Editing OoT Debug ROM levels/maps in Sketchup?

[Armos]

I'm really interested in this subject... I know it's been done because I've seen people done it before. Editing existing maps in the game that are already there and adding new areas, etc. In Sketchup. How is all this done? I'm still trying to figure this out and I'm really confused. I don't know how to open the files and I don't know how to get them, etc. If anyone knows how this works I would really appreciate this.

[Jason777]

You would dump the map file as obj with OZMAV2, import with SketchUp, export as obj, import with SharpOcarina, and then do your best to restore original settings of the map (actor placement, alternate, headers, music, and more).

 

Another way would to append and repoint new display lists and/or collision to the map. This would probably be better.

 

EDIT: Actually, this sounds like a wonderful idea for a new program... It could be a small GUI program that asks for a scene and map number, asks for an obj as the mesh to append, and then an obj for collision to append where one and/or the other must be provided. I wouldn't reinvent the wheel and would probably use xDaniel's Model2N64 command-line program for display lists but would have my program generate collision (I could probably avoid this too). The main point of the program would be for appending these things while automatically fixing everything and being as efficient as possible. This includes auto-injection of the appropriate files using a slightly updated "squeeze" algorithm based off of experimental ZAO-ADD code.

 

Heh, makes me think of old attempts made by spinout at introducing maps made in C or the Zelda Intermediate File Format... Anyone remember that? It's a shame it never caught on, although the closest thing we have are SharpOcarina's XML scenes.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Jason777

[john_smith_account]

 

 

Mods didn't say no.  Here we GO!

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u0pwne

 

Here are the scripts to develop, import, and export OOT maps in perfect scale in sketchup.  

0. Open Google SketchUp. Set the temple to Millimeters, and delete that stupid man....

1. To build maps from the game you'll need to use OZMAV release 76 to dump them as OBJ files.

2. There's a typo in the OZMAV .OBJ dumps. It's either MTL or MLT... you'll need to find it and fix it.

3. Import the .OBJ into Blender3d.  This will fix the error of half the faces being reversed.

4. Now use the OBJ import option, select OZMAVr76 scale.

5. There you go!  You've got any map in SketchUp now.  Use the export option to get .OBJ files to use with Sharp Ocarina.  It should be in proper scale.

 

 

If I did anything wrong, let me know and I'll fix it.

 

 

 

EDIT #1: Proof the scripts exist, and work flawlessly.

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u2ashq

 

EDIT #2: It's Map #117 on Map select.  Note this is a very old build, based on an earlier versions of many tools.  Therefore ignore the tint, and other errors that probably won't occur with the current versions.

 

In the mean time, you may contact me by Skype if you need anything.

 

 

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, Sharp Ocarina lacks the ability to define textures as RGBA so that you can make stuff like ladders, and fences which require alpha.  But I could be wrong.

 

Still it's the easiest, and fastest way to get started.  Good luck.

[Agnostic Priest]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, to my knowledge, Sharp Ocarina lacks the ability to define textures as RGBA so that you can make stuff like ladders, and fences which require alpha.  But I could be wrong.

 

Still it's the easiest, and fastest way to get started.  Good luck.

 

sharpocarina recognised transparent textures when i was dicking around with it...  a fence should work no problem, save your transparent as a png and import it with the map

(somebody, please correct me if im wrong i dont want to spew bs)

[john_smith_account]

sharpocarina recognised transparent textures when i was dicking around with it...  a fence should work no problem, save your transparent as a png and import it with the map

(somebody, please correct me if im wrong i dont want to spew bs)

Hey hey now, I did say I could be wrong!  This is good news, thank you for the corrected information.

[Agnostic Priest]

the only thing is there were only two levels of transparency when I imported textures

on, or off. no in between.

[Armos]

Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it. Especially to Jason. Thanks man.

[xdaniel]

If only SO wasn't such a bloody mess, then someone could improve it...

 

JSA, Bobbo: If I remember correctly, any pixel with an alpha value of less than 1.0 (or 255, if you prefer) is treated as fully transparent, i.e. alpha 0.0, i.e. it doesn't appear rendered in-game. Translucency is done exclusively using the "tint" option, meaning you can't have half-translucent PNGs or whatever.

 

Also, while IIRC there is a 32-bit RGBA texture format the N64 supports (used ex. by part of the title logo, maybe? It's been a while) using which you could have pixels with, say, alpha 0.5/128 right in the texture, it isn't supported in SO because textures would be 1) huge in byte count and 2) tiny in actual dimensions (i.e. 32x32 max), and 3) OoT doesn't use it in maps, so I never bothered with it.

 

To quote the code:

/*
 * - Supported N64 texture formats:
 * -> RGBA 16-bit, max. 4096 byte (ex. 64x32)
 * -> CI 4-bit, max. 4096 byte (ex. 64x64)
 * -> CI 8-bit, max. 2048 byte (ex. 64x32)
 * -> IA 8-bit, max. 4096 byte (ex. 64x64)
 * -> IA 16-bit, max. 4096 byte (ex. 64x32)
 * -> I 4-bit, max. 4096 byte (ex. 128x64)
 * -> I 8-bit, max. 4096 byte (ex. 64x64)
 */

...and, where applicable, should support textures with alpha channels fine. Of course, with the limitation either alpha 0.0 or 1.0, as mentioned in the beginning.

 

(Someone make a better map importer already, one that's not junk like SO...)

[john_smith_account]

(Someone make a better map importer already, one that's not junk like SO...)

XDaniel, you need to quit being so hard on yourself.  I have always loved Sharp Ocarina since day one.  (You're aware it's why I joined aren't you?)   Sure, there where parts of it I thought could be improved, but over all it's a very complete map importer.

 

As a matter of fact, I still plan on making support programs for it to add features externally.

 

Cheer up XDaniel!   After all, there's nothing scarier than a moody german.

 

Now back to your regularly scheduled forum topic, already in progress.

[xdaniel]

But ze German wants to be muhdy! Let me heff ze right to zis!!

 

...seriously tho, maybe you're right, at least to a point. I guess SO is sort of complete from the end-user's point of view, but it really is shoddily coded on the inside - full of workarounds, stupid decisions, etc. That's the side I'm mostly seeing, as the guy who wrote it...

 

I guess I should be glad that it works as well as it does, and that people are using it, regardless of the deficits I'm seeing in it

[john_smith_account]

 

 

Forest Temple as a Google SketchUp file - Proof of concept (Work in progress.)

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/5qg5fi

 

And the ruby scripts used to import the OZMAVr76 OBJ files, and export OBJ files ready for use with Sharp Ocarina.

 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u0pwne

 

Yes, it's a  humble start. But armed with the new information about RGBA textures, I aim by the end of the weekend to have a file in Google SketchUp format  ready for export to .OBJ file format.  The exported .OBJ file will in turn be ready for use with Sharp Ocarina.

 

EDIT:  Took a closer look at the material list, it's nothin doin.

 

I still hope to prove once and for all the existing tools, and methods work just fine if you're willing to learn how to use them.

[Jason777]

How do you handle scenes with alternate headers and animated textures?

[john_smith_account]

How do you handle scenes with alternate headers and animated textures?

Good questions.

 

Alternate headers are not a big deal.  For the simpler ones, it's just a matter of recalculating offsets, and tagging the multi-header files on the bottom of the scene.  Really that part could be automated, if we ever wanted to.  Then, even cutscenes would be no big deal to port that way.

 

As for animated textures, right now I don't have a way.  Airikita has been working on those, but they are so fixed in nature, we probably need a more flexible solution.  

 

It was once suggested a new actor could be made to animate textures.  I find that preferable to hacking something into the game's main code.

 

Still, in truth, it will be near impossible to clone the maps exact.  That said, I would like to point out the goal isn't really to just recreate the original maps, but rather to free them up for easy modification.  I plan to show case a few modded original OOT maps in ZB2.