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Using SEED with already existing 7,000+ (I think the problems started with ca. 7,200, not sure anymore) entities prevented HHI from compiling (although I only combined 10 - 12 entities in one case). Later on in the process I was able to reduce the entity count to a lower value by merging func_statics as per demagogue's suggestion. However, it seems to be a good idea using the SEED function long before the entity limit comes in sight.

Ah I thought you were talking about Half Life 1 because that is a source engine (HL2) based game but yes is a very nice Silent Hill based mod, petty that imo is mostly (a very good) level design showcase, imo the gameplay is very minimal. Btw he or they are now working on this comercial game https://www.indiedb.com/games/twin-soul

You're right, the shadow geometry can be cached. Rendering it to the stencil buffer, however, cannot, because it's done from the camera's point of view (unlike shadow maps), and that typically changes between frames. But of course, the geometry is the more significant cost

At least for classical stencil shadows, yes. You can't really implement a forward+ renderer with stencil shadows. Technically, TDM uses a trick for soft stencil shadows that would allow it, but it is detrimental to performance. And even then, stencil shadows would have the disadvantage that they need to be rerendered on every frame, whereas shadow maps can potentially be cached as long as the light itself or the shadow casters in its vicinity don't move. As for putting shadow volume generation to the GPU: that's possible, in principle. However, my experience with geometry shaders has been poor, they usually tank GPU performance quite significantly if you use them for anything other than a few simple objects. I'm not sure it's a good trade-off, and personally at least I think the kind of effort needed to implement it is better spent on improving shadow mapping. But that's just my personal opinion

Sorry I can only manage to get two decent screens per post. Really enjoyed toying with the shadows from statues and placing blood decals.

Been falling in love with decals of all sorts this past weekend. Grime, dirt, moss, and slime. Took areas I once considered boring and drab and really elevated them to a new level. I get the jokes when people say "needs more grime"; because it really does add layers of depth and atmosphere.

This is a new wrapped corpse model, kindly created for the campaign mission by epifire. There are multiple versions, including a sitting version, and a couple piles of bodies. The City is now ready for the plague!

I've created a walking flame-bearer skeleton as a security device for crypts or mage towers. The held brazier is part of the md5mesh, and the mapper binds a flame to it. The skeleton is a functioning AI, but he can't attack or let go of the brazier, so if alerted, he will search for and track the player, but won't be able to do damage. He works best when combined with other AI for that reason. You can set them to a neutral team to the player if you don't want them to react, and I've included a static model as well if you don't want any AI functions. The only thing about the current implementation I don't like is that the flame stays burning if you kill them...it would be nice to have it go out like a dropped torch. Probably just requires a script, so if anyone feels inclined to add that, feel free.

It has been over a year since I did any work on the map for the final campaign mission, and I think the chances of me ever building back up the energy and commitment to finish such a massive project by myself are slim to none. I'll probably be putting the map (actually 3 separate maps at this point) up for adoption at some point, but in the meantime there are dozens of custom assets I was holding back for that mission, including new AI and some necromancer assets, that have been sitting on my HD unused. I want to release them so that other mappers can benefit from them. I'll post them here gradually, a few at a time as I get them uploaded to SVN. All these should be available to mappers when TDM 2.08 is released. First of all, a new standing sphere light (modified from the existing wall one) and a new magnifying glass & stand. There are 4 new "anatomy" skins for book and paper models, suitable for the desks of doctors or necromancers. A few new "clutter" models, including 2 collections of scattered rocks and 2 batches of scattered papers, to easily add some visual interest to scenes. And a new tile texture with a few colour variations. Each colour has a set with red squares as well so you can create various geometric patterns. (While I'm at it, Kingsal gave his permission to use his amazing beastmen AI in the core mod, so I've finished converting and uploading them--they'll be in 2.08 as well).