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Messages - _Raven_

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46
OXCE Wishlists / Re: _Raven_'s wishlist
« on: April 07, 2024, 10:49:35 pm »
I read about the limitation of 256 sprites and ways to bypass this limitation (moving alternative destroyed sprites to the end of the file starting from 257), but how is it that the game itself can load double locations of 512 sprites or even from 768 sprites (location + plane + UFO), but it is still impossible to remove the limitation and you have to bypass it in all ways.
Probably the 256 limitation consists of two bytes “FF” in the game code and cannot be translated into the four-byte “FFFF” system, but then how were these restrictions removed from the characteristics of units or the number of engineers on the base (previously it was impossible to hire more than 256 engineers per base , otherwise the bytes are reset to 0 "00" and engineer 257 becomes the first and only engineer on the base), besides, the game no longer works in 32 but in 64 byte mode, is it really possible to remove this restriction from the game and the "Map Editor 2" program? (then there will probably be an advantage in sprites (location + plane + UFO {256 + 256 + 256 = 768} if doubled, you get 1520 sprites in one mission + sprites of units and weapons), but if the game can still load more sprites , then I have an idea how to get around the limitation.

The texture pack consists of several .MCD .PCK .TAB files because one PCK file can contain no more than 65kb of weight, also the MCD file also has a limitation and it cannot store up to 254 texture IDs. I suggest doing the following:
1) MCD
Increase the file capacity to 508 texture IDs (254 sprites + another 254 alternative location destruction sprites;
2)PCK
Increase the file size from 65kb to 650kb or even 999kb so that all sprites fit into one file, including animation sprites and alternative sprites.

Thus, for each location it will be possible to create a texture pack consisting of one file (MCD PCK TAB) + a standard BLANKS file (2 sprites of the ground under the floor and an empty sprite), and use real 254 sprites and not the actual 256, but in fact only 150 or even less (because 2 sprites are already occupied by standard sprites + also alternative sprites of collapsing objects that cannot be taken and moved from all files to the end of the last file).
You probably cannot turn this idea into reality, otherwise you would have done it a long time ago, although there may be an opportunity to do this in the future.

47
OpenXcom Extended (OXCE) / Re: OXCE (OpenXcom Extended) main thread
« on: March 28, 2024, 06:10:19 pm »
Dear OXCE developers, I have new ideas and features that need to be added to the game.
Spoiler:
File "items.rul"
The shot animation replacement function is assigned to all firing modes of one weapon at once
Code:
###items:
###  - type: STR_RIFLE
###    explosionSpeed: 50
###    bulletSpeed: 10
###    confAuto:
###      followProjectiles: false
###  - type: STR_RIFLE_CLIP
###    explosionSpeed: 50
###    bulletSpeed: 10
###    confAuto:
###      followProjectiles: false

It is necessary to make sure that these functions are assigned not to the weapon or its clip, but to the shooting mode (as well as the "followProjectiles" function) or to the weapon clip in a separate shooting mode
Code:
###items:
###  - type: STR_RIFLE
###    confAuto:
###      followProjectiles: false
###      explosionSpeed: 50
###      bulletSpeed: 10
###    confSnap:
###      followProjectiles: true
###      explosionSpeed: 10
###      bulletSpeed: 5
###    confAimed:
###      followProjectiles: true
###      explosionSpeed: 25
###      bulletSpeed: 7
###  - type: STR_RIFLE_CLIP
###    confAuto:
###      followProjectiles: false
###      explosionSpeed: 50
###      bulletSpeed: 10
###    confSnap:
###      followProjectiles: true
###      explosionSpeed: 10
###      bulletSpeed: 5
###    confAimed:
###      followProjectiles: true
###      explosionSpeed: 25
###      bulletSpeed: 7

Such settings will allow you to more smoothly configure individual firing modes for individual types of weapons, for individual, special types of bullets for these weapons, while assigning different animation speeds for different types of shots.

There is another idea, to add new shooting modes for the machine gun.
Various mods add this type of weapon under the name “minigun”, but to be honest, it is no different from a machine gun, the weight and number of shots are simply increased, and the bullet animation is accelerated, but in fact this type of weapon does not have its own shooting mode, such as a shotgun that fires shot.
I suggest looking at the description of this version of the game

https://mod.io/g/openxcom/m/enemy-unknown-extended-130

The author says that in this game, the machine gun fires its own types of shooting:
1) Burst mode:
- you select 3 target points, and the soldier will shoot a 5 shots burst (on each and between points). Recharge time: 2 turns.
2) Full auto:
- you select 2 points, the soldier will spray the area inbetween with 8 shots. Recharge time: 3 turns.

I suggest taking a few ideas and mini-mods from this version of the game and adding new features to OXCE or better yet BOXCE (OpenXcom Extended Brutal).
Also think about how to expand the capacity of .MCD .PCK .TAB files (sometimes there is not enough space for animated sprites in a PCK file, sometimes you even want to add many different sprites in one texture pack, but for this you need to expand the capacity of these files). If there is at least 10% chance of successfully expanding the texture pack, then you should think about how to do it, if not, then give a reason why exactly this amount fits in this file and why these files cannot be modified in any way. I would like to know what and why.

48
OpenXcom Extended (OXCE) / Re: OXCE (OpenXcom Extended) main thread
« on: March 28, 2024, 01:37:23 pm »
can anybody make a separated mini-mod for OXCE ?
Here I created a mini-mod "Blues_and_Bullets" for xcom1 which speeds up the animation of auto shots for all automatic weapons (the mod uses the function "refNode: *" for the mod to work, you need to use the OXCE version, the newer the better).

You can download it from the site "mod.io"
https://mod.io/g/openxcom/m/blues-and-bullets

49
OpenXcom Extended (OXCE) / Re: OXCE (OpenXcom Extended) main thread
« on: March 27, 2024, 09:21:28 am »
The speed of the bullet is ok, but after the bullet touches the wall, the ground, the enemy - then 8 small blue drops jump in different directions. And while these blue drops are falling, I have to wait sooooo long after each bullet.
You can speed up this bullet animation yourself "8 small blue drops" in the file "items.rul" as I did and created a separate file for this purpose "itemsBulletSpeed_RAVEN.rul"
Spoiler:
Code:
###items:
# ═════════════════════
# hyper & velocity
# ═════════════════════
# ═════════════════════
# VELOCITY
# ═════════════════════
###  - &VELOCITY_GLOBAL
###    type: HYPERVELOCITY_GLOBAL
###    confAuto:
###      followProjectiles: false
#    explosionSpeed: 2
#    bulletSpeed: 5
# ═════════════════════
# SPEED
# ═════════════════════
###  - &NORMAL_SPEED
###    type: NORMAL_SPEED
###    refNode: *VELOCITY_GLOBAL
###    explosionSpeed: 50
#    bulletSpeed: 10
###  - &HIGH_SPEED
###    type: HIGH_SPEED
###    refNode: *VELOCITY_GLOBAL
###    explosionSpeed: 100
###    bulletSpeed: 50
# ═════════════════════
# WEAPONS
# ═════════════════════
#BEGIN STR_OLD_WEAPONS
###  - type: STR_AK47
###    refNode: *NORMAL_SPEED
###  - type: STR_AK47_CLIP
###    refNode: *NORMAL_SPEED
#END STR_OLD_WEAPONS
Now my weapon shoots with standard single fire and accelerated bursts without a strong delay for animation (auto shots look realistic and, most importantly, without a delay between shots; for machine guns, an ultra-fast animation setting and acceleration of bullet speed are used). Also disabled is bullet tracking in automatic shots (enabled only for single shots), as this function may not work correctly at very high speeds of shots or at a short distance from the target (the screen may flicker and cause epileptic seizures).
With these settings:
- single shot "Single"
- auto shot "burst from a machine gun"
- machine gun "a rapid hail of bullets from 10 or more shots"

50
OpenXcom Extended (OXCE) / Re: OXCE (OpenXcom Extended) main thread
« on: March 18, 2024, 12:30:06 pm »
The verticalLevels feature can do exactly that: https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=5316.0
Thank you for the useful link to an interesting topic, these vertical levels are very interesting information, now I can not only combine large modules into 1 file, but if I wish, I can even create an open location above the underground base.

51
OpenXcom Extended (OXCE) / Re: OXCE (OpenXcom Extended) main thread
« on: March 17, 2024, 09:27:44 pm »
Files:
- terrains.rul
- facilities.rul
There is one very annoying problem in the "terrains.rul" file, I cannot specify the size of the location of the .map and .rmp files
Spoiler:
Code:
###terrains:
###  - name: XBASE
###    mapBlocks:
###      - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_01 #3x3 size
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_02
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_03
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_04
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_05
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_06
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_07
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_08
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
###  - name: XBASE_VeryLargeGeneralStores_09
###        width: 10
###        length: 10
This is very inconvenient when you create such large modules as 3x3 and the location .map file is not convenient to draw, the .rmp file is not yet more convenient to create, and you end up with a lot of .map and .rmp files.
Why can I specify any size of xcom aircraft or UFOs, or can even specify a .map size for the alien base, but cannot specify any size of the .map file for xcom base modules?
Spoiler:
Code:
###terrains:
###  - name: UBASE
###    mapBlocks:
###      - name: ALIENBASE
###        width: 20
###        length: 20
Code:
###ufos:
###    battlescapeTerrainData:
###      name: UFO_110
###      mapBlocks:
###        - name: UFO_MEDSCOUT
###          width: 20
###          length: 20
Code:
###crafts:
###    battlescapeTerrainData:
###      name: SKYRANGER
###      mapBlocks:
###        - name: SKYRANGER
###          width: 20
###          length: 20

52
OXCE Wishlists / _Raven_'s wishlist
« on: December 03, 2023, 03:56:03 pm »
I want to draw your attention to some rul files (I hope I'm on the right topic).
So first we will start with optimizing the game and at the end I will add some ideas on what new features should be added to the game.

1) Optimization of files such as extraSprites.rul
You have added a lazy loading feature, the game only loads the necessary sprites (not all at once), can you do the same feature for other files, such as:
- extraSounds.rul
- music.rul
- cutscenes.rul

extraSounds.rul does not suit me because the game takes a very long time to load when I'm add music to this file (5 minutes duration of environmental sounds of the location) and in the terrains.rul file I indicate the id of the music that should play in this particular location (for example gunshot sounds for terror location). Can you optimize these files so that these large audio tracks are loaded not when the game starts, but when the location is loaded (only one ogg file is loaded for the desired location, for example, the terror mission, the sound for the terror location is loaded).
Code:
###terrains:
###  - name: URBAN
###    ambience: 268
###    ambientVolume: 0.5

music.rul and cutscenes.rul also need to be made so that the FLC and OGG files are not loaded all at once, but only those files that are currently needed to launch the cutscene. There is one more problem with these files: when you start a cutscene, they are loaded simultaneously, the FLC file must be loaded first and then the OGG file, since the video lags behind the sound when the light OGG loads faster than the heavy FLC (especially when the mod is compressed in zip in this case the file flc is loaded 5 seconds later than the ogg file, as a result the video lags behind the sound by 5 seconds. I talked about this in more detail in the topic about FLI FLC cutscenes)
Code:
###cutscenes:
###  - type: autopsySectoid
###    videos:
###      - ANIMS/AutopsySectoidAnimation.FLI
###    audioTracks:
###      - AutopsySectoidMusic

2) New game features
Add cutscene function to files:
- research.rul
- manufacture.rul
- facilities.rul
Code:
###research:
###  - name: STR_SECTOID_CORPSE
###    cutscene: autopsySectoid
###    cost: 1
###    points: 0
###    listOrder: 0
As you can see in this example, the cutscene can only be specified in the alienDeployments.rul and research.rul files and only on the project that needs to be studied manually cost: 1 the cutscene does not work on projects that are studied automatically cost: 0 such as STR_SECTOID_AUTOPSY.
You need to make sure that the cutscene works even on those projects that are studied automatically; this is sometimes very inconvenient when the cutscene does not start automatically and to run it you must create an empty project, so that you can then manually set this project for study.
I would also like that cutscenes could be tied not only to study, but also to the construction of base modules and the production of weapons or aircraft. For example, I have a DECODER cutscene. This cutscene shows how the base personnel activate the hyperwave decoder for the first time. Second example, I made a new interceptor and immediately after that a cutscene should start showing this new fighter.

3) Co-op, two-player game mode, online network game
People often tell me that openxcom is boring and if you could play it with friends and still communicate while playing, then it would be much more interesting. I prefer the single player mode, but despite this I came up with a game mode for two players, which I will tell you about now, maybe you will add such a function.
Let's say a certain version of the game is installed on your phone or computer, let's say OXCE v7.9.8 and the same mod is installed on both devices, let's say FMP and on one device one player launches the game and goes to the "game for two" section, the second player too launches the exact same version of the game and selects the “search for running game” column (it is possible to indicate in the search the name of the game with which your friend signed his online game and is waiting for you to connect to him), you have found the desired game session, connected, your devices begin to exchange data via WIFI and one player starts the game and the other player sees on his screen everything that happens on your friend’s screen. So your phones are connected, you have the same versions of the game and the same mod files, you started the game and the game multiplies everything by x2, that is, you can build two bases at once (you and your friend are building two independent bases), you independently develop your base (at the same time, you can constantly communicate with each other and can even transport your weapons to your friend’s base), a UFO arrives (the characteristics of the UFO are also increased by x2, weapon strength and armor), you send your interceptors and together shoot down the UFO, after which you and your friend send each of your cargo planes to the crash site, the location is loaded (the location is also increased x2 times, so that two planes can land on this location, the number of aliens is also doubled x2), you and your friend, or in turn, or it’s better to walk at the same time, each with his own soldiers, you can shoot the alien in the back, who was shooting at your friend’s soldiers and did not allow him to advance further. After the mission, the reward is divided into two bases.
In this way, you can create a game mode for two players who can go through the game together from beginning to end.

53
Work In Progress / Re: I have found a way to make new cutscenes!
« on: November 28, 2023, 11:23:28 pm »
I want to draw your attention to one unpleasant problem in the cutscenes.rul file.

The fact is that these heavy flc and fli files weigh so much that the game cannot fully load them in a second, resulting in the ogg audio track loading in a second and starting to work, while the flc or fli file continues to load for several more seconds and as a result, the video lags behind the sound by 3-5 seconds (especially on weak devices, especially on Android). We need you and other developers to do something about this lag between video and sound in high-quality fli and flc cutscenes.

We need to fix this by writing a special animation playback algorithm, that is, the game needs to either first load the flc file and then the ogg file and only after that the cutscene starts playing, or the second option, the ogg file is loaded first because it is lightweight and weighs little, then a special algorithm must pause the ogg file and not allow it to play until the flc file is completely loaded, and after this algorithm sees that both cutscene files are fully loaded and ready to play, then the algorithm simultaneously removes the lock from both files and the cutscene starts.

It is impossible for both ogg and flc files to load at the same time, a large flc file does not have time to load as quickly as a small ogg file and as a result we see a lag between the video and the sound for several seconds, this is very unpleasant to watch, that’s why I divide my cutscenes into small pieces lasting no more than 30 seconds, and gluing and loading every 30 seconds or even 10 seconds is very unpleasant, but when the video lags behind the sound by 5 seconds it is even more unpleasant.

I also wanted to add that flc and fli files are very heavy (1 second 1MB, 1 minute video 60MB), it’s bad that you don’t have a programmer who would develop various useful programs for OXCE (for example, a program for converting mp4 to flc like Video_Mach_Pro_Portable or an existing program improve and create some kind of flc file encryption codec that would be able to compress files several times and make them several times smaller and easier for the game to read these files.

Please do something with the cutscenes.rul file and prevent ogg or wav files from launching before flc or fli files.

I am made such high-quality cutscenes with high fps and excellent quality, but they are very heavy, take up a lot of space and take a very long time to load when the cutscene starts, and also, as luck would have it, the sound starts playing 5 seconds before the video loads.

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