Archival and Preservation of important HL1 mods

[Bekey]

Digital archival and preservation of games is challenging, especially when applied to mods that are dependent on the game they're based on. It's only a question of time before sites like moddb, planetphillips, HLC & co go under, or Valve breaks the mod pipeline once again.

I'm no expert on the topic of HL1 mods, but I'd be surprised if someone had already properly preserved hl1 mods for future generations. So I'm sorta proposing that we take the initiative today, before it gets any worse.

What are some mods that should take absolute high-priority? What are some mods that should be disregarded despite their popularity? Should we attempt preserving multiplayer mods? Where do we safely store the files for years to come?

[Alex]

What are some mods that should take absolute high-priority?

Poke 646
ETC 2
Possibly Todesangst 1 + 2
DiamondD's packs no seriously, if I'm ever going to play HL again those are the easiest way to do it

Should we attempt preserving multiplayer mods?

Nah, no one plays them at all. It really isn't worth the bother.

Where do we safely store the files for years to come?

That's a tough one since a lot of public places delete inactive files after about 60 days. Probably for now the safest bets are to ensure there's always a mirror of the really good stuff, and the best places for things to be are HLC and MODDB; possibly Mega or Zippyshare too but I don't know how long they keep files up.

[Megan]

I agree on all of Alex' points except multiplayer mods. Many multiplayer mods are great and have excellent production values, such as The Wastes or maybe even Firearms. They also deserve to be preserved.

[Lateralus]

I agree on all of Alex' points except multiplayer mods. Many multiplayer mods are great and have excellent production values, such as The Wastes or maybe even Firearms. They also deserve to be preserved.

And some of them have Bots for Offline Pratice.

[The ghost of Cliffmas FALs]

And they can be stripped for parts like Ghost Ops. Not that I'd ever do such a thing.

[Red Slug]

Well, I don't know, ho reliable my NAS will be within the next twenty years, but I started to pack this small stash of short SP mods and other gems with a working copy of WON HL a few years ago:

Apart from that, we still have Besli 

[RavenGT]

And they can be stripped for parts like Ghost Ops.

That's actually a really amusing reality, seeing how GHOST Ops had some overlap with CS custom weapon models so naturally there's going to be some salvaging.

A few weeks ago, just days before the announcement of GameFront's shut down, I was scavenging across the internet for files and change logs for Half-Life Bumper Cars. It felt important that I help preserve something I worked on seeing how nobody cares about that mod in 2016, and also because I was curious what the mod was like before I got involved during its last two versions. I have most of the files and changelogs but I never bothered uploading them. If there's some sort of unified preservation effort going on, I'll pitch in.

[Editor]

And they can be stripped for parts like Ghost Ops.

That's actually a really amusing reality, seeing how GHOST Ops had some overlap with CS custom weapon models so naturally there's going to be some salvaging.

A few weeks ago, just days before the announcement of GameFront's shut down, I was scavenging across the internet for files and change logs for Half-Life Bumper Cars. It felt important that I help preserve something I worked on seeing how nobody cares about that mod in 2016, and also because I was curious what the mod was like before I got involved during its last two versions. I have most of the files and changelogs but I never bothered uploading them. If there's some sort of unified preservation effort going on, I'll pitch in.

I remember that mod! Had some really neat mechanics for vehicles in Gold Source. That and HL Rally were the two mods I remember trying vehicles so early on.

[Lateralus]

Half-Life: Invasion had a Few Segments where you could Pilot a Tank.

[Besli]

Apart from that, we still have Besli 

I'm here!