Spawning NPCs in the skybox

[kirovman]

Well this has been mentioned in the HL:Source forums, they've done this trick in HL:Source, but not with HL2 I think (If they have, it must be old):
has anyone tried spawning npcs in the skybox model (requires noclip) and going back to the game map?

When you do this, you get HUGE NPCs (just a projection, not physically real), they are taller than the buildings and they look as though they could run over to the citadel and climb it or something.

Here's some sample shots included, of giant Barney, and the G-man.

 

[Dasparov]

ahahah that looks awesome

 

[RabidJester]

*writes down in my book of film tricks*

Sweet.

 

[StainlessJ-FPGA]

That's pretty cool. Reminded me of the bosses in painkiller...

 

[kirovman]

Ok, so has anyone got any pictures of their own to post?

It's quite simple to do:

1. Load up any outdoor HL2 map.
2. Noclip in the map, locate the skybox model (looks like a really small village or city, or citadel).
3. Spawn an npc in the model, for example "npc_create npc_barney"
4. Go back to the main part of the map and view these huge npcs (take a screenshot, post it here)

 

[Milkman]

Hmm I was wondering what those small cities were doing outside of the map. What is their purpose?

 

[Alientank]

Would be awesome of barney with the shotgun starts shooting things. The shells that would come out of that gun would be the size of a freight train! Bye bye combine.

 

[Kommie]

ahh look its godzirra! no its barney!

your avatar makes me want to go play RA2

Hmm I was wondering what those small cities were doing outside of the map. What is their purpose?

I assumed they were just little models to help the mapmakers make the map, like a mock up.

 

[OrphanBoy]

You can almost imagine the expression on the combine's face - he's turning round to you to say "WTF is that HUGE guy doing walking the streets?? Maybe we shouldn't fight each other, instead we should fight him!"

 

[azz0r]

*has idea to win hl2dm mapping contest*

 

[MagicalMonkey]

I was playing around with this a few days ago, but rather than make characters as tall as striders I decided to spawn some striders in the skybox and make them battle for my amusement.

www.freewebs.com/magicalmusicalmonkey/titans2.rar

 

[Reaperman]

what do i do with .dem files? and how do i play them?

 

[Reaperman]

Failed to load sound "titans2.dem", file probably missing from disk/repository

 

[kirovman]

Hmm I was wondering what those small cities were doing outside of the map. What is their purpose?

From what I gather, the map magnifies the small city to form the skyline of the big city, so if you put an NPC on this model they will magnified too. Kind of like a big 3 dimensional projecter. Maybe "big hologram" is a good analogy to describe it.

If you shoot big barney for example he is not hurt because you are shooting his projection, not the entity on the map.

 

[Bobcat]

I was playing around with this a few days ago, but rather than make characters as tall as striders I decided to spawn some striders in the skybox and make them battle for my amusement.

www.freewebs.com/magicalmusicalmonkey/titans2.rar

] playdemo titans2
ERROR: demo network protocol 6 outdated, engine version is 7
Failed to read demo header.

Ebbeh?

 

[cereal]

LOL I just tried that a few days ago

 

[MagicalMonkey]

] playdemo titans2
ERROR: demo network protocol 6 outdated, engine version is 7
Failed to read demo header.

Ebbeh?

Oh dear. It works for me. It's not that spectacular anyway, it's just huge².

Edit: worked for me. I tried to play it just now and no go. Oh well.

 

[OvA]

http://img46.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img46&image=m7ybigstrider.jpg


the combine is working on a new superstrider?

 

[JHD536]

] playdemo titans2
ERROR: demo network protocol 6 outdated, engine version is 7
Failed to read demo header.

Ebbeh?

Same here.

When did you record that demo? Before the recent patch or after?

 

[miked4o7]

Hmm I was wondering what those small cities were doing outside of the map. What is their purpose?

Those small cities are what you actually see in the distance when you're in-game. They create a surrounding cityscape or whatever at 1/16 scale of real world stuff, then project that into the distance of what you see while you're playing. That way they can create the 3D illusion of an entire city in the distance without having the engine actually render that entire city in 3D.

 

[Locust]

You can have battles in the background. Spawn some zombies and some soldiers and let the fun begin.

 

[MagicalMonkey]

Same here.

When did you record that demo? Before the recent patch or after?

Before. That'd be it then.

 

[Ownzed]

Pretty sweet.

 

[kirovman]

Ok, someone did it on HL:source too, here's the link:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56381

 

[azz0r]

Its just the 3d skybox - to cut down on pollys the small area off map is blown up and put in the skybox view.

Thats how the towers possible all the time in hl2 - if it wasnt in a mini 3d skybox it would take a major performance hit rendering it.

 

[crownest]

Hey i posted the same kind of thread over at HL fallout. The people there were not very impressed though....

 

[kirovman]

Hey i posted the same kind of thread over at HL fallout. The people there were not very impressed though....

Do you have some fun screenshots?

 

[MagicalMonkey]

Ok, someone did it on HL:source too, here's the link:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56381

Nihilanth in the skybox is insane. It comes into the actual level if you put it in the middle of the skybox, although it renders very, very oddly.

 

[BetaMaster]

Nihilanth in the skybox is insane. It comes into the actual level if you put it in the middle of the skybox, although it renders very, very oddly.

So if you spawn an NPC in the middle of the skybox (the blank area) then the NPC will be enlarged in the playable map, just not attackable, because it's still spawned, correct?

 

[MagicalMonkey]

So if you spawn an NPC in the middle of the skybox (the blank area) then the NPC will be enlarged in the playable map, just not attackable, because it's still spawned, correct?

The only reason nihilanth appears in the normal map is because it's so tall. The skybox is rendered around the map, with the map in the centre, so if you put something in the centre of the skybox it'll be rendered in the same place as the map. It can't be interacted with from the map and looks very odd.

 

[JHD536]

I made a quick demo earlier of a noclip run through kanal while fiddling with the 3D skybox.

Clicky

Nothing special, but it's interesting.

 

[Tantalus]

great thread, i have to taunt some of those people looking for g-man sightings with this

 

[kirovman]

Here's some G-man sightings - unofficial of course

 

[Joy_Decoy]

From what I gather, the map magnifies the small city to form the skyline of the big city, so if you put an NPC on this model they will magnified too. Kind of like a big 3 dimensional projecter. Maybe "big hologram" is a good analogy to describe it.

If you shoot big barney for example he is not hurt because you are shooting his projection, not the entity on the map.

yeh, unrael Tournament did this. You'd create a room somewhere away from the level, build up you terrain/buildings/dynamic skies and insert projector actors in the level and the skybox room

[edit] i hate having my words turned into adverts. ****ing shyte.

 

[Tantalus]

Here's some G-man sightings - unofficial of course

That's odd, I don't remember seeing these the first time around...

 

[crownest]

Do you have some fun screenshots?

I do have a few

http://img17.exs.cx/img17/353/v8wd2coast010032.jpg

http://img17.exs.cx/img17/6558/e5pd2coast010033.jpg

 

[kirovman]

I do have a few

http://img17.exs.cx/img17/353/v8wd2coast010032.jpg

http://img17.exs.cx/img17/6558/e5pd2coast010033.jpg

haha they are so cool. Giant striders. I havent figured how to get the striders without them falling through the ground yet, I'll try again sometime.

What other big monsters would be good in the skybox?

 

[HyperactiveYouth]

I've been doing this since CS: Source came out. I even had a picture of the giant CT aiming straight at me.

 

[JHD536]

haha they are so cool. Giant striders. I havent figured how to get the striders without them falling through the ground yet, I'll try again sometime.

What other big monsters would be good in the skybox?

If you check the demo I made above, you can figure it out pretty easily. But to create one without it falling, use the give npc_strider command instead of npc_create; it will set the strider right below you at ground level.

 

[frijole]

Here's some G-man sightings - unofficial of course

Awesome!

:naughty: