[2.10] Beta testing new Main Menu GUI

[stgatilov]

Mission "Shadows of Northdale ACT 2" by @Goldwell.
As usual, it overrides mainmenu_briefing_video.gui to avoid empty briefing parchment and mainmenu_background.gui  to set custom background in menu.

Removed both files.

Added mainmenu_background_custom.gui:

windowDef BackgroundCustomNorthdale2
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"snowedinn_foggynight"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomNorthdale2)
}

Then added to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: disable briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: set custom background to main menu:
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomNorthdale2

Things work perfectly in new TDM: custom background works, empty briefing skipped.
In 2.09, the default background is shown, and empty briefing page is displayed --- as expected.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Snowed Inn" by @Goldwell and @kingsal

When I tried playing, I noticed custom background in menu, and skipped briefing state.
The in-game list of objectives also looks different from normal.

However, many files are overridden:

• mainmenu_background.gui (custom background in menu)
• mainmenu_briefing_video.gui (skip empty briefing parchment)
• mainmenu_main.gui (exactly equals to 2.09 version)
• mainmenu_objectives.gui (skip empty briefing + tiny change in difficulty labels)
• mainmenu_utils.gui (skip empty briefing on Escape during video)
• tdm_objectives.gui (6 objectives per page, size changes, don't hide on attack button)
• tdm_objectives_core.gui (6 objectives per page, size changes)
• tdm_objectives_defs.gui (6 objectives per page, size changes)

Well... I wonder whether I should try to understand what was changed...
UPDATE: Analyzed the changes.

By the way, while this mission requires TDM 2.08, its overridden GUI files are taken from 2.05

[stgatilov]

Ok, I tried to remove all the mentioned files.

Then I added mainmenu_background_custom.gui with:

windowDef BackgroundCustomSnowedInn
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"custom_goldwell_animated_menu"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomSnowedInn)
}

Then added to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: disable briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: set custom background
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomSnowedInn

In the new TDM: custom background works, briefing state is skipped.

I have noticed that the parchment in difficulty selection screen looks dirty like it was in older versions (I guess texture is overridden), but that's not my problem.

Then I got crash on startup in idBrittleFracture::Event_Touch for func_fracture_3: "other" is NULL. It deserves independent investigation, and I cannot test how many objectives look in-game. A brief glimpse shows that 3 objectives display fine, and I guess 6 objectives will simply show scrolling arrows.
UPDATE: The crash is fixed on current SVN (5439).

In 2.09, it works fine.
All customizations are gone of course (default background, empty parchment).
Interestingly, it does not crash on startup.

 

[stgatilov]

Mission "Spring Cleaning" by @Goldwell.

This one overrides mainmenu_briefing_video.gui in order to remove empty briefing page, and also overrides mainmenu_objectives.gui to remove empty briefing page on "back" click and to slightly change sizes of diffuculty text (same unnoticeable change as in many other FMs).

I have removed both overridden files.
Added the following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: skip empty briefing page
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

In the new TDM, everything looks fine.
In TDM 2.09, everything is OK except that empty briefing page is shown.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Sir Talbot's Collateral" by @Baal and @Bikerdude.

This one overrides mainmenu_briefing_video.gui, mainmenu_utils.gui, and mainmenu_objectives.gui to skip empty briefing page. The last file also seems to slightly modify difficulty text sizes (not noticeable).

I have removed all these overrides, and added the following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: disable briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

Works fine in new TDM.
TDM 2.09 works fine too, but empty briefing parchment is shown.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Ulysses: Genesis" by @Sotha.

Overrides mainmenu_briefing_video.gui in order to skip empty briefing. Also contains the file mainmenu_objectives.gui_asg, which does not have effect --- but probably it was planned to fix "back" button from difficulty selection with it.

Removed mainmenu_briefing_video.gui and added following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: disable briefing page
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

As usual, everything is perfect in new TDM, but 2.09 shows empty briefing parchment now.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Ulysses 2: Protecting the Flock" by @Sotha.

It has the typical set of overrides: mainmenu_briefing_video.gui, mainmenu_utils.gui, and mainmenu_objectives.gui to skip empty briefing parchment, plus some minor size variations in the last one.

As usual, removed all overrides and added to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: disable briefing page
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

Everything at usual: perfect in new TDM, but empty briefing page in 2.09.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Volta 1: The Stone" by @kingsal.

Overrides:

• mainmenu_background.gui (for custom background)
• mainmenu_briefing_video.gui (for removing empty briefing page)
• mainmenu_main.gui (no changes here)
• tdm_objectives.gui (squeeze 6-th objective, don't close by click)
• tdm_objectives_core.gui (squeeze 6-th objective)
• tdm_objectives_defs.gui (squeeze 6-th objective)

So I removed all these files.
Then added the following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: disable briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: set custom background
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomVolta

And some code for background into mainmenu_background_custom.gui

windowDef BackgroundCustomVolta
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/mainmenu/volta_menu_background"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomVolta)
}

 

The updated FM works nicely in the new TDM.
Of course, custom sizes of objectives are lost, now there are 5 objectives without scrolling.
Also, the parchment on difficulty selection screen looks dirty (old texture), I guess FM overrides it.

In TDM 2.09, the mission plays properly, but main menu has default background.
Also, the empty briefing page is displayed after video --- as expected.

[stgatilov]

Mission "A good neighbor" by @Amadeus
It overrides mainmenu_background.gui in order to set custom background.

Removed this file.
Then added lines to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui

//stgatilov #5323: set custom background for main menu
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomGoodNeighbor

Added mainmenu_background_custom.gui with:

windowDef BackgroundCustomGoodNeighbor
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/custom_title"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomGoodNeighbor)
}

The updated FM works properly in the new TDM, custom background is visible in main menu.
TDM 2.09 shows default background, as expected.

[stgatilov]

Mission "The Hare in the Snare, Pt. 1" by @Frost_Salamander and @Kerry000.
The authors decided to avoid "forbidden overrides" by using custom title to change background in main menu. Now custom title is deprecated, so it should be reworked using new features.

So I commented out custom title and set background "the new way" in mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: custom title image is deprecated!
//#define MM_SHOW_CUSTOM_MAINMENU_TITLE 1

//stgatilov #5323: use new way of setting background instead
//since image has parchment imbued, override only main page background
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_MAINMENU_NOTINGAME BackgroundCustomHareSnare
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_EXTRAMENU_NOTINGAME BackgroundCustomHareSnare

Note that the background image has parchment graphics in it (because otherwise custom title hack would hide parchment). For that reason:

• I cannot set it on briefing and difficulty selection pages.
• I cannot even set it for in-game menu, because objectives screen will look broken.

This I had to retain custom background only on the out-of-game main menu.

Added mainmenu_background_custom.gui with:

windowDef BackgroundCustomHareSnare
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/hits1_menu"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomHareSnare)
}

With new TDM, the mission looks nice, custom background shows on the initial page + various settings/new game/load game pages. I clicked through various screens, and did not find anything looking bad.

In TDM 2.09, default background in shows everywhere in the main menu.

[stgatilov]

Mission "The Painter's Wife" by Fractured Glass Company (I guess @Bikerdude is corresponding author).
It overrides mainmenu_background.gui for custom background, and mainmenu_briefing_video.gui to hide empty briefing page.

I removed the custom .gui files.
Then added the following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: skip briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: change background in main menu
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomPaintersWife

Added mainmenu_background_custom.gui with:

windowDef BackgroundCustomPaintersWife
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/mainmenu/pw_background"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomPaintersWife)
}

The update FM works properly in the new TDM: custom backgrouns is displayed, briefing is skipped.
In TDM 2.09, main menu show default background, and the empty briefing page is shown.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Hidden Hands: Vitalic Fever" by @JackFarmer and @Amadeus.
It overrides mainmenu_background.gui for main menu background and mainmenu_briefing_video.gui to skip empty briefing page.

Removed both files, then added this to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: skip briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: change background in main menu
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomVitalicFever

Also added mainmenu_background_custom.gui:

windowDef BackgroundCustomVitalicFever
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/custom_title"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomVitalicFever)
}

As usual, everything is OK in new TDM, but TDM 2.09 now shows default background and displays empty briefing page.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Hidden Hands: The Lost Citadel" by @JackFarmer.

This one overrides mainmenu_background.gui to set background, mainmenu_briefing_video.gui to avoid empty briefing page. Also, it overrides mainmenu_newgame.gui to slightly move the title of the mission on mod selection page.

Removed all these files.
Added to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: skip briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: change background in main menu
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomLostCitadel

Added mainmenu_background_custom.gui with:

windowDef BackgroundCustomLostCitadel
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"custom_goldwell_animated_menu"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomLostCitadel)
}

The updated FM works fine in new TDM: animated background works, briefing page is skipped.
However, the "Citadel" in the name of the FM is not visible in mod selection page. But given that this screen is defined by the currently installed mission, that dirty fix won't take effect most of the time anyway.

In TDM 2.09, the FM works too, but with default background in the menu, and with empty parchment shown as briefing.
Speaking of mod selection screen, there the complete name of the FM is displayed, but it does not fit the parchment it is displayed on... hmm

[stgatilov]

Mission "Hidden Hands: The Anomaly" by @JackFarmer.

It has exactly the same overrides as in hhtlc:

• mainmenu_background.gui for custom background
• mainmenu_briefing_video.gui to skip briefing state
• mainmenu_newgame.gui for a size tweak on mod selection page (not necessary here)

Removed all the overrides.

Added to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: skip briefing state
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

//stgatilov #5323: change background in main menu
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomHHAnomaly

Added mainmenu_background_custom.gui:

windowDef BackgroundCustomHHAnomaly
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/custom_title"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomHHAnomaly)
}

In new TDM, the update FM looks good: custom background is displayed, briefing page is skipped.
In TDM 2.09, default background is shown in main menu, and empty briefing page is displayed --- as expected.

[stgatilov]

It seems this process is finally over.
I have repacked 33 missions out of 147, which for some reason take 6.5 GB out of 8.8 GB

If anyone has objections or comments about the result of repacking, better say now.
Note that you can test all the updated FMs yourself: the first post in this thread describes which version of TDM to install, and how to connect in-game downloader to updated versions. Also you can download updated FMs by direct links in the second post of this thread.

My plan is to give a week or two to this, then merge my SVN branch to trunk.
It means that all the future dev builds will include my changes, and will be able to work with updated FMs properly.
The FM database, however, will not receive updated versions of FMs until 2.10 is released, or at least until the late moments of 2.10 beta phase (i.e. till 2022).

[NeonsStyle]

I'm quite happy for you to do any fixes you think are required for my map Briarwood Manor. I'm not clear enough on what would need to be changed, so I think it's better left to you. Nice work.

[nbohr1more]

On 6/12/2021 at 8:38 AM, stgatilov said:

Tried fixing campaign: No Honor Among Thieves by @Goldchocobo, @Mortem Desino and @Bikerdude.
I wonder if any of the original authors is reachable today.

This campaign has its own briefing video for each of the three missions.
Previously it was done via the "controlled by SDK method", which I'd like to remove.
So I had to provide old-style defines instead.

Here are my changes in "mainmenu_custom_defs.gui":

// stgatilov 5323: use old-style briefing video system instead
//#define BRIEFING_VIDEO_CONTROLLED_BY_SDK 1

#if MM_CURRENTMISSION == 1
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/nhat_briefing_video_politics"
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 121509
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD "music video/nhat_briefing_politics;"
#elif MM_CURRENTMISSION == 2
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/nhat_briefing_video_anoott"
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 34205
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD "music video/nhat_briefing_anoott;"
#elif MM_CURRENTMISSION == 3
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/nhat_briefing_video_forest"
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 34600
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD "music video/nhat_briefing_forest;"
#endif

Also I commented out the MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_X, MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_X and MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD defines in the rest of the file.

It works for me now.
Unfortunately, the briefing won't work in 2.09 and earlier versions: it simple displays black screen, waiting for player to click mouse button.

I thought that it might take a bit of work to port these changes to nhat v4 but the changed mainmenu_custom_defs.gui works without any changes needed.

Nhat v4 repackage:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xyPwDQjMQH1TAH98Vd29UUiB0Nki1-7j/view?usp=sharing

[datiswous]

On 6/6/2021 at 9:31 AM, stgatilov said:

Of course, all the missions which use deprecated features need to be fixed to rely on something else.
The missions which override .gui files in unsupported way are most likely broken too and need fixing.
All the other missions should work properly now.

If people would bring out a new mission and want to modify the gui, they should do it according to new 2.10 specifics and have to accept that untill release 2.10, 2.09 doesn't look so good? I can see people opting for the old method untill 2.10 release, but that means it has to be fixed again for 2.10 release later.

[stgatilov]

1 hour ago, datiswous said:

I can see people opting for the old method until 2.10 release, but that means it has to be fixed again for 2.10 release later.

Well, we will have to fix them then.

By the way, 2.10 beta will soon start, and I think I'll commit all these modified FMs, so people will start getting them from in-game downloader.

[stgatilov]

On 7/16/2021 at 6:03 PM, stgatilov said:

Mission "Dragon's Claw" by @Bikerdude.

First of all, this one overrides mainmenu_background.gui to show custom background.
Second, it overrides mainmenu_utils.gui so that if Esc is pressed while briefing video is being played, the menu switches to difficulty selection instead of briefing. Interestingly, this FM does not have briefing video, so this change has no effect.

I have removed both overrided .gui files, then added the following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: override background in main menu
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomDragonClaw

Then added background layer in mainmenu_background_custom.gui:

windowDef BackgroundCustomDragonClaw
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/dragon_claw_background"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomDragonClaw)
}

Initially I tried to reference "guis/assets/mainmenu/background_empty" for material/texture, but as the result this custom background crept into credits screen, which is undesired. It turned out that guis/assets/mainmenu/background_empty is the core background image, which is overridden here. So I had to rename file dds/guis/assets/mainmenu/background_empty.dds to dds/guis/assets/mainmenu/dragon_claw_background.dds.

Now everything looks as expected in new TDM.
In 2.09, everything is good also, except that main menu shows default background.

It turned out that the path "guis/assets/dragon_claw_background" was wrong.
Changed it to "guis/assets/mainmenu/dragon_claw_background".

[stgatilov]

On 7/15/2021 at 9:59 PM, stgatilov said:

Mission "Briarwood Manor" by @NeonsStyle.
This one overrides mainmenu_briefing_video.gui in order to hide briefing.

I have removed the file and added the lines to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: don't show briefing pages
#define ENABLE_MAINMENU_BRIEFING 0

Verified that it works as expected in new TDM.

In 2.09, the briefing state is shown.
Interestingly though, it is not just an empty parchment, but a full-fledged text script of the second half of the video

There was update to Briarwood Manor on October, 11-th, hence the file which I prepared is no longer relevant.

I took the latest version from missions SVN, applied the same changes that I described in quoted post, and committed to missions SVN.

[stgatilov]

On 6/12/2021 at 7:38 PM, stgatilov said:

Tried fixing campaign: No Honor Among Thieves by @Goldchocobo, @Mortem Desino and @Bikerdude.
I wonder if any of the original authors is reachable today.

This campaign has its own briefing video for each of the three missions.
Previously it was done via the "controlled by SDK method", which I'd like to remove.
So I had to provide old-style defines instead.

Here are my changes in "mainmenu_custom_defs.gui":

// stgatilov 5323: use old-style briefing video system instead
//#define BRIEFING_VIDEO_CONTROLLED_BY_SDK 1

#if MM_CURRENTMISSION == 1
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/nhat_briefing_video_politics"
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 121509
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD "music video/nhat_briefing_politics;"
#elif MM_CURRENTMISSION == 2
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/nhat_briefing_video_anoott"
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 34205
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD "music video/nhat_briefing_anoott;"
#elif MM_CURRENTMISSION == 3
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_1 "video/nhat_briefing_video_forest"
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_1 34600
	#define MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD "music video/nhat_briefing_forest;"
#endif

Also I commented out the MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_MATERIAL_X, MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_LENGTH_X and MM_BRIEFING_VIDEO_SOUND_CMD defines in the rest of the file.

Since a major update (v4) came after I did that, my old pk4 archive is no longer relevant.

So I took fresh pk4 from mission SVN, applies exactly the same changes, and committed a new pk4.
Checked that it works well on 2.10 beta.

[stgatilov]

Mission "Away 0: Stolen Heart" @Geep and @_Atti_.

It overrides mainmenu_background.gui for a custom background.

I deleted this file, instead added mainmenu_background_custom.gui with following contents:

windowDef BackgroundCustomAway0
{
	rect		0, 0, 640, 480
	background	"guis/assets/custom_title"

	BACKGROUND_DEFAULT_BEHAVIOR(BackgroundCustomAway0)
}

Also added the following to mainmenu_custom_defs.gui:

//stgatilov #5323: set custom background to main menu:
#define MM_BACKGROUNDS_META_ALLSIMPLE BackgroundCustomAway0

Tested the changes: in 2.10 it works fine, background is modified successfully.
In 2.09 everything is fine, but default background is shown instead of the custom one.

[stgatilov]

I have finally committed all the updates to the mission database.
The mirrors will catch up soon.

I jumped the gun a bit, since originally I wanted to commit them closer to the end of beta.
But it is hard to beta-test 2.10 with all the old missions around...

[Geep]

I expect to provide a maintenance update of Away 0 about the same time as 2.10 is released (e.g. late winter/early spring). I'll be careful to incorporate your changes into that, so you won't have to re-apply them.

For now, I will indicate on the FM page:

Downloads of this FM after Dec 16 2021 will use a new mechanism, provided by @stgatilov, to show a custom background behind the main menu. The customization will be shown under TDM 2.10, no longer under TDM 2.09.