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Breakable Light with Dynamic Props

From HalfLife 2 Knowledge Base

Creating a Breakable Light With Dynamic Props

An Introduction to inputs/outputs and dynamic props

So you want to create a breakable light right? Why else would you be in here? You will find this is a very simple process, but key things to remember are:

When making multiple breakable lights, name each light something different, you don't want all your lights going out when just one is shot.

While breakable lights can add immersion, it can be down right annoying stumbling in the darkness of an underground bunker because some n00b shot out all the lights.

Lighting has to be calculated for when the light is on, and off, increasing the file size. (I haven't actually tested this, but I'm pretty sure it's correct.)

With that said, lets get started!

1 Part one
2 Part two
3 Part three
4 Part four
5 Optionally

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Part one

Create two prop_dynamics that look like lights. I'm using the light_cagelight models found in the props_c17 directory. Make one of the props be an off model and one be an on model. Give each light a name, I'm using "lightmodel_off" and "lightmodel_on."

Then create a light entity right below and name it. I'm using "light."

Hopefully you see where I am going with this.

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Part two

Create a func_breakable brush textured with the "toolsnodraw" texture, shape it fit just outside one of the actual light models. There is no need to name this entity, but go ahead if you want. Set the material type to glass for a cool shattering effect and appropriate sound when shot at.

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Part three

Create a logic_auto entity somewhere in your map. This entity will hide the off model of the light at the start of the round.

Go into the output tab of this entity, click the add button and enter this in:

My output named: OnMapSpawn
Target entities named: light_off
Via this input: TurnOff

And you are set.

This entity hides the off model at the map start.

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Part four

Place both of the prop_dynamic entities and the fun_breakable entity on top of one another so it looks like this:

This is the 'hard' part.

Open up the func_breakable's properties and go to the output tab.

Add all of the following lines:

My output named: OnBreak
Target entities named: light_on
Via this input: TurnOff

My output named: OnBreak
Target entities named: light_off
Via this input: TurnOn

My output named: OnBreak
Target entities named: light
Via this input: TurnOff

Thats it. Your done. Finished. Completed. Don't take my word for it though. Compile it and try it out :D

--caek 21:47, 1 Mar 2005 (EST)

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Optionally

If you're making a Half-life 2: Deathmatch map (which you probably are :)), you should make a func_button instead of a func_breakable, since it doesn't get "killed" when shot, so you can reuse it by making the light "respawn" after an amount of time (using outputs :-)).

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