DescentBB

..and because there's a large number of Descent resources already in OOF format that cannot be converted back to 3ds or we don't have the 3ds original.

Deidel:

Instead of making keyboard ramping an in-game option, I would suggest making it an option in the .ini file, with the number 0-9 corresponding with the increments already present on the slider.

I'm saying this because it is annoying to have to start each level by setting the keyboard ramping slider from 50% back down to 10%. It'd help it if D2X-XL would remember that setting, or if it could be set in the .ini file.

Just my two cents. Keep the change.

Keyboard ramping stays whatever I set it to on my system. It doesn't reset to 50% all time. You can always uncheck the 3 checkboxes below the slider anyway. Try to create a new player file, maybe that helps.

One more vote for mp3/ogg support (either is fine).


Zefrench

RoBoT wrote:Deidel:

Instead of making keyboard ramping an in-game option, I would suggest making it an option in the .ini file, with the number 0-9 corresponding with the increments already present on the slider.

I'm saying this because it is annoying to have to start each level by setting the keyboard ramping slider from 50% back down to 10%. It'd help it if D2X-XL would remember that setting, or if it could be set in the .ini file.

Just my two cents. Keep the change.

This is the bug report I have said once before. So once again.... Its not just me who has this prob.
Take it as a suggestion this time?

I'm for adding the mp3/ogg support too.

Keyboard ramping stays whatever I set it to on my system. It doesn't reset to 50% all time. You can always uncheck the 3 checkboxes below the slider anyway. Try to create a new player file, maybe that helps.

I tried turning it off altogether before, it just turns it right back on, 50%, ramp rotation keys. The same thing still happens in the new player profile.

...You are some kind of wizard, aren't you?:P

Make sure your player profiles are writeable.

You guys have my vote for MP3/OGG support, as well. Making it three.

MP3/OGG!! Me-Four!!

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. I was wondering if it would be possible to differentiate the guidebot from other bots on the radar, by a different color or whatever.

Sure.

Would there be a way to setup D2X so we can change what the GUide-Bot says? Like instead of I'm coining back to get you\" it'll say, \"i'm coiming back yo find your lard @$$\" well...something like that...

There are two text files included in d2x-xl.zip. descent.tex.eng contains all English messages I've found. See the switches doc how to make d2x-xl use it.

Feature Requests (using v1.6.6 on Windows 2000):
1.) Cloaking Device doesn´t work with Hi-Res-Pyro-Model
(the dark / translucent appearance should override custom textures - that´s why I´m posting this as feature request instead of posting at bugs...)
2.) dialogue-behaviour:
some dialogue-windows react to pressing ESC by returning not by 1 hierarchy-level but by more!
(e.g. some multiplayer-sub-sub-dialogues which leave to multiplayer-main-dialogue instead of just returning to the previous menu)
especially the play-video-menu exits to main menu after playing a movie
3.) Support xx savegames instead of the 10 possible now
(perhaps naming them .s00 to .sFF instead of .sg0 to .sg9)
I´d really like to have a non-cheated-savegame of any level at hand at any time
4.) support for more than 8 players
(so even breaking the limit of the originals!)
5.) Descent I Menu (for those misusing D2XXL as D1XXL
meaning: titlescreen, menu-colors, menu-background, menu-music
This wouldn´t bring back the total-D1-experience but us D1ers would feel more at hime with it
And this option (perhaps controlled by the missions-selection) would be much easier to be implemented than two completely separated DX-XLs (as suggested earlier)
6.) possibility to turn on the in-game-automap-feature for multiplayer *without* enabling \"show all players on automap\"
(please read notes below)
7.) small previews of advanced graphic-settings, e.g. lightmap-scale or reticle-setting
(perhaps just by showing different small screenshots)
8.) resolution-, overall-graphics- and gameplay-settings independent from player-profile, so every new player can instantly play without running through all the menus again.
(or perhaps, even better: \"clone-player\"-button in pilot-menu?)
9.) \"favourites\" for server-adresses
10.) enable more cockpit-window-options:
different sized windows (e.g. automap bigger than rear-window)
more than 2 cockpit-windows (e.g. automap, rear, AND weapon
perhaps free positioning / sizing of cockpit-windows?
(do you know \"Need for Speed Porsche\" where you can drag and drop the different HUD-items in the options-menu?)
11.) \"Freelook\" on in-game-automap (zoom in/out, move, bank/pitch/roll), perhaps via in-game-toggle-key (e.g. middle-mouse)
12.) could you please give a detailed listing of the D2-files *needed* to run Descent I with D2XXL from a seperate D1-only folder
(you certainly do not need the D2-Intro-movie in there...)
13.) show game-window AND automap-screen simultaneously - on 2 screens!
(would be absolutely killing for those lucky ones having 2 monitors - and challenging to code, too )
14.) simultaneously use gauges *and* numerical status for shields, energy and AB
(so one can see his status with a glance *and* check the exact value if he wants to)
15.) option to get some of the beyond-D1-features for the D1-SP-missions, too
like: missile-view, inventory-items like headlights or AB (pre-installed since they are no objects to be found in D1)
16.) option to get full-map in D1
I know, I know that will be called cheating but I think we all here prooved to be able to beat D1 years ago.
Now I´d like to know if i have found *all* secret areas
The cheat isn´t the same because it doesn´t colour non-explored areas differently.

Please read this before flaming me for not having read the posts so far
You already stated that there are way too few people playing online to have advanced mutliplayer-features (like my 8+ players-request) on high prio.
But:
Me and some friend do our private LAN-parties from time to time - with 12-16 people.
So what about your local LAN-game with 8+ people?

I know there were already requests for the in-game-automap-without-having-show-all-players-option-turned-on-feature, and you commented on it that most (if not all) MP-levels are way too basic to get players lost.
But:
Again, most of aforementioned friends are totally ignorant towards Descent I & II (oh, yes they like 3D-FPS - but just with games like Q3A which aren´t really 3D if you ask any Descenter ).
So I´d like to do missionary work on them - and the in-game-automap feature would *greatly* lower the orientation-hurdle for beginners - while the show-players-option completely spoils the hide-and-seek-fun...
So what about those newbies out there?

Keep up the brilliant work!!
P.S.: some request were made before and I repeated them on purpose to get the \"at least 2 people requesting it\"-rule applying, you mentioned some other time
P.P.S.: Could someone *please*, *please*, *please* collect the *made\", *rejected*, *already put on Todo-list* and *done* feature-requests in one list (perhaps sticky at the top of this thread)?
I had to read 8 pages of thread before posting this just in order to not to bore everyone...

After replacing my video card with a 6600GT, I finally get to see what the lightmap fuss is about...

It's kind of cool actually. Just have to remember to light the level anyway, because not everyone can see them (and likewise, test level with lightmaps off). Not quite perfect - the light cast seems a little \"hard\" in places, as the shadows are often stronger than they should be just barely out of sight of a light (leading to rather weird light patterns on some of my walls...), but it is nice to see non-vertex-dependent lighting nonetheless.

1. Ability to use playlists using mp3/ogg

2. Ability to export the demos you recorded in d2 to a common movie format(mpeg) and gif.

Now that you've developed a particle system, how hard would it be to make the flares behave more like descent 3 flares? I love how they spark in D3.

How about making it so flares actuall produce light.. I remember in D2 that you had to fire about 4-5 of thenm to get a useful amount of light...

The flares do produce light in D2X-XL. If not it's a bug.

You could also use that handy thing called a headlight.

Diedel, of course, has his own mind, but I'm curious:

Theftbot wrote:1. Ability to use playlists using mp3/ogg

Playlists of what sort? Do you mean Descent 3-style "music-clip-per-area" tables, or strings of songs put together for a background track, or an in-built music player (which I doubt, and hope not, because there are already better tools out there that can do that without hardcoding one into D2 )?

Theftbot wrote:2. Ability to export the demos you recorded in d2 to a common movie format(mpeg) and gif.

In fact, you can already do this, in a round-about manner - by running Fraps and recording while playing a game. I don't know whether it handles .GIF (you would get no sound anyway, obviously, but that may not be an issue) but I'm fairly sure it will record to MPEG (and if not, some kind of AVI format).

Integrating something like that into the game should be possible, although I don't know how difficult. Unfortunately a simple "exporter", in the conventional sense, isn't possible; Descent demos carry no information about framerate - hence why you need to correctly set the cap before playing back a demo someone else recorded.

On a fundamental level, though, it is at least possible to convert a .DEM file to a .MPG or .AVI, even if it does require literally playing back the demo and recording the audio/video produced (it almost would, since Descent demos are not actually movies but instructions for creating one, so to speak ).

I will try it again with my suggestions

1.- MP3/OGG support (pleease, we are so many that want it!!)

2.- Support for TGA hi-res images in custom briefings

3.- Fog (it can be as simple as colored segments)

Pleeeeeaasseee!

What happend to my team doors idea?
And mabye an external camera motion delay setting?
Also, can you make it so that players can join multiplayer games while the host is still setting it up?
And how about a \"Players Online\" count in the tracker join list?
And a cloak cheat.
And put in an option so that I can select a weapon in the \"Never Autoselect\" section using the cycle primary/secondary weapon buttons

I don't have much time nor desire to put new things in D2X-XL. I will fix bugs, and if ever possible (and someone offers some substantial help) put shadowing in, but that's it.

Just take a break, Diedel. You've worked really hard on D2X-XL, and the shadowing stuff has frustrated you. Rob told me last night that shadowing is very likely the HARDEST thing to get working in game programming, and not to be discouraged.

I'm online now at home on my own PC, I will pickup for the moment and try and sort out what I can while working on the bits that I've been playing with.

Enjoy your well deserved break, no one has done more for D2 than you have, besides perhaps Parallax itself.

Valin,

I won't continue with the shadowing any time soon. Actually it shouldn't be that hard, but I just cannot figure why the zfail volume shadow stuff doesn't work. It's easy enough to understand and implement. In theory, I have also understood shadow mapping, but I lack the technical detail knowledge I need to implement it (e.g. how to properly project the shadows into the final scene - 3d math - and how to combine multiple shadow maps into one scene, or even basically how to render a shadow map to a frame buffer: As I told you, I tried that, and only got a completely black image).

I'd really love to see this in D2X-XL though.

Just curious whether there is any possibility of making coloured weapon-cast light additive only - I know that it is a little awkward since D2 generally has a 0-100% light scale, but perhaps there might be some way of getting it to render overbright?

I may have asked something similar to this before actually ... currently I don't use coloured weapon light since it often looks a bit awkward (except, of course, in darker areas).

Though, after the troubles with shadows, I would understand if you're turned off the concept of messing with rendering-related stuff...

Edit: Something's been changed in the latest version ... it is supposed to have a toggle that stops the 'darkening' effect it used to have with some weapons. I can't quite figure out what is going on with this one, though, perhaps because brightness was set too low on my machine...

Weapon light is already additive - turn on the mix color option in the render options menu - and it will saturate towards white light. There's no overbright light easily to be implemented with OpenGL - fully bright is as far as it gets.

I'm wondering if it is possible to replace the D1 exit sequences, the initial briefing, and the end with video files, as well as playing a different sound during each mission briefing. This media can be pulled from the D1 PSX CD and I think it would be interesting if it could be added into the port; the port already contains colored lighting so I think it would enhance the D1 experience further.

That would be a good idea, I happen to have one of the PS1 discs too... It would be a good addition to D1

Diedel,

Please consider modifying your win zip file so that it included paths in it. You could also put text files into each directory saying which files need to be moved to there.

New players would automatically get the correct directory structure, with your files in the right place and info on how to split up data from installing d2 and which files are not required.

People updating would also get them in the right place.

Assuming that \"use paths\" is turned on.

As far as I can tell, they all go in the D2 root directory.

Yes you are right, they can all go in the main directory, but you can also split them into set folders. I realized after posting that Diedel has a list of supported folders and what goes where. If you do have folders, you then have to remember where anything new belongs or it won't be found. Having the paths in the zip file would mean that the selected items being updated would automatically be dropped into their right folder. Not a big deal or a real necessity I know, but it would be nice!

It also seems to indicate that if it autoextracts to separate folders when your installation isn't already organised like that, it's going to break it.

You're screwed either way, unfortunately - unless an installer is used.

Physfs support in D2X-XL would be extremely useful.

Why?

Just a thought. It makes file calls simple when doing mods and whatnot.

I did a search in the D2X forum and found no such suggestions: for D2, add a switch config setting to have thief bot in game (value of 1) or no thief bot in the game (value of zero). Would this be too much work Diedel?

Thanks,
Yogi

Yogi wrote:I did a search in the D2X forum and found no such suggestions: for D2, add a switch config setting to have thief bot in game (value of 1) or no thief bot in the game (value of zero). Would this be too much work Diedel?

Thanks,
Yogi

Isn't that like "cheating"?

Scared of him are ya??