External Docking Sorted (real, no scripting) + Custom Asteroid Base (pix)

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Wed, 28. Jun 06, 21:07

Earthpilot,

Sorry, I didn't see your post until just now.

1. The way I position the 19027 and 19026 bodies is to import (using DBOX) the appropriate "dummy" file from the unpacked \objects\ships\props folder into 3dMax. I'm at work at the moment, but will post the names of the respective files when i get home.

2. The custom external docking parts I use are based on the old X2 docking parts. Are you wanting to use the old animated parts...and if so, do you want animation? The reason I ask is that I've been thinking about trying to make a custom animated docking port for fighters, based on something similar to the old X2 parts.

3. Interior station scenes...hmmmm. I'll have to give this one some thought. There were clearly special provisions made in the X2 code to handle station docking...something like a "mini jump gate" that transferred your ship to the internal station scene specified in the TFactories or TDocks files. Obviously something like this still is possible, given the high-speed asteroid chase scene, but there needs to be a way of triggering the event. In the case of the asteroid chase scene, it is the plot. Anyway, it's an intriguing question, and I'll certainly give it some thought.

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Thu, 29. Jun 06, 15:07

Thanks, DeadlyDa,

1. OK seems BodyData.txt gives the answer:

19026; 0; 0; -1; stations\docks\dockCarrier_quicklaunch_scene_dummy;
19027; 0; 0; -1; stations\docks\dockCarrier_scene_dummy;

However I had a look at them and my problem is , that I can't glue all parts of that scene together ( gmax noob

) . So everytime I am positioning the hangar in gmax, it turns out 180° degrees rotated and wrong positioned.
The latter is happening with 19026, too.

2. It is Ok when the ships can actually dock ( Same thing like your Monsoon gunboat , as far as i know ).
However it would be a nice eye-candy if we could do something like the hangar of a Star Wars Mon Calamari Cruiser with all ships visible inside the hangar.

3. No research progress on my side so far.

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Thu, 29. Jun 06, 19:52

However I had a look at them and my problem is , that I can't glue all parts of that scene together ( gmax noob Embarassed ) . So everytime I am positioning the hangar in gmax, it turns out 180° degrees rotated and wrong positioned.
The latter is happening with 19026, too.

I'm a bit confused when you say that "...I can't glue all parts of that scene together". The Dummy parts are all you need. All of the parts that are in the associated scene file are combined into that single "dummy" part. If you import the dummy file, and rotate it the way you want it (not forgetting to rename it to 19026/27), then it should render fine.

Hint: Re-importing your scene files with DBOX is a great way to ensure your model will show up in X3 exactly the way you want it to...without having to actully try them in-game.

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Sun, 2. Jul 06, 00:41

As a quick "heads up", there is a nice tutorial on creating custom docks over on X-Wiki.

Pop over to http://www.xwiki.chaos.net.nz/index.php ... ustom_dock and have a look. Free to update the tutorial if you see something wrong, and of course since it's a "wiki", you can always add your own content

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Tue, 18. Jul 06, 17:31

Nice modelling tutorial.

Now on to texturing

Back to topic.
No progress on finding that interior station thingy.
Interesting that the entries on tfactories still exist.

Btw: In case you want to know: \X3\objects\cut\6310.bod is the earth cutscene.

-XTM- · Post by **-XTM-** » Tue, 18. Jul 06, 20:43

The next version of Xtended will contain a custom internal M6/TS/TP dock and launchbay. I will update either Deadly or the Wiki with info found from making this since it's about embedded bods and some other interesting stuff.

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Sun, 23. Jul 06, 16:20

Nice to hear, Mox.

But what I seek is getting access to interior station scenes like it has been the case in X2:The Threat.

My longtime goal is making my own stations with interior and planet surfaces.
However polycount forces me to go this way so the "interior station scene" of a planet would be the surface instead - like that guy who makes the moonbase - putting the whole thing together.

Sambo · Post by **Sambo** » Tue, 8. Aug 06, 04:09

So.... has anyone managed to get M6 external docking working as a seperate mod yet?

I have tried a number of different tutorials and while I've quadruple checked everything it just doesn't work for me!

Is someone who has sucessfully done this mod able to send me a .cat file with the mod in it? I would REALLY appreciate it!!

Thanks,

Sam.

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Tue, 8. Aug 06, 04:15

So.... has anyone managed to get M6 external docking working as a separate mod yet?

Well...one possibility is to use Cycrow's ship extract tool to pull the regular M6 ships out of DDRS, and make your own mod.

All the standard Egosoft M6 ships in DDRS have external docking. The only part you might not like is that I also added a couple of additional turrets on the weaker ships.

Sambo · Post by **Sambo** » Tue, 8. Aug 06, 04:37

I have already pulled all the ship info / models etc from the DDS Mod, but I can't get them working in my game.

Do you mean Cycrow's 'Ship Manager' tool?

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Wed, 9. Aug 06, 00:21

Do you mean Cycrow's 'Ship Manager' tool?

Right...that'd be the one

I've never used it, and so can't help you out on what needs to be done. However I know others have successfully extracted ships from DDRS and have them working in their games.

Sambo · Post by **Sambo** » Wed, 9. Aug 06, 00:24

Yeah, that's why I'm confused as to why mine don't work.

Would anyone be willing to take a look at my .cat file (with one modded ship in it) to see where I went wrong? (it's only a few kb)

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Sun, 3. Sep 06, 17:30

Still no progress but I just thought of something:

In X2 big ships and small ships are treated different:

When flying M6 and bigger you are redirected directly to the station's menu when reaching the position of the external docking body.
In smaller vessels you are redirected to the interior scene.

Maybe that could be a hint, or what do you girls/guys think?

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Sun, 3. Sep 06, 19:07

I suspect that the way to accomplish this is to "insert" a cut scene sequence between the arrival of the small ship, and the engagement with the station menu.

Think along the lines of the high-speed asteroid chase (when Julian hooks up with Kyle). There you are, flying along in the "normal" X3 environment, then a cut scene is triggered where you fly through a tunnel in the asteroid (which could just as easily be a station interior)...and "bingo", your back in the normal X3 environment again (which could be the station menu.

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Tue, 5. Sep 06, 19:54

maybe but how do we trigger a cutscene?

Is it possible to use the script-editor?

Sambo · Post by **Sambo** » Sun, 10. Sep 06, 02:37

All of you who were wanting a stand-alone pre-compiled M6 External Docking mod... Rejoice!!

http://forum2.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=1812734

Only for the Split Dragon, but it's a start!

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Sun, 17. Sep 06, 19:07

OK I have checked both the X2 and X3 tfactory entries for the argon shipyard. They both use the same interior scenes.

However I have not been able to find the file that takes care of the redirect function that leads the player to the internal scene( X2 ) or the station menu (X3 ).

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Mon, 16. Oct 06, 13:09

OKanother thing that ran across my mind:

Is there any way to choose which docking bay you want to dock at?

For example: I want to dock my TL at a shipyard and the "nomal" docking sequence directs me to a docking port in the middle.
But I want to dock at the outer right docking port of the shipyard.

How do I do this?

DeadlyDa · Post by **DeadlyDa** » Wed, 18. Oct 06, 17:09

Is there any way to choose which docking bay you want to dock at?

Unfortunately no.

When a ship makes an internal call to the X3 engine requesting a docking slot, it returns a yes/no, and the next available slot for the size of ship you want to dock.

I believe that the order in which slots are used is based on the order that they appear in the scene file.

However I have not been able to find the file that takes care of the redirect function that leads the player to the internal scene

I'm still looking. I've got 2-3 ideas I want to pursue, but there are a few things that are a bit higher on the priority list.

Earthpilot · Post by **Earthpilot** » Sun, 29. Oct 06, 14:27

Ok with me.

Lol, I changed the docking body at a station to one i made myself.

I docked, but found myself inside the station tube.

When undocking, i had to eject because my ship was only halfway stuck in the station and got blown up by it .