That’s a bit far fetched considering you could probably plot some random office worker in a crane and he’d have no idea how the fuck to do anything with it. Even something as simple as a forklift requires you to manually switch on the fuel pump on the rear, something the average person would likely never think of doing if they tried to operate one without instruction.
Then how does Gordon use the crane in HL2 so easily? 
Because its a old 60’s harbor crane before containerization happened to the shipping industry, meaning that not only did it have less safety devices and safeguards in place we can also infer that it was electrically powered due to the lack of any engine sounds and that the combine had a little base in the area, likely keeping the power to the docking area up for their needs. Or maybe I’m just overthinking it 
Gordon studied switch-throwing at MIT.
stupid question: Is this downloadable yet?
Yes it is. Here’s the link to it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zhtzqb26wwa5j5w/OaRUncutAlphaB2Final.zip
Laughed. Sorry.
Excellent, now to uninstall and reinstall Black Mesa, then reinstall the Uncut maps, and the reanimation pack…and of course a few tweaked skins that make the hands and crowbar look nicer…
I think I’ll just leave this here. Good lord it’s beautiful.
By the way, Text. Don’t forget to rotate the outdoor area on B by 180 degrees.
So true. OMG…
Certainly does make OaR feel much more like a “journey” then just the simple 5mins of gameplay that the chapter was promoting before. Text is awesome!
Sorry it’s been a while guys. Work has been crazy and I’ve had a really busy weekend!
The “bad news” is that my job has overrun and we haven’t finished decorating this hall because there’s so much to do. I’ll be working for an extra week, as a result. The good thing about this is that I’ll be in a much more comfortable financial position when this job is over, so I can go back to full time mapping for a couple of weeks a lot happier than I otherwise would have.
The good news is that I’ve still managed to get a fair amount of work done. The brunt of the work I’ve been doing on bringing stuff up to beta standard has been A1, which is going to be the most overall changed map for the beta. I’ve added a few new side areas and spruced up some of the existing map, and also edited the crane control room a fair bit to give a more intuitive and better flow. It’s all looking a lot better now, actually, I think you guys will be happy with it. The actual base flow of the map is pretty much the same, with a few extra nice things to see along the way.
At this stage of the game my main focus is to improve the gameplay and flow of the maps, as well as polish up some of the aesthetics, and fix serious bugs. Most importantly I’m trying to address the stupid Vort AI. I’m actually in the process of trying to test a potential solution, which, if it works, will be awesome. For now however, this approach means small clipping issues/visual bugs may be left in, but that’s fine. For now, I’m looking at making the maps look and feel better - the fine tuning of clipping issues and visual bugs will come with the Release Candidate.
OaR Uncut Lite
I’m cancelling OaR Uncut Lite. If you’re not interested in the Lite version of the mod then this doesn’t concern you, the full version is still going full steam ahead! Scroll on by and read the bit after the quote!
Here’s an excerpt from a post I’m writing on ModDB explaining why:
Map Flow and Gameplay for A1 and A2
I’ve done a lot of work making A1 flow better in terms of gameplay and intuitiveness, and I’m going to start mucking around with A2’s flow as well.
The first and absolute foremost flow issue on my mind with regards to A2 is how to make it more obvious and logical for the player to both seek out, and path towards the security office in the office complex. The stance adopted from the Alpha - that the player NEEDS the tram to progress to B, is no good, for reasons which have already been explored in this thread. I’m changing that.
The first thing I have already done is replace the old sign by the boom gates with one that reads: “Contact security office for Tram access”. This sounds far more natural and is easier to read at a glance than the old message, without sounding too “gamey”. The door before the water hazard (at the end of the map) is now closed by default, and also has that sign next to it as well. Therefore - whether the player decides to walk past the boom gates, or immediately go up into the office complex - they are still required to flip the switch in the security office to progress - but can now do so without the tram. The water hazard is now below the line of the tram rail, so it’s now superfluous and decorative rather than an actual obstacle which requires the tram to overcome. This allows the player to carry on without the tram, in the event that they’ve lost it or didn’t bring it with them.
Additionally, the lighting in the office complex serves to direct the players a bit better towards their goal. The stairwells leading to the top floor (which I noticed many testers were missing) now feature much more distinctive lights, and a large stairwell sign above them. The security office itself now has a very distinctive blue light outside it to make it stand out, as well as a glowing red powerbox next to it which draws the eye. In addition, the security office is now differently laid out, to draw the player’s attention towards the switch a lot earlier. The health station is now on the wall right next to the switch, and the screen above the button is now highly visible and large, resembling the ones found on C2A5H in ST Uncut. Next to the switch is both the sign which reads: “Rail Security Override”, and another which reads “Rail Security Status,” with a Green light for “On,” and a Red light for “Off”. If you’re not sure as to what I’m talking about here, think of the Crane Status light on A1, it’s the same as that.
All these changes hopefully give the player a hint as to where they should go to find the switch, and to then let them know that they should go back to the tram after deactivating the security. I’m still a bit worried that it potentially may not be enough. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can further improve player direction, both TO and FROM the security office, I’m all ears!
Right, now I’ll reply to some of the stuff which has been said in the thread.
The stuff you’ve seen me say about the feedback on B2 is pretty much the entire extent of the changes I’m going to make to it. I don’t have anything “hidden” up my sleeve or any new bits to add, due to the entity and brush limits and all that. The maps will see plenty of refinement and further changes, but don’t expect anything radically different as you did with ST Uncut. It’s totally different.
Gotcha. The layout of this section, and the stairs has been changed a fair bit - so hopefully this isn’t a problem anymore. Thanks for reporting it though, that was the first I’ve heard of it.
While I’d love to have an alive construction worker, it isn’t possible as they are not an npc entity, just a ragdoll. I don’t know how much work it could be to implement that but it’s way, way, WAY beyond the scope of what I can do, as it’s programming related.
I prefer the current script. It’s creepier and gets under your skin a bit more, and it’s quite subtle. Easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. I like that. As Maxwell said, the A2 Office Complex kinda has a neat combination of things that have already happened, and things which are happening before you. I’d like to keep it that way.
Um, perhaps they’ve been unloaded, or they haven’t loaded them yet? It’s not implausible in the slightest. I suppose you could say that they’re open because they don’t have stuff in them, but all the closed ones do.
I’ve already said my bit about the crane, I’d like to not talk about it anymore. It’s just not going to happen. Swapping the crane for anything but another crane model would require that entire area to be reworked. I do like how you’re calling a Valve model “amateur” though, seeing as that’s the usable Crane from HL2. I also fail to see how it’s “overused”. There’s literally 1 crane in the playable area, and 2 in the background. It’s probably the least used model in the entire mod. The ladder being awkward is an independent issue which I can fix independent of the crane. The inaccessible ladder can be blocked off with a brush/model, too, which is definitely something I will do.
I’m sorry, but it’s not up for debate. I’m not going to go to all the trouble of making another entirely new crane model (using propper no less) when there’s a perfectly decent one, made by VALVE, just sitting here for me. I’m just not. Please, no more mentions of this crane.
Because REASONS Maxwell. REASONS.
Cheers for making this, .RK! It’s really cool, especially as it’s from the game rather than the editor. Love it.
The B outdoor area has already been rotated 180 degrees. It was the first thing I did on that map.
Well who really wanted the lite edition anyways?
Not me
In original HL, I would definately say YES!!!
But in BM, it’s way more than just a map, Text makes something with enough variation in it…
Me neither.
@TextFAMGUY
I also don’t see the point in playing the first half and not the rest. It’s like deciding which map to skip in any chapter of BM because you think the game is too long. So in for a penny, in for a pound! And they will have for their money when playing them four… figuratively speaking, no one’s paying anything but his own time to play your maps.
@.RK
I see what you did there, adding your loop to the lot. :freeman:
And I don’t mind it, it adds a bit more to the A map and fills in nicely. Also now thanks to you, we can have a good overview of the odyssey of Captain Freeman and his mechanical longboat. :pirate:
Wait a minute. I’m not going to suggest swapping out the crane model, for obvious reasons. But what if you actually made the crane usable, and maybe added a puzzle involving use of the crane?
I think Text already discussed that possibility when he first show the map in screenshots, and that this model of crane is inoperable or something like that. Also, B2 doesn’t really need another puzzle, though it could be if it was a larger area in the likes of the train yard in Blue Shift, but the map is already full.
Here’s what he said:
@Text - Just want to add my support for scrapping “lite”. Any decision to download it would have been falsely informed by the expectation that OaRU is a straight port, and would only be a loss to both you and the player.
