Small Mod compilation

[Seven]

Hello,

An additional flying monster type is available for the SMC: The Necromancer.

Monster properties:

Flying monster with various ranged combat abilities.
Can summon additional different monster types for reinforcement:
Wizards (low threat), Afrits (medium thread), Reivers (high threat)

Abilities:
- Can cast death rays that instantly hits everybody in medium range who dares to challenge him
- When combat situation allows it, the Necromancer summons additional flying minions to support him
- Can cast flying, animated skulls that hunts his enemies mercilessly
- He will lose his human form when his health is low and will leave this world with a huge charge
- When the necromancer has been killed, he leaves a mystical evil symbol on the floor that gives the player some health
- Do not underestimate this creature and its evil skills

To quickly summarize the existing additional flying monster types of the "small mod compilation".
The additional walking and swimming monster types are shown in the 1st post of this thread.

In order of release-date:

Afritīs



In its protecting cocoon form:



Evil face



Reiver



Necromancer




It is always difficult to record demo clips that shows all features at once.
I tried to record a small clip from the Necromancer in action:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_dZf7qmqhE[/ame]


====================================


At the moment I am working on improving the blood-splats when shooting enemies (TE_BLOOD). Inspired by Mankripīs Quake engine. It will be much more intense afterwards. Using new/different particle textures and bringing some more velocity into them.

I want to finish this first, before releaseing SMC V5.40 for those who are interested.

Best wishes,
Seven

[Seven]

Hello sock,

Do not worry, the SMC already has all of those things. The SMC is a mod with a quite long history and even longer feature list.
Sometimes even I have forgotten what things I have implemented over the years...

Anyhow, I already finished the new Necromancer monster type and I am now working on a different project/feature since some time.
I am very excited about the new feature as it has a huge potential and a lot of beautiful things can be done with it.
If everything runs smooth I will release it as a separate package (it is independent to SMC) the upcoming weekend.
A lot of model/texture work as well as some qc tricks are involved...
Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Regards,
Seven

[sock]

The development on the Necromancer makes progress.
I decided to give him these attack abilities:
1.) summon evil reinforcements/minions
2.) instant hit rays
3.) mildly homing animated skull

Sounds like the wraith in AD! You should check out the QC, it has instant hit ray/twirl effect and has a whole summoning minion (flying or via eggs) system. Checking for collisions, monster/players in the way and even has a throttling system to prevent too many minions spawning at once!

[Seven]

- Who are you?
- The new Number Two.
- Who is Number One?
- You are Number Six.

I am Seven, if you didnt notice yet

Is it possible to tint the rising stars red, to match the red fog effect? Currently, using both looks kinda weird. It would look much cooler if colors of both effects matched.

Yes, sure. The SMC is fully customizable.
Open your effectinfo.txt and scroll down (or search for): effect slipgate_rising_stars_effect
Replace this line:
color 0x807aff 0x4463d5
with this line:
color 0xbb3333 0xaa4444 //color 0x807aff 0x4463d5

... and when setting cvar: teleporter_particles_slipgates to 5,you will have this:


instead of this:


I think this is what you asked for.

Also, adding world fog to a map via the .ent file seems to disable particle fog/lava haze. Is there a way to implement both? I'm referring specifically to the start map where I'd like to apply the Hell setting (red fog/red rain) but still have those neat particle effects, to see if they fit together. It could be useful in the 2 Chthon levels (Door to/House of) as well.

No, all effects are independent from each other. You seem to do something wrong.

This is start map with all the effects you mentioned enabled (ground fog):


This is start map with all the effects you mentioned enabled (regular fog):



And this is chtonīs map (e1m7) with lava haze and red fog disabled + enabled:



Please read the smc_config.cfg to see how to toggle all effects individualy. I wrote about it recently in this post: click me.
I hope it helps.

On a not-quite-but-still-somewhat-related note, world fog in Quake often looks like this:

Do you or anyone know if it's possible to have a smoother, seamless fog or is it an engine limitation?

This is an engine thing. I do not encounter this issue myself.
You most probably use a too big alpha value in your fog command.
Please read this thread to learn more about fog in general.


Enjoy your Quake.

Best wishes,
Seven

[Mugwump]

Unfortunately there is no no.6

- Who are you?
- The new Number Two.
- Who is Number One?
- You are Number Six.

See? There is a no.6! Joking aside:

As far as I understand the last posts, there is the requirement to have combinations of existing particle effects for slipgates. Actualls we have 3 to choose from:
- "soak in" effect
- "rising stars" effect
- "red steam/fog" effect

Is it possible to tint the rising stars red, to match the red fog effect? Currently, using both looks kinda weird. It would look much cooler if colors of both effects matched.

Also, adding world fog to a map via the .ent file seems to disable particle fog/lava haze. Is there a way to implement both? I'm referring specifically to the start map where I'd like to apply the Hell setting (red fog/red rain) but still have those neat particle effects, to see if they fit together. It could be useful in the 2 Chthon levels (Door to/House of) as well.

On a not-quite-but-still-somewhat-related note, world fog in Quake often looks like this:

Do you or anyone know if it's possible to have a smoother, seamless fog or is it an engine limitation?

the red-fog effect is interesting (...) but the effect is kinda meh and not that fitting imo

The red fog looks badass with Inkub's RTlights. He added a big bright red light so that everything in the slipgate's surroundings is literally drowned in red, it's awesome! Miles away from the subtlety of the rising stars you like so much, but it really complements the red fog and the pulsating red sides of the slipgate.

[Blood Vengeance]

I was thinking....why not make a list of ALL the maps/episodes with no custom progs.dat available at quaddicted.com that run with SMC compilation? So people can enjoy SMC and good maps at the same time. This will make things easier, so you don't have to browse a huge archive to check every single release. I'll do it myself when I have time

[Seven]

Hello bloodsnipe,

Actively developed compilers are great. Sometimes bugs get fixed, sometimes bugs gets created. It is in the nature of itself.

I myself use a more than 5 year old version of Spikes compiler. I use the compiler to compile, not to code. I am the only person in the world that uses Beyond Compare 3 to code. That is one of the reasons why I am a poor coder. But I get things done in the end anyhow and that is most important

Quake is a fast paced game. That is the nature of Quake. It is a fps that aims at fun, spooky maps. Unrealism is important in Quake. You carry all types of weapons and massive ammo with you and when you get hit by an enemy projectile you dodge and run and shoot back

Adding Counter-strike technics into this game does not fit in my humble opinion. Slowing done movement when you get hit or gun climb when you shoot so you have to release the trigger every second fits better into other games in my opinion.
Except when you create a dozen of maps and a complete reworked weapon/enemy code base it might fit into the Quake univers, so.

Pushing the player back when shooting is at least better than pushing im forward and it is just enough "realism" to not disturb the fluent gameplay and nature of this game.

I am an old fart of Quake, so I know almost all of its mods and also the moodb.com pages. I created the SMC weapon recoil system as it is on purpose (see my comment above) to not change the initial gameplay but to bring some neat things/features into it.



Regarding your mod project:
You maybe are aware that there already is a Quake mod available that adds the kind of realism that you are working on: Navy Seals
It was done by Gooseman. The person who invented Counter Strike.
It has all you should like (iron sight and this kind of stuff), so you should download and play it.

A hint: You should not edit the players config with your mod. If you edit the fov within your mod there is no way (without using advanced engine specific extension functions) to bring them back to the initial values. Many players use different fov than 90.
Thie below short clip shows how iron sight can be done with advanced engine extension: DP_VIEWZOOM
This extension will leave the fov and mouse sensitivity of the players config alone and creates the iron sight effect independently !
It is just a quick and rough example without additional view weapon model. I was just playing around with iron sight when the discussion came up in a threat some years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wytp4Gc-uQ

The SMC uses DP_VIEWZOOM for various new features. The source code of SMC is included in its download. If you need examples. Be aware that because of the massive usage of extensions it is only compatible with Darkplaces and partly FTE.



Regarding your question about "associated models/PAK file":
I do not fully understand your question. If you downloaded the SMC then you also download all files you need. That is why it is a quite big download.
But maybe I misunderstood your question

[bloodsnipe]

Hi Seven, just got to trying out your awesome compilation. I downloaded the rar file and ran fteqccgui just fine. I have noticed though that running the latest version (win64-ftegqqcui version 1.3, I like it because it has grep), I get an error "Too many types/Error in hknight.qc on line 1477". I've forwarded it to Spike (though honestly, it may be because its the 64 bit version).

Also, I see your weapon recoil consists of merely pushing the player back. If you are interested, I have a hacky solution for adjusting the player view angles to simulate actual gun climb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Yvjbq47z4) I'd be happy to share with you.

Also also, where can I download the associated models/PAK file if y'all don't mind my asking?

EDIT: As Six-Soota pointed out in another post, this tutorial already exists, and I am merely reinventing the wheel (thank you Six-Shoota for the link http://www.moddb.com/games/quake/tut...-quake-shotgun)...

[Seven]

Awesome news about the Necromancer Seven! I like the idea of weather ent for individual maps too!

Thanks for all you do my friend!

Rain for individual maps:
I think you mean fan-made maps (not id1 or mission pack ones). You need to enable this cvar to have universal rain/snow in every map:
flying_dust_type 3
or
flying_dust_type 4
Try it. It is a bit like an easter egg of SMC

To have real weather effects in fan-made maps you need those neat/lovely .ent cubes. There is a tutorial how to create them somewhere in this forum.

The summon evil reinforcements sounds interesting. i would suggest maybe adding zombies to the list. so he can raise the dead and have them start as laying down.

It is a bit more tricky to spawn walking monsters compared to flying ones. The space around is simply more open up there. As well as the fact that the spawner is moving slowly and the logic to check for sticking in meshes is more robust. But I will look into it.

thanks for your help on the 3d thats just what i was looking for. it changes the prospective of the game a lot. when you are in a place where the ceiling is right at your head you can feel that you are in a small tight spot. im glade DP has added this. there is an offshoot of a different engine i have seen videos of but the smc would not have worked due to my computers lack of kick ass power i was only able to run small maps with out getting a big loss in fps. thanks for helping me out where did you find the information?

The unique feature of DP for helping everyone who is in need: "apropos"
It initially takes a lot of time for the engine dev to write a description of every cvar/command but it pays as soon as a user searches for a solution. You can search for wildcards that even is not included in the cvar/command itself and will still find it. It helped me more than I know and it even works with auto_cvars. Amazing.



===========================



Hello,

Anyone brave enough to texture this model ?
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvu62viKgyQ[/ame]

Please contact me and call: 555-I-LOVE-QUAKE
Otherwise I will try my very best...

Kind regards,
Seven

[JDSTONE]

The summon evil reinforcements sounds interesting. i would suggest maybe adding zombies to the list. so he can raise the dead and have them start as laying down.

thanks for your help on the 3d thats just what i was looking for. it changes the prospective of the game a lot. when you are in a place where the ceiling is right at your head you can feel that you are in a small tight spot. im glade DP has added this. there is an offshoot of a different engine i have seen videos of but the smc would not have worked due to my computers lack of kick ass power i was only able to run small maps with out getting a big loss in fps. thanks for helping me out where did you find the information?

[gdiddy62]

Awesome news about the Necromancer Seven! I like the idea of weather ent for individual maps too!

Thanks for all you do my friend!

[Seven]

Hello,

The development on the Necromancer makes progress.
I decided to give him these attack abilities:
1.) summon evil reinforcements/minions
2.) instant hit rays
3.) mildly homing animated skull

to 1.) He, as a flying creature, can summon other flying creatures. You decide via cvar which ones. You can choose between:
Wizard (low threat)
Afrit (medium threat)
Reiver (high threat)
His summoning animation takes some time, so you have the chance to kill him before he ends his evil ritual.

to 2.) Instant hit means an attack that instantly reaches the enemy (like lightning gun). This attack is depending on distance towards enemy to make it not unfair. It has a nice new particle animation + ray/wave

to 3.) A new animated skull model will midly home you (adjustable via cvar)



================================



Jeank has contacted me via pm with several questions regarding the smc.
I would like to answer some of them in public, as they surely are interesting for a larger number of people.

A) It is possible to have all weather/map effects in 1 .ent file and choose which one you want to see in-game via cvars. So, you can combine all the optional .ent files, wich are included in the SMC download, into 1 per map.
Put all the snow, rain, fog and custom map particles into 1 [map].ent file, then choose which effect you want. It is also described in the smc_config.cfg:

"cl_particles_rain" "1"			//  0= disable rain in maps     1= enable rain in maps	  ATTENTION: rainy .ent files are needed for this effect (included in the "small mod compilation" download)
"cl_particles_snow" "1"			//  0= disable snow in maps     1= enable snow in maps	  ATTENTION: snowy .ent files are needed for this effect (included in the "small mod compilation" download)
"r_drawfog" "1"				//  0= disable fog in maps      1= enable fog in maps		  ATTENTION: you can set fog via the "fog" command in-game or by using foggy .ent files (included in the "small mod compilation" download)
set cl_particles_custom_effects 1	//  0= disable custom particle effects in maps     1= enable custom particle effects in maps	ATTENTION: custom particle effect .ent files are needed for this effect (included in the "small mod compilation" download)

Be aware that some of them need a map restart to take affect.


B) Creating "Presets" of SMC features.
Due to the huge amount of adjustable SMC features/cvars it might be a good idea to create presets (like DP and FTE have for graphic options).
Unfortunately it would need engine code changes to bring new menue items into it.

Otherwise one could create different smc_configs:
- smc_config_faithful.cfg
- smc_config_full-features.cfg
- smc_config_indiv-features.cfg
- ...
And manually rename them before you start the engine to: smc_config.cfg

Another way would be to create different quake.rc files and set which config file to load last, but that is basically the same as option 2.

Another option, which would be most user friendly and easiest would be to use a .batch file. The engine will be started via that .batch file and you will let the player decide which preset to choose. The batch file will then automatically rename the corresponding .cfg to smc_config.cfg and the engine will start with the correct settings. Everytime you start your Quake you can decide differently

Kind regards,
Seven

[FallenAngel]

Seven thats ok, problem with g_shot is solved Thank's.

[Seven]

[...]
Seven, I have another small question. I can't to intall this g_shot model for shotgun http://quakeone.com/forums/quake-mod...tml#post158835
Axe and armor nice work for me, but shotgun does not work. What could be the reason for the failure?

Hello FallenAngel,

The culprit for not seeing a particular model in the game is that you already use another external model with the same name. And that one is overriding the other one.

You must know that Darkplaces follows specific rules regarding external files.
Due to the fact that you have several possibilities to bring external files into your game:
- via .pak files
- via .pk3 files
- via subfolders
the engine needs/has rules how the priority should be handled.

In your example, the g_shot.mdl file:
You must have a file with this name already in one of your external archives/subfolders.
My first bet is that you might using the weapon sample package that is optionally included in the SMC download. This one has a g_shot.mdl.

So, you can either delete the g_shot.mdl inside the SMC weapon package (its inside the /progs folder), or you could add a "z" letter in front of the new g_shot.mdl .pk3 archive so that it will be loaded after the other .pk3 one.
I am NOT a friend of the latter option, as it brings a high risk of overriding model textures and so later on. It only confuses things and should be avoided.

Unfortunately some people in this forum release external asset packages with "zzzxxx" in their .pk3 name to try to prevent this. But that is quite nonsense. You either know what external files you are using or you do not. The next one will have "zzzzzz3456" in its name and that is real fun.


So, to summarize:
Delete your other g_shot.mdl and you are good to go. Try to always have only 1 external file with the same name in your Quake (if you need/want externals at all). And always try to keep the overview of your files.

Best of luck,
Seven

[FallenAngel]

Hello FallenAngel,

First of all, did the attached smc_config.cfg help you ?
Did it work as it should ?



Regarding your question how to enable the "evil face" monster:

1. Start your Quake with enabled SMC mod
2. Start a new game (you will start in the "start" map (skill and episode selection map))
3. Walk towards the bridge in the middle of the room (normal skill setting)
4. Shoot the evil face texture left or right near the bridge.
--> Nothing should happen (that is the default setting in the smc)

Now,
5. Open your console by pressing "tilde" key (beside your "1" key)
6. copy this text (strg+c) and paste it into your console (strg+v):

evil_faces 2

7. Press "Return" and close your console by pressing "tilde" or "esc" key
8. Now shoot the evil face texture left or right near the bridge again
---> Now the monster should spawn.

If that works, everything is OK.

You can now close your Quake and edit the smc_config.cfg which is directly in your smc mod folder ! (use the one attached from yesterday as base).
Set all the evil face properties as you want/like. As well as all other SMC features of course. All features are described directly behind the cvar for your convenience.

Next time you start your Quake, you do not need your console, as all settings will be loaded from smc_config.cfg on startup.

Kind regards.


PS: Be sure to set "Particles Quality" to 3 or higher in your "Customize effects" Darkplaces options menu.

Hello Seven!! Yep,your new cfg a lot helped me, big thank's! Forgive me, I was inattentive and did not read all the files "Readme" in your mod. Now I have learned to adjust everything yourself.
About "Evil Faces": thank you, i don't now that need shooting face textures, now this bad heads work
Seven, I have another small question. I can't to intall this g_shot model for shotgun http://quakeone.com/forums/quake-mod...tml#post158835
Axe and armor nice work for me, but shotgun does not work. What could be the reason for the failure?