[Whosat]

Was finding a way to hook those Game Instructor Hints stuff you see on your screen in L4D when you first look at an ammopile, hold a health pack or having gotten pounced. Like "<Mouse Clicking Icon> Use Pain Pills" at the bottom section of your screen, etc.

Experimented with the usermessages and found MessageText, but it was not I was looking for. But it looked interesting, like an on-screen in-game console thing.

[IMG]http://img406.**************/img406/4577/l4dhospital01apartment0c.th.jpg[/IMG]

Here's the snippet for sending these messages. Every MessageText you send will print a new line at the bottom of that panel, much like a console if you ask me.

PHP Code:

MessageText(client, r, g, b, String:message[]) {
    new Handle:TextHandle = StartMessageOne("MessageText", client);
    BfWriteByte(TextHandle, r);        // R
    BfWriteByte(TextHandle, g);        // G
    BfWriteByte(TextHandle, b);        // B
    BfWriteString(TextHandle, message);
    EndMessage();
} 


Yes, colour can be changed by r/g/b values.

Some stuff you need to know:
31 character message limit
Text size is (very, very) small. (In that screenshot I put a CenterText to have a fontsize comparison - its even smaller!)
Make the panel close by ClientCommand-ing the client to do hide_message_panel
The messagepanel appears behind menus, hinttexts, chattexts. (i.e. its underlapped)

You might need this on whichever client you execute the panel to.

PHP Code:

    ClientCommand(client, "bind - hide_message_panel"); 


Because by default hide_message_panel isn't bound on a client, and it seems like when you bind it it only lasts for that server connect. Once you quit the server, the bind gets removed.

The console command I used for that demo:

PHP Code:

public Action:TestText(client, args) {
    if(GetCmdArgs() < 1) {
        ReplyToCommand(client, "Usage: TestText <message>");
        return Plugin_Handled;
    }
    
    decl String:arg1[32];
    GetCmdArg(1, arg1, 32);
    MessageText(client, 255, 101, 0, arg1);
    
    return Plugin_Handled;
} 


Don't know if it'll be of use to anyone but I'll just put it up here anyway.

P.S. anyone knows the usermessage/event that fires when the game instructor hints show? :X

[olj]

99999 CARMA TO YOU. And yeah, there are events for some hints. Browse l4d events.

P.S. Didnt exactly get - how should we close this message ? And if we wont close - can user kill this message window somehow? Can we just do

PHP Code:

ClientCommand(client, "hide_message_panel") 


?

[Whosat]

lol.
Hmm there's only game_message that seems likely the one. Can't find the right one

[olj]

explain_pills, explain_**** etc, maybe this?

[Whosat]

Hmm maybe. But speaking of which, does anyone know how to dump the events? Maybe a function like sm_dump_netprops?

[CrimsonGT]

If you mean usermessages, you can do "meta game" to get a list. You will have to find them in the SDK or a disassembler to figure out the params though.

[AtomicStryker]

Isn't that the Subtitles Box? Have you tried what it does to Subs?

[Whosat]

Originally Posted by CrimsonGT If you mean usermessages, you can do "meta game" to get a list. You will have to find them in the SDK or a disassembler to figure out the params though.

Yeah I've done that. That's how I found MessageText. Figured out the params on my own lol.
SayText, SayText2, KeyHintText aren't the ones :/

Originally Posted by AtomicStryker Isn't that the Subtitles Box? Have you tried what it does to Subs?

It is? What subtitles? Closed Captions, you mean?
I haven't tried that one

[Thraka]

Sucks the text is so small. On my display, I cannot read center text because it's too small.

[AtomicStryker]

Also, i hate to say it, but most L4D players are mindless automatrons. I can swap their teams and hardy ever will someone type "wtf" or even react. (Other than ragequitting)