Goofy Camera Questions

Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted a q here, but The responses are nice and fast

Anyways, The Trigger Camera is a glorious device. In my map, documents which can be read are going to be a button which targets a trigger camera, which is pointed towards a texture with writing on it. This is the same tactic used in many mods, (most noticably Poke 646).

My question is this: Is there a way to use a camera without transporting the player? I need the rooms to be out of sight, however I want the game engine to draw them. If I simply make the room somehow accessable to the map, (by a 1 wc entrance or something to the physical world you can walk through), will the engine draw it when the focus is diverted? I can't simply fade to black, because it's going to be a multiplayer map.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or more will possibly get you some nice

Do you need to be within range for it to work? I know someone else mentioned this in another thread, but there are many many instances of security cameras in CS using a trigger_camera that does not require line of sight.

Can I ask what mod you're mapping for? Is it a series of single player missions?

The camera should work fine, I've got it to show areas out of the players line of sight in some of my maps.

Maybe this can help...

http://www.vlatitude.com/tutorials.php?tutID=23

mrfranswa said:
Is there a way to use a camera without transporting the player? I need the rooms to be out of sight, however I want the game engine to draw them.

Unfortunately, for the engine to draw an object, it has to be visible directly in the players PVS. Otherwise it wouldn't get rendered at all.

The simplest way would be what the Vlatitude article suggested. i.e, teleport a player to a location from where the room is directly in the PVS. Then trigger the camera. It still seems the best way out.

Making it without teleportation seems quite impossible but I suppose someone else might suggest something. Wait for a while and see what turns up :smile:

Note fraggard said 'PVS', which means 'possible field of view'. So a tiny hole leading to it will work, yes, or better still try putting it in a room behind a func_wall'd door? Direct line of sight doesn't matter.

However, unless the game works by hulls when figuring out this PVS stuff, you shouldn't have to teleport the player. But of course, this is one of those questions where taking 2 minutes to do it yourself will give you the answer :razz:

cough Potentially Visible Set cough :dorky:

Slightly different meaning.

Yeah I know. I currently use the teleport method, but I don't think I will be able to squeeze it into my current map. I guess I could find a way to somehow hide it right next to each text message, but if you face the wrong way the engine won't draw it right.

Oh well, time for a test.

Just makea boxed of area of the map, put the stuff you need in there, with the trigger_cameras and some light entities. You can target entities so you don't have to set pitch/Yaw and that stuff. And since when did the player transport to the place where the camera is?

make a vent or something going from the room to your map (by the way i have no idea what im talking about) then, make a grate a func_brakeable and set strength to like 900000 that way your room is excessable, but it will take a few days to destroy that grate,

my ways better

agreed^

and why make it func breakable with 900000 strength when u could make it func wall?

Because then it would be like a bonus or something when you (after a week or so) break the grate and discover what's there. :biggrin:

mrfranswa could also add a little message on the wall or something like "You're not supposed to be here :razz: ".

bah , i just used noclip to see what was goin on in poke646 :smile:

Mmmm... pointless

Leperous said:
Note fraggard said 'PVS', which means 'possible field of view'

PVF, PVS? Er... what was I thinking.. haha ah well, that's what I meant by that.

SHeeP said:
agreed^

and why make it func breakable with 900000 strength when u could make it func wall?

sit a monster behind a glass breakable with 90000 strength and be on the other side, its fun to see how they attempt to attack you while you sit their and laugh at your wall :biggrin: , monsters wont shoot at you if you or them are behind a unbreakable wall, they will only shoot you if the wall can eventually be broken down, hehe, but i dunno what this has to do with anything :sad:

edit - ok this has to do with the topic, download the decompiler of this site (its good and fast, i decompiled the whole single player hl campaign in like 5 min) then, find a cs map that uses cameras like cs_assualt, decompile it, and see how they did their cameras and take their idea!!

OtZman said:
Because then it would be like a bonus or something when you (after a week or so) break the grate and discover what's there. :biggrin:

Personally, I don't believe people like this should be rewarded. I think they should be ex-communicated. Luckily, they often take care of that themselves.

and decompiling cs_assault is not a good idea unless u ask permission

isn't assualt a default map of counter-strike?

still someone elses work

How is that a bad thing?

Yes, someone else made it- but no one is saying that he should change a brush or two and re-release it as "cs_OMFG13374$$00buraGE_AsSuLtTtTtT111!"- they're saying just do it to take a peek at how a camera entity works. Nothing wrong with that.

I decompile maps all the time, to see how those uber mappers do it. Nothing wrong with it, as long as you dont copy any brushwork (IMO)