March 2023 Devlog news - Outcast mod for Half-Life 2

Outcast March 2023 Devlog

Welcome back to another monthly Outcast update. This month, I spent a lot of time working on AI, as well as maps and some models. Most of the work this month went into the map shown off in the previous devlog, d1_wasteland_02. I have a lot to show, so lets get started.

A new NPC was added this month, the protozoa. The protozoa is a creature seen in Half-Life 1, most notably when Gordon is teleported to Xen after the Resonance Cascade. I thought they would be a nice fit into Outcast. Below is a video showing off the Protozoas movement. This video is purely meant to showcase the work in progress npc, the map shown is old and has since been updated, which we will get into soon.

On the topic of NPC’s, i also spent some time tweaking existing ones. The houndeye code included in Source SDK 2013 is pretty minimal, and needed a lot of updating. I gave it a proper energy wave that is formed when it attacks, as well as giving it the capability to change color and power depending on the Houndeyes’ squad size. The houndeye also now have the same pack AI from Half-Life 1. When idle, pack members can choose to sleep. When others sleep, the pack leader guards the pack, with a special animation.

The Lightstalks have also been updated. Originally, the lightstalk npc would be rigged to a light entity, and when the lightstalk would lower itself due to an enemy, the npc would fire an output to the light, and the light would disable… it was very complicated for no reason. Huge thanks to Cvoxalury for helping me set up a client side dynamic light entity fully controlled by the lightstalk npc, no bootlegging required. The lightstalks light is now also configurable in hammer, woo hoo!

The xen spore from HL1 has also received a new model and texture.

Now onto the fun stuff. The last time I showed this map, it was rather small and was lacking a lot of detail. This month, I spent a lot of time getting the layout right, as well as detailing the map.I am also getting back into the swing of making brush based structures, which you will see in the following screenshots. This still needs some gameplay and art passing, but it is mostly finished.

These screenshots are all of areas that were previously show off, but have since been updated. The house has been removed and replaced with a pavilion.

Now, here's some brand new stuff.

This map is the first of two large wasteland maps. The following map, d1_wasteland_03, is going to be even bigger and more open than this map. Expect to see screenshots within the next few months. Once the third wasteland map is completed, chapter one will be mostly finished, only requiring two more maps, that are much smaller in scale and more expository.

Over the next month, I am expecting to finish the first two maps completely, as well as begin work on the remaining maps for Chapter one. As we continue to push forward, we’re always thinking of what’s ahead. I will now share some screenshots of prototype maps for later parts of the game. These maps will not be seen for a long time, and will most likely look very different when they’re actually released, but I want to give you a look into where we’re going with this. Keep in mind these are only prototypes for personal inspiration.

I hope you've enjoyed this months article. As always, if you'd like to leave feedback i can be reached on Discord at Zapagoogas#9716 or you can join us in the discord at Discord.gg. See you next month!