Barnz/Surface Tension
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| Surface Tension | |
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| General information | |
| Location | |
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| Game information | |
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Barnz/Surface Tension is the twelfth chapter in the storyline of Half-Life.
Contents
Overview[edit]
A majority of the chapter takes place in the surface, which has become a warzone. Gordon is forced to fight his way through the surface which is now under military command. Here, the military has heavier arsenal at their disposal that the player must face, including aircraft such as the AH-64 Apache and Osprey Heliplane, or ground vehicles such as the M1A1 Abrams and M2A3 Bradley.
After escaping the Advanced Biological Research Lab, Gordon fights his way through the Hydro-Electric Dam, and several other areas including the cliffside. At the cliffside, the player finds a RPG that can help take down tougher adversaries such as the Apache. After reaching the Topside Motorpool, the player must navigate carefully inside an Ordinance Storage Facility trapped with tripmines or risk setting off a nuclear explosive chain reaction. After descending the storage facility, the player obtains a Hivehand.
The Xen army has begun making determined strikes against the military, turning the tide of the battle in their favor. As Gordon continues his journey, he is caught in the crossfire between the Xen army and the overwhelmed HECU soldiers. Along the way, the player encounters yet another Gargantua inside a parking lot, chasing the player all the way to the Waste Processing Area 3, where a tactical map is installed, allowing the player to call in airstrikes and destroy the Gargantua. A radio communication right next to the tactical map can be heard, revealing that the military has started to commence airstrikes and evacuate the base. The player can call in airstrikes to also destroy the surrounding environments and make way for a path leading to the Lambda Complex entrance.
Development[edit]
Pre-release[edit]
The early version of the chapter was largely different. The emergency exit in the chapter Alien Research Lab was to lead to a military base on the surface. This area was repurposed as the multiplayer map, Boot Camp, in the final game.
There was to be a large military camp known as the army barracks on the top of the cliff.[3] The player was to come across a Kingpin tormented by Marines in a hangar here. It was to break free and destroy them with the player's help.[4] In the final game, the large perimeter wall and the electric fence seen in the level plan can be found in the map c2a5w. The base was to be located behind this wall. Unused tent textures can be found in the files.
There was a version of the helipad with fuel barrels with red stripes. It is possible that the player was to use these barrels to destroy the Osprey.
Is this related? During the development, Valve had one stage, where it was possible to patch into the government's communication net. The player was to discover an airstrike was imminent, so the player must take shelter underground. Somehow the player must break into the nearby bunker complex. PCG.
Ports[edit]
There is couple of minor changes in the console ports of the game. The fuel barrels with red stripes at the beginning of the chapter are supposed to fly up and explode, but this no longer works because of the code changes. This was fixed in the Dreamcast version. The level code for the chapter is "Combat And Death" in the Dreamcast version.
The rock textures were changed, and the brush based cars were replaced with models in the parking garage in the PlayStation 2 version. Models for other vehicles, including the truck and the Bradley were created, but left unused. There are three multiplayer maps based on various locations from the chapter in the PlayStation 2 version. These maps are Skirmish (based on c2a5), Water Canal (based on c2a5b), and Debris (based on c2a5e).
The cliffside level was updated in the Source version of the game, and features a 3D skybox. This version of the game also contains a couple of test maps (map hl1devteste) that include portions of the chapter (maps c2a5e and c2a5f).
Other versions[edit]
The multiplayer map Crossfire is loosely based on the map c2a5e.[5] Team Fortress Classic map Hunted by Brett Johnson is also based on the same map.
Appearances[edit]
Opposing Force features many set pieces from Surface Tension. The cliffside area can be seen during the Osprey ride at the beginning of the game. The dam is revisited and destroyed in the chapter Foxtrot Uniform. The Santego Military Base is based on the multiplayer map Boot Camp, which is based on the cut military camp section of Surface Tension.
Gordon Freeman comes across a dead Marine named Cooper with a Tactical Map, a device used for calling airstrikes, and a radio at his side. Cooper's commander can be heard over the radio, giving him orders. The commander is seen in person in the chapter "We Are Pulling Out".
Behind the scenes[edit]
The chapter was internally named "Topside".[4] The cliffside section was dubbed "Cliffhanger",[6]. The name "Surface Tension" is a scientific pun, referring to the properties of water which makes certain objects float above it, while being a metaphorical reference to this chapter being a long and difficult (tense) chapter taking place entirely on the surface.
In the map c2a5, there is an unused scripted_sequence for a scientist called "meat". It was to run to the area behind the fuel storage and get shot by the Marines.
The dangling scientist sequence entities from the chapter Office Complex uses the prefix "cliff", so it is possible that this sequence was intended to be used at cliffside at some point.
c2a5b - bunker_gruntsc2a5b - water grunt (this is used in the final game)c2a5f - loader mm- dario's tape[7]
- unused lines/anims
hls background mapbarney fence/otis animtent textures (out_tnt1)- booby-trap scene was mirrored in ep1
- The original appearance order of the areas were appearance order Tactical Operations Center, Motorpool, Armory, Hydro Plant, Checkpoint Alpha/Bravo/Delta, Barracks, Hangars.[8]
The water canal area was internally named "Whack-A-Man". The squad name for the Marines here is "bunker_grunts. This may be related to the bunker mentioned in one of the level plans. A Marine was to climb out of a trench and jump over the canal, and another was to shut the exit door when the player entered the area.
In the map c2a5f, a Bradley enters a large hangar to deploy Marines by crashing through the doors. This was to trigger a large destruction sequence in which the catwalk would break down. The unused entities for the scene can be found in the map. In the final game, a part of the catwalk is already destroyed before the Bradley enters.
A security guard was to touch the electrified fence and die in the map c2a5w. The animation was recycled for Opposing Force. It is used by an overweight guard in the chapter Welcome To Black Mesa, in the map of1a2.
- barney: truckdieidle - truckdie (?)
- hgrunt: wm_moatjump (whackman_moat_jump)
hgrunt: wm_button (whackman_button) (done)- hgrunt: cliffdie (c2a5cliffdie)
hgrunt: stone_toss (c2a5_stone_toss) (done)- scientist: hanging scientist (entity name)
- scientist: helicack (?)
Inaccessible gate[edit]
There are hints that suggest the inaccessible "secure access" door at the dam in the map c2a5 could be entered. The same wall and the door can be found in the map c3a1a located in the chapter "Forget About Freeman!". It is possible that these areas were directly connected at some point.
A button can be seen next to the c2a5 door in one of the early screenshots. This button can be found in the map as a "trigger_multiple" hidden inside brushes with the target "jump_2". Furthermore, the c3a1a door is named "jump_1", strongly indicating the connection between both areas.
It should be also noted that the c3a1a area is called "comm start" in the source file, which means it was used as an entrance to the Communications Center in a past iteration.[9]
Gallery[edit]
Pre-release[edit]
The dam.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The desert.
Ditto.
Ditto, night version.
Ditto, night version.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The minefield.
The wall.
Ditto.
The cliffside.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The water canal.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The area after the canal.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The booby-trapped building.
Ditto.
Ditto.
The helipad.
Ditto.
The garage.
The landing field.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Pre-release (military camp)[edit]
The army barracks cabal.
Ditto, larger version.
The cliffside cabal.
The camp.[i]
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto, interior area.
Ditto, interior area.
Another version.
Another version.
Pre-release (other)[edit]
Unknown location.
Ditto.
Ditto. cliffside sky
Ditto, night version.
A camp.[i]
A test map for helicopters.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Retail[edit]
The fuel storage.
The dam.
A large wall in the desert.
A Tentacle in the desert.
Valve area.
Ditto.
The minefield.
The cliffside.
Apache at the cliffside.
Ditto.
The desert valley.
The water canal.
An Abrams tank at the water canal.
A Bradley tank.
A military encampment.
Yard minefield.
Ordinal Storage Facility exterior.
Sniper.
Dying guard by the sniper yard.
Ditto.
Breakable electric box.
Ditto.
The booby-trapped building.
Ditto.
Blown up electric box and pipes.
Yard.
Armory.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Damaged roof.
Helipad and Osprey.
Gunning vorts down with the machine gun.
Damaged building.
Road battle.
Snark nest in vent.
Soldiers shooting the player out of the vent.
Ditto.
SUV in the garage.
Huge hangar.
Alien Grunt smashing a HECU soldier out of a concrete wall.
A Bradley deploying Marines.
Street.
A soldier throwing a satchel into the pipe.
Explosions coming through the pipe.
The pipe hatch.
Storage room.
Furnace area.
Ditto.
A guard inside a building.
A Gargantua crushing two soldiers.
Gargantua kicking down a SUV.
Waste Processing Area 3
A water tank with the tactical map.
Dreamcast[edit]
The dam.
Ditto.
Source[edit]
Background map.
The cliffside.
Opposing Force[edit]
The cliffside.
The dam.
Ditto, destroyed.
Other[edit]
The Tactical Map texture.
Early version.
Advertisement.
Ditto.
Marketing shot.
Mirrored version.
Map geo2. It is described as a "cool desert base". alpha doc link.
Fence.
Stone toss.
Button.
References[edit]
- ↑ Brett Johnson's personal website
- ↑ Interview with Dario Casali on Voltron's Map Workshop (May 1, 2000) (archived)
- ↑ Half-Life preview on Online Gaming Review (February 25, 1998) (archived)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Half-Life 2: Raising The Bar (uncorrected proof), page 43
- ↑ Interview with Dario Casali on Radium (March 23, 1999) (archived)
- ↑ Half-Life preview on Online Gaming Review(February 25, 1998) (archived)
- ↑ Use of Realism in Level Design, GDC 2001 on GDC Vault
- ↑ sentences.txt
- ↑ hl1-wc-maps (c3a1a.vmf)
