Questions about modding

[NicholasWolf]

im thinking of adding this to the master list if it goes successful.
1. can i create custom models that are all different shapes and sizes? this means: player models (that may be different heights, widths, and have the eyes in different places), entities, weapons, items, etc. and will they work on the dreamcast and what directory do i place them in and call them as?

2. because in the dc version of the game, there is training, half-life, and blue shift; can i take out those parts and have just one game or do i need to split it up into 3 different sections that belong in their directories?

3. how much audio can the dc engine handle? by that i mean things like bit rate and formats, stereo/mono, etc.

4. how big should maps be if they:
a. have little to no action, maybe a puzzle with
a. not many models
b. many models
b. have lots of action, explosions, michael chiklis, and models
etc, etc?

5. does the controller and vmu (saves) still work on the mods oor do you need a keyboard and mouse? most people just have a controller. also, can you change the vmu image that is displayed when playing the game? and as i recall there was a picture of gordons and barneys faces next to the saves in game, how cna you change that?

6. does the engine have physics?

7. is it possible to change the game menus text and background images?

please elaborate in depth on everything if possible, thank you? im interested in learning to program on gldsrc and want to make a trilogy first on the pc then port it as an all in one on the dc (maybe sell it).

[Divagante]

1 - the models can have whatever size you want as long as the skeleton is in logic with the model (hitboxes also matter). altought it is not advisable to change the wpns/chars dimensions without good knoledge on the engine

2 - the menu has the 3 entries, so does dc:hl. if you dont include anything for one of them, the game still works but it will give you an error if you try to acess content that does not exist (for example the blue shift stand alone). this also means you can include up to 3 sequences of maps for 2 completelly diferent game configurations (for example you can make hl a first person shooter and blue shift a third person shooter, but the training obeys to the hl configs)

3 - audio is one of the things that waste more memory in-game, mainly because of its lousy compressing. i use (i cant recall exactly) .wav 16000, 8bit mono on goldwave. (dreammatix or override can answer this more accuratly)

4 - you're not exactly limited on memory in the dc, so the maps wont just crash if you make them too big or too complicated, they will just lag lag lag. strangelly enough, stuff like explosions, doors and all kinds of other entities dont use that much memory at all! when making a map just keep in mind not to use many sounds or models at once, and divide the campain logically whenever possible (which doesnt obligatory mean you must make a changemap everytime you enter a door). texture sizes and .pvr compressions is also to note here, but there are many tricks to reduce lag on maps (i want to make a tut on this when possible so the guys porting can take those in attention also)

5 - every mod works with the controller and the vmu (altough saves arent fully understanded yet, but they are already in use on small maps). it may be possible to change the vmu or the faces on the saves, but i'm not the best person to answer that

6 - hl1 has a physics engine. not something like hl2, but hl1 has the same stuff working a little more crunchy, for example the pushables are more stiff, or the breakables just make a random ammount of garbage when destroyed (have you played hl1 dude?)

7 - yes, changing a text file and them changing .pvr images (theres a mini tut on this override did somewhere in the forum, but i cant seem to find it)

sidenotes:

A - did you meant programming or modding? theres a HUGE difference there, you really cant program out of nothing. you should start by knowing the engine better (i mean this by playing a lot, and give attention to details). If you're really interest in modding for the dc (not ports, modding), please let me know

B - please restrain from creating new thread on the same old stuff... spam doesnt attract new members to the forum

[Anthony817]

Lol, I don't think he has played it or burnt any of the mods yet. I think you should familiarize yourself first with the engine and see what to expect before jumping into something too big.

[NicholasWolf]

I tried burning paranoia's .cdi (which i really want to) but it opens disc juggler witha different menu and if its in a different section while open it crashes the program. i tried they hunger or whatever its called.

[Anthony817]

You are not the only one I have heard had problems with Paranoia. These mods are very finicky, so if I were you, I would try burning them with Alcohol 120%. These mods seem to have a better success rate that way.

[Divagante]

i always used alcohol 120 (raw-dao mode), worked every single time

[NicholasWolf]

doesnt work on my pc.

[Divagante]

wanna give us your machine specifications and OS you are running on?

also, what doesnt work? alcohol as a program or stuff you burn using alcohol?

[NicholasWolf]

windows 7x64 enterprise
4gb ddr2 ram
nvidia 9200gs + 256mb
1350gb hdd
dvd+-rw drive