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Escape From Black Mesa - 'Limbo'

map lb_comp3_limbo

Gonna be real, the map isn't that great. It looks nice don't get me wrong, but the map design is confusing and I almost gave up after wandering around pointlessly for an answer. All that for a lackluster ending.

Honestly, the atmosphere of the courtyard was excellent, but after that it was a downhill experience for me. I honestly didn't know if breaking the wall with a chunk of brick was the right thing to do, and then I got stuck on all the physbox wall chunks and had to noclip inside to get the wheel.

The darkness on the map made it very hard to see what I was doing and, after getting the valve and entering the room it opened, I gave up after getting killed because I couldn't figure out what to do next.

Giving the player at least some hints about what to do would be a good change. I'd also go ahead and brighten the map up some, or give the player a flashlight. Again, visuals are a 10/10, gameplay is like a 3/10, which is an unfortunate trend for psychological horror Source maps.

@UndeadShadow64 Thanks for playing! I realized you missed a creepy event that happens after you use the crank wheel ;)

Just made and uploaded a video on your map for Halloween: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1LtJvTSTuc

@Whibbles There are 2 crates and a barrel laying on the floor in that room, if you pick them up and stack them over the broken fence you can jump out. I understand that the puzzle isn't very intuitive, I will be improving and expanding the map in the future. Thank you for playing!

Not sure what to do at the slowly-damaging room with the eye in the grunt... so dark and couldn't tell what I had to do there, so I dropped out. Atmosphere and sounds are very interesting, puzzles are not very obvious... (which can be a good thing, in some cases, but this one really has me scratching my head.)

@Lithium

I appreciate the feedback, I have taken these points into account and will update the map with new content in the near future. Thanks for playing and for taking the time to give your input!

Very talented creator here - the textures, lights and ambience in general was 10/10. Really good work in my opinion.
However, I did not enjoy the map. First, it was way too dark - I couldn't see anything and it was very frustrating. Second, it was unclear that the brick wall had to be broken by throwing an item on it. I found this solution on the comments below and even there, the guy asks if it was the right way to do it. I wonder as well. Third, there was multiple items that just created confusion such as the dark hole that kills you if you jump in it, and the fire lamp that kills you if you touch it, etc.
Creating a map with this texture/design creator skills but with better puzzle / story around it would result in an amazing map.

(I'm Chon, Lead Level Designer at Crowbar Collective and a judge for the competition!)

I enjoyed this entry! It was cool to see a really interesting theme with some slightly more wild ideas in play. I think you really nailed the visual style of the map and some of the weirdness you were going for.

The map was a little short and slightly lacking in substance, however. I also really didn't enjoy the very first puzzle with having to break the boards/wall with physics objects, it took me too long to figure it out and when I did, it didn't feel rewarding. I would've preferred just finding a Crowbar in the BSOD room, or something like that. And then using that. It also would've given those rooms a bit more of a purpose, other than the scary shadow in there.

Overall, a good effort! I have nothing else really to add other than I would've liked more!