Titan Network
Community => Multimedia => Topic started by: Leandro on December 31, 2012, 12:40:41 PM
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Well, Codewalker posted a tiny patch which allows you load files that the COH client normally wouldn't (http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,7517.msg97523.html), so I guess I should bring you all into the exciting world of creating your own maps. The game has a built-in editor, but that requires a server, so your options are to edit the maps manually or make an external map editor. I won't be making an external map editor because I figure we'll eventually be able to use the in-game one, so here are some instructions to do it manually.
If you don't want to mess with hex editors yourself, click here to download the already-patched cityofheroes.exe for issue 24 beta (http://www.mediafire.com/?1xyb1s74n84o65b). In order to make sure nobody thinks I added malware to it (or that the download site modified the file in any way) do the following:
* Rename your original cityofheroes.exe to cityofheroes.i24.exe and copy the linked cityofheroes.exe to the folder.
* Shift+Right click your City of Heroes folder. A menu will appear. Select Command Prompt here.
* Type in fc /b cityofheroes.exe cityofheroes.i24.exe
This will File Compare in /Binary the two files, and display the differences between the two files. Specifically, four bytes:
007237A8: F0 E4
007237AC: F0 D8
007237B0: F0 C8
007237B4: F0 C0
With that patch in place, you can go ahead and add maps to your data folder and play them from demos.
City of Heroes maps are simple text files. Good ol' Notepad can be used to create your own maps. The main problem is figuring out WHAT you want to put in the map. We'll start with the demo for our experiment; save this as mymap.cohdemo in your client_demos folder:
1 0 Version 2
0 0 Map maps/mymap.txt
0 0 Time 6
0 1 Player
0 1 NEW Puddle
0 1 NPC Puddle
0 1 POS 0 0 0
0 1 PYR 0 0 0
0 CAM POS 0 10 0
0 CAM PYR 0 -2.2 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
1000 CAM POS 0 10 0
This just loads the map and leaves the camera floating at 0,0,0 for 10 seconds. If you try to run the demo now, you'll just see the standard blue sky and nothing else.
Under the city of heroes folder, create the folder data if necessary, then a folder named maps inside it. Paste the following into a file called mymap.txt and save it there:
Version 2
Scenefile scenes/cityscene_stormpalace.txt
If you were to run the file now, you're still on an empty map, but you'll notice the sky is different; if the filename didn't clue you in, that's the Storm Palace's scene. Scene files are stored in the piggs, but since you only need the filename, I put a list here (http://pastebin.com/xdNx5vAc). Just remember to put scenes/ before the actual file name.
If you can't see the Storm Palace sky when you run this demo, check your paths. Make sure you have client_demos/mymap.cohdemo and data/maps/mymap.txt
Note that scenes do more than just set the sky; they also do texture swaps. For example, the Winter scene turns a lot of grass textures into snow textures, and the Ruined scene replaced a lot of textures with their damaged counterparts. So, to avoid confusion, I'll be using the Altas Park city scene.
Moving on! We should have some solid ground under our feet. Time to Reference some geometry.
Version 2
Scenefile scenes/cityscene_atlas_park.txt
Ref grass_plate_flat_01
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 0 0 0
End
Ref grass_plate_flat_02
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 128 0 128
End
Ref grass_plate_rolling_01
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 128 0 0
End
Ref grass_plate_rolling_02
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 0 0 128
End
If you run the demo after saving mymap.txt, this is what you'll see:
(https://i.imgur.com/PgoHw.jpg)
It's not pretty, but it's ground. Plates come in many varieties, but here I used two flat ones and two irregular ones in diagonal. They are 128 units by 128 units, so I just placed them one next to each other, and that's what the Pos statements are about: placement. Rot is obviously rotation, which we'll see shortly.
Now, where did I get those geometry names? Here's the ugly part: they are not easy to get to, and there's not a list or a sample library... yet, anyway. It's one of those projects I have in the backburner, but I'll need help. So if you want to help catalog the game's geometry, post here! Basically I'd give you a list of geometry, you'd make a map containing one of the items (and just that item) and screenshot it, and so we'll slowly build a library of stuff. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'm going to use all flat grass plates because they're easier to handle, and then I'll add a little house. And some trees. This is when I opened Cameraman (http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,5623.0.html) to help me find coordinates to place stuff in.
Version 2
Scenefile scenes/cityscene_atlas_park.txt
Ref grass_plate_flat_01
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 0 0 0
End
Ref grass_plate_flat_02
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 128 0 0
End
Ref grass_plate_flat_03
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 0 0 128
End
Ref grass_plate_flat_04
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 128 0 128
End
Ref rmn_bldg_04
Rot 0 -2.5 0
Pos 128 0 128
End
Ref conifer_sml1
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 156 0 95
End
Ref conifer_med1
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 136 0 94
End
Ref conifer_med2
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 95 0 129
End
Ref conifer_lrg1
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 105 0 166
End
If you run the demo now, this is what you'll see:
(https://i.imgur.com/Rbe4Q.jpg)
That's starting to look like something that might be usable in a demo. Or as the very basic beginnings of a city zone.
Note the use of the Rot command in order to make the house face the right way. Pos and Rot works the same as POS and PYR in demos, so if you're familiar with demos you should feel right at home with those two.
Oh, but how am I going to get into this zone? And for what purpose would I go into this tiny little map? Well, for an entry, we could use a portal. Portals are FX scripts, which those familiar with demo editing should already know. In order to use an FX, it has to be defined inside a group; so add these lines at the bottom of the map:
Def Portal
Group Omni/PARTICLE_100
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 0 0 0
End
Type Scripted/Praetorian/Magic_Door/Magic_Door.fx
End
Ref Portal
Rot 0 -1.21 0
Pos 133 4 63
End
The Def command allows you to group several things together and then use them as a unit, but I won't be touching that topic on this post because it's already too long as it is. Suffice to day, you use Def with a name, and then group items inside. You can attach FX to one of the items using the Type command.
You will notice that the Pos and Rot in the group is 0. That's because the Def has its own little set of coordinates for grouping items. The Ref statement afterwards, which calls the group I just defined, places it in the right location with the right rotation.
Def names must be unique. That is, unique across the whole game. I used "Portal" here and it worked, but if there's already an item named "Portal" that you want to use, the Def would conflict. So if you want to make sure, add something unique to your defs, like grpMyPortal.
As for why go there, I have just the incentive. Add this bit to the end, then run the demo.
Ref Tourism_plaque_01
Rot 0 0 0
Pos 74 0 82
End
(https://i.imgur.com/Sqazx.jpg)
Where there's a badge, a badge whore is sure to follow.
And that concludes my first post on this topic. Certainly not the last. I just wanted to show you guys how easy it is to actually create your own maps from scratch (editing existing ones is a completely different story), and we really just need to start cataloguing all the existing map elements in the game.
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(Post reserved for Part 2)
If you want to help screenshot specific map elements, please PM me! There's TONS of things that need to be catalogued, and I could really use the help.
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Some items to mess with
Sparky collected the water/grass plates in this Photobucket album: http://s139.beta.photobucket.com/user/spectacular_sparky/library/Plates
A water plate
- OutsideWater_Smooth1024_NoSFX
Grass plates
- grass_plate_flat_01
- grass_plate_flat_02
- grass_plate_flat_04
- grass_plate_flat_03
- grass_path_str_01
- grass_path_str_02
- grass_path_str_03
- grass_path_str_04
- grass_path_4way_02
- grass_path_4way_03
- grass_path_4way_04
- grass_path_4way_01
- grass_path_3way_02
- grass_path_3way_03
- grass_path_3way_04
- grass_path_3way_01
- grass_path_bnd_02
- grass_path_bnd_03
- grass_path_bnd_04
- grass_path_bnd_01
- grass_path_end_02
- grass_path_end_03
- grass_path_end_04
- grass_path_end_01
- grass_slope_42ft_90in
- grass_plate_rolling
- grass_plate_bnd
- grass_slope_42ft_90out
- grass_slope_42ftslope
- grass_slope_32ft_90out
- grass_slope_32ftslope
- grass_slope_32ft_90in
- grass_plate_rolling_01
- grass_plate_rolling_02
Gothic buildings (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/MoPLW.jpg)
These are large, with a footprint of at least 2 plates (256 units) per side.
Cimeroran buildings (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/b21kb.jpg)
Old Town style buildings (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/Old_Town_Buildings_zpsd62a2e59.jpg)
Shiny skyscrapers from new Atlas (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/jtngy.jpg)
Shops and filler buildings (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/yfPSQ.jpg)
Notes: FillerShop_Garage is JUST the garage, to be added to the rest of a building; Z_Fillershop_Floors_* are to be attached on top of another building to make it taller.
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/Moder_Scraper1_zps51af29c3.jpg)
Paragon-specific buildings (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/Paragon_Specific_zpse8b752fc.jpg)
Behavioural Adjustment Facility (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/BA_Facility_zpsf72d534d.jpg)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/BAF_Buildings_zps08096deb.jpg)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/BAF_Pieces_zps7636104b.jpg)
Roads (2 lane) (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/IgQjt.jpg)
Roads (4 lane) (screenshots by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/Ubdoo.jpg)
Roads (6 lane) (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/f47yY.jpg)
Plates of different materials (for sidewalks, to place under buildings, etc) (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i.imgur.com/jqbxI.jpg)
Old Style Atlas Buildings (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Buildings/Atlas_Park_Old_Buildings_zps656fa700.jpg)
Rocks (screenshot by Sparky)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Nature/rocks_zpsf3cbc273.jpg)
Park walls (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/ParkWalls.jpg)
Industrial Walls (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/IndustrialWalls.jpg)
War Walls (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/Warwalls_zps475782d4.jpg)
Blue war wall effects don't show in the screenies because of the stark white background, but should display correctly in a normal scene.
Tunnels (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/Tunnels_zpsa6f2df94.jpg)
City Walls (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/CityWalls_zps50e42e86.jpg)
Ruined buildings (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/RUINEDBUILDINGS.jpg)
Industrial Warehouses (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/warehouses.jpg)
Factories (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/factories.jpg)
NOTE: Many building won't show up unless they're called from Group. So in order to get it to display, you have to do something like this:
[/list][/list]Def myBuilding01
Group deco_skyscraper_10
PYR 0 0 0
Pos 0 0 0
End
End
Ref myBuilding01
Pos 0 0 0
End
This happens for sure with all the others marked with an asterisk, and might happen with others. If the building is invisible, try putting it into a Def. Post 2 will have a proper exploration of Defs, but for now, just use them that way.
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HOLY RULARUU.
If someone makes an external editor, or a patch to use the client to edit the map, call it RULARUU. For he is a creator of worlds. Like the costume creator is Icon.
Also, I'm really sorry if this hurts you, brace for impact. Am I the only one to think that the game may be even better dead ? At least we have some good points out of our grief.
Keep up the good work guys.
EDIT: of course, this is discounting the firing of the whole of Paragon Studio, which is terrible. I'm really sorry for them and I'm happy it didn't end bad as they all got landings or bearings for one.
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I came. I saw. I came again.
(taking notes on how to be more Leandroic in my life)
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I... man, I need time, but I am *SO* going to make the Original Adventure map now. :D
/'cause the building reminded me of it... and the portal is the version what had xyzzy, lpwi, plugh... they'd be listed as separate zones to pick...
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Dammit Leo!
lol I never thought this was even possible so I was trying to make due, this....changes everything for the video I have been working on for 3 months...
*deletes all demofiles and starts over* GAAAHHHHHH
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This is simply awesome. I see good things coming out of this. Really, really good things.
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Dammit Leo!
lol I never thought this was even possible so I was trying to make due, this....changes everything for the video I have been working on for 3 months...
*deletes all demofiles and starts over* GAAAHHHHHH
I don't recommend creating a large map with just the instructions I posted above or you'll lose what little sanity you have. I should know, I haven't seen mine in years.
If you need to find the geometry names for something specific, let me know. The file defnames.bin (inside bin.pigg) has a list of EVERYTHING, but it's kind of hard to find something specific because the names are a bit of a mess.
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This is simply awesome. I see good things coming out of this. Really, really good things.
Goal #1: let's make a mother@#$&ing moonbase.
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I don't recommend creating a large map with just the instructions I posted above or you'll lose what little sanity you have. I should know, I haven't seen mine in years.
If you need to find the geometry names for something specific, let me know. The file defnames.bin (inside bin.pigg) has a list of EVERYTHING, but it's kind of hard to find something specific because the names are a bit of a mess.
I am just going by what ya posted ^ there, that screenie. Was trying to use Croatoa to give the feeling of a farm with a barn in it, basic stuff but I had to deal with the pumpkins and this is supposed to be old Norse. Then I wanted to do an old village based on Norse and was going to use Cimerora.
Now just from what ya got there, I can pretty much do it and stay minimal.
Also wanted a Valhalla but was going to use Cimerora's temple for that as well. Now maybe not...
I love and hate you equally Leo...Bastard
Goal #1: let's make a mother@#$&ing moonbase.
@#$& yes!
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Was trying to use Croatoa to give the feeling of a farm with a barn in it, basic stuff but I had to deal with the pumpkins and this is supposed to be old Norse.
Oh, there's something you should know, if the pumpkins were the problem.
If you open the map in a binary hex editor, you can change the names of stuff you don't want to an invalid name, and then they won't show up.
For example, in Remains, I had a lot of rubble in the Atlas map, and ruined buildings. So, I opened the binary map with a hex editor, located all instances of "Rubble" and changed it to "FckOff". Next I loaded the demo, no more rubble. I did a similar trick to get rid of the ruined buildings and such.
If you just needed to get rid of the pumpkins, it would have been really easy to edit the Croatoa map to remove them.
Then I wanted to do an old village based on Norse and was going to use Cimerora.
I dumped some Cimeroran buildings, maybe they'll help. See the third post.
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O my goodness, we need a new global channel now: Map Editors with the message of the day: "We are going to the moon"
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O my goodness, we need a new global channel now: Map Editors with the message of the day: "We are going to the moon"
Why not?
(https://i.imgur.com/Wnfi9.jpg)
(Threw that together in 10 minutes, I'm aware it looks like crap :P )
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this looks really cool...
but I'm gonna as the bleedin' obvious question here:
Is this something we can build ourselves, and then swap, so we can effectively play in a limited fashion, in a collaborative effort? ie make maps, and then upload them, and exchange them with our fellow fans?
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this looks really cool...
but I'm gonna as the bleedin' obvious question here:
Is this something we can build ourselves, and then swap, so we can effectively play in a limited fashion, in a collaborative effort? ie make maps, and then upload them, and exchange them with our fellow fans?
For demos you can already do that, just distribute the map with the demo.
For actual game play, we need a working server first, but once that's in place, server people can add maps, no problem.
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Yes yes yes.
Seems like a lot of work, but very cool nonetheless.
Is this your "very ambitious" project Codewalker mentioned a while back?
;)
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Is this your "very ambitious" project Codewalker mentioned a while back?
Sort of, this is more a symptom of that project. I've become way too familiar with the map format because I have been finishing some of the incomplete zones left in the i24 beta. They will be ready in all their glory when the community server opens.
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Just a heads-up, if you're making maps that you want to be able to use in-game eventually, you need to group things in Defs.
Using Refs for object library pieces directly is okay for demo playback, but there are certain client-server interactions that will get very upset with you if you have a million top-level Refs, so it's best to keep them to a minimum. Also, as you found, certain object library pieces doesn't work from a Ref (offhand I think it's ones that use a single geo directly rather than wrapping it in a group).
In general, most of the existing maps have all of the world geometry grouped into a Def called "Geometry", and then have subgroups inside of that for chunks of the map. They also have other top-level layers for various things like spawn points, badges, etc. There are a few exceptions, mostly for geometry that can be hidden or shown dynamically, like the Ski Chalet.
Def names also have to be unique with respect to the object library (which is everything in defnames.bin), but they don't have to be unique across individual maps, as those maps are never loaded at the same time.
Here's the text form for the map I posted earlier made out of the new office tileset pieces:
Version 2
Def grp_test
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/lobby/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Lobby_01
PYR 0 90 -0
Pos 0 0 0
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/halls/Mission/M_Office_MIS_3wy_Win
PYR 0 180 0
Pos 0 0 312
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/halls/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Str
Pos 0 0 184
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/rooms/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Rm_3wy_02
PYR 0 -90 -0
Pos -128 0 312
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/halls/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Ofc_Room_Win
Pos -256 0 312
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/lobby/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Lobby_02
PYR 0 180 -0
Pos -416 0 312
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/lobby/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Lobby_03
Pos 160 0 312
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/halls/Mission/M_Office_MIS_Room_Conference
PYR 0 -90 -0
Pos -128 0 456
End
Group Villain_Lairs/M_Office/trays/halls/Mission/M_Office_MIS_End
Pos -128 0 520
End
End
Ref grp_test
Pos 0 0 0
End
I had compiled it to geobin since the rest of the instructions weren't quite ready yet. :)
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Why not?
(https://i.imgur.com/Wnfi9.jpg)
(Threw that together in 10 minutes, I'm aware it looks like crap :P )
How dare you say that looks like crap.
That is awesome.
I finally have my moon zone. ;D
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Goal #1: let's make a mother@#$&ing moonbase.
Also, this ^^^
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Also, this ^^^
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=members.shaw.ca%2Frlongpre01%2Fmoon_tiny.jpg)
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Now, my question is, if we can make a map, can we export the existing maps? Even if just the terrain.
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Yes, with dev mode enabled and firing up the map editor in a demo playback, most stuff doesn't work, but one thing that does is the "clientsave" functionality. That will save a map into text form.
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Just a heads-up, if you're making maps that you want to be able to use in-game eventually, you need to group things in Defs.
Defs are the subject of the unwritten post 2, but thanks for the heads-up for people who aren't going to wait until I write it.
Yes, with dev mode enabled and firing up the map editor in a demo playback, most stuff doesn't work, but one thing that does is the "clientsave" functionality. That will save a map into text form.
And get ready for lots and lots and lots and LOTS of headache. Mess up a single line and the whole zone can fall apart spectacularly. Still, being stubborn enough, you can do neat things.
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Only one reply does this justice...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.corvusonline.net%2Fforum_images%2Fjizzed-in-my-pants.jpg.png)
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Wow. Just Holy Boomerangs Batman kinds of wow. Good stuff Leandro.
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Sparky made a ton of screenshots for the objects library, give him some love too! You'll find those in the third post.
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Great job Sparky!
Your screenshots are appreciated.
;D
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If we're going to have a moon zone we might as well as have a space station to go with it.
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Space_Station_zpsd1b4ee59.jpg)
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Is.... is that made of *skyscrapers from new Atlas*?
:o
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Is.... is that made of *skyscrapers from new Atlas*?
:o
Yep, just took the ones that had a sci-fi look to them and slapped them together. Only took a few minutes.
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This was then
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBnbmKqXabs
This is 50 years later
If we're going to have a moon zone we might as well as have a space station to go with it.
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Space_Station_zpsd1b4ee59.jpg)
You rock Sparky and Leandro and all other wizkids :-)
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Hey, hold on a little bit -- if we're going to have a space station, we first need a Space Shuttle to get there in the first place!
(https://i.imgur.com/SXk7a.jpg)
These models exist in the i24 beta client, they're just not used anywhere. Those of us who looked inside the PIGG files have been intrigued by texture_library/WORLD/Space/Shuttle for a while now.
H_Shuttle
V_Shuttle
H_Shuttle_Wheelsup
V_Shuttle_Wheelsup
H_Booster
V_Booster
H_BoosterShuttle
V_BoosterShuttle
If you want to put the Earth in the background, note that it's REALLY BIG. Put it at least 4000 units away from the camera.
_Planet_Earth_Surface_A
_Planet_Earth_Atmosphere_L01
_Planet_Earth_Halo_B
All 3 parts are supposed to be used inside a Def; something like:
Def PlanetEarth
Group Space/Planet_Earth/_Planet_Earth_Surface_A
End
Group Space/Planet_Earth/_Planet_Earth_Atmosphere_L01
End
Group Space/Planet_Earth/_Planet_Earth_Halo_B
End
End
And then you can place it with Ref PlanetEarth.
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Well they were thinking about building a space port once.
Nice booster and shuttle.
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*gasp* New toys! Thanks Leandro! ;D
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One of these days, Alice...
BANG! ZOOM!
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/moonplates1_zpsa211e447.jpg)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/moonplates2_zps4b35f354.jpg)
Go. Hunt. Find Cheez.
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Interesting. I actually didn't know those models were there.
For screenshot purposes, try using white_scene_wSun.txt as the scene.
Atlas park (old style) buildings: Deco1, Deco2, Deco3... I think it goes up to Deco17.
Some boring rocks:
nature_rock_group_xsml
nature_rock_sml_01
nature_rock_sml_02
nature_rock_group_sml
nature_rock_med
nature_rock_lrg
nature_rock_xlrg
Some Praetorian buildings that kind of look like they'd be right at home in a moonbase:
BA_Facility_ScienceCenter
BA_Facility_WatchTower
BA_Facility_WareHouse
BA_Facility_RbtHangars_Single
BA_Facility_RbtHangars_Double
BA_Facility_Bunker
BA_Facility_DoorWays
BA_Facility_Jail
BA_Facility_SonicPylon_01
The ENTIRE Behaviour Adjustement Facility (pretty large): BA_Facility
Bits that are used in building the BAF, walls and such:
_BA_Facility_45_OUT_Regular_01
_BA_Facilty_45_STR_Regular_128_R
_BA_Facility_45_STR_Regular_128_L01
_BA_Facility_45_IN_Regular_128
_BA_Faciltiy_Pillar_01
_BA_Facility_90_STR_Regular_256
_BA_Facility_Tower_01
_BA_Faciltiy_WallBeams_01
_BA_Facility_90_STR_Regular_128
_BA_Facility_Dock_01
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I've been using the white back for everything else, but when I first tried the moon pieces and was zoomed out from shooting buildings, I couldn't even tell where the pieces were at a distance. So I went with Atlas scene for some contrast. I'll redo the parts later.
The moon pieces were just tucked in with a bunch of road chunks. Weird.
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I've been using the white back for everything else, but when I first tried the moon pieces and was zoomed out from shooting buildings, I couldn't even tell where the pieces were at a distance. So I went with Atlas scene for some contrast. I'll redo the parts later.
Try SS_Space if you're going to redo the moon shots. I agree that the blue is good for contrast, it was more of a general thing for people who are making screenshots.
"Old Town" style buildings:
OT_bldg_conc_01a
OT_bldg_conc_01b
OT_bldg_conc_01c
OT_bldg_conc_02a
OT_bldg_conc_03a
OT_bldg_conc_03b
OT_bldg_conc_03c
OT_conc_bldg_crnr
OT_House_lrg
OT_Shotgun_16
OT_Shotgun_16_02
OT_Shotgun_16b
OT_Shotgun_16c
OT_Shotgun_24
OT_Shotgun_24_02
OT_Shotgun_24_03
OT_Shotgun_24_04
OT_Shotgun_24b
Huge skyscraper that actually has a little bit of an interior (maybe the one that leads into a cave in the RWZ?): Modern_Scraper1
Some Paragon-specific things:
trainstation1, trainstation2 (indentical as far as I can see)
BlackMarket_Complete
Wentworths_Complete
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I guess I can say something now.
They were working on a Moon zone a few years back, or so I was told. but something happened, no I don't know what, and it got shelved. I'm guessing a priority change.
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I guess I can say something now.
They were working on a Moon zone a few years back, or so I was told. but something happened, no I don't know what, and it got shelved. I'm guessing a priority change.
Well, yeah, the moon textures have been in there for a very long time. Even the space shuttle model has been there since 2006.
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Only one reply does this justice...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.corvusonline.net%2Fforum_images%2Fjizzed-in-my-pants.jpg.png)
*side steps away from Corvus*
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Gawd, this is bloody amazing!
Anyone know what pigg has the original .txt files for the official maps? I can find the City_Zones .bin files, but not the .txt files they reference.
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The txt files aren't in the piggs. The bin files under geobin/ were built from the original txt files and contain the exact same information, but in a machine-readable format instead of a human-readable one. The game knows how to load maps from both formats.
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Hey, hold on a little bit -- if we're going to have a space station, we first need a Space Shuttle to get there in the first place!
(https://i.imgur.com/SXk7a.jpg)
Frankly, I'd question the logic of placing the launch pad so close to City Hall. The blast from liftoff might scuff up the fancy stonework. :P
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Great googly moogly!
The only other thing that I can say right now is...
I want those space shuttle boosters as a jetpack (full scale, lol).
;D
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Well here is a very rough first attempt at a moon base, so please ignore the six lane road being used for a landing strip. :)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Moonbase1_zps96f959ad.jpg)
And a closer look at the biodomes.
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Moonbase2_zpsb2ea6680.jpg)
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The Eagle has landed.
Great work Sparky.
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That sound you heard was my jaw dropping
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I dont know if i hate or love at Leandro, Codewalker and Sparky i feel jealous of all them >..> ...
I just kidding if fact i made an altar and start a sect of devotion for all them!
You guys Rock!
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Nice job, Sparky. Hint: use -visscale 4 so you can place the Earth farther away and it won't disappear due to distance.
Also, I *think* you can alter the draw distance by using the Level Of Detail command:
Lod
Scale 50
End
Put that inside the group (that is, after the "Group" items, but before the "End" of the Def) and play with the scale number, let me know if you notice a difference.
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*points lasers at the earth from the moon*
>:D
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Has this been in the game this whole time, or is it something that was added during one of the recent issues?
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So, just as soon as this is put into a more user friendly mode for those of us who are 'tech inhibited' ...
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Well here is a very rough first attempt at a moon base, so please ignore the six lane road being used for a landing strip. :)
We're Americans! We'll put a six-lane road anywhere we damn want to!
What?
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We're Americans! We'll put a six-lane road anywhere we damn want to!
What?
Sounds about right... :P
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Nice job, Sparky. Hint: use -visscale 4 so you can place the Earth farther away and it won't disappear due to distance.
Also, I *think* you can alter the draw distance by using the Level Of Detail command:
Lod
Scale 50
End
Put that inside the group (that is, after the "Group" items, but before the "End" of the Def) and play with the scale number, let me know if you notice a difference.
I couldn't tell if the Level of Detail command was doing anything but the map was very small so I might notice a difference when I attempt something much bigger. The -visscale did help though. Thanks for the hints, Leandro! ;D
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Sparky, that's just made of awesome. In fact, I think you also topped it with awesomesauce :D
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Sparky, that's just made of awesome. In fact, I think you also topped it with awesomesauce :D
Thanks! Leandro, Codewalker and the other pigg divers/programmers deserve all the praise. I'm just using all the goodies that they've been giving us. :)
Slowly getting the hang of map making and took another shot at a moon base. This time I aimed for a more fortified structure. For the moment the rest of the map is pretty bare but I'll be adding craters and other details as I progress.
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Moonbase3_zpsced571ad.jpg)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Moonbase4_zpsa3ed832c.jpg)
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Moonbase5_zps1686826f.jpg)
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It really is a beautiful looking base, already.
Thanks Sparky, ;D
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That remembers me an old game...
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=upload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F9%2F90%2FOutpost%2528sierra%2529.jpg)
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Just added these to the third post, thanks to Hotaru:
War Walls (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/Warwalls_zps475782d4.jpg)
Blue war wall effects don't show in the screenies because of the stark white background, but should display correctly in a normal scene.
Tunnels (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/Tunnels_zpsa6f2df94.jpg)
City Walls (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/CityWalls_zps50e42e86.jpg)
I'll see about putting them in a ParagonWiki page instead, the thread is getting messy.
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(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/spectacular_sparky/Moonbase5_zps1686826f.jpg)
So when do we get to play SimParagon? 8)
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A program would have to be made.
A "map editor", of sorts.
That'd be up to Leandro or Codewalker, of course.
;D
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A program would have to be made.
A "map editor", of sorts.
That'd be up to Leandro or Codewalker, of course.
No point; the game client includes a map editor already. As soon as enough bits of the server are working, the built in map editor will work. No need to reinvent the wheel.
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I am desperately looking forward to City of Maps. I have logged probably 3000-4000 hours in various Sim City games over the years...
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No point; the game client includes a map editor already. As soon as enough bits of the server are working, the built in map editor will work. No need to reinvent the wheel.
I suppose.
But would the regular, "average" player like TimtheEnchanter (no offense), be able to use it easily and make stuff?
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But would the regular, "average" player like TimtheEnchanter (no offense), be able to use it easily and make stuff?
As easily as any map editor we'd write ourselves. There is always going to be a learning curve to it.
Edit: I suppose that if you only wanted something really basic to build a city map like in Sim City, that wouldn't be very hard to do, but there wouldn't be a lot of variation in the maps either. It'd get boring.
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IDK, I can think of one or two ways it could be handy.
Reminder to self: Thesis to write. Do not code side projects until done.
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Edit: I suppose that if you only wanted something really basic to build a city map like in Sim City, that wouldn't be very hard to do, but there wouldn't be a lot of variation in the maps either. It'd get boring.
I wouldn't call Sparky's map-building boring. I'd love to be able to do that without hacking away at the code. ;)
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As easily as any map editor we'd write ourselves. There is always going to be a learning curve to it.
Edit: I suppose that if you only wanted something really basic to build a city map like in Sim City, that wouldn't be very hard to do, but there wouldn't be a lot of variation in the maps either. It'd get boring.
thinking more along the lines of the Building Architect in Sim City. I have had years of fun within that tiny little part Sim City. As sson as my current project is finished, I am going in to see how things work for me.
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thinking more along the lines of the Building Architect in Sim City. I have had years of fun within that tiny little part Sim City. As sson as my current project is finished, I am going in to see how things work for me.
For something like that, you have to wait for the actual map editor. We don't have the tools to extract the geometry out of every object in the COH piggs and write a program to recombine the pieces of geometry; not to mention that'd be blatantly using COH assets without permission. With the map editor embedded in the client you can combine the existing geometry in any way you like.
Added the following to the third post, thanks to Hotaru again!
Industrial Warehouses (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/warehouses.jpg)
Factories (screenshot by Hotaru)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/factories.jpg)
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The more I think about the ramifications of these posts the more excited I get about the idea of a compatible server. Yes, it sucks that Paragon Studios is gone... but I seriously doubt the city has seen it's last updated issue. LOL.
Thanks to everyone for their endless tinkering.
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I know its kind of dumb, but at this point, I would LOVE to be able to "log on" and just sit in say, Atlas Park and chat.... I dont need the missions, or any of that. just the ability to see our characters again...
I miss the game A LOT... but more important then that, I miss my friends.
If we had some sort of way to just get into a single zone just to hang out and socialize, it would be a dream come true.
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I know its kind of dumb, but at this point, I would LOVE to be able to "log on" and just sit in say, Atlas Park and chat.... I dont need the missions, or any of that. just the ability to see our characters again...
I miss the game A LOT... but more important then that, I miss my friends.
If we had some sort of way to just get into a single zone just to hang out and socialize, it would be a dream come true.
That requires a chat system, which is something the server did. They're still working on the server stuff. The stuff that doesn't need a server connection are much easier to accomplish/hack together.
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er ma gerd
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So like with all this fantastic coding and map bits and what not... do you think its possible that once this gets up and running that we could see the end of war walls in the city districts and have zoning work like it does in praetoria where you just zone when you cross the threshold? Cause I've always wanted war walls to go away :P
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If we had a way to export the CoH models into some kind of industry standard, we could see what CoH w/o warwalls would look like now.
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As soon as enough bits of the server are working...
Is there a thread somewhere that has ANY information about the work to make a compatible server? I know TonyV said not long ago that they don't have a progress bar because they don't know what all is required, but something that says "Hey, we got this component to work today" would be nice.
Is any of this based on SEGS or a new implementation? Anyone know who is working on it in case we can lend a hand?
Thanks!
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Is there a thread somewhere that has ANY information about the work to make a compatible server? I know TonyV said not long ago that they don't have a progress bar because they don't know what all is required, but something that says "Hey, we got this component to work today" would be nice.
Is any of this based on SEGS or a new implementation? Anyone know who is working on it in case we can lend a hand?
Thanks!
It's not public. It can't be public or NCsoft could start tampering.
AFAIK, SEGS has nothing to do with any Titan effort. SEGS is one dude.
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Here are some more map pieces.
A variety of wooden, chainlink, and slat fences:
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/woodchainslatfences.jpg)
Wrought iron fences, as seen around Atlas Park and various graveyards:
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/WroughtIronFence.jpg)
Mausolea, putting the "crypt" into "Cryptic":
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/mausoleums.jpg)
And continuing in that vein, tons of graves:
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/Gravespart1.jpg)
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/Gravespart2.jpg)
Here are the ruined road pieces, darker and grittier versions of the normal streets that Sparky shot:
(https://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/Matsutaro/RuinedRoads.jpg)
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How did I miss this? Another awesome workaround. Pity there's no easy trick to get the in-game editor working like with ICON.
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Thanks! Leandro, Codewalker and the other pigg divers/programmers deserve all the praise. I'm just using all the goodies that they've been giving us.
May I ask, are the domes seperate objects, or are they whole skyscraper with the Z set way below the ground plate? If it's the former what are the names please?
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May I ask, are the domes seperate objects, or are they whole skyscraper with the Z set way below the ground plate? If it's the former what are the names please?
Yeah they're just skyscrapers. The solid domes are deco7 and the clear ones are deco_skyscraper_07.
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Yeah they're just skyscrapers. The solid domes are deco7 and the clear ones are deco_skyscraper_07.
Cheers Mark, might have to steal your deco_skyscraper_6 design instead then as there's a surfeit of objects to cop-opt into Silver Age space stations!
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I'm interested in helping catalog map pieces. whats your process Hotaru? I'm digging for the pieces under geobin/object_library but they are all .bin and .bounds files how can I physically view theses?
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Script Kitty, I started out by using a Pigg Viewer to look at Defnames in the Bin file. Use Pigg Viewer to extract that, and then you can look thru the file with Notepad or a similar utility. Be warned--it's still a mess. Generally, anything with a leading underscore, like _stairsbrickbldg would be just a sub-piece of a larger model. Usually those pieces are found around the same section of the file as the pieces they construct (which won't have a leading underscore). If there's something in particular you're looking for, you can try searching the document. You may need to try a few different words or abbreviations: Kings, KR, etc for King's Row.
After I get the name of a few promising-sounding parts, I then put them in a blank map as Leo explained, using the white sky scene file (see Leo's post for more directions). After I've shot a bunch of different pieces, I put them together in Photoshop (where I usually end up scaling them down to a manageable size).
Be aware some pieces might not be viewable from all angles--many building textures are one sided, and if your camera is positioned inside the building, you might not see anything. Unhooking the camera is usually a good idea, and if you need the new camera coordinates to shoot other models of a similar size/shape, just fire up Cameraman to give you the numbers.
Let me know if you need any other help with this.
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Thank you Hotaru! I was able to start cataloging thanks to your last post, the code really is a mess. I have always wanted to make my own army surplus store.
(Weapons, Army Surplus Props)
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i47.tinypic.com%2Fjtb4mu.png)
(https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i48.tinypic.com%2F316rgjq.png)
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Jeezy creezy. This is AMAZING. I only wish there was a more visual way to make maps than this. Perhaps one of the supernerds could hack something together. Please?
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Jeezy creezy. This is AMAZING. I only wish there was a more visual way to make maps than this. Perhaps one of the supernerds could hack something together. Please?
There *is* a fully functional Map Editor built into the client.
However, it requires an active server to work.
Without a server, the only way to make your own maps is as this thread says.
If there was enough interest maybe, sure, someone might whip up a "new" Map Editor, but...
The only person I can see on a project like that would be Codewalker, who I believe IMO, would rather focus his work on Icon.
My two cents.
:)
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There *is* a fully functional Map Editor built into the client.
However, it requires an active server to work.
Without a server, the only way to make your own maps is as this thread says.
If there was enough interest maybe, sure, someone might whip up a "new" Map Editor, but...
The only person I can see on a project like that would be Codewalker, who I believe IMO, would rather focus his work on Icon.
My two cents.
:)
I think Codewalker (or another programmer here) mentioned that the work involved to make a server for just the map editor would be better spent making a fully functional server to bring the entire game to live since it would be effectively accomplishing the same task.
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As easily as any map editor we'd write ourselves. There is always going to be a learning curve to it.
Edit: I suppose that if you only wanted something really basic to build a city map like in Sim City, that wouldn't be very hard to do, but there wouldn't be a lot of variation in the maps either. It'd get boring.
I kind of feel like a separately functioning map editor has as much value to any future efforts as a separate costume, power, and mission editor(hint hint) in that it just gives more people more access and maybe helps the people working on this stuff to better grasp it(though I'm mostly talking out my backside and in complete ignorance on that front) "layman friendly" systems like this are definitely secondary to actual server stuff(P.S. please keep me informed in whatever way is appropriate about all that) but if anyone can do that, I'd seriously encourage them to go for it.
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Such an editor would require its' creator to handle the model and texture formats first. *shrug*
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Yes, with dev mode enabled and firing up the map editor in a demo playback, most stuff doesn't work, but one thing that does is the "clientsave" functionality. That will save a map into text form.
Is it possible that we could do that? Or that someone would be kind enough to provide me instructions so I can do it? Having that base to work from would be phenomenally useful for the Fan Comics (http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,7277.0.html) I'm attempting to assemble.
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Just a heads-up, if you're making maps that you want to be able to use in-game eventually, you need to group things in Defs.
Using Refs for object library pieces directly is okay for demo playback, but there are certain client-server interactions that will get very upset with you if you have a million top-level Refs, so it's best to keep them to a minimum. Also, as you found, certain object library pieces doesn't work from a Ref (offhand I think it's ones that use a single geo directly rather than wrapping it in a group).
In general, most of the existing maps have all of the world geometry grouped into a Def called "Geometry", and then have subgroups inside of that for chunks of the map. They also have other top-level layers for various things like spawn points, badges, etc. There are a few exceptions, mostly for geometry that can be hidden or shown dynamically, like the Ski Chalet.
Def names also have to be unique with respect to the object library (which is everything in defnames.bin), but they don't have to be unique across individual maps, as those maps are never loaded at the same time.
From looking at the structure, it sounds as if the client uses the Def groups to manage loading and visibility of chunks of the map, so you don't want to, say, have all your ground for the whole map as a single Def unless it's a small map, and you want to use the Defs to break up a map to increase the rendering efficiency.
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does anyone know about the mansion model used for things like the midnight mansion in the night ward or the halloween even?
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does anyone know about the mansion model used for things like the midnight mansion in the night ward or the halloween even?
maps/Missions/Unique/Halloween2011/Halloween2011.txt
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I thought about starting up a new topic, but I feel my questions will be right at home here, so I didn't :P
Anyway, I have been delving into the pigg files the last few weeks just perusing and seeing what I can find. Well, I was curious, so I tried to edit some buildings in Steel Canyon in an attempt to replace the old textures with the upgraded textures, and I think I broke something. I tried to load the map by entering the path name (from the data folder) into ICON. Which brings up my questions:
1) Can any edits only be viewed in a demo or is it possible to load an edited map into ICON if you change the path?
2) When attempting to build a map from scratch or edit a pre-existing map, how to you delete/replace specific items and not break it?
3) When looking at the pigg files how do you separate out what specific pieces you wish to use? (For example, if you look at the specific file Zig_Subchamber.bin (found in geomv2.pigg under geobin/object_library/Villain_Lairs/Zig_Subchamber) you get:
CrypticS>Parse6Files1Dobject_library/Villain_Lairs/Zig_Subchamber/Zig_Subchamber.rootnamesNO>object_library/Villain_Lairs/Zig_Subchamber/Zig_Subchamber.txtl_Zig_Vault_Hall_Zig_Vault_Halll_Zig_Vault_Entry_Zig_Vault_Entryl_Zig_Vault_Chamber_Zig_Vault_Chamberdzig_temp_lightzig_temp_lightd_zig_column_zig_column\
_zig_light
_zig_light\
_zig_glass
_zig_glassd
Zig_Grate_Flr
Zig_Grate_FlrlPandoras_Box_StandPandoras_Box_StanddPandora_BoxPandora_Boxl_zig_glass_reflect_zig_glass_reflect\ zig_light zig_light
Now, say I want to just drop a Pandora's box underneath the Atlas statue, how would I go about separating out the individual pieces I would need and what would be the appropriate syntax to use to get this to show-up in-game?
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And question 4...
Why can I not get that model of the shuttle to show up in ICON????
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And question 4...
Why can I not get that model of the shuttle to show up in ICON????
I'm curious too. I wanted it in the NPC menu. You have no idea how hard I tried to get that darn thing to work, lol. I couldn't get it to work in Icon either, but not because I didn't try.
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So, to update the answers to my own questions,
1) Can any edits only be viewed in a demo or is it possible to load an edited map into ICON if you change the path?
Edited maps and new maps can be loaded into ICON 1.71, however, to do so, you must articulate the path verbatim, like so:
C:\Program Files (x86)\NCSoft\CohBeta\data\maps\newmap.txt
Updates to come as I figure things out :)
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I have some developer capacity that could be thrown at putting a UI around creating the custom map files required for Maps. It would be easier if I could work with someone with knowledge from this thread to guide folks in the right direction...
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Thanks for the tutorial on making maps and im doing quite well figuring it out and getting stuff to work. But what I can't figure out is how you convert an existing official map to a format such as this.
I wanna edit existing maps, add and remove things from them such as warwalls etc.... Maybe even rebuild parts of baumtown. I've seen screenshots here with people placing items and parts of other maps inside places like atlas park and pocketD so it can't be as difficult as I think it is.
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Yes, with dev mode enabled and firing up the map editor in a demo playback, most stuff doesn't work, but one thing that does is the "clientsave" functionality. That will save a map into text form.
There's your most likely answer, though I'm no demoedit ninja. I'm not sure how you'd issue keyboard commands inside a demo. It might be interesting to see if you can do it in Icon.
Or, I suppose you could just demorecord yourself issuing the commands, heh.
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Yeah I already tried that after reading his post before I even posted here. The command doesn't appear to do anything or I don't know what you're supposed to add to the command for it to function properly. Tried file names, file location etc.
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Go here: https://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10956.msg228551#msg228551 (https://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10956.msg228551#msg228551)
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Go here: https://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10956.msg228551#msg228551 (https://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10956.msg228551#msg228551)
That worked thanks, don't suppose you know how to make parts of the map visible that normally can't be seen without using f4? im making a cave map using the eden trial tube parts and those are invisible without using f4. This is a very annoying problem....
It's a custom map from scratch with those parts added to it and I can only see them with f4 map markers enabled.
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So can we add static npcs to the map but with our own costumes already loaded on them or would this require somehow replacing files like villaincostume with modifications added to them. I'd like to add some of my characters permanently to a map instead of loading them manually everytime in icon.