Custom Zones...?

[Richardo]

I'm still waiting for people to give me plans to make new zones for this client. *evil snarl*

[Shadow-Wolf]

Ok heres one question for you, since the client relys on EQEmu for now does that mean that EQ plays and SC players could players on the same server so long they had the same zones?

[Windcatcher]

Technically, yes, but it's the "same zones" part that's the problem. The only way I can see it happening without using ZoneProxy is if you replaced SOE zones with your own and then exported the same zones as .xwf, with the same zone names. The problem is that you'd be using Sony's zone names. I can't stop you from doing that (and I have neither the desire nor the legal requirement to attempt to), but I'd advise against it.

[link2009]

Originally Posted by Windcatcher

Technically, yes, but it's the "same zones" part that's the problem. The only way I can see it happening without using ZoneProxy is if you replaced SOE zones with your own and then exported the same zones as .xwf, with the same zone names. The problem is that you'd be using Sony's zone names. I can't stop you from doing that (and I have neither the desire nor the legal requirement to attempt to), but I'd advise against it.

So, in the end this is a license problem but theoretically, we could write our custom-coded .DLLs to load Sony's zones.

[Windcatcher]

Originally Posted by link2009

So, in the end this is a license problem but theoretically, we could write our custom-coded .DLLs to load Sony's zones.

Or Half-life, or Quake 3, or anything else that has a BSP tree. SC can't do everything that a Quake 3 zone calls for, but it can do enough. The reason for the DLL abstraction layer is because I don't want it tied to any particular format, even XWF. Every file format becomes obsolete eventually. The choice of using an abstraction layer really has nothing to do with Sony at all -- I simply consider it good design.

[link2009]

Originally Posted by Windcatcher

Or Half-life, or Quake 3, or anything else that has a BSP tree. SC can't do everything that a Quake 3 zone calls for, but it can do enough. The reason for the DLL abstraction layer is because I don't want it tied to any particular format, even XWF. Every file format becomes obsolete eventually. The choice of using an abstraction layer really has nothing to do with Sony at all -- I simply consider it good design.

Excellent idea. Time for me to catch up on my BSP Trees reading .

[Richardo]

I'd gladly make zones for the new eq client.. I just wish openzone supported transparent textures :p

[Windcatcher]

Originally Posted by Richardo

I'd gladly make zones for the new eq client.. I just wish openzone supported transparent textures :p

I can't speak for the live client, but 32bpp textures should work just fine in SC.

[morganpartee]

yea... i think some more work needs to be done on zoneproxy too... but im a fan of whatever works!

i wish i could get a server running w/ ZP...but i wouldnt know how to.

bah.

[Richardo]

Originally Posted by Windcatcher

I can't speak for the live client, but 32bpp textures should work just fine in SC.

It's a big pain having to create a mask just to create a translucent/transparent section of a particular texture. Would be great if I could just import a png file with transparency and have it determine the alpha through the image file rather than 2 different files.. Or changing the opacity of the entire texture.

[Windcatcher]

If you have a 32bpp .BMP file, it should work. One of the OpenZone to-do's is to let it import any file, not just .BMP. I think it can handle .TGA files, though. If you convert your image to a 32bpp TGA file it should work right now.

[Windcatcher]

Here's another tease...the entrance to the Peshara Highlands:



Every icon is mine, by the way. There are still lots of things to fix, but a bit at a time I'm getting there.