Forum posts

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-11 11:45:56 UTC
in What happens if you... Post #72661

Ah, ok. I just heard that somewhere a while ago.

Heh, I remember from some testing with trains and clip brushes that they only block players movement, but do not push him away. So you can move a train with a clip brush over a player, without pushing him away. He won't be able to move for as long as he is in the clip brush though. Strange?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-10 20:19:58 UTC
in Pitching an idea Post #72588

I think it's more important for you now to train your mapping skills. Thinking up a good idea is by far not all you need. After all, you need to be able to express your idea's too...

Another think is preparation. You may not have thought about it but I've found it to become an important part of my mapping projects. Without a good preparation, my projects are often doomed to failure... In fact, I still have trouble with determination on a project... These things come with experience. It's not only technical but also methodical...
Just some things you may want to consider before starting a mod... you don't want to see things fail half-way up, do you?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-10 20:09:31 UTC
in Short a bunch of surfaces Post #72584

Visual options may not be the exact word, but then again, you didn't tell whether you were using Steam or not. I believe it's pretty much intuitive to look at the visual/graphical options.

Sometimes it's better to experiment for yourself, than to ask immediatly. Knowing how and where to search is a vital part of mapping, if you want to continue of course. It may take some time to learn that, but it's worth the effort.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-10 19:59:49 UTC
in The Last Mod Post #72578

The story sounds interesting. Perhaps not completely new but refreshing at least.

I'd say, bring us the screens! Let's hope this mod will get finished, as so many mods never make it...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-10 19:57:01 UTC
in Pitching an idea Post #72576

You see, I've read so many times about 'really interesting story's that'll blow your mind out!!!' and I've seen so few real quality stuff, that you're just another one to me... Keep in mind that that's how a lot of people will react. You've gotta have something special, a 'selling point' as I've heard someone say a while ago. Something that's special, new, unique, interesting...

So tell me, what do you think is special about your mod idea?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-10 19:54:34 UTC
in Pitching an idea Post #72575

i cant do this myself

Perhaps that's why it's a bad idea. You have too less experience to pull this off. Maybe that sounds harsh but when you take into account 99% of all initialized mods never make it, you may understand... Sure, there are a lot of n00bs out there that want to join you, but don't expect a lot of others to like the produced quality.

Perhaps i'm not a good enough mapper to be at TWHL

TWHL is a site devoted to get the beginner started. I don't expect any real quality to come from this place. Don't feel you're too bad for this site, that's why this site is here. Though it seems a certain amount of members does indeed demand quality, it's not the sites intention. I would advise you to continue mapping, listening to the comments and taking them into account. Comments can often be harsh but also very educative...

As for the mod's idea... doesn't sound really special to me. Just like a little bit different OpFor. Plus, the description is very meagre, as if you don't really have a real story thought out...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-09 07:25:37 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #72330

Reminds me of Oni... I once ran that on my old computer. I guess I had about 60 seconds per frame...

You really should change that water, looks ugly (yes, I think HL water is ugly) and adds a lot to your poly count too.

Aside from that, the bridge looks well constructed.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-08 18:23:23 UTC
in 3 New Maps Post #72257

Render FX Texture and FX Amount 255? Sure that will be bright! Tone it down, the FX Amount, or set the Render FX to Normal.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-08 17:25:32 UTC
in Sky brush as windows Post #72240

A sky won't block sight to faces. So whenever you can look at faces that are in the pvs (possible view set), you see these 'trough' your sky.

In fact, I would consider it as a designers 'fault'. Since when you look out of a window and you see the interior of the next hallway, you should normally see the outside of the building... so, as the designer, you should create a wall there instead of just having 'sky' and think that'll do it...

Trigger_camera's are used for cinematics, like in Half-Life when you were carried away by grunts and thrown in the crusher. That was done with a trigger_camera.
In CS, trigger_camera's are used for the several viewpoints you see before the game starts.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-08 11:03:19 UTC
in I'm new, need some minor help Post #72208

Have you pressed enter after placing an entity? This has to be done, otherwise the entity is not created.

The same goes for brushes. You don't immediatly place a brush, you only outline it and you have to confirm it's creation by pressing enter (or by pressing the right mouse-button and clicking 'Create Object').

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-07 19:09:33 UTC
in Compiling HL Models Post #72125

The .qc file is used for compiling. To compile a HL model, go to the menu, select Tools -> Half-Life -> Compile QC File... Then select your .qc file and the open it and the compile process will start. This usually doesn't take really long.

To see how the .qc file works, decompile some existing models to see how these .qc files are set up. It shouldn't be too hard to find out the basics then.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 18:12:53 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #71825

You're free to decide whether to keep your subject a surprize or not.

Personally, I would prefer to keep it for myself or within a small group of betatesters untill after the deadline, but that's my opinion.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 17:03:17 UTC
in \\\THE HIVE/// Post #71817

Texture purchase?

You aren't seriously buying textures, are you? (Yes, I know it's possible, and no, I don't think a hobby project is worth it).

Personally, I see some interesting things in those screenshots, and at the same moment some bland architecture. Those area's will require some more tweaking, I'm not really convinced by them yet. I think the textures make up for most of the detailed look, as the architecture is pretty basic at most spots. Good luck on polishing these area's.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 10:22:04 UTC
in CS:S Review! Post #71713

That more people will play CS doesn't mean it's overall better... perhaps it just has a better replayability...

After all, there definitely is a difference between singleplayer and multiplayer. It seems the last is preferred by most...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 09:16:52 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #71686

I don't like dirty jokes, actually...

Anyway, you're map doesn't have to be finished yet... there's still some days to go...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 09:14:56 UTC
in Halo 2 WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Post #71685

It was ported to the PC, although not a really good port in my opinion.

Indeed, it lacked detail and finesse, but the action was pretty good. The vehicles and weaponry also did appeal to me.
I found replayability to be too low, playing on hard became a bit too hard and rather annoying because I felt only adding to the enemies hitpoints and throwing in some more of them doesn't make things that more interesting or rewarding. Smarter enemies would've been better imho.

I liked it, but after having it finished twice or more it became boring. Never really played multiplayer though...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 09:02:46 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #71682

Please stay a bit on-topic, posts like that aren't really funny...

As for me, I'm currently more focussed on the competition at Rust, so perhaps I will, again, not finish my entry.
Good to see there's progress from the other mappers, though. Keep up the good work and good luck!

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-05 08:54:54 UTC
in Halo 2 WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Post #71680

I liked Halo for it's intense combat, it's athmosphere and it's storyline. One thing I still remember was the introduction to 'The horse we rode in on'... that music, that athmosphere was done really good.

What I didn't really liked the overall level design, it looked to bland for me, and after a while the amount of aliens got a bit too much.

But overall, I found it to be a nice game to play.

Just because it isn't Half-Life doesn't mean I don't like it, you know...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-11-01 09:22:23 UTC
in fog? Post #70922

That method is likely to hit performance... you see, several semi-transparant layers easily halve your fps. If you would go so far as to limit the players sight by it, you will find out what I mean.

Personally I would go with the horizontal layers. Brushes covered with the null texture and only their top covered with a scroll texture. Then another brush, flipped, so you see the same from the other side (e.g. when you duck under the first brush, you see the bottom of the second brush, in fact you're faking a wafer thin wall).

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:50:25 UTC
in Hi all! I need help!!! Post #70258

Then you should check if your Game Configuration is set up correctly. I think you've filled the VIS program twice, one being correct and one where you should've referred to the RAD program.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:49:15 UTC
in Map change failed'....'not found Post #70257

Take a look at your compile logs and see if there are any errors during the compile process.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:30:51 UTC
in Map change failed'....'not found Post #70250

I mean: are your compiled maps (.bsp's) placed in your valvemaps folder?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:29:44 UTC
in Small question - quick answer Post #70245

Right. Now slowly add weapons and see when the game crashes.

Compiling with -onlyents could be usefull here...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:25:41 UTC
in Map change failed'....'not found Post #70241

Have you checked if those maps are placed in the valvemaps folder?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:25:01 UTC
in Hi all! I need help!!! Post #70239

When you hit F9, you see a compile dialog. See if under RAD, the Normal radio button is ticked. You should run all programs at least on Normal. You could also set RAD to Extra for some better effect.

Personally I prefer the Expert mode, but that isn't necessary and is probabyly only confusing for you right now.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:10:20 UTC
in Hi all! I need help!!! Post #70231

You shouldn't run HLVIS twice. Instead, run HLVIS and HLRAD thereafter. HLRAD will calculate the lighting for your map.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 17:04:11 UTC
in Small question - quick answer Post #70228

Have you tried the map without any guns in it?

I mean... how do you know it's a problem caused by those guns?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 15:00:53 UTC
in Clever Insults Post #70150

"Uhm, can I ask something?"

"Well, can you?"

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 14:18:44 UTC
in Train tutorial. Post #70132

Did you search for tutorials?

At least you got them working yourself, and that's sometimes much more valuable in terms of learning than having someone else telling you exactly what to do.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 13:57:19 UTC
in Train tutorial. Post #70123

I think there's no need for a train tutorial. The func_train and func_tracktrain's useage and functions are all covered on this site, on the VERC and probably on various other sites. I've also seen some tutorials about them on some sites.
Search doesn't mean: search this site only...

Besides... some things you'll just have to be able to figure out yourself. A bit more determination can do the job... That it's not simple doesn't mean we have to do all the thinking part for you...

Tip: Visit the VERC more often... it contains some nice articles and tutorials, as well as a very good entity coverage.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-28 04:29:05 UTC
in Hostages on conveyor Post #69968

Get Valve Hammer Editor, it's the latest version of Worldcraft.

1. Hostages take up space, you can't have them in each other (or at least, you shouldn't try such things. Looks buggy anyway). Just enlarge your elevator.

2. By belts you mean func_conveyors, right? Well, sure, you could cross them like in real-life: put one higher than the other...
Basically, just try some things out and see how it works in-game. When it doesn't work the way you want, experiment some more. Most things aren't really difficult to find out.

3. Hostages always respawn every new round... I don't really see your problem here... or do you want hostages to spawn each time one is shot?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 16:29:54 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69907

hazardous!, I've only started a little now. You still stand a good change. It'd be good to see you join!

Would make the competition not only interesting but also hard to beat...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 16:14:14 UTC
in -wadinclude Post #69904

Correct, Seventh.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 12:34:54 UTC
in Gib models Post #69859

You can specify a model in a func_breakable's options yourself. When broken in-game, it will then spawn a certain amount of gib models, while randomly choosing between the submodel options.

To modify the amount of gib models, you could create another func_breakable at the same spot and make it invisible, and have it triggered to break once the other is broken. Or something like that. As I said before, I think the game (not the engine! :P) looks at the size of the breakable object to determine the amount of gibs. I think this can easily be changed in the game-code.

Submodels are just .smd files. Decompile some original models and look in the .qc file how they set it up. It's easy to understand after a bit of experimenting.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 10:54:01 UTC
in Gib models Post #69832

A gib model is just a model, nothing strange about it. When an object breaks, the gib model is randomly spawned, with random chosen body part values. It doesn't get the texture of it's object or anything special...

The amount of models is probably based on the size of the breakable entity, but I'm not completely certain about that. Test a bit, I'd say.

It's not animated, the several gib models are just thrown a certain distance, this is controlled a bit in the breakable's properties (random direction or based on attack direction).

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 10:44:11 UTC
in Sub-Compos Post #69829

Sure, I'd rather have custom ones, but I'd also rather have custom textures, custom 'almost everything'...

This 'special way' means, using the right model in the right place. I was amazed that those models were actually from original HL, I hadn't really expected them. Not because they were of such good quality, but good enough, and I haven't seen them being used a lot.

So in situations you can't use custom models, it doesn't mean you should completely throw away the use of prop models... in my opinion.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 10:37:39 UTC
in Gib models Post #69825

What do you want exactly? They're just models, so modelling tutorials will suffice. What modelling program do you use?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 10:35:30 UTC
in Sub-Compos Post #69823

There are no models in HalfLife...
None that are worth a shit in the bushes for anyway

I guess you never heard of bodygroups? I've seen someone using models in a very handy way... There are some that are worth a look... and there's more than just soda and books in there, I guarantee you.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 06:08:54 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69728

As long as it runs decent on my machine I don't have trouble with it. Be sure it runs fine on the machines of the judges, though...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 02:35:08 UTC
in Dlls, Exe, WHICH AND HOW? Post #69675

The HL SDK lets you build the server- and client-side .dll, thus hl.dll and client.dll.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-27 02:32:52 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69674

I don't plan to let you actually play it though...enter the trigger_camera!

As long as you're able to keep the high-poly area's out of sight, then that's no problem off course.

Mhh, I should start making some textures and models soon...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-26 16:19:46 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69602

Actually, WaH's name made me laugh at first.

His posts didn't.

As for performance, I'm not worried about your map, Muzzle...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-26 10:45:19 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69540

Mhh... I'm getting a bit worried about the playability of some entries...

performance-wise spoken...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-26 05:17:12 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69425

So I guess I'm the only one that chose a rather small place...

A place that leaves room for some nice details and entity trickery, that is...

Progress looks good, and I think this will become a rather interesting challenge.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-25 17:34:03 UTC
in Compo 12 (Real World) Post #69351

So... how's progress?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-25 17:26:46 UTC
in lighting problems Post #69349

Well, the RAD program lits the map correctly, so when that doesn't run correctly, you will always end up with a full-bright map...

Have you read your own error? Have you done what it suggests? Checking for errors (Alt + P)?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-25 08:21:18 UTC
in nead monsterscript list Post #69165

I guess you'll need to search for yourself... it really isn't that hard to find out how to get a printable version of that tutorial...

There's actually a link on that very tutorial's page itself...

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-25 08:00:06 UTC
in Where?... Post #69159

I guess this was my first post... or at least the most early I could find.

Reminds me of that compo... I had only one entry... I've never done a compo again since that time. Guess you need a larger community for such a thing.

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-25 05:30:38 UTC
in IM SO PISSED!!! HAR! ( help ) Post #69062

You made a square? Then you should check your compile log for the word 'LEAK'...

Also, what compilers do you use? The old Q tools or Zoner's?

Captain P

Posted 20 years ago2004-10-24 17:41:55 UTC
in Token too large error AGAIN! Post #68947

Ah, too fast for me, Rabid...

Captain P