Forum posts

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-03 12:43:46 UTC
in Half-Life vs. Half-Life 2 Post #132100

I still think the HL2 world is much more coherent than the infinte-sized Black Mesa base. There are less monsters, that's true, but it makes each encounter more important than in the previous game.
About the difficulty, I dont think HL2 is as easy compared to HL1 as some of you are saying. If you have played through Hl1, you obviously become a bit expert in FPS of that type. (I remember that Tomb Raider Chronicles had interesting puzzles, but they were very predictable if you had played the previous Tomb Raider games).
I had much more trouble killing the hordes of combine in Nova Prospekt than killing grunts in HL1. The hardest part of Hl1 are the Xen jumping puzzles and maybe Nihilanth.

And last but not least, some people are talking about "feeling". I dont remember a part in HL1 that has as much emotional depth and importance than the part in HL2 where you exit the station and look at the huge Citadel, Breen on TV, troops and flying-spy-cameras.
Of course, there is no comparison between the xen levels and the super-grav-gun fights in the Citadel.

Some people are probably judging HL1 by things they have played in Op4 and Blue-shift, which are expansions. Wait for the HL2 expansions and then we can look at the global picture.

P.S HL2 was good, and much better than Doom3 or Unreal2. And much more engaging than FarCry from my POV

Long Live HL (1&2) !!!

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-03 10:40:09 UTC
in Movies Post #132053

This has mutated into a "favourite film" thread. I dont go to the cinema very often because of f****** architecture homework, but these are the films I've seen this year.
-SW Episode III (cheesy dialogue and plot holes, but from a mappers POV I think CG art was very nice)
-Batman Begins (best of the Batman films. More understandable and everything sort of makes sense for once)
-War of The Worlds (Spielberg recycled things from his other films. Effects were nice but the ending was terrible)
-Fantastic Four (better than I expected after reading reviews, but suffers from being an "intro" movie. Jessica Alba looked good)
-A Sound of Thunder (a film about time-travel paradox in which they dont even bother explaining how they accomplish time-travel in the first place)

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-02 13:37:08 UTC
in Windows SP 2 Post #131791

Have you reinstalled the latest drivers for the graphics card? It must not be a problem with SP2 since I have it and it CS:S works fine. On the other hand, games like Star Wars Ep1 RACER fail with XP SP2...

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-02 13:32:43 UTC
in Adobe PhotoShop Post #131789

Simple and fast sketch. But most of us recognize it instantly.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-02 10:36:27 UTC
in Steam Post #131752

The game (CS) is much better when played with your friends on a LAN. When CS 1.4 came out, I remember that you could see who had aimbot just by using the first person POV while spectating.
I found it so disgusting that I never played the game online until I had to check out CS:Source. After some years of not playing CS, I actually found I was better at CS:S (I was actually worse, but people didnt use cheats)

CS online ---> cheater kingdom
CS on LAN ---> great fun!
HLDM online ---> tau cannon cheaters
HLDM on LAN ---> My favourite.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-02 08:51:29 UTC
in Steam Post #131718

The interesting thing about the "update" thing, is that most of these updates are bug fixes and patches... There is new game content from time to time (de_inferno, dm_steamlab etc), but they seem to concentrate on fixing minor bugs. It's a good thing and it helps you understand that a game is NEVER complete or flawless in the world of PC.
I really do wish they fix the water bug in HL2DM (underwater sound filter remains for the whole game when you die underwater and then respawn) because its been almost 9 months and we still have the problem. Maybe they dont want to fix it so mappers dont use swimmable water in their maps. Source water affects performance greatly, and it is wise to keep it under control, but many things could be done with it.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-01 10:08:00 UTC
in How you opimize/protect your PC? Post #131499

The default XP firewall and Lavasoft's Ad-aware.

Using FireFox and not visiting strange sites is a good contribution to your computer's health. There might be some virus in my PC, but I havent noticed anything strange.
You know what they say, ignorance is bliss

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-09-01 05:36:54 UTC
in Adobe PhotoShop Post #131449

Is there an Adobe Paintshop?
I know about Adobe PhotoShop and Jasc Paint Shop Pro. They actually seem to do the exact same tasks, but Paint Shop Pro takes less time to load.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-31 18:17:24 UTC
in Movies Post #131341

The last film I saw at the cinema was "A Sound of Thunder". Some parts were so ridiculous I actually had a great time watching it with some friends!!

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-31 16:27:33 UTC
in What Made You a Mapper? Post #131305

Summer 2000 - My brother bought HL Game of the Year Edition that came with Worldcraft 2.1. He began to make a level based on our school in Paris.

April 2001 - I decided to do my own version of the school so I had to learn Worldcraft and Wally. I found tutorials in many sites and checked out the highest rated maps out there.

2002 - I made some more HLDM maps and some Cstrike maps.

2003 - I got bored of multiplayer maps since I didnt have access to the net, and worked on a SP mod that died later that year.

2004-2005 - With some architectural knowledge, I decided to make more HLDM maps to see if my skills had improved. When HL2 came out, I made some HL2DM maps.

Future - After the September TWHL competitions, I might have to give up mapping and use Hammer only for university work. I'm going to go back to drawing manga or writing.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-30 16:44:51 UTC
in Cs .bsp to css .bsp (?) Post #131058

But decompiling the bsp won't get you a clean rmf to work with. You can at least get the map measurements from the decompiled BSP and build a vmf file with that rmf as a base. It's an idea.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-30 16:00:08 UTC
in HL1 fails to load game with Steam Post #131052

and play Hldm

I could play HLDM in the days of WON, but the automatic updates are great. No more searching for newer versions of the Spanish HL patches!
The only complaints I have with Steam are the fact that rho-bot doesnt work in HLDM, and it seems that there are more folders and subfolders than needed.
And you dont get better updates with Steam. You get the ONLY updates

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-30 13:49:32 UTC
in CS vs. HL Mapping Post #130990

Then download Rho-Bot and do it. The problem is that STEAM doesnt let you use bots. It works fine with the normal HL install.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-30 09:33:30 UTC
in TWHL after 20 years Post #130882

If the site was dedicated to a wider range of FPS games, then it could survive many more years. And even if 20 years from now Half-life wont be very popular, there's still the nostalgia type of site. There are tons of websites dedicated to Atari, NES, etc.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-30 09:28:51 UTC
in Operation N.U.K.E Post #130876

No offense, but half of these silly little TWHL mods never materialize

Where's the other half? :

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-29 07:33:07 UTC
in Map Ideas and/or help Post #130632

It looks very blocky so far. The problem with submitting a map in progress, is that we dont know which things are done and which are subject to change. For example, you could use texture lights instead of light entities.
Give the walls in the big rooms some inclination so it looks less blocky. I'd also recommend using different textures for walls and ceiling, but I assume it's your intention to do so later...
There are also some places where you seem to have used the hollow or carve tool with cylinders... it's not a recommended thing to do

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-28 14:09:50 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #130515

So have I. But my splash screen, console background and custom models are done

Since I have exams next month, there is a chance I might have to submit an unfinished entry. I'll do what I can.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-28 05:29:50 UTC
in Moving water in source Post #130411

There is a level of HL2 with rising water, and if I remember correctly it used a water material with shaders. So it is possible.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-28 03:00:17 UTC
in interior decoration Post #130398

This may sound dumb, but with the proper lighting in a room, you can sometimes compensate the lack of detail. For example, the HL levels with the FIFTIES texture set look fine (at least they did years ago), but if you take a look at them in fullbright mode, they're really not that great.
With low lighting, you can also highlight which part of that interior space is really important. (Think about the scientist with the flashlight hidden in a crawlspace in Blue-Shift)

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-27 08:52:00 UTC
in Obesity Post #130195

It is true that some people are fat because of problems other than gluttony, but as Satchmo pointed out, eating and drinking healthy is one good way to compensate.
From what I understand, the kid's mother wasnt told that her son was fat. She was told what she had to do to prevent him from developing serious health problems.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-27 03:12:49 UTC
in Bash my work in progress! Post #130153

Well, custom textures are harder to do. Nothing beats Wally in that area... And the only other thing could be that HL2 takes longer to load.
In the last bunch of HLDM levels I've made, each was dedicated to some actress, model, or singer. I've had to abandon such practise when mapping for HL2.

I should probably read the Source Custom texture tutorial one more time, while we wait for a Source Material Editor similar to Wally
*daydreams

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 13:45:29 UTC
in The real thing Post #129995

A "big arguments" forum would be nice, or maybe just a thread dedicated to arguing over the geopolitical status of the world

Of course, Jahzel would make the thread his own

I challenge anyone to bring up anything good which guns have done which don't involve 'defence' against other weaponry.

Nothing. Same happens with nukes. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of the A-bombs, to supposedly "prevent troops from dying in combat". Which means, "it was good to kill civilians because we saved our troops".
The only one that should be allowed to use weapons is Mr HrnyGoat, unless he begins to show signs that he belongs to the dark side of the force.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 12:39:21 UTC
in Teleportals! Post #129963

Well, that's one of the funny things about science. If he hadnt predicted it, would it be happening now? Probably not. A lot of scientific discoveries and inventions existed in the world of literature before they were made. Rockets to the moon, for example. This sort of things inspired mankind to go forward in research. Some people dream, others try to make those dreams come true.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 12:07:04 UTC
in Teleportals! Post #129955

It is possible that the incredible speed at which it was transported was so great that the sensors picked it up at the exact time. Just like when you wave your hand in the air really fast you seem to have 30 fingers or so

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 11:52:42 UTC
in The real thing Post #129951

Let's see about that...

Just kidding...

(mods can delete if they wish, but jaardsi doesnt mind : )

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 10:44:30 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #129940

I shouldnt be the one to say so, but please dont post your exact compo ideas/theme in the thread. It's better if these things are a surprise. And if people do actually come up with the same transport thingy, we won't have to start the "OMG, You stole my idea WTF!!" type of thread

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 10:40:23 UTC
in The real thing Post #129939

It is very offensive to American TWHLers... :

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 05:15:02 UTC
in The real thing Post #129860

a fraction of a percent of the population misuses them

The people who dont misuse them are the people who dont use them. It's that simple.

Without the United State's direct support of Britan and Russia with first supplies, then munitions and troops, all of Europe would have been conquered by the Nazis

I was trying to explain that it's very easy to go back to the past and say this or that. It is true, the United States exist because of Europeans. A part of Europe ows America it's Freedom, and America owes a part of Europe its whole existence. No point denying that

you can't have an unbiased poll about one side, set in the 'base' of that sides worst enemy

That's what Seventh-Monkey was trying to say. If you think Europe is your worst enemy, then who is your friend? Pretty much the whole world thinks that way. I'm not talking about governments. I'm talking about population (just in case you decide to quote a series of US allies)

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 04:39:37 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #129854

I think so, just make sure you include them (in minimod format if possible) and give credit for the model (if it's from an unofficial mod) !

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-26 04:25:23 UTC
in The real thing Post #129850

I'm sure a lot of people have died because of other accidents like the one I mentioned earlier.

-Doctors kill more people than guns? Maybe, but they save waaaaaaay more people than guns do.

-Ban cars because they kill people? Guns are not a means of transportation (well, to the afterlife perhaps). Cars get you from one place to the other. They were not designed to kill.

If I used your logic, then we would have to ban swimming pools, since people drown in them or break their necks when they jump head first. But it so happens that swimming pools were actually meant for swimming.

Guns hurt people. I know that they are sometimes used to dissuade, but If they get in the wrong hands (I'm not talking about organized crime, I'm talking about middle and high-schoolers) they can wreck havok.

In places were there are no guns, you don't need one to protect yourself. I only lived 2 years in California, but It was enough time to actually see a 7th grader taking a gun to school. Fortunately nothing happened (Colton Middle School in Monterey)

You'd be speaking German if it wasn't for America, or more probably, you wouldn't exist.

You'd be speaking Indian dialects if it wasn't for Europe, or more certainly, you wouldn't exist

What could possibly be more absurd, than a public opinion poll about the United States, set in Europe?

A poll set in the United States could be more absurd

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-25 18:56:21 UTC
in The real thing Post #129796

Yeah, but I know about a foreigner who went into the front yard of a house to ask for directions. The man in the house said Freeze!! a couple of times, but the guy didnt understand him and kept walking towards the door. He got shot square in the chest for being lost in Washington D.C and not understanding english. That's just not fair. But what can you expect from the government of preemptive strikes

...
*Picks up the red phone and calls Jahzel to join the thread

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-25 10:41:47 UTC
in Parsing Brush Post #129660

http://www.slackiller.com/tommy14/errors.htm#parsing

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-25 08:53:31 UTC
in CS vs. HL Mapping Post #129638

Yes, that's another one: A CS map should be realistic. Most of those fy maps are just killboxes. They play like deathmatch and that's why they are popular.
There is a well known fact;
-A good CS map will be quickly forgotten (if people actually dare to play it) even if the gameplay is better than dust, aztec, etc. It's sad but it's true.
Right now I could mention maps like de_bright or de_morningstar, which most people probably have never seen.

When playing in a deathmatch server, the appearance of a custom map makes most players eager to see that map, but in CS, most players will quit the server to find another aztec, assault etc. Their idea is "I cant bother to learn a new custom map cuz I'll be fragged in the process"

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 22:24:09 UTC
in Competition 16 Post #129567

Well, my entry doesnt make a huge use of the Z axis. I think it interrupts gameflow instead of improving it in this particular layout... I might have to ask you about what I've done with the RPG in case I have to change it...

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 22:19:27 UTC
in The real thing Post #129565

Nice! But I dont think people should have access to fire weapons. For example, HrnyGoat could have gone berserk, killing the person next to him !!

What was in the target you were shooting at? Combine troops would be a nice target there... mmm

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 19:41:21 UTC
in CS vs. HL Mapping Post #129549

You dont like aliens... Which of my 29 maps for HL has aliens for example?

Map for HLDM, it's fun!

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 18:28:47 UTC
in Competition 16 Post #129543

Nice! I still dont know how to make rain work in HL2. I thought it only worked in CS:S...

dynamic lights somehow seem to light the opposite side of a world brush as well as the side facing the light. Which sucks.

Dynamic lights also reduce the performance of a map greatly

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 17:34:32 UTC
in CS vs. HL Mapping Post #129533

But in the end the gameplay is what matters and CS offers much better gameplay then DM

Which means: mapping for CS is much harder and time-consuming. CS doesnt offer better gameplay; the well designed maps of CS do. There's a difference.
And there are lots of other factors. In counter-strike you depend on the rest of your team. If your team members are bad players, we all know the game isnt much fun. You can end up waiting more time than actually playing.
SP and deathmatch give you freedom. In deathmatch you can use the layout in so many more ways than would be possible with a CS map, in which you end up following the same paths over and over again.

So in the end, CS is harder to map because of its playability, and objective based gameplay. There is no point saying that one game has better gameplay than another, since it depends on the map. Gameplay in crossfire beats most CS maps, for example.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 16:31:39 UTC
in CS vs. HL Mapping Post #129521

...fy_iceworld, de_rats, Jeepathon2k, cs_mice, awp_map, star wars...

Maps of doubtful quality If I may say so. Rats and mice may be nice looking, but they are completely off-theme when it comes to a game of terrorist vs. special CS forces. The model skins of CS are like a pearl in a plate of peas when it comes to those maps.
Fy_iceworld is succesful because it has short rounds, fast gameplay and the ability to change weapons quickly. In other words, it's team deathmatch.
The possibilities of multiplayer objective based maps is surprisingly greater in HL thanks to the teamplay game mode. For example, in my maps tp_ritual and tp_seth, you must go to the enemy base and fall down a hoop to score points. A thousand things like that are possible in HL.

And as other people have mentioned, mapping for CS requires a good layout if you want the game to be balanced. In HLDM, you can adjust these type of things just by adding ammo here, a weapon there, a spawn point over there etc.

Half-life has so more options.
You can create your own gameplay..
And you can let your inspiration flow..

Precisely

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 16:19:30 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #129509

Interesting movie, but it sounds a little hard to translate into a map

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 14:18:57 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #129459

My entry will have a story, with the potential to draw tears even from the most heartless mappers. Oh, and it will also have a xen transportation thingy, of course.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 11:42:35 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #129423

Well, I already know what my entry will be like. Of course, It will have to be a minimod. I suspect Rimrook will also come up with something interesting.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 11:24:28 UTC
in New member, new maps. Post #129417

When I started mapping, I think I got most of the tutorials from http://www.valve-erc.com/, before it moved to http://collective.valve-erc.com/
I think TWHL wasnt around at that time. It was back in the days when Planethalf-life was a very important site with its map reviews, the BioHazard map vault, etc

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 09:56:31 UTC
in New member, new maps. Post #129401

Check out darkphoenix_68's maps.
Like I did more than a year ago, this member has joined twhl with a bunch of good HLDM levels.

http://twhl.co.za/mapvault.php?author=2631

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 07:23:12 UTC
in Competition 15 Post #129373

Is it limited to just one kind of transport? Or maybe a whole system with different components?

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-24 06:17:57 UTC
in Map Ideas and/or help Post #129366

I'll check it out

But until you actually submit the map, this thread is sort of useless, dont you think

?

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-23 22:17:05 UTC
in A couple of easy Source q's. Post #129332

what exactly is the difference between 'no interruptions' and 'override ai'

No interrumptions means just that. The npc wont do anything until the sequence is completed.
Override AI will make the ncp forget about any action he was taking and proceed to following the sequence, also without interruptions.
Maybe the 'no interruptions' sequence starts only when the ncp is idle, whereas the 'Override AI' would start automatically. Not really sure.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-23 19:48:04 UTC
in Map Ideas Post #129325

Quite true. No matter how you do it, the important thing is to have the layout in your mind before mapping. Otherwise you usually end up with the difficult task of having to join parts of the map which have little to do with each other.
Another important aspect to consider when you are mapping, is thinking about something that will make your map unique, something players will remember about the map and prevent it from being "just another one".
Some examples would be the huge vertical areas in The Playtest, the amazing pipework in dm_petrol or even the strange looking bridge I made in Filtered.
The amazing thing about mapping, is that all maps are made with the same elements, but the possibilities are infinite.

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-23 16:50:43 UTC
in Including textures Post #129309

Spag, I think it's the other way around.
-wadinclude (includes only used textures)
-nowadtextures (includes all used wad files)
_______________________________________
You can also have the Wad file by itself, and
include a .res file in the zip. Google for it

Kasperg

Posted 18 years ago2005-08-23 10:36:14 UTC
in An idea for compo 15 Post #129249

I wouldn't mind making a Xen map if I had Source tools like displacement surfaces in HL1 mapping. I made some xen maps long ago, but terrain took ages to do with vertex manipulation. Making terrain with Gensurf resulted in very long compile times, which really wasnt fun at all.
Since the Xen texture set is ugly, it would indeed be fun to see who manages to make the least ugly map of all...

Kasperg