Cinematic Mod 8

History

CM8.2

• Added the final VALVE-Style HD model of Alyx
• Added the final LIMA-Style HD models of Alyx
• Tweaked the Jigglebones Settings
• Reworked some face textures
• Added some new hires environment textures

CM8.01

• Fixed wrong music score in EP1
• Fixed wrong soundscripts in EP1

CM8 final

• Public release

CM8 beta 4

• Added Subsurface scattering for realistic skin reflections
• Added more civilians Reworked the models for orangebox facial system
• Fixed Gman's missing face in HL2 end-sequence
• Updated the server/client dll's with the latest SDK code for compatibility with Valves updated pyro-effects
• Increased the number of resistance fighters / combine in HL2's final streetwar
• Tons of bugfixes

CM8 beta 3

• Finalized the second bunch of HD civilian/resistance models
• Minor fixes in some maps for better orangebox compatibility
• New optional Alyx style (less sexy)
• Slightly reworked EP2-Final
• Increased the face-pool for human models (Original HL2: 36 different faces / CM8: 115 different faces)
• Recompiled the HL2 binaries for increased face-pool
• Fixed Configurator.exe (lost subtitle settings)

CM 8 beta 2

• Fixed particlesystem crash in HL2 (gunship-shotdowns, barnacle mass kills etc...)
• Worked around a plotstopper in EP1 Level Citadel 04

CM 8 beta 1

• Orangebox engine for HL2 and EP1 (new particle and dynamic shadow effects for HL2 + EP1)
• Enhanced Alyx HD-model (VALVE style face)
• Enhanced Alyx HD-model (Adriana Lima face)
• Enhanced Civilian HD-models (now its the time to give them a try)
• Hacked all HL2 levels for Orangebox compatibility
• Fixed all known texture errors
• Fixed the "hopping Mossman" bug in Nova Prospect
• Tweaked the HDR/BLOOM effects on HL2 maps (less blooming)

Sound drops or crackling

If sound crackles occures, you can fix this by setting the snd_mixahead value in the autoexec's of CM's subdirectories. You will find the autoexec.cfg in the following directories:

• FAKEFACTORY_CM8\hl2\cfg
• FAKEFACTORY_CM8\episodic\cfg
• FAKEFACTORY_CM8\ep2\cfg

Try different value like snd_mixahead "0.2" or snd_mixahead "0.4" for increasing the buffered time of soundsamples. This will fix crackling or dropouts, but can lead to slightly asynchronous or delayed sounds.

Microstutter and heapsize

If you encounter microstuttering ingame (animations), try the heapsize command. Add -heapsize {bytes} to the shortcuts, i.e.: Shortcut: Cinematic Mod EP2 Target: …launcher.exe" -heapsize 512000.

Never set the heapsize above [your installed RAM amount / 3] or 512MB

setup.exe and virus warning

Setup uses a tool called SetACL for setting write permissions to the mods screenshots / cfg / SAVE directories. Some antivirus software could warn about possible malware. This is a false positive.

Technical info

This mod's binaries are modified for memory allocation beyond 2 GB. To prevent Steam from overwriting this binaries with its own copies on each start, the mod ist using a little launcher, that reroutes Steam's original binaries to >NIL. Start this mod only with the shortcuts in your start menu (that were created during installation)!

32 bit warning

This mod was developed and tested on 64 Bit Windows. It is not supported on 32 Bit Windows, because of the limited Userspace with 32 Bit systems. You can try it on 32 Bit, but prepare for crashes. On some 32 Bit systems it is possible to overcome this limitation with some boot.ini switches for raising the userspace limit. I'm not going into detail here, because those tweaks are dangerous and should only be done by people, who are knowing exactly what they do.

Hardware requirements

• DX9 capable graphics hardware with minimum 512 MB VRAM. (1 GB recommended)
• 3 GB RAM (4 GB recommended)

Software requirements

• 64 bit Windows OS
• Fully installed Steam client. You can't start the mod without Steam running.
• Fully installed and unlocked HL2 / EP1 / EP2. Make sure, you have started those games in the past.

Used recources

Software

• Adobe Photoshop CS2
• 3DS MAX 8
• E-Frontier Poser 7
• Microsoft C++ Visual Studio 2005
• Powerbasic 8
• VALVE Source SDK
• Sony Soundforge 7
• Sony Vegas 7
• Crazy Bump 5
• Cannonfodders SDK tools
• Autoplay Mediastudio Pro
• Setup Factory

Textures

• Majang.com
• 3d.sk
• Dosch
• Own photos

Models

• contentparadise.com
• efrontier.com
• daz3d.com