New Building Placeable Imports

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <gliding clumsily...>

Experimented a bit with types and shadows and have an update:
Model type should be Character and for shadows, clone the PWK, link the clone to the aurorabase and name it something ("shadow_cstr"). Add trimesh modifier, remove walkmesh modifier, turn off render and turn on shadows.


Started a project page linked to CC Makers to show progress.

<...from shadow to shadow>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Randomdays]

               Rolo,

Awesome

The tutorial I used and the meshes I upped had a simple dummy "cube" for the pwk. Are you using that for the renamed clone, without shaping? Is that giving a simple cube shadow?

The pwk has the plane/ 3d shape for the actual area where you can walk linked to it. I take it this is not linked to the clone, and the shadow comes from the dummy/pwk only?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <clarifying...>

Not sure we're saying the same thing.

I've made a pwk that conforms to the outlines of the building without the detail. Then I cloned it to make a shadowcaster.


The PWK:


The shadow_cstr:


It works pretty good.
I've also confirmed that NwN will use the *first and last* usenodes, ignoring any in the middle.

Placing 4 around the building, the PC always moves to either the first or last one. Removing the last one, PC moves to either 01 or 03. So the answer to *that* question is only 2 usenodes are recognized, no matter how many linked.

Now I'm having problems with bashing... PC is trying to reach *something* but it's not impact or usenode...

<...some claret>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 26 avril 2013 - 09:25 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <pulls out his...>

This is at 15%. It might be a bit large for overland maps, but I like the feel of it... as if it's something substantial, rather than a prop to pick up and carry away.


Map room at Tunis, anyone?

Edit: I am putting the minis at +500 in the 2DA. So pyramid is 6205 and mn_pyramid is 6705.

<..."fisherman's ruler">
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 26 avril 2013 - 11:42 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Tarot Redhand]

               Depends how big a map and how large an area is covered. There is of course a compromise. If you make 2 of them (one at 15% and one at 8%) in the same hak. The smaller one would then be at no more than waste height to a human PC. Maps are only there to give an impression to aid in finding your way around for example the London Map of the Underground.

Being placeables a better way to check their height is to use an urbanised/indoors tileset. That way you don't get plants obscuring the base of the model.

BTW, In rl there are some real pyramids (with bigger doors admittedly) that are nearly that small.

TR
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Killmonger]

               Ah, ....right.
Thank you for answering that one, RK
Front door and sidedoor, or two locales at a station but no more.

I've also come to understand that a pwk cannot be animated. (thxs to re reading the various tutorials)
[edit] It would have to be scripted with some type of placeable swap

<still itching> <--omg,  an oxymoron, it's like a curse. 

               
               

               

                     Modifié par Killmonger, 27 avril 2013 - 04:55 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Randomdays]

               The pictures answered my question - I thought you were cloning the pyramid_pwk, bot the PWK

I can't tell from the pic, but are the pillars completely seperated from the pyramid so you can walk around them, or can you walk between them at all? I haven't learned how to do that if its possible.Thats one reason I seperated the 2 parts of the markets since I didn't think you could completely seperate the pwk into pieces. { Though now that I think of it, if i sank the low part of the pwk undeground, the high parts would still block movement and act like seperate pieces.)

How many vertices in the pwk? I've been trying to keep it low with the 3d ones I started making.

What determines which usenode the PC walk to - just the closest?

I see you added the damage set - I had thought that buildings were big enough to be a permanant part of the map and not easily destroyed, so I left those out. Is this something you guys would want, to be able destroy a building into flying pieces?

With the ground and impact (not sure what those are) it looks a lot more complicated than the original mdl I made.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_PLUSH HYENA of DOOM]

               Two points...

First, I can't imagine many of us will want to have buildings render themselves to their base chemical constituents VERY often - damage rigging seems a bit excessive.

In my Demoness Tales series, the lead character has, on occassion, been known to explode a castle or temple she doesn't like the look of in a searing whirl of Hellfire, but I just use a static Placeable building which I remove via a "Destroy Placeable Object" script at the appropriate moment whilst adding tons of Fireball type VFX by script to waypoints at all likely points. Probably looks more impressive than a built-in damage event would and it saves the presence of data that's unecessary 99% of the time.
I've removed most of that kind of stuff from all my TARDIS Placeables and so forth...

Can't really imagine why you'd want a "live" Placeable building anyway since it would only spawn in when you get within X distance of it, which would look a bit odd - a castle suddenly popping out of thin air - and is not something you're likely to want to interact with as a whole unit given that you can easily place any visible or invisible object, Creature, Placeable, waypoint etc to act as a voice from behind its door, etc, etc... (A lot less laggy in-game, apart from anything else).

Only if the building was an illusion of some sort that could be turned off by kicking it would you MAYBE need a non-static example.

Secondly, I've used a couple of the new buildings in the current Doctor Who Module I'm doing and they haven't had the slightest problem in game. (I forget the exact models, I'm afraid - one large desert fort and one of the big Aztec/Mayan/Toltec/Inca sort of temples retextured with metal cladding as a futuristic colony base - which it does surprisingly well. (That one was a new copy of the Model, but I didn't change anything save setting Shadow to 0.

The ones I've used were set to static and the Module was not running shadows so that may explain their complete lack of issues for me. That said, I'll doubtless overwrite them all with the new "cleaned" versions when they're done anyway and look forward to further additions.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par PLUSH HYENA of DOOM, 27 avril 2013 - 09:14 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Randomdays]

               Thanks for the input... Thats what I was thinking when I started, but I must emphasize my appreciation for the amount of work Rolo is doing and the advice given.Obviously there must be an issue with some of the models to cause crashing for Killmonger and Rolo, and I do think they need tidying up - the addition of shadows and the 3d pwk I think will help immersion. I added the 3D pwk and a single usenode to all the new set. will run them through cleanmodels and try Rolo's instructions on getting the shadows in.

I'm not sure what the ground and impact lines are for, but I won't set them up or the destruct. Like you, I'll probably have them as static on the map.

I see no problem maybe having 2 versions - a simple one without a destruct, and a more complex one that does have it for anyone who needs it. I'll send the new pack to Rolo on dropbox when its done as is, but won't update the vault till I have some more - either as a Empire 2 hak or more likely a larger Empire hak with the old and new in it(mybe both).

So far, the new ones are all houses and a few markets, but I want to add some mills, mines and other things next.

You can never tell what some people might want.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_PLUSH HYENA of DOOM]

               I think it's a safe bet we want them ALL!

Decent Mine Entrances could be very useful - I've more than once faked them by hammering all sorts of unrelated things together.

I'll personally be interested to see the Trees that were mentioned at some point, when you get round to them.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par PLUSH HYENA of DOOM, 27 avril 2013 - 12:22 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <squinting...>

Firstly (I'm privy to an absolutely hilarious PHoD/Tarot discussion about cults that I hope they repost to their NwNWhovians group that I hope they start Real Soon Now), I set up a base placeable object with all the parts that *may* be needed, as these are general purpose objects and I want as few limits on use as possible, especially with low-overhead. So I not only include damage emitters, but I set (mostly empty) default, off, offtoon, on, ontooff, damage, die and dead anims on the around a (stoopid iphone) aurora base.

Then I add both usenodes. Technically, I should be putting head/hand conjure nodes in as we'll, as placeables can cast and receive spells, but I'm being lazy.

Secondly, the file overhead is absolutely minimal for these options, especially compared to their complex geometry. You save a lot more memory by going to a 64x64 texture,  but ugg! So not the point.

Thirdly, I don't expect anyone else to do what I do :-P This is just a "best practice" I've developed working with placeables. It's particularly handy for people who don't have/use a modeling program.

Fourthly, yes, whichever usenode is closest.

Fifthly, impact is the aim-point for weapons and the attachment point of some VFX.

Sixthly, most of the models work static for me as well. But I *can* imagine using dynamic buildings :-)

Seventhly, you should release as separate add-ons after we get a fixed combo core hak together.

Eighthly, to make the pillars a separate element of the PWK, I create the pyramid PWK (named PWK) and two pillar objects (tweedle-did and tweedle-doo). Selecting the PWK, in element mode under edit mesh, click the attach button and choose the pillar objects. You now have an object named PWK with three mesh elements - pyramid, pillar & pillar. Yes, you can walk around them. :-)

Ninethly, I gotta get to HQ! Peace out!

<...at the fine print>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 27 avril 2013 - 01:25 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_3RavensMore]

               Tenthly, now if you could only climb the stairs of the pyramid.  '>  What?  You're na' a miracle worker?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Randomdays]

               I thought about the steps - maybe you could try to fake it by using a tile that has a rise to it and place the pyramid on it. The rural set has those rock formations you can stand on.

Thanks for all the info Rolo.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_PLUSH HYENA of DOOM]

               The apparently oh-so-hilarious Shabby Hyena Item at no time intended to suggest Rolo was wasting his time, just to affirm the fact that the assorted damage nodes etc are NOT NECESSARY for a Placeable.

There's a big difference between necessary and desirable...

Some things, such as myself, are both - eergh! - PHoD has just been hit with a gigantic El Freako Wombat by Fifi who has warned him not to go being pathologically rubbish in public.

However, the leaving out of the conjure nodes... A hideous omission surely? I've SEEN castles shoot death rays! I've SEEN it! Well... a stone fell off one and landed on my head once anyway... It FELT like a death ray!

Spleen castles. Never cut you any slack.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Randomdays]

               If you read John deChancie's Castle Perilous series, you would know that castles are demons held in castle form by powerful magic. If the spell were to break.....