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Messages - Dark_Phantom

#46
Sorry for not replying sooner.  The base mission files were in a different area of the assets and I totally forgot that I didn't write a script to move them if the stock map was selected.  Copying the lua like you did is correct. (I generally just swap out the stock maps and use the stock mission).

Remember if you're using this method, and using it as an addon map, you want to put "ReadDataFile("dc:\TAT1\Tat1.lvl")" or whatever, instead of what the main mission has.  (DC: means "Downloadable Content", and the game has a method of determining the mission file if using the addon folder.

It seems like you've got it right where you want it as well.  If you need help, don't be afraid to ask.
#47
I would also do a couple other things to start:
1.) If you don't already, download this: http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1519
This is an improved version of the BFBuilder Pro file, with some friendly additions by myself, including stock map imports.

2.) Do NOT use the "EDIT TAT1" or whatever the button says from any version of BFBuilder.  ZeroEditor will not load all the layers of a stock map through this method (command line only supports base world loading).  You must open DataTAT1 folder and ZeroEditor from there.  If it doesn't launch, try one or two more times, there's a well documented startup error that resolves by starting again.  Click load and traverse the directory structure like this: BFBuilder\DataTAT1\Worlds\TAT1\World1\tat1.wld.  If you open this file, it will have a prompt asking what layers to load, and you want ALL of them (or everything except sound).

3.) Once you have the map loaded, the CPs will still be missing.  At the top, there is the "Active Layer" field.  Click Change.  Mostly, CPs/vehicle spawns are kept in the "Design" layer of the map.  Swap to this layer, and then you can see how the originals are set up, and try swapping out vehicles using the tutorial given.
#48
Lol, I wish I had remembered this post was here.
I learned this when building my electric trap thingy for Ruusan. Took me a while to figure out as well.
#49
For The Clone Wars, there is a script at XenHax (or Xentax, whatever it's been called) that will split the big data.zwp (ZWP just being a wrapper file) file into parts.  This is great and all, but I think it converts these files based on a commonality with BF.  I don't know whether this is correct or not.

Sticking with the Xbox version as this is closest to PC theoretically, we can start breaking down the formats of files. The msh (model) file format is pretty well documented in several places. Textures have been converted as they are one of the DXT variants and it's pretty well documented I think.  I can figure out the sound engine, there's some common structures to BF (plus on Xbox they're mostly already WAV format).  Movies are self explanatory.  No one has ever successfully replaced any of these files, and even if we could, we'd have to be very aware of memory limits.

Unknowns:
World data structures are contained in data.zwp as far as I know.
I have no clue what the files in the bin folder are for.  FIL and ANM are the surface level file types.
After that there's very little to explain the mission structure, which isn't good for modding.

For your questions:
1.) Battlefront had mod tools and a debugger deployed with it.  This simplified many of the investigative tasks because Pandemic provided the keys to the car.
2.) Battlefront plays on PC, which makes it many times easier to test file changes and deploy them right in the game.  Xbox/Gamecube/PS2 all require hardware or emulators that may or may not encompass the original hardware (Dolphin runs every Gamecube game now, but for ages TCW was the only game it COULDN'T run because of custom memory mapping wizardry by Pandemic's programmers that was not seen before or afterward).
3.) Battlefront was much more mainstream than TCW2002. Starting from scratch with only a couple people is no simple task.
4.) In addition to the mod tools, there's a former Pandemic dev who helped out a ton, but he was not part of the team for TCW2002.

Battlefront and TCW are not the same engine, before anyone comes and says that.  For example, Pandemic kept the msh format but the BF1 compilers turn it into a totally new file type.  Comparing the two engines may help on the surface because a lot of the same programmers worked on both, but you can't test in BF and play it in TCW.  The closest to TCW is either Battlezone 2 or Dark Reign 2, both of which only ran on PC.

[end long post for now]
#50
The first problem that needs figured out is the file formats.  I almost need to do everything from scratch except for the msh file format.
What file format contains what/does what/etc, and then a way to view them outside of the actual game.  Without a PC port, this is much harder, and I can't get a working version of the terrain into ZE to even help out there.

My mind is kind of jumbled in this but overall I'm not sure how to push this any further at this moment.
#51
SWBF1 Modding / Re: Third era
May 14, 2022, 04:53:12 PM
Because the tutorial doesn't encompass that.

You've added the "era" references, but it won't matter unless you add mission files to support it. (See "Mission.lvl builder" in the search bar to learn about adding or just compiling the stock missions in the game.)

In missionlist.lua, there's a list of missions. In the game's lua scripting, there's a section of code that says if there's only one "side_x = 1" reference (x being the side code, a/c/i/r) that it will NOT load the 2nd screen to select an era.  This is for cleanliness and makes sense because why have the user select when they don't have a choice anyway? To fix it, you'd have to modify the missionlist table either through the addme (which is how the mod maps work) or modify the original missionlist using the shell.lvl builders on here.

TL;DR - There's many steps to this process that you should probably give the search bar a workout, experiment, then create threads detailing whatever goes wrong.
#52
/adminpw is only supported in 1.3 and Steam/GOG.

1.3 is only playable with the original game disk.  Therefore, the Steam/GOG version is the only way to use this.  These versions do NOT support the dedicated server software.  You can run the Steam/GOG exe with the commands like a dedicated server but in my experience, it is flaky at best and a pain to manage overall.

There is no "console" per se.  The existing 1.3 documentation shows how to use /adminpw, which then can allow you to use admin commands ingame, such as changing the map list and attempting to boot someone.  Changing the map list works, but attempting to use the boot command only boots yourself out of the server.  There's other documentation here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2086127943 (which mostly comes from the 1.3 patch readme... GOG clearly never tested any of this so I did)

The terminal application referenced does not seem to exist and I highly doubt the source code for that will ever come to light.
#53
SWBF1 Modding / Re: Third era
May 10, 2022, 07:20:30 AM
Quote from: wsa30h on May 09, 2022, 12:49:45 PMfollow this tutorial and download my addme. this is the best way to add new eras since it doesent overwrite any files.
You didn't link anything.
#54
Released Maps and Mods / Re: Ruusan: Canyon Oasis
April 26, 2022, 12:35:25 PM

Idk why I can't get imgur embeds to work.  Oh well.
#55
Released Maps and Mods / Ruusan: Canyon Oasis
April 26, 2022, 12:27:49 PM
Ruusan: Canyon Oasis

Ruusan: Canyon Oasis by Dark_Phantom

Tucked away on the planet Ruusan, a small oasis was constructed upon and inhabited, then abandoned abruptly for unknown reasons. Fighting for control of the Valley of the Jedi, Jerec leads a platoon of his Imperial Remnant to take this key strategic position from the fledgling rebellion troops, led by Kyle Katarn.

This map has custom heroes that will only show up with "Instant Action Heroes" enabled.  I recommend this option.

Canyon Oasis is a multiplayer-only map from Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 that gained notoriety on its release in 1997. The map soon became the most popular by far in Dark Forces 2 communities for its clever design and exciting gameplay possibilities in a Team Deathmatch or FFA format. Many adaptations of the map were released in modding communities over the years. It is assumed that the planet is Ruusan because it uses the same textures as in Single Player on Ruusan, so I've taken liberty to make it the planet name for the map.

I had more I wished to add but the scope of the mod was becoming incredibly large for one map, and decided it would be better to limit myself with no more glaring bugs and essential features implemented.
There will be a MP version of this map with the intention of FFA mode in the near future.  The current map works online but is lacking in some areas for this format.

Credits:
Lucasarts/Lucasfilm/Disney - Star Wars, original JK:DF2 map and assets
Ecki81 - jediknight2blender addon
Sleepkiller/Nihilisk - Blender .msh import/export
Ande - ZETools
Teancum - Advice, showing the JK2Blender addon, Kyle Katarn and Jerec conversions, UV mapping help, Moldy Crow
Madjai/Inbredyokel - Original Jerec model which Teancum converted
DarthPhae/Plasma - JK Kyle Katarn and lightsaber
Tirpider - BF1 hex edit rendertypes
TreeMarmot - JK Neural Upscale Pack


CONFIRMED BUGS:
1.) Confirmed AI can glitch in random areas (probably due to too many or bad spawns), but have not personally found it.
2.) "Meditation" in the Covered Basin and Alcove can become extreme.  I've tried to limit this by manipulating spawn points and barriers but I think it is just the nature of having such a small map with multiple vertical levels, which Battlefront was not designed for.

NOTES:
1.) Force Destruction is a little odd looking but in the grand scheme of things is fine.
2.) There are a grand total of 5 Easter Eggs.  Two are very similar scripted Easter Eggs and the other three are environment.  Can you find them all?
I wanted more but I wanted to release this map more than making 20 Easter eggs.

http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1612

#56
Allied teams (team 3/4, etc) can spawn from allied CPs if:
1.) You use the "SetTeamAsFriend()" command in the lua script
2.) In ZeroEditor, you create a new spawn path, and then in the CP instance in ZE, you put that path under "AllyPath"

I do not believe teams 1-2 can spawn from CPs owned by teams 3-4.  Actually if you set them as Ally, they will capture CPs as their ally team.

Kashyyyk Docks and Naboo Plains should have ally paths set up in this manner. You'll notice on Plains that no Gungans should spawn unless Rebels capture at least the center, and I think there's another CP.

I know you're new, and this is a lot. If you have BFBuilder set up, and want to view the stock maps, I fully recommend this BFBuilder update I made.  It allows you to import the stock maps as Data folders and view/edit them. (However, you may have to manually load in the map because loading ZE from the batch file doesn't load all the layers correctly). http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1519
#57
Minimap Template files (Battlefront 1)

I created these from scratch, I couldn't find anywhere where these had been created otherwise.
4 files are contained:
Scanline_BF1_map_template (in png and tga format)
Scanline_BF1_map_template_wo_bounds.tga
maptemplate_boundaries.tga

There's a little bit of artifacting/discoloration around the edges of the boundaries, they were a pain to cut out of another world.
You can either start with the template with bounds and layer your image on top, or use the wo_bounds template and then layer your image, then layer the boundaries if they conflict.

Best combined with these three links:
http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=10422.msg105105#msg105105
http://secretsociety.com/forum/display_message.asp?mid=467
http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=6956.msg73944#msg73944

Download link: http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1608
#58
Released Maps and Mods / Beta Conversion Fix BF1
April 06, 2022, 07:56:37 AM
Beta Conversion Fix BF1

BetaConversionFixBF1.exe

This program is a very niche use-case program which allows BF1 beta model files (March 12th, 2004, and possibly earlier) to be read correctly as a retail Xbox file.
They should then be able to be unmunged/converted to whatever version is needed. I used it to experimentally unmunge some unit models.

The overall size field in hex (right after UCFB) probably needs changed as well, I didn't program it in, if you try to use the file as is. Simply put, read the 4 bytes after ucfb as an int, take the size of the new file, subtract 8, and then put it in the field.  Simple, right? :)

All it does is fix the INFO fields on models to add 4 empty bytes.  The reverse flag is to attempt to move retail files back to beta by removing the same flags in INFO, which mostly seems to work.

BEWARE:
For maps, this does not make some of them usable.  Part of the process involved removing incompatible water layers and replacing detail maps, which this program does not do.

Credits:
Dark_Phantom - creator
Sleepkiller  - beta discussions/program help

http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1607
#59
Released Assets / Health/Ammo Pack Spawner
April 04, 2022, 08:53:38 AM
Health/Ammo Pack Spawner

What it does:
This allows usage of the vehicle spawn template to be used to drop in assets, in this case "powerupitem" class, anywhere on the field where it will respawn when taken.

How it works:
Place all assets in their respective world folders (DataXXX\Worlds\XXX\msh and DataXXX\Worlds\XXX\odf)
Open ZeroEditor
Place coa_ammo_drop or coa_health_drop somewhere on the map.  It should be placed high enough so that it falls a short distance, otherwise it could go through your building/terrain.
Update the instance properties in the right hand panel.  They must be in a ControlZone, so you'll need to set up a region if you don't have one. 
Set the spawn time to whatever is appropriate (I used 20 seconds).  This is how long after the pack is taken it will respawn.
Add coa_item_powerup_healthJK (or ammo) to all of the CLASSxxxATK and DEF instances that you will need it for.
(note: the previous steps are the same as vehicle setup)
Add entries under "class" for each odf.  Example:
   REQN
    {
        "class"
      "coa_item_powerup_healthJK"
      "coa_health_drop"
      "coa_ammo_drop"
      "coa_item_powerup_ammoJK"
    }
Munge
Load map and check area.  If you pick up the pack, it should respawn in the time allotted.  You can also use the powerup odfs to change other information about the actual drops.

Credits:
Dark_Phantom - creator
Ecki81 - jediknight2blender addon
Lucasfilm/Lucasarts/Disney - original assets, and the games they were pulled from.
Pandemic Studios - mod tools and documentation

http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1605
#60
Having heroes enabled makes this impossible.  The hero will die and it will throw off the final count for trying to "Last Stand"