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Newest Update to Sharp Ocarina (we *think* it is hardware compat now)


haddockd
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I meant a reflection effect like the Mirror Shield or a medaillon

You know, I believe sphere mapping the texture will do that. But I'm unsure if xdaniel even implemented it...

 

@Jason777: I'll look at it later, but until there's something to add or fix, I'm not usually focused enough to fix everything. After my usual work I'm pretty tired, and tend to space out often.

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The first post displays the correct url, but the link is broken. Also, why is the project named SVN?

 

Another thing that would be great is if there was a basic test map added to the program, since it apears to be unusable without one

Er... that defeats the point if you have a default map for the tool.

There's a readme with it, if the modder isn't going to learn to read, not our problem.

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Hey, good to see Sharp Ocarina getting the attention it deserves again.

 

I was wondering, what are your goals for these updates?  As you may or may not know I intended ZLE3 to work along side Sharp Ocarina, and the newest display list tool.  Last thing I want to do is work on a project that's obsolete before it's finished.

 

So, what fixes and additions are planned here?  Are you open to some suggestions?

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Hey, good to see Sharp Ocarina getting the attention it deserves again.

 

I was wondering, what are your goals for these updates?  As you may or may not know I intended ZLE3 to work along side Sharp Ocarina, and the newest display list tool.  Last thing I want to do is work on a project that's obsolete before it's finished.

 

So, what fixes and additions are planned here?  Are you open to some suggestions?

Uhhhh... see, by fluke chance I needed SO, and ironically Haddockd did a fix that, where I stepped in, haddockd's fixed served my fix. Ironically I would not have been checking that topic had I not imported a map that day.

 

Deus Ex Machina... I know you don't want to hear that, but I don't always have time to add features to tools if I don't require them.

Until I find out something is missing (which I won't know without someone posting a screenshot/video, or until I find the issue myself) I can't fix it.

 

I also don't know what to add because I don't have xdaniel's memory.

 

I might make tools, if it were the case that I am able to understand how to fully put together something. I want to make an enemy/boss builder, but I haven't observed actor files enough to make a comprehensive tool. Granted, each actor file does it's own thing.

 

The worst part of enemy files is their collision... the code does weird shit in RAM which throws around float values in an illogical way. Buuut that can be based off of another actor, and then there's possible compatibility issues. I can't work on display lists while focusing on documenting AI. I can't multitask because I take a long time to re-focus on a previous task. Sometimes I'll poke at the mod for weeks until I understand what I'm doing again, or where to continue.

 

I cleaned up a lot of errors and mess too before I moved onto a new task. There's going to be unavoidable mass clean-ups eventually near the end too.

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JSA: One thing I've wanted to do is integrate my more up to date actor documentation into a program of sorts. One that allows you to add in actors smarter and auto-detects missing obj dependencies

I would imagine that would be difficult to add given the design of Sharp Ocarina.  It might be possible to do in ZLE3, since ZLE3 aims to add new features to, and enhance existing features in Sharp Ocarina.

 

Perhaps the best option neither, but instead enhancing Scene Navi.

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I still maintain the view that the best option would be for someone, or even a small group of people, to start a new program from scratch. The main programmer should have at least semi-professional programming experience, others should be highly knowledgeable about the games, there probably should also be someone dedicated to just managing the project.

 

That would be the best case scenario. Problem being, I'm not sure if we have those among us - no programmer with enough experience ex. in 3D graphics in general, or 3D game editor UI design in particular; also no-one who's knowledgeable enough about the structure of the games, about the N64 hardware, etc. Don't get me wrong, pretty much everyone here knows particular things about the games, and people have been doing some pretty amazing things in them, as well as regarding their documentation... but even when pooled together, I'm not sure if it'll be enough for a fully-featured, easy to use, map importer and editor.

 

Maybe I'm being too much of a pessimist or naysayer here, but I really don't think there's gonna be a truly good importer anytime soon...

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Uh, I can add stuff to your importer otherwise, especially down the line.

Sure, there is another way to do this, but it doesn't matter.

 

It already does more than we asked for, so I see no issues.

 

There is always still going to be things to fix/add, but that doesn't mean there's anything to discard.

Also, as a programmer it would be a colossal waste of time to re-create something from scratch.

 

The only glaring issue I can see is deprecated methods, but I imagine someone can find a way to fix that.

 

Otherwise your code is rather easy to maintain.

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I don't think that's wise, because a modded ROM can easily have changes to obj dependencies, especially with, uh, me...

 

Or perhaps allow SO to read the object number in the zactor file itself, and use that.

The UI will be generated off of my xml documentation, so anyone should be able tweak the file for their needs. However, I also intend to design it such that you can edit things mostly the same without touching it. So for actors, you'll still have the same boxes for adding all 8 standard parameters, but below that you'll also have a set of interfaces that let you modify things as well. For objects, there will probably be a button that when clicked will adding missing dependencies, warn you if you've included dependencies that you shouldn't have, as well as warn you if you've hit the limit on loaded object files.

 

xdan: The way I see it, a utility like Sharp Ocarina needs to just focus on creating scene and room files. For the edge cases that have to be corrected by modifying 'code', make the user aware of those gaps, and possibly code other utilities to fix them.

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xdan: The way I see it, a utility like Sharp Ocarina needs to just focus on creating scene and room files. For the edge cases that have to be corrected by modifying 'code', make the user aware of those gaps, and possibly code other utilities to fix them.

 

That is probably a good idea. Tools that do a set operation (like rooms and maps) and do them well would be a benefit to the community. Plus having multiple programs that do the same thing is wasted effort that can be put towards other applications and processes :)

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I would still love to implement a cutscene builder, but that won't be until I get a good start on the first transition to the story in ZEY where I can have a hand at making custom cutscenes.

 

The best way to get documentation, however, is to observe the AI from existing cutscenes and see how they read the values.

 

I'm sure it's more elaborate past that point, but it's a good way to figure out what cutscene objects are used with different indexes.

 

Please start observing the data used in RAM, use the read/write checks in the Memory Debugger to find out what code is using data. I find all too often people overlook this, and don't compare data.

 

I'm not generalizing though... I know we're all either busy, or don't know what to look for. But you won't learn anything by staring at binary in a HEX Editor.

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Right, I didn't intend that to sound ambiguous, but you so miss details from not looking at the code too. I meant it in the sense of those who aren't making comparisons.

 

We're all guilty of that at one point in our modding expeditions, I'm mainly making a point that there are times where staring at cutscene data isn't going to show you which values control different cutscene actors. For stuff like that you need to observe the code for better results. Otherwise just replacing actors and fixing the ROM to load it every time is slower.

 

I've done live-editing in RAM during gameplay to pick apart the game's mechanics without having to throw guesses.

 

This can be the same for someone who doesn't understand the code, but would like to just test the data. All that has to be done is to read-check the part of RAM, and change it once it's read to get the effect you want.

 

Also, for the error in SO, ALL that had to be done was take the map DList made by SO and put it side-by-side comparison to a scene that already exists. This is my point... certain people are NOT comparing their data when they should.

 

I hear people quitting left-and-right when all I had to do was poke my finger at 2 files, and change one thing.

 

If you're a programmer in the professional world, you will want to learn from this experience.

But this can be said for those with big ideas for their mods too.

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Also, for the error in SO, ALL that had to be done was take the map DList made by SO and put it side-by-side comparison to a scene that already exists. This is my point... certain people are NOT comparing their data when they should.

 

I hear people quitting left-and-right when all I had to do was poke my finger at 2 files, and change one thing.

That's what I did with the HW-compatible converter, comparing its output to existing display lists from the game, yet a certain someone here kept insisting the converter was at fault when they didn't get the display list into the game properly. But whatever, bickering doesn't help anyone, especially not the Zelda 64 hacking "community" that's had a whole lot of that and worse over the years, so I'm out of this thread again for now...

 

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