View Full Version : [TEC] How hard is it to make an invisible ship?
Was hoping the 3D modders could help. What I'd like to see is a ship---it can be pretty long, but not much taller than a normal hull---that is invisible. No model (unless one is required in the dat, then just 2 polys or something).
The idea would be that you could place a few of these along a beach, then throw some shore defense guns on the beach. Make a photo patrol objective to survey the island defenses, and when you point to the guns you can "lock" because there is an invisible ship just in front of the guns.
tater
panthercules
07-17-07, 08:44 PM
Could you accomplish the same effect by using one of the smallest ships (sampan/fishing or whatever) and "sinking" it just off the beach so that almost all of it was underwater, with maybe just a mast tip sticking out or something? Would you be able to lock onto a ship unit like that? Can you place such a ship on land (maybe behind some trees), and if so would you be able to lock onto it? SH3 seemed to occasionally show ships on land on your nav map - so maybe it would work even though it sounds stupid (or maybe it's just stupid :lol: ) Unfortunately, I don't know what's possible here but just speculating if maybe there would be some workaround that might be simpler than making ships invisible (though maybe that's not that hard either - sounds like a great idea in any event).
You cannot set ship depths in the editor... can you do it in the text file... hmmm, maybe the editor is just being helpful.
The problem with sinking them (I tried a midget sub deck awash) is that locking is very much a function of hoe much freeboard they are showing, a midget sub con al the way out was hard to lock to take a picture in a slight chop.
I also tried putting them on land. Wow. The rattle around a bit, then they bounce a little... then they bounce... into orbit? Disappeared, saw it later a few hundred yards away.
tater
panthercules
07-17-07, 08:56 PM
HMMM - can you make a lake/lagoon? Maybe you could put a small ship in the lake, screened off visually by trees between the lake and the beach, and still lock onto it (or would the intervening land/trees keep you from locking onto it?)?
tarawa's like 100m wide, lol.
tarawa's like 100m wide, lol.
I have not understood what you want, but you can try one of ways:
1) In Type4/100 dataBlock:
Type 4/100: NODE dBlock
- 4 bytes – dBlock Type;
- 4 bytes – dBlock Version (SubType);
- 4 bytes – DataSize;
24 bytes (Zero end) String from three identifiers:
- objectID – 8 bytes Object ID;
- parentID – 8 bytes Parent Object ID;
- obj3dID - 8 bytes 3D Object ID;
- “00” – 1 byte String End;
- “01” – 1 byte (“00”, “01”) boolean: 01 – Visible Object, 00 – Unvisible Object;
....
Use red Value ...
2) Use material properties:
Type 2: MATERIAL dBlock
- 4 bytes – dBlock Type;
- 4 bytes – dBlock Version (SubType);
- 4 bytes – DataSize;
- matID - 8 bytes Material ID;
- “FF” – 1 byte Material Opacity (FF…00, 00 - full Transparent);
- RGB – 3 bytes Ambient color;
...
Use red value = 00 (full transparent)...
Sorry if I was not clear.
The SH4 mission type to Photograph requires that the target be a SHIP.
In RL, ships were never the target of a mission to photograph. Such recon missions were ALWAYS beach defenses that were to be invaded. My goal was then to place some invisible ships just offshore so that when you looked at a shore gun (which would be right behind the invisible ship) you could "lock" it and take a picture. Then we could have the proper missions like:
"Photograph defensive facilities at Tarawa in preparation for allied landings."
tater
Sorry if I was not clear.
The SH4 mission type to Photograph requires that the target be a SHIP.
In RL, ships were never the target of a mission to photograph. Such recon missions were ALWAYS beach defenses that were to be invaded. My goal was then to place some invisible ships just offshore so that when you looked at a shore gun (which would be right behind the invisible ship) you could "lock" it and take a picture. Then we could have the proper missions like:
"Photograph defensive facilities at Tarawa in preparation for allied landings."
tater
OK.
I understood ...
Use my info ...
We have NFD (flying Dutch), for it the second way is used ...
Webster
07-20-07, 04:39 PM
why arent the shore guns registered as targets the same way as small ships?
OK, I have a line on something, but it CTDs on me.
I went a different route.
I made a "Bungo Pete Clone" of another "ship." (BP-cloning since no 3d files are needed, the cfg file for the "clone" simply points at another 3d file in another folder, the idea came (to me, anyway) from Ducimus).
The Bungo Pete thread explaining the methodology: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=114033
So I made a new ship, and it points at the 3d model for...
large coastal bunker.
It WORKS. I place it "docked" on the beach. It shoots at me. I see it. I try to lock it with my periscope to take a picture to complete the photo recon objective:
CTD.
Any ideas, anyone?
http://mpgtext.net/subshare/222land-ship%20test.rar
JSGME. Load it, then play the land-ship mission to see it in action. Witness the excting CTD upon hitting the L key with the bunker in view (you can lock the other ships nearby, no problem).
I made sure to put a _sil file in case the rec manual needed it. I gave the cfg file a mast height and draft---copied everything from a real ship file so that it would not be for lack of data (even if wrong data ;). CTD. I even tried sening it a texture, etc from the cfg in the roster file. Nope.
No geniuses out there?
Can figure out why this won't work.
tater
THE_MASK
08-14-07, 07:46 PM
I put one jap dd and one american dd side by side on top of a mountain and made myself a volcano once .
sneekyzeke
08-14-07, 08:18 PM
Tater, I get the same result you do but here's one thing. I don't play 100% realism, so when I point the TBT or either periscope at a ship it makes a funny little "tick" sound, shows me a pointer under or over the ship depending on scope elevation, and shows me the ship's identification in the TDC. Only when I have those conditions can I lock on to a ship with the "L" key. Pointing the scope at your coastal gun does not give me any indication of a ship/target being there, so there's nothing to "lock" onto. However, why this produces a CTD is beyond me; my point is if your gun has been actually built as a ship shouldn't I be getting that "tick" sound as I pan my scope past it? Hope this helps; Respect!:rock:
Digital_Trucker
08-14-07, 08:19 PM
I put one jap dd and one american dd side by side on top of a mountain and made myself a volcano once .
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I really want to figure this out. then I can dump the "harbor photo recon" missions and do pre-invasion recon missions instead.
I have some other novel mission ideas to replace the photo recon and spy insertion missions, but this one is the only one that requires modding mojo, the others just take sweat.
tater
Digital_Trucker
08-14-07, 09:52 PM
Hey, tater, take the file here http://files.filefront.com/JunkMrar/;8314546;;/fileinfo.html
and put it in your blah, blah, blah\Data\Sea\JunkM folder and put a medium junk anywhere you want. The only thing I've been able to see with this setup is a wake and the flag (for about 2 seconds).
Anvarts post earlier gave me the idea:sunny: and skwasjer's wonderful S3D :rock: made it possible to find the right variables. All I did was change the opacity for the 3D model and the associated .tga file to zero and, viola, one invisible ship. I hope a junk is enough of a "ship". It shows up as a target in my scope, so I'm assuming that it would suffice for a photo mission.
Cool!
That will work too, just have to put the sucker right on the beach in a place where it's easy to lock while looking at beach defenses.
Guess such areas might get a LOT of beach defenses close together so that when you aim the camera near them, you are bound to lock.
<S>
tater
Junks have flags?
Sampans don't....
Digital_Trucker
08-14-07, 10:14 PM
I'm a total noob at trying to create new units, but this method might work on a larger ship if you needed one. Maybe I can make a carrier "disappear":rotfl:or, how about an invisible iceberg?
Edit: there was a flag flying for about 2 seconds above where the thing was supposed to be, I just assumed it belonged to the junk. Maybe it's the "Twilight Zone" effect
Misfit138
08-14-07, 10:19 PM
I'm a total noob at trying to create new units, but this method might work on a larger ship if you needed one. Maybe I can make a carrier "disappear":rotfl:
Edit: there was a flag flying for about 2 seconds above where the thing was supposed to be, I just assumed it belonged to the junk. Maybe it's the "Twilight Zone" effect
Philadelphia Experiment and Twilight Zone. What the hell you're doing? :rotfl:
Digital_Trucker
08-14-07, 10:22 PM
Philadelphia Experiment and Twilight Zone. What the hell you're doing? :rotfl:
Totally and irretrievably off topic, but : Philadelphia Experiment, now THERE's a movie I had totally forgotten about.
Misfit138
08-14-07, 10:31 PM
Totally and irretrievably off topic, but : Philadelphia Experiment, now THERE's a movie I had totally forgotten about.
Damn, those crew members fused into the hull still gives me the creeps
The flag goes away, but the hull is visible. Must need to dothe same for the various LODs?
tater
You can try to attach controller VisibleUnderWater to all parts of the ship (Type 4) with adjustment of parameter Under = 01 ... :lol:
Digital_Trucker
08-15-07, 08:40 AM
don't know what the difference is (except my machine/vid card is ancient:D ) but I have no hull or anything else showing . Let me see what I can do with an iceberg. It might be a better choice anyway.
Theere is one issue with a BIG ship. The guns won't fire. The nice thing about a small ship is that the guns might fire at you or your scope if they can fire around it. That doesn't overly concern me though.
I was too tired to post a screenie last night. The hull is there, and the horizontal decks on the poop were there (floating in space), too.
It was a range thing, at one point on low mag in the scope it was invisible, but on high I saw the hull. I couldn't find any opacity references though in the dat.
tater
Digital_Trucker
08-15-07, 09:08 AM
well, an iceberg won't work either 'cause you can't lock on it:damn: and it would probably get in the way of the guns, too. I wondered if it was maybe a graphics settings issue also, since I have everything turned all the way down so my clunker can run the game. I'll keep digging, maybe something will work out. If it's range related, maybe there is something that can be done to avoid it.
I assuming locking is a "type" issue. I can tell a lifeboat it's a battleship in the cfgs, that's no problem.
Digital_Trucker
08-15-07, 10:07 AM
So, a small iceberg might work then. DO you know if the "locakability" is governed by the dimensions of the 3d model or the dimensions given in the .cfg file? If it's in the cfg file, we could use a small iceberg, but make it's dimensions extremely long, thin and not too tall. Call it a DD and you're all set.
Actually, there are some problems with the invisible ships in this regard.
Any such ship will be pulled on a "GENERIC" call for a ship. Make it a coastal ship, and any random coastal ships asked for in the mission layers will have a chance of an invisble iceberg. Goven that we want such ships to have no speed, it will cause issues.
Why they didn't simply allow coastal defenses to be photpgraphed is beyond me since they are the ONLY reasonable targets for such photography. Photographing ships in harbors, LOL. Sigh.
Anyone know if you can simply add a new class of ship by changing the Names.cfg file and defining one?
tater
You CAN just add a new ship type!
It doesn't show up in the rec manual, either... gotta figure that out, but it COULD be useful.
This is VERY cool.
It means we can isolate some ships now, allowing more realistic "generic" entries.
Needs new thread!
tater
So with the invisible junk, I deletd the flag node (thanks, anvart!), and no flag. Still see the hull, and I can take a recon picture. Cool.
http://www3.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/afd89f88a922628cc8a4156adeb06a075g.jpg (http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=aglxnimzjtz&thumb=4)
(that was taken before I deleted the flag (not sure if you see it or not)).
This is on track, except for one odd issue.
When I exit SH4, I get an error message like it CTDed.
tater
I don't see what you are changing to make the model invisible or I would change some values myself.
tater
Digital_Trucker
08-15-07, 04:38 PM
Are you using the mini-tweaker or S3D to edit the dat file? In S3D, in tree mode, on number 3, and number 9 change the opacity to zero. That's what I did to get it to disappear on my system. On mine, I can't see anything.
Yeah, s3D, never saw "opacity" as an option. Will look again.
OK. Found it. The junkM is still screwy. Tried a sampan, and it works fine.
Anyone know how to clone a dat file? Do you need to, or can I simply rename all the files?
I was using the large sampan (sampan03).
Works well. Excellent.
Too bad the shore defenses don't look better :D
Tarawa here we come!
tater
I do not understand your problems...
http://www0.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/001974a5d2360650500be645a614e2936g.jpg (http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=0cby1ujivbg&thumb=4)
I was using S3D, I don't do hex editing. I lack the skill :)
I got the boat invisible, that was not the only problem, however. There is an issue where it looks like some ATI cards show the invisible ships, everyone who has tested so far with nvidea sees, well, nothing :)
tater
I was using S3D, I don't do hex editing. I lack the skill :)
I got the boat invisible, that was not the only problem, however. There is an issue where it looks like some ATI cards show the invisible ships, everyone who has tested so far with nvidea sees, well, nothing :)
tater
I have ATI and no probs ...
Wow, that's cool, actually.
I wonder what it is that makes targets "lockable" with the scope. Could it be the dsd file? Some of the stuff you cannot lock doesn't have a dsd file. Wonder if you can clone a dsd file and put it in with a land unit, and suddenly be able to lock it and take pictures.
tater
skwasjer
08-23-07, 09:03 PM
The visible/invisible flag is not in S3D yet (I forgot, lol). Not sure if this has the side effect of making the object not lockable.
Regarding the object getting still drawn on ATI's, maybe you can also check the UnifiedRenderControler and disable all the render options (bump, occl, spec, caustics). This will disable extra render passes that may still cause it to be drawn. Not sure if you can simply remove the controller. I haven't modded the game once, so I'm actually clueless, just giving some thoughts.
As far as cloning, you can just copy a file, open it in S3D and start modifying all id's. This is a long and boring task though. Not sure if the clone feature of Pack3D works on all files, but you may give this a try as well.
[edit] dsd files are sound related, doubt they have anything to do with it. I do know there is still more undiscovered data/flags (to me anyway) that may have something to do with it.
Digital_Trucker
08-23-07, 09:51 PM
Regarding the object getting still drawn on ATI's, maybe you can also check the UnifiedRenderControler and disable all the render options (bump, occl, spec, caustics).
Good ideas. I had them, too, unfortunately when I was working on it, but it still shows up at short distances. Tried adjusting the LODs and everything else I could think of. It's good and invisible 'till you get right up on it or look at it with the TBT. If I could find that byte that Anvart was talking about, I'd give that a shot, but I'm lost as to the data description.
That other bit that anvart was talking about is a more fundamental change though. It's like telling a map label to be on or off compared to opacity, correct?
I think that the lock really is connected to something else. It;s interesting that none of the objects that CANNOT be locked have a DSD file. It has something there called "label" wonder if that plays a role.
My ideal solution would be to make the damn coastal guns lockable.
tater
Digital_Trucker
08-23-07, 10:06 PM
Well, I think the opacity referred to the texture that the object is "skinned" with. By reducing the opacity of the objects textures, we basically took the paint off of them. For some unkown reason, the object still shows up on my ATI card (as a flat black 3D object). At least, that's the way I understand it. I've been known to misunderstand things quite often (probably why I spent so much time on galley duty).
I think Anvarts method makes the object itself invisible no matter what the opacity on the textures are. Whether this effects the "lockability" or not, I don't know.
No, cause you can't lock life rafts, etc. It's something else controlling that.
leovampire
08-23-07, 10:16 PM
can we can still get a lock on a lifeboat? If so then take the DDS SHP image and rename it to LCD Bunker what ever shp and you will get a lock on it. Ya it looks like a little boat but you can lock on it non the less. Or use the generic one's that Duciums used for T.M. instead and just name it properly and put it in the folder with the Bunker
I actually made a blank _shp file already. I cannot lock lifeboats, or could't last time I tried.
Regardless, there is a problem iwth little ships. Locking them becomes incredibly dependant on sea state. It;s like losing lock woth the scope dunking, except you also lose lock when the small ship "dunks."
For example, I tried using midget subs. Even on the surface they lost lock in the lightest seas---anything but dead calm. That's why I decided an invisible sailboat was best--height.
tater
leovampire
08-23-07, 10:25 PM
add it to the Bunker folder and rename it to match the bunker name!!!!!!!!!!
That is how I made the sub's lockable for the Jap's so I could shoot them and sink them in a port.
The lock is the _shp image?
wow.
checking.
brb
leovampire
08-23-07, 10:31 PM
in another thread I beleve. Anyways I took the shp's from the us subs and changed the names and added them to the JAP subs so I could lock on them and sink them in the ports. Part of the work I was doing making the SUB Hunt Mission.
The land units HAVE shp files (some, anyway). Your watch spots them and marks on map, they still don;t lock though.
tater
leovampire
08-23-07, 10:33 PM
not the other one
Also, at one point I tried giving a land unit a _sil, so that's not it, either.
The units that cannot be locked don't have val files, and they don;t have dsd files.
The dsd has 2: Label. Inside it says Label=Ship. Wonder if that's it?
It can't matter what the shp file looks like though, can it?
I think you're losing me. I'm semi clueless at this sort of thing, lol.
leovampire
08-23-07, 10:40 PM
Example look in the Submarine file and open one to a US Sub then open one for the sen toku
you will see it is missing the DDS file for the shp
well if you take the DDS one from the US sub and rename it to the sen toku you can then lock onto it!
So take a generic DDS shp image from one of Duciums files on ships and use that on the BUNKERS
The bunkers already have shp files though.
Odd, I know I locked a sen toku and poured fish into it and it didn't sink, but without TM installed way back when the game first came out.
Sen toku also lacks a DSD. And it has no val.
tater
I tried putting a sampan dsd file in the medium coastal bunker folder (renamed to match). No CTD, but it didn't lock.
tater
leovampire
08-23-07, 10:59 PM
BLA_BLA_shp
DDS file 5kb
copy and paste it in a LCD LARGE BUNKER file
then name it:
LCD_Bunker_Large_shp
that will allow you to get a lock on it with a scope or what ever and can take a picture of it or lock on it with the TBD and get a distance on it.
NOT A DSD NOT A DSD NOT A DSD
DDS DDS DDS DDS
LCD_Bunker_Medium:
LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.tga is in the folder already (unmodded).
Are the _shp files the only ones in game that care if it's dds vs tga? Most textures on ships point to tgas even when the files are dds in the folder. Note that in game I get the shp file displayed on my map, too.
I'll make it a dds with dds conbverter and see
leovampire
08-23-07, 11:06 PM
and do what I am telling you to do PLEASE
Just for once read and listen stop thinking and just do it!
I don't care if you see the queen of England Naked in the damm file when you
open it just do what I said.
Doesn't work.
Or is it not enough to have ANY _shp.dds file in there, it has to be a particular one?
I took: LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.tga (that works and shows in the map in the stock game)
and I converted it to a dds:
LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.dds with dds converter.
Loaded up game. no lock.
leovampire
08-23-07, 11:13 PM
take a DDS SHP file from a ship or sub or what ever you want to use and rename that same DDS SHP image to what you want to use it on and be exact with the name and make sure at it's end it says _shp
It doesn't work.
The stock bunkers have _shp.tgas and they show on the map, but do not lock.
I tried converting the stock LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.tga to LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.dds. It did not work.
I just dumped the stock tga and dds, and pasted in the Yamato's _shp.dds, and renamed it LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.dds---and it didn't work.
Are you saying you've done this with the large bunker, and the large bunker works and my problem is that I'm using the medium?
tater
leovampire
08-23-07, 11:24 PM
before lockable and able to get a bearing on it distance and angle settings on it and it worked where you could not do it before.
Before Patch 1.3 you could not lock onto the JAP subs when you went on picture taking missions they were just there and didn't show up on the map at all.
But when I took a US sub's DDS shp file and renamed it to the exact same name as the sub I wanted to use it on I could then get a lock on it and sink it.
The object in the game has to exist on all levels of the game or you can not interact with it compleatly!
Doesn't work with land objects.
I tried what you said, in 2 different ways (meaning I used 2 different _shp.dds files).
The lock has to be related to the type.
Odd thing is that I made a ship out of the coastal gun, and it worked, but when I tried to lock it it ctded.
tater
panthercules
08-23-07, 11:31 PM
Let me take a stab at conveying what I think Leo means, as y'all seem to be talking (typing?) past each other here.
Tater - do the following:
Step 1 - make a copy of the file named "NBB_Fuso_shp.dds" (you'll find it in the folder \Data\Sea\NBB_Fuso);
Step 2 - paste that file (without opening or doing anything to it) into the folder \Data\Land\LCD_Bunker_Medium
Step 3 - rename the copy of the file you just pasted from "NBB_Fuso_shp.dds" to "LCD_Bunker_Medium_shp.dds"
Step 4 - test and see if you can now lock the bunker (and whether anything else weird happens visually)
If that's not what you meant Leo, then I'm as confused as Tater.
Hope you get this working - I love this idea for photo missions - good luck!
[edit] - arrrghhh - must...type....faster
That's exactly what I said I did above, except I used Yamato's file, not Fuso.
Didn't work.
tater
leovampire
08-23-07, 11:50 PM
Bunkers files and I will see what the problem is for you!
leovampire
08-23-07, 11:55 PM
in the zon file it is not set as a colisionable object that is why we can not lock on it or shoot it and destroy it.
panthercules
08-23-07, 11:55 PM
That's exactly what I said I did above, except I used Yamato's file, not Fuso.
Didn't work.
tater
Yeah - as my edit indicated I took too long typing and y'all had already posted a couple more times while I was typing my suggestion - sorry it didn't work - hope y'all can figure this out.
I bet that might be because objects that collide would bounce on land. I tried putting a midget sub behind a bunker, it bounced into the water, even "docked."
Hmmm.
leovampire
08-24-07, 12:01 AM
so what is the difference
I converted a bunker to a ship, wonder what happens if I convert a SHIP to a land unit...
Perhaps I can put some lockable land-boats dragged up on the beach near the bunkers...
tater
leovampire
08-24-07, 12:08 AM
that we can lock onto in the game at all?
leovampire
08-24-07, 12:12 AM
Is that an object that we can nail?
I've tried some crazy stuff---because I don't have the slightest clue what I'm doing, LOL.
tater
leovampire
08-24-07, 12:38 AM
did I just find something interesting. Before Patch 1.3 you could not and would not get credit for sinking a Sen Toku but guess what they now made it a target ship with engines and a crew and more.
I think my project for the sub hunt mission is now a doable thing it wasn't before!
Sneaky sneaky sneaky Dev's
leovampire
08-24-07, 12:49 AM
search light something that sits on land that you can get a lock on Tater either that or set up a Jap mini sub and make it sit higher in the water than pariscope depth and use that for your project.
The search light can be locked?
Hmmm. I tried the mini sub, the problem is if the weather is even a little bad you can't lock reliably due to waves (maybe it's just LBO, I haven't turned it off since I installed it ;) )
I can use the invisible ship I have---I have a test mission, it's fine. The only issue is parallax. It's hard to line them up so close that you can always have a lock when anywhere near center on the gun.
Well, I think the opacity referred to the texture that the object is "skinned" with. By reducing the opacity of the objects textures, we basically took the paint off of them. For some unkown reason, the object still shows up on my ATI card (as a flat black 3D object). At least, that's the way I understand it. I've been known to misunderstand things quite often (probably why I spent so much time on galley duty).
I think Anvarts method makes the object itself invisible no matter what the opacity on the textures are. Whether this effects the "lockability" or not, I don't know.
That you write it's problem of rendering ...
If you apply transparency of materials, you can have (engine probs) ...
On some distances from object you can see object without materials rendering and accordingly without a transparency ...
You can try to not use mipmap technology and to use only tga-files and to disconnect UnifiedRenderControler ...???
But on my picture I have turned off visibility byte of root object (NF_Boat) and all child objects are become invisible too ...
Other objects ... you can remove simply them (people, particles generators, etc.)...
Look my first reply ...
sneekyzeke
08-24-07, 05:49 AM
God you guys are dedicated! I'm ashamed to say i probably would have said "to hell with it" by now.:rotfl:
For the "invisible ship" Anvart's solution is clearly the best. <S>
I might even have to learn what to do to replicate it (even if it's a tad scary).
The issue of making the scope lock on a coastal gun (or arbitrary object) would be more useful, however.
tater
Digital_Trucker
08-24-07, 10:45 AM
I don't care if you see the queen of England Naked ......
Shezayam, the other day it was some hot gal married to "Marilyn Manson" and today the queen of England is naked. :rotfl: This place is getting scarier, by the minute!:lol:
leovampire
08-24-07, 02:37 PM
as soon as I get it done I will send you the files.
FAdmiral
09-01-07, 01:51 PM
Have any of you looked at how the devs made the "Flying Dutchman"?
It is listed under the Netherlands as a BB named "What is it". It has some
transparent qualities and might be a good reference for information....
JIM
Got the invisible ships working.
There will be a test available this weekend in my 0.77 campaign.
I tried exporting a collision node from a ship, then importing it to a land gun.
Worked, but it didn't result in a "lock."
Darn.
tater
leovampire
09-25-07, 09:26 PM
I tried exporting a collision node from a ship, then importing it to a land gun.
Worked, but it didn't result in a "lock."
Darn.
tater
you might be able to add the SHP.dds file to it and not get a crash then be able to get that lock condition.
That dot the I cross the T sequence that is needed to make things happen and work if you know what I mean.
It has a _shp.dds file. Does the shape of the image in the dds matter?
Because adding a shp.dds would mean replacing the existing one with one of a different shape, and renaming it to be the same as the original.
(land units have _shp files, they appear on your map with map updates enabled)
Or do you actually mean a _sil.dds?
tater
leovampire
09-25-07, 09:46 PM
It has a _shp.dds file. Does the shape of the image in the dds matter?
Because adding a shp.dds would mean replacing the existing one with one of a different shape, and renaming it to be the same as the original.
(land units have _shp files, they appear on your map with map updates enabled)
Or do you actually mean a _sil.dds?
tater
And all there is is a photo shop SHP file in it not a SHP.dds file in site like the ships have both in the Sea folder. All the SIL is for is for the rec manual.
I didn't use the medium bunker :)
tater
BTW, the game doesn;t seem to care if it's a tga or dds file. Many of the ship textures explicitlky point to a dds file, and instead the folder contains a tga, or they point at a tga, and the folder contains a dds.
The game doesn't seem to care.
ALL the land units have tga files as _shp files, and you see land units on the map, right? That means it doesn;t matter.
leovampire
09-25-07, 09:58 PM
BTW, the game doesn;t seem to care if it's a tga or dds file. Many of the ship textures explicitlky point to a dds file, and instead the folder contains a tga, or they point at a tga, and the folder contains a dds.
The game doesn't seem to care.
ALL the land units have tga files as _shp files, and you see land units on the map, right? That means it doesn;t matter.
Picking it up on Radar or getting a lock on a target. Does anyone know if we can pick up Ice Burg's on radar or get a lock on them?
It's not used for that.
I know because in my past experiments where you suggested this I made different mods, and some had tgs, othersI used everything froma copied ship (dds files) it didn't work.
tater
Digital_Trucker
09-25-07, 10:17 PM
Does anyone know if we can pick up Ice Burg's on radar or get a lock on them?
Nope, I tried that one. I could make it invisible, but never could get it to become locakble.
leovampire
09-25-07, 10:18 PM
It's not used for that.
I know because in my past experiments where you suggested this I made different mods, and some had tgs, othersI used everything froma copied ship (dds files) it didn't work.
tater
There has to be a missing link between the ships and land based object's and to me anything one has and not the other is a posability to look at and check.
BTW, adding the shp to the subs had nothing to do with your being able to lock them. I never added them to my jap subs, and I've always been able to lock them no problem (and the midget has a _shp.dds, while the sen toku does not). So it's gotta be something else.
tater
I think the collision node was a really good idea. Perhaps I imported it wrong, but it sure looked OK and didn;t blow up.
It would make sense not to have a collision node on land objects---I was expecting to see it bounce like when I put a midget sub on land to try and hide it on land and lock THAT, lol.
The other thing perhaps easier to look at is what Sea object cannot be locked.
Survivors, for example.
tater
I suppose another way to do it might be to take something we CAN lock, and start deleting stuff and see when it stops being lockable.
Even inside the dat. S3D deletes stuff fine :)
tater
leovampire
09-25-07, 10:34 PM
I think the collision node was a really good idea. Perhaps I imported it wrong, but it sure looked OK and didn;t blow up.
It would make sense not to have a collision node on land objects---I was expecting to see it bounce like when I put a midget sub on land to try and hide it on land and lock THAT, lol.
The other thing perhaps easier to look at is what Sea object cannot be locked.
Survivors, for example.
tater
But you can get some type of reading with the survivors using the Bino's can or do you get a color change with a land based target?
Good question. Never looked with binos cause they SHOOT, I've been looking with the scope.
I do switch to 65% realism so that I should see the green triangle. I do instantly on all the stuff I can lock. No dice on any land attempts.
Actually, not true. I got the one "land ship" I made to give a green triangle, but it CTDed if I tried to lock.
That was when I BP-cloned a land bunker to be a ship. I had to place it right on the beach, not high on land. It shoots, etc, but CTDed on me, even when the folder was filled with all the stuff from a merchant ship with the name changed to match.
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