Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

[Obsttorte]

You could probably override the idle_headturn spawnargs on the ai. However, I dare to remember that some missions use conversations to let ai talk to the player, for example A Score To Settle by Springheel, and iirc the ai is behaving the way you would like it to be there. It's been a while, though, since I've last played any of those, so I may be wrong.

[Frost_Salamander]

I've started a new map with not a whole lot in it yet besides some basic architecture, etc.  I'm finding that if I add an AI to the map and run dmap, it gets to the point where it says 'merge leaf nodes' and takes about 15-20 seconds to do that part. If I remove the AI the whole thing takes about 2 seconds flat.

I didn't see this in my previous map, and it's making think there is something fundamentally wrong with this one.  Anyone know what the issue could be?

[Geep]

@Obsttorte, I looked into a Score to Settle. Inspecting the map file, there are 2 conversations in it, only 1 of which is between an AI and a player. Nothing special in the conversation commands there; a few seated gestures PlayAnims interposed. You can see this conversation starting at minute 11 in AluminumHaste's video runthru (Google it). The head does turn, but because the character is seated, the upper body and so the head does not turn as much as standing AI. Unfortunately, my AI has to be standing.

I'll play around with the idle_headturn idea tomorrow.

Tweaked the various headturn_... spawnargs to their quiet settings. If it made a difference, it wasn't enough. Maybe the main anim of the torso is driving the head movement? I dunno, might have to live with it.

Edited March 13, 2021 by Geep

[Obsttorte]

8 hours ago, Frost_Salamander said:

I've started a new map with not a whole lot in it yet besides some basic architecture, etc.  I'm finding that if I add an AI to the map and run dmap, it gets to the point where it says 'merge leaf nodes' and takes about 15-20 seconds to do that part. If I remove the AI the whole thing takes about 2 seconds flat.

I didn't see this in my previous map, and it's making think there is something fundamentally wrong with this one.  Anyone know what the issue could be?

I think 'merge leaf nodes' is associated with aas buiding, so pathfinding. I would assume that either your setup is somewhat complicated. One reason could be that there are lots of aas areas due using angled geometry (so not axis-aligned). However, 15-20 seconds doesn't seem overhelmingly long to me. Are you having pathfinding issues? Otherwise I would not assume this to be an actual problem.

[Frost_Salamander]

35 minutes ago, Obsttorte said:

One reason could be that there are lots of aas areas due using angled geometry (so not axis-aligned).

Yes this could be it as there is one repeating structure that has angles in it.  Okay, I'll assume it's the nature of the map and there is no issue.  Thanks!

[JackFarmer]

22 hours ago, Geep said:

It's a video cutscene. So the single AI character is looking directly at the player, whose viewpoint is being screen-captured. I can move the player, but not in a fast, fluid way to compensate for AI gaze shifts. And the gaze shifts makes the AI seem "shifty", not the effect I want.

If there's no TDM solution, I'll have to use choppy editing, not ideal.

Just checked The Accountant 1.

It has an AI very early in the mission guiding the player to a certain door. When you move around, the AI head follows the player.

Might be worth a look.

Edited March 13, 2021 by JackFarmer

[Geep]

Thanks, will check it out. Sounds like a custom script.

[Bienie]

Quick question, is there an easy way to make an AI invisible to other AI? I want a specific AI to not garner any attention if the player knocks him out. Kind of like the AI_see spawnarg on lights but for bodies. I tried changing his team to 14 (rats) since AI don't react to dead rats but it seems a body is a body in their eyes...

[Dragofer]

6 hours ago, Bienie said:

Quick question, is there an easy way to make an AI invisible to other AI? I want a specific AI to not garner any attention if the player knocks him out. Kind of like the AI_see spawnarg on lights but for bodies. I tried changing his team to 14 (rats) since AI don't react to dead rats but it seems a body is a body in their eyes...

Try disabling his visual stim or setting his AI_USE spawnarg to -

[Obsttorte]

AI_Use set to AI_ANIMAL should work, as Dragofer said.

[Destined]

Is thie AU_Use transferred to the ragdoll? I would assume that the problem here is that the AI gets exchanged with the respective ragdoll, to which the team spawnarg is not transferred?

[Bienie]

6 hours ago, Obsttorte said:

AI_Use set to AI_ANIMAL should work, as Dragofer said.

Thanks, that worked!

 

4 hours ago, Destined said:

Is thie AU_Use transferred to the ragdoll? I would assume that the problem here is that the AI gets exchanged with the respective ragdoll, to which the team spawnarg is not transferred?

It seems to. I changed the guy's team back to normal and the only custom thing about him was that "AI_Use" was set to "AI_ANIMAL" and the guards couldn't care less about him, at least when knocked out.

[thebigh]

According to the wiki, the Xdata format has a field called "signature" that apparently allows you to add a tga graphic to the bottom of a page as a signature. I can't get it to work though. If I add it manually to my .xd file, DarkRadiant segfaults when I open the readable editor for that document.

 

Is this, or something like it, still supported?

[Obsttorte]

@thebigh It would be of help if you could link the respective wiki article, so we all know what you are refering to.

The default readables do not use something called signature afaik, but instead only a body and a title. So you would need to use the correct readable gui file for this to work.

[thebigh]

The wiki article is https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Xdata_file_format#Precaching

It seems to date back to about 2008, so it might be completely obsolete.

All I want to do is have a normal readable with text starting at the top of the page, and put a small picture near the bottom.

[Obsttorte]

This article handles xdata files in general and as such the example is fictive and general, too. It is not a tutorial on how to use the default readable guis.

 

As said, you can create your own gui and manipulate it's look via xdata files if you need it to be versatile, or you just create a specific one without using xdata if it is intented for single use only. I would suggest to read up on how to use gui files and/or inspect existing ones to see how this works.

[Destined]

Maybe the Wiki article about in-game maps can give you a firtst pointer on how to include a picture in a readyble. Here the picture is the only part of the readable, but you could include your text in the picture. That way, you don't need both text and a picture seperately in a readable.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Destined

[thebigh]

I think I have it more or less figured out. I extracted the .gui I needed to modify from the pk4s that come with the game, along with the texture the gui uses, and put them into my fms directory with suitable names. Then I just drew the picture I wanted onto the background, edited the .gui file to use the new background, and edited the .xd file to use the new gui for that document.

It works just how I wanted when I read it, but the sheet in-game looks blank and I cannot figure out why.

[Obsttorte]

There are two reasons that come to my mind.

1. There is something called the world_page iirc, that specifies what page of a gui to be shown in game. Not sure how this is on general guis, on readables the respective scriptobject handles this.
2. The document is not illuminated enough. That was an issue in the past and I don't know whether anyone ever did something about it, but I remember this was something I have encountered in my first FM too. Placing a small ambient light in front of the readable solved the issue.

[thebigh]

Aha. I have it.

To get this to show up I need to do two things: first, I had to create a fancy_document_world.gui to go with fancy_document.gui so that the text would show. Second, I need to skin the sheet with a texture that includes the picture I want added. That second one is going to be tricky...

[OGDA]

I need help setting the light_radius and _color of a torch held by a guard.

With a lantern this works just fine:
def_attach5: atdm:prop_lantern_on
pos_attach5: hand_l
set _color on light: 0.9 0.7 0.25
set light_radius on light: 100 100 100

I know a torch is flame instead of light, but I tried many combinations and none of them worked.
The torch is there, but the light radius and color don't change:
def_attach5: atdm:prop_torch_on
pos_attach5: hand_l

test1:
set _color on light: 0 1 0
set light_radius on light: 10 10 10
> no result (expected)

test2:
set _color on flame: 0 1 0
set light_radius on flame: 10 10 10
> no result

test3:
name_attach5: district_a_watch_torchlight
set _color on district_a_watch_torchlight: 0 1 0
set light_radius on district_a_watch_torchlight: 10 10 10
> no result

test4 (just messing around by now):
set flame_radius on light: 10 10 10
> no result

Any ideas?

[HMart]

Not sure but hope this helps, If the "torch" is a normal particle than it has no light (unless the effect is created using a fx file), so perhaps is a prefab, meaning a group of many entities, if so afaik, you need to edit the prefab/group, by ungrouping the prefab and selecting the light entity itself and than you can edit it in DR like any normal light.

Edited March 17, 2021 by HMart

[OGDA]

This is not an entity present in the editor, but the default carryable prop for an AI which is only attributed by spawnarg, so I cannot directly edit it in dark radiant. I see no way to ungroup/reference that like an inserted entity. If I misunderstood that, can you please further describe what you mean?

Here is another full spawn arg set of the args I have on the city watch AI carrying the torch prop, where the light radius does not take effect:

classname: atdm:ai_guard_generic_01b
name: Citywatch Officer
shouldered_name: Brannis
def_head: atdm:ai_head_citywatch
def_vocal_set: atdm_vocal_set_cynic_citywatch
def_attach5: atdm:prop_torch_gothic_on
pos_attach5: hand_l
name_attach5: btorch
set name on btorch: btorch
set light_radius on btorch: 10 10 10

Any more ideas how to change the light radius of the torch?

All information I have is from:
https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Attaching_Props_to_AI
https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Light_Properties#Radius

---

Edit:

When I attach a defunct torch (not held in hand) to the AI found in a thread with spawnarg
def_attach5: atdm:moveable_torch1
I can set the light_radius with
set light_radius on flame: 70 70 70

But
def_attach5: atdm:prop_torch_on
or
def_attach5: atdm:prop_torch_gothic_on
don't seem to be affected by the light_radius property, so the problem still persists.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by OGDA

[HMart]

Sorry I should have said that I don't work with TDM, so I don't really know all the details about the ways stuff is done here, specially when the TDM engine has changed much from older idtech 4, what i know (using the original Doom 3 engine) may be totally deprecated in modern TDM, but def_attach5: atdm:prop_torch_gothic_on is a normal link to a entity definition. 

here in the file tdm_prop_items.def

// --------------------------------
// Carryable Lights
// --------------------------------

// lit torch for AI to carry around
entityDef atdm:prop_torch_on {
	"inherit"					"atdm:moveable_base_carry_l"

	"editor_displayFolder"		"Props"
	"editor_usage"				"A lit torch to be carried in the left hand."

	"model"						"models/darkmod/lights/extinguishable/torch.lwo"
	"mass"						"2"
	"bouncyness"				"0.02"
	"friction"					"0.2"
        "snd_bounce"                  "tdm_impact_handle_long"

	"angles_hand_l"				"90 90 0"
	"origin_hand_l"				"0 4 0"    // forward from hand, height, x

	"angles"					"90 90 90"
	"frobable"					"0" // don't frob until the AI drops it
	"is_mantleable"				"0"
	"drop_when_ragdoll"			"1"
	"drop_set_frobable"			"1"

	// grayman #2900 - to make LightsToggle() work correctly:
	"extinguished"				"0"
	
	"extinguish_on_drop"		"1"
	"extinguish_on_drop_delay"	"3" // in seconds
	"extinguish_on_drop_delay_random"	"2" // random time added to base delay time

	"remove"					"0"

	// a light that can be carried around (opposed to AIUSE_LIGHT)
	"AIUse"						"AIUSE_LIGHTSOURCE"
	"lightType"					"AIUSE_LIGHTTYPE_TORCH"

	"def_attach"				"atdm:prop_torchflame_moving"

	"scriptobject"				"tdm_light_holder"
	
	"arrowsticking_disabled"	"1" // grayman #837
	
	"replace_anim_walk_alerted"			"walk_alerted_torch"    //so they hold torch up

	"is_torch"					"1" // can be used to relight doused flames 
}

// lit torch for AI to carry around
entityDef atdm:prop_torch_gothic_on {
	"inherit"					"atdm:prop_torch_on"

	"editor_displayFolder"		"Props"
	"editor_usage"				"A lit gothic torch to be carried in the left hand."

	"model"						"models/darkmod/lights/extinguishable/torch_gothic.lwo"
	
	"arrowsticking_disabled"	"1" // grayman #837
}

 

both 

"def_attach"                "atdm:prop_torchflame_moving"

"scriptobject"                "tdm_light_holder"

may control the light, i don't know. 

Edited March 17, 2021 by HMart

[Obsttorte]

@OGDA

The problem is that the light is attached to the torch that is attached to the guard. With the set ... on ... command you can modify the spawnargs on attached items. So if you put it on the guard, you can change spawnargs on the torch. But the torch isn't the light source, but instead the light attached to the torch.

I don't see that you can change that in the editor. You'll need to make your own torch definition. Just copy the existing one into a custom def file and change the respective values there.

It's actually a good practice to do it like that for changes that apply to several entities. At least I guess that all torches held by the guards should have the same light radius and color. I would use in editor manipulation only for cases were the change only applies to one or a few entities of one kind. Otherwise later changes or bugfixing can become really tiresome.