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Seems I just can’t quit Sword of Moonlight! Earlier in September I made up my mind to work on the MHM files that are counterpart to the MSM files from last month. No one really knows what these acronyms mean. I hazard to guess Map Hull Model, and who knows for the S in MSM. Sculpture? Possibly its Japanese.

I thought it’d be a small project, because there is — or ought to be — far fewer MHM to MSM files. I added value to the exteriors set by fitting it together vertically, forming terraces, that look like a strip mine. This is something users like to do with the odd set that is experimental compared to the interiors. It’s the only one that isn’t a level of From Software’s remake of King’s Field included with SOM, an enticement doubling as a demonstration.

I would refine a few 3D sculptures (models) and that would be that. But what I found sent me for a loop; because the hills of the exteriors set were — it turned out — a Frankenstein’s monster of mismatched parts. It was as if SOM’s artists had deliberately applied their craft to solve problems of software; as if the set (set of tiles used to make levels in video games) had been pulled together long after SOM’s software engineer staff would be reassigned to new projects.

I may have discovered this after or before I discovered that my terracing idea wasn’t going to work (without reprogramming) because it wasn’t possible to walk the character along a sloping path that ended at the edge with a shear cliff. This was a kind of geometry that From Software’s developers hadn’t anticipated.

Around this time I was interested in learning more about the MHM and MPX file formats. I think one day I took a look at the MHM files just to have something different to do for an afternoon. I had looked at them before on one or more occasions and what I saw in them never really clicked for me. MPX files are much larger. They are a “map” or a level in the video game. They contain the MHM and MSM files arranged on a grid work, and the scenario for their part of the video game. I am interested in them now because I am certain that they are going to be the main subjects of recent developments going into 2018, aside from the ongoing COLLADA work, that I'll now be returning to, my job done here, and not to mention, overstayed.

Thanks to work I did a while back, but not so long ago in the timeline of releases, the puzzling parts of the MHM files immediately clicked. Before I knew it I was returning to round 2 of that work on a part of the player that I call a “clipper.” I soon became preoccupied with this, and this would last for the rest of September, until today. This release is possibly the most consequential single contribution that I’ve yet made to SOM. It’s a very important part of the player.

Ostensibly I wanted to make my terraces work, and get to the bottom of the scrap metal like MHM models of the hill set. I began by rebuilding those models. And I thought I understood why they were the way they are — or were. But I turned to be wrong. I happened to introduce a doubled-up 3D data point that caused the issues I was experiencing. But in order to figure that out, I had already opened up the hood of “clipper” and climbed deeper down its rabbit hole than in years past.

Amidst this process I began to make unrelated refinements to the clipper and also the motions and movements of the player. Many spectacular in their own right. Too numerous to recount. I kept pursuing the main problem, which basically amounted to bringing sloped features closer to being first-class polygons in the eye of the clipper. But at each turn I would be thwarted, and also find more side projects. So that I just kept taking on more and more until I realized this was going to be a mega release.

Early on I found time to work on the map editor a little more. I added color pickers in classic SOM style to it. The clipper makes the video game a solid world. As a result of this release it is truly solid now, and made perfectly smooth — free of glitches — with complete support for climbable slopes. I event went as far as to try to extend the angle of the slopes that could be surmounted, but those experiments didn’t pan out. My chief concern is that artists should be able to use steeper slopes to construct small, easily trod features. I’m sure I will return to the clipper for another round. I want to wait however until better visualization facilities come online. Presently the MHM information is completely hidden from users. While an interesting act of faith, working with things invisible, it does seem like SOM is really missing something. I try not to carry on with unsound facilities.

It’s not so difficult to see how important a “clipper” is to a body game such as King’s Field. I would say that it is now at a nearly professional level of presentation. And that ambition wise it far outstrips even its most renowned commercial peers. I will include a complete list of developments in the Forum Discussion accompanying this blog post.

It’s deadline time again. All I can manage, again, is a follow-up to April’s post.

Here is a link from some time ago in the forums that leads to a new graphical application that visualizes COLLADA’s XML resources. It works much as a web browser displays a web page.

http://www.swordofmoonlight.net/holy/ColladaDOM_3_Reference_Viewer.zip

I am keeping it up-to-date with new capabilities as they come online. There are sample files and keyboard and mouse usage instructions to be had in the following link.

http://www.swordofmoonlight.net/bbs2/index.php?topic=234.msg2253#msg2253

In May I could hardly recall where I spent my time, except that in the previous week I’ve worked extensively on the “FX” part of the application in preparation for taking it beyond the confines of Nvidia’s Cg API that was part of an initiative for the PlayStation 3 but is now gathering cobwebs; Only in the last weeks while I was working on it Nvidia took down its online documentation.

In the week prior I decided to apply myself to nooks and crannies: working on nonlinear curve design and its application to 3-D animation.

Finally I was able to recall the earlier part of the month. In that time I believe I hit upon a practical way to incorporate the newer of COLLADA’s two XML schemas (1.5.0) into the software; Which was a first.

This application is a refinished version of what is very possibly the earliest existing COLLADA software package. By this point I’m heavily invested in COLLADA. I may be the only person who is so. In fact I have my doubts about its future, including my own. It is because of what I’ve learned working on it. That I’ve doubt I can do anything to spur its adoption, no matter what I may achieve. I chose to do this quite simply because I felt like it. That’s how I still feel, and I’m not one to cut my losses and walk away. What this means is that COLLADA may be no better to Sword of Moonlight than if it had its own proprietary format. Which is not good. Because it will mean that COLLADA will only be as good as the software that I develop for it.

I guess if that’s its fate it will be, if nothing else, a stunning rebuke of this abysmal field’s inability to escape the gravitational well its self-satisfaction has made for itself.

I’m not sure where to begin. There’s a new mega-release up. With lots of surprises in store! It finalizes the jumping model, and adds a way to lower the point-of-view 1/3rd, letting you pass beneath things at about 22% below head level. It might not sound like much (these figures are adjustable) but even for the default height — that’s a bit on the short side — this comes out to about a full screen at nose length; which will seem like a lot.

The new feature complements jumping, since jumping now requires the release of the ground-based movement inputs. If you do not jump but instead move away, then you are able to squat/hunker down in this way. If running this is automatically done so that you do not have to stop to do so. If pressed up against a passageway or obstruction, beginning to run will pass beneath it at walking speed, at which point you can stop running if you only wish to enter the space. (If you do not jump while running you simply return to a walking gait. This should go without saying.)

There is the beginning of a way to run at full speed. There is no penalty for doing so at this time. It is not possible to run at full speed when there is not room to stand fully erect. Doing so requires that you hold down all three buttons. This release was supposed to add the ability to look behind while running, by holding down either button, so that when they cancel each other out you run at full speed instead. Run for your life as it were. However because a bigger priority was finalizing the jumping model, all efforts got directed at its complement in order to fill the hole opened up in the control scheme…

A secondary goal was a reexamination of the ceiling clipping facilities; or that is, ensuring that you cannot go through the ceilings and bottoms of things. One way to go through the ceiling is jumping. Of course jumping has been possible for a while, so this was to be more of a critical analysis. Still the addition of lowering of the head height to the control scheme came as a surprise. It meant that all of a sudden not going through ceilings would be absolutely critical; as critical as not falling through the floor. So the thrust off this release shifted radically, becoming an all encompassing appraisal of the clipping facilities touching on every dimension, including bugs and/or incongruences in nearly-if-not-every case.

This came as a surprise, but ended up being a really good thing for Sword of Moonlight. Graphically it’s been solid for some time, but in terms of the impermeability of its creations, it’s been anything but. I’m almost embarrassed that it took so long to take a serious look at this after all of the problems that turned up. It’s truly a case of lacking the senses to see the problems before you. I couldn’t feel the holes in the world, but I could reason my way through Sword of Moonlight’s programming; and in the course of doing so I stumbled into more than my share of invisible holes game-side.

But that’s not the only thing this release has in store! Toward the end of the development cycle I got involved in extracurricular activities. I had a lot on my mind, chief among which was how to improve Sword of Moonlight’s performance profile on my own computers. This meant disabling antialiasing, but not wanting to, I devised a simple stipple technique that I reasoned could exhibit the same pros and cons as basic antialiasing; which did. But even better! It works with the pixels that are knocked out of their “textures”. Normally these become second class pixels, unaffected by antialiasing. (Raising the question: should AA even be used at all?) But what was unexpected is, the stippling makes the telltale signs of polygons disappear so that what remains is pure form, pure form in the form of dots. Not pixels. Dots. Dots simulating points of light.

Mid thinking up the stipple technique I thought to tryout an interlacing technique. Not knowing what to expect, I reasoned it ought to halve the pixel calculations, which in theory would be great, since high resolutions tend to run my computers straight into the ground. I knew it would also create the impression of blurring, but wasn’t sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that its unbiased motion blur really brought Sword of Moonlight to life. So it seems to be a win-win salve just as long as it doesn’t make anyone motion sick or anything like that! Still in its current form it doesn’t even come for free, performance wise, BUT I have a plan that should actually work to halve those pixels and is more broadly applicable … I’m so excited I’m certain this is the next thing I’m working on. I can’t stress how impressive this effect is. I don’t think anyone will ever want to play a game without it; and of course better performance can only be a good thing.

And what’s more, there just happened to be a problem with jumping/falling breaking down at low frame rates. It may be too soon to say, but the work I did to resolve this issue looks like it may have ALSO solved all of Sword of Moonlight’s timing issues (resulting in a chronically irregular frame rate even under ideal conditions.) I’d never seen it hold a steady 60 frames per second before, but now I do, regularly. I think my video adapter (GPU card) may be responsible for some of the intermittent irregularities, so it’s really hard to say, but the jumping/falling problems are definitely fixed, and I’ve placed an order for a new adapter.

And last but not least, or at least until I recall something else! Xbox-like controller support got added the other day. Previously you’d have to map the Start-and-Select-like buttons to critical functions. Sorry! I just never had an Xbox controller in front of me, and hadn’t really thought about it; although this had occurred to me from time to time. (Still what can you do without a physical controller? or anyone demanding Xbox controller support for that matter!)

SO, what I’m hoping IS that all of this means Sword of Moonlight is getting very close to being capable of carrying top-shelf, prime-time, commercial-if-you-want, video, games. Or at least it feels like this is no longer inevitable, but suddenly something tangible that is almost just within reach…