CNN is reporting that Robert Culp, aka the voice of Dr. Breen in Half-Life has passed away. He was 79 and is survived by his wife, five children, and five grandchildren.

Part II is still in production. A preview will be out at some point. The Purchase Brothers are currently making a feature film that requires quite a bit of their time.

Made as spec 'advertainment' for their demo reel.

Filmed guerilla style. No crew. First two episodes made on a $500 budget, not including previous capital. Valve flew the brothers out to Seattle last year. and mentioned they were 'blown away' by the project on Steam.

Bellevue, WA, June 1, 2006 - Valve, developer of the blockbuster series Half-Life and Counter-Strike, announced Half-Life 2: Episode One is now available via Steamgames.com for just $19.95 and at retail outlets around the world.

The first in a trilogy of episodic games, Episode One reveals the aftermath of Half-Life 2 and launches a journey beyond City 17. Episode One does not require Half-Life 2 to play and also includes a first look at Episode Two, which will ship by year's end.

In addition to the new single player experience, two multiplayer games are included. And those who purchase Episode One will have free access via Steam (www.steamgames.com) to Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, the interactive technology demo that introduces High Dynamic Range lighting to the Source Engine, Valve's award-winning game technology.

Valve Launches First of an Episodic Trilogy

Bellevue, WA, May 22, 2006 - Valve®, developer of the blockbuster series Half-Life® and Counter-StrikeTM, announced Half-Life® 2: Episode One has gone gold. Episode One is the first in a trilogy of episodes that will conclude by Christmas of 2007.

Half-Life 2: Episode One advances the 15-million unit selling franchise and launches the first in a new, three-part series that leads far beyond City 17. Half-Life 2: Episode One does not require Half-Life 2 to play, and will be available via Steam® and at retail stores in North America for just $19.95 on June 1st. Also included in Episode One is a first look at Episode Two, which will ship by year's end.

"Given the rapid changes in PC gaming, we expect episodic games will have the same impact on single-player gaming that Counter-Strike had on multiplayer," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "The frequent releases of upgraded technology and new content works better for both consumers and developers, and is one of the key reasons Counter-Strike grew to be 80% of the online action market. We decided that a follow-up to Half-Life 2 delivered in 18 months with our first episode was more in tune with what our customers want than waiting 6 years for another monolithic product."

Episode One offers a new single player experience created by Valve, and is designed to be four to six hours in length. Stepping into the hazard suit of Dr. Gordon Freeman, you face the immediate repercussions of your actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog, will accompany you in your efforts to aid in the human resistance's desperate battle against the totalitarian alien menace of the Combine.

In addition to the new single player experience, two multiplayer games are included. And those who purchase Episode One will have free access via Steam (www.steamgames.com) to Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, the interactive technology demo that introduces High Dynamic Range lighting to the SourceTM Engine, Valve's award-winning game technology.

Half-Life 2: Episode One, the first in series of episodic games from Valve, is now available for pre-purchase and pre-load via Steam. Those who pre-order the game before it is made available on June 1st will save 10% off the $19.95 price. For more information, visit www.steampowered.com.

This is an Open Beta to anyone that wish's to test the ZHLT 3 Series Tools on there 64 Bit System.

ZHLT Is the official third party complier for Half Life 1 based level designers, and this 64 bit build shows the commitment of the community programmers working on the ZHLT 3 Project.

Along with the 64 Bit build there is a nice addition for those that Work on SOHL Levels, with Cpt_Andrew adding an env_sky fix to the code.

So please take part in the open beta by downloading the tools direct at... http://ammahls.com/index.php?page=downloadcat&cat=tools

From the creators of AdminOP, we bring a new way of playing Half-Life 2. Coming August 21st experience many of the crazy and fun features that AdminOP brought to you in Half-Life, now in the next installment, Half-Life 2 with SourceOP. Go beyond the normal admin commands with spawning, entity manipulation, and much more. In addition to all of this we now give you more control than ever over your servers with the brand new feature and utility -- The SourceOP Administration Control Panel. It's essentially a way to remotely administer your server without having to actually be playing.
Features in the first release candidate.

• Basic admin commands such as kick, ban, slay, slap.


• Credits and stuff to buy.


• Basic entity control (moving, copying, spawning).


• Basic grappling hook.


• Map voting.


• New admin tutorial.


• A full list of commands is posted on the website on the content page.

Please visit the SourceOP website for the all details.

This tool set is to help make your compile process to Half-Life 2 much faster and more efficient. There are currently two applications in this tool set. One to compile your .qc file . The other is to parse a directory you specify for .tga(s) then compile them to Half-Life 2 formats, assuming your mod paths are set up correctly for vtex.exe. This utility sets the shader mode to VertexlitGeneric. This tool also includes INI support, so it will save all your settings and paths. Making the program very fast to use after initial setup.

Parents these days are keen to encourage their children to learn a second language: French lessons are a staple of the British education system; many American students learn Spanish, reflecting the growing cultural diversity around them; Mandarin Chinese is taught to Australian school kids at a younger and younger age each year in the belief it will be an indispensible tool for them when they grow up.

But one language alien to nearly everyone is 3D graphics geek-speak: very few people aspire to become fluent in this bizarre language, and those that do go and work for ATI or NVIDIA. I remember the good old days, when a polygon was a polygon, and a texture was a texture. These days, it's all about cubic environmental displacement bump mapping and volumetric lighting rendered through a unified shader architecture, and the like.

Well, I'm here to tell you that there's a new buzzword in town, and this one you're going to want to know about... Today we are exploring HDR lighting, and looking specifically at its implementation in the forthcoming Half Life 2 level, the Lost Coast.

It's time for our yearly mapping competition, and it's our first for the Source engine! So fire up your copy of Steam and make sure those displacement-surface and smoothing group skills are up to scratch.

Aim: Simply make something "unreal": a place or situation that you simply wouldn't ever find yourself fighting over if World War 3 were ever to come around. Think "surreal" or "abstract" or "mind-bending" though, rather than just "futuristic" or "unlikely." Something out of the depths of your warped mind or dreams, or inspired by a work of art, or perhaps just how you picture a particularly strange or grand scene in a fantasy/sci-fi book. We're NOT looking for more Combine bases or warehouses or embattled towns, or killboxes with purple lights, or anything else resembling anything in Half-Life 2 or in real life (past, present or possible future, unless heavily distorted).

Ideas: The map doesn't necessarily have to be surreal: if you don't feel like a map-making god or don't have access to loads of custom textures, try creating a miniature (or macroture) Rats! style level (though try to base them around/inside objects, rather than rooms in your house!). You could try making a fantasy setting (e.g. DM Avalon) or a crazy space setting (e.g. DM Tribute) or a dream-world setting (e.g. Max Payne dream sequences). Just make something crazy that isn't very realistic, but yet is still a playable deathmatch level; if you're unsure, ask in our forums. The size of the map doesn't matter, but you should aim to make it be fun for 8+ players.

Judging: Graphical and gameplay aspects of the map will be judged, along with how original and exciting the theme is. As ever, there will also be a 'popular' vote where the peons of this website pick their favourite.

Prizes: Prizes are yet to be announced, but at the very least there will a new console/PC game for the winner. The best maps will also go onto permanent rotation on our HL2DM server.

Deadline: All submissions must be in by 23:59 GMT on Sunday 14th August 2005. You've got plenty of time, so the deadline is strict.

Rules:

• You can base your level off concept art or sculptures if you wish, but reproductions of film scenes or other peoples maps or other games aren't allowed.


• Custom textures, models, skyboxes etc. are allowed.


• You are allowed to enter up to 2 levels.


• Maps must be playable HL2 deathmatch levels, and be fully compiled with no (obvious) errors.


• Maps must be be submitted in a .ZIP or .RAR file with a readme, and should be listed in your profile by the deadline.


• The editor's decision (i.e. Leperous') is final.