Unemployed

and willing to learn

I got EV Nova registered and want to get into some plug-in development. I would use the unemployment pin, but if you notice, I posted there about a month ago, maybe more. I don't do graphics or text, and I have worked with EVC before, and have been told EVN is only a little bit different than EVC. I want to learn, so if someone could give me a couple practice-plugs that can let me explore the engine, that'd be greatly appreciated. I'll download the Nova bible after I get a practice assignment.

Okay, I'll bite. Here's a challenge: I was going to include a flame thrower in a Plug-In for Guy's EV Nova Override 1.0.2, but I couldn't seem to make the weapon balanced or look decent. Make it work. I'll even give you two options for the sprites.

Flame Thrower Fire
Flame Thrower Fire (With Smoke)
Flame Thrower Outfit Pic

Requirements:

• Can't tax older systems too much

• Must be balanced

• Has to look cool

If you can make it decent enough to put on the add-ons page, you are welcome to go ahead and do so.

@captain-zaphod-beeblebrox, on Feb 17 2008, 11:52 PM, said in Unemployed:

I'll download the Nova bible after I get a practice assignment.

If you downloaded Mission Computer, the bible is available in its entirety from the Help menu (though much of the information is embedded right into the editors through tool tips). You might also want to download the Mission Computer alpha if you haven't, its been much more stable for me than 3.3.

You'll also find the Nova Bible in the Documentation folder within your Nova folder. It can help you if you open copies of the data files and look at how they do things. Note that if you're going to mess around in the data files, always work with copies, in case you manage to break things.

MadFax: I said I don't do graphics. That includes sprites. And also, I have a Mac and ResEdit. If there's more that would help me, do tell, but I'm most familiar with ResEdit.

Belthazar: I remember when I had to re-download EVC just because I added something. I can't remember what, but it killed the game.

C'mon, the graphics have already been made for you! It'll be good for you to learn how to set them up

Good point, but I can't do testing until, well, tomorrow! Hehe, I'll see what I can do.

EDIT: I took a look at it, and it's too advanced for me. Remember, I've never done actual plug-ins before, so I can't exactly do that yet. When I get more experienced, I'll give it a shot, but for now, I need some other stuff.

Of course, I could probably apply the Outfit Pic, as long as you can apply the text. (I don't do text)

This post has been edited by Captain Zaphod Beeblebrox : 18 February 2008 - 06:33 PM

@captain-zaphod-beeblebrox, on Feb 18 2008, 01:31 PM, said in Unemployed:

MadFax: I said I don't do graphics. That includes sprites.

Ah. Generally when people say "I don't do graphics", they mean they don't know how to model. Anyways, inserting sprites is trivial with Mission Computer. Run the movie files through m2s, paste sprite and mask into MC4's RLE editor, hit encode.

@captain-zaphod-beeblebrox, on Feb 18 2008, 01:31 PM, said in Unemployed:

And also, I have a Mac and ResEdit. If there's more that would help me, do tell, but I'm most familiar with ResEdit.

ResEdit is a piece of crap. No offense to R&R, they did a fantastic job with Nova Tools. But ResEdit itself is a buggy, file corrupting piece of crap.

If you're using OS X, go grab Mission Computer 4a5. If not, go to David Arthur's Site and download the OS 9 version of Mission Computer 3.3.3.

You'll also want Sprites (m2s, p2s, px2s) and if you can't get MC4 to work for some reason, EnRLE/DeRLE.

@captain-zaphod-beeblebrox, on Feb 18 2008, 03:15 PM, said in Unemployed:

Of course, I could probably apply the Outfit Pic, as long as you can apply the text. (I don't do text)

The flame thrower has two tanks, each holding inert chemicals that when combined create a volatile liquid. The two chemicals are accelerated at great speed out separate nozzles where they mix and are ignited by a small flame.
... or something along those lines. Might want to try and expand upon that.

ResEdit was, for a long time, a pretty flawless way to edit Nova plugins. But yes - the latest version of ResEdit was released in 1994 and it's rather behind the times. MissionComputer is a much better choice.

@madfax7, on Feb 19 2008, 07:17 AM, said in Unemployed:

ResEdit is a piece of crap.

ResEdit is pretty near flawless (despite its age) if you’re using it for the purpose for which it was designed — that purpose simply happens not to be plug-in development.

Thanks for the new(?) software! I'll get to work on it!

Sorry for the miscommunication, but when I said I don't do text, it means I don't know how to apply text to a specific thing. You may have to do that part.

EDIT: Did you create those sprites, or did you find them? Because I personally would think it'd look better with more smoke.

EDIT#2: 2 questions regarding the plug-in part.

1. How do I make it a plug-in?
2. How can it be compatible with EVN Override?

This post has been edited by Captain Zaphod Beeblebrox : 20 February 2008 - 01:20 AM

@captain-zaphod-beeblebrox, on Feb 20 2008, 04:46 PM, said in Unemployed:

Sorry for the miscommunication, but when I said I don't do text, it means I don't know how to apply text to a specific thing. You may have to do that part.

Depends what it is you're talking about. Most large blocks of text are contained in dësc resources, and many of them are related to other resources by having a specific ID number (the remainder, such as most of the mďsn resource's mission briefings, are specified in fields within that other resource). In the case of oütf resources, the dësc ID number is found by:

(oütf resource ID) - 128 + 3000

For example, oütf ID 276 is linked to dësc ID 3148. The link is automatically made by the game engine, since it's been programmed that way. EVNEW automatically tells you the linked ID number - I assume Mission Computer does to. If it doesn't, it should. In the same way, the PICT ID of the image shown in the outfitters is given by:

(oütf resource ID) - 128 + 6000

(Some bits of text are stored in str# resources, but since I don't think you'll be running into them during this particular assigment, we'll leave that for another lesson.)

Quote

1. How do I make it a plug-in?

Heh, that'd be a pretty good thing to start with, eh? Thankfully, Mission Computer's save files are plugin files. Which makes things somewhat easier.

Quote

2. How can it be compatible with EVN Override?

Make sure the plugin doesn't share any of the same resource numbers as the Override port files. The easiest way to find out which resource numbers are used it to open up the port's data files and look at the highest ID number - except for the shďp resources, since the highest is always the Escape Pod, in which case you look at the second highest. And dësc resources, since they're a bit scattered around depending on which resource types they're linked with, as described above. If you're having trouble working out which resources are free, let us know and I'll give a few more pointers.

(I assume by "EVN Override" you meant the Override port for the Nova engine, and just accidentally add an N to "EV Override". If it's the latter, you can't make it compatible, sorry.)

Edited to add a missing word. Phht, imagine leaving out a word...

This post has been edited by Belthazar : 20 February 2008 - 01:48 AM

@belthazar, on Feb 20 2008, 12:44 AM, said in Unemployed:

For example, oütf ID 276 is linked to dësc ID 3148. The link is automatically made by the game engine, since it's been programmed that way. EVNEW automatically tells you the linked ID number - I assume Mission Computer does to. If it doesn't, it should. In the same way, the PICT ID of the image shown in the outfitters is given by:

Don't worry, MC does even better. It lets gives you buttons you can click in the outfit resource window that'll let you edit the desc and pict IDs associated with it. Hopefully MC4 will do that for ships too. I'm still using 3.3.

@joshtigerheart, on Feb 20 2008, 02:17 AM, said in Unemployed:

It lets gives you buttons you can click in the outfit resource window that'll let you edit the desc and pict IDs associated with it. Hopefully MC4 will do that for ships too.

Yes, it does — I consider links to associated resources a basic feature for each editor. And, in version 4, the buttons even indicate whether or not the associated resource already exists in the current file.

@belthazar, on Feb 19 2008, 10:44 PM, said in Unemployed:

Make sure the plugin doesn't share any of the same resource numbers as the Override port files. The easiest way to find out which resource numbers are used it to open up the port's data files and look at the highest ID number - except for the shďp resources, since the highest is always the Escape Pod, in which case you look at the second highest. And dësc resources, since they're a bit scattered around depending on which resource types they're linked with, as described above. If you're having trouble working out which resources are free, let us know and I'll give a few more pointers.

So, download the Override port?

Quote

(I assume by "EVN Override" you meant the Override port for the Nova engine, and just accidentally add an N to "EV Override".

Yeah, I meant the port. But I am used to putting the "N" at the end....

@david-arthur, on Feb 20 2008, 07:50 AM, said in Unemployed:

Yes, it does — I consider links to associated resources a basic feature for each editor. And, in version 4, the buttons even indicate whether or not the associated resource already exists in the current file.

Good software.

EDIT: Just noticed something posted earlier. It won't be a problem with not making it tax older systems, because I have an older system.

This post has been edited by Captain Zaphod Beeblebrox : 20 February 2008 - 09:29 PM

@david-arthur, on Feb 20 2008, 09:50 AM, said in Unemployed:

Yes, it does — I consider links to associated resources a basic feature for each editor. And, in version 4, the buttons even indicate whether or not the associated resource already exists in the current file.

Awesome. I never could remember the ship related resource IDs, so that would make editing ships much easier.

I'm stuck. How do I apply the sprite to the Flame Thrower? (ID 256)

You need:
An rlëD resource storing the graphics.
A spďn resource with the ID of the rlëD in one of its fields, plus all other relevant information.
A wëap resource with the ID of the spďn as its graphic.

Given Zaph's self-admitted lack of knowledge in the region of sprites, it might be a bit tricky for him to turn those two movies into rleDs...

Plug-in ready for test. I have an opportunity to test this tomorrow. MadFax, I'll have you add the sound. See if you can get like a fire sound, like they use for Spyro when he breathes fire, only deeper. If this is a success, I'll send it to you for sound, or you can send the sound file to me. Of course, I'll need to learn how to apply it to the Flame Thrower....

Sounds are...did anyone ever come up with a reliable way to convert sound from an arbitrary format into an 8-bit mono snd resource on OS X / Intel (or Windows for that matter?)