Some (other) problems I'm having

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-07-27, 14:01

I have found that there are a few problems with Ca3DE and the SDK that are really annoying. One thing is that sometimes the Ca3DE window loses focus, and the taskbar appears, and then I have to Alt-Tab back into the engine. After this happens, it gets stuck on an action, like walking in one direction, of repeatidly firing.

Another thing I'm having a problem with is CaWE. I can't import CS:S vmf files (it just crashes), and if I open Ca3DE worlds, it crashes after about 20 seconds of using the camera tool.

Also, It's a little annoying not being able to crouch and swim, but I know that the DM mod is not a priority...

-Stephen

Post by **Thrawn** » 2006-07-27, 15:04

Stephen wrote:I have found that there are a few problems with Ca3DE and the SDK that are really annoying. One thing is that sometimes the Ca3DE window loses focus, and the taskbar appears, and then I have to Alt-Tab back into the engine. After this happens, it gets stuck on an action, like walking in one direction, of repeatidly firing.

This should of course not happen, but as this problem hasn't ever occured elsewhere, it might be a result of some programs you are runnign while testing Ca3DE. Programs that can cast this problems are those which are programmed to stay on top like messenger tools or tv apllications and so on. Please minimize all such programs or close them so Ca3DE is "on top of things" and no other program interferes.

Stephen wrote:Another thing I'm having a problem with is CaWE. I can't import CS:S vmf files (it just crashes), and if I open Ca3DE worlds, it crashes after about 20 seconds of using the camera tool.

Just because Ca3DE uses files with the same file ending and look similar, they are not the same. You can't just put others there and hope that everything is working. They might have completely different tasks, share different sources or are built in differently. Ca3DE is a stand-alone 3D engine and does not have anything to do with the Source engine, nor Quake 3 or the Half Life engine, though some things are for sure similar. There is the possibility for porting custom maps from those titels, but only under certain circumstances, that's almost all.

Concerning the crash of CaWE: You have to give us more informations about this problem so we can help you. What's your system, did you change any files and so on...

Stephen wrote:Also, It's a little annoying not being able to crouch and swim, but I know that the DM mod is not a priority...

Yes, the deathmatch mod is very "buggy". It was just designed for testing and demonstration purposes and isn't really meant to be playable decently. Nobody works on this mod right now and the content is partly over 5 years old - full concentration is right now on the techdemo.

But this doesn't mean that it's dead. The source code and the whole content of the deathmatch mod is available in the Softare Development Kit and if anyone wants to work on it he can, helping us out is much appreciated

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-07-28, 07:58

Just because Ca3DE uses files with the same file ending and look similar, they are not the same. You can't just put others there and hope that everything is working. They might have completely different tasks, share different sources or are built in differently. Ca3DE is a stand-alone 3D engine and does not have anything to do with the Source engine, nor Quake 3 or the Half Life engine, though some things are for sure similar. There is the possibility for porting custom maps from those titels, but only under certain circumstances, that's almost all.

I went to open, and then changed the file type to "Import Hammer v4.0 (HL2) Map File (*.vmf)" and tried to open a Hammer v4 map. I should be able to open it and change the textures and entitys and re-compile is for Ca3DE, right?

-Stephen

Post by **Carsten** » 2006-07-28, 10:13

Hi Stephen,

Stephen wrote:I went to open, and then changed the file type to "Import Hammer v4.0 (HL2) Map File (*.vmf)" and tried to open a Hammer v4 map. I should be able to open it and change the textures and entitys and re-compile is for Ca3DE, right?

Well, yes, your conclusions are correct, but unfortunately, direct import of HL2 maps is in a so early stage that it doesn't work reliably right now.
I'm very sorry about this. As a work-around, can you use Hammer to export your HL2 map into a format (e.g. .map or maybe .rmf) that CaWE does understand? Please let me know if that works.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but this is currently the best approach that I can think of.

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-07-28, 12:09

unfortunately, direct import of HL2 maps is in a so early stage that it doesn't work reliably right now.

That's a shame... I tried to save a VMF as a .map or .rmf, but Hammer seems to only export and save to either .vmf or .dxf.

-Stephen

Post by **Carsten** » 2006-07-28, 12:25

Stephen, one suggestion: could you please send your VMF file to my email address (zipped-up if possible)?

Then I had a good test case available for fixing the VMF importer code, and may send you back a converted cmap file and/or a fixed version of CaWE...

EDIT: For reference: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki ... umentation

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-07-28, 14:47

I can send you a couple of CS maps that came with the Valve SDK if you want. I haven't made many VMFs myself, but I can make a couple of varing complexity for testing.

-Stephen

P.S. I was just wondering, why is the Trinity bot a light source? It's weird how she lights up...

Post by **Thrawn** » 2006-07-28, 15:14

Normally you delete all enities and patches before exporting the map to Ca3DE because the import only works for the brush work, which is in Half Life 2 crap because they do very much with models

Don't know but this COULD be the problem for the crash.

The Trinity bot got a light as the player did for testing purposes of per pixel lighting. The lights will soon be removed, so they won't be featured in the next version anymore.

Post by **Carsten** » 2006-07-28, 15:16

Okay, yes please, send me some of the VMFs! If possible, please pick those that are architecturally the most interesting.

Well, when I introduced dynamic lighting to the Ca3D-Engine, the Trinity bot was a well-suited test lightsource... I'll remove its light with the next SDK release again.

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-07-29, 03:49

I see. I'll send you an email with a couple of CS and HL2 maps. They're incredibly complex, so they would be good for testing. If you want, I can also make some very simple ones (like an info_player_start and a couple of rooms).

One other thing, can you set the grid size to less than 64px in CaWE? And why don't I get a menu when I right click?

-Stephen

Post by **Carsten** » 2006-07-29, 08:52

Okay, I think that very small maps might help, but if necessary, I can probably deal without them, so only include one if it isn't too much trouble.

The grid size can be changed with the [ and ] keys, or via the menu "Map --> Grid settings".
You can change the default grid in the "Configure CaWE" dialog that you can open via menu "File --> Configure CaWE...".
(I'll probably change that in the future so that CaWE remembers the last used grid setting when it restarts.)

The right-click menus are typically context-menus, which I have not yet found the time to implement. However, no functionality is missing, everything is available via the main menu bar or key shortcuts.

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-07-29, 14:48

Carsten wrote:The right-click menus are typically context-menus, which I have not yet found the time to implement. However, no functionality is missing, everything is available via the main menu bar or key shortcuts.

It's pretty annoying to have to keep opening the menus, but I should be able to learn most of the key commands eventually. It will probably become faster to edit maps this way anyway..

I'll probably have time to make some maps tommorrow.

-Stephen

Post by **Stephen** » 2006-08-02, 12:21

OK, my main computer's hard drive broke two days ago

... This was the computer that I used for both Ca3DE and HL2... So I won't be able to make any VMFs until I get the replacement (possibly saturday)

-Stephen

Post by **Carsten** » 2006-08-02, 15:07

Sorry to hear about your HD crash...
Don't worry about the maps though, just take your time and send them when its comfortable for you.

Some (other) problems I'm having

Re: Some (other) problems I'm having

Re: Some (other) problems I'm having

Re: Some (other) problems I'm having

Who is online