Point commentary node

This entity is not in the FGD by default, except in .
It should not be put directly in a map because you can add it with Commentary Editor.

This is a preserved entity in
If the game has round restart mechanics this entity may not behave as expected.

Commentary bubble

Class hierarchy
CPointCommentaryNode ↳CBaseAnimating ↳CBaseEntity
CommentarySystem.cpp

point_commentary_node is a model entity available in all Source games since Source 2006.

The core entity used in the Commentary System. It appears as a floating speech bubble for the player, which can be interact with +USE (Default: E) to play the commentary. This entity is typically placed with the Commentary Editor.

Unlike most entities, the point_commentary_node is often hand-edited into the commentary files, and as a result, there are some extra keys listed here that Hammer would normally fill in automatically for you.

To enable Commentary, the player must have commentary cvar set to 1 and the map must have a <map name>_commentary.txt file in the same directory as the BSP [1] while also having content inside the file to spawn the entity.

If a map with a point_commentary_node is being played in multiplayer only the first player to join will be considered the 'commentary player'. As such only their view will be ray traced to determine the active commentary node [2]

Although not explicitly stated, this entity may use fields from the RenderFields base class. The render options selected will affect the speech bubble model of the node.

Note:In Team Fortress 2, if this entity is spawned without any properties, the following side effects will apply as long as the entity exists:

• Player join, team change and disconnect messages are not shown in chat
• Convars with FCVAR_NOTIFY will not print changes to chat
• The scoreboard is blocked from appearing
• Some objective panels, such as the CTF/PD panel, will not appear

Keyvalues

Name (targetname) <string>[ Edit ]

The name that other entities refer to this entity by, via Inputs/Outputs or other keyvalues (e.g. parentname or target).
Also displayed in Hammer's 2D views and Entity Report.

See also:  Generic Keyvalues, Inputs and Outputs available to all entities

Start Disabled (start_disabled) <boolean>

Should it be disabled or not?

Origin (origin) <vector>

The origin of this entity within the map.

Angles (angles) <angles>

The orientation of this entity within the map.

Commentary File (commentaryfile) <sound>

Play the selected sound file when the player interact with the node.

Commentary File (no HDR) (commentaryfile_nohdr) <sound>

Play the selected sound file when the player interact with the node. If the player has HDR turned off, this file will be used instead of the commentaryfile. If this entry is not specified, the base commentaryfile entry will still be used.

Prevent movement (prevent_movement) <boolean>

If true, the player will not be able to move while the commentary sound file is playing.

Pre-command(s) (precommands) <string>

Command that will fire when the player interact with the node and the sound file is played. Use semicolons to delimit multiple commands. (ai_disable 1;mat_wireframe 1)

Post-command(s) (postcommands) <string>

Command that will fire after the commentary has ended. Also accepts semicolons. (e.g ai_disable 0;mat_wireframe 0)

Speaker(s) (speakers) <string>

The name of the speakers of the commentary sound file(s). Will be displayed in the HUD (if subtitles/close captions is disabled) while the commentary sound file is playing.

Synopsis (synopsis) <string>

A short synopsis of the contents of the commentary.

View Position (viewposition) <string>

The targetname of an entity to which the players view should move while the commentary file is playing. When the commentary file finishes, the players view will move back to the place it was when the commentary started.

View Target (viewtarget) <string>

The targetname of an entity that the players view should track while the commentary file is playing. The player will not be able to control their view while the commentary file plays.

Inputs

StartCommentary

Force the commentary node to start.

StartUnstoppableCommentary

Force the commentary node to start, and don't allow the player to stop it in any way.

EnableDisable:

Enable / Disable

Enable/disable this entity from performing its task. It might also disappear from view.

Outputs

OnCommentaryStarted

Fires when this commentary starts playing.

OnCommentaryStopped

Fires when this commentary stops playing. May be caused by the commentary file finishing, or by the player stopping it manually (if the node wasn't started with the StartUnstoppableCommentary input). If the node controls the players view with the viewposition key, then this input will be fired when the players view has finished returning to its original position.

See also

• Commentary System
• Commentary Editor