Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

[Obsttorte]

I've some time on sunday. But first you may wanna read this:

 

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Visportal

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=City_Street_Visportal_Tutorial

 

Both shall give you a basic idea on how visportals are working and used.

[Lux]

I sure would appreciate it and Sunday sounds fine with me.

 

I have read through both of those and I've also looked at a number of maps and implemented visportals in my test map just fine. I understand them and their function. I do wish that city tutorial you linked had more pictures for Stage 3 & 4 as its hard to discern some of the things mentioned without an illustration. I get the general jest.

 

The mission map is a different story though as far as what I want to achieve and what is possible so your input is greatly appreciated.

 

I'll upload the map and get you a link for Sunday. Again, I sincerely appreciate this Obsttorte!

Edited July 12, 2013 by Lux

[Tr00pertj]

Hi all would any one have the time and like to test my map and give me some feed back\suggestions.

It`s a very small map made following Fidcals tut and my first so go easy on me.

[Melan]

How do I make teleported AI start patrolling? Once they are in position, they don't start on their routes.

[Fidcal]

I'm not certain but try starting your AI there at map start then teleport him away. When you teleport him back the pathing should work.

 

On the other hand, it might possibly be that if there are no AI's in that section that pathing is just not made. So you might also try sticking in one of those path flood entities instead - I forget what they're called. They force pathing to be created even though there are no AI.

[Melan]

That must have been it! Thank you.

[Kvorning]

I just got some fantastic feedback from my first play-test, and let's just say there's plenty to do. Right now I wanna focus on fixing all the stuff I know how to, as fast as possible so I can throw myself at the more technical snags with a clear mind. Would be awesome if you could help me with a few somewhat silly problems, that'll save me a lot of work time.

 

First problem: Some model-lights, I cannot change the 'light_radius' or '_color' of, to suit that special tone I need. Namely:

 

"atdm:standing_chandelier_3_candles" and "atdm:chandelier_3_candles"

 

How do I customize the radius and color of these?

[Springheel]

If they're entities, you need to use the following method:

 

http://wiki.thedarkm...tting_spawnargs

[ERH+]

I have brush based func_static hidden at map start, and when I switch them, they turn visible but remain no_solid (I didn't mess with that property). What do I miss?

[Kvorning]

@Springheel

 

Thanks dude, I tried that in a test map the other day, but couldn't get it to work. I must have done something fundamentally wrong

[Moonbo]

ERH+, did you try dmapping again?

 

[ERH+]

It is repetitive problem, I already tried rebuild func_static. Maybe engine don't create collision model if func_static don't exist at map load?

Edited July 14, 2013 by ERH+

[Moonbo]

You might try teleporting the fs in then. I've done that a few times and it works pretty well.

[ERH+]

Yeah I will try this.

[Kvorning]

How can I make AI react to triggered sounds, such as a creaking floorboard?

Edited July 15, 2013 by Kvorning

[Sotha]

How can I make AI react to triggered sounds, such as a creaking floorboard?

 

I suppose that would be the alarm entity. I've not used them so I cannot instruct further.

[Melan]

A few questions:

1. I am using a prefab night sky. Is there a method to make the clouds move slower, or is the animation hard-coded?
   
2. When starting the map, I get an AAS96 out of date error. While this has no gameplay impact, I'd like to correct it, although I don't think there is anything in the map using AAS96 (I am not sure AI like that even exist in TDM).
   
3. I have placed a 1024*1024 TGA loading screen in my mission package, but it doesn't display when I am loading up the mission. What could be causing this?
   
4. Most seriously perhaps, if you play on Expert difficulty, the mission reverts to Hard on start. I am sure this has happened before, and there may be a fix... but what?
   

[Lux]

1. Most seriously perhaps, if you play on Expert difficulty, the mission reverts to Hard on start. I am sure this has happened before, and there may be a fix... but what?
   

 

This also happened in Fiasco at Fuchard as I've been through it twice on expert and it only says I've completed it on hard and has no "green check mark" in my mission list.

[Obsttorte]

I have brush based func_static hidden at map start, and when I switch them, they turn visible but remain no_solid (I didn't mess with that property). What do I miss?

Leave it visible and hide it after map load by adding this line to your main routine

$name_of_your_fs.hide();

How can I make AI react to triggered sounds, such as a creaking floorboard?

This is done via propagated sounds. You need to trigger a script who playes one of them. PS are sounds the ai can hear (and react to). You can find them under entity->darkmod->sound->propagated sounds. Play them via the script command

$player1.propSoundMod(name_of_sound,volume_modifier);

This will cause the player to emit the sound called name_of_sound, modified by the volume_modifier in dB. Note that name_of_sound is the name of the sound entity without the sprgs_ at the beginning. So if you choose sprgs_arrow_broad_break, you have to set the name to arrow_broad_break.

Note that the single sounds manly differ in volume, and that the player cannot here them.

A few questions:

1. I am using a prefab night sky. Is there a method to make the clouds move slower, or is the animation hard-coded?
   
2. When starting the map, I get an AAS96 out of date error. While this has no gameplay impact, I'd like to correct it, although I don't think there is anything in the map using AAS96 (I am not sure AI like that even exist in TDM).
   
3. I have placed a 1024*1024 TGA loading screen in my mission package, but it doesn't display when I am loading up the mission. What could be causing this?
   
4. Most seriously perhaps, if you play on Expert difficulty, the mission reverts to Hard on start. I am sure this has happened before, and there may be a fix... but what?
   

1. Decrease the shaderParm spawnargs already set on them. There is a wiki page describing there purpose.

2. Look in your maps folder if there is an .aas96 file. If so, delete it and dmap again.

3. Maybe the image size is too big. As it gets scaled down for the loading screen anyways, you may reduce the resolution to 512x512 or so. (Btw.: are you sure it is 1024x1024? If the resolution is not a power of 2, let's say for example 1024x1023, the image won't load either.)

4. Would have to take a look to help you out with that. But I guess that any entity that has something to do with the difficulties is messed up. Did you change the difficulty names?

[Fidcal]

Vague guesses from memory...

 

3. The title screen needs to be the exact name as the default and in the right equivalent path OR you need to also make a custom loading gui (you don't say if you've done that. see startmap or startpack whatever I called it on the wiki.)

 

4. Look at the properties of any world spawn. Is there anything there setting the difficulty which is overriding any game save?

[Melan]

Thanks for the suggestions!

1. This method seems to have worked - thanks!
   
2. No AAS96 has been generated for the map, but putting in an aas96_flood entity solved the issue.
   
3. I have investigated the file name and both it and the image dimensions are correct. In fact, I just replaced files in the directory structure of Fauchard Street, where the title image worked. Hmmm.
   
4. A-ha! It seems the worldspawn had the spawnarg "difficulty 1" added! This must have been it! Very good!
   

More questions:

5. How do I force the mission to turn off any and all player reflections? It is messing unpleasantly with reflective water, producing ugly clipping.

6. How do I create a loot object from a func_static entity?

7. Can I set the frob bias (?priority?) on an object, meaning it gets frobbed easier than others near it?

8. Can I create the ambient light value via location settings?

I thought I could

, through the

ambient_light

spawnarg on info_location entities, but it doesn't work... or only affects colour.

[Fidcal]

6. The easiest way is probably to create a separate static loot object and change its model and other relevant properties such as loot value. You will also need an inventory icon. I think there is a default one though.

 

7. There is a frob bias property but I was never confident with it. I prefer to change frobbox_size to make an object more likely to frob.

[grayman]

No AAS96 has been generated for the map, but putting in an aas96_flood entity solved the issue.

 

AAS96 is used by (at least) the lanternbot.

 

What non-humans are you using?

 

If you have a lanternbot and now you find that he's not moving, it's possible that he's stuck in monsterclip, which would explain why no aas96 file was created for him. Dropping an aas96_flood into the map isn't going to solve that problem.

[Obsttorte]

More questions:

5. How do I force the mission to turn off any and all player reflections? It is messing unpleasantly with reflective water, producing ugly clipping.

6. How do I create a loot object from a func_static entity?

7. Can I set the frob bias (?priority?) on an object, meaning it gets frobbed easier than others near it?

8. Can I create the ambient light value via location settings?

I thought I could

, through the

ambient_light

spawnarg on info_location entities, but it doesn't work... or only affects colour.

6. I did this in my first mission Old Habits. It's a jewel gear. Basically you have to derive it from atdm:loot_base. So you write your own entityDef and use your fs as model. Another way is to set your fs to frobable. Then create any loot entity in your blue room. Set the loot_value etc.. on it and change the inv_icon spawnarg. With your fs selected, open the S+R editor and set the following actions as a response to frob:

1. trigger the loot entity in your blue room, this will cause it to go into the players inventory
   
2. remove _SELF, this will remove your fs from game
   

7. As Fidcal already mentioned increasing the frobbox size should do the trick. If it is still difficult to frob the item, you may wanna create some frob blocking entities. These are simple non-solid func_static brushes textured with nodraw, which are frobable. These are used in many of the prefabs, as the drawers for example.

8. Well, it should work. I've used it myself. Maybe your color values don't differ enough or you did something wrong. There is a console output informing you about the color changes. In addition, make sure that your ambient light is named ambient_world, not ambient_world1 or so.

 

Hope that helps.

 

EDIT: 3. Can you upload a simple example pk4 with the loading screen. I bet something is set wrong somewhere (maybe just a simple typo).

[Melan]

And than you again! I have made some good progress thanks to you suggestions! Here is what I have discovered:

2. aas96_flood worked since the error message no longer appears... and yeah, there is a (stationary) lanternbot in there

3. Turns out I made a dumb mistake: my gui file (where the loading screen file is defined) was still named

fauchard.gui

instead of

penny.gui

for the new mission title.

5. Couldn't solve yet.

6. Still not working properly, but maybe halfway there...

7. Seems to work; thanks.

8. Could not get this to function.

 

The main issues that are still there is player reflection, though. Any way to turn it off?