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Disappearing sprites in software and polymost

User is offline   fgsfds 

#1

Attached Image: ezgif-1-b7d5c92edc.gif

Was this bug ever addressed?


Attached File  bug.zip (411bytes)
Number of downloads: 110
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User is offline   Micky C 

  • Honored Donor

#2

That's not a bug. I'm fairly sure the behaviour has always been like that. Basically, you can't see the child sector, so the game doesn't draw the sector, and by extension, doesn't draw anything that's located within the sector including sprites, regardless of whether they extend outside.
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User is offline   Mark 

#3

A trick I use when possible is to extend a thin leg out from the sector that contains the sprite. In this example of your map I made that leg wider than normal. You can make it any width you want including down to less than a minimum grid square by pressing L in 2D more to turn off grid lock. Then you can drag the points to make a very very thin leg. If its right next to a wall it might hardly be noticable. Sometimes if the extension's floor texture is way different than the surrounding sector I try to place a model over it for cover. In software mode you don't have that luxury. But give the thin extension a try. I have attached your map with my compromise fix. Basically, it keeps the sector in the player's view for a wider range so the sprite stays visible.

Attached File(s)



This post has been edited by Mark.: 17 June 2018 - 06:50 AM

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User is offline   oasiz 

  • Dr. Effector

#4

In some cases you can use expert mode to put the sprite in to a nearby sector that is constantly visible.You HAVE to ensure that the sector you put it in is visible at all times (i.e. surrounding the island sector).
Has saved me a couple of times.
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User is offline   Mark 

#5

I don't understand. How can the sprite display in the proper place if you are placing it in a different sector? I have heard about but never used expert mode as far as I know.

This post has been edited by Mark.: 18 June 2018 - 08:38 AM

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User is online   Danukem 

  • Duke Plus Developer

#6

I think he means you press F8 on the sprite in 2D view and then manually edit the sector number, but I could be wrong about that.

You can also write a scripting hack to force rendering of models in cases where the center of the sprite is obscured but you want part of the model to be visible. There are different ways of doing that.
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User is offline   oasiz 

  • Dr. Effector

#7

Yeah, it's that. script_expertmode 1 in console and punch in the sector number for a sprite.
You can do pretty funky stuff with this like floating objects that are linked to 2way trains that are further away, etc..

How it displays at it's proper place is simple, it just does. Only condition is that you actually have to see the sector sprite belongs to for it to get drawn. Location of sprite itself is quite irrelevant in many cases.
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User is offline   Mark 

#8

Damn, another feature I wish I knew about. Once again I spent many hours over the years designing odd shaped sector extensions to try and keep models from flickering out when their sector disappeared from player view.

So if I understand this right I could place all my models wherever I need them but in expert mode tell Mapster that all of them are located in a central sector of the map that is almost always in view. So the models all over the map would always render as long as I see that central sector?

I wonder why this was never brought up before when a couple of guys were working on a con solution to my request for rendering all models all the time.
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User is offline   Micky C 

  • Honored Donor

#9

Just make sure to switch expert mode off once you've done that, since it switches off a lot of important safeguards that you'd want to have on whenever possible.
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User is offline   Mark 

#10

I just tried it. I don't have to go in expert mode. Its like TD said. Hit F8 and type in your sector of choice. Dammit, it would have made mapping easier if I knew this a long time ago. Better late than never. Thanks guys.

Attached thumbnail(s)

  • Attached Image: 99999.png


This post has been edited by Mark.: 18 June 2018 - 05:11 PM

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User is online   Danukem 

  • Duke Plus Developer

#11

View PostMark., on 18 June 2018 - 02:51 PM, said:

I wonder why this was never brought up before when a couple of guys were working on a con solution to my request for rendering all models all the time.


In defense of scripted solutions (of which I have one in current use by an upcoming project -- no, not Alien Armageddon):

  • Editing the sprite's sector number on a one-time basis is a very fragile solution. If the model becomes subject to any code that calculates its sector, then its sector may be changed to the proper one at its coordinates, thereby destroying the effect. A future EDuke32 revision could start doing that to such sprites in order to eliminate corruption -- I've seen far, far stranger things happen in EDuke32 development that break tricks like this.
  • Similarly, mapster itself could potentially be revised so that it "corrects" sector numbers. In fact, I'm pretty sure it already does this under certain conditions.
  • Likewise, forget about using that solution on anything that moves. The movement functions routinely update sector on the model.
  • You still have to construct your map in such a way that there is a certain sector always visible from any point where the model should be visible, whereas in a scripted solution that's not necessary

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User is offline   oasiz 

  • Dr. Effector

#12

Mapster corrects sector numbers if you select a single sprite but doesn't always do it with a shift selection.
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User is offline   Mark 

#13

My use for this sprite sector number tweak is only to keep static prop models in view a little longer. Its not a catch all solution but would have and will come in handy for me. But thanks for the heads up on it's weakness.
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