Sandtraps

Sandtraps is the 8th chapter of Half-Life 2.

Introduction

Sandtraps is the chapter after Highway 17, shortly before they arrive at Nova Prospekt, when the player fights antlions on foot, destroy many Dropships and a Gunship during the battle at the lighthouse and guilds a guard for the pheropods.

Architecture

The few man-made structures along the coast are houses, shacks, lighthouses, and towards the end Combine bunkers and forts. Don't forget to include thumpers where appropriate, if the Combine have felt it necessary to repel the ubiquitous antlion hordes.

Houses should be simple. At most, 4 rooms for a single-floor house is advisable. They should be wooden and plaster, with enough props so they appear usable. Some damage, such as missing roof or floor sections, is expected. Fireplaces are very common.

Bunkers should be fairly simple, using concrete materials and Combine props. They should be along coastal sections. They should be kept in areas seeming near Nova Prospekt. Combine energy fences should be rarely found in the bunkers (and never on the coast alone), and should always be passable or possible to disable.

Environment

The majority of surfaces should be natural textures such as sands, grasses, and rocks. The "cleaner" water materials work best here. Vertical natural faces should be rocky, while flat surfaces close to the water take the sand. Grass should be kept away from the actual coastline. Because of how antlions spawn in Half-Life 2, the player may have learned to be wary of sand. Use this to your advantage. Provide them with rocks or debris to move across, which will help to direct them toward the intended path. Since the Combine's arrival sea levels have fallen, so try to design your landforms and older buildings for an environment with a much higher tide.

As noted, Thumpers are often used along the coast, so consider placing these within large sand areas. They also create an ambiance in a level that suggests the presence of antlions. The ground shaking created by thumpers scares away and confuses antlions, who refuse to move within 1000 units of it. This makes thumpers a useful tool for creating rest points for players to reach. However, remember to have the thumper present for a reason, as the Combine would. Place them near buildings and strategically or otherwise important locations.

A coastal level can be either day or night, depending on the mapper's intentions. The lighting should match the time of day. There should not be many man-made lights along the coast, however, so consider that when choosing the time of day and ambient lighting conditions.

Docks and piers are a reoccurring motif along the coast, along with grounded and decaying vessels. As noted above, be sure to locate such props in a manner that indicates that their original positions at a higher sea level. High, rotting wooden piers are also good to create tension, as a player is likely to be afraid of falling off of it into the dangerous sands below. They also create "combat tunnels" where the player is restricted as to how much room they have, despite being in an otherwise open environment. Be sure to provide crates or other objects as cover during a firefight situation such as this.

Terrain should be entirely displacements, so be wise about visibility. The coast curves considerably, so naturally curved tunnels and caverns can be expected. Rocky coastlines are preferable as opposed to soft, sandy coasts, since the large boulders tend to obscure large stretches of coast which would increase the rendering load on a player's computer.

Remember, the water is infested with leeches. Falling in can be an instant kill, but along lower sandy coasts should only damage the player slightly. If the player is provided the buggy, a situation can be set up where the player must jump a section of water, adding to the excitement of a level.

NPCs

The Combine is a relatively uncommon enemy here, as they have little use for most areas along the coast. Larger enemies such as striders would not fit in the atmosphere, however npc_antlionguards (Antlion Guard) would be perfect. Allies can be included if the mapper wishes for larger battles. And, of course, there are the regular antlions, which should be set to spawn in the soft, loose sand. If the mapper wishes the player to control them, be sure to set the correct variable and provide the appropriate weapon_bugbait.

Due to a bug introduced in Source 2007 (Orange Box engine) and subsequent Orange Box branch (2009, 2013), the Dropship gun does not rotate, which preventing it from aiming and shooting at the player, significantly makes the lighthouse battle in Sandtraps much easier. This was fixed on PC with the 2022 Steam Deck update, but many Source engine mods (especially older one, or one that was built on official SDK 2013 code) does not include this fix; this page details how to fix it in your mod.

See also

• Half-Life 2 Sky List
• List of HL2 Soundscapes

Reference

• 

  Laszlo and friend.

• 

  Antlion Guard.

• 

  Area where player is taught to use bugbait.

Half-Life 2 Chapters
Point Insertion d1_trainstation_01	"A Red Letter Day" d1_trainstation_05	Route Kanal d1_canals_01	Water Hazard d1_canals_06
Black Mesa East d1_eli_01	"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..." d1_town_01	Highway 17 d2_coast_01	Sandtraps d2_coast_09
Nova Prospekt d2_prison_02	Entanglement d2_prison_06	Anticitizen One d3_c17_02	"Follow Freeman!" d3_c17_09
Our Benefactors d3_citadel_01	Dark Energy d3_breen_01