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

General Development Source 1
#61

Having pretty much finished up ST Uncut, I’m eager to make a start on this next project, and playing through HL:Source’s version of OaR has certainly inspired me GREATLY.

Having played through all of OaR from HL1 I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s actually a heckuva lot better designed and interesting/varied than most people give it credit for. Some elements of it (mostly C2A2A, actually, which is a shame, because first impressions count and as C2A2A is the first map of OaR) are undoubtedly a little confusingly designed, but for the most part it’s actually not that confusing. As such my design philosophy has shifted a bit more towards “pure” remaking rather than reimagining lots of areas. That’s not to say I won’t spice things up/change things up, and I’ve certainly already got ideas on how to make things A LOT better, but it’s a point I’d like to drive home.

I’ve pretty much decided on having 3 maps now. If things go slowly/badly I will drop that down to 2, but having played extensively through Black Mesa’s On A Rail and HL1’s, I’ve outlined a vague plan for what I’m going to do. Forward planning has NEVER been my strong point with mapping, as I tend to map on a whim, doing whatever I feel like doing when I want to, so this is actually a bit of a first for me! Here’s my concept of what the finished picture will look like once OaR Uncut is done and fully implemented:

[COLOR=‘Lime’]Green = Original Black Mesa Map
[COLOR=‘Orange’]Orange = My maps

  1. [COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2A = Left untouched. This map is basically a heavily simplified version of the original C2A2A, with some elements missing. The second half of C2A2A is basically “original,” new areas made by the devs.
  2. [COLOR=‘Orange’]BM_C2A2B = Map by me. Incorporates missing elements from HL’s C2A2A into its opening, and also incoroporates a fairly 1:1 remake of C2A2B1 and C2A2C. B1 and C were both very well designed and nicely linked together.
  3. [COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2C = Left untouched, aside from being renamed/moved. This is Black Mesa’s BM_C2A2B, just moved. This map corresponds (not closely, just roughly) with the first half of C2A2D, with the second half being original(ish).
  4. [COLOR=‘Orange’]BM_C2A2D = Made by me. A map which incorporates the missing elements from C2A2D and C2A2E. D will be designed fairly loosely, E will be designed fairly closely, as it was pretty good in the original. This will all be “Materials transport”.
  5. [COLOR=‘Orange’]BM_C2A2F = Made by me. First half recreates the missing elements from HL1’s F, including the “peaceful” outdoor area. The second half will be entirely original, new work from me. Most of C2A2F will be taking part in an outdoor rail system, to depart from the other themes set previously. It will also include a sniper nestled in the rooftops, and a fantastic nighttime vista which I already have conceptualized in my mind.
  6. [COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2G = Left untouched, aside from being moved/renamed. This is Black Mesa’s BM_C2A2C, just in a different place now. This corresponds pretty closely with HL1’s C2A2G and C2A2H.
#62

When do u start with mapping? :smiley:

ST is finished, played through it once again and it’s ok, just no ambient fighting sound behind the gate when it’s dark, that’s all…

#63

I don’t want to hear anything about ST Uncut anymore. Sick of it. I’m glad you think its “ok”.

I’ll probably start mapping later this evening. I need to acquaint myself with a few things on BM’s OaR first - namely the entity setup for the tram (which actually looks really simple and easy to mess around with), their tileset (the sets of textures they use, how they detail areas), and things like that.

#64

No, it’s just great, even had enough health at the end of your maps :wink:

Looking forward to OAR, I really do!

#65

TEXTFAMGUY1 I’m very very glad that you will implement sniper on the rooftop and the nighttime playthrough will be longer. And that’s the reason I will definetly play it when it’s done. I don’t know if you saw my proposition of those or someone else proposed it too but I’m glad especially for sniper and extended nighttime gameplay !!!

#66

What is people’s obsession with that god damn sniper? I hated that guy and was glad to see him was gone.

Anyway, it’s a shame we don’t have a modeller here, it’d be neat to add dead workers in those maps, it’s a shame BM didn’t do that themselves, really (they also removed office workers for some reason).

#67

I absolutely loved how Surface Tension Uncut turned out.
No doubts about this project (yet anyways; but what am I saying).

Just for the love of god, Do not follow how the BM devs re-designed the chapter since they managed to turn it into the weakest chapter in the game
(Though I love the atmosphere and new aesthetics they gave it).
Try to go more off of the original Half-Life version if you can while improving upon it.

This is your project, so you’ll obviously do it how you want; but you may consider some of the points:

Also, do you plan on bringing back the grunts that waited for you in the tunnels and fired missles at you as you turned the corner to face them?
(Loved that back when I first played through Half-Life)

#68

YOU ARE A GOOD, GOOD MAN…this is what I’ve been WAITING for you to say. The main issue w/OaR is its CONTENT rather than it’s design and I’m glad you see that now. It’s nice that we have a common vision going forward. To make a quick correction of what I think you mean to say for points 5-6 (some labeling errors):
5) [COLOR=‘Orange’]BM_C2A2E = Made by me. First half recreates the missing elements from HL1’s F and first 1/2 of G, including the “peaceful” outdoor area. The second half of G will be entirely original, new work from me. Most of BM_C2A2E will be taking part in an outdoor rail system, to depart from the other themes set previously. It will also include a sniper nestled in the rooftops, and a fantastic nighttime vista which I already have conceptualized in my mind.
6) [COLOR=‘Lime’]BM_C2A2F = Left untouched, aside from being moved/renamed. This is Black Mesa’s BM_C2A2C, just in a different place now. This corresponds pretty closely with HL1’s C2A2G (second 1/2) and C2A2H.

Also to clarify, what do you mean by incorporating missing elements from HL C2A2A? There’s only a couple of things missing like the claw (which could go in a reimagining of HL C2A2F-G), squids eating HECU, nothing really memorable. That being said, you may be able to incorporate some of HL C2A2B2 into your BM_C2A2B. The area right at the end of HL C2A2B2 is where the first satchel charge is introduced (by the broken elevator)…after picking it up, you can backtrack from where you came or jump off the platform. Think this would be a great area for introducing the weapon properly…e.g. 8 houndeyes come at you through a narrow corridor so you place satchels there as a trap. If you fuck up the detonation, you can still run to safety by jumping off the platform. Rather forgiving for a 1st use of a weapon right?

Now that you’re on the right track toward an excellent remake of OaR, the only thing that I’d personally like to see PRIOR to the open beta is a youtube vid showcasing the layout for your C2A2B (office complex). It doesn’t need to have textures or anything…I just need to get a sense of space. The reason is that the architecture here is rather complex and is intimately intertwined w/the rail system. This means that if you mess up the layout early, it will be a REAL pain in the ass to correct it later…the youtube vid should save you some time in the long run.

As for other dev tips, I’d recommend you do a staggered approach for mapping. For instance, you could release C2A2B for an open beta first rather than releasing all of your maps at once. This way, you can integrate the feedback to improve B and once you start feeling burnt out from the nitpicking, you can refresh your brain by starting on C2A2D-E. This should make for a more interesting dev cycle.

#69

^ I’d have to go with Wang on this one, it may be a chaotic approach, but it may be the best approach to go with, so you can get a little refreshment in when you get tired of the nitpicking.

#70

I am really looking forward to this uncut. Could you go into a bit more detail about what you plan to do for the outdoor areas. I am a little confused about what you meant there. Are you going to push back the BM outdoor area from when you initially go outside and hear the HECU speech (killing my buddies etc.) and then add an entire new outdoor section, or will your outdoor section be after that, but before the rocket complex?

Also are you going to place spawn weapons in both BM_C2A2B and BM_C2A2D like you did for ST Uncut so testers won’t have to play through the untouched BM_C2A2C every time to get to the rest of your maps?

Also if someone could maybe do a small write up listing all these map numbers from the original with a few pics of what that map entailed for each one in chronological order it would help a lot. I have a hard time keeping up with all these map names and reading the pitch bible would make a lot more sense that way. I guess I will have to play the original and take note of the maps and then go back and compare it to the BM map names.

#71

Just for you Jessie:
Map appearance in chronological order (T=Text’s map nomenclature w/my corrections)
HL C2A2A = BMS C2A2A = T C2A2A
HL C2A2B2 (extraneous) = cut = T ? (may or may not be included)
HL C2A2B1 = cut = T C2A2B
HL C2A2C = cut = T C2A2B
HL C2A2D (1st 1/2) = BMS C2A2B = T C2A2C
HL C2A2D (2nd 1/2) = cut = T C2A2D
HL C2A2E = cut = T C2A2D
HL C2A2F = cut = T C2A2E
HL C2A2G (1st 1/2 + quiet area) = cut = T C2A2E
HL C2A2G (2nd 1/2 - quiet area) = BMS C2A2C = T C2A2F
HL C2A2H = BMS C2A2C = T C2A2F

And ya, you really should play HL :s ource…all of you guys who helped out on ST_Uncut and wish to contribute here. It will make the pitch bible and our discussion make much more sense. Shit’s gonna be pretty technical, at least for now.

Edit:
T C2A2B-this may also include some scrapped elements from HL C2A2A (e.g. claw)
T C2A2D-will include the 2nd 1/2 of HL C2A2D as well (at least in some form)
T C2A2F will include the new outdoor segment which takes place BEFORE the marine conversation/rocket launch (see my sketch, image 10 pitch bible)

Also modified the master key above. Should make much more sense now.

@TEXT: you might want to put this map key in your intro…it’s an important reference and I’m out of room in the pitch bible.

#72

Your personal “Clipping Bloodhound” is anxious and raring to go… sniff… sniff… sniff… no scent, yet.

Did I hear you say extended outdoor areas… HOWL! That could be a potential haven for clipping issues… Woof!

Suggestions For OaR Uncut

  1. Due to the high humidity factor in the tunnels, I suggest an adequate number of flickering (not arcing, although we do want an appropriate quantity of those) light fixtures be used. They’re cool and set a foreboding visual mood, especially when viewed from a distance. If doable, should include all light fixture variants. Likely areas are where water has collected or where pools of water exist, but occurrences should not be limited to these types of areas only.
    https://i.imgur.com/VUXxK.jpg and https://i.imgur.com/ZkdJ7.jpg.
    https://i.imgur.com/DXsoE.jpg and https://i.imgur.com/JTknt.jpg.

  2. Arcing fluorescent light fixtures should only do so from their ends, where their corroding/fatiguing contacts are situated, and not from their middle. Maybe have a couple arcing alternately at both ends. Likely candidates would be ones situated in heavily damaged areas or fixtures that have received extensive damage.

  3. I don’t know what the framerate hit on such rendering is, but have a few instances of sparks raining down from on high, especially vertically high areas that easily allow for it. https://i.imgur.com/Byqgy.jpg.

  4. Have lights that are burnt out, scattered throughout the levels.

  5. There are various ladder assets that are used within BM. Have several instances where ladders, work lights and orange caution cones are placed to imply that maintenance crews are repairing things that are broken, for example:
    a) Have a replacement fluorescent light fixture leaning against a wall or a static crate, or on top of a static crate. In the immediate vicinity, place the ladder and caution cones and a tool box or chest and have a burnt out or arcing fixture (not a damaged one) on the wall or ceiling. This could be repeated with different light fixture variants.
    b) Similarly, do the same with wall vent covers or large machinery pieces, like a forklift.
    c) Have instances where items under repair are within reach, not requiring a ladder, like a defective/depleted health/battery charger, or malfunctioning fan, or electrical control box.
    https://i.imgur.com/0TM7Y.jpg and https://i.imgur.com/N65YK.jpg

Ciao for now.

===============================================

^ From Wangman, post #71:

Do you need a special kind of toilet paper for this? Are we talking three, four or even five ply thick? If so, can you recommend a brand that would be readily available in North America. I’ll start searching for discount coupons, as this stuff sounds like it might be expensive. Hope it comes with an instruction manual.

===============================================

@Text,

Seems like you’re really chompin’ at the bit to get started on OaR. You’ve said your university workload will be heavier this semester. That being the case, please take my (our) advice and pace yourself. Towards the end of ST Uncut, one could see that you were growing more and more irritable and what was once really fun was slowly becoming a chore. For whatever part I had in that happening, I apologize.

Strongly try to avoid that from happening with OaR. It’s no fun watching someone sliding into that negative scenario. Yeah, OaR will supposedly be easier to produce, but when you start feeling the least burnt out, step away and find a means to recharge and gather yourself. When the natural urge to continue resurfaces, return to OaR and continue plugging away, until the next burn out symptoms arise, then wash, rinse, repeat until OaR concludes, “okay, good buddy.”

#73

Not quite. I’ll repurpose it a little.

[COLOR=‘Lime’]Green=Unchanged from the original
[COLOR=‘Orange’]Orange=Cut from BM, re-made by me in some form
[COLOR=‘Red’]Red=Cut both from BM and from OaR Uncut

[COLOR=‘Lime’]
HL C2A2A = BMS C2A2A = T C2A2A
[COLOR=‘Red’]HL C2A2B2 (side-room on C2A2A) (one or two rooms/themes from this map may end up somewhere else, but probably not)
[COLOR=‘Orange’]HL C2A2B1 = T C2A2B
HL C2A2C = cut = T C2A2B
[COLOR=‘Lime’]HL C2A2D (1st 1/2) = BMS C2A2B = T C2A2C
[COLOR=‘Orange’]HL C2A2D (2nd 1/2) = T C2A2D
HL C2A2E = T C2A2D
[COLOR=‘Orange’]HL C2A2F = T C2A2E
[COLOR=‘Orange’]HL C2A2G + roughly 1/2 the map will be new/original areas, all set outdoors= cut = T C2A2E
[COLOR=‘Lime’]HL C2A2G (2nd 1/2 - quiet area) = BMS C2A2C = T C2A2F
[COLOR=‘Lime’]HL C2A2H = BMS C2A2C = T C2A2F

In terms of work, I’m actually planning ahead, which is extraordinarily uncharacteristic of my mapping! Today I got quite a lot done on the prefabbing. Basically speaking, life will be 10X easier if I “prefab” out certain railway “blocks,” and then join these prefabricated blocks together in the editor rather than creating each rail section from scratch. So for example, I’ve currently prefabbed out a 1024 long straight, a 90 degree turn, and a two-way junction. This helps in a number of ways. The geometry setup for OaR tracks is actually extraordinarily complicated and finicky as it’s curved and sloped and detailed, and has numerous details on all sides. It’s significantly easier in the long run if I prefab them out first, and then repurpose each section individually when it’s inserted into the map and needs to be changed. So, that’s my plan. I’ll probably have all the prefabbing done by tomorrow.

#74

I feel like dying

#75

^Perfect. Not at A-hole @Text.

#76

What? Again? Aren’t you dead already? Your “Location” states “Hell”. Wish I was there with you now. I’m freezin’ my “nellies” off, here in Canada!

#77

undead, pal, undead
to be dead, I need to die again

But on topic, please do not nitpick as much as ST Uncut, that’s all I ask

#78

I’ll nitpick as I see fit, but I don’t expect that they’ll be anywhere near the amount of feedback issues as there were in ST Uncut. It really depends on how detailed and accurate the work that Text does is. I don’t expect it to happen, but if he’s lazy and/or sloppy, I feel an obligation to let him know. After all, his reputation is on the line. Besides, he enthusiastically welcomes all forms of feedback. In the end, it makes him a better mapper/level designer, which is what he strives for.

#79

Maybe, but some of the issues reported were, in my opinion, too much
But again, I really hope you know this is a joke and that you actually provide useful feedback

#80

Just think, after 115 pages of over 2,000 posts, we’ll have another finished product XD.

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.