Smelter and scavenger

[Xano]

Did anyone ever got the smelter building or the scavenger unit to work? Whats missing? Also there is a Doom unit(?) in the subhouse Guild. Can these be put to work?

[Xano]

Do I only have to change the Rules.txt and artini.txt?

[Xano]

Ok, I can make the smelter already  :)

But when I try the scavenger the game crashes when Im loading a map...

Can someone help me?

[JulesG]

As you found the smelter models work fine. I use one as the Corrino Advanced Research building in my Landsraad mod, and I know that DuneNewt uses it in his Palace mod.

TLDoom can be used as a building (it also has construction model) but you cannot click on it (to repair, sell, attack etc) as that part of the xbf file is missing, so it can only sit there looking pretty.

The GuScavenger model can be constructed in-game (if you alter rules and artini) but it is unable to act as an ADVCarryall as the pickup/putdown sfx header code is missing. I have edited it though using the XBFeditor so that it can act as a ADVCarryall. You can also replace a model (say INYakhauder in the artini) in the campaign missions (INYAKHauder appears in the first Harkonnen mission) and again it will load as is.

I have failed though attempting to load the IMDropship model - it always crashes the game whether it is used to replace an incidental unit or whether you try to construct it.

Are you trying to add it to a map? If so this could be your problem as I understood IMHO that only the mission.tok format (that has not been decoded) supported addition of units, maps only support buildings.

Hope this helps

[Xano]

Thanks JulesG. Well, I wanted to be able to build the smelter and make it bring a scavenger like the way a refinary brings an harvester. Havent tryed it though. The smelter I got it, it was easy. Now I also wanted to be able to build scavengers in the hangar but when I changed the GUscavenger lines in rules.txt and artini.txt the game crashes when loading. Even if I can build scavenger it is no use if they cant make anything. I mean their purpose is to colect debris to get money in the smelter, but if they cant pickup/drop it is no good! but, you said you could edit it trough the XBF editor to use it lika  ADVcarryall, thats nice!

One question I have is if there is any picture of silos or something? there isnt XBF files of silos either right?  The HK repair pad the same? Now the LAWindTrap can be built the same way smelter right?

Thanks

[JulesG]

I wanted to be able to build the smelter and make it bring a scavenger like the way a refinary brings an harvester. Havent tryed it though.

You cant deliver airborne units (I have tried it with a Gunship delivered free with every helipad but the carryall hangs or flys in a circle at the edge of the map.

Now I also wanted to be able to build scavengers in the hangar but when I changed the GUscavenger lines in rules.txt and artini.txt the game crashes when loading. Even if I can build scavenger it is no use if they cant make anything. I mean their purpose is to colect debris to get money in the smelter, but if they cant pickup/drop it is no good!

Strange that it crashes, it should be possible to build it (I think Innoculator9 got it working as well as me) and it will drop to grab a unit but it then just stays there (as I said the pickup sfx is missing).

As to the purpose of feeding the smelter - this was never implemented by Westwood and does not work. The smelter is just a nice new building to use visually in the game or to act as requirement building (ie SecondaryBuilding = HKSmelter). Post up your Rules text and artini text for me to look at.

As to using GuScavenger modified as an ADVCarryall - it now looks likely that I will not be using it in my mod, so if you want it I can post the xbf here.

One question I have is if there is any picture of silos or something? there isnt XBF files of silos either right?  The HK repair pad the same? Now the LAWindTrap can be built the same way smelter right?

Actually that is four questions:

Silos - cant remember whether there is a picture or not, there are lots of spare textures in the files (I can understand this as I must have created 100% more textures than I will need while developing my latest mod).

Silos XBF - yes there is a silo xbf, if I remember correctly it is the INStore model used on a number of maps, however dont bother as the maximum spice storage code (that looks to be present in the refinery rules text) does not work so you cant define extra storage. It was removed by Westwood same as concrete tiles to make the game have less micromanagement.

Repair Pad - there is a partial xbf model (the repair arm is missing) in the files, but there is no code to make it work. The best method would be to use a turret that fires a bullet that has "FriendlyDamage = -x" (as done by a number of people including Appo).

You cant define large windtraps, but you can build the big upgraded windtraps (I use the xbfs in my mod) as smallwindtraps but increase the energy output line (I have forgotten the exact wording, just look at any windtrap and you will see the line).

Hope this helps

[Xano]

Yes, it were 4 questions... lol sorry!  :D

Ok, if you could post your scavenger xbf I would appreciate that, thanks.

My rules.txt and artini.txt so far are here. In the artini.txt I changed the icon (and grey icon) for AT_UpgWindtrap and Or_UpgWindTrap  to HK_UpgWindtrap and grey_HK_UpgWindTrap (made myself in Photoshop). I only had the Hk_upgwindtrap.

You cant define large windtraps, but you can build the big upgraded windtraps (I use the xbfs in my mod) as smallwindtraps but increase the energy output line (I have forgotten the exact wording, just look at any windtrap and you will see the line).

I think I made the Large windtrap available and defined it i guess... I didnt make the way you described above but they work and are on separated lines... but check in my artini and rules.

[attachment archived by Gobalopper]

[JulesG]

Is this the artini and rules files you used when you tried to build the GuScavenger?

This unit cannot be built at the moment for a number of reasons:

1)the below is the start of the unit detail from the Rules file -

[GUScavenger]

Score = 3

House = Guild

StormDamage=10 //only damages is never picked up

//PrimaryBuilding = HKHanger

UnitGroup = FromHanger

//can be built in any factory

Terrain = Rock, Sand, NBRock, Ramp....

Firstly the house chosen is the GUILD, yet the building assigned to construct the unit is the HKHanger (ie House = Harkonnen). This may or may not stop the build if you have a HKHanger.

The BIG issue is the line PrimaryBuilding = HKHanger is prefaced with // - this means the line is NOT ACTIVE, so there is no building assigned to construct this unit.

If you remove the // then it would build from the HKHanger and  queue with other units as the Unitgroup is correctly FromHanger.

Even if all this was correct, your artini file entry is wrong:

[GUScavenger]

Xaf = "G_Scavenger"

ClipSphere = 110

LoadFlagOnlyPreplaced

only loads units when called from a campaign mission map.

It should look something like this where icons are included so that you can pick it from the units menu:

[GUScavenger]

Icon = "iconsOR_ADVCarryall.tga"

IconGrey = "iconsgrey_OR_ADVCarryall.tga"

Xaf = "G_Scavenger"

ClipSphere = 110

SideBarType = "Units"

I doubt if this unit is breaking the map, it could be other definitions. What type of map was it? (if it was a campaign map I am not surprised things failed, otherwise not sure).

[Xano]

No, this one I used to build the Large windtrap and the smelter, I experimented the scavenger in another one so when something goes wrong I know what it is.  :)

[Xano]

I'll try to build the scavenger now with your instructions. I managed to build a silo using xaf AK_IN_Silo, it hasnt icon pictures but it has the construction Xaf(or xbf) in it! The size is the same so GREAT! Now I dont think it has a use because I cant limit the Spice capacity in the refinary, and I removed the before the spicecapacity=8000.

Anyway, could you send me your scavenger xbf edited?

Oh, and the map was single skirmish battle map.

Thanks

[Xano]

Ok, I found out what the scavenger problem was, I had everything right but one thing: I changed the name from [GUScavenger] to [scavenger] and put it with the other Generic units in the rules txt. The same with the artini.txt. But in the game the unit name is Guild Flyer...cant we change that?

[JulesG]

I am surprised you get any in-game name as I did not think Scavenger was listed in the strings files (GUScavenger is). To change it just find the entry in the relevant strings file. (There are two strings files that set unit/building names - textstrings.txt and e_output_text_pickup.txt).

[Xano]

Ok, so I've a question for you julesG: Can you limit the spice capability on the refineries and does that works? I've changed the line SpiceCapacity and removed the beside but it doesnt have any effect... The spice never comes to a limit even if you have only one refinerie and you limit also the upgraded pads to 2000. Can it be done?

[JulesG]

::)

I think I said before that the "max spice value" doesnt work for either silos or refineries. How could you accrue money on off-arrakis planets if there was a money cap based around silos and refineries? So they took it out and added the "Disableifnospice" code to prevent the refinery being shown on the Build menu when off-arrakis. Then they obviously found getting the smelter to work for only a few maps too much trouble so it got cut too...

A lot of items that were cut were either taking too long to develop or that slowed down the gameplay - and other things were added to speed gameplay up (for example you only choose to get a free harvester with the refinery just like in Dune2K - but you also get a free carryall whether you like it or not!).

Oh - I have included here the modified Gu_scavenger that works as a carryall. Hope you like it.

JulesG

[attachment archived by Gobalopper]

[Xano]

Ok, Thanks  ;)

Can you do me a favor?

Try download my map from here and see if it works, it works for me but the one that is in the fan made maps seems to not work... They should be the same...

http://dune2k.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=17666.0;attach=1047