Cat-Life HL1 Mod Recruiting Created 16 years ago2008-01-24 11:30:58 UTC by The Wildcat

Hello, I'm The Wildcat.

I learned about your site by tracking Daubster back here last year.

Anyway, I thought this would be a good place to post a recruitment message for the Cat-Life mod. Sorry if it sounds a bit like a form letter... I've been submitting the same thing to a couple of HL news sites and its based off BiGToM's update on the ModDB profile.

Cat-Life is a unique mod experience that will allow players to experience life inside Black Mesa as a pet cat. We are seeking motivated help to complete this one-of-a-kind project.

There are three positions for which we are currently recruiting...

1. Mapper/Level Designer - Mappers are responsible for map building. You have the option to make new maps from a given chapter or to improve existing maps for game play and frame rate.

2. Modeler/3D Animator - We already have a working model with some animations. The Modeler will be responsible for making minor adjustments.

3. Coder - Most importantly, we are seeking a coder for GoldSource games, especially Half-Life. The coder will be responsible for lowering the player POV to a cat's eye level, implementing the new HUD, creating and binding the new "dash" function, and other similar tasks. BiGToM already has the Half-Life SDK 2.3 so most of the basic coding is already done.

If you are interested in joining the team, send BiGToM a PM on the ModDB profile or contact him on MSN (sayrken@hotmail.com).

Cat-Life site: http://bwl.hl2files.com/catlife/
ModDB profile: http://www.moddb.com/mods/1945/cat-life

allow players to experience life inside Black Mesa as a pet cat.

Wait, how has no one found or commented on this gem of a thread yet!? I lol'd.

Well I did, but I was in the middle of class.

I can't really comment on it so far, Wildcat- I'll need to see more information or maybe a screenshot or two when production begins.

Perhaps the vid is better than pictures...

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=JffMpC_SlTk&eurl=http://www.moddb.com/mods/1945/cat-life

I lol'd at the purrrrrring.

I can't really comment on it so far, Wildcat- I'll need to see more information or maybe a screenshot or two when production begins.

Well, there's some information and screenshots available on the site and ModDB profile. And yeah, that video's there too. Here's a few of the more recent screenshots from the ModDB gallery.

Hopefully these links will work.

Basically, the story and mod have gone through a lot of changes down through the years but BiGToM wanted to make the original concept. Here's the story as he described it when he took over.

You (a cat) wake up in an animal cage. It's standing on a train and a crane picks up crates around you.

Finally the crane picks up your cage. It puts the cage on the transport system which then travels deep within a building.

A package selector robot slides the cage to a new transport belt that leads to the animal test lab.

But a power failure strikes, and the robot restarts sending you away on a different route through Black Mesa itself.

A scientist named Walter picks you up at the end of the ride. You are now his pet.

One day he tells you that he has an important test at work and you cant follow. Thus, you are stuck in Walter's room. The experiment, of course, is the resonance cascade.

According to one of BiGToM's updates, the mod will have 5 chapters and a new training course. The idea is that you will only have weapons that a cat would have (claws, bite).

That's a pretty sweet idea I have to say. Will there be a lot of humour in the mod?

I don't really know how much humor BiGToM will be adding.

The original concept came from our forums prior to the release of HL2. It was intended to be fairly serious, an ordinary cat trying to survive. My Cat-Life fan-fic reflects that original idea.

We always believed that any humor would come from the antics of scientists and guards, or from the nature of the game itself ( I mean, let's face it... it's a cat in Black Mesa).

When redfox899 took over the project, he wanted to make the mod much more deliberately humor based. Head mounted laser, takeing over the world as a cat, the player is a Hitler/Jesus cat. Most people felt it was a little too much.

When redfox899 found himself too busy with other porjects, BiGToM stepped into the role of Team Leader. BiGToM is from the original mod team and went back to the original story but is incorperating some unspecified changes.

So, after all these changes in leadership, I can't say for certain... but I suspect there will be a fairly even blend of humor and action. I'll ask BiGToM later for some details that I can reveal here.

What redfox899 proposed is a bit over the top, but the fact of matter is, it's a cat in Black Mesa.

I just finished talking to BiGToM and he had this to say.

let say i gonna add seacret rooms with gags and some kind of unlock super seacret world. im also planning alot fun with the soilders

He also told me that this will be Single Player only at first. And then, if possible, it will have a Multiplayer add-on.

Heh, I remember reading 'bout this back at Friendly Garg, glad to see there's already some decent progress.

The idea sort of reminds me of Alternate Origin (the originality of it, at least ). Looking forward to more media & updates.

I heard about this a while back and remeber thinking "Ha! What a joke!"

But now, I'm stumped. For one thing, its still alive and secondly it looks gorgeous. As for humour, I'd say Barney's reaction to seeing a cat would be far more amusing that a scripted gag reel.

(p.s. Rats should be healthpacks)

If you can catch them! lol!

Sounds great, Half-Life needs some new direction.

It seems there's some good news on this mod. Several positions have been filled including a coder. Cat-Life is still recruiting for additional help and there has been an added request for Sound & Music and voice actors.

Here are two more screenshots including one of the cat model in-game.

And I don't know how many of you may have read it, but here is an article I wrote at the end of January regarding the history of Cat-Life. Just in case you feel like reading a history article several pages long.
Cat-Life: 9 Lives

We have a new status estimate...

Current Status:
Coding 50%
Maps 40%
Models 40%
Design 10%
Sounds 60%
Music N/A

Total 30%

Nice idea and nice maps

Music

Points at Tosse

Nice media, however the mapping's pretty much below average in screenie #2. The room really needs detail and objects like supports, etc. to break up those plain walls.

for music from TWHL, you don't get any better than Tosse.

And Urbanebula is a great voice actor.

Thanks folks... I'm dropping BiGToM (aka sayrken) a line right now with your suggestions. He's offline, so I don't know when he'll get the message, but it should be in the morning.

This will be a little of both. Mostly survival though. You will be battling "lots of aliens" and trying to find the best solution to escape Black Mesa as a cat. But current plans call for hidden areas and a secret world to search out and explore.

So, what kind of music do ye want?

And Urbanebula is a great voice actor.

I was going to say "Ask The_Hunter" in my post regarding voice acting but thought that would make me look too smug. However since he's said it himself...

I'm not sure what all of BiGToM's ideas are right now as far as sound is concerned. I sent him both of your hotmail info in an MSN Offline message so he may be in contact with you soon.

Other then that, I'll ask him about it the next time we're on MSN at the same time. Thanks for the help.

It seems that the mod is moving along nicely. But I recieved word from BiGToM today about a need for a second coder.

"We have done the first part the client.dll but now we need someone to help us with the hl.dll to make all things work."

His biggest concern is the cat POV code. With that part completed and working, he could then have the beta testers start testing some of the maps.

Beyond that, there are some other functions that still need to be coded. The sprint key. The player "weapon" damages. And a night vision function of a sort... since cats can see in darker environments.

If you are interested PM BiGToM on ModDB or use MSN at sayrken@hotmail.com

I'd like to show you some new screenshots, but I think the best I can do is a few that have been on the ModDB page for a while.

Cafeteria looks pretty awesome.

Cafeteria is the best shot. the rest of the mapping needs to look to that level of detail, unless you're doing that already.

It has been a long time coming, but BiGToM released a new video. "paw beta"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwVkdTdw0Ks

EDIT:
Team Cat-Life Coder Search

Team Cat-Life is now offering $10 - $15 US dollars for a coder to finish the coding side of the project.

As Cat-Life moves further into the development cycle, the need for a coder to work on the hl.dll and client.dll has grown. The project is nearing the earliest testing phases, but needs certain game codes to be completed.

Now, BiGToM has announced that he would like to pay $10 to $15 US dollars for a coder to work on the project. Bids are being accepted, so prospective coders should contact BiGToM via sayrken@hotmail.com or through the forums or ModDB page.

Payment will be rendered via PayPal.

Bumpety bump.

This received a whole page in UK's PCG!
http://www.twhl.co.za/forums.php?thread=15960

oh lawd.

Every time I start to seriously think about everything that has happened with this mod and my site I think of the theme song from Star Trek Enterprise... Faith of the Heart. This one. It seems fitting somehow.

Touching. Now quit yer blabbin' n' get to work!

Great job on getting as far as you did! I wish you good luck in getting this mod finishd!

I dunno why, but I like the micro/macro scale of this mod, being something so small that can fit into smaller areas. Be kinda cool to have a mod where the player is a little blob that can go down the toilet, crawl through tiny cracks, hide in absolutely obscure places like inside trash cans, etc. I kinda get that same sort of sense from this mod.

Any release date?

Be kinda cool to have a mod where the player is a little blob that can go down the toilet.

Ever heard of 'A Corny Voyage' for Source? You play as a piece of corn travelling through the human body, ducking and dodging Enzymes and Poo. I shit you not (no pun intended)

lol but thats not as cool as being a lump of goo that spikes marines in the face from the drain of a drinking fountain.

No date yet. We really, really need a coder.

For a time, after I wrote my "9 Lives" article, we had a coder. But that was ultimately only for a portion of source code. We still need someone that can get down into the meat of the mod's code.

That's the issue that has been holding us up. Its a problem we've had for years. We've got a donate button on the site for PayPal so we can raise money to pay someone to write the code. We can offer $15 US right now.

I would do the work myself if it weren't for my time issues. I just can't find the time to re-install Visual Studio 6 and really work on source code.

By the way... I decided to make a slide show with that song.

I decided to make the celebration official with a custom video using that song.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WSZZpJYbUg
Better quality: http://files.filefront.com/Cat+Life+A+Look+Backwmv/;12671258;/fileinfo.html