On A Rail Uncut - Re-Adding Cut Areas/Scenes (Expansion Project)

General Development Source 1
#261

That area had tripmines across the tracks. Maybe you could make some kind of trap in that area like twp tripmine lasers going across the track with the actual tripmines concealed by some boxes so it’s a bit harder to spot than in the original albeit not impossible if you’re paying attention.

As for the tow thing and not being able to do multiple shots couldn’t you get around this with some clever map trickery like having it up in a room pointed down on the tracks from afar so the player couldn’t actually see the HECU hands from where they are. Keep in mind the rocket launchers were always far down a long hallway in the original. If you can’t see what they are doing behind the TOW without no clipping it doesn’t matter anyways. Just a thought

Also I agree with the c4 idea. As long as it’s pasted onto the wall or something so it’s at least sort of reminiscent of the original. Having explosive crates just because that’s what is used everywhere else in the mod isn’t necessarily good because the dynamite trap was memorable strictly because it was different. It was cool to see the marine push the detonator.

#262

But then it’d just mirror the scene from BMS almost exactly, except with a cumbersome TOW instead of an RPG. Imo doing that would be redundant.

If we do have a TOW, I think it should at least be mounted on an inactive tram or tram car (attached to a tram), like the M2 in BMS was. This makes sense because at least then it’d appear to be used as mobile heavy support along the tracks where vehicles cannot access.

Doesn’t matter how easy it is to model or animate, really. Text isn’t a modeller or an animator (to my knowledge), he’s a mapper. If you had someone to make those models for him, then sure. Otherwise, I dunno if you could have either Dynamite or C4. For the record, I would support C4 over dynamite, the Military doesn’t use dynamite anymore.

Who said anything about backtracking? The wye is just cosmetic, and I can’t see why anyone would be against it.

#263

^such a fucking contrarian lol

#264

God forbid someone might not agree with 100% of what you say :frowning:

#265

Regarding the TOW marine - is there something along the lines of “move out” or even “abandon position”, “fall back” or “regroup” in the dialogue files you could use?
You could have the player witness the TOW blowing up Xenians from a distance, then use that dialogue (over a radio perhaps? Needs to be loud enough to hear from a distance) and have the gunner run off somewhere, leaving the player with a tasty TOW to use.
Makes sense if he’s all on his own, giant missile launcher emplacement or not. I’m not suggesting removing him from the map, he could end up lurking behind a door near the TOW, or head off to join his buddies elsewhere in the map, giving the player the option of chasing him down before he gets there.

Failing that, Wangman’s suggestion of having the marine revert to standard MP5 behaviour after firing the TOW sounds fine to me too; he’s weighing up the immediacy of his gun vs being vulnerable for a few seconds while reloading, just as the player has to during the TOW sequences.
But you can’t necessarily assume that the player will immediately attack after the TOW firing, in which case it would be a bit silly and inexplicable for him not to reload.

#266

Here’s a relatively simple question pertaining to current development:

I’m retexturing some of the consoles to be more relevant to OaR, like this one in the picture:

There are a few things I need to write on them (for example one will say “Crane Control”)

I’m going to use this console as the standardized control panel for track switching, so I need to get it sorted out properly the first time so I don’t have to muck around with it in the future. This control panel will ALWAYS be used to switch the tracks, so I need to get it right the first time.

It currently says (on the blank space on the right that you can see, covering over that label except it’s aligned centrally) “Track Control Switcher”.

Is that phrasing clear? I need to make sure the player can immediately tell this thing switches the rails. There are numerous other alternatives so I just quickly need to settle on a best one. Some alternatives I thought of:

Track Switch Controller
Rail Switcher
Rail Switch Controller

And many variations to that effect.

Anyone? What’s the best thing to have written on it?

#267

I would suggest just “Railroad Switch”, nothing overly fancy. It tells you exactly what it does in 2 words.

#268

Rail Switch Control (I don’t speak English myself, so this is the most easy one for me)

#269

“Switcher” doesn’t sound like a word they’d use. I’d personally use “Rail control,” then make it obvious that the button is usable, and that should be enough.

#270

This seems the most simple one which conveys the message properly. I’ll stick with this one, for now. I’ll also probably make the control panel have a blueish tone rather than the standard silver/beige which BM uses, just to make it stand out a bit.

In more pressing news, I’m HOPING for a media release either tomorrow or the day after. I know I’m quite overdue but I did say development would slow down now that my university term is in full swing.

The A1 map is almost at the stage where I can seal leaks, generate lighting, and shoot a video/take some screenshots. This means I can fire up a Moddb page to build interest and release a walkthrough on Youtube. I’m fairly close, the only rooms in dire need of a do-over are the section at the end of C I highlighted yesterday, the B2 Rocket room, and the B1 fork section (though I ain’t too worried about this one - fairly simple).

It’s not quite at release stage yet, that’ll probably be closer to the weekend.

#271

Don’t rush it. Greatness comes with patience. :slight_smile:

#272

The mapping goes really fast in my opinion!!!

#273

I’d go with “Rail Select Controller” or “Rail Selection Controller” or “Rail Selection Control”.

You could also consider substituting “Track” in place of “Rail”.

#274

Rail Select Controller sounds like broken English to me :stuck_out_tongue:

#275

I would stay with Rail, cause the part calls ‘On a Rail’. So there is a link between them :slight_smile:

And don’t make it too long and such, it’s not scrabble we play, we need to keep it neat and simple :slight_smile:

#276

Maybe for the rail switches you could have a small monitor showing the part of the track where the switch happens next to the consoles. That’s if you can have the track actually physically move and look like it’s switching which would be pretty cool if possible.

#277

The arrow/X signs could also be in clear view and they could switch.

#278

It’s not possible unless someone models it for me. I could probably implement a very rudimentary form of this but it would require a seriously complicated entity setup for very little reward.

I currently have the rail switch console labelled as “Rail Switch Control”. It’s also two-tone (the only console in BM to be two-tone) and a different colour to all the other consoles. This sets it apart and as I’m going to use it on all the rail switch segments it remains consistent. Most of the rail switch controls will be in plain sight of the rail signals (the arrows/Xs), so you will be able to see them change too.

In more pressing news, the mapping’s gone GREAT today, I’ve got a lot done. Most of the areas have really shaped up nicely. There are still a fair few underdeveloped side areas but for now I’m focussing on the main paths. I’ve pretty much just finished detailing and lighting the entire Office Complex. I’ve yet to seal the map’s leaks, however, so I haven’t been able to test the lighting yet - but I’ve pretty much imitated the lighting setup the BM Devs used for the office on their B map, so I KNOW it’ll look great. I’ve tried my best to make the offices detailed and varied so it doesn’t get boring, and I think it’s looking pretty swanky. Several of the Offices have their own “stories” which you can see in the environment - for example the security office has some cabinets pushed over into the middle of the room, riddled with bullet holes, with the corpses of 2 guards behind them. You can tell that the guards were making a final stand against the HECU and were murdered. Another office with a broken vent is full of Zombies and half-eaten corpses, and bloody everywhere - and as you enter a headcrab falls out the vent. You can tell from the scene that there were probably scientists hiding out in that office when headcrabs started pouring out from the vent.

These types of “story” offices are more prevalent on the top floor, where there won’t be any serious enemy encounters. There aren’t really any on the first floor, because there’ll be a few scripted encounters and battles to hold the player’s interest. It’s shaping up a lot nicer than I thought it would, actually. The first floor has an actiony, fast pace, and the second floor (your objective) is much more subdued. I’m really excited to see what everyone thinks of the Office Complex.

I’m currently working on lighting and enemy encounters. I’m on track to make a media release (screenshots/video) either very late tonight or tomorrow. Thoroughly excited.

The only area which hasn’t been detailed much is, again, that whole C area I mentioned a couple posts ago (basically the segment after the Office Complex). It’s still very bare and has no real purpose. Any ideas would CERTAINLY be welcome, as I’ve fleshed out everywhere else by this point (including B2’s “Rocket Room,” which is looking swanky now).

EDIT: I’ve also come up with a fairly feasible way to block the player from finishing C without their tram. It involves electrified rail. This was how HL1 did it on OaR’s A map and it worked well there. Basically, the last segment of the C map (AFTER the rooms I was talking about earlier), features a small stretch of flooded (the flood is contained within this segment) track, with no walkway. Maybe there are some electrical cables pushed into the water, maybe not. Either way, the rail’s going to be electrified and sparking all over, as is the water. This means the only way for the player to get through this track segment without getting electrocuted is to bring their tram with them. It’s probably more believable and consistent than using doors which only open when the tram approaches.

#279

Gonna stay awake till the first media release :stuck_out_tongue:

#280

Good luck! :wink:

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