We've Got Hostiles: Pre-Disaster

General Development Source 1
#1

Well, it’s now officially 2016- and what better way to kick off the new year than by announcing a new project?

After my previous project fell through, I found myself out of work. This was somewhat problematic for me, since it meant I didn’t have anything to map for- and let’s face it, mapping doesn’t quite feel the same if it’s done just for the heck of it. Now, while I was still working on the project, I did do a bit of work for BMPD- it mostly involved making tram stops for when the tram lines are useable. So, having been a part-time contributor, I figured I could step it up a notch and become a full-time contributor- after all, how hard could it be?

So, after a bit of deliberation, I eventually decided to have a go at We’ve Got Hostiles. Now, this chapter is barely affected by the Resonance Cascade- the worst that appears to have happened is a few of the lights have gone out. However, I still think you could do a fair amount with a pre-disaster version of this chapter. But, because of the minimal changes throughout most of the map, most of the screenshots in this thread will be new areas (unless there have been significant changes to existing areas).

I’ve also decided to announce that you might also see entirely new maps in this chapter’s pre-disaster campaign. This is mostly because the WGH maps are already pretty full (at least in terms of entdata), and a lot of my ideas for new areas would take up a fairly large amount of space. Now, I can’t guarantee that these new maps will come out, as I might be pretty sick of warehouses by the time I’m done with the existing maps. And, as I somewhat inplied in the last sentence, the new maps will come only once the existing maps are completed. But, if all goes well, you’ll get 3 new maps to explore- won’t that be fun?

Progress so far[/size]
At this point, the pre-disaster campaign of WGH is still in it’s infancy. I’ve only completed a few areas of the A map, and most of them are still a work-in-progress. I can’t really say when you’ll get it (I’m not very good with release dates), but if I’m getting close to a release I’ll let you know. I’ll make sure to keep you all up-to-date on progress in the coming months. Until then, though, why not take a look at some of what you can expect in Pre-Disaster We’ve Got Hostiles?

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The cafeteria looks pretty good fully lit. It would probably be even better if there were people using it, but I’ll get to that later (oh, and it looks like I forgot to turn on one of the lights over the menu, too. Just ignore it for now)

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I can’t take full credit for this area- it was copied over from an old PD WGH map Sakai was working on. At this point, it still needs a bit of work (note to self: look in to aligning the stripe textures. Oh, and give those trucks a bit more space- if this were real, it would be a real pain to back in without damaging something), but I’d say it’s mostly finished. Also, I cannot explain the red glow in the upper left-hand corner (however, it wasn’t there before I built cubemaps, so I suspect it’s related to reflections somehow).

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The room shown here was originally going to be a storage area, but I thought the available space wasn’t wide enough to fit a warehouse. So I decided to build this forklift repair area instead. This area changed a fair amount from it’s original design. I created the more contrasting room on the top, which was later modified by Sakai to fit in with the WGH aesthetic better (the current product is at the bottom). Also, ignore the black room at the end. That’s there until I decide what I want to put there.

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Here’s the current version of the offices adjacent to the forklift repair area. There was an easter egg in one of them, but I hid it so I wouldn’t give it away.

And that’s about it for now. As always feedback, suggestions, and ideas are appreciated!

#2

I think the red glow is just because I never finished the area and gave it its own cubemaps. Should be fixed when the area is done and cubemaps are added.

#3

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=438635262&searchtext=vent

#4

We would, but it has a few issues. The double-doors still use the old silver brushwork doors from the mod version, and the rooms behind the cafeteria don’t have any locked doors, meaning we couldn’t connect them to outside rooms. If it weren’t for those issues, though, we’d definitely include it in the campaign.

#5

cough Man, I haven’t been here in ages. Looks like the ol’ thread’s been gathering dust for a few months.

However, it won’t be gathering dust for much longer, because after no updates since January, I have returned.

Yes, that’s right, I am back. I apologize for the lack of updates, but the past five months haven’t offered much progress in the way of development. Although I was producing new content for the past 6 months, a majority of it was determined to be inadequate, and was either heavily overhauled or scrapped entirely. Even now, many areas which I intended to include with this update had to be delayed until a later update due to the fact that many of them required far more work. Granted, I could have delayed the release (again) and worked on said areas, but to be honest, I was tired of having to delay a release of the map again and again so I could add something new. So I cut out all the WIP areas, did some bugfixes, and before I knew it, the map was in a (mostly) operational state. And because I don’t want to delay the release of this map any longer, I am pleased to report that you can now download it from the Steam Workshop. [NOTICE: the map available on the workshop is considered a work in progress. As a result, all original content within the map is subject to change]

Of course, rather than just sit around and talk about all the new areas which have been built recently, I figure I should show you a few of them:

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Originally a small storage closet, this room outside the main silo access door eventually evolved into a fairly extensive maintenance area (I also figured that there had to be a stairway from administration somewhere, and this was the most logical location). Eventually, this area will be connected to the elevator shaft from Office Complex (It would have been in this version, but the access hallways were determined to require heavy reworking), and possibly the offices themselves. For now, however, it’s just a small side area with a workshop and an obsolete computer. I might change it up eventually to give it a more “maintenancey” feel, but I’m pretty happy with how it looks at present.

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Once again, the loading dock has been redone, this time to match the loading dock found in the B map of WGH. However, the old design for the loading dock has been kept, and might eventually return in another map. I was thinking of lighting the area beyond the dock (as well as polishing it up a bit, seeing as lighting the dock would require detailing the walls), but I eventually determined it’s okay as is. I’d also like to add that, seeing how long the loading dock road is, it must be pretty difficult for the truck driver to back up all the way from the road to the dock.

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Shown here is the hallway located outside the loading dock. At this point, it really doesn’t have anywhere to go to, so it just dead-ends. Later on, it will probably actually lead somewhere, although that’s probably a ways off. I’m probably also going to fix up the lighting, seeing as it’s pretty dismal (I’ll probably change it once I get around to lighting tweaks on the rest of the map, but if you indicate you really want the lighting improved I’ll look into fixing it in the first bugfix update).

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Although the general design of the corridor has remained unchanged, the corridor leading off Storage Area 1 now has the addition of a stairway leading down to the second silo access point. Although I really don’t have much to say on this screenshot, I thought I’d upload it anyways just for the sake of showcasing the changes that have been made since the last update.

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Here is the aforementioned Silo Access Point 2. Originally it wasn’t going to bear any resemblance to the access point at the start of the level, but I ran out of ideas and ended up making it look more or less like the access door at the beginning of the map. If you have any suggestions on how I could make it more original, I’d be glad to hear them (unless you’re fine with it as is, in which case I’ll leave it untouched). Eventually, once Blast Pit has been restored (or at least the first map), I might make the door fully functional, and actually allow the player to access the silo this way. For now, though, It’s just going to be an aesthetic-only feature. As a side note, this is another dead-end hallway- this will eventually change once the hallway off the back of Storage Area 3 has been completed.

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Here is Hazardous Materials Storage Bay 1, the replacement for the forklift bay (In case you’re wondering why it was replaced, I eventually determined that the location of the access door relative to the other forklift access doors was too far from the rest of the access doors to make any sense from a logical design perspective). I’m probably going to redo the back end of the room (and probably reconfigure it so the door from Storage Area 3 doesn’t connect to it directly), and I may eventually repurpose the room altogether. For now, though, this will be the iteration of the room that will be in the current map. Make sure to let me know what you think, as I’d say out of all the areas, this is the one I’m looking for feedback on the most.

So anyways, that about wraps up this update. Feedback is not only welcomed, but desired. I look to make these maps the best products I can, and one of the ways I can do that is by getting your take on my work. Don’t be afraid to nitpick, as I aim to create bug-free maps- and even small discrepancies can be detrimental to the gameplay experience as a whole. I do ask that criticism is kept constructive, though, as saying “WORST MAP EVAR !!1!1!111!” won’t really help me improve my mapping skills. Feel free to offer suggestions for improvement as well, as I’m sure there are plenty of good ideas out there. I can’t guarantee that I’ll implement each and every suggestion given to me, but I’ll try my best to make sure as many of your ideas as possible are integrated. That’s all for now, and I’ll try not to put a 6-month delay between updates next time!

#6

Looks really cool. It’d be nice if we could open large doors between storage rooms, though. :slight_smile:

There are still lots of doors than are closed! :slight_smile:

#7

Getting the big door in Storage Area 3 to work is next on my list. I’m not sure about the doors in Storage Area 1, though, seeing there isn’t enough vertical room above the doors for them to open without clipping into the hallway overlooking the warehouse. If I can find a workaround, though, I will definitely make them usable.

#8

WORST MAP EVAR!!1!1!111! :stuck_out_tongue:

(In all seriousness, I already got early access to this one from MDG himself, so I don’t really have anything new to say about it. Glad it’s getting ready to ship, though!

#9

That’s a pretty interesting expansion of the canonical map. However, you should go through at some point and make sure all the openable doors have a visible handle on both sides, or some other visible cue they’re openable. I also got lost quite easily, but I’m not sure if that’s bad layout or just me having a poor sense of direction.

#10

Nice Edit guys… keep it up!

#11

Unfortunately, I kind of glossed over putting a distinction between which doors can be opened and which ones can’t. Although I could probably make the difference more recognizable with the grey metal doors (just leave all the ones you can go through open), It’s going to be a little bit harder with the doors with the locks on the front (seeing as the rules of restoration don’t allow me to change up existing door models, It’s going to be somewhat difficult to provide distinction between doors of that type that do open and doors that don’t). As for the layout issue, I am by no means a professional, so the layout might not be 100% optimal. However, if you could tell me which parts you found confusing, I could try to iron it out in the next update.

#12

Hey guys, first of all: Kudos! This is a great project and i am definately looking forward to roam the facility like a boy on his first visit to Disney Land.

As I gather that several maps eventually will be able to be entered through more than one transition point and as Grey Heron already adressed the possible resulting loss of sense of direction, are you planning of implementing some kind of map system? I do know that most of the chapters are actually overlapping, but I am thinking of a mapsystem similar to somethink like Metroid Prime or the recent Doom (see the links for reference). It might be a combination of a simplified, scaled-down map for local orientation and a general facility map that works more like a topogrammatical map like the Metroid Series uses, too.

Anyways, awesome job so far!

#13

Due to a number of technical limitations something like that would be VERY difficult if not impossible to implement as part of the regular user interface. However, we do plan to have some sort of controllable tram system that will make it easier to move to different parts of the facility without spending hours walking from place to place. I don’t know quite what form the controls for the tram will take, but a map where you can select different areas of the facility should be doable with basically a lot of func_buttons.

#14

Use a game_ui to allow the user to move the train,
Use a player_speedmod, set it to disable weapons, input it with a modifyspeed of 1.01 to get the flags of it to activate (1.0 deactivates it).

Use an env_overlay to show controls.

Voilá! You have train controls without having func_buttons everywhere.

#15

Because I’m such a nice guy, I thought I’d give you a preview of a revamped version of one of the areas in the warehouse. Aside from fixing some lighting issues and comatose NPCs (along with a few other bugs), the next update will include a redesigned version of what was originally the Hazardous Materials Storage Area (which still exists, just in a different location).

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Seen here is Maximum Security Storage Area 1 (which, If you ask me, looks a whole lot better than the original design). Since this area is a work in progress, feedback or suggestions are welcome. Anyways, that’s about it for this update, and you can expect Version 0.1.2 to be released sometime next week (if all goes according to plan, that is!).

#16

So, rather than coming here to post a new update (rest assured version 0.2 is being worked on), I’ve come to let you know that I’m looking for a texture artist. Nothing major, since I figure the most I’ll need are a few signs. However, the main reason I’m looking for someone with texture editing skill has to do with the security monitors seen throughout the level. There’s a pesky tripmine being displayed on the monitor scrrn for Storage Area 3- which makes little sense, seeing as the tripmine is not present in this iteration of said storage area. In conclusion, if you have the ability to create textures/model skins , just send me a PM. Anyhoo, that should be it for now, and an update showcasing my current works in progress should be up soon (or when I feel like it).

#17

While it certainly wasn’t as long as my previous period of silence, It’s definitely been a little while since I’ve checked in. I am pleased to report that after spending a few weeks wrangling various bugs (and dealing with the ultimate evil known as tjuncts), I have finally released version 0.2. While there’s definitely room for improvement, I’d say that the current product is of an acceptable level of quality. There were still a few things that I was unable to include in this update, but it’s far less than what I was unable to include in the previous release. Which brings me to my next announcement- I am pleased to announce that the A map is nearing completion. That’s right, after almost a year in development, it is almost done. Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily a voluntary decision. The map is simply becoming too big for the compiler to handle. So chances are the next update will contain some refined areas, and maybe a few new ones- after that, most of the updates on the map will be bug and lighting fixes. On the bright side, this means I can finally move on to the long-awaited Map B. It’s likely the first release will just be the stock map without any disaster elements, but chances are most of you will be just fine with that. Anyways, enough announcements. I think it’s about time you got a look at what you can expect in this update.

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Right here is one of the bathrooms next to the High Security Storage Facility Cafeteria. Not much to say about this one, since there really aren’t any points of interest here. The only thing of note that I can think of would be that I’d like to get a few custom props for this bathroom, but since I don’t have a modeler working with me, the custom props will have to wait.

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As I stated in an earlier post, this room is the new location of the Hazardous Materials Storage Area (and it looks a heck of a lot better than the original). I was originally going to have the barrels stored in separate stalls, but a quick Google search showed that real Hazmat Storage Areas look very similar to the design seen here. It’s by no means perfect (the lighting around the blue barrels is pretty wonky in places, but overall I’m fairly happy with how it turned out. There’s also an elevator in the very back- it’s mostly just there because I needed something to fill the back wall, but I think it turned out to be a nice addition to the room.

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This hallway is the new connection between Silo D Access Point 2 and the back end of Storage Area 3. The diagonal hallway does look a little bit odd, but I figured that if the Cafeteria could get away with it, I probably could too, to some degree. If you’re fine with it, I’ll keep it, but I’m thinking of changing it up eventually. As a side note, that weird-looking out-of-place steel beam on the floor is a workaround for an issue with textures not lining up. I think there’s one more spot in the level where this occurs, but it’s not too noticeable (I do, however, plan on fixing it soon).

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This area actually has a fairly interesting story behind it. Originally, it was intended to be a distribution hub where goods travelling on conveyors would be routed to different points of the facility. However, it soon became obvious that this would not work. Firstly, such a room would’ve taken a a lot of work if it was going to look good. Since I was already concerned with time constraints, I felt that something like that would have a major impact on my overall productivity. Second, it would probably be beyond my ability to get such a system working, and I didn’t want to take the easy way out and just make it not work. Third, the room really didn’t feel right- it just felt kind of odd. And, upon further examination, I found that the room clashed with part of Blast Pit. So I moved the room, ripped out all the conveyor stuff, and converted the room into a storage room (which I’ve dubbed Storage Area 4). I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and I think it looks a lot better than the conveyor room did (not that I’ve completely dismissed the idea…).

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This odd looking area is a small set of offices located behind Maximum Security Storage Area 1, and is mainly tasked with keeping and processing freight records. I must say, I really wasn’t feeling it with this area. It’s probably one of the oddest looking areas that the facility has seen to date. But even though it seems odd for me to release a map with an area I wasn’t entirely sure about, there is reason behind my decision. I want to see what you think of it- so let me know what you think of it. If you like it, I’ll keep it. But if you don’t, I’ll go in and make some adjustments. I’ll probably keep the sliding doors though- even though there’s no other doors like them throughout the facility, they’re a lot easier for NPCs to move through.

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The last stop on our tour is Receiving Dock 1, which serves as this level’s main means of receiving cargo from other areas of the facility. While I’m mostly pleased with this area, the lighting seems to be a little it dim in places (Especially the upper corners). But, since I’m no lighting expert, I decided that it was good enough (not perfect, but at least you can see everything). I’m also thinking a few of the walls might be a bit bland, but then again I do seem to feel the urge to fill every surface to the brim with details, so I thought that it would probably be best if I took it easy and didn’t go overboard on detail (still not sure whether I should’ve added a few more things, though). I probably will come back here to make some adjustments, but I’m not sure what those adjustments are going to be yet.

That pretty much concludes this update. As I have mentioned before, feel free to give feedback, criticism (as long as I can actually get something useful from it), suggestions, or ideas. If you find any bugs, be sure to report them, and I’ll get them fixed as soon as possible. Next time, I should have some news regarding the B Map and what you can expect in it. But until then, you’ve got a nice nearly-completed map to tide you over. Thanks, and have fun!

#18

Wow, this is actually really shaping up!

The new areas are looking really good. A while down the road, I may actually want to work with you on moving them around to make this level of the HSSF more of a cohesive section and less just a sprawl, but as it stands I quite like the design of each individual one. A few things worth noting:

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Think you’re going a little overboard on the lights in here. Or, well, actually a lot overboard. Get rid of the side lights and just keep the roof one.

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The offices are finally shaping up, which means I can finally put my finger on what exactly was bothering me about them. First of all, there’s the desks- WGH uses those green metal work tables in place of the white L-shaped desks, and the small steel desks use the ‘dirty’ skin. Additionally, the room as it is is very cramped- there’s a lot of decals on the walls, and more importantly every available bit of floor/wall space is taken up with desks. Black Mesa usually does not do things this ‘dense’ in the administrative areas; I’d say offices of this size should only have one or two desks. That, and the chairs are different colors.

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Oh, and this monitor model is used all of once in canon Black Mesa… and it kind of looks bad, too.

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I’m still triggered by the placement of this stairwell, and still looking for any other place it could possibly be put.

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These doors are really weird. Why not just the regular WGH garage doors?

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Obviously the bathrooms are extremely new, but I’m already thinking of how to go about making them less fake-looking. For one thing they’re very boxy, but I’m not sure how to fix that… hmm, maybe we should have two different types of wall texture to help break things up? Also, while it might be expected in an actual building, Black Mesa is much more sparing in the overhead lights: I’d suggest removing at least half of the ones in here.

#19

I’ve seen a lot of real loading docks which use these kinds of doors. In most instances I’ve seen, these doors are used on the loading docks themselves (i.e. the spot where the truck backs into), whereas the more common “roll up” doors which are found throughout the facility are generally used between rooms within the facility itself (which is not to say that I have never seen them used for loading docks). However, I will note that doors like these don’t usually go straight up- so I’ll either replace them or make some adjustments to their tracks so they don’t look so odd.

I was actually thinking that we could get some custom restroom textures in here, but until we get a texture artist we’ll have to find another way to resolve this issue. I’m wondering which textures we should use though- I’m not entirely sure which textures would go well with the texture the restrooms currently use- or which ones to replace them with.

#20

Perhaps take some of the textures from the cafeteria? I am thinking in particular of the white office-wall texture used in the kitchen.

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.