Vehicles... and whatnot.

[StickFigs]

I'm gonna dedicate this topic to the vehicles in HL2.

I wonder if it will be easy to make new vehicles for custom maps, or if the vehicles will be able to ride on objects, like over some wooden planks floating on water? If the vehicles work correctly with object physics and the likes that would make me bow down to HL2's greatness even more than I am now, I would have to dig a 3000 mile trench in the ground THEN bow down to HL2.

Let's discuss vehicles!

BTW I'm new here! *waves*

 

[Aralkar]

It could be cool too if for example in a tank you could enter without driving it, I mean that you have to be in front of the controls to drive it, but you can walk in it.
About riding objects, I guess that it's possible, but we'll have to wait.

 

[OCybrManO]

Read the part in the chat log about the two levels of vehicle simulation...

 

[StickFigs]

Originally posted by OCybrManO
Read the part in the chat log about the two levels of vehicle simulation...

Link please? I have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[StickFigs]

...Does this chatlog even exist?

 

[-AnthraX-]

Wonder if there will be vehicles in multiplayer? That would own.

 

[No Limit]

I'm pretty sure land vehicles with accurate physics will be possible as the Havok engine supports it pretty well.
-Paul

 

[Diablo2k]

hope you can smash thru a wall with a tank

 

[VoidWraith]

StickFigs, basically the two options are simulating the wheels or not simulating the wheels. I believe with simulation, this means that anything below it would be propelled backwards (3rd law) and that without it, the forward motion would be just that, forward motion (and coded rather than an effect of spinning wheels).

Originally posted by Diablo2k
hope you can smash thru a wall with a tank

Only if the wall is coded for this to happen (set to be breakable).

 

[NucHaz]

on suspension:
I noticed in the E3 video that the axel's on the broken cars move indepentanly of the car, so the suspension systems must be modeled pretty accuratly. I cant wait to get something in HL2 that really puts some stress into the suspension, itll hopfully be possible to make shock absorbers and springs compress with the suspension accuratly, and I belive it probly will be possible from what I seen in the E3 video.

Im curiuos as to weather AI can drive vehicles, or if that would be very difficult to implament too

and very interesting stuff VoidWraith

 

[PvtRyan]

What I wonder is how do you correctly model the vehicles? In the buggy video, you could see that the doors of the carwrecks moved on their own but still being attached to the vehicle itself. How and in what program can you assign points in the model where parts need to be attached and how much they can move? Do you do that in your modeling program with bones?

 

[DaLys]

Here is what gabe said about vehicles in "the" chat.

Tue 00:06:46 - <@relaybot> <@valve|gaben> We have two different simulation models for vehicles. So you can tradeoff simulation accuracy for performance if you want large numbers of vehicles.

Tue 00:08:33 - <@relaybot> <@valve|gaben> Multiple people can be in vehicles. So you can make a multiplayer mod with groups riding in a single vehicle. Each player can have custom control available for things like vehicle movement and onboard weapons.

Tue 00:09:29 - <@relaybot> <@valve|gaben> You can create wheeled vehicles, or flying & hovering vehicles.

 

[PvtRyan]

Originally posted by NucHaz


Im curiuos as to weather AI can drive vehicles, or if that would be very difficult to implament too

and very interesting stuff VoidWraith

AI can drive vehicles, to the press a video was shown with an Antlion Gaurd attacking an APC filled with combine soldiers. The AI of the Antlion was really good aswell from what I've read in magazines.

 

[Flyingdebris]

gabe also said that walkers i.e. mechs would be possible as well. They were able to make a player controlled strider during the development stages. There will be no pilotable striders in game as that would'nt make any sense, however getting a walker type thingy in game would be very possible

 

[Crusader]

Hehe, most of these things are already possible, for instance www.rivalspecies.com has pilotable mechs (of a sort) in it's HL1 engine.

 

[CrazyHarij]

It'd kickass to have a kind of really big heavy battletank , which has a big kinda shelter room inside where you can hide or just chill out in and walk around in , and when you go through a door from there you get into the drivers room , with some radar things to notice you of enemies and such around. It'd be kinda cozy to have something like this.

 

[Styloid]

Originally posted by Crusader
Hehe, most of these things are already possible, for instance www.rivalspecies.com has pilotable mechs (of a sort) in it's HL1 engine.

nah, I think they're talking about physically simulated vehicles- walkers will balance on their legs and can be tripped, cars have suspension, planes can be effected by wind etc..

 

[Crusader]

The striders can be tripped?

 

[DaLys]

Originally posted by Crusader
The striders can be tripped?

I emailed gabe and asked that, and erik answered my questions but not that one.

 

[theGreenBunny]

Originally posted by DaLys
I emailed gabe and asked that, and erik answered my questions but not that one.

They're revealing very little about this kind of gameplay stuff. I hope it's possible though, would be fun to bump into a strider's leg with that buggy to take it down...

 

[CrazyHarij]

As you saw in the E3-video , the guy shot a drawer to the Strider, making it lose its grip for a second but taking control with its legs. Pretty amazing.

 

[Cheetarah654]

i would deffinetely want to be able to put a camera on a vehicle, that way you could watch some of your guys fromt he cameras view out there driving around and fighting, how super badass would that be

 

[mutt]

i hope its not to hard to make working cars, or make some of those smashed up car shells which the buggy stops at, driveable, that would be the best, could build some street racer/boy racer cars.

i wonder how much damage cars will take, if any.