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Messages - Holey Moley

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1
Devs / Re: EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: November 20, 2023, 01:36:47 AM »
New Release (SVN Update or Download)

I've bumped the version up to 1.2.5.4 and uploaded new files. New features are much better frame rate, I now run at 120hz, and I've worked on the BSP system for my project, but it requires do_bsp and it requires using a new "pin" system in SOM_MAP where tiles disappear when they shouldn't. Pins are placed by right-clicking on the checkpoints screen. I've added preliminary animations for guarding and heavy attacks/counters with weapons. This is a nice addition to complement shields.

Note, using the bsp system can improve frame rates, and is good if you want to put a lot of monsters and things inside interior spaces. But the main boos for the frame rate comes from using a newer compiler, and Windows XP is no longer supported.

2
Devs / Re: EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: November 04, 2023, 12:22:16 AM »
Woops! I just found a killer bug in the KF1 demo with do_fix_damage_calculus=no.

Code: [Select]
KING'S FIELD

[Bugfix]

do_fix_damage_calculus = no

What was going on is the Strength and Magic bonuses aren't added so hits are 1 damage! I feel like crap about this.
I've fixed the SomEx.dll file if anyone wants it (http://csv.swordofmoonlight.net/SomEx.dll/1.2.5.2.zip)
I've also updated the demo to include shields. And I think there may have been a problem with the MPX files. They now have to be built with SOM_MAP before playing, and I've added an Instructions.txt file to explain how to do it (http://svn.swordofmoonlight.net/Sword-of-Moonlight/Library/KING'S-FIELD/Instructions.txt)

3
Devs / New BSP system info
« on: November 03, 2023, 03:55:19 AM »
For the record, I've now disabled the "BSP" system that hides chambers that shouldn't be visible by default. It can be turned on with a do_bsp [Option] but it has some problems because I've worked on making it work for layers.

There's a new feature in SOM_MAP on the "checkpoints" screen that lets you right-click to add a "pin" which will make a tile remain visible always.

This is helpful in some places where there are exterior/outdoor tiles, but it's also being used to patch over problem areas in the new BSP system.

The new system automatically fills all empty cells with the equivalent of a dummy tile. This is needed with layers. Unfortunately it sometimes malfunctions. I've turned it on in my KF2 demo and I've just used the "pin" system to fix problem areas.

BSP is off by default for backward compatibility and to not make new developers figure out how to use the new pinning system. The reason for all of this is to improve frame rates. And if you use the BSP system wisely you can cram a lot more monsters into interior/indoor areas. The reason you can is anything that's hidden by the BSP system won't count against the frame rate, i.e. performance.

Edited: There's also an Alt+Alt+B hotkey to enable/disable the BSP system when do_bsp is in use.

4
Devs / Re: EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: October 21, 2023, 08:32:23 PM »
Yesterday I uploaded some shield models that I mistakenly left out of the recent shield feature update. This makes shields either unusable or invisible without adding these models back. I found I neglected to SVN Add them.

5
Devs / Re: Working on shaped/animated shadow textures
« on: September 23, 2023, 09:03:58 PM »
Here's an early look at custom generated shadows. I'm thinking this is a big improvement. It's taken a lot of time to work out the details, and I'm only about 1/3rd the way through probably. I think I'll take a break and leave them as "static" images for right now.

6
Devs / Working on shaped/animated shadow textures
« on: September 13, 2023, 02:35:59 AM »
I'm trying to generate shadow textures in x2mdl. I'm planning on packing these into ico (icon) files and putting one image in each RGBA channel. To draw them I think R and A images will need to be identical on subsequent frames. I don't know if they'll be doubled in the ICO file or not, but they'd need to be unpacked that way if not.

The idea is to blend between 4 frames in the shader. Only 2 frames will be needed but the others will still be calculated since they're in the same textures. They're just color channels after all. It'll probably slow down model conversion because the blurring effect has to pull in a bunch of pixels for each pixel, and there will be one of these for each animation frame.

I hope it will be worth it. For the Viper monster a round circle really doesn't make sense.

EDITED: Note, this image is a kraken's from KF2. I got this by doing 2 passes. The first pass just blurs everything by a 4 pixel radius. (It looks like more than 4 pixels because the white pixel 4 pixels from the edge is darkened and the dark pixel 4 pixels inside the edge is also lightened.) It needs to be that big to not look aliased. Antialiasing (multisample) isn't used because a height map is generated to produce some effects like you get if you are directly underneath a light. Unfortunately it's a little strange to be directly under a light all the time, but it's a little better than the fully abstract circle I think.

7
Devs / Re: EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: September 12, 2023, 04:01:49 AM »
Patch (SVN Update)

http://svn.swordofmoonlight.net/Sword-of-Moonlight/Library/KING'S-FIELD/DATA/movie/

Here are new King's Field I movies AI upscaled to 960x720 with subtitles. The sample project now defaults to these movies for both Japanese and English.

8
Devs / Re: EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: September 01, 2023, 03:38:40 AM »
Patch

I've uploaded a patch for fixing some bugs and it adds a new way to rearrange SOM_MAP's palette area, and rotate icons in the palette area. And a way to change the view angle for tiles in the tile preview area.

The latter is saved in the PRT file and can be edited with the View menu in an updated PrtsEdit, but also if your keyboard has numpad keys, they can be pressed with Ctrl in SOM_MAP as a faster way to do this. The Ctrl Lock button works too.

To rearrange it's necessary to select with Shift or use Ctrl to drag, and the Ctrl Lock button works here too. Ctrl with Right click rotates the tile(s). The arrangement and rotations are stored in a my.plt file in the MAP folders. There is one in the install MAP folder, but if you modify things in SOM_MAP it will save to your own project MAP folder, which replaces the installation my.plt file.

The preview/view angle is not saved in my.plt. Again it's saved in the PRT file.

I had fun working on this with my schizophrenia. It came up with most of the ideas for this. And held my feet to the fire. Sometimes it's a drag though. I think I want to work on subtitles for the King's Field movies next, or scan the materials that come with SOM to make an instruction manual. Or work on my KF2 project more. I can't tell if my schizophrenia is going to be cooperative in this or not. These are some of its ideas. I do have ideas of my own along the way, but lately I'm not sure what to do, and I'm coping with schizophrenia, and so giving it some space to influence my activities. For better or worse.

9
Devs / Re: EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: August 20, 2023, 10:57:09 PM »
Repository reset (repost)

FYI I've re-reset the new repo back to Revision 2. I'd accidentally included a bunch of shortcut (LNK) files from the art system, and the Moonlight.zip language pack wasn't updated. I've also updated the EXE files in TOOL.

10
Devs / Re: SOM_MAP icons: new "art system" progress in 2023
« on: August 20, 2023, 10:56:51 PM »
Repository reset

FYI I've re-reset the new repo back to Revision 2. I'd accidentally included a bunch of shortcut (LNK) files from the art system, and the Moonlight.zip language pack wasn't updated. I've also updated the EXE files in TOOL.

11
Devs / EXIT: Something old, something new...
« on: August 17, 2023, 06:48:51 PM »
Since last seen I’ve put finishing touches on the new tile icon generation system and the old tile system too. The latter is now accessed by pushing the slider bar in the map editor to the very top. The slider can also now be used to fade out the grid lines and to fade in direction arrows.

There’s many more additions mentioned in a wrap-up address inside the Discussion forum. The advanced profile editing tools can now be left open while working, and the Alt key works with clicking to open a 3D model editor. The parts editor tool now has a UUID system shoehorned into the icon field. This works because the old style icons are secondary to computer generated icons. The art system also uses this icon generation system on everything else so its “shortcut” files display a thumbnail graphic. I want to add that a whole lot of work has gone into all of this. The new map icons fill in the space between the grids and include a 2 pixel border for shadow highlights. Getting everything right took weeks.

In other news I’ve reset the Subversion repository. The first revision is now classic Sword of Moonlight for previewing and comparing to the second revision. I’ve removed all traces of “source code” for work from the web. I’m keeping it private going forward. I have private copies on Github that I hope will outlast me. I’m actively trying to make a turn to commercial outlets. I intend to consult with From Software reps before making this move. I’m going to put a non-commercial version on Archive.org as-soon-as-possible. In the meantime, please stay tuned, use SOM, and support my work!

I've already done a complete write-up for this new release (1.2.5.2) here (https://www.swordofmoonlight.net/bbs2/index.php?topic=373.msg3465#msg3465) and it includes a lot of details because this release took a lot of time and I'm really trying to lay down professional polish. It also has a word on my schizophrenia status :dollsoul:

Edited: You gotta re-checkout the Sword-of-Moonlight SVN repository, or use the direct page to update without SVN (http://www.swordofmoonlight.net/main/single-file-download/)

12
Devs / Re: EXIT: Coming up for air...
« on: August 17, 2023, 04:40:50 AM »
Sword-of-Moonlight reset

I've reset the Subversion repository so that all the history is gone... I've saved a private copy as sex_history in case historians want to plumb it one day.

I'm going to be making a new blog post before long since there's a new release available. This change is to wipe the slate clean, but mainly to remove source code from the history, as I already removed the folders.

13
Devs / Re: SOM_MAP icons: new "art system" progress in 2023
« on: August 16, 2023, 07:14:45 PM »
feature patch (x2md.dll)

I've added multi-sampling (antialiasing) to map tiles now. It looks a lot more even. Unrelated, I'm looking at resetting the repo now I think. Or maybe scanning SOM's instruction manual with my phone.

EDITED: This is a new image with multi-sampling. You'll have to open them to compare them.

14
Devs / Re: SOM_MAP icons: new "art system" progress in 2023
« on: August 15, 2023, 05:44:40 PM »
feature patch (x2md.dll)

I've added icons for all model files when creating shortcuts to the art folder. And the images use the source image as an icon.

The color for these icons is pretty bold because I'd like to have SOM_MAP display them one day. Probably in primary colors.

EDITED: There's also a fix for the Convert feature. And special note, x2mdl.exe isn't going to be in the TOOL folder or update packs anymore. It's being held back as a trade secret as I try to be more commercial, on recommendation, since other apps can use it, and it represents a lot of work, including for the new map tiles.


15
Devs / Re: SOM_MAP icons: new "art system" progress in 2023
« on: August 14, 2023, 07:23:33 PM »
Release (SVN Update or Checkout)

Heads up! I got a new release up. I'm trying to figure out how to promote it. In the meantime, what you need to know is I've put the language pack files in the Subversion repository, so they don't have to be downloaded. This may be a mistake. It will have to be kept up-to-date. It's a simple/obvious solution for now. I've also removed the .svn (Subversion) folder from the direct download link on the new Download page (http://www.swordofmoonlight.net/main/single-file-download/) This makes the download much smaller, but what I'm thinking about is removing all traces of source code, because I'm using Github to store my source code now, privately. For this reason I may at anytime swap out the existing Subversion repository for a reset repository, back to Revision 1. This will wipe source code out of the downloads here.

I ask that you don't share source code if you have it from past downloads.

THE NEW RELEASE focuses on the icons you can see in the previous posts. I don't know if that is in the previous release or not.

The slider that sits beside the palette area is now used to fade out the grid, and fade in arrows, and when set to the very top, it restores the original icon system. The original system is better for setting up ramps, and may be better for work in general.

There's also a new system for assigning the original icons to new tiles, because it's only meant to provide contrast when working now. This new system also (finally) provides a UUID for every map piece that's stored in the icon field. It provides 3 settings, a prefix, a 4 digit number, and a hue setting.

The remaining 22 characters store a UUID generated by Windows, in base64 format. The editor for this is PrtsEdit. The hue is selected automatically, and is a little bit enhanced from the original values. There are 8 settings, ROYGBIV for the color of the rainbow, and 1 setting that doesn't augment hue, which the exterior sets utilize.

I don't know if I've said so, but the tools like PrtsEdit now can remain open while you work, and Alt+Click works to open 3D models into MM3D or their file association. Alt+Click also works to open the icons into your systems image processor for BMP files.

The icons are now 21x21 plus a 2px border for shadows. They expand in the palette to show all of them, and this exactly happens to fill out the palette region perfectly (so everything looks neat and tidy) based on a 17px scrollbar.

I think 17px is standard now unless your system adjusts the size, which is might if you use DPI. If there isn't room the icons aren't expanded. The original icons fill out 21px by adding a little dark shadow underneath and to their right, that makes them pop out in a cool way.

All of the PRT files are edited for icons and UUIDs and I've touched up the diagonal icons so they're pixel perfect. All the SND files have been replaced by WAV files, and SOM_SYS has new buttons for playing individual sounds on its final tab.

The "Illumination" field in SOM_MAP is now functional. When the overlay is displayed the slider remembers the old settings but is used to fade the overlay between blending the BMP image when high, and shading the colors when low. The shading model shows you what colors to expect in the game when using the overlay for lighting.

There are 2 new buttons in SOM_MAP for showing checkpoints and arrows. Arrows show you how tiles are rotated.

My schizophrenia wants me to tell you that we worked really hard on generating icons. I can't begin to explain how much time and consideration went into it. It doesn't want me to publish source code for these icons. They need to be mirror symmetric, and that took a lot of experimentation. It wouldn't really make sense to render the map with the 3D models themselves, from top-down. It's tempting to try that, but it won't be symmetrical with rotation, so icons are necessary.

In the end I had to settle on a kind of shading that can show the 0.5 ramps in the exterior set, which aren't visible in the image in post/Reply #1. This requires flattening the shading almost as much as possible. The end effect is very smooth but doesn't have a lot of definition unfortunately. It also tends to look pixelated, but I think that's just how the lighting normals are when not smoothed, which isn't possible with icons.

I think it might be possible to do a hybrid rendering using 3D models for shading and lighting in the future. It wouldn't be worth it for shading, but seeing the map lit (including vertex shadows perhaps) might be worth it. It is possible to see the map lit with the Illumination setting. The "RGB" and other buttons are still disabled and unusable, so the illumination maps can only be edited outside of SOM_MAP. I don't recommend Microsoft Paint, but that's about how. (I use Paint.net.)

The new grid is translucent. Note, I've got the selection window working on all views, but it currently can still only copy/paste on the main view. I'm trying to put time aside to work on something like Pumpkin Paster in the near term (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaey9RC1uSY)

I have schizophrenia now, and I have all year. I might seem weird to talk about it too much, but it's helped me a lot on this release. In the past releases I've struggled against more than it's helped, but it was trying to help me then too. Schizophrenia is characterized by voices in our head that's sometimes called hallucinations. I don't consider them that though, because schizophrenia also comes with real hallucinations, and these come very seldomly in my case, that I know of. My hallucinations are "adaptive" and real-seeming, they seem to want to help me out. I wouldn't mind having hallucinations more frequently, but for months now I've settled into schizophrenia mainly dominated by voices/people (people like voices) and dreams, and less so visions, even though my life was thick with visions for months too. They don't happen now. And it isn't all fun/help either, it is a real disability, since my mind is always divided, and it messes with my ability to take interest in things, I'm no longer Mr. even keel like I was before. My life before was characterized by a certain "state of grace" but now it's constantly interpenetrated by somewhat cacophonous "voices", which I might say seem like people, with souls, and conscious awareness. I'm applying for SSI disability and hoping I can make an income with SOM to retire early with SSDI. These are US Social Security programs. I'm hoping if I can get these I'll be more socially upward mobile in the near term. In the time that follows I want to continue to ask everyone to join my Patreon and SubscribeStar efforts, and I'm trying to use either Steam or GoG with SOM, or both. I'm also going to be uploading the current version to Archive.org. I may call it SEX, short for SwordofMoonlight+Ex. (Edited: "My schizophrenia" advises me this is disrespectful to SOM's original developer(s).) I want to deemphasize SOM because I'd prefer to call it just SOM, but I get a lot of blow back from doing that. My schizophrenia is also making all of my business decisions, because I'm not a business oriented soul. It thinks everyone prefers commercial software to free/opensource software, so I'm trying to be commercial. We just have decided (together) that I've tried free/opensource for long enough without any following forming. People may have a preference for something they can just buy into. But I'm going to need support on the donation based systems, ideally on my own site, in the future, because I think SOM is for game developers, and will never sell large numbers, unless we make it into a media player, and prefer to not distribute games as standalone programs. I think in the future this will be a more trustworthy model, since anyone who makes a SOM game can put malware into their game. It will be better to trust the player only, and not the media. (Edited: I think this will depend on if games are published on Steam or independently published, so players of smaller, independent games might prefer to use the media player model over the standalone game model, at least for the foreseeable future.)

Sorry for the long post. I haven't been active here for a very long time. My schizophrenia is running me around town like a bunch of Japanese tourists, but I need to get out of my hometown, there's just nothing (and no one) for me here, so I'm still largely stranded at home base.

EDITED: My schizophrenia is also encouraging me to approach From Software as I move to commercial ways of presenting SOM. It thinks this is a matter of taking responsibility, since From Software should have a first say in what we end up doing. It's not completely outside the realm of possibilities it might join forces with us. But I'm hesitant to make SOM fully commercial under From Software alone with my work involved, because I think it needs to be for the people to some degree, and its fans can be quite toxic, and I think it would be healthy for them to have the Sword of Moonlight somewhat at a distance from From Software itself. They have a lot on their plate I think.

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