WiseNPCrapjump

Police rappel and jump

Police rappel and jump

First Combine Police

Second Combine Police

Combine Police Rappels, Combine Police jumps down from above.

Note:This is an extension of the Police rappel tutorial.

The sample file for this project, at the page bottom, illustrates:

• Combine Police Rappels from ceiling then jumps down to join the attack.
• Second Combine Police jumps down from above and begins to attack.

As you see there are two methods of getting NPC’s to jump down from heights illustrated in this project.

• The first method is a scripted_sequence that begins when the rappelling Combine Police has completed its rappel.
• The second method uses info_node_hint entities to get the Combine Police to jump down.

Both methods require some finessing. The NPC won’t jump down if it is too far and in the first method the animation is already set so you need to use landing points that match.

As you can see in this project I’ve created an electrical panel and a toolbox for the first Combine Police to jump down onto. These are brush based and work out well for a project like this.

For the second Combine Police that makes use of info_node_hint entities I’ve created a group for the hints this NPC will use. This is to keep the NPC from getting distracted.

The first method works much better as the info_node_hint method can easily be interrupted by other events in your project.

Note:The first Combine Police spawns with a point_template but not the second one. This is to illustrate how both methods can work either way. It is much more efficient to spawn your NPCs with templates when needed and then target them with the kill command once they are no longer needed. The template in this project could have handled both NPCs.

The first Combine Police

These are the setting for the first Combine Police.

npc_metropolice

Class: npc_metropolice
Keyvalues		Comments
Name	Police01
Waiting to rappel	Yes
Weapons	SMG1
Number of manhacks	None
Pistols start drawn	No

	Flag
		Simple cops

		My output	Target entity	Target input	Parameter	Delay	Only once	Comments
		OnRappelTouchdown	police01_jumpss	BeginSequence		0.25	Yes

point_template

Class: point_template
Keyvalues		Comments
Name	police01_template
Template 1	police01

	Flag
		Preserve entity names

scripted_sequence

Class: scripted_sequence
Keyvalues		Comments
Name	police01_jumpss
Target NPC	police01
Action Animation	canal1jump1
Move to Position	Run

	Flag
		No interruptions
		Override AI

		My output	Target entity	Target input	Parameter	Delay	Only once	Comments
		OnEndSequence	police01_ai	RevertRelationship

trigger_once

This trigger_once starts the events into place.

Class: trigger_once
Keyvalues		Comments
Start disabled	No

	Flag
		Clients

		My output	Target entity	Target input	Parameter	Delay	Only once	Comments
		OnTrigger	police01_template	ForceSpawn		1.0	Yes
		OnTrigger	police02_ss	BeginSequence		1.0	Yes
		OnTrigger	police01	BeginRappel		1.5	Yes

ai_relationship

The ai_relationship is used to keep the first Combine Police from shooting until it has jumped down. The second Combine Police will shoot at will and still jump down.

Note:The scripted_sequence will revert the initial relationship when the sequence has completed.

Class: ai_relationship
Keyvalues		Comments
Name	police01_ai
Subjects	!player
Disposition	Like
Start Active	Yes
Reciprocal	No

On the ground level for the first Combine Police I’ve placed one info_node but even this isn’t needed as its motions are all scripted up until the point where the NPC begins to attack. The effect I’ve created for this NPC is a spot it will jump down to and defend.

The second Combine Police

These are the properties for the second Combine Police.

npc_metropolice

Class: npc_metropolice
Keyvalues		Comments
Name	Police02
Hint Group	jump02
Waiting to rappel	No
Weapons	Pistol
Number of manhacks	None
Pistols start drawn	Yes

	Flag
		Allowed to respond to thrown objects
		Fall to Ground

info_node_hint

The info_node_hint entities under and in front of this NPC.

Class: info_node_hint
Keyvalues		Comments
Hint	Override jump permission
Start disabled	No
Hint Group	jump02

scripted_sequence

The scripted_sequence used for this NPC.

Note:The flags are very important for our second NPC

Class: scripted_sequence
Keyvalues		Comments
Name	police02_ss
Target NPC	police02
Move to position	Run

	Flag
		No Interruptions
		Override AI
		Priority Script

Wrap up

There’s a lot more you can do, hopefully this article have stimulated your imagination.

• The example used in this tutorial.
• If you need further help please use the forum for Source level Design

Credits

• The tutorial was originally created by wisemx, and ported from sdknuts.net/wiseNPCrapjump to the VDC by Peter [AGHL] 12:26, 23 Feb 2008 (PST)
• Sample maps hosted by http://type3studios.com