X-Wings anyone? ...finished and textured

Found this:

www.i-war2.com/forum/topic.asp?T ... hichpage=2

Would you have to make two different wing avatars and put them on the same parent nulls? (well actually 4 because you'd need 2 representations on each side)

Edit: you might want to look at the tug too. It has animated engines that swivel. (that appears to be hardcoded)
/Edit


Iwar2 Multiplayer Fan Site

Hmm. Ok, from looking at the tug and reading the Pog SDK I think I've got it. Since we're not trying to use one of the existing types of animation channel (like thrusters or whatever) we can name the animation channel null whatever we like (wing_actuator or something). I then parent the wing section to this wing_actuator null and set two keyframes for it. The first keyframe is normal with the wings closed and the second is with the wing_actuator null rotated so the wing is in the open position. Then we use the Pog functions Sim.AvatarAddChannel() to add the animation channel to the sim and Sim.AvatarSetChannel() to set the channel's state (how it's displayed, either open or closed). By incrementing the channel's value over time, the time it takes for the wings to open and close can be controlled through Pog (I think). We'll probably need to write a custom function just to operate the wings and call that when needed.

Does this sound reasonable to anyone? MajorTom?

mailto:second_chance@cox.net
The Ultimate Guide To Modding: I-War 2 - Edge Of Chaos (on hold during SW MP mod)
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Originally posted by Second Chance

By incrementing the channel's value over time, the time it takes for the wings to open and close can be controlled through Pog (I think). We'll probably need to write a custom function just to operate the wings and call that when needed.

I've already got a switch function set up to change acceleration/ speed properties when the wings are opened and closed. (At the moment I'm still searching for the correct name of the sims object properties that need to be reset) It won't be a problem to add a Sim.AvatarSetChannel into that.

I'm not sure about incrementing the value over time, though. I dunno how the animation stuff works. Would that work with just two Keyframes? Does the engine actually extrapolate the many different wing positions over time between the 2 key frames?

Iwar2 Multiplayer Fan Site

That's a good question. I'm not sure how the engine does the animation either, but I suspect it uses something similar to a morph target. You see, all animation in EoC consists solely of two keyframes (start and end), and flux somehow figures out what all the in between frames should look like (just like using morph targets). That leads me to believe that the animation channel value mentioned in the SDK is refering to the keyframe numbers (0-1). Flux must have a way to deal with, say, keyframe 0.5 and such in order to make the animations look smooth in the game. But the only way we'll know for sure is to try it. I'll set up all the X-wing scenes tonight (with animation, of course ) and send them to you. I'll explain what I did for animation channels and then you can experiment with getting them to respond to your commands. Sound good?

Of course the relationship between the channel value and keyframe numbers could all be in my head. I'm just guessing at that part.

mailto:second_chance@cox.net
The Ultimate Guide To Modding: I-War 2 - Edge Of Chaos (on hold during SW MP mod)
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you might want to look at the tug too. It has animated engines that swivel.

I would expect a difference between the standard animation channels (like thrust-torches and the tug engine-pod animation) and the type you're looking for.

The thrust/tug type scales off the engine data; meaning the keyframes only provide targets for 0 (no thrust) and 1 (max thrust). The percentage of thrust used determines the animation for the tug engines.

In other words, this channel is set up to be off/on/and all points in between depending upon how much thrust is being applied.

The doors of Lucretia's base, however, should be an off/on type which should hook up to a keybind (and operate the X-wings) better than using the tug as a model.

That's how I see it anyway... like I know anything. Either way, please post the results of your findings. As far as I know, no modder has ever added a model into the game which uses animation (though I don't keep track of the Buda 5 ships).

<font size="1"><font face="Book Antiqua"><font color="black">"Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of human beings moved and suffered together. This was no disciplined march; it was a stampede-- without order and without a goal, six million people unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the beginning of the rout of Civilisation... of the massacre of Mankind."
--H. G. Wells The War Of The Worlds</font id="black"></font id="Book Antiqua"> </font id="size1">

About 2 years ago I did a little pog script for SkyQuake - who built a mining rig with legs that moved. The pog script just used a "channel" to move the leg between the values of 0 and 1. It incremented by a tiny amount each second to get a slow unfolding effect. I cannot find the mod (done on a prior computer) and the old site is gone. I did not know anything about models at the time. I cannot remember how it was keyframed. SkyQuake did that part.

The doors of a megapod might give a clue as well.

-Gtrout