editing the cfg to rebalance damage and ammo values

I was interested by the idea of tweaking the difficulty of certain enemies by going into the cfg and simply changing a number. specifically, I wanted to lower human grunt weapon damage while keeping the game balanced towards the current standard of high challenge, in a way that kept it at an even level at a consistent basis. this is all very simple, as long as you can open the cfg file (I use notepad++) but I had a harder time with the key aspect I had in mind from the start: altering the value of the ammo.

I was able to change the clip size of the mp5 by going into the scripts and altering the value in the weapon_mp5 file which is a simple txt, but it had the unintended effect of making every mp5 in the game drop 50 rounds instead of the original 30, which is way way too much to ever use. after a few minutes (actually 2 hours) of reading I eventually found a method provided by the valve wiki for editing the value of the ammo count provided by an enemy weapon drop. put this in underneath the max clip size (which I have already changed to 50 to make it more like the original half life)

default_clip	"25"

making sure to use tab to align the text so it fits neatly between the other lines. now dropped enemy mp5s will only provide whatever the value of the number is between quotes, you can raise it or lower it to whatever you want.

now you might be trying this out for yourself and wondering why it’s not working. I spent the first few hours wondering that myself, and as it turns out it is because the value is based on some other setting for the moment until you change maps or restart a chapter. until then, it seems to be going by a previously loaded cfg or values set in the save file or something. this is one of my only attempts at ever modding anything for half life, so if you know better please feel free to point this out. and if you know as little about modding as I do, maybe this information can help you.

as for actually lowering the damage of enemy humans armed with mp5s, it seems that the value is tied to the power of the npc security guards (barneys/barnies) as well. this is found in the skill.cfg file in BMS/cfg folder, in this line:
// AI WEAPONS
sk_npc_dmg_9mm “4”

4 is the damage per shot for every npc equipped with a 9mm weapon, either the mp5 or glock pistol. however, the human marines have uncanny accuracy and a greatly increased rate of fire compared to the same enemies in half life 1, so a quick burst at close range from a single marine can burn down your armor and health. because of this, I reduced the value to 2, but again this has the effect of making friendly npcs weaker (I think).

next time I start a new game, I intent to use the console to drop a 357 into my inventory near the start to offset the increased zombie health and decreased barney damage. this is done with the console command:
give weapon_357
but you can find the other commands for other weapons over the internet easily.

if anyone else has been experimenting with the cfgs or other stats in the game, I would like to hear about it. for anyone who is not yet aware though: make sure to back up your original cfg if you intend to edit it.

I modified my skill.cfg and weapon_mp5.txt to change all ammunition values to their original HL1 counterparts.
Note: When carrying 10 MP5 Grenades, the grenade count meter nearly clips through the 9mm clip icon.

Here’s the full text of both, should you want to apply this yourself…

BMS\cfg\Skill.CFG

[code]ai_force_serverside_ragdoll “1”
ai_readiness_decay “10”

//=--------------------------------------------------
// GamePlay
//=--------------------------------------------------
bms_normal_jump_vertical_speed “160”
bms_normal_jump_crouch_vertical_speed “160”
bms_double_jump_vertical_speed “200”
bms_airboost_jump_vertical_speed “80”
bms_airboost_jump_forward_speed “360”
bms_airboost_jump_original_speed_mod “0.25”
bms_long_jump_vertical_speed “150”
bms_long_jump_horizontal_speed “460”
bms_long_jump_delay “1”

player_airtimer “15”
player_drown_dmg_intial “5”
player_drown_dmg_step “2”
player_throwforce “2250”

//=--------------------------------------------------
// Items
//=--------------------------------------------------
sk_battery “15”
sk_healthkit “25”

//=--------------------------------------------------
// WEAPONS
//=--------------------------------------------------

// PLAYER WEAPONS
sk_plr_dmg_crowbar “10”
sk_plr_dmg_9mm “6”
sk_plr_dmg_357 “50”
sk_plr_dmg_buckshot “6”
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_mp5 “100”
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_rpg “125”
sk_plr_dmg_bolt “75”
sk_plr_dmg_energy “15”
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_frag “100”
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_satchel “100”
sk_plr_dmg_snark “8”
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_tripmine “100”
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_hornet “13”

// AI WEAPONS
sk_npc_dmg_9mm “4”
sk_npc_dmg_357 “15”
sk_npc_dmg_buckshot “3”
sk_npc_dmg_grenade_rpg “75”
sk_npc_dmg_grenade_frag “50”
sk_npc_dmg_snark “5”
sk_npc_dmg_grenade_hornet “4”

// MAX AMMO
sk_max_9mm “250” //original was 150
sk_max_357 “36” //original was 18
sk_max_buckshot “125” //original was 64
sk_max_grenade_mp5 “10” //original was 3
sk_max_grenade_rpg “5”
sk_max_bolt “50” //original was 10(!?)
sk_max_energy “100”
sk_max_grenade_frag “10”
sk_max_grenade_satchel “5”
sk_max_snark “15”
sk_max_grenade_tripmine “5”
sk_max_grenade_hornet “8”

// AMMO Pickup
sk_item_ammo_357_pickup “12”
sk_item_ammo_crossbow_pickup “10”
sk_item_ammo_energy_pickup “20”
sk_item_ammo_glock_pickup “17”
sk_item_ammo_mp5_pickup “50” //original was 30
sk_item_ammo_shotgun_pickup “8”
sk_item_grenade_mp5_pickup “1”
sk_item_grenade_rpg_pickup “1”

//RPG
sk_plr_grenade_rpg_airspeed “5000”
sk_npc_grenade_rpg_airspeed “2500”
sk_grenade_rpg_precision “1.0”
sk_grenade_rpg_health “15”

//MISC/GRENADES
sk_grenade_lin_resistance “0.2”
sk_grenade_ang_resistance “0.2”

//HORNET OPTIONS
sk_grenade_hornet_search_radius “512”
sk_grenade_hornet_airspeed “1200”
sk_grenade_hornet_npc_precision “0.1”
sk_grenade_hornet_plr_precision “0.15”
sk_grenade_hornet_global_lifetime “5”
sk_grenade_hornet_hit_lifetime “1”
sk_grenade_hornet_autoaim_scale “10”
sk_grenade_hornet_noise_magnitude “45”
sk_grenade_hornet_noise_speed “5”
sk_grenade_hornet_noise_gaussian “50”

//TAU OPTIONS
sk_tau_charge_max_velocity “500”
sk_tau_beam_undercharged_dmg “20”
sk_tau_beam_charged_dmg “200”
sk_tau_beam_penetration_bias “0.9”
sk_tau_beam_penetration_depth “48”

//GLUON OPTIONS
sk_gluon_consumption_rate “2”

//TOW
sk_plr_dmg_grenade_tow “150”
sk_npc_dmg_grenade_tow “150”
sk_grenade_tow_airspeed “1500”
sk_grenade_tow_precision “1”

//=--------------------------------------------------
// AI
//=--------------------------------------------------

sk_npc_head “2”
sk_npc_chest “1”
sk_npc_stomach “1”
sk_npc_arm “0.8”
sk_npc_leg “0.8”
sk_npc_ricochet “0.8” // scaled with the other modifiers!

//HUMAN SCIENTIST
sk_human_scientist_health “35”
sk_human_scientist_heal_amount “30”
sk_human_scientist_heal_interval “60”

//HUMAN SECURITY
sk_human_security_health “40”

//HUMAN MARINES
npc_marines_crouch “1”
npc_marines_crouch_delay “5”
npc_marines_crouch_min_dist “360”
npc_marines_crouch_min_health “15”
npc_marines_melee_dmg “20”
sk_human_commander_health “50”
sk_human_grenadier_health “50”
sk_human_grunt_health “50”
sk_human_medic_health “50”
sk_human_medic_health_amount “25”

//ZOMBIES SCIENTIST
sk_zombie_scientist_health “40”
sk_zombie_scientist_melee_range “75”
sk_zombie_scientist_bullet_dmg_scale “1”
sk_zombie_scientist_357_dmg_scale “1”
sk_zombie_scientist_buckshot_dmg_scale “1”
sk_zombie_scientist_blunt_dmg_scale “1”

//ZOMBIES SECURITY
sk_zombie_security_health “50”
sk_zombie_security_melee_range “75”
sk_zombie_security_bullet_dmg_scale “1”
sk_zombie_security_357_dmg_scale “1”
sk_zombie_security_buckshot_dmg_scale “1”
sk_zombie_security_blunt_dmg_scale “1”

//ZOMBIE GENERAL
sk_zombie_dmg_one_slash “15”
sk_zombie_dmg_both_slash “30”

//HEADCRAB
sk_headcrab_health “10”
sk_headcrab_melee_dmg “5”
sk_headcrab_min_jump_dist “28”
sk_headcrab_max_jump_dist “256”

//ALIEN SLAVE
sk_alien_slave_health “38”
sk_alien_slave_357_damage_scale “1”
sk_alien_slave_zap_cone “0.5” // cos( 35 )
sk_alien_slave_dmg_zap “10”
sk_alien_slave_dmg_claw “10”
sk_alien_slave_claw_range “75”
sk_alien_slave_dispel_dmg “25”
sk_alien_slave_dispel_force “450”
sk_alien_slave_dispel_forcez “256”
sk_alien_slave_dispel_range “192”
sk_alien_slave_dispel_time “6”
sk_alien_slave_bullet_dmg_scale “1”
sk_alien_slave_357_dmg_scale “1”
sk_alien_slave_buckshot_dmg_scale “1”

//BULLSQUID
sk_bullsquid_health “60”
sk_bullsquid_whip_dmg “35”
sk_bullsquid_whip_range “135”
sk_bullsquid_whip_force “450”
sk_bullsquid_bite_dmg “25”
sk_bullsquid_bite_range “76”
sk_bullsquid_spit_amount “9”
sk_bullsquid_spit_range “2048”
sk_bullsquid_spit_speed “792”
sk_bullsquid_spit_dmg “4”
sk_bullsquid_spit_radius “96”
sk_bullsquid_bullet_dmg_scale “0.35”
sk_bullsquid_buckshot_dmg_scale “0.75”
sk_bullsquid_357_dmg_scale “0.75”
sk_bullsquid_turn_rate “15”

//Ichthyosaur
sk_ichthyosaur_health “100”
sk_ichthyosaur_melee_dmg “15”
sk_ichthyosaur_max_linear_speed “600”
sk_ichthyosaur_max_linear_accel_f “512”
sk_ichthyosaur_max_linear_accel_r “256”
sk_ichthyosaur_max_linear_accel_u “256”

//Gargantua
sk_gargantua_melee_dmg “30”
sk_gargantua_flame_dmg “2”
sk_gargantua_flame_dmg_falloff_perc_dist “64”
sk_gargantua_flame_dmg_falloff_perc “0.1”

sk_alien_grunt_health “90”
sk_alien_grunt_hornet_min_range “256”
sk_alien_grunt_hornet_max_range “2048”
sk_alien_grunt_melee_range “75”
sk_alien_grunt_melee_jump_range “166”
sk_alien_grunt_melee_dmg “25”
sk_alien_grunt_front_dmg_scale “0.8”
sk_alien_grunt_turn_speed “30”
sk_alien_grunt_rage_threshold “5”
sk_alien_grunt_rage_reset_delay “10”

// Alien Controller
sk_controller_health “60”
sk_controller_max_linear_speed “300”
sk_controller_max_linear_accel_f “350”
sk_controller_max_linear_accel_r “350”
sk_controller_max_linear_accel_u “600”
sk_controller_throw_next_attack “8”
sk_controller_lift_duration “2.5”
sk_controller_min_small_eballs “6”
sk_controller_max_small_eballs “8”
sk_controller_max_large_eballs “2”
sk_grenade_energy_dmg “4”
sk_grenade_energy_dmg_radius “128”
sk_grenade_energy_airspeed “650”
sk_grenade_energy_precision “0.001”
sk_grenade_energy_large_dmg “25”
sk_grenade_energy_large_dmg_radius “128”
sk_grenade_energy_large_airspeed “450”
sk_grenade_energy_large_precision “0.1”

//Hassassin
sk_human_assassin_pistol_damage “1”
sk_human_assassin_pistol_spread “0.04362”
sk_human_assassin_pistol_burstinterval “0.2”
sk_human_assassin_pistol_burstcount “8”
sk_human_assassin_pistol_restinterval “2”
sk_human_assassin_health “50”
sk_human_assassin_melee_range “75”
sk_human_assassin_melee_damage “10”
sk_human_assassin_jump_rise “300”
sk_human_assassin_jump_distance “400”
sk_human_assassin_jump_drop “756”
sk_human_assassin_flip_hratio “256”
sk_human_assassin_decloak_damage “4”
sk_human_assassin_decloak_flip “3”
sk_human_assassin_decloak_melee “3”
sk_human_assassin_decloak_shoot “0.5”
sk_human_assassin_force_cloak “0”
sk_human_assassin_pistol_range “512”

//Turrets
sk_sentry_ceiling_health “50”
Sk_sentry_ceiling_motorspeed “350”
sk_sentry_ceiling_scan_pitch “22.5”
sk_sentry_ground_health “40”
sk_sentry_ground_motorspeed “350”
sk_dmg_sentry “4”
sk_max_sentry “50”

//Abrams
sk_abrams_maingun_muzzle_damage “60”
sk_abrams_maingun_muzzle_radius “486”
sk_abrams_maingun_reload_time “0.75”
sk_abrams_maingun_reset_time “2”
sk_abrams_maingun_turn_speed_combat “2”
sk_abrams_maingun_turn_speed_idle “1”
sk_abrams_miniturret_burst_shots “30”
sk_abrams_miniturret_burst_interval “0.01”
sk_abrams_miniturret_rest_interval “5”
sk_abrams_miniturret_turn_speed “2”
sk_abrams_miniturret_damage “4”
sk_abrams_body_ground_speed “128”
sk_abrams_body_turn_speed “10”
sk_abrams_health_stages “99”
sk_grenade_abrams_shell_dmg “30”
sk_grenade_abrams_shell_radius “256”
sk_grenade_abrams_shell_airspeed “3500”

//LAV
sk_lav_health “200”
sk_lav_cal_radius “128”
sk_lav_cal_base_damage “1”
sk_lav_cal_radius_damage “4”
sk_lav_cal_fire_rate “0.4”
sk_lav_aim_speed “2.5”
sk_lav_ground_speed “128”
sk_lav_turn_speed “5”

//Apache
sk_apache_health “250”
sk_npc_dmg_grenade_apache_rpg “25”
sk_npc_radius_grenade_apache_rpg “256”
sk_grenade_apache_rpg_airspeed “7500”
sk_grenade_apache_rpg_precision “0.001”
sk_apache_fire_cone “20”
sk_apache_resttime “2”
sk_apache_chargetime “2”
sk_apache_burst_count_max “40”
sk_apache_burst_count_min “30”
sk_apache_burst_hit_max “5”
sk_apache_burst_hit_min “1”
sk_apache_burst_interval “5”
sk_apache_rocket_resttime “16”
sk_apache_rocket_resttime_nominigun “8”
sk_apache_rocket_barrage_count “8”
sk_apache_rocket_barrage_resttime “4”
sk_apache_rocket_barrage_bursttime “0.1”
sk_apache_boss_max_stages “3”
sk_apache_boss_stage_0_health “75” // minigun ( defined via map input )
sk_apache_boss_stage_1_health “75” // minigun + rockets ( defined via map input )
sk_apache_boss_stage_2_health “75” // minigun + beserk rockets ( defined via map input )
sk_apache_boss_stage_3_health “75” // not used

//Barnacle
sk_barnacle_health “35”
sk_barnacle_bullet_dmg_scale “1”
sk_barnacle_357_dmg_scale “1”
sk_barnacle_buckshot_dmg_scale “1”
sk_barnacle_blunt_dmg_scale “1”

//Houndeye
sk_houndeye_health “50”
sk_houndeye_blast_dmg “20”
sk_houndeye_blast_force “450”
sk_houndeye_punch_angle “10”
sk_houndeye_blast_radius “156”
sk_houndeye_bullet_dmg_scale “1”
sk_houndeye_357_dmg_scale “1”
sk_houndeye_buckshot_dmg_scale “1”
sk_houndeye_blunt_dmg_scale “1”

//Osprey
sk_osprey_health “300”

//Snark Hive
sv_snark_hive_health “10”
sv_snark_hive_count “4”

//Sniper
sk_plr_dmg_sniper_round “20”
sk_npc_dmg_sniper_round “100”
sk_max_sniper_round “30”

//Mines
sk_mine_damage “25”
sk_mine_bounds_xy “24” // 128 units ( -64 min and 64 max )
sk_mine_bounds_z “64” // 128 units ( -64 min and 64 max )
sk_mine_damage_radius “128”

//Mortar
sk_grenade_mortar_dmg “15”
sk_grenade_mortar_range “400”
sk_grenade_mortar_shakeduration “1.5”
sk_grenade_mortar_shakeradius “640”

// Surgery Bot
sk_prop_surgerybot_force “400”
sk_prop_plr_damage “55”

[/code]

BMS\scripts\weapon_mp5.txt

[code]WeaponData
{
printname “Mp5”
bucket “2”
bucket_position “0”
clip_size “50” //orginal was 30
item_flags “0”
playermodel “models/weapons/w_mp5.mdl”
primary_ammo “9mm”
secondary_ammo “grenade_mp5”
viewmodel “models/weapons/v_mp5.mdl”
weight “3”
anim_prefix “mp5”

SoundData
{
	double_shot	"weapon_mp5.Double"
	reload_npc	"weapon_mp5.Reload_NPC"
	empty		"weapon_mp5.Empty"
	single_shot	"weapon_mp5.Single"
	single_shot_npc	"weapon_mp5.Single_NPC"
}

}[/code]

Thanks for the help with your post however I would like to know how to in-cress the max ammo you can carry if possible, I don’t care for clip size. (reloading in a fire fight just gives more intense action)
150 rounds 9mm is just pointless the MP5 chews the ammo up.
I would like to in-cress to like 300.
Also max ammo for the muzzle grenade where do you change that would love to up that to 4 or 5, I enjoy playing on hard but with the lack of ammo and the increased health and armour the enemy’s have it gets quite annoying.
I do not want to tamper with damage the weapons do.

It’s in Skill.cfg under //Ammo, change the 9mm capacity to whatever you want.

Thank you :slight_smile:

This doesn’t seem to work for me. I’ve opened skill.cfg and changed the values under “// MAX AMMO” so that they are the same as the ammo values in HL. I then start a new game in BMS, and when I pick up my weapons, the reserve ammo for each weapon doesn’t follow my changes. For example, in skill.cfg the revolver ammo is changed to 36, but ingame it only goes up to 18. The same happens for every weapon.

What’s wrong?

Leave the quotes around the values.

Is there a way to increase the MP5 do 8 damage, but leave the Glock at 6? I can do the ammo capacity and clip capacity fine, but the damage itself I’m clueless.
If it’s not possible then never mind. :slight_smile:

Also I know this isn’t on the topic of ammo, but how do I slow down the Vort attack time by just a smidgen, or perhaps decrease the reaction time of the HECU? I’m so bad at this kind of stuff.

I know in this thread - https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showthread.php?t=13545&page=2 , they say the convars, but I’m unsure how to use them (I cant find them in my skill.cfg).

Convars are console commands, you won’t find them in the cfg
And no, it’s not possible as far as I’m concerned

Just add those commands in the cfg in the same way as the commands that are already there, it should work if I’m not mistaken.

Just put them in under marines incase. Working perfectly, thank you. :slight_smile:

same thing is happening to me what I worked out is when you edit the folder with not pad/ it saving it as a text doc so it not replacing the CFG folder and also the game is not recognising it at all

I really don’t know how these people got there editing to work this guy or girl made a mod that modifys the damage values so maybe download that and if your still not happy/ you may be able to mod there mod of this mod : ) that what im trying to do now good luck

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