Commander View
Lemming Jesus
Join Date: 2010-04-13 Member: 71385Members
Join Date: 2010-04-13 Member: 71385Members
in Mapping
So, looking at those official maps there's a lot of junk attached to the ceiling that blocks the commander view. So much so I don't know how he could ever see without throwing the keyboard across the room. Are we going to be able to hide this stuff or should I not decorate the ceiling?
Comments
The thing that concirns me more is wallwalking tbh. NS1 didn't have too much detail (yay for previous millenium technology), But if ya ran into a beam on the cieling ya had to move down and forward instead of walking over it like you would with a beam on the floor. i wonder how the skulks are going to run across all those obsticals and what the tolerance will be.
But considering there will be an alpha and beta before release i wouldn't worry about it too much. Just try to fill time with every other thing you can do in the editor :p
Yeah, but I don't want to go through all the trouble of making the roof messy only to find out I have to go back and delete it all if we can't hide things.
Can't give a definite ETA, but it should be coming fairly soon.
--Cory
I've just noticed that semi-transparent already works on props very far away.
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=103038&hl=view" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index....038&hl=view</a>
I've always felt that the way a commander sees things in NS really limited more interesting level design, especially ceilings, they are usually limited to a flat surface with little bits of of details here and there other wise it starts blocking the commanders view. (you can make them entities and make them invisible to the commander, but with tiny entitiy limits it doesnt help)
So i've thought of a really easy to way which mappers could use to determine what the commander isn't able to see.
It would work similarly to many of the other functions like room names etc,
You just cover what area you don't want the commander to see inside this special red brush and then ingame it doesnt appear for the commander.
E.G.
In the pic below there is a room with some pipes, but they are blocking the commanders view. The mapper covers them with the red brush and recompiles the map. The pipes, the ceiling, and the top parts of the walls do not appear in the commanders view.
<img src="http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7485/commanderviewswp1.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
edit: of course this is something that would need to be programmed in with the FGD so the game and editor know what the red brush does.
I think that this could lead to much more complex and interesting level designs, especially when it comes to ceilings. You could even have vents above hallways that skulks could hide in, layers of pipes in tall ceilings that lerks could perch on etc etc and all without interfering with the commanders ability to see.
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
what about faces on props? given the complex nature of some of the props.. and the unorthodox angles we're using them at :P
Can't give a definite ETA, but it should be coming fairly soon.
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
AWSOME
Actually, if you create a face and then extrude it, it groups all vertices/edges/faces together. Double clicking on a face will select everything in that group. Its not the same as a brush, I know, but it actually works fairly well.
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=schkorpio)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (schkorpio)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Stuff.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
While I've always been a fan of UnrealEngines Volumes, I think setting the "Hide from Commander View" option and then adding that prop/face to a "HIDDEN FOR COMMANDER" layer would work out just as well.
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=TSS)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TSS)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->just give me a special layer that's invisable to the commander, which gets processed on runtime. I'll manually select what faces and props i want and don't want showing ^^<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Spark .level files are filled with data that the game doesn't need and doesn't even use apparently. Layers are probably one of them, and when/if the format is released, tools will exist to strip the unneeded data out to protect the map from being edited). Adding a reliance on a single special layer, I think would be a mistake.
Can't give a definite ETA, but it should be coming fairly soon.
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thank you, I'm going to go make a mess of my ceiling.
Funny you should mention this. The way it will (most likely) work is actually with the new grouping system. The engine is being set up to recognize certain hard-coded group names and treat them specially on map load. Kurt's already made functionality to create clip brushes in this manner though it's still being tested. Any faces in a group that is named CollisionGeometry are rendered invisible in-game but still collidable. Likely in the near future we'll have a hard-coded name like CommanderInvisible or, probably in the not so near future but hopefully someday, CommanderOpacity25, CommanderOpacity50, etc.
sounds like a super hero :P
Sounds sweet. But then i do wonder, how long after this is in can we expect to see commander view in the engine test? I don't need to build anything at all, it can be a blacked out menu for all i care i just wonder what it looks like in gameplay terms so i can modify geometry in my map :p Same with wallwalking really. I know it's done when it's done but, i be curious ^^.
Besides i figured out how to deal with level over level parts in my map yesterday so i'm eager to test it :p