TresCom Forums

Draconisaurus wrote:Huh I like it, I like it. TI it occurs to me we are both having difficulty modding at this time. Here's to better times. Heh you don't drink do you?

It's not so much diffculty as feeling like doing other things. Currently running another role-playing game and also playing a weekly board game of Europe Engulfed (which tends to be a five-day excurision), which is keeping me occupied.
Nope, don't drink at all. I'll still join you in that toast, though - a few sips of vodka is okay with me for those occasions which require it.

Quick question: I'm trying to make one of those ladders which is in two halves, the lower part of which is meant to be able to slide vertically downward in order to climb to the top part (which isn't at ground level). I can't get the bottom part to slide down. I've got it attached to a magnet, but can't work out what direction should be free to translate? I've tried X, Y and Z yet they all seem to cause it to glitch out and start drifting off in a different direction. Anyone got any idea how to solve this? If push comes to shove, an ASA will always do the trick.

Do you have an image?

machf wrote:Do you have an image?

I don't want to give any spoilers, but it's one of these:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

The lower part is supposed to drop down while the upper part remains stationary.

Hmm, could this be as simple as making the lower part of the ladder drop freely without a magnet, and then, when the rungs reach an appropriate height, you add a bool Frozen=true trigger to the ladder?

TrespasserGuy wrote:Hmm, could this be as simple as making the lower part of the ladder drop freely without a magnet, and then, when the rungs reach an appropriate height, you add a bool Frozen=true trigger to the ladder?

It doesn't work properly without a magnet because the lower part becomes misaligned from the upper part, and the player could bump into it and cause the ladder to malfunction in some way. The magnet is only there to keep it aligned while it drops, and when it hits the ground a trigger fires which freezes it. The problem I'm having is that the magnet allows it to drop properly downward as intended, but the lower part also "drifts" off in a direction that isn't in the vertical and essentially breaks.
I think I might just use an ASA, it's much easier that way and I don't have to fight the game's physics.

ZTFree, XTFree aren't very reliable if the physics of the object interacts with another solid object. I use those settings alot,
but when you need something like what you're trying to do and it needs to work every time, I'd go with the ASA

TheIdiot wrote:

machf wrote:Do you have an image?

I don't want to give any spoilers, but it's one of these:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

The lower part is supposed to drop down while the upper part remains stationary.

Looks somewhat like the ones I've made for The Pens and The Fort... (EDIT: and there's one place in The Pens where I could just test that arrangement, though I hadn't considered a sliding lower part, I had a broken one instead)

However, I needed to see your mesh. Assuming the meshe's axes are aligned with the world's axes, and in the same position and orientation as the one in the photo, that would require bool ZTFree = true (movement along the Z axis).

machf wrote: However, I needed to see your mesh. Assuming the meshe's axes are aligned with the world's axes, and in the same position and orientation as the one in the photo, that would require bool ZTFree = true (movement along the Z axis).

I've already checked the axes in order to make sure they were aligned properly. The strange thing is that I have ZTFree = true, yet it also seems to drift somewhat off to either side. Might it just be the mesh clipping with the upper part and forcing the two meshes apart?

Maybe. Give it some berth.

machf wrote:Maybe. Give it some berth.

I believe that may have been the problem. I moved the lower part elsewhere on its own and it worked properly. I can't really give it any berth without ruining the look of the model, so ultimately I've just used an ASA, which works well enough.

I might have made mention about giving all the objects the same, and I guess world-oriented, axes. Hadn't fully tested it - interesting that neighboring objects may pose such issue. How did TptDac get his elevators to work? Sounds a bit complex. If ASA works, that's cool..

Another quick sneak peek...

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

I replaced CE's native antialiasing and texture filtering with NVdia's as I think it makes the edges look a bit nicer. A bit of image sharpening also helps to make the image look nice and crisp.

EDIT: After posting this, I ended up darkening the glass texture so it isn't so flourescent. Looks much better now.

Sharp image isn't the word, T.I. Even with my crappy eyesight I can tell it looks great.

Looks great! It is still so nice to see what the engine can do. Often mods for other games still look overall the same as the OG game, Trespasser not as much.