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Tool for making characters and converting VRML files to gm

All the new locations that have been released are in the Post Build 12 modpack. However, most new locations haven't been released yet.
 
The new locations that have been implemented are:
- Blacksmith locations (ask local citizens about the location)
- Opium Den (Redmond city near the governor's mansion)
- Apothecary (Greenford town, up some stairs)
 
How to add locators with Inez' Tool
-----------------------------------

As example let's hide a treasurechest among the boxes on the landing stage of Oxbay port.

First you need the position coordinates of the spot where your new locator shall be. You can determine that by inserting three lines of code into the console.c file (right below the first "{" bracket ):

float x,y,z;
GetCharacterPos(GetMainCharacter(), &x, &y, &z);
Logit("My coords: " + x+" "+y+" "+z );

(If you use the buildingset you already have this in console.c)
If you now press the F12 key during the game the x,y and z coords of the playerposition will be displayed. So walk to the spot where you want to create a locator, press F12 and note the values (approximately, one decimalpoint is enough)

In front of the boxes on the landing stage you get something like 15.5, 2.1 and 66.0 .


The second thing you need to know is the name of the locator file. You'll find that in the location definitions in program\locations\init. E.g. in the Oxbay.c file you'll find in the "Oxbay_port" section the lines

Locations[n].filespath.models = "locations\town_Oxbay\port";

and

Locations[n].models.always.locators = "OXport_l";

Which means the locatorfile named "OXport_l" is in the directory resource\models\locations\town_Oxbay\port .



Now you can start Inez' fabulous Tool(takes some moments to load, don't get impatient).

-On the right margin check the option "ship, item, location"

-Click on "Load Gm"

-Go to the location model directory and doubleclick the locatorfile

-Wait a moment, then click

-"View"

-"Locators". A new window opens.

-In that window click on "locators" or the + in front, and the list of locators appears


Let's have a look at one of those lines. The first field is the name of the individual locator, so it must be unique. I recommend that you use the locatorgroup followed by the first number that has not yet being used, e.g. reload5 or box2

The second field contains the locatorgroup (reload, goto, monster, box..). This determines the function of your locator, so if you add one you must enter the correct type here.

The next three fields are the x,y,z coords of the locatorposition. Enter the three values you have noted.

All the following fields determine the facingdirection of a character or item that is loaded on that locator. The bad news is that I can't tell you exactly what all those values mean (maybe some of our modellers can?) The good news is that you can't do much wrong if you just use (aproximately) the values of a similar locator. The worst thing that can happen then is that your avatar faces to the wrong location after a reload. For boxlocators facingdirection doesn't matter anyway.
Now back to our new boxlocator:

- in the last line click on the first empty field behind the * to open new fields for your entries. Then enter..

-"box2" for name
-"box" for group
-"15,5" for x
-"2,1" for y
-"66,0" for z

-Fill up the remainder of the line with the same values that "box1" has

-Once you have filled the line click "Apply changes" twice(just to make sure)

-Finally click "Save as GM" in the MAIN window of the tool

For safety reasons this new locator file is being stored with the appendix "_X" as "OXport_l_X". So if you messed up anything you still have the old "OXport_l" as backup. I recommend that you now rename that one "OXport_l_backup", and the new "OXport_l_X" to "OXport_l". This one will now be used AFTER you start a new game, and the boxes and barrels are a tresurechest then.

If you get errormessages try to continue, or start the whole process again.
 
Thanks for this tutorial. When I have some time again (supposedly tomorrow), I will try. However, for this to work, you must be able to walk around the location in the game and the locations for which I need the added locators aren't yet in the game. So that complicates matters... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=136923:date=Jan 2 2006, 07:20 PM:name=summersurfer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(summersurfer @ Jan 2 2006, 07:20 PM) [snapback]136923[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->can anyone give my a step by step tutorial to "make a (new) emty outside location" ? The original help files doesn't help me<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am not sure if that option really works, I never managed to save something with it. Even if it does there are only two housemodels and one stockademodel in the Tool that you could use for outside locations, so you couldn't create much with it. I usually use some existing model and change that with the "scene" / "edit scene" option till it looks rather new. Can you work with that or do want a tutorial on that as well?
 
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Can you work with that or do want a tutorial on that as well?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

A Tutorial would be very nice. I'm a total n00p in these tings.
 
How to change a locationmodel with "Edit scene"
-----------------------------------------------
As example let's change the lighthousebay into a bare cliff with a small wooden fort.

-On the right margin check the option "ship, item, location"

-Click on "Load Gm"

-Go to the location model directory and doubleclick the locatorfile, in our example "locations\outside\Mayak\mayak.gm"

-Click on "Scene" / "Edit scene"

-The second window is the list of modelcomponents that your scene already has. Click on the + in front of "Original" and its components will be displayed. Click on "Poly surface 36" and then the big "Delete" button and the lighthouse will disappear. Deleting "Poly surface 1534" will remove the trees.

-To the left is a list of models which you can add to your scene/locationmodel. Doubleclick on e.g. house01_x and a house will be added. Though it doesn't show up yet.

-In the second window house01 has now been added. Click on it and you can move and resize this modelcomponent with the interface right of this list:

-above "move to position" are the positioncoords x, y, z of your chosen modelcomponent. Change those coords, e.g. to 2/18,8/-7 , click "move to position" and the modelcomponent will be moved there.

-you can also move a modelcomponent by shifting the three scale levers below

-the scale lever to the right resizes the modelcomponent

-"delete" -you'll guess it- deletes the chosen modelcomponent

-Click on one of the "-axis" buttons and the modelcomponent will rotate 45 degrees

That way you can place a house on the cliff and some "fence" stockades around it to create a fort. Unfortunately the tool has only two simple housemodels and the fence for outside locations. (For more ambitious architecture I recommend my Buildingset <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" /> )

-Finally click "Save as GM" in the MAIN window of the tool

For safety reasons this new location modelfile is being stored with the appendix "_X" as "mayak_X.gm". So if you messed up anything you still have the old "mayak.gm" as backup.

If you want to make a new location with that changed model have a look at the Location Cloning tutorial at the PotC modding WIKI (see post below)
 
the textures in the tool doesn't appear. I only see white objects. What can I do ?
I changed the path in the top to the right texture directory but nothing happens.
 
The textures first need to be converted from .tga.tx to .tga files. You can do that with <a href="http://legend.seaward.ru/tools/ConvertorTX.rar" target="_blank">this</a> program.
 
Kind of off-topic but I am wondering... why are all the French guards wearing blue now? Dunno about historical accuracy (the only reason I can assume for the change), but I saw "The Musketeer" the other night and noticed all the French guards' uniforms were exactly like the original beige-ish outfits in the stock game. (I suspect the designers modeled their outfits after those in the movie, as they seem to have done with a lot of different pirate/swashbuckling movies [see "Cutthroat Island"]).
 
IIRC French uniforms were always blue in PotC, but maybe I'm wrong, or that was changed for the European version.

FAIK armies in the 17th century were a motley bunch, the uniform colour often depending on the fancy of the regimental commander, or on the money or cloth that was just availlable. And didn't the prerevolution Royal French troops wear white? That most people think of blue in connection with French soldiers stems probably from Napoleonic times.

BTW, Alan, you may know this: If I remove the lighthouse building and the trees from the "Oxbay lighthouse" location the walkpatch still prevents me from walking where those objects once were. Do you know an easy method to delete all those "holes" in the patch? (Haven't worked with patches at all so far)
 
The blue French suits were added in Build 12 (or maybe in an earlier version). Why? I don't know. I suppose somebody liked blue better. The blue suits weren't in any stock version of the game.
 
CCC: Long answer lost when my computer crashed a minute ago; short answer is you can't delete a hole, but the tool makes it clear which areas are walkable and which are not, and you can move these little points and lines and vectors and things around and try and fill the holes as best you can; it is a rigid sort of thing, only working with straight lines, it just takes a lot of trial and error. Give it a shot.
 
Thanks for the hint <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />
 
Alan Smithee was making them. When they will be released, I don't know. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />
 
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