[WIP] dat/cam/sim/dsd/zon/val tool preview

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Anvart

I would like, that you have made a correct hierarchical tree of the interconnected objects for the best understanding of communications between objects ...
Example:
pic.1. Druck_LM1 is material (name of material - Type8) and cannot be root node ...
Common_Druck.tga is base bitmap for Druck_LM1 material ...
Gato_CR_LM1_LightMap.tga is lightmap for Druck_LM1 ...
...
And terminology... for example Controller (Type 10), Controller Parameters (Type 6)...
And many other things ...

The tree is as correct as it can be.

I won't put materials under the nodes they are used by, because a material is often used by more nodes on the same level. I want to keep the tree as clean as possible, and not have a material added to multiple parents... I've tried your suggestion a couple of weeks ago, and when viewing for instance the Gato interior, this became a huge mess.
There are other ways to show relationships (and I have some things planned), like navigable id's. So, for nodes that reference materials, you'll get a list of id's on the right that you can click. You'll have to trust me on this for now and see for yourself when I release it.

As far as terminology, this is debatable. I think some terminology used in the community was bad, and decided to use some new. 'Controller' is a bit non-descriptive if you ask me, but that's just me. I don't know, maybe if others complain to me as well

Originally Posted by Seeadler

Good job

Is it possible to read also the harbour.dat files in a correct way so that one can change the harbour model tiles with new models?

Harbor_kit.dat is read without problems... Also, all files under \Terrain\Locations are read, and chunk type 11 (Placement) is editable.

[Seeadler]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

Harbor_kit.dat is read without problems... Also, all files under \Terrain\Locations are read, and chunk type 11 (Placement) is editable.

nicely, then there is a chance that I can reopen my historical harbour project which I laid down long ago

@skwasjer

Are you develping this using eclipse ? Just curious...

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Uber Gruber

@skwasjer

Are you develping this using eclipse ? Just curious...

Nope, it is coded in C# using .NET 2. Nevertheless, once source is released, it is very good possible to port it to java. Also, the file reader/writer comes in a single stand alone binary (as will other file formats, like 3DS/ASE) which can also be used for other projects if one chooses to do so...

Originally Posted by WEBSTER

i will ask now that you write the instructions for absolute nubs and dummies like me who cant follow instructions without getting lost.


since it will not be needed anymore, i will stop converting all of the sh3 particles files to sh4, only did 10 so far anyway. if anyone wants them, use my filefront link.

A manual surely is a must. There are already some do's and dont's that I know of. But I also believe that I alone can't write a proper manual. I prefer some help with this. I'm by no means a hardcode modder, just a humble coder, so we need some guys to step up and help out with this.

As far as editting properties, this may not make first release, so it can still take weeks before you can use my tool to edit them. That said, if you want to mod particles today, you still need to hexedit them...


Thanks for the positive notes guys. This community is giving me warm feelings

[Anvart]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

The tree is as correct as it can be.

I won't put materials under the nodes they are used by, because
...
As far as terminology, this is debatable. I think some terminology used in the community was bad, and decided to use some new. 'Controller' is a bit non-descriptive if you ask me, but that's just me. I don't know, maybe if others complain to me as well
...

1) The treelike hierarchy of objects is the most convenient kind of data display in SH4. For the best readership you can divide a tree into some levels (steps, screens, tabs...)...
2) Terminology is not discussed, it is DevsTeam terminology.
Look strings in SHControllers.act, SHSim.act and other ...

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by Anvart

1) The treelike hierarchy of objects is the most convenient kind of data display in SH4. For the best readership you can divide a tree into some levels (steps, screens, tabs...)...
2) Terminology is not discussed, it is DevsTeam terminology.
Look strings in SHControllers.act, SHSim.act and other ...

I think you should look again at my first pic. It includes a full tree. Only I kept materials on root level because they are only referenced chunks. They don't actually have a parent, it is the other way around. Same for 3D models, however, these never are referenced by more than one (the node link), so I decided to put it under the node that references it.

All other screenshots use my other view mode 'List' which is basically a list of 'order-of-appearance', no tree. Then there's even a 3rd view (no screenshot), which basically groups all types in seperate folders...

In fact, the tree you see in the first pic is better than any other tool that shows a tree of the dat-structure.

To give you a better idea of my other approach using navigable id's, I've created another screenshot:



To sum up, I understand what you mean (I guess), but I think this is the best approach for now...

[haegemon]

Your job is the answer to our prays.

Will you pretend to be posible to add new meshes and nodes inside *.dat?
I'll explain a little , in SH4 every plane had a predefined nodes for its load. In the stockgame itself devs made a mess, coding extense loadout cfgs while dat files are limited to few bombs in few pillons. So the planes should be reworked from scratch to finally use the famous airdepthcharges.

Anyway I give you a 10 for trying to make a step in the developement of "the tool". Nobody has worked such effort yet. And give you my vote too, to make this thread sticky

[tater]

The ability to add or fix nodes... wow, that would be cool.

[skwasjer]

Originally Posted by haegemon

Will you pretend to be posible to add new meshes and nodes inside *.dat?

Yes, to a certain extend. At least some types of nodes, that are fully known. Otherwise, it will be cloning which is the safe approach, and is quite easy for me to do actually. I may even include automatic id generation (to prevent duplicates/collisions).

Originally Posted by tater

The ability to add or fix nodes...

Depends. If a chunk is broken in a sense that it breaks parsing rules, then you're in no luck probably. Of course, you can always try to open it. Adding new nodes, see above.

[skwasjer]

I've been a bit delayed. I just got a brand new pc a week ago, so I'm still in progress of installation of all my apps. Additionally, I've been playing SH4 on this new rig, to enjoy the ubergraphics (my previous pc couldn't handle it much). I happened to run into a TF with the Yamato by chance. And she sank...

On topic: I got another feature idea that can be usefull (by reading the Raise/lower periscope mod/fix topic):
- Export and import support for an entire chunk to/from a raw file. This way, you can export working chunks from older mods or even SH3, and insert them anywhere in new/other files anywhere in the structure. Those chunks remain unmodified (until you decide to edit them of course). This will be of great use when updating older mods, or when duplicating dat-files for new game content.

Anyway, hopefully alpha release around Aug. 1st.

[Lagger123987]

Nice to hear, looking good so far!

[Bando]

August 1st?

Good news indeed.
I'll be waiting Skwasjer.
Great news

[Anvart]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

...
On topic: I got another feature idea that can be usefull (by reading the Raise/lower periscope mod/fix topic):
- Export and import support for an entire chunk to/from a raw file. This way, you can export working chunks from older mods or even SH3, and insert them anywhere in new/other files anywhere in the structure. Those chunks remain unmodified (until you decide to edit them of course). This will be of great use when updating older mods, or when duplicating dat-files for new game content.

Anyway, hopefully alpha release around Aug. 1st.

!!!
Yes, necessarily!

[skwasjer]

I'll update the first post later today with new status/screenshots...

For now, I need help with two things:

• A name for the tool. One that's easy to remember and googleable (iow, not too many hits). As far as I'm concerned, you all decide on the name, it don't really matter to me. Just spam ideas, and vote what you like...
• A logo/icon for it (must somewhat depend on previous bullet). Talented artists are welcome to hop in. I'm a complete tard when it comes to creating artwork. Icons preferred: 96x96, 48x48, 32x32 and 16x16, all in 32 and 16-bit color. Not allowed: modified SH icons.

Please post or PM if you want to help out and end up in the credits

[Anvart]

Originally Posted by skwasjer

I think you should look again at my first pic. ...
I think this is the best approach for now...

I have tried to write my opinion, but you can do that you want...