Strider

So this is bizarre -- was just testing it a bit, and even though I was apparently already using the correct objective component, it just decided to start working. So the item location issue seems to be solved, and it even seems to be recognizing the enabling objectives now, because the "place letter" obj won't complete unless I have both read the letter and sealed it. However, the "seal letter" obj is still completing even if I haven't read the letter first. Would this be because it's controlled by a target_setobjectivestate rather than an actual objective component?

Sure, will do ASAP, but I'm working all day tomorrow, so tomorrow evening most likely.

Good to know. For now the problem is fixed in my mission just by shuffling speakers around and decreasing their volumes, but would be really cool to have that feature working in the future. Not to derail the discussion, but... some of you might remember that I'm creating a set of objectives that includes: 1. read this letter, 2. re-seal this letter, and 3. hide it in a particular location. Now, 1 is easy to set up, and I've got a nice chain of stim/responses going for 2 (apply heat stim to bowl of wax, dip ring into wax, touch ring to letter), but my issue is this: I want #1 to enable #2, and #'s 1 and 2 to enable #3, but it just isn't working. I've set the enabling objectives in the Objective Editor according to the instructions on the Wiki, but when I test it I can still do them all out of order (i.e., hide the letter, then seal it, then read it, which makes absolutely no sense). Further, I can't get the "item is in location" component to work on #3. Again, I've followed the instructions on the Wiki (set "objective_ent 1" on the letter, etc.), and I've even set up a basic test map to try to just get the system working, but no luck. Are there any common mistakes I might be making with this process?

Is there a way I can increase an AI's visual acuity so that they will see the player regardless of how well-lit an area is?

Ah, that makes sense. I think I was using "nodraw" or something with the target_set_frobable entity. Thanks!

Okay, I think I can just make do with some tweaking of the volume and speaker placement. Would really have preferred the glass to just be able to block sound, but maybe sometime in the future that'll be possible. Anyway, got a question about something I presume will be a pretty quick fix, I just don't know the correct spawnargs/triggers for it: I need to disable a particular switch under certain conditions. Here's the situation: I have a sliding door and an two-stop elevator in front of it, and the sliding door needs to be disabled while the elevator is in the "up" position, otherwise the door, if closed, will clip through the elevator, which obviously looks terrible. I've tried having another sliding door textured with "clip" or "player clip" come out of the wall and cover the switch while the elevator is up (using the trigger_on_leave spawnarg), but you can still frob the switch through that. I also fiddled with the "target_set_frobable" a little bit, but couldn't figure out how to get it working.

Hm... tell you what, I'll mess around with volume, speaker placement, which shader to use, etc., and see if it can be managed without a whole system like you're talking about. The physical layout of the two rooms is unchangeable without detracting from the very reason they exist, but the invisible aspects (like speakers and such) can be more flexible. I'll see what I can do; planning on having the afternoon for mapping today, so I should know very soon. Thanks for working with me on this... Edit: We've had a ton of rain here today, and I came home to find the ceiling leaking on the desk where I have my PC... so it may be a while before I can get back to the mapping. PC's fine and out of harm's way, though, so... crisis averted.

So... I'm wondering if there's any consensus on how I might be able to work around this problem for now.

I think it's time I announced what I'm working on here, as I've been pestering several of you with various issues for about a month now . Hopefully I can plug my upcoming project without distracting anyone too much from Bikerdude's lovely images... I am currently working on my first mission (ever), which has the player... infiltrating the mansion of an eccentric nobleman. Whoa. Your main goal will be to plant a suspicious letter somewhere within, and of course, to loot the place. I love a good story, so expect a healthy number of readables and as much character development as possible. It will be alright as a stand-alone mission, but I am intending to continue the storyline over the course of... 2-4 subsequent entries -- assuming I don't burn out on TDM (not likely) and real life doesn't get in the way (always possible, but still unlikely). I am really excited about the plot I've got swirling around and evolving in my head, so I hope you guys will enjoy it as well. It will contain some real-life historical parallels and a bit of inspiration from a few pieces of fiction I've been interested in lately. The (more or less solidified) title will be "The Astronomer," and I'm hoping to release in the next 4-6 weeks (hopefully after some beta testing). World construction is nearing completion, with AI and objectives still mostly to be implemented. (Screenshots forthcoming -- just keep forgetting to capture some when I'm editing.) Also, since I'm new around here -- I'm 23, living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and have been playing PC games (and Sega Genesis and NES) for most of my life. Check out my profile for more info, if you're interested . And I'd like to reiterate the incredible work you guys have all done putting this mod together, and the many missions that have already been released. Mods are one of the best reasons to play PC games, and TDM is arguably the best example of that. Bikerdude -- I'm really looking forward to that cathedral mission, even more so because the plot I'm developing features Builders quite prominently. Can't wait!

Just tried it; added the spawnarg "editor_var sound_loss" and values "15" and "30" to the info_locationseparator; tried it both with the visportal touching the glass and without, and didn't notice a difference no matter what the value. Unless there was something more complex you wanted me to do, that doesn't work either.

That would certainly be convenient Quick question in the meantime -- can I get a brief rundown on how to set up a glowing window texture? The wiki instructions assume I know how to write and use a .mtr file, which I don't. For example, I want to add a moonlit sort of glow to "roundtop_diamond_pattern01_grey_moonlit".

I might adjust the speaker as a temporary fix, but the script looks like the best option. There's got to be some way to locate a specific portal, right? Or can you name them somehow in the editor to make them easier to find?

Yes, machine noise coming from a speaker is what I'm using -- I'm already using some ambient music in both rooms, and that's working just fine. This might not be such a critical issue except for the fact that the speaker from the machine is, necessarily for this situation, very close to the glass separating the two rooms. I shall therefore wait for help with scripting. Thanks in advance, Fidcal!

Agreed. I had to hold out hope, though. Now, can anyone describe for me how to implement that workaround Tels was talking about? I haven't messed around with any scripting yet, so the most basic explanation of the process would be much appreciated .

Consider it tracked.

If I'm understanding you correctly, I've tried this a couple of times -- visportal across the opening, info_locsep piercing visportal, transparent brush also across opening but touching neither the visportal nor the info_locsep. It still does not block sound, even in the most very basic test map I could set up. Wait... are you saying that the transparent brush should not fully seal the opening, in addition to not touching the visportal or the info_locsep? If that's the case, I shall give it a go immediately, and I'm sorry I've been missing your point -- it just seems very counter-intuitive . But I think, as Tels says above, the issue is the portal being open, not whether the opening is sealed completely/properly. I've definitely been using the info_locsep, and it is definitely functioning properly regarding ambient sound and light. It would be absolutely splendid if someone could instruct me as to how I can set up that script event, because in this particular situation the lack of sound loss between these two rooms seems very bizarre in-game. The transparent glass is, in this case, vital to what I'm trying to do. Also, where do I put a tracker entry, and what info is it necessary to supply?

The info_locationseparator works for location settings (i.e. ambient sound and light) regardless of whether portals are open or closed, but it apparently cannot be used to cause sound loss between two areas through a transparent brush. The wiki page called Sound Propagation Page 1 should probably be edited to reflect that, since that's where I found the instructions for setting it up. I still don't think I understand what the "func_location_separator" is, though, and how it's different from the info_locsep. It's referred to in step 3 of those instructions.

Yeah. Bummer. Like I said though, I seem to recall such sound loss occurring at various points in vanilla D3, although it's been a long time since I've played through it. And I've played Dead Space much more recently, which has similar visuals/ambiance and might have a working system for said sound loss. Maybe that's what I'm thinking of. Any recommendations on how to work around this issue then? I've a speaker rather close to the glass that's fairly loud... Is the only solution just to find a happy medium with volume/speaker placement?

Yeah, I gave that a shot before I posted here on a test map with 2 rooms and a window between them. I thought maybe it was an issue with the shape of the clear glass/visportal, since they're both 22-sided prisms about 8 units thick (like a porthole, basically), but even the perfectly square window on the test map didn't block sound. It seems bizarre to me that this doesn't work -- surely there were some locations in D3 where you'd be looking through clear glass at something happening on the other side and the sound was slightly blocked? Or were those situations perhaps just individually manufactured with different (muffled-sounding) sfx rather than using visportals?

Hm... Yeah, the only portion of the wiki instructions (on the Sound Propagation: Part 1 page) I wasn't clear on is that func_loc_sep. That article definitely suggests it is possible to have transparent windows that block sound. Too bad the link to the original forum post is broken...

In need of some help getting sound propagation through transparent (not openable) windows to work -- specifically, there is no sound loss from speakers on the opposite side of the glass. I'm following the directions listed in the wiki, but I'm not clear on step 3 that says "Set the portal attenuation value (again in dB) on the func_location_separator". What is a func_location_separator? I've got the info_locationseparators set up correctly (touching visportals, visportals touching the glass), and I've applied the sound_loss spawnarg, so what's missing?

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks!

So now I'm wondering how I can add custom sounds to a mission -- nothing fancy like an AI or anything, just something that would be played on a speaker.

Yeah, that seemed a little weird to me, too, but the only thing I changed was the lighting: I deleted the pre-made candle entity I'd been using and inserted just a generic light source.