Noodle's WIP Zone

[Noodle]

I decided to start a new thread to show the things I've been working on. Criticism is always welcome.

 

 

Right now I'm working on many small things for my big project: An Action-RPG like mod that allows your character to explore and progress on an urban setting. Have you ever played Skyrim? In that game you can explore around the world and enter inside Bandit's Hideouts, where you can get some items, do quests and kill the Bandit Chief, this small map I've created is basically the same, a small Bandit Layer populated by a Kel'dor gang, with it's own leader. 

 

Also, at the begining of the video, I show a bit of my follower system and some interactive things I've personally never seen in JA maps. I've created characters that you can recruit and order to do some basic tasks. 

 

I might upload this map soon, so people can play test it, if there's interest. I'll also create some more videos to show some of the features I've worked on. 

[ZanderNao]

That's a really cool aesthetic for a map! I adore the graffiti!

[Noodle]

That's a really cool aesthetic for a map! I adore the graffiti!

 

Thanks! I spent the whole morning thinking how a criminal hideout would look like and the whole afternoon creating textures for posters, graffiti and pin-up magazines (pic related). 

 

[DarthDementous]

now this is what I love to see in JKA modding. really pushing the boundaries of what the engine was intended to do and introducing new gameplay elements. this map gives me a major KOTOR 2 vibe, especially with the static shots of NPCs going about their business.

 

excited to see this RPG element develop!

[Kualan]

Looking really good, will keep an eye on this as it develops.

[Noodle]

One of the ideas I've got for my project is to make recruitable followers for the player. They'll be found in different places and will have different attributes, which will add some variety to each gameplay. 

 

 

The following video shows some of the ways in which you can boss around your follower. 

 

I'm open to new ideas!

[TheWhitePhoenix]

One of the ideas I've got for my project is to make recruitable followers for the player. They'll be found in different places and will have different attributes, which will add some variety to each gameplay. 

 

 

The following video shows some of the ways in which you can boss around your follower. 

 

I'm open to new ideas!

I certainly hope this is compatible with openJK and JKA Enhanced. It looks pretty good and I look forward to more features being added possibly.

[Noodle]

I certainly hope this is compatible with openJK and JKA Enhanced. It looks pretty good and I look forward to more features being added possibly.

 

It is! I've only tested it with Open JK since it's so much better than base JA.

[TheWhitePhoenix]

It is! I've only tested it with Open JK since it's so much better than base JA.

AWESOME!

[DarthDementous]

wow that's a really cool NPC control system you've got there.

 

only thing I'd suggest is having some kind of visual indicator for whether the follower is targeting NPCs or not in case you want to run stealth but have forgotten whether you set the command or not.

[eezstreet]

Wow, that's really neat. Thanks for sharing!

[Noodle]

Does anybody remember this thread https://jkhub.org/topic/6294-stun-baton-thoughts/page-1 ? I do!

 

I've always enjoyed when there are alternatives to killing, so I'm trying to implement a little feature that will allow things to be done in more than one way. 

 

 

In the video you can see 3 different ways to deal with the thug, you can kill him, knock him out and wait for him to get back on his feet (which will allow him to return to his default stage after a couple seconds), and you can knock and 'cuff' him so he won't be a problem anymore. 

 

 

Wow, that's really neat. Thanks for sharing!

 

Thank you, Galaxies inspired me to get into modding.

[DarthStevenus]

Love the approach of multiple solutions to things, and the recruiting thing is really cool. My only complaint is the lighting looks a little flat. For example, the tables and stools in the first video don't seem to cast any noticeable shadows. Do you have an ambient light value set on the worldspawn? Or was this maybe a no light compile?

[Onysfx]

I have to admit, this is VERY juicy.

 

I've been wanting something just like this in makermod for awhile now. Some commands you should add is getting an npc to move to a location your crosshair is on, and increase the npc speed so they can keep up with you.

[Noodle]

Love the approach of multiple solutions to things, and the recruiting thing is really cool. My only complaint is the lighting looks a little flat. For example, the tables and stools in the first video don't seem to cast any noticeable shadows. Do you have an ambient light value set on the worldspawn? Or was this maybe a no light compile?

 

You're right. I think it might be related to the fact that those tables and stools are a misc_model_static entity, when I use a normal misc_model they seem to cast a shadow. Would the ambient light value on the worldspawn affect this? I'm always learning new things with GTKRadiant.

 

 

I have to admit, this is VERY juicy.

 

I've been wanting something just like this in makermod for awhile now. Some commands you should add is getting an npc to move to a location your crosshair is on, and increase the npc speed so they can keep up with you.

 

I think I'll add a command like 'Hurry up!' to make them increase their speed. Though, I don't think every NPC should have the same speed (it'd be odd for an ithorian to be as fast as a Twi'lek). Your other idea is good, reminds me to Mount and Blade and the 'Hold this position' order, but I think that'd require coding, which I'm not too experienced with (but I've been able to do some small stuff with), and it'd make this project incompatible with JK:Enhanced and other mods. 

[RAILBACK]

Wow. Expanding an old games potential is great! So then, how will other bots interact with each other? And how do you program the game to be so customizable? Will you write a tutorial?

[Noodle]

Wow. Expanding an old games potential is great! So then, how will other bots interact with each other? And how do you program the game to be so customizable? Will you write a tutorial?

 

They're NPCs, not bots, since I'm modding for Single Player. Everything is being done with the help of scripts, map entities and creating my own menus. I've started learning how to code to add small things, like weapons and items, but my objective is to learn how to implement a currency system that will allow the player to buy gear.

 

I'm very interested in making bounty hunting a viable option.

[Barricade24]

This looks incredibly cool! A lot of awesome custom elements in there!

[Ramikad]

You're right. I think it might be related to the fact that those tables and stools are a misc_model_static entity, when I use a normal misc_model they seem to cast a shadow. Would the ambient light value on the worldspawn affect this? I'm always learning new things with GTKRadiant.

 

_cs 1 and _rs 1 should respectively make the misc_model_static cast a shadow and receive lighting.

[DarthStevenus]

I think Ramikad is probably right about _cs 1 and _rs 1. For a second I was going to suggest using a lightJunior, but I think those only light models and don't affect the lightmap, so it would cast light on your model but your model wouldn't cast a shadow.

 

With regards to the ambient lighting, setting it with a value that's too high will kill all your shadows. I usually set it with a value in the range of 15-30. But watching your first video again I see some good shadows on the walls and other parts of the map, so whatever your ambient light is set at is probably fine. Guess it was just the lack of shadows from the stools and tables that threw me off.

[DarthDementous]

Does anybody remember this thread https://jkhub.org/topic/6294-stun-baton-thoughts/page-1 ? I do!

 

I've always enjoyed when there are alternatives to killing, so I'm trying to implement a little feature that will allow things to be done in more than one way. 

 

 

In the video you can see 3 different ways to deal with the thug, you can kill him, knock him out and wait for him to get back on his feet (which will allow him to return to his default stage after a couple seconds), and you can knock and 'cuff' him so he won't be a problem anymore. 

 

 

 

Thank you, Galaxies inspired me to get into modding.

this is very cool, great to see coding being put to use in SP!

 

it seems like after the NPC awakes there's a few seconds before he recognises you as a hostile threat. if this is intended to show that he's dazed and confused then maybe playing an animation like the cower one the Jawas do or something like looking back and forth before he immediately becomes hostile would seem more natural. a cracking sound to emphasise the knock-out punch would also be a good idea.

[TheWhitePhoenix]

I have an idea for this that could be helpful for machinima makers. Make the NPCs use the sleep animation to make them...sleep.

[Noodle]

A small update! I've always been bothered by those random control stations on different maps. Even though they're merely decoration, sometimes I wish you could interact with them on a superfitial level. 

 

So I did this (please someone correct my grammar if it's bad, my english is not that good): 

 

 

Even though this station does nothing, I've already added some that make a big difference in the gameplay! 

 

This is just a small example:

 

 

 

I think Ramikad is probably right about _cs 1 and _rs 1. For a second I was going to suggest using a lightJunior, but I think those only light models and don't affect the lightmap, so it would cast light on your model but your model wouldn't cast a shadow.

 

With regards to the ambient lighting, setting it with a value that's too high will kill all your shadows. I usually set it with a value in the range of 15-30. But watching your first video again I see some good shadows on the walls and other parts of the map, so whatever your ambient light is set at is probably fine. Guess it was just the lack of shadows from the stools and tables that threw me off.

 

Lighting's always the hardest part for me. This time I'm trying not to use light entities, but rely on shaders. Does this look better now that the models have shadows?

 

 

 

this is very cool, great to see coding being put to use in SP!

 

it seems like after the NPC awakes there's a few seconds before he recognises you as a hostile threat. if this is intended to show that he's dazed and confused then maybe playing an animation like the cower one the Jawas do or something like looking back and forth before he immediately becomes hostile would seem more natural. a cracking sound to emphasise the knock-out punch would also be a good idea.

 

I've fixed those seconds of inactivity, now he becomes hostile immediately after he wakes up. I'll add another sound when you knock out an enemy, that's a good idea!

 

 

I have an idea for this that could be helpful for machinima makers. Make the NPCs use the sleep animation to make them...sleep.

 

I've already done that in some of my test maps and you can bet I'll do it again! 

[TheWhitePhoenix]

 

 

I've already done that in some of my test maps and you can bet I'll do it again! 

 

BRILLIANT!

[Langerd]

Holy Shiet! @@Noodle You just made KOTOR in THE JK3 !!! This is amazing ! I hope more Sp stuff like this will be coming out here