I’ve said it because in SFM, random circle lights are a common bug that you solve inputting mat_specular 0.
I’ll try to do it, sooner or later…
Edit: try to google this problem, I’m sure that at least one of the countless modders of source engine had this problem…
This section of SPUF will help you
Mat_specular 0 isn’t a solution though, because while it fixes the light (I don’t know if it does or not, but assuming it does), it also disables specular mapping. Which is to say, it disables ALL reflections on ANY surface. Which is a pretty serious price to pay for disabling one little annoying buggy light at spawn. I think the vast, vast majority of people would rather put up with the light.
Of course, if I can find a proper fix to the light, even better. But I’m not going to recommend that as a fix.
that red dot is the same dot from the rpg laser guide… haven’t seen it in game though.
I don’t know if it’s possible in Half-Life 2’s engine. Let me clear it up a little bit, you seem to have misinterpreted what I said.
Basically, what I was trying to say was allowing the vort to deal damage to the LAV by zapping it where normally it wouldn’t. If you CAN (dunno if you can, looks like you can’t), attach a script to the specific entity and wittle off some health based off of the value read on the convar I mentioned: have said script read the skill.cfg, THAT I wouldn’t know how to do that because I’m not as familiar with coding in Source.
In other news… I’m coming up with an elaborate script for a critter in Neverwinter Nights 2 that didn’t exist before. It’s not a huge pain in the ass, but it’s getting really complex… 2 include files, one of them reads a different file format (.2da if you’re familiar with it). It takes the values instituted in that .2da file and utilizes them in the script itself. The engines for source and NWN2 are very different however so it’s no where near the same. I’m not trying to gloat, I’m just giving some insight.
Anyway, it may be more of a pain in the ass than its worth. It’s up to you if you want to continue on that.
As for the red dot: I hate to say, try removing the sprite from the Satchel in the pipe and see if that removes it, the two look very similar imo, but I could be wrong.
Edit: Yeah, the little red dot poofs after the satchel spawns.
No, you’ve misunderstood my interpretation of what you’re saying. Source actually makes it fairly easy to allow/restrict certain damage types, but the problem is its filters are normally the be all/end all for damage. As in, for allow filters, any damage NOT listed by allow is ignored. That’s all
I have spent the past 4 hours or so attempting to fix this one bug. It’s the last major recurring bug left in my maps, and it’s annoying the living crap out of me.
This observation was interesting, however. Because I’ve now found that red light disappears the second you pull out the RPG. No matter what happens on the level, that red light disappears the second you pull out the RPG. What does this mean? I don’t have a fucking clue.
EDIT: Oops, I forgot to finish this post off 100% before I posted it. Silly me.
The moral of this particular story, is that when I realized that pulling out the RPG made the light go away, I made another (perhaps overtly assuming, I don’t know) realization. It’s probably a game bug, to do with coding, if it’s related to the RPG. This would mean it is NOT something I can fix. Which would be logical enough, seeing as I’ve been hunting for a fix for ages. Upon realizing this, I came to the conclusion that the only way to stop the bug from happening was a dirty, dirty workaround, much like the fix for the Osprey pieces doing damage. So I’ve done it. It was indeed a dirty, dirty workaround. But it’s worked.
What have I done? I’ll explain.
The red light was appearing at origin. Origin, to put it simply, is the point on a map where the coordinates are 0, 0, 0. (X, Y, Z). Everything placed on the map, brushes, entities, everything, has its position determined by the engine, by using its coordinates relative to the origin. Because of this it doesn’t actually matter where the origin is. It certainly never has on any map I’ve ever made before. All origin ever actually gets used for is the 3d skybox, which also references its positioning relative to origin. So, for C2A5H, I just happened to build the map in such a way that the origin was where the player spawns. Neither of my other 2 maps even have origin at a point “inside” the map, so to speak, on both of those origin was in the “void” outside the map. So, what I did to solve it should be fairly self-explanatory. I moved the map 256 units UP. Origin is now at a point below the map, in the void, so the red light appears there, where the player can never see it.
This does also mean I have to redo the 3d Skybox (well, I could just move the sky_camera 256/16 units DOWN, but the 3d skybox on C2A5H is kinda mediocre anyway, so I figured I might as well overhaul it), which will probably delay proceedings a little.
I’m guessing it has something to do with how Black Mesa handles the red light on the RPG (maybe it moves the light to ORIGIN when it’s “turned off” because of an engine limitation or something), but I just don’t know. All I know is that I’ve worked around it and it won’t happen anymore, thank god. That’s all serious recurring bugs now squashed. I should be good for a new release by Saturday, I hope.
EDIT 2: Everything I posted here is based on my personal knowledge of how the Source engine works. I’ll happily correct any misinformation if I learn any better.
I’d just move the level so the origin is outside the world. If it’s a coding error in the rocket launcher, you can not really do anything about it.
Edit: or place a small trigger volume at the origin that kills it’s !activator. Then set up a filter to only allow env_sprite 
Please do not try at home, may cause resonance cascade 
Heh, I’ll assume you wrote that before I updated my post above. Read it now, I’ve already done it! Moving the map up 256 units has “solved” the problem.
I actually tried your edited solution a while ago, it didn’t work. Ent_dumping the red light also showed that it was NO entity, so the cause had to be elsewhere.
It also ONLY seems to happen AFTER ANY map transition. You don’t get it if you just load up a map and play it. I know this because it didn’t appear on C2A5H when I loaded C2A5H using “map bm_c2a5h” in the console, but it always appeared when I loaded into C2A5H from C2A5G. The same thing happened with C3A1B from Forget About Freeman. Loading straight into it didn’t make the red light appear, but loading in from C3A1A did.
And it IS a bug to do with the Rocket Launcher, for sure now. Why do I say that? I get that bug when I play the second level of Forget About Freeman. Take a look here:
its not just the BM rpg its the half life 2 one. (seen it in other hl2 mods why I mentioned it)
The water_lod_control at the origin of the map is usually put there if you compile a map with water and not manually add a water_lod_control entity. The engine adds a default one at the origin. I’ve seen this happen in quite a few retail HL2 maps as well.
Just accidentally deleted my post so apologies if this is a bit shorter.
Just did a test run on C2A5H and the new 3D skybox looks very nice - a marked improvement from the old version. Very happy with it, I was not happy with the old version. I’m glad I had the excuse (moving the map to fix the red light bug) to fix it. All that’s left to do on C2A5H now, for all intents and purposes, is the new guard dialogue, and some minor balance adjustments to the Abrams fight (messing around with it this morning I made it just a teeny bit too HECU biased). Apart from that, it’s been pushed up to the next level of polish, like C2A5G was in the previous update.
C2A5G wise, the only things left to do are minor touch ups and details here and there, and rebalancing the LAV fight a fair bit. I’ll probably end up using the same dynamic final-wave system I used in the Abrams fight as it works pretty well. I’m also hoping to do one thing I’ve wanted to do since the first release - make the breaking glass from the trap in the garage look good.
I haven’t done any work at all on C2A5I but then it doesn’t need it. I need to fix the bug where if you stay in the vent some events trigger when they shouldn’t, I need to make the Garg hitting the LAV and its corpse moving off the road more reliable, I need to fix his pathing when he patrols the water, and I need to un-bug his breaking through the doors, as well as adding bits of concrete falling down as you head towards Forget About Freeman. All that is about half a day’s work if I concentrate.
All in all, I ESTIMATE (VERY ROUGHLY!!!) that I can get 0.83 out the door to the general public, alongside a video, on Sunday (at the earliest). 0.83 DEFINITELY promises to be the best version yet in my mind. I hope you look forward to it - I certainly do! It all depends now on what happens with the voice acting, and what I decide to do about it. If Mr. Sisk agrees to help me (which seems unlikely-ish), I will postpone 0.83 until I can fully implement the new choreography properly. If Mr. Sisk declines or I simply cannot get hold of him by Sunday, I will either leave the old choreography as is, or I may also think about getting in another voice actor to voice the role. Neither are fantastic solutions - the old choreography is out of place in my maps, and a voice actor with a markedly different voice to Mr. Sisk (which is inevitable) will be a bit weird considering ALL THE OTHER security guards sound the same.
Regardless, let me know through PM or in this thread if you’re interested in doing said voice work. You’ve seen the script, it’s on a previous page. The prerequisites are obviously the ability to act, as well as high quality recording equipment. If I don’t hear back from Mr. Sisk and I end up wanting to add my own choreo, I’ll let everybody know, and I’ll take a look at “applications”. But don’t get your hopes up. I may not decide to do it, and/or Mr. Sisk may agree to help me.
IN ANY CASE, I’m hoping for 0.83b to be the FINAL beta version. You heard me right. I’m hoping, if all goes according to plan and 0.83 isn’t riddled with bugs, that the next release will be version 1.0. It’s exciting stuff, everyone, very exciting! Nearly 2 months have passed since I started mapping this project and I’m nearing completion!
Congrats! look forward to seeing your new version 
Nice. Out of curiosity, did you include medic grunts by chance?
Hey FAMguy, don’t kill yourself over this.
That last thing I’d want is for you to have a meltdown and leave this project for dead.
Great to hear!
Then you can move on to reworking the lackluster “On A Rail” level, in the New Year. :fffuuu::hmph:O_o:lol:
With Surface Tension and On A Rail updated, and the eventual release of the Xen levels, BM will truly be complete.
Cough… cough. Don’t mind me TextFAMGUY1, I’m just wishing out loud. I’ll gratefully take your magnificent ST rework and happily skip and whistle my way through several more BM playthroughs.
Here’s hoping your application to join the BM Dev Team gets accepted. With the grit, determination, thoroughness, dedication, commitment and SPEED that you’ve exhibited during this project, they would be a markedly better team with you on board. Best of luck with that.
Nah, On A Rail’s maps aren’t important story wise as ST
Also why people hate OAR so much now?
It was a boring chapter in HL
That red light bug visually is nearly identical to the red lights used for green/red light control buttons. Three of red variety were used in the car shop in map c2a5g for the car lift controllers. If the RPG uses the same sprite and switching to the rpg or whatever other object that uses these lights cancels the red light at origin bug. Then what would happen if you simply added either a red or green light to a false control panel nearby? Like in the security scan room? Even if the dummy light is observable to the player in game, as long as it cancels out the red light origin bug, the new light would have a plausible cover. That being that it would appear to be a cosmetic detail on a controller. After noticing the controller light the player would countinue happily along without every realizing that particular bug even if they go on to explore the whole map looking for visual bugs. Just a thought…
Actually, it’s during On A Rail that the HECU start loosing some of their battles against the Aliens. It’s the beginning of their end, which culminates during Surface Tension.
It may be a boring level to you, but not to me.
Some. I left them out mostly because they pose problems with regards to the scripted fights. The aiscripted_schedules which I use to get the marines and the aliens to fight each other refers to the classname “npc_human_grunt,” meaning they tend to ignore any other human type, even if they’re directly attacking them. It looks weird, to see two alien grunts completely ignore the medic next to them that’s shooting at them, while they decide to pepper a grunt 50m away with bees. Using wildcards (“npc_human_*”) doesn’t seem to have helped at all, or it may just be that their AI NATURALLY prioritizes grunts over medics. But I have put a few in, yes.
That won’t happen. Uni’s dying down as I’m heading towards the end of term, and I really enjoy mapping, and I’m making good progress. In addition to being really damn proud of what I’ve done. I won’t give up on it.
Thank you kindly. That’s some very high praise. I actually haven’t applied for the dev team yet, I figured I’d hold off until this project was at 1.0. This decision was actually due to a passing comment made by Elivance which got me thinking. If I joined the dev team and they said my stuff would be officially integrated, I’d have to stop releasing to those on the forums who’d been keeping up with my progress and helping me since day 1. People might have to wait until the Xen release, which will happen god knows when, for Surface Tension to be truly “complete”. I don’t like that. It feels like I’m abandoning people who helped me. I figure I’ll get a 1.0 release out, then apply, that way those who’ve been helping me or following this project at least have SOMETHING to tide them over.
As for On A Rail? I took a look at it in the editor this morning, I’m already formulating plans about what I could do with it. It’s early days, though, and I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I should actually do anything or not.
I didn’t mind BM’s OaR chapter that much, whereas ST actively bothered me with its cut content. The narrative build-up that the player observed watching the fights between HECU and Aliens, with the HECU mostly winning was nice here in the original, but it wasn’t NECESSARY for the later story. It’s a matter of whether or not you think this build up would really help the game later on.
There’s also the problem of BM’s OaR being 3 (very large, however) maps long. Compare this to Surface Tension, which (given my additions) is 9 maps long. The problem here, is that to add a new level (my additions pretty much HAVE to be after C2A2A, the first level), I’d need to recompile C2A2B, AND C2A2C as well, which is a pain in the ass (this is because C2A2B would have to be renamed to C2A2C due to my own extra level, and C2A2C goes to C2A2D). I’ll have to decide later if it’s ultimately worth it. Decompiling and recompiling maps causes inaccuracies in the geometry which wouldn’t otherwise exist, and I have to rebuild all the areaportals and occluders and then GUESS what their I/O links were, which is a lot of work and a pain in the ass.
My idea is that you should add military airstrike at the end of surface tension just as the guy from the radio says : we are pulling out and commencing airstrikes mark your targets or get below !
You’re about late to the party, amigo, seeing as I’ve already done and released a version with that in it.
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.
