Entities in TSE?
by Jon C · in Torque Game Engine Advanced · 09/21/2005 (2:47 am) · 3 replies
Besides http://www.garagegames.com/docs/tge/general/ape.php, is there any other reference to the entities available in TSE? I'm kind of curious about placing water, particles, and so on in the maps. (Is that done in the mission editor, or with entities?)
Also just a little bit of a question: My mappers are currently using Hammer, is there any problem with this? Is it fully compatible with TSE?
What about Leaks? They're a big deal in most games that use BSPs, but it seems open .maps are required in TSE.
And finally: Portals? How exactly do you place them?
Thanks :)
Edit:
Will http://www.garagegames.com/pg/product/view.php?id=36, and content meant for TGE (Such as http://www.garagegames.com/products/46 or http://www.garagegames.com/products/71), still work in TSE?
Also just a little bit of a question: My mappers are currently using Hammer, is there any problem with this? Is it fully compatible with TSE?
What about Leaks? They're a big deal in most games that use BSPs, but it seems open .maps are required in TSE.
And finally: Portals? How exactly do you place them?
Thanks :)
Edit:
Will http://www.garagegames.com/pg/product/view.php?id=36, and content meant for TGE (Such as http://www.garagegames.com/products/46 or http://www.garagegames.com/products/71), still work in TSE?
#2
You CAN code it in via the entities (like the ones in Hammer) but it's not in default TGE and probably won't work right without alot of fiddling.
It's an interesting concept though, and I would love to see more of that stuff.
You can do it via the mission editor, though I find it cool to have some of that stuff via entities.
It has nothing to do with Hammer, but leaks are present in older versions of the Map2Dif exporters. I haven't seen it in the new one (made by Matthew Fairfax) so that's a good deal, I guess. Open maps are not required, but they work the best. The exporter culls away faces that are sealed, so you have to do some workarounds to get that to work.
Portals can be placed with your BSP tool via entities. You place a box like entity, making sure it seals the room with a few units.
10/03/2005 (2:34 pm)
The thing about Hammer has been discussed to death already in so many threads, do some research man.Quote:
I'm kind of curious about placing water, particles, and so on in the maps. (Is that done in the mission editor, or with entities?)
You CAN code it in via the entities (like the ones in Hammer) but it's not in default TGE and probably won't work right without alot of fiddling.
It's an interesting concept though, and I would love to see more of that stuff.
You can do it via the mission editor, though I find it cool to have some of that stuff via entities.
Quote:
What about Leaks? They're a big deal in most games that use BSPs, but it seems open .maps are required in TSE.
It has nothing to do with Hammer, but leaks are present in older versions of the Map2Dif exporters. I haven't seen it in the new one (made by Matthew Fairfax) so that's a good deal, I guess. Open maps are not required, but they work the best. The exporter culls away faces that are sealed, so you have to do some workarounds to get that to work.
Portals can be placed with your BSP tool via entities. You place a box like entity, making sure it seals the room with a few units.
#3
In most bsp engines, the map/bsp _is_ your world, and thus it must be fully sealed. In Torque, the bsp is just another object, and can be as open or closed as you wish. Therefore, you can ignore any Hammer warnings about leaks, they are simply not the same here.
Portals, without going into a much more detailed explanation, are most closely aligned with 'hint' brushes from HL days. If your interior object is a sealed one, a room or rooms for example, you would/should close off any openings with portal brushes. By no means are they required, and in many cases you will run just fine without them. Properly used however, in the instances they were designed for, can seriously speed up your framerate. They also seem to aid the engine in determining inside/outside rooms with sound effects (not sure on that, but it appears to be so).
Of the products you ask about; Tims work (combo packs) does require re-exporting (only parts) for TSE, as well as some material mappings setup. I recently purchased his latest, and I've found it's required about 15 minutes per level to get ready for TSE. Very well worth it, and yes it looks even more incredible in TSE than it does in his screenshots.
As for SG Lighting, its not yet released for TSE and the current pack will not work with it. However, buying it will entitle you to a free upgrade to the TSE version which I do believe is very close now.
10/03/2005 (3:56 pm)
The leaks you are referring to are not the same thing as the map2dif- leaks we used to have problems with.In most bsp engines, the map/bsp _is_ your world, and thus it must be fully sealed. In Torque, the bsp is just another object, and can be as open or closed as you wish. Therefore, you can ignore any Hammer warnings about leaks, they are simply not the same here.
Portals, without going into a much more detailed explanation, are most closely aligned with 'hint' brushes from HL days. If your interior object is a sealed one, a room or rooms for example, you would/should close off any openings with portal brushes. By no means are they required, and in many cases you will run just fine without them. Properly used however, in the instances they were designed for, can seriously speed up your framerate. They also seem to aid the engine in determining inside/outside rooms with sound effects (not sure on that, but it appears to be so).
Of the products you ask about; Tims work (combo packs) does require re-exporting (only parts) for TSE, as well as some material mappings setup. I recently purchased his latest, and I've found it's required about 15 minutes per level to get ready for TSE. Very well worth it, and yes it looks even more incredible in TSE than it does in his screenshots.
As for SG Lighting, its not yet released for TSE and the current pack will not work with it. However, buying it will entitle you to a free upgrade to the TSE version which I do believe is very close now.
Torque Owner Jon C