A bit confused...

#1 C:\torque\example\starter.racing\data\missions is where you will find the mission files, extentions have a .mis behind them.
then load torque again, select open mission in the editor, or select as your entering torque.

EDIT: don't forget to rename the mission

#2 Howdy

Let me point you here... I have been getting my feet wet for the last couple of weeks.

Here's a resource page I am a assembling

dwilbanks.com/torque_related/torque_index.htm

Hope this helps (look at the resources button/section)

#3 Hello Mike,

Give it a week or 2.. Josh is working on a tutorial that sounds like what you are looking for. I am waiting to read it but from what I have heard of it, its going to be a great doc. Also Alex is heading up a documentation team so things are moving along quickly.

Later, Ben

#4 Hey guys..

Thanks for the info!

Unfortunately.. :-(, I'm not really any farther along than I was...

I loaded in the different mission files, but they all start with the same default terrain, sky, textuers, etc. What I'm looking for is a tutorial, or some way to learn how to start with a completely empty world.. where I have to - one thing at a time - add and place every resource myself. I really want a more hands-on, from the beginning tutorial to work through so I can get my head around this engine.

I'm not so much interested in scripting just *yet*.. though I will be in time. I want to start with understanding how the editor/game engine works as is before I start looking into how to modify it. I have bookmarked the website you provided me to, Donny and will certainly make use of that when the time is right :-).

Also.. I guess no one really knows where to find some good QuARK tutorials, then?

Thanks again for the feedback..
Mike

#5 Things like your terrain and sky are always going to be there. You don't delete them and then make them. You simply modify them. As for anything else in the mission, just go into the "inspector" or "creator" mode and select each and hit DEL.

#6 I myself I am in the same boat you are Mr. Vogue, I just started a little over a week ago and I am still getting my feet wet (and burnt, crispy, fried).

I Highly reccomened running these Tuts from Code Samplers.

Very good basics using the editor and such is the Code Samplers Tuts, www.codesampler.com/torque.htm#Tutorial%20Base I myself am using these a good starting point. Lots of good stuff here.

It goes from a very stripped down Base Version, to adding Static Objects (not just from insde the tool set, but adding new objects all together).

To Trigger placement (very handy)

ohh and also shows you how to add a basic weapon (I spent a hour along messing with differant speeds and varibles attached to it). It also gose through and adds some AI pathfinding.

I am going to see If I can modify the buggy demo with the AI path finding routine and add a bunch of races to the default DEMO - if I get luck arm everbody with rocket lauchners.... Blast Buggy Mod...

The AI part will be the easier of the two I think, it's just adding waypoints and have them race around the track

It will be a good starting point where I can get the vehicles to attack other players...

#7 @ John: Thank you for that clarification.. Okay.. so I'm not going crazy then. I was wondering why the terrain wasn't going anywhere no matter how many times I pressed "delete" (what's that saying about insanity defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? :-) I guess you just change out the sky textures, then?

@ Donny: THANK YOU!! That's *exactly* what I was hoping to find. Great! Now I can actually do something and not feel like I'm just randomly "doodling"...

Thanks! :-)

Now if only someone could provide a hidden gem like that for QuARK, my life would be complete!

Thanks again, guys..

Mike

#8 Yeah you can change the properties of the sky, textures, etc.

Also as an aside, you CAN delete the terrain, and sky, by editing the mission file by hand (its a text file) and deleting it all, but then you'd have an empty black world with no way to re-add them :) Unless you are making a space game or have something else "special" where you need to get RID of the terrain/sky box, then what you are "supposed" to do is just edit them. You can start with a FLAT terrain though by using the terraformer and making it flat.

As for insantiy.. :p Yeah i've heard the saying but dont' know it exactly. Somethign about "performing the same actions and expecting different results".

#9 John..

Okay.. Thank you for the further clarification.. I may have to utilize that in a project that I'm considering working on (removing the terrain). You can remove one without the other right? Like.. say I wanted an area to exist "in the air" with no terrain.. but still have a sky.. Is that possible?

While I'm thinking about it.. Is there a way to create a bitmap of, say.. a 128,128,128 gray, import that as a starting heightfield and then save the mission file as a "Base Template" to start from for each new mission area?

Thanks again :-)

#10 Yes they are seperate entities. Open up a .mis file in a text editor and you will see. It is pretty clear.

#11 I did the random "doodling" for about a day or so. Just started popping questions out. The folks here will steer you in the right direction eventaully. I start just assembling notes and the like, I made it a project. A exorise so to speak. As I learn things I am positng it, so others can see what I did and hopefuly learn from it.

Like today, I just learned that the compiler - ide I ordered won't work with my system! (still a bit grouffed about it).

#12 Hello again.. wow.. quite a near real-time conversation we're having here :-)

@John:
Thank you for that info. Will be *very* helpful, I'm sure. Okay.. I have a Part 2 to that... does the skydome *only* cover the upper half of the world? And.. if so, what happens to the lower half? Does it all just go black, or does the fog layer block it to some degree?

@Donny:
Eww.. sorry to hear about that. But, yeah, you and John have already helped me out alot... in understanding a bit more how things work and in setting up a path to follow to learn all this new tech. :-)

Hopefully someday I'll be able to do the same for others.

Thank you again!

#13 The "skybox" covers everything. I've fallen through my terrain before and seen sky for 360 degrees.

The "Realtime" conversation will be ending soon. I'm getting ready to crawl into bed :)

#14 Once you press F11 to enter the editor, make sure you go into "Creator" mode by pressing F4. The on the lower right will be a tree view.

#15 John:

Beautiful... I like this engine more with every post :-)

Take care..

#16 Hmm.. Okay, I got through the first tutorial, with the tree.. I noticed something.. Do static objects not cast shadows on the terrain? Or is there a setting I missed (it's not in the tutorial, but is there one?)

#17 I am not for sure (I did not look myself) I was just too happy to get the tree in there.

I myself think the Triggers Tuts is really cool and pretty darned simple to set up and add.

I used triggers allot to test things out when I was modding Neverwinter Nights.

You can test a bunch of things out with triggers - Cause & Effect.

Looking at how the Torque Engine Handles things, Bioware did a great job at a community based script engine for there game. The year or so I spent playing with it is going to come in handy here in the Torque field.

Just cause I have seen many things that will convert over well (mostly in concept and exicution).

#18 No way! You've modded around with NwN? LOL.. that's great! Me, too :-)... In fact, I was going to create the game I have in mind for Torque as a NwN Persistant World. I got quite a bit done.. somewhere around 60 areas designed and a wide variety of events, triggers, quests, etc..

I used that Lilac Soul script generator quite a bit.. It was very helpful.

I finally realized that the NwN engine just wasn't going to provide the experience I really wanted to create with the game I've in mind... I think Torque (or any such engine) will do a much better job of that.. and I think there's a bit more creative freedom with Torque, too..

So.. here I am.. Nice to see there's someone else here with that sort of NwN experience :-)...

#19 "No way! You've modded around with NwN? LOL.. that's great! Me, too :-)..."

Heard of any of the ASG scripts on the Vault? That what I wrote up. Going to be re-releasing the Spawn Kit with up to date goodies that Hordes had given us.

" In fact, I was going to create the game I have in mind for Torque as a NwN Persistant World. I got quite a bit done.. somewhere around 60 areas designed and a wide variety of events, triggers, quests, etc.. "

Might be tough, mostly from what I am seing, it all one big area. (granted you could load new ones in). Good for a Single Player Type game.

IF you think of using Torque in small scalled NWN type campaign I think it would be possible. If you think of Area's as having one large campagin area and scatter dungeons around on it.

There was a big disccusion on Tile Sets verse Generated Terrain today. That easily could apply to your design ideas.

" used that Lilac Soul script generator quite a bit.. It was very helpful."

It was a (better) than the offical script wizard (could not stand that all that much - would crash the editor way to much). I did most of my own scripting - save the corpses, never could get those to work right.

"I finally realized that the NwN engine just wasn't going to provide the experience I really wanted to create with the game I've in mind... I think Torque (or any such engine) will do a much better job of that.. and I think there's a bit more creative freedom with Torque, too.. "

Well the NwN engine is great for what it is. Considering what it would let you do and what would NOT let you do - without major changes. Bioware did do a great job on the game. They have a great community built around it. I built stuff for nearly a year and a half and will continue to play with it. I still do some side work (when I get frustraited here). The CEP just got released (lots of monsters/placables), a few days ago.

Creative Freedom - yup (and Z access). I just have to get the basics down, build a few models and I will be able to start the coding proccess myself. Most of the work will be done via scripting. Torque has network code already to go in the game (another headache I don't have to worry about). Just if you plan on marketing it, you got to have more tools and licenesing. Becareful what you build your *parts* with.

My project idea is set up. Just need to start getting the parts in so I cna test stuff out.

I myself am projecting in about 6 months I should be a very good Torque Scripter/Builder - Teacher. It took me a good year to do alot of the stuff I learned on NWN, mostly because it was *code* watch *correct* watch *code* again. Learning how the system works will be a major part of getting your game to work. It's a new engine (for me) and something I may be able to make a buck at - Granted, a Night and Day engine will have to be added to the project (I have seen some code snippits on this). It's not something smoothly implmentned with the Torque Engine.

Just like you I, I just recently started on all this. I am not the greatest C programer, but I am seing things that the Torque Engine does that the NwN engine handled in the back ground. Witch is a good thing, I am learning something new.

I figure once I get the basics of the frame work down, I will see about getting some extra help on 3d models and buildings. I need to learn the basics of this so I can intergate how all that works into the game. So I more than likely get the Bravetree Car set up.

But I still need a working compiler (grrr)..

Ohh and the nice thing about Torque - It ahs been around awhile. Unlike when NwN came out, it was hard to get a strait answer. TGE has had a number of incarnations and it's great sofar.

You not entierly working from the ground up (the graphics/network engine has been installed) it's geared a good amount for 3d work. I still got a LONG way to go. Epscialy if I decide to add a level Editor on top of the TGE Editor.