Cyberpunk mod: Plans & Contribution feedback

[MirceaKitsune 159]

I thought more about how I should proceed with certain aspects. First of all the licensing: Although I still plan to keep the mod NC-free, I am aware that at least for a while I'll rely on some of the existing TDM assets (especially defs and character animations). So my policy for now will be "include no NC stuff but link to some NC stuff from vanilla TDM for functionality" (mainly definition inheritance). I'll likely document all dependencies on builtin definitions in a text file, so that I know what could be rewritten at a later stage.

 

Unfortunately this means that this might have to become a secondary project for me, which I won't be able to give full attention to: My hope was to avoid any connection to NC assets, both because it's how I want the mod to be but also because I hoped to make this a Patreon project (to some extent). I know some might want to grab their pitchforks and torches at me merely considering that, even with the non-commercial assets being excluded from the equation... hopefully it's understood that what I want to achieve is going to take years of dedication, and with Patreon being the only thing keeping me off the streets this would have been extremely helpful. Unless I make a full break from the NC assets and rely only on the GPL code however, I'll have to treat this as a free project in the meantime and only make limited informative mentions of it... meaning progress will be slower, though I'm never the less determined to make it come true.

 

Back to the above announced models: I've decided that, in case I am able to code new weapons using my own scripts, I'll also try porting some of the guns from Xonotic in addition to the player models. They will however have different functionalities and purposes if I do. Also I think I'm going to keep the original names and lore behind everything I take from Xonotic; For instance, the Erebus model will likely still be called Erebus! That way I can also bring the world of Xonotic into TDM rather than just the assets, which I think will be an unique and interesting crossover

 

I've also devised a repository structure: Each component of the mod will be included in its own sub-directory. There will be a shell script that automatically generates and updates every pk4, converting changes in GIT to playable content easily. As of yet the repository has not been created, and this will happen once the player models are ready so that there's something to include.

 

Lastly, as far as names go, I'm still going with the name Dark Machina for the mod, which is both theme correct and similar sounding to Dark Mod. If no one has a better idea I'll likely use it.

 

Do you mean these AI will be able to use our skeletons, so basically you could spawn a guard and substitute these models, and they'd follow the guard animations properly? That would be excellent.

Actually I gather we'd make new def files for them as a new AI type. We'll need to eventually anyway since we'll probably want some different animations and behaviors.

 

I'm in the process of re-rigging them to the Doom 3 animation skeleton, like I did with my anthro models. Right now I just need to finish correcting the weights so that the limbs bend properly, set up the face rig for a few of the models (most have masks which saves me from that work) and we should be good!

 

For starters at least, they will be defined similarly to the default guards. The def files will be created and license by me, but they will rely on class inheritance from original TDM defs to work.

[V-Man339 162]

Keep me up to date on the testing and voice work demands for this, I'd like to help in both of those areas.

May not be helpful otherwise, but I'd like to aid where I can.

[MirceaKitsune 159]

Keep me up to date on the testing and voice work demands for this, I'd like to help in both of those areas.

May not be helpful otherwise, but I'd like to aid where I can.

 

Thank you very much, that is highly appreciated! I'll keep in mind, and likely post about new demands in this thread once they pop up.

 

The current priority remains finishing the port of the Xonotic characters. This has proven an ordeal because of weight painting, and Blender's automatic weights needing a lot of fixing for the Doom 3 armature. The fingers go all over the place in some of the animations, and I have to use parts of their original rigs to define the weight groups properly. I'm hoping that today this will finally be done.

 

After that my next priority is porting some of the scifi texture packs, enough to make a simple map out of. Static models for props might come afterward, not sure. The next priority then is finding out how to define weapons alike to those in Doom 3 (weapon and ammo as separate items, reloading, ammo display on a weapon screen, etc)... I'd also like a blend example of how you must define and animate a 1st person hand with a gun.

[freyk 375]

V-Man339, you're in luck.

Mirceakitsune and my project going to merge.

So if you want to "test" something, take a look at this post.

(there is nothing to test, because i know the bugs. But your user opinions are always nice)

Edited February 18, 2017 by freyk

[MirceaKitsune 159]

Right now I'm working on various things, and have taken a short break from those Xonotic models. I managed to get the body rig in its final form, which deforms acceptably for now (fingers and some special parts still look broken). Just need to finish the face rig, create the shadow meshes, write up the defs... then maybe someone can put them on a map and give them a go, once I create the repository.

[MirceaKitsune 159]

First of all, my apologies for how long this has taken: I have been busy with a few other projects and mods, and just now got around to this project once again.

 

I return with great news: All of the Xonotic characters have been fully ported to The Dark Mod as of today, meaning the first major step has now been taken! The models have been fully rigged (including face rigging where applicable), contain fully working materials (diffuse / specular / normal maps + customizable shirt / glow colors + masked cubemap reflections), and base character definitions. I decided to call the set Troopers, which is divided between 3 categories: Cyborgs (Megaerebus, Erebus, Nyx, Terminus, Termina), Humans (Ignis, Seraphina, Pyria, Umbra), Aliens (Gak, Draconi, Draconia).

 

I ultimately chose to name the mod The Dark Module, as I found this a name that accurately describes it while also sounding futuristic and integrating nicely with The Dark Mod. It is available on Gitlab... not Github as they have smaller repository limits, and the final mod is expected to hit several gigabytes in size (already it has 421 MB). The repository will contain each component in a subdirectory ending in pk4dir, following the same naming scheme as vanilla TDM pk4's (using the tdmu prefix). To get the components working, each pk4dir directory has to be converted into a pk4 zip archive and moved into the base TDM directory... I plan to create a Linux shell script to automate this process later, until then it must be done manually. The test map I'm using is also not included, you'll have to make your own map until I decide to create an official FM showcasing the mod later on.

 

Dark Module repository

 

Here are a few screenshots displaying the characters in their final forms. Note that the white shirt / pants color can be customized via the _color spawnarg on the entity.

 

http://imgur.com/a/S2lNr

 

[MirceaKitsune 159]

I've began porting the ex and ex2 texture packages from Xonotic, more are to hopefully follow soon. Here are some screenshots of a few on my local test map:

 

 

Additionally, I've included the shell script that packs each pk4dir into a pk4. If you use Linux or have bash support on Windows (msys2 or Windows 10), simply execute it to convert the data in the Git repository into pk4 zip archives which TheDarkMod and DarkRadiant can read. Since the script is really tiny, here's a readable copy of it:

#!/bin/bash
# packs each pk4dir directory into a pk4 archive

for dir in *.pk4dir; do
	cd "${dir}"

	dir_noext=$(basename "${dir}" ".pk4dir")
	zip -r -u "../../${dir_noext}.pk4" *

	cd ".."
done

[Kurshok 37]

What about something like "The Many" from system shock?

[MirceaKitsune 159]

What about something like "The Many" from system shock?

 

Unfortunately I haven't played that game, so can't really say. However the mod will aim to allow for a variety of genres and styles, so I'm sure no possibility will be left out

[freyk 375]

 

You should play that game then, systemshock 2.

(It has also a nice urban cybercity district in the tutorial level)

(See this and the flesh, zombie, in the spoiler.)

 

 

 

But If you can model some humanlike-zombies with lots of flesh, your are set.

I prefer the quake 2 or 4 enemies.

Edited June 3, 2017 by freyk

[MirceaKitsune 159]

First of all, no I did not forget about or abandon this project! I've been busy working on one of the most complicated parts I had to dive into so far, which took both a great amount of work as well as some developer learning in the process. I'm also working on a ton of games and animations at once, making it very hard to find the time. Today I finally have something new to offer.

 

I'm happy to announce that the mod now has its own original bow! It is a compound bow, designed to look modern while otherwise working in a very similar fashion. It's still incomplete, but I managed to finish the bow and arrow models as well as the animations... I still haven't looked into how I'll "teach" the AI how to use it, and new sounds are the next priority. Currently there's only an implementation for the broadhead arrow, but a container arrow has been prepared for implementing the equivalents of other arrow effects (water, fire, etc).

 

The original compound bow model and texture was created by ScoutingNinja and is licensed CC0, you can find it on its Blendswap page. The 1st person animations for it were created by me from scratch, also CC0 as far as I'm concerned. As usual, you can find and try out TheDarkModule from its Gitlab repository. Let me know what you think!

 

[freyk 375]

Just wow!

[RPGista 600]

Im very interested in taking a look at this new hud weapon, thats certainly amazing work from you Mircea! How do you plan on making it work in game, design wise? Will it be the main weapon, have different arrow types and the like?

[freyk 375]

I think you dont have to teach the enemies to use the bow, because a playerweapon needs to defeat them.

A silent bow over an electric gun.

Edited January 18, 2018 by freyk

[MirceaKitsune 159]

Im very interested in taking a look at this new hud weapon, thats certainly amazing work from you Mircea! How do you plan on making it work in game, design wise? Will it be the main weapon, have different arrow types and the like?

 

This is a complicated one: My initial plan was to have bullet types for all of the arrow effects in TDM (normal bullet, fire bullet, water bullet, noisemaker bullet, etc)... there would then be several weapons that could fire each type (pistol, shotgun, machine gun, etc). Right now I'm not certain if this idea is viable for two reasons: It will take a huge amount of work, whereas idTech 4 has the crushing limit of only 16 weapon definitions. I would need a system where ammo type can be changed for the same weapon definition, unlike the default setup where each arrow is defined as an unique weapon... this dives into things I don't know how to do yet. For the time being at least, the same arrow types as vanilla TDM will be implemented using the new definitions and models.

 

I think you dont have to teach the enemies to use the bow, because a playerweapon needs to defeat them.

A silent bow over an electric gun.

 

I plan to have every player weapon be usable by the AI. Bots already shoot arrows at you in vanilla TDM, so I just need to see how that's done and try to give them a working bow model.

 

Electric arrows are a thing I'd like to have, which will act to disrupt robots and blind people (like the flash bomb). I'm not sure if they will either fry bots, or turn them on your side like the scrambler grenades in DeusEx... I will surely want to have the later mechanic as well in some form.

 

As far as stuff like silent guns goes, the distant plan is to make the weapons possible to mod and upgrade at terminals: There would be silencer upgrades to remove the shooting noise, range, accuracy, etc. This is however very far into the future, as it will require new scripts and a lot of other things to have been done first.

[freyk 375]

I hope in your "future", not all technological advanced guards uses medieval weapons?

(Have you seen the tvshow "arrow")

Edited January 19, 2018 by freyk

[MirceaKitsune 159]

I hope in your "future", not all technological advanced guards uses medieval weapons?

(Have you seen the tvshow "arrow")

 

It will depend on what I can easily implement on top of the existing TDM game code. Like I said, idTech4 is limited to 16 weapon definitions, which is both very little and means a load of keybinds for each. To have weapons other than the crossbow (pistol, shotgun, minigun, etc) I need to make it possible for ammo to be changed per weapon. If anyone knows how I can do this, please do let me know below!

 

To clarify: In TDM each arrow type is implemented as a different weapon: def_0 = unarmed / def_1 = blackjack / def_2 = sword / def_3 = broadhead / etc. What I would need is: def_0 = unarmed, def_1 = melee weapons, def_2 = bow, def_3 = pistol / etc. For each of the projectile weapons, I need the ability to define the effects of the vanilla arrows (fire, water, gas, etc) as different ammo types, which you switch the weapon to while pressing a key with it selected. The weapon must also be picked up separately, unlike vanilla TDM where you find arrows but the bow itself is somehow on you at all times.

[RPGista 600]

I see, my friend. Thanks for the explanation. They do raise a few questions though:

 

I see an amazing amount of work done already. It would be a shame to see it being wasted or not finalized because of excess of work. I would urge you to simplify the game, the setting and the map(s) to its minimal, optimal essentials. What do I mean by that? Though several arrows and plus a lot of modern weapons sound good, and thats the staple for scifi shooters, that just seems like a daunting task, not only to implement, but also to balance, since you are getting more and more into game design territory (as farther away you get from the stabilished tdm engine). You could argue that you could use Doom 3 mechanics, rescue them and reimplement, thus saving you a lot of the trouble, but one would have to discuss if even that game had a good shooting mechanics in itself. Not only that but doom AI lacks things we need in a modern shooter, specially since they are human and not monsters - taking cover and different firing animations/strategies for example. As far as player weapons go, I think you could solve a lot of the problem and actually further your idea if you were to make the player stick with only hisunique weapons (and not be able to use others). You could make them a part of the player, like megaman. Or they are the only weapons he uses, his special, custom made weapons that hold everything he needs. This way you can have the enemies carrying generic guns and not worry how to implement loads of different weapon and animations to your game. The player weapon should then be extra special and cool to carry the whole game on their own. As for the AI, you could salvage some of the simplistic behaviours in the doom 3 soldiers, and then make it a matter of map design. You would need to create maps where the player is never against a bunch of soldiers in full frontal battles (where you would expect them to take cover, flank you and the like). It should always be about lone enemies, small spaces, being taken down by the player by surprise. Im not saying you need to take these suggestions in, or limit your vision. Im just saying that by making strong design decisions like these you will be able to focus solely on what you would need to make the experience work, giving yourself a much more realistic workload...

[MirceaKitsune 159]

I see, my friend. Thanks for the explanation. They do raise a few questions though:

 

I see an amazing amount of work done already. It would be a shame to see it being wasted or not finalized because of excess of work. I would urge you to simplify the game, the setting and the map(s) to its minimal, optimal essentials. What do I mean by that? Though several arrows and plus a lot of modern weapons sound good, and thats the staple for scifi shooters, that just seems like a daunting task, not only to implement, but also to balance, since you are getting more and more into game design territory (as farther away you get from the stabilished tdm engine). You could argue that you could use Doom 3 mechanics, rescue them and reimplement, thus saving you a lot of the trouble, but one would have to discuss if even that game had a good shooting mechanics in itself. Not only that but doom AI lacks things we need in a modern shooter, specially since they are human and not monsters - taking cover and different firing animations/strategies for example. As far as player weapons go, I think you could solve a lot of the problem and actually further your idea if you were to make the player stick with only hisunique weapons (and not be able to use others). You could make them a part of the player, like megaman. Or they are the only weapons he uses, his special, custom made weapons that hold everything he needs. This way you can have the enemies carrying generic guns and not worry how to implement loads of different weapon and animations to your game. The player weapon should then be extra special and cool to carry the whole game on their own. As for the AI, you could salvage some of the simplistic behaviours in the doom 3 soldiers, and then make it a matter of map design. You would need to create maps where the player is never against a bunch of soldiers in full frontal battles (where you would expect them to take cover, flank you and the like). It should always be about lone enemies, small spaces, being taken down by the player by surprise. Im not saying you need to take these suggestions in, or limit your vision. Im just saying that by making strong design decisions like these you will be able to focus solely on what you would need to make the experience work, giving yourself a much more realistic workload...

 

I'm already taking a maximally efficient approach: First I seek to implement just the very basics, to achieve a framework that merely offers replacements for every obvious thing. This means replacing the default weapons with modern variants (like the modern looking compoundbow replacing the wooden bow), futuristic characters, modern texture packages, new music, etc. That part is slowly getting there.

 

Once there is an acceptable working basis, I plan to consider bringing new concepts into the mix: Weapon upgrades, character augmentations, computers you can hack (using Doom 3 interactive surfaces), a customizable inventory, and more. This is the rather distant future, and involves a lot of work in areas I'm not familiar with.

 

The efforts needed are furthered by my objective to replace all assets and definitions, in order to allow the mod to ultimately work without any vanilla assets: This is primarily because I want the mod to be free from the non-commercial assets and be fully GPL licensed like Xonotic, vanilla TDM isn't truly free unlike most FOSS games out there. That itself will itself require further asset replacements... including whole new character animations and voice packages and sounds and particles and menus as well as rewriting all of the base def files. This is however also much more distant.

[Abusimplea 141]

This is primarily because I want the mod to be free from the non-commercial assets and be fully GPL licensed like Xonotic, vanilla TDM isn't truly free unlike most FOSS games out there.

Beware, that the GPL, as a viral license, is designed to restrict further licensing of derivatives of the work and therefore provides less freedom than the MIT or CC BY (without "SA" or "NC") licenses.

So you might want to be carefull when talking about "true freedom" in context of licenses. The GPL is more permissive than the CC BY-NC-SA though.

[Springheel 4338]

You might want to rotate the left arm. It's still positioned as if holding the bow upright, and the hand isn't grasping the current bow position.

[MirceaKitsune 159]

You might want to rotate the left arm. It's still positioned as if holding the bow upright, and the hand isn't grasping the current bow position.

 

The current animations were intended to "just work", as the priority was to have the new bow functional after so long in development. I plan to go through them again and add more detail later, now that I know how to export.

 

I may want to adjust the pose of the hands too, especially since the right elbow is a bit too close to the camera and higher than a real person would probably be inclined to hold their arm. The left hand is holding it as intended though, there's a little pole it's holding it by if you look closely. I wanted the bow to be held horizontally rather than vertically, both to try something new and make it look more weapon-like I guess.

Edited January 20, 2018 by MirceaKitsune

[RPGista 600]

Would it be too much to ask for a tutorial on how to do this particular process, Mircea? I cant think of a single document where you get the whole step by step from how to set up the animations (not how to animate, but steps to be aware of when animating for HUD view), how to export and how to implement it in game (not only importing, but replacing or adding a selectable weapon, what should be edited and where so the player can customize it, etc). It just seems like an awesome avenue not really explored in TDM before. Obs has kindly voluntereed to help me get some new weapons I was working on in game, but I got sidetracked by RL. Still, it could be something for the community. I could try and help you out with modeling work on the bow, if you want, something to help you out in return.

[MirceaKitsune 159]

Would it be too much to ask for a tutorial on how to do this particular process, Mircea? I cant think of a single document where you get the whole step by step from how to set up the animations (not how to animate, but steps to be aware of when animating for HUD view), how to export and how to implement it in game (not only importing, but replacing or adding a selectable weapon, what should be edited and where so the player can customize it, etc). It just seems like an awesome avenue not really explored in TDM before. Obs has kindly voluntereed to help me get some new weapons I was working on in game, but I got sidetracked by RL. Still, it could be something for the community. I could try and help you out with modeling work on the bow, if you want, something to help you out in return.

 

It's not very complicated but a little tricky in places. First of all you need the md5 IO script for Blender... I believe the one I'm using is this:

 

https://www.katsbits.com/smforum/index.php?topic=520.0

 

Setup: You must have one or more mesh objects rigged to an armature as usual. Each mesh object represents a different material, the name of the material on each object represents the texture that material will point to. Additionally every surface on the mesh must be UV unwrapped, whereas the bones must be on the armature layer where the script expects it (layer 5 by default I think).

 

For the md5mesh: Just select both the mesh and the rig, and export to md5mesh. Disable reorient as this seems to mess up the rotation.

 

For the md5anim: On the control armature, select the armature action of the animation you wish to export. Make sure to set the start frame of the scene to 1 and the end frame to the last frame of that animation! Then once again select both the mesh and rig, and export to md5anim. Again disable reorient as this seems to rotate it on its own.

 

If you want an example setup, the ready blend sources of the bow and Xonotic characters are both included in the repository. You can find them here:

 

https://gitlab.com/darkmodule/darkmodule/blob/master/tdmu_player01.pk4dir/source/md5/weapons/compoundbow/compoundbow.blend

https://gitlab.com/darkmodule/darkmodule/blob/master/tdmu_ai_troopers01.pk4dir/source/md5/chars/troopers/troopers.blend

[Taquito. 52]

So happy to see this project is moving forward.