Modding: March 2006 Archive Page

Because I was away at a conference all week, I didn't have much time. I had already found some good trees and begun work on the ceiling of my test room, but I figured I had played with that test room enough. But in about four hours today, I created this room from scratch. The textures were part of packs I had already downloaded, of course.

I'm working on trying to create a Half-Life 2 mod version of "Cloak of Darkness," a simple game that interactive fiction programmers use as a kind of universal translator. If you know how to create "Cloak of Darkness" in one programming language, then seeing how somebody else has created it in a different language can help you learn that language, too.

I have noted before that Half-Life 2 is set in a grungy dystopia, so there are a lot of textures for rubble and cement, but not a whole lot of gilt paneling, marble alcoves, etc. I was happy to find a texture for shiny brass, which with some marble tiles lets me make something approximating the opulence of an opera hall (which is where "Cloak of Darkness" is supposed to be set). I e-mailed the author of the "A Few Good G-Men" video, to ask whether he'd be willing to share the set for that piece, but I got no reply. I'd still like to use his courtroom set, but it will be good for me to learn this stuff on my own, so I'm continuing to slog away.

I rather like the ceiling, and the wall sconces, but I'd like to make the chandelier just a little bit more classical, like an upside-down wedding cake. While I would have liked elegant marble columns and arched alcoves, for the time being I'll make do with blocky shapes.

That's because "Cloak of Darkness" involves some simple interactions with objects, so I've got to finish laying out the rooms quickly so I can start investigating conditional actions and in-game feedback (perhaps through voice and/or text).

Half-Life 2 Mod: Week 5 -- Brass Columns, Detailed Ceiling, Chandelier in a Blocky Opera House (Jerz's Literacy Weblog)

Thanks to a comment a former student added to last week's post, I found some pleasant, lush models of trees, along with numerous other realistic residential items. I've added the fluorescent light fixtures and wall sconces inside, and some pretty trees outside. I also started working with a street model (curbs and sidewalks), but ran into some file-name snags. Nothing major -- I just didn't feel like doing a lot of renaming manually. (There's got to be a way to batch process this kind of thing.)

Since this past week was Spring Break, my wife scheduled a lot of family activities. I still got to the office three days during the week, but much of that time was taken up with writing a letter of recommendation for one student, helping a different student apply for funds, and working on a new website for one of the campus units. I enjoy doing that stuff -- it's the kind of thing that gets squeezed out of a typical day during a typical week. I wouldn't exaclty say I enjoyed looking over 10 folders from applicants who don't meet our SAT admissions requrements, but it is important work that I take seriously; we actually have 20 folders to look at by Tuesday, but I wanted to get a head start on the stack. In addition, the pending release of an update to the interactive fiction programming language Inform has gotten me to pay more than the usual amount of attention to the world of contemporary text-adventure gaming.

So I haven't fired up Hammer (the Half-Life 2 world-building tool) for several days.

I have laid the groundwork for some future accomplishments. I had to leave my work computer on overnight, but it finally downloaded Steam. I confess I didn't get much modding done, since I took the opportunity to replay the beginning of Half-Life 2, marvelling at the graphics (which look great on the screen of my tiny Dell 700m laptop, but which look even better on my more powerful work computer). But theoretically, now I can test out the FacePoser (which crashes when I try it at home).

I also asked my university for the funds to buy a few copies of XSI, a powerful 3D model tool. For the purposes I have in mind, each student won't need an individual copy. In a note I wrote to my dean, I likened XSI to a kiln, and noted that when I did a ceramics project in the third grade, I didn't need my own kiln. I molded my clay and gave it to my teacher to bake. Later, I put on the glaze, and she baked it again. Okay, that metaphor sort of messes up the whole Steam/Hammer/Forge thing that Valve Software has going, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I also let our networking folks know about my desire to teach with Steam this fall. I'll need to find out what computer lab I'm going to have to use, so I can book it now.

Also in the "planning ahead" category, I've got to put together a syllabus for a games programming course that a nearby college has asked me to teach online.

From my server logs, I've noticed that my modding diary is starting to attract hits from search engines. I can't imagine that I'd be of much help right now, but I plan to keep chronicling my progress, so that people who are even greener newbies than I am might learn a thing or two, and people who've been so kind to post helpful online tutorials can bask in the link love I shall bestow upon them.

Next on my modding to-do list: Probably working a little more on the lighting, adding a working light switch and some exterior light fixtures. Maybe some grass, too. I'd also like to figure out how to get bright sunlight to come down from the sky -- right now the only light comes from artificial sources I've placed around my model.

I don't know that I'll get to it in the coming week, but I'm eager to figure out how to get my NPCs to respond to my actions. I'd also like to record some original dialog and get an in-game NPC to speak it.

Half-Life 2 Mod: Week 3 -- Trees, Wall Sconces, Ceiling Fixtures (Jerz's Literacy Weblog)

My Half-Life 2 Mod, Week 2: Custom Textures, Glass Window, Tree (Jerz's Literacy Weblog)

A week after I began a serious attempt to create a Half-Life 2 mod, I've made some good progress.

Early last week, I did manage to add the hinged door that was the next thing on my agenda. I'd been going crazy because I had turned off "helpers," which means that I couldn't see the blue sphere that all the tutorials mentioned was supposed to mark the site of the hinge.

Half-Life 2 is set in a grungy urban dystopia, so the image files that depict stock materials (wood panels, plaster ceilings, brick walls) all look pitted and rough. While I don't want to spend forever fiddling with images, I began to realize last week that the image files really aren't just window dressing. The availability of appropriate images really does affect what items I choose to work on.

I found a few texture packs that expand the number of materials available to Hammer (the 3D world tool I'm using), but I was having trouble following a tutorial to load just one custom texture. The comments at the end of the tutorial indicate that I'm not the only one suffering from similar problems. After several hours and several tries, I finally figured out where the custom textures should go, and how to find them within the 3D editor when I wanted to use them. (Those textures came in an "rar" archive. While I already had a tool that was supposed to deal with "rar" files, when I decompressed the file the target folder was always empty. So I had to upgrade to the 30-day trial version of Power Archiver. When that runs out, I'll have to take a look at open-source archiving tools.

With that under my belt, I downloaded a pack of hundreds of new textures, including the tile floor, panel walls, and wood beam that you can see in the image. In this model, I added a ceiling, though now the lights are just emanating from nowhere. I'll have to create some light fixtures.

The tree visible outside the window comes with Half-Life 2, and I guessed correctly that it was possible to change its "skin" to add a few leaves. Not many. I'll have to keep looking if I want to use some healthy trees.

I took the gun away from the NPC Alyx, so now she's a little less aggressive. I'm not sure how to adjust her behavior, but at least she fits in slightly better in the realistic office setting I'm trying to create.

The wood panel walls are actually too fancy for the generic office settings, but I do want to create a courtroom at some point, so I don't mind experimenting with this design scheme.

The next big "proof of concept" for me is to import models of ready-made furniture. The desk visible in the photo comes with the game. I've seen textures that I can apply to simple cubes in order to get bookcases, file cabinets, bulletin boards, and the like. While I love adventure games, with secret panels containing keys that unlock more secret panels, the mod I'm working will need few functioning props (other than doors). Still, I've seen ready-made models of computer desks, TV sets, kitchen appliances, and even a collection of SWAT vehicles (that might be very useful for the police station that I hope will be in the mod).

I had to hack the URL at Wadfather in order to get past the ridiculously complex navigational system. (The link goes directly to the "Real World" textures I'll need.)