After a 3 week layoff I started moving through On a Rail tonight. I think with this post I'll be doing a little less re-telling of the story, which I know most of the readers of this blog already know, and tell a little more about my experience and some continuing issues.

First, my screen shots:







Basically I rode around a little bit and sometimes when I saw directional signs (orange arrows) I would shoot them. I killed some poison spitters, eyed some dead soldiers and was able to add to my weapons and get some help. Things I'm still not doing well is reacting quickly, figuring out what weapon to use for which particular enemy, and reacting quickly. I said that twice on purpose because that's my biggest problem. I ended tonight with Gordon and the cart going up an elevator and getting pwned by a soldier up ahead. I could not shoot quick enough and reload to be able to kill the soldier without getting killed.

I was able at an earlier point to be able to kill one of those stationary laser shooter thingies that used to pwn me by tossing a grenade and backing away.

Now that I'm typing this, maybe alt-fire would be good here. I only ever use it when
I right click on accident. Perhaps even if I don't play that much should blog more. Just by typing out my thoughts, I'm thinking through things better than when I actually am playing.

Perhaps this is the motivation that I'm lacking ... we'll see.

More later.

well ... I did a little better than I thought I would and I cleared Power Up! it seems.

I started the night at the top of the same elevator that I was trying to clear after my last post:



After killing some soldiers with my revolver I kept backtracking to see if I could figure out what to do next. When I ended up at the monster again I sought shelter in the control room I was stuck in at two posts ago. After hitting a lever I saw this middle platform rotating. The monster didn't seem amused and rather annoyed. I decided to jump down into the room and run for it and when I did I saw that one opening that was blocked by a cage before was now open so I jetted down that hallway. It led to what seems to be an endless supply of power rooms. When I got to the end I found a ledge with another lever to turn on, and when I did, boom, more electricity with some cool blue rays. With that on I went back towards the big monster and of course he came after me. When I went down the same hallway, something completely unexpected happened ... He was completely destroyed by the "blue rays of shock" and that was that. Although it was a complex way for him to die ... I certainly was surprised that it was somewhat easier to accomplish than the damn three headed monster in Blast Pit. But that was that ... here's a pic post-destroyed monster:



Still not knowing what to do next I went back to the main room I started. There was a train car/people mover type thing that I got on and it worked this time. When it moved forward and stopped I remember that the lever in the first control room made the middle platform move, so I went back and re-engaged that again and off went on the train car ... ON A RAIL!

I got to a security guard with a down gate. After picking up two health packs, I got past the gate and moved forward. After riding the tracks for a good five minutes I suddenly realized I was in another level and maybe that was part of the puzzle. I didn't know at what point I was supposed to get off and explore or was I just supposed to stay on the train and figure that out?

Here are some shots from the train car:





I guess I have a new level to explore and perhaps will get some hints as to what I'm supposed to get out of On a Rail.

A new day brings a new motivation to play and I think I made some serious progress tonight while realizing some continued shortcomings in my game play.

I'm going to start the post with my two screenshots, the only ones I was able to get. They are my starting point and a picture of a new weapon, a trip mine.





My shortcomings lie in my reaction times to fast moving enemies (i.e. soldiers & turrets). Seems like I'm always dead or seriously hurt before I get my weapon in place and ready to fire. I am playing with the keys and the mouse. I cured my desire to use the arrows many weeks ago.

At my starting point tonight, I took the advice of a blog reader and took out the turret with a grenade, I threw the grenade and was smart enough to back off to let it detonate. Fortunately it took out a soldier or two. I was able to kill another solider using my handy dandy revolver and pick up some new ammo (much needed) and health.

Moving down a long hallway I had to kill some more soldiers and that's where I picked up the trip mines. I was trying my best to brace myself around some corners in order to kill the soldiers without getting killed. After powering up again I went down an elevator and had to kill some shockwave alien creatures. Down through some stairs I found my way to a power station. I assumed this was a good things and something I was supposed to turn on, but it wouldn't turn on. Remembering what happened in Blast Pit I didn't consider this a dead end ... I just moved on. Back down the hallway was a maintenance station and some water with these little slug like creatures that kept taking some energy away. At the end was this turbine looking thing. It didn't do anything until after I crushed some boxes. It turned on and the water drained.

Back at the Power station it turned on! Guessing this was a good thing, I avoided the power surge and made my way backwards since I couldn't find a way to go forward. I stopped back at the original ladder that had taken me down. There were soldiers that kept pwning me and when I killed them and tried to go up I kept dying and for some reason it felt like I was being killed by the same trip mines that I had gotten from the soldiers at first. This is where I ended tonight.

I'm going to keep at this. When I have nights like tonight when I feel like I'm making progress, it energizes me to keep going. So expect some more game play and posts tomorrow and the next night. Who knows? Maybe I can actually clear a level in a week!

I don't know if I've hit a rut or what but I'm only able to take Half-Life in small doses these days. I guess the cumbersomeness (if that's a word) of the levels is more than I care to take on for more than a few minutes at the time. Tonight I tried to get a little farther into Power Up. I re-started not on my quick save but at the previous save before that because my last quick save had me at no ammo and only "4" health.

I can't even remember a lot of details as I wasn't able to get any screen shots to work. Basically, I darted through the room with the mini boss, past some head crabs, aliens, electric shooters ... etc. I found myself in a toxic room and up a couple of ladders. Some soldiers and the stationary laser shooters were owning me as I made my way up. But I did see a soldier getting dragged under a crawl space by something with crab arms. The next level up I couldn't get past one of the stationary shooters before giving up.

I consider it progress because I saved in a different place than where I started. I know it's slow, but it's still moving forward.

Perhaps I'll get my motivation back soon.

Today was my first attempt at moving into power up, starting here:



I realize that this new monster will be difficult to kill, similar to the three headed monster from Blast Pit. So I didn't stop and waste my ammo trying to kill it. I moved forward through the room, to the left I noticed a track with a flat-bed car that wouldn't move when I tried to engage it. So I made it to another opening and killed a few creatures that shot electricity in previous levels.

After killing some of them I found a room with a collapsible walkway.



In the room was some much needed ammo. Through another door was a hurt soldier and some much needed armor. Unfortunately there was no health :(



At the other end of the room was a lever that moved when I engaged it and there stood the monster. So I'm assuming the lever did something, something perhaps that the dying soldier was to have told me. Unfortunately I wasn't playing with sound tonight which I know will get me lots of ribbing from blog readers. I'm not out of the room yet, but I will go back and listen to what the soldier has to say as I'm sure it's an important clue.

This is where I stopped:



I hope for more game play tomorrow.

I'm not just blindly playing this level. I'm sure there are multiple parts to it like Blast Pit, so I'm keeping an open mind. I don't have much health so I hope I don't have to go a long way like I did in Blast Pit on a small amount.