info_remarkable

This entity is not in the FGD by default.
See below for instructions on making it available.

Class hierarchy
CInfoRemarkable ↳CPointEntity ↳CBaseEntity
inforemarkable.cpp

info_remarkable is a point entity available in all Source games since Left 4 Dead.(also in Entropy : Zero 2) An object in the world such that characters seeing it will speak a TLK_REMARK concept. This entity can be placed with the Commentary Editor

Note:Upon being sighted will create speech event with following.

concept:TLK_REMARK
who:<talker name of the player that sighted info_remarkable>
Subject:<contextsubject keyvalue>
Distance:<distance to the player that sighted this info_remarkable>

When a rule match is found the info_remarkable is disabled (by default it's 1 match per round per info_remarkable controlled by cvar mentioned lower)

Keyvalues

Subject context (contextsubject) <string>

Text to put in the SUBJECT context of the TLK_REMARK fired upon sighting this object.

Convars

Cvar/Command	Parameters or default value	Descriptor	Effect
rr_remarkable_maxdist (not in )	1500	units	info_remarkables more distant than this from a player will not even be tested to see if a rule matches them.
rr_remarkable_world_entities_replay_limit	1	count	TLK_REMARKs will be dispatched no more than this many times for any given info_remarkable per round

Usage

Info_remarkable in Left 4 Dead 2 official maps can be found in the commentary text file located in the maps directory within pak01_dir.vpk. Left 4 Dead commentary files can be found in the maps folder of the Left 4 Dead installation for Left 4 Dead (No VPK extraction necessary).

Note:Editing talker scripts for a custom campaign is not ideal since it will conflict if multiple campaigns do this or custom vocallizer is in use. In it's preferrable to use vscript talker features. Talker scripts are also loaded when the game is started instead of on each map load.

Vscript example

Let's say we have info_remarkable in a map with contextsubject = our_custom_subject. For the speech to trigger upon seeing this remarkable we can have the following vscript inside scripts/vscripts/response_testbed_addon.nut if(Director.GetMapName() != "our_map") { return; //response_testbed_addon runs in every map so it's good to have check that prevents adding these rules pointlessly } local rules = [ { name = "OurRule1", criteria = [ ["concept", "TLK_REMARK"], ["who", "Gambler"], ["subject", "our_custom_subject"], ["distance", 0, 300] ], responses = [ { scenename = "scenes/Gambler/World119.vcd" } //You ever eat horse? Tasty. { scenename = "scenes/Gambler/WorldC5M3B16.vcd" } //Do you still smell sewer? ], group_params = RGroupParams() } { name = "OurRule2", criteria = [ ["concept", "TLK_REMARK"], ["who", "Coach"], ["subject", "our_custom_subject"], ["distance", 0, 300] ], responses = [ { scenename = "scenes/Coach/WorldC2M2B23.vcd" } //I find a Burger Tank in this place? I'm-a be a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse. ], group_params = RGroupParams() } ]; rr_ProcessRules(rules);

Todo: talker script tutorial cleanup

Tutorial/How to - Step by Step

So here is a mock scenario: You have a rooftop on your campaign. You want the survivors to comment on the rooftop as we would hear in Valve's campaigns. Here's how we do it. Step 1 (If you know how to access the /talker scripts with GCFScape, skip to step 2.) First -- There are files that let you know what the survivors can say and what the 'Subject Context' is in these files: For Left 4 Dead - common\left 4 dead\left4dead\scripts\talker For Left 4 Dead 2 - You'd have to look around in the files with GCFScape from the VPK dir at: common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2\pak01_dir.vpk Once inside the folder structure, navigate to: \scripts\talker The files for both L4D and L4D2 are associated with the survivor's name. So for instance in L4D2, Ellis's available remarks are in mechanic.txt. Rochelle's are in producer.txt etc. Be aware that The Passing talker scripts are in the own VPK structure located in: common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2_dlc1\pak01_dir.vpk and additional DLC scripts are located in their respective folders as they become available. Step 2 Ok. Now that we know where the text files are, lets check out one of the responses. Response PlayerRemarkc2m4_upbarnaMechanic { scene "scenes/Mechanic/WorldC4M4B04.vcd" //We can climb across the roofs! } Rule PlayerRemarkc2m4_upbarnaMechanic { criteria ConceptRemark IsMechanic Isc2m4_upbarna IsNotSaidc2m4_upbarna IsNotCoughing NotInCombat IsTalk IsTalkMechanic IsWorldTalkMechanic IsSubjectNear300 AutoIsNotScavenge AutoIsNotSurvival IsNotSrcGrp_C2M4_003 IsNotSpeakingWeight0 ApplyContext "Saidc2m4_upbarna:1:0,SrcGrp_C2M4_003:1:0" applycontexttoworld Response PlayerRemarkc2m4_upbarnaMechanic } This is the talker script for Dark Carnival map 4, where you cross the barn rooftops just before the panic event at the stadium entrance. First you have the VCD scene file it refers to: scenes/Mechanic/WorldC4M4B04.vcd and what is actually spoken. Next, is the Rule and the criteria that need to be met for it to be "spoken". There are a bunch of "Is" and "IsNot" criteria shown there. I.E.: IsMechanic = Is Ellis Isc2m4_upbarna = I assume this is variable set then referred to for the criterion's sake IsNotSaidc2m4_upbarna = Hasn't, or is not currently saying this. The rest are fairly self explanatory. One that is important is 'IsSubjectNear300'. This is the radius that the player must be within the info_remarkable for it to fire. At the end of this writeup, I made a change to the FGD for both games that will show a mock radius(similar to ambient_generic's radius for sound distance) so you can place it right where you want it to be. Many remarks are able to be used by different survivors, so even if you find it in say, mechanic.txt, another survivor may comment on it also. --SOME TALKER REMARKS HAVE THE CRITERIA 'ISMAP', THESE WILL NOT WORK BECAUSE THEY LOOK FOR A SPECIFIC MAP NAME -- SO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM-- Back to it now. To use this particular remark in our info_remarkable we would take c2m4_upbarna from the text and put it in our 'Subject Context' field of our info_remarkable. You can always tell what the remarks are by the rule. Rule PlayerRemarkc2m4_upbarnaMechanic Forget about Rule PlayerRemark and forget about the survivor name at the end. It will be the text between them. So in this case, c2m4_upbarna. Don't forget to remove the survivor name at the end. So now we have this in Hammer Be aware that the most important criteria, although not listed with the others, is the player having line of sight with the info_remarkable. This needs to be met first, before radius and the other criteria. We are basically done. When a survivor gets within 300 units of this info_remarkable, they will say, "We can climb across the roofs!". It is nice that Valve has the actual text spoken in the .txt files so you can Ctrl-F with whatever program you use and search for specific sayings.

FGD Enhancement

To help with placement of the info_remarkables you can add radius visualisation in hammer by editing the info_remarkable fgd entry to the following

@PointClass base(Origin,Targetname) sphere() = info_remarkable : "An object in the world such that characters seeing it will speak a TLK_REMARK concept"
[
	contextsubject(string) : "Subject context" : "" : "Text to put in the SUBJECT context of the TLK_REMARK fired upon sighting this object."
	radius(string) : "Mock Radius for Origin Placement" : "500" : "Allows you to set a mock radius to determine origin placement on info_remarkables based off their associated Remark radius"
]

See also

• logic_choreographed_scene
• logic_scene_list_manager
• GCFScape
• Response System