Blogs - IHaveAPlan

Introduction

Hello everyone! It’s been quite a while since the last update and blog, but I have been hard at work trying to get everything in order for a couple of releases! Let’s take a look at what's been cooking for the last 2-3 months.

Words from the Castle

So, I’ve been working on the FGD (Obviously) for a while now. I had the chance to talk to a lot of the former developers from Ritual Entertainment and they have all been so helpful in their own ways. I had the rare chance to sit down with Castle, one of the former level designers, in Discord and talked for a decent time about the game and other things. Here is a summary of the conversation we had regarding CS:CZDS.

“When we got the Gearbox build, they had practically finished the game and that would have been great, but we went at it with a machete and cut a lot of the content.

Valve told us to make a HL1 experience in the Counter-Strike world and what we delivered was very far from it. There was no connection to the previous levels, no 'Show, don't tell' theories in the levels, characters constantly spewing lore and there was always an objective to do. So it was never really a HL1 experience. It was a super linear, mostly scripted game with annoying sections that didn't need to be there.

At the time, we had too much power and we were way too ambitious when it came to CZ. For example, The AI was over scripted, the first time a dude falls down the stairs is cool,
but the hundredth time is just like ‘Eh, okay’. We didn't need to have a .SEQ file system or anything like that, Mutimanagers would have worked for everything. The same thing can be said about the annoying stealth sections, we didn't need those and the game would have probably done better without them. We weren’t trying to make Metal Gear Solid. If you do remake or port the levels, make sure to get rid of the fail state stealth parts for good.

After CZ got taken out of our hands, they released our work as 'Deleted Scenes'. Till this day I have no idea why they decided to do that, it is what it is, but I would have liked it to be under a different name.”

And that’s what he said. It was a pretty wild time for the fellas at Ritual Entertainment, don’t you think?

The .FGD!

There has been a bit of a change in some of the .FGD. Mostly involving adding, removing and fixing some stuff that has been bugging me for a while. You can get the .FGD here: CS:CZDS .FGD

The Sprites!

You can also get the new Retro Hammer Icon Sprites to go with CS:CZDS! Grab 'em here: Retro Hammer Icon Sprites

Shiny new features!

I want to continue this section by highlighting one of the most recent discoveries. Let me introduce to you, ‘func_model_brush’.

The func_model_brush is a new way to represent a fake 3d skybox that extends the world visually.
Here is the basic rundown. You 'attach' model entities to it (which can be put anywhere as long as the origin is in the map), and when the func_model_brush is within view (PVS) those models also become visible. You can have different '3D skyboxes' for different areas in the same map. better for performance for maps that contain both outdoor and indoor areas.

Using JACK's OBJ export option, as you can see above, I made a really quick model that could be used with the item_generic entity that can be hooked onto the func_model_brush. Here is the result in game:

So, how does it look? I think it looks pretty cool, it helps keep the performance smooth and can also open up a wide range of cool looking backdrops that don't rely on being in the skybox. I hope you can use this feature well and create some cool stuff!

Update on Valve...

I have been in contact with Valve for a while now, updating them and soon, I hope to hand this FGD off to them to include in their official game repository for CS:CZDS. This was their response to the FGD:

"Hi IHaveAPlan,

Thanks for checking in again.

At the moment, we're not going to be able to provide access to that code. We do appreciate your interest though and kindly ask you to respect this decision. To give you some additional information here. In the past, we have only provided code access to partners that we have worked with before or have certain information about them. Please note that this wasn't the only reason here and there were other factors that we considered, before making the decision.

Steam Support
Finn"

Unfortunately, Valve decided to not give me access to the source, old builds, or documentation. Here was their response on why when I poked them to give more about the decision:

"Hi IHaveAPlan,

When it comes to internal repositories or code and the subsequent approval or denial for external devs, we like to keep this information that lead to the decision confidential. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. You can continue to update us here and we will make sure to backfill our internal repository, as well as keeping everyone at Valve in the loop, who are involved in those kind of decisions.

Steam Support
Finn"

It seems that Valve has said no to my requests. Which is unfortunate because of some annoying bugs with monster_sentry (sounds fail to precache), func_doors/buttons (unlock_sound keyvalues are broken) and kinda-of-implemented entities such as env_particle. But, thus is life when dealing with a corporation that doesn't want someone to fix things for free.

Anyway enough of that, and on to some mapping stuff.

Oh look, here come that map update!

Recently, I've been having a lot of trouble mapping and getting the motivation to keep going after the failures with Valve and the frustrations that has caused for the .FGD (Good example is monster_sentry). So I went back to basics and started to make a small level that highlights the new things that can be with CS:CZDS. So far, this is what I've got:

Holy Dev Textures 007!

Kinda long video, but it highlights half of the things that I want to implement into the level that show what can be made with CS:CZDS. Still have a lot more things to put in. It follows the classic HL1 type of gameplay loop. The ol' Explore>Puzzle>Kill>Repeat. Some of you keen eyed people might have spotted a couple odd things, I'll keep those to myself for now, but what you see now is currently in the released version of the FGD. So, get to it! Make stuff!

I'll see you later, might be awhile or it might be in a few days, who knows now!

From Condition Zero Deleted Scenes, with love...

Hello everyone! I hope you all have been doing well in your lives and have had a good time this past month. I have good news and bad news, so lets start with the good news!

The Good News

Right-o, I have updated the CS:CZDS .FGD file with a few new things. I hope that they will help you on your way to making the best map you can. I would like to take a moment to highlight a few of the keys that have got some uniqueness to them. You can grab the new version here from the addon section:

First up.... The monster_apache received some much needed love in this update, in the form of a few different keys.

Yes, you read that correctly. You can now turn the monster_apache into a Hind-D from MGS1 or a Harrier Jet from MGS2, if you have the correct sounds and models! There is also the quiet key which is pretty obvious as to what it does. The health key is also interesting, you can override the default value set in the game to a custom one. In theory, you could have a flying banana, with a the sound of Yoda from Lego Star Wars dying as your monster_apache firing sound. Next up...

The "Monster" BaseClass got an update to include a crazy set of keys.

These keys make it so the enemy (or friendly) can actually become a maniac. It allows them to heal at the speed that is set in the "Health Recharge Rate" combined with the "Health Modifier" key, and your monster is now the GoldSource certified Wolverine Cosplayer. Whatever monster_ you set this key on, they can certainly take a bullet or 45. Finally, last but not least... probably the most boring out of the lot though.

The func_pushable! Yes, this is no joke. The func_pushable had a "Silent" key added to it, so no more annoying sounds of metal grinding across the ground and breaking your ears! I thought this one was important enough to include here!

Now, onto the unpleasant part of this report...

The Bad News

So, as you all know, I have been working on this project for a while, and I really do love this project. As of late, I've been trying to contact Valve about the possibility of trying to make a deal to grab a few documents and the SDK for this game. Unfortunately, I have had absolutely no luck in contacting them. I have sent them emails and such to try and figure something out and I am exhausted from all of the effort I am putting in. Here is the list of stuff I have done over the last 2 weeks:

- Contacted Valve at multiple emails including Gaben.
- Contacted Geoff Keighley to see if he could help out.
- Slapped out a big advertisement on LinkedIn for people who could be connected with Valve.
- Talked to 1 of the Ritual Entertainment former CEOs.
- Emailed Bethesda about contacting Tom Mustaine
- Sent both Gabe Newell and Tom Mustaine a postal letter that has all my business proposals.
- Contacted the email of the SDK fellas at valve.
- Contacted the other 2 Ritual Entertainment CEOs.
- Trying and hoping to some sort of god that all of my effort doesn't go to waste.

I hope I can continue on this project with their support. I'll continue to decipher all that I can at the moment to show them that I am serious about this game and the easy-to-use, fully documented SDK, and to fully take advantage of the last game released on the GoldSource Engine. But hey, I love doing this stuff and being creative!

So, as a little treat, I'll post an snap of the map that was in the last update! It has gone through so much change that it isn't recognizable anymore. Anyway, here it is....

ANOMALY1 - Level 1

ANOMALY2 - Level 2

Little extra for ya!

We have a fire, sir!

Wrapping up!

It's been a fun month of work and I wish I could give you all something a bit more substantial instead of what I have at the moment. I need to work on a few things for the next release, including a deep dive into how to make some of the most prevalent entity set-ups in the main game. I hope you all have a nice day/night!

See you around, Space Cowboy...

A call for backup!

Hello again everyone! Progress on the FGD and map are going well, slow but well!
I come here for a more pressing matter, I need some help in getting the attention of former staff of Ritual Entertainment, Gearbox and maybe, if possible, Valve.

Now, why would I need to bother them? Well, that relates to the FGD and many, many questions about CS:CZDS. Questions such as 'What was the 'weapons' and 'behavior' KeyValue used for?', 'Where and how could I get my hands on the CS:CZDS Version of the SDK?' and 'Where did all the documentation, old Gearbox and other resources go?'.

So that's why I need anyone and everyone's help! To make this game a really easy and accessible game to modify and make new games/content/mods for. So, as always, if you have contacts or know someone who does, please direct them my way!

Did you like it?

So, It's been a week and a bit since the initial release of the FGD! How is everyone liking it?
I hope to see some cool SP map creations and mods sometime! For example, I'm putting the FGD through the big test by making a playable map to test the features and make sure everything is working properly. Here's some pictures for you!

The plan for the map.

The Blockout process.

Using both traditional GldSrc I/O and the CS:CZDS .SEQ files to make a really classic HL style in-game interaction.

Now... A development update!

Development and improvements are incoming with a new update to the FGD, here is a little checklist from my WIP version of the file.

As you can see, It includes new KeyValues, bug fixes and help function rewrites. A lot of testing has to happen before I can release this version though, as I have no way of knowing how these KeysValues function until I start to research them in-game. These keyValues were all seen in maps across the game and sometimes the original devs would make some mistakes or slip ups (because they were using GTKRadiant at the time.)

Also, this is just a general call out to those who may have worked on this game as an original developer, please get in touch with me somehow. It would be fantastic if we could discuss how this game was made, what was used and who to speak to to get the SDK and .DEF files.

Anyway, this was just an update! See ya later!

Dreaming... of Deleted Scenes?

On the 3/3/2020, the first State Of Emergency was declared in Japan, where I currently reside. It lasted for 3 months.

During that time, I played video games to pass the time while ‘working’ from home. After a while, I came to Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes and thought to myself that I should start it up and give it a solid playthrough, and that is exactly what I did.
Then, only after finishing it, did I do a little bit of searching around to read up about how it came to be that a cheesy, action game that had the CS name came to be. I became enthralled in the hardships and development hell that it had gone through. From Rouge Entertainment, to Gearbox, then to Ritual Entertainment, and finally to Turtle Rock Studios; It had been through so much and still came out somewhat well off.

Afterwards, I spent time researching how to mod GoldSource games with one goal: to mod CZDS and incorporate its unique gameplay elements into something tangible and well made. The only issue was that I was rather inexperienced with making things (and I still am to this day), so I gathered up as much information as I could and then realized something that I was missing. This thing was the editor file required by Hammer or JACK to be able to make anything.

The FGD Quest!

I looked on the Valve Developer Wiki for answers and found a version of the CZDS FGD. This was a fairly old version, but it would do. Later, I found that it was rather incomplete and did not have the very basic additions that would be key in fully setting up a living, breathing map of my own. Sure it had func_door, func_button and func_breakable you could smash, but what was all that when I did not have the options to break said breakables?

Eventually, I discovered that some of the designers created a map pack with extra missions that were supposed to show the community how to mod the game. I dug up even more information from how they used certain entities and the extra data that was in the missions. Implemented them and moved to searching for more information.

I came across the old Ritual Entertainment forums. Where I found 2 old developers that shared some new features that I did not know how to use. Trigger_zipline and trigger_changekeyvalue. I quickly and swiftly implemented what I had learnt from them.

On the next information finding session, I found a Chinese version of the FGD that was made by a lad named Dong on the VDW. Dong was the only other person at the time to have released a large mission set on a GameBanana. I found him on Steam and talked to him through google translate about the changes he had made. With his help, I translated his notes and learnt some extra stuff along the way.

But, the FGD was still incomplete. Data was missing. I searched everywhere I could on how to piece this broken mess back together. I learnt FGD syntax and how to format them well. I (diligently) learnt how to read and correct errors. I joined the TWHL community in hopes of assistance and found it in truckloads (Looking at you fellas in the Programming Help area). I even contacted Tyler McVicker, who was kind enough to direct me to a fellow who, unfortunately for me, never responded to my message: which would be a recurring theme in my mod-file building adventure. The FGD file should be ready now for people to use and start making some cool stuff with. I hope you have fun!

The link to the file is right here under here!

Fresh of the ol' Notepad++

Continuing the journey!

Currently, I’m working on understanding the .MAT, .SEQ and GUI systems within the game. Trying to find out how far I can push this game to be something to remember when talking about a CZDS mod. For now, Here is a map that I built to test some things out with!