Tutorial Requests

[scar3crow]

This is a thread to request tutorials you would like to see tackled by any of the coders in this community - submitting something does not mean a tutorial will be written for it, there is nothing compulsory about it, it is to serve as motivation and inspiration to those coders willing to share their knowledge.

Keep in mind that the point of a tutorial is to learn, not how to get the code for something. I for one would like to see something on creating a rounds based system where the level resets, but does not reload, or a good spectating system or entities like CTF flags or domination control points. Compare this with some of our older tutorials which are more cut and paste jobs.

Requesters - Let loose, be creative, but be open in terms of the subject matter.

Writers - Explain the code line for line, the variances therein, and why it goes down the way it does. This is a chance to share knowledge and continue Quake!

[scar3crow]

My own requests

HUD additions as seen in CTF and TF notifying of changes in a team score. Similar things, not just scores.

Working with entity angles.

Just how damage, death, spawning and state changes go down.

Adding menus and how to expand them.

Goal entities in custom game modes and how to get started.

Heres a very simple one - Creating a new qc file, integrating it with the rest of the qc files and having it called correctly and knowing where to include it.

[Teiman]

Request: Darkplaces client side programming

[leileilol]

vehicles

[Up2nOgOoD[ROCK]]

how to add voting for map changes, and admin system

[Baker]

how to add voting for map changes, and admin system

You know that is such an important and universally needed thing -- and a major liability of so many mods -- that it makes me wonder if somehow that could be done by the engine.

Does, say, Quake 3 have this in the mod or the engine? If it can be done in the engine that would be such a major improvement and save every mod in existence a ton of work.

[Supa]

I'm going to start work on a tutorial soon (that is, in about two weeks..) but I'd love it if someone could save me the trouble and decipher the Frogbot code. Something on par with the FBX Dissection series would be *greatly* appreciated..

[LordHavoc]

how to add voting for map changes, and admin system

You know that is such an important and universally needed thing -- and a major liability of so many mods -- that it makes me wonder if somehow that could be done by the engine.

I've toyed with this idea in the past, I think I mentioned it to R00k previously, but haven't really put serious thought into it yet.

Does, say, Quake 3 have this in the mod or the engine? If it can be done in the engine that would be such a major improvement and save every mod in existence a ton of work.

Quake3 offloads as much work as possible onto the gamecode, the engine is little more than a graphics/networking/sound/input system, along with some bot code (navigation specifically).

In other words, Quake3 does even less to help the game logic than Quake2, which already helped a lot less than Quake1.

[Orion]

A brazilian mod, Total Destruction, has a map voting system.

[Dr. Shadowborg]

/me makes a cough that sounds suspiciously like Painkeep

[Baker]

I've toyed with this idea in the past, I think I mentioned it to R00k previously, but haven't really put serious thought into it yet.

Quake3 offloads as much work as possible onto the gamecode, the engine is little more than a graphics/networking/sound/input system, along with some bot code (navigation specifically).

In other words, Quake3 does even less to help the game logic than Quake2, which already helped a lot less than Quake1.

Without thinking thru this deeply, it seems to me that the 4 biggest problems are:

1. Map voting - user administered
2. Banning/kicking
3. Locking a game so no one else can join

4. Giving lite admin to someone without having to give someone the ability to screw up a server too. Rcon allows someone to do way too much. A lighter version of rcon that only permitted a small number of actions (kick/temp ban/changelevel) and logged the actions (an hopefully somehow had a newbie friendly centerprint menu). Rcon, obviously being the only option to a mod without an admin system in it.

So many mods are totally useless due to the above. Slide is an example of this (being stuck on a map you hate and having no power to change it).

Of course, I don't know if merely these simple actions is what Up2nogood is referring to. Things can obviously get more complicated in a hurry for rule settings/voting/match rules/mod options.

Ironically and tragically (as you know), the popular mods are the ones with strong admin/voting systems built-in, which is such a onerous burden on someone who just wants to make a mod and the game logic.

[LordHavoc]

Ironically and tragically (as you know), the popular mods are the ones with strong admin/voting systems built-in, which is such a onerous burden on someone who just wants to make a mod and the game logic.

This is why I keep pressuring someone to write a vote mod, preferably one designed as a good upgraded base for mods to use (I.E. id1 + some features), which shouldn't be too hard to integrate into existing mods, and makes a good starting point for new multiplayer mods (adding new game modes, etc).

Note I mean an upgraded base, not stripped down, it should keep singleplayer and coop fully working, indeed it should enhance coop a bit.

[Monster]

CRMOD is like normal DM, except you can enable FFA, Match, or Teams. Pretty much vanilla with enhanced voting options (vote-quad, etc). Not sure if it can enable Co-op mode though. That would be interesting.

[Supa]

... preferably one designed as a good upgraded base for mods to use (I.E. id1 + some features), which shouldn't be too hard to integrate into existing mods ...

In all honesty I'd rather make a plugin that would glue into StartFrame and ImpulseCommands rather than a full mod base, but it wouldn't be *too* hard to create such a thing. I'm guess I'm too used to using mponlyqc as a base..

... and makes a good starting point for new multiplayer mods (adding new game modes, etc). ...

If you mean what I think you mean, this wouldn't be hard at all. You could extend the vote system to handle things like vote-fraglimit and vote-timelimit.. Then you'd extend the idea from there, with vote commands to enable/disable weapon stay, selfdamage, teamplay, enable/disable powerups, a vote to enable a round system and limited lives.. pretty much anything. Imagine playing last man standing with classes and 3W style runes on one map and playing lowgrav instagib CTF with grappling hooks on the next.

... Note I mean an upgraded base, not stripped down, it should keep singleplayer and coop fully working, indeed it should enhance coop a bit. ...

So in summary, you'd like an id106 progs that isn't horribly out of date? =)

[RenegadeC]

I'm surprised nobody has said camera angles and fake dummy players