RTJP Updates! (Pre-2017)

TheIdiot's new mod set on Isla Nublar

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Re: Weekly Update! Last: March 27th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xos2MnVxe-c[/youtube]

Still kicking, guys. Don't give up yet! I haven't done any work on RTJP for a couple of months now due to a million things going on, but it will return one day...we have a bit to discuss behind-the-scenes before we get back to work on the visuals, but hopefully something will pop up soon enough. :P Time is hard to get for me these days, so don't expect anything soon, but I won't give up on RTJP anytime soon!
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: June 16th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

UPDATE FOURTEEN - June 16, 2015
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And I'm back...can't say for how long or whether I'll disappear for another two months, but I'm here for another update!

So as you have have noticed, I changed the topic title because of, well, a lack of WEEKLY updates. I want to get more out, but I really haven't worked on too much since, so it'll have to wait until I can show some more real content. First off, make sure to check the screenshot thread, I posted a new picture of the updated Visitor Center for you all to check out...got some fancy-schmanzy lighting effects going on there! The link: viewtopic.php?f=146&t=10678&start=45
The Visitor Center in general still has a lot of work to do - I'm hopping hppav will return and finish it off soon so I can complete my work on it and move on.

Now, since the last post, Jurassic World was released, and you can see my review elsewhere on the forums...in a few words, I was disappointed. However, a few good things did come of it: we got a look at a decayed version of parts of Jurassic Park, and I was able to determine a few more things location-wise. It appears, for example, that I was actually fairly accurate with my guessing of the terrain elevation near the river and the Aviary, and the big mountain range in the north of the island looks pretty similar to the range seen behind the park in Jurassic World. From what I saw in the movie, it appears Jurassic World's lagoon is located roughly around my placement of the Brachiosaur paddock, just east of the watering hole. The Indominus paddock seems to be somewhere in the island's north-west, around where I have situated the quarantine pens, and Grady's Raptor paddock is somewhere around there too. One day I might draw a map up to compare locations and see how accurately I can position JW's facilities. Anyway, I'll likely be taking some inspiration from JW's depiction of the original park - that parking garage, for example, will likely make an appearance.

If you read a couple of posts back, I outlined the weapon upgrade system for the mod - basically, you can improve and add-on to weapons using certain tools and pieces you'll find around the park. I have made a very simple system for this, as well as a few models to test out in the test level. I've got a model of the combat knife, with all magnets, physics and triggers for it set up (it even makes a "whoosh"-sound when you swing it!)...I have found that it is actually fairly deadly when swung hard enough. This will be one of the better melee weapons on the game, with a low chance to break and high damage:
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As for the actual upgrades, here's the SPAS-12 shotgun for the mod without any improvements:
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And here it is with one of several possible (albiet unimplemented) upgrades, a holographic sight. This particular sight will be fairly rare due to its ease of use.
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The sight will be able to attach to most firearms, though it will have varying levels of accuracy simply due to how the game is designed. With the SPAS, it actually works very well - the only time it will miss is at near point-blank range...which is good, since it adds to the difficulty and the panic. :)

So, that's all I can think of for this update. I plan on doing more work on the mod in the upcoming weeks, though that all depends on my real life schedule. Now, before I forget:

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
It seems the fly cheat hates me - I died eight or nine times trying to simply fly over to the Visitor Center for playtesting!
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: June 16th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

UPDATE FIFTEEN - July 10, 2015
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Haha! Let there be news! :mrgreen:

I got a lot of free time recently, which means...MODDING TIME! I managed to slip in about four days of work on the mod - and, while the result doesn't seem like too much, I managed to actually get an area of the mod to about 90% completion! This is the famous and easily recognizable Isla Nublar helipad and waterfall:

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While not quite to the massive height seen in the film (otherwise this mountain range alone would dominate the entire southern portion of the island!), the helipad is where Diane's adventure begins. I haven't completely finished the effects and detail in this area, but it's just about there...I'm thinking of working on a mist effect and giving the water some more depth via terrain textures, but other than that it's ready to be set up for gameplay. The game is still running at an average of about 57 FPS as well, which means the level of detail I am aiming for could well be possible provided I keep up my constant optimization. Haven't even got occlusion objects in yet!

Further down the road is the entrance to the Park itself, through the Perimeter Fence, which, if you remember, now extends all the way to the south. This is the gate seen in the film. Note that what you see here is still WIP, albeit fairly detailed already:
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The road itself winds off in multiple directions from here, and immediately throws you into the dense jungles and confusing construction of the Park. I haven't imported them yet, but I have created all of the direction signs that will point you in the right direction (just don't nudge the arrows!), similar to the one Nedry runs over in the movie. Thanks to Draco for the original model from the awesome East Dock level! :)

Not quite done yet - I've also gone and made another new dinosaur skin based on Jurassic World's website. Introducing baryonyx walkeri!
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Because this animal was not seen in the film, and we now know that the images on the JW website do not correspond to what is seen in the film, this dinosaur's skin is subject to change. I might end up making it more crocodilian looking, but we will have to see. These carnivores will act very much like crocodiles, with their heads submerged underwater, lunging forward to attack. Additionally, some will be seen sunbathing or the like to create something different and unseen in Jurassic Park so far. They will be the island's main large carnivore, and it will be very difficult to kill them, making them a creature to be avoided. :sick:

That's about it for now. If I have more spare time, I'll definitely keep going at this since I'm starting to really feel what the mod will be like. I want to get the southern portion of the island finished - or close to finished - so I can give a bit of a walkthrough or something as a video. There isn't quite enough content quite yet to upload a short overview, but as soon as I can get a good 2+minutes of footage, expect something along those lines!

Whoop, almost forgot:

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
Ever seen four Raptors interpolate inside of one building? It's pretty awesome.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by Anna »

I must say I'm a huge fan of the knife action!
The rest looks great as well, please keep up the good work :)
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

Anna wrote:I must say I'm a huge fan of the knife action!
The rest looks great as well, please keep up the good work :)
Thanks, that bloody thing took me ages to set up... :sick: You can expect more new melee weapons where that one came from!
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by glitchhunter09 »

Perhaps you should give rocks damage values. That was a huge problem in the retail. I know it seems like a lot of work, but not having anything to use as a weapon in dire straights is pretty stupid. Actually, in your little upgrades system, maybe if you find the right things you can make a Tomahawk out of a stone, some rope, and a stick.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

glitchhunter09 wrote:Perhaps you should give rocks damage values. That was a huge problem in the retail. I know it seems like a lot of work, but not having anything to use as a weapon in dire straights is pretty stupid. Actually, in your little upgrades system, maybe if you find the right things you can make a Tomahawk out of a stone, some rope, and a stick.
Actually, in the retail version, I found that rocks are the most effective melee weapon! :P Or maybe that was the beta. Either way, yeah, I do plan on having rocks as weapons, though I doubt I'll be able to give them all sound effects due to the nature of how I'm setting this system up.
As for the tomahawk, I wasn't actually planning on it, BUT now that you mention it, it does make quite a bit of sense...I guess it could be a stick combined with a rock, since I don't think the system will extend to three-item combinations. I have plans for a spear that is made from a knife and a stick already, so I don't see why a tomahawk is out of the question. :) I'll add that to the list.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: August 15th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

UPDATE SIXTEEN - August 12th, 2015
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And we're back!

As you may have seen from some screenshots I uploaded a little while ago, I'm working on the Isla Nublar Safari Lodge, based on concept art, my own designs, and (largely) RoadWarrior's awesome lobby model. Work has been coming along quickly - I find that, once I have the models I need, things move much faster in TresEd. Anyway, here's some proper screenshots in-game to show the unfinished area off; as always, there is much work to be done, and when I get to around 80 - 90% completion, I'll upload more.

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Still a ton of stuff to be done - at least 4 or 5 more buildings (plus some construction stuff), the base of the Safari Lodge, the pool, etc. Strangely, the things that have been causing the most trouble seem to be those bloody tennis courts - mesh issues everywhere! It's pretty cool to just stroll around in-game already...maybe I'll throw some dinosaurs and a few tennis racquets in to entertain myself. :P

Naturally, that whole process has taken up most of my time, so there isn't much else to show. I've been adding in ambiance triggers everywhere, as well as testing out the game's ASA animation system. Turns out it's a lot more flexible than I once though, which means I will actually probably be able to accomplish some of the most complicated things I wanted to in the first place...not to spoil too much, but this allows for using (or at least riding in) vehicles, among other things. Very cool stuff, though it's a bit of a pain to make look decent.

Well, that's all for now. I know this has been a short update, but I'm excited to keep working on the mod since I have about a week or so of free time. Chances are I'll get distracted with something else...but for now, off to TresEd! :)

Legendary Glitch of the...something:
The front doors of the Safari Lodge were hinged incorrectly and rotated like a see-saw, crushing me and sending me flying to my doom.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by Draleikosaurez »

Very, very cool work here... :|
Image JP ImageImageImage JW
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by mleise »

And I would have thought the tennis courts were simple to do. I like the look of it and the cyan color is rarely used anywhere.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: July 10th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

mleise wrote:And I would have thought the tennis courts were simple to do. I like the look of it and the cyan color is rarely used anywhere.
They're not that much of a problem to do, I just keep messing up the meshes themselves with incorrect plane direction and technical stuff. :P

Anyway, look everyone! THINGS! :P

UPDATE SEVENTEEN - September 4th, 2015
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Geez, time flies. I thought for sure I posted that last update just a couple weeks ago. Guess not! Fortunately, I've had plenty of time to work on more things, though there isn't a whole lot to show at the moment.

I've gotten some big progress in the story department - I've been writing up a general outline for the "main quest" progression, which will help me plan everything before I go and make it. So far, I've got the entire progression of the player down, with all major goals outlined (though of course you don't HAVE to follow this story - you can always just explore around, performing objectives whenever need be, though some objectives will limit your movement until complete). Writing is one of my favorite passtimes, as you can probably tell from the textwalls I throw at you guys. :lol:

Anyway, I figure I'd better get a picture out before someone takes my head off. Sorry that all of these are in Max, I haven't quite prepared any of this for importing to Tres:

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This is one of several new vehicles that will be included in RTJP, all of which will be numbered accordingly, alongside the Ford Explorers and Jeep Wranglers. It's a Kawasaki Mule (can't remember the exact model make) golf cart, which will have been used by InGen construction workers as transport for tools and equipment. These actually existed in the movie, as seen here:

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And here's an actual image of one in real life:

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Also appearing in Jurassic Park will be, aside the three aforementioned vehicles; InGen staff and visitor Shuttle Vans (as seen in East Dock, though hopefully with a new model), the Mercedez-Benz Unimog (as seen in The Lost World), and additionally one extra InGen vehicle which won't be revealed quite yet. I even have a document listing all of the vehicles seen in the movie, their condition as of 1993 as well as 2015 (Jurassic World), and all the extra vehicles that will be original to this mod. I kind of wish there were more to show, but all this planning and research is critical to a successful, coherent design in the long run! :sick:

However, I think I'm also about ready to begin showing off something else: melee weapons!

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And their broken versions:

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From left to right: meat cleaver, kitchen knife, crowbar, pipewrench, golf club, tennis raquet, shovel, woodaxe, baseball bat (metal and wood).

These are exclusively improvised melee weapons, not quite as strong as "real" weapons like the fireaxe, pickaxe or the combat knife, but they still do a helluva lot of damage when used effectively. One of my major goals in this project is a weapon improvement system with a slight crafting element, so there will also be other versions of those weapons, some of which are reinforced, sharpened, or otherwise improved. Improvised weapons will differ from standard melee weapons in that they can break if used too much, will will be determined by the strength and type of weapon - this can, of course, be circumvented by finding something to reinforce the weapon, making it unbreakable. I really want to downplay the power of guns in Trespasser, as I find them severely overpowered and plentiful. As such, I've made a list tallying all types of gun in the game, as well as the amount that will be placed and the ammo available, which will be updated as I reach a stage where I'm comfortable placing these sort of things. And don't think for a second that guns will eventually replace your melee arsenal - they will be few enough that melee will still be important later in the game.

That about wraps up this update. Just for fun, I'll leave you with a teaser for something else I've been looking into for a long time - I can't promise it will make it into the game, though if it does, it will likely be in such a small quantity that it will be a sort of "panic object", like the rocket launcher I showed a while ago. :mrgreen:

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Legendary Glitch of the Week:
When a single, one-instance object starts crashing the game and you panic for roughly three hours before discovering the culprit. Stupid tables.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: September 4th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

Hey all, just posting to say that I've been on a sort of forced-break from modding. About a week ago, my mouse broke. I had to go out and get a new one, and a day later, my keyboard also ceased functioning. :x Another trip to Wal-mart and I had everything back in order, but the next day I came down with a case of strangely random strep-throat. Ugh. It's currently day two of strep and I'm still hurting badly, so I've just been taking it easy in hopes that it will get better soon. :?

As for RTJP progress, well, the immediate area around the VC and Raptor Pit is pretty much complete, but it still needs a couple things added - namely, the Emergency Bunker and road direction signs. I'm starting to move into the Park area itself around the Dilophosaur paddock, which will also include an underground waterworks that I have modeled.

Additionally, I've been trying to work out how visible tracer bullets for guns might function, though I doubt it will happen due to the huge amount of trigger-work it will require. I've got the system pretty much set up in the form of an E-11 blaster rifle from Star Wars that I made which fires visible lasers, but for this gun alone it's currently 3 triggers and 3 variables, so I doubt this will happen. Perhaps shotguns will use this system for a real spread-shot, though. I'll upload a video of it if I'm satisfied with the product.

Anyhow, back to bed for me...good thing I found Micheal Crichton's 'Pirate Latitudes' novel for 2.00$ at a bookstore the other day!
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: September 4th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

UPDATE EIGHTEEN - January 16th, 2016
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Well, it's been a very long time now (happy holidays and happy new year!), so here's a real update for once to wet your appetite (hopefully), showcasing the completely new and final textures and discussing a bit more about the gameplay.

To begin with, I'm glad to announce that the game's story has been finalized - I have every major plot point and event planned out! The story will take you all around the island to almost every facility, though some places will still be found off the main path. You will ultimately have unlocked almost the entire island for exploration by about 1/3rd of the main game, allowing you to explore the ruins of the Park freely if you just want to look around. There will be plenty of secrets and off-the-path stuff to find to keep intrepid players interested (so no long paths of nothing!).

I've finally come up with terrain textures I'm 100% happy with - not too bright, not too dark. You might recognize some of these textures from my Beach remake, which I was using as a testbed before porting those into RTJP. I've also done totally new dirt and jungle textures that look far better than the weirdly contrasting textures from before. Due to the fact that the old textures will no longer be in use, I'll probably be releasing them just in case anyone wants them for their own level, along with all the other resources that go unused. :) Anyway, the screenshots:

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And, finally, a shot of the new parasaurolophus skin with bumpmapping, based on The Game's parasaurs (green rather than yellow). Also note that the water, flora and landscape in this scene are not final.

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I was also using this group of hadrosaurs to test out my herding system, which is working quite well so far. In case I haven't mentioned before, I intend groups of dinosaurs to work and act slightly more dynamically and realistically than usual, rather than randomly wander around independent of each other. For example, this herd seen here will actively move around several different points in their territory together, led by the alpha, who will make movement decisions. They will take different actions when moving to these areas as well depending on the local resources, so when they are by the lakeside, they'll be drinking and wading in the shallows, and when they're near trees, they'll prefer to eat instead. A single parasaur will also stand guard to watch for invaders, acting as a lookout. Should a predator approach, the lookout will alert the others, and they will flee to a different area. Still needs a bit of tweaking here and there, but it's going well so far. :D
I haven't started on carnivore behavior yet, though usually they will prefer to ambush and quickly take down their prey in a group rather than run in and then dodge around comically. Velociraptors will be deadly in this sense - they will be exclusively ambush predators, striking from cover without warning and using distractions (think "Clever Girl", while the larger herrerasaurus and metriacanthosaurus will instead typically attempt to surround and attack one at a time, striking quickly and then backing off. If you manage to escape these carnivores without killing them, they'll return to their hiding spots, laying silent and ready to strike again.

So that's it for now. Can't say when there will be another real update since these are quite time-consuming to create (even moreso because I simultaneously post them of TresCom and Moddb), but more screenshots will definitely be coming as I continue to fill in the island. Adios!

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
Brachiosaurus got stuck in a fence and its neck started flipping out, rocking back and forth 180 degrees until it just sort of died, despite having 16000 health.
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: September 4th, 2015

Post by machf »

Looking really nice. And the dino behavior sounds interesting.

The only thing I don't like is the squarish look of those thin palm trunks, they need maybe some cylindrical UV mapping so that they appear to be more curved...
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Re: RTJP Updates! Last: September 4th, 2015

Post by TheIdiot »

machf wrote:Looking really nice. And the dino behavior sounds interesting.

The only thing I don't like is the squarish look of those thin palm trunks, they need maybe some cylindrical UV mapping so that they appear to be more curved...
Thanks! I'm hoping the scripted dinosaur behavior will make them seem slightly more alive than usual. I always found it funny when the parasaur in Town just stands around as the tyrannosaurs charge headlong in and devour it. :P

And what palms are you talking about? The tall, white ones outside the VC, or the browner ones in the jungle? The white ones are from the original game, the "Cuban Palms", just re-textured, and the other ones are from TC~Isle, also re-textured.
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