IWTE - World editing - (General Discussion)

[wilddog]

Confirming I am working on IWTE. I've basically upgraded it to use newer versions of software though I may still need to upgrade further in a later release. As the code was already a mess I've tried to start tidying up some bits. Anyway a warning that when released it is likely to be a bit buggy as the upgrade picked up changes in the way the upgraded software worked e.g. python 2 to 3 changes, QT changes etc. Most of these are quick to fix just a pain to find so I'll fix as quickly as I can.

The requested TGA's have been added back and some parameters have been changed in the painter process to handle some recent models Mak has been helping with.

There will be a couple of programs which require to be in the same directory as the executable. These are the nvidia programs and a program to handle the packing/unpacking processes for the animations that are contained in the .animinstances program. This latter program is basically one that The Europa Barbarorum Team developed in 2012 (to compile and use the LZO compressor code) to create the pack files for their mod but with a couple of parameter changes to satisfy .animinstances data. I will include these executables in the version I release.

I am putting together a rough guide on the animation process as certain names need to be followed and process steps. I'm currently just trying to cross check the .ms3d files to make sure certain basic data is contained in order to create the animation files. I haven't done anything to create .evt files for the animations but they are editable in notepad so don't really need anything special.

I know .ms3d isn't the best animation product around and keep thinking about adding some other format but most are fairly complex to add so will either wait a long time or not get done. Sorry.

Hoping to release a new IWTE version soon.

[paleologos]

Well, I haven't attempted any world editing so far but it's a big plus that you have one made for us and a bigger plus you are still working on it after 10 years!
My hat is off to you, sir!

[leo.civil.uefs]

Maybe I missed it but, are you planning to bring back 3d view in IWTE for users with AMD processors with integrated GPUs? I really miss this function after I got a new pc without nvidia.

[wilddog]

Hi Leo
Problem is I don't have anything to test AMD processor bits on to see if it works. Once I've got it released I'll see if we can sort something out to test it but will likely mean me sending you various files and just trying to pinpoint the issues.

[leo.civil.uefs]

Hi Leo
Problem is I don't have anything to test AMD processor bits on to see if it works. Once I've got it released I'll see if we can sort something out to test it but will likely mean me sending you various files and just trying to pinpoint the issues.

Count on me and on my hardware.
But dont fool yourself about me delivering complicated technical analyzis and data. All I know how to do is to talk like "I can see the 3d view now" and copy paste the prompt messages for you.

[leo.civil.uefs]

In one of my custom settlements, I have custom animations for walls and gate (due to custom textures).

The textures work well and does not change to vanilla when the animation occurs, but the size of the wall magically changes when it happens.
In the moment the wall is collapsing, in the exact moment of the animaiton, the wall model magically changes from huge wall to a lower level, then a second later it goes back to huge when the animation is over.

The .anim, .evt and .mesh files were taken from vanilla, with the exact size (huge walls) and edited via IWTE to point the custom textures, but as I said there is this problem with the animation itself, as if it was actually triggering the animation from a lower wall size.

[makanyane]

In one of my custom settlements, I have custom animations for walls and gate (due to custom textures).

The textures work well and does not change to vanilla when the animation occurs, but the size of the wall magically changes when it happens.
In the moment the wall is collapsing, in the exact moment of the animaiton, the wall model magically changes from huge wall to a lower level, then a second later it goes back to huge when the animation is over.

The .anim, .evt and .mesh files were taken from vanilla, with the exact size (huge walls) and edited via IWTE to point the custom textures, but as I said there is this problem with the animation itself, as if it was actually triggering the animation from a lower wall size.

Leo, could you send me the files for it? The world stuff and the custom anims. I suspect the problem is that although you've got the correct path to the huge wall anim, you might have got the .animinstance chunk picked up from a large wall (and it is the animinstance bit that dictates the shape of the model) - I'd have expected a slightly larger problem if you have them mixed up... but the walls are pretty similar so it might be that you can get away with that.

Anyway it's probably easier for me to try and investigate than try and explain further!

[leo.civil.uefs]

Leo, could you send me the files for it? The world stuff and the custom anims. I suspect the problem is that although you've got the correct path to the huge wall anim, you might have got the .animinstance chunk picked up from a large wall (and it is the animinstance bit that dictates the shape of the model) - I'd have expected a slightly larger problem if you have them mixed up... but the walls are pretty similar so it might be that you can get away with that.

Anyway it's probably easier for me to try and investigate than try and explain further!

here is the files

[makanyane]

here is the files

Thanks Leo,
I have downloaded them, but have been wrapped up in something else - hope to get to look at this tomorrow!!

[makanyane]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fm2ntc4ygs...dum_a.zip?dl=0

should be fixed version - it did seem to be just that you/it had picked up the wrong animinstance chunk (eg large wall not huge)

check I haven't managed to mess up anything else in the process please!

[leo.civil.uefs]

Thanks Mak! Some times I just forget to check some things.


Do you know how the tower activation really works in the battles?
I know that towers just need a unit near it to activate and start firing automatically, but it seems that there is details I still dont understand.

The flag base slot we edit via IWTE seem to be a leftover from rome 1 and its function is simply to display a flag of the faction owning the tower over it, RIGHT?

So the only thing we can really edit is the firing slots, and the tower upgrade object sequence.
I guess the activation system is set elsewhere.

The point is, a tall tower of mine has its flag on its top, and is only activated by units on the ground, far away from the flag, while units on the walls beside it and half the height of the tower dont activate it, strange. Another tower (smaller and with lower flag on top) has the exact opposite behavior, its only activated by an unit over the wall beside it, while unit son the ground wont activate it.

[makanyane]

Sorry - I'm rubbish with towers - last person's I tried to get working I failed completely...

there's a setting in descr_walls that will turn them on even if no-one is standing there, but that will apply to all settlements.

If it's not the flag position that is the centre of the activation area, then maybe it is just the center of the collision of the object that is the 'arrow tower'?


I also though at one stage that the location of the 'link/ladder' paths going through the tower had an affect. e.g. you needed them passing through from the adjacent wall sections to make it activate

[leo.civil.uefs]

nevermind

[leo.civil.uefs]

Is there a way how to remove the roads that autmatically show up painted in the land around the settlement battle model when you build roads in that settlement in strat map?

As far as I remember removing the roadmarker from the settlment via IWTE causes CTD.

[makanyane]

You'll have to try it and see!

The cause of the problem was that there is an odd bit of final code in the .world file - a bit like a serial number - that varies according to what the other contents of the file are - e.g. if there's a reflective plane, a deployment outline, arrow tower etc. Internally those sort of things have type numbers. Road marker and arrow tower (and something else I can't remember) are both type 4's. There was a certain type of combination that I think related to villages, where if you had type 'x' (doors & on wall deployment?) you also had to have a type 4 object, road-marker or arrow tower, because we couldn't figure out what the end code for the file should be that would work without it...

So if the rest of the settlement is finished and you've got all the bits you need in it, try taking out the road-marker and see if it works!

If you can't take the road marker out - how about adding four of them and shoving them all waaaayyy out to the corners of the battle map?

[leo.civil.uefs]

I just removed all roamarkers from a settlement via IWTE and it did not cause CTD (tested it in campaign in a settlement where roads were built already)
Though my memory still makes me think that CTD once happened to me, maybe so many years ago that I dont remember in what circunstances.

Another interesting thing I just found out, even removing all roadmarkers via IWTE, the game still paints a road on the ground of a settlement I edited.

[wilddog]

I think the roadmarker issue was tied to certain combinations of settlements and what else they contained. If the resulting 'check value' wasn't correct it caused a crash.

Hoping to release new version of IWTE before Christmas. Maybe early next week. It won't address the 3d issue but I will see if I can sort that next. The main delay is ongoing testing with animations. Process works OK but I'm trying to address some issues specific to swapping between rotation info (eulers) that milkshape uses. Also trying to figure out best way of realigning/correcting an animation if it wasn't centred correctly on (0,0,0) in the first place for the first animation. Other animations for the same object have to use the same centre points as the first animation (as it corresponds to the collision placement).

update:
Ability to re-centre the animation has been completed. It will warn you that the model isn't centred and tell you what the centre is. You can then add the data to the milkshape model comment and it will re-centre the object and animation. I didn't want to do this automatically as it only applies to the first level of animation. The other levels need to be aligned to this first level and not their own centre.

[Jojo00182]

May i ask what language do you code IWTE in? And was there some source code or file structures realsed aside from johnwhile's stuff?

[wilddog]

IWTE uses python and is released as an executable.
JohnWhile's stuff was for 3dsmax (think it was maxscript?) but you needed a licence to use 3dsmax. Don't know if its still maintained as it was written for older versions of 3dsmax.

[z3n]

IWTE uses python and is released as an executable.
JohnWhile's stuff was for 3dsmax (think it was maxscript?) but you needed a licence to use 3dsmax. Don't know if its still maintained as it was written for older versions of 3dsmax.

There's a free version of 3ds Max for students & educators however. All you need to do is put in your school and email address.