Wow People! I Am Both Stunned And Impressed!

[Cirevam]

Yes, it might be useful if you acquired Skype or an IRC client so we can have live discussions, though your posts have much thought put into them and are well worth the wait.

As for the conv3d plugin, it appears that Lightwave 7 already has some form of it, as when I added the plugins nothing changed to exported objects or scenes. The 5.6 scene export option didn't go away or change, and 5.x models still superblack. Lightwave 9 exports models with UV correctly, so I'll just stick with that for models and 7 for scenes.

[Amauros]

Well, we do now, thanks to ogun, but none of us have really tried making nrns - we just go for nrM. Someone needs to dig out a command-line C preprocessor for windows so that Cyrem can build it into his scripter

You could try asking Jesus7Freak for that. ;)

[rrcoder]

Just to let you know, none of the stock scripts I tried work properly with our npl compiler. It instant-wins for some reason.

I doubt it's a problem on my end. Might be, though.

It sounds like this is simply due to nerpnrn.h not being included and preprocessed.

(I doubt it would make a difference, but I used the VS6 C++ precompiler to run and .nrn files, then treated the result as a .nrM file (i.e. simply compiled it). Using the .nrM GUIs, I guess an option could perhaps be added to point to a 'preprocessor' exe, and the location of the shared 'nerpnrn.h'.

I'm having a problem: Can't seem to get RR to play the accompanying sound file with my message. I compared my 'x.txt' that contains all the message text with an stock 'x.txt'. I don't see anything that could possible be wrong.

...

If you could take a look at this script after you've reacquainted yourself, I'd appreciate it!

Once I'm up to speed, I'll have a go at getting some speech playing myself. Hopefully I'll be able to figure this out.

As for animations and textured models, Doctor has already covered those, but I still don't understand why the teleport animations are so touchy.

Something to note... it is *very very* important, when opening an lws or lwo to locate and point it to the *correct* location for each and every texture/model that it asks for. The paths in the actual models and animations themselves are mostly wrong, since many of them contain old paths from before the relevant model/anim was moved into its final location.

It may pay to open an lws in notepad first, then fix some of the paths manually. It's a little extra effort, but it has saved me repeatedly from accidentally hitting 'No' or 'Cancel' during an lws load, and having to start over.

It's probably been asked before, but I'll repeat it (sorry ): Do you have skype or the likes?

I think if was asked early on, and I think it was one of the questions I forgot to answer. I do have skype, but it's one specifically for work, so I'll create a new one when I get a chance and post it.

Hey, I have a quick question:

Would your uploaded plugin help Lightwave 9.0 export to Lightwave 5.X animations? I haven't tried it myself, but I heard from a few people on this forum that 9.X can't export LWS's properly. I can export models perfectly fine, at least, but unsure about animations.

To be completely honest, I couldn't really say. I believe they changed their file format again for LW9, so I have stuck with LW8 at work ever since (because our code still reads the older LW8 file format).

That said, a few of our artists were using LW9, and I think they said it could still write out the older format. (Either that, or LW8 could read it, so they've used LW8 as a 'converter' of sorts).

As for the conv3d plugin, it appears that Lightwave 7 already has some form of it, as when I added the plugins nothing changed to exported objects or scenes. The 5.6 scene export option didn't go away or change, and 5.x models still superblack. Lightwave 9 exports models with UV correctly, so I'll just stick with that for models and 7 for scenes.

So does this work for you to create new models and animations? If so, it seems curious that LW9 is able to export LW5.6 format models correctly, but none of the Lightwave versions in-between can do it.

[Storm]

STOP ASKING HIM SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Its complicated for an old man to remember so many past things about his life!

LET HIM RELAX!

[rrcoder]

STOP ASKING HIM SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Its complicated for an old man to remember so many past things about his life!

LET HIM RELAX!

Hehe, thanks for the concern, but it's all good. I may simply disappear occasionally for extended periods while I get on with other work, but I'll pop back and answer questions when I can.

Hang on... old man??? :|

[Amauros]

He's not an old man! He's 31 at the most... which isn't much older than my brother. You're old once you're nearing your 60's.

[rrcoder]

He's not an old man! He's 31 at the most...

Bingo!

[Amauros]

So what are you working on at DDI now? Or is that classified? lol

[rrcoder]

So what are you working on at DDI now? Or is that classified? lol

Nah, it's not classified, but it is nothing like LRR. We've been working on a product called My Personal Golf Trainer for the Wii. It allows golfers to take a golf swing with the Wii Remote/Motion Plus, and it analyses their golf swing, tells them what they're doing wrong, and gives drills to help them correct the faults in their swing: http://mypersonalgolftrainer.com/

It isn't really a game, more of a serious training aid for golfers.

I'm not so sure it would appeal to anyone here, but if anyone's dad plays golf, feel free to pass on the link *shameless plug*

[Amauros]

Heh, I've played golf and I'm rather skeptical about how efficient a 3 oz wii remote would be in training me how to swing a 10 lb ...8 oz golf club...?

Edit: googled real weights

Edit: oops I had the wrong numbers for clubs...

Right... well still, a wii remote can't compensate for swingweight regardless...

[rrcoder]

Heh, I've played golf and I'm rather skeptical about how efficient a 3 oz wii remote would be in training me how to swing a 10 lb ...8 oz golf club...?

If you happen to see an in-store demo, you should give it a try. Despite the weight difference, it is pretty accurate at tracking your swing path (all thanks to your own muscle memory). Many of the drills are more about coaxing your body into specific positions (i.e. halfway-back, top-of-swing, etc), and holding those positions for a few seconds to help improve/tweak your muscle memory.

We've had many people try it out that were quite skeptical at first, then after they've taken a swing have said, "That's my swing!! That's what I do!", so that has been pretty good for us in terms of feedback.

That said, we're also developing a weighted club attachment to further improve the feel of it for the user. It will also have a proper golf grip, so you don't need to touch the Wii Remote itself.

[Amauros]

That said, we're also developing a weighted club attachment to further improve the feel of it for the user. It will also have a proper golf grip, so you don't need to touch the Wii Remote itself.

That would definitely improve it.

[Cirevam]

Something to note... it is *very very* important, when opening an lws or lwo to locate and point it to the *correct* location for each and every texture/model that it asks for. The paths in the actual models and animations themselves are mostly wrong, since many of them contain old paths from before the relevant model/anim was moved into its final location.

It may pay to open an lws in notepad first, then fix some of the paths manually. It's a little extra effort, but it has saved me repeatedly from accidentally hitting 'No' or 'Cancel' during an lws load, and having to start over.

Actually, it's not the paths, it's how non-teleport animations don't work as teleport animations in the game. If I replace the Hover Scout's teleport animation with the Slimy Slug's emerge animation (with all necessary files in the Hover Scout's folder), the game crashes when the Hover Scout attempts to be teleported in. If I just edit the teleport animation, it works. For some things that take forever to open as Lightwave tries to look for the path, I just save a different version of the animation with the correct paths then export it so I don't have to wait five minutes to open a Pilot animation.

I should also note again that vehicles tend to fall over if I make their sets of animations from scratch. This is what happens if I don't use LRR's animations as a template:

And this is what happens if I use a template:

[rrcoder]

If I replace the Hover Scout's teleport animation with the Slimy Slug's emerge animation (with all necessary files in the Hover Scout's folder), the game crashes when the Hover Scout attempts to be teleported in.

Be very careful to use the same Null object names as are in the original animation. Some of the code will look for specific Null objects, and if they don't exist... well, it could crash.

I should also note again that vehicles tend to fall over if I make their sets of animations from scratch. This is what happens if I don't use LRR's animations as a template:

Can you upload 2 files for me? One example of a working animation (one that you have made from a template), and one that falls over?

This could be related to the issue I mention above, whereby specifically named Null objects are required in the root of the scene (i.e. MAIN_NULL and ANIM_NULL), which the game uses to rotate them and move them around. It is also possible that a pivot-point rotation is required on the animation somewhere in the hierarchy. The fact that the visual has actually loaded into the game is promising, it just looks like a small but vital step is missing.

[CTXXTC]

What about Water Works? That level would finish without the RR's if you got the Crystals. Was it broken?

[rrcoder]

What about Water Works? That level would finish without the RR's if you got the Crystals. Was it broken?

Yeah, I suspect that was simply a bug that slipped through QA into the final release. It may have been working up until the end, and then a fix for something introduced a new bug (that often happens).

[Cirevam]

Be very careful to use the same Null object names as are in the original animation. Some of the code will look for specific Null objects, and if they don't exist... well, it could crash.

Can you upload 2 files for me? One example of a working animation (one that you have made from a template), and one that falls over?

This could be related to the issue I mention above, whereby specifically named Null objects are required in the root of the scene (i.e. MAIN_NULL and ANIM_NULL), which the game uses to rotate them and move them around. It is also possible that a pivot-point rotation is required on the animation somewhere in the hierarchy. The fact that the visual has actually loaded into the game is promising, it just looks like a small but vital step is missing.

1) Okay, I'll remember this.

2) Unless I have a backup broken animation, I'll have to make one from scratch, which shouldn't be too difficult except that I remember now that...

3) ...I would use a Main_Null, but I don't think I ever bothered with Anim_Nulls. This could very well be the problem. I'll send three variants of the Bulldozer for you. One with an Anim null, one with a Main_Null, and the one that works. Since it's mainly a reskin, all you'll need are the LWS, LWO, and AE files, unless you want the Pilot to drive it too.

[lol username]

Rock Monsters split into small Rock Monsters when shot with a laser beam. Ice Monsters turn into small Ice Monsters. But Lava Monsters split into small Rock Monsters. Why is that?

[rrcoder]

Rock Monsters split into small Rock Monsters when shot with a laser beam. Ice Monsters turn into small Ice Monsters. But Lava Monsters split into small Rock Monsters. Why is that?

I suspect it was simply an oversight by the art department, or perhaps they thought that since the two looked 'similar enough' when scaled down that small, "who would ever notice?"

I do actually remember seeing this myself during development, but I suppose I became blind to it by the time it was released, like many other "unintended features". :D

[McJobless]

Okay... Timers...

Again, this is from memory (and from peering at my old tutorial configs... if someone can confirm what I'm remembering that would be great...)

There are a few timers available, however 'Timer0' is reserved (It's used in 'nerpnrn.h'). It's best to just use 'Timer1' to begin with.

Simply reset the timer using the following:

TRUE ? SetTimer1 0

Then use GetTimer1 to check for an elapsed time, thusly: To wait until a timer has elapsed before continuing with the rest of the script:

GetTimer1 < 6000 ? Stop

To jump to a later point in the script once a timer is reached:

GetTimer1 < 6000 ? :LaterPointInScript


...other script here...


LaterPointInScript:

...

This should help you form the basis of time-controlled script. Obviously the above script will require compiling into a .npl file. (Does a tool for doing this already exist?)

THANK YOU SO MUCH...I'll be sure to try this out once I have re-installed The Sims 3

Another question:

We have created custom minifugure classes.

One huge problem: We can't find a way to get them to teleport down. We have to place them via OL.

Is this a result of multiple minifigure classes being chopped out early in development?

Do you recall a method of teleporting them down being implemented? I'm sure the overhaulers would love that.

I was angred when I couldn't do it recently...it only wants to teleport down "Pilot" and I don't think there is code for getting the other units down...hopefully you find something...

[Amauros]

If you look at the code around line 250, just above the Menu {...} entry, there's this comment:

; This block of data sets up the positions of items in the front end.

; Not every bit of it is totally configurable but hey thats just the way wot it is okay?

Does wot mean anything to you or is that a typo in the comment?

[rrcoder]

If you look at the code around line 250, just above the Menu {...} entry, there's this comment:

; This block of data sets up the positions of items in the front end.

; Not every bit of it is totally configurable but hey thats just the way wot it is okay?

Does wot mean anything to you or is that a typo in the comment?

Not my comment, but this is just intentionally bad English (we will often write sarcastic/silly comments... the actual code was littered with them).

Translation:

...but hey, that's just that way what it is, okay?

I.e. "just the way it is".

[ogun]

Hello there, author of the scripting compiler saying hi.

To be honest, it would have taken me forever to figure out the format of the NERP bytecodes if you hadn't shipped the .nrM/.nrn files with the game.

With those I could look at the binary data and figure out the structure, with a lot of help from other people on the forum that had been working on it previously. The name that pops into my head would be Baz mostly.

The current compiler is a horrible hack, all it does is serialize the instruction stream, tokenize it and write the bytecode. Second pass to fix up the labels used by gotos. Working on a proper compiler but as you can probably understand I have some problems creating a structured syntax definition

It can compile .nrn as well, as long as you pass the code through a C pre-processor and have a nerpdef.h file present in addition to the nerpfuncs.h. I'm guessing the nerpdef.h was autogenerated from the game source itself.

If it doesn't like the input, it'll barf loudly and throw a python exception in your face. Will be fixed with the new compiler when I manage to get it done.

Wow, I have so many questions mostly in relation to the scripting runtime system.

I'm guessing the script gets called once per game tick, with timers updated beforehand.

Are registers preserved between calls?

Is there any useful way of debugging the scripts, or was that #ifdef:ed out for shipping?

[Tracker]

I'm the one who PMed ogun and wound up leading him here, if any body was wondering why he came back at THIS time.

Post #125 is next.

[bartvbl]

It might be an old question; who came up with the idea for the concept of lego rock raiders? (like drilling walls of different kinds, recharge seems, etc)? Did lego just tell you to create a Rock Raiders game, or did they specify specific stuff that they wanted to be included?