It’s all sounding great, can’t wait to see it 
The office sounds awesome can’t wait to see it and hopefully play it this weekend. I think if we get a good look at the C area it would be easier to think up things to add into it. Isn’t this the area where you were under the hecu and vort battle and are you still planning to recreate that?
As for the electrified rail section you could throw some dead enemies in there or have a houndeye teleport in above it and fall in and get electrocuted or something small and comical like that to really re-enforce that you shouldn’t be touching it.
Most electrical areas already have that enforced in some way, Text’s already has sparks and presumably the accompanying sounds, so that should be enough.
I like that idea. Or you could play the Bullsquid’s feeding animation over the water, to simulate drinking, resulting in its hilarious electrodeath. Would be nice to see natural behaviour like that from the Xenofauna.
For consistency, your console texture should be based on this one from Power Up:
The label could be bigger on yours, but I think the phrasing they used here (“rail switch board”) is clear enough as-is.
I think this area might be a good reference for ideas of how to detail that spot – it’s the tunnel leading to Surface Tension (BM_C2A4H).
Whelp, the mapping was going fantastically (still progressing very well, now it’s just the B1 and C areas which need finishing off), until I tried to compile the map today. I haven’t tested the map in quite a few days mostly because I haven’t needed to.
MAP_MAX_BRUSHSIDES error. The map won’t even compile.
This throws my plans well out of whack. The really complicated geometry present in the tunnels must be SERIOUSLY upsetting VBSP. I’ve never hit a max brushsides limit before! It’s a tad impressive, actually, considering the map isn’t finished yet. It means that, simply put, there are too many FACES (the limit is 65,536) on the map, in terms of the map’s geometry.
Luckily, there is a relatively simple solution, even if it’s not ideal. Simplifying/removing brushwork simply isn’t an option at this point, it’s not possible to do without losing visual fidelity - I’ve been VERY CAREFUL to make sure that my brushwork is well optimized and professional.
I have to split A1 into 2 maps. I know precisely where to do the split/transition (the transition will actually roughly occur in a similar place to HL1’s split between the A and B1 map) and how I’m going to do it, so it should only create a couple of hours extra work, but it’s still a pain in the ass.
This also destroys my plan of fitting the D - G segments into one map too, as that problem will CERTAINLY come around again, as the D-G map will probably be bigger than the one I’m currently working on.
With A1 now being split into A1 (which roughly = the missing half of HL1’s A map) and A2 (which roughly = HL1’s B1 and C map), I will now have to split my planned B1 into B1 and B2. This means that OaR Uncut just went from being 2 maps to 4. Content wise my plan is to carry ahead as planned, it shouldn’t set me back much. I’m still planning on having the same amount of content as two really huge maps, just splitting them up a bit.
Oar Uncut will now look like this (The descriptions indicate which parts of HL1 the BM maps correspond with):
[COLOR=‘Red’]Red = Untouched by me. Will not be decompiled.
[COLOR=‘Orange’]Orange = Black Mesa default map, edited by me.
[COLOR=‘Lime’]Green = New, made by me.
[COLOR=‘Red’]BM_C2A2A = Roughly 1st half of HL_A, plus new original content.
[COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2A1 = Roughly second half of HL_A, with a little original content + a side room from HL_B2.
[COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2A2 = Corresponds almost identically HL_B1 and HL_C. HL_C’s Office Complex has been DRAMATICALLY expanded.
[COLOR=‘Orange’]BM_C2A2B = Corresponds to roughly 1st half of HL_D, plus original content.
[COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2B1 = Will correspond roughly to the 2nd half of HL_D, and maybe the first 2/3 of HL_E.
[COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2B2 = Will correspond roughly to HL_F and HL_G.
[COLOR=‘Red’]BM_C2A2C = Corresponds to HL_H, but with a new, original 1st half.
This shouldn’t be too surprising actually. The curved geometry in the tunnels eats up brush numbers like it’s nothing. Each “segment” of a curve uses up 21 brushes (which amounts to 21 X 4 faces). There are 8 “segments” to a very basic 90 degree curve, and there are at least 15 of these curves on my map. That alone uses up 1/6 of the brush face limit, and that’s ignoring ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ELSE on the maps.
I said I’d change my plans if necessity called for it. Necessity called for it. I should still be on track for a media release tomorrow, as I said it’s pretty much just enemy encounters + B1 opening/C ending areas which need completing. (And leak-sealing, but that’s a fairly straightforward yet time consuming job).
Wow bummer. On the plus side this will mean we won’t have two really long load times, but four much shorter ones.
I don’t know why I found that funny, but I did. 'Specially considering your stellar work on your last project.
On the bright side, splitting them up means you can expand the level(s) some more and this allows for more flexible entity work when it comes down to the finer details.
I don’t plan on expanding the maps as a result of this setback. They’ve already got a fair amount of content, as it is.
In regards to your comment about ST Uncut - Surface Tension was VERY entity hungry but actually not that brush hungry. Source is MUCH more strict about its brush limits - the moment you hit 100% VBSP refuses to compile the map. Entity limits…not so much. The entity counts on C2A5G and C2A5H were both about 140%, and none of the compile tools really seemed to care.
OaR Uncut is basically the reverse. The curved tunnels and complex geometry makes it very brush hungry, but not entity hungry. It’s annoying.
That’d be nice, but it’s not the way the Source engine works. There will be a net gain of loading times, at least based on my understanding of the engine (which may be wrong, but I don’t think so). When Source loads a map, it caches all the textures used throughout that map into memory, as well as all the props which are used. During a map transition it has to unload all the textures and props from the previous map, and load up ones from the new map. So essentially if the two maps end up using 60% of the same assets, the engine has no way of knowing that, so will end up loading all of that stuff a second time anyway. This means there’s a gain in loading times as the more transitions you have, the more times you make Source have to reload stuff that was already in the memory.
I’ve actually already set the transition up between A1 and A2, it was FAR less painful than I thought it was going to be. But I’ve run into a fairly hefty setback - the player transitions through just fine - but the tram doesn’t. It vanishes. I’m studying the transitioning systems the BM Dev team used for A, B and C, and there isn’t any method I can discern that they use to transition trams. It’s quite possible that the tram transitioning is hardcoded in some way, in which case I’m fucked. I’ll keep looking into it. The one workaround for this method which I can think of (which I’m 95% sure will work), works in a way where I would have to block backtracking, unfortunately. Blocking backtracking, based on where I put the transition, is damn easy to do - but it feels a bit contrived, and I’d like to avoid it if possible.
EDIT: I think I’ve figured it out - global entity names. Let me take a look at it.
@4 maps.
Am I not a fucking prophet (see pitch bible)?! This was prob the reason why bms oar maps scale 1:1 w/hl oar.
Ah, well the option is there if you felt something was (or rather is) missing. I realize it’s chuck full of content anyway, and I trust your design skills, as it sits from some of the screenshots I’ve seen it’s going to be one hell of an expansion.
If I may put in a suggestion, why not have a few of the rooms in the office complex (or that empty area you couldn’t figure out what to do with) converted into a makeshift hecu hospital area?
A few of the cut medic wavs from the HGrunt_Young vo folder could be perfect for something to that end.
I got it to work, the transition is perfect, with one small element of buginess which I’m not sure I can fix.
If you REVERSE the tram from A2 back towards A1, after the reverse transition the tram glitches out, stops moving, and starts vibrating. It’s really weird. The moment you dismount and remount the controls, everything goes back to normal, however. This happens consistently when you reverse from A2 to A1, and nowhere else.
I believe it’s an engine bug, because there’s nothing I’ve done (or could do really) that would make the tram exhibit this behavior. The train is a Black Mesa hardcoded entity. I think the BM Dev’s solution was to make it so there’s nowhere in the game where you can reverse a tram through a level transition. They all close off behind you, leaving all the maps on OaR unbacktrackable with the tram.
The question is, do I remove the ability to backtrack from A2 to A1 so nobody ever experiences this bug, or do I leave it as it is, allowing players to backtrack if they like (on foot or via tram), and get the bug. It’s a tricky one, because the ability to backtrack makes the world seem a lot more believable than when doors magically seal behind you.
That’s not a bad idea. I can probably do that nicely for the empty space down near the end of C, the only problem is I’d still need some kind of remnant of the place’s previous purpose, before the HECU subverted it. It wouldn’t fit in the office complex as I’ve finished all the rooms.
Yeah, brilliant.
EDIT: Why are Vorts so freaking useless in Black Mesa? I’ve set up the fight at the beginning of the HL_B1 section to have 7 vorts vs 2 Marines (the Marine on the 50 cal almost immediately dies to some Houndeyes). The Vorts ALL die, without killing a Marine. Freaking terrible.
I’d say backtrackable on foot only. You can get around the problem from there.
Storage/loading zone maybe? It wouldn’t be farfetched, considering the cafe just across the track.
Positioning. Have a few of them teleport in behind the marines.
Make it backtrackable by foot. My suggestion? A security door closes behind you, but at your side there is a door that you can open. It would lead you to a corridor. A typical Black Mesa, crammed, maintenance corridor full of pipes. The only other usable door opens at the other side of the security door.
Something like this. From a top-view perspective:
As for the rooms without a purpose: make them storage/maintenance rooms. The facility is CHOCK-FULL of them, they’re everywhere. One more won’t surprise anyone. I admit, it is not an interesting solution, nothing anyone will remember, but it is at least a solution.
Well, twice as many maps should just allow for twice as much awesome, am I right? 
Also, thank you for your consideration of and inspiration from my schematics; I look forward to seeing what influence they have on the final product. Hell, I’m just looking forward to the final product period. Godspeed on the video!
Also also, is the “side tunnel destroyed by HECU explosives” idea feasible, or not? You didn’t mention that one, but I’m really curious to know if it’s usable or not.
Maybe you could have the track break or become inaccessible in some way. Something heavy could fall on the track, preventing the tram from going back, but not blocking the player? Or if not, you could just not allow the tram to go back beyond that point, without giving any reason, it’ll just stop on it’s own before it gets there (still better than leaving an obvious engine bug in, imo).
I was gonna say you could have a turntable that malfunctions and turns away after you cross it, but that’s getting ahead of myself there, probably taking too many liberties and a lot of work over no big deal.
That would be cool, maybe you could have some captured scientists helping too. You could just have them flee when the shooting starts. I wonder though, do the Grunts have any injured animations that could be used, like HL2 citizens? (I’m tempted to look it up now, but it turns out I have no idea how to look at mods in the model viewer, or anything that isn’t HL2 for that matter…)
I might be overestimating the power of Hammer, but isn’t it possible to workaround it by reducing the health of those particular Marines? If not, maybe a trigger_hurt on them that does 30 damage and disappears, activated when the map loads.
Like others said, backtrack only on foot.
I managed to get it working, it seems all animations seem to be taken from the Combine Soldier, except for a couple custom animations, and the “heal” animation, which is taken from citizens if I’m not mistaken. Unfortunately that means we probably won’t be able to have injured soldiers 
(unless they’re in an inaccessible and out-of-view area?)
There are a couple animations that could perhaps be used in scripted sequences, though. The “leanwall” series could be used for an ambush, either on Aliens or the Player. Maybe “Dropship_Deploy” could be used for troops dismounting from Cargo Trucks? Maybe have some security rooms, reminiscent of Nova Prospekt, where you can see scripted sequences or battles like the ones previously mentioned. You could also use that as an excuse to let us see some more casual animations such as “WalkUnarmed_all” or “IdleUnarmed_all”.
Just my thoughts.
Maybe possible to let some walls collapse behind u so it’s impossible to return?
So no big doors, but just the tunnel which is breaking apart…
I’ll address some issues raised in this thread later, I’m working very hard and don’t want to break my flow.
Just a quick progress report I guess: I’m on track for my predicted goal of releasing a video late this evening, the mapping’s going very well. The only major task in terms of geometry left to do is to finish off that final C section, and rebuild a small Y-section of track. Then it’s leak sealing, lighting, and testing until I think it’s ready. Everything else is dealt with nicely, and looking very nice. I’m excited to show everyone how this 2 week’s work has been going. I’ve also constructed a VERY precise nodegraph for the map, so hopefully AI navigation is going to be top notch.