Entropy : Zero mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Greetings!

It’s been a while and we want to bring you up to speed.

I’m going to start by talking about the episodes because I have it on good authority (looks over at the ton of message requests) that you’re itching to know where we are with them. But please do read beyond them - there is further news you’ll be keen to hear.

Everything you’ll see here today is a work in progress and could be subject to change!

Axon Pariah

I’m not going to lie; it has been hard going for me with Axon Pariah. There have been some developmental challenges surrounding this entry which means it isn’t being developed at the pace that EZ2 was.

Axon Pariah is proving to be tricky to build. I attribute this to burnout first and foremost. EZ1 for example, began coming together in 2014 and since then I have spent an unhealthy amount of time in Hammer, working away at EZ related content. I’ll let you do the math on how long I’ve been at this 🤪

But aside from the personal burnout, we have a very rich story to telegraph through this installment. During production, EZ2’s story was sort of like a particle cloud. There were story beats, sure, but we had a lot of flexibility. It was malleable. We were able to use it as a waveguide to put developing interesting and unique gameplay at the forefront of the production process. With AP though, we lack some of that flexibility. There are some environmental constraints we are bound to.

Currently AP is a fun blend of well executed ideas and explosive gameplay. Its story is definitely of a darker tone. It’s far from finished though, and it lacks cohesion.

As things stand right now, I have temporarily come out of that space. This is a healthy reprieve - for me and the project. AP needs some time out in the shade. We’ll get there!

I do however want to share some content. I’ve got some footage of AP environments and atmospheres (low quality, sorry!) and some music to share.

Progenitors

Blixibon: We don’t have much news about Progenitors right now, nor is there any new media yet - but it is being actively worked on. It's in a somewhat boring period of development where we're not really working on anything visible: We're mainly iterating on the story and figuring out how to standardize the level design between multiple mappers. However, like with Axon Pariah, it also hasn't been completely smooth sailing.

Many of the challenges we face with Progenitors are similar to those of Axon Pariah. We built all of the key story elements first to try to avoid problems we faced in E:Z2, but that led to the creation of a lot of moving parts really early on, which put us at a level of development we weren't really ready for. Burnout has also been a factor, although since Progenitors is being worked on by a different subset of the team, the pace will not necessarily change in the same way as with Axon Pariah.

At the time of the announcement, we weren't sure which episode would be released first. We can tell you right now that out of AP and Progenitors, it is very likely that Progenitors will be the first installment in our continuation story that you’ll get to play.

You can see everything we have on Progenitors so far here.

A RETURN TO CITY 10?!?!?!

And now it's time for the real news.

Let’s be honest. EZ1 doesn’t live up to the high standard of EZ2. I’ve always been open about that. For years I’ve said I’d like to go back through it and correct some things. It was a learning experience for me.

EZ1 was built over the span of two and a bit years. It was a solo venture (mostly). I didn’t have a massive testing pool. Mistakes were made! I have always been conscious of this.

Over in another corner, 1upD has been busy working to make EZ1 playable in VR - and he has been mighty successful in this venture. This work couldn’t be possible without the Half-Life 2 VR team, and the work that they’ve done. We are thrilled to be able to incorporate this into Entropy : Zero, to realise our idea of a mod that can be played either on a monitor or via VR.

Recently I jumped aboard, and now the crazy train has a destination:

A massive Entropy : Zero refresh update, complete with:

• Major gameplay and quality of life refinements.
• Major visual improvements.
• New hands (hopefully!)
• New lines (hopefully!)
• Some limited new content / areas off of the beaten track.
• Tons of bug fixes and…
• VR Mod - so you can choose to experience Bad Cop’s City 10 adventure via monitor or be there in person via axon bind VR headset.

A mod that caters to both VR and monitor play?! Audible gasp. Before we get into media, let's answer some questions.

Entropy : Zero VR Mod FAQ

1upD here! I wanted to write this section to pre-emptively answer some questions I expect you might have about the Entropy : Zero VR mod (EZ1VR)

When will the VR mod release?

TBD. As always, we won’t announce a release date until it is ready to release. You can expect it to be out alongside the newest Entropy : Zero (EZ1) update.

How will we be able to access the VR mod?

It is too early to say for sure, but the current plan is that EZ1VR will be available as a free DLC on Steam for Entropy : Zero, and then can be launched as a launch option on Steam. Please keep an eye out for future articles because this may change before release.

Which VR headsets can play EZ1VR? Do I need a Valve Index?

EZ1VR runs in SteamVR. Any headset which can work in SteamVR should be able to play.

How did you make EZ1VR?

EZ1VR is based on the excellent Half-Life 2 VR Mod. It was made by combining EZ1’s source code changes with HL2VR’s. I have to give an extra special thanks to the Source VR Mod Team for their incredible work transforming Half-Life 2 into a native VR experience.

You can download Half-Life 2 VR here:Store.steampowered.com

Why isn’t Entropy : Zero 2 being made into a VR mod?

Entropy : Zero 2 (EZ2) is substantially more complicated than Entropy : Zero, with several new weapons and mechanics that would need to be recreated in VR. EZ2 is also built on Mapbase, which includes massive changes. Creating a VR mod for EZ2 will be a much larger challenge compared with EZ1. I hope we will get there eventually, but EZ1VR is the first step forward on a long journey towards that goal.

Will there be Entropy : Zero content exclusive to the VR mod?

Outside of being playable in VR, no. We aim to keep parity between EZ1 and EZ1VR. All of the map changes that Breadman has been working on will be for both EZ1 and EZ1VR.

Hopefully these answers will shed some light on the VR mod. Back over to Breadman.

Thanks 1upD! Behold some early screenshots!

We’ll leave it to you to draw comparisons between the old and new appearances of these maps.

Our goal with this is to stick to the spirit of EZ1’s clutch-combat gameplay, whilst also making it less abusive towards its players. There will be better directional telegraphing. We are removing unfair gameplay. We’re building on the original atmosphere to give players a better sense at being in a zombie infested city and applying important lessons learned from EZ2. I want to re-re-visit the stalker section and the final fight. There will also be some very small and limited new areas to explore off of the beaten track.

It’s EZ1, but it will no longer be the chore of EZ1. We hope that it will treat players arriving at our story in a better way. We know that new and returning players will appreciate what we have in store.

The game is almost playable entirely in VR. Work is currently underway for chapters 1 and 2.

We have some VR footage for you which you can check out here: