Half-Life Improvement Team

So here we are again. You might notice it's been a while, even since our last minor update. First off, if you've got any sanity about you, you should ignore my previous optimism about releasing stuff. Matt and I are unfortunately really busy with Real Life^TM, so we're operating under a highly dilated version of Valve time. I honestly wish I had more time to work on this stuff, because I still love Half-Life just about as much as I did a few years ago. We're still here, but things are going to be pretty slo-mo for quite a while, like I've said in the first announcement in November. I'm hoping I'll have more time at some point, but I really can't say when.

So, with that out of the way, I think it's about time you guys had a look at some stuff that's already pretty much done:

A few notes:

• The crowbar is pretty much final, it's unlikely to undergo any big changes. This our baby.
• The ammo and health pickups are mostly final, but there are a few things I might be changing:
  • I'll be editing the RPG rocket to more closely resembling the original model, with this new realistic version being optional. Same goes for its ammo box.
  • I'm thinking of adding a few more details to the medkit faceplate so it's less boring.
• Pop cans! Some of these are based on the original skins, and some are new. I've probably spent too much time already on this small model.
• The HUD is meant for high screen resolutions, generally above 1024 by 768 pixels. We've done Half-Life, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift (which requires Blue Shift: Unlocked because Valve's version won't load custom content...). They're as close to the originals as possible, with the exception of the Blue Shift suit, which now looks like the security armour (was just the HEV).

If you guys have any constructive criticism on any of these, fire away.

Hello everyone. This must be a bit of a shock to most of you. Yes, the Half-Life Improvement Team is still kicking. Sort of. Actually, it's more complicated than that. Work on our projects has been fairly slow for a long time, and most of the original people have moved on to bigger and greater things. So why is this new site here? What's going on? I thought it was all dead? What's happened in the last few years of silence?

Here's what's happened in recent years. Work on Half-Life: Enhanced has gone through some rollercoaster rides, sometimes coming off the rails. For the most part, little work was done. Once in a while Matt and I (Ambient.Impact) would check in some significant changes: little edits or silence, punctuated with points of activity. During this, Black Mesa was picking up speed. At first, we started to doubt there was any point anymore in continuing our projects. We were under-manned and would never attain their popularity or scale. And then a variety of other, external factors, such as real life, started to take time away from our projects, until things barely moved. This is where the silence really started, and continued for a long time. Then we reminded ourselves that, primarily, our projects (including HL:E), are, first and foremost, something that we want to pursue, regardless of whether or not we have a large following. It's more important that we work hard, and end up with something that we're proud of, rather than being popular. That is secondary to the goal, for us. That's not to say we don't appreciate feedback from you guys. In fact, it'll become much more important now that we're out in the open about where we are. So, where are we?

At this point, our team consists of Matt and me, and the tireless forum team, who shovel the crap into the sewer on a regular basis. We'll add more people as time goes on, but not too soon, unless plans change. And it's all about planning. (My segways suck, I know) We're starting to lay out a plan that involves everything, from our upgrade content (models, sprites, etc. for existing games, starting with Half-Life), to an updated version of Blue Shift: Unlocked, to eventually getting Half-Life: Enhanced going again. Without proper planning, even relatively simple projects can go horribly wrong. That's what happened with HL:E, everyone we brought on had their own ideas of what the project should be about, and started adding stuff in that clashed with the rest. There was no real central plan as to what our goals were, and everything was fairly vague. That won't be the case this time around. I've taken on the responsibility of planning and managing our projects. We're serious this time.

So, what are you going to see in the near future? Well, first and foremost, this site is incomplete at best. Hell, you can't even view anything on our current projects. That'll be the first priority: fixing this puppy up all nice and proper. Then, we'll start to release a few bits of content (models, sprites) as time goes on, along with a much-needed update to Blue Shift: Unlocked. We'll probably be making some inroads on Half-Life: Enhanced in the meanwhile, but I should stress that work on that will be slow for a good while, as we get our bearings, work on internal planning, and organise ourselves.

A giant cookie to those of you that know the significance of today's date.

Now then, to answer what's certainly going to be an avalanche of questions:

Who's behind all this? Who's in charge now?

Matt and Ambient.Impact are currently the only ones involved. For the time being we're not going to add anyone else to the team. When we will, it'll be only to fill a position neither of us can carry out, as less people means less cats to herd. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Who created the website? Why doesn't it look very good in ancient browsers? The fancy animations are choppy and are slowing my poor computer down!

I (Ambient.Impact) created the website. This site has been a work in progress for several years, and has gone through several major revisions. Old browsers, like Internet Explorer 6 aren't capable of rendering some of the advanced features used in this website, and that's all there is to it. You'll need a modern browser, such as Firefox (or another Mozilla browser), Opera, Safari, Google Chrome, or a recent version of Internet Explorer. If the site is running slowly for you, try turning off the title animation. You can also switch over to the HIT Classic theme, which looks very much like the original site and is fairly light on the visual effects.

Is that crowbar on the main page a real model? Can I have it? Who created it?

Yes, it is, and not yet - patience, young grasshopper. It was fully modelled and textured by me (Ambient.Impact) this summer (2008). It'll be released at some point soon, once we create a new HEV hand model to go with it.