npc_turret_ceiling

 npc_turret_ceiling is a point entity available in the Half-Life 2 series.

A Combine turret attached to the ceiling.

Rarely used in Half-Life 2, this turret deploys from the ceiling. Not to be confused with its cousin npc_combine_camera, or its siblings npc_turret_ground and npc_turret_floor. It has 1000 health by default and perfect accuracy, intended to be used as an "insta-kill" punishment/deterrent. For examples of its use, see the tripwire laser room in d3_c17_10b or the ammo-less turrets at the beginning of ep1_c17_00.

 Warning: This turret is partially broken or unfinished. The looping engine sound can sometimes stay after death/removal, shooting does not produce a muzzle flash or sound (aside from whizzing), and the turret may have difficulty firing at enemies directly underneath them. Use with caution.

Code Fix: If you have the source code, you can fix most of npc_turret_ceiling's bugs according to the fixes listed on this page.

 Note: Some keyvalues, flags, inputs, or outputs might not affect an NPC, based on the functionality and coding of the NPC.

Keyvalues

Targetname:

Name (targetname) <string>

The targetname that other entities refer to this entity by.

Entity Scripts (vscripts) <scriptlist> (in all games since )

Space delimited list of VScript files (without file extension) that are executed after all entities have spawned. The scripts are all executed in the same script scope, later ones overwriting any identical variables and functions.

Script think function (thinkfunction) <string> (in all games since )

Name of a function in this entity's script which will be called automatically every 100 milliseconds (ten times a second) for the duration of the script. It can be used to create timers or to simulate autonomous behavior. The return value (if present) will set the time until the next call.

 Note: Try to avoid expensive operations in this function, as it may cause performance problems.

Angles:

Pitch Yaw Roll (Y Z X) (angles) <angle>

This entity's orientation in the world. Pitch is rotation around the Y axis, yaw is the rotation around the Z axis, roll is the rotation around the X axis.

Studiomodel:

World Model (model) <string>

The model this entity should appear as. 128-character limit.

Skin (skin) <integer>

Some models have multiple skins. This value selects from the index, starting with 0.

 Tip: Hammer's model browser automatically updates this value if you use it to view different skins.

Model Scale (modelscale) <float> (in all games since )

A multiplier for the size of the model.

Shadow:

Disable Shadows (disableshadows) <boolean>

Prevents the entity from creating cheap render-to-texture shadows, or lightmap shadows if the entity is a prop_static. Does not affect shadow mapping.

Disable ShadowDepth (disableshadowdepth) <boolean> (in all games since )

Used to disable rendering into shadow depth (for projected textures) for this entity.

Projected Texture Cache (shadowdepthnocache) <choices> (in all games since )

Used to hint projected texture system whether it is sufficient to cache shadow volume of this entity or to force render it every frame instead.

• 0 : Default
• 1 : No cache - render every frame
• 2 : Cache it - render only once

Disable flashlight (disableflashlight) <boolean> (in all games since )

Used to disable projected texture lighting and shadows on this entity.

Reflection:

Render in Fast Reflections (drawinfastreflection) <boolean> (in all games since )

If enabled, this entity will render in fast water reflections (i.e. when a water material specifies $reflectonlymarkedentities) and in the world impostor pass.

Flags

• 16 : Efficient - Don't acquire enemies or avoid obstacles
• 32 : Autostart
• 64 : Start Inactive
• 128 : Fast Retire
• 256 : Out of Ammo

Inputs

Targetname:

Kill

Removes this entity from the world.

KillHierarchy

Removes this entity and its children from the world.

 Note: Entities already remove orphaned children upon being removed, but this input removes all children on the same frame, being marginally faster than Kill.

AddOutput <string>

Adds a keyvalue/output to this entity. It can be potentially very dangerous, use with care.
KV Format: <key> <value>
I/O Format: <output name> <targetname>:<inputname>:<parameter>:<delay>:<max times to fire, -1 means infinite>

FireUser1 to FireUser4

Fire the OnUser outputs; see User Inputs and Outputs.

Use  !FGD

Same as a player invoking +use; may not do anything depending on the entity. Can also be invoked by firing an output that does not specify an input.

RunScriptFile <script> (in all games since )

Execute a VScript file from disk, without file extension. The script contents are merged with the script scope of the receiving entity.

RunScriptCode <string> (in all games since )

Execute a string of VScript source code in the scope of the entity receiving the input. String quotation may be needed when fired via console.

 Bug: In , the code is executed in the script scope of the entity that fires the output, not the one receiving the input.

 Warning: Never try to pass string parameters to a script function with this input. It will corrupt the VMF structure because of the nested quotation marks, which then must be removed manually with a text editor.

CallScriptFunction <string> (in all games since ) !FGD

Execute a VScript function in the scope of the receiving entity.

SetLocalOrigin <coordinates> (in all games since ) !FGD

Send this entity to a spot in the map. If the entity is parented to something, it will be offset from the parent by this amount.

SetLocalAngles <angles> (in all games since ) !FGD

Set this entity's angles.

Studiomodel:

Skin <integer>

Changes the model's skin to the specified number.

SetBodyGroup <integer>

Set the model's body group.

AlternativeSorting <boolean>

Uses an alternative method for telling which objects are in front of others. Use if this object draws incorrectly when seen through transparent things.

SetModelScale <string> (only in )

Sets the model scale. Takes two values separated by a space. The first is the target model scale. The second value is the number of seconds the change in scale will be spread over. If there is no second value, the model will scale instantly.

 Warning: Negative or extremely high values can cause crashes!

Shadow:

DisableShadow

Turn dynamic shadows off for this entity.

EnableShadow

Turn dynamic shadows on for this entity.

DisableReceivingFlashlight  (in all games since )

This object will not receive light or shadows from projected textures.

EnableReceivingFlashlight  (in all games since )

This object may receive light or shadows from projected textures.

Reflection:

DisableDrawInFastReflection  (in all games since )

Turns off rendering of this entity in reflections when using $reflectonlymarkedentities in water material.

EnableDrawInFastReflection  (in all games since )

Turn on rendering of this entity in reflections when using $reflectonlymarkedentities in water material.

ToggleDraw:

DisableDraw  (in all games since )

Add the EF_NODRAW flag to this entity. Some entities manage this on their own so be aware you can override that value.

EnableDraw  (in all games since )

Remove the EF_NODRAW flag from this entity. Some entities manage this on their own so be aware you can override that value.

Outputs

Targetname:

OnUser1 to OnUser4

These outputs each fire in response to the firing of the like-numbered FireUser1 to FireUser4 Input; see User Inputs and Outputs.

OnKilled  (only in )

This output fires when the entity is killed and removed from the game.

Studiomodel:

OnIgnite

Fired when this object catches fire.

OnDeploy

Turret is becoming active and dangerous.

OnRetire

Turret is becoming inactive and harmless.

See also

• npc_combine_camera