Newbie DarkRadiant Questions

[BoilerDunce]

I seem to have royally messed up.
For one, my readables aren't readable and can't be dropped. Also can't interact with anything while holding them, so it softlocks me. I get a green glow but nothing is read.

The other thing... I try to launch my mission without console and I only get "couldn't load map/maps" No mention of the map file already there. It said something about making a startmap.txt, which I did, but I couldn't find anything saying on what to put in a startmap.txt, so I just put then name of the map and it didn't do anything to help.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

 

[nbohr1more]

Start here:

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=How_to_pack_your_Mission

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Readables

also, the start map example has working readables:

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Startpack_Mappers'_Guide

[thebigh]

@BoilerDunce

startmap.txt should contain only the name of the map, without directory prefix or extension. So if your map file is called

/darkmod/fms/bdtaff/maps/bdtaff.map

then startmap.txt should contain only "bdtaff"

 

 

As for your readable error, this usually occurs when the readable you're trying to open refers to an xdata that doesn't exist. Check the document carefully in the readable editor, and then check the xdata file in your fm's xdata directory. There'll be a bug in there somewhere.

[thebigh]

11 hours ago, thebigh said:

How can I make a readable for sale in the shop?

Never mind, I figured it out. I even worked out how to assign the xdata to it.

 

Added a section to the Wiki. Comments, corrections, and readability improvements very welcome.

[grodenglaive]

I need the path timing of a certain AI bishop to be fairly precise, but sometimes he stops in the middle of his path and does some random animation before continuing on his way. How can I stop that behaviour?

[Amadeus]

2 hours ago, grodenglaive said:

I need the path timing of a certain AI bishop to be fairly precise, but sometimes he stops in the middle of his path and does some random animation before continuing on his way. How can I stop that behaviour?

If you check the "Show inherited properties" box in the entity window when you have the priest AI selected, you should find the "idle_animtations" spawnargs. From there, you'll be able to dictate what, if any, idle animations you'd like your AI to have. 

You can also adjust the interval between idle animations with "idle_animations_interval"

[Frost_Salamander]

17 hours ago, BoilerDunce said:

I seem to have royally messed up.
For one, my readables aren't readable and can't be dropped. Also can't interact with anything while holding them, so it softlocks me. I get a green glow but nothing is read.
 

I think you get this when you add a readable and don't reload the xdata if you have the game running.  If you type the console command 'reloadxdata' that should fix it.

[MirceaKitsune]

Had a little question myself, nothing immediate but figured it would be useful to simplify some concepts; When you got multiple AI on a common chain of path nodes, is it possible to filter targets so only some AI go down certain routes? Example: A path_corner targets two other path_corner entities... is there a spawnarg I can put to on the left path_corner so only a guard goes there, but when a thug reaches that junction they'll pick the right path_corner instead? Obviously I can just duplicate the common part of the circuit for each AI, but having some path_corner chains common with different AI picking different routes at particular junctions would makes some things cleaner and easier to maintain.

Edited February 14, 2025 by MirceaKitsune

[BoilerDunce]

12 hours ago, Frost_Salamander said:

I think you get this when you add a readable and don't reload the xdata if you have the game running.  If you type the console command 'reloadxdata' that should fix it.

This helps. I have gotten all the help I need now on this problem.

edit:
I have a question about texturing. What is a reason that textures might appear intact in the editor, but be transparent in-game? I'm getting patches of texture that are cut out of the corners of brushes, when the brushes themselves are not divided.

I think it's related to duplicating. I duplicated a staircase for instance and all the duplicates have a texture completely missing on the side. In the case of some duplicated walls though, around 25% of the texture is showing. 

edit: Appears to resolve itself randomly after making edits. Whatever is happening during these edits to bring things back to normal, it isn't very apparent to me

Edited February 15, 2025 by BoilerDunce
Adding question to existing post to limit wasted space on the page

[grodenglaive]

18 hours ago, Amadeus said:

If you check the "Show inherited properties" box in the entity window when you have the priest AI selected, you should find the "idle_animtations" spawnargs. From there, you'll be able to dictate what, if any, idle animations you'd like your AI to have. 

You can also adjust the interval between idle animations with "idle_animations_interval"

Thanks! Changing the idle_animations to "-" didn't work, but setting the interval to "-1" did the trick.

[grodenglaive]

10 hours ago, BoilerDunce said:

This helps. I have gotten all the help I need now on this problem.

edit:
I have a question about texturing. What is a reason that textures might appear intact in the editor, but be transparent in-game? I'm getting patches of texture that are cut out of the corners of brushes, when the brushes themselves are not divided.

I think it's related to duplicating. I duplicated a staircase for instance and all the duplicates have a texture completely missing on the side. In the case of some duplicated walls though, around 25% of the texture is showing. 

edit: Appears to resolve itself randomly after making edits. Whatever is happening during these edits to bring things back to normal, it isn't very apparent to me

If you are referring to actual patches rather than solid brushes - they are only visible from one side, so it's possible they are reversed. If you select the patch and press ctrl i, it should fix it.

You might also have overlapping faces (or duplicates), that are z-fighting.

[datiswous]

1 hour ago, grodenglaive said:

Thanks! Changing the idle_animations to "-" didn't work, but setting the interval to "-1" did the trick.

I thought "0" us off..

[grodenglaive]

1 hour ago, datiswous said:

I thought "0" us off..

0  also works.

By the way, setting it to 1 or 2 is hilarious - the AI is like a junky waiting for his next fix

(edit) another thing I just discovered... to change the animations for an AI walking a path - editing the "idle_animations" list has no effect (for example I tried deleting all but idle_cough). You need to edit "idle_animations_torso".

Edited February 15, 2025 by grodenglaive

[datiswous]

Ok, but there should be a difference, I think.

[joebarnin]

20 hours ago, MirceaKitsune said:

Had a little question myself, nothing immediate but figured it would be useful to simplify some concepts; When you got multiple AI on a common chain of path nodes, is it possible to filter targets so only some AI go down certain routes? Example: A path_corner targets two other path_corner entities... is there a spawnarg I can put to on the left path_corner so only a guard goes there, but when a thug reaches that junction they'll pick the right path_corner instead? Obviously I can just duplicate the common part of the circuit for each AI, but having some path_corner chains common with different AI picking different routes at particular junctions would makes some things cleaner and easier to maintain.

I don't know of any "pure" way of doing this. But I think I've come up with a semi-kludgy way. 

Assumptions: path_cornerA points to path_cornerB (if guard) or path_cornerC (if thug).

On the path_cornerA, target a atdm:target_callscriptfunction. This callscriptfunction object has the following spawnargs

• "foreach" "1"
• "call" "pathChoice"
• "target" "pathCornerA"

path_cornerA also has two custom spawnargs:

• "guardPath" "pathCornerB"
• "thugPath" "patchCornerC"

Write a script function, 'pathChoice':

void pathChoice(entity ent_pathnode, entity ent_ai, entity ent_callscriptfunction)
{
    if (ent_ai.getTeam() == 2)
    {
        sys.println("guard");
        entity nextPathGuard = ent_pathnode.getEntityKey("guardPath");
        sys.println("the next path is " + nextPathGuard.getName());
        ent_ai.stopPatrol();
        ent_ai.addTarget(nextPathGuard);
        ent_ai.restartPatrol();
    }
    else if (ent_ai.getTeam() == 6)
    {
        sys.println("thug");
        entity nextPathThug = ent_pathnode.getEntityKey("thugPath");
        sys.println("the next path is " + nextPathThug.getName());
        ent_ai.stopPatrol();
        ent_ai.addTarget(nextPathThug);
        ent_ai.restartPatrol();
    }
    
}

The script code determines whether the AI is a thug or a guard, and gets the appropriate custom spawnarg from the path_corner.

You just need one pathChoice script. For each of the "decision" nodes, you need an atdm:target_callscriptfunction that targets back to the node. And the node needs the "guardPath" and "thugPath" spawnargs.

Not perfect, but hopefully good enough?

[BoilerDunce]

13 hours ago, grodenglaive said:

If you are referring to actual patches rather than solid brushes - they are only visible from one side, so it's possible they are reversed. If you select the patch and press ctrl i, it should fix it.

You might also have overlapping faces (or duplicates), that are z-fighting.

Forgive me, I used the word patch when I didn't mean the in-engine patches. I am only referring to solid brushes, and I've made sure that there are no overlaps.
I've seen two situations like this, one on the left where a fraction remains, and on the right where whole faces are transparent.

My question is what would cause this? It seems to fix itself unexpectedly after seemingly unrelated edits. As long as I don't know how to fix it, I would be fine just knowing if there's something to avoid or if its unavoidable.

[Geep]

The engine can give up on rendering something with vertices that are off grid or aligned only with a very fine fractional grid. Try realigning with a coarser grid.

[Frost_Salamander]

8 hours ago, BoilerDunce said:

Forgive me, I used the word patch when I didn't mean the in-engine patches. I am only referring to solid brushes, and I've made sure that there are no overlaps.
I've seen two situations like this, one on the left where a fraction remains, and on the right where whole faces are transparent.

My question is what would cause this? It seems to fix itself unexpectedly after seemingly unrelated edits. As long as I don't know how to fix it, I would be fine just knowing if there's something to avoid or if its unavoidable.

As you've described it, I've never seen this problem I don't think.  Do you have a screenshot?

[BoilerDunce]

17 hours ago, Frost_Salamander said:

As you've described it, I've never seen this problem I don't think.  Do you have a screenshot?

I'm very sorry that I missed the opportunity, but I will be sure to next time I see it.

While I'm here though, there is a something that I've spent too long failing to find to not just ask and get it over with. I need to know the way to import custom content into a mission, especially sounds and textures. I would appreciate the answer a lot even though it may have been asked before many times. I don't have much luck with the forum's search.

[STRUNK]

4 hours ago, BoilerDunce said:

I need to know the way to import custom content into a mission, especially sounds and textures.

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=How_to_add_Textures_to_The_Dark_Mod

For sound, just make folder called sound, and some subfolders if you wish, in your mission folder, and place your sound files there (.ogg, .wav).
There is also a soundshader file needed for ambient sound, and maybe other instances:
https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Adding_ambient_Sounds_to_your_Map

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Sounds:_Background_and_Local

Edited February 17, 2025 by STRUNK

[Frost_Salamander]

5 hours ago, BoilerDunce said:

I'm very sorry that I missed the opportunity, but I will be sure to next time I see it.

While I'm here though, there is a something that I've spent too long failing to find to not just ask and get it over with. I need to know the way to import custom content into a mission, especially sounds and textures. I would appreciate the answer a lot even though it may have been asked before many times. I don't have much luck with the forum's search.

Some of the tutorials on the wiki are pretty outdated. I recently created some for GIMP on my homepage: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=User:Frost_Salamander

Other mappers have more in-depth processes that work for them, but these will get you started.

[BoilerDunce]

On 2/17/2025 at 12:48 AM, Frost_Salamander said:

Some of the tutorials on the wiki are pretty outdated. I recently created some for GIMP on my homepage: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=User:Frost_Salamander

Other mappers have more in-depth processes that work for them, but these will get you started.

I noticed. Thanks btw.

 

 

On 2/16/2025 at 11:37 PM, STRUNK said:

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=How_to_add_Textures_to_The_Dark_Mod

For sound, just make folder called sound, and some subfolders if you wish, in your mission folder, and place your sound files there (.ogg, .wav).
There is also a soundshader file needed for ambient sound, and maybe other instances:
https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Adding_ambient_Sounds_to_your_Map

https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Sounds:_Background_and_Local

I had tried this but I couldn't find the sounds I added and I got worried that maybe that had to be baked into .pk4s or something

I have the sound in the folder, I have the .sndshd written up, they're in sound/ambient/ambience and nonetheless, when I restart darkradiant and try to create speaker, my sound does not show up in the list. 

I'm totally at a loss. I had already read through these wiki pages and I am still left clueless.

[grodenglaive]

1 hour ago, BoilerDunce said:

I noticed. Thanks btw.

 

 

I had tried this but I couldn't find the sounds I added and I got worried that maybe that had to be baked into .pk4s or something

I have the sound in the folder, I have the .sndshd written up, they're in sound/ambient/ambience and nonetheless, when I restart darkradiant and try to create speaker, my sound does not show up in the list. 

I'm totally at a loss. I had already read through these wiki pages and I am still left clueless.

I went through this very frustration a few days ago. The TLDR version is you can skip the custom shader file and just put the wav file directly in your sound folder and type the link into the speaker's properties. Here is mine:

Here, ding.wav is my custom doorbell sound.

If it still doesn't work, then the sound file is probably the wrong bitrate (this also happened to me).  It should be 44.1 kHz, 16 bit mono (705 kbps).

 

[grodenglaive]

and my folder structure is very simple:

properties:

 

Edited February 18, 2025 by grodenglaive

[datiswous]

8 hours ago, BoilerDunce said:

I have the sound in the folder, I have the .sndshd written up, they're in sound/ambient/ambience and nonetheless, when I restart darkradiant and try to create speaker, my sound does not show up in the list. 

I think the .sndshd files should all be in sound/ while the ogg files can be in subfolders.

(I could be wrong)

Edited February 18, 2025 by datiswous