getting monsters to chase down stairs Created 20 years ago2004-07-12 12:09:47 UTC by RacerX

i have info nodes set up and the monsters seem to chase everywhere but down stairs. is there a specific stair height that they will only go down, or some other way to get them to go down stairs?

stairs are a toughie. as far as i know info_nodes will automatically go to a certian hieght off the ground no matter how high or low u place em. it may be something to do with the stair height, but i wouldve thought that if you could walk up n down em monsters could as well. what monsters are chasing u? that might be part of the problem, some monsters are smaller (i.e houndeyes) so may need littler stairs.

grunt

Usually you put one right at the top of the stairs, one in the middle and at the exact bottom. Apparently, but I am not entirely sure :

i read somewhere that u have to put a node in EVERY step... cruel yes, but its the only way...

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM BACK!!!!!!!!!!11

No, you just need one at the top, middle and bottom, like Jahzel said. Examine some of the Valve maps that use info_nodes and stairs and you'll see.

NOOO!
You need one on each step.
It might be enough to add nodes at the start/middle/end in a few cases, but one on each will certainly always work.

THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!

I just wanted to enforce your reply.
There were so many different oppinions.

You have to have one on each step? Ooooh, I was thinking of Ramps with one at the top, middle and bottom.

Limit your stair height to 14 units.
The experts say 1 node dead center of the top step and then 1 node dead center of the bottom step, but I have had better results with more.

Check the width of your steps, for grunts amke sure they are at least 96 wide.
Search the web for Steve 'Wedge" Bonds info_node placement guide. Actually it might be here in the entity guide??

you could use the cheap method, though i don't recommend it, leave the stairs and put a block slanted to make a ramp on top of it, then make it an invisible texture. after that turn it into a func_wall and set the render mode to solid and fx to 255.

That of course is a LAST RESORT!!

Umm, to save an entity, use the clip texture. That's what it's there for.

I used to have to do that in Red Faction for all my stairways, or the player would have to jump to get up the staircase.

man i've made the stairs 112 units wide, made a ramp out of clip texture over the stairs, and placed a grunt on the middle of the stairs and nothing works. even with the ramp and wide stairs, when i put the grunt over the stairs, when i play the game the grunt is stuck with the swirling yellow specs.

Make sure he's a little high up off the ground. Gravity'll affect him when the game starts and he'll fall, which might stop the yellow particles.

yeah, i put him way above the 112 unit wide stairs/ramp and it still happened i don't get it.

If the grunt still has whirling yellow globs around him then he is stuck in a brush.
Either that or none of your info_nodes can see each other?
What is the impulse code for that again?

Answer: Impulse 197 (SlayerA)

The maximum distance between nodes so they build a path is 256 units.
Is suggest to use a black brush instead of a clip brush. Clip bruhes don't have a lightmap.
As far as I know clip brushes are even ignored by mosters. Use a func_monsterclip instead.