Perpetual "quick How To" Thread

NerdIII · May 2003

As far as I know the hole finder is buggy in the latest releases, but I have not checked that for a month now. But you are right: QuArK just HAS to be promoted <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'> - I recently updated the file browser code so you can browse for sprite and model files directly from the mods directory. For NS it is left to Wolv to convert the ns.qrk to work with these additions. btw. does anyone know where I can find information about loading HAlf-Life models into an OpenGL scene? I would like to have QuArK display a preview of the models in a browser, but can't find the file specs.. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'>

NerdIII · May 2003

Oh wow! I just realized the creators of MilkShape have a model viewer with full source code <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif'>

EDIT: Does anybody know where to find Chronos? He is an old man with a long white beard and collects clocks. I need to ask him if he might borrow me some time to push into QuArK's development 'cause the current gurus of QuArK - tiglari and decker - don't have enough time, too.

Shadowics · May 2003

I can't say conclusively that the hole finder isn't buggy, but it's never failed me (of course, that was kinda a whole size missing from the hallway).

Fortuna : It doesn't appear to be possible to damage building with trigger hurts, with or without trigger pushs. The only way I can think of right now that would work would be to have a big invisble door rise up out of the floor to damage the buildings, since doors can crush buildings.

moultano · May 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lt.Gravity @ May 30 2003, 04:16 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> if more ppl would use this "quickhowto" forum there might be less of the useless "I have a question" forums...

however here is a new problem:
if I place an ambience_generic that should play a custom soundfile (even with flag "is not looped" = UNCHECKED) it plays the sound once and finish. if I try the same entity with an standart ns soundfile the looping works without problems. is that a problme of the format? wav format, sample rates like hl soundfiles... WHAT IS THE DAMN PROBLEM?
it sucks...  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
I've had a horrible time trying to get a wave to play in my map. It loops until just before the particle systems start and then cuts out. It also stops at the end of each loop for a half second, which I dont think is part of the wav.

Lt_Gravity · May 2003

That is an nice thing... FOR QUARK USER! I dont know if its better or worse than worldcraft because I havent and I WONT try. it took me 2 years to work with worldcraft properly. and as much as I know the hl2 editor is similar to the valve hammer editor 3.4 but vhe is sowhat buggy. at least it isnt better than wc3.3 which has a much faster 3d view where you can scroll yourself to hell ^^
leak finding is still a hobby of many mappers but when ypu know your map well and have severall techniques to find out where the leak is located, you dont need unreliable stuff anymore. the "2big-walls" method is the fastest way I know NOW to trach down leaks. and you will be able to find them in no time.
*sigh* nobody answered my question...
why doesnt custom waves loop ingame?
can anybody tell me how I have to configure env_particles to simulate the visual effekt of the resnozzles?

Confused · May 2003

the wav problem has to do with flags in the file i remember there was a topic about it ill go look and be back
[edit]
o h oh ho i gofund it - calm ness...
<a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=27428&hl=looping' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/in...7428&hl=looping</a>
[/edit]

Lt_Gravity · June 2003

omg... it WORKS!
although I didnt used goldwave. found another way but HUUUURRAAAAAAAY!
ok lets start with the really hard stuff: adding sounds...

*busy*

Tigs · June 2003

Two of my ways of finding leaks, if a pointfile is not useful:

- in VHE set the camera view to 3D flat. No textures, just nice bright solid colours. Look around inside for any black, and look around outside for any gaps too - it's a lot clearer than Textured.

- Run your map anyway and in console:
r_drawentities 0
gl_clear 1 (for OpenGL)
Yeah, really n00by, but sometimes you find that a solid has vanished revealing the void (or bright red sky), so go in to VHE and replace it.

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

Hummm, I should try that, but put a giant skybox around the level first when I look for leaks, HL crashes on me as soon as I spot the void.

a trigger_push with 0 speed with an trigger_hurt damages buildings.

Lt_Gravity · June 2003

I know this problem. thats why I havent used the pointfile. the error occurs when u create langame I think. start your map within the console. so u also will be able to use cheats. unfortunatelly the whole commmands like r_drawflat, r_draworder dont work with other mods than hl.

Shadowics · June 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Fortuna Wolf @ Jun 1 2003, 09:52 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> a trigger_push with 0 speed with an trigger_hurt damages buildings.  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
Having trigger hurts damage buildings is something I'm in the map I'm making as well, but after several tests with pushes and hurts I came to the conclusion it wasn't possible to hurt buildings with trigger hurts.

However, on the official maps where a drop over a ledge destroys buildings, there is only a trig hurt, no push. However, the trigger hurt had no damage type set. However, after rerunning my tests with no damage type I still could not damage any buildings - push or no push.

If you have gotten it to damage buildings Fortuna I would be very interested as to how.

NerdIII · June 2003

The 'crash-on-void-spot' happens to me even when I start the map from the map editor. And it surely doesn't create a LAN game <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'>
Maybe someone should start a programmer competition. The programmer who invents the best leak-finder gets... uh... one of the official ns-maps with a texture and his(/her?) name on it!

Lt_Gravity · June 2003

the crash on "void looking" is a know bug but I cant remember how I fixed it. I start my maps in the console under dmc mod. this works. however, try my "2-big-walls"-method to track down ypur leak. this will help if you know your map well but you have no clue where the leak could be located.
in addiotion the "only-flatshade-3d-view" when loading the pointfile in wc/vhe will make it real efficient.
but every leak is a new challenge. if I had gotten a dollar for each leak, I shurely wouldnt post in this forum... sitting on an lonely isle only with enough food and some nice chickas <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

To damage buildings, you need a trigger_hurt and a trigger_push in the same area working at the same time.
Even if its a push of 0,
the bottomless pits kill buildings because the buildings are moving when they hit the trigger_hurt, so that its processing effects on the buildings.
Sometimes you get a building that doesn'tdie when it falls on the bottomless pit. Its really amusing in those cases.

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

How do I compile a map so that the textures used in it are part of the map and I don't need to distribute a separate wad?

Confused · June 2003

-wadinclude <file>

ChromeAngel · June 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (confused! @ Jun 3 2003, 04:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> -wadinclude <file>  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
NOTE: You only have to add that to the CSG command line.

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

thanks, what goes in <file>?

Nm, I'm an idiot <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>
Anyone want to help me alpha test the map now?

Lt_Gravity · June 2003

will try it. cool, question answerde before I could express it myself...

other thing: env_particles
can anyone give me a short example how to configure the entity to simulate the "resnozzle"-effect?
and maybe some short explanations anyone CAN UNDERSTAND and not hours by hours "..then do.. click... check... make..." <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Shadowics · June 2003

Ok, env_particles_custom overview time:

targetname <name> - use it like a door, toggling the particles on and off.

I'm going to skip Generation specifics - it will default to 'point' at the location of the entity, which is what we would want for a res node.

pGenRate # - how fast it generates the particles, about 50 for a res node

pSprite <file> - the image to use for the particles, I'm not sure what the actual res node sprites are but "sprites/stmbal1.spr" looks close, and yes, you need the path in there.

pSpriteNumFrames # - the number of frames the sprite cycles through, 20 for stmbal1.spr. I think you can specify less if you only want it to play part of the cycle, but more than the sprite has will give errors in-game

pNumParticles # - the maximum number of particles that can exist at any one time, if it hits this limit it will stop generating particles. Careful not to set it too high, because it will put a big strain on your computer. If it's set too low the particle system may seem to stutter. 200 works fine for this example.

pSize # - how big each of the particles are, pretty straight forward, 10 looks good for the example.

pSystemLifetime # - how long the system will run once started, if set to a number the system will run for that long each time it's triggered. If it's set to -1 it will run forever except when turned off. You should use -1 for the example.

pLifetime # - how long each individual particle lasts, 5 works for the example.

pVelShape <Point|Box|Sphere|Blob> - the shape for assigning velocities for the particles, Box is probably the one you'll be using and it's the one I'll explain next.

pVelParams - the parameters for assigning velocities to the particles - "minx,miny,minz,maxx,maxy,maxz,0,0" - each particle will be assigned a random velocities somewhere between min and max for each axis. Specify negative numbers for the opposite directions. For a res node example you'd want "-5,-5,0,5,5,100,0,0" - an little spray in the x and y directions, but most up and none down.

pScale # - if the particles have a Lifetime then this will scale them of time. For example, if it was set to 2, the particles would slowly grow, ending up doubled in size when they timed out. Just use 1 for the example.

pMaxAlpha - sets the maximum transparency for the particles if they are set to fade. "0.3" looks good for the example.

pRenderMode - how the particles are rendered, use "Additive".

pAnimationSpeed - how fast it cycles the animation for the particles, use 4 for the example.

Flags :

1 - set the particle system on by default - check this
2 - have it estimate the particle density for the system instead of using the pNumParticles param.
4 - have the particles fade in from nothing to pMaxAlpha over time
8 - have the particles fade out from pMaxAlphe to nothing over time, check this
16 - cause the particles to be pulled down by the world gravity instead of floating
32 - cause the particles to use less processing power to render, useful if you have a lot
64 - ( Not sure )
128 - forces the particles to constrain pitch instead of turning to face the player, if you were doing something like flames you'd check this to stop the particles from looking up to the commander.
256 - causes the particles to die when the collide with a piece of the world, instead of drifting through, this prevents particles from leaking and sure usually be checked. Particles will always pass through entities like doors. Check this for the example.
512 - only players with high-detail set will render the particles, all others won't see them. Use this if it's something that won't effect gameplay like a special effect in the RR.

That's all. If you have any other questions or If I didn't explain something clearly just let me know and I'll try to explain it.

OneEyed · June 2003

Is there any possible way I can make a certain hive out of 3 always be the hive that is the starting hive for the aliens?

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

I would do that by making aliens start with all 3 hives, and then using a trigger_hurt to instantly kill two of the hives and then turning the trigger_hurt off. To stop aliens from spawning at those two hives use two large doors that cover up the spawns and then when the hives are dead move out of the map.

amckern · June 2003

trigger_hurt has issues

if its set off, its only off for the first time, then on from then on

if its set to go off, it will, but from the next round on , it WILL not switch off

amckern

Lt_Gravity · June 2003

thx shadowics....
will try it if i have time.

its quite a long way to rome isnt it <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

I hope these trigger issues are fixed on round reset in 1.1, or else the maps are going to have some problems. *sighs*
Uh, ok, next question boys!

I just tested my map and ran into two map related problems, The first, Ladders. Some ladders (most of them were ones going up through water) tended to push marines off of them if they tried to mount, were impossible to dismount, or worse, THREW my marines at insane speeds around the map sometimes teleporting them through walls. Please explain and tell me everything about this. It didn't do this when I loaded the map and ran it myself, but it does it when its being run by a server.

Next problem, whe nI ran it myself some func_rotates rotated perfectly fine at 60 hz, but when we were playtesting it on a real server, they appeared stationary or slowly moving.

NerdIII · June 2003

WOW COOL!!! Want to have this map. That is a freaking effect! Perhaps you could teleport marines into hive rooms?

CoolCookieCooks · June 2003

what is the skyname for the space coz i dont know any of the external ones :/

venomus · June 2003

<i>can anyone give me a short example how to configure the entity to simulate the "resnozzle"-effect?</i>

Take a look at ns.ps in your ns folder (use notepad). You can probably work it out.

<i>Some ladders (most of them were ones going up through water) tended to push marines off of them if they tried to mount, were impossible to dismount, or worse, THREW my marines at insane speeds around the map sometimes teleporting them through walls.</i>

Wow, that sounds like some funky **** <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'> . Try not making the func_ladder stick out too much from the visible ladder. A 1 unit thick brush should be enough.

<i>Next problem, whe nI ran it myself some func_rotates rotated perfectly fine at 60 hz, but when we were playtesting it on a real server, they appeared stationary or slowly moving.</i>

How fast is that fan moving? If you have given it an insanely high speed of 10000 or something, maybe a kind of strobe effect is taking place?

Fortuna_Wolf · June 2003

Yeah, I was thinking it was because its moving at 60 hz, and only updating once every 1/3rd of a second or so (it has 3 leaves).
So perhaps I should change the speed on that and see if anything happens

CoolCookieCooks · June 2003

what does MAX_PATCHES mean? coz it wont compile my lighting for sum reason <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'>

Perpetual "quick How To" Thread

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