ZeroBuilder - WIP Topic

[RepComm]

Okay story time;
Windows 7 and up are finicky with BFBuilder Pandemic released to us a long whiles ago, and while you can get it to work with Windows 7, it has VERY many glitches and annoying bugs.

My Experience;

I have made a few maps with BFBuilder, but never could achieve exactly what I wanted because of these annoying glitches and my inexperience with map assembly and all that jazz. But I strongly love battlefront, and wish to give it new worlds and mods for the better of the community as well as my own pleasure.

My Goal;

To create a new Map builder application in EXE format with no DLLs with tons of new functions.

Planned features:
-Project Create (complete)
-Project Templates (Choose template: Night setting, day setting, environment such as rain and snow)
-Complete Sound building (Last priority)
-Built in Sides builder (create side > Name > Add/Pick Troops automatically to REQLE(s))
-Pre-munged game play simulation (simple walk and shoot in the world, show debug and collisions/paths/boundaries/wireframe options)
-Separate model viewer (like BFViewer, but with FBX import export so you don't need ZETools or XSI necessarily)
-Coffee dispenser (top priority!)

Progress:
-Built GUI (application interface)
-Started model viewer (only gets geometry as of yet)
-Project Create/Delete/Store functions, template functions in the works
-Started premunged game play (nothing to shout about yet)

--Just working on the basics for now, not planning on having this done by the end of the year..

[{TCE}Call-of-Duty]

This is why I like BF2 modding, but great job that must have taken time, patience and a lot of ranting in your yard from trouble working all the bugs and whatnot, im sure a bunch of BF1 modders on Windows 7 would kill for that

[tirpider]

Awesome. Love seeing tools get updated.

MSH Viewer Sub Window? (Not currently working on that, and not sure how I'd do it exactly).

Have it run an external model viewer in the same way it runs the munges, optionally passing a model name as a command line option. Of course this would require writing a model viewer.

@{TCE}Call-of-Duty
No matter what goes on with BF2, there will always be a SWBF with better game play and a need to mod it. So updated tools is always a good thing.

[Phobos]

I think BFBuilder Pro 0 is the one I uploaded and its the same as stock BFBuilder Pro except allows you to create DATA folders for stock maps. There is also a BFBuilder by Bamdur you could try.

I also use windows 7 (64 bit) and don't have any problems with BFBuilder creating corrupt directories. You might just want to reinstall BFBuilder or make sure your DATATemplate files are set up properly.

However your update sounds like it will provide some interesting new features for modders, and it shouldn't be too hard to write in HTML. I'm not sure if its possible to munge without DOS though. Good luck with your endeavor.

[{PLA}gdh92]

Best of luck with this. I really hope you get it working with Windows 7, I've always wanted to make maps but never could be bothered to get one of my old PCs on again just for that....

[RepComm]

I think BFBuilder Pro 0 is the one I uploaded and its the same as stock BFBuilder Pro except allows you to create DATA folders for stock maps. There is also a BFBuilder by Bamdur you could try.

I also use windows 7 (64 bit) and don't have any problems with BFBuilder creating corrupt directories. You might just want to reinstall BFBuilder or make sure your DATATemplate files are set up properly.

However your update sounds like it will provide some interesting new features for modders, and it shouldn't be too hard to write in HTML. I'm not sure if its possible to munge without DOS though. Good luck with your endeavor.

--Technically, I guess it isn't truely possible to munge without DOS, since I'm using "execute_shell()" which would just be a silent DOS. But Even still it would be better to not have to see everything.
I've actually made a working map with the first beta I did, now what I'm doing is basicly making it to where it looks formal, and not like a command line input.. I'm just focusing on redoing what I did, but with a nice user interface and more advanced functions.
Even if i just need to reinstall (which I've already done countless times, I'm not ignorant of course ), I'd still like to give modders more power to create what they want, and in a suitable GUI.

It's also more or less, a testing ground for what I've learned within scripting in GML (practice makes perfect), but I know I can use it for SWBF as well.
--
My problem with creating a built in viewer isn't about formatting the window scene with it, but rather reading the MSH out, as of I have very little experience in external 3d conversion with my own script (I don't know how to translate it into the native 3d format I need). I suppose I could look at the OBJ import script and see how they do it..
--
Eventually, I'd like to setup a Wizard for everything.
So a working Sound Wizard that will just ask you questions, like "Do you want sound effects, or Music?", and will guide you through everything without depending on modding knowledge too much.

[aeria.]

I highly, highly recommend against making munging silent. If something goes wrong, you need to know what happened.

[RepComm]

restarted project in different engine

[Phobos]

This would be extremely useful for advanced modding projects, especially if it included toolbox v5 implementation.
Including the a built in model viewer, hex editor, and schmee support would also be useful. Also several batch/script files used to automate tasks such as creating ODF props, option files, and cloning msh files for tga reference hex edits. A functional 64-bit sound munger would also be important. The modding wizard could also feature a tutorial section on each major category of map development.

I think ZeroBuilder sounds like a good project let me know if I can help.

[RepComm]

I hope to have a simple script that will contain labels and a link to an external editor, that way people can add quick links to tools they need right in the app menu.

Something like:

menu_add("F2|Hex Editor","C:/ProgramFiles/XVI32/xvi32.exe");
menu_add("F3|TGA Editor","C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Image Composer/IMGCOMP.exe");

Something easy that nearly anyone can do. I don't know if AutoIt will let me create GUI like that.. I guess if it's done initially, when the program runs, I shouldn't have too many problems.

I'd really like to not have any 3d tool built into it like that (perhaps in a separate MSH tool, but not integrated with the world builder), because it may require external dependencies like DirectX or some sort of rendering engine or library. -- The cloning of an MSH just to replace TGA reference is a good idea, I'll try and put that in the other tools I plan to add into the SDK.

I may be able to skip the whole munge process of sound if I can get a good understanding of how a munged LVL for sound looks like. Instead of writing a tiny database to munge, I could just create my own project file format, and then write data into LVL format directly.. I can't remember if it includes any encryption or compression, but that shouldn't be to hard to do as long as I can find some decent documentation. -- And, if I know how to write the data, I can probably make a De-compiler as well.. That would be interesting..

This all reminds me, I need to get with you about an Era builder.

[Phobos]

This all reminds me, I need to get with you about an Era builder.

Era builder, even a campaign builder, would be easier than this probably. Both of those also require a 64bit sound munger, or other type of builder though.

[RepComm]

Oops, I meant to say Campaign builder.. Silly me. 

[Phobos]

Oops, I meant to say Campaign builder.. Silly me. 

A future verison of zerobuilder would likely include a campaign/era builder as well as other modding tools, or links to them through the GUI menu as you described. The campaign builder itself will mostly be a series of tutorials and walkthroughs for how to use the toolbox v5 builders. First I have to finish fixing the core.lvl builder though to make it munge as similar to stock as possible. If you are good enough with batch files, you can probably find a way to implement the new core builder as a replacement for the broken core tools used by BFBuilder.