Any reason to avoid func_breakable?

Belli

L69: Deviant Member
Jan 21, 2012
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I recently took a look at watchtower, and the breakable windows actually don't look bad, so why aren't breakable used more, e.g., to customize payload explosions a bit?

Do the that much impact on performance, or why are the generally avoided/underused?
 
Jan 8, 2011
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Personally, I avoid them because they tend to confuse players. TF2 has pretty much no grey area about what you can or cannot shoot through. Even the chickenwire fences are bulletproof. So it can be a little confusing when that sentry nest you've happily built, which even has a lovely window to let you see when people are coming, is suddenly destroyed by a swarm of pipes coming through the window.
 

A Boojum Snark

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Also because it is multiplayer, rounds go on awhile, and breakables only break once. The rule of video games is that if it can be broken, the first person to walk by will break it. Not really "worth" using.
 

Belli

L69: Deviant Member
Jan 21, 2012
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Also because it is multiplayer, rounds go on awhile, and breakables only break once. The rule of video games is that if it can be broken, the first person to walk by will break it. Not really "worth" using.

Okay, I should've been a bit more clear about my intentions, I thought about using it to make payload explosions visibly damage the area around them, so only objects would only be breaking on trigger.
 

A Boojum Snark

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You could, but there would likely be visible lines between the breakables and the world prior to breaking since entities and world brushes get rendered separate and slightly different.
Technically, there would be nothing wrong with it. Have at it and see if you can make something you like.
 
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Trotim

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Jul 14, 2009
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func_breakables players can destroy are generally seen as fine as long as they're either just details or you're mapping for a mode where frequent map resets happen (i.e. Arena).

And I may be in the minority here but I always found the breakable tunnel wall at 2nd of cp_warpath to be fun.
 

Pocket

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For payload explosions? Sure, payload explosions damaging things is pretty much the standard. Though usually it's done with a single, large prop_dynamic with a pre-made explosion animation, which obviously is going to be outside the scope of most custom maps. Keep in mind that, in either case, a func_breakable can't have stickies attached to it and won't clip ragdolls, so don't turn the whole area around the final point into one, or anything.

func_breakables players can destroy are generally seen as fine as long as they're either just details or you're mapping for a mode where frequent map resets happen (i.e. Arena).
Or any Counter-Strike mode ever. That game makes frequent use of breakables and, in the case of Source, even large physics objects. I never made the connection before, but it makes a lot more sense now.
 

Mr.Silence

L1: Registered
Dec 19, 2012
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func_breakables players can destroy are generally seen as fine as long as they're either just details or you're mapping for a mode where frequent map resets happen (i.e. Arena).

And I may be in the minority here but I always found the breakable tunnel wall at 2nd of cp_warpath to be fun.

Perhaps I'm part of the same minority. The breakable tunnel in warpath was definitely fun.

If used correctly, it could easily change a stalemate on 2nd and 3rd to a push from 2nd to 1st, provided the enemy team's defenses weren't up to par to repel the attack. But it was only good once, so you had to make it count or it was pretty much open season for the opposing team (unless the first wall wasn't broken, in which case it was all good).

Ah... now I wish to play that map again, lol.


EDIT: To keep on track with the thread, I don't believe there is a reason you need to avoid it, provided it is used correctly or in a way that isn't too detrimental to the game (kinda like on warpath). Just make sure your players know, or at least make it really obvious, that the walls in question can be broken, or they may not figure it out.

Like others have said, it is only good once per map, so a map change will be needed to reset it. I'm sure too many of them may impact performance, but a couple here or there doesn't hurt anything.
 
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