MODDING FOR ROOKIES

[DARK TEMPLAR]

Yet again, thank you

[NatVac]

One technique used a lot is to move the static info display off the "logical" screen (10x4x768, which is then mapped to your resolution) by making the x-coordinate greater than 1024.

The typical way to comment out a block in XML is to bracket the block with

Code: Select all

<!--

and

Code: Select all

-->

So this might also work:

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<gun_jammed x="192" y="100" width="640" height="30" ttl="3">
    <!-- <text font="graffiti22"  r="240" g="217" b="182" a="255" align="c">gun_jammed</text> -->
</gun_jammed>

For Lua scripting, double hyphens are used in front of the text you want to comment out. For block commenting, wrap the block with

Code: Select all

--[[

and

Code: Select all

--]]

to save having to put double hyphens at the beginning of each line.

For the configuration files, a semicolon at any point along the line marks the rest of the line as a comment.

The game is sometimes flexible enough to allow double hyphens as comment indicators in the config files.

[EggChen]

Try commenting out the second line, again using --

My bad, I used the wrong type of comment for XML
The CTD would have slapped my forehead for me in testing (had I tested it).

Thanks Natvac.

[NatVac]

I don't know -- GSC has modified the engine a lot. The .ltx files can use either semicolons or doubled hyphens for comments. It might be that the double hyphens work in XML files, too.

[Nightwatch]

I wouldn't recommend the use of "double hypens" in XML files as a way of "commenting out," with all due respect.

However, this is the way I also comment out XML files. (my documented way of usage) :

Code: Select all

//

so a line like this:

Code: Select all

#include "gameplay\add\character_dialogs_gar_seryi.xml"

can be cancelled out like this:

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//#include "gameplay\add\character_dialogs_gar_seryi.xml"

as the way commenting out things in JavaScript.

Mind you, this way of commenting out does not work on all XML lines, only on those that start with: ( # )

[DARK TEMPLAR]

Got what I needed.
Now another thing, level changers for returning the npp area. in and out of the powerplant, back to pripyat, those lv changers

[EggChen]

I followed this, an excellent tutorial by Dezodor.

http://sdk.stalker-game.com/en/index.ph ... l_Changers

[DARK TEMPLAR]

I don't get it, how in the blazes do you run this ACDC

[Lyoko774]

I feel like such a nooblet asking this, but..
How do you do that..thing where you can duplicate a weapon's mesh and change it's texture?
I've tried hex editing, it failed horribly. :\

[EggChen]

Hey DT, you need to install actveperl first. Check the all.spawn editing guide on the wiki, it has everything you need including links. Unfortunately if you want to mod the game, at some point you'll need to mess with the all.spawn. It is fairly easy once you get everything setup properly. Your level changers would need all.spawn editing (unless you could use Natvac's scripts in ZRP). i'm afraid understanding those is beyond me.

Lyoko774 - It depends what your doing. The basic principal though is you copy the mesh, say the abakan mesh, and create a new version called abakan_rust, or whatever it is your doing. Then you hex edit the new mesh and search for "wpn_abakan". You then change this to something of the same characters, so wpn_abaka1 for example. The new mesh will then look for this new texture. Of course you still need to create the new weapon / character in the respective ltx files.

Check out my rookie retexture mod, which is a good example of how to do this with characters.

http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Rooki ... ture;86045

[Lyoko774]

Lyoko774 - It depends what your doing. The basic principal though is you copy the mesh, say the abakan mesh, and create a new version called abakan_rust, or whatever it is your doing. Then you hex edit the new mesh and search for "wpn_abakan". You then change this to something of the same characters, so wpn_abaka1 for example. The new mesh will then look for this new texture. Of course you still need to create the new weapon / character in the respective ltx files.

Check out my rookie retexture mod, which is a good example of how to do this with characters.

http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Rooki ... ture;86045

Oh oh oh!
I screwed it up, by accident.
I got it working now.
Thanks!

[Lyoko774]

Ugh.
Has anyone sucessfully "seperated" the random anomalies from AMK mod?
I've been trying to make it standalone, for my own use, for the longest time..ending in failure every time.
I'm a, pardon my French, shit scripter. I can do some basic things, but AMK is too huge to get all the right functions for random anomalies out..for me, anyway.
So..Has anyone managed it? If so, tell me what you did, or even send me the files? I'd appreciate it!

[EggChen]

Nope, but it is on my list to try....

I too am a ahem, rubbish, scripter.
I really want to extract random heli patrols and random anomolies, I have everything else random in game

I was kind of hoping someone like nanderson would have had a look, but I gather he has a long list of "to-do" items. I asked Xiani about it in his freeplay mod, but no response, he has dissapeared. It would even in my opinion be a good add-on for ZRP freeplay, but many may disagree.

When I get round to a proper look, I will be sure to share it if I succeed.

[Lyoko774]

Nope, but it is on my list to try....

I too am a ahem, rubbish, scripter.
I really want to extract random heli patrols and random anomolies, I have everything else random in game

I was kind of hoping someone like nanderson would have had a look, but I gather he has a long list of "to-do" items. I asked Xiani about it in his freeplay mod, but no response, he has dissapeared. It would even in my opinion be a good add-on for ZRP freeplay, but many may disagree.

When I get round to a proper look, I will be sure to share it if I succeed.

Yeah.
I like this random..stuff. It really adds a lot more to the Zone.

[DARK TEMPLAR]

Aaagh fck, something somewhere is still not right. Added two test lc's (gordon-pripyat and stancia-pripyat), did everithing that was needed to be done ( i think) but still the lc's don't show up on the map and when i walk into them (the gordon end to be precise) i get a crash with no log. I'm guessing that it's only the gordon-pripyat, since i made that myself and the stancia-pripyat is a copy paste from the example
sry for the lenghty post
[8642]
; cse_abstract properties
section_name = level_changer
name = exit_to_pripyat_02
position = -278.62438964844,-6.0105948448181,-32.170883178711
direction = 0,0,0

; cse_alife_object properties
game_vertex_id = 66
cse_alife_object__unk1_f32 = 30.7999992370605
level_vertex_id = 613

object_flags = 0xffffff3e
custom_data = <<END
[pt_move_if_reject]

path = st1_way_if_reject_to_pri
END
story_id = 119813

; cse_shape properties
shapes = shape0
shape0:type = sphere
shape0:offset = 0,0,0
shape0:radius = 3.36159992218018


; cse_alife_space_restrictor properties
restrictor_type = 3

; cse_alife_level_changer properties
dest_game_vertex_id = 2241
dest_level_vertex_id = 233943
dest_position = 130.28405761719,-2.3984322547913,-68.207412719727
dest_direction = 0,0,0
dest_level_name = L11_Pripyat
dest_graph_point = start_actor_02
silent_mode = 0

(added these lines to level_tasks.script next to others of the same kind)
101_escape = "111_pripyat",
112_stancia = "111_pripyat"

--aes
obj = sim:story_object(119812)
if obj then
level.map_add_object_spot(obj.id, "level _changer", "to_pripyat")
end

--esc
obj = sim:story_object(119813)
if obj then
level.map_add_object_spot(obj.id, "level _changer", "to_pripyat")
end
(and these to game_story_ids at the very end) 5481 = "aes_exit_to_pripyat_03"
5482 = "esc_exit_to_pripyat_02"

[DARK TEMPLAR]

Never mind, got it working somehow. The previous post can be deleted along with this one

[Lyoko774]

Another (possibly noobish) question:
Is it possible to get the head lamps to act like they did in "original" STALKER, like the old 2004-version? (Build 1935.)
You can see it in this video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sLhVLBJ ... re=related
You see how the head lamps remain on after the NPCs are killed?
I'd like to see that behaviour in retail SoC.
>.>
Of course, make them "turn off" after a few minutes.

Also, how do I fix something like this?

Expression : fatal error
Function : CScriptEngine::lua_error
File : E:\stalker\sources\trunk\xr_3da\xrGame\script_engine.cpp
Line : 73
Description : <no expression>
Arguments : LUA error: ... of chernobyl\gamedata\scripts\dialog_manager.script:393: attempt to compare number with nil

Happened when I merged together..a couple of things. But none touched any dialog files, and that script wasn't replaced.
Also it only happens when loading a save game. If I start a new game, it works fine. But if I quicksave/quickload, it crashes with that.

[Nightwatch]

On your crash problem,first of all it seems your dialog_manager.script is modded, as the vanilla has only 357 lines. Possibly there's an error in that merging, as it's obvious from the report. If you had used some auto-merging programs for it, they are somewhat prone to cause errors in some situations.

It would be good if you could say what you have merged and what that section (line 393) -and the function there- in your dialog_manager.script is, as whatever is merged seems to be incompatible with that function. You can reverse the merging one by one, if you wish, until you've got it working. then put them back one by one to double check it.

(another question also: have you changed anything in your character_des.... files, and a dialog file like the one in: "#include "gameplay\character_dialogs.xml" may have fault/ or non-existent in your game.)

On the headlight matter, remaining-"on"-headlights after the NPC dead and then fading out slowly after some time has passed can be achieved with scripts. EggChen and nandersen have works relating somewhat similar circumstances.Though, as far as I'm aware, they are about camp-fires, but they are about swithing on/off of those lights and terminating them by timer switches. You may want to check their works and try to ask them, if they miss your post here.

[Balious]

Decided to post this here. I know you can change the weather and all that like make it a snowy place (i know theres a mod around).

But a question, is there some kind of weather mod that changes everything? say from a whole winter thing to a normal raining day? if there isn't is it possible or can you only play with one thing all the way through?