New game: Top down city!

[Logofero]

1 blocker bug/feature left to new release (background audio transitions) - pathfinding is finally finished (more or less)

This is good news. Waiting for updates!

And I will soon release something from myself for the current version of TDC.

I have a question. After restoring the OS, full screen stopped working (the window appeared on the left side at the edge of the monitor when the screen was full), but i have solved the problem by restoring the video card drivers, after noticed a problem with the game window:

When the game starts, the window does not appear in the center, but from the upper left corner of the screen. Was this done on purpose? How can I make it possible to start in the center?

Added #1:
When creating the mod, I was faced with the fact that only health began to fall out of the wooden box - this is due to the fact that I changed the names of the weapons in the game.sqlite3/weapons table to new ones. For this reason, I had a suggestion to improve the drop mechanism and not only:

1. Any object can become a "surprise box" after destroyed/picked for this you need to add the appropriate flag in the properties of the object.

2. If the object is a box of ammunition, then it should have a parameter where all the names and the amount of what will be issued when the box is destroyed/picked up are displayed: weapons, experience points, life, armor, money, etc.

3. An object that you can sit on top of for example a "bench" should have an animation in which you can see the skin from above. The same parameter should be for cars "convertibles" (cars without a roof).

4. I would like to have a variable in which you can specify the names of the cars that will travel around the city. It would also be great to adjust the traffic density for cars and pedestrians depending on the time and location zone.

5. The auto signal should only work when pressed again (without sticking). The alarm for special vehicles should switch to mode 2 (accelerated operation of the siren), when pressed in the signal keys.

6. The radio. I would like to be able to play the sound track in the car and switch on/off. And not only. if I had the opportunity to play/stop the track at the specified point.

7. Looking for ambient city sounds. The big city makes noise in the morning and becomes a little quieter at night - this creates the effect of presence.

8. Let me ask you once again to add a variable for a car that will strictly set the color of the sprite when spawning a car - this will be useful when you need only 1 or 2 default colors. But this parameter should not limit repainting when custom color setting at the level of the game script.

9. In the chat, when the server starts, the Cyrillic alphabet is not supported instead of the void characters. With the Latin alphabet, everything is ok.

There are other comments as well, but I will wait until the release of the new version. Since it’s possible you have already fixed them.

P.S.: I ask you to take all these proposals only as a reflection on the topic of improving something. But not bearing a binding character. Perhaps you will like something from this and you decide to add it. Then it will be doubly useful.

Added #2:
Published the current demo version of your engine on moddb: https://www.moddb.com/games/tdc

And published TDC GTA 2 DLC: https://www.moddb.com/mods/tdc-dlc/down ... c-gta2-dlc

Added #3:
I have long wanted to offer this feature. During the development of the DLC, I had to create new models on the gang decals, but this can be solved differently:

Need the ability to install decals on top of the car (like those on gang cars). Then it will not be necessary to create models for each decal, and decals can be imposed on any car. Also, this feature will allow tuning cars applying new extra components (for example, strips on the hood or the inscription on the roof).

Also, decals should have their own color so that it can be repainted separately from the car body.

[JernejL]

When creating the mod, I was faced with the fact that only health began to fall out of the wooden box - this is due to the fact that I changed the names of the weapons in the game.sqlite3/weapons table to new ones. For this reason, I had a suggestion to improve the drop mechanism and not only:

1. Any object can become a "surprise box" after destroyed/picked for this you need to add the appropriate flag in the properties of the object.

2. If the object is a box of ammunition, then it should have a parameter where all the names and the amount of what will be issued when the box is destroyed/picked up are displayed: weapons, experience points, life, armor, money, etc.

wodc is the only one supported, this is because the triggers mechanism is still primitive and unrefined, there is no reason that other objects don't drop pickups, it was just done to test the thing - it will be changed, but i don't plan to support more than 1 pickup per crate, this is going to be something for scripting.

there are pickups for things like armour, health but can only be made in scripting currently, i still need to revise this.

3. An object that you can sit on top of for example a "bench" should have an animation in which you can see the skin from above. The same parameter should be for cars "convertibles" (cars without a roof).

In theory, you could sit on benches but this mechanism would be of little use and need more supporting animations, maybe i can do this when i start using internal renderer for character animations.

I was working more towards carrying objects - and i already have animations to do this, i just need supporting code to carry things.

Open-top cars, this is already implemented, you can see the logic working for bikes. There is a flag for this in vehicles sqlite table (but not in the old version)

4. I would like to have a variable in which you can specify the names of the cars that will travel around the city. It would also be great to adjust the traffic density for cars and pedestrians depending on the time and location zone.

Zones are work in progress, and are intended to carry traffic density info.
Which vehicles will travel however will be up to script, however scripting does not yet support this.

5. The auto signal should only work when pressed again (without sticking). The alarm for special vehicles should switch to mode 2 (accelerated operation of the siren), when pressed in the signal keys.

Currently there is only 1 siren, maybe if i change that in future, i can add alternate modes.

6. The radio. I would like to be able to play the sound track in the car and switch on/off. And not only. if I had the opportunity to play/stop the track at the specified point.

Radio stations cannot be just rewind on the fly i'm not yet finished with game audio systems, so i'm not sure if i will even include car music audio as i'm not sure where i could even license soundtracks without bankrupting.

7. Looking for ambient city sounds. The big city makes noise in the morning and becomes a little quieter at night - this creates the effect of presence.

I think it will make big difference too, i could not yet find a few days to work on completing city audio sounds

8. Let me ask you once again to add a variable for a car that will strictly set the color of the sprite when spawning a car - this will be useful when you need only 1 or 2 default colors. But this parameter should not limit repainting when custom color setting at the level of the game script.

While i agree this might be easier for you, keep in mind that it's much more flexible and correct if this is done in scripting (still unimplemented)

9. In the chat, when the server starts, the Cyrillic alphabet is not supported instead of the void characters. With the Latin alphabet, everything is ok.

This should not happen, cyrilic should work, if supported by the font, i made great care to support proper font rendering, game uses utf-16 internally for this.
The game only loads font \data\fonts\NunitoSans-SemiBold.ttf - you can replace that with for example arial ttf file and see if cyrilic will work then.

There are other comments as well, but I will wait until the release of the new version. Since it’s possible you have already fixed them.

I have long wanted to offer this feature. During the development of the DLC, I had to create new models on the gang decals, but this can be solved differently:

Need the ability to install decals on top of the car (like those on gang cars). Then it will not be necessary to create models for each decal, and decals can be imposed on any car. Also, this feature will allow tuning cars applying new extra components (for example, strips on the hood or the inscription on the roof).

Also, decals should have their own color so that it can be repainted separately from the car body.

Why not include the decal with the car itself?
There is no limit on how many car models you can have in the game, it also doesn't make much sense today why gta2 reused cars for normal and gang version.

[Logofero]

When creating the mod, I was faced with the fact that only health began to fall out of the wooden box - this is due to the fact that I changed the names of the weapons in the game.sqlite3/weapons table to new ones. For this reason, I had a suggestion to improve the drop mechanism and not only:

1. Any object can become a "surprise box" after destroyed/picked for this you need to add the appropriate flag in the properties of the object.

2. If the object is a box of ammunition, then it should have a parameter where all the names and the amount of what will be issued when the box is destroyed/picked up are displayed: weapons, experience points, life, armor, money, etc.

wodc is the only one supported, this is because the triggers mechanism is still primitive and unrefined, there is no reason that other objects don't drop pickups, it was just done to test the thing - it will be changed, but i don't plan to support more than 1 pickup per crate, this is going to be something for scripting.

there are pickups for things like armour, health but can only be made in scripting currently, i still need to revise this.

Perhaps it will be more correct to do this through the code, however I suggested a trigger that will be an object with properties. Also, it will need to be additionally checked (in the script) after adding to the location. This is an old but reliable option for the 3D series of GTA games. However, I do not insist on this option.

In the case of a script, I am waiting for functions for working with triggers (triggering when a player / vehicle enters) and functions for creating / deleting objects (for issuing weapons). Then it will be possible to work with ammunition boxes through a script.

6. The radio. I would like to be able to play the sound track in the car and switch on/off. And not only. if I had the opportunity to play/stop the track at the specified point.

Radio stations cannot be just rewind on the fly i'm not yet finished with game audio systems, so i'm not sure if i will even include car music audio as i'm not sure where i could even license soundtracks without bankrupting.

The ability to turn on the radio in the car is more important than listening to music (as with the sound of the city). It is not necessary to include music tracks in the game, but you can add a function to play custom music. Let the player throw music into the game folder from which the radio in the game will be launched. If there is no music when switching will be just silence.

9. In the chat, when the server starts, the Cyrillic alphabet is not supported instead of the void characters. With the Latin alphabet, everything is ok.

This should not happen, cyrilic should work, if supported by the font, i made great care to support proper font rendering, game uses utf-16 internally for this.
The game only loads font \data\fonts\NunitoSans-SemiBold.ttf - you can replace that with for example arial ttf file and see if cyrilic will work then.

I'll try to do it. I will write about the result later.

There are other comments as well, but I will wait until the release of the new version. Since it’s possible you have already fixed them.

I have long wanted to offer this feature. During the development of the DLC, I had to create new models on the gang decals, but this can be solved differently:

Need the ability to install decals on top of the car (like those on gang cars). Then it will not be necessary to create models for each decal, and decals can be imposed on any car. Also, this feature will allow tuning cars applying new extra components (for example, strips on the hood or the inscription on the roof).

Also, decals should have their own color so that it can be repainted separately from the car body.

Why not include the decal with the car itself?
There is no limit on how many car models you can have in the game, it also doesn't make much sense today why gta2 reused cars for normal and gang version.

Because it will limit the ability to add this decal to other cars. It will also make it possible to place new tuning parts instead of stickers. It will not be just a decal, but an independent component.

Bug report in the particle engine. This applies to TDC build 13 feb 2019:

Some objects and weapons create duplicate frames when creating a particle, while others are tied to the program code; therefore, they cannot be disabled.

1. The boom explosion (via code) causes a smok particle, even if it is removed from the "breakcreate" table.

2. Explosion bomb hard (via code) causes the ssmo particle, even if it is removed from the table "breakcreate".

3. In the blod particle, the "breakcreate" event does not work for killed ped. Therefore, I could not make a puddle of blood after the death of ped (this does not apply to the drops that appear every time they enter the body - they work well).

4. Objects: bnch, cmnt, obj1, flow create a duplicate frame during destruction (in the event "destroy_particle_id").

5. Object gren creates two frames of the boom particle. Therefore, the texture looks fatter.

6. When an object is destroyed, a particle appears above the object that stands above it. I wrote about this bug before. Link to the screenshot: download/file.php?id=1908

In some cases, it is necessary for a particle to appear under an object standing above it. To do this, you need a parameter that allows you to set the layer level for the particle.

I also had a question: "When the game starts, the window does not appear in the center, but from the upper left corner of the screen. Was this done on purpose? How can I make it possible to start in the center?"

[JernejL]

For car details that's fair - maybe once i change the vehicle deltas system to actual components, the decals could be implemented with those systems.

For particle system i don't think those particles are duplicated, afterall, there are always 2 explosions - one from your rocket exploding, and others from the car exploding. car / object can also have multiple explosion dummies - for example the tanker truck has this and it will produce more explosions, it could been a issue in the old game too - new build of game allows for different explosion particles to work on cars too - same as for objects (this will allow for stuff like blowing up a "nuclear truck" producing a bigger, green explosion, and for destroying a water hydrant produce a water splash effect).

ssmo particle is hardcoded only for burning tyres and smoking at engine dummy when car is sufficiently damaged, i do not know if the old alpha release had this hardcoded anywhere else.

Some extra flags are sometimes needed for breakcreate to work - primarily this is used when a particle hits something, if you want a particle to create another after particle lifetime expires, option_spawn_anyway has to be used.

Blood effects are intended to be solved with decals (system used for ground explosion smudges and tyre tracks), i just need a proper blood animation to put under actors.

Particles also now have a way to specify rendering order, this is "render_z" value in the new build that is coming out.

Edit: i'm not sure what's up with window positioning, but i assume it's a problem with frontend gui part, which is something i am trying to remove from the game.

[elypter]

Open-top cars, this is already implemented, you can see the logic working for bikes. There is a flag for this in vehicles sqlite table (but not in the old version)

It would be great if this could have an effect on gameplay. if the canopy is open you should be able to shoot with your hand gun but also be vulnerable to bullets. if its closed you should be protected but not be able to shoot

[Logofero]

For particle system i don't think those particles are duplicated, afterall, there are always 2 explosions - one from your rocket exploding, and others from the car exploding. car / object can also have multiple explosion dummies - for example the tanker truck has this and it will produce more explosions, it could been a issue in the old game too - new build of game allows for different explosion particles to work on cars too - same as for objects (this will allow for stuff like blowing up a "nuclear truck" producing a bigger, green explosion, and for destroying a water hydrant produce a water splash effect).

To see frame duplication: Run the assembly together with the tdc_demo and TDC GTA2 DLC mod, take grenades and a rocket launcher. First blow up a grenade against a wall, then a rocket and you will see the difference between two identical explosions. Please note: The explosion from the grenade will be blacker - it overlays 2 frames or more.

The same thing happens with animation when objects are destroyed (if you set animation for them in the event "destroy_particle_id"): bnch, cmnt, obj1, flow, but there it is more noticeable.

ssmo particle is hardcoded only for burning tyres and smoking at engine dummy when car is sufficiently damaged, i do not know if the old alpha release had this hardcoded anywhere else.

I also noticed hard coding of this smok and ssmo particles in the TDC build 13 feb 2019 version on which I created the modification.

Perhaps you fixed it in a newer version. In any case, I will write if this will be repeated in the update.

[Logofero]

9. In the chat, when the server starts, the Cyrillic alphabet is not supported instead of the void characters. With the Latin alphabet, everything is ok.

This should not happen, cyrilic should work, if supported by the font, i made great care to support proper font rendering, game uses utf-16 internally for this.
The game only loads font \data\fonts\NunitoSans-SemiBold.ttf - you can replace that with for example arial ttf file and see if cyrilic will work then.

I'll try to do it. I will write about the result later.

I checked this way. He works. When replacing the NunitoSans-SemiBold font with Arial, the text is visible.

[JernejL]

It would be great if this could have an effect on gameplay. if the canopy is open you should be able to shoot with your hand gun but also be vulnerable to bullets. if its closed you should be protected but not be able to shoot

It's not difficult to make this, however extra animations would be needed and it might be overpowered as a feature - both (guns in cars and shooting at people in cars) - i can still add this later if there will be demand for it.

Font issue: i suppose i need a better font or a failsafe mechanism so that international alphabets will work correctly - either way, it won't be a lot of work - the system for text rendering was overengineered to support entire unicode character set, you should be able to write in hieroglyphs if you wanted to.

[JernejL]

I uploaded a new video - Improved fire effects:

[JernejL]

I've redone particle effect behaviors too - you can now bind various effects to each particle and have its own effect radius, this was mostly hardcoded to a single range in last version.

These are: blast, stun, fire, water, explosion, with more to add later.
Each has its own radius for actors and vehicles, you can even time them, for example blast effect will only happen for certain time of explosion.. explosion is essentially the most elaborate particle, it consists of 3 particles (explosion, blast and smoke) each with multiple effects based on proximity radius:

1. instant kill area (very close)
2. set on-fire area (too close)
3. Air blast area (further away)

Ofcourse i have made a whole debug routine to render this data

[Logofero]

It looks interesting. Also want to have separate fragments flying out of the explosion (and a parameter for setting the limit of fragments).

I will wait for the assembly. I would also like a working map editor.

[JernejL]

It looks interesting. Also want to have separate fragments flying out of the explosion (and a parameter for setting the limit of fragments).

I will wait for the assembly. I would also like a working map editor.

This can already be done - breakcreate, breakdistribute, breakamout and break_speed_multiplier handle this - this is how molotov creates molotov fire with 360 degree distribution and 10 particles.

[JernejL]

Added blood hemmoraging under dead people

[JernejL]

Yup, looks good!

[Logofero]

This was created specifically for your game (does not as mod). Weapon icons: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=100#p10931 and Blood particles: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=80#p10879

Will you add this to your release?

Edited: Reformulated the question.

[JernejL]

This was created specifically for your game (does not as mod). Weapon icons: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=100#p10931 and Blood particles: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=80#p10879

Will you add this to your release?

Edited: Reformulated the question.

I didn't use your blood because it wasn't what i needed in the end - what i needed was hemmoraging animation for under bodies, which i got now.
I also used a different style of blood when actors are hit, it's now a projected blood sprout based on hit origin, and no longer blood drops.

I didn't go thru weapon icons yet at all, because i don't know what kind of weapons i will have i need to completely re-do the mechanics of throwing (to introduce hold-mechanics like worms games) and i need to re-do molotovs completely too but i think i thrown in enough as it is now, and i think it's really time for another alpha release as i'm doing what is called "feature creep".. i did the stuff i intended to do and should release something

[Logofero]

This was created specifically for your game (does not as mod). Weapon icons: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=100#p10931 and Blood particles: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=80#p10879

Will you add this to your release?

Edited: Reformulated the question.

I didn't use your blood because it wasn't what i needed in the end - what i needed was hemmoraging animation for under bodies, which i got now.
I also used a different style of blood when actors are hit, it's now a projected blood sprout based on hit origin, and no longer blood drops.

Blood stains can be used without animation. For example, how I used it in TDC GTA1 DLC blood spot spread under the body gradually, no special animation is needed for a simple effect. This complicates the perception of the picture due to the fact that the visual effect looks complicated.

It also seemed to me that we had already discussed the list of weapons. Here is the link to the list you wrote: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1149&start=80#p10888

But I would like to know more precisely if you need these graphic resources?

Whatever you think: I do not expect payment for these icons and particles. I have provided you with an exclusive license for their unlimited use on free terms. So you can use them for free in any of your projects.

If you do not want to use my resources in your game, for some reason, then just write me this - I will not be offended. So that I do not wait for them in the release, because I wonder if this work will be in demand or whether I just need to leave them in the subject for other developers who need icons and particles of blood.

I hope for your more accurate answer.

[JernejL]

I haven't used your blood stuff because it didn't fit what i needed initially - you will see how my effect works when i release the demo, i had a different idea in mind and wanted graphics to look more realistic.

I checked your weapon icons, I like the stuff you made, i like some of your choices such as throwable dynamite sticks and you also made vehicle attachment weapon graphics, also mines are again something i absolutely need so i will definetly need an icon for that if i don't have one yet. but could we unify style for graphics? if you can make them look more realistic instead of shaded graphics, then they'll fit much better.

[Logofero]

I haven't used your blood stuff because it didn't fit what i needed initially - you will see how my effect works when i release the demo, i had a different idea in mind and wanted graphics to look more realistic.

I checked your weapon icons, I like the stuff you made, i like some of your choices such as throwable dynamite sticks and you also made vehicle attachment weapon graphics, also mines are again something i absolutely need so i will definetly need an icon for that if i don't have one yet. but could we unify style for graphics? if you can make them look more realistic instead of shaded graphics, then they'll fit much better.

Thanks for a more accurate answer.

So you and I were going to the opposite result.

I made the icons with a gradient so that they are not photo-relevant. This was done deliberately to preserve a unique style, for the same reason I added a black line to them. The fill shows that this is a game object, not a real one. Unfortunately, I do not plan to continue drawing icons; it was my creative urge to do something in a short time, there was also enough free time and there was inspiration to do it.

All the icons that I posted are a completed micro project. Anyway. If you suddenly reconsider the style of the game, you can use them in your project without restrictions, I will only be glad about this.

P.S .: The last screenshot with setting the layer level for particle looks good. I look forward to your release of the game.

[JernejL]

I do have a wish - i'm doing more improvements to car editor and could use icons for dummy types for use in editor:

Normal Door
Walk-In Door
Explosion Dummy
Engine Dummy
Connector Joint
Truck Joint
Front Wheel
Rear Wheel
Headlight
Brake light
Turret Exit
EM Light 1
EM Light 2
Physical Size
Physical component / Shape (a physics shape, out of which car shape can be built - for trucks.. this will be added in future)

For editor, graphis style doesn't matter much and the style of weapons would be good.