SRTT Traffic and world zone questions

[[V] Knobby]

I'm sad to report this is hard-coded currently.

if ((!trail_blazing_is_active() || trail_blazing_panda_is_active()) && !mission_is_in_progress(MISSION_ONE_NAME) && !mission_is_in_progress(MISSION_THREE_NAME) && !mission_is_waiting_for_restart()) {


I could totally see exposing this to lua though.

 

[flarn2006]

I'm sad to report this is hard-coded currently.

if ((!trail_blazing_is_active() || trail_blazing_panda_is_active()) && !mission_is_in_progress(MISSION_ONE_NAME) && !mission_is_in_progress(MISSION_THREE_NAME) && !mission_is_waiting_for_restart()) {


I could totally see exposing this to lua though.

Just wondering, is that the actual source code or just some pseudocode to show what you mean?

 

[[V] Knobby]

Pseudocode, but the idea is correct.

 

[[V] IdolNinja]

I'm sad to report this is hard-coded currently.

if ((!trail_blazing_is_active() || trail_blazing_panda_is_active()) && !mission_is_in_progress(MISSION_ONE_NAME) && !mission_is_in_progress(MISSION_THREE_NAME) && !mission_is_waiting_for_restart()) {


I could totally see exposing this to lua though.

I'm going to assume this was directed towards my question about how missions disable boundaries. You have the conditions setup in the if then block, but no payoff with what code actually executes.

So, (once again) assuming the code block does disable boundaries for missions/activities and is hardcoded in the exe, then what about the approach of permanently extending the world boundaries for the open world itself, or even removing the boundaries completely. If this is possible, then where is the boundary data itself stored?

 

[[V] Knobby]

I'm going to assume this was directed towards my question about how missions disable boundaries. You have the conditions setup in the if then block, but no payoff with what code actually executes.

So, (once again) assuming the code block does disable boundaries for missions/activities and is hardcoded in the exe, then what about the approach of permanently extending the world boundaries for the open world itself, or even removing the boundaries completely. If this is possible, then where is the boundary data itself stored?

Yes, that was a response to the boundary question. The code in the if will force the player to turn back(unless in one of the magical missions where the player is restricted and the content is against the edge of the world).

We can expose the ability to disable the boundary from lua, but the problem is that the turn around boundary is just inside the physical boundary of the havok world. At a point you will simply run into that boundary and crash or simply have no physics. I understand the desire to be able to explore more of the areas that butt up against the boundary, but be aware that you can't simply fly off the end of the map and keep going as long as you want.

 

[[V] IdolNinja]

Yes, that was a response to the boundary question. The code in the if will force the player to turn back(unless in one of the magical missions where the player is restricted and the content is against the edge of the world).

We can expose the ability to disable the boundary from lua, but the problem is that the turn around boundary is just inside the physical boundary of the havok world. At a point you will simply run into that boundary and crash or simply have no physics. I understand the desire to be able to explore more of the areas that butt up against the boundary, but be aware that you can't simply fly off the end of the map and keep going as long as you want.

I think that would be a small price to pay in order to fully explore areas outside the missions. If someone gets in trouble outside the boundaries, Sandbox+ has teleport commands that will help put them back wherever they want.

 

[Corrodias]

On that subject, is there any way to increase the physics box? To give us room to play with the whole 25x25 area? I would imagine it's in the exe, but this can serve simply as food for thought if so.

 

[Gondar]

Also out of curoisity, how far up and down does the physics box extend? Is it up to the flight height with some stuff like the special free-fall plummet mechanics handled by putting the player above and just floating stuff up past them? And how far down? I mean, if you get under the city map, presumably there's a point you either land on an invisible floor or the game loops you to the surface or crashes or you just fall for infinity (I've never tested and can't recall). So, is it possible to slip stuff under the map for the purposes of extending it (with some trickery I guess to fake a sky, although it's not a preferred method I guess, but it would at least allow for large enclosed areas that won't fit in existing Steelport). Same for up, if it's possible to give us some way to call specific parts of the map above so we can load them in as needed and warp player in for what we want, then leave them non-rendered when not in use? Or does the physics engine still care about the unrendered stuff even if nothing's there?

 

[[V] Knobby]

Also out of curoisity, how far up and down does the physics box extend? Is it up to the flight height with some stuff like the special free-fall plummet mechanics handled by putting the player above and just floating stuff up past them? And how far down? I mean, if you get under the city map, presumably there's a point you either land on an invisible floor or the game loops you to the surface or crashes or you just fall for infinity (I've never tested and can't recall). So, is it possible to slip stuff under the map for the purposes of extending it (with some trickery I guess to fake a sky, although it's not a preferred method I guess, but it would at least allow for large enclosed areas that won't fit in existing Steelport). Same for up, if it's possible to give us some way to call specific parts of the map above so we can load them in as needed and warp player in for what we want, then leave them non-rendered when not in use? Or does the physics engine still care about the unrendered stuff even if nothing's there?

I talked to our physics guy and he said the world extents are [-3000,-500,-3000], [3000,1500,3000] and the world is not larger for floating point precision issues.

I'd like to remind you that games are smoke and mirrors and SR3 is no exception. In mission 02 when you are free falling out of the plane, you are actually in an trigger zone above the world, but not above the maximum height. We actually hide the world for a period of time and show a texture for the world to make the world look far away. We slow the player's falling down considerably to allow for super-long free fall times. We manipulate the camera throughout the mission with people grabbing the player to allow for switching between real city and the texture. We are forced to stay inside the havok world as well.

We often put trigger regions under the world and that is very much a possibility for new content. If you need a convincing sky, we try to stay above the world and pick a location out over the water like for the bank in mission 01.

 

[Gondar]

That's pretty much what I was thinking with the question, that's not a bad size to play with either for stuff, particularly if it's not gonna be particularly tall areas stuffed up or down. If you can be sure you're not going to have the ones above and below at the same time it's all good. Thanks for the answer!

(And I figured it might have been above the max fly height but not physics height, and thought it was more with the player stopped and the stuff flying up to make it look like you were falling... but I didn't know the reason it zoomed in was to swap about stuff. Smoke and mirrors indeed, kudos to the designers all!)