Selectable moviepacks like TR2N Origins

[Game Zone]

I would like to see a choice of movie packs also it would be nice to see randomized or a set sequence of movie packs for the player to play through.

[Z-Man]

Then use that other client? We looked at their implementation and they went to the bottom of the hole we dug ourselves with the moviepack format and built a cellar from there. Something compatible won't be integrated here.

[Game Zone]

they went to the bottom of the hole we dug ourselves with the moviepack format and built a cellar from there.

Bottom of the hole, in what way? Please explain.
I just want the player to be able to be able to pick the look of the game. Don't lots of people want this also?

[syllabear]

I'd rather just play the game to be honest... Most people are more concerned about getting better performance and actually reduce the standard settings for a worse looking but smoother playing game.

[Z-Man]

The MP file format is bad (no, I won't elaborate here). The code handling it is horribly specialized and even small changes to it have been horrible in the past. Further changes would be a mistake, unless both the file format and the code get a complete overhaul. The T2O guy just hacked the code to make their immediate goals work without concern for the future of the codebase or data files floating about, a sensible thing to do for them as their intend is to start over completely. We're in a different situation, so it's not a viable option for us.

[sinewav]

I just want the player to be able to be able to pick the look of the game. Don't lots of people want this also?

You would be surprised how many don't. This function you describe is something I wanted, coming from glTron. I love making moviepacks. However, many of the players here remove all textures and even alpha blending just to get better performance. Not everyone has a system strong enough for "awesome graphics" and not everyone wants that anyway. This game is abstract, like Tetris, and that's part of the appeal. You can put the most amazing graphics on Tetris and it still doesn't change the gameplay, and only mildly affects the gaming experience. Lightcycle racing is a cerebral activity, like puzzle solving.

By the way, that's a pretty awesome lightcycle you made in that other thread.

[Game Zone]

Not everyone has a system strong enough for "awesome graphics" This game is abstract, like Tetris, and that's part of the appeal.

Id say the graphics at moment are a long way from awesome, its very basic in terms of whats on screen. But thats OK, I can work with that, my new art is abstract and fits the theme perfectly, that's why I want to get it in this type of game.

It seems perhaps the game must be badly optimized if people get bad performance, I thought it was just my macbook, but I have got choppy frames, which I find odd, map is a square box, with 2 bikes in it, so perhaps the game was built to not be optimized from the start, and its a case of throwing good after bad trying to fix things, and it should just be made from the ground up again.

I had offered to pay the coder at TR2N to put some features in, but I have not received any reply, there forums are not very busy. It seems its the guys missus that posts there, and at moment she is busy writing werewolf stories on the boards, so perhaps the project has been abandoned. It could be useable but for the fact I have found the texturing is off, its just not working for me, it aligns things however it wants, so is unusable for anything artistic if that the case, perhaps I am writting the .cfg wrong, but for me, it stretches textures however it wants, when it feels like it, and aligns them however it wants and when it wants as well.

I have just mailed someone that made a unity project to ask if the code is available, I just really want to get my art into something.

[Phytotron]

It could be useable but for the fact I have found the texturing is off, its just not working for me, it aligns things however it wants, so is unusable for anything artistic if that the case, perhaps I am writting the .cfg wrong, but for me, it stretches textures however it wants, when it feels like it, and aligns them however it wants and when it wants as well.

You know, we tried at length to explain all this and more to you already. Glancing at the T2O forums, looks like you still won't believe anyone when we tell you it is not a bug. And the entire rendering engine and code is not going to be totally reworked right now just for you. Sorry.

at moment she is busy writing werewolf stories on the boards

Haha, what?

Yeah, I'm not sure anyone ever really played that game. It probably had more action on the forums than in the actual game, its supposed raison d'être.

[Game Zone]

I forgot about that, thanks Phytotron, I will go over that and see if I can work things out.
Right back again, yep, I tested it using I think one of sinewavsinewav .cfg so I know that is correct, when changing level size, it will sometimes mess up alignment, so one tries back and forth changing the settings of grid to see if it will snap in, and you might get it correct if you can trying many times, but the bug is there, many of you that will of tested tr2n will not notice this because one, many of you it seems don't even use art, like you have said, and two, even if you have, some of the art is so busy and in your face, you cant tell, and the others that are not jazzy, these are very minimalist, so it doesn't show so much, but the bug is there for a fact, download my grid textures and you will see for yourself.

Framerate just about unplayable as as well with large textures, seems the game is made for only small like 64 pixels or something on that lines, having game use png files are not ideal format though, they are rather large file size for video games.

[Z-Man]

The alignment you want is NOT POSSIBLE. Grid sizes differ by irrational factors. Maps complicate things even more. Yeah, there could be a SCALE_TEXTURES_WITH_MAP option, but that will look horrible when map scales get large or small, and you'd still have to craft your map carefully.

And the graphics code is mostly from back in 2000. It's optimized for the hardware available then. Changing a game to use up to date graphics all of the time is known as the "Duke Nukem Forever Method" of development. We don't do that. If we have time, we'll make a complete rewrite of the rendering to current tech some day, but in the meantime, we save that time to explain to people why we're not up to date.

[nsh22]

/me is on the tr2n dev team
and to be perfectly honest, its dead.... doubt it will ever come back. most of us have lost interest in both tr2n and arma.
also, even if you did give manta (main dev) money, it would be wasted since nobody plays at all.
Destiny has been busy with rl stuff for 2 years and is just getting active again but likely wont be pushing tr2n... afaik

as for the tr2n coding, the coders basically customized a few graphical things and cut out some code (not sure). that was supposed to be a temporary release until we had rewritten the code, but that never even started.

i think its great that you are playing tr2n and enjoy it, but I doubt there will be any further development in the foreseeable future.

[syllabear]

If you are too busy noticing the "art" in the background you obviously aren't playing the game properly.

Armagetron game modes, no matter if it's original gamestyle, HR, dogfight, fort, sumo etc. all revolve around quick game play and constant action, so there is little or no time to notice the backgrounds and textures.

An interesting analogy I thought of is this: You are most likely one of those people who liked the prequels to starwars more than the last 3, just because they had nicer graphics and more flashy everything. However, the original 3 were no doubt the best, because they had some substance behind them (character development, plot, etc.)

[sinewav]

[Jip]

http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/