Half-Life 2 Empires mod adds new maps, models, interface improvements

You can always count on modders to use Half-Life 2 as a canvas for interesting genre combos. Empires exemplifies this as one of the oldest total conversions, bringing Battlefield-style warfare onto the Source engine with three-faction multiplayer mayhem and a commander mechanic akin to Natural Selection 2's system. The first update to the mod in two years, 2.4 adds five new maps, new models, and a small army of fixes.

The new maps—Bush, Arid, Eastborough, Palmbay, and Midbridge—cover typical warzones such as urban, forest, island, and unsecured-bridge-of-certain-death. The heavy tank for the Brenodi Empire as well as the APC for the Northern Faction both received reskins, and the Brenodi's Heavy Pistol model got a bump in quality. Lastly, issuing orders from the commander's interface should be easier through improved menus.

Check out the rest of the extensive patch notes over on Mod DB, where you can also grab 2.4 as a free download.