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Overhauled this page. It looked terrible to me 5 months later

Blixibon 2020-05-07 23:47:28 -05:00
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Introduction-to-Mapbase.md

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**Mapbase** is a special mod for Source 2013 designed to be used as a "platform" by modders and level designers. Mappers would create their maps based off of this mod and larger mods with their own unique changes would draw from Mapbase's code and assets.
**Mapbase** is a special mod for Source SDK Base 2013 designed to be used as a "platform" by modders and level designers. Mappers would create their maps based off of this mod and larger mods with their own unique changes would draw from Mapbase's code and assets.
Rather than being a mod purely intended to change how the game plays or feels, Mapbase is almost entirely dedicated to improving the engine for mod creators themselves, attempting to alleviate the craziness of Source and provide new capabilities that help level designers make previously impossible visions far easier.
Mapbase is supposed to make it easier to create maps and mods for Source 2013 and/or Half-Life 2. It mainly involves expanding the keyvalues, I/O, and logic entities available to level designers, but it also introduces various fixes and features to help improve the mapping experience. It's not supposed to change the game itself, at least not against the wishes of the mapper.
Mapbase didn't enter my mind spontaneously. I (Blixibon) first had the idea for Mapbase when I saw the inconvenience of creating maps for HL2 and I realized how easy it was to fix some of the issues in the SDK's code. I was only considering them as improvements for my own mods at the time, but I was getting tired of bringing a few general quality-of-life improvements to each mod I started making. I wanted to create special kind of "base" mod that all of my mods could start from. These ideas eventually evolved into Mapbase, which grew very far beyond my original vision.
Here is a small list of some of the overall features Mapbase introduces:
## New entities and I/O/KV
* **50+ new entities and several filters and engine ports/replications** *(mostly logic-related)*
* **Hundreds of new Inputs, Outputs, and KeyValues added to existing entities**
* **Heavily revised and reworked FGDs**
* [**Special custom shaders with various subtle improvements**](Graphical-Changes) *(including projected texture fixes and radial fog originating from the Alien Swarm SDK)*
* [**Optional gameplay features**](Gameplay-Changes) *(NPCs capable of using more weapons, etc.)*
* **New dev textures** *(both new colors and new types of textures)*
* **Map-specific files** *(for those not using their own mod)*
Mapbase adds **50+** new entities and hundreds of new I/O/KV (Inputs/Outputs/KeyValues) to the engine, and that's not even counting filters or things ported from other branches of Source. Most of these additions are supposed to make it easier to use existing features/concepts (quality-of-life improvements) or are mostly related to the "map logic" pipeline and have nothing to do with the game itself, so most of these changes could go right over players' heads. For example, one of these logic entities is `logic_skill`, which could read the player's difficulty setting and detect when it's changed. A more direct entity, `point_entity_replace`, lets you instantly "replace" one entity with another, giving the illusion of transformation (kind of like `phys_convert`, but more flexible). There's also `game_convar_mod`, which lets you set the value of a convar and safely saves/resets automatically on map load/unload, not having to rely on point_server/clientcommand at all. Another entity called `logic_measure_direction` is a direct variant of the existing "logic_measure_movement", but it moves entities to the ends of built-in traces instead, kind of like a laser.
Mapbase also fixes existing entities and I/O/KV that were bugged or otherwise tricky to use, like `func_clip_vphysics` not being able to start disabled or `OnBeginSequence` not using the target NPC as the activator. It also comes with a heavily revised FGD file that adds eyedropper support to keyvalues and inputs that needed it.
## Map-specific files
Mapbase expands upon the system that lets maps mount their own soundscripts or soundscape files, giving mappers the ability to mount map-specific actbusy or Response System files as well. This lets mappers use their own actbusies or responses without having to create their own mods and/or override default files.
## New dev textures
Mapbase comes with a selection of new dev textures:
* A wider range of colors among the generic measure textures
* "Overlays" for outlines of most other kinds of measure textures, like walls or fences.
* Two new versions of nodraw with metal and wood sounds, similar to the ones from CS:S, except these have their own textures in Hammer to keep them easily identifiable to the mapper.
It also has a few new icons for *existing* entities, like `logic_playerproxy` having info_player_start's face on it.
## Graphical changes
Mapbase isn't supposed to change the in-game feeling of Source or HL2 itself, avoiding subjective or "different" visual appeal, but it still makes a few changes related to Source's visuals. They are mostly just fixes, objective improvements, or optional features for mappers and other kinds of modders to toggle at will.
Mapbase changes the shaders in Source. This is a major point of modding that has many demands and caveats, but we've tried our best to make sure they up to the trouble needed to implement them. For example, Mapbase gathers projected texture fixes and features accumulated from the Valve Developer Community, Alien Swarm, and various open-source projects like G-String. This makes projected textures in Mapbase *much* more stable and viable than their original Source 2013 counterparts.
Another shader change is ASW-based radial fog from Half-Life 2: Downfall, which means fog won't change with the camera angle anymore. This is one of the only changes that can't be toggled at will, but its high demand and appeal (and the fact it can almost be considered a bug fix in-game) make it tolerable.
You can find an overview on Mapbase's graphical changes [here](Graphical-Changes).
## Gameplay-related additions
**Almost all gameplay-related changes are off by default and controlled by the mapper.** They are mostly just new keyvalues that mappers could enable or disable and don't interfere with existing behavior. Most of these changes are related to NPCs, like metrocops being able to use most other kinds of weapons (AR2s, shotguns, etc.) or rebels being able to use the AR2 alt-fire, the latter of which is an unused feature.
There's also tons of dynamic interaction changes [worth looking into](Dynamic-interactions), but new ones are off by default and must be toggled through a new "Dynamic interactions enabled" keyvalue, which can also control existing interactions.
You can find an overview on Mapbase's gameplay changes [here](Gameplay-Changes).
This wiki is dedicated to documenting these features, but it's not going to be complete for a long time. It's best to ask questions in the Discord server (or contact the creator, Blixibon, by other means) if you can't find what you're looking for here.