InkyBlackness news: v0.5.0 - Object editing

[6662a1c85d534JosiahJack]

The plane is just a dummy model.  If a model was deleted, for instance, I believe it defaults to the plane.

[6662a1c85d8c5RocketMan]

Plane model?  I was talking about a vast playable area that can't be accessed.  I don't recall where it is now that I've mentioned it but I definitely couldn't get to it.  I'll just take your word for whatever the case may be since you've seen the level design plane as day.

[6662a1c85e0f5Roarkes]

Hello Roarkes, thank you for your interest! (post became quite large - tl;dr at the bottom)

The primary goal of InkyBlackness is to document most meaningful resource data of the original game. Current side-products of this goal are some editing tools with which I mainly implement to verify my findings. A non-goal of the project is to do yet another attempt at an engine-rewrite. We have other current projects, such as Citadel, as well as the commercial production from OtherSide.

So, neither will InkyBlackness provide a network-capable engine, nor will it attempt to tamper with the existing executable to retrofit this. Yet, on the other side, a level editor could still support such an effort. The aforementioned Citadel project could be extended to have a network-mode - and since it is based on the original resource files from the original game, an editor could create files which are then imported to the network-capable Citadel. (Note: While this is speculation, it is technically feasible.)

As for the capabilities and usability of the (current) level editor: I don't know the editor of SS2 (nor any other editor - the last ones I dabbled with were for Doom and a brief adventure into the one for Descent -- all about 20+ years ago). So I can't compare. Though, as mentioned above and previously in this thread, currently I am not focusing on usability itself; I add an interface with the least amount of engineering, which is not unbearable from a user (my) perspective, just enough to verify my findings. *)
Most likely you would be able to create Citadel (the station - i.e., the game - not the project) from scratch once "finished", though right now it still lacks some features.

It is kind of a chicken-and-egg situation: As long as no one builds a (capable) editor, no one will create mods. As long on one wants to create mods, no one will create a capable editor.
*) Still, I am adding functions to the editor about features of the game I already know of. After all, I myself would love to see some viable mods for SS1 - which is one reason why I created this example mod, to showcase the current capabilities Yet at the moment, this has a lower priority. If there is serious demand to create mods, we could find a proper balance of "trying to get used to what the editor already provides", "figure out missing functionality from the data files", and "add editing capabilities to the editor".

tl;dr:
- coop/deathmatch is not applicable to InkyBlackness
- usability of editor/tools: can't compare, though current focus is not on usability
- capabilities: You may be able to re-create Citadel with the editor in the future, right now you can create only levels with low complexity.

Thank you.

[6662a1c85e3a8JosiahJack]

Plane model?  I was talking about a vast playable area that can't be accessed.  I don't recall where it is now that I've mentioned it but I definitely couldn't get to it.  I'll just take your word for whatever the case may be since you've seen the level design plane as day.

I dunno, I see a couple boxes that aren't reachable but it appears the other areas you see are for other levels' cyber spaces.

[6662a1c85e516RocketMan]

It would be cool to have a cyber-cube extruded from normal cyberspace that you could use as a cyber-pod to escape the playable area and tumble randomly into the abyss.  It would come complete with cyber-door and cyber button to detach from the data stream.  You could look through the transparent multi-colored cyber walls of your cyber-cube and see cyberspace drift away into cyber-blackness... inky blackness if you will.

But seriously... just make it cool

I think HEX addresses should be added with leader-lines pointing to the cyberspace tunnels so you know which area is which when you see them off in the distance from another area.  That way I wouldn't have trouble identifying what that inaccessible space is off in the distance

[6662a1c85e6c2icemann]

There was also that area that was blocked off via red laser barrier on level 2 with the mutants behind it. I always tried to find ways into that bit without any luck.

Feature request for InkyBlackness - Ability to change player starting position. Yes I know it's hard coded, but I'm requesting anyway.

[6662a1c85e7b2JosiahJack]

Level 2 forcefield box is opened once either beta grove is jettisoned or self destruct is enabled.  Can't remember which.  This lets out some virus mutants.

[6662a1c85e885icemann]

Interesting. Any items of interest in there?

[6662a1c85e955RocketMan]

Virus mutants

[6662a1c85ea37JosiahJack]

Ya thats it. It is only a 3x8 room or so with virus mutants.

[6662a1c85ee56dertseha]

Feature request for InkyBlackness - Ability to change player starting position. Yes I know it's hard coded, but I'm requesting anyway.

A quick blurb since I just tested this: You can indeed add a "level entry trigger" (one time use) in level 1 which immediately transports the hacker to a different level and/or tile coordinate. When starting a new game, the loading cursor blinks once and the view "starts" in the target level! So, by just using up one marker, you can avoid modifying the .exe 

Only caveat: There's no action known that allows rotation of the hacker. So hacker will always face West when starting.