Credits... and the rest

[Nelsona]

I was trying to setup a badge type decoration right on the wall in a certain location. First time I had in imagination options:
- attaching VIA some pawn with Shadow or developing it;
- attaching VIA projectile - UT projectiles have decals.

I decided to step with projectile, doing a sort of razor blade for the first time. The nasty problem that was with my decal, it randomly was turning around view axis and this was a bad thing.
I have figured that Kelly was using some random decals in whatever mod. A single line from there was exactly the "critical" thing helping me, I was closer, blabbering a few hours until I inspected that thing and I figured the same way of doing operated by Kelly. After removing unused codes with unused functions, I could setup a nice decal. All I have to do is tuning it properly only for client because such a decal doesn't need any sort of simulated function because what I do it's exclusive dedicated for client. This way is more easy and faster than building a mesh and texture accordingly since attaching a decal can be used even in mapping for whatever overlay effect without using other non-solid brushes, I would like to know these things before...

Conclusions:
- Credits for my new things learned goes at Kelly;
- Excessive decals means a performance loss because they are abusing timer - 200 decals it's probably the last thing needed in a zone... ResidentEvil is the class Scorch - that is the nasty thing. I do not have any clue why Epic did not used a state code or something native, a completely separate stuff accordingly.

[SC]-[WARTZ_{HoF}]

Sounds great as long as game performance is not negatively affected.

[Kelly]

I tested the tagz mod out to several hundred tags in player view without a performance hit. It won't be an issue.

To be fair the credit should be passed on to Casey at Old Unreal for showing me how to fix that orientation issue. That guy is amazing.

[Nelsona]

Nah, performance loss which I'm talking about happens with default decals not here. Here it was just too many stuff unused. In order to clarify a bit things, and because here it's a coding section, I'll mention the class which will be used by me in patch files where walls have more bright textures or in the those cases where I can setup a light-injection. Here it is:

Code: Select all

class NiceDecal expands BlastMark;

#exec TEXTURE IMPORT NAME=Decal1 FILE=Textures\NavAdder0.bmp

function PostBeginPlay()
{
	AttachToSurface();
}

function AttachToSurface()
{
	bAttached = AttachDecal(100, vect(0,0,1)) != None;
}

event Timer()
{
}

defaultproperties
{
	Texture=Texture'Decal1'
}

As you see I have discarded timer for safety but actually there is nothing to initialize any sort of timer here. Decal is attached directly without other SetTimer ( which parent classes do in Super.PostBeginPlay() twice ).
For testing purpose I quickly made a small mutator in order to help me in fast analysis and debugging

Code: Select all

class DecTest expands Mutator;

function Mutate(string MutateString, PlayerPawn Sender)
{
	if ( MutateString ~= "splash" )
	{
		Sender.ClientMessage("Decal Spawn.");
		SpawnDecal(Sender);
	}
	if ( NextMutator != None )
		NextMutator.Mutate(MutateString, Sender);
}

function SpawnDecal(PlayerPawn Aplayer)
{
	Spawn(class'FalseRazor',APlayer,,APlayer.Location+vect(0,0,50),APlayer.Rotation).Instigator = APlayer;
}

So I could check it triggering a "manually" attaching it in map exactly where I was interested to see it.

Then a credits reconfiguration, credits for this really nice stuff goes at Casey and Kelly as follows:
- Casey doing primary task;
- Kelly pointing me about what Casey did.
Extra credits:
- Unknown UFO - Born (Made) in Japan - author with his borked "map" - without such messed up maps I would never start any research because everyone would play happy like in a perfect world (yet, at dreaming stage).
Special thanks:
- I don't have to forget Higor, all, but all Navigation tweaks would not be possible without XC_Engine

I'm going to setup various credits here in case of other happy occurrences. I'm sorry for this sort of thread but I was too glad about it - I was thinking at those various mapping contests and that tutorial explaining how to decorate some wall using a non-solid brush and the small issues around it - I think decorating map could happen this way and it looks X times better compared with a brush work, even if it needs a bit of coding and a texture editing, background has to be a grey color not black, and final result do looks like a real painted wall. And this painting task do happens ONLY if map is running, else in Editor will be different - very confusing for noob cube-drawers, cough.

[Nelsona]

Perhaps if Epic did not bother too much to use the fixed version of RandRange which is resident in Core's natives I'll mention Legend which was fixing it at April 12 2000. I'm going to use it abusively because I think it's a nice stuff for add-ons.

[Nelsona]

Bump:
Credits for Rented server - a sort of Monster-Multi-Gaming ground which I set last time:
- SC]-[WARTZ_{HoF} - rented server support;
- Higor pointing me a lot of things toward servers generally during his posting at UT99.org which not everyone was reading - their loss here - a lot of stuff I did based on XC_Engine's fixes - this is a XC Server after all;
- Kelly/Gopostal - MH stuff has elements from him and other dudes working with monsters;
- Mr. LoathSome - things and toys modified for that environment needs;
- Perhaps not so well known Iacobus Imrlz - if I'm not typo-mistaking - he was helping me to figure some craps which "mappers" did mooing at MH rather than helping this game-type;
- Old Tutorial authors which I ignored as a "How to not do" as long as they do not have too much clue about A.I. after all;
- Barbie - I'm grateful here for IDEA about whatever said "MapPatcher" turned here in reality by self-person in another format and having here "NavAdder" suit;
- Dumb people making stupid levels and X fixes with nothing fixed making me to setup other maps rather than using those old junks seen everywhere in MH and the rest;
- Michael from old PlanetUnreal for various things helping me to engage different injections in maps;
- Legend again for fixing RandRange - I was abusing it with zero flaws in patch files written for various maps;
- Gizzy - MapPurger inspired me for doing my builder-toys helping me in writing more repetitive codes - these builders wrote codes for me more faster using engine's speed not human's speed;
- Jan Urbansky - hints for creating my buttons used in Editor;
- Epic for their "//fix me" recommendations and the rest of things which I could change due to that tiny helpful and great UCC.EXE thing.

All apologies for people which I might forgot - I have an age...

[Nelsona]

Now I have to setup credits for people generally haters and even morons with a lower I.Q...
Yes, I'm appreciating their habits in shooting me while I'm playing in MGS doing tests, because boosting is helpful for finding certain BSP problems or spots with traps and removing these bad maps - those mappers being just n00bs without too much ON-Line experience or a very poor experience, such events are helpful to gain more and more gaming quality.
Best Regards for haters !

[Nelsona]

With regard to debugging solutions, I received some code VIA PM ways toward zoning or let's say FAKE zoning which some maps are having and are subject for fixing instead of patching because patch files won't rebuild map properly.
Credits for said code goes to Barbie which also was helping me with some operators toward translation into words of reachFlags from navigation network placed inside an UT specific map.

Greetings and many Thanks !

Soon time will come for another update for MapGarbage Editor add-on, said update perhaps won't be announced at UT99.org thanks to other clowns which are good to clap hands and legs and heads instead of posting real feed-back and using OFF-Topic signatures for being more pathetic than expected.

[Nelsona]

I must assign other credits to Kelly which was showing me...
[Spoofing on]
how to drop some bomb into hell and bringing all devils out, and inviting them in my house and politely dancing with them and they will go very grateful because I saved them from the bomb which I throw there and then will do what I will ask them to do for me...
[Spoofing off]
Okay, ignore that and let's keep moving...

[Kelly]

I love me some chaos. To be honest it's time to start ramping up how we deal with cheaters and people causing problems on our servers. ACE is having ongoing problems and the ease with which anyone can use VPN's to hie their true identity creates a ton of admin headaches.

It used to bother me to think about things like this but the pendulum has swung too hard in favor of the troublemakers. It's time to swing it back towards the center (and if that means breaking a few eggs then so be it).