SS1src: Modding Tools: InkyBlackness

[66485391090d1voodoo47]

there is no such thing as "done" in the world of System Shock.

[66485391094783RDplayer]

there is no such thing as "done" in the world of System Shock.

yes. even if my mod is done. its still not done. constantly changing smaller stuff nobody will notice.

[664853910983cdertseha]

Is your work finished, now that System Shock source code exists ?

It has changed. The main focus of the project is to get the data files documented. With the source, it's easier to get things right and not having to interpret hex-bytes all the time.

With the demand for an editor, it's definitely more work at the moment. So after release v1.0.0 of HackEd that allows for basic fan-mission support, I'm definitely cutting back my time on IB again as I'd like to use my private time for different things again. It's close to feeling like a second job now with the deadline.

[6648539109a13Roarkes]

I like the simplistic type of the editor, even if i have to learn it first. I was impresed by the video when i saw triggering of an item in the 3d view by entering a code, something that i did not see in other brush type editors. I understand the notion of constantly updating a addon, mod, etc. for the project well being.

[6648539109b7fdertseha]

Thank you for your message!
I am a bit puzzled though - which video are you referring to? Because none of the InkyBlackness editors have a 3D view
If you are referring to the museum videos, the game-screens that I showed there were overlays, done in video editing...

[6648539109d6cdertseha]

HackEd v0.5.0 is released.

This one adds the message editor, as well as a better save/load mechanic.

As per project plan, only small stuff is missing now for v1.0.0 . There might be another release candidate until then, though I plan to have v1.0.0 out by end of next week. This is then close to the source port release of NDS. I'm unsure whether they will include v1.0.0 already. It is a small risk to have it barely tested out in the wild, to be honest.
Still, with v1.0.0 available (regardless on how to get it) when the source port is released, people could start with that.

[6648539109f26dertseha]

HackEd v0.6.0 is released.

This is the release candidate for version v1.0.0 planned for end of this week.
I'll only look at a better way to restore workspace state across restarts, as well as adding IP notices during the next days. Also, bring the user-documentation Wiki up to speed.
And, of course, any immediate issue that pops up. 3RDplayer is a great tester - The editor could always use more testers.

[664853910a06ddertseha]

aaand we've already found a breaking bug. Moving objects around in a level (beyond its initial tile where it was created) will cause the engine to crash.

While the engine is very forgiving in various places, to mess up the object tables is a no-no. 

[664853910a28adertseha]

HackEd v0.6.1 is released.

The aforementioned crash did point out some missing functionality in the editor, yet the crash in the engine remains (affecting one specific object in classic and EE - not shockolate however).
I even could reproduce the same crash with the old editor. It seems that the engine can't handle destruction of the object with ID 7 on the first level. Reason unknown. I even changed the vanilla archive and verified this crash there as well.

Though, you could still argue that the editor might mess something up. I am thinking now to manually modify the archive to move level 6 data down to be level 1, because on 6 there's a gore tiger with ID 7. (previous levels all have either doors or triggers as ID 7) - yet with level 6 this crash doesn't happen.

Either way, this next release candidate includes some fixes, as well as a license dialog with all the necessary open source license information.

[664853910a5b1Roarkes]

Thank you for your message!
I am a bit puzzled though - which video are you referring to? Because none of the InkyBlackness editors have a 3D view
If you are referring to the museum videos, the game-screens that I showed there were overlays, done in video editing...

Yes, i tought you pressed the buttons in a 3d view, in the museum video.

[664853910a9a0dertseha]

HackEd v1.0.0 is released!

With this release, the "deck" package has been marked obsolete now. Why making a new editor?

With the source release of System Shock (1994) from Nightdive Studios, as well as the upcoming "Source Port", various new features in the game engine have been discovered, as well as new ones meant to come.
The previous "deck" editor from InkyBlackness reached its limits, so it was necessary to think of a brand new editor: HackEd.

This new editor, in its initial v1.0.0 release, essentially copies the structure of the previous "deck" package from InkyBlackness. It allows for basic fan-mission editing. Though, the new project was also done with the following goals:

• Much better UI/UX - This editor now supports Undo/Redo, as well as better UI-controls.
• Integrate findings of the source release - Although hardly anything of this noticeable in this first release, the engine can do way more than what was originally reverse-engineered.
• Support for future extensions to engines - With the begin of fan-based engine ports (e.g. Shockolate), as well as the upcoming "Source Port" from NDS, there will be extensions made that would have been tricky in the old editor.

As for the original plan, this release now contains the "bare minimum" that I had planned for the first public release. Originally I thought NDS would release the source port in September (or later), but they told me a different schedule. So, as a result the editor now is released on its own and is meant to be included in a later update of the source port. This should give us also some time to properly define how modding support is meant to be done.

Here's a 4K screenshot, showing all the current editor windows (Yes, an option exists to scale the UI to 4K - this screenshot shows the unscaled version to fit all the windows).

Next up: a short break and then working on the list of requests I keep getting from 3RD, as well as the consolidation of modding support with the source port.

[664853910ab13Gawain]

Good job! Looks awesome.

[664853910ac0cRoarkes]

But the"Source Port" from NDS will be on a different engine.

[664853910aeb7dertseha]

But the"Source Port" from NDS will be on a different engine.

That is correct.

Yet they kept reading the data files compatible, even though they started it from the Mac sources. That's also the reason why the first fan-mission from 3RD also runs there. What I am trying to figure out now is how Axemelon actually implemented the modding system.

[664853910b043icemann]

Since the layout in the editor is completely top down. How does it show floors over floors? The original game had a few cases of this if I remember right.

[664853910b210JosiahJack]

All floors over floors were faked by using a flat bridge object similar to a forcebridge but textured with metal or similar generic texture to disguise the fact that it isn't a real part of the level geometry.  You can spot it since the height doesn't match up with the floor and also the lighting doesn't smooth across perfectly.

There are only about 15 or so times where this was used and most only used one grid square alone.

Unless you count force bridges then there are a few more times.

Also, I don't recall any time where an object was placed on ome of these fake floors.

[664853910b30bRoarkes]

Can someone add new faces inside the editor/game and sounds ? The games levels must be overwriten for a new addon/mod to work ?

[664853910b462dertseha]

The editor, in its first release, supports what I call the bare minimum support for fan missions: you can create new levels (layout and content) and set most relevant information elements (text and sound for traps; text, images, and sound for emails and logs; text for papers or fragments.)

Future versions will add (restore) texture modification/replacement and further elements. I also want to get video encoders working, for video mails and cutscenes!

Edit: and yes, levels need to be overwritten.

[664853910b632dertseha]

Version v1.0.1 contains first bug fixes.

One of which is that new objects are placed properly on the floor. In hindsight, this was only (properly) possible thanks to the source release, because the algorithm for this would not have been easy to reverse engineer, thanks to a list of if/elseif. Though, "properly" is still only true for "flat tiles" - ridges and valleys only have an approximation. The original engine didn't consider to place objects on such tiles it seems, so I had to come up with an easy solution for now. The proper solution will require more thought.

[664853910b74dRoarkes]

Thank you for the editor explanation above. About the ,,new objects are placed properly on the floor,, can you make a bounding box like in Quake 2 ?
With my brother, i have fixed Dawn of Darkness mod bounding box for items and such.

[664853910ba2adertseha]

can you make a bounding box like in Quake 2 ?

I don't know what this means for Quake 2, so I don't understand.

To give more background: the properties in objprop.dat specify some physical values, such as PhysZ and PhysXR, either of which can be zero. I haven't followed the physics engine how they are interpreted, just from their names I'd assume it's height and radius. Unless the object is a special one (dedicated render types are exempt), first PhysZ, then PhysXR are tested/used as offset. If all fails, then a default size is assumed.

[664853910bb5dRoarkes]

Around the player you can see the box :
http://i63.tinypic.com/2myogtk.jpg

[664853910bceb3RDplayer]

I wonder how this would be? From what I gathered bounding boxes of objects in system shock are very small and uncanny. I also don't see a reason to have it displayed in the editor. In the game itself you can't have it shown since that would require changing the game code (unless there is already a boundbox mode hidden of which I dont know) and the editor itself doesn't have a 3D view either. Also does the game not have a crazy physics engine that would required two objects touching each other to trigger something. What would you want to do or what do you need a bounding box display for if I may ask? @Roarkes ?

[664853910be05icemann]

That'd be hard coded in.