Author Topic: Some getting started questions  (Read 2759 times)

ThePhlebotomist

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Some getting started questions
« on: September 02, 2013, 11:45:51 PM »
Hi,

From the activity with the Icon program, it sounds like people might be doing a lot with demos, but I've still got some basic questions, even after reading through http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Demo_Editing/Demo_How_To_Info.

Questions:

* Is movement implemented in demorecord-form as showing a run/walk/jump animation while separately replacing the character model over time?

* Are combat powers similarly independent/disconnected or does the game engine take some of that off your hands?

For example, if you want to animate a character throwing a Fireball and hitting a target NPC as you would've seen in-game, do you have to take a ball of fire NPC and replace it over time closer to its target, run a ball-of-fire-explosion animation over time at the destination, run a target NPC react animation over time, etc?

* Are people working on demo builder tools for wider consumption or is the nature of demo records such that people usually write one-off scripts for each time sequence they want to do (assuming they've searched their old in-game demo records and can't find something close to what they want)? I can see it'd be hard to make a general-purpose tool.

Thanks!

The Fifth Horseman

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Re: Some getting started questions
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2013, 04:43:55 AM »
* Is movement implemented in demorecord-form as showing a run/walk/jump animation while separately replacing the character model over time?
Yes.
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* Are combat powers similarly independent/disconnected or does the game engine take some of that off your hands?
If my memory serves, power projectiles are part of their FX and do not have to be moved. The rest I'm afraid is still split up.

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* Are people working on demo builder tools for wider consumption or is the nature of demo records such that people usually write one-off scripts for each time sequence they want to do (assuming they've searched their old in-game demo records and can't find something close to what they want)? I can see it'd be hard to make a general-purpose tool.
AFAIK some tools of that sort already exist, but are fairly out of date.
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goodtime

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Re: Some getting started questions
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2013, 12:05:17 PM »
* Is movement implemented in demorecord-form as showing a run/walk/jump animation while separately replacing the character model over time?
You have to specify the type of movement along with the change in location.  For jumping, you'd need to specify the MOV for jumping up, then the MOV for reaching the apex, then the MOV for falling, all while adjusting the position.   Similarly with flight poses.

* Are combat powers similarly independent/disconnected or does the game engine take some of that off your hands?
You specify a MOV and FX to make the model show the attack, and usually another FX for a hit.   If you specify the FX origin and target IDs appropriately the game engine will handle the FX (i.e. fireball)  movement. 

For example, if you want to animate a character throwing a Fireball and hitting a target NPC as you would've seen in-game, do you have to take a ball of fire NPC and replace it over time closer to its target, run a ball-of-fire-explosion animation over time at the destination, run a target NPC react animation over time, etc?
Nope.  Just as I said above. Here's an example.  The rock being thrown, then later the claw attack, spine attack, etc.  FX follow the moving camera/target.

Floride

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Re: Some getting started questions
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2013, 09:58:36 AM »
For example, if you want to animate a character throwing a Fireball and hitting a target NPC as you would've seen in-game, do you have to take a ball of fire NPC and replace it over time closer to its target, run a ball-of-fire-explosion animation over time at the destination, run a target NPC react animation over time, etc?
To answer your question specifically about a fireball: A ball of fire is not an NPC, you don't keep giving it new coordinates "walking" it over to it's target. A ball of fire is just an "FX oneshot" command in which you enter the coordinates of where to start it (your character) and finish it (an NPC or a wall or wherever), and the game engine does the rest - creates it, makes it fly from point A to point B, makes it go splat (just a little) and then deletes it.

But to have a character shoot an NPC and make it look like it did in-game requires several MOV's and FX's, not just the fireball FX alone. It really helps if you already have a bunch of recorded demos from when the game was live to use as reference material. If you want a sample demo of a complete fireball toss including all MOV's and FX's and NPC's et al, just ask, someone here has one (I don't have one ready, but I could make one if needed).

vI'd like to note that to make your character dribble a basketball requires only one single MOV command to your character (the basketball itself is created by the MOV command, and no separate FX command is needed) whereas a fireball's creation, path of travel, and deletion are all taken care of in a single "FX Oneshot" command.
It's confusing because an "FX Oneshot" command generates a fireball, but a "MOV" command generates a basketball.

So... How does one know if something is generated by a MOV or an FX? The hard way. By trying hundreds of MOV's, FX's, and MOV/FX combos until you get the hang of it. A big help for MOVs can be found in Leandro's Torrent download in this thread. Of course, you can always ask for help here too.

* Is movement implemented in demorecord-form as showing a run/walk/jump animation while separately replacing the character model over time?
Not certain what you're asking here. To make a character run, you need to give it a single MOV command (basically, an emote of it running), then keep giving the character new coordinates like a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. The character model doesn't get "replaced" (despawned/respawned), it just get's told where to go to next.
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