Briefing video timing bug?

[Sotha]

Hi!

 

I've been investigating how to get a video briefing done.

 

I have 2 roq files. The standard TDM logo video (that comes with TDM) and my briefing.

I've set up the mainmenu_custom_defs.gui

 

#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING_VIDEO 1

 

and

 

#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/tdm_briefing_video"  //this is the standard darkmod logo
#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_2 "video/video_briefing" //this is the custom video file

 

and

 

#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 9000 // 9 seconds of logo
#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_2 67000 // 9+58 = 67 seconds of logo + briefing

 

So... The tdm_briefing_video (the logo that flashes upon map start) is played. It lasts 9 seconds.

Then my "video_briefing" should start running from the start, right?

 

Both videos run and are visible, but timing is off. It looks like my "video_briefing" started playing exactly at the same time with the "tdm_briefing_video."

So the end result is not

1) play tdm_briefing_video from start to end

2) play video_briefing from start to end.

 

but

 

1) play 9 seconds of tdm_briefing_video

2) play "video_briefing", but so that 9 seconds of this clip has passed already when it comes visible.

 

Is this a bug in the system or am I doing something wrong? I could not find anything in the mainmenu_custom_defs.gui that could seem to help me. There aren't wiki entries that could help me.

 

If it is a bug, it renders it completely impossible to have video briefings that consist of more than one piece of roq-files or that are longer than 1 min, as the files have to be cleaved into smaller pieces than 1min.

[grayman]

The gui code does this:

 

At time 0, it plays video 1 (the logo). Assuming the logo takes 9s to run, then ...

At time 9, it resets the time to 0

At time 0, it plays video #2. Assuming this video takes 67s to run, then ...

At time 67, it resets the time to 0

At time 0, it plays video #3.

 

And it continues in this mode until all videos are played.

 

The gui variables that you've defined (time & material) are the correct ones to define.

 

So, to me, it looks like there's a bug.

 

Edit:

 

Ooops. Just found a comment in the "custom" gui that hints this is NOT how it behaves.

 

The time for video #1 should be its own length.

The time for video #2 should be its own length plus the length of video #1.

The time for video #3 should be its own length plus the length of video #1 plus the length of video #2.

 

etc.

 

The comment says if the times aren't set up this way, sections of the videos will get skipped.

[Springheel]

I've never looked into this, but wouldn't a fallback hack be to add 9 seconds of empty frames to the second video?

[grayman]

I've never looked into this, but wouldn't a fallback hack be to add 9 seconds of empty frames to the second video?

 

That won't work, given my "edit" section above. Each video needs to be less than a minute in length, which means adding more and more empty frames to each subsequent video would cause you to very quickly run past the 1-min cutoff.

[Sotha]

So... is it a bug or just my blunder?

 

I did have incremental times,

9 seconds for first and 9+58 seconds for the second video.

 

I can provide test pk4 if need be.

[grayman]

So... is it a bug or just my blunder?

 

I did have incremental times,

9 seconds for first and 9+58 seconds for the second video.

 

I can provide test pk4 if need be.

 

From what I'm reading, it looks like you have everything set up correctly.

 

I'll be happy to look at the problem if you can PM me the pk4.

[Sotha]

Cool, thanks!

 

Here is a test .pk4. Contains no spoilers, it uses standard TDM logo and Spring's Score to settle intro videos.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bp28uw

 

You will notice that the title "Score to settle" is never shown. After the TDM logo, there is only time for a brief wink of "By: Springheel" visible.

[Obsttorte]

Try this, it seems to work better: http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Setting_up_Campaigns#Briefing_Videos

[Sotha]

Try this, it seems to work better: http://wiki.thedarkm...Briefing_Videos

 

Yes! I can confirm this one works just fine.

 

Looks like just the single mission mode is impaired.

 

Thanks a lot! I was worried I should leave this cutscene thingy to the future TDM versions. Now there is nothing stopping me doing this.

[Sotha]

No. Still no joy.

There is something strange with this method too.

 

 

[no mission installed]

install my test.pk4 (which uses Obsttorte's proposed method.)

TDM restarts.

Start mission

Mission does not show ANY cutscenes at all. It just goes directly to the briefing.

ESC. Start mission. Same thing. No cutscenes at all.

Quit TDM.

Restart TDM.

Start mission

Cutscenes play, everything is good.

 

There seems to be something really strange going on..

[Sotha]

Yeah, played a bit more with it. The video timings work like they should with the campaign settings, but for some reason TDM has to be restarted _one extra time_ in addition to the normal restarting which happens upon mission installation.

 

How on earth can these restartings be different from each other?

 

Anyways, here is a test .pk4, which is exactly the same as the one above, but it uses the campaign method for video playback. Hopefully these will make it easier to find out what is going on. Thanks for looking into this.

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1jrz1g

[grayman]

What is your final product?

 

Is this a single mission or a campaign?

 

Also, your intent is to show the TDM logo regardless? If so, and you use the single mission method, you need to insert the logo video audio into the beginning of the custom briefing video audio, since you're only allowed one audio file.

 

If you can do w/o the logo video, you can just do what Springheel did, and replace the logo with your custom briefing video.

[Sotha]

What is your final product?

 

Is this a single mission or a campaign?

 

It's gonna be a single mission, but it would be preferrable of course that both methods would work. At present it is very tedious to make gui-based briefings of single missions into a campaign. If they were made into videos, it would be really easy. Few videoclips per mission. Few lines to edit in .gui file.

 

Also, your intent is to show the TDM logo regardless? If so, and you use the single mission method, you need to insert the logo video audio into the beginning of the custom briefing video audio, since you're only allowed one audio file.

 

The TDM logo is somehow sacred for me and I really would like to show it in the beginning, before the briefing. Sound isn't really gonna a problem. I just take the "TDM logo booooonngg" sound and mix it into my single sound .ogg file. I need to make a custom sound file for the briefing anyway, so...

 

If you can do w/o the logo video, you can just do what Springheel did, and replace the logo with your custom briefing video.

 

No I can't. If the briefing would span more than 1 x 1min video clip, I would still be in trouble, if the briefing timings did not work. Isn't that right?

[grayman]

The gui code, as written, looks absolutely correct.

 

However, it does not do what it's supposed to do.

 

Instead of starting the first video at gui time 0, and the second video at gui time {length of video 1}, it's starting both videos at gui time 0.

 

Or maybe it's passing the gui time to the video, and the video is starting at that point in the video stream.

 

If that's the case, it's passing "0" to the first video, which starts at "0" in its video stream, and it's passing {length of video 1} to the second video, which starts at {length of video 1} in its video stream.

 

I'll take a look at that theory.

[Sotha]

Hmm. In order to help a bit, some questions that might be close to the problem:

What is different with the single mission and campaign modes? Why are there two separate systems that basically do the same thing and not an unified single system? Why campaign mode works like it should but single mode does not?

[grayman]

Hmm. In order to help a bit, some questions that might be close to the problem:

What is different with the single mission and campaign modes? Why are there two separate systems that basically do the same thing and not an unified single system? Why campaign mode works like it should but single mode does not?

 

I suppose greebo would have to answer these, since he designed the campaign bits.

 

And I thought the campaign method was broken too.

[Sotha]

The timings seem work in the campaign mode.

 

But the campaign mode has some other issue, which requires an extra restart to get the cutscenes to run at all.

 

So yes, both seem to be broken, but they are not broken in the same way, but in strange different ways.

[Obsttorte]

As I've been testing it I didn't require an extra restart. I've been testing it under linux. Straaaaaaaaange.

 

EDIT: Are ROQ-files the only video format that is supported? And if so, why? (just curious)

[Sotha]

Roq files are prolly the only format. That is ID's own video format, so it is what D3 used out of.the box.

Could someone else with a windows setup grab that campaign videotest .pk4 and check if it works directly for them? Could it be glitch y only for me? Just install it and see if the cutscenes work after the install restart or not?

[Obsttorte]

I've just tested it under Windows and can confirm the following behaviour:

• If I install the mission and the game restarts, the videos are NOT shown
  
• Further restarting does NOT help
  
• If I quit the game (like pushing quit in the main menu) and start it again, the videos ARE shown
  

As far as I remember the code for restarting and quiting/starting the game slightly differs. So my guess is that something is not done in the restarting routine that needs to be done for the videos to work.

[grayman]

I've just tested it under Windows and can confirm the following behaviour:

• If I install the mission and the game restarts, the videos are NOT shown
  
• Further restarting does NOT help
  
• If I quit the game (like pushing quit in the main menu) and start it again, the videos ARE shown
  

As far as I remember the code for restarting and quiting/starting the game slightly differs. So my guess is that something is not done in the restarting routine that needs to be done for the videos to work.

 

Were you testing with Sotha's first pk4 (single-mission style) or second pk4 (campaign style)?

 

With not feeling well and a very long power outage due to a nasty storm, I got nothing done yesterday. I'll be back on this today, focusing on the single-mission style pk4.

 

I'm still working on the assumption that all videos after the first are not getting reset to their start when they begin playing. Yet to be proven. Gui code is not easy to navigate (at least for me).

[Obsttorte]

I've been working with the cmpaign style approach, as it's playing the videos correct (if it's playing them) at least.

[grayman]

I fixed the single-mission briefing video.

 

The gui needed a few syntax changes to make it work with more than one video.

 

I tested the fix with a total of 10 vids, alternating the logo and Score to Settle vids, and everything worked fine.

 

I'll take a look at the campaign briefing video now.

 

I've also opened a bugtracker issue for this.

[grayman]

I fixed the problem with campaign videos not starting when the campaign is first installed.

 

All the gory details for both single mission and campaign video corrections are here.

 

Let me know if there are further issues.

[Sotha]

Wow! This is great news! Thanks a lot!

 

Is this a single gui-file change? Can I supply a custom gui file with my FM .pk4 so that I can get my wIp released with working videos on TDM 1.08?

 

I don't have svn. If it is just a file change, clould you upload the file somewhere? Or is it enough if I just copy the correct syntax you posted from the bugtracker?

 

Thanks again. Now I can carry on design a cut scene breifing that tries to be much like the original thief cutscenes. I've already played a bit with cutscene editing and it seems to be more handy to use a movie maker to create the briefing.