Source: modDB
Related: Stargate: SGC

Today’s press release shows off some beta maps built and ran inside the Source engine. Arbron’s SG_village is featured in 3 of the 4 images here, and the last one is a render of our new M-4 colt, modular weapon system. This is the raw gun without any attachments. Players will chose what to add to this foundation to form the most efficient weapon system for the situation. Options will include, but will not be limited to: Laser sites, flashlights, high magnification analog scopes, and high-resolution night vision, and infared digital scopes, for use in adverse, and low light conditions. A heat guard mounted forward grip will be available to help counteract recoil, and optionally, the top rail assembly can simply have a default carrying handle attached with iron sights. All modable weapons will have such selection. As always, SGC is looking for a few skilled team members to help bring this mod to life. Current open slots are as follows: Programmer, Player modeler, High definition modeler, Concept artist, and the good old fashion mapper. To apply, send an E-mail to ARMY_ranger2000@juno.com with some example work, or stop by our forums. (Click community on our websites menu)

Source: Steam

Half-Life 2, Steam Updates

A Half-Life 2 update has been released via Steam. Please restart Steam to apply the update.

Included in this update:

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch

• New multiplayer game featuring physics simulation system

Half-Life 2/Source SDK

• Includes game code needed to create Half-Life 2/Source MODs


• New Half-Life 2 sample character model


• Ability to edit Half-Life 2 maps


• Maya model exporter


• 3d Studio Max model exporter source code


• Sample MOD with vehicles

Source Updates

• HTTP and non-HTTP map auto downloading functionality


• Enhanced dedicated server logging capabilities


• Various tweaks and fixes

*Also: A Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Map Making Contest has been announced. The winning entry will receive a cash prize of $5,000. Two runner up entries will receive a cash prize of $3,000. Visit www.steampowered.com for more information.

Source: Natural Selection

The Natural Selection and Unknown Worlds sites are offline for an upgrade. They are being merged together into one cohesive site, which has lots of new functionality:

• Permanent player profiles allow community members to build a name and reputation for themselves in NS and through all of our games. You can upload your photo, change your SteamID (so your icon is always up to date!), view your recent forum posts, e-mail other players, and more.


• Instant Constellation registration activation.


• New mailing lists mean easier access to mapping information, Constellation happenings and information on NS and future games.


• Player-submitted news items, gallery images, mirror links, community links, frequently asked questions and more. After approval by moderators, these items are then published.


• The new NS site is now known as http://www.naturalselection.com!

Everything should be back online within the next couple days, after we've migrated all the user accounts and tested the site thoroughly. During this time, the forums are unavailable and your in-game icon may not display. In the meantime, try our IRC channel.
See you here again soon. We can't wait!

Source: Steam
According to the Steam website, HL2DM is coming soon...

Source: Stephen Murray from Citizen-132 via mail
Related: Citizen-132

Stephen Murray informs me that he and the team of Citizen-132 are holding a Holiday Contest in which you can win a copy of Half-Life 2 (Boxed or Steam Bronze version):

Citizen-132 Christmas Competition: Design a Multiplayer Mode

In the Christmas spirit Epit0miz3 (Co-Leader) and IceShaft07 (Programmer)
have sponsored this competition.

What you need to do in order to enter:

Create a Multiplayer mode for Citizen-132:

• Use of Citizen-132 characters


• Use of Citizen-132 weapons


• Details about the flow of gameplay.


• Send an email with your design to contest@citizen-132.com, make sure to include your email, name and/or alias.

Points to consider:

• Originality is an important factor.


• Designs should be true to the Citizen-132 style.


• Citizen-132's genre is Horror/Survival


• The competition deadline is the 17th December, 2003, entries received after this date will be ignored.

The prizes

• (1) Box or (Bronze) Steam version of Half-Life 2

And finally, the rules and conditions:

• If you win you will be entitled to a copy of Halflife2 (single player with multiplayer) not collectors edition versions. The copy can be either boxed of provided via steam.


• Make sure your work is your own.


• Make sure you include the word 'C132COMP' somewhere in your e-mail's subject line so we know you have read these rules. Failure to do so will mean that your entry will be ignored by our mail filters.


• The entries will be judged by the Citizen-132 team, in the event of indecision the readers will be asked to vote for their favorite.


• Your work is your own, we claim no right to owning or partly owning any ideas you produce


• If you work for or are associated with Citizen-132 or Hl2central your entries will be rejected


• In the event a contest entry is deemed suitable for addition to the mod, the respective authors will be contacted for permission and proper accreditation.


• Multiple entries are allowed, but remember this is judged on quality not quantity..

Stephen Murray
Team Leader of Citizen-132 and Owner/Site Admin of HL2central
http://www.citizen-132.com // http://www.hl2central.net

Check the Citizen-132 site for more information.

Source: Azzkiker from HL2Files.com via mail

Azzkiker from HL2Files.com informs me that a Gordon Model for the Half-Life 2 DeathMatch has been put online:

This is a model of Gordon for Half-Life 2 Deathmatch.

This model is intended to be used as a replacement for the standard player model, it contains LOTS of animations, but the current HL2 DM code does not use any of them (except jump for some reason). Therefore when you play HL2, the model will not move at all even though all the animations exist.

The HEVSUIT is from HL2 retail. This is why the back is not finished, since you were never intended to see it.

You may distribute this model with any mod as long as credit is given. If you are working on a mod and wish to use this model I can provide information on the activities and poses supported. Just send mail to the address below. You can also load it up in HLMV to check out the animations and poses.

Grab it here: http://www.hl2files.com/file/;33595

You can get the model from here.

Source: PlanetHalfLife
Related: Earth's Special Forces

Several great updates have been posted at the site of Earth's Special Forces:

Darktooth has created an entirely new non-spinning turbo aura! It uses 120 joints and 222 polys. Here is a short 35 second clip pimping the new aura.

ESF_Aura.avi (4.2M)
ESF-World mirror
*please right click and save as to conserve bandwith

The team would also thank Me!, who is retiring, for all his bot work for the mod and announce a new forum competition:

I have some sad news. Me, the long time ESF bot creator has retired. Over the past few years has put in countless hours producing high quality bots for ESF. We are very grateful for his hard work and I'm sure all of you who use the ESF bots are too. Let's all give a warm farewell to Me!

ESF Forum Competition II has started! The forum competition gives fans a chance to win access to the exclusive "Force Pit" section! This section of the forum allows users to speak more directly with the developers, as well as granting them access to early updates and other goodies. Check it out!

ESF Forum Competition II

Head on over to the Earth's Special Forces site for more.

Source: PlanetHalfLife
Related: Rocket Crowbar

The fun Half-Life mod Rocket Crowbar is going to come to Half-Life 2. Nothing much is known at the moment except:

Half-Life 2 has been released
Rocket Crowbar for HL2
Coming Soon!
Waiting for HL2 SDK
Stay Tuned

Check the Rocket Crowbar site for more, which is soon to come.

Source: Snow-War

We posted 12 new screenshots to our "Shots" section. They are from our beta testing sessions and as you can see, things are going good! See them and others here!

We are hoping to make a release NEXT week. But we still need to make some final testing to make sure no fatal bugs get missed. Let's hope everything goes smoothly so you all can get some snowball action too!

If you want to help us test the beta, make a post in our forums "Join Snow-War" section, or visit our irc channel #snow-war at irc.gamesurge.net

Source: Steam

Valve Wins Summary Judgment Motions in Copyright Infringement Case

Valve today announced the U.S. Federal District Court in Seattle, WA granted its motion for summary judgment on the matters of Cyber Café Rights and Contractual Limitation of Liability in its copyright infringement suit with Sierra/Vivendi Universal Games.

Judge Thomas S. Zilly ruled that Sierra/Vivendi Universal Games, and its affiliates, are not authorized to distribute (directly or indirectly) Valve games through cyber cafés to end users for pay-to-play activities pursuant to the parties' current publishing agreement. Valve games such as Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and the recently released Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source are all popular in cyber cafés.

In addition, Judge Zilly ruled in favor of the Valve motion regarding the contractual limitation of liability, allowing Valve to recover copyright damages for any infringement as allowed by law without regard to the publishing agreement's limitation of liability clause.

"We're happy the court has affirmed the meaning of our publishing contract. This is good news for Valve and its cyber café partners around the world," said Gabe Newell, founder and CEO of Valve. "We continue to add value to our program and we look forward to working with cafés to get them signed up and offering Valve's latest games to their customers."

The Valve Cyber Café Program is the only legal way to use Valve games in your cyber café or gaming center. There are currently thousands of cyber cafés participating in the program throughout the world. More information regarding the Valve Cyber Café Program can be found here: http://steampowered.com/index.php?area=cybercafes