Kaboom! Pack
by Ryan Neighbour · in Torque 3D Professional · 08/29/2009 (5:42 am) · 9 replies
Just wondering if it drops into T3D fairly easily or if anyone knows if a T3D version is in the works?
About the author
Just started an M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering during which I'll be investigating the use of Agent Based Models in the field of Epidemiology. Aside from that, trying to get my first indie project off the ground and having a blast doing it.
#2
08/29/2009 (5:51 am)
Great! Thanks deepscratch. 
#3
In fxData.cs you would have to change some filepaths to indicate the new directory structure. In all of the destroyables datablocks you would need to make changes to filepaths -- and that's about the extent of how complicated it gets... just making sure that your filepaths match up to the location of the assets.
Make sure that you exec the datablock files as well as fxData.cs, chances are you would want to place them with the rest of the existing datablocks... so the exec commands would go in "art/datablocks/datablockExec.cs".
If you're using the FPS Genre Kit, then you wont need to included the handbomb, bomb.cs -- it's already part of the FPS Kit (just press g for grenade) -- just change the shapefile in the handbomb datablock if you want to use the bomb shape that's used in Kaboom!.
Oh, and you would probably want to use the TGEa version of the pack since it already accounts for the sound and particle differences post TGE.
At one time I was considering donating a stripped down version of Kaboom! for Torque3D, but what with piracy and the artist practically giving Kaboom! away (glad to see that stopped!) I just never made the decision. I am sitting on some updates, such as catching things on fire, animated shapes, mesh-hiding, new explosions, particle effects, etc., but don't have any new or improved assets that would justify the creation of a new pack for Torque3D as of yet.
There is a Kaboom! feedback/question/answer thread around here somewhere, feel free to ask questions or ask for help -- I'm around here often enough not to miss it.
08/29/2009 (12:06 pm)
Just drop in the staticShape.cs for the damageControl methods (just let this one overwrite the existing one in Torque 3D). In fxData.cs you would have to change some filepaths to indicate the new directory structure. In all of the destroyables datablocks you would need to make changes to filepaths -- and that's about the extent of how complicated it gets... just making sure that your filepaths match up to the location of the assets.
Make sure that you exec the datablock files as well as fxData.cs, chances are you would want to place them with the rest of the existing datablocks... so the exec commands would go in "art/datablocks/datablockExec.cs".
If you're using the FPS Genre Kit, then you wont need to included the handbomb, bomb.cs -- it's already part of the FPS Kit (just press g for grenade) -- just change the shapefile in the handbomb datablock if you want to use the bomb shape that's used in Kaboom!.
Oh, and you would probably want to use the TGEa version of the pack since it already accounts for the sound and particle differences post TGE.
At one time I was considering donating a stripped down version of Kaboom! for Torque3D, but what with piracy and the artist practically giving Kaboom! away (glad to see that stopped!) I just never made the decision. I am sitting on some updates, such as catching things on fire, animated shapes, mesh-hiding, new explosions, particle effects, etc., but don't have any new or improved assets that would justify the creation of a new pack for Torque3D as of yet.
There is a Kaboom! feedback/question/answer thread around here somewhere, feel free to ask questions or ask for help -- I'm around here often enough not to miss it.
#4
08/29/2009 (12:15 pm)
If there is interest enough in it I could see about making a Torque 3D ready version available to anyone who purchased Kaboom! through the GarageGames store. 
#5
01/12/2010 (11:21 am)
I would be interested in the port to T3D, just bought it a short time ago, very cool pak, thanks 
#6
02/05/2010 (12:33 pm)
I would be interested, I am about to buy the pack.
#7
I followed your instructions for the port to T3D and it does not work properly. The FXdata has some particle emitter stuff that stops torque from loading.
Are you thinking of doing a proper port to T3D, It would be much easier to intrigrate into my project then, and much appreciated.
Thanks
04/02/2010 (7:06 am)
Hi Micheal,I followed your instructions for the port to T3D and it does not work properly. The FXdata has some particle emitter stuff that stops torque from loading.
Are you thinking of doing a proper port to T3D, It would be much easier to intrigrate into my project then, and much appreciated.
Thanks
#8
As to the future of an 'official' Kaboom for T3D port, that may be unlikely. Much of the art (in my opinion) would need to be updated/modified for best visual results (ie. big blocky collision boxes cause big blocky explosion decals)... and that particular artist is no longer available.
It has crossed my mind to offer parts of the pack as Resource tutorials on adding basic destroyable objects into any Torque based project - we will see.
05/05/2010 (4:12 pm)
Sorry for the late reply, been away for a while. I'll check into any possible changes to T3D over the past 6-8 months to see what has could be causing Brian's issue -- I'll post my findings here.As to the future of an 'official' Kaboom for T3D port, that may be unlikely. Much of the art (in my opinion) would need to be updated/modified for best visual results (ie. big blocky collision boxes cause big blocky explosion decals)... and that particular artist is no longer available.
It has crossed my mind to offer parts of the pack as Resource tutorials on adding basic destroyable objects into any Torque based project - we will see.
#9
Porting Kaboom to T3D involves little to no effort other than the tedium of moving assets and verifying filepaths.
There have not been any significant changes to the particle system to prevent any of the effects as they existed in the TGEa* version of the pack from working.
* Way back when, porting Kaboom to TGEa from TGE took only 10 minutes and involved simply verifying filepaths, converting audioprofiles/descriptions to sfxprofiles/descriptions and splitting multi-particle emitters into individual emitters -- this last could be an issue if porting to T3D from the TGE version of the pack.
There were a few instances of particle effects using stock assets that are not included with T3D, namely: spark.png and fire.png. The solution here was to simply move them over from TGE/TGEa or use new particle assets in their place. And one, maybe two, explosion effect was calling for the crossbow explosion data which doesn't exist in T3D - again simply substitute something else in it's place.
Given the state of the art in the pack as it currently is, (again, personal dislike of StaticShapes not allowing visible mesh collision for decal application - only TSStatics have that decal usage but TSStatics cannot be used if you want destroyable objects - in combination with the boxlike collision meshes used for the model assets in the pack), I would not feel it would be fair to the end-user to offer an official T3D version of Kaboom. Maybe sometime in the future when different assets (with more detailed collision volumes and physics) could be utilized, as well as new effects, a T3D only version could be offered.
And to reiterate the answer to the original question: the pack is very easily introduced into T3D.
05/21/2010 (7:29 pm)
To follow up on this:Porting Kaboom to T3D involves little to no effort other than the tedium of moving assets and verifying filepaths.
There have not been any significant changes to the particle system to prevent any of the effects as they existed in the TGEa* version of the pack from working.
* Way back when, porting Kaboom to TGEa from TGE took only 10 minutes and involved simply verifying filepaths, converting audioprofiles/descriptions to sfxprofiles/descriptions and splitting multi-particle emitters into individual emitters -- this last could be an issue if porting to T3D from the TGE version of the pack.
There were a few instances of particle effects using stock assets that are not included with T3D, namely: spark.png and fire.png. The solution here was to simply move them over from TGE/TGEa or use new particle assets in their place. And one, maybe two, explosion effect was calling for the crossbow explosion data which doesn't exist in T3D - again simply substitute something else in it's place.
Given the state of the art in the pack as it currently is, (again, personal dislike of StaticShapes not allowing visible mesh collision for decal application - only TSStatics have that decal usage but TSStatics cannot be used if you want destroyable objects - in combination with the boxlike collision meshes used for the model assets in the pack), I would not feel it would be fair to the end-user to offer an official T3D version of Kaboom. Maybe sometime in the future when different assets (with more detailed collision volumes and physics) could be utilized, as well as new effects, a T3D only version could be offered.
And to reiterate the answer to the original question: the pack is very easily introduced into T3D.
Torque Owner deepscratch
DeepScratchStudios