Let's be honest, Source is not the great engine it was 6 years ago. Back then, it was breathtaking. Now, it staggers along trying to compete with the big boys.
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| Remember when this was awesome? |
Valve are still making a valiant effort to hold back the tides, but the engine's taking on water. It can't hold up to the detail of Unreal 3, or the enormous vistas of RAGE.
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| Yeah, check this shit out |
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| You can't touch this |
These reasons are why Robert Briscoe has become something of a demi-God amongst Source mappers. A game designer who has worked on the flawed yet beautiful Mirror's Edge, he's taken our poor, limping little engine, and catapulted it up to the big leagues. Through custom content and lots of skill, he's completely transformed Source. I'll let some screenshots do the talking.
These screenshots are from an experimental mod entitled Dear Esther. The original version came out a few years ago, released by some university students, and is now being remade by Briscoe. The mod is excellent, combining a brilliant soundtrack with a haunting ghost story. Unfortunately, the link to the original version of Dear Esther has been taken down in anticipation of Briscoe's remake, however it sounds like the game should be released sometime towards the end of this year. Interestingly, these screenshots are of the alpha version, which 'need lots of polish'. I can't even imagine how good the completed game is going to look in action.
As an added bonus, here's a
video of the caves level, which allows you to see some of the stunning water effects in action, and a
link to Briscoe's Devblog, for some more screenshots and updates on progress, as well as some insights into the mapping process.
