Env instructor hint

Example from Portal 2.

This example sets Bound Command to "jump" (without quotations) with Caption set to "Bet you can't jump over me!" (without quotations).

Template:Base point It it used to instruct the player to do some things, such as not shoot teammates.

In code, it is represented by theCEnvInstructorHintclass, defined in theenv_instructor_hint.cppfile.

Icons

Icon Name	Icon	Icon Name	Icon
icon_tip		icon_interact
icon_info		icon_button
icon_shield		icon_door
icon_alert		icon_arrow_plain
icon_alert_red		icon_arrow_plain_white_dn
icon_tip (again)		icon_arrow_plain_white_up
icon_skull		icon_arrow_up
icon_no		icon_arrow_right

Note:This entity is not limited to the icons listed above, refer to scripts/mod_textures.txt located in the main pak01_dir.vpk for more icon options.

Keyvalues

Target Entity (hint_target) <targetname>

The entity to show this hint on top of. The entity used must be one that is replicated on the client, or the hint will never show up. The info_target_instructor_hint entity is designed for this purpose, allowing the hint to be placed in empty space or parented to a specific location on another entity.

Note:If an info_target entity is used, the spawnflag to always transmit to the client must be checked.

Positioning (hint_static) <choices>

Either show at the position of the Target Entity, or show the hint directly on the HUD at a fixed position.

• 0: Follow the Target Entity.
• 1: Show on the HUD.

Allow invisible target (hint_allow_nodraw_target) <choices>

Do we allow the hint to follow entities with nodraw set?

Confirm:EF_NODRAW?

• 0: End immediately on nodraw
• 1: Yes

Caption (hint_caption) <string>

The text of your hint. 100 character limit.

Caption Color (hint_color) <color255>

The color of the caption text.

Activator Caption (hint_activator_caption) <color255> (in all games since )

The color of the caption text, as seen by the !activator.

Force caption (hint_forcecaption) <choices>

Do we show the caption text even if the hint is occluded by (hidden behind) a wall?

• 0: No
• 1: Show when occluded

Onscreen Icon (hint_icon_onscreen) <choices>

The icon to use when the hint is within the player's view.

Offscreen Icon (hint_icon_offscreen) <choices>

The icon to use when the hint is outside the player's view.

Show offscreen (hint_nooffscreen) <choices>

When the hint is offscreen, do we show an icon and arrow?

• 0: Show
• 1: Don't show

Bound Command (hint_binding) <string>

If using the show key bindings setting for the Onscreen Icon or Offscreen Icon, this field should be the command we want to show bindings for. Use key_listboundkeys to see all bound keys.

Icon Height Offset (hint_icon_offset) <float>

A height offset from the Target Entity's origin to display the hint.

Size Pulsing (hint_pulseoption) <choices>

Speed for which the icon should grow and shrink, as a way to nag the player about the object.

• 0: No Pulse
• 1: Slow Pulse
• 2: Fast Pulse
• 3: Urgent Pulse

Alpha Pulsing (hint_alphaoption) <choices>

Speed for which icon will become more or less transparent.

• 0: No Pulse
• 1: Slow Pulse
• 2: Fast Pulse
• 3: Urgent Pulse

Shaking (hint_shakeoption) <choices>

The icon can shake.

• 0: No Shaking
• 1: Narrow Shake
• 2: Wide Shake

Timeout (hint_timeout) <integer>

The automatic timeout for the hint. 0 will persist until stopped with EndHint.

Display Range (hint_range) <float>

The visible range of the hint. 0 will show it at any distance.

Show on First Sight (hint_auto_start) <boolean>

When the player first has LOS to the target, it will automatically show for them. only.

Lesson Name (hint_name) <string>

Hints with the same lesson name use a common base and are treated as instances the same lesson type. only.

Display Limit (hint_display_limit) <integer>

The number of times a hint can be seen. 0 means unlimited. only.

Instance Type (hint_instance_type) <choices>

How many instances of a single lesson type can be open or active at the same time. only.

• 0: Multiple
• 1: Single Open (Prevents new hints from opening.)
• 2: Fixed Replace (Ends other hints when a new one is shown.)
• 3: Single Active (Hides other hints when a new one is shown.)

Suppress rest before moving (hint_suppress_rest) <choices>

Suppress the initial icon display in center of screen? only.

• 0: No
• 1: Yes

Only Local Player (hint_local_player_only) <boolean> (in all games since )

Shows the hint only to the first player to join/create the server.

Note:This keyvalue appears to have not been coded into the FGD correctly. You must put 0 for "No" and 1 for "Yes".

Gamepad Bound Command (hint_gamepad_binding) <string> (in all games since )

If using the show key bindings setting for the Onscreen Icon or Offscreen Icon, this field should be the command we want to show bindings for, when the user is using a console/non-keyboard controller of some kind (or PS3/X360).

Inputs

ShowHint <targetnameRedirectInput/string>

Start showing this hint. If an entity targetname is passed as the parameter, the hint is shown only to that entity.

Bug:In , hints triggered by this input are only visible to the !activator.   [todo tested in ?]

Fix:As a workaround, a point_template may be used to spawn in the desired env_instructor_hint entity; if Show On First Sight is enabled, this will cause the hint to immediately be shown to players who have line of sight to it.

Note:In , you cannot display more than one hint at the same time.

EndHint

Stop showing the hint if it hasn't already timed out.

See Also

• L4D2 Level Design/Instructor Hints