Jump to content
The Dark Mod Forums

Newbie DarkRadiant Questions


demagogue

Recommended Posts

 Maybe I haven't understood properly, or I'm missing something obvious, but I've been through the materials for creating readables over and over, and I still can't get them to work.

 

If I have "xdata_contents" "my_message" assigned to a book then I have to create a path inside my map folder called xdata with a file called anything I like? Then at the top I put what exactly?

 

I bet I'm just making a silly mistake somewhere. 

 

EDIT: I've worked it out. I didn't know that you need to make an xdata directory in darkmod rather than your mission folder. I guess I need to learn about the structure and how your mission files work.

Glad you worked it out. Also consider:

 


  1.  
  2. The readables prefabs which you just select what you want and insert it then copy from a template and add your own text. Note that at the moment you have to manually extract the prefabs from the pk4 in the darkmod folder. The xdata is also in there. Not so critical to extract that but it is convenient.
  3. Startpack which contains an assortment of readables already working. So if you start with that then you just drag and drop. Details at http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Startpack_Mappers%27_Guide

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm having problems with setting up the briefing for a FM, it always shows up blank

I tried everything in the wiki, i'm sure i wrote the briefing right because i tried copying the test briefing from the wiki and it still doesn't work

Any ideas?

Did you start with an early Startpack version? This contains a copy of mainmenu_briefing.gui. If so, delete that gui or update your startpack to the latest at http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Startpack_Mappers%27_Guide

 

If not the above then can you look in the console and see if there are any relevant errors? xdata is notoriously easy to get a tiny thing missing then you got nothing. I've done it countless times then found a quote mark or curly bracket missing or in the wrong place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An odd error: dmapping my map (t002.map), TDM reported a leak. However, when I try to generate a pointfile, an error message pops up:

Could not open pointfile:

 

E:/doom3/darkmod/maps/t/t002.lin

Now what?

 

[edit]Incorrectly appended material file, that's what. Works all right now, although the textures I added with the tutorial's normal mapping directions... don't.[/edit]

Edited by Melan

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you worked it out. Also consider:

 

  1. The readables prefabs which you just select what you want and insert it then copy from a template and add your own text. Note that at the moment you have to manually extract the prefabs from the pk4 in the darkmod folder. The xdata is also in there. Not so critical to extract that but it is convenient.
  2. Startpack which contains an assortment of readables already working. So if you start with that then you just drag and drop. Details at http://modetwo.net/d...appers%27_Guide

 

I'm finding that my confidence with TDM and DR is boosted best by working from scratch, but I'm using the startpack as a handy reference. It's come in useful plenty already.

 

 

 

I extracted the prefabs, and they are good. The skyboxes are particularly lush. The "stairs_concrete_worn" prefabs are bugging me though. They look nice, but they're impossible to ascend properly, possibly because they're covered in patches to make them smoother. Is there any way to get them usable, or are they cosmetic?

 

Also, are there any guides for the best practises when making stairs in general? I've just made some basic steps but they have terribly sharp corners. For now I'm going to experiment, anyway.  :)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-2515-125617257613_thumb.jpg

Are your stairs looking bland, son? Is it because you're having problems walking up those stairs if they look all fancy-pantsy? Have no fear! Your staircase can look pretty-pretty and you can climb up it, too, when you draw your own collision meshes!

____________________________________________

 

First: make your staircase. Make it fancy! (I'll just guess you're putting this in a fancy mansion.) Bevel the corners, smooth the edges, have fun with patches!

post-2515-125617258469_thumb.jpg

Now if you let that staircase stay as worldspawn, you're going to end up in trouble. The dmapper might not like those tiny brushes and patches you used to smooth things out. Those brush-on-brush contacts are drawing a lot of unnecessary tris. So make the staircase a func_static. You don't necessarily need to include handrails in this part, they can be a seperate entity. So your staircase is now a single func_static. Now give it the spawnarg "solid" "0". You heard me right, you're going to draw yourself what's solid and what's not.

____________________________________________

 

Now, go find the texture called common/tdm_nodrawsolid_wood. You could also use _stone or _carpet, depending on what sort of material you made your staircase out of.

 

Wherever you made smooth curves and fancy bevels, you're going to have troubles walking, because some of those fancy curves are steep at certain points. Your player will slip on those smooth angles and fall down. So lets cover up the smooth decorations and bevels with brushes textured with tdm_nodrawsolid. Don't worry about any ugly "flashing" (or z-fighting) wherever the nodrawsolid interlaps with the stairs. Since tdm_nodrawsolid is invisible, z-fighting won't show up in the game.

post-2515-125617258732_thumb.jpg

____________________________________________

 

When you dmap and climb up your stairs. It'll behave properly! That's because you covered up all the complex edges and decorations with your own invisible solid that's got a much simpler shape.

 

Note: if you or your AI are still having problems climbing up the staircase, you can simplify your nodrawsolid even further by making it a "ramp."

post-2515-125617259243_thumb.jpg

yay seuss crease touss dome in ouss nose tair

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Truly, DarkRadiant is full of wonders. That goes right in the "should know" folder.

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need to scroll the texture. Move the camera position into the skybox and the moon is one surface on a tiny cube. Select that surface and scroll the texture.

 

The problem arises when you have texture lock off (see Surface Inspector) and insert a prefab and move it. So a quicker fix might be to delete the whole skybox and re-insert the prefab after making sure texture lock is on. It ought to be aligned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Worked great.

 

Another problem though:

 

I want a guard to have a key for a door, so i added the "inv_map_start" with 1 as value and then added "inv_target" with bob as value. I named the guard bob (not item class, name) when i try it in game i just crash before it loads the mission.

 

I removed the inv_target bob line and it went in my inventory just fine.

 

Also do the guards re-lock doors after they pass them? and can i?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-2515-125617257613_thumb.jpg

Are your stairs looking bland, son? Is it because you're having problems walking up those stairs if they look all fancy-pantsy? Have no fear! Your staircase can look pretty-pretty and you can climb up it, too, when you draw your own collision meshes!

____________________________________________

 

First: make your staircase. Make it fancy! (I'll just guess you're putting this in a fancy mansion.) Bevel the corners, smooth the edges, have fun with patches!

post-2515-125617258469_thumb.jpg

Now if you let that staircase stay as worldspawn, you're going to end up in trouble. The dmapper might not like those tiny brushes and patches you used to smooth things out. Those brush-on-brush contacts are drawing a lot of unnecessary tris. So make the staircase a func_static. You don't necessarily need to include handrails in this part, they can be a seperate entity. So your staircase is now a single func_static. Now give it the spawnarg "solid" "0". You heard me right, you're going to draw yourself what's solid and what's not.

____________________________________________

 

Now, go find the texture called common/tdm_nodrawsolid_wood. You could also use _stone or _carpet, depending on what sort of material you made your staircase out of.

 

Wherever you made smooth curves and fancy bevels, you're going to have troubles walking, because some of those fancy curves are steep at certain points. Your player will slip on those smooth angles and fall down. So lets cover up the smooth decorations and bevels with brushes textured with tdm_nodrawsolid. Don't worry about any ugly "flashing" (or z-fighting) wherever the nodrawsolid interlaps with the stairs. Since tdm_nodrawsolid is invisible, z-fighting won't show up in the game.

post-2515-125617258732_thumb.jpg

____________________________________________

 

When you dmap and climb up your stairs. It'll behave properly! That's because you covered up all the complex edges and decorations with your own invisible solid that's got a much simpler shape.

 

Note: if you or your AI are still having problems climbing up the staircase, you can simplify your nodrawsolid even further by making it a "ramp."

post-2515-125617259243_thumb.jpg

 

MD's a genius at this type of stuff :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello guys,

 

I've got a problem with patches. I've been following this tutorial in order to make a nice looking rounded corner. However, any time when I select my brush and press Patch > Bevel, it doesn't make a rounded corner patch, but makes a small arch out of my brush. I have no idea how to make it so that the editor would make a curved surface in the XY plain, and not YZ plain. Please help.

Edited by dSpair
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe it curves according to the last view you were looking in, so use the XY view (or switch the view to XY), then make the patch (or maybe you'll need to be in another view, but you get the point)

 

...but even if it starts the wrong way you can also always just turn/rotate/flip/etc the patch and then adjust it's size and vertex points

shadowdark50.gif keep50.gif
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This will be addressed in an upcoming release of DR, AFAIK. I just have to put it on the tracker so the coders can implement it.

The suggestion was that the bevel patch is created facing the currently active viewport, much the same way creating a simple patch mesh from brushes works.

 

Feature officially requested: http://bugs.angua.at/view.php?id=1989

I always assumed I'd taste like boot leather.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I went ahead and made screenshots already, so I'm going to post this even though it's been answered.

 

It sounds like you're starting with this:

post-58-125625740234_thumb.jpg

 

Click the rotate on y-axis button indicated. On your UI, it might be along the side instead of the top (DR UI can be customized).

 

Then you've got this, which is the half arch on its side, a bevel. But it's facing inward instead of out:

post-58-125625747259_thumb.jpg

 

With the patch selected, do Patch - Matrix - Invert. That will invert the patch so it faces outward. You'll have to navigate around it to see, as currently rear-view wireframes don't work (but it's been requested on the tracker).

post-58-125625754466_thumb.jpg

 

Edit: Sigh, first I'm ninja'd by you guys and then ninja'd by the OP. Oh well, it's up there for illustration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Worked great.

 

Another problem though:

 

I want a guard to have a key for a door, so i added the "inv_map_start" with 1 as value and then added "inv_target" with bob as value. I named the guard bob (not item class, name) when i try it in game i just crash before it loads the mission.

 

I removed the inv_target bob line and it went in my inventory just fine.

 

Also do the guards re-lock doors after they pass them? and can i?

Delete the inv_map_start from bob

Add to bob can_unlock and give it the doorname

If you want the key to be visibly on the belt of bob then position it in the editor and add to the key: bind bob

The player will be able to pickpocket it though. You can stop that by adding frobable 0 to the key but I don't recommend it as it will probably annoy players. ;)

 

Our wiki article on doors is confusing on the above and needs rewriting. I'll look at that but I need to do some research myself. ;)

 

If you want bob to be able to unlock many doors then use:

 

can_unlock_1

can_unlock_2

etc..

The wiki says that is wrong but it does work in Chalice so I know it is OK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting crashes when cloning patches pretty much every time, though only Bevels and End cap's crash. I can clone cones and all kinds of cylinders fine.

Cloning everything else like objects and regular brushes work fine to.

 

Is there any known way to fix this, searched a bit but only found it on the bugtracker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting crashes when cloning patches pretty much every time, though only Bevels and End cap's crash. I can clone cones and all kinds of cylinders fine.

Cloning everything else like objects and regular brushes work fine to.

 

Is there any known way to fix this, searched a bit but only found it on the bugtracker.

 

This has been marked as resolved on the bugtracker now. =D

I always assumed I'd taste like boot leather.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay I have a "newbie" question: Projected lights are not working properly. When I create a projected light it works fine. If I pick a light texture from the list, the light stops working in game. I have a test map that I created. I added an ambient and two projected lights, one is the default configuration and the other proj light has the "Start and End" option checked.

When Dmapping then going in game, the lights do illuminate the ground. So I went back into DR and I chose a light texture, I chose: Church512x256.

I then saved, dmapped again and went in game and that light is no longer working.

 

This is what I see in the editor

 

post-529-125650966489_thumb.png

 

When I go in game that light no longer works.

I always assumed I'd taste like boot leather.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Recent Status Updates

    • Petike the Taffer

      I've finally managed to log in to The Dark Mod Wiki. I'm back in the saddle and before the holidays start in full, I'll be adding a few new FM articles and doing other updates. Written in Stone is already done.
      · 4 replies
    • nbohr1more

      TDM 15th Anniversary Contest is now active! Please declare your participation: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22413-the-dark-mod-15th-anniversary-contest-entry-thread/
       
      · 0 replies
    • JackFarmer

      @TheUnbeholden
      You cannot receive PMs. Could you please be so kind and check your mailbox if it is full (or maybe you switched off the function)?
      · 1 reply
    • OrbWeaver

      I like the new frob highlight but it would nice if it was less "flickery" while moving over objects (especially barred metal doors).
      · 4 replies
    • nbohr1more

      Please vote in the 15th Anniversary Contest Theme Poll
       
      · 0 replies
×
×
  • Create New...