Np, I’m glad I could be of help.
Unfortunately the entity limits have reared their ugly head again. I’ve been banging on the brush limit since I got about halfway through B2, but now I’m above the entity limit - the game crashes from lack of free edicts when transitioning from B2 to C. This is DEFINITELY something I will have to address before I make the video, so it’s not happening tonight. Very massive pain in the arse, everything else is pretty much perfect.
Oh well. Sucks.
You could not understate that any more if you tried.
Noooo, source engine failing again T_T
Basically the Source Engine has a set limit of things, and Text added too many things, so he has to go back and remove some things and recompile the map (takes many hours). Which means he won’t get to do the vid tonight.
It’s an unfortunate shame, but that’s what happens when dealing with an old engine, I suppose.
No, I understand the problem, I’m saying just the word ‘sucks’ does not accurately convey the amount of negative feelings I am suffering from right now. :[
I think that is a testament to the quality of Text’s work.
I hope the issues you’re having with the map is resolved very soon.
It’s resolved. I managed to cut down on the entities significantly without much detriment to the map itself, which is good. I’m becoming quite the expert at doing this now, seeing as I’ve run into this problem with A2, B1 and B2! Goddamn Source engine.
However it’s also 3am, and any quality of video/screenshot I produce now is likely to be shit because I’m quite tired. So, it’ll be tomorrow. Pretty much sorted though - it’s nearly ready for release as well actually. I imagine that will come a few days after tomorrow’s media release. The biggest thing left to work on for release is the optimization. It runs like absolute shite currently, but I still get above 30FPS, which means a video is no trouble at all.
There are a few parts about the maps I’d like to get the community’s opinion on before release too, but this can be covered in the media release tomorrow. I’m particularly interested in how action/script intensive people want B2 to be. I’m geared more towards the quiet-ish setup it has now, but I don’t know for sure. It kinda acts currently as the calm before the storm of the C map, and also the first chance in the whole of Black Mesa to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Again, this is something that can be discussed after the video - you can find out for yourself whether you think the pacing works or doesn’t. There are a few other things too which can be brought up on the video.
Great, I look forward to playing B2. I’ve been holding off my latest play through of BM for this exact reason.
Once you’re done and if you’re up for it, you may want to see if OBM’s team wants to have you on as a level designer. Your work is stellar, so you should have no problem of getting pulled in. 
Chickenprotector’s suggestion about joining the OBM team sounds great to me! Did you enjoy the original Opposing Forces game? Me, I like it even better than Half Life!
Keep up the excellent work, TextFAMGUY1!
I actually agree. I thought about it before but I don’t know if I ever said anything. But I think it’s something you should definitely consider, if it’s in your interest.
Come on, he needs a paid job first 
Hey I never said he couldn’t have one. Besides I’m sure well over half OBM’s team has work or school to tend to as well.
[COLOR=‘Red’]Update: Media Release! This time only 1 day late! Maybe eventually I can release something on time (as if)![/SIZE]
OaR Uncut B2 Alpha Video (Commentaried)[/size]
Well, here’s the media release for B2. Ordinarily I wouldn’t do a media release without an actual release, but I’ve kept everyone waiting for so long with many broken promises (though I’m sure you’re used to those by now!) So, here’s some media to tide you over.
It’s still not ready for release just yet, but there isn’t too much work left on it (in terms of sheer quantity). Quite a few bugs persist which I definitely want to fix before release, but the great thing about filming a video is that I know how to avoid them, even though a few can be found on the video! The video you see here is theoretically pretty representative of how B2 will look on the Alpha release, unless there’s a massive backlash against it, which I really can’t see happening. That’s why I’m comfortable with releasing the media before an actual release - I can’t see it changing much aside from bug fixes.
It hasn’t been optimized yet, so it will perform horribly for most people - my rig can just about manage to scrape by 30FPS average - which is fine for the purpose of video as I film at 30FPS. The problem is the outdoor layout is huge and open, which as I’m sure you know, doesn’t lend itself well to optimization at all. I reckon I can squeeze a lot more performance out of it than I am currently, but I think those with weaker rigs will definitely have problems even when I’ve optimized the hell out of it. It remains to be seen just how much better I can make it, so we’ll wait and see.
I outlined a few issues on the video which I was wrestling with. If you don’t feel like watching the video (is it because I talk too much? sorry!) then here are the issues I’d love some community input on
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Biggest concern - B2 as a whole is quite action sparse. I’d originally planned on having the outdoor segment be very action packed and crowded, to be a fitting epic conclusion for OaR Uncut. But then I thought about the chapter OaR as a whole. It already has an epic fitting conclusion - the fight for the rocket on the C map. I wouldn’t want to steal its thunder - this is how Valve did it in HL1 too. As a whole, the map B2 is HUGE, but there aren’t many fights or cool scripted sequences on it. This gives the player time to appreciate the outdoors for the first time in all of Black Mesa (WGH doesn’t count because you were running like mad), and creates the “calm before the storm,” which hopefully makes C’s conclusion more impactful. Maybe you don’t like that. Maybe you think B2 needs more cool scripts to stop itself from being boring. Let me know. It’s probably best to watch the video to get a sense of the pacing, but it can also be theorycrafted too.
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The piece of music I use. This was actually something I threw together the day before yesterday. One thing I have taken from C is that B2 is now the first time you head outside properly in the whole of Black Mesa. It was so impactful on C because you had the electronic song kicking off with crazy action, but I felt that the moment in B2 when you pop out of the warehouse was just lacking…something. I added an edited version of Dark Skies by Dejan on the emergence scene just to give it a bit more of a kick. I am aware that it may potentially be making OaR inconsistently music heavy, but I feel the moment probably functions better with it. My friend Jonny significantly cut down the main body of Dark Skies, leaving it with the intro, a bit of the main riff, and the outro - in order to stop it being a full, attention grabbing song. It’s kinda ambient and in the background as it is, which is the effect I was going for. Again, it helps if you watch the video - but here are the options I’m going for. 1 - Using JUST the guitar sting from the opening for a bit of ambient drama. This is consistent with BM where they often use 20 second ambient pieces of music for effect. 2 - Keeping the scene as it is, with the cut version. 3 - Using the full music piece. 4 - No music. What do you think?
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The Sniper scene. I gotta admit, I kinda threw it together a little hastily. He currently sits in the window of one of the ST style buildings, but he initially engages you at a bit of a funny angle. I must confess I was really strapped for ideas on how to well implement this scene. I just don’t like the cliffside as a spot at all. If you can come up with better ways to design the scene - sniper positioning, cover, angles, weapon placement, etc, it would be appreciated.
Onto the media! Let me know what you think - but be nice. A LOT of blood, sweat and tears have gone into this map. Way more than you can imagine. I personally feel that visually/design wise (maybe not gameplay/scripting wise) this is the best piece of work I’ve ever created by quite a margin. So bear that in mind!
[COLOR=‘Red’]Media Release continued. Sorry for double post mods - only allowed 12 images per post.[/SIZE]
About the 50. cal bunker.
Since you have no other options - how about making it two guns instead of one. Compared to the vanilla bunker - this one is doesn’t feel like a proper replacement.
As for the outside area - the idea about making it calm before the storm is 100% logical, but now that I’ve seen you run through it… it just doesn’t feel right to create a massive area like this and have virtually no use for most of it - the whole place feels like a massive decoration for a little rail switch, almost entirely skippable at that. Not right at all.
Not saying that you should immediately start making it action packed as I’m not really that sure about it myself, but just some general thoughts on the subjects. It looks fantastic and vast, but at the same time, too fantastic and vast for its own good, leaving it like this.
On the other hand, I did like the serenity of it - but not sure it is worth having the (in my view) problem highlighted above.
P.S. Likewise, the area itself is literally asking to get populated with loads of crap - but I guess there’s nothing you can do with entity limit. And neither it’s possible to split the map into chunks is that correct? Shame, cause I would love to see the convoy - it could of actually brought more life into the whole thing - that alternatively to the action scenes and scripts - would still maintain the serenity, but with more stuff actually happening rather than just two choppers flying past.
As of now, it really seems dead and I don’t think it should be.
Holy hot damn, the outside area looks incredible. I like.
Having said that, is it as large and labyrinthine in-game as it looks in these screenshots? It looks unbelievably huge, to be honest (not a complaint, just… wow)
Keep up the good work. :3
Well, I never really say much, and that won’t change. I just loved it all. The guard models look pretty damn good as well, even if they are just placeholders for now.
The outdoor bit was just gorgeous, completely amazing and beautiful, especially since we don’t get a huge experience outside (I mean in ST we do, during the day, but night time play is very small).
I do kind of feel ODB’s vibe though. It’s a gorgeous area, your reasoning of ‘calm before the storm’ is logical to the utmost extent, and the semi-serenity is nice. All in all though, it does feel a little barren and kind of dead. I understand you’re at your limits for brushes and entities, so that’s not your fault, just an observation.
Skybox is just beautiful of course, though as you said BM made the sky anyway. Regardless, getting to appreciate it under a full coverage is gorgeous. Love the continuity with maps and the rocket.
The cave tunnel thing. My god I love that. So glad it got reintroduced, since it’s sad we only saw them once.
The music I personally feel was great, but should’ve been a teensy bit longer. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the BM songs in general, while they aren’t too short, feel very much so for the most part. To have this giant expansive area, I think a slightly longer version of this music would be nice so it persists, not entirely throughout, but for just a little longer.
.50cal was great, loved it. I mean we’d all have loved a proper autogun, but since we can’t just because that’s how it is, this is an amazing compromise, you did it great. And I’ve mentioned this before to you, but the ‘pattern’ you did whilst shooting the .50 cal. I do that all the time LOL.
Otherwise I’ve got nothing else to add, it’s all perfect to me. If it was part of BM, I’d never have noticed it was a custom addition mod.
Just one more thing, I love your accent. As an Aussie (or maybe just as a person), british accents just are so great. They’re like the more posh version of ours.
I agree with ODB, the convoy sounds like it would’ve been pretty awesome to have and it’s a shame to hear it’s gone.
The outdoor segment looks beautiful however, and I love how you can see the rocket in the distance. I love other games that have done stuff like this (like Unreal with the sunspire) and it adds a real sense of progression that while small, changes the feeling of the segment a lot.
It is pretty barren though, and could use a little more. Perhaps maybe you could trim off some of the other encounters in very small amounts, and add more hidden goodies with some enemies near them just to add to the benefit of exploring the area and liven it up a bit without making it feel like an action segment.
EDIT: Thinking about the autogun, perhaps you could try some sort of makeshift one with something like the BM ceiling turret with parts covered up by something (maybe something similar looking to the bunker netting that is there already?) - and then have a soldier that once killed triggers the sentry to the off state, function-wise similar to the switchable auto-turrets currently in the game?