Cannot Confirm BuildingSet Structures Appearing as Random Items

[Pieter Boelen]

In Ansels's compile.log:

ItemLogic -> randItem draw: no model for item Tortuga_port.compass2

This is strange because no such item is placed there (by me).

That can just be a random item being placed randomly. That happens. And indeed "compass2" doesn't have a model.
So that particular entry sounds more like a "statement of fact" and less like an actual problem.

 

[ANSEL]

Tortuga is now a total mess. I posted my itemlogic file, cant see if anything are wrong there.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Tortuga is now a total mess.

Can you enable VISIBLE_LOCATORS at the bottom of InternalSettings.h?
I'd be interested to see if these things are actually being placed on random item locators.

Also, can you start a New Game in Tortuga (Jack Sparrow or Free Play Francis Drake) and see if it is already affected?
Would be good to know if this is something that is wrong from the start or develops throughout the game.

 

[Jack Rackham]

Also, can you start a New Game in Tortuga (Jack Sparrow or Free Play Francis Drake) and see if it is already affected?

I have tried both and they were ok from start.
Tested:
exit to the jungle and return
enter tavern and out again
to my ship and back
to worldmap and back

Both still ok in all cases.

@ANSEL have you been trying to take the town before these bad things happen?

in @Ansels systemlog:

resource\models\items\\.gm: can't open geometry file

If this is about Tortuga that's strange because quest items have their models in items folder
but all the building items in Tortuga are placed in the ammo folder.

I have also checked all the added randitems in Tortuga and they are "open" for common use in initItems.c

 

[ANSEL]

@ANSEL have you been trying to take the town before these bad things happen?

No I havent. It was on Isla del Muerto it first appears, then I go straight to Tortuga and there it appears too.
I have noticed strange things could happen after visiting Isla del Muerto before, for instance teleported
to the other side of the mainland.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Indeed it seems quite weird to me.
There are several things I can think of:

- BuildingSet items are appearing on random item locators while they aren't supposed to;
that WOULD explain Isla de Muerta, but doesn't explain why there are so many in Tortuga and not everywhere else.

- The locators in Tortuga got messed up, so items appear in the wrong spots.
Unless I am very much mistaken, I saw that behaviour myself at some point. But I cannot remember the specifics now.

- BuildingSet CHARACTERS got moved around in Tortuga and are showing up on different coordinates than they are meant to.

@Jack Rackham, do you know if the structures that @ANSEL shows in his screenshots are BuildingSet characters or just geometry placed on locators?

 

[ANSEL]

Can you enable VISIBLE_LOCATORS at the bottom of InternalSettings.h?

Yes I will do that. I suppose You want screenshot of that too.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Yes I will do that. I suppose You want screenshot of that too.

That would be interesting, yes.

 

[Jack Rackham]

@Jack Rackham, do you know if the structures that @ANSEL shows in his screenshots are BuildingSet characters or just geometry placed on locators?

They are not from the BuildingSet but from BuildingItemsJRH and placed with the use of randitems locators.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

They are not from the BuildingSet but from BuildingItemsJRH and placed with the use of randitems locators.

Hmm.... Is there not a way to place geometry directly on specific locators?
I seem to remember there IS a way to do that, but I always forget how and where it is actually used.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

And @Bartolomeu o Portugues comes to the rescue! I think this is what I was referring to:

  locations[n].id = "inside_Cartagena_Fort";
   locations[n].id.label = "Cartagena Fort";
   Locations[n].image = "inside_San_Felipe.tga";
   //Town sack
   locations[n].townsack = "Cartagena";
   //Sound
   locations[n].type = "military";
   
   //Models
   //Always
   locations[n].filespath.models = "locations\inside\Wine_cellar";
   locations[n].models.always.DungeonVault1 = "DungeonVault1_orig";
   locations[n].models.always.InquisitionDungeonVault1Fonars = "DungeonVault1_fonars";

   locations[n].models.always.locators = "insidefort_locators";

// THIS --------------------->
  Locations[n].models.always.porte = "door_N10";
   Locations[n].models.always.porte.locator.group = "goto";
   Locations[n].models.always.porte.locator.name = "goto2";
// THIS <---------------------

If I understand that correctly, you should be able to place all these extra structures without needing to have them as random items at all.
And if they aren't items, they can't get confused in the items system either. Right?

 

[Jack Rackham]

You can place geometry like

Locations[n].models.always.l1 = "tunnel_entrance";

if that "tunnel_entrance" model is placed in the location folder. Is this what you mean?

 

[Jack Rackham]

Yes, but that would mean another additional years on my already finished quests.

The thing is this have been working well for very long time. It didn't occur directly when I released
WoodesRogers. Neither direct after the new Tortuga release. There were a lot of complaints but not concerning these bugs.

Something must have been changed?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

You can place geometry like

Locations[n].models.always.l1 = "tunnel_entrance";

if that "tunnel_entrance" model is placed in the location folder. Is this what you mean?

That is almost what I mean. That method requires the geometry to already have the (0,0,0) coordinate in the right spot though.
See my above post for what I REALLY mean.

Indeed the model file does still need to be in the location folder for that to work.
But that isn't necessarily a problem, is it? Especially if the models are used in only a few locations.
If they're reused a LOT between locations, it may get a bit annoying. But we could deal with that if need be.

The reason for the BuildingSet method is to put them in place in mid-game anywhere in the scene and by the player too.
It also allows interaction between the player and the model.

But for stuff like shipwrecks in the background, that isn't technically needed, right?

 

[ANSEL]

That would be interesting, yes.

Some shots:

 

[Jack Rackham]

I have to place a locator there of any kind if not an existing one will do.
And in most of my cases they won't. Chimneys in Tortuga for ex.

But there would only have to be one chimney model placed in the Tortuga folder.

Not sure if this method requires COL files.
The "tunnel_entrance" method does. The randitem method doesn't. For good and bad.

 

[Jack Rackham]

The locators (randitems) seems to be there but with wrong or no content.

 

[ANSEL]

- BuildingSet items are appearing on random item locators while they aren't supposed to;
that WOULD explain Isla de Muerta, but doesn't explain why there are so many in Tortuga and not everywhere else.

I really dont know if Tortuga is the only places where this thing happens. Havent been to many places since Tortuga,so there
could be other places too.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I really dont know if Tortuga is the only places where this thing happens. Havent been to many places since Tortuga,so there
could be other places too.

Please try other places too when you get the chance.
For now, this still sounds like a mystery to me.

 

[Levis]

@ANSEL could you please upload a savegame in tortuga with everything wrong?