Forum posts

leet bscuits!

hmmm.... ok

I need to organize my game in terms of where you go, and when you go, what you get, why you go there, how you get there, and where you go after that.

I got work to do.

I usually post a new post if it was the next day, or something deserving a new posting screens right after saying you will. Why edit because most of the time i'll set it all up just to get a "the last post isn't yours" and then i have to start over anyway.

This was a funny comic, and nicely done, but the jimmi bashing IS getting overrated.

Haha! I almost feel sorry for jimmi, but almost.

interesting feedback.

More questions though.

1) A picture file of the world map in the mod folder to look at orr print off?

2) Straight forward gameplay, or loop it up a little?

Keep in mind that the Overmap shows a lot, using it often can let you know where the secrets are. Getting to them will be the hard part, but you'll know they exist. I guess thats a good hint.

this happened to me a few times on a map. I remedied this with carving a smaller box inside a larger box.

Also, it might be hammer. What version are you using?

Quick survey:

This mod has lots of hidden things amongst its levels. Some are really difficult to find and others easy. The question is a matter of this.

1) After certain points in the mod, would you search all the areas you missed or couldn't previously get too for ammo and items?

2) Or would you rather not waste your time since you'll find ammo else where and skip those areas.

3) If the items were more important, would you look around more, or get bored searching for stuff?

4) If hidden weapons were involved in your searching, would you look around in places you have already been?

5) How willing are you to collect every hidden weapon in the mod without cheating?

uh ok, if you want a line try this one.

"Hello and welcome to the Turnstile Hazard Course, where you'll learn to use new actions to help you through this world."

that's a good one, i guess... just email whatever.

Not too much for developments, just tweaking and modellig stuff. I think I have a good idea how the hazard course will layout, probably should plan it out completely before i release any pics.

hehe

Geremy is awsome.

am i the only one here who likes funny retards?

I found some pigeons the other day while with some friends and i scattered them yelling PIRATES!

awsome.

YAY PRIATES!

that last frame cracks me up! funny stuff!

1. a bunch of crappy stuff i once believed was important but is now worthless. like old photoshop stuff and some music files. the source code to Planet X, in which i totally redone 2 more times after this, was lost. It was screwed up anyway. Some toolkit programs don't handle systematic scripts too well.

2. Highlight would be handy. Kas is right. Too lazy for reading a huge legal term. especially a really long one.

3. mm hmm. patchez ftw.

aw ok daubs. Thanks for the help, and of course, you'll get to alpha test too... be kinda unfair not to let you have the alpha after all that hard work.

I'll formulate a script and let you know...

Meh, this is a problem... I thought it would take 2 weeks to find some volunteers, which would allow me time to take care of my classes. Oh well... I hope everyone can wait at least two weeks. I'll have what i can as soon as i can.

its in a file someplace. A "string.lst" file in the .../gfx/shell folder.
This is easy if it was all steam based but its not. the file has lines like

254 "Begin a new game of Half-Life"

I didn't find the file in the pak0.pak where i found it in one of unbreakable compo mods.

I'm mad at it now. As far as the relocation of the Hornet Gun icon in the Hud, it's not neccessary now.

/grrrrrrrrrrr...

Lemme tell you guys something really, really strange...
The game's Strongest enemy, has the simplest weakness. Its kinda funny actually. It'll be in the Hazard Course.

As far as the demo is concerned, nothing will be held back. Every feature in the game and every little thing you need to know in order to survive will be taught to you. All weapons, gadgets, and whatever enemies I have will be there in full force. Think of an actaully Hazardous Hazard Course.

eh... if you're talking about the giant buttons picture, that's not it. Its the text after the buttons. The ones that describe the different elements of the menu. Like "learn how to play half-life" and such.

oh well... i can try numbers until i get it right... couldn't be harder than doing the HL2.wad.

Ok... i figured it out. I'm gonna steal that file from unb. i'm sure he won't mind. Though i'd like to ask him how he figured it out and did it.

uhmmmmmm. no one... no code. I have a lot of control with the console commands and spirit.

I think at once point, someone said i sucked with triggers... oh well.

I found out you can use a "strings.lst" file. but it's nothing but a string number and what to replace it with... i don't know what string number is which line and i can't find a guide. Unbreakable used this in a compo entry sometime ago. That's how i know. But where is the master list?

I also made binds for the grav device and over map in the configurations.

Seventh should start a poll asking how many of us cheat on the first time through a mod. So i know how badly mine will be hacked.

Alpha Testers

The Hunter
Saco
M_Gargantua
Strider
Painkiller

Aphatesting position is closed. Sorry if you wanted to help out, but there's more than enough people now.

onoez don't hurt the penguins, i'm renting them from my friend, phil!

Began skinning the remainder of the weapons, or at least the ones i don't need remodeled. Which is the Shannon and the Lacetter.

I feel good about weapon modelling more than before. So i know it'll be done soon.

I made some blah development textures that i'm using for the alpha. It's no eye candy, but it'll form the base of the level.

This is a good question: How do i move the hornet gun inventory slot to the spot beneath the crowbar. I need it there for a very, very, very good reason.

Right now, anyone can give out ideas for the Hazard Course.

Also, how do you change the text that appears on the Title Screen. Not the buttons, but the grey text that tells what the buttons do. What file is that with the text?

4 out of 5 penguins agree that im not asking too much of you.

i might just skip the fancy hazard course and release some plain boxes instead. I dunno...

Thanks for offering the help, it comes with some responsibility as you should already know.

-Can't distribute it to anyone.
-Must give a detailed report at the end.
-Can't steal anything from it.

heh. So it was shit.

and it happens.

Not too far from what it means today.

I fixed some probs by increasing the max viewing distance, found a way to fix some bugs dealing with the sky, even though the sky will show up outside the green grid, but it looks nicer this way. Got sound effects for when it zooms in and out fromt he player when it is toggled on and off.

After all that, i haven't found any bugs with it. I believe its bug free and ready for full scale use.

The Gravity Device and new jumping stuff is also ready for use.

Besides that, nothing else. After exams and such, i have 3 weeks to myself. I will spend as much of it as i can modding. Probably finishing the weapons first.

Checklist

-Weapons and animations, sounds, skins Including
Shannon
Lacetter
Drones
Pyro Gun (Maybe, might reskin it)

-Replace fvox damage sentences with different sounds. Like instead of hearing that dumb "User Death Imminent" sound, you'll hear your heart beat for a moment. As well as damage grunts and moans. maybe an "dammit" or something.

-Begin and complete the hazard course as the new Demo featuring the new weapons, and such. But only after everythig for it is done, like the weapons, props, and voices.

-Change the name of the fire guys from Cale to Eifolon... wow that was fast.

That's all for now, i won't overstretch the engine on the hazard course with detail, have the white doors, or make unclear gameplay, though it will be easier with a map anyway. I figure if i want this done, it needs to be done fluently and loosely. Saving time on my part, as well as performance.

[b][u]JOB OPENINGS[/b][/u]

Voice acter to narrate for the Hazard course.

Alpha testers for systems and feedback. To test to see how all the fancy crap fares with more than just me. Also for feedback on weapons and such. For testing, i got my eye on The Hunter and Saco. I trust them because we each have shared the modness. I will take 3 or 4 more people for testing as well.

Must warn you guys that the testing is for critique purposes only on the aesthetics of the mod. It won't be no flashy mapping or sequences, just the mod, the content, and a very blocky testing ground. filled with enemies.

Things i'm looking for is:

-Damage Ratios for enemies and weapons.

-Difficulty Ratios

-Fluency, movement, jumping.

-Functionality of the features.

-Common Sounds, are they annoying, or too bleh.

So, make me an offer.

so very true. you win.

I got a grid underneath the level so you can measure distance if you want to. Divided into 64 unit squares.The demo will be the release of the Hazard course, which will be a fun place to learn all of the new rules and weapons of the game, things that were not in the first demo....

...now that it's user friendly.

you can have like 2 and a half rooms like that before you max out... be very careful.

not even i would attempt somethnig like that. if i did, i'd get the help from some models for sure.

it does look awsome, btw.

theres a gallery here with larger pics.

http://planetphillip.filecloud.com/?user_category_id=641968

some are really nice too.

OMG Pr0grezz! Lolz.

I have a way of making a 3d overhead realtime minimap

Just some camera tricks really, another cfg file with cam_idealyaw and cam_idealdist settings. The overmap is locked between 45 and 90 degrees so you cant rotate it underneath the map. Secrets will show up, but you still need to figure out how to get there, or solve the puzzle.A shot from my testing zone. That maze isn't so hard with the overmap. I feel the flow of the mod will be much nicer and less confusing.

I wish i could this overmap in Svencoop...

i don't really know what to think of this...

i got finals these next 2 weeks and then summer break.

It's my to-do list, however.

yeah, but no one ever got that question on jeopardy.

putting a pak0.pak in your mod's directory will do what i think your asking.

The system works on a higher archy. If something exist on a higher level than the other, the engine uses that instead.

Mod Folders
Pak file in mod directory
Valve Folders
Pak file in Valve directory

There is no need for new code if you replace stuff with the same name in the folder. Names aren't that important, and other things like sprites, sounds, and models can be defined in the mapping part.

ehk, i meant Divorce, not Diverse on the Shit definition.

Forgot about bastard. But i don't know anything about that one beside a fatherless child.

Can't really say cunt, cock, gay, fag, and all of the hollow terms swears. They're just word with alternate meanings. well most of them

heh, madcow is probly the most right so far. I think its that simple too.

Swears have a meaning that is offesive. Even though now they really don't have much meaning.

Fuck

Fornication
Under
Commission of the
King

This was a term used when the royal officials tried to breed out infidels. Like in the movie Braveheart. The term was keyed very easily.

"I'm Fucked!"
"You're Fucked"
"Fucked!? We're Fucked!?"

Ass

Derived from an alternate term for the donkey. People of lower standard could afford these pack animals over an expensive horse. Much like the different between have a clunker ride, and a Porsche. These lower class people were called the asses of the society, or somehow aligned with the butt.

Hell

meh. we all know. Religious place of badness.

Damn

Short for Damnation. Being cast into the place mentioned above. Not Ass, you moron.

Shit

The act of pooing. A bad connotation for the word poop. Also, a term for tretchery and deceit of the worse kind, related to diverse in ancient times and how love and turn into... well... shit.

Nigger

Probably the most offensive one by date, only because its the newest one and its effects are rather fresh. It was a racist term given during the times of Black Freedom in the U.S. Although the word itself is a bit funny on where it came from, it may have to do with the country of Nigeria in Africa.

Cracker

A word given to a white man who is being an asshole. Term keyed by the whiteman who cracked whips at the slaves during the slavery times of the U.S. It's only offensive if you know its meaning, and even then, it's not that bad.

Lesbian

Derived from a Greek Lyrical Poet named Lesbo, who rhymed about the homosexuality of Sappho and women.

So now you all know.

also, the ik constraints have force limits so you can break the joint and it'll become limp. breaking arms, for instance, falling 50 stories and colliding with a tree branch.

all they need to do is revamp the hl1 physics so crate rotate when pushed certain ways. as i see it, it's still rather rigid. I don't think its necessary to do complete prediction procedure.

its possible. just upgrade whats already there.

dissapointed since you have none to hug?

don't worry, there'll be plants on the structure itself.

only the top part will be actual terrain.

The background, water, sky, and all that will be the skybox.

out of a hat.

its a mixture of the words Timber, Dais, and Stasis. Which prolly have nothing to do with the map itself.

Concept sketchy. I'm still planning the layout very, very carefully. I also need to draw concepts for potential models and props, as well as decide textures.

But yeah, mappin'.

I just moved to Hammer 3.5 like 5 weeks ago. Otherwise i used worldcraft for a really, really long time before that.

Welcome To TWHL! Enjoy your stay. Don't steal towels or mini-shampoos.

mmm.... just work it and resize when your done. when shrunk and it turns out blurry some how, sharpen it with the sharpen filter. You'll know when its oversharpened because it looks shitty.

decrease the brush size maybe...
with the heal brush selected, right click on the canvas and a brush options dialog will show up. you can change and switch your brush strokes from there. this works with most of the tools.

I use Photoshop CS

SeemedDocteredAs you can see, i left my seems in the center of the image so you can see them. I sampled the cracks with the heal brush and painted them in. Also, I toned it but i didn't normalize it, so the bottom part is darker.

Use the offset filter and move the edges to the center of the image. Use the heal brush to carefully connect the grooves and detail of the stones.

EDIT: it's not a hard image to fix, you should be able to do it. I'll do it too and compare.

pretty close. Look at the left and right seems again, i don't think they tile yet. Other than that, that's an awsome job!

you're right. it is kinda standard, isn't it. Like i said, i'll be getting around to it soon.

i'll try to put it as easy as possible like this tutorial. This method here really is the easiest and most versitile way. I turned concrete into wood! Could be tiles, bricks, a window frame, etc.

The key is to get a good stock of overlays. I use alot of the HL2 textures now, but they don't replace the onces i ganked off of google and the ones i've taken with my camera. The one in the example is a camera texture.

hmm. i guess i will afterall. I have some free time so i might start on it soon.

Rim For Teh Win!

I feel fuzzy inside

Crap... I found a mistake in the tutorial. I skipped a step.

Before the part where your contrast it, you need to Flatten the image by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+E

Clone THAT layer and make it grayscale with CTRL+SHIFT+U and change it to OVERLAY rendermode.

wew....

@Penguinboy
I'm not sure if everyone has Photoshop. Seventh needs to make a poll for that so we can get an accurate number. If not too many have photoshop, what's the point?

Use this as your base.Most of my texture looks like this in the beginning. I'll show you how to spice it up.

Search google or grab a camera and find a basic surface type. Can be anything really. We'll use this crete texture. I already made it grayscale by going to IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > DESATURATE (CTRL+SHIST+U)We'll copy and paste this ontop and change its layer mode to OVERLAY. To get to your layers if they aren't already on the screen, click WINDOW > LAYERS (F7)

In the upper left corner of the layers window, there is a drop down. Its usually set to NORMAL, change this to SOFT LIGHT and you'll see what it does. It should look like this.It's cool, but not nearly complete. Patience.
Next we will contrast it so that it look right when lighting hits it. Right now, it feels light.

In the layers window, select your grayscale overlay. Press CTRL+J to clone it. Or, on the menu bar, click LAYER > DUPLICATE LAYER and click OK.

With the clone layer, change it layer render mode to OVERLAY and it'll automatically and naturally tone your texture.DifferenceLooks like this when its lined up.

Now its really cool, but we're still not done yet.

The Left and right edge of your texture are not tiling. To see if they do or not, on the menu bar click FILTERS > OTHER > OFFSET and type in half your dimensions into the number boxes. Half of 512 is 256. This will place your edges in the center.Puke.

Lets get rid of this.

On the tool pallette, there is a brush called THE HEAL BRUSH. This is your best friend. It looks like a band-aid and its left of the regular paint brush. Click it and Alt click where you want to sample to patch up your seems.Once your done, offset you texture back to normal and your good to format it!

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