dragon sightings reported

[Dragon88]

Wrench: I have got a map 75% completed for the new server. I have placed about 7 of the cool dragon pawns into the map. I can't find a way to make them re-spawn. Is this possible or are they a 1 time thing? I have to get with Serial_Killer before the release as I used LonesomeGlen-Sniper-Edition base map for it. I removed the Asian huts and stuff and built a cool custom Castle for it. Duplicated it for a total of 2. I have 3 dragons each based at each castle to protect it. I may add a few more around the map just to mix things up a bit. The bot pathing has been tweaked a little to to have to bots move more freely around the whole map. Anyway.....Readers Digest version of this post, I can't get them wild dragons to re-spawn.

[wrench]

To achieve multiple spawning instances, you could use a ScriptedTrigger or TimedTrigger action (Action_Spawn) and select 2009Dragon.Firedragon as the class to be spawned... or simply use the assembly I demonstrated in version1 of the dragonpen map.

Open the map & find the actor named CreatureFactory0
(As is, it's set to spawn IceSkaarj monsters)
Right-click to view its properties
Click the ThingFactory header to expand that section
change the value (via dropdown) of the Prototype property to reflect whichever dragon class you want (or any monster class, for that matter)

The CreatureFactory actor lets you tweak a bunch of stuff. You can control "how many monsters spawned from this factory are allowed to be active at once" (MaxItems property), how many times to loop/repeat (Capacity property; -1 means don't loop), whether the monster acts like a piñata and drops 'goodies' when killed, etc. There's even a 'bCovert' property -- so you can instruct the factory to check PlayerCanSeeMe before spawning a monster & have it wait until no one is looking (no player is close by)(I can't remember whether it checks fixed distance or line-of-sight. you can peek at the class code to see). Link the spawnPoint actor to the CreatureFactory via matching Event/Tag properties. Multiple spawnPoint actors can be linked to ONE factory, if you wish. You can ignore (omit) the PatrolPoint actors shown in demonstration. I stuck those in just to coax the monster back to that corner of the map when it isn't fighting.

[serial_killer]

Wrench: I have got a map 75% completed for the new server. I have placed about 7 of the cool dragon pawns into the map. I can't find a way to make them re-spawn. Is this possible or are they a 1 time thing? I have to get with Serial_Killer before the release as I used LonesomeGlen-Sniper-Edition base map for it.

Not to worry Dragon you don't need my permission to use this map, if that is what your going to get with me about. If you decide to use/alter any of my maps go for it( since you are a clan member the maps were made for us/you to do with as you please). I made them for the joy of making them. Besides LonesomeGlen is not my creation to begin with(the original author should still be in there, I never remove that from other peoples maps I alter). It was originally a map made for onslaught or capture the flag. It got placed on the sniper server and at the time people were telling me they liked the map but it was way too big. So all I did was resize the original subtraction brush that makes up the world, move a few things around, redid the lighting and added some little invisible pills. If I remember right you may want to take a look at one of the Stone arches, I think I forgot to set the collision for it and you fall through it when you try to stand on it.

[Meow_Mix]

I did a lot of running backwards

...lol.....I thought that was one of my tricks....good one!

[Dragon88]

Thanks Wrench! Thanks Serial_Killer!

[Meow_Mix]

I haven't seen a dam dragon yet....must be blind...

Actually I'm just interrupting (again) to ask Wrench to get rid of the troll signature. It's really, well, they won't let me say nasty stuff like that on a family board....

[wrench]

get rid of the headache-inducing spinny letters thing in YOUR sig & I'll gladly nix the troll

[Meow_Mix]

Okay...not a problem I'll nix it. You first! (Trust me, if you do, I will!)

Anyway, I have to tell you I tried the server again. Although not my speed either I find it interesting. I got my *** handed to me a few times, but managed to get the hang of the weapons and did okay in one try.

Very neat idea and original. Good work!

(Now get rid of the troll...)

[moonshad]

actually what I do for offline play is add the dragons to monster manager. Also If you havent done this yet. You can give them to monster masters to spawn in RPG.

[wrench]

Thanks for suggesting "monster manager", moonshad. I've rarely played INV & until digging into this project didn't realize mutators were available to apply runtime changes to monster health, size, etc. At your suggestion, I checked out MM... but for this scenario, the closest solution (but no seegar) seems to be the InvasionEverywere2 mod.

I see that MonsterManager lets you choose 'wave', 'extreme wave', or 'random'... but this still isn't flexible enough.

With both mm and IE2, here's the missing piece: although they enable setup of various config "sets", they don't enable you to call one specific set (via maplist commandline) this match... and a different "set" next match. It's either on, or off. Yeah, you can change the active config via webadmin ~~ but I'm saying a predetermined, map-specific, config "set" needs to be applied every match, via automation.

We need to wind up with a maplist something like:

mybigmap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.BigSet
someothermap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.BasicSet,UnrealGame.MutLowGrav
mytinymap.ut2?Mutators=UnrealGame.MutLowGrav
waterymap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.WaterSet
mountainmap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.HillSet,UnrealGame.MutLowGrav

In the meantime, I have installed a set for InvasionEverywere2 which spawns one dragon at a time into the match. We can enable IE2 (or not) for any given map in the maplist... or enable it on/off for all maps, as a voteable mutator. Right now it's setup as a 'voteable' mutator, but if anyone votes it into play and leaves... it will remain enabled 'til someone votes it away (resets to off only upon daily server restart)

BTW, in case my intent wasn't clear in the earlier post, the planned result won't be "in some maps you score points by killing players OR dragons". It will be "in some maps, you need to dodge near-invulnerable dragons while trying to kill players".

[wrench]

managed to get the hang of the weapons in one try

That's cuz you're smarter than the average bear. I worry it's too hard for new players to figure out the weapons, so I plan to install "ServerMenuMutator" (Tabbed help/info menu pages in-game) to provide on-demand docs n tips to players (via 'F12' or other keybind). Hmm, maybe those docs will explain the effects of various relic pickups too.

[Meow_Mix]

managed to get the hang of the weapons in one try

That's cuz you're smarter than the average bear. I worry it's too hard for new players to figure out the weapons, so I plan to install "ServerMenuMutator" (Tabbed help/info menu pages in-game) to provide on-demand docs n tips to players (via 'F12' or other keybind). Hmm, maybe those docs will explain the effects of various relic pickups too.

Not nessacesarly...but thank you. The things I don't get the hang of are the pretty coin like things that one can pick up and then use like a power. Any help on those would be great (and I'm sure a lot of others would like to know what they do too). Also, I'm sure I haven't seen or used all the different weapons, but they're fairly easy to figure out. All the ones I've used or tried have two (2) ways of shooting. The right and left buttons of your mouse will give different results when shooting the weapon you have mounted. (This was for the benefit of users that haven't played this game yet, I'm sure you know this...duh)...

Anyway I'll probably give it a play or two again soon and see what I can see. Who knows it maybe addicting. Although I'm still fighting Isis for first place on the RPG.

Okay, Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart.....gone.....

[moonshad]

Thanks for suggesting "monster manager", moonshad. I've rarely played INV & until digging into this project didn't realize mutators were available to apply runtime changes to monster health, size, etc. At your suggestion, I checked out MM... but for this scenario, the closest solution (but no seegar) seems to be the InvasionEverywere2 mod.

I see that MonsterManager lets you choose 'wave', 'extreme wave', or 'random'... but this still isn't flexible enough.

With both mm and IE2, here's the missing piece: although they enable setup of various config "sets", they don't enable you to call one specific set (via maplist commandline) this match... and a different "set" next match. It's either on, or off. Yeah, you can change the active config via webadmin ~~ but I'm saying a predetermined, map-specific, config "set" needs to be applied every match, via automation.

We need to wind up with a maplist something like:

mybigmap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.BigSet
someothermap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.BasicSet,UnrealGame.MutLowGrav
mytinymap.ut2?Mutators=UnrealGame.MutLowGrav
waterymap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.WaterSet
mountainmap.ut2?Mutators=GimmeMonsters.HillSet,UnrealGame.MutLowGrav

In the meantime, I have installed a set for InvasionEverywere2 which spawns one dragon at a time into the match. We can enable IE2 (or not) for any given map in the maplist... or enable it on/off for all maps, as a voteable mutator. Right now it's setup as a 'voteable' mutator, but if anyone votes it into play and leaves... it will remain enabled 'til someone votes it away (resets to off only upon daily server restart)

BTW, in case my intent wasn't clear in the earlier post, the planned result won't be "in some maps you score points by killing players OR dragons". It will be "in some maps, you need to dodge near-invulnerable dragons while trying to kill players".

Actually it also lets you choose how many to spawn at a time and a few other things. but I think its mutator specific. I will check out the invasion everywhere. its the first time I have heard of it so its something new to me.

[wrench]

My oh my did I ever have to WRESTLE with InvasionEverywere2 (sic) to get the result I wanted.
It kept insisting players should receive 15 frags for killing a dragon (read from the monster's classfile).

I spent more time examining the decompiled code from MonsterManager than I did actually "using" it.
When I tested it in-game, it didn't spawn monsters into a DM game, period.

it also lets you choose how many to spawn at a time and a few other things

Yeah, very cool stuff. Great to know -- code to borrow from if I wind up rolling my own monster mut.

BTW:
A third mutator, MonsterMover, contains additional desirable features which are missing from the other two.

[wrench]

Day8 ...and I think we're getting close to peeling away the "beta" label.

The on-demand popup tabbed menu for help/info is in place,
along with recurring onscreen messages letting players know its available
(via F12 key, or choose a different keybind... or via 'mutate info')

The dragon supercharacter is an effective "nuisance"
(by design, there's nothing in-game to explain this, but here's the scoop)
-- deals 35 melee damage
-- has 99999 health (or thereabouts)
-- nets a player ZERO frags if he/she manages to kill a dragon
If anything, we might include a "clue" among the rotating messages
"There be dragons here! Fear the dragon! Run for your life!"

Based on your feedback, maybe we'll scale the dragons larger?
As is, the IonDragon and one other (of the five) are set to render 2x the size of fire dragon.

Personally, I don't care for all the flashy/glitzy trails and sparkles from the dragons. I'm itching to package up less glitzy subclassed dragons and serve those instead, but there aren't enough hours in my day... and I'd rather be mapping.

Based on your feedback, we can set dragons to appear in every map (instead of as a votable mutator) but I'm not in a rush to do so.
I've already seen a few maps which could use special handling ~~ some are large enough to invite more than one dragon at a time, others are so cramped that the dragon's wings are constantly clipping through the walls/scenery. This consideration is related to the decision to (or not) possibly scale the dragons larger.

We'll also need feedback about altering the maplist & suggestions for map-specific MinPlayer (bot) settings. Tonight I discovered that without a translauncher and with only 5 opponents (bots) DM-Moria sure feels like a lonely place.

During beta, any Redeemer present in a map is left, undisturbed.
It's not Medieval... but I don't mind if the Redeemer stays or goes away.
And I'd bet Meow_Mix would want it to stay.

IMO, the remaining "beta-ish" detail is that neither the StakeOut nor SSWeapons mutator is correctly handling replacement of SniperRifle (lightning gun) pickups. We're winding up with a non-pickup-able ShieldGun displayed. On a related note, early on, I swear I found (and was able to pickup/use) a translauncher from a pickup base in of the maps. I haven't seen one lately & can't remember the specific map, but a stray trans would certainly be a problem.

Yeah, we also need to get rid of embedded WeaponLockers. No big chore, and not a showstopper. I've not installed yet-another mutator to just handle WLs; I'm including that in a larger Medieval-izer mutator.

So whaddya think?
Ya want fries with that?

[Meow_Mix]

I'd like fries with that, please.....And would you super size the Pepsi too? Thanks....

[wrench]

Changed the base game to include StakeOut Arena, Relics & dragons (vs having those as votable muts)
(necessitated changing the ServerMenuMutator text docs and the UT2Vote rotating messages)
Oddly, 'Stakeout' (vs 'StakeoutArena') shows a higher (4x higher!) CPU load.

REDUCED THE (BOT) DIFFICULTY, FROM 4 TO 3
(still dang challenging)

increased the size scale of the dragons

removed availability of BigHead & SlomoCorpses voteable muts
(had discovered that slomo is an impediment; can't pike another player while a corpse is still stuck to the pike!)

removed availability of Regeneration votable mut
(redundant -- a regeneration Relic is available)

discovered that the terrain perimeter blocking volumes in the "TheShire" map do not extend to the ceiling (a glitch/cheat)
but left the map in the maplist anyhow (reworking that map is on my agenda, but not top of list)

DISCOVERED, IN THE STAKEOUT MUTATOR CODE, THAT THE SHIELDGUN PICKUP (sMESH) IS HARD-CODED
(EVEN IF A WEAPONSWAP MUT IS ACTIVE, ANY PLACED STAKEOUTPIKEINV PICKUPS WILL DISPLAY A SHIELDGUN MESH)
SO IT'S NOT A BUG, JUST LAZY CODING BY THE AUTHOR (RATHER THAN SUPPLYING A CUSTOM WEAPON MESH)

removed availability of the RelicOfAgility (wing icon on relic pickup) b/c it seemed redundant with StakeoutWings
(that relic's primary effect is increases your jump height)

FOR FOLLOWUP:
~~ consider removing availability of LowGrav mutator
The risk of fall damage from great height balances benefit of flying, eh?
Besides, falllllllllllling from great height takes too long. Also, low grav 'seems to make the world too 'bouncy' upon landing.

~~ use a set bot roster (back to ServerBots?) because robot characters ain't medieval (and look silly wearing organic wings)
Right now, the entire of stock characters is availabe to bot selection.
I'm observing how the differing bot characteristics (personalities) behave differently using the weapons.

~~DM-EvilHive-2004 is still in the maplist, even though it un-authentically includes vehicles.
It's an interesting StakkeoutArena map b/c the gameplay feels mostly 'vertical' (lotta aerial dogfighting)...
...and because some aspect of that map (er, some scenario specific to that map) sometimes causes all the bots in the match to act groggy / stoned. Unless a FearSpot (avoid marker) gets spawned & HardAttached to the dragon (monster), it's a great mystery why the bots are affected. Closest I've ever seen to this situation is bots' reaction when vortex projectiles are active in the smallish DM-DrWho
-=-
Anyhow, the followup is to complete the "remove vehicles etc" mutator I started. Yuk, huge timesink, and I have little hope it will be comprehensive, but at least it will nix vehicles and weapon lockers and gametype-specific (CTF flag bases, ONS nodes, etc) actor meshes.

~~ Considering that it's so hard to explain the custom weapons, that AirControl seems to be partially disregarded (can't bank well when you're flying fast), that the scale of the wings seems unbelievable small, AND that the mutator places ShieldGun meshes at the mamaba ammo pickups... sometime down the road I might rip/rebuild it into a 'Gimme Wings' mutator (not necessarily bound to using stake/pike weapons).

~~the 'IronMaiden' feature started working, but only in the StakeoutArena version.
I had disabled it while trying to optimize the CPU usage and the map changeover times.
Ought to re-enable it and recheck resource usage.

~~ TeamDM is currently unavailable. Bots were playing the team game really well, but the textures sported by some of the custom-skinned bots (in use at the time) don't accept team-color overlays... and the wrong maplist (need to check the GameType line in UT2Vote) was showing up for team play.