Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Released! - Discuss progress and updates on the biggest Trespasser level endeavor ever, JPDS - a dark Tres mod by Draco and co.

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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Microceratops »

Spoiler: show
Zombie Raptors? Heh, I found a group of very strange Raptors but I wouldn't call them zombies...

I don't want to spoil it, you'll eventually find it. And you'll get scared as never before.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by RexHunter99 »

Microceratops wrote:
Spoiler: show
Zombie Raptors? Heh, I found a group of very strange Raptors but I wouldn't call them zombies...

I don't want to spoil it, you'll eventually find it. And you'll get scared as never before.
Spoiler: show
They are Zombie raptors if we're all talking about the same, heavily grassed area :P
Btw Draco
Spoiler: show
I finally explored almost every square inch of the map thus far. Kinda disappointed that the sewers lead no where fast, the Sleeping Rex was great :D you used the same techniques I would have done. Explored the swamp, loved the ambiance. I found ALL exits in the map (even checked in TresEd to be sure I got em all) I think I found almost all the weapons, though I did miss a number of tidbits.

Lol loved drinking insects.

People are definitely going to have to draw upon features of JPDS for their levels now, some of the stuff you pulled off was ingenious, actually, why not consider discussing certain aspects like the health system and how you scripted all the edibles and what not. (IIRC you used to do that in your journals a loooooong time ago)

All of this puzzle solving has inspired me to make a level =D
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Microceratops »

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They are Zombie raptors if we're all talking about the same, heavily grassed area :P
Spoiler: show
Oh, the red ones? Yeah, those scared the crap out of me :lol: But I was talking about a different "kind" of Raptors... A little bit that I think you haven't discovered yet ;)
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Draconisaurus »

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Oh, I think Rex has discovered it :P Evidently he went everywhere in the level and then poked around in TresEd. I'm pretty sure he found that area on his own, from the sounds of it. And YES the creatures in the Marshland are all zombie raptors! Brownies to whomever figures out the story behind them.

Anyways great job Rex, thanks for the comments! You found all the exits, a fine accomplishment if you actually reached them all without cheats. I haven't heard any stories about the unsafe bridge yet... And yeah, really proud of that sleeping rex. Thanks goes to Asjad near the very end for that sleeping rex model. It was almost a static rex in a semi-sleeping orientation.
And you mean swamps* ;) I'm interested to hear how much the sinking swamp annoyed people :P And I do appologize for manually walling off so much of the water-swamp, but it was necessary to make it work after the terrain couldn't be modified anymore.
Oh, you found EVERY level end trigger, sweet. Yes, the cluster of them in that special place was meant to load interesting savegames. I suppose we might still release a version which does so after it's all released, but probably not..

I think it would be great to see JPDS features in new fan levels, but I admit some of it is pretty involved unless you're one of us long-time Tres modders. Going over it in a dev journal sounds nice but I'm extremely strapped for time, it may just not happen. Feel free to post new threads in our JPDS forum here concerning specific features, and describe how they work for other modders... I'm moving in a few weeks but will be checking in from time to time to see the latest things people have been up to with JPDS.
On that note, I think it would be GREAT to see a horror level based on CursedArena assets that also uses the health system.

Oh yeah, the sewers. There is a bit to see beyond the blockade, but yes, it's just an inclusion of Mike's work on the sewers so that it got used somehow, since it's pretty awesome work. And I'm assuming you also fully explored the "older" tunnels which precede it.

And Rex, nice that it's inspired you, but the Winter Contest ends in just a few short days! :yum:
PS: New release, check new thread.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by RexHunter99 »

Draconisaurus wrote:
Spoiler: show
Oh, I think Rex has discovered it :P Evidently he went everywhere in the level and then poked around in TresEd. I'm pretty sure he found that area on his own, from the sounds of it. And YES the creatures in the Marshland are all zombie raptors! Brownies to whomever figures out the story behind them.

Anyways great job Rex, thanks for the comments! You found all the exits, a fine accomplishment if you actually reached them all without cheats. I haven't heard any stories about the unsafe bridge yet... And yeah, really proud of that sleeping rex. Thanks goes to Asjad near the very end for that sleeping rex model. It was almost a static rex in a semi-sleeping orientation.
And you mean swamps* ;) I'm interested to hear how much the sinking swamp annoyed people :P And I do appologize for manually walling off so much of the water-swamp, but it was necessary to make it work after the terrain couldn't be modified anymore.
Oh, you found EVERY level end trigger, sweet. Yes, the cluster of them in that special place was meant to load interesting savegames. I suppose we might still release a version which does so after it's all released, but probably not..

I think it would be great to see JPDS features in new fan levels, but I admit some of it is pretty involved unless you're one of us long-time Tres modders. Going over it in a dev journal sounds nice but I'm extremely strapped for time, it may just not happen. Feel free to post new threads in our JPDS forum here concerning specific features, and describe how they work for other modders... I'm moving in a few weeks but will be checking in from time to time to see the latest things people have been up to with JPDS.
On that note, I think it would be GREAT to see a horror level based on CursedArena assets that also uses the health system.

Oh yeah, the sewers. There is a bit to see beyond the blockade, but yes, it's just an inclusion of Mike's work on the sewers so that it got used somehow, since it's pretty awesome work. And I'm assuming you also fully explored the "older" tunnels which precede it.

And Rex, nice that it's inspired you, but the Winter Contest ends in just a few short days! :yum:
PS: New release, check new thread.
I gave up on the winter contest long ago dude to crash problems. Was thinking more along the lines of an entirely new level ;) And no, I didn't use cheats, I like to play new mods without them.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by jetblack »

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As near as I can tell, the zeds were caused by DX, right? And that friggin sinking swamp... :sick:
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Draconisaurus »

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jetblack wrote:As near as I can tell, the zeds were caused by DX, right?
Well yes, that's not too difficult to figure out, but I'm looking for more than that. There are a few little clues to find around.
And that friggin sinking swamp... :sick:
:mrgreen: You can thank machf for the idea on how to script it properly.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Deino »

What a great work you've done on this JPDS project! "Impressive, most impressive!"(c) I really can't imagine how one could be patient enough to have such a huge project fully accomplished, to bring all the work to the end! And that's more than excellent!
I've read all this topic through from the very beginning to the very end, and realized how few of the features of the Streams level I discovered for my own while playing. You know, I simply walked through the whole area straight from one side to another and reached the gate to the Plains level (wich I've already downloaded:)) without any attempt to wander around and check what is out there:).
Deeply impressed with the models of dinosaurs (I mean, of what I've already seen in the level), raptors are my favorite)) and Allosaurus makes a really pleasing impression! And I like much the environment and atmosphere (such a mysterious) Btw, what this sly Biosyn forgot on the InGen's territory? :mrgreen:
But I have some remarks referring to the design of menu screens and intro. As it was mentioned somewhere above the intro is quite long (perhaps it's because of phone convesations which are indeed important). and the cursor. InGen logo is one of the nicest logotypes I've ever seen but it's not for use as a cursor (I had problems while editing options, audio parameters, for example. Usability rules require cursor must be sharp tipped tiny object arrow-like or wedge-like in general... except this, JPDS is the greatest thing created on Trespasser's engine, I didn't expected this engine to be capable of providing such a great quality in all the aspects of game design! 8)

p.s. I'm quite a newbie on this forum and English is not my native language, so will you please excuse some mistakes occured (or are likely to occur from time to time)... and indeed I'm fond of Trespasser (and Jurassic Park movies and books) though I'm not a gamer. I prefer to create games, not play), presently work in the game industry.

p.p.s. Inspired by JPDS I couldn't help putting my hand on it and redesigned the main screen of the game. I can post here (if possible) the .jpeg of it if you are intrested :wink:
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Draconisaurus »

Thanks for your review Deino 8)

The models of the dinos are from a combination of sources. There are both raptor models from the retail game, and from TC Isle, though all reskinned by Second Illiteration (or in later cases sometimes by myself), who also reskinned various other dinos seen. Some dino models are from JPOG. They are indeed what brings JPDS to life the most. I remember when I first ventured into the level after covering the forest floor with brush, obstructing low-level view, I actually started treating it visually like a real forest, looking around carefully for signs of movement...

BioSyn's part in the story will be slowly revealed through the levels ;), though a good portion of it will have to come through post-game release material.

The cursor, you may not have noticed but there is a small arrow in the upper-left corner of the cursor image. This is the actual clicking point, which takes up only 1 pixel and is quite easy to see. I remember in my younger days, I used to wonder if the clicking point was in the center of a cursor's image, but this is something I grew out of ;) There are in fact many custom cursors out there, if you do a search, which use a fancy image of a creature or something and have a small arrow in the upper-left for clicking. I'm entirely happy with how TrikeUatra built our menu up.

Please feel free to post screenshots! Provided they are in spoiler tags.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Deino »

You have here dino models from Operation Genesis? what species exactly?)) I must take a look through the screenshots of OG)) Haven't play this game yet, unfortunatly... How did you manage to export models from JPOG to your game? and what about skinning (3DsMax or Maya + Photoshop or different trespasser editors only)? I have experience in 3D-modeling but it was more than 2 years ago since I last time opened 3DsMax.. IK, bones, reactor module, v-ray renderer etc. ))

The forest indeed gives a strong impression of real jungle! and the feature I like most is that the player may walk in any direction (unlike the retail game of Trespasser where usually is obvious where to go) and soon get lost like in the real forest. or, for example, after a wild running to and fro in attempt to excape attacking raptors you suddenly realize that you don't have any idea where you are exactly and where you were going!) so then you finnaly drop out of dence foliage on some road: "Ну вот, приплыли! и куда же теперь идти?" what can be translated like this: "Oh, here we are! so where is this 'here' and which direction is right?" (not literal translation but the common sence is something like that)) :))

About the cursor. the clicking point is the upper-left corner, that's all right. but the image is quite large and that is distracting attention from the function. I mean, the form and the function are disballanced in that case. That was what I'd been tought while studying on the Faculty of Information Technologies and Mediadesign.. it was.. more then 5 years ago! Good god!.. since than things may have changed)) never mind, just my point of view :wink:

And here is my version of JPDS main menu. I made it a bit closer to the menu of Trespasser... hmm I've no idea how to place an attachment in spoiler tags :?
Attachments
JPDS main menu sreen, redesigned) jpeg from psd-file.
JPDS main menu sreen, redesigned) jpeg from psd-file.
JPDS_main menu1.jpg (207.87 KiB) Viewed 21609 times
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by RexHunter99 »

Deino wrote:You have here dino models from Operation Genesis? what species exactly?)) I must take a look through the screenshots of OG)) Haven't play this game yet, unfortunatly... How did you manage to export models from JPOG to your game? and what about skinning (3DsMax or Maya + Photoshop or different trespasser editors only)? I have experience in 3D-modeling but it was more than 2 years ago since I last time opened 3DsMax.. IK, bones, reactor module, v-ray renderer etc. ))

The forest indeed gives a strong impression of real jungle! and the feature I like most is that the player may walk in any direction (unlike the retail game of Trespasser where usually is obvious where to go) and soon get lost like in the real forest. or, for example, after a wild running to and fro in attempt to excape attacking raptors you suddenly realize that you don't have any idea where you are exactly and where you were going!) so then you finnaly drop out of dence foliage on some road: "Ну вот, приплыли! и куда же теперь идти?" what can be translated like this: "Oh, here we are! so where is this 'here' and which direction is right?" (not literal translation but the common sence is something like that)) :))

About the cursor. the clicking point is the upper-left corner, that's all right. but the image is quite large and that is distracting attention from the function. I mean, the form and the function are disballanced in that case. That was what I'd been tought while studying on the Faculty of Information Technologies and Mediadesign.. it was.. more then 5 years ago! Good god!.. since than things may have changed)) never mind, just my point of view :wink:

And here is my version of JPDS main menu. I made it a bit closer to the menu of Trespasser... hmm I've no idea how to place an attachment in spoiler tags :?
First and foremost. YAY A Russian :D
Second, Oh my gosh, that is simply amazing :D dude that main menu really rocks.
Third, Love your thoughts and attitude :)

Draco will love this menu too I am sure.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Draconisaurus »

Omg, that menu is horrible, it makes me want to puke!
Spoiler: show
Just kidding! :lol: Pretty awesome, very colorful, I like it! You've got some skill there. Not sure which version of the JPDS logo you used but I did release a large, clean version of it in one of my dev journals in this forum, I believe. Otherwise it'll be in the archive thread. This looks cool anyway.

Of course, it can't be used without full accompanying menu graphics ;) If you'd like it released as an optional menu pack, you or someone will have to take it all the way through.
Am pleased with your feedback :) That's just how we wanted JPDS to be, and it's been so long since we first started trying to make it that way. Just amazing to see such old ambitions realized only now. We actually wanted to include randomness in the dinosaur encounter system but there wasn't time to implement it I'm afraid. Seems to have worked out fine anyway, since most of the time people don't know where they are or if they've been there before XD

With the cursor, TBH I don't totally agree buuuut I didn't design the cursor, and probably would not have made it a big logo like that. I prefer my simple raptor-claw cursor in Trespasser Twilight. Feel free to swap it in ;)

With JPOG dinos in Tres, I think Rex or someone else should answer, I don't really have the time. But we have been using JPOG dinosaurs in Trespasser for years now. It's a simple matter of importing the mesh files into Max, fixing them up if need be, realigning their body parts a bit, retexturing if desired, bringing them into our app TPDC for bone-rigging, and importing them into the level. But I only took care of the last step in most cases.

If you go to the Tres File Box in my sig, you'll find the Tres Animal Archive which has many such dinos completed and ready for use in fan levels.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Nick3069 »

@Deino
To answer your JPOG related questions:
Andres James, a former member that's gone missing, wrote a MAXScript that imports JPOG's .TMD models directly into GMax/3DSMax. The textures are stored in .TML files which can be exported into .BMP with ConvertCCT, a small application Andres also wrote. Here is the link: http://tresed.trescom.org/jpog/
And as for bones, we use TPDC, an application made specially for rigging models for Trespasser.
We have most of the species Trespasser ready, might be missing a few. One that was missing up until the release of JPDS was the Ankylosaurus. Also, JPDS' Allosaurus is a modified version (re-textured, re-modeled) of JPOG's Allo.

Welcome to TresCom, by the way! :mrgreen:

Nice menu! :yes:
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by machf »

Nick, none of the JPOG models are missing - it's just that people asked me to use them in their own levels, and several haven't been released yet. But you can be quietly confident that all of them are already rigged.
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Re: Draco - Tuesday, 12 April 2011 (JPDS RELEASED)

Post by Deino »

thank you a lot for all the information! and for the attention 8) I appreciate it) To try this export-import thing would be intresting, I just wonder weither I remeber anything about 3DMax at all)
Draconisaurus wrote:Of course, it can't be used without full accompanying menu graphics If you'd like it released as an optional menu pack, you or someone will have to take it all the way through.
I'd like to work through the all menu screens required. creating such screens is part of my profession) and my hobby as well)
And it's pleasing that you like my version of menu :D
Draconisaurus wrote:Not sure which version of the JPDS logo you used
It's the very version which appears in the intro of JPDS, I simply pressed "PrtScr" and pasted the image to a new file in Photoshop.
RexHunter99 wrote:First and foremost. YAY A Russian
Second, Oh my gosh, that is simply amazing dude that main menu really rocks.
Third, Love your thoughts and attitude
hehehe, you are absolutely right, I'm Russian) True EvilRussian))) At your service! *low theatrical bow* :mrgreen:
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