Update nearing completion!!!

[veteran_gamer]

I'd say about another week! maybe a bit more

I'll also be releasing a teaser demo video a few days before i upload it, just to make everyone nice and anxious!!

just WAIT TILL YOU SEE whats gonna be in the update, it will be for our forum members only as well, at least for the first month or so, i wont be sending an email alert either, so im guessing only a handful of us will be blessed.

see you soon, back to work!

[Blubbles]

AWESOME!! Finnaly the most Highly Anticipated Mod of 2008!
This is definetely one to be in the best of Moddb, 2008. I hope you enjoyed creating it as much as we enjoy playing it! You really work your ass off with only a few helping hands from other people. And when you release it, don't work on it straight away. Sit back, relax and have a donut, You Deserve the Rest Buddy.

Great Work And God Bless!

[kenneth]

And he finally got those zombies detached from their stipper poles! and that means no more fast zombie! damn useless space for models and textures and a useless spot in the zombie gene pool.

God damn.. he's even sent me videos over msn and shit and I've barely scratched the roof in knowing whats all there. Haha damn. This is like one of the biggest updates for a mod ever, even bigger than craptical ever had in its releases.

[keptron]

Sept 17, 2008 15:31:58 GMT -8 veteran_gamer said:

I'd say about another week! maybe a bit more

Releaseeee D: * Zombie mode on *

[IneptGuard]

Sounds great, I can’t wait to see what you’ve been cooking up. ;D

(Question)
Are you going to remove the fast zombies all together? I do believe that Kenneth has a point, until you are able to change the fast zombie’s stats around they are pretty much useless. Although they do still get me to jump every once and a while.





PS. don't forget the apache.

[wells119]

woot can't wait your awesome vet

[veteran_gamer]

I'm experiencing an issue HERE

the zombie2's can climb now, any place anywhere, pretty much balances the "super jump", theres nowhere they cant go, except jumping down from extremely tall structures, HOWEVER, when they climb down, there is a missing event, ive tried so hard believe me to pinpoint the exact event to manipulate, and there is none in sight.

so, when they climb up = beautiful
when they climb down = ragdoll "T" jesus pose.

solution = if the event can be implemented/located - i can simply REVERSE the climbing animation, so when they climb down it'll look cool as hell.

also, i have added new jumping anims for the zombie2's, you'll see that in the first few seconds. God damn it though.

FUCK!

this is something i cannot allow in a release, no fuckin way it looks horrible, I've gone to the Author's forum and requested either for him to kindly tell me what event it is (im almost sure there is none though), or to implement one, i hope to god he replies soon

So my sincere apologies, but there will be no release without this issue being knocked out, i mean why did i go through all the trouble of making these guys, just for them to be BROKEN with no fix in sight. God its like winning the lotto, then they tell you it was a mistake you had the wrong numbers. im really muthafucken mad! the zombies might as well have been for NOTHING if the fucks cant even climb down, it ruins the whole purpose! jesus christ.

on a more positive note, today, i have begun (direct x ripper) to work on porting two more monster zombie2 npcs from jericho, they are beautiful (and horrific), this will take some time, i will put my foot in my mouth yesterday when i announced this update, i thought i was done with zombie2's, I even recompiled all twelve of the bastards with all the new events and uniquely assigned attack variations etc, i truly thought we were close, and we were done.

i always seem to jump the gun, believe it or not, i am just an anxious to release this to you guys, as you are to play it (which is somethin ill never do), i really feel bad for bringing your hopes up.

i swear once this issue is taken care of it'll be here, i'm really frustrated to be honest, here is an NPC that literally has NO SUPPORT, had NOTHING but "run towards th e player" anims and events, and here we have converted them into fully believable monsters, with incredible animations for immersion, we created water out of dirt and dust, yet this fucking issue comes up, its pretty demoralizing and quite the slap in the face,

im so tired

[keptron]

Sept 18, 2008 17:33:36 GMT -8 veteran_gamer said:

so, when they climb up = beautiful
when they climb down = ragdoll "T" jesus pose.

Make then jump down, I think it's more easy/good to npc get the humans

[kenneth]

Dude.. they climb down without WARNING
they just DO IT.. theres no way to get rid of it without removing the climb Atleast I think. Notice how they both jump down and climb down.. that's the reason it's so fucked up. All I can say is.. either wait.. hope and pray the author will fix the issues soon. It's possible.. We just need the author. or.. he can just remove the climbing capabilities and keep the fast zombie. and squeeze a release out, easing the stress of that, then being able to buy time and WAIT on the climbing feature and then do it in another release.

Vet.. I can't say much.. I just CANT i haven't got a clue other than the above but dude. I realize you've worked.... MONTHS.. so hard on the zombie2s.. and you've done a fucking incredible job. but it's not completely lost. Outbreak is outbreak. people enjoyed your mod without the climbing before and I'm sure they can once more. and then you can wait and hope that they will be able to climb down. Keep the progress files, but you're going to just have to .. let it go for now. Just that part. I do realize that a lot of is was personal goals, but still. There's a reason you have a fan base. and these guys are true to you. It is your mod, but it isn't 100 percent for you.

I don't feel what you feel.. but i feel for ya. I'm sorry man. But dude.. rest. A blow like that has got to hurt. trust me im an obsessive nut job and SMOD SMOD SMOD is whats part of my life and a huge chunk of it. If i work on something and run inot walls it'll tear anyone a way.. Just.. rest man. Chill out and try to go one day.. if not a few.. NO OUTBREAK.. fuck it. Just chill i can't even imagine what the hell it feels like. Damn man. So far.. and so close.. but all you really can do is wait and hope. not even the fast zombies climbed down. So, hell it doesn't fully work but lol you gotta admit thats pretty cool, right? an unintentional feature of the zombie2.

[veteran_gamer]

thanks kenny, appreciate it. your common sense and logic is refreshing to read.

what most hurt i think was making a thread here announcing an update, then having this happen, i'm at a standstill. yeah i can remove the climb nodes in the maps, but the fast_zombie could be eradicated with confidence if it was for this dead animation event in the .qc. but mainly its not fair to announce some shit then say oh sorry nevermind, i cant do it. as a ex-full time gamer only, when someone said theres an update (especially HL2 substance), i looked forward to it, i thought about it, i waited, anxiously. and thats essentially what ive done, but kicking the teeth of the hopefuls right after.

i am going to take a break, i think im just burned out. i gotta admit, creating the forum gave smod a higher priority for me, like a sense of duty, and i should listen to my own advice, whenever it stops becoming fun, its not right anymore, nothing comes out properly, more like corporate/job "get it done" rather than make it cool.

so with my sincere apologies, i'm taking a break for a week or so off of SMOD, i think its for the good, for the better, for all of us.

p.s. i want that fast zombie outta there though, this one issue can change the entire face of gameplay, as you said, ill wait, and hope for the best. but i wont wait too long, i have to keep in mind that the author will NEVER update smod again, and that i must make things work with the way they are now.

thanks for the support, and again sorry for being a false-advertising slime. ill never jump the gun with an announcement again like that until the fuckin thing is Uploaded and ready for download.

[kingfire]

This mod is just getting more awesome, I'd pay for that, it's just too awesome. I hope Valve hire you soon so we can make sure that EP3 is gonna rock .

On the fast zombies issue, I don't think it's that big deal, you can release the mod and fix it later, but I understand your point, you worked so much hard on this thing, but at the end there's some small problem that fucked up the whole situation, I know how it feels because that happened to me too.

well, if this can be fixed, then i'm quite sure that this mod will be one of the best mods ever made for HL2.

[veteran_gamer]

thanks kingfire, thats what i had in mind when i saw its potential, to make it the best thing ever created for hardcore gamers, hours of endless fun, worth starting from the beginning over and over again (when the campaign is complete)

and to hear you say what you just did tells me im headed in the right direction, i hope this thing turns out to be what we all want it to, and of course something for valve to look at and hopefully take some ideas from, and improve their own games, i doubt they would ever hire me, its more profitable to keep who they have in their creative control department, and have them imitate ideas of others.

of course if they somehow added me as an advisor or something, my life would be a lot easier than now :]

anyway, thanks for the comment.

[keptron]

Hmm I don't know how coding/modding work, but it would work if you put the zombie to climb down the way he climb up? Looking by the bug in the video, it seen that he try to do movement to climb up, but in the end he do the "T" pose. Or creating a new movement to get down.

I think I am just saying non-sense >_> But just trying to help

[zdan]

Sept 18, 2008 17:33:36 GMT -8 veteran_gamer said:

i always seem to jump the gun, believe it or not, i am just an anxious to release this to you guys, as you are to play it (which is somethin ill never do), i really feel bad for bringing your hopes up.

i swear once this issue is taken care of it'll be here, i'm really frustrated to be honest, here is an NPC that literally has NO SUPPORT, had NOTHING but "run towards th e player" anims and events, and here we have converted them into fully believable monsters, with incredible animations for immersion, we created water out of dirt and dust, yet this fucking issue comes up, its pretty demoralizing and quite the slap in the face

Vet, I do not think you jumped a gun bud. Simply put you were excited about an idea of great potential which was more complicated to sort out then you originally anticipated. You let us know about it then realized an issue was not as easy to resolve in the end am I right? I know how you feel and a break would be prob the best thing for you right now. Its a lot of work and yes we are all glad you push through. However as you said once it is no longer fun then it is just like a normal job, all anybody wants at a job is the day to end.

What i am trying to say is you have not let any of your fans down. Nobody is upset or disapointed at you or the problem, it is just another challenge to iron out in the end. Take a breather for awhile my friend, you earned a break long ago in my opinion. A lot of work you have done for not just yourself but for everybody else.

Well Done Vet, well done indeed.

Have a good vacation

[†Ms. Rocker Red†]

To quote zdan: "What i am trying to say is you have not let any of your fans down. Nobody is upset or disapointed at you or the problem, it is just another challenge to iron out in the end. Take a breather for awhile my friend, you earned a break long ago in my opinion. A lot of work you have done for not just yourself but for everybody else.

Well Done Vet, well done indeed.

Have a good vacation"

Agreed. I think the winers at moddb have got to you. They seem to bitch & moan about everything. Just read our comments here on your forum! ;D

[IneptGuard]

OK, I’m gone for three days and the shit hit the fan. So let’s clean it off, spray some Lysol on it and start her back up again. Vet, I know that feeling. Don’t let this thing beat you, if it can’t be done than it can’t be done so you stop throw it in reverse back up and look for an alternate path. It’s as simple as that. I know that the last thing you want to do is backtrack but sometimes we just have to accept the obvious and keep on moving.

So let me get this strait, the event to trigger the reverse climbing animation doesn’t exist? It doesn’t really surprise me to be honest with you. If you think about it, every time you see fast zombies climbing it’s under very specific circumstances. What you have going on in this video is more of a sandbox style situation. If you open up the ravenholme level in Hammer you will find that there are usually 2 – 4 climbing points in any one situation and there are usually 2 – 6 zombies that use these nodes. They also have an AI scripted schedule telling them to move to a specific point usually located beyond the climbing point where they usually encounter the player or some other NPC. That keeps them from backtracking or the fast zombie could have something in its programming but that doesn’t seem as likely. All this really means is that for now you have to limit your use of climbing nodes to a more scripted / linear role. That’s not so bad if you think about it. So just take a brake and try to stop thinking about it for a while, come back and start finishing up some other things.

You could try adjusting the Z2s aggression. Set them to a disposition of like 100 or some other ridiculous value. This might keep them from backtracking after they make contact with the enemy. I have personally seen some Z2s run away after being wounded by combine soldiers and myself.

And for the dismount, you could try implementing some sort of logic that triggers the dismount animation as the climbing animation finishes. Or find a way to add a scripted sequence at the top of the climb point through mapadds and set it to trigger the mount / dismount animation.

This isn’t the end of the world and I know that you have probably already nodded most of the maps and you can’t even imagine going back and starting over but you don’t have too. If you release this as is, I seriously doubt that anyone here will complain.

And if someone does I will dispatch Ivan the Auger (a large hairy Russian man) to drill their bum hole until they se things our way…

[veteran_gamer]

thanks everyone, and you're right about the scripted events, which is why i forced several fast_zombie animations and specific events into the models themselves, the fast_zombie has been fully replaced and overridden, it was just that fucking climb down that fucks them up. aggression increase isnt necessary, since most of the time that they run away, its just a conflict of them sharing a node path, so they look for a free one, and continue to pursue their target.

anyway i appreciate the good faith you guys have shown me, and ive been taking a nice long break from modding.

here's what i Have been doing, ive been learning HTML to begin to work on the site, the website is pretty much dead and only has two links, so I'm gonna create a nice template to match the forum colors to make it seem a bit more appealing and official. I'm also gonna upgrade the forum, even though its ghetto and has ads, i think its efficient enough to keep around. so far its been good to us with no down-time.

here's also what ive been doing, playing Synergy (co-op) mod, since hl2 default sucks ass (sfx and what not), ive made it look just like outbreak lol, from sfx, to the soldier models, roller-mines etc. now its at least playable, i've also just recently installed eternal silence 3.1 to check it out. this will keep me occupied enough until i miss smod.

as for the moddb and related sites and comments, people -do- complain and moan about a lot of shit, and also make ridiculous requests, like "put gas in the buggy so you can to refuel" (WTF?), or "id like to see Eating animations for the zombie2's". ridiculous. Yeah sure, why dont i throw in half-life 3 as part of the update too. so ive learned to never check anything but this forum for feedback, besides, its very clear and boldly stated if you want to give feedback etc, come here, dont clutter other sites, this is what this experimental and possibly temporary message board is for.

anyway thanks for the comments, im glad to see you guys werent disappointed or angry for the false-flag, as it really wasnt my intention.

soon enough, all of this will be resolved one way or another, and we should all be happy for the most part.

since ive kept messengers and stuff off-line due to "OMG YOU QUIT/HOW MUCH LONGER FOR AN UPDATE" waves of messages, you can add me on steam, maybe even join in on one of my games now and then

veterangamer - steam

ill see you guys soon as always

[keptron]

Sept 22, 2008 18:17:51 GMT -8 veteran_gamer said:

as for the moddb and related sites and comments, people -do- complain and moan about a lot of shit


soon enough, all of this will be resolved one way or another, and we should all be happy for the most part.


since ive kept messengers and stuff off-line due to "OMG YOU QUIT/HOW MUCH LONGER FOR AN UPDATE" waves of messages, you can add me on steam, maybe even join in on one of my games now and then

veterangamer - steam

ill see you guys soon as always

Just block the guys spamming in MSN best way to get rid of then at least for some time. Also, join a game? ( Syrnegy?)