Surface Tension Uncut - Re-Adding Cut Areas/Scenes (Expansion Project)

General Development Source 1
#2261

I’ll release the hotfix and do the wider release tomorrow. It’s 5am here, time for sleep, I’ll be up another 2 hours if I try and release now.

I’ve begrudgingly added some of Dadster’s feedback to the 1.1 hotfix, most notably the two railing repairs.

Now guys, stop. Seriously. This is it. I don’t want to hear about anymore issues. I am a perfectionist and if I hear about stuff it’ll increase the likelihood that I’ll try and fix it. At this point, I don’t want to be fixing stuff. I want to be moving on. It’s unhelpful now. Please, stop. I appreciate the sentiment, but enough is enough. Let me put this behind me. Let me move on to OaR Uncut. You can wait a month or two, then you can fire copious amounts of feedback at me once more, for OaR Uncut, where it can make a BIG difference. Then it will be welcomed, with open arms.

#2262

Thank you very much ! I did some fast compiling and made some few correction (and add the hg_taunt03.wav). The new files are available here : https://www.mediafire.com/?c77l4tam216l2w4

I tried to do a complete compiling but it will not work : as you said, 3rd generation is poorly optimized and c2a5g was not finished after 6 hours ! So I let you do what you can.

Again, thank you.

#2263

Text, you’re magnanimous cooperation is overwhelming. That’s why I respect you so much, you really care.

Since you’re generously acting on some of my feedback issues, let me stress the following, in the order of my feedback listing for v1.1-Final:

Item 1 - The Carpark ceiling texture z-fighting is too large to ignore or overlook.

Items 2 & 8 - There are now only TWO serious plant clipping issues left in the entirety of your maps. Please squelch these final two and be done with it, once and for all.

Items 3 & 4 - These visual issues may be specific to my computer only. They appear to be serious, but I’m sure you’ve checked them out thoroughly enough to confirm that it’s an issue specific to me. If so, I’ll deal with it.

Items 5 & 10 - These are both texture seam related issues. You being a mapper foremost, I suspect these should be easily repairable and that these are the kinds of issues that a mapper would be interested in addressing. In the case of the Garg tunnel wall instance, I’ve reported this issue in several of my previous feedbacks.

Items 6 & 9 - Both concern railing issues, namely texture z-fighting and the long standing railing gaps. I’m appreciative that you’ve clearly stated that these are being addressed.

Item 7 - There are many clipping issues in and amongst the rubble, which is the nature of the beast. To address them all would be nigh impossible. However, similarly with item 1, this bar is too large and obvious to overlook. One would understand if it was sticking out of ground, but this one is above the rubble and sticking out of a metal beam.

Once again Text, thank you in advance for your considerations, and hopefully, your understanding. As I’ve mentioned before, my only motivation is to assist you in making ST Uncut the best that it can possibly be. To that end, I’ve presented these issues to you. Don’t fret Text, you’ll soon be free from the clutches of ST Uncut, for the time being.

[COLOR=‘DarkOrange’]P.S. Not to seem ungrateful, but you re-added the blood decal(s), that had been removed, to the top of the desk in the Barney leisure/break room. Can you insert the one(s) that you had originally used, as it’s more indicative of serious wounds having been inflicted and as such makes more of a visual impact. For your convenience, here’s an image. https://i.imgur.com/BWiP9.jpg. Consider moving the one in use now over onto the adjacent desk. I think it would still look tastefully done. Many thanks.

[COLOR=‘DarkOrange’]P.P.S. Concerning the lack of battle sounds being heard through the carpark door issue, as Wangman stated, the battle sounds should be heard at all times, whether the power is off or on. It would seem odd otherwise.

#2264

Read above. I’ve already fully implemented all that, and improved on it by adding my own for a few other bits of dialogue and adding a few closed captions.

For future reference the compiling is taking so long because you’ve probably left in areaportals/occluders, or not rebuilt them. You either have to delete them all and remake them from scratch, or hide their visgroups before compilation. The decompilation process breaks them all, if you leave them in they’ll be cutting visleaves unnecessarily and lengthening the compile time, while being broken and not doing anything.

For OTHER reference, C2A5G under a full compile with HDR, take about 5 minutes on my computer. 20 seconds VBSP, 1 minute VVIS, 2 minutes VRAD LDR, 2 minutes VRAD HDR. A FINAL FULL compile (which includes finalized lighting bounces, staticproppolys and staticproplighting) takes about 14 minutes - 20 seconds VBSP, 1 minute VVIS, 6 minutes VRAD LDR, and 6 minutes VRAD HDR.

  1. Already fixed. No more needs to be said.
    2 and 8) Likewise.
    3 and 4) I investigated these extensively. If you must know, trying to fix this is actually how I bugged out the areaportal I was having so much trouble with the other day. However, after much investigation I think it’s a problem specific to you. I’ve NEVER been able to reproduce it standing from anywhere and moving to anywhere, and I’ve tried very hard. I’ve never had reports from others about it either.
    5 and 10) You’d think so, but no. Both of those are being introduced at a VBSP level. At that point there’s pretty much nothing I can do about it. The vertices sit perfectly in line, in the same place, in the editor, creating a perfect join, an edge. But VBSP is kinda dumb, and messes this up somehow. It’s what kept happening with the furnace too. The only difference is, making a wall model based to prevent this, like I did with the furnace is a TERRIBLE idea, for many reasons I won’t go into. It’ll have to be lived with.

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Editor view. See there’s no seam in the 3d view? If you look at the white points (vertices) you’ll see they’re PERFECTLY aligned.

  1. Can’t be fixed. The only way to fix it is to move the ENTIRE rubble composite. Moving it forwards to get the beam out of the wall clips the front of the rubble into the pavement. Moving it sideways clips it into the stairs by the security hut. Moving it backwards pushes most of the rubble into the furnace room. It’s in its optimum position where it is currently, and sadly, it has its flaws. Moving it to the right doesn’t help as there’s wall all the way along.

The old blood decal was dynamically placed by the game due to my positioning of the ragdoll. The ragdoll was dropping onto the desk and splattering blood everywhere. I can’t recreate that easily without moving him. It’s fine as it is.

As for the sound thing, it’s not an issue for me. A fight has to start at some point, no? The power coming on is as good a time as any. From a directing perspective, it generates player interest in what’s behind that door, which isn’t necessary to do before the power’s back on. I think it’s fine as it is.

Final compiles now. V1.1 hotfixed should be hitting in an hour or so. I’ll let people run a quick quality check if they like, then I’ll be posting on the cafeteria/around the internet.

#2265

Thank you for your detailed and patient explanations. If you could do this with all the feedbacks you receive, it would eliminate a lot of the unnecessary back-and-forths and the reposting of issues, but that’s not at all feasible. I’m glad to see you were able to address some of the problems and incorporate them into your next build. It only makes ST Uncut shine even brighter.

While you’re in this receptive mood, how about we talk about the curb in the TOW yard and, my recent pet peeve, the two interfering satellites in the tank yard… um… er… nevermind… it’ll never happen.

When you have a moment, I’d like your comments on why the arcing sparks were removed from the defective hand dryer in the men’s bathroom and the light fixture above the window leading into the security office in gasworks. In the case of the hand dryer, could you not work your voodoo magic on them, as you’ve done with other instances of sparks clipping through walls and floors? Enquiring minds want to know!

#2266

[COLOR=‘Red’]Update: Released![/SIZE]

Latest Version: 1.11 (Hotfixed) - Final Release. Download here.[/SIZE]

Here is the hotfix for 1.1, which I’m calling 1.11.

I’m very eager to spread this around now, so I’m gonna wait an hour or so just to make sure nobody on here has any SERIOUS (AND I MEAN SERIOUS, AS IN GAMEBREAKING) issues. I’ve also implemented subtitles with this version.

07/01/13
==1.1 Hotfixed Final (v1.11)==

Assorted/General
-Implemented subtitles and closed captions. All important dialogue on my maps should now have subtitles and closed captions available. Based on work done by Ulrik (thanks, man!) but I re-adapted it to be consistent with BMS’s closed caption system. I also added some captions for various important sound effects.

C2A5G
-Fixed a bug with some of the parking lines displaying incorrectly.
-Fixed a bug where one of the elevated road sections was not displaying stripes correctly.
-Fixed some Z-Fighting on the second floor roof.
-Quick fix for some plant clipping by the destroyed truck near the helipad.

C2A5H
-Made it so that AGrunt that throws the Marine through the wall should roar every time now.
-Fixed up a few gaps in railings.

C2A5I
-Fixed some plant clipping through a pipe.

The curb doesn’t bother me, it’s to stop the two lanes from merging and I’ve stopped it from flinging players. Satellite dishes are a carbon copy of those found on a similar building on C2A5E, it’s consistent. That’s why I did that.

Couldn’t do anything for the magic sparks. I have no idea what was wrong with that. I did the same standard fix I did to all of them, no avail. I copied a different spark entity and replaced the one that was there, no cigar. In the end, just easier to remove it. Wasn’t a big deal anyway.

#2267

Playing v1.11-Final and came across the following:

  1. I was proceeding towards LAV yard and triggered the battle sequence.
  2. I backtracked slightly to just past the truck in the middle of the road.
  3. All along I could hear the battle raging on in the LAV yard.
  4. Still at a position where I’m half way to the LAV yard, around the corner come six HECU, all wanting a piece of me.
  5. Using the truck as cover, I dispose of them and continue toward the LAV yard.
  6. Upon arriving, the LAV is fully functioning and firing away at me.

I’ll play on and see what happens next.

EDIT: Second playthrough, I had five marines to deal with (as a game of cards broke out), but this time the LAV was destroyed.

EDIT 2: Third playthrough, I had two AGrunts and four Vorts to shake hands with (their hands are slimey, yick), LAV destroyed.

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Again, strictly as a heads-up towards a future all-in-one compatibility update/patch, take this information and file it away:

  1. I noticed these texture z-fighting instances around the hole in the wall that drops you into the service garage yard. See the four pictures attached below.
  2. Gib shadows from the Zombie at the bottom of the stairwell clip through the stairs. https://i.imgur.com/D82LQ.jpg.

O_o Yeah, really, that’s all (so far).

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There’s so much to love about ST Uncut and what you accomplished, but nothing is perfect, as you’ve stated on a few occasions.

Going forward, and as a critique whose sole purpose is to help you grow as a mapper-level designer, I’d like to tell you about the things I didn’t like about ST Uncut. For the most part, these are all based on common sense real-world installation and mechanics:

  1. Power lines entering into the faces, top or sides of power boxes or equipment.
    https://i.imgur.com/vEe9d.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/JaG0p.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/qs6gb.jpg

  2. Caged equipment that can’t be adequately accessed for service, due to insufficient room. Your pool of pre-built assets may be limited, but I think cages can be built to varying sizes.
    https://i.imgur.com/mpE0D.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/ww9bZ.jpg

  3. The direction in which doors open.
    https://i.imgur.com/4jeP5.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/7zYob.jpg
    In the following example, the two hand dryers should be mounted on the adjacent wall, or one on each wall, if hand dryers are available individually.
    https://i.imgur.com/g9HWb.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/6dZxd.jpg
    https://i.imgur.com/EDkJv.jpg

  4. The Garg start area, which suffers from framerate issues, was too cluttered. Ten items could have been removed without negatively impacting on the overall visual look.

  5. The wires running from light to light in the Garg tunnel serve no purpose, other than having a pleasing swaying motion. They’re not used in any other ST Uncut tunnels, including the tunnel that the Garg enters from, which is an extension of the Garg chase tunnel. As a result, the design consistency between these two tunnels isn’t maintained. Sorry, but I found them to be sloppy and an eyesore.

Other issues pertain to adopting consistent use of similar items and their typical attachments, like doors and their switches (and appropriate sounds, if applicable) and doors and their lights, gun racks (your favorite), etc., and that their installation throughout the various levels is uniform and persistent. This includes their vertical and horizontal positioning and left or right orientation. I think these are things you’ve learned to focus on, going forward, as a result of all the feedback you’ve received during the development of ST Uncut. Hopefully OaR Uncut will benefit immediately from the lessons learned.

All in all, it’s a pretty short list, based on these specific perspectives.

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

Concerning the satellite dishes, copy and pasting in level design is all fine and good, provided it’s done in a manner that is not readily obvious. You mentioned that the dual satellite set was used on a building in another level (C2A5E) and you decided to use those in the instance we’re talking about. https://i.imgur.com/UZRyR.jpg. Here, in the LAV yard, you decided to use a single satellite dish. https://i.imgur.com/7tjw6.jpg. Did the option of using two individual satellite dishes and placing them some distance apart exist? If so, as an option, this would’ve added some variety to the environment, while still remaining within the BM level design canon. Yes, no?

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Is there a reason why this texture was used here, instead of the entire face of the wall for the doors being uniformly one texture? (jpghttps://’)]https://i.imgur.com/YwCyM.jpghttps://. It’s very noticeable and sticks out. It looks like the same texture on the adjacent side wall was folded around the corner onto the front of the building.
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#2268

Thank you. ST felt very empty at first, but is now much better. Great job! I have not played this version yet, but have played your last version several times.
OaR is next? :0)

#2269

So is that it? is it finally done?

#2270

Yeah that’s perfect ! \o/ Congratulations !
You just forget to add the subtitles to the radio at the beginning of FAF (I create them in the game_sounds_ambient_generic_stuncut) as c3a1a is needed for your maps but that’s not a big problem doesn’t it ?

#2271

1.11 Hotfix Critique

C2A5G
Tow Courtyard
Add invisible barriers above the harrier fence, petrol station fence, the door near the large vehicle, and by the high ground marine to prevent players from chucking missiles over these areas and messing up the TOW counter.

…Naah, I’m just fucking w/you. This version is good enough for the final release. Nice work. The only thing I noticed is a photonegative effect on some of the parking strips when illuminating w/the flashlight but this is pretty trivial https://imgur.com/tQVrW. For the final, you might want to rename your readme file to “readme (ST uncut)” as you’ll be adding another one for OaR.

Did you get a chance to study/compare OaR yet? If so, what are you gonna do about the map placements?

Edit: Saw your post on OaR uncut now. Will port discussion.

#2272

https://i.imgur.com/7HM3y.gif

#2273

@targ
Lmao…just brilliant.

#2274

alright, I admit, that fucking was

#2275

This mod is truly beautiful. Your hard work has paid off Text, you’re the man! :smiley:
I hope I can carry across that same passion into my multiplayer map. The thing I’m stuck on atm is working out the floor plan. If I don’t get it right, the entire map will blow.

#2276

There’s a line between trapping the player, and the player screwing himself. It’s like if you wasted all your ammo by shooting it into the wall before you try to defend Alyx during the generator hack scene. It’s unwinnable because you did that.

#2277

Did you not see this phrase at the beginning of the next line, “…Naah, I’m just fucking w/you”?

You know he was joking, right?

#2278

Pretty much my reaction. Brilliant lol.

#2279

Ssshhhh… did you hear that?.. it’s tumbleweeds rustlin’ and being blown in the wind… this thread’s a ghost town, now.

Move on… there’s nothin’ to see here, anymore…

#2280

I downloaded latest version and I don’t have semper fi my ass radio now ! IS IT NORMAL !!!

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