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Work in Progress / DarkBASIC Professional PLUGIN– Cartography Shop v4.x CSM Map Importer v3.0.x

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APEXnow
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Posted: 10th Jun 2004 21:15 Edited at: 20th Jun 2004 22:11
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*****************************************************
***** THIS REQUIRES DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL V5.2 *****
*****************************************************

Hi folks, I have decided to create this thread to advertise the Work In Progress of my new plugin which allows you to load and manage Cartography Shop map files. The difference between this and my original native code version is speed and userbility.

The plugin supports three types of loading functionality:

1. Loading maps without lightmaps.
2. Loading maps with lightmaps using 2x Mesh support – Same as loading .X and lm.X mesh files.
3. Multitexturing, although this is non-usable because of the multitexturing issue in the current version of DarkBASIC Professional (v5.2)
4. CAULK texture detection for removing meshes that are effectively invisible.

The plugin comes with full documentation on the usage of each function available but this function base will expand as I develop further.

At present, here are a list of functions available that are added to DarkBASIC Professional once installed correctly:

LOAD CSM – Load a CSM map file using various options
CSM COUNT – Obtain counts of various CSM components
CSM PROPERTY COUNT – Obtain property counts for Groups, Meshes and Entities
CSM PROPERTY – Obtain the property names or values for the three CSM components
CSM TEXTURE NAME – Obtain the texture names used by your CSM map file
CSM TEXTURE IMAGE – Obtain the Image ID of the textures
CSM SURFACE COUNT – Obtain the number of surfaces for each mesh
CSM SURFACE ID – Obtain the object ID of both textured and lightmapped surfaces
CSM ENTITY X – Obtain the X position of an entity
CSM ENTITY Y – Obtain the Y position of an entity
CSM ENTITY Z – Obtain the Z position of an entity

Additions to be made to the plugin are:

1. Pivot Entity support, allowing translation, rotation and scaling of all mesh geometry
2. Animated textures for all meshes
3. Proper collision integration using either DarkBASIC’s collision system and Nuclear Glory’s collision system – When I finally get around to purchasing it!

Also, when DarkBASIC Professional updates are released, to fix the multitexturing issue to improve overall FPS of maps.

Although much further down the road, I’ve been giving thought to implementing automatic QuadTree occlusion for all mesh data to improve overall FPS of large maps.

After downloading the tool, please read the help files for correct installation instructions, or index.htm.

So, please feel free to download and try at your leisure. Comments and suggestions are very welcome, and required ;o).

[EDIT] Updated to fix CAULK texture bug, should work now!

Download – http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.3.zip




Home of the Cartography Shop - DarkBASIC Professional map importer
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Mitchell
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Posted: 10th Jun 2004 21:58
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Cool! Now all I need is DB Pro

"A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever"
- Shigeru Miyamoto
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David T
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Posted: 10th Jun 2004 23:37 Edited at: 10th Jun 2004 23:38
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Don't suppose there's any collision yet... I see not

Does it exist as an object? Or is it just "there" if you know what I mean?

Two strings walk into a bar. I'll have a pint says the first$%ASLDJ09920D"$"$D. Excuse my friend says the second, he isn't null terminated.
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Peter H
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Posted: 10th Jun 2004 23:38
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Cool! Now all i need is CS4


Formerly known as "DarkWing Duck"
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APEXnow
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Posted: 10th Jun 2004 23:45
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David T, the map exists as object surfaces but you use the CSM SURFACE COUNT and CSM SURFACE ID functions to obtain the object identies of meshes.

Collision is yet to be sorted out, but it is still in beta.

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 12th Jun 2004 00:40
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Folks, I've a small problem and there is no solution to it since it's a DB issue and not mine.

I've sorted out the memory leak issue when using the plugin, update comming soon, but this is the problem.

There is now a new command added which the previous versions didn't have: CSM CLEAR. This effectively clears out everything to do with the currently loaded CSM map file. All well and good, but deleting the map geometry itself is VERY VERY SLLOWWW! DarkBASIC Professional seems to take an extremely long time deleting objects if there are 300-500 or more object meshes in existance. It starts off slow and increases in speed as the number of objects goes down.

This is a problem because if you've loaded a map for a game, then wish to move onto the next map, the previous map must be removed.

I'm not sure how to tackle this situation other than make all objects completely invisible and leave it up to the programmer to ensure that they do not attempt to create new objects using the same Identities that are used for existing meshes used by the map.

Any suggestions or solutions would be nice.

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 20th Jun 2004 20:22 Edited at: 20th Jun 2004 22:12
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*****************************************************
***** THIS REQUIRES DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL V5.2 *****
*****************************************************

Hiya folks, ok, this is a new update of my plugin which has more functionality added, plus an updated example program to demonstrate simple use of the pivot functions. More importantly, this version now supports clearing and loading of new maps in real-time. This process is extremely fast as well.

PLEASE READ THE HELP DOCUMENTATION FILES BEFORE USING THE PLUGIN

Here are a list of functions available to DarkBASIC Professional. All functions are fully documented in the html help files accompanying the plugin.

Standard Functions

LOAD CSM
CSM CLEAR
CSM COUNT
CSM PROPERTY COUNT
CSM PROPERTY
CSM ENTITY X
CSM ENTITY Y
CSM ENTITY Z
CSM PIVOT ID
CSM TEXTURE CREATE
CSM TEXTURE NAME
CSM TEXTURE IMAGE
CSM SURFACE COUNT
CSM SURFACE ID
CSM SURFACE TEXTURE
CSM TEXTURE MESH

Pivot functions

CSM MOVE
CSM POSITION
CSM ROTATE
CSM ANGLE
CSM HIDE
CSM SHOW

The new version v3.0.4b can be downloaded here - http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.4.zip

Your comments, bug finds and suggestions are needed. Enjoy!!!!

Paul.


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megamanx
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Posted: 20th Jun 2004 21:21
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I cannot get the example to work. I moved the DLL file to the correct location and I directly added the INI info to keywords.ini. Once I done that, I started up DBP and loaded the demo project (which did include the dba file) and tried to compile. I got this error...

Quote: "Command in DLL command-table unrecognised (LOAD CSM[%LSLL%_Z8CSM_Load_Pcii%LOAD CSM(Filename as String, lightmap flag As Integer, Starting object As Integer))"
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APEXnow
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Posted: 20th Jun 2004 21:36 Edited at: 20th Jun 2004 21:41
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Hmm, I'll check.

[EDIT] The CSMIMPORT.DLL file MUST be copied to your DarkBASIC Professional\Compiler\Plugins-User folder otherwise it will not be picked up by the compiler. I've tested the example directly from the zip file, so it's not a problem this end.

Paul.


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megamanx
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Posted: 20th Jun 2004 21:46
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I had it moved to \Compiler\plugins-user (the same folder as MakeGame.dll). Do I need CartShop installed in order to use this? I'm just wanting to play with it (might buy cartography shop if this plugin is good).
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APEXnow
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Posted: 20th Jun 2004 21:51 Edited at: 20th Jun 2004 21:53
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You don't need Cartography Shop installed, but you will need Cartography Shop map files. The example included has two maps to play with for starters.

[EDIT] I'm unsure as to why your compile is failing. I extracted everything to a new folder and copied the DLL to my Plugins-User folder. It compiled just fine. Be sure that you're using DarkBASIC Professional update v5.2 as well (Required)

Paul.


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megamanx
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Posted: 20th Jun 2004 22:04
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Aaaah, the version I'm using is most likely the problem. I will probably need to update. Thanks for your help
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Aoneweb
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Posted: 21st Jun 2004 01:55
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I had a similar problem then I rebooted and all was well

Toshiba Sattelite, 2GHz,Nvidia GeForce4 420go, Windows XP Home.
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APEXnow
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Posted: 22nd Jun 2004 00:36
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Folks, I’ve uploaded v3.0.5 of my plugin. Here are a list of changes.

1. New function added – CSM GET MESH INDEX – used for obtaining object media ID for collision functions, i.e. Nuclear Glory.
2. Update documentation which also contains a brief code example for using Nuclear Glory collision on CSM map files.
3. Fixed a few mem leaks, images and lightmaps are now properly freed from memory when CSM CLEAR is called.

Comments & suggestions welcome.

Download – http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.5.zip

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 22nd Jun 2004 21:45
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Folks

Version 3.0.6b is up, this version has two new functions that deal with error handling. The messagebox errors have been removed.

Download - http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.6.zip

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 8th Aug 2004 09:14
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*****************************************************
***** THIS REQUIRES DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL V5.5 *****
*****************************************************

Hiya folks, ok, this is a new update of my plugin which will blow away the need for two meshes for base and lightmap loading. YES YOU HEARD RIGHT, this now allows you to load a .CSM map file using a single mesh stategy for lightmapping!!!! Only one new function added since v3.0.6b and thats CSM BLEND MODE. This function allows you to set the required lightmap blending mode. Note though that this requires DarkBASIC Professional v5.5. So please ensure your version is up to date before downloading the new plugin version.

Your comments and testing results are welcome and needed. Thank you.

PLEASE READ THE HELP DOCUMENTATION FILES BEFORE USING THE PLUGIN

Here are a list of functions available to DarkBASIC Professional. All functions are fully documented in the html help files accompanying the plugin.

Standard Functions

CSM MAP OFFSET
CSM BLEND MODE
LOAD CSM
CSM CLEAR
CSM COUNT
CSM PROPERTY COUNT
CSM PROPERTY
CSM ENTITY X
CSM ENTITY Y
CSM ENTITY Z
CSM PIVOT ID
CSM TEXTURE CREATE
CSM TEXTURE NAME
CSM TEXTURE IMAGE
CSM SURFACE COUNT
CSM SURFACE ID
CSM SURFACE TEXTURE
CSM TEXTURE MESH

Pivot functions

CSM MOVE
CSM POSITION
CSM ROTATE
CSM ANGLE
CSM HIDE
CSM SHOW

The new version v3.0.9 can be downloaded here - http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.9.zip

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 10th Aug 2004 21:25
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I've placed a new Feedback section to my site, so if anybody wishes to send feedback about my plugin, or any of the other things on my site, go right ahead.

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 12th Aug 2004 05:25
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*****************************************************
***** THIS REQUIRES DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL V5.5 *****
*****************************************************

Official release stage v3.0.10

1. NOW loads maps using a single mesh arrangement that uses a lightmap. Based on .DBO format.

2. Supports loading of two or more maps simultaneously.

3. Now comes with documentation which will be updated as new features are added. Please ensure that you read the documentation before you use the plugin.

4. Map files now load extremely fast!! I've recorded maps to load even faster than that of Cartography Shop. Although this is not a comparative opinion, the reason for this is that the plugin has been fully written in C++.

5. Map files can be cleared and new ones loaded in real-time, also extremely fast. Completely eliminates the need for object deletion.

6. Now supports full Pivot group control, allowing interactive and animated maps.

7. Easy implementation of texture animations.

PLEASE READ THE HELP DOCUMENTATION FILES BEFORE USING THE PLUGIN

Here are a list of functions available to DarkBASIC Professional. All functions are fully documented in the html help files accompanying the plugin.

Standard Functions

CSM INITIAL OBJECT
CSM BLEND MODE
CSM MAP OFFSET
CSM SET MAP
CSM GET MAP
LOAD CSM - Parameters changed since v3.0.9, see documentation
CSM CLEAR
CSM COUNT
CSM PROPERTY COUNT
CSM PROPERTY
CSM ENTITY X
CSM ENTITY Y
CSM ENTITY Z
CSM PIVOT ID
CSM TEXTURE CREATE
CSM TEXTURE NAME
CSM TEXTURE IMAGE
CSM SURFACE COUNT
CSM SURFACE ID
CSM SURFACE TEXTURE
CSM TEXTURE MESH

Pivot functions

CSM MOVE
CSM POSITION
CSM ROTATE
CSM ANGLE
CSM HIDE
CSM SHOW

The new version v3.0.10 can be downloaded here - http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.10.zip

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 28th Aug 2004 06:56
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************************************************************
****** THIS REQUIRES DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL V5.5 and above *****
************************************************************

Bugfix release v3.0.11

LOAD CSM will now accept full path specification, which caused problems before thanks to a highlight by one of our valued users

Updated the function documentation as there were, well, erm, mistakes.

CSM SURFACE ID no longer requires the lightmap flag



General featues:

1. NOW loads maps using a single mesh arrangement that uses a lightmap. Based on .DBO format.

2. Supports loading of two or more maps simultaneously.

3. Now comes with documentation which will be updated as new features are added. Please ensure that you read the documentation before you use the plugin.

4. Map files now load extremely fast!! I've recorded maps to load even faster than that of Cartography Shop. Although this is not a comparative opinion, the reason for this is that the plugin has been fully written in C++.

5. Map files can be cleared and new ones loaded in real-time, also extremely fast. Completely eliminates the need for object deletion.

6. Now supports full Pivot group control, allowing interactive and animated maps.

7. Easy implementation of texture animations.

PLEASE READ THE HELP DOCUMENTATION FILES BEFORE USING THE PLUGIN

Here are a list of functions available to DarkBASIC Professional. All functions are fully documented in the html help files accompanying the plugin.

Standard Functions

CSM INITIAL OBJECT
CSM BLEND MODE
CSM MAP OFFSET
CSM SET MAP
CSM GET MAP
LOAD CSM - Parameters changed since v3.0.9, see documentation
CSM CLEAR
CSM COUNT
CSM PROPERTY COUNT
CSM PROPERTY
CSM ENTITY X
CSM ENTITY Y
CSM ENTITY Z
CSM PIVOT ID
CSM TEXTURE CREATE
CSM TEXTURE NAME
CSM TEXTURE IMAGE
CSM SURFACE COUNT
CSM SURFACE ID
CSM SURFACE TEXTURE
CSM TEXTURE MESH

Pivot functions

CSM MOVE
CSM POSITION
CSM ROTATE
CSM ANGLE
CSM HIDE
CSM SHOW

The new version v3.0.11 can be downloaded here - http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.11.zip

Paul.


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APEXnow
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Posted: 16th Sep 2004 11:03
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************************************************************
****** THIS REQUIRES DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL V5.5 and above *****
************************************************************

Bugfix release v3.0.12

Fixed:

1. There was an apparent issue with texture orientation in that they were reversed when loading any map (Can't believe I missed this!!!) - FIXED

2. Transparent textures now work correctly, even on lightmapped surfaces which results in foggy windows etc if applied correctly - MODIFIED





General featues:

1. NOW loads maps using a single mesh arrangement that uses a lightmap. Based on .DBO format.

2. Supports loading of two or more maps simultaneously.

3. Now comes with documentation which will be updated as new features are added. Please ensure that you read the documentation before you use the plugin.

4. Map files now load extremely fast!! I've recorded maps to load even faster than that of Cartography Shop. Although this is not a comparative opinion, the reason for this is that the plugin has been fully written in C++.

5. Map files can be cleared and new ones loaded in real-time, also extremely fast. Completely eliminates the need for object deletion.

6. Now supports full Pivot group control, allowing interactive and animated maps.

7. Easy implementation of texture animations.

PLEASE READ THE HELP DOCUMENTATION FILES BEFORE USING THE PLUGIN

Here are a list of functions available to DarkBASIC Professional. All functions are fully documented in the html help files accompanying the plugin.

Standard Functions

CSM INITIAL OBJECT
CSM BLEND MODE
CSM MAP OFFSET
CSM SET MAP
CSM GET MAP
LOAD CSM
CSM CLEAR
CSM COUNT
CSM PROPERTY COUNT
CSM PROPERTY
CSM ENTITY X
CSM ENTITY Y
CSM ENTITY Z
CSM PIVOT ID
CSM TEXTURE CREATE
CSM TEXTURE NAME
CSM TEXTURE IMAGE
CSM SURFACE COUNT
CSM SURFACE ID
CSM SURFACE TEXTURE
CSM TEXTURE MESH

Pivot functions

CSM MOVE
CSM POSITION
CSM ROTATE
CSM ANGLE
CSM HIDE
CSM SHOW

The new version v3.0.12 can be downloaded here - http://www.apexnow.co.uk/csmimport-v3.0.12.zip

Paul.


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PiratSS
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Posted: 16th Sep 2004 11:43
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That's great work APEX now Independent Software Development guy
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