Spooky Maps

[UnkoMan]

Well, the Weird World mod seems to be on an extended hiatus. Me and AA both seem to be rather easily bored and distracted. I would like to get it done some day, but I also have no programming skills to speak of, and every time I've tried to learn I gave up before making any progress.

With that being said, I did make two original maps for it, and another that is basically just Red Oktober's cave with crazy lighting. Would people want me to release these as rumble room maps? I'd have to figure out how to set up all the markers for that, and package it up and whatnot. I altered the textures too, so I might have to add a new texture folder? I'm not 100% sure, so if anybody wants to help me out there.

But, if you folks want the maps, I'll give 'em out. Maybe cmdrkoenig67 can tell me how to take actual good screen shots first, so people can see if they do want them.

[billdamn22]

Please.

[Gremlin]

We'd love to see them, Unko!

[crimsonquill]

Any new map is a welcome map.. so, YES  from me...

- CQ

[daglob]

By all means, release them.

[Overthrower]

When in doubt you can just use the print screen button on your keyboard, and then open up paint shop and right click in the window and click paste, but if a game or program has its own screen shot function, then  you will get it saved to a folder automatically for you. You can also paste it into photoshop if you prefer, but I believe you can only paste it from the edit menu up top, I forget really, or control V.

[Johnny Patches]

MAPS!!! WHERE?

[daglob]

When in doubt you can just use the print screen button on your keyboard, and then open up paint shop and right click in the window and click paste, but if a game or program has its own screen shot function, then  you will get it saved to a folder automatically for you. You can also paste it into photoshop if you prefer, but I believe you can only paste it from the edit menu up top, I forget really, or control V.

You best bet is to have Photoshop (or whatever graphic program you use) already open. Hit alt/ctrl/prntscrn, open Photoshop, click on the files menu, select new, a window will open with a bunch of info in it, hopefully it will have Clipboard as the source for the information, tell it yes, then tell it to paste. This is SUPPOSED to work. I did it a couple of times before I got too much stuff in my FF directory.

[M25]

It's been a while since I've done anything with maps, but I think you do need a separate texture directory if you've changed any of the game's textures. 

I created a program some time ago that can examine a map and pull out all of the textures and objects needed to make it easier to distribute them.  It might be of some help, but it was never widely used, so I don't know if it's a good match.

It's at http://ezscript.wikispaces.com/Installing+Mini-Mods

Grab the 'buildinstaller' program. 

[UnkoMan]

When in doubt you can just use the print screen button on your keyboard, and then open up paint shop and right click in the window and click paste, but if a game or program has its own screen shot function, then  you will get it saved to a folder automatically for you. You can also paste it into photoshop if you prefer, but I believe you can only paste it from the edit menu up top, I forget really, or control V.

You best bet is to have Photoshop (or whatever graphic program you use) already open. Hit alt/ctrl/prntscrn, open Photoshop, click on the files menu, select new, a window will open with a bunch of info in it, hopefully it will have Clipboard as the source for the information, tell it yes, then tell it to paste. This is SUPPOSED to work. I did it a couple of times before I got too much stuff in my FF directory.

I know how to take screenshots. But I wanted to take GOOD screenshots. The camera angles in the map editor never really show them off. Thanks though.

I'll see if I can get them set up this weekend, I think. Hopefully I won't be too busy. Thank you for the link, M25! I will check that out too.

[daglob]

My apologies, Unko

[UnkoMan]

Think nothing of it. I didn't explain myself enough.

Okay, so... I've got the markers in the map tutorial in place. The map shows up in the selectable list in the Rumble Room... However, when I do pick it I get the error "alert:CCampaignImp::getNextCampaignMissionDef(), invalid campaign mission index" I don't know what that means.

Also, should I not have the mission.py file in there? Should I change it to mplayer.py? I want to keep my specific lighting for the levels. I don't know what I need to have in the "from ____ import *" lines either. A bunch of them were already there from the FFX3 file I used, and I didn't touch them.

[GogglesPizanno]

The error sounds like its being caused by some mission scripting trying to set some campaign variables.
The easiest way to solve this is that unless its part of a campaign and requires some scripting, just remove the mission.py file, and put any scripting you may have or need (such as setting lighting etc...) in the danger.py file (this is the danger room script).

As for the imports at the top.
This is a basic example of all you really should need (change the lighting values to your own)

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from cshelper import *
from js import *

def OnPostInitMap():
Mission_SetSunlight(-100,70,0.5,0.5,(0.7,0.6,0.6))
Mission_SetShadows(-140,70,(0.2,0.2,0.4))
Mission_SetProjShadowBackground((1,1,1))
Mission_SetProjShadowColor((.6,.6,.6,1))


[Previsionary]

Think nothing of it. I didn't explain myself enough.

Okay, so... I've got the markers in the map tutorial in place. The map shows up in the selectable list in the Rumble Room... However, when I do pick it I get the error "alert:CCampaignImp::getNextCampaignMissionDef(), invalid campaign mission index" I don't know what that means.

This error happens in certain rumble room options when the game can't find enough campaign entries in your campdef.dat. It doesn't matter if the map is for a campaign or not because it's not looking for that information in the map files...it's actually reading code from the skirmish files. To remedy this, just add five or so entries to the campdef and it should stop popping up.

[UnkoMan]

Yes! Your idea worked Prev. And Goggles, if the danger.py is all I need then that's all I'll use. I was actually compairing what I've got in my folder to maps I've downloaded.

This is the first time I've really played my map and not just tested it in the editor. Pretty neat.

One last question before I try packaging this up. Is there any way to link a specific piece of music to a map? Just an idea.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Yes! Your idea worked Prev. And Goggles, if the danger.py is all I need then that's all I'll use. I was actually compairing what I've got in my folder to maps I've downloaded.

This is the first time I've really played my map and not just tested it in the editor. Pretty neat.

One last question before I try packaging this up. Is there any way to link a specific piece of music to a map? Just an idea.

Yes...Either by coding or...making a custom ambient sound (with a music file), changing it to a Wav file, setting it to loop, etc...But in order for others to hear the music, you'd have to write up instructions on how to set the custom sound.

Dana

[GogglesPizanno]

If you just want to use music from the game that isn't custom... then you should be able to add this line to the danger.py script (just change the music name to whichever one you want to use -- you can get the name from FFedit on the resources tab):

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Sound_PlayMusic('music_02cuba1')

[UnkoMan]

If I simply added a track to the music folder and then used the sound_playmusic track, labeling the new track, would that work?

[cmdrkoenig67]

If I simply added a track to the music folder and then used the sound_playmusic track, labeling the new track, would that work?

I think you'd also have to add it to the resources tab in the Editor (although, I'm not totally sure of that).

Dana

[UnkoMan]

Alright, folks. As soon as cat is able he'll set me up with some hosting and I'll toss these online. The .zip is a little big on account of all the textures.

But here's a few screenshots, thanks to Dana:

[GogglesPizanno]

That lighting really did capture your art style....

[cmdrkoenig67]

Love the colored lights...Nice map set up too, UM.  Great work!

Dana

BTW:  Did you incude your colored light objects and notes on how to install them or did you put everything into M25's Custom Installer?

[Volsung]

Yummy 

Sad to hear that Weird World mod is freezed :/

[AfghanAnt]

Frickin' A man. Those are insane. I love the Larry's Lunch signage and the ambient color of the map.

[UnkoMan]

Glad you guys enjoy. Honestly, once I figured everything out it was pretty fun. I will most likely do a couple more whenever I can find the time. There's definately one more to come for Eldritchtown (where these two locations are... located).

Then I might try doing a couple for The Corpse's place of living. Those'll be fun since I picture his city completely full of neon signs everywhere.

Dana: M25's installer? Should I be using that? I just put everything in a zip (surprisingly it was smaller than the rar) with instructions on where to put what, and what to do in FFEdit. But, hey, maybe that'll make it easier for people to use the lights in their own maps. They'd have to unhide all the tiny lamps with nifskope though.

[laughing paradox]

Unko, the lighting in that map is incredible. I'm really looking forward to its release.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Glad you guys enjoy. Honestly, once I figured everything out it was pretty fun. I will most likely do a couple more whenever I can find the time. There's definately one more to come for Eldritchtown (where these two locations are... located).

Then I might try doing a couple for The Corpse's place of living. Those'll be fun since I picture his city completely full of neon signs everywhere.

Dana: M25's installer? Should I be using that? I just put everything in a zip (surprisingly it was smaller than the rar) with instructions on where to put what, and what to do in FFEdit. But, hey, maybe that'll make it easier for people to use the lights in their own maps. They'd have to unhide all the tiny lamps with nifskope though.

I was just wondering, because some folks wouldn't know how to add your custom lights without instructions, I think the Installer would do all the work for them (as long as you set it up to put everything where it needs to go).  The map looks really great.

Dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

If you just want to use music from the game that isn't custom... then you should be able to add this line to the danger.py script (just change the music name to whichever one you want to use -- you can get the name from FFedit on the resources tab):

Code Select Expand

Sound_PlayMusic('music_02cuba1')

Goggles...Does this piece of code need anything special to work...i.e. any spaces around it, placed somewhere specific in the danger.py script, etc?  I can't seem to get it to work.

Dana

[GogglesPizanno]

For danger room usage, it should go in danger.py in the OnPostInitMap() function

So for example your danger.py file could look like this:

Code Select Expand

from cshelper import *
from js import *
import event

def OnPostInitMap():
Mission_SetSunlight(-40,30,1.2,1.0,(0.8,0.5,0.2))
Mission_SetShadows(-40,30,(0.2,0.3,0.3))
Mission_SetProjShadowBackground((1,1,1))
Mission_SetProjShadowColor((.8,.7,.7,1))
Sound_PlayMusic('music_02cuba1')

You just need to make sure that the name of the music you set to play is the name as it appears in the resources section of FFEdit and not the name of the mp3 file itself.

[M25]

Dana: M25's installer? Should I be using that? I just put everything in a zip (surprisingly it was smaller than the rar) with instructions on where to put what, and what to do in FFEdit. But, hey, maybe that'll make it easier for people to use the lights in their own maps. They'd have to unhide all the tiny lamps with nifskope though.

I was just wondering, because some folks wouldn't know how to add your custom lights without instructions, I think the Installer would do all the work for them (as long as you set it up to put everything where it needs to go).  The map looks really great.

Dana

The installer will grab any non-standard objects and textures and package them up with the map.  I'm not 100% sure it will work for this map, but it is worth a try.  All you have to do is run the install builder, point it to the mod directory, bring up the list of maps, click on the map and press build install... so it's not a lot of work.