Mapbase v4.0 released news

Changelist:

Game:

- Added reductor's support for VScript in Source 2013.
- Added spawnflag to npc_headcrab which can prevent a headcrab from drowning
- Added spawnflag to npc_headcrab which can prevent a headcrab from instantly dying to a melee weapon

Shaders:

- Fixed SDK_Refract and SDK_Water not using new cubemap method

Files/Scripts:

- Fixed weapon_shotgun not holstering correctly
- Modified HL2/EP1/EP2 materials based on multi-tool changes
- Moved an unintentionally included "dirty" Combine prison guard texture to a new "combine_soldirt_prisonguard.mdl" model so both the original "clean" texture and custom dirt texture can be used
- Optimized other "soldirt" model materials
- Made rail/ladder dev textures start using $alphatest instead of $translucent

Compile Tools:

- Fixed parallax corrected cubemaps sometimes causing VBSP to crash

Mapbase Multi-Tool:

- Fixed issue with asset converter not handling WorldVertexTransition DX levels correctly
- Improved asset converter performance

Misc:

- Fixed ropes not casting shadows

VScript in Mapbase

I previously mentioned that it may have been safe to expect v4.0 to involve the MP port, but one big feature was suddenly added to Mapbase shortly after v3.1 was released. That feature is VScript support.

We had an open testing period for VScript which wrapped up today, and now VScript will be a part of the main Mapbase build in the v4.0 update.

For more information on what VScript is, please see the article which announced the open testing period a few weeks ago or the VScript article on the Mapbase wiki.

There are also some sample scripts available in a separate downloadable file. More samples may be added in the future.

Other changes

VScript is the main feature in this update, although there's a few other changes as well.

For example, it was recently discovered that Mapbase unintentionally included a custom "dirty" Combine prison guard texture based on the EP2 soldier dirt. This has been split into its own model, "combine_soldirt_prisonguard.mdl", as an addition to the "soldirt" family of models. If you are using prison guards in your mod, you may need to check them to see if you prefer the regular "clean" guards or this custom dirty texture. It is available as "Dirty Nova Prospekt Soldier" in the "Model" keyvalue of npc_combine_s.

This update also adds two new spawnflags to npc_headcrab which respectively prevent headcrabs from drowning and dying instantly to melee weapons. These were added after people asked on Discord servers about how to do it in a context unrelated to Mapbase.

This version of Mapbase also marks when we begin using the repo's "Issues" page on GitHub instead of a Trello board for tracking issues. This has numerous benefits, including allowing users to submit issues on their own or even fix them themselves.

This update is highly experimental due to the presence of VScript. If you find any issues with this update, please report them here, on the Discord server, or on the repo's "Issues" page.