FruitieX wrote:After an svn update, I have no portal models at all. (only the dynamic lights and particles)

No errors, weird.

That is only supposed to happen if you did not recompile the server QC. Or you are playing on a server with a bit old server qc compiled.

morfar wrote:

FruitieX wrote:After an svn update, I have no portal models at all. (only the dynamic lights and particles)

No errors, weird.

That is only supposed to happen if you did not recompile the server QC. Or you are playing on a server with a bit old server qc compiled.

But I did recompile the server QC.

And am playing on a local server.

EDIT: Never mind, my fault for having a pk3 containing custom progs.dat code inside the data folder.

Thanks for the hint

Good work AI!

I have gone back to work on the animation for the flag models, however, it turns out to be a LOT more difficult than I first anticipated.
There's also a chance that some code for the flags needs changing, suck as not only changing the file extension from 'flag_blue.md3' to 'flag_blue.zym' but also adding code so that the animations for the .zym will work. Currently I have no idea how to do that, I've taken a look at ctf.qc and cl_player.qc but I am not good at thinking in coding terms.

I'm releasing the raw .smd file along with, what I hope to be a correct animation, of the Nexuiz emblem (chikara character). Maybe someone more experienced with dealing with animation will help me with this.

The files can be found here: http://ai.planetnexuiz.de/Models/Flags/raw/
That link contains a static model of the flag and the emblem animation (only animation not the actual geometry).
I really need help with this I've tried for weeks and weeks without luck.
Also, if someone do decide to help out could you please also tell us what you did and how. I want to write a complete guide on this so it would be good if I could reproduce the steps so I get a firmer grasp before writing it down.

Thanks.

EDIT: I changed some stuff here. I uploaded, what I think are the animations of the outer and inner ring. Updated the static as well to hopefully include the bones. I added the textures as well as it might be good to have them.
Lastly I even included the zmodel converter, just in case.

About shadow:

Probably will just disable shadows.

Ew, that most certainly isn't anything that I can do about. It's not the models fault so I have no idea how to fix that.

Finally! I succeeded in animating those damn disgusting flags!
What, how I did that? Well, I used dpmodel to convert my .smd model into a .md3 (yes dpmodel does that). But the thing is, do NOT use joints if you're converting with dpmodel, otherwise it will mess the model up in more ways that you thought was possible.
Now this doesn't mean dpmodel doesn't support joints (I have no idea if it does or does not) however, I wasn't able to get my desired effect with joints. So I simply just keyframed the actual objects and exported that as an 'animated model' with Valves SMD exporter.

Morfar has helped out with creating a shader (still not complete yet) to animate the actual cloth flags as well. We're going to work on the lasers later on as well.
Now, there's still a bit more that needs to be done with the flags, this is just a update as to what is going on. Pics or whatnot will be posted later, if at all, hard to notice animations in still frames now isn't it?

Cheers.

a gif!

Congratulations!

sexy flags ahoy!

Someone tipped me off to spidflisk has player smoke trails

What I would make is that flag would retract it's legs when carried to make it less bulky. (it should push out it's legs when dropped).

That is something that I have already thought about. But in practice it might not be possible. Zym does not allow for animation blending and unless you want to redesign the code in a dirty manner this won't be possible.
So as it stands now, the legs will show even when carried.

What should be done to make this? I really can't stand current view. Can't bones be removed? What about md3 flag model?

Bones have nothing to do with this.
Currently, the flags are .md3 models. I have animated my model without joints/bones and whatnot as apparently either md3 or dpmodel wasn't so happy about that.
What should be done in order for the legs to be animated is this:

1. Either have a .zym with different frames. Meaning on frame 0 there would be the base model, on frame 1 would be the model when it's picked up (i.e. without lasers). This is how player models work if I have understood it correctly. But zym cannot handle animation blending, that is, a player can't look up and down while running, or even standing still for that matter as the standing still pose is also animated.
Now I'm not really sure how this would affect the flags, but I would think it's this term: The cog wheels and the emblem are animated, and repeated. This is on frame 0, now when you switch over to frame 1 then you'd have to add the 'leg-animation' as well, so currently, either the leg animation will have to be played or the cogwheel thing.
There is the option, I think, to have a duplicate of the flag model, only without the lasers. So the lasers would just disappear when flag is picked up and the emblem still animated (not sure this is possible but I see why not).

Now we come to the punchline: I don't know how to create these with .zym. This is what I have been trying to do for weeks, all by myself, tried to get some peeps to help me out but they didn't get back to me. I did not succeed in creating my zyms, with and without joints. Now I on the other hand have found a way to animate them using md3's. That alone took forever. Even if I find a way to create it with zym I don't know how to do that 'frame 0' and 'frame 1' thing. Don't know if it's some code along with the zym's or if it's just the ctf.qc code. So with this I really would need help but either people themselves don't know how to do that or they don't have time/want to.

So it's easy to want things. But lot harder to make it happen, especially if you don't even know how to do it.

2. Keep the md3 models, create another model, animate the lasers to go away and export that. Now re-design the code to use this: On the pickup event, switch to use flagCarried.md3.
But when as soon as the flag is dropped or stationary at base, the code should tell it to use flagBase.md3.
This required multiple versions of the flag (minimum 4 different models, possible 6 if you would want the flag being animated as well when dropped) along with the 'dirty' code I was talking about before. I'm not so sure this would be welcomed with open arms. This is how I see it, it might require a lot of work re-coding the thing or it might even be more complicated than this, I'm no programmer so I don't really know.

One could argue that it would only require 2 or 3 models if .skin files could be used. But that would break lots of maps and stuff, especially if older versions of Nexuiz connected to a newer version server.

Personally I don't care about the lasers. Just make the laser more transparent. I don't see the lasers as a mean for keeping the flag upright, but just decorative lights. Laser disco!

And I'm against multiple flag models. It's overkill for a small thing like this.
I'm also against skins. Because I think it would break for maps that specify different models.

As for the technical stuff. I don't think .zym have frames at all. It's a skeletal based format.
But I don't know for sure if .zym can have frames also.

ai wrote:The cog wheels and the emblem are animated, and repeated. This is on frame 0, now when you switch over to frame 1 then you'd have to add the 'leg-animation' as well, so currently, either the leg animation will have to be played or the cogwheel thing.

Is it not possible to animate both (flag emblem and legs)?

Yes it is. I also thought about that. But then comes the issue as how to make this whole thing work, and I have absolutely no idea how to even start. I mean, sure, I can animate the legs being both retracted and detracted (for flag pickup and flag drop). If it's joint-based animation then it's going to be a little harder but I think it could be done. But animating it is pretty my where my limit goes, after I exported the animations I don't know where to go from there and make zym know what to play on which frame.
So unless anyone can do that for me, or tell me how to do it, this leg animation when picked up won't be possible.

Ok here how you do it.

You separate the lasers and the top part.
You animate the top part.
You place a tag_something at the split (well it don't actually matter where, but it looks more logical that way ). You name the top part/s top_something and the bottom ones bottom_something. Now you export the top ones separately, with the "flag animations", then you export the lasers (bottom) part as one model. you use .skins to colour it. Now its easily possible to turn the lasers on and off in code without having to have more then two models or different animation versions for both states.

If you like i can do this for you, just poke me on irc.

The lasers is already separated and have shaders.
So you are saying that he creates a .skin that just enable disable the laser?
That wont be hard. But I'm still against skins.

no, skins changes the color. code turns the lasers on or off.

Have I understood this right?
Shall I separate the lasers from the flag model, animate them and export together with the flag but only tagged. What is this tag then, just a normal name for the lasers?
If it's the above I have already done this as morfar suggested. But I haven't animated the lasers though.
What in the code (and where) specifies the on/off part of the lasers? Can it handle doing that in a compiled .md3 or do you need something like .zym?

If I have it totally wrong then I can send you necessary files, for you to do this. Then I can take a look what you have done and hopefully learn from it. Thanks.
I also included a nice image of how I comprehended your steps

The essential part is that you export the lasers and the rest as two separate files.

tags are md3 position markers. These are good for stitching two models together in code. Not necessary (you can note down the offset too, and use that), but it makes things easier.

The .skins file/s with mainly be for the top parts id say, to set flag colour. if the lasers change colour too they could use one as well. This is not totally necessary, but it will save resources as the model only needs to be put into memory once.

The flags are pretty much done as far as it concerns me now. The concept, design, textures, shaders, animations are all complete. There is one last thing that we are trying to do and that is to make the animated legs function properly. This is taken care of with code and tZork has offered to make that code. So I've done pretty much everything I can now it's up to the coders (no pressure ).

So with the flags wrapped up I have started a new project. That is creating a new gun for Nexuiz. This is intended to replace the Nex gun, however, this isn't anything official, I'm just doing this as I want to have a new gun for myself, and I'm also basing this gun on Div0's description over here: http://forums.alientrap.local/viewtopic.php?p=50378#50378
Of course, if that kind of function won't be implemented I might change the design a bit (to fit the current functionality of the Nex i.e. take away one of those rods in my concept).
Now, keep in mind that no one has asked for a new Nex gun, I just make this one as I don't think the current official Nex gun really fits the style and it doesn't really appeal to me.

This is the design so far, I of course accept any input anyone might have


Cheers.

It looks like a super-soaker with airport tarmac-control flares affixed to the end.

I know, it's nice

/me is longing for a remodelled 1.0 nexgun
Ah,and very good job on the flags!

Alright folks. Tonight I'll post a flag pack. This flag pack has 3 different versions: 1 flag, 2 flags and 3 flags.
Please try them all out and give them each a fair amount of playtime. Come then back here and post which you liked the best. I post screens here as a quick overview.
Now if you have any problems getting these to work then come back and say what went wrong and I'll try to solve it.
There is a readme in the package, be sure to read that, especially if you're a newbie or not as sure as to what to do.

Cheers.

http://ai.planetnexuiz.de/Models/Flags/ ... _12_20.rar (7.8MB)

1 Flag:


2 Flags:


3 Flags:

Are laser legs gonna stay or be animated?

Alien wrote:Are laser legs gonna stay or be animated?

You'd have to ask tZork that question. He did work on the lasers code so they could be animated, however, I do not know the progress on how's it going. The animations and separations are done. It's just the code that needs changing. Don't know how hard it is to code it.
So, you'd have to bring this up with him.

2 flag cloth version is official atm. Probably forever.

I think the two flags looks best I think!