Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

[Sotha]

@Aosys, never, ever use csg subtract.

 

This. Learn to use the clipper or build the grid in other methods like the vertex manipulation tool.

 

I'll quote my signature that appears in every post I make:

 

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

[ERH+]

Encountered problem with missing textures after saving map under new name. I'm speaking about few particular textures like models/gibs/brain, tdm_chain, tdm_crystals, bc_gaugesteam and more. They appear in editor's textures window as "shader not found" and you can't use properly "seek in media browser" function on them. I'm not sure but I think problem don't occur after saving if I interact with those textures in last editor session. Anyone had similar problems?

[Goldwell]

What should I set for the spawnarg of an AI's idle animation if I dont want them to do anything? I currently put "-" but its giving me errors in the console. It works ingame but maybe theres a proper way to do it?

[ERH+]

idle -- regular standing maybe? http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Animation_List

[Dragofer]

What should I set for the spawnarg of an AI's idle animation if I dont want them to do anything? I currently put "-" but its giving me errors in the console. It works ingame but maybe theres a proper way to do it?

If I remember right Grayman's cutscenes tutorial had a method to stop AIs from doing random animations when they're idle : http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Cutscenes

[Springheel]

I usually set the random idle timing to something really huge.

[Dragofer]

A question about textures: if I have one UV map texture for a model and then make three material definitions out of it for wood, metal and glass parts, does that cost more than if I only used one material definition?

[SteveL]

Good question. They'll all use the same image on the gpu but if you set up the different areas of the model as separate meshes so as to reference the different materials, then the renderer will probably use a separate draw call for each mesh. That would only matter if you plan to have lots of them on screen.

[Scampada]

Hi, what may cause seemingly no-gap leakings?

 

I've made screenshots, it's easier to show then to explain.

 

https://pp.vk.me/c621827/v621827788/26cbc/yHF5truNryM.jpg<-- there aren't any gap

https://pp.vk.me/c621827/v621827788/26cc5/6ZS4td55zyY.jpg<-- it looks strange, from one point I can see this line and from another I can not. Lokks like it goes thru wall parallel to its edge, 'inside' it.

 

What's interesting, I didn't shift any of brushes from the last working save. I only created a new light source (it is marked by leaking red line, it's in the corner of the 'yard'), and then tried to create raining weather. It seems to me I tested the map after adding the light, but I'm not sure. I've tried to remove the light; it won't help, the red marking just pointed to the player spawn position instead of light in the corner. I've tried to remove rain patch, still no effect. Before adding light and weather all worked fine.

Tried to resize the walls so they were a bit oversized and intersected in the void outside, to no purpose.

 

Ah, also I've removed a fog from a working version. There was a fog source, it worked, I closed the game window and removed the fog source from the map. Maybe it affected? In what way? Strange.

 

Btw, there was said that ambient 'world' light doesn't cast shadows and is flat map-wide. But if I position an ambient light inside one room, its wall outside is covered by black color as if there weren't any light. Exactly the wall behind that the ambient light is positioned. It may be not only one wall, but two nearest which are positioned in that way, opposite to light source.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Scampada

[Springheel]

Maps don't leak until there is at least one entity present.

 

Make sure the texture is shadowcasting. Textures that have "noshadows" (usually indicated by a _ns at the end of the name but not always) don't seal.

[Scampada]

Make sure the texture is shadowcasting. Textures that have "noshadows" (usually indicated by a _ns at the end of the name but not always) don't seal.

 

I have set texture of one of the edges of cut floor in the yard to 'nodraw'... Maybe it's causing the problem. It rendered in a strange way, there was some glittering... some glitch in the editor in lighting preview. Its edge was not textured or something after cut, I set it to its main texture but it showed an easily recognizable glittering line in that place... So I set it (the edge texture, not the plane) to nodraw and the glitch vanished. Let me change it to say brick and see...

 

PS There isn't any noshadows texture anyway

Edited May 19, 2015 by Scampada

[Scampada]

I'm a clumsy peasant, sorry. Looks like I have managed to remove my skyportal somehow, maybe instead of one of the rain patches, and it seemed to me it's still there, because I looked up through another rain patch and didn't notice #there_is_something_missing...

 

I've returned the skyportal above but it seems to me now that I've removed it after the problem occurs. I've tried something and everything and may removed it in haste... Now it's all UNDOed and the problem's still there. Continuing

 

Somehow I managed to overwhelm it. It works now, I'm not sure thanks to what exactly.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Scampada

[Scampada]

Can I set a local speaker with a shape different than shpere? I've created a rain according to guide, and placed a speaker. But it's unnatural, that rain sound is centered somewhere in the place where it rains. In the corner sound become almost unrecognizable. I prefer not to increase size of the sphere for it will overlap my house rooms in ever more unnatural way. Isn't there way to make a local speaker with a shape of cube without fading effect?

Edited May 19, 2015 by Scampada

[grayman]

Can I set a local speaker with a shape different than shpere? I've created a rain according to guide, and placed a speaker. But it's unnatural, that rain sound is centered somewhere in the place where it rains. In the corner sound become almost unrecognizable. I prefer not to increase size of the sphere for it will overlap my house rooms in ever more unnatural way. Isn't there way to make a local speaker with a shape of cube without fading effect?

 

No.

 

If you want to fill an area with the same sound, read up on the location entities. You can define your rain-filled area as one location and have it play a rain ambient sound.

[Scampada]

Thank you.

 

How to make an electric lamp do not cover itself with shadows, making its surface unnaturally dark while lighting?

Edited May 20, 2015 by Scampada

[Goldwell]

Thank you.

 

How to make an electric lamp do not cover itself with shadows, making its surface unnaturally dark while lighting?

 

try adding the spawnarg "noshadows" with a value of "1"

 

edit: or while you have it highlighted press L and then select a better light texture for it

Edited May 20, 2015 by Goldwell

[Scampada]

I have tried noshadows, didn't help.

 

edit: or while you have it highlighted press L and then select a better light texture for it

 

Maybe I do a mistake? I create a lamp, then I create a light and position it in front of the lamp.

[Goldwell]

I have tried noshadows, didn't help.

 

Maybe I do a mistake? I create a lamp, then I create a light and position it in front of the lamp.

 

I don't fully understand what you mean sorry. What are your intentions? you have created a custom lamp? or are you using an ingame lamp entity?

[Scampada]

I don't know if I can embed videos to posts, here is a link. I was afraid I can not explain it clear in words.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hsgkXge8Nw

 

I've tried to set noshadows to 1, tried to fix light's position, reading A-Z manual, but in vain. Maybe I don't know something special that I didn't manage to find at the Wiki.

[Goldwell]

I don't know if I can embed videos to posts, here is a link. I was afraid I can not explain it clear in words.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hsgkXge8Nw

 

I've tried to set noshadows to 1, tried to fix light's position, reading A-Z manual, but in vain. Maybe I don't know something special that I didn't manage to find at the Wiki.

 

Oh I see, and dont worry about the explanation, I know how hard speaking a language second to your native can be

 

As for the blackness there that will disappear ingame, its just in the editor that it looks funky. I've used plenty of that exact same entity before and ingame i've had no problems

[Obsttorte]

Don't use the lamp model plus a light. There are light entitites you can use.

[Scampada]

Oh I see, and dont worry about the explanation, I know how hard speaking a language second to your native can be

 

Quite a bit, if I'd say.

But it was not a language problem that discouraged me. This was rather tricky because of my little experience.

 

As for the blackness there that will disappear ingame, its just in the editor that it looks funky. I've used plenty of that exact same entity before and ingame i've had no problems

 

Ah... I hoped so, but was not sure.

 

Don't use the lamp model plus a light. There are light entitites you can use.

 

Do I use them apart, then? A lamp model plus an independent light positioned in front of it? What profit do I have from it?

[Goldwell]

Quite a bit, if I'd say.

But it was not a language problem that discouraged me. This was rather tricky because of my little experience.

 

Ah... I hoped so, but was not sure.

 

Do I use them apart, then? A lamp model plus an independent light positioned in front of it? What profit do I have from it?

 

Go into the create Entity screen and then add the following entity

darkmod --> Lights --> Model Lights, Static --> Switchable --> Electric --> Outdoor --> atdm:cagelight

Add that into your map and nothing else and thats all you need.. just rotate it and match it upto the wall face of course but then ingame the light will display correctly and you dont have to mess with a light entity and a model entity as this combines both into one.

[Scampada]

I tried to test my map in game, it contains only one tower, a wall, an archer up on the tower and a bright lamp on the wall.

 

It starts normally, I step forward to light, archer sees me and starts attacking. If I step forward again, so tower's wall obstructs him, the game gets stuck and then crashes. What's up?

 

Where can I see logs?

 

UPD: it crashes anyway, after he starts attacking me, whether his arrow hits me or not, right when he might attack me again it crashes

 

https://pp.vk.me/c621827/v621827788/27288/OJuoxQcGWWE.jpg

Edited May 22, 2015 by Scampada

[VanishedOne]

Where can I see logs?

Darkmod.log in your TDM installation folder, but you need to edit darkmod.ini in the same folder to turn some logging categories on before TDM will log anything.