Half life SDK

[Balkman]

I would gladly explore this myself, but as of now i dont have a computer with a C++ ide....

Im currently making a mod (half life 2) with my friends who can model, since im incharge of the coding (i have a good basic knowledge of C++ already) i would like to know what to expect when i recieve the SDK. As soon as i get a working compiler i will mess around with the HL 1 SDK, but until then can you give me a good understanding of what that includes?

Like is it an already a full program, and i just modify it that way? or is it just a bunch of libraries, or have a nice GUI to it?

Basically my goal is for when the HL 2 SDK is released i can get started right away.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[IchI]

Its a simple answer. No one knows, only Valve. They are saying its suposed to be really easy to make mods. But thats it. I don't think anyone can answer your question and only speculate. You shouldn't really be in any rush to finish your mod anyway if u think about it. Just wait for it. No rush when your making a mod really.

 

[Onions]

"Its a simple answer. No one knows, only Valve. They are saying its suposed to be really easy to make mods. But thats it. I don't think anyone can answer your question and only speculate. You shouldn't really be in any rush to finish your mod anyway if u think about it. Just wait for it. No rush when your making a mod really."

Alternatively, if you read what he asked, it includes 2 projects. One for the server, one for the client. Both compile to dlls. Server contains gamerules, weapons, player code etc. Client contains vgui, hud, message handlers, all that stuff. A lot of stuff is shared for prediction, which is very handy; weapons and player physics for example. Go download it and mess about, it will compile on some of the free compilers out there, though visual studio is of course recommended
Plenty of free ide's out there too, so theres no excuse for doing nothing.
Playing with the hl1 sdk will prepare you as much as possible at the moment for the arrival of the hl2 sdk, so I recommend you do it.
Good luck

 

[bobvodka]

I just want to see the HL2 SDK to see how 'basic' ppls C++ knowledge can be to get away with working on it.... and i'd also like to ha><0r a scripting system into it if one doesnt exist

 

[Anable]

Download the HL1 sdk to get a good idea of what to expect. Of course it won't be exactly the same as HL2 but it will at least give you a start.

 

[ambershee]

Playing with the hl1 sdk will prepare you as much as possible at the moment for the arrival of the hl2 sdk, so I recommend you do it

Providing there any similar at all I'm assuming that there will be very few similarities between the two. Ideally, you'll need to be able to identify what the code is actually about, with some fair C++ knowledge before hand. Yes, by all means give HL1 a go with modding about, but you'll need to build yourself a fair knowledge of the coding language before really getting anywhere, so make sure you take in what you're doing!

 

[Fallout2man]

I just want to see the HL2 SDK to see how 'basic' ppls C++ knowledge can be to get away with working on it.... and i'd also like to ha><0r a scripting system into it if one doesnt exist

Honestly, one thing I don't really get, what is the big deal over having a scripting system? Why is everyone lately nuts about interpreted languages? Generally speaking they can be fast but unless you're an expert at building a script compiler it's usually always slower then a compiled langauge, look at java for a good example.

 

[bobvodka]

Because it allows for changes to the system without having to recompile code, which = faster development time of the game.
Remember, most of a games bottle neck is still the gfx card when you factor in per pixel lighting and then the physics code, so having a scripting system to allow for fast updates to game play, and if designed right you can edit the code 'in game', reload it and see the changes without restarting the game.

Also, i'm not daft enuff to write my own script compiler (although, i've got a book on it,hehe), i intend on introducing HL2 to the magic which is Lua