World - 3dstudio max's scripts

[johnwhile]

Version completely rebuilt and improved with some useful tools, but I have a urgent need for a co-worker because I can't do alone : the settlements version of world file are almost completely dicovered but due to a couple of bytes after damage-transition-strings I can't move towards the end.

In this image you can see my experiment:
time to build a colosseum mesh: 2 week
time to build a colosseum collisions: 1 day
time to write names, textures string, etc... : 15 min
time to export to world file : 0.15 s
per tutto il resto c'è Mastercad XD

[Briarius]

This is truly impressive work johnwile! (+rep in the moment I can)

(I' like to help, but I'm not a programmer )

[johnwhile]

...delete...

[johnwhile]

I'm not a programmer, i understand maxscript by scratch in one mouth !!

Look maxscript, is very easy understand how it work.
In the example you can see Damage Section Class:
there are some functions like WriteTxt() that write a txt file with the IWTE format to be compatible with Wilddog's tool (a expert modder must have all the tools needed to facilitate the work).
there are also Read/Write from/to *.world files.

In the the example you can see there are all my issue in this section, the same issue in other three sections: I can find the true Byte sequence, i tested many many file but nothing.... some few exceptions crash the reading process.

Maxscript is also very interesting for other things, it's very easy to make tools to facilitate work in general

[johnwhile]

add 010Editor script (structure definition of world file) and some correction of maxscript

[SigniferOne]

Johnwhile, consider creating several very good screenshots, and then 1) making a thread in the general modding section, and 2) creating a forum-wide announcement bringing attention to those screenshots. This should get people to be aware of your work, and maybe someone to help you.

Amazing work btw.

[johnwhile]

yes, is a good idea but
1) i think this tread is in right section
2) how can i do this ? i'm not very practice to this forum

[johnwhile]

Good News , now i understand how game use internal pathfinding, tower and gates.... this is a very essential model made by scratch with the tool, you can used it in your minimod to test the world file (you must do a Custom Battle > castle level 1 > north_european culture)

[wilddog]

Good News , now i understand how game use internal pathfinding, tower and gates.... this is a very essential model made by scratch with the tool, you can used it in your minimod to test the world file (you must do a Custom Battle > castle level 1 > north_european culture)

Just like to report a possible bug with your tool. Were you talking about how to man towers and deploy on them otherwise not sure why you think towers has any affect on pathfinding - other than the obvious about not walking though them.

Edit :Oops I misread, I just spotted the tower was really a wall and you were just talking about a wall breach.

[johnwhile]

when i complete the script code of walls i want to beginning understand the animations and animinstance file, i suspect that game don't use bone but each vertex have a singular animations.
My script have a lot of bug, not in data but in some exception short, example i noticed that the last matrix at the end of file world have a different structure, your IWTE tell me "EOFerror .... " so i have noticed another exception difference from "standard" file structure, thanks for your tool, it's essential to speed up the learning and to find bugs :-)

[johnwhile]

This is the imported version of north_european_town_a.world
the script import in 30 second about 281000 vertices and 159000 triangles and use a heapsize of 30 MB (memory used of maxscirpt).
it's the best performance I could get

i disable the normals import because time increases exponentially with Normal modifier, (about 280 ms for each mesh) but then exporting you can add Normal modifier and not influence the time

If someone was interested to improve or create tools to facilitate the work I would be happy to help him

[SigniferOne]

Superb job johnwhile, superb.

What's left for exporting the script and the settlement back out?

[johnwhile]

ehm.. i don't understand the question ?

[Rhaymo]

ehm.. i don't understand the question ?

% of progress..

[johnwhile]

the last thing that I miss to do is the export functions of 4 Path Control Sections (Doors section, Ladders, Pathfinding, Wall system) but there are so many objects, link, string etc... that I'm writing about 1000 lines of code !!!

when I finished this, I will need someone to help me to test all possible errors, wrong case, semplifications etc...

[johnwhile]

OK, finally i complete the script now i'm try to use it for "de Bello Mundi" so i will correct and improve it to work very fast and easy as possible.

But attention, example for "north_european_large_town_a.world" : the file size are 20MB with 750000 vertices , the script import and build all scene in 70s with 3dstudio-2011-x64.
A memory estimation message say you if you want increase the default 28 MB to 60 MB of heapsize used by maxscript. Press OK else maxscript auto-increase it and this will take a lot of time.

You can change default setting in Customize > Preference > Maxscript > memory allocated.

[Lord Willy]

Truly Amazing Work John! keep it up ! :thumbup:

[johnwhile]

the problem is that I'm push max over its limits, it is true that there are no limits of vertices but example: for "south_european_city_a.world", a 40MB of settlements with total 1.5 million of vertices and thousand of help , points , splines ecc... (a representation of not-3d data), max is very slow.

I need someone who knows 3dstdudio much more, i need some information example to build plugins for max, because i think i can resolve with this type of code the max efficiency

[Pat89]

Would a plugin mean that you can simply open/save the various file types rather than having to import/export with a script?

[johnwhile]

Would a plugin mean that you can simply open/save the various file types rather than having to import/export with a script?

I mean two type of plugin and i need both:

1'plugin : is a c++ code, write in Microsoft Visual Studio, with "3dsmaxPluginWizard" is relatively simple for c++ users:
http://area.autodesk.com/forum/autod...-2008-express/
but it is very complicated for me, I don't know well C++, I was able only to make the example...nothing else
I think is a powerfull way to use the very fast dll writed in c++ to do some reading and elaborating functions, then in maxscipt i can write only the building functions

2'geometry plugin : is a maxscript code : http://www.kxcad.net/autodesk/Autode...ry_Plug_in.htm
is a specific object what represent clearly and efficiently some not 3d objects as arrow-tower, fire-effect, pathfinding, etc...

With 3dstudio you can import all world file in one scene, so i think is much more intuitive and clear, you don't see tables, index, etc... the script auto-rebuild all data, you see only the essential.
The only problem is the size of the settlement's files that have so many items to make the scene very chaotic and difficult to debugging.