Calm before the storm? Or DOA?

[Zoombie]

Please, Please change your avatar! Its giving me the screaming willy's!

[[K.B.] Napalm Cobra]

I suggest obj's for a new object format, easy to use and just about anything can edit them, EVEN NOTEPAD!!!

[Buggi]

Spring must support new formats beyond 3do for the system to really be nice, but I don't expect that any time soon.

-Buggi

[AF]

For the models, for now create features out of them as they where in OTA, buggi's map maker will dot he rest when its all done.

Skin them? 3D0 builder.

Perhaps if you could do some highly detailed ones...

Paulomorfeo? Have you ever tried compiling spring with DevC++??

[LathanStanley]

hmmm..... I've been working on some ideas....

3dsmax WILL preserve an approximate color texture for objects... after its converted to 3do...

I've reloaded this pine tree a few times, never saved it... and all of a sudden the colors on it look kinda like 3dsmax, due to the pallette being different...

I read on one of Maestro's tutorials or whereever, that a model even HIGH poly count models... are easier for TA to render than a textured model...

THUS... generating a VERY HIGH POLYCOUNT model that renders only colors... not textures, would actually helpframerate over a low poly model with textures...

If COULD import the TA pallette into 3dsmax... I could EASILY build models in this fashion..

I'm working on the pallette now, how to find and import it to max... might have to as some guru's on some modeling boards how to though

and there is no alpha channel... therefore for something like trees.. colored high detail models would be the best way at it...

and to release "team" colors on units/buildings/ etc... as long as they aren't that color allready the true blue is used simmilar to an alpha channel in that it paints the team color on it...

so yeah I'm gonna go crazy and make DETAIL models this am.... when you wake up, lemmie know what you think

thats the same idea I ran past buggi verbatum word for word... if you guys got any input on it lemmie hear it I'm gonna redo those pissy models I have right now and make prettier ones... I'll try to stick to approx a x8 rule... 256 colors are 8bit, maybe 8x the polygons w/o texture at all is a mild solution....

but that STILL does NOT mean I cannot use textures at all... I just gotta be selective as to when I do.. making texturing easier

[AF]

Interesting, but remember this isnt TA, it's spring.

[LathanStanley]

Interesting, but remember this isnt TA, it's spring.

well on top of that... spring is supposed to handle facets better than TA anyways ...


anyone know where I can get a palette to use with 3dsmax??

I've been working on making/finding one for now.... the acad palette is close... but its not right

[AF]

Just remember not todo very bright colours unless it's something that glows. Grayer, more pastelly colours are more realistic and are more likely to fit in with the map.

[aTTacK]

I'd love to dive in and code that shit, but A) don't have the right compilers, B) don't have the skills, I look at the Quake 3 sourcecode, and I get lost, couldn't even mod a weapon.

Give me the compiler and i'll give it a whirl, i'd love to add some stuff I wish to see...

no u dont

u have to spend all your time in tawd

[AF]

hey! whats the point in WD if the engien crashes halfway through or something. This way if we give him a compiler then there's nor eason why new features for WD cant be made.

[LathanStanley]

just a post on what I'm doing... been busting my butt working on generating a color palette to use with max...

this is an image of my thought process etc.

[Zoombie]

BRAVO!! You are a cool guy!

Now i have a question, being a new modder and hence relativly inexpirenced (I DONT KNOW ANYTHING!), i have run into a problem. I want to make a new modle for a unit for a W40K mod, and i just finished fiddling around with Rhino, creating a rather spiffy unit! Well, it dosent look TOO bad.

But how do i convert it to a 3D0 file? And it is 3DO Builder that can add texture's and generaly make a unit move around? Then all i have to do is scripit it, and then create its stats. Then what do i do? I know it needs to be done with a hip viewer, right?

[LathanStanley]

BRAVO!! You are a cool guy!

Now i have a question, being a new modder and hence relativly inexpirenced (I DONT KNOW ANYTHING!), i have run into a problem. I want to make a new modle for a unit for a W40K mod, and i just finished fiddling around with Rhino, creating a rather spiffy unit! Well, it dosent look TOO bad.

But how do i convert it to a 3D0 file? And it is 3DO Builder that can add texture's and generaly make a unit move around? Then all i have to do is scripit it, and then create its stats. Then what do i do? I know it needs to be done with a hip viewer, right?

from rhino... I don't have a clue... using 3DS MAX, if you build it on max 3, 4, or 5... you can use a plugin to extract/import them as 3do files...

the plugin is on fileuniverse... dig on fileuniverse and you might find something for rhino.... but as of me... I dunno...

[LathanStanley]

I'm still stuck importing the palette into 3dsmax... the best I can do as of now... though its very time consuming... is to load the swatches with the color chooser script I implemented, get the xxx xxx xxx RGB values and hand enter them into the objects color dialogues...

takes alota extra work... but it will have to work for now...

there is a proggie that allows a user to pick colors directly from photoshop.... and use them direct in max... this would be 99.9% better... but they want 150$ for the lil proggy.. fuck that...

maybe one of you guys can help find a shareware of a simillar program or write one...

I'd owe ya for it, and I'd pay ya buy getting some nifty extra map thingies done.... maybe even units in the future...

[LathanStanley]

ok well... I've obviously undertaken a big project... I'm gonna move all my yammering to a different location, DEVELOPMENT...

look for updates there I'll try to update regularly...

linky:

http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1600

[munch]

I must confess I've completely failed to even look at the code too =(

Thing is, like other people said:
- I haven't got that much time on my hands
- I don't want to pay for the compiler, just so I can help out
- I already have too many unfinished projects

I think if it was easier to develop for - like I could use the FREE GNU Windows C++ compiler which I already have installed on my machine - I'd probably get stuck in, at least to have a go at writing my own AI. However, whilst it requires me to spend cash on something that I really don't want on my machine, I think I'll give it a miss.

sorry

Munch

[zwzsg]

LathanStanley: Your palette doesn't follow TA order, which is that one (the marked color index 1 is old TA transparent color for units, btw).

Zoombie: you export your model into something 3do Builder can handle then reimport it in 3do Builder. In 3do Builder you texture the faces and move pieces around so their origins is placed at the point they must turn around. The speed is then set in the .fbi, and the animation in the .bos that you must compile with scriptor.

[LathanStanley]

LathanStanley: Your palette doesn't follow TA order, which is that one (the marked color index 1 is old TA transparent color for units, btw).

I understand there are MORE colors in-between....
those are the team colors etc...

look at the #'d value on each color... it is correct

[el_muchacho]

I am busy!
Every single second i spend resting from my everyday routine, is not free time. It is busy time in which i am taking the task of replenishing my body and mind. Every single second i spend playing TA::Spring or any thing other, is busy time spent in a highly needed task, entertaining myself.

And, you have not the slightest idea how much i love to work on games and how much i would love to work on this specific one.
No internship on August... Maybe i'l manage to get something done then!

However, it highly demotivates if we don't see a way to produce work that is usefull. Just getting thrown into the C++ code of Spring, can makes feel like we will hardly be able to produce anything worthwhile. I hope that, if the SYs want more help on they're project, they present easy ways of geting into working on the project. Hoping for people to just dive in to the C++ sources needs much faith.

Maybe the project needs a kind of public relations person well versed in programming to break down the project in modular tasks that need to be done then, break them down in smaller tasks and then, presenting them to volunteers.

You guys who don't own Visual studio need to give some help to the Linux port which seems a little stuck by now (or maybe I'm wrong), but which compiles, at least. The sooner this port gets out from the forges, the sooner you can contribute.
Hopefully, the code of the port will eventually be merged in the main distribution as gcc is somewhat stricted than VC++. It's certainly tough work, but worthy of the effort, as one can use some interesting debugging tools that exist only on Linux afterwards.

Personnally, I did bring very little contributions to the code base, and I told SJ that I would add the "enemy capture" feature, but I still haven't started, although it's fairly little work. But I'm lazy, and after coding all day long, it's hard in the evening...
(But I promise I'll start coding soon)

As for breaking down to tasks, just look at the CVS bug and request list, there are plenty of little things to do to get acquainted with the code. Choose one that you feel comfident with.

[fobbah]

ahh, dont tell me you guys used .net framework. My pet peeve atm.

The one reason i havnt bothered doing any mods for HL2 (in the hopes of making an actually INTERESTING game out of it, hah), and it seems the reason i'm not playing with spring source right now. Sorry, but i really do despise it, more or less asking us to buy a brand new expensive IDE just because someone says so, regardless of the fact that the old one works just fine for me, thank you very much. The sheer fact that the HL2 game dll sources require Vis studio 2005 to compile due to the use of .net is the single factor i account for there STILL not being a very strong mod community surrounding it. Modmakers dont tend to be kitted out with brand new IDEs or much coding experience, else they'd probably be off writing something more interesting.

Frankly i urge all developers to avoid it at all cost, or at least all open source developers... It's not very smart to limit the ability to easily compile your code to the 1/4 of the coding population that thinks buying a new IDE for it is worthwhile, for its just working to exclude everyone else.. VC6 has been the standard for a long time, and theres nothing really wrong with it, work to be easily back compatable with it or people like me will get extremely frustrated and give up

To be fair, if i can figure out how to make this damn thing compile without a brand spanking new version of visual studio, thats good enough for me.

Oh yeah, and just because we're programmers doesnt mean we're linux gamers I'm sure we'd find working on sources we're more likely to get some benefit out of would be more rewarding hehe :)

Still, despite my rather mediocre c experience, i try to work on spring in my own way, new version of new lobby will be out soon, should be pretty close to a final release. And i like to make the old map or two :)