Payload and Aesthetic Issues

English Mobster

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 10, 2011
355
299
I've set up my Payload gametype correctly in my map ([/shamelessplug]), the bomb works, time is awarded correctly, etc. However, I hit a snag on a couple issues:
1. For some reason, the RED base always plays the "Bomb Near Goal" alarm sound, even when the bomb is nowhere near the goal. I copy and pasted the gametype from ABS's library, and I have no idea where the entity playing the sound is. I assume it's an ambient_generic near RED base, but I can't find it for the life of me. There are only 3 ambient_generics located near RED base, a short "beep", a "cart falling" noise, and an explosion noise. All have the "Start Silent" flag checked. Is this handled somewhere else, by the gametype, perhaps? If so, what's causing it? Or is there an entity that I somehow missed?
2. When the bomb is inactive for 30 seconds and "reverses", it literally turns around 180 and reverses. It doesn't face one direction like it does in the Valve maps. Sparks still fly out the back and everything. The only modification I've made to the bomb was setting the "Change Angles" in the func_tracktrain to "Linear Blend", as the bomb was "jumpy" when it came to corners. Could that be the reason why? If so, what would you suggest to improve how the bomb handles around corners?
3. This really isn't an issue with gameplay as much as it is aesthetics. How does one "blend" floor textures within a building? I change from a spytech tile to a light concrete, and again from the light concrete to a darker concrete, all within the same building. Each time I transition, it feels a little jarring. I have doorframes that aid when my walls change texture, but the doorframes sadly don't cover the floor.
4. This is another aesthetic issue, but how does one make ceilings look nice? What textures do you use? The shots I keep seeing are for the 2fort or Dustbowl-style "farm" bases, whereas this is an intermodal yard and thus has more of an "industrial" look. The only thing I can really see that may look nice is to have vents/ducts in areas with high ceilings and florescent lights in areas that warrant them.
Many thanks!
 

Omnomnick

L6: Sharp Member
Aug 16, 2009
335
111
No need to shamelessly plug here, it's what this site is for really :D

As for number 1, I'm pretty sure its handled by the gamemode, when the cart reaches a certain func_track entity within a certain number of tracks from the end. I don't know for definite, someone else might know 100%.

Number 2, all I can say is lol. I've never seen carts turn round and reverse. It probably is the setting you changed, since I don't think the ABS library would have something as silly and obvious as that left in (yeah I know a lot of that library is borked anyway but not that badly.)

To blend a texture, you've got to use a 'blendable' texture. They usually go under names such as "blendconcretetograss01" or something similar. The thumbnail will show the 2 textures which can be blended against one another, making them abit more obvious to find. To blend it, you have to use the "Paint Alpha" tools in the displacement tab of the Texture Edit interface.

And ceilings can look nice in a variety of ways, but your best bet is to make it look structurally stable, then leave most of it plain and simple, maybe a few lights and vents only to break up visual repetition. Personally I hate using the slanted roof textures inside buildings, I always get frustrated trying to make the wooden beams to make it look as if they're holding it up right, and personally I think without something like that it can look pretty stupid (that small shed in Blu spawn on Barnblitz for example). You can kind of cheat by adding a flat ceiling to most buildings, meaning you don't have to detail under the slanted roof, it also makes your buildings look more believable because it gives the illusion there are other floors above. Aesthetic details are up to the individual designer, so do what you think looks good.
 

LeSwordfish

semi-trained quasi-professional
aa
Aug 8, 2010
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(yeah I know a lot of that library is borked anyway but not that badly.)

lulwat

I have found one issue in the entire gametype library, and i think it's my fault. (Payload cart rollback on hills casues it to go slightly off-track until it's pushed again)

To blend a texture, you've got to use a 'blendable' texture. They usually go under names such as "blendconcretetograss01" or something similar. The thumbnail will show the 2 textures which can be blended against one another, making them abit more obvious to find. To blend it, you have to use the "Paint Alpha" tools in the displacement tab of the Texture Edit interface.

He isnt asking that in a technical sense, he's asking it thematically.

Some doorways have metal trims at the bottom, and several floor textures have variants with edges. Best advice i can give you here is align the texture you use properly on each side- play with the "L" "R" "T" "B" and "Center" options- doing this should align a gap between tiles, or the edge of a plank at the edge of the brush, which looks much nicer than half a brick or half a tile- even just the line of the crack will make it look better, since it looks as if one ends and the other begins. Or simply steal minor ideas from valve maps.
 

English Mobster

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 10, 2011
355
299
Thanks for the responses, everyone.
I've always had issues with maps trying to make them "look good"; by the end of my career working on the last game I worked on (Halo 1, aka Halo: Custom Edition, where I used 3DS Max), I had gotten really good at making maps look nice, but TF2's a whole different ballgame, on both the thematic and program fronts. I'm still getting used to Hammer, the controls still annoy me to no end compared to 3DS Max, but it does have its pluses. I appreciate the fact that you can have intersecting geometry, something that Halo got really anal about at times. :p
Even so, perhaps I just notice it a little too much, but I'll take another look at the textures available to me and see what I come up with.
Once I reseal my map, I'll also play around with the Payload some more and revert it back to its original settings to see if I'm able to fix things.
 

English Mobster

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 10, 2011
355
299
Okay, a couple updates.
I've managed to fix the "Payload faces backwards when going backwards" problem, but now I have a new issue: I have 2 rollback zones and 2 rollforward zones. The rollforward zones work fine, and the FIRST time the cart is left on the track, the rollback zones work fine as well. HOWEVER, if the cart is stopped going up the track a second time, it won't go back down. The only way to get it to go back down is to get it to the top of the hill but not quite past the end of the official rollback zone (e.g. where the path_track declaring the end is). Then, if you abandon it, it will fall back down the hill the way it's supposed to.
I believe I set everything up right, but perhaps I didn't. Has anyone else experienced a similar issue or know the answer to this one?
 

Omnomnick

L6: Sharp Member
Aug 16, 2009
335
111
Be sure to make a thread for your map if you haven't already, that way you can easily gather feedback after play tests etc.
 
Apr 13, 2009
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To set up a proper rollback zone you need at least 2 path_tracks flagged with rollback, one at the bottom and one at the top (and then you can have as many as you want in-between, so long as they're all flagged as rollback), you should also have one path_track not flagged as rollback not too far from the first (bottom) rollback path_track, is this done right ?