Scrap Metal: Final Edition

Please check out the links / read the FAQ below before posting a comment

LEGACY VERSION (gm_scrapmetal_v2) AVAILABLE NOW: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2817436453

Final Edition Repo (Map Files, Documentation, Assets, etc.): https://kawoofish.github.io/gm_scrapmetal/

Dev Console command to turn off starting music: ent_fire kill_the_music trigger

Asset Requirements: None, everything is packaged in the map. Check out the GitHub website to get access to the assets used

Map file names: gm_scrapmetal_day_v5, gm_scrapmetal_night_v5

Apology about the "creepy room" and mistakes made: Discussion thread here

Map Description: Abandoned Industrial Complex located somewhere in the vicinity of City 17. Remnants of a battle between the Resistance and the Combine remain. Large warehouses and buildings to explore, as well as a park and "Shipment" area (inspired by CoD: MW2019). Final Edition just denotes that this is the last major release and all of the files being shared.

Map Features:

• Industrial themed area with detailed interior and exterior views

• Ai nodes (Ground nodes, jump nodes, strider nodes, and limited air nodes)

• Sky, fog, and sun are editable under "Entities/Editors"

• Custom Color Correction (can be toggled thru Options menu or console command "mat_colorcorrection 0/1"

• HDR and LDR support (lighting, cubemaps)

• Functional elevators (may be a little buggy)

• Functional garage doors

• Ambient soundscapes (day and night version have unique sounds)

• Areaportal and hint/skip optimization (some outdoor areas may drop frames a bit)

FAQ:

1. What gamemodes are supported / best used?

• Officially, this is set up only for Sandbox. You are free to use the map files to tailor the map for your own gamemode (I'm not really in tune to all the different gamemodes that this map could work on so my development is focused on just sandbox)

2. What about the Zombie Survival version?

• UPDATE: Penoltinum has gratefully volunteered and completed a version of the map suitable for Zombie Survival. I really appreciate their interest in navigating my mess of map files and creating a map that makes crucial adjustments for it to be better balanced for multiplayer. The updated map will be available in the Sunrust Zombie Survival server soon, and we'll try and get some live player feedback and see how it plays on this first version. Once there's a decent period of testing or playthroughs, we can then make some updates to the map balance or leave it be, but a Workshop release will come soon!

3. What's the map's development timeline / history?

• I have a rough approximation based on some of the original VMF dates, but I'll give a brief history here:

2011: Started watching Hammer Editor videos on YouTube to learn and released my first map on the GMod Toybox (before Steam Workshop support came) Start of 2013: gm_scrapmetal development started Mid 2013: ZS versions released Late 2013: GM (sandbox) versions released 2014-2016: On and off development, beta versions of V3 circulated privately to a few people Mid 2016: Map was used in the "Hunt Down the Freeman" demo (was shortly delisted and then reuploaded with a disclaimer about HDTF's usage) Mid 2018 - Late 2020: On and off development after there was some interest from the ZS community I used to frequent, but ultimately didn't get anywhere (did lay out a lot of groundwork on what would become V4) Feb. 2021 - Nov. 2021: Personally delisted the map (see apology statement) Nov. 8 2021: Version 4 Beta 1 released Feb. 12 2022: Final Edition released

4. Speaking of Hunt Down the Freeman, what was this map's role in it?

• As part of the development for the demo (proof of concept), I was contacted to help create maps. The first map in the demo was an original map I built from the ground up in a few months. Because of "arbitrary" time constraints and wanting to get something out, map development was expedited to then just use portions of Scrap Metal (and another map I worked on) as the other levels. I was asked to temporarily delist Scrap Metal while the HDTF demo was released so that people "wouldn't find out about using a GMod map in it" (people found out anyway). After the demo, the original team was disbanded and Scrap Metal was never brought up again for the retail version of the game.

5. Will you continue to make more maps for GMod / other gamemodes / S&Box?

• I've been asked this a lot, and I've been asking myself this as well. For the longest time, I probably had the worst work ethic and workflow for making maps in Source. Only until recently (and having a full time software development job helps) did I figure out a workflow where I actually was able to release content at a reasonable pace. I guess maybe the whole level design experience was soured a bit with the work I did for Hunt Down the Freeman and my general inability to finish this map a lot sooner. However, when I'm not blocked or stuck, I do really enjoy level design and think it's a fun hobby for myself. I would like to continue making maps for GMod in the future. I'm no longer active in any servers or other gamemodes so I would just make sandbox maps. I haven't really had a chance to look at Source 2 or S&Box much, but since Hammer is still somewhat similar, I could maybe give it a shot

6. Special Thanks (in no particular order, thank you to these people who have provided help, feedback, and constructive criticism)

• John Longdong
• TANK8
• Modestyiswimpy
• Pufulet
• johnny moe
• Humin
• Jamesinator
• ScreechingEagles101623

7. Tools used

• Hammer++, an incredible fan-made update to the Hammer World Editor. The updates and fixes have made Hammer into a somewhat modern editor with the times, and this is a happy surprise for myself and many other Source level designers. Please show them some love, I never thought I'd see the day when Hammer could get new features and tools
• HammerPatch, a tool by crashfort used to preserve brush vertices in Hammer
• Inkscape (used to make fictional logos and also the workshop/map thumbnail)
• VTFEdit, for texture importing
• Pakrat, for packaging assets

8. Disclaimer:

• Sachs & Hale, Calhoun Brewing Company, and Westlake Laboratories are all fictional logos that I made up. Any resemblance to actual corporations is purely coincidental. Assets included come from Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, which are both owned by Valve Corporation. I am the sole developer of this map, while I have taken feedback and used it from a lot of others, the VMF (Valve Map File) has only been worked on by me. I used to be very protective of it and would not distribute it out, but over time I've decided to release it for public use as it's better off not being attached only to me. You are free to use the map files in part or in whole for your own development or gamemode specific tuning. Credit to me, "Kawoofish", is appreciated but not required. If you need help with using the map files, I am always willing to try my best and help out