But, bottom line: There are items that still require my attention, and in some cases may also require me to seek assistance from others with a better grasp of the specific issues. So, my aim is to create a running list here of the items I can remember/think of (to be updated as more are identified or checked off as completed), with any pertinent details that might be useful for resolving them. This way, it will not only help track the items in spite of my horrible memory, but it will make them easily visible to the team here, as well as open the floor for advice/discussion/questions/etc. So, in no particular order...
- Clean up/properly import Marisa's Pseudo HUD Messages and credit her in comments/credits
A while ago, ACS-based HUD messages were broken. This has since been fixed, but in the meanwhile, I had decided to try switching over to something ZScript-driven, based on Marisa Kirisame's work. Last I checked, I had it working, and I have no intention to revert to ACS, even though that bug is fixed now. The problem is that I did a sloppy job of splicing in just the parts of her code that I felt I'd need, and I soon came to regret it -- I should have done a more wholesale import (making edits only if they happen to be necessary) and included all proper credits. This would be a non-functional change, but I feel it's important to correctly honor her work if I'm using it.
- Credit all my sources if possible
On the topic of proper attribution... over the course of the project, I've brought in a number of new assets, primarily models borrowed from Half-Life mods. Unfortunately, I didn't keep good track of where I pulled them, and on top of that, there seems to be a big problem in the HL modding community of not listing credits or sources for assets. Still, I think the least I could do would be to mention where I pulled everything from, so I may have to go back through my library of mods and sniff out everything that I can.
- Fix timing of HUD Messages
I had implemented a mechanism to have the HUD messages match the length of their soundbytes, but it seems that something is off. I will need to investigate what went wrong and adjust it so they match again.
- Fix Barney's Follow AI
Over the years, I made several attempts to improve the methods Barney uses to follow the player. While I doubt it would ever be a perfect mimic of Half-Life, I had hoped for a way to make any Barney a potential follower, toggled by the Use key. Unfortunately, everything I've tried had some problems or another. When the time comes that I'm able to look into this again, I'll most likely need to ask if anyone has advice on a way around my shortcomings.
- Scientist behavior: Voices and Reacting to Danger
Currently, the scientists don't react properly to danger (i.e. running around in a panic). My hope was to emulate Half-Life, where they would be calm under normal circumstances, but become panicked when spotting a monster, or manually told to panic by map scripts. I'll need to look into triggering them correctly.
Scientists' voices also seem to be too loud from even considerable distances away. I don't think the player should hear them conversing from clear across the room/in the next room.
- Brightmaps for Med/Armor Stations
When I replaced the Med/Armor Stations with models, I no longer had use for the textures that went with the Linedef-based ones. However, this also meant I lost out on the brightmaps that said textures had. I know absolutely nothing about producing brightmaps, but if they can be made for these models, I want to include them.
- Floating Platforms
I have never been able to pick apart and understand the code used for the moving platforms in Xen, meaning I don't really know where to begin with fixing them. It's been years, but last we checked, they do not work for co-op. Personally, I find those sections to be unbelievably difficult, so I would not be opposed to re-doing them to make them easier. More platforms to jump between would be a great improvement, in my mind.
- Map-Specific: P1M1: Elevator floor pattern
When the player rides the elevator, he can see that the floor pattern is offset differently after teleporting to the other end of the ride. A minor thing, but I hope it's not too tricky to fix. I'll look at all other teleport tricks throughout the campaign to see if they need attention, too.
- Map-Specific: P1M1: Water tanks
The water tanks in the intro section have looked wrong for a very long time. The wall of the glass tank seems to glow. I don't know enough about linedefs to spot the cause, but I want to look into this again someday.
Update 5/30/21: Seems to be working correctly now. If the issue resurfaces, I will study what specific change/setting may have caused it. If not, then nothing to worry about anymore.
- Map-Specific: P1M5: Exploding wall
After Dr. Zimmerman has spoken to the player, the wall upstairs should blow open. For some reason, it doesn't seem to now. Must investigate...
- Map-Specific: P1M6: Animate the MTM-8 Robotic Loader
The Loader blocking the door near the start of the map is meant to move after the player has found a way around, to open up a quick return route. I would like to make it actually walk itself to the new position instead of simply teleporting, just in case another player in co-op is staring at it when it should happen. I'll need to find the best way to make it walk there, ensure the animations are included, and also make sure there isn't a way for it to trap a player (maybe make it no-clip until it's finished moving...?)
- Map-Specific: P1M7: Make Nerve Gas Painless
When the player is being harmed by nerve gas, there's possibility that they will receive feedback the same as if they were being shot or otherwise injured. I think it would be better if they got a different, more subtle indication that they were losing health.
- Merging in Rex's Map Updated
As it is possible that Rex and I have worked off of different map versions, any updates Rex contributes may need to be carefully merged in with anything I have done. Should be doable; just needs some extra attention so that nothing is overlooked.