Commented 1 week ago2024-04-18 08:34:02 UTC
in journal: Hiatus(Yes, again)Comment #106135
Life will do as life does, everything else must take a back seat. Sorry to hear that things are rough, and I wish you the best. The Pathos Engine stuff I've seen is really quite promising.
Commented 2 weeks ago2024-04-11 17:42:04 UTC
in vault item: train gets stuckComment #106126
@man_simple, that's not the end of the journey.
So, it appears that this is due to the doors closing. When they close, they appear to trigger the multimanager again, disabling the train after one second.
Seems like an usual bug which I've not seen before where a door that targets a multimanager will also fire on close. Not sure if that's a new bug after the 25 year update or not...
In any case, the way to get around this for now would be to have the path_track target the multimanager, and have THAT handle the opening of the doors at 0 seconds.
Also, you didn't ask about this, but a little more advice:
Your grates and railings should be using the Solid Render Mode, not Texture. Texture makes them glow in the dark and show glass decals when shot.
Try to avoid using the Fit button when texturing. It stretches and squashes textures and can lead to compiling issues further down the line.
Commented 2 weeks ago2024-04-10 09:58:53 UTC
in journal: HikingComment #106123
I love a good hike. My family and I have a National Trust membership which gives us free access to those sites all over the country. Mostly just stately homes and old castles, but the grounds often reach far and wide have offer some stunning views. Waiting for the late spring/summer months to kick in so that England is a little more photogenic. Haha.
Hopefully the sun comes out for us at the end of May when we tackle the Wrekin again. You can see a good portion of Shropshire from the top.
Commented 2 weeks ago2024-04-07 10:18:39 UTC
in journal: 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀Comment #106116
Yup, five is the total. t0a0b and t0a0b2 appear to be duplicates of the firing range map with the former being a little larger, including the flashlight area.
Commented 3 weeks ago2024-04-06 20:51:17 UTC
in journal: 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀Comment #106113
Yup, I've known about the rats in the Hazard Course for a looong time now. Not sure when I first learned about them. I didn't know there was even a rat model until I played Drug Barons, the first custom campaign I played for Half-Life back in 1999.
Commented 1 month ago2024-03-25 22:03:56 UTC
in journal: Objective designComment #106085
You say that you've written yourself into a corner, but really the planning phase is where it's the least hassle to adapt your plans. Better to make changes at this stage than when you've got a fully detailed and scripted map that you then realise doesn't make sense.
The planning phase is where you draft the overall play through steps, think up a theme and the kinds of engagements you want the player to have. The block out phase is where you work on a very basic layout with some mock up encounters throughout and can easily make changes if something doesn't work the way you intended.
Neither of these phases are "easy," but they are when the map is at its most adaptable.
As for your current theme, the combine facility in an urban environment accessible to citizens, that certainly wouldn't be a secret. What it would be however, is fortified. The United Nations building in New York isn't a secret, but it's not exactly inviting people in either. There could be a secret entrance though.
I've started writing my level design briefs. It's actually how they managed things over at Slipgate Ironworks. Everyone was assigned a level and given some key points (map introduces these 2 enemies, map introduces these new weapons, etc). Level designers then had two weeks to plan their map out entirely on paper (or in confluence), before getting that signed off and starting on the blockout phase.
The documentation would be divided up into segments with the occasional rough sketch of the layout.
Commented 3 months ago2024-01-23 08:19:04 UTC
in journal: Back Being an MDComment #105920
Damn. I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out. However, I'm happy to hear you were able to return to your previous calling. I suspect it wasn't too difficult getting a new position, given your decades of experience.
You can simply copy and paste image files into your post, assuming they're in a web format. Otherwise upload the image elsewhere and then post an image link.
On topic: Always happy to hear about more single player content in the works.
One thing I will say though is that the reflection isn't done well. There should not be a huge gap between objects and their reflection. The reflection of the wire is where this is most obvious and you can even see it in the screenshot. The reflection would show on the floor's surface, so objects ON the floor would be in contact with their reflection.
Commented 4 months ago2023-12-22 00:17:39 UTC
in vault item: High (sky)Comment #105777
Always happy to see your sky uploads. Makes me think about all the different places you could set a Half-Life map besides New Mexico.
This one might actually be ideal for my mod idea set in the Peak District here in Britain. I don't suppose you've considered providing the same skybox at different times of day?
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Christmas Day has actually become a little less chaotic as the kids have gotten older. Everyone comes to our place now on Christmas Day/Boxing Day rather than us racing from one end of the county to the other to visit everyone.
The rest of my week off will consist of looking after the kids, playing as much Baldur's Gate 3 and Fortnite as possible and maybe even doing some mapping if the mood takes me.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
A short map with a range enemies to shoot at. They are little to no threat due to there being no node graph to guide the AI and a lot of them are stuck in the geometry. Certainly not worth a 70MB download since the one audio file included caused my game to crash to desktop until I deleted it...
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 5 months ago2023-11-26 10:44:29 UTC
in journal: So I drink coffee now...Comment #105659
Yeah, decaff is a good shout. I drink coffee throughout the workday and then switch to decaff in the evening. That way I still get the yummy hot drink but I don't have any trouble sleeping.
Commented 7 months ago2023-09-05 23:36:12 UTC
in vault item: Contact EstablishedComment #105529
A very nice little map pack. Short, sweet and channelling the feeling of the early map packs of the 2000s. I love the little details dotted throughout, though there are spots where things look a little bare. The cafeteria for example, with only a single table and no seating.
Combat encounters throughout are pretty nice and we fight quite a large selection of enemies from Half-Life's roster, including the alien grunts in the later sections.
It would be nice to see some more verticality as you have already said yourself, but it was nice to see some sections where you could catch the enemies by surprise, or the occasional spot where areas were repopulated with enemies for return trips. I will say that playing on medium, I didn't find it particularly challenging. I was practically tripping over health kits that I didn't need and I had plenty of suit power meaning if I ever did get hit the damage was negligible. Giving some enemies like the HECU more room to manoeuvrer and to get around the player and flank them, or perhaps just increasing the enemy count in some places would do wonders to upscale the difficulty a little.
Commented 7 months ago2023-08-31 12:11:09 UTC
in vault item: Lab HuntComment #105521
Not a bad little map this one. It starts with you meeting Barney in a side room and then you have to lead him through the labs. You'll find yourself navigating vents and leaping over lasers in order to help him get through. The map even reloads if you get him killed and ends when you reach your goal. Something I'm used to not seeing in early mapping attempts.
If I had to criticise anything I would say the looks are a little bland and the layout makes little sense in-universe. The player starts in a dead end hallway with no form of entrance behind them. A tank busts through a wall, having been seemingly parked in an otherwise inaccessible room. Also, there are some spots like Barney's room where there is no node graph, so you have to carefully guide him through the doorway.
Appearance wise, I'd put more effort into giving the rooms an in-universe purpose, as well as experimenting with some height variation for combat/exploration, and some different lighting in places. Definite improvement here though. Nice work.
A lot of these are great but the glock and the MP5 look a little off in game. They're missing the trick Valve used to counter the fisheye lens effect in Half-Life, making the barrel end of the model larger. As it stands the barrel of the MP5 and Glock in this pack look a little small in game. The 357 and Shotgun are perfect examples of what I mean. They look great.
Commented 8 months ago2023-08-21 21:17:04 UTC
in vault item: Flow ControlComment #105498
Review
Incredibly basic in every regard. Levels are blocky and lack any detailing, lighting almost appears fullbright in certain spots for some reason. Combat throughout is unchallenging, I took zero damage during my playthrough. The mod essentially boils down to running down empty hallways to push a button, then running all the way back to push another button. I figured it was going to be a comedy themed mod but... there's nothing of any value here, unless words like "fuck" and "semen" make you laugh.
Couple of things to note:
1. Don't include your config.cfg with your mod release. Your control and video settings are not my control and video settings.
2. It is also possible to softlock the entire thing if you pick up the HEV and don't immediately run for the elevator in map1.
Commented 9 months ago2023-07-07 21:28:29 UTC
in journal: There's ConesComment #105388
Well, it's a fairly featureless, low resolution screenshot of what I think is a Source engine level. What else are we supposed to be getting from this?
Who's reviewing TWGL!? They really ought to get their act together! Sheesh.
Having said that, I am SO into this idea. I've never read up on the monster_nihilanth before to see what is involved in making it function properly, but I reckon you could get some freakin amazing and complex setups to make a really awesome bossfight.
Yeah, your images appear to be restricted. You can just paste copied images directly into your journal and they'll upload to TWHL.
As for the game, I like to play something slower and more relaxing from time to time. I've got a long running Stardew Valley game which I fire up on nights when I want to unwind.
Commented 11 months ago2023-05-27 08:23:18 UTC
in journal: First journal entryComment #105295
Hey! I've seen you often around the Discord server but I had no idea you were what we'd call a TWHL Veteran. We joined around 18 months apart. That's crazy.
It's great to see a backstory with a lot of positive change towards the end. I can relate to a lot of what's here, mostly about the lack of contributions to the site and a long running inability to start and then finish something. In my case I'm fairly certain I have undiagnosed ADHD, but trying to get that diagnosis as a 36 year old in the UK is proving something of a challenge.
In any case, it's good to have you hear and I look forward to hearing more about your ongoing mapping projects
It's easier said than done, I know, but it really is a case of "Just ask them." I was super nervous when I asked my wife out and... well, I just went ahead and did it one day in the most awkward way possible, but it obviously worked out.
So, it appears that this is due to the doors closing. When they close, they appear to trigger the multimanager again, disabling the train after one second.
Seems like an usual bug which I've not seen before where a door that targets a multimanager will also fire on close. Not sure if that's a new bug after the 25 year update or not...
In any case, the way to get around this for now would be to have the path_track target the multimanager, and have THAT handle the opening of the doors at 0 seconds.
Also, you didn't ask about this, but a little more advice:
Hopefully the sun comes out for us at the end of May when we tackle the Wrekin again. You can see a good portion of Shropshire from the top.
The planning phase is where you draft the overall play through steps, think up a theme and the kinds of engagements you want the player to have. The block out phase is where you work on a very basic layout with some mock up encounters throughout and can easily make changes if something doesn't work the way you intended.
Neither of these phases are "easy," but they are when the map is at its most adaptable.
As for your current theme, the combine facility in an urban environment accessible to citizens, that certainly wouldn't be a secret. What it would be however, is fortified. The United Nations building in New York isn't a secret, but it's not exactly inviting people in either. There could be a secret entrance though.
The documentation would be divided up into segments with the occasional rough sketch of the layout.
Or I dunno... favourite soup
On topic: Always happy to hear about more single player content in the works.
One thing I will say though is that the reflection isn't done well. There should not be a huge gap between objects and their reflection. The reflection of the wire is where this is most obvious and you can even see it in the screenshot. The reflection would show on the floor's surface, so objects ON the floor would be in contact with their reflection.
This one might actually be ideal for my mod idea set in the Peak District here in Britain. I don't suppose you've considered providing the same skybox at different times of day?
The rest of my week off will consist of looking after the kids, playing as much Baldur's Gate 3 and Fortnite as possible and maybe even doing some mapping if the mood takes me.
Second: You say "last night" you drank two coffees? Here's a crazy idea. Don't drink coffee at night before trying to go to sleep.
Combat encounters throughout are pretty nice and we fight quite a large selection of enemies from Half-Life's roster, including the alien grunts in the later sections.
It would be nice to see some more verticality as you have already said yourself, but it was nice to see some sections where you could catch the enemies by surprise, or the occasional spot where areas were repopulated with enemies for return trips. I will say that playing on medium, I didn't find it particularly challenging. I was practically tripping over health kits that I didn't need and I had plenty of suit power meaning if I ever did get hit the damage was negligible. Giving some enemies like the HECU more room to manoeuvrer and to get around the player and flank them, or perhaps just increasing the enemy count in some places would do wonders to upscale the difficulty a little.
If I had to criticise anything I would say the looks are a little bland and the layout makes little sense in-universe. The player starts in a dead end hallway with no form of entrance behind them. A tank busts through a wall, having been seemingly parked in an otherwise inaccessible room. Also, there are some spots like Barney's room where there is no node graph, so you have to carefully guide him through the doorway.
Appearance wise, I'd put more effort into giving the rooms an in-universe purpose, as well as experimenting with some height variation for combat/exploration, and some different lighting in places. Definite improvement here though. Nice work.
Incredibly basic in every regard. Levels are blocky and lack any detailing, lighting almost appears fullbright in certain spots for some reason. Combat throughout is unchallenging, I took zero damage during my playthrough. The mod essentially boils down to running down empty hallways to push a button, then running all the way back to push another button. I figured it was going to be a comedy themed mod but... there's nothing of any value here, unless words like "fuck" and "semen" make you laugh.
Couple of things to note:
1. Don't include your config.cfg with your mod release. Your control and video settings are not my control and video settings.
2. It is also possible to softlock the entire thing if you pick up the HEV and don't immediately run for the elevator in map1.
Having said that, I am SO into this idea. I've never read up on the monster_nihilanth before to see what is involved in making it function properly, but I reckon you could get some freakin amazing and complex setups to make a really awesome bossfight.
As for the game, I like to play something slower and more relaxing from time to time. I've got a long running Stardew Valley game which I fire up on nights when I want to unwind.
It's great to see a backstory with a lot of positive change towards the end. I can relate to a lot of what's here, mostly about the lack of contributions to the site and a long running inability to start and then finish something. In my case I'm fairly certain I have undiagnosed ADHD, but trying to get that diagnosis as a 36 year old in the UK is proving something of a challenge.
In any case, it's good to have you hear and I look forward to hearing more about your ongoing mapping projects