Tracemap mod for higher-resolution tracemaps

(duke'ku) #21

Type in fs_game at the console. If it says dooxmod, it’s running. Or scroll up and look for the “gamename” line - if it’s etmain, it’s not running.

Open up notepad, and paste this into it:

ET.exe +set fs_game dooxmod

Save it as dooxmod.bat, and double click it.

Thanks, I threw that in at the last minute to make it look like I tried to put time into it :smiley:
(i did put time in, and my god how many versions of that damn map i must have gone through before i made one in a few hours that became the final)

(Schaffer) #22

Darkfire,

Make a copy of the shortcut to “normal ET” and then add the +set fs_game dooxmod section after the quotes along the lines of:

“c:\program files\wolfenstein - enemy territory\et.exe” +set fs_game dooxmod

Duke,

I now have an ingame menu working so that when you have a map loaded up and running, you can hit escape to access the ingame menu and then select the tracemap option. This then presents you with options to generate a tracemap at 256, 512 or 1024 res although if doing so at 256 or 512 then you just get a message indicating that it will be available in a future release.
I’m going to look into a cvar’s bit since it shouldn’t be very hard to do (in theory)

(duke'ku) #23

I’ve already got a cvar set up, but I don’t know how I’ll get the tracemap code to accept it. I can’t use d_tracemap.integer in #define TRACEMAP_SIZE, it just won’t take it - I’m fairly sure it’s added in at compile, not sure if I can change it without some code trickery that I wouldn’t know how to do. :slight_smile:

(Schaffer) #24

From what I recall with C is that a define is basically a constant so you have to provide it with a literal value rather than trying to assign it with the value of some other variable.

Maybe if this become an global int (since this is only ever really going to be the values of 256, 512 or 1024 realistically) and then replace the instances of TRACEMAP_SIZE with the new int variable throughout the whole of bg_tracemap.c. This is all from my pretty bad memory of C which I havn’t done anything with for about five or so years now.

should look something like:
int itracemap_size;

typedef struct tracemap_s {
qboolean loaded;
float sky[itracemap_size][itracemap_size];
float skyground[itracemap_size][itracemap_size];
float ground[itracemap_size][itracemap_size];
vec2_t world_mins, world_maxs;
int groundfloor, groundceil;
} tracemap_t;
…

Then in the CG_GenerateTracemap method, where the code reads:
// Topdown tracing
CG_Printf( "Generating level heightmap and level mask…
" );

memset( &tracemap, 0, sizeof(tracemap) );

Add before the memset line an additional line that loads the variable itracemap_size with the value of the new CVAR which would needto be setup. The new CVAR could then be set via the ui menu I have played with so that as you try to create a tracemap of size X, it first sets the CVAR to size X and then executes the generatetracemap method.

Let me know if this makes sense. PM me if you want to try and work this out together since I think this is really useful. I generated a 1024 tracemap for Stalingrad and wish i had this when I mad the command map for Shadowstorm since I can actuall see the detail :slight_smile:

(G0-Gerbil) #25

uh this mod will let you generate a higher res tracemap, but I assume if you try to use that with unmodified game, it will fail, right ?

Bugger, hadn’t thought of that - just assumed ET would load in any sized tracemap and work, based on an earlier comment by SD that in hindsight I now probably take to mean they used higher ones purely for the command map. Still, that’s enough reason alone for me to make this work :slight_smile:

(Schaffer) #26

Go-Gerbil,

I spoke to Fluffy Gimp and he indicated that they used the 1024 for the Command Maps and that was really the reason they allowed the 1024 size for their development.

I guess the only real way to find out if this will provide any improvemnts is to try but a 1024x1024 TGA file is about 4Mb. I’m on a 56k modem so it would tick me off to download this. :moo:

In terms of it being useable in game I would think it probably is, after all, the command maps are useable upto 1024 in size so you would “assume” that tracemaps could be the same. Altough, sometimes assumptions are a bad thing, like with your wife/girlfriend :slight_smile:

(G0-Gerbil) #27

Ah no, I’d not change the size of my final command map - 512x512 all the way. But a 1024x1024 initial map means I can scale down - whereas now we have scale up from 256x256, and unless you are prepared to redo the entire thing using it as a rough guide, it looks a touch on the crap side (see helmsdeep - you can tell the fort and stuff are simply scaled up because they are blurry edged).

(Schaffer) #28

I was actually refereing to the tracemap at 512 or 1024. I did the command map for Stalingrad and when I played with this to make a 1024 tracemap for the base (after completing the command map), I was extremely impressed. I could see detail! No blury edges! No crappy look! I’m so happy now :slight_smile:

(duke'ku) #29

I’ll try this later tonight - are you on IRC anywhere? I’m always on freenode, quakenet, gamesurge, anynet, and zirc as dukeku.

(Schaffer) #30

Sorry duke, but not on IRC. I sent you an email that you can contact me by. Happy to send the UI files that I setup for this. It gave me an opportunity to play with the UI since I wanted to try to setup some menus for changing configurations quickly.

(Schaffer) #31

Hi Duke’ku,

Just wanted to check up on how you where going with this. Did you give it a go. I also just read my last response and I said I would send you the UI i did. Sorry, I forgot to do that. I’ll send tonight when I get home from work

(WolfWings) #32

So has anyone tested if high-res tracemaps actually do anything in-game? Admitedly, higher-res tracemaps might cause all sorts of problems just from the sheer size of them in-game.

If they DO work though, investigating ultra-high-quality locational JPEG compression might be worth doing. And if that combination of words just made someone’s head hurt, take a look at this page for an example of the best-known semi-commercial tool for doing it.

(Schaffer) #33

I only use them for making command maps. These work a treat where you have lots of little fiddley shit and don’t want this to turn into blur when you create a 256 tracemap. I know that tracemaps are also used with setting the bounds of where motars, fieldstrikes and artillery can be called from. I think they also affect the weather effects (snow and rain).

I don’t think you would see any benifits in game in changing to a 1024 tracemap. It would just bloat the pk3 file since 256 maps are about 300k while 1024 maps turn out to be about 4Mb.

(duke'ku) #34

why would you use a lossy format?

(WolfWings) #35

Simple. JPEG is fairly unique in that you can have it very, very close to lossless in some areas, while leaving it extremely lossy in others.

Since most tracemaps are huge areas of flattish colours or gradiants (especially at higher resolutions), which lossy JPEG compresses very nicely, you could end up with more detail, and a file that’s very likely to end up much smaller than the .pk3-compressed 256x256 .tga file ends up in the .pk3 file.

In simpler terms, it would end up (with the proper tools and/or work) with noticably more detail than the 256x256 .tga version, while still being noticably smaller than the .pk3/.zip-compressed 256x256 .tga version inside the .pk3 file, and still retaining higher quality.

This is only feasable because of how regular and smooth the vast majority of a tracemap is. :slight_smile:

(IndyJones) #36

over 4 years old topic… :slight_smile:
does anyone know where can i get this mod again? all links are unfournatetly dead…

(dutchmeat) #37

The guy said you just have to change this value:

bg_tracemap.c:

#define TRACEMAP_SIZE				1024

but is tracemap just a levelshot?

(IndyJones) #38

sorry, i’m not a programmer. perhaps someone who have needed apps could do this?

tracemap generate a map from the top - it’s usefull when you are making a command map (the one in limbo menu).

(FireFly) #39

Schaffermod is still available on schaffer’s website: http://schaffer.game-host.org/

More info on this mod: http://www.splashdamage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6685

(IndyJones) #40

thanks, how come i missed that one?

but… there is a problem. the link to ‘High Resolution Trace Map Creation’ is empty.
http://schaffer.game-host.org/tutorials/cmadvtracemap.htm

i have changed tracemap settings to 512 and even 1024, but generated map is still 256x256… :frowning: