Teancum

I'll get right to it, then discuss below: Blaster pistol customization support (like lightsabers) -- select blaster model, blaster bolt color and secondary fire mode (i.e. 3-shot burst, charge, stun). This would also free a weapon slot for modders as they could replace the bryar if they wantedFEEDER_Q3HEADS support for single player -- I have a menu already set up so that players choose either species or something from the MP character list, but it doesn't actually pull the list in SPAn "it's hard coded" list -- essentially what assets are limited. Like 64 max saber hilts, 400 NPC limit, etc. Not really a code thing, but to fish through as an individual to find all these might be a bit overwhelming, whereas the community as a whole could probably put a list out quicklySo the first one probably isn't really an OpenJK thing, but more of an enhancement for some fork off of OpenJK. That might be more of a JK:E or some unofficial JA patch type thing. The feeder issue I think fits in as it's just an improvement to the original code. I don't have the latest build of OpenJK on my machine, so maybe this was fixed at some point, but I know it doesn't work with the base game. As far as the hard coded list is concerned, it'd be nice to know what the original limits were, if they've changed, etc. Thoughts?

I'm running on a 360 through backwards compatability

So I took the updated build for a spin. It still locked up the console. I don't know if it's the compression level or what, so I'll try out your version with compression settings when it's up and see what we have.

Yep. I'll hop on that tonight when I get home.

Hmm, that's not it. Both the original extraction and the re-extraction have the same number of files/folders taking up the same number of bytes. I verified this against using QuickBMS and the Vicarious Visions script. All three results were the same number of files/folders as well as the same byte size after extraction. ***EDIT*** At least you know the executable works correctly. I wonder if its a version-specific thing with zlib. Are you using the original one in the codebase or one of the updated versions?

So first run of an updated assets.gob froze the console. I got to the boot screen, but it never fully loaded the game. In looking the updated archive is roughly 1/5 of the original archive, and that's with adding a few things. Are there compression level settings in the code? Perhaps it compressed too much. I'll test with a simple extraction/recompress --> no new files. ***EDIT*** So using a clean copy of the files produces the same result. The file controller (.gfc) matches the original in bytes, but the game doesn't seem to like the .gob archive itself. My first guess is compression level. For comparison, the original file sits at exactly 222,932,992 bytes, while the new, recompressed version is 52,457,472 bytes.

Yeah, I have BSPthing compiled to split the BSP. It works, but errors out after the last split. Not sure if there's extra data at the end or of there's an actual error. I'll have to check. So specifically Xbox textures need to be DXT3 DDS, max of 256x256 (small, I know). In other games loadscreens can be 512x512, but I'll have to test that as well. Sounds are banked separately, so if people are looking for the ability to dump them into a pk3-->gob, no can do (they live outside the gob in their own archive). Tools might already exist if it's a proprietary Xbox format, but I'll have to look into it more. I did try using an Xbox .glm on PC, but it crashed, so I'm unsure if PC .glms will work on Xbox. I'll see what Modviewer shows (I think that's what it's called -- the model viewing app?). I'm wondering if the skeleton wasn't further simplified or something. Vicarious Visions optimized several other formats for other ports they did, like Doom 3. If nothing else code comparison for Ghoul2 between OpenJK and the Xbox code should provide some answers, but I'll try the simplest solutions first. I think it's only fitting to try the Jedi Academy Bonus Map Pack first. So speaking of maps, I'm curious -- will a Jedi Outcast MP map play in Jedi Academy without any modifications? I feel like I remember issues with bots, but it's been AGES since I've messed with it. There are a few mod maps from JO I want to play.

Just a joke of course. This is perfect, though, and I thank you for that. I can extract all my assets, rebuild it as assets.pk3, add mods to the pk3, then convert to gob and test. Couldn't ask for more.

GOB support for OpenJK confirmed?

Nice! Really glad you're taking the time to do this.

**wrong topic

I remember playing those. The haven't aged well.

Over the Hedge, Doom 3, and Crash Team Racing (I think) all use GOB. It's awesome that you're doing this. Here's hoping to be able to port content-based mods.

I absolutely wish there were more people making maps. However I agree that the community should be able to focus on what they want. At this point, some 13-14 years since the game's release we're lucky the community has as much health as it does. And I think we see so much focus on models because of the multiplayer focus. Most mod maps only run on special servers that are half of the time password protected, so people don't see the need to create in that zone.

*Wrong topic*

The archive itself is damaged. I tried using a few different archive tools and they all showed the zip itself as corrupt.

I dunno, I personally love the fact that retro mods exist. There are ton of old school mods that are great, so why not new mods in old engines? Whether this is any good remains to be seen, but I don't need every mod to be in a modern engine, especially given that additional work required to make mods in modern games. ***EDIT*** I just installed and played about 10 minutes of it. It wasn't fun. I'm a bit disappointed it wasn't more Dark Forces and less Duke. It's not the visuals, it just doesn't feel like Star Wars.

Will do.

The Build engine is actually a small step forwards. Totally stock it had support for sloped floors and multiplayer, as well as a few things I can't recall (been a long time). Technically speaking it's always been superior. It really lines up more with the Outlaws version of the Jedi engine. So it was more like taking a stock carburetor and putting a Holley carb in its place. It's not going to be a massive improvement, but it helps a totally stock vehicle have a bit more pep. All that being said it still feels very Duke. I guess I should try it out before I judge further, but it doesn't seem to have that Dark Forces charisma.

I'll probably give it a spin. I love retro stuff and had a fun enough time with Duke3D. I agree with @@Cerez that I'm not looking for a crossover, but some basic FPS, Dark Forces-styled action would be fun.

That would be amazing. I have some Android HDTV computers that I could then convert over to Linux. I know someone ported it to Android and iOS, but I must admit I'd love to see OpenJK on Android someday. Android set-top TV boxes are dirt cheap and nice and compact for travel. In fact, if anyone on the OpenJK team is interested in an Android port I have a spare HDMI Smart computer I could just send to them. On one last Xbox note, I contacted Chris McEvoy of Vicarious Visions shortly after the source release (knew him from elsewhere) about the GOB format. He said he had already talked with then-VV boss Guha Bala about the accidental leak and the GOB format. What he replied with was that the format was no longer used, but they couldn't officially support it with a tool of any kind. He did say that pretty much all the code was there (read, write, create, etc) for a tool aside from a wrapper, and that it wouldn't be hard for the community to make a tool. That might be a better solution for me to pursue. I would effectively just need to make a wrapper to invoke the different processes. I might be able to update content going that route and won't need the XDK, avoiding any "Imperial entanglements". Between that and BSPthing (whith splits the BSPs into the Xbox's formats) there is some potential at new content on Xbox. But admittedly if there are better avenues (like Android) I don't see a reason to stick with Xbox.

As a long time Massassian (~1998 or so) I can say the site hasn't been about modding for probably 6 or 7 years. JKHub.net still has a few active modders, but not many. It's sad. Those two games are such gold. Good to hear that if things went south things could continue here.

Fair enough. It was an incredible headache anyway. As far as running executables though -- you can run unsigned versions on software-modded original Xbox, and on hardware modded 360s. It's been a hobby of mine to mess with that stuff. I will say that though the original Xbox can run linux, OpenJK doesn't run on it, so for that part of it the idea is out. As far as Bink, etc all that would have been replaced with open versions (MPEG replacing bink, with the users having to find their own way to get the movies). The main reason for my interest was the simplicity and inexpensive family LAN parties we have with four old Xboxes. It's way cheaper (and space saving) to fill a basement with 16 people, four Xboxes & TVs, and one network switch than 16 computers all all the related gear. But in the end if Microsoft has recalled hardware then realistically the software would be part of that package. Message received.

I owned JO on GameCube too when I was first married. It's still a solid experience, and given that both the GameCube and Xbox were pretty powerful for their day it runs buttery smooth. What you'll probably notice more than anything are the way it feels, being controller-based. Still great fun, but it can be jarring for people who play mainly on PC. Directly on topic, I have Xbox compiling for both SP and MP now. So far I haven't been able to switch over to PK3s. Visual Studio 2003 doesn't like the outright switch, so I'm probably going to go loose files. The entire GOB format (which replaces PK3) API is included, but I'm not sure I'll get the chance to build out make-you-own-gob system, so I'll probably just start with the ability to play with all the files extracted. Xbox GLMs crash the PC version, so odds are that the inverse is true, which is super disappointing. I found the code for the tool that splits up BSPs into the Xbox MLE entity format, and after compiling it seems to work, for the most part. It errors out after the final MLE. No idea whether it would actually work on PC maps, of course, but I'm guessing they wouldn't build a tool to separate the BSP into manageable chunks otherwise -- they'd just alter the BSP structure itself. Of course, none of this matters if I can't get files to run outside the GOB.