Forum posts

Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-17 16:59:44 UTC
in How to make npcs visible in editor again Post #328325

At it's simplest, you just have to add a single line.
Say you have a monster_potato. You'd use code like this:

@PointClass base(Monster) size(-16 -16 0, 16 16 72) studio("models/potato.mdl") = monster_potato : "monster_potato" []

If your NPC has configuration options or semi-unique flags, though, you'll want to base it off the FGD Data of the closest NPC.
For example, say you have a monster_human_gunner based off the Hgrunt code, but it has an extra gun and a new model -
[quote]@PointClass base(Monster) size(-16 -16 0, 16 16 72) studio("models/hgunner.mdl") = monster_human_gunner : "monster_human_gunner"
[

netname(string) : "Squad Name"
spawnflags(Flags) =
[
	//* Only needed if you use the Squad Name value. If you define a Squad using the Squad Name
	//* value, but none of them are flagged as a Squad Leader, then the squad won't get linked
	//* together properly.
	32 : "SquadLeader" : 0
	//NEW 0.3
	//* Ensure the player can't take this monster's ammo or weapons.
	1024: "Don't Drop Gun" : 0
]
weapons(Choices) : "Weapons" : 1 =
[
	1 : "9mmAR"
	3 : "9mmAR + HG"
	5 : "9mmAR + GL"
	8 : "Shotgun"
	10: "Shotgun + HG"

11: "Human Gunner Gun"

][/quote]

There's also the sequences stuff for model support, which is just listing the animations of the model by number and name - Though it's fairly self-explanatory once you find an example block of code.

It's probably also worth noting that I grabbed this from a Spirit FGD - The Don't drop gun flag isn't going to work in base HL or your mod, unless it's based off spirit.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-14 14:07:32 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #328241

Yeah, my bad. Should maybe have put some hint brushes overtop the offices and in the doors/windows.

Whoops.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-06 01:20:16 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #328099

Thinking further on it, I wish there was a way to make the guy in my map a bit more agressive when it comes to his melee attacks. Despite obviously being a highly-trained combatant (okay, maybe not, since he doesn't count rounds :P) he spends most of his time running away rather than kicking and punching you.

But, alas, we can't fix that without code, so it'll have to stay.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-05 17:47:52 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #328096

Haha, my readme is still in the mod folder, and it's the only one there. Probably not intentional.

I like all the changes I noticed, in particular on Malle's floor - the crushy ceiling bit is actually doable now without having to do a bunch of trial and error, for instance.

The only issue I have is that Urby says he'll meet you on the roof, and then never shows up.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-04 15:40:35 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #328082

I haven't actually done any side-by-side comparisons, but I don't expect it makes much of a difference if you're baking AO, normals, or textures, unless you're doing something crazy with the material nodes in Cycles that you want to bake down to a texture.

That said, I just habitually use Cycles now because I sometimes do renders of the models I'm working on, and also because I just prefer the slight change in lighting on untextured objects in the viewport. Internal is generally faster to render or bake, though.

Oh, one thing to note is that if you're baking a texture in Cycles, whether for special effects or because you want the final model to have a different UV from what you currently have while keeping the same texture, you'll have to set the material to be using the Emission shader, and then do an Emit bake. IIRC doing just a diffuse color bake doesn't work with textures.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-04 15:02:45 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #328080

^ That if you're using Blender Render [Internal]

Render Samples near the bottom here if you're using Cycles Renderer.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-04 01:20:19 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #328077

I've spent many an hour fiddling in Blender, and I can say it's well worth learning.

I've also spent many more hours waiting for stuff to render or bake, and maybe that wasn't such a good idea in some cases. Maybe have a second computer for that.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-03 17:49:29 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #328070

For anyone wondering it's around the middle of the Render (Camera Icon) tab in the default view sidebar.

More samples will of course take longer, but I find it's well worth it.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-03 03:00:58 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #328061

AO adds so much to a prop.

Yours looks a little noisy, though - might want to increase the number of samples Cycles is running so the shadows on the back of that sweet chair look smoother.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-01 17:34:44 UTC
in Good looking textures Post #328036

Never stretch a texture's aspect ratio if you can avoid it. If the brush you're working with is 512x400 (or 256x200, etc) , make a 512x400 texture on a canvas that's 512x512, and have a border on one side that's either black or a seperate trim texture to use on other faces. Fit it to the vertical scale on both X and Y in Hammer, and align to the side.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2016-01-01 02:00:54 UTC
in Good looking textures Post #328019

Damnit, CS6 is 3 versions out of date?
What do I pay my tuition for!?
smashes hard drive full of school-provided adobe software

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-12-29 00:23:19 UTC
in Building (or buying) a new desktop Post #327946

I actually sometimes forget I'm using Windows 8, but that's mostly because before I was issued this computer they installed a classic start menu shell onto it.
But then I try to connect to a new router or mouse over to the right of my screen and remember, oh yeah, my OS is terribly designed.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-12-17 16:02:46 UTC
in How can I increase the number of edicts? Post #327796

Unless you port your mod to the Source engine (Or Xash3D, I seem to recall that being an advertised feature for it, though I haven't used it myself) you won't be able to have maps in the background for your menu.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-12-09 16:13:48 UTC
in TWHL4 Suggestions Post #327722

Will TWHL4 still be orange?
I like the site's aesthetic. It's comfortable for me.

Also, just for information, will we still be on the "most-recent post" edit system, or on a "any post any time" system?

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-12-03 15:58:01 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #327651

I like it, overall. I was going to say all it needed to be complete was a normal map, but then I realized it was for Goldsource.

The minuscule scratches are maybe a bit too much, though.
Actually, I think I just realized why I don't like most high-res-texture HL1 model replacements. They're so high res they create detail on a scale that isn't realistic. Minuscule scratches like the ones on the top of the battery, for instance, just wouldn't occur like that through normal wear. Someone would have had to take, like, a bobby pin and intentionally make them. The wear on the stripes is at a much more realistic scale.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-12-03 13:17:30 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #327647

They don't make XSI.

...Anymore.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-11-28 02:56:24 UTC
in Your Fallout Settlements Post #327574

I guess it's a good thing that my laptop isn't powerful enough to run the game at more than low settings.

That said, who the hell ties gameplay to framerate anymore? That's, like, an 80s mistake.

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-11-26 16:01:06 UTC
in Is the site dead? Post #327555

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Notewell

Posted 8 years ago2015-11-26 15:42:21 UTC
in Is the site dead? Post #327553

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

I made a thread like this once. It got flooded with users saying otherwise.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-11-16 06:55:32 UTC
in Now Gaming: ... Post #327448

Oh got I bought Fallout 4 this afternoon and now it's 2AM send help.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-11-02 14:25:50 UTC
in The Official HRAFD Progress/Troubleshoot Post #327391

I liked it.
The final boss was too tough for me, but I liked it.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-10-01 13:07:19 UTC
in TWHL Tourney Post #327130

Looks like The Specialists (But in Source).
In fact, one of those maps looks exactly like a map in TS.
EDIT: It is, in fact, a remake of ts_lobby.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-09-29 17:43:06 UTC
in TWHL: Bakurai (TWHL PROJECT 2) Post #327105

Public Service Announcements from the 80s onwards.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-09-29 17:38:19 UTC
in TWHL: Bakurai (TWHL PROJECT 2) Post #327103

Around half of written Japanese is based on written Chinese.
So really, either translation is correct if you don't specify which language.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-09-28 11:27:19 UTC
in TWHL: Bakurai (TWHL PROJECT 2) Post #327063

I'm too busy and I don't have any immediate ideas, so I guess I'm out, at least for the time being.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-09-26 13:34:04 UTC
in Custom Models terrifyingly bugging aroun Post #327024

Unless you're tilting the game cartridge, no idea.
Though you should probably check all the animations on the model in HLMV, make sure the decompilation process didn't corrupt any of them - could be there's a single animation that got so messed up it lasts for far longer than intended.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-09-17 17:37:51 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #326981

They must be really good snipers, I can't see them anywhere!

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-08-12 16:22:07 UTC
in Planning a map... with words? Post #326694

I don't plan

You should. I'm sure most other people can say the same thing, but I used to not plan out my maps at all, and it always turned out a lot worse than when there was a plan involved. It doesn't have to be a super-static "this cannot be changed at all" plan, but it very much helps to have some form of blueprint, concept art, or flavour paragraph before you go in, so you have a more cohesive vision to work with.
Also helps to prevent you from running out of ideas halfway through or having to shoehorn in entirely differently-styled areas without any coherent in-between areas.

On topic, I haven't done this much, but I seem to recall Valve having released a few pieces of their own written plans in Raising the Bar that Marc Laidlaw got to give the designers a sense of the atmosphere of the map.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-30 02:45:20 UTC
in Source SDK Hammer Dimensions Problem Post #326586

Yeah, I mean architecture details. Anything small like a different texture at the seam between the wall and the floor, or anything thin like windows, etc. I think the player's eye height is around 70 units or so off the ground.

Happy mapping!

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-30 01:29:02 UTC
in Source SDK Hammer Dimensions Problem Post #326584

Well, for starters, toss the 1 unit = .75 inches thing. Nobody really works off of that, because of the issues you've already noticed. One standard way of working off of real world measurements is 1 foot = 16 units, but that's for rough estimations only. In fact, don't try to match stuff to real-world measurements at all, or the player will always end up seeming short and fat. Using multiples of 8 units is a good practice for player-scale measurements, though - you shouldn't have to go under an 8-unit grid for anything larger than small details like trims. Bear in mind that everything that follows is assuming you're mapping for HL2 or a similar game - TF2, L4D and the like all have different scales because their player models are sized differently.

The standard door size (frame included) is, IIRC 56x112 units, as in the dev door texture - most of the door textures in HL2 are fitted to this, so you can use the default .25 texture scale and just clip out the black parts. The standard height for most "1 storey" walls is 128 units, though, of course, you can always give or take as needed for your map. Most of the dev textures have these sorts of measurements which will show what's a good height or width for common things like buttons, handles, ceilings, etc. Ignoring the first section (which I've skipped in the link) you can use the VDC's dimensions guide to get a feel for the minimum sizes for things to fit the player, jump distance, etc.

It's definetly something that newcomers will have to get a feel for themselves, but always keep the dev textures with size labels in mind until it's second nature to things to scale.

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This post was made on a thread that has been deleted.

Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-17 11:47:28 UTC
in Material doesn't render VTF properly Post #326472

Disregard, after taking another look today to try out your suggestions I realized it was user error - I updated the normal map, but must not have saved the diffuse texture when I opened it in vtfedit - the background of the texture is black, so with the old version that's all that was present for the areas the tin use.

Needless to say, I feel quite dumb.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-16 22:01:35 UTC
in Material doesn't render VTF properly Post #326469

I made a model the other day, and realized I had extra UV-space which I didn't want to waste - So, I made another model using the extra. One of these models is a cardboard box, the other is a tin of food. They use separate vmts so I can have different parameters, with the same diffuse and normal map vtfs, but only the box is rendering properly.
The cardboard box vmt is this
[quote]"VertexlitGeneric"
{

"$basetexture" "models/props_jeffmod/orangebox"
"$bumpmap" "models/props_jeffmod/orangebox_n"
"$surfaceprop" "Wood"

}
[/quote]
The tin vmt is this
[quote]"VertexlitGeneric"
{

"$basetexture" "models/props_jeffmod/orangebox"
"$bumpmap" "models/props_jeffmod/orangebox_n"
"$envmap" "env_cubemap"
"$envmaptint" "[0.5 0.5 0.5]"
"$normalmapalphaenvmask" "1"
"$surfaceprop" "Metal"

}
[/quote]

Ingame, the tin appears pitch black with the envmap lines commented out, and entirely specular with them on. The normal map has the mask embedded in it, and is working properly, as you can see it with the specularity on the tin. (It's very subtle on the box, to the point where it's not really noticable)

Anyone have any idea why the basetexture on the second model would render as black rather than the texture, which has already been confirmed to work ingame?

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-15 01:28:30 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #326412

It was an impressive trick, after all.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-14 17:42:22 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #326407

I found a couple of exploits in Strider's floor that can lead to the player getting trapped - In the office, you can either hide under the desk (taking some fire in the process) or dart into the hidden room and close the door to avoid getting killed. Then, just wait out the turrets and they won't be activated when you go into their line of sight again.
This effectively traps you in the room, since the barriers come down.
The laser tripwires stay on, so it might be a good idea to at least have them rigged up so they can be triggered to bring the turrets down as many times as needed until the power goes off, so the player dies if they don't get that they have to reload.

That said, I wouldn't have even noticed either of these hiding spots being game breaking if I hadn't gone and replayed the map so many times. Too good.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-12 15:13:31 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #326316

While I didn't really notice it myself, I too would like to know why my room is laggy on other machines. There are a few things I think I forgot to func_detail, but short of doing it to all the walls, there's not much I haven't tied to it.
Maybe I did need hint brushes after all...

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-12 01:55:02 UTC
in TWHL Tower Post #326289

On 2much's floor, I find it kind of odd that you have to murder the security guard to access the security override. Not doing so means you're likely to lose a lot of health.
I submitted my status report the the administrator today about this sign being upside down (not sure if intentional)
The jumping tile puzzle in the riddlers room is too sensitive, especially considering there's a low doorway leading into it, and the room after it has no indications whatsoever as to what to do - even using the tip button, which just relays the previous room's tip.
This guy needs some clip, I was able to climb inside.

Jesse's thing was awesome - took me a while to figure out how it was done, and even longer to figure out what I needed to do to progress. Guess I don't play enough HLDM.
Atom's search was awesomely unexpected. Though so was this bullsquid spawning literally on top of me.
Strider's room was great, and I would love to see more maps like that.

Overall, great release, and I liked the outtro battle - though I was expecting the apache to be less of a fight!

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-09 13:04:15 UTC
in Map back tracking Post #326266

Check your map properties. Your new game unit value should be set to "no, keep current", otherwise all the variables from the previous maps that keep track of what's been interacted with, destroyed, killed, etc, will be cleared.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-07-07 14:10:42 UTC
in Worst features in your favourite games Post #326238

Payday 2

Bot AI. Allows you to play offline (great if you have a shitty connection or just plain don't feel like playing with others) but can't do anything besides follow you around, provide cover fire and help you back up when you're downed, and is stupid enough to make that pretty much useless on most difficulty levels. Top moments of stupidity include standing in front of the line of fire of a machine-gun turret without moving, and coming to help you up, stopping when they're nearly done, standing still while under fire until your death counter hits the mandatory "Bot must abort all things and help now" level, then getting downed before it can get you up.

Fallout: New Vegas

Return to Sender quest. I actually like this one, because it features one of my favorite NCR characters in the game and a tough decision, but when you're the sort of person who tries to avoid using fast travel, having to hump it across the map for two return trips to Ranger Station Foxtrot is a pain in the ass.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-06-21 00:24:24 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #326043

Lookit that damn fancy ceiling.
Damn fancy.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-06-17 19:59:47 UTC
in SoHl Is it better than base GoldSRC? Post #326011

IIRC somebody recoded the OP4 monsters for Spirit.
Don't remember who, though.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-06-17 01:17:16 UTC
in E3 2015 Post #326000

The latest entry was for the 3DS, though.

Okay, so a few things from the PC conference so far:

Guy from AMD talked about GPUs and DX12.
Gears of War remastered is coming to PC.
American Truck Simulator announced. High graphical fidelity.
EVE Valkyrie VR stuff.
Dean Hall came on to talk his current project, ION, and was asked about early access - "Mixed feelings", but cited KSP and Prison Architect as examples of good games that are coming out of it. ION seems to be a 'Diablo-style' (his words) game set in a space station. Talked a bit about the stigma of his leaving Day-Z's development.
Live demo of Strafe. Lots of blood.
Expansion for Pillars of Eternity.
Planet Coaster trailer looks interesting - Basically a current-gen roller coaster tycoon?

It's been pretty low-key, especially compared to the console conferences. A few jokes interspersed with some of the interviews, some trailers, but nothing like the laser lightshows with thumping music that MS and Sony were putting on.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-06-17 00:27:01 UTC
in SoHl Is it better than base GoldSRC? Post #325999

If it's an NPC that uses sentences.txt you can, but I don't think you can for things like gargantuas without adding more code.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-06-16 03:31:54 UTC
in E3 2015 Post #325976

I actually really enjoyed the aforementioned GTAV mission, to the point where I wasn't at all angry when my game crashed at the end of it, because that only meant I could play it again.
I also like wearing jackets and cats.

I should get my hands on a copy of Shenmue.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-05-27 18:43:20 UTC
in Your Apex Map — Your Mapex Post #325698

Still trying to find a way to get auto-extraction working on Win7.
Thinking I'll have to dig out my XP desktop and dust off its installation of the SDK as a workaround.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-05-27 18:21:10 UTC
in Your Apex Map — Your Mapex Post #325696

Or just lack of use/deprecation for the specific things that are broken. I don't imagine Faceposer has seen much use in-house since SFM came out, so it's no wonder it's been busted and only just barely usable with workarounds for years.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-05-26 14:37:23 UTC
in Your Apex Map — Your Mapex Post #325683

If it isn't fixed in the official game, there's no reason to fix it yourself.

Said no modder of a Bethesda game ever.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-05-26 10:18:29 UTC
in Your Apex Map — Your Mapex Post #325670

I've been thinking for a few days that with a bit of VGUI and/or an entity setup I'm not familiar with but that'd probably involve a point_camera overlay, you could probably re-purpose the response rules system for a conversation tree. It's possible to add response contexts to the player directly so they survive level transitions and whatnot.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-05-26 00:28:45 UTC
in Your Apex Map — Your Mapex Post #325668

Putting aside for a moment that Tetsu0 was suggesting to use the IO system to change the sk_ variables in order to do skill-tree based damage scaling (which wouldn't be doable with just the config files, as they have to be dynamic) I'd like to point out that 99% of game development is hacking or cheating in some way, shape, or form.
Lighting, for instance, has nothing to do with wavelengths in games.
Objects are only physically simulated when force is applied to them, and stop being simulated when they come to rest instead of gravity always affecting them no matter what.
Pretty much literally every rendered effect is simplified or fudged in order to make the process easier.

If we were to make games to everything the way that the physical world does them, instead of using these kinds of hacks, even the best modern supercomputer network would chug trying to run them, let alone your gaming PC or feeble laptop. You simply cannot make a game without being clever about how you're using your resources over doing things "the real way"

Posted from my feeble laptop.

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Notewell

Posted 9 years ago2015-05-23 17:30:00 UTC
in Post your screenshots! WIP thread Post #325635

I was really confused for a second, until I realized that it was just standard 2D tilemapping.

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