Controlling Where the Player Starts gui file

[datiswous]

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Briefing#Controlling_Where_the_Player_Starts

On the section about "Controlling Where the Player Starts" there is a download link, but it's a dead link. Does somebody have this altered mainmenu_briefing.gui ? Or otherwise, is there a mission where it's used?

I thought maybe it could be added to core, to the same file, but have that section editted out by default, or make a renamed version? Same for Button Controlled Animated Briefing and Timed Flowing Briefing (although maybe without the example images), I think they should be things in core. Doesn't take up much space and then they never get lost.

Edited March 17 by datiswous

[datiswous]

Here is it posted in the bugtracker by grayman:

https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=2933

It has status resolved, so it should work. But I wonder if anybody knows how it works.

Edited March 21 by datiswous

[Amadeus]

So, one FM that has multiple starting points is Fieldmedic's Not an Ordinary Guest. You could look there. You can also use info_player_teleport entities to change starting locations depending on difficulty. Here is the wiki link: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Teleporting_entities. Hope this helps

[datiswous]

Thanks, but @DeTeEff's mission might not be based on this method. In the wiki article grayman writes about linked options in the briefing text that is not limited by the 3 difficulty levels, while Not an Ordinary Guest has the 3 player roles be based on the dificulty levels. You could start in a hotel and decide which of the 30 rooms you start in (just an example).

It would be weird if this is all implemented in core, but nobody has a clue how it works. It could also be that the wiki states enough info, but I don't get it yet.

Oh I see now there is also a topic:

In fact in the topic's first post grayman writes:

Quote

(I'm not interested in changing the starting point using the Difficulty settings.)

So then this is indeed another method.

Edited March 23 by datiswous

[datiswous]

On 12/20/2011 at 12:58 AM, grayman said:

I'll be adding a section to the Briefing wiki page, and--following the precedent set in the "Button Controlled Animated Briefing" section--it will use a link to retrieve the updated gui file.

 

I can put the file up on mediafire, but should there also be a more official place to retrieve it from?

This is how things get lost...

[datiswous]

It seems from the topic description that he wanted it for one of his own missions, but I haven't found any of his mission briefings that have this..

I wonder if the modified mainmenu_briefing.gui could be recreated somehow from the info available.

Edit: I see now that DR allows you to create multiple info_player_start entities (just copy the main one), didn't know that. Maybe it isn't so difficult to implement..

Edited March 21 by datiswous

[DeTeEff]

It was some years since I finished that mission, but if I recommend correctly I created three different starting locations and used the "diff_N_nospawn 1" spawnarg on each to delete the ones not appropriate for that particular difficulty.

[datiswous]

Thanks, but the one feature I'm looking for is not based on difficulty level. I think I can cobble it together from info in the wiki page. It's next on my list of projects. If I can create a working mainmenu_briefing.gui file with an example how this works, I will add it to the wiki (as code, so I don't have to upload anything). Could be interesting for a contest. Mappers might be interested to use a never used feature included in core by Grayman, to a new mission, I would think..

[datiswous]

Hey @Geep I wondered, since you're the Gui expert around here (I think), can you give it a quick look if it's not too difficult to generate the gui code for the mainmenu_briefing.gui that's currently missing, or that we really need that file. I gathered it's just an example file and the gui code can be created from the info in the wiki. It's just still a bit difficult for me. I don't know if this currently still works though, I guess I could test it in TDM 1.08 as well (If I get it running).

Edit: The same code for this at least seems presents in both TDM 1.08 and 2.11

See: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Briefing#Controlling_Where_the_Player_Starts

Here is a testmap: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vCAJeS0U4f0TVBoaxi9Isxsi-jzikdRD/view?usp=sharing

Edited yesterday at 10:08 AM by datiswous

[datiswous]

This seems to be the code in core:

Game_local.h

// grayman #2933 - store the start position selected during the mission briefing, if any
const char *			m_StartPosition;

 

Game_local.cpp

	m_StartPosition = ""; // grayman #2933

 

/*
===========
idGameLocal::SelectInitialSpawnPoint
============
*/
idEntity *idGameLocal::SelectInitialSpawnPoint( idPlayer *player ) {
	spawnSpot_t		spot;
	idVec3			pos;

	// grayman #2933 - Did the player specify
	// a starting point in the briefing?

	bool foundSpot = false;
	spot.ent = NULL;
	if ( m_StartPosition != NULL && m_StartPosition[0] != '\0' )
	{
		spot.ent = FindEntity( m_StartPosition );
		if ( spot.ent != NULL )
		{
			foundSpot = true;
		}
	}
	
	if ( !foundSpot )
	{
		spot.ent = FindEntityUsingDef( NULL, "info_player_start" );
		if ( !spot.ent )
		{
			Error( "No info_player_start on map.\n" );
		}
	}
	return spot.ent;
}

 

ModMenu.cpp

	else if (cmd == "startSelect") // grayman #2933 - save mission start position
	{
		gameLocal.m_StartPosition = gui->GetStateString("startSelect", "");
	}

 

Issue #2933

Edited yesterday at 10:35 AM by datiswous

[HMart]

The engine has multi spawn positions but only for multiplayer, the single player code does not handle that but I see a way to go around this, what about using the player teleportation feature?

Something like this, In DR put special "go to" entities, just used as locations to transport too, then in the main menu GUI set which entity the player should jump too and then transport the player to it when he spawns, you can do a fade transition to hide the jump, for the player will be like he spawned there in the first place.

Edited yesterday at 12:44 PM by HMart

[datiswous]

1 minute ago, HMart said:

The engine has multi spawn positions but only for multiplayer, the single player code does not handle that

Well aperently it does, because this has been in core since TDM 1.08

 

2 minutes ago, HMart said:

Something like this, In DR put special "go to" entities, just used as locations to transport too, then in the main menu GUI set which entity the player should jump too and then transport the player to it when he spawns, you can do a fade transition to hide the jump, for the player will be like he spawned there in the first place.

Yeah, cool idea, I just think if somehow the original functionality added by Grayman is used, it's much easier to use.

[HMart]

1 hour ago, datiswous said:

Well aperently it does, because this has been in core since TDM 1.08

Oh! I didn't knew that! Thanks for the correction.  Is what happens when I take knowhow from the original Doom 3 engine (and Dewm 3 engine) as a starting point. :S 

Edited yesterday at 02:00 PM by HMart

[datiswous]

2 hours ago, HMart said:

The engine has multi spawn positions but only for multiplayer, the single player code does not handle that

Well, I think that when the mission loads, only one info_player_start is selected and used. So it could still mean that the engine only supports one, although multiple can be in a map file.

[HMart]

That's exactly what the code you posted does, it selects only a single spawn entity, a custom one if you give it or the default one.

Looking at the code you posted, grayman changed the code in a way to permit anyone to override the default spawn entity, for a custom one, by setting a gui var called "gui::startSelect" to the name of the entity you want to use as spawnpoint, but is still a single one and that's logical, because there's no way to spawn the player in more than one spot at the same time! Unless the player was a quantum particle!  joking
 

Spoiler

p.s - Thinking about it does exist a way to spawn the player in two different spots at the same time! The xray feature! Just make it so when the player uses the XRay glasses he sees ia different room!  

Or something like this game: 

 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by HMart