SP mapping questions Created 16 years ago2007-12-28 21:48:35 UTC by Striker

I opened this topic because I'll post in time some questions about singleplayer maps .

INFO_NODE
I know you have to place info_nodes for monsters in order for them to follow you . All you have to do is to place the info nodes nearby to monsters ? In game something like this appeared "node graph out of date . Rebuilding . Done."

That is all I have to do with the node graphs ?

Also , how can I make a monster entity to be friendly ? For example , a turret .

Thanks for your time.

Well, I think you have the concept of the node graph wrong. Nodes are meant to be placed throughout the level to guide the monsters through the map, to define a rough kind of path that they can follow. You don't just place them next to the monster, they're supposed to be everywhere, otherwise the monsters won't know where walls and stuff are, and they won't know where to hide and retreat to.

About turning enemy monsters into friendly ones though, no, you cannot make it attack the enemy instead of you. Spirit of Half-Life apparently has an option to change this, though.

I think I didn't explained correctly . I created info_nodes from the monster to the spawn area (it's just a small test map) and in-game the zombie followed me ! This means the nodes are working , am I right ?

Oh , and in that test map (it was a turret example from map vault ) there are turrets . the zombie are killed by turrets . This means that anything that is non-alien kills aliens ?

Turrets shoot headcrabs and zombies as well as players. Don't you remember the headcrab stairwell with the ceiling turrets?

Just answer with yes or no :

After the info_nodes were placed a web is created , with lots of paths , right ?

Yes. That's why you get that "Node Graph out of date.." message sometimes.

You could say info_nodes make enemy monsters follow you, since monsters use them to navigate throughout the level.

When you get that message, does it update the .bsp? If i wanted to upload an SP map, would i want to play the mission first to get the "node graph out of date" message, and then put it in the zip?

There's a graphs folder in your maps dir. That's where the node graph files are stored. Include those in your .zip.

But the node graph is build in a short amount of time ! , and in big maps , it doesn't last more than a minute , I think . I hope you're using modern computers not 486

If it was just one map, it'd probably be fine, and nobody would want to go to the trouble of copying one more file into their Half-Life directory anyway, but if it was a map pack it'd be a bitch to have the node graph recreate itself when every map loads, so you'd want to include it with something like that.

Actually, I've never had it take as long as a minute for a node graph to be recreated. For me it's usually two or three seconds at the most. You must be on a really old computer, or else you're placing way too many info_nodes. You only need one about every 256 units, though some people recommend 128. It really just depends, because for more crowded areas you'll want more.

Dual core isn't old

I don't know how much RAM you have though. But, you're right, if you have a dual core computer of any sort, it's probably going to be new enough to process stuff like this in a couple seconds. I think you might be placing a tad too many nodes in, which could increase the chances that you reach the entity limit, but I don't know for sure what you're doing.

It's a 3.2 Ghz working at 2.4 ghz dual core processor , 2x 512 MB DRR2 667 mhz ,256 asus Nvidia 7600 GS Graphic Card , and a Gigabyte S-Series Motherboard .

Works Fine .

Oh , I practiced a little with sven co-op mapping , it was hard to find a FGD .
In sven co-op you can make a monster to be your ally . That's awesome !

You can do that with Spirit which is much much better for Single Player Maps.

I want to share my maps with other people . Few of them have spirit . A lot of them doesn't know what's that .

Here's my question : I replayed some levels from half-life. I saw that when you break some trashcans they spawn some bananas (:D ) , garbage , and other things . When you break a bookcase it spawns books .

How can I do this ?

Go into the func_breakable properties, then select/specify a gib model in the Gib Model property field.

thanks !

Wow, i actually never knew that, i always used Gib shooters