The A maps ends right at the end of that right-hand turn, which can be seen in the wiki’s version of the map too: https://wiki.blackmesasource.com/File:Oar_overlay.jpg
And then there’s the left-hand turn in A1 that takes players into the loop, which is your material. So we’re still sitting just past the transition area, which is that S curve. No editing of A is needed here.
But anyways
In regards to that new encounter… I’m not sure how tall you plan to make that room, but I think something that might be worth looking into is having some headcrabs fall from somewhere near the ceiling to create a short little ‘raining headcrabs’ effect. And then the encounter between those headcrabs and the HECU would continue as per your original idea.
I think the bigger you make the area the more it deviates away from what on a rail is.
On a rail is a train ride with a few short deviation stops… The more running about on foot you have to do the more it stops feeling like on a rail… This is the same for the out door area.
I think making that area larger is not a good decision it is already bigger than the original…
Seeing as your not doing an on a rail lite is there any chance you could do a version that sticks more close to the original in terms of enemy encounters… and the boom gate switches?
More like a pure version or more similar…Just a humble request there because I do like most of what you have done say 85% of it. enemies and the first 2 boom gates really is all.
I would rather you added an extra track section than go up on foot a long way to be honest.
I wouldn’t try running Black Mesa on anything under Windows 7, to be honest
and of course having a few gigs of RAM and a lot of memory, as well as a decent graphics card (nVidia, even though it’s notorious for bad Steam support it seems)
I enjoy the Uncut areas, does any other current map need an extension?
A small part of me wants to see Gordon ride the tram from the Surface, ala Blue Shift, but that might be too long for some people (Maybe let them off to wander around while they wait for the ‘real’ tram, sort of like a prologue, since the Hazard Course isn’t (yet) playable…
intel quad core cpu q6600
2gb ram
windows 7
nvidia Geforce GT430
It’s not a powerhouse but it’s a slimish media centre PC so It cannot be…
Extra track?
Just a suggestion but how about having marines rappell down while driving along…like an ambush There’s something new and interesting… going down hill and back up again…perhaps both these together getting ambushed from above while going down?.. there is little of that too… A really dark section with an electricty hazzard… Water clogged tunnels… On a rail is all about atmosphere I think.
And I think the outdoor area has great atmosphere btw
Damned if I can remember it right now, but there IS a reason the opening of A1 is the way it is. I made it all the way back in…January I guess, so I can’t actually remember now, but trust me, there’s definitely a good reason why the opening has that weird S shape. I remember that I had a reason for doing it like that, I just can’t remember what that reason was!
As for the “falling headcrabs” thing, it’s a neat idea, but there’s no space in the room for a vent. However, this idea lives on, in spirit, on A2, where the headcrab ambush before the 4 battery pickup has now been replaced by falling headcrabs! So it’s already there, in a way!
Read what I wrote again. The expansions I’ve been doing recently are VISUAL EXPANSIONS. The playable area is totally unaffected by my recent expansions. Is this really that difficult to grasp?
If you think I’ve deviated too far from what On a Rail means to you, you don’t have to play it, or you can provide useful feedback as to how I can improve it. Asking me to map out a “pure version” for you (never going to happen in a million years, sorry), or telling me that my entire design principle doesn’t fit in with what you’d personally like, isn’t really terribly useful, and is a little irritating, truth be told. I understand that you want the maps to better fit your idea of the ideal recreation of OaR, but let’s think logically here - is asking me to reconsider literally the entire way I’ve recreated the maps - really useful at this point? Will it serve a purpose other than to irk me?
I’m already working to address the enemy encounters and the intuitiveness of the first boom gate switch, and I have said this FAR TOO MANY TIMES now.
And please, stop going on about the enemy encounters. I’ve already asked everyone to stop talking about it, I’ve explained what I’m going to do and why it existed in its alpha state. It’s being dealt with. Wait and see the results. I think you’ll be satisfied, but we’ll have to wait and see. Either way, I AM editing it in the direction you want. As for the obligatory foot exploration on A2, that’s not going anywhere. The office complex is at least 1/2 the map.
I wouldn’t say it’s entirely a spec thing. Plenty of people with specs better than mine have reported consistent crashing. There’s probably some kind of pattern of commonality between the people with consistent crashes, but damned if I know what it is. All I know is that I have very little problem with crashes, and I also have a totally unmodified game aside from my own mods. It could be anything, really, I just don’t know. It could even be something in the mapping for all I know, but I have no way of finding out. Still though, far fewer people have reported crashing with OaRU than with STU.
I have more crashes with OAR than ST, just occassionaly I had a crash.
With the official maps I didn’t have any crashes at all with the Animation Revamp, Particle mod and Ronster’s sound mod (just as info, not to blame u )
Like I said, just installed BM back to basic with your maps, no other mods installed…
Just to answer this quickly (don’t want it to stem conversation, I just like finishing things I’ve previously said), but yes, I did.
Jump off the tram before it reaches the giant held up crate and just go mad shooting the HECU. The thing was I jumped pretty much in all their line of fire anyway, so the only SecG that survived was the one furthest in the back, I think they stopped paying attention to him.
But yeah, it’s more hassle than it’s worth just to have him stand there afterwards. It’s better to seem like you’re helping out simply because if you only watch and do nothing, you get overrun.
Trying to answer your question of having the player be directed to the security office, maybe as you progress through the office complex, have different navigational signs pointing to the direction of the office. Place them on the stairwell leading up to the second level of complex saying “This way to track control”. Or you could use the color coordinator like the one they used in the level “Anomalous Materials” (reverence below).
As for your encounter in A1 that idea of the soldier being chased by headcrabs would be a great. It would be a nice reference to the encounter in HL, remember the lone soldier that gets overwhelmed be headcrabs at the base of the rocket? Same scene.
Right, since yesterday I have tested A2 for the first time since I started changing it.
The theory Chickenprotector and I concocted concerning the Vortiguant/Alien Grunt AI was indeed correct. I will relay this to your-name-here so he can get a programmer to take a look at it, as I feel that fixing it in the AI will go a long way towards making the Vortiguants less stupid.
For those of you who don’t remember/weren’t there when we came up with this theory about why the Vorts sometimes just stand there dumbly and look at you, our theory was that if the Vorts do not have a clear path to melee their target, there’s a 50/50 chance they’ll stand there doing nothing, and stare at their opposition. We speculated that the reason this could be happening is because the Vort’s AI makes them search for a path to melee before it decides whether to melee or fire a zap, and when they can’t find a path, their AI just ends up looping the search - if the AI decided to melee. That’s just a dumb guess though.
Anyway, my theory was correct. What I did was, I created a npc_clip brush across the track which allows them to cross the tracks, and placed AI nodes on them. The invisible brush is curved at either end so it kinda for the most part looks like they’re crossing the track properly rather than walking across an invisible block. It looks a lot better than I thought it would actually, when they cross the track.
And, the Vorts on the trackfights suddenly stopped being stupid. I haven’t had a single one just stand there staring at me anymore. It’s fixed! Hooray! This is a pretty serious AI bug though, so here’s hoping the BM Devs can fix it for their next version.
Heh, no need to apologize mate. The qualm is mine, you guys ain’t doing anything wrong! The discussion just irks me a bit because people act like it’s my own poor sense of balancing and gameplay which has made the A2 map the way it is, when it mostly isn’t.
Yes, yes it is. It’s an EXCELLENT idea. It’s done with overlays too, so it’s definitely something I can give a shot! This has A LOT of potential as an idea.
Not saying you should replace the ones you have, but they would be more “consistent” with BM, and maybe could be used if you wanted an extra track in one of the maps or something. Just something that crossed my mind.
Not really necessary, but one thing I think would be neat to see somewhere would be a scripted marine running at you from behind bulletproof glass before being killed by a surprise headcrab pouncing from a vent.
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.
