The XML1 -> XML2 Project

[DJay Saint]

And....  *drumroll*  CTD!  Chocolate egg...  I might need all the scripts and models before the map will work.     My eyes are bleeding raw right about now, after what took several hours to convert the level .eng and the .nav...

[BliZZ]

Sonuva BITCH!!!


My guess is it is the scripts: the models would likely just not appear if they exist. That is just my guess, though. It may very well be the models.



PS: This is hardcore clogging up the PoC thread, I'm thinking about splitting it into it's own thread, starting w/ that map post of yours....

[DJay Saint]

Oops, sorry.  I'm nerfing all the script references except for the bare essentials, since I've already seen the level works without any of them when I just replaced the .igb.  I glanced over that .eng of yours, and haven't found anything that caught my eye.  There's obviously something though if it won't compile.    I'll post results in a few.

[DJay Saint]

Ok, fresh nothings out of the map usage.  I'll go ahead and rip all the scripts and models tomorrow, and try to set it up as a unique map as opposed to replacing one.  The only way I can get the map to show up is to disregard the .eng entirely, using the game's old one.  Then I can't even move around because my characters fall to oblivion while the map happily floats there, unused...  I'm not sure if the game is throwing a pissy fit because all the scripts/models aren't there, or what.  I wonder if that .boyb file has anything to do with the maps being able to work?  XML1 doesn't have them, but XML2 does...  Anyway, what a frustrating day this has turned out to be.  Thanks for the help converting stuff BliZZ.  I'll try to get both maps working tomorrow.  If I can get the basement or floor 1 working, I'll link the other to it with one Xtraction point to get out into one of the normal levels.  That would be a start.

[BliZZ]

*Yawn*

Bed-time for me as well. Here is to hoping tomorrow will be more fruitful! And that someone will find the error in my eng while I slumber... A guy can dream, no?

[Teancum]

Okay, I'll put scripting the .py to have four specific characters at any given time on my list.  There's two ways we can do it:

1-All characters are unlocked when you go to the select screen, but after selecting any four chars, a py script switches them to the correct four.
2-(Preferred solution)  We lock characters via scripting verb, but the py script is executed at the end of the level prior to a char-specific level.  This helps us turn off/on characters as needed, plus makes missions where there's only specific characters allowed (level 1, the sentinel NYC flashback, the mansion) really easy.  Between the py scripts and the charinfo (does XML2 have one?) it should be very plausible to knock it out.

[BliZZ]

Nope. No charinfo in XML2.

PS: Will this allow us to lock certain chars for certain missions? (No Jean on XML1 boat mission, etc)

[Teancum]

Yup, what we do is execute a script at the end of the previous mission, locking all characters that cannot be used.  That being said, it'll work for things like the X-Mansion as well.  When a mission is complete, we lock all characters but Magma.  It's not perfect, but it would certainly do the job.  Hopefully the lock/unlock verbs are the same in XML2.  The 'box XBE should be the same as the PC EXE in that respect, so I should be able to look for the verbs inside my XBE and get back to you.

Scripting should probably wait for a bit, but once we get a handful of missions running we can get started.  Heck, really all I need is a combat-based mission that's fairly simple (rooftops, Magma's X-Mansion trial, Sentinel attack on NYC) to get started.  It needs to be playable however, even if we use XML2 enemies.

[BliZZ]

Later today I'll get to work on converting the first, Wolvy exclusive NYC mission. Hopefully that'll be enough to test.

What I'd really like to see (if at all possible) is certain chars first playthrough, then open to all chars w/ New game +. Not sure how possible that is, however.

Actually, it should be possible to define which playables you are limited to in missions: we should use XML2's Act0 to see how they did it (they limited that to Storm, Cyc, Wolvy, and Mags). The problem is the locking of certain chars in the menu.

[Teancum]

I'd start with the rooftops.  The NYC mission has stuff like the streets changing and stuff.  That might could be scripting-related, so something like rooftops would be better.

[DJay Saint]

It is possible to lock certain characters out of a mission.  While ripping the mansion subbasement files, I have seen a certain instance in the .eng where it says something like "charselect = false", and another instance of Magma being the only character playable, but I don't remember what that variable is called right now.  You also have the "actmatchteam" variable, which I'm pretty sure is a variable called from a script that only lets you play a certain team for that mission or area.  However, I don't want to lock the rest of the characters out of the X Mansion.  I honestly thought that was stupid.  After Magma gets to do her shizzit, then the rest of the guys should be able to be selectable.  Or, at least have the mansion around in the XML2 portion where everyone is free to roam it, at least until Act 5...  (The subbasement should really not be totaled, so maybe I can link it to the mansion ruins?)  Anyway, the Xtraction point used in the subbasement also has the following variables set:

model="puzzles/beacon_xtraction_noteamchange" (obvious)
actscript="extractionPointLite('_OWNER_','false','true','true','true','false')"  (not sure what it means, I'll look at the script to see what variables it refers to, possibly which actions you can do in the Xtraction menu, i.e. visit Forge, Save Game, Change Team, Danger Room, etc.
team="hero"  (it should be obvious, but it's your playable team as defined I suppose, not "omg no brotherhood")
actmatchteam="true" (just a guess as before)
actleader="true" (only one person?)

I'll get to ripping the script files and models for the area.  If I have everything in place, then the game can't bitch at me for going to a completely defined area, can it?    In the mean time, would someone mind helping convert the files for the hangar and second floor?  Once done with the scripts, convos, and models, I'll help out with that, and see if I can't tie it all together.  *grabs coffee*  It's going to be a long day. 

[BliZZ]

Yep, I'd imagine the game can't. Just to be safe, I'd add a 'Magma' (no powers needed, just a basic definition) and an 'IcemanFlesh' to the NPCstat. That covers all the chars at the first mansion, I believe.

[DJay Saint]

Was Magma in the NPCstat?  Or was she in herostat? (for the mansion exploring of course...)  *checks*  It's just that whenever I assign her items while at the mansion, they always end up being unequiped from her, so that could be why.

Oh Chocolate egg, courtyards...  *sigh*  Five parts of the mansion now.  I think for now I'll just trim the references to those zones out and see what happens (wait, now that I think about it, you couldn't go out in the courtyards in the very first part, could you?  Eh... but so was the hangar, and the subbasement script still links a spawn point from it, regardless of it being impossible to come from.  Feck)

[Teancum]

Yeah, but you gotta remember that most of the structure except for models/animations/textures/a few other things was rewritten for XML2.  They're no longer just plain XML files anymore, and most of the capabilities were probably removed.  PY scripts are just Raven's "Icarus" scripting system which they also used in variation on Jedi Outcast/Academy.  (If you notice, all scripts are "Generated By BehaveEd" which is a tool available in the Jedi Academy mod tools)  They should work, as they would have just updated the scripting system rather than rewrite it.

*thinks* The mansion would actually be the best place to get scripting started.  We can just throw some enemies in the X-Jet hangar for testing purposes, and I can script it so that we only have certain controllable characters on certain parts of the mansion for testing purposes.  In the meantime I've got to acquire XML2 PC for faster scripting/debugging.

[BliZZ]

Herm. Magma was in herostat, though I THINK her Civie costume was in NPCstat. Regardless, we can't add heroes to Herostat, so put her in the NPCstat.


Hmmm... Now that I think about, 2 extra chars DIDN'T CTD. At least, I don't REMEMBER it CTDing. The second just didn't show up.... Why don't we see if we can put Jubi in the Herostat (below Emma), without the game CTDing? She won't be selectable, but she'd level up at the rate of others and we could use her as a helper NPC.....