Creative use of slopes in 3D space

ReX · Post by **ReX** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:28 pm

There was a discussion on the use of slope things in this thread, and I had asked for help in building a construct from Half-Life. Risen whipped up a very elaborate example that showed it could be done, but many people suggested models. Before setting off to learn the intricacies of models I decided I would give a sector-based construct another shot. Instead of exactly duplicating the geometry of the Half-Life object I decided to create a variation that would not require elaborate sector work (as in Risen's example) and would also perhaps look more interesting. Here, then, are the results.

First, the original from Half-Life, then 3 pics from my mod, taken from different angles. [Note: GZDooM does not support translucency in sloped 3D sectors, and so it is not possible to make the liquid in the ionization reactor translucent, nor to have sloped glass on top. Ah, well.]

[EDIT: I can't post any images, as the following message indicates: Sorry, but the maximum filesize for all Attachments is reached. Please contact the Board Administrator if you have questions. Instead, I've put the pictures up at my site, and linked them below.]

Original Half-Life object
GZDooM version, Angle 1
GZDooM version, Angle 2
GZDooM version, Angle 3

Post by **Nash** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:31 pm

Beautiful, Rex! The thought of constructing that entirely out of 3-d floors kind of hurts my head...

Risen · Post by **Risen** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:41 am

Quite nicely done.

Post by **Enjay** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:09 am

[Dark Lord of the Sith]Impressive, most impressive.[/Dark Lord of the Sith]

Seriously, that looks great. Very much the feel of the original but adapted for a different engine and, actually, I think more believable.

David Ferstat · Post by **David Ferstat** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:02 am

Vivat ReX!

LorD_BaZ · Post by **LorD_BaZ** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:15 am

That is. Very. Very. Very Freaking cool. Nice work.

Lamneth · Post by **Lamneth** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:37 am

I'd suggest remaking more of Half-Life, but that was probably headache enough as it is.

wildweasel · Post by **wildweasel** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:41 am

Holy crap. If it wasn't for the medikit icon (replace that and the numbers with 32-bit PNG's so you can get real translucency, theoretically - then just make your own medkits with new graphics), I'd swear that was a real HL screenshot.

Post by **Nash** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:27 pm

I wouldn't really say it looks exactly like HL though, because HL makes heavy usage of lightmaps which makes GZDoom lighting look very flat.

ReX · Post by **ReX** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:45 pm

Lamneth wrote:I'd suggest remaking more of Half-Life, but that was probably headache enough as it is.

As a matter of fact, I'm doing just that. As part of a 5-map hub for GZDooM I have almost completed the recreation of Sector C and Anomalous Materials from H-L [these are the areas the player first travels through until the accident in the Anomalous Materials lab that unleashes chaos]. This (and the other maps) fit into a parallel storyline involving the Black Mesa Research facility at the same time that Gordon Freeman is busy blowing up the place. However, the first map is going to be the only one that replicates areas in Half-Life. It has been a royal pain in the butt to do it, as I am working only from in-game screenshots of Half-Life - I did not want to install and learn how to use the H-L editor, and I thought using screenshots would be easier. How wrong I was.

As for the build time, it took me 2 to 3 hours to create those constructs after I decided not to attempt exact replicas of the originals (not counting the time I spent researching the weirder types of 3D slopes and the time spent in trial and error in my attempts to duplicate the original).

The mod includes H-L textures in png format (so that, because they retain their individual color pallettes, they look like the originals), replacement of all enemy sprites and much of their behavior, replacement of all weapon sprites and some weapon behavior, a few non-player (non-combatant) characters, a beautiful new skybox (courtesy of Enjay), new sounds, etc.

I have been planning to put screenshots up at my site, DooM Nexus, but I want to do that after I have added three new hi-res non-player characters, which I should be getting done in a day or so. Stay tuned.

Ixnatifual · Post by **Ixnatifual** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:12 pm

Awesome-looking "models" you got there.

Amuscaria · Post by **Amuscaria** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:15 am

wow, that is sweet. Must have taken some 60+ 3D floors for that thing.

Risen · Post by **Risen** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:50 am

Eriance wrote:Must have taken some 60+ 3D floors for that thing.

Not necessarily. A lot of the floors could be reused in multiple places, meaning it could probably be done using around 20.

Kristus · Post by **Kristus** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:18 pm

I count 8.. But I am a bit drunk. So I may be mistaken.

EDIT: Sorry, 14 (damn mirrored slopes, I'm stuck in Radiant Brush mode. :p), although, with that glass it ends at about 17. So yeah. Risen's estimate was pretty good.

ReX · Post by **ReX** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:45 pm

Eriance wrote:wow, that is sweet. Must have taken some 60+ 3D floors for that thing.

There are 20 control sectors and 17 in-game sectors. Managing with only 17 sectors is possible because of massive sector referencing. See the link to the WadAuthor screenshot for details. [Damn forum software will not allow me to upload a picture because "the maximum filesize for all Attachments is reached".] The red-circled sectors are the control sectors and the yellow-circled one are the in-game sectors.

WadAuthor Screenshot