I only had a very short amount of time to play yesterday, but I was still pleased with what I did given the short amount of time. When I left off I had just entered Office Complex. It was dark and there was electricity coming from the ceiling. I didn't immediately remember what path I was to take but I did remember some surrounding offices and storage rooms that probably had clues that I needed. After a brief little bit I found an electrical switch and remembered that this was something that tripped me up last time. So after turning the power off I was able to move through with relative ease. I found some much needed health and continued on a little bit but my play was interrupted.

What I'm most pleased about is I don't spend more than a few seconds worrying about an obstacle. When I enter a room, if things don't immediately lay out in front of me, I'm immediately looking for doors and crawlspace openings. This has certainly helped to speed things up. Certainly helps in easing frustration.

Also, something else I didn't remember was whether or not it was good to break every box I see. I know in office complex I'll need boxes to be moved in order to get through some areas by climbing. But in the first part I just went about leisurely breaking boxes to see what was in them. I'm pretty sure I'm safe there in the beginning but I'll be a little careful the further I get.

No screenshots today because I didn't get the chance to send them to myself.

I hope to get to play again tonight.

I played through Unforseen Circumstances in one sitting tonight. To some this might not seem like a big deal, but to me it is a very big deal because it's the first time I've gone through an entire level of Half-Life at one time. I was proud that I remembered a lot more than I thought I would. Some of the puzzles that stumped me the last time, came back to me fairly quickly.

Instead of re-telling the story like I've done in previous posts, I'm going to spend more time telling what I did differently and how I felt about it. Most of the readers wouldn't be here if they didn't already know something about half-life, so re-telling a story that most people know seems a little redundant, especially since I already did that in the beginning.

When I picked up I was right where I left off before finding the crowbar. Yes it was right in front of the door, which I should have remembered. I realize now that the game doesn't provide an obstacle without a way around it. I killed head crabs and aliens with the crowbar. I remembered to go over to any dead or injured guard where I found the pistol and after bashing some boxes continued to get ammunition. I didn't bother trying to kill every creature, as I realize it isn't necessary and a waste of ammo.

There was a part when you head back to the entrance to Black Mesa where you have to crawl into a control room. After seeing a blocked pathway I knew there had to be a way out from that room and I remembered the vent. There was also the part where you have to jump down the shaft and turn on the water. It's to get past a blocked path. I remembered that the purpose was to get the water on to then be able to float back to the top on the other side. From there I had to get past the collapsible bridge, a water way where I had to push boxes in to crawl across, and then use my jumping skills to get across some suspended boxes. These were all things that gave me fits the first time through. Soon after that I was into office complex and very pleased with my progress for the night.

The first time through I honestly never used quickload. I never even knew what the key was. But I made sure to use it, especially if I took an injury hit that I knew I could have avoided. I was careful when to quicksave, mostly right after I re-filled health and not after every little bit.

I felt better about the experience as a whole. I felt like I had a better grasp on what I was doing and didn't get bogged down with stupid things like not being able to find the crowbar. I don't think I'm going to be able to clear levels in each sitting, but I know I can think my way through things instead of getting so frustrated.

I use the "It's a Marathon, not a Sprint" because I know at my skill level, this is a long process ... but with the right training like I feel like I got on my first try, I can perform a lot better.

Here are some screenshots: (I'll still post these as a way to track where I've been)

I've gotten myself into a bit of a quandary with the whole "God Mode" issue. Now that it's on, I'm not quite sure how to turn it off. Now I've read and respect the opinions of the lifelong gamers on here and those that told me I should turn it off. But I've actually kind of enjoyed it. I've been able to play closer attention to what I'm doing and the story going on, instead of constantly getting owned by flying worms, stationary guns, and soldiers. I will turn it off once I figure out how, but what's wrong with just moving right on through and picking up what I can of the story.

I learned today that I'm on the 9th chapter of 18 total. I'm into my seventh month of playing this game and I'm only half way done. I don't want to stop playing (although it seems like I do when I take such long breaks between postings). I want to finish and perhaps just moving on through with invincibility is the way to go. I will listen to any arguments for or against this idea.

As for my play tonight, I moved through the first little bit of apprehension. It should be dubbed water world because that's all it seems to be. It's very detailed, lots of places to go, doors to open, things to figure out, plus the obstacle of swimming. Of course with god mode on I'm not dying, but I can only imagine how painful it would be for me to try and move through this level having to constantly go up for air.

Here are my screenshots:











The flying wormy squid things provided and interesting challenge. I noticed while swimming that there were several options as far as doors to go in with crates in the floor like similar places earlier in the game. I realize this is another puzzle level that I'm going to figure out. I just hope it comes easier than some of the previous chapters.

More to come ...

I picked up a little momentum, but still don't think I have all the tools in place to get out of blast pit. I know some people have asked if I read the blog comments, well I do. I know that there are three things that I need to turn on before I can kill the three headed green monster. Tonight I got what I think is one more.

I finished last night still stuck down in the area with the water and the pipes. Following the advice of a blog reader I found a second staircase that got me up to an area where I thankfully found some more grenades. Unfortunately there was no health.

After killing a few aliens I found a gigantic room with a BIG fan:



After moving my way down I was able to flip a switch and turn on the fan, then move my way back up:



I made my way up without getting chopped up by the fan, made my way back through the tunnels with the pipes and water and all the way back to the room with the green monster. I ended up back in the control room and only the power light was lit up. There were two other lights that weren't lit up.

This leaves me with the following questions:

1) What was the deal with the fan and was that not something I was supposed to turn on?

2) What in the world is the 3rd thing I need to turn on and how do I get to it?

3) Am I going to have the patience to get out of Blast Pit and remotely have a chance to finish this game?

More game time tomorrow ...

It's been several days since I actually sat down and played. Part of that has to do with other things going on in my life and part of that has to do with sheer frustration at how difficult Blast Pit has been for me. But actually thinking about what I'm doing has given me a plan on how I'm going to complete this level.

After turning on the electricity I began to back track with a big problem of health. For some reason I decided to walk through some electrified water and lost a lot of health. But I got back across this collapsible platform:



This put me right back near the room with the Green Monster. I went back up a level, careful to crawl my way through and not die. Back on the second level I found another door and fortunately was able to break it with the crowbar and get through it without dying. After killing an alien I found a couple of boxes that had some much needed health. After a couple of ladders I realized I was down near the fuel room. I got down a long ladder resembling a manhole in a NYC street. I found my way down to some long pipes surrounded by water. There were some bullsquids and several blocked passages.

Yes, I know I'm still in Blast Pit, but I feel like I finally have a sense of direction. I'm going to find my way to turn on the fuel and then make my way back to the original control room, and send that Green Monster into orbit.

The one picture was the only screenshot I was able to get. I thought I had some other good shots but apparently I didn't. More to come very soon.