Exploding Cadaver

[Calm_Blue_Ocean]

I'm working on a single player mod, and although I have a fair amount of mapping experience, I have absolutely no modding or coding experience. Part of the story will take place in a facility where the combine dispose of dead humans and perform hideous experiments. One such experiment involves 'reanimating' cadavers, implanting them with explosive devices, and using them as weapons.

What I would like to do is replace the fast zombie with a naked 'skin and bones' cadaver (if you've seen pictures of concentration camp victims you'll have an idea of the disturbing image I'm going for). The cadavers (male and female) would have typical autopsy Y-incisions sewn up with coarse black thread. The cadavers would use the fast zombie AI, and would run and lunge at the player. However, when they get close to the player (or after a set time limit) they would explode and injure the player. I really think this gruesome creature would add a lot of tension to the game...just imagine it lunging out of the shadows and you having to shoot it down before it got too close. I know snarks always got my heart rate going when I was low on health.

The easiest way to do the explosion would be to have the 'explosive device' in the abdomen, causing the zombie to be severed in half (as occurs for the slow zombies) and have the torso continue to crawl towards you. Another more complicated (but more satisfying) way to do it would be to have the device explode in the chest, producing 4 or 5 gibs (limbs, head) that are propelled as physical objects. Ideally I would also like to alter the movement patterns from that used by the fast zombie. It would be great if I could slow it down slightly and also have him limping slightly or draging one arm.

As I have said, I have absolutely no modding experience and I haven't got a clue where to start. I have photoshop, and I feel confident that I can create a decent image/texture for the skin...but beyond that I haven't got a clue. Is there anyone that can walk me through what I need to do? I'd greatly appreciate it (explain it to me as if I were a not-so-gifted child).

Also, I'm currently working a Ph.D. in developmental genetics...so I really don't have much time on my hands. I've got a lot of cool ideas (some I never got around to doing with HL1), but I'm not sure I will ever realize any of them. Are there any modders or mappers out there who would like to help out? I would really like to put a team together to make a truly great single player level, one in which we all pool our ideas. Any models etc, that come out of this would be released to anyone that wants to use them. Even if I don't get a level out, this new creature would be a great addition to other mods.

 

[(Fragger)]

I think you'd need to create new models for the gibs and have the explosion hide the switch between the full model and the gibs.
It would work something like this:
Zombie runs at you
Zombie explodes (Shot by player or detonated by proximity)
Fireball and blood spray
destroy Zombie
Create gibs flying in all directions (legs attached to hips, ribs, spine and ribs, arms and head fragments)

 

[mindless_moder]

well lets see i think your first step should be to get the models ready and ingame ..model the cadavers and skin them ...then get the bones on and gett it working ingame as a replacement for the zombie..
the explosion thing would work by creating an invisible bounding box and coding an explosion to set off when the bounding box comes into contact with the player thats the only way i can think of .. i dont know if halflife or any game deals with stuff involving proxymity in a diff way ... i think that the coding wouldnt be too hard the hardest part would be getting the model ingame with ur animations .
as for the team do you have a proper story ?

 

[Rotary]

the headcrabs probably do have a proximity for their jump. Might help a little in writing the code for the bomb.

 

[mindless_moder]

yeah but im pretty csure its based on the collision thing ..unless halflife calculates the diff between the xyz positions of two objects for proxymity ....i like the collision way better ..
this thread should be moved to the coding section it has more to do with coding.

 

[Calm_Blue_Ocean]

I don't want to give away too much about the story, but yes I do have a basic plan and some levels thought out in detail. The working name for the mod is "Portal Storm". It would start in Kliener's lab just after getting the hazard suit in HL2. I plan to recreate the transporter malfunction that has you jumping to various locations, however instead of ending up outside of Klieners lab, you would end up on a military transport plane (flown by the combine) somewhere over North America. The story would thus be an alternate timeline to that of HL2 - it would parallel events occuring in City 17 but would take place entirely in North America. You would encounter several portals that would transport you to several locations around the continent, including trips to real life locations and a short jaunt to the ruins of Black Mesa (perhaps to shut down the main off-world portal still open within the test chamber...this may also include a short jump to...well, I'll leave it at that). Planned battle locations include office towers, a graveyard, a large swamp, farms and, most importantly, the suburbs. The buggy (and other vehicles) would be prominently featured. Picture yourself driving through yards and picket fences to escape striders, only to find yourself splashing into a swimming pool; or fighting combine from house to house as gunships shoot through the windows; or perhaps running amok in a highschool or university (I also plan to release the graveyard and school maps as multiplayer maps). Of course I have other secret research facilities planned as well. The basic idea is to expand upon what we know of the combine and to show what is happening in the rest of the world. The player would return to city 17 outside of Kleiner's lab, as if nothing had happened.

 

[mindless_moder]

thats a really nice mod idea ...it will take you a whole lot of time tho and it looks like you dont have the time to dedicate to the mod.

 

[Crispy]

this may also include a short jump to...well, I'll leave it at that

Xen!!!!

I've got 10 riding on a fight between you and the Nihilanth's babies!