Guardian just sent me a new version of his support files for the Half-Life single-player maps (together with Sven Co-op, these allow you to play Valve's original Half-Life storyline co-operatively). This version supports direct installation on Steam, with no need for an old HL installation! Download from SvenCoopCentral.com or BulletFiles.com (thanks Chris!)

The previous version of the support files (which was included with Sven Co-op 3.0) were balanced for very large player counts, making the maps near to impossible for small groups of players to complete. This version reduces monster numbers, types and strengths to levels much more comparable to the originals, making it perfect for LAN or small Internet games.

There is one known issue: While the final boss battle works well enough, the map does not change once the players are successful (you need to change the map manually, wait until the time limit is hit, or change the map via a vote). This is a code bug that should be fixed in Sven Co-op 3.5.

RE: Covert Operations, a new survival-horror-themed mission by MrFranswa, is now available from SvenCoopCentral.com and BulletFiles.com (Filesize: 57mb). Note that if you downloaded the version from a couple of weeks back, you will need to re-download, as this version has been updated. Extract the ZIP to your Half-Life\ directory.

In the map, "You are members of HCF's elite retrieval squadron. Your mission? To break into rival corporations, steal their research, and eliminate any witnesses." It's an indirect follow-up to RE1: The Awakening, so expect even more spine-chilling zombie-whacking action, story-centric gameplay, and creative use of monster-replacement. Plenty of in-game cut-scenes, too.

Sorted the Files page out a bit, by the way, adding links for Smaggy's Cyborg remixes, the RCBot for Sven Co-op, etc.

With the Half-Life 2 SDK apparently slated for release next week, we'll probably be releasing some more details on Sven Co-op for Half-Life 2 fairly soon, so keep an eye on the site.