Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

[Goldwell]

Thanks Sotha that seemed to do the trick

[Moonbo]

Is there a way to create an "updating readable" (i.e. a journal that can have new entries added on to the end of it during various parts of a mission)? Would swapping out the xdata def of the readable do the trick? If so is that something that can be done with a script?

[RJFerret]

Obsttorte has something like this, or exactly this, see: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/14394-apples-and-peaches-obsttortes-mapping-and-scripting-thread/page__view__findpost__p__307413

[Moonbo]

Aha, well that was spot on . Thanks!

[hank morgan]

How you you change the clipmodel of a model at runtime? I'm currently experimenting with the $entity.setModel script command and it appears as though it doesn't change the collision mesh from that of the original object.

[ERH+]

Can I trigger texture movement on a static surface, just as I can trigger gears in elevator? I have looping cable on wheels in elevator shaft, and it would look appropriate if texture would move as long as wheels spin (in both directions).

[Flanders]

For a texture to translate it needs the 'translate' keyword in its material file followed by a speed in the u and v direction that depends on a shaderparm.

If you make a func_static with that texture on it you can give it a value for the shaderparm.

So, you can trigger a script function that changes the value of the shaderparm.

 

That would be one way to do it.

[Goldwell]

Is it possible to make just one room darker than others?

 

It's not possible to move the room outside of the ambient_world zone and I have tried adding a light that's resized to the room which has the ambient light info set on it and I made it really dark but the room in the game still is as normal. I didn't know if it was working and then I changed the settings to make it brighter and then the room inside TDM did get brighter.

 

Is there a way to making the room darker different than this?

[Sotha]

You do it with location settings

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Location_Settings#.22ambient_light.22

 

The ambient light can be altered for a specific location.

 

You might want to set the neighbouring locations lights to an intermediary value so that the shift is not too jarring.

[Goldwell]

Awesome! I don't know how well that will work in this situation but I will give it a try. Thanks!

 

In addition is there a way to have a lantern spawn in game that starts turned off? the spawnarg "extinguished" seems to do nothing whether it is checked or not

[RJFerret]

Extinguished is for candles/torches, "start_off" should do it for others.

[Goldwell]

Extinguished is for candles/torches, "start_off" should do it for others.

 

I tried that spawnarg but it didn't work. And on the lantern an inherited spawnarg is extinguished but both start_off and extinguished do nothing... Perhaps it is a bug then in game?

 

I can pick the lantern up in game and turn it off and move it around as normal

[RJFerret]

I tried that spawnarg but it didn't work.

 

Doh! The workaround then is to trigger it at the start of your map. If you don't have worldspawn targeting anything else, and only one lamp to do it with, you can simply have your brushes "target" it (note, not "target0" or another number, "target" itself), otherwise have them target a trigger_relay.

 

(If you've changed it's "levels" spawnarg, trigger it enough times to turn it off.)

 

PS: If it's not the type of light that responds to a trigger, like electrics (which do respond to "start_off"), then might have to set up a stim/response to douse it when triggered.

Edited February 18, 2014 by RJFerret

[SteveL]

@Goldwell: what lantern entity are you using? Another option, depending exactly what kind of light it is, is to trigger a callobjectfunction entity that targets your light and has the spawnarg "call" "lightsOff". That works on light entities that spawn their light via def_attach. Some lanterns have a "frob_extinguish" function that can be called using the same method. And some come with an alternative "Off" form of the def_attached light so that you can just replace the def attachment spawnarg instead of triggering anything.

[hank morgan]

How do I call a script when I frob a ragdoll? Normally for buttons I just target a "target_callscriptfunction" but setting a target on a ragdoll doesn't appear to do anything.

[ungoliant]

try using frob_action_script spawnarg

[hank morgan]

Weird. That was one of the first things I had tried and it didn't work. Just tried it again and it did. Thanks.

[Lux]

If you're trying to add a light that is outside of your sealed geometry for effect, is it possible to just make caulk tunnels out to them and seal around them so that they're actually enclosed in the "sealed" part of the map? I'm trying to do this and it seems no matter what I try I keep getting leaks during dmap. The pointfile is out in the middle of nowhere pointing to nothing.

 

Here's an example.

 

I have a light torch (close to) attached to func static geometry out in the void for 'background' buildings. Is is possible to extend a caulk tunnel (the pink lines) out to the torch and surround it so that its part of the sealed geometry?

 

The one thing I haven't tried is just making it part of the FS which now seems like it may work. This is a standard torch entity w/flame attached to it pre-built.

 

[SteveL]

You'll need to wrap your whole FS building in a caulk cube, else the building itself will be the leaking entity out in the void. No need for it to be connected to your main map as long as you have a bit of the FS in your current visleaf (which is what the blue dot in your diagram means, I guess).

 

You might have a problem getting the model torch to show up. I had a similar problem and I haven't found a way to have both a model and a set of primitives assigned to a single FS. All models are part of an FS when included in a map, so there's apparently no way to make a model render outside of the current visleaf, becasue you can't assign a bit of wordspawn to the same FS entity as the model. Hoping someone can chip in with a solution.

 

Since the torch will never have to be seen close up, a workaround would be to replace the torch model with a simple cone patch and make it part of your FS.

[Lux]

Yes the small blue box is the part of the FS distant building that is in the visleaf.

 

So you can't just put the torch on the building and make it part of the FS, and it will light when the map starts? That would clearly be the simplest solution.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Lux

[SteveL]

If there's a way to make the torch part of the fs, I haven't found it. FSs are composed of several primitives or one model. Either way you need to box off your fs building in a caulk cube, and the light will be a separate entity.

[ungoliant]

I have a light torch (close to) attached to func static geometry out in the void for 'background' buildings.

use skybox instead.

[SteveL]

use skybox instead.

 

Useful advice in a *few* of the situations where this question might occur. Not most I reckon, nor in any of the spots in my own map where I've wrestled with it.

[Lux]

Yeah, because the torch is in front of the building, skybox rendered in front it would hide the building. Actually I did it in a test map and it worked fine so I guess I'll just rebuild all the map boundries where I have the tunnels going out to the torches and hopefully find the leak.

 

EDIT: Doh! ...when I destroyed and the rebuilt a FS ...yeah, I left the origin out in the void. Good news is... now it works fine!

Edited February 20, 2014 by Lux

[Lux]

You'll need to wrap your whole FS building in a caulk cube, else the building itself will be the leaking entity out in the void.

 

Also, just a heads up on this experiment, the caulk tube surrounding the torch cuts right through the FS and seals as if the FS is not there. So the engine is basically disregarding it as an entity and the worldspawn tube takes priority.

 

I initially thought that intersecting the FS geometery might also cause leaks but this isn't the case.