Is there any chance for guards to start picking up weapons on the ground?

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#1

I don’t know this for a fact, but from observing their actions and comments, Half-Life guards seem to act a lot like Resistance soldiers in Half-Life 2. If that’s the case, can they be made to pick up weapons lying on the ground when they’re better than what the guard is carrying? At least restricted to conventional human weapons.

The reason I ask is… When a guard shows up carrying a magnum or a shotgun, I jump for joy because I know he’ll be very, very useful. When a guard shows up with a 9mm pistol, though, he becomes more of a liability, at least against the bigger enemies. And when I see a guard armed with a 9mm step over a combat shotgun or an SMG, I end yelling at my screen to “Pick up the damn weapon, you idiot!”

Yeah, I know they didn’t do that in the original, but in the original, “Barneys” were practically useless for anything but opening doors. Here, they come equipped, so they’re always taunting me with their pea-shooters :slight_smile:

#2

I think they disabled this feature to avoid guards taking the player’s ammo. I didn’t run short on ammo, though, and I’d love to see this feature re-implemented.

#3

The guards kept picking up the weapons intended for the player. If the feature couldn’t work, than it couldn’t work.

#4

That’s an easy fix, though; you just need flags telling the game environment whether the player has the weapon yet. If they don’t, then the guard isn’t allowed to pick up the weapon. You could also add an ammo threshold, so that guards won’t pick up a weapon if the player is low on ammo for that weapon.

#5

There aren’t that many guards in the game for them to steal too much ammo, and I don’t expect the guards would keep picking up weapons again and again. In Half-Life 2, they only picked up weapons they couldn’t have, and always SMG -> Shotgun -> Combine Rifle and never back. Marines drop so many SMGs and shotguns that there ought to be enough to go around. I was skipping ammo left and right by the end of the game.

I can see certain important weapons being a problem, such as the first time you find a magnum and all of a sudden the guard who let you in ups and takes it. Can there be exceptions, like things they won’t pick up or places they won’t go? The thing is, at one point I had four guards and two scientists with me. I’d have loved to arm the guards with decent weapons and maybe even have the scientists pick up a pistol or a chair leg or something :slight_smile:

On a related topic: Do guards have static health, or do they regenerate if left alone? I ask, because if they get hurt, I wouldn’t mind sharing my med kits with them. Maybe add it as an option like view bob and the train dead man’s switch?

#6

there are guards with shotguns and revolvers don’t think they need to be picking up weapons.

#7

if there was a drop weapon command, then guards could be made to pick up all “dropped” weapons. You could drop your mp5 and then immediately pick up one next to it, for example. It’s dodgy and tedious, but it might work

#8

There are also guards WITHOUT shotguns and revolvers, who I have to see step over shotguns and revolvers and SMGs without taking notice of them. Personally, I just feel it would add a lot to the flavour of Black Mesa to see the guards interact with the world even more than they already do.

#9

Maybe if they do steal your ammo, implement a feature to ask for ammo or a gun etc…

But this all means more and more work…

#10

Simple, make it so once a player walks over a weapon and does not pick it up because they already have it, then the NPC could pick it up.

Or maybe a ‘give weapon’ option when you are up close to them.

#11

how about this, you pick up a weapon with the use key than bring it to a guard, if it is a type they can use they holster pistol and use it.

#12

If that could work, I’d love it. That would be a major boon to many stages of the game.

#13

Simple, but effective. I like it.

#14

I like the idea, but when it comes to which key do you use to give the weapon to the guard?
You can’t use the interact key, it conflicts with everything else.
So they’d have to implement another key specifically for giving weapons?

#15

I assume it’d be like the manual reload of the TOW missle launcher. You pick the weapon up and take it to a guard, he puts his pistol away and the new weapon appears in his hand.

I think this is a great idea and would love to see it implemented.

#16

While we’re at it, make the guards jump, crouch and use stairs. It would be nice.

#17

^ They crouch and use stairs already. They do NOT, however, use ladders.

#18

i do think it was odd that they dont use other wepons… especially as the last guard you meet has a “personal armoury” :slight_smile:

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.