Some (probably dumb) questions...

[wsimike]

Hey all..

Okay, I feel real dumb about asking some of these questions, but I've looked around for info on them and have been unsuccessful in finding any.

1. First.. and most vexing, how the heck do I test my level inside SeriousSam? Not the editor.. the actual game?

I've done the whole saving the level, saving a thumbnail and creating a .vis file as suggested in a tutorial I read, and that's not working. I tried saving it to the root SS folder.. nothing. Tried saving them into the Worlds folder.. nothing... It's getting a bit frustrating to say the least :-).

2. That leads me to my next question.. what is with all the folders for levels, anyway? Why is there a worlds folder, a levels folder and then a separate levelsMP subfolder?

3a. I'm working on a smallish "single courtyard" type map so I can experiment with different things - skyboxes, directional lighting, ambient lighting, creating buildings, etc. etc.. One thing I keep running into is that when I create a building in a corner of the courtyard, it lights and shadows the ground just fine.. but it doesn't cast a shadow on to the wall it's right near. Why is this?

3b. Also, regarding the same structure (just a simple 10 sided conus sitting atop a square platform in case it's pertinent). For some reason, when I first created it, it wouldn't show up when testing.. the shadow from it would be there.. but the building or platform wouldn't be. Then, I don't know what I did, but it would show up - but not be solid and I could run right through it... this I haven't figured out yet.. So what exactly is the process involved here to get a building sitting itself (on a separate layer than the "courtyard" worldbase) where it shows up in the game *and* is solid?

4. (edited - forgot to ask :-) - How do you scale a selection of vertices? Say, to make a tower narrower at the top than at the base, etc?

5. And finally.. where do you find the trees and plants models and how are they loaded into a map? I unzipped those .gro files as recommended but don't know how to load them into the map either via the virtual tree (can't seem to find them in there) or by any other means.

And.. that's it for the moment... I'm sure more will crop up as I go along.

Once again, Thank You in advance for any help y'all can provide!

Take care,
Mike

[HighMaintenance]

tree and plant models in models directory I believe.

Tutorial on my site on how to use them.

To see your map in game, press world button at top of editor, enter a name for the map. This is the name the map is listed under. Copy the world to the levels directory. Copy one of the .vis files and rename it to the file name. Should work.

worlds - editing
levels - levels
levelsmp - sam se levels.

Is the light point or ambient?

Pressing the different numbers on the keypad changes what is viewable

vertices mode? never done it. ;)

[wsimike]

Originally posted by TheHappyHomo
tree and plant models in models directory I believe.

Tutorial on my site on how to use them.

To see your map in game, press world button at top of editor, enter a name for the map. This is the name the map is listed under. Copy the world to the levels directory. Copy one of the .vis files and rename it to the file name. Should work.

worlds - editing
levels - levels
levelsmp - sam se levels.

Is the light point or ambient?

Pressing the different numbers on the keypad changes what is viewable

vertices mode? never done it. ;)

Hey.. thanks!

Okay.. I think I did all that.. although I didn't set a "mission description" or whatever that other text box is in the world settings area. For whatever reason it showed this time and loads fine..

Hmm.. okay so the worlds folder is intended specifically for "in-progress" maps while the levels folder is for finished ones? And I'm not quite clear what you mean by sam se levels.. You mean "Second Encounter" levels? If so, aren't *all* the levels Second Encounter levels? What's the differentiation?

The light is the one that's set in the skybox.. it's directional. Like I said, it seems to light and shadow the ground just fine (and of course the walls where it's not hitting or is hitting. But the walls don't seem to be receiving shadows cast by the building. Or perhaps it's that the building needs to be set to cast shadows? <shrug>

Never messed with vertex mode? How else would you get tapered structures, like a tower, etc.? Is there another way of doing this?

Thanks again!

[Michael Harris]

For tapered primitives, experiment with Stretch X and Stretch Y.
If memory serves me, a value of one says make base and top the same size,
whereas a value less than one says make top narrower than the base,
whereas a value greater than one says make top broader than the base.