Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

[Fidcal]

Obviously you two are on the same strange wavelength because it is not obvious what you are talking about. As MD says, a visportal can't be an entity. If you use any other texture on it then it's not a visportal. If you use a cubemap texture on its other surfaces then they won't show anyway. If you mean create a cubemap patch in front of a visportal that is linked to it in some way to show/hide along with the visportal being open/closed then theoretically that might work.

 

I am uncertain about the cubemap inside an inaccessible building. It might work. It would be like the windows in Chalice. Try it with a suitable sky like the industrial. But whether it would be effective or any problems like lighting from outside or worth the effort I don't know.

[nbohr1more]

To clarify, I presume that Serp and I are both aligned on this excerpt...

 

Visportal switches: func_portals

The preceding section Visportals and doors makes clear that doors can function like switches to enable and close visportals in contact with them. func_portals can be used to enact further control over portals. You can place a func_portal entity so that it intersects with a visportal, and then trigger the func_portal to close or open the visportal. A second control method is had by using the portal_dist and distcheck_period properties on the func_portal. They control the distance to the player and how frequently (in seconds) this distance should be checked, respectively, and make explicit triggering of the func_portal unnecessary. As with doors, even if enabled the visportal will not be open even if it is in the player's view.

 

Another clever trick exists with regard to func_portals: you can also build a func_static over the visportal, and target it with the func_portal as normal. Now, in addition to opening and closing the portal, this will also toggle the drawing of the func_static. This means you could place an appropriate texture (perhaps a low resolution image of a room's interior, drawn over a window) and have it turn on or off based on the player's distance away.

 

[Serpentine]

To clarify, I presume that Serp and I are both aligned on this excerpt...

 

Yup, that's the idea - I was going to use it in my 'performance' version of Return to The City, but after realising I was still using an old beta version of the map to build off I got annoyed and left it. But I did test this before stopping and it was working fine.

 

Test Map

 

When you walk into the hall the cubemap should hide and the portal should be unsealed. You could do the same with a brush.

 

Adjusting the func_portal changes the distance and check period - check period should be quite high, 1 is fine, lower if you are using the portals around sudden corners, but higher is better for performance. The patch/brush that is to be hidden has to be a func_static and should have "hide = 0", else it will not work as expected.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Serpentine

[nbohr1more]

Again. Wicked Awesome... !

[Fidcal]

Yes I see. Could be very useful. Would need some careful planning but very promising.

[Komag]

This sounds very very useful in the right circumstances! Is it very documented with tutorials on the wiki?

[nbohr1more]

Right now you would need to combine details from these two wiki's (not sure if a specific article is overkill):

 

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

 

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

[Bikerdude]

Hmm i still dont get what/where i can use this? nbormore has sujested i could use this on my cathedral map but how 7 where..?

 

[update]

Doh, I am half asleep I just got how I can use this in my cathedral map. Take a screenshot (correct distance and size etc) of area that will be covered by the VP then apply that as a testure to a patch implement as per Sperps map!

 

 

Ok the subject of VP, is there any way to use a FP to turn off a VP when its not in direct line of sight... as thsi will be very help full with my style of none box/tunnel style of map making. Ive jusy spent tha last few hours VP'ing my contest map to get those extra FPS etc.. Im still getting FPS as low as 30 in some high up areas...

Edited July 13, 2010 by Bikerdude

[nbohr1more]

From my understanding... any place you would use a texture in front of a VP you would instead use a reversed cube map of the the environment past the VP. This allows the VPs to be a little closer as the motion parallax from the cube map looks better than a flat texture. Off the top of my head you could chop-off the highest part of the vaulted ceiling and replace it with a reversed cube map (some may consider that both figurative and literal sacrilege so if you do this you may want to offer a High-End version without this optimization)...

Edited July 13, 2010 by nbohr1more

[Bikerdude]

eh...? sorry youve lost me.

 

All I am/would do is screenshot/texture/patch/Vp thing I mentioned above, but that's assuming I can be arsed of course.

[nbohr1more]

That would work too...

 

A cube-map is six screenshots

 

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

[Dragofer]

Hello,

 

I've quite recently (only a few days ago) decided to give Dark Radiant a try. I am now busily working on a (Scandinavian style?) mission that I am constantly evolving. I do have an array of questions (1 per paragraph), however, and I would appreciate an answer to any one of them.

 

 

First of all, I have a few textures that I'd like to add. I tried finding a textures folder, but all I found was a long list of .dll files. My search of the internet has not revealed any results. I'm quite new to this kind of editing - DR is my first - and a short set of instructions would be nice.

 

 

I'd also be extremely interested in having a snowstorm (this is absolutely perfect http://www.youtube.c...h?v=dotGqox6QeM). I think having that would be monumentally important. Would that be technically possible in TDM? Does it already exist?

 

 

To add to that snowstorm, I'd like to have some flags that rapidly/violently twist in the wind (not the white poles, but the red fabric). I've tried to make such a model in Blender/UnrealEd, but all that my skills could come up with was a badly textured cylinder with a cone on one side. Could there be a place where I could get such a thing from?

 

 

I have also come across a few problems. In some places (2 so far) I "lose" slivers of my brushes, making it possible to look at the brushes behind. From the other side, they look completely normal (in the case of the attached image, from under the house). These slivers cut across several brushes at the same time, and when I stand on them I get no sound of any kind anymore. I have tried duplicating and moving the entire house to a fresh space, and this has reproduced the error. I'd like to know if this is a bug, or if it is just a fault in my mission design. Could it be solved?

 

 

Should I worry if I have about 30 lines of "Warning: Backward triangle in input!" whenever I compile? Perhaps it may be related to the last question.

 

Lastly, I have an issue with what someone on this forum called "twinkly stars". Apparently it is due to disaligned diagonal brushes. However, I get this on perfectly rectangular brushes with nothing else behind them (apart from my patented LeakProtectorEncasing ). Again, could it be a bug or is it time for me to go back to the drawing boards?

[aidakeeley]

Scandinavian style

 

I'm sure help will be along soon, as to your questions; but I just wanted to say that this sounds cool AND I see a bit of waht you are talking about in that screenshot too.

 

Good going and good luck!

Edited July 14, 2010 by aidakeeley

[AluminumHaste]

Hello,

 

I've quite recently (only a few days ago) decided to give Dark Radiant a try. I am now busily working on a (Scandinavian style?) mission that I am constantly evolving. I do have an array of questions (1 per paragraph), however, and I would appreciate an answer to any one of them.

 

 

First of all, I have a few textures that I'd like to add. I tried finding a textures folder, but all I found was a long list of .dll files. My search of the internet has not revealed any results. I'm quite new to this kind of editing - DR is my first - and a short set of instructions would be nice.

 

 

I'd also be extremely interested in having a snowstorm (this is absolutely perfect http://www.youtube.c...h?v=dotGqox6QeM ). I think having that would be monumentally important. Would that be technically possible in TDM? Does it already exist?

 

 

To add to that snowstorm, I'd like to have some flags that rapidly/violently twist in the wind (not the white poles, but the red fabric). I've tried to make such a model in Blender/UnrealEd, but all that my skills could come up with was a badly textured cylinder with a cone on one side. Could there be a place where I could get such a thing from?

 

 

I have also come across a few problems. In some places (2 so far) I "lose" slivers of my brushes, making it possible to look at the brushes behind. From the other side, they look completely normal (in the case of the attached image, from under the house). These slivers cut across several brushes at the same time, and when I stand on them I get no sound of any kind anymore. I have tried duplicating and moving the entire house to a fresh space, and this has reproduced the error. I'd like to know if this is a bug, or if it is just a fault in my mission design. Could it be solved?

 

 

Should I worry if I have about 30 lines of "Warning: Backward triangle in input!" whenever I compile? Perhaps it may be related to the last question.

 

Lastly, I have an issue with what someone on this forum called "twinkly stars". Apparently it is due to disaligned diagonal brushes. However, I get this on perfectly rectangular brushes with nothing else behind them (apart from my patented LeakProtectorEncasing ). Again, could it be a bug or is it time for me to go back to the drawing boards?

 

You don't have to worry about the Backward triangle, not important. I would like to take a look at your map, can you upload it to the forums so we can take a look?

[Fidcal]

Glad to hear you are trying out Dark Radiant and building a map, Dragofer. Good luck and keep posting. I'll answer briefly and I or someone willl expand later if needed.

 

All the assets are archived in zip files re-suffixed with .pk4 in the Dark Mod release. To add textures you need to create a materials folder and a textures folder. These can be in the darkmod folder while testing but ultimately must go in your game folder FM pk4. If you open up the pk4s in the darkmod folder you will see how it is organized.

 

For instance if you open up tdm_textures_stone_brick01.pk4 in a zip program you will see inside a textures folder and also a dds folder. These are compressed files but they do the same job as tga image files. If you just have a few tga files you migh prefer to just keep them as tgas.

 

Inside tdm_textures_base01.pk4 is the materials folder containing plain text files suffixed .mtr. These contain the material definitions including the names of the image texture files etc. Ask again if you need more clarification about textures because it is a big subject.

 

Yes a snowstorm is possible. I recommend you work through the A-Z Guide on our wiki which includes a brief introduction to snow at http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=A_-_Z_Beginner_Full_Guide_Start_Here%21 or there is a link to an index on each page of that guide where you can look up snow. Again, ask here for more clarification. You would need to add sound speakers for instance for wind and possibly a force field (see wiki.)

 

Your rendering problems might be due to a tiny grid and over-complexity, fine misalignments, etc.. As AH says, if you can upload your map someone could look and advise.

 

The twinkly stars may again be fine misalignments but I've known some players to see these and others not so it might affect some graphic cards and not others. I have occasionally just covered over such a bad area with some trim, etc.

[Dragofer]

I have uploaded it (.map and .radiant files) to this site http://rs744tl.rapid...440560043874967. When compressing them, I selected the "Best" compression which made the file 20 times smaller. That seemed strange to me, so I uploaded an uncompressed version as well, on http://rs452tl.rapid...440560049786335.

 

I also forgot to mention a skybox problem I have had. Not only does it twist around excessively when I move my camera (which I know is associated with Catalyst AI in ATI cards - I turned that off many weeks ago) it also has a black semi-circle in it. Perhaps it will be reproducable on another system.

 

While the effect of falling snow is a nice addition, I think that even with this effect one could still put the "storm" into snowstorm. The swirling clouds of snow being blown so quickly that one can't make out a single crystal, the fog-like effect of the houses only appearing once one is close to them, the howling wind, all that in the video that I linked to before truly mesmerized me.

 

In any case, thanks for the help and support that I got so quickly.

[AluminumHaste]

I have uploaded it (.map and .radiant files) to this site http://rs744tl.rapid...440560043874967 . When compressing them, I selected the "Best" compression which made the file 20 times smaller. That seemed strange to me, so I uploaded an uncompressed version as well, on http://rs452tl.rapid...440560049786335 .

 

I also forgot to mention a skybox problem I have had. Not only does it twist around excessively when I move my camera (which I know is associated with Catalyst AI in ATI cards - I turned that off many weeks ago) it also has a black semi-circle in it. Perhaps it will be reproducable on another system.

 

While the effect of falling snow is a nice addition, I think that even with this effect one could still put the "storm" into snowstorm. The swirling clouds of snow being blown so quickly that one can't make out a single crystal, the fog-like effect of the houses only appearing once one is close to them, the howling wind, all that in the video that I linked to before truly mesmerized me.

 

In any case, thanks for the help and support that I got so quickly.

 

Both .map and .radiant files are just text files, which benefit massively from zip compression.

I'll take a look at your maps in a few hours, but the others will probably beat me to it lol.

[Fidcal]

Dragofer: Yes, good idea to use particle effects for the blizzard. There are various particle effects available and they can be modified as well so I'm sure a very convincing blizzard could be made. But it needs some work and experimenting so not easy to give a quick answer you can just put in. If nobody has done it yet you might be the first.

 

I overlooked the flags question. I meant to say that as far as I know we only have a simple pirate flag that flaps as if in a moderate breeze. I'm sure that a flag in a high wind could be simulated but I don't know of one that is ready to go. You might look at the pirate one to see how it works. I can't recall if it is an animated model or texture or combination.

[Dragofer]

I've had a look into the texture business. Now, I never heard of (or hardly remember) .tga or .mtr. When looking into these pk4 archives, I found that every texture had 3 files: a .jpg, a .tga and a .dds. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that just placing a .jpg of the texture I wanted into the archive did not prove a success (doing so via a lengthy process of extracting the .pk4, dropping the .jpg in there, compressing it, renaming the file extension to .pk4 and renaming it to the original textures archive's name).

 

I don't think I'd intend to use them as floors, or have bumpmaps for them. I just think that these textures would make out a tremendous lift (as imo there aren't too many light, "clean" wood textures initially). Needless to say, some clarification on the importing of textures would be great.

[AluminumHaste]

I have uploaded it (.map and .radiant files) to this site http://rs744tl.rapid...440560043874967 . When compressing them, I selected the "Best" compression which made the file 20 times smaller. That seemed strange to me, so I uploaded an uncompressed version as well, on http://rs452tl.rapid...440560049786335

 

None of those links work for me, those are upload IDs. We need the download links.

[Fidcal]

There is much more to texturing than that and there may be more files: bumpmap, specular, alpha, etc. It is a big topic so you should study our wiki articles and post questions to learn more.

 

Also never put anything into the Dark Mod archives. They are likely certain to be overwritten next time you update plus nobody else will ever see them and your FM won't work for others. You need to study the wiki about producing FMs. As well as the A-Z guide there are articles on packaging and also the startmap one which describes 'project' or game folders which ultimately you have to produce to zip up all the components of your FM to share with others.

[SneaksieDave]

Just to mention, the exact storm as shown above can be done in TDM. See any of the Doom 3 levels on Mars to see how the dust storms were created.

[Dragofer]

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Anyway, here is the proper link: http://rapidshare.com/files/407111587/Cottagev2.zip. I do use the CSG subtract and clipper tool very often, which may be responsible for some of the starry flaws. But some are completely inexplicable. A problem area (not for the starry flaws) I noticed was the glass area, which flickers depending on how I turn my camera. However, I saw that with other missions as well so I think it's another ATI card problem. I look forward to that patch.

 

Since the last upload, I added a roof and partially cleaned it up but there is still a reasonable amount left to do with it. I'd say the mission is about 15-20% done now. There is still much I intend to implement. While I'm at it, be sure to check the bookcase .

[Fidcal]

Just had a quick look. First thoughts: There is some z-fighting which might be what you mean by starry flaws? These are caused where there are two surfaces in the same place, eg, a brush is overlapping another brush and and a surface of each is facing the player where they overlap. So doom is trying to render both at the same time. Where you see those check in Dark Radiant and drag resize one of the brushes or cut so they don't overlap.

 

The big slashes are rendering errors. This might be resolved when you visportal (see wiki if you've not already.) At the moment it is probably struggling to render absolutely everything. Also the walls are very thin. Too late to change that now but 4 is a bit thin. In the future I'd recommend at least 8 and preferably 16. My current mansion I'm using thick walls 32 deep. You might also get related problems with players frobbing right through a wall or lights leaking or stuff clipping through. Don't worry about that for now though.

 

It's hard to advise on those rendering errors because it often means rebuilding that part in a slightly different way and is more trial and error rather than a science. For instance if you build a wall part way across the middle of that big glassed area (you might not want it but you might learn from it and think of something else.) What I'm saying is that if this were my FM I'd just have to experiment with rebuilding around those areas. Sometimes you get slashes like those and sometimes just black.

 

Let's see what others suggest. Take one thing at a time. It should be possible to fix this.

[AluminumHaste]

I found the same things as Fidcal. Some z Fighting, too many lights that were not needed. You only need 1 ambient light really. Once I got rid of those and redmapped the rendering errors went away.

Also changed the walls and roof of your room to Starry Sky, looks better, but that's up to you of course.

 

I did notice one other thing; it appears that nothing in your map is snapped to grid. I tried setting grid size to 1, and selecting several brushes and hitting CTRL+G (Snap to Grid Command) and all of the brushes moved out of place slightly, which means they weren't even close to being on grid. This is what is causing you to see all those Backwards Triangle in Input errors.

 

It is a good effort though, but I can't agree with Fidcal on this one. It is too much work to go through it and redo every brush, I would start over with the things you've learned already.

 

Here is your map with the changes I made. If you want to take a look at it, it's already dmapped ready to go in Doom 3. Just download the file, and rename it from cottage.txt to cottage.7z

 

EDIT: Just wanted to mention that I liked the bookcase, pressed the button, and waited but nothing happened. It was just the bookcase was moving so slowly that I didn't notice I was standing on it and the room was slowly moving. Nice trick <3

cottage.txt