YCP Maps

[deeahchur]

I don't have much time to check out the map thoroughly today

Take your time. I'll be taking a little break from it to allow testing and feedback.

from what I saw it looked really nice. The use of strictly monochrome lighting and textures gives it a very unique atmosphere.

Thanks!

I'm just wondering what the eventual purpose/goal is for this level? I read the description for it in the wiki, but it's still not clear to me what players will be doing here in a Multiplayer environment. Just curious.

Since this originated from an SP scenario, the goalset has to be modified. There were multiple story strings that lead to this map/node (as there could be a YCP_HQ for each sector/system in the YCP network). More or less, this is the YCP Kernel's home base of operations, where vital data is collected, processed, and analyzed.

• - The Dutiful Script is given access due to earning rank and becoming an Upper Echelon. The Script receives a commendation, reports to processing for the appropriate upgrade, provided personnel quarters, and then is allowed to mingle with the other Upper Echelons. Assignments for processing data duty, analyzing data, or monitoring sectors for suspicious activity. An alert notifies of a threat detected in another sector. Alternatively, an alert notifies of a threat that has breached the HQ firewall.
  - The Rootkit Script either has performed discreetly enough to be believed to be a dutiful script or has followed the stealth path to infiltrate the HQ by alternative means. In either case, the script must acquire permissions and hack into the HQ system to wreak havoc, disrupt detection, or allow access to a non-local party. Witnessed or detected activity sets off an alarm, placing the HQ on alert!
  - The User is either monitoring the base code of the YCP system and has arrived for a surprise inspection, infiltrating for a hostile takeover, or has acquired access while masquerading as a normal script. The YCP may have never encounter a/their Prime User before. Variables for this scenario are diverse.

The intrusion alert is what would probably be implemented as a "story" point for the MP map, that there are Upper Echelons mingling, being briefed, or monitoring sectors, and analyzing data when a piggyback signal breaches the firewall, allowing hostile Scripts into the YCP_HQ. Chaos ensues.

I hope this clarifies the intent for the map a bit more.

[TronFAQ]

I took some time out today to take a closer look at your map. Here are some things I noticed and wondered about.

ycp_hq_1.jpg

If you use the Power Block powerup, it shows up as an Energy Claw with the KA Mod. I did it because I discovered: due to either a bug or an oversight, players in Derez always spawn with Power Block. Regardless of whether Power Block is added to the INFO.TXT file or not. Therefore making the powerup useless. So I opted to change the powerup's appearance to an Energy Claw. However, if you grab the powerup it still acts as Power Block unless you add this command to the PickupCommand field.

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msg activeplayer (acquiresub energy_claw)

ycp_hq_2.jpg

Instead of Breakable WorldModels, you might want to use regular ones. Otherwise, it results in this behavior: the first time you hit a "window" with your disc, it disappears and reappears. But if you keep hitting it, from then on it subtracts damage from the hit points. When it reaches zero, the window disappears and debris is generated like seen in the screenshot, making it look like the window was shattered. I don't think this is what you intended to happen. Or is it?


When using the teleporters, it seems like you're playing a sound effect once the player is teleported. The only problem is, the sound plays at the starting point and the player can't hear it when they arrive at the destination point. The sound effect gets cut off. What you might want to do is put a SoundFX object in the middle of the map, with a large enough radius to encompass the entire map. Then if a player uses the teleporter, the sound effect is triggered and plays from that center object, which can be heard anywhere on the map.


After deactivating the blue SecRezzers, they disappeared. In the game, SecRezzers change color and dim to indicate they've been shut off. Did you want the SecRezzers to disappear, rather than dim?

[deeahchur]

Thanks for the testing FAQ!

I can change the PowerBlock PowerUp to be the mesh PowerUp. I didn't remember PowerBlock being automatic, but oh well. I'll have to redistribute the PowerUps, then.
EDIT: EnergyClaws enabled; issue resolved for next release.

Question: It doesn't make any sense to have any anti-virus PowerUps, or do some work in Derez?

Originally the window was set to shatter but then to reappear to be reshattered again. I'll change to a non-breakable WorldObject and see what happens. I may append a sound effect to it while I'm at it. Any suggestions?
EDIT: adapted a disc arena platform PREFAB, kept the sound, and changed the special FX; issue resolved for next release.

Speaking of sound effects, yes, the teleporter is supposed to make a sound. Is it possible to add a sound to the receive end, then? I didn't want the potential of constant teleporting to encompass the entire map, just the regions of the teleporters.

SecRezzers disappearing. Yeah. I noticed that, but I have no idea why it is behaving that way. I know I do not have them fully enacted yet, so for now they are just a placeholder or even a prop. Perhaps I should set them to never deactivate. Also, is there any way I can force a re-skin to be B/W? I have the texture already. Thoughts?

Only four issues? Cool! That's not bad for an Alpha!

I'm thinking the exterior is still a little bright, tho. Any suggestions for dimming the exterior lighting?

How do I make Th0m and GUI rock out like the DJ in the SP scenario?

Any other comments or suggestions?

[TronFAQ]

I didn't remember PowerBlock being automatic, but oh well.

It shouldn't be. But regardless of whether you include it in the INFO.TXT or not, or whether you pick up the powerup or not, the player always has Power Block in Derez. Even when the icon for it is not shown in the HUD. Causing the Power Block powerup to be redundant and useless, as a result.

It doesn't make any sense to have any anti-virus PowerUps, or do some work in Derez?

As far as I know, Viral Shield works exactly the same way in Derez as it does in Single Player.

Is it possible to add a sound to the receive end, then? I didn't want the potential of constant teleporting to encompass the entire map, just the regions of the teleporters.

Yes, you can shift the sound effect to the receiving end. You'll have to put a SoundFX object at the destination, and have the starting teleporter send a message to the SFX object to play the sound.

This will probably do the trick:

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msg NameOfSoundFX trigger

SecRezzers disappearing. Yeah. I noticed that, but I have no idea why it is behaving that way. I know I do not have them fully enacted yet, so for now they are just a placeholder or even a prop. Perhaps I should set them to never deactivate. Also, is there any way I can force a re-skin to be B/W? I have the texture already. Thoughts?

Much as it would be cool to have a SecRezzer that behaves the same as in the game: if you want to change its color, the best option would then be to just use the SecRezzer model in a Prop object. That way you can apply your own custom skin. If you use the original SecRezzer object, then you'd have to create a mod to change the skin. Props can interact with the players without needing a Trigger object.

I'm thinking the exterior is still a little bright, tho. Any suggestions for dimming the exterior lighting?

You might have to adjust the lights in the Skybox prefab, if you don't want the overall light level in the map proper to be reduced at the same time.

How do I make Th0m and GUI rock out like the DJ in the SP scenario?

Like this? I'll have to get back to you, it takes a while to explain.

[deeahchur]

As far as I know, Viral Shield works exactly the same way in Derez as it does in Single Player.

I'll probably add Viral Shield, then. Although I'll probably keep the setup as I currently have it after the fix, but I'll add a Viral Shield in medical on the Data Processing level.

Is it possible to add a sound to the receive end, then? I didn't want the potential of constant teleporting to encompass the entire map, just the regions of the teleporters.

Yes, you can shift the sound effect to the receiving end. You'll have to put a SoundFX object at the destination, and have the starting teleporter send a message to the SFX object to play the sound.

This will probably do the trick:

Code: Select all

msg NameOfSoundFX trigger

Cool. Thanx. Can I trigger two things at once? The sending DataPort and the receiving DataPort?

Much as it would be cool to have a SecRezzer that behaves the same as in the game: if you want to change its color, the best option would then be to just use the SecRezzer model in a Prop object. That way you can apply your own custom skin. If you use the original SecRezzer object, then you'd have to create a mod to change the skin. Props can interact with the players without needing a Trigger object.

Good to know. I'll look into the prop objects.

I'm thinking the exterior is still a little bright, tho. Any suggestions for dimming the exterior lightingYou might have to adjust the lights in the Skybox prefab, if you don't want the overall light level in the map proper to be reduced at the same time.

Makes sense. I figured this might be what I needed to do. I already tried adjusting the primary Light object, but if there are more Light objects, then I'll need to adjust them, as well.

I'm still not very versed in using Skyboxes . . .

How do I make Th0m and GUI rock out like the DJ in the SP scenario?

Like this? I'll have to get back to you, it takes a while to explain.

If it is easier, I can send you the .LTA for you to adjust.

[deeahchur]

Edited the bug list. The windows are now properly fixed. See notes appended to the bug list above.

[TronFAQ]

Can I trigger two things at once? The sending DataPort and the receiving DataPort?

Absolutely. Just string together the commands with a semicolon to have them executed at the same time.

If it is easier, I can send you the .LTA for you to adjust.

That might be the best option.


About your windows. Breakable WorldModels are designed to only shatter once. Once a Breakable object has been destroyed, that's it. I don't think it's possible to reset it. What's been happening with your windows is that the game has been executing the commands to hide the window the first time it's hit, but from then on to ignore that and instead have the window shatter.

In order to get the window to shatter repeatedly, you're going to have to cheat. Or, more accurately, do all the steps manually. The way the Breakable WorldModel works is that once the hit points reach zero, the object gets hidden automatically and a special effect (the debris) is also created automatically. Now you will have to do all these things yourself.

So you're going to have to switch to a regular WorldModel, for starters. Then you'll have to decide whether you want the window to disappear after only one hit, or several. If several, you'll either have to use an EventCounter object or you'll have to see if you can restore the WorldModel's hit points with a command later. Then once the required number of hits has been reached, you hide the window. You'll also need to place a SpecialFX object for the debris, and send a command to trigger it. Then have a delayed command that unhides the window, and either reset the EventCounter or restore hit points. Needless to say, having the windows disappear after one hit is much easier to implement.

[xistence]

Maybe the Breakable Worldmodel can be set to be a template and then be spawned/respawned with a Spawner object. I think this should be possible.

[TronFAQ]

I think you're right, X. That approach should work, too.

In that case, you leave them all as Breakable WorldModels but set them to Template being True. Then you'd need to add a Spawner object and a StartupCommand object. The StartupCommand would send several commands to the Spawner when the map first loads, to spawn each breakable object.

Then, instead of using the DamageCommand you'd use the DeathCommand of each window. The DeathCommand would send a message to the Spawner object to respawn the window that just shattered.

Either technique requires additional work to get around the limitation, but I'd say the respawning method is actually a bit more intuitive. We can't reset an existing breakable object, but we can create a new instance. Good call, X.

[deeahchur]

Thanx for the advice FAQ and X! I really appreciate the insights!

I had tried changing the model type in the properties from breakable to WorldModel (the default), but the breaking still happened. Reading about the template and instancing is something I don't know anything about yet. Does use of a template and instance item lessen the file size? Can that be used with just geometry? If so, that will be helpful on downsizing file size on my maps.

I will probably require some assistance regarding the msg strings, so ahead of time, thank you for your assistance!

I'll aim for another release this upcoming Tuesday, 21 February 2012. I'll be honest, though, there will be a lot of "blank" architecture until such time as new textures w/ appropriate alpha layers can be created for the architecture.

[TronFAQ]

Does use of a template and instance item lessen the file size? Can that be used with just geometry?

Nope and nope. If you bind some geometry to a WorldModel, then you can spawn it. But spawning can't be used with world geometry, directly. Only models and objects. Spawning won't reduce the file size of your map, either.

As you can guess, spawning is mainly meant for AI character opponents. So that as you kill them, new ones spawn to take their place. But X reminded me of a clever use for spawning, that I had forgotten. It's probably the best way to overcome the limitation of your windows only being capable of shattering once.

It's still very much a cheat, and an unorthodox way of getting around the issue. But hey, whatever works!

[deeahchur]

What about the mechanic used for the disc arena rings that are able to disappear on hit and reappear multiple times? Even the sound effect could work. I would just need to know how to make that work for the windows. The windows do not need to break, just disappear and reappear after a time.

[TronFAQ]

For the Disc Arena rings, it was done the other way that I mentioned. Hide the ring, use a SpecialFX and SoundFX object for each one, then unhide the ring.

[deeahchur]

I adapted the disc platform PREFAB for the windows. Woks as I need and is reset and able to be hit again! Bug list updated.

Do you know where I can find a PREFAB of a cube that can be deleted? If not, I'll just re-adapt the disc platform as needed. I think that'll work for my needs.

I looked at the prop objects, and using the Alarm prop attempted to change the model to the SecRezzer and changed SECREZZER_YCP.DTX as the skin. So far no luck. I do not even see the object there. I'll continue to play with it.

Any chance the Texture Alpha Layer tutorial can be added to the Wiki? I was saddened when the page only stated "Under Construction.".

[TronFAQ]

Do you know where I can find a PREFAB of a cube that can be deleted? If not, I'll just re-adapt the disc platform as needed. I think that'll work for my needs.

You'll have to re-use and adapt the disc ring prefab again. There aren't any block prefabs like that, unfortunately.

I looked at the prop objects, and using the Alarm prop attempted to change the model to the SecRezzer and changed SECREZZER_YCP.DTX as the skin. So far no luck. I do not even see the object there. I'll continue to play with it.

Stupid questions: Is Template set to False? DetailLevel set to Low? And most importantly, is Visible set to True? This last one is set to False by default for some strange reason. You could also try setting it to be just a regular Prop object.

Any chance the Texture Alpha Layer tutorial can be added to the Wiki? I was saddened when the page only stated "Under Construction.".

I don't know when myself or someone else might get around to it. I've promised myself and others I would finish the updated User Error before I tackled anything else.