Foehn. I dislike its concept, how poorly defined its gameplay doctrine is, and the random anime stuff associated with it. If the mod creator(s) wanted an anime faction that badly, just use Japan from RA3. At least that was cheesy, self-conscious and fun rather than trying to take itself seriously and reeking of edgy fanfiction like Foehn does.
No offense to whoever wrote/designed this faction and its lore, but it clashes with the original tone of RA2 and Yuri's Revenge, and honestly it's just not my thing.
So, conclusion: this mod would be a perfect 10 and my go to way of playing RA2 if it wasn't ruined by an out of place fanfaction. Just... Make a standalone mod for that faction or something?
The Redux mods aren't known for their graphics but it's disappointing to see it less visually appealing than RA Remastered and The Red Alert RA3 mod.
3D is well and good but there needs to be graphical detail to make it worthwhile, especially when going the realistic gritty route. Otherwise the end result is underwhelming when compared to other ZH mods.
The creators seem in a rush to get something out but I hope they can put more effort into quality.
Because the strength of these mods lie in their campaigns this score may change in the future.
It's not bad but there's a lot of room for improvement. It's really hard at some points, gets pretty repetitive, it's annoyingly dark at some points and also the final helicopter fight doesn't have any sort of paths for the helicopter so if just spins around in a circle. Overall i think it was a good timekiller. It could have been much better.
It’s an alright map pack, pushing the upper limits of what it’s engine [id Tech 2] can do on par with Daikatana
Gameplay wise, it works like Quake 2 only more reprtive
Though I would have to deduct points in the aqueducts and most of the veichle segments where you have to use powerups to avoid being killed (heck I had to use console commands and I was playing on medium difficulty) I can’t imagine anyone playing on hard+
Also another small criticism I have is how generous (perhaps a bit too generous) you were with ammo and powerups that I mainly used a few weapons bc of how generous ammo was (again on medium difficulty)
i mean, it's alright. Nothing special
I replay all three Stalkers anually and with very little mods, beyond visual and bug fixes. I have tried several mod overhauls. This one is the most finicky one. For people who want more even if it doesn't really make sense? Looks nice for sure which is what I liked the most about this.
Here are some thoughts just to provide you some feedback.
Positives:
- You kept the levels short and they mostly have meaning
- You tried and achieved more than just key quests, even if the puzzles are on the simpler side
- Decent length for a beginner story.
- There are music and general ambience in the levels
- Monster encounters are utilized quite often and some of them are decent
- Resource management is fine for the most part.
- Minor flickering textures and structure glitches
- A different story from the usual amnesia + escape, but I think you should make it a bit more serious and realistic next time
Negative aspects (that should be addressed even as a beginner)
- Very basic lighting
- No details whatsoever
- Realism is nonexistent in the story or in the puzzles. Like it's quite unfitting to think about eating disorders and eating pizza in a medieval environment with monsters. Then getting a key by using a wooden bucket on some crap? And it just appears in your inventory with no notification.
Things to improve:
- Don't overly light up mansion and castle maps. The basic white pointlights and boxlights set up an unrealistic desaturated ambience.
- You forgot to place some doorframes into doorways, notably near puzzles.
- Use details! You have walls, lamps, lights and some resources + monsters. Utilize furniture and ornaments more, your levels currently still feel empty.
- Try to come up with a story more fitting to the environment.
- Puzzles shoud make sense.
4.5/10, getting there, but not quite there yet.
Invisible walls and unclear direction aren't good ways to introduce a mod.
NPC lines were... sigh. We all know every single citizen line by now, you're not fooling anybody when my HECU friend says "let me get out of your way".
Assassins were introduced poorly. And they're weak as ****! Not a huge fan of the garb, either. They look too much like HECU that I keep wondering about friendly fire.
But what about those actual friendly fire incidents?! I can't hurt my team, so why do they suddenly turn on me? I did enjoy the challenge, though...
Night vision is useless. Like, why bother if you're only going to make it work in a 2 foot circle 2 feet in front of you? And the same on/off sound makes it unclear if you even have it on, just wasting away battery for when you actually need it- ah, who am I kidding... you'll never need it.
Story/gameplay elements were a little weak at times. Tooltips and textovers aren't very Half-Life. You should be able to communicate my task at hand without literally spelling it out in front of my eyes.
One time a Zombine got me good. Pulled a nade and my only exit was blocked by a member of my own squad. The last words I heard as I desperately tried to push him aside were, "We have to get out of here!"
The 9 shot pistol was an odd choice. Looked and sounded cool, but its existence didn't make sense and there wasn't much point in using it due to limited ammo and low power.
So... what was with that wide-open nothingness in the sand?!
WHAT is with the Vortigaunts! Why do their attacks do 100+ damage, able to kill you in one shot without armor, guaranteed. And on Normal, no less, all while firing so much faster than normal. At close range, you need the magnum to take them out and you have to be quick and accurate.
And why was there a dead rebel at the end of that encounter? Time traveler? Combine energy chargers? Lambda caches? Combine radio chatter? What?
And why do Houndeyes groan like HECU when killed? Why did that box erupt into a shower of shattered glass?
Mapping was at least good. Some questionable wide open areas with half-assed or anachronistic props, but direction was overall clear and engaging so the mod was definitely playable. Boxes were frustrating: no consistency in whether boxes contained items or how many hits to break. Unless you spent ages breaking boxes, you probably missed a lot of items.
Badass original music. This mod has some high-flying highs and some WTF lows. Shoddy and sloppy, but still kept me playing. That's gotta count for something.
Now Operation Four?! Loved the intro. Despite the rebels (ugh), this is the kind of frantic energy I haven't seen captured in any Black Mesa mods. Who is friend? Who is foe? No time to think about whether that scientist is a threat; better blast him just in case because I saw that other white coat guy holding a gun. Execution was brilliant.
Rescue captured soldiers? Captured by who? And why is there a full-blown prison in Black Mesa?
Then it's over. Quickest operation ever. Boarding the APC was not well-communicated. Some environments were maze-like with too many dead ends and switchbacks. Operation Two started off so well...
Now we're on Operation Five. Starting to feel like deleted scenes from Opposing Force. Hm.
Confusing interactability. Doors that look like passive textures can be opened, standard grate dead ends are suddenly able to be smashed, etc... the game has you missing all the "obvious" paths forward unless you're crowbarring everything in sight. Riveting stuff.
Oh man, that over-the-top scream people do when they die. Bash a scientist with a crowbar? Blown speaker.
Environments got lazier over time. Started to feel like GldSrc.
You give me the gravity gun, but no way to make use of it?
Operation Seven (yes, we're still going) is just plain sloppy. Confusing direction, poor lighting made 10x more frustrating with the stupid nightvision, text overlays, poor identification of props... There's a lot of content here, and I did play through the whole thing so it's not hopeless, but I wish the author had cut the mod in half and spent double the time on each section.
Wtf was that sniper vent puzzle? How should anybody be expected to see that solution? Even worse, this mod twists the knife. The radio said "retreat" so logically I went back. Then I got softlocked downstairs because the doors back up top were suddenly replaced with concrete walls. Finally had to cave to a walkthrough on this one. Softlockin'll do that ter ya. I did give it a valiant effort up to this point since this mod doesn't deserve the effort of a no-walkthrough run.
I was kinda glad when it ended. Wanted to see it through, but it became tiresome after a bit. It's well-intentioned and the maps are pretty fun sometimes, but it needs a lot more polishing.
What person can get people excited about an update and then decide not to release it? It's really not good :(
steam atölyesi neden yok?
That's it? That's the mod? I thought I just did a tedious fetch quest to start the main adventure... but that WAS the adventure?
Nothing more than a scavenger hunt. A somewhat frustrating one, too. I didn't like that doors remained locked until each new objective. Felt cheap and clumsy.
The hint system fell flat as well. All it did was tell you what house to go to, instead of using a different method of exposition to show (not tell) the next objective. Although I did appreciate it after discovering how rough the translation was. One of my personal pet peeves is when the author knows their translations are ****, but can't find a single bilingual player on moddb who's willing to translate?
Environments were gorgeous. Moody and gloomy. Loved the mild chaotic undertones after the zombies arrived. Early morning sunlight spilling through doors ajar, somber orange and red skating across the icy road...
At first I was annoyed with how the combat unfolded, but once you realize flight is the right move, it gets exciting. Thrilling, even. Bashing away with that crowbar as your health saps away, wondering when I'll get a gun... oh that guy just died? Does he have a gun?
Something that really irked me was the explosive supply crate. I see somebody else covered that with a long rant in their review, so I won't get into it too much. Suffice to say this was a stupid decision by the author for so many reasons.
Not nearly enough health or ammo, but I guess that did make it high stakes and interesting. Good thing I decided to restart when I got physics'd by a cardboard box down to 5 HP while picking up a flare. Definitely wouldn't have survived the onslaught.
Forces you to think fast and remember even faster. Perhaps a bit too much running around with an obnoxious red herring of an "airsleigh" taunting you from afar as you jump around like an idiot carting physics objects back and forth. Didn't try to see if I could put stuff in the airboat since it was always swarming with fast zombies, but it shouldn't have been able to carry anything anyway. At least, there was no indication in game that it could. It can't in HL2 after all.
Loved the sound effects and zombie shrieks as **** starts to get real. Creates an uneasy tension in the crisp, cool, winter air. Terrifying.
All in all, kind of a boring mod that's more of an art piece than anything. Would've liked more collectibles and prop detail if I'm going to be exploring every nook and cranny, but it fills a niche in the Half-Life universe. It's worth a play, but I won't play it ever again.
nothing special
Just like the simulations.
Well, let's start with the positives. The game throws a certain challenge at the maximum level of difficulty. True, this is achieved due to the increased health of soldiers and officers. The soldier became like a machine gunner - it takes 4 shots. There is a feeling that the AI is improved compared to the original - enemies avoid obstacles, and do not get stuck behind the wall, as usual. Some levels are quite difficult - for example, 13, when the opponents start to come out from all sides.
I also note an interesting new graphics.
As for the cons: first of all, not very interesting levels and boring secrets in them. There is no secret level, this is a violation of tradition).
I don't like it when authors resort to realistic style in wolf 3d mods. The bright and attractive colors of the original are lost. Here and there, all 15 levels have dark gray and taupe walls. Even on the street among the snow it is somehow gray.
So, high difficulty and slightly improved AI, but monotonous levels and dull colors, for me it's only 5/10.
This mod had potential, yet it was marred by the terrible camera and aiming system. I cannot even attack the legless zombies or headcrabs with firearms, forcing me to use the crowbar and likely suffer damage in the process. The worst offender is the Antlion boss sequence. The camera constantly moves around and sometimes will even shake and twist when the Antlion rams towards the garage. Although the camera movement is minorly better in the Zombine final boss battle at the chopper, defeating him is nigh impossible unless one brings a spare flare. Even then, use it for the 2nd phase; doing so in the 1st phase breaks the mod, as it instantly kills the final boss, surpassing Phase 2.
Also, sometimes when I enter different camera scenes, the player will auto-move forward, or when getting hit by an enemy, he will rotate the wrong direction.
Just because this mod is inspired by Resident Evil does not mean you have to transfer the original series' worst aspects and features.
Despite all of this, I would have recommended only a single playthrough if the Antlion and Zombine bosses were not plagued by the terrible camera movement (especially the former).
I very barely managed to complete the mod (and at Danger level health), yet it did not truly feel like an enjoyable victory (rather just a plain relief). Can't believe I wasted my night and sleep for this...
Despite people saying this mod is pretty bad, I still wanted to try it out.
To be honest, the puzzles are... really bad.
It mostly focuses on flings and momentum, but there are some exceptionally bad ones: Chamber 18 for example.
For the story: I think it was okay. I liked the idea at the final part where you get to see GLaDOS turned on, then to just kill the everyone in that room.
But there are also some pretty questionable dialogue. (If you played the mod, you know what I mean by this.)
For the boss fight: not that good either. First, you have to wait for someone to tell you to get the morality core, and then you go on a long trip to get the morality core, and then when you want to finish this by putting it on GLaDOS, she just flings everything to random directions, and finally, after finding the morality core and actually putting it on GLaDOS, it's done. However, this doesn't stop her, and you actually get shot, with the screen fading to black. You see an employee telling GLaDOS to stop, but this doesn't work. You then get dragged by another employee, and the credits roll, with a post-credits cutscene after it.
Overall, this mod had some great potential, but sadly, it wasn't executed that well.
DoW 2 +, thats how it feels, but i believe that the Imperial Guard and the Eldar (the 2 most op factions in vanilla) are even more op in the mod, but that just me.