Brown Shift is the codename I'm using for my Half-Life custom campaign. It's a mod that takes place during the Black Mesa Incident from the perspective of a maintenance technician. The mod is designed to be more puzzle solving focused and features less run and gun action which is characteristic of base Half-Life and its expansions. The mod is currently under development and is not available for download in any way.
Development - Chapter One
The mod starts in a mentioned but never seen part of the Black Mesa Research Facility called Area 2 Administration Offices which is part of Sector B. Representing this location gave me a unique opportunity to apply my own creative vision to an area of Black Mesa that has never been seen before in any of the games while still making considerations for lore accuracy so that my mod can be placed within the Half-Life universe quite easily and in a non-invasive way. I decided to envision Area 2 as a series of high end executive and security offices near the surface that compliments the existing admin centre in Sector G (which features in Half-Life during the chapter "Office Complex") while also providing space for service personnel who work in the coolant reserve and other nearby facilities. I took great consideration for realism and how this area would make sense in the setting.
This map has seen numerous iterations over the course of development, starting life as an office building on the surface with a large parking lot outside.
When I realised that GoldSrc can't handle open spaces very well, I tried switching to a partially underground glass dome, taking direct inspiration from the domed buildings that make up Center Parcs Sherwood Forest. This idea was also later scrapped due to the difficulty of making such structures in the editor I use and my lack of skill.
At one point, I also tried making a hybrid of the two. This map became the definitive Area 2 for a while and I worked on it for quite some time until, unsatisfied, I decided to scrap this one too.
Realising I had to choose a design at some point otherwise the mod would never get made, I eventually settled for an underground facility with a window in the ceiling, a park area with plants on the ground level and a sleek modern aesthetic giving it the appearance of a resort, again much like Center Parcs. Like the previous design, this map also became the definitive Area 2 for a while and I ended up adding a lot of stuff to it, including custom textures. What made me rethink it however, was the lack of space to put more corridors and rooms as it just ended up feeling and looking a bit awkward. Additionally, the scale of this map and the amount of detail in it was causing stuttering in playtests, so I had to shrink it. The final version is much more compact but still retains some of the features of the previous version.
I decided early on that I wanted to start the mod with a tram ride sequence. Early attempts proved extremely difficult as I ran into the same issues I had with Area 2 and I can't play to my strengths as a level artist when I'm making large scale maps where little details would look out of place. In addition, I also had to learn how to use global entities to allow the train to follow the player across level transitions. It was an arduous testing process but I largely enjoyed it because I like riding trains in games. Here are some screenshots of early tram ride maps:
I decided for the ride to start in a surface town area, similar to Blue Shift.
This idea later morphed into this. I used Terragen to create a custom morning skybox for use in this map and other maps.
A lot of these buildings are based on typical midwestern American architecture apart from the more modern looking buildings on the other side of the track. Some of this architecture was also largely inspired by some of the newer buildings in Middlehaven, northern Middlesbrough.
The inception of my idea to have the tram ride over a canyon featuring a river and a large drainage outlet building.
Old Area 2 train station, a much more elaborate and purpose built design than the final version.
Additionally, here's an old video I made to show off the work in progress early version of the tram ride, using placeholder textures, UI sound effects and music.
I had to make the train move quite slowly in order for the BGM to not get left behind. This also afforded me a lot of room to make the ride longer and more interesting.
These are some screenshots and videos showing the final version of this chapter. Although, by final I really mean mostly done. These maps are likely to still receive some alterations in the future.
In order to encourage exploration, the map features two objectives that are separately spaced from each other and can be completed in any order. First is the classic "go to your locker and get your gear" objective first introduced in Half-Life which mandated the player acquires Gordon Freeman's HEV suit before being allowed into the highly secure labs. Taking inspiration from Blue Shift, players instead get the main character's gear from his locker, gaining an insight into his personality by noticing the various items and personal touches he's added to his locker.
The second objective involves a somewhat humorous interaction with a security guard in order to get a new "pass ID" to use with key card readers. I made sure to add lots of personality to the scripted sequence to make it memorable, such as ringing a desk bell to get the guard's attention and typing a code into a keypad for your new security profile. I had to stretch my basic voice acting skills a bit for the security guard and I decided to give him a subdued deep south American accent to make him stand out a bit.
At some point during the concept phase, I came up with the idea to retexture the security guards to resemble military police guards who you often see guarding secret government desert facilities in media. Black Mesa is partially inspired by such real life facilities as in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Thus, "Topside Barney" was created.
This also gave me the idea to have the mod take place primarily in low security areas of Black Mesa close to the surface. Additionally, there's a throwaway line at the beginning of the base game during the tram ride made by the onboard announcer referencing job openings for "low clearance security". Part of the fun of developing this mod for me is the opportunity to fill in areas of Half-Life's lore that were left unexplained in the base game. There have been plenty of creators in the Half-Life community who have come up with good ideas for this but I like being able to apply my own unique creative spin on it.
Later on, when I decided to include office areas, I realised that lab coat wearing scientists didn't make much sense to be walking around in offices instead of labs, so I also retextured them to look more like they're wearing business suits. Unfortunately, their coats still look like lab coats which is down to me not really understanding how to edit Half-Life models beyond their textures.
