To design, or Not to design . . .

Post by **Avi** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 5:12 pm

I can't promise I'll be there, but if I see activity on the grid over the holidays I'll jump in for a few rounds.

Post by **data_ghost** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 8:28 am

btw, ive been working on a derez map these few days, and its nearly done but for some reason none of the prefabs dont appear in dedit. there were a few errors in the batch program but i dont get why

YouTube · Post by **TronFAQ** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:58 am

data_ghost wrote:btw, ive been working on a derez map these few days, and its nearly done but for some reason none of the prefabs dont appear in dedit. there were a few errors in the batch program but i dont get why

It's probably the same reason AnimeMasta had trouble: either you've got an old version of the editing tools (where the prefabs are missing), or you forgot to copy the Samplemaps folder to the right spot.

http://www.fraglesstees.com/ldso/forum/ ... .php?t=327

Post by **Daddyo** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:45 pm

I've been getting a growing itch to make something, and load it with at least an atmospheric tune, or maybe something really upbeat. Is there a limit to the length & quality & mono/stereo of an audio track? I seem to remember hearing about this before but may have been lost on boxhat. Wondered also if it is stored as essentially a wav with the map making the map huge.

Post by **Mor.Evil-1** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:11 pm

Yes.

You can use anything your mind can think of for sfx.
Just drop it into the appropriate music folder in your 2.0 directory,
Set up your sound object and make sure to indiacte where it is.

Then when you rez your file,
Make sure to include a copy in the music folder.

Problem, to many tracks and length can cause the mb's to soar.

Req: Looping a small portion of your tracks that flows continuously well.
Helps cut down on the mb's and increases performance of the level.

For my maps,
I have always used wav files.
Many of the other types have issues,
If memory serves,
Wav files are the only ones that work,
But cant remember for certain.

Hope that helps you out D,
If you need any help with the music placement,
Just shoot us a message here.

Mor

YouTube · Post by **TronFAQ** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:54 pm

Mor pretty much covered it, but I'll add my two cents.

If you don't want to have to worry or mess around, just record your music or sounds as PCM .WAV files. This is the standard, uncompressed sound file format that Windows uses. The game engine seems to handle various sample rates, bitrates, and mono vs. stereo with no issues. The only drawback is that long samples can become really big, because they're not compressed. I suggest you use mono at all times to save space, unless the quality of the music is really important to you.

The engine can also use a pseudo-MP3 file format. The MP3 codec is used, but the file format is not a standard MP3 file. It's a Microsoft proprietary format called ACM, but it still uses a .WAV extension. Not every sound editing program can properly create these files. The advantage of using this format is that you can compress your music/sound to save space. But the game engine also seems to be very picky about what sample rates and bitrates you use. Also, there seems to be an issue sometimes with stereo samples.

So, basically . . . stick with simple PCM .WAV files if you don't want any hassle.

Post by **Daddyo** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:20 pm

Thanks for the info

Post by **death_program** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:48 am

tronfaq wrote:
data_ghost wrote:btw, ive been working on a derez map these few days, and its nearly done but for some reason none of the prefabs dont appear in dedit. there were a few errors in the batch program but i dont get why
It's probably the same reason AnimeMasta had trouble: either you've got an old version of the editing tools (where the prefabs are missing), or you forgot to copy the Samplemaps folder to the right spot.

I used to not get prefabs to show up. But, one day, they randomly showed up in DEdit. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Post by **Spawn** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:45 am

Hi, thought I'd throw in my 2 cents

When it comes to sound, Tronfaq is right, the soundcodec that was used.. atleast for nolf2 that is.. was Fraunhofer IIS.
This codec isn't free tho. But there is a free option as well.. Doesn't compress things as nicely as the original does.. But does the job sorta, the filesize is good.

Installation tutorial

The original settings were 44100 128kb/s stereo for music/sounds
and 64kb/s for dialogue

When it comes to missing prefabs, I guess the folders are there but not showing up in dedit, am I right?

try creating a new txtfile in the prefabs folder (and subfolders) and rename it to DirTypePrefabs
and remove the .txt extension. And a second one called DirTypeWorlds

Dedit will search for these files during startup and will determine by these files which files/folders to display in the program

Hope its helpful

YouTube · Post by **TronFAQ** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:19 am

Hey, Spawn! Thanks for visiting our LDSO site. Welcome.

Nice to see a member of the NOLF community drop by. Hope your work on the Return of HARM mod has been going well. PDT_Armataz_01_34

And tell JLaR to hurry up with his Where Cate Archer Dares mod! And where's that Tron mod! :lol: But seriously, hope him and Spydave are doing well too.

Post by **sparks** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 6:35 pm

Well i"ve been real busy and have had a quick lookin from time to time at the servers and have had a few games recently.

If people want to make more maps i applaud and encorage them.

Even if very few people play them that is not the point.

I read an article on whether video games were art or not.

I would say definately YES and as history has taught us ,very few visionaries were "recognizered" in their time;)

If it gives you enjoyment and others including me to see then ,if you have the time why not.

Art for art's sake?

I say art for zark's sake lol.

Take it easy on the grid and in the user world;)