reepblue

I almost let a whole week go by without writing a blog, ahh! I've been doing a lot of thinking and experimenting over the last few days, and talking to other people about Vectronic. Last week, I talked about improving functionalities of the pickup system and the platforms. Although the pickup system is near done, the platform system, well they need work. I made a topic about them here, and kind of left me on a stand still on the project because I see them as a vital piece of the game, and they need to be perfect 100% of the time. As I mentioned before Vectronic always seemed to feel and play like a demo. there was never more than 3 maps, and the ideas were very basic. The method of slopping out maps quickly, and fine tuning them later is fixing that as there are way more maps than ever, but unfortunately I'm noticing a problem with the actual core gameplay itself, something I would never notice with just a few demo maps. It seems as though although the box has cool effects attached to them, they mostly need environment elements to really make them shine; which is a problem. The question is, is it the powers attached to the balls, or is it that the balls can only activate the boxes. And if the balls can activate other elements, how would they work, and what problems would it solve? I went back to the project what Vectronic morphed out of to see if those ideas can fix problems that Vectronic has. In the old project, the power was tied to each box, and the player would fire electric bolts at them to activate or deactivate them. I had a cube that reversed it's gravity, (Along with other cubes because I didn't know how to make it so only THAT cube flipped) one that stayed static in the air, a cube that exploded, and a cube that did nothing at all. This method had problems, which I talked about here. The idea of the flip cube was something I really loved, but I couldn't figure out how to only make that one cube reverse gravity while the others remained normal. Out of curiosity, I decided to quickly script this cube and simply have it flip when the F key was pressed. I got the effect I wanted, but it's not flawless. what I did was when the cube was told to flip, it would use a joint to go to the ceiling. You can ride it up, but the player would clip through the ceiling which I think I can fix on the player side, and you can't pick up a box when the box wants to go up; but again I think I can fix that.I also have ideas on how to make the ghost cube more fun and interesting. But then comes the question is this really a problem, or is it just me working on an idea as a demo for such a long time that I find it boring? I'm asking a lot of people for input and one person plans on give me a playable prototype of his idea so I'm looking forward to that. I want Vectronic to be the best it can be, and if it ends up being different than the demo or what it ever was, but a lot more fun, so be it. Besides gameplay, I've also been playing with tolua++, and getting ideas what I wish to do with LEX in the future. There is also the Halloween Game Tournament so maybe my head will clear up when I'm working on that. There have also been some experimentation on art, but I'm not ready to talk about that yet.

We need more shaders like this in the stock SDK, I think it will help the art pipeline more.

I got an idea I want to try. Hopefully I can submit it in time and no one shoots at any telephone poles like last time.

As I said before, I'm waiting for the editor to be filled with very useful shortcuts. I forgot what shortcut I wanted the most, all well.

You did mention about a refresh of the UI after the release of 3.5, but it makes sense that you'd want it to have it wait if you plan on changing things over. Can't wait to see where this goes, the updates have always been great.

Right from Entity.h virtual void SetInput(const float angle, const float move, const float strafe=0, const float jump=0, const bool crouch=false, const float maxaccel=1,const float maxdecel=0.5, const bool detailed=false);//lua

What Generic Character? I'm sure that these are not modeled yet. Also, can't you just import Max files into blender via plugin, or it does not work right?

Look at this post for drawing sprites from one point to another. Just set the picker collision to none.

Gonna go with 3 since the other two seem to modern, while the third set can take place at anytime.

Whether be Leadwerks or another OpenGL engine such as the Space Engine, I've always heard a lot of people having issues with Windows, AMD, and OpenGL.

Setting the collision type to Prop, or Debris should automatically turn on gravity and such. I mostly create my emitter's in script, so I need to confirm this myself.

No it wouldn't because I need both player's and objects to lift up. I made a strange script before that it's not pushing the object up that's the problem, it's getting the object to fall down with the platform when it goes down. Right now I'm thinking about porting my first platform code, and fully testing that. If it's only the player that's the issue, I think I can fix it.

Great to hear, I'm always excited to see what's next with the engine. Very interested to see what's in mind for LE4.

Can be an OpenGL problem with AMD as Unreal uses DirectX, and I think so does Unity.

Hi, For the last few days, I've been trying to make my platforms/lifts perfect for both the player, and physical objects. I've thought I solved the issue explained here, but upon further investigation, I noticed a few problems. When the platform goes down, the physical object is put to sleep, and does not wake up when the platform goes back down. I've tried a bunch of things to keep it awake, but the box reacted to violently, and the overall result was bad. In the demo, I made a non-physics based script which worked for the demo, but when I went to use it in levels, the physics update did not update the player, and the player would just "fall through" the platform. I would just keep using the standard sliding door script as it solves both problems, but the platform itself reacts to physical impact. So in a case, a box can be falling for a few meters, and when it crashes on the platform, it sinks below the floor brush. I've made a script that prevents this when the platform is resting, but it can still be offset when the platform is moving. Collision Rules: --------------------------------------------------- --[[Collsion Defines: Make new Collision Rules ]]-- --------------------------------------------------- Collision.CharacterBlocker = 9 Collision.PropBlocker = 10 Collision.Clip = 11 Collision.PickInfo = 12 Collision.PickedUpProp = 13 Collision.Item = 14 Collision.JointObject = 15 Collision.PickInfoCrouch = 23 -- Props can activate triggers. Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Prop, Collision.Trigger, Collision.Trigger) -- Comment me out if you don't want this! -- CSG Collisions Collision:SetResponse(Collision.CharacterBlocker, Collision.Character, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PropBlocker, Collision.Prop, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PropBlocker, Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PropBlocker, Collision.VecBox, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Clip, Collision.Character, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Clip, Collision.Prop, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Clip, Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Collide) -- Picked up objects can still collide with triggers, but never characters. Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Character, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Scene, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Prop, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Trigger, Collision.Trigger) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.None) -- Items Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Item, Collision.Character, Collision.Trigger) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Item, Collision.Scene, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Item, Collision.Prop, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Item, Collision.Trigger, Collision.Trigger) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.Item, Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.None) -- PickInfo Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfo, Collision.Scene, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfo, Collision.Prop, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfo, Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfo, Collision.Trigger, Collision.None) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfo, Collision.Item, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfo, Collision.JointObject, Collision.None) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfoCrouch, Collision.Scene, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfoCrouch, Collision.Prop, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfoCrouch, Collision.PickedUpProp, Collision.None) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfoCrouch, Collision.Trigger, Collision.None) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfoCrouch, Collision.Item, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.PickInfoCrouch, Collision.JointObject, Collision.None) --JointObject Collision:SetResponse(Collision.JointObject, Collision.Character, Collision.Collide) Collision:SetResponse(Collision.VecBox, Collision.JointObject, Collision.Collide) Now here is my current platform code based off the sliding door script. import "Scripts/Functions/ReleaseTableObjects.lua" Script.enabled=true--bool "Enabled" Script.openstate=false--bool "Start Open" Script.distance=Vec3(0,0,0)--Vec3 "Distance" Script.movespeed=1--float "Move speed" 0,100,3 Script.opensoundfile=""--path "Open Sound" "Wav File (*wav):wav|Sound" Script.closesoundfile=""--path "Close Sound" "Wav File (*wav):wav|Sound" Script.loopsoundfile=""--path "Loop Sound" "Wav File (*wav):wav|Sound" Script.closedelay=-1 Script.opened=false function Script:Start() self.entity:SetGravityMode(false) if self.entity:GetMass()==0 then self.entity:SetMass(10) end self.sound={} self.sound.stop01 = Sound:Load("Sound/Gameplay/VecPlatform/platform_stop01.wav") self.sound.stop02 = Sound:Load("Sound/Gameplay/VecPlatform/platform_stop02.wav") -- Collision Fix self.entity:SetCollisionType(Collision.JointObject) self.protector= Model:Box(1,1,1) self.protector:SetPosition(self.entity:GetPosition(true)) self.protector:SetRotation(self.entity:GetRotation(true)) self.protector:SetQuaternion(self.entity:GetQuaternion(true)) self.protector:SetShape(self.entity:GetShape()) self.protector:SetShadowMode(0) -- Fix the shadow mode for the platform self.protector:SetGravityMode(false) self.protector:SetCollisionType(Collision.PropBlocker) self.protector:SetParent(self.entity) local material = Material:Load("Materials/Effects/Invisible.mat") self.protector:SetMaterial(material) material:Release() if self.opensoundfile~="" then self.sound.open = Sound:Load(self.opensoundfile) end if self.loopsoundfile~="" then self.sound.loop = Sound:Load(self.loopsoundfile) end if self.closesoundfile~="" then self.sound.close = Sound:Load(self.closesoundfile) end if self.sound.loop~=nil then self.loopsource = Source:Create() self.loopsource:SetSound(self.sound.loop) self.loopsource:SetLoopMode(true) self.loopsource:SetRange(50) end self.opentime=0 --Create a motorized slider joint local position=self.entity:GetPosition(true) local pin=self.distance:Normalize() self.joint=Joint:Slider(position.x,position.y,position.z,pin.x,pin.y,pin.z,self.entity,nil) if self.openstate then self.openangle=0 self.closedangle=self.distance:Length() else self.openangle=self.distance:Length() self.closedangle=0 end self.joint:EnableMotor() self.joint:SetMotorSpeed(self.movespeed) local e = self.entity:CountChildren() for n=1,e do --System:Print(n) cl = n - 1 local c = self.entity:GetChild(cl) --c:SetColor(1,1,1,0) c:SetShadowMode(Light.Dynamic) end --This will move, so have the shadowmode dynamic. self.entity:SetShadowMode(Light.Dynamic) end function Script:Toggle()--in if self.enabled then if self.openstate then self:Close() else self:Open() end end end function Script:Open()--in if self.enabled then self.opentime = Time:GetCurrent() if self.openstate==false then if self.sound.open then self.entity:EmitSound(self.sound.open) end self.joint:EnableMotor() self.protector:Hide() self.joint:SetAngle(self.openangle) self.openstate=true self.component:CallOutputs("Open") if self.loopsource~=nil then self.loopsource:SetPosition(self.entity:GetPosition(true)) if self.loopsource:GetState()==Source.Stopped then self.loopsource:Play() end end end end end function Script:Close()--in if self.enabled then if self.openstate then if self.sound.close then self.entity:EmitSound(self.sound.close) end self.joint:EnableMotor() self.joint:SetAngle(self.closedangle) self.openstate=false if self.loopsource~=nil then self.loopsource:SetPosition(self.entity:GetPosition(true)) if self.loopsource:GetState()==Source.Stopped then self.loopsource:Play() end end self.component:CallOutputs("Close") end end end function Script:UpdatePhysics() end function Script:Disable()--in self.enabled=false self.joint:DisableMotor() self.component:CallOutputs("Disable") end function Script:Enable()--in self.enabled=true self.joint:EnableMotor() self.component:CallOutputs("Enable") end function Script:UpdatePhysics() --Disable loop sound local angle if self.openstate then angle = self.openangle else angle = self.closedangle end if math.abs(self.joint:GetAngle()-angle)<0.1 then if self.sound.loop~=nil then if self.loopsource:GetState()~=Source.Stopped then self.loopsource:Stop() end end if self.openstate==false then if self.opened==true then self.protector:Show() self.component:CallOutputs("OnFullyClosed") self.opened=false self.entity:EmitSound(self.sound.stop02) System:Print("Fully Closed") end else if self.opened==false then self.component:CallOutputs("OnFullyOpened") System:Print("Fully Opened") self.entity:EmitSound(self.sound.stop01) self.opened=true end end else if self.sound.loop~=nil then if self.loopsource:GetState()==Source.Stopped then self.loopsource:Resume() end end self.component:CallOutputs("onresume") end if self.sound.loop~=nil then if self.loopsource:GetState()==Source.Playing then self.loopsource:SetPosition(self.entity:GetPosition(true)) end end --Automatically close the door after a delay if self.closedelay>0 then if self.openstate then local time = Time:GetCurrent() if time-self.opentime>self.closedelay then self:Close() end end end end function Script:Release() ReleaseTableObjects(self.sound) if self.loopsource then self.loopsource:Release() self.loopsource=nil end self.sound=nil end Is there a better way of making a platform that updates physics and the player but does not react to heavy objects, or objects with momentum? I really don't want to take any shortcuts as I don't want any puzzles to be limited/gimped depending on platforms. If you need/want any more of my attempts/code, I'll happy supply it. Thanks.

If you have the standard edition, if you look at the header files, you can see what functions are exposed to lua, and I think you can expose a functions yourself with tolua++ if they are not already. Not every function that's accessible in lua scripts is documented.

This is because dofile() is not apart of the Leadwerks Filesystem. I've had similar issues loading xml files. Did you try using Execute file of the interpreter? Interpreter:ExecuteFile("Scripts/myscript.lua")

Doesn't setting the Collision Type under Physics do the trick?

Besides fixing the UV's for the VecDispenser, Adding in the box model, and some added sounds thanks to ThirstyPanther, most of the work this week was done with adjusting scripts so that the game as a whole plays better. Picking Up Objects Last week, I mention that I adjusted the pickup system so that it will auto center the object when it's picked up. While the stock code for the pickup system is good for occasionally picking up objects, in Vectronic, you're gonna be picking up boxes a lot. Not only that, but some puzzles require you to throw the boxes straight a head. The stock code locks the position and of the pickup with the picker position point which produces results like this. The pickup system needed to feel natural as possible. I wanted the object to tween from the current location to the center of the player's crosshair, much how the pickup system is in Source. It only took an additional transformed point from the camera, and using Math:Curve to translate the two positions together. The box position will always now be centered with the crosshair when picked up. This fix caused a few more problems which I'm still tweaking, I've added collision back to the picked up object, prevented the player picking up the object if they are standing on it, and also made the player auto drop it if the speed of the object is going too fast due to movement speed or violent collisions. It's not perfect now, but I feel that it's better than the stock pickup system, at least for this game. Platforms Another fix I've made is with the moving platforms. One major I've found with the sliding door script is that if a heavy object is on the joint object, the joint will fail, and fall through the floor. Since the boxes need to be heavy so they don't bounce really high, I felt like this was not a good system for the platforms. In the demo, I've made a script that just moves the model's position over time, but further playing with this script showed me that there was issues actually pushing the player up, while jointed objects did not have this issue. So I went back to the sliding door script with the problem of heavy objects effecting them, but lifting the player is fine. I solved this by making the joint object invisible and it's collision set to only collide with the player, and nothing else. Then, have the platform model as it's child which collides with everything else. This solved both problems as heavy boxes don't screw up the platforms as it's not colliding with the platform, but the player and objects can ride with the lifts without any issues! I still need to work on a better way to set the distance, as right now you have to guess and tweak the distance values which I don't seem to like very much. I plan on switching it to a location point instead. Overall, the platforms need to be more user friendly as right now it's just a modded version of the sliding door script. I might work a bit on that this week. I'll continue to work little by little to get everything as solid as I can. There is also a map in this set that I feel that's not as fun, informative or needed that I want to adjust or replace before working on any new maps. The goal is to get all this basic stuff perfect before continuing.

I was gonna write one for my LEX template, but I did not know how basic I should have made it. Should it just be a simple player that can just walk around, jump, and crouch, or have life, and weapon support too?

You can change the refraction amount in the shader so it's less of a direct reflection.

Very nice tutorial. Only criticism I have is that the 3rd party software you need costs more than the engine itself. I think for the future, it's best to recommend free/open source and multi platform applications if you plan to do any more. I get it that Vue is a professional skybox program, and there is prob not a good way to do it in Paint.Net or Gimp. I recommend tutorials on how to get a model from Blender into Leadwerks with the correct rotation and scale. It also be nice to document how animation files should be written, and how to load it. It does not seem to be talked about in the models and animations tutorial. You did a good explanation , but it's buried within the Leadwerks Youtube channel.

@Olby. Although looking at blender files might not make you a better modeler, It sure helped me on how to properly rig a model to work. But allowing the end user to take a model and let them be able to modify it can be a learning tool. Everyone learns differently.

If Josh actually release the raw content, it will give people a "Ohhh, so that's how I do it" moment. I've learned a lot looking at decompiled models before, and they are always nice to have. But if the new models are just "Ok guys, new models" without any sources, then yes, nothing can really be learned from it. I really hope the vertex tools and slicing are on the To-Do list, but there is a lot of issues with that. For example, creating invalid shapes, probably why Josh just added carving. Since I'm so used to not carving because it was seen as a sin with GoldSrc/Source, I don't use it as much. Hopefully someday it will be implemented. Importing a model or texture to Source is A LOT more confusing than it is for LE3. Again with the source engine, people are generally making mods, and have the entire resource library of 3 Half-Life games, and if you know how, you can port models from Left 4 Dead, and other games. This is where I think if Leadwerks had it's own set of content, it will give new users a starting point, or at least a better one then they have now. Overall, I think if Josh does release the sources of new content (both models and textures) and with that, having more in-depth tutorials about creating the such content for Leadwerks, I think this issue will be better addressed.

I was gonna say, if this is your work, make it apart of the official toolset. Making cubemaps/skyboxes are very frustrating at first.