Breadman lore and development Q & A

[[EZ2] Breadman]

I've got a lot of different questions coming at me from a lot of different places. It's going to be easier for me to answer your lore/development questions under one thread, so ask me stuff in here.

If you're having issues, please use the troubleshooting and bugs forum.

Keep it civil.

[CW3D]

I never really thought about it until people started pointing it out, but what exactly is Barney doing in City 10 anyway? Why is he there?

[[EZ2] Breadman]

Originally posted by CW3D:

I never really thought about it until people started pointing it out, but what exactly is Barney doing in City 10 anyway? Why is he there?

In the mod canon, Barney assisted with running refugees and supplies between City 17 and City 10. In Entropy : Zero, Bad Cop's presence coincides with Barney. Here's what I had written:

At the time, Barney was around to assist with preparations regarding the derailment of the razortrain. After the derailment, the lead rebel - following his gut feeling - sends Laszlo and several others back to City 17. Barney declines and opts to stay for a while longer. Laszlo leaves in the dead of night, as the train as derailed.

A day later, reports reached the main hideout that a lone Metrocop was loose in the city and was killing the rebels. The leader of the rebels locked himself in his quarters and refused to leave, putting the rest of the rebels on edge. Barney tried to negotiate with him, but was unsuccessful. The rebels didn’t have much time to consider this though, as their turrets suddenly turned against them.

Barney locks himself in a makeshift cell, and dupes Bad Cop.

[.:gANEš:.]

can i ask when the idea for the mod was born and do you have a proffesional background regarding the game development or relevant field, i dont know anything about you.

[[EZ2] Breadman]

Originally posted by bass:

can i ask when the idea for the mod was born and do you have a proffesional background regarding the game development or relevant field, i dont know anything about you.

Mod idea -

So, back in the day Opposing Force played on this taboo that you were the "bad guy", and I was really looking forward to that. As good as the game was, I was disappointed that they didn't go down that route and instead we became a proxy good guy.

I have a fascination with all things Combine, and during one of my many mapping experiments I built upon a concept where the player was a Metrocop and would actually be the bad guy, killing rebels etc. I quickly realized that this was fulfilling the experience I wanted from Opposing Force all those years ago, and I decided to pursue it to see if I could get anywhere with it.

After a few weeks of building random encounters/scenarios, I applied my creative writing skills to the project and wrote a story about a stranded cop in City 10. You can read more about this process here. I could blab for hours about the creative processes and designs I've been through for Entropy : Zero. I have huge lists and lots of bits of paper that I may one day share. It was a one-manned, two year venture. I built this in my spare time.

As for me, I've been mapping since 1998/99. I started initially with Goldsource. I am most experienced with Goldsource and Source. My previous projects were maps like Gm_Rave, the Gm_Ghosthunt trilogy and something called Hartley Asylum (which never made it due to unforeseen consequences).

I have a degree in the field but have never been given the opportunity to work in the industry. I'm constantly trying and reaching out. I'm in the UK so the opportunities close to home are sparse. This is me chasing my dream. Entropy : Zero is another completed project I can put onto my portfolio.

I'm also a writer. I do a lot of creative writing in my spare time. More recently I had been analyzing the Half-Life story and writing lore articles for Lambda Generation.

[.:gANEš:.]

Originally posted by λG Breadman:

Originally posted by bass:

can i ask when the idea for the mod was born and do you have a proffesional background regarding the game development or relevant field, i dont know anything about you.

Mod idea -

So, back in the day Opposing Force played on this taboo that you were the "bad guy", and I was really looking forward to that. As good as the game was, I was disappointed that they didn't go down that route and instead we became a proxy good guy.

I have a fascination with all things Combine, and during one of my many mapping experiments I built upon a concept where the player was a Metrocop and would actually be the bad guy, killing rebels etc. I quickly realized that this was fulfilling the experience I wanted from Opposing Force all those years ago, and I decided to pursue it to see if I could get anywhere with it.

After a few weeks of building random encounters/scenarios, I applied my creative writing skills to the project and wrote a story about a stranded cop in City 10. You can read more about this process here. I could blab for hours about the creative processes and designs I've been through for Entropy : Zero. I have huge lists and lots of bits of paper that I may one day share. It was a one-manned, two year venture. I built this in my spare time.

As for me, I've been mapping since 1998/998. I started initially with Goldsource. I am most experienced with Goldsource and Source. My previous projects were maps like Gm_Rave, the Gm_Ghosthunt trilogy and something called Hartley Asylum (which never made it due to unforeseen consequences).

I have a degree in the field but have never been given the opportunity to work in the industry. I'm constantly trying and reaching out. I'm in the UK so the opportunities close to home are sparse. This is me chasing my dream. Entropy : Zero is another completed project I can put onto my portfolio.

I'm also a writer. I do a lot of creative writing in my spare time. More recently I had been analyzing the Half-Life story and writing lore articles for Lambda Generation.

what are your thoughts on a paid mod development this mod was very close to be that

[[EZ2] Breadman]

Originally posted by bass:

what are your thoughts on a paid mod development

When a mod becomes a purchasable product, it essentially loses its mod status. It can then be rightfully subjected to a higher level of criticism, because you're taking money from your players who will be expecting a higher level of quality.

I think in terms of modding at this level with Source and the licensing costs that are associated with that, building a mod with the intention of selling it is a huge gamble. You need to have something extraordinarily good to succeed.

Further to my response - having some sort of revenue reward helps developers like myself tremendously. It gives us more time to spend on these projects. However I don't believe revenue alone should be the incentive of developing. The modding scene is there for those that have a passion for what it is they're enhancing.

I know that my family could truly benefit from having some sort of revenue for Entropy : Zero, for example. But unless I could literally drop my day job and give it a 100% dedicated attention, there's no way it would reach the realm of a pay-for product in my opinion. Could be my self-criticism talking; at the end of the day it is the consumer that judges. And I do come from a time where we had these huge mods, that were completely free. And we understood that that was what they were - fan creations. We could overlook quality/effort/time spent in some places because we understood that these weren't studio productions.

Therefore I believe it is in a modders best interest to keep their creations free. If you're looking to make money in this field, go indie and build something of your own.

[FrozenNova16]

I wanted to say first of all that I absolutely LOVED the mod. A few times I got stuck and frustrated, but then I found out it had been on hard and everything came to light. >.< But the idea of having it in one of the of other many cities across whever they are (Not that far into the lore, have only been able to watch all of Half-Life 2 and part of 1). I wanted to ask though, why City 10? And what is the CFLU? Does that like stand for Combine Flur or something? xD

[[EZ2] Breadman]

Originally posted by Friday:

I wanted to say first of all that I absolutely LOVED the mod. A few times I got stuck and frustrated, but then I found out it had been on hard and everything came to light. >.< But the idea of having it in one of the of other many cities across whever they are (Not that far into the lore, have only been able to watch all of Half-Life 2 and part of 1). I wanted to ask though, why City 10? And what is the CFLU? Does that like stand for Combine Flur or something? xD

Whilst doing some in-depth analysis of Half-Life lore I discovered that City 10 was missing from a list of cities on a train station board at the start of Half-Life 2. Cities 9 and 10 are missing to be specific. This lead me to speculate that perhaps something happened to these civic trust centers, and I chose then to set the mod in City 10.

CFLU in the mod canon is a bacterium that compromised sector 10 through the quantinode core's singularity field.

When writing I had to think hard about City 10's predicament. What would stop a super power such as the Combine from controlling the area? In the end I came to the conclusion that whatever it was that pushed them away, it had to be threatening them or their control over the sector.

So I developed this CFLU thing (Combine Flu, I guess). It's a bacterial infection that prefers hosts with Combine augmentations, and originates from a Xen sector. The Combine had been unknowingly releasing this bacteria into the atmosphere around City 10 by means of Pillar 10's quantinode exhaust.

This eventually compromised their units, leading them to take the drastic action of culling units, shelling the city and leaving it to rot.

[FrozenNova16]

Originally posted by λG Breadman:

Originally posted by Friday:

I wanted to say first of all that I absolutely LOVED the mod. A few times I got stuck and frustrated, but then I found out it had been on hard and everything came to light. >.< But the idea of having it in one of the of other many cities across whever they are (Not that far into the lore, have only been able to watch all of Half-Life 2 and part of 1). I wanted to ask though, why City 10? And what is the CFLU? Does that like stand for Combine Flur or something? xD

Whilst doing some in-depth analysis of Half-Life lore I discovered that City 10 was missing from a list of cities on a train station board at the start of Half-Life 2. Cities 9 and 10 are missing to be specific. This lead me to speculate that perhaps something happened to these civic trust centers, and I chose then to set the mod in City 10.

CFLU in the mod canon is a bacterium that compromised sector 10 through the quantinode core's singularity field.

When writing I had to think hard about City 10's predicament. What would stop a super power such as the Combine from controlling the area? In the end I came to the conclusion that whatever it was that pushed them away, it had to be threatening them or their control over the sector.

So I developed this CFLU thing (Combine Flu, I guess). It's a bacterial infection that prefers hosts with Combine augmentations, and originates from a Xen sector. The Combine had been unknowingly releasing this bacteria into the atmosphere around City 10 by means of Pillar 10's quantinode exhaust.

This eventually compromised their units, leading them to take the drastic action of culling units, shelling the city and leaving it to rot.

Well damn. Your story telling and reasoning behind it is quite amazing. I loved the apocalyptic feel to it. And i like how you implented your own story into a place that was given, but with no story as of yet. I would love to see more mods like this. Maybe even one about City 9. Unless it happened to be the same contagion that got City 10.

[planci]

Hey man. Thanks for givin to the Half Life community such a game! Very well done. I loved the concept of an abandoned Combine Urban Center, especially with the Xen Virus. Nice level design (it reminds me of Moscow from Metro 2033), combination of voicelines and the connection with the HL2 lore. It's just a bit irritating the low defense stats, but I guess it's to balance the weakness of the Citizens/Rebels. Just a question, do you plan to make a sequel or another Half Life related mod?

[[EZ2] Breadman]

Originally posted by ATTAKKO ALLA DEMOCRASIA:

Hey man. Thanks for givin to the Half Life community such a game! Very well done. I loved the concept of an abbandoned Combine Urban Center, especially with the Xen Virus. Nice level design (it reminds me of Moscow from Metro 2033), combination of voicelines and the connection with the HL2 lore. It's just a bit irritating the low defense stats, but I guess it's to balance the weakness of the Citizens/Rebels. Just a question, do you plan to make a sequel or another Half Life related mod?

Anything is on the table at the moment. I want to run with EZ for a little longer, fix bugs and tweak things. Chapter 3 needs a serious rework.

After these changes I may look to some extended play for EZ in the form of deployments or raids for you to experience. Perhaps we'll get a look at City 10 before it was abandoned. Or maybe we could see City 17 again.

It depends what happens with my time. I've already had another idea for another project I'd love to start working on. We'll see what happens.

[Kolibria]

How do you get through those red lasers? i get stuck alot on them.

[Kolibria]

(i don't know where to go from there)

[[EZ2] Breadman]

Originally posted by ♈ TCE Nomad ♈:

How do you get through those red lasers? i get stuck alot on them.

Fire an AR2 orb at the big white porthole above the doorway. This works the same way for the rest of the laser barriers you will find.

[FrozenNova16]

Oh. I had one issue with that part. There was a white porthole in the room after the elevator, but I could never get it to hit it because of the glass being in the way. I thought i saw a small opening, but it never worked. I eventually just cheated (using game mechanics) my way around it. Sorry. >.<