[NightFright]

So you are doing all enemies after all or just this one since the tank is kinda like an object? One way or the other: amazing!

[Borion]

NightFright, on 26 July 2019 - 03:51 AM, said:

So you are doing all enemies after all or just this one since the tank is kinda like an object? One way or the other: amazing!

Thanks!

Yes, I made this one because it's more like an object. This is an experiment to see if such voxel enemy would look fine in game while moving & shooting.
If this one will come out good, I will attempt some other enemies.

[Jimmy]

The only issue is that it's going to be even more obvious that the tank treads don't animate, but goddamn is that a pretty voxel.

[Danukem]

BlitZ, on 26 July 2019 - 11:01 AM, said:

The only issue is that it's going to be even more obvious that the tank treads don't animate, but goddamn is that a pretty voxel.

I was going to say the same thing...there ought to be a second frame that shows the treds in a different position, at least as an option for modders. Awesome work, though.

[Borion]

@BlitZ
@Trooper Dan
Thanks for kind words, guys!
Yes, that extra frame of animation for tank treads is planned from the beginning, no worries

It is impossible to make multi voxel model enemies/objects, so we can't have separate threads that animate on their own. So tricks need to be involved.

Since we got only two frames of threads animation, maybe it would be best to have two complete sets of tank animation. One set for first position of threads, another second for second threads position. So each set would include all necessary frames for animating whole tank, they would just differ in threads. And when tank moves we would just quickly switch back and forth between two frame sets, without breaking general logic of frames changes.

I hope its clear. If not or it's impossible with EDuke32, please let me know.

[Micky C]

Just having it alternate between 2 voxels when it moves? I'm sure it's possible, although it would probably need some con code to do it. That comes back to an earlier discussion about having a sort of 'basic' voxel pack that is simply a straight asset replacement, and a more involved pack that includes code to make the more sophisticated objects look better.

As Trooper Dan said, some of these more advanced things are going to be for mods anyway.

Speaking of added voxel functionality, how easy would it be out of curiosity, to make a blown-up version of the tank that looks something like this:

[Borion]

Micky C, on 27 July 2019 - 03:28 AM, said:

Just having it alternate between 2 voxels when it moves? I'm sure it's possible, although it would probably need some con code to do it. That comes back to an earlier discussion about having a sort of 'basic' voxel pack that is simply a straight asset replacement, and a more involved pack that includes code to make the more sophisticated objects look better.

As Trooper Dan said, some of these more advanced things are going to be for mods anyway.

Speaking of added voxel functionality, how easy would it be out of curiosity, to make a blown-up version of the tank that looks something like this:

Yes Micky, moving threads would go beyond basic replacement. I assumed that once we are done with vanilla replacement, some extra stuff can be added to improve upon original.

Basic replacement will be consisting just of three frames, so it is 100% inline with original graphics & way it functions:
1. stand/move
2. right cannons shoot
3. left cannons shoot

More involved voxel replacement would use more frames and separate sets for threads (a-set & b-set), so:
1a.
2a.
3a.
1b.
2b.
3b.
4. unoccupied tank closed
5. unoccupied tank opened
6. tank wreckage (that You are asking about, Mickey)

4. - this one would be tank model without drivers head. Useful for making it a level prop or as a basis for further modding, etc.
5. - this one would have some kind of hatch open, so it is clear that it can be taken by player. I think it would be best if frontal part of tank would be opening like a mech.
6. - it won't be hard. I would need to finish fifth frame first, to get to know what is inside of that tank

Maybe there should be also frame for auto-destruct button on the back - that would need third set of moving+shooting frames - but this can be always added later.

I will post first frame of tank later, I still got some problems with palette conversion (f***ing SLAB6 color quantisation chimes in even when all colors are 100% palette compliant...damn)

Cheers

[Borion]

Someone please grace us with script lines required to make it work in game. Thanks in advance.

Some colors are messed up, especially on drivers head. But it is fine for testing. IT IS NOT FINAL WORK!
KVX:
https://mega.nz/#!9q...dCOswD0jdSg6uvE

EDIT: Just to clarify, it is first frame

EDIT2:
Better color conversion. Some things are still off, like pig eyes full bright red is missing.
KVX: https://mega.nz/#!xj...qgGaY-wje4B6CdU

EDIT3:
Unoccupied tank - opened screenshots:

[Borion]

Left side done

[Danukem]

Borion, on 27 July 2019 - 04:23 AM, said:

Someone please grace us with script lines required to make it work in game. Thanks in advance.

The tred animation can be done with a few simple edits to the script. But first, since the voxels don't need multiple viewing angles like sprites do, the voxels can overwrite the art tiles and don't need to correspond to them (as long as the script is adjusted accordingly). So for the voxel def code, you could do this:

Regular tank voxel displayed on tiles 1975 to 1979
Alternate tank voxel with different tred position on tiles 1980 to 1984
Left side firing voxel on tiles 1985 to 1989
Right side firing voxel on tiles 1990 to 1994
empty tank on 1995
destroyed tank on 1996

This goes a few tiles past where the tank normally ends, but those tiles were blank anyway. You could also have each voxel take up a single tile if you wanted to (since we don't need view angles), but then some of the original tank sprites will still be there, and in some maps you might see them if they were placed as decorations. When you get to the point where you have the finished voxels and have put them on those tiles, me or someone else can easily write the script to make it work.

[Borion]

Thats good explanation. Thanks for help Dan!
I think what you proposed makes perfect sense for map compatibility.
Nothing would be broken & its not limiting in any way.

I will post whole set of frames when I’m finished. Can’t wait to see this thing in motion

[Borion]

Pig Tank Update


Sides of threads need to move too. But besides that, basic version is almost done

[Borion]

Handswitch 1111-1112



switch off KVX:
https://mega.nz/#!Bi...HPHt9zKUHfhDats

switch on KVX:
https://mega.nz/#!du...8-YmTWYZvJSe6o0

lines for switches.def:
voxel "voxels/switches/1111_handswitch_off.kvx" { tile 1111 }
voxel "voxels/switches/1112_handswitch_on.kvx" { tile 1112 }


EDIT:
I forgot about fixed & improved Expander Ammo.

KVX:
https://mega.nz/#!Zq...iAXv9kWgtV_U1iM

[SonicB00M]

Great!! IIRC there is only one switch left (the one looking like a camera shutter).

[Borion]

SonicB00M, on 29 July 2019 - 08:23 AM, said:

Great!! IIRC there is only one switch left (the one looking like a camera shutter).

Done

Bighole 1142-1143

KVX on&off:
https://mega.nz/#!8u...62zmLW4614KB3Ck

Lines for switches.def:
voxel "voxels/switches/1142_bighole_off.kvx" { tile 1142 }
voxel "voxels/switches/1143_bighole_on.kvx" { tile 1143 }

[Borion]

I imagined something better than that, but in the end it is just a wreckage. Sorry for background flicker, seems to be bug in latest Aseprite.
I chose to not litter floor with any parts, Micky C. That way there wont be a problem with stuff hanging over the ledge, etc.

Tomorrow I will prepare & post KVX files of whole Pig Tank frame set and try to finish Sentry Drone (it is 70%-ish done)



EDIT:

one more shot, all frames
Sides of threads animate. Threads are lit by guns shot too.

[NightFright]

Man, if that's what you meant when you wrote you wanna take a creative break, you should definitely have more of those. 😁

[Borion]

NightFright, on 30 July 2019 - 12:39 PM, said:

Man, if that's what you meant when you wrote you wanna take a creative break, you should definitely have more of those. ��

Break was not working for me - too many tempting stuff to do, but thanks man!��

I just (finally) finished this plant:

bottle7 (1025)


KVX: https://mega.nz/#!Uu...avX1WrreuNc6XrU

voxel "voxels/props/1025_bottle7.kvx" { tile 1025 }

UPDATE: I just noticed some mistakes. I will fix this object tomorrow.

[Jimmy]

Borion, on 30 July 2019 - 11:12 AM, said:

I chose to not litter floor with any parts, Micky C. That way there wont be a problem with stuff hanging over the ledge, etc.

Also since the wreckage would be for mods, this works perfectly because the modder could just program scraps to go flying randomly. Really choice work here man. You're invaluable to the community.

[Borion]

BlitZ, on 30 July 2019 - 01:38 PM, said:

Also since the wreckage would be for mods, this works perfectly because the modder could just program scraps to go flying randomly. Really choice work here man. You're invaluable to the community.

Glad that you like this stuff, thanks Blitz!

And I have not forget voxel rocket. I will try to make one in couple of days.
I'm not sure if being 100% faithful to sprites is possible in this case. If voxel rocket size would be based on one from side view, it would make voxel rocked look too small while seen from front. Reversed, if vox rocket would be based on front view sprite, it will look like a Zeppelin as voxel model
So maybe something in between those two sprites - in therms of thickness - would work good as voxel rocket replacement. It would probably need to be shortened too by I guess 15-20%.

[Striker]

Hey Borion, would you consider making a MEGA folder with all your released voxels? Links to the nukebutton, knife switch, and a few others are dead and I can't download them. Having a folder where one can see all of them would also make things more convenient.

[Jimmy]

Hey brother, gonna TRY to save you some time here. The RPG sprite is definitely FUBARed, looking through development builds it becomes clear that they just bullshitted the final art. The lighting on the front angle doesn't even jive with the top-left lighting like 80% of the other art in the game has. Here's what I think the front, back, and side angles maybe should look like. I took a few liberties. Either way, this is complete reference material to the official design.

[Borion]

BlitZ, on 30 July 2019 - 06:08 PM, said:

Hey brother, gonna TRY to save you some time here. The RPG sprite is definitely FUBARed, looking through development builds it becomes clear that they just bullshitted the final art. The lighting on the front angle doesn't even jive with the top-left lighting like 80% of the other art in the game has. Here's what I think the front, back, and side angles maybe should look like. I took a few liberties. Either way, this is complete reference material to the official design.

Thanks, much appreciated and it will help a lot!
Maybe they thought it wont be noticed on such quickly moving object. Quite a sloppy work for such pros, IMHO.

EDIT:
One more thing. I wrote that I will prepare tank KVX files today. Sorry, but I have some private stuff till tomorrow. After its over I will post them with fixed bottle7 and one more small thing.

Cheers

[Borion]

Striker, on 30 July 2019 - 06:04 PM, said:

Hey Borion, would you consider making a MEGA folder with all your released voxels? Links to the nukebutton, knife switch, and a few others are dead and I can't download them. Having a folder where one can see all of them would also make things more convenient.

Sorry for not answering sooner.
I will look into that, Striker.

Cheers

[Striker]

Thanks! By the way, that pigcop tank is extremely impressive.

[Borion]

Pig Tank (1975-1991)

Explosion is just not part of frame set (if anyone wonders)



KVX set:
https://mega.nz/#!43...O5X0ZCmalupuZeg

inside zip:
pigtank_empty.kvx
pigtank_move_a.kvx
pigtank_move_b.kvx
pigtank_shoot_a.kvx
pigtank_shoot_b.kvx
pigtank_wreck.kvx

Pig Tank doesn't shoot and move at the same time so there is no overlap between moving and shooting animations. They are separate two model animations.

I still struggle with color conversion issues. But at least now there are no (known) screw-ups, just slight differences.
Please report any problems.

Cheers

[Jimmy]

What are you using to convert colors?

[Danukem]

The tank is awesome. Here's what I have for my voxel defs (the specific path depends on your project of course). In my case I made a new voxel folder for vehicles, since the tank doesn't belong in the existing categories (pickups, props) and I definitely won't be using voxels for non-vehicle enemies.

// PIGCOP TANK 
dummytilerange 1986 1988 66 71
dummytilerange 1992 1996 66 71
voxel "voxels/vehicles/pigtank_move_a.kvx" { scale 1 tile0 1975 tile1 1979 }
voxel "voxels/vehicles/pigtank_move_b.kvx" { scale 1 tile0 1980 tile1 1984 }
voxel "voxels/vehicles/pigtank_shoot_a.kvx" { scale 1 tile0 1985 tile1 1989 }
voxel "voxels/vehicles/pigtank_shoot_b.kvx" { scale 1 tile0 1990 tile1 1994 }
voxel "voxels/vehicles/pigtank_empty.kvx" { scale 1 tile 1995 }
voxel "voxels/vehicles/pigtank_wreck.kvx" { scale 1 tile 1996 }

The dummytilerange is necessary if you are putting any of the voxels on empty tiles, which I have done. For the script, if you just want the basic vanilla tank, there's just a few lines you need to modify and it should work. You will need to edit GAME.CON or whatever file has your tank script:

action ATANKSPIN   0 2 5 1 4
action ATANKSHOOTING 10 2 5 1 10
action ATANKWAIT 0 1 5 1 1
action ATANKDESTRUCT 0 1 5 1 1
action ATANKDEAD 0 1 5 1 1

Note that changing those animations lines above will not give you the wrecked tank voxel in game. For that you need to add more code -- I have that in my project but I'm not going to bother posting it because implementation will differ depending on the project, and it's very simple for anyone modding.

[NightFright]

We are really approaching the point where it would be nice to have the means to implement ingame options to toggle certain aspects of the voxel pack. It'd be a pity to omit any of these awesome additions just to have a pack fully compatible with everything.

Then again, I am not sure whether this specific voxel should actually be in the pack.

[Borion]

Trooper Dan, on 02 August 2019 - 12:14 PM, said:

The tank is awesome. Here's what I have for my voxel defs (the specific path depends on your project of course). In my case I made a new voxel folder for vehicles, since the tank doesn't belong in the existing categories (pickups, props) and I definitely won't be using voxels for non-vehicle enemies.

The dummytilerange is necessary if you are putting any of the voxels on empty tiles, which I have done. For the script, if you just want the basic vanilla tank, there's just a few lines you need to modify and it should work. You will need to edit GAME.CON or whatever file has your tank script:

Note that changing those animations lines above will not give you the wrecked tank voxel in game. For that you need to add more code -- I have that in my project but I'm not going to bother posting it because implementation will differ depending on the project, and it's very simple for anyone modding.

Thanks Dan, great stuff!

BlitZ, on 02 August 2019 - 09:26 AM, said:

What are you using to convert colors?

Built-in color remapping function in Qubicle (mostly good), Aseprite and Photoshop plugin Ximagic Quantizer. In all of those I use palette extracted from DN3D palette.dat.
After each stage of making a model, I recolor it to be sure it is always "inside" right color space. Still using many colors sometimes cause problems.
Palette import & conversion in SLAB6 is last stage of KVX preparation.

NightFright, on 02 August 2019 - 12:18 PM, said:

We are really approaching the point where it would be nice to have the means to implement ingame options to toggle certain aspects of the voxel pack. It'd be a pity to omit any of these awesome additions just to have a pack fully compatible with everything.

Yes, this would be a nice sollution.

NightFright, on 02 August 2019 - 12:18 PM, said:

Then again, I am not sure whether this specific voxel should actually be in the pack.

Right, NightFright. I will try to post non-vanlla/unorthodox models on separate thread in the future