Upcoming VAR / HL Mission Pack...

RopeDrink · 31-12-2001 4:32pm #1

Well, it's happened - Seeing as I have my PC back, I've re-delved into the world of mapping and have already started a new HL mission pack, mainly based on my novel, "Acid-Reign", and so it will also include the background to clan VAR, seeing as VAR is a major part of the novel itself... No, the novel doesn't include CS or CS Players, it's a Human Research Organisation located on a base island on the coast of Canada, that has taken immense steps towards the creation of artificial human life, using the dead bodies as templates.

You play the part of Andre D'Auguste, a VAR Escapee / Fugitive.

Previously the head of one of the research departments within the company, he has witnessed the many vile projects carried out, and barely escaped the island alive, after it was said he was also destined to be used in an experimental project, which would more than likely result in his death, considering the poor success rate of all experiments - And because he has been the only person ever to escape the island, it would seem he was the only person with enough balls, and evidence, to bring such a vile company to their knee's.

Rather than put himself in the spotlight by exposing VAR, he Evaded discovery for two years solid yet D'Auguste, after returning home from outer-city business, finds his home decimated. Because of the location, it was extremely unlikely to be your basic robber, seeing as nothing was actually stolen, so there really was one conclusion. An old enemy is back to haunt him...

It would seem that it was again time to evade capture, and so his goal was to escape the city limits, and find another safe location, yet on the way he begins to encounter strange beings, not hesitant to eliminate all in their wake - Looks like VAR's experiments have actually been successfully completed, and Andre D'Auguste is now the guinea pig, used to test their efficiency.

It's based on the novel, but the characters / events and monsters in the mission pack have nothing to do with it.

It'll be a mission pack which will have you travelling through quiet city area's, with the time of day effecting the lighting, back-and-forth travel, which will show all re-visited locations changing in many ways, unfolding storyline, custom voices / acting, yet it will still keep all HL models / enemies (Which is a shame)

It'll also include all previous CS mas I've made, de_gravel, cs_heath, de_tinban, all retextured, re-lit and revamped for the half life mission pack.

I've started a layout, so the next few pics I show will not be of the completed levels I'll be including - The majority of your journey will be in darkness, and by god I'll get thi pack to get a few jumps out of you...

1

2

Your start off point - You've just returned to see your home in this state, and notice the rat in pic 2 - He's just taken a pee on your carpet.

3

The levels will change in lighting as you progress through the stages, so you'll find yourself fighting crafty beasties during night / day.

4

The stairway to heaven!? Quite the opposite - Some of you will notice that this is the chapel I made quite some time ago, and yes, this time, it's enterable.

5

The chapel will give you no solstice, especially when you take into consideration how bloody dark the interior really is, and how easy it would be for someone to attack you from behind.

6

Continuous travel leads you through the chapel, into the dark backstreets of the city.

7

Rats are your only friend here...

The pictures have been resized quite a lot, so excuse the poor quality, and remember, these are not pics of the finished maps, just showing you the layouts...

Also, as I said, I'll be using custom voices / acting, so if you think you can contribute, then let me know right here.

I am facing one problem though - When I want to set a trigger to a location, so that it loads up the next section, it simply will not work... End_section trigger just shuts down to Halflife mainscreen, while the changelevel doesn't work properly either... if you have any idea of how to fix it, please let me know.

Also, If I am to get these custom sounds to work, how so!? I've tried almost everything, and the damn thing will not play them - I've put sounds into all different folders, linked them in WC different ways, and can't get them to play...

I may be the moderator for this boards, but I sure as hell don't know everything... So if you think you can contribute, then please do so

Have fun.

LURCH · 31-12-2001 4:44pm

looks lubberly cant wait, like the story, could be a classic

][cEMAN** · 31-12-2001 4:53pm

OWNING ME PANTALOOOOOONS

I like the scene in the chaple....lighting is eggcellent

Can't wait till ye get off ya ass and FINISH it :P

RopeDrink · 31-12-2001 4:56pm

The storyline to the mod is extremely basic, it's just barely rubs off the Novel storyline which is, bar far, more complex, and has an immense ammount of twists in it...

Still, that'll be the storyline until I've created more maps / layouts, and if I feel like changing anything, I will do so...

Zaphod Beeblebrox · 31-12-2001 7:06pm

very nice

wan ropeypoos

Anima · 31-12-2001 10:04pm

For the changelevel did you use an info_landmark?
other than that i don't know whats wrong. i was never very good at using changelevel things

ThrAx · 01-01-2002 9:16pm

uber leet

it looks fuucking great. I want to work on a mod, but I dont like mapping for hl.

Anybody want to work on a Q3 mod? C'mon there has to be some q3 mapper out there whos interested?

Look at my ubber leet skillz:

cmon quakers!

Lyconix · 03-01-2002 10:45am

I'm still getting the hang of QtkRadiant, try me in a month

TacT · 03-01-2002 3:31pm

nice one rope

DRakE · 04-01-2002 4:50pm

looks nice, shame about the pic quality though

anyway... www.poke646.com - check that out...it's now the hl mod for suingle player that others are judged against.

ThrAx · 05-01-2002 2:07am

lyconix i recommend quark if gtk radiant is too difficult. quark also supports half-life and loadsa other games.

rope, have u ever done any quake maps?

Swifty · 05-01-2002 2:58am

Lookin great.

RopeDrink · 05-01-2002 3:33pm

Originally posted by ThrAx

rope, have u ever done any quake maps?

I've tried my hand at it yes, yet the majority of my interest lies in HL / CS / TFC mapping alone, despite the fact that I've tried quite a lot of games...

Basically, the way I see it is - Im pretty big into CS (Heck, I've been running CS clan VAR for 2 and a half years) so why would I begin to make maps for a game I rarely ever play anymore?... That wouldn't stop me though, and I have to admit the Quake engine is a weird and wonderful one - If I was getting a rake of people together to attempt a professional MOD (Which the one im working on at the moment isn't) I'd use the Quake engine...

I made a below average DM map for Quake two years ago, before being pointed to WC by DrAkE, and I haven't turned back since

Enough of my history lesson (No one cares anyway

) any idea's about how to implement custom voices etc!? Also, Raven, I didn't use a landmark entity... Basically I tried a changelevel (inputted the name of the next map) and it crashed - Endsection merely put you back to the main screen. Cheers for the link Drakey Honey - I'll give it a browse soon.

RopeDrink · 05-01-2002 3:56pm

Ooopsie

ThrAx · 06-01-2002 1:54am

got a download link for that quake map u made?

-ADREN- · 06-01-2002 3:51am

jeezz nice one rope.. nice to c u rnd again

-adren-

-ADREN- · 06-01-2002 3:55am

cant u redo the original HL models and mabey color them different of somthing??

Bob the Unlucky Octopus · 06-01-2002 5:45am

Nice one Rope m8- told ya that novel was class stuff- this is even better than publication imho- the pics look wicked too. And I'm betting there's more than *one* shotgun-wielding foe who jumps around and throws grenades with unerring accuracy

A rope-bot villain in the mission pack...can hardly wait.

Occy

Anima · 06-01-2002 11:05pm

well you can use my carbine for a replacement when its done.

http://www.raven.alpha-anime.co.uk/Colt%20Ar15.jpg

Ivan · 07-01-2002 10:40am

Who lit a fire underneath your ass?, nice job m8. Keep up the good work, I look forward to it

Ivan

Lyconix · 07-01-2002 1:24pm

Originally posted by ThrAx
lyconix i recommend quark if gtk radiant is too difficult.

Thanks, but I'm actually getting along nicely in QtkRadiant... my experience mapping for Half-Life in WorldCraft helped a lot since both editors are pretty similiar under the hood...

Expect screenshots of my first creation very soon... try not to expect too much though

The Clown Man · 07-01-2002 4:59pm

L33t.

Cant wait to see the finished article.

I wanna be a npc.

RopeDrink · 07-01-2002 5:03pm

Cheers lads (And RaveN for the offer)

I am, most definately, trying to implement new idea's / models / skins / weapons etc into this Pack, and once I get a new microphone I'll start getting some analogue, preferably from the VAR members themselves (Would be funny / interesting)

Some pointers...

Yes - You will meet members of the Clan within the game, only if they agree not to sue my ass (lol) and also, must sign their vocal chords over to my possession, should they wish to make a guest appearance... They will mostly be in a boss form, usually you meet them one on one in a rather tight and tense environment - I don't know if you can "Programme" enemies to have more health etc than the usual ones, but if I can't, then it will be one on one battles in medium sized, pitch black (Minimul Lighting) area's to add effects...

Yes - I would like to have some custom models / weapons etc, but I have no knowledge as to how I can go about creating / imputting them into the game... If anyone would like to contribute, I'd be hella grateful.

Yes - There will be some form of understandable story line, but it would goto waste without custom voices... Has anyone ANY idea how to put in custom sounds (Which folders to put them in - What entities / properties I must use)!?

Yes - Tonnes of varied themes in the maps - Im already working on a really dark temple type area, and it's looking quite nice, despite being a little offscale at the mo.

I still can't get the changelevel thing to work - I added landmarks (Just an entity - Not sure if I have to select a rake of the map and tie it to a landmark entity, that is if you can actually do it) - When I tried with just a normal landmark entity, the "Loading" sign appeared, and once the map fully loaded, you are spawned dead, and can't move... I'd like to fix this, so that you keep all your possessions when you switch through stages...

They are completely different maps, as opposed to one huge map, divided into chunks, so is that the problem!?

Until I sort these problems, I'll stick to mapping until I get a thourough layout done, then I'll add all the proper lighting / details after...

Until then, wish me luck, and if you think you can help in any way, I'd really appreciate it...

RopeDrink · 07-01-2002 5:35pm

Sorry, left out a few thing...

I don't have a link to the Quake Map I made, sorry - I never bothered keeping it after I uninstalled Quake (I re-installed it merely for the Galway LAN 2 and have never seen my map since) it wont be missed anyway...

Cheers for the idea RaveN, would love to use the Colt in the Mod, if you'd let me, and I have to ask... You dont happen to have a Bennelli M3, or some form of "Other" shotgun hanging around that could be used!? Or anything else for that matter - I'd like to get this mission pack as varied as possible, so that people don't play it thinking "Shesh, all these mods are the bloomin same"

Im sure I could use Milkshape3D to make new models etc, but the problem is I dont have my net conn to download it anymore, nor can I download ANYTHING that'll help me in this mod...

I will be adding fog into some area's, and rain if I can get my hands on the rain sprite (If you have a rain sprite / or think you can find a link to one, please let me know ) so not only does the lighting change, but the weather...

One more thing - Im aware that zipping a certain file and opening it will show you the list of .wav files used in halflife (It was extremely easier to map for CS seeing as all the .wav files were actually included in the sounds folder, rather than in a HL .pak)
If you have a list, or know how to find out the names of the sounds, please let me know!?

Im asking for a lot, sorry, but at the end of the day, the more I know the better this thing will turn out, and yall will get special mention + Cider if you catch me on a generous day + Sure I'll more than likely be helping you in your future projects

Thanks for all your support / help so far - It'll be worth your while

Guy Incognito · 07-01-2002 5:45pm

Found this with the rain sprite yoke and a tutorial an' all. Is this alright?

RopeDrink · 07-01-2002 6:35pm

That'd be the one...

Like I said, i don't have my home based connection, so I couldn't look at my old links / favourites list - Anyway, cheers for that mate - Will bring a disk to the cafe and take the sprite home - Dont need the rest, but thanks a bunch...

Anima · 07-01-2002 10:50pm

well i found a few pics for shotguns...

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/0400/414.htm

Benneli M3

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/1000/1012.htm

Benelli M4 Super 90

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/0700/723.htm

Benelli Nova

http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/0900/952.htm

HK Benelli Joint Service Combat Shotgun

Which one would you like?

ThrAx · 08-01-2002 1:08am

rope I can give you 3D Studio Max if you'd prefer it to milkshape 3d. It would be more powerful and you could get better results if you knew how to use it.

RopeDrink · 08-01-2002 3:27pm

Lubberly!

It has to be the M3 Super 90!
It's all I use in CS so it would be morally wrong not to have my NPC Baddie character in the game without one...

Cheers for the feedback Raven, and everyone else...

Had new pictures of my latest work (Which really reminded me of "Return To Castle Wolfenstein" somehow) and I left my goddamn disks at AngelWhore's house, so I can't nab the Rain sprite either...

Thrax, the only way I'd be able to get a program like that off you would be if it was burnt to CD and given / sent to me - I can download things, but unless they can fit onto a disk there really is no point...

Thanks for the offer, would love to remodel a few things myself, seeing as I want this pack to be as varied / far away from Half-Life as possible...

Also had some new idea's for the maps - Unravelling the story-line will include reading through various notes and items you find along the way... Quite easy to do it really, so not only will you be killing, wandering through the haze of the pack, you'll also be checking up on clues / storyline information along the way...

It wont be a walk in the park, as there'll be a few puzzles also (Basic ones) and Im thinking of adding a "Resident Evil" touch to one of the maps.

More news soon. Thanks for all the help guys, but Im still stuck when it comes to custom sounds and the like... it's slowing my progress down...

RopeDrink · 08-01-2002 4:22pm

Seeing as switching lights on / off can be done + Flickers etc, wa just thinking about using a trigger_auto / multi manager to change the effects of the light_environment over set pieriods of time, giving a sort of day to night effect...

Not sure if it's possible, or if changes in the light_env can only be seen by re-compiling, but it would be quite easy to have multiple light_env's being deleted whilst others are created, so if it worked, would it actually change the lighting!? It would work with light / light_spot, so I can't see why it shouldn't...

if it does, then expect rain, fog AND alternating lighting... Interesting huh!?

Anima · 08-01-2002 10:20pm

I had a go and this is what i came up with....
BTWthere is no skin yet and if anybody is good at photoshop and would like to skin please email me.

http://www.raven.alpha-anime.co.uk/Bennelli.jpg

RopeDrink · 09-01-2002 1:45pm

Looks nice...
Very Nice...

I'll rob a few sounds for the shotgun and Colt (Don't forget the colt!) - Looks like I owe RaveN a pint or two

Now, for some more complex questions now that I think of it...
When this whole thing is completed (Will take ages seeing as I've got a lot more mapping to do, new weapons / sounds need to be implemented, have to touch up on all the lighting and storyline etc etc) I would really hate it if this whole New Pack was to be accessed by the console - It looks dull that way (i.e. you install it and then have to type: map blah.bsp) sooooooooooooooooooo...

Anyone know the routine to get it to have it's own main screen!? I'd have some fetching pictures for the main screen, and all that...
Seeing as it'll have it own custom models (Hopefully) custom weapons and the likes, It deserves a main screen...

Im also trying to work on an intro but I'll save that untill the very last... Can't seem to find any way to add custom sounds at all.
Would also like to get a portion of coding implemented, to give certain enemies extra health, and other bits and bobs but It looks like there's little to no chance of that happening...

Well, until then im going to continue mapping - Some new pics of the actual research islands upper region - The actual labs were hidden under a desolate, half crumbling temple that played some significance in past history, but isn't the worlds biggest tourist sight / attraction, so it brings very little attention to itself... Then again, it was the place were rather disturbing sightings have been reported, seeing as the island was also used as a dump for all the failed experiments that VAR had created in previous years... They may have been regarded as failures, but they sure as hell aren't "Dead" so you'll have to cream your way through dark, dank tunnels, overflowed hallways, and find some way of getting under the temple into the labs...

Not much done on the temple yet, hence the lack of varied pics, but you get the general idea - Might not look like much so far, but it looks great in Worldcraft, and when Im finished it'll be a page out of "Return To Castle Wolfenstein's" Book

Thanks for all the support guys.

Anima · 09-01-2002 9:53pm

For its own main screen you need a liblist.gam. Its in a all the mod folders but use the valve 1. It looks like this.

______________________________________

// Valve Game Info file
// These are key/value pairs. Certain mods will use different settings.
//
game "YOUR MOD"
startmap "Whatever the first map is"
trainmap "Training level - t0a0 is the defalt"
mpentity "info_player_deathmatch"
gamedll "dlls\hl.dll"
gamedll_linux "dlls/hl_i386.so"

______________________________________

Put this in a folder in the half-life folder and its will show up in the custom mod menu. Heres a tut for a full custimisation
http://www.planethalflife.com/wavelength/2dart/tutorials/MenuTutorial.html

RopeDrink · 10-01-2002 1:49pm

Cheers Raven (Again!)

Will copy / paste the stuff to disk so I can remember, seeing as I can't check the net all the time (Damn café)

Tried to add the rain into my temple map template, with ill results - Must try a few variations of the entities. But, had absolutely no problem with the rising musty fog... Can you make it out!?

Firstly, added alternate routes, like breakable walls, lamps etc

Fog1

Crumbling Pillars

I've ran out of disk space on my boards account - Need to find some free & easy to use web space for a rake of pictures...
I have loads more but Pointless having them without space to put them...

RopeDrink · 10-01-2002 2:52pm

The other pics...
Pillars:

Fog

Wont post no more pics for ages now - I have loads more but it's pointless, and will slow down page loading... Sure for a closer look check http://varmissionpack.htmlplanet.com/images and try to ignore the pictures that are supplied by the website itself...

Took me a few mins to upload the pics, and I dont plan to edit the entire webby much, at all...

Anyway - More updates soon... Going to work on the ambient / weather / alternating lighting once I've completed the temple map...

Thanks for all your support guys...

Upcoming VAR / HL Mission Pack...

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