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  It is possible to replace moveable meshes with static and v/v!

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Author Topic:   It is possible to replace moveable meshes with static and v/v!
TRoosevelt_26
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Posts: 420
From: right behind you...
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 01-21-2002 08:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TRoosevelt_26   Click Here to Email TRoosevelt_26     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Okay, say I want to make it so the shovel from The Sphinx Complex is just a piece of scenery (that is, Lara can't pick it up). Here's what I do:

1. First I make a .WAD which only has the shovel (as a PUZZLE_ITEM) and the necessary LARA_* items.
2. I then put something (anything static, as long as it is quite small) into a free PLANT, ROCK, ARCHITECTURE, FURNITURE or DEBRIS slot.
3. Then I use TRviewer to export the .3DS file of the shovel.
4. Again using TRviewer, I replace the very small static object's .3DS file with the shovel's .3DS file (that is why the static object must be small - only one object mesh).
5. Now I edit my .WAD with TRwest and take all the LARA_* items out, leaving only the shovel and the untextured shovel in the static slot.
6. Now I open the .WAD up with STRpix and apply the textures that are used on the puzzle_item shovel (they'll be on the left) to the static-slot shovel. I then save the .WAD and exit.
7. Now all I have to do is use TRwest to move the static-slot shovel into whatever .WAD I want to use it in and now I'm done! A shovel that can't be picked up but looks just as good as ever.

Obviously, working this process backward would result in a static item being changed into a moveable (though whatever effect would result is entirely up to you ).

And note that this is next to impossible with large objects. If you want a statue of a leopard, take him from TR2 with TR2wad, texture him like a statue with STRpix and place him in an animating slot. He will stand still unless triggered, and will then break into his default animation (i.e., run straight forward and disappear through a wall). This works on any baddy from any game and is really quite a nice effect if used wisely. Cheers, all!

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hteS
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Posts: 535
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 01-21-2002 08:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hteS   Click Here to Email hteS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Maybe the semi-transparent Rome street lights in my upcoming Rome Raider level will be solid now...thanks TRoosevelt!

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ganon93@hotmail.com

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piega
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Posts: 375
From:Netherlands
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 01-21-2002 10:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for piega   Click Here to Email piega     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great news. I want the static stairs (one and double) into a animating slot. I dont want to tell why but can you do it for me Trooseveld? They may be free of textures. I also want these stairs upside down. Just static but upside down. Yee i want a lot .

So if you do it i will be greatfull. I have the stairs i want with polygons on the side. So you need them first. email?

rbrooymans@hetnet.nl

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aktrekker
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Posts: 937
From:WA, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 01-21-2002 10:51 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for aktrekker     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Why make a static into a moveable unless you are going to animate it? And if you do that, how will you create the animations?
Will your method allow you to change a moveable with more than one mesh into a static?

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TRoosevelt_26
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From: right behind you...
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posted 01-21-2002 11:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TRoosevelt_26   Click Here to Email TRoosevelt_26     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This brings back visions of The Wreck of the Maria Doria...

But there are a lot of stairs. I assume you have TRwest, so could you e-mail me the .WAD set with the stairs in it? I would be happy to switch it to an animating slot for you and texturing would be no problem (as long as the texturing is the same as the original stairs.

But there is one problem: I don't know how to change an object's .3DS file so it's upside-down. But Tomb_Raider_Nut has done something of the sort for me before, and could probably do it again. So go ahead and send the .WAD set (indicating which stairs) and I'll see what I can do. Good luck,
- Jonathan

PS - Aktrekker: I know the possibilities of static-to-moveable aren't much unless one is a genius, but I have heard people asking for it before. Personally, I always want it the other way, but oh, well.

Oh - I just remembered. In one level I have planned I want Lara to find a clue on a piece of paper stuck into a cigarette box (or something like that). Well, I have both a box of cigarettes and a cell phone in the static slots, but I (previously) couldn't get them into moveable ones. So now at least Lara will be able to pick up a cell phone or a box of cigarettes - and picking up the cell phone could make something happen. Perhaps if Lara picks up the phone, that triggers a ringing sound as well as a guard who "heard" the ringing - but only if Lara picks up the phone. Just to add an element of realism (i.e., many choices) to the whole thing.

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Tomb_Raider_Nut
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Posts: 816
From:Millwaukee,Wi,USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 01-21-2002 12:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tomb_Raider_Nut   Click Here to Email Tomb_Raider_Nut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by aktrekker:
Why make a static into a moveable unless you are going to animate it?

This is a stupid example, but say you wanted a ladder to be a pick-up item. that's what this method of conversion is useful for.

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aktrekker
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posted 01-21-2002 01:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for aktrekker     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I see. Something like that would be pretty simple, since it only needs a single dummy animation. Maybe TRWest could be enhanced to permit these operations directly. I do understand the animation and mesh stuff pretty well, including the mesh pointer table, so I would be willing to help. I'm even thinking of doing a write-up on displaying the animations, though I should probably take a look at the TRViewer source first.

Does TRViewer let you change the animations of an object?

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tommy tomb raider
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Posts: 459
From:Kalamazoo, Mi. U.S.A
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 01-21-2002 05:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tommy tomb raider   Click Here to Email tommy tomb raider     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
flipping the obect upside down should be easy enough with your favorite cad program, just flip it 180 dgrees while you have the 3ds, dxf or whatever open.

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LARA'S WARDROBE

IT'S NOT ALL BOOTS AND BULLETS!

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TRoosevelt_26
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From: right behind you...
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posted 01-21-2002 06:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TRoosevelt_26   Click Here to Email TRoosevelt_26     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks! That would help me out a great deal. Any instructions on how to do it with MetaSequoia?

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TRoosevelt_26
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Posts: 420
From: right behind you...
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 01-21-2002 06:20 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TRoosevelt_26   Click Here to Email TRoosevelt_26     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
...but say you wanted a ladder to be a pick-up item. that's what this method of conversion is useful for.

Thank, you TRN. That is what I meant to say, and forgot to.

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