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ET Mapping Tutorial

Lesson 20

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Command Posts
 
Command Posts
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Command Posts [Top]
Of all the constructibles, destructibles, health cabinets and whatnot, the one thing you really don't want to make from scratch is a Command Post.

Ok you can make a constructible wall by hand if you like, it's a little long-winded, but quite easily achievable without resorting to "here's one I made earlier.".

But a Command Post has a number of fiddly, angled models and a variety of invisible brushes, and it really isn't realistic to make one by hand.

So here are the prefabs you need.   :)

Unzip them and stick all 6 files into your prefabs folder.  There are 3 pairs of .map and .script files, being a pair each for the Allies, Axis and Neutral Command Posts.

Run Radiant and open your map.

We'll put a Command Post against the north wall.  The command post model is so complicated you really want to avoid having to change its angle.  So I always find a suitable wall against which I can stick a command post without having to turn it around.  You have been warned :)

Suppose we want to put the Axis CP there.

Go to File/Import... and navigate to prefab_axis_cp and import it.  The model will appear below/left of (0,0,0).  Drag it to the north wall.  It happens to have the correct Z co-ord value of zero, because I tend to save prefabs with a Z co-ord of 0, and I try to keep much of my map floor surface around Z 0 for this reason.  It makes building things easier. (I also try to keep major height differences to multiples of 128 or 256, because again it makes something easier: texturing.  It cuts down on having to re-align a texture.)

Press ESC.  Compile the map but don't yet go to ET to test it.

Now edit the prefab_axis_cp.script, and copy and paste the lot into the bottom of your tutorial.script file.  (As your script file grows, try to position new procedures in the right place alphabetically, ie put "allies" procedures before "axis", and arrange all subsequent procedures by alphabetical procedure name.  This makes it easier to find things later.)

Don't worry about trying to interpret the contents of the Command Post procedure, it works just fine and you don't need to know how the script works (until later in the tutorial.)

Save and exit from the .script file.

Run ET.  We are not quite finished.  We have to add the CP speaker.  /devmap the map.  Be an Axis Engineer.

Go and stand directly in front of the unmade CP.  It probably seems a bit dark.  CPs generally have extra light shone on them by an explicit light entity, as for some reason they otherwise show up dark.  I don't know why.  Don't worry about it now.

Bring up the console and type:

\editspeakers
\dumpspeaker
\modifyspeaker


Then exit the console.  Make sure the speaker is just in front of the CP.

Enter these values into the boxes:

Noise: sound/world/radio_axis.wav   The "/" must not be a "\" this time!
Targetname: speaker_axis_cp
Looped: on    Make sure you hear the axis CP sound.  If not, you have mis-spelt the noise.  Go back and get it right then proceed from here.
Looped: off
Broadcast: nopvs
Volume: 32
Range: 1250

And click OK.

Go to the console, up arrow 3 times and press return to cancel speaker editing mode.

Enter \map_restart

Come out of the console.

Go to your unmade CP; there should be no CP noise.  Make the CP.  You should now get the noise and a working CP.

Make yourself an allied cov ops and prove you can blow up the CP and that everything looks normal.

 

You are all done!

 

The allied prefab works just the same way, with these changed values:

  • Noise: sound/world/radio_allies.wav
  • Targetname: speaker_allied_cp

For the neutral CP you'll need 2 speakers, one for Axis and one for Allies.  Put them beside each other.

Easy!!!!!  :)

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