Half-Life's Spookiest Map

[@ratlobber]

For anyone curious, I've uploaded the original version of Spookface to Gamebanana. Now you can experience it in all its 1998(ish?) glory. gamebanana.com/mods/415332

[@Poodleinacan]

Glory be! ... I wonder how it may be in VR.

[@the-letter_s]

hey what was up with the intr- DATA RECEIVED

[@meppo6781]

rip fpsbanana

[@TheDeathmatchKlan]

Spookface is still played in HL2DM, I've seen it on one or two servers at least. I'm not sure how well it transitioned to HL2 to be fair.

[@ratlobber]

@@TheDeathmatchKlan definitely a bit jankier in HL2DM, but still very fun

[@Whomobile]

The fact they guy is in his 60s gives me hope that retirement home LAN parties will become a thing sooner than later

[@SplendidCoffee0]

They fucking better, I stg

[@deadsnots7177]

intense grandpa gaming

[@ecco2kfan03]

they already are kinda a thing

[@crazyd4ve875]

imagine you and the 80 year old homies are playing a game and you kill him in game and you just hear *BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP* from the mic line

[@planescaped]

I mean, it's inevitable once we're all the old farts. Except we won't have social security and be living in a dystopia, so our retirement homes will probably be a bit more mad max. Assuming society doesn't go the "Logan's Run" route.

[@MillywiggZ]

Damn. The fact the guy, claims, to be in his 60’s and the map almost being lost gives me a sense of dread that some of gaming history is already gone.

[@quinnjohnson9750]

Most likely a good sum of video game history on the Internet is already lost to the sands of time unfortunately. And that's just the stuff WE DON'T KNOW and never got a wide audience to circulate it around.

[@valerimihaylov271]

imagine now how many lives have been lived, how many stories have been created and forgotten long ago this is both dreadful and beautiful this is what life is for.. to be lived ONCE each moment is unique in its own way

[@stormthesource]

Yea its astounding, although 45 seems like an old age to start gaming

[@denudenovsky]

@@stormthesource just wait a few years, it will become an average figure. Average gamer is already in his 30s.

[@unoriginalperson72]

We're all gonna be in his shoes one day, years after the Half-life saga is finished and long after all the servers are almost empty, there's gonna be people who want to figure out maps that came out now will be mysterious to those in the future.

[@wiredaliens]

I don't get why people still watch and support this guy, did everybody just forget when there were human remains found under the floorboards in his new jersey home in 2011???

[@Jacox98]

Umm sorry but we all know roblatter hid the bodies as a prank for the vine

[@salad5768]

He's just goofin around

[@criticalbanana3888]

That's why we love him

[@Peewushshsh]

What the fuck is this real.

[@Jacox98]

@@Peewushshsh why wouldn't it be? do you think people go on the internet and lie or smthn

[@novelezra]

"Still in his 60's making maps" I only hope we are all so lucky. What an absolute Chad; leading the path so we can follow. Sucks that modern games don't really have this kind of mod culture but I hope when I'm old I'm doing this kind of creative stuff for the things I love.

[@eyeblech2001]

Peak male performance right here

[@JohnDoe-hj9fh]

Skyrim has like the biggest modding scene

[@novelezra]

@@JohnDoe-hj9fh Do you consider Skyrim to be a 'new game'?

[@JohnDoe-hj9fh]

@@novelezra if someone was born the day it came out they wouldn't even be 12 yet so yeah I'd consider it new. Either way I can almost guarantee the same will happen to starfield since it's Bethesda and it's a brand new environment to start modding in unlike anything we've had to do that with before. Or even project zomboid which has a ton of mods

[@novelezra]

@@JohnDoe-hj9fh 12 years in gaming time may as well be 100 years. There has been two console generations since Skyrim came out. It is not new/modern.

[@thefantasticdrill788]

just wanna say how much I appreciate the early 2000's ratlobber bumpers, they just absolutely ooze with style

[@EpEDlxD0]

Man, 5 years from now people will call this early 2010s style and so on.

[@necrolog3797]

@@EpEDlxD0 ikr

[@Willowposting]

​@@EpEDlxD0It's more accurate to call it a Y2K style aesthetic. It was that very specific period between 99-00 that captures that energy. Maybe a bit of 01 as well. I was born in 02 so I could be entirely wrong, I'm just going off the media I have to look back on, which makes me incredibly glad to have been born when the internet made documenting media and culture much easier.

[@Kittkrash]

It's like someone took a 90's educational website and turned it into a 3D environment. Custom maps for CS1.6-era shooters have an aesthetic all their own and I love it.

[@lain_from_lain]

8:40 I think it does translate for me at least. These two maps seem incredibly different. The Goldsrc version is cramped and claustrophobic with the massive walls. I agree that the skybox really doesn't fit the map at all and it all feels a bit uncomfortable. The updated version is ethereal and surreal. I love the reflection of the skybox off the water and how that water sits above the ground of the map's lower level. The terrain and marble textures seem unaffected by the lighting and give a really odd effect. The faces, statues, etc textures really add to the map's feel, the trees really being the only thing taking away from it for me. While I've never played deathmatch and have no nostalgia for the map, this video (and all of your videos) was super fun and I love your aesthetic and style! Props to the original creator for responding to the email too!

[@patbytes]

So glad to help get some info on this strange Geocities afterlife of a map - excellent work!

[@Vandantcyclone]

Are you spookface

[@ghxst8]

i love how every time you show gameplay of base hl1, it's always hls and you just refuse to mention it. the funniest running joke on your channel, keep it up!

[@mastergame1311]

Man, do I love some obscure Half-Life-related maps.

[@oca8847]

Love your editing you little goober.

[@CptDoot]

you little rat lobber*

[@joeblount9661]

5:28 “Responchible”

[@disappointedcucumber]

There's no way. No fucking way. Finally, the first time I watch one of these videos about obscure shit where I've actually experienced the obscure shit before. This map is the first map I played when I installed Half Life 2: Deathmatch.

[@Nekosicle]

3:55 lolcool I'm in the video. Wasn't surprising considering that it show up next to GameBanana link when you Google search the map.

[@drinkssss]

Man's got 45K subscribers but edits like he's got 1MIL. All the little visual and audial flares you add (the little remixes, the transitional cards), add SO much character to your videos. Not only that, but something about the way you narrate reminds me of Jschlatt's old "video essay" (for lack of a better phrase) days; I think it's the subtle but ever-present charisma you have in both your script writing and your intonation. I've been watching a bunch of your videos and they're ALL got this sick as hell balance of charisma and informative content. KEEP IT UP!

[@steevuk]

this channel will definitely take off

[@MarkSouthy]

This map really is a classic! I remember playing it on HL2 back in the day. I just finished your 7/11 video before this and it's bad me thinking about another map you may be able to help me figure out. It was semi-popular for hl2DM, took place in a little neighborhood. There was a little apartment building, with a grow room and a room or booth or something with a sublime song. I wanna say it's DM_hoodrat or something but I couldn't find it.

[@MickMod]

You sure it's not cs_crackhouse or some variation of it? I remember that having a Sublime song and was in a large-ish building/house between other buildings.

[@MarkSouthy]

@@MickMod I definitely remember crackhouse, I saw RatLobbers video on that as well hah. This map I'm thinking had one main building that was brick with a black flat roof. Then there was like an in ground pool, another smaller building, some type of connection through a sewer pipe or something. It was pretty common for rp servers

[@MickMod]

@@MarkSouthy I'll dig through my folders of maps and see if I can find that one, sounds familiar

[@uniongrunt]

@@MarkSouthy Are you thinking of DM_Richland and RP_Richland? Wasn't Sublime but some little band called "The Slats" with a song about weed in one of the apartments. Wait...Sublime...That "smoke two joints" song? OH CRAP I think you're thinking of CS_Homegrown! That's the one!

[@EmileDVazqo]

Always knew you were connected to MK Ultra

[@shipwreck246]

Can't give you enough credit for how inspired each of your videos feel and how impressive it is that the editing, script, and music really ties it all together perfectly.

[@notXaragame3542]

I love your intros, scratch that, your entire editing style is excellent. I love it, I stan

[@Mdmbchdr]

41%

[@notXaragame3542]

@@Mdmbchdr of what?

[@Splinter-ge9pf]

​@@notXaragame3542don't Listen to them, it's transphobic bullshit

[@DeepseaOddities]

Used to play this all the time on HL DMS. Great video! Your love for the subject really shows.

[@Cyadragon]

The vibe does greatly change with the wall around the map. It makes it feel like halo ce forerunner map

[@JuniDoesStuff]

I remember getting completely destroyed on this map in HL2 Deathmatch. Getting stomped has never been so surreal.

[@xx_applebeesfan07_xx16]

The goldsrc version of spookface feels like a Halo CE map

[@problemdog9876]

This is the content I sub for. Direct downlink into nostalgia synapses for super-niche material. Great intro/outro vibe, btw.

[@Goonchtastic]

Seeing this map again awakened a visceral set of HLDM memories within me. This wasn't just nostalgia, it was a reckoning of memory shaking my shoulders. Eerie.

[@celestialcolosseum]

Reminds me of NIPPER's maps, they are so cool and spooky at the same time. It's like a visualization of someone's mind, always loved wandering in his maps back in the day. This map looks like vaporwave + liminal space ideas combined. If you like discovering weird maps like this you can do a video on NIPPER's maps, they have both goldsrc and source versions and could make an interesting video.

[@Eyeling]

Thank you for covering mapping history! So much is lost to time, it means a lot that you would try and preserve some of these lost maps!

[@heavysniper3o3]

Never heard of this map before. But I find it really inspiring, especially how spook is still passionate about his craft after such a long time. I'm glad you made this video.

[@spo0nofficial]

i have memories with this map. 3ish years, Me and like 3 other people, uses to hang out on discord all the time playing and talking about source games. We decided to hop on deathmatch source and there was only like 1 active server that was using this map and we use to play on it all the time.

[@xFluing]

OH man that early 2000s website is BEAUTIFUL

[@fastmax6292]

ratlobber i just binged like half your channel, you’ve come a long way and i love the content

[@theopenrift]

OH MY GOD I REMEMBER THIS MAP!! I remember playing this map on HL Deathmatch Source (because I didn't know any better) and having a blast playing it. It was so weird but oddly soothing.

[@cyrusposting]

I did some investigating of my own about spookface a while ago (as an HL2DM player who loved that map's vibe as a kid) and I didn't even think about emailing spook, but I looked at quicksilver's portfolio website. I played all his other maps (they're good) and the tarantula texture seems to be a motif he used a lot. Do you know if the goldsource version had the tarantula? I'm wondering if quicksilver added that tarantula to spookface as his own little signature or if his later use of it was a reference to the original spookface. Great to hear that spook is still making stuff. Genuinely warmed my heart to hear that. Also shoutout to quicksilver for the added physics props. HL2DM needs physics props for balance, the gravgun is pretty core to how the game is played, but just putting barrels or toilets would have been tacky. I like that he made the effort to make things that fit the vibe.

[@jimmyhopkins1]

Mde world peace influence on the intros?..? Pretty slick dude 👌

[@risingrevolt]

I love how eerie the map is. Hopefully someone can find the texture pack online!

[@coffin7904]

cant you just rip them from the map file?

[@DuneJumper]

I remember when I was like 8 being super creeped out whenever a server emptied on this map.

[@captaineldeezee1336]

@@coffin7904 Even so, there is the probable possibility that the textures on the original CD are of somewhat higher quality. Plus, it'd be interesting, where the textures were from.

[@mrziiz6893]

Some Chad will shill out 70$ bucks for the authentic CD

[@TheFaqvideos]

Your intros and intermissions are fucking great, you have the material to become a big boy youtuber one day just keep at it.

[@ToxicMothBoi]

Frfr his intros and intermissions are damn masterpieces by themselves. His video style is very damn good and enjoyable while packed with loads of information too

[@martinszymanski2607]

i'm gonna be real here, i sincerely believe that if this dude made one or two videos about a more mainstream subject he'd blow up.

[@havememesgonetoofar64]

reminds me of sam hyde and his mde world peace transitions

[@deepwebwhirlpool]

seriously

[@BogdanZelinschi]

I h8 them

[@the_courier_live]

I am eating spaghetti for breakfast at 11:32

[@JamezXM]

I thought this map was a fever dream from HL2DM, thanks so much for documenting it all.

[@Headcrabman9999]

It's been at least 15 years since I last played spookface in HLDM:S; it left such an impact on me that I knew it had to be what you were talking about in the title

[@Doom_Rooster]

Spookface it's exactly what I comes to my mind when I think of community-made maps for old school dm games

[@joebert_]

bro that clip at the end of mega64 caught me off guard i entirely forgot about that

[@Joel-uh9jq]

I love how half of your videos are just you rambling. But they are still enjoyable. Keep it up.

[@nihilblue9669]

Nice selection of music for your video. Gotta love that Jungle DnB

[@WretchedRedoran]

Though you implied that those uninitiated with the map, like me, would find it an eyesore in the beginning of the video, when I first saw this map I was... Enthralled. I don't know what other way to put it. It's absolutely filled with aesthetic and character. To be honest, I find it oddly beautiful.

[@Umberskumpch]

The Bomberman Hero music and all the music used in this video is *chefs kiss* amazing. I aspire to make KZbin vids some day but your editing style makes me feel like I'll never be able to make something as visually pleasing as you. Keep up the good work

[@lively2774]

Fun fact 17's Buddies is also the only place I've been able to find the first community mappack for Half-Life Rally

[@orangefish0297]

In love with this channel!~ Your sense of style and timing are perfect for my ADHD ass brain to digest~

[@salad5768]

Splendid endeavor my brother

[@DJL3G3ND]

I think I played this map before, but I swear I never even noticed these weird textures, I think Im just so used to the weird design of hldms maps and chaos in general. like fr most of the maps I see are so weirdly designed

[@halo7372]

Oh i remember playing this one, its so strange i was playing on a Hl2 dm server with like a bunch of old dudes just hanging out and playing deathmatch it was pretty funny, a strange experience to be sure

[@_zigger_]

Marble, ancient statues, purple sky and lights... Dude was rocking vaporwave before it was cool

[@finmueller7827]

Literally started binging your videos today and this popped up Pog

[@mothballmouth]

Great video, the classic mega64 clip at the end was the best part big ups to a fellow internet soldier

[@BreadEx-]

I don't understand why I love your videos, but I do. Thank you, please keep it up.

[@jim_pie]

certified Zhang Xiuli moment

[@halfslashmoon]

god, i played on a weird little hl2dm server all the time in college and got owned by old dudes nonstop on this map. i miss it so badly. thank you for bringing it in front of more eyes

[@Thig16]

Damn I love so much source content, there's not enough good videos about it, keep up the good work man!

[@easkateman]

I've spent years looking for this map, and I've loved this so much

[@geckorider]

your content and style is amazing & refreshing in the era of robot voices & youtube shorts, thank you

[@heyguysElliashere]

Loved playing on this map. The shakey camera in this video fucked with my brain

[@bittripflux]

used to religiously play on this map on hl2dm and it was my favorite. it still runs on a server called loki's school of combat with boomers getting on at night

[@adenovito]

"I was instead greeted by this..." *Loud AF royalty free trap beat* "INSTALL THE CHIME APP TODAY!" What a place for a jump scare ad lmao 8:09

[@tmtmtg]

he is 65 now?? Old gamer legend lol

[@MoreCheezePlease]

Oh damn! Some years ago I had a short HL2:DM phase and I didn't even realize I played this map, let alone how much there is to it. I just kinda know I did, like this video unlocked secrets in my brain

[@twitchyeyess]

7:38 man straight up stumbled upon half-life HISTORY on accident, thats pretty funny.

[@kevindelrio2687]

I rarely think so much about maps and their connection with the gameplay, i know that its REALLY important, but the atmosphere/art of the map also is important, and if theres something that i really love, was cs source abstract maps, i saw a map in the beggining of the video that i think its a Nipper map, Nipper is cs map creator and he has a few abstract maps, and a lot of them are or fucking crazy or somewhat enjoyable to explore, plus the feeling of the source engie? Its just somehow, weirdly "cozy"?? You should check some of them out! A few examples are: ttt_mehhh, ttt_surreal, arghhh, ttt_dada_art, wham_city, yeayuhhh, bohhh, blahhh, ttt_ouhhh, zuhhh (yes, those are real map names), nipper_opus, de_absurdity. Great videos btw, i love your editing and your videos artstyle

[@lolstal3ersmh]

the map looks like the smell of vinegar

[@de-ment]

lobber fans on their way to raid the spookface lovers' steam group despite never having heard of the map prior to this video on another note I have never heard of this map in my life

[@ninjacat230]

I've... Played on this map before! What? 7:50 I've used that website before, too! That's where I got my half-life rally maps!

[@snakebot4986]

this makes me wanna go on a romp exploring old obscure half life maps

[@nuphory]

I'm really positively surprised that my music is in here. Huge goldsrc / hl2dm player for many years, very happy. Thank you :>

[@atk1152]

i remember i saw a screenshot of gold source Spookfaces but it was a custom map for another different game just to show how popular it's in Death match community

[@beamour]

40k subscribers you came along way and your video's are getting better and better you deserve 40k. I remember when you only had 800 subscribers, Good Job!

[@TheMegatonBomb]

Some of the maps have "bad collision" you can always use commands for the players to start off with the weapons if need be. sv_cheats 1 enables cheats impulse 101 gives every weapon. Also, with the Steam version of Half-Life I think the cfg now has a new command that can be used called fps_override 60 if you change it to fps_override 120. I am pretty sure 120 fps is the max for Gold Source Engine, but I could be wrong on that.

[@daviddeltoro1808]

This guy fuckn' gets it, the whole SD 2000s aesthetic with DnB is amazing

[@FlyboyHelosim]

These are the types of videos that make me think I should release at least my better maps that I made back in the day for HL, CS, etc. that I've always kept to myself and only ever played with bots. Even if it turns out that the majority think they're total trash, at least they'd have been played by someone and may have even given just one person a good memory or sense of nostalgia.

[@flunkiebubs2002]

When I hear "Half-Life map" my mind immediately goes to G-Mod horror maps & roleplay servers.

[@frnkln4213]

This is some premium video game archival content, good editing, good story GOOD SHIT KEEP IT UP KING

[@QuintessentialWalrus]

There are tons of weird-ass Half-Life maps out there, but the fact that one of them was made by a now retired 65-year-old baby boomer is just incomprehensible to me. Like, that's almost as old as my dad. People that age can understand not just playing video games, but MODDING them?

[@l0os176]

Like to hear the stories and preservation of this type of content. I used to make maps for Unreal multiplayer back in the day, and I think that all of my work is unfortunately gone now. At least we had fun before we moved on.

[@RoachDoggJr2112]

Spook is a fucking legend. I genuinely hope he's enjoying his gold(source)en years.

[@Dovah_Slayer]

What i want to see is a video on the dev tricks valve had to use in source to actually make HL2 (or even more interesting the tricks they used in goldsource) ive looked into it a bit and its really interesting seeing dev tricks and things you'd only notice looking very close (for example in half life the characters are making all the noises such as button pushes and the HEV sounds and you can see the mouths move)

[@QTwoSix]

I absolutely love this map. Stumbled upon it when I first played HLDM Source. I adore all the secrets it has.

[@DonPeteFPS]

This map looks like a vaporwave album cover. Im in love

[@bobbypadlock]

i found out watching that mega64 podcast live LOL

[@misterancheli]

man, your visuals are so good, keep it up

[@bloomboxes420]

just another great video by ratlobber

[@meaty2406]

ratlobber i want you to know that if i had another life I would give it to you

[@mark5214]

Love your style, this your best video by far.

[@J3NNYTR1PSIT]

I've made tons of art inspired by this map. it's just like playing a fever dream.

[@wutaf0ck]

17buddies is not shady, just old, I think. I've downloaded alot of old maps from there without issues. cs-bg is another old looking site hosting a ton of old maps. I like these websites since they're great archives and, if nothing else, a great source of nostalgia.

[@necrolog3797]

17buddies, whether through the means of manual upload, or really smart web scraping, is the only reason we still have some of the maps which bear huge cultural significance, like Kreedz earliest works

[@Oodelally]

One of the best dm maps ever made

[@theoneguywhowasatthatoneplace]

0:41 "The Time Is Now: Revamp" 2022-2022

[@g_abe.]

your vids are lovely but FUCK man those little intermissions are like fever dreams (and i love it)

[@WestfilmsCo]

When I got the orange box on pc, I opened Half-Life: Source Deathmatch once, joined a random server, it was dm_spookface. When I got off I uninstalled the game and never thought about it again.

[@aijint]

It's a good day when ratlobber uploads

[@qwertyqeys]

Oh this is wild I remember playing on this map. I haven't played much hldm source, but what I have played this map was in

[@thescience_team]

i remember spookface because it was the first map i found someone playing on half life deathmatch source

[@giwake]

oh my god, i saw that texture CD at a second-hand store a couple of months ago! I wonder if i can still find it!