Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:02 pm Post subject:
HyperPatch Announcement
Subject description: My attempt at a TS Patch...
Hello fellow TS modders
A week ago i started a TS of Patch my own, HyperPatch, with the help of the awesome pd, who works on RP(2) if you dont know
My main goal is to learn the ASM language, and along the way, use it to fix or add new features into the TS Engine, aswell as remove some hardcode things.
At this moment, it includes these things...
Current features:
* Debug Output : You should know this from RockPatch. activated by running the game with the -DEBUG argument.
* AllowHiResMode : Is now always on.
* WWLogo Skip : Activated by running the game with the -NOLOGO argument.
* AI : The AI will now choose between GDI, Nod, 3rd and 4th when picking a side, rather than just GDI and Nod.
Future goals:
* Re enabling the removed -CD argument.
* 3rd and 4th side support. This includes BaseUnit and the others.
* 100 Unit bug limit to 200.
* 5 New armors.
* More Skirmish colours and better control over them.
Also, HP might be using Expand02.mix, and if it comes to it, ECache02.mix for any priority files needed for the patch. This is subject to change
And many, many more, but it could take a long while
Im open to any suggestions or ideas that i could do, as i could be forgetting a lot of things (i just randomly search though the EXE until i find something i recognize )
I will only take suggestions from who i know have knowledge of the game. Random and stupid requests will be ignored. Last edited by CCHyper on Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:00 pm; edited 5 times in total QUICK_EDIT
Well. best get some proper format in getting requests cause im sure tons will be pouring in.
Starting here.
Ickus' wild suggestions. wrote:
Useful RA2/YR features.
-'nuff said.
Visceriod logic customizable.
-ie pretty much like makeinf...
New tiberiums types.
-allow for new custom "tiberium" sets.
--applies for terrain sets. (trees as a resource)
Blossom Tree Logic.
-Trees mutate near tiberium. ex.
[Tree01]
Mutates=yes
Mutant=TIBTREE01
MutateAnim=SPLIT00
Evolution.
"Upgrade" logic.Inf->unit->plane? unless loco's are restricted. o__o?
via veteran logic, deploy and also can override visceriod spawning?
[Doggy]
Mutates=yes
Mutant=FIEND
EliteImage=ZILLA
VeteranImage=TIBREX.
Separate harvester types. i
e. (vinifera only or riparius only)
Flat=yes?
animations are drawn below units.
ie corpses don't 'animate' above active units etc.
New Corpse logic.
unit dies and spawns terrain/overly object that takes a foundation.. it can be temporary and it can be used for harvesting. or also damage units and generate particles or spread tiberium. also support squished units.
Unit Foundations.
Support for units bigger than 1x1. and height=#>1
Far Out Suggestions.;Weird stuff I know.
Hate Sponge Logic.
Unit takes damage it will upgrade, heal. via damage. etc.
LoveWH
Special case warhead that damages hate sponge. can also heal?
Lighting
I know this is pushing it. since lighting is pretty slow and can lag up the game. but is it possible to refine this feature, maybe attach light/shadows to units, similar to Diablo2. Useful maybe get headlights or something that darkens up the map..
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Location: National Reference Laboratory for IPNV
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:40 pm Post subject:
Wow, impressive as always, good luck on it man.
Also be sure that I will help you testing it (I mean during RO development), as I will gladly use it.
And if you get the new armors working, then you're God .
Also is Creagor going to help you?
EDIT: Be sure to look into the hardcoded number of maximum buildup frames as I suggested in RO's staff forum . QUICK_EDIT
Good Luck. On a side note, Luke. When you sent me this over MSN, it said that I needed to insert my TS CD, when sadly, i'm relying on No CD Crack's. Hmm, resolveable problem? QUICK_EDIT
Thanks, but why? I understand i will never get to the level of pd or VK, but im doing this because i enjoy it.
Ickus wrote:
Sweet. glad to see an alternative to ETS.
Well. best get some proper format in getting requests cause im sure tons will be pouring in.
Starting here.
Ickus' wild suggestions. wrote:
Useful RA2/YR features.
-'nuff said.
Visceriod logic customizable.
-ie pretty much like makeinf...
New tiberiums types.
-allow for new custom "tiberium" sets.
--applies for terrain sets. (trees as a resource)
Blossom Tree Logic.
-Trees mutate near tiberium. ex.
[Tree01]
Mutates=yes
Mutant=TIBTREE01
MutateAnim=SPLIT00
Evolution.
"Upgrade" logic.Inf->unit->plane? unless loco's are restricted. o__o?
via veteran logic, deploy and also can override visceriod spawning?
[Doggy]
Mutates=yes
Mutant=FIEND
EliteImage=ZILLA
VeteranImage=TIBREX.
Separate harvester types. i
e. (vinifera only or riparius only)
Flat=yes?
animations are drawn below units.
ie corpses don't 'animate' above active units etc.
New Corpse logic.
unit dies and spawns terrain/overly object that takes a foundation.. it can be temporary and it can be used for harvesting. or also damage units and generate particles or spread tiberium. also support squished units.
Unit Foundations.
Support for units bigger than 1x1. and height=#>1
Far Out Suggestions.;Weird stuff I know.
Hate Sponge Logic.
Unit takes damage it will upgrade, heal. via damage. etc.
LoveWH
Special case warhead that damages hate sponge. can also heal?
Lighting
I know this is pushing it. since lighting is pretty slow and can lag up the game. but is it possible to refine this feature, maybe attach light/shadows to units, similar to Diablo2. Useful maybe get headlights or something that darkens up the map..
Thanks, and you got a pretty big list there eh?
Of course, these things are possible future goals, if i get to that point.
Added note of New Tiberiums, thats pretty much possible, i could most probibly add that today, but the one thing i wanted to add to it was a OverlayID= key, so you could set where your 12 tiberium overlays are in the list. The game is hardcoded to use a certain number in the list for the Tiberiums. But its on my agenda
Pretty much, of what you said i will not be able to do for while.
Machine wrote:
Wow, impressive as always, good luck on it man.
Also be sure that I will help you testing it (I mean during RO development), as I will gladly use it.
And if you get the new armors working, then you're God .
BTW I don't see AA combat or new superweapons; it's not that I care too much about them, just asking as they seem easier than adding new armors.
And finally is Creagor going to help you?
Thanks Machine, and i hope to get Armors working too. I had a small chat with pd about it last night, i tried hooking up a longer Verses= key but it gave errors. So it seems i will have to find another way to handle new armors.
The reason AACombat and New Super weapons is not on the list is because im not copying code from ETS or basing code on ETS that i dont understand yet, there would be no point. But once i do understand it, you can be sure they will be added
Creagor was in plan to help me out with this, but it took some time for me to start up. Also Creagor does not have much time on hes hands and needs to concentrate on hes school work. But maybe in the future
Aro wrote:
Good Luck. On a side note, Luke. When you sent me this over MSN, it said that I needed to insert my TS CD, when sadly, i'm relying on No CD Crack's. Hmm, resolvable problem?
Thanks dude, and that would be because its its a normal TS 2.03 EXE, and not applied with a No-CD crack. I dont condone them to be used, but its possible -TFD could be used by non TFD owners to allow the game to run without the need of a CD, using the inbuilt function in TS
EDIT: On a side note, i have updated to first post about HP using Expand00.mix and/or ECache00.mix for any future needs. QUICK_EDIT
That's why. And that's just the beginning. Besides, it's not like assembler is a walk in the park even without endless suggestions...
TSHyper wrote:
I understand i will never get to the level of pd or VK, but im doing this because i enjoy it.
What makes you think you won't get to that level? Like an old adage says, it's practice that makes perfect, and I imagine you will get plenty of that. You might burn out or lose interest before you get that far, but there's no need to artificially limit yourself this way. (Though, to be fair, only knowing assembler will not be enough, you will need to familiarise yourself with WinAPI and higher-level programming joys such as virtual functions, COM+, and such.) QUICK_EDIT
I have seen what comes with RockPatch, and its aftermath, and really, if it comes to it, ill start ignoring it and just talk to people know over MSN that will give good suggestions. But im fine with replying to messages.
Correct, thats why i think i will never get to that level. but im happy with something basic, im happy if i can get away with a nice little patch i can put to my name and say "i did that". QUICK_EDIT
I understand i will never get to the level of pd or VK, but im doing this because i enjoy it.
I agree with DCoder here.
I've never told you personally, but the progress you're making is impressive and I can compare them to mine at the beginning (sure, the situations were different, but still).
Remember it took me almost 3 years to get to the level I am at now, you're at it for like... 3 days? Well, at active coding, that is.
The practice makes you better, you can't blame yourself for getting lost over and over at this state.
Good luck from me as well, prepare for a request flood and a lot of pressure though QUICK_EDIT
Of course, i understand that the advanced things you can only learn from a programming language like C++ will hold me back, and i dont have the experience of pd or VK. So it would hold me back from a wide array of things.
And thanks pd, means a lot
Im not really blaming myself, but it does get me down when i keep making mistakes that you have told me how to correct time and time again QUICK_EDIT
I just wanted to throw out there what most, "kinda" people would do. like RA2 stuff and then some. plus etc.
but definately get some formulated a sane way for handling requests, etc.
I know its by no means easy. and you have the ultimate say. One vision, one purpose.
definately good luck. _________________ Delirium.. QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Location: somewhere south of the north pole
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:58 pm Post subject:
I wish you luck, and a cup of coffee Just do me one thing, ok? backups atleast once a week TO bad to loos all your work over a small HD crash _________________ This is a signature QUICK_EDIT
I will gladly support you with my old mod TS:DOTL.
It needs the 3rd side fix.
Please add the side03.mix, I need that other than that as soon as this is done, I'll get to work on the patch for my mod and add you to the credits. _________________ Link to a document to see what mods i have and/or working on or working with
Click QUICK_EDIT
Did you read the first post? It said i plan to hopefully have 3rd and 4th sides
indeed i did.
And you did say hopefully i assumed that you would try it ,and if you did you have my full support. _________________ Link to a document to see what mods i have and/or working on or working with
Click QUICK_EDIT
Why expand00.mix, surely you should use expand02.mix so it overwrites the FS mix file. Otherwise you may end up having your additions overriden by FS. QUICK_EDIT
Things like the new loading screens, 3rd and 4th side PCX logos, and the sidebar graphics too be found in order for it to work. So if i place them in a lowest ID mix file, the user can easily create a new Expand and it will overwrite them. QUICK_EDIT
Im glad to see another patch other than ETS, i can't wait to see how this turns out. _________________ Please, read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
Testing, testing, testing, I can't tell you how frustating it is when these patches cause recon, IE online or because not properly testing, e.g. 30 minute games.
Example is NPatch, RockPatch and also strangely TX patches ... seems to cause random errors if users don't have it installed whilst others do, if just playing a non TX mod ... _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Location: Somewhere in Germany
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:24 am Post subject:
pd wrote:
See it the market way: concurence -> quality. =D
Exactly.
The next RotD release would eventually have been just another patch to version 2.7, but Bittahs Tiberian Age mod was one of the reasons why I decided that I'll go for a feature-and-improvement-ridden re-release instead
Afterall, I want RotD to get/keep/regain (whatever the current situation is) the throne in the best/most popular TS mod categories.
And who knows, maybe HyperPatch will play a role in that, too QUICK_EDIT
Looking forward to it. Even if I don't actively mod TS I did quite a bit in the past, perhaps the release of this will inspire me to do something with it. QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Dordrecht, the Netherlands
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:23 pm Post subject:
A small request though TSHyper: can you do something about the random WaveClass crashes? It's very frustrating when the game just crashes because of a stupid laser or disruptor firing QUICK_EDIT
Things like the new loading screens, 3rd and 4th side PCX logos, and the sidebar graphics too be found in order for it to work. So if i place them in a lowest ID mix file, the user can easily create a new Expand and it will overwrite them.
You should still use expand02.mix to ensure any changes you need to make that affect files already part of FS though (which uses expand01.mix IIRC). For example if you needed to change the layout or graphics for any existing load screens or menus. Expand02.mix shouldn't have been used by any modders anyway just on the off chance WW ever used it for a second expansion. QUICK_EDIT
Awesome stuff Hyper, best news I've had for a long while
Quote:
Creagor was in plan to help me out with this, but it took some time for me to start up. Also Creagor does not have much time on hes hands and needs to concentrate on hes school work. But maybe in the future
True unfortunately, time is my enemy. But I'd love to contribute something at some point, so yeah, maybe in the future. And hey, at the very least we can have more MSN convo's to chuck idea's at _________________ QUICK_EDIT
A small request though TSHyper: can you do something about the random WaveClass crashes? It's very frustrating when the game just crashes because of a stupid laser or disruptor firing
I spoke to pd about it, and he bookmarked it for future investigation. Its possible the YR code has been fixed.
Blade wrote:
You should still use expand02.mix to ensure any changes you need to make that affect files already part of FS though (which uses expand01.mix IIRC). For example if you needed to change the layout or graphics for any existing load screens or menus. Expand02.mix shouldn't have been used by any modders anyway just on the off chance WW ever used it for a second expansion.
True, you got me there, but some mods do use Expand02 though...
Perhaps ill just go back to adding a custom mix feature again, it could causes too many problems
Creagor wrote:
Awesome stuff Hyper, best news I've had for a long while
True unfortunately, time is my enemy. But I'd love to contribute something at some point, so yeah, maybe in the future. And hey, at the very least we can have more MSN convo's to chuck idea's at
Heh, thanks dude. Yea we gotta get you contributing to the patch, next time your online, ill send you my IDB. QUICK_EDIT
Started full work on the patch again, researching custom harvester unloading types and a few other things. No release date set, it will get done when its done QUICK_EDIT
Can i ask something noobish here withiout being flammed at? What is this rock patch, what does it do and or change? and where to download it? (if its for Tib sun)
Over-all your patch sounds nice too hyper QUICK_EDIT
Edit: Hyper, once you get off the ground, you're really going to need a way to manage feature requests and such. Do consider getting hosted somewhere you will be able to install things like MediaWiki or Mantis/Bugzilla, before you drown in noise. If need be, I can arrange that at renproj, Ares is using that very successfully, but past experience shows that RA2/YR modders figure out how to use a bugtracker/wishlist properly and stop spamming much faster than TS modders. Odd, that. Last edited by John Galt on Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:09 am; edited 1 time in total QUICK_EDIT
Edit: Hyper, once you get off the ground, you're really going to need a way to manage feature requests and such. Do consider getting hosted somewhere you will be able to install things like MediaWiki or Mantis/Bugzilla, before you drown in noise. If need be, I can arrange that at renproj, Ares is using that very successfully, but past experience shows that RA2/YR modders figure out how to use a bugtracker/wishlist properly and stop spamming much faster than TS modders. Odd, that.
Most old time RA2 modders started off in TS IRC _________________
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