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Importing assets from other games

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Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

Ah, I never got as far as the giant ape smashing shit up.
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by coffeycup »

<pre>[font class="small">code:[/font]<hr> GreySky // Name of sky texture pixelmap (or "none")

5 // Horizontal repetitions of sky texture

60 // Vertical size of sky texture (degrees)

220 // Position of horizon (pixels below top)

colour // Depth cue mode ("none", "dark" or "fog")

7,0 // Degree of fog/darkness

13,21,154 // Depth cue colour (red, green, blue ) </pre><hr>

I also extended the canvas size of the TIF into a square, extending colors top and bottom, see attachment
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by autopilot »

Holy Errol! "you're the man" as they say, now I really really wanna get ahold of a computer that ain't a huck of trash.. as far as the non cars go though, Is that kind of a manuel operation you're going to have to do, putting them individually in place by hand, cause thats a lotta lotta work as Ive learned.. Ive got some big hand built maps sitting around that never saw the light cause of all that, and texturing.



Another game that would feature really good maps for conversion would be the first driver game, im sure you've heard of it? if you wanna look into it, they have maps based on real cities, and I think the SF and NY maps would kill in c2!
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Razor »

True that. Miami would be a fun map, it has some good places for stunts.
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Alan »

Jesus thats amazing! Outstanding conversion! I didnt care for tdr much either, the game just didnt 'feel' right. Had some great maps though, anyone remember the 1920's map?
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

Autopilot, nah, I've automated the placing of noncars and powerups. I'll be releasing a couple of tools in the near future so other people can do the same.

A general update to where things are at with the Hollowood port:

It's now at Alpha 2

* Powerups are placed (with new powerup icons)

* I used Coffeys sky settings so that looks fancy.

* I've set some ped materials so there is stuff to kill.

* Animated textures.

* Double-sided textures.

I'm currently processing all the TDR dingables into C2 noncars and once those are placed I'll do another public release.

Alpha 3 will have smashable materials (fences, glass and so on), special volumes and drones.

Then I should be about ready to do the final release. This will be a 4 map pack (possibly 7 if I can port the mission scripts.) 1 free driving map and the 3 races.
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Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

Hollowood C2 (Alpha 2.0 edition) 13.2meg

Here's Alpha 2! I'd recommend deleting your old copy and using this, for some reason I can't remember I changed the prefix on the textures.

No noncars unfortunately, I got sidetracked with something else.

I've included the 5 powerup models and PUPX.act, the file my code generates for powerup placement. Just in case anyone fancies a nosey.

The spanner and stopwatch icons are partially embedded in the floor, this will be fixed in the next release. Also, if anyone could tell me why the spanners rotate but the other 4 don't I'd be a very happy Errol indeed.

-Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Harmalarm »

Hey Errol, nice work there! I was looking through the act files but noticed the powerup models actually miss the £ prefix. How come they still act as powerups? This is new for me. Also the seperate act files of the powerups are built up in a different way I think. How did you manage to get this working I wonder.

about the spinning and not spinning. I must say again, I am flabbergasted. I know APO powerups spin automatically, this is probably something hardcoded. But your little red powerup is not an APO so I wonder how the hell this is possible... It is nice though, rotating power ups are better than static ones...

This rotation can also be done manually by using grooves as I have done in my mario map mod for the coins. This is tricky with the naming though, because after preprocessing the names can change.

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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by coffeycup »

Yeah, I don't know what's going on with the PUs either. Mine were never animated.

Here's a here's TIF of the map.pix - just put it in the Hollowood TIFFRGB folder to get the map working
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Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

I had the ped sign animated when I called it &78powerup.act. I'll make up some new names for the non-animated ones and see what's going on.

Also, Coffey, how do you convert the PT2 converted map.pix to tif?

-Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Harmalarm »

xnview
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Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

Cheers Harm, you're a star.

Edit:

I can now successfully create NONX.act so noncar placement is easy. Just have to convert TDR .dcol files into workable C2 noncar.txt files now :/
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by coffeycup »

I use pixedit, that old app from some japanese guy. (Not to be confused with scanning software by the same name)

I don't even know where the heck you'd find that. So, ya xnview.
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Harmalarm »

never new that program also existed.

Good to hear Errol, this is getting more and more promising. What is the most cool thing is that when you have sorted all this out, all those tracks are converted in a couple of mouse clicks... :smile: Love that. :thumbsup:

about the powerup rotation; does that mean you only have to set the groove file once? because all powerups use the same .act.dat file? that again would be brilliant, instead of having to do all of them like I did with the super mario mod... Hell of a job that was :sad:

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Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

I've hit a snag. A fairly substantial snag.

There's a hardcoded limit of 40 different noncars per map. Hollowood has 71. Dupes are fine, but the game errors out with "Too many non-car types" when it hits 41. I checked the decompiled .exe and found:

<pre>[font class="small">code:[/font]<hr>

if(esi > 0x28) {

ecx = "Too many non-car types";

L00520690();

}

</pre><hr>

0x28 is hex for 40. This is the very definition of hard-coded. I considered running some debug program like SoftICE to find the location of that check and then increasing it but the next line down the exe is:

<pre>[font class="small">code:[/font]<hr> eax = esi + M006bef2c + 0x28; </pre><hr>

and then later:

<pre>[font class="small">code:[/font]<hr> esi = 0x28; </pre><hr>

I would guess manually changing the first instance would cause all sorts of problems further down the line.

Two options:

One) I go through each noncar and decide whether it should BE a noncar or just static and hope I can shave 31 off this way. Trees could be made static, as could the letters of the H O L L O W O O D sign on the hills.

Two) I combine noncars and write custom smash scripts. Tables and chairs become a single object with a script that spits out the individual elements when you hit them. I could also replace all the cars in the carpark with static drones. Give them a single path point so they stay in one place.

More than likely I'd have to use a combination of these approaches to shave the necessary number of noncars.

There is a third option, a pretty crappy one for you guys, I just pick 40 or so noncars I like and leave them set up and comment out the noncars I don't like. If you decide you'd rather have movable car wrecks than dumpsters, for example, you could just edit the map.txt accordingly. This is by far the easiest option for me, requires no manual work. (The whole point of a batch export is NOT to spend any time doing fiddly crap yourself). Actually, balls to you lot. I'm gonna do this :wink:

Hollowood is the worst case scenario. It has by far the most unique noncars.

Alpha 3 release as soon as I figure out why all the noncars are about 5 foot up in the air :wink:

-Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by SoupaVedg »

Hmm, I don't know much about editing programmed stuff, but couldn't you change all of those 0x28 in every lines concerned so it work?
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

In theory, yes. Personally I have great reservations as to whether it would actually work and the chances it would break something else are very high. Best to consider it set in stone and try to find other solutions.

-Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by C2 Scientist »


Tables and chairs become a single object with a script that spits out the individual elements when you hit them.
The following could be exactly what you already said above, but in my prefab making frenzy (a good while ago) I hit the same limit, and figured that you can also work around it by making any unattached noncar types (trashcans, crates, etc) smashable entries instead. You would give it a very small threshold of destruction, make the game simply remove it upon impact, and immediately spawn a normal, identical noncar in its place. These didn't count in the noncar limit... if I recall.

Perhaps that's pretty much what you were planning, but there isn't necessarily any need to combine anything, except to (sort of) simplify things a tad, if you're so inclined. :smile: So you could still have the chairs & tables as separate objects - although for that case, what does it matter really?

If it works the way I remember, you could exploit this for all noncar types that don't bend before snapping, or move/elevate - cactuses, barrels, crates, boulders, trashcans, tables, chairs, haybales, and whatever there were still.

As for the cars/vehicles, why not to consider smashable entries again? You could have custom explosion effects, time/credit bonuses, car parts flying upon the destruction, and perhaps a (shared) car wreck that would remain after. Of course, it would require some manual trickery. :wink:

Necropolis should be nice to check out again, I never properly explored it (blazed through the races/missions), but I liked the heights. Just don't forget a dark fog!?
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

I am in awe. That never would have occurred to me in a million years. I'd already begun subbing some noncars with smashables for special effects (burning barrels extinguish, lights go out on lampposts, that sort of thing) but I wouldn't have thought of just swapping them out anyway. I'm pretty sure I can automate that too, simple namechange if I remember rightly. & for noncars, ! for smash? maybe @.

I know - is just a collidable scenery mesh.

It's sad how much I've forgotten. I spent 3 hours the other night trying to remember how to make certain polys non-collidable. !\75matname was all I needed :/ I had complicated smashes set up and all sorts before I remembered that.

Anyway, cheers C2S, invaluable input as always!
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by C2 Scientist »

Glad I could help. :smile:

If you figure out any additional interesting material name switches (if that's what they're called), such as the \75, I'd be interested to hear.

By the way, I think I made some bushes non-collidable simply by using "!" in the material, but that probably only worked because all their polygons were vertical, so no water effects were applied.
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

You're probably right C2S, it's more than likely just the ! that matters.

In other news:

Hollowood C2 (Alpha 3.0 edition) 21.7meg

Major changes:

* Now has full directory structure due to the inclusion of noncar texts, unzip to the correct location!

* All noncars added, although 30 of them are rock solid. Have fun finding out which!

* Breakable textures; fences, gates, glass and a billboard.

* Correctly positioned powerups. It's still only &03 that rotates though.

* Map elements are now rotated properly too. Ring-of-not-any-fire yet is in the stunt track and there are boxes to get onto the bridge.

Thanks:

Coffeycup for his amended sky texture, sky settings and minimap

C2 Scientist for his awesome advice for bypassing the 40 noncar limit. Used on the traffic cones only for now.

Bugs:

Game crashes 9 times out of 10 when you go to quit. Any ideas?

Some textures flicker like crazy, annoying!

Some noncars are obviously badly placed, this is due to Torus using the position of the noncar collision box origin in their MoveableDescriptor file rather than the mesh origin. Crazy Australians!

No fancy settings for any noncar. Lampposts don't hinge, barrels weigh a ton, generally crap.

Still no mapstockalypse file

Additional craps:

There is a second noncar folder within the map folder containing the raw accessories. Feel free to have a play.

I've also included NONX.act/dat/mat. This file is generated by my noncar placement app.

The powerup models have been re-exported and now include coronas. These, combined with Toshibas "always face the camera" code could be a fancy combo.

To do in Alpha 4:

* Finish setting up noncars. Tweak vertical placement code so it works 100%

* Drone paths and drones.

* Tidy up breakables, they're cobbled good and proper at the moment.

* Add powerup coronas and always-face-the-camera code. Try and get all powerups to rotate.

Alpha 4 should pretty much be the final "Free Drive" version of Hollowood. The release after will be the full, final pack. Free Drive and the 3 races.

-Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by C2 Scientist »


Some textures flicker like crazy, annoying!
Have you checked if there are any overlapping or very-nearly-overlapping polygons where that happens? For example, a building wall with a separate window plane placed on it. While I guess it's more common that there's flickering between different textures, even polygons using the same texture can flicker if the UV-coordinates on them aren't identical and they are overlapping each other. Perhaps some polygons are doubled somewhere in the process and the UV-coords have somehow warped on the other. Or if the flickering is half-gray, the second polygons have no material.

Also, transparent textures can cause a bit of a similar effect. While they won't 'flicker' that rapidly, some of the triangles they're mapped to can occasionally become (temporarily) see-through - usually this happens when there are too many transparent textures visible on the screen simultaneously, such as too many trees in sight. (this has been a major annoyance to many)

If I'm just stating the obvious this time, sorry. :smile:
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by coffeycup »

Ha, this is cool! Lots of noncars now. Though the rock solid ones are sure a jolt to run into.

Image

I took a few minutes and made a disposable, rudimentary opponent path. I hate driving by myself. :smile:

In Hollowood.txt just replace

START OF OPPONENT PATHS

0

0

0

END OF OPPONENT PATHS

with this:<pre>[font class="small">code:[/font]<hr>



START OF OPPONENT PATHS

29 // total nodes

11.5,0,44 // node0

11.5,0,24 // node1

-7.25,0,25.5 // node2

-21.3,0,31.6 // node3

-31.48,0,29.8 // node4

-52.2,0,8.9 // node5

-53.48,0,-2 // node6

-45.8,0,-11.3 // node7

-33.6,0,-22.5 // node8

-30.85,0,-32.3 // node9

-16,0,-45.2 // node10

-2.56,0,-48.5 // node11

26.9,0,-48.44 // node12

38.78,0,-44.4 // node13

42.17,0,-34.13 // node14

42.8,0,-16.29 // node15

49.2,0,-6.8 // node16

49.23,0,0.1 // node17

99.5,0,0.1 // node18

99.5,0,11.7 // node19

95.23,0,11.78 // node20

90.93,0,20.5 // node21

89.1,0,23.75 // node22

89.1,0,30.65 // node23

97.98,0,45.6 // node24

81,0,55.11 // node25

68.12,0,77.56 // node26

15.98,0,77.56 // node27

11.5,0,66 // node28

29 // total paths

0 1 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path0

1 2 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path1

2 3 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path2

3 4 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path3

4 5 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path4

5 6 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path5

6 7 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path6

7 8 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path7

8 9 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path8

9 10 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path9

10 11 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path10

11 12 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path11

12 13 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path12

13 14 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path13

14 15 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path14

15 16 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path15

16 17 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path16

17 18 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path17

18 19 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path18

19 20 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path19

20 21 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path20

21 22 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path21

22 23 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path22

23 24 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path23

24 25 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path24

25 26 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path25

26 27 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path26

27 28 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path27

28 0 0 255 0 100 5.0 0 // Path28

0 // Number of cop start points

END OF OPPONENT PATHS

</pre><hr> @ Errol - Once these guys start driving around you're going to run into problem with them running off the sides and freezing the game. I know you're trying to automate this but might need to import some 'invisible' retaining wall when you are adding the !water plane.

I think you'll find all the flickerering is happening on textures that have alpha channels. There are LOTS of them in this map. All the park benches and bustands use them. One really unfortunate place is on the wheels of the otherwise very cool vans and jeeps and buses. It'd be a good way to get round looking wheels if C2 didn't freak out when there's so many on screen at once.

When two surface with alpha channels are overlapping in your line of sight - like the tree's intersecting planes - C2 seems to have a tough time deciding which should be in front! It happens on the bus stand because the bench slats and bus stand side windows use alpha. I don't know what you can do about it short of reworking the noncars.
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Harmalarm »

Ah, back from holiday finding a new release... love it!

before I start testing this awesome new package I got something else; The '!' material prefix is basically used for water and works with horizontal planes and planes with a very slight angle. If you use the '>' prefix, the material does not act as water at all. (thanx to tosh for discovering this)

the only downside is that this flag will bump with the camera for a very short time. (but the ! prefix also has that downside) You can see this in my cactus map, with the light rays. the camera can get past, but goes up and down for a short while because it needs to get 'through' the mesh of the light rays.

but if I were you I would use the '>' prefix instead of the '!'. :wink:

time to play now! :smile:
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Errol
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Errol »

Hollowood C2 (Alpha 4.0 edition) 22.92meg

Major changes:

* Water!

* King Kong!

* The missing wall!

* Ring of badly animated Fire!

* Explosive things explode!

* Noncars do their noncar thing!

* Most trashcans explode with trash, burning barrels go out, telephone boxes shatter, cactii cacdie.

* Groove!

Thanks:

Coffeycup for his amended sky texture, sky settings and minimap

C2 Scientist for his awesome advice for bypassing the 40 noncar limit.

Bugs:

Game crashes occasionally when you go to quit. Any ideas?

90% of smashable entities do as they should, some don't. For example, the 2 trashcans near the solitary phone box will all trigger their smashes. The 2 trashcans near the 2 phoneboxes won't. Magic?!

Still no mapstockalypse file

Additional craps:

There is a second noncar folder within the map folder containing the raw accessories. Feel free to have a play.

I've also included NONX.act/dat/mat. This file is generated by my noncar placement app.

The powerup models have been re-exported and now include coronas.

To do in Alpha 5:

* Drone paths and drones.

* Tidy up breakables, they're cobbled good and proper at the moment.

Alpha 5 should pretty much be the final "Free Drive" version of Hollowood. The release after will be the full, final pack. Free Drive and the 3 races.

-Errol

!!!!!!!!MIGHTY EDIT!!!!!!!!

If you downloaded Alpha 4.0 before this edit it will crash due to a broken noncar. 90Tumbleweed.txt doesn't contain any collision shape.

A quick fix is to copy the collision shape from 44RockSmall.txt into 90Tumbleweed.txt

Sorry!
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Re: Importing assets from other games

Post by Razor »

Nice, good to see it coming along.
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