Big questions about models and FX
I have three or four different versions of Kickstart and jDoom on my PC right now and they all seem to work very differently. My favorite Kickstart versions are 1.6 and 2.09. I am running Windows 7 64-bit and 1.6 runs perfectly with 0 problems (so far), while 2.09 usually crashes when exiting back to Windows. I am not sure which versions of the actual Doomsday engine are with each version of Kickstart. I have found that 2.09 seems to be easier to work with when it comes to customizing things, and also the MD2 models that came with the package seem much more up to date. The chaingun, rocket launcher and plasma rifle all have a glossy shine to them and look really cool (almost like MD3s). Definitely the best models out there as far as I know. It also runs the high res textures perfectly, but I can't get it to work with the details package...simply does nothing, no errors. And of course it doesn't work with the high quality audio package on the doomsday addons page, but I'm not sure if 1.6 does as I haven't tried it. Also, most of the character models and their projectiles look better in this one.
However, 1.6 has a lot of REALLY nice lighting effects, environmental effects like wavy water and exploding, splashing barrels, lots of particle effects, and supports the high res texture package AS WELL as the detail pack. I can not figure out how to get the detail pack or ANY of the effects to work in 2.09. Basically, 1.6 is perfect for me...I just need to figure out how to get the newer models including monsters, weapons, and projectiles to work with it. My only gripe is I get some weird texture lines in certain places at times.
So what I need to do is one of the following:
A.) Preferred: Get rid of the old models in 1.6 and replace them with the newer models from the 2.09 package (tried just running the newer jdrp.pk3 and it does nothing). That way I'll have the more stable version that doesn't crash with the best of all worlds. I originally had problems getting custom music tracks to work, but I simply replaced the mp3s that came with it with my own. Couldn't get it to recognize the audio.ded file even though it came with one and I edited it to my liking with my custom tracks in data/jdoom/music.
B.) More difficult: Get all of the lighting and environment effects to work in 2.09. I like the models and even the projectiles from 2.09 better, but I wish I could get all of the particle effects to work in it as well. Also, the detail pack...that needs to work too.
C.) One of you guys lead me to an up to date version that still supports custom soundtracks, the details package, high res textures, and has the most up-to-date md2s (unless md3s are now supported, which would be incredible).
The reason I'm using old versions is because the MAIN thing I care about is the music. I've gone through Ultimate Doom and Doom II and replaced every single track with matching instrumental covers and matched their volumes so the entire game is level through and through. I did this with 2.09 and was happy until I saw the details package and all of the awesome effects from 1.6. I'm basically trying to get the most complete jDoom package working so I can host it (without the wad files, of course) to make it easier for more people to download it and simply click play.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. I absolutely love this engine.
However, 1.6 has a lot of REALLY nice lighting effects, environmental effects like wavy water and exploding, splashing barrels, lots of particle effects, and supports the high res texture package AS WELL as the detail pack. I can not figure out how to get the detail pack or ANY of the effects to work in 2.09. Basically, 1.6 is perfect for me...I just need to figure out how to get the newer models including monsters, weapons, and projectiles to work with it. My only gripe is I get some weird texture lines in certain places at times.
So what I need to do is one of the following:
A.) Preferred: Get rid of the old models in 1.6 and replace them with the newer models from the 2.09 package (tried just running the newer jdrp.pk3 and it does nothing). That way I'll have the more stable version that doesn't crash with the best of all worlds. I originally had problems getting custom music tracks to work, but I simply replaced the mp3s that came with it with my own. Couldn't get it to recognize the audio.ded file even though it came with one and I edited it to my liking with my custom tracks in data/jdoom/music.
B.) More difficult: Get all of the lighting and environment effects to work in 2.09. I like the models and even the projectiles from 2.09 better, but I wish I could get all of the particle effects to work in it as well. Also, the detail pack...that needs to work too.
C.) One of you guys lead me to an up to date version that still supports custom soundtracks, the details package, high res textures, and has the most up-to-date md2s (unless md3s are now supported, which would be incredible).
The reason I'm using old versions is because the MAIN thing I care about is the music. I've gone through Ultimate Doom and Doom II and replaced every single track with matching instrumental covers and matched their volumes so the entire game is level through and through. I did this with 2.09 and was happy until I saw the details package and all of the awesome effects from 1.6. I'm basically trying to get the most complete jDoom package working so I can host it (without the wad files, of course) to make it easier for more people to download it and simply click play.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. I absolutely love this engine.
Comments
Okay...so now I have everything working in top tier EXCEPT FOR the super-high res textures. I have both the high res package and details package working for me now, but it still isn't as detailed as the older build I was running. I downloaded the "Doom Remake" and that's when I discovered everything I wanted beyond what I already had.
There's that package out there...that singular download - the Doom Remake...and it has almost everything, except for the latest MD2 models. The problem with putting the latest JDRP package in is that the file system is different. Even when it comes down from transferring the textures from that package to a newer version, I find a .pk3 archive divided into FLATS and TEXTURES as opposed to a Doom1, Doom2, Final Doom format.
I tried to take screenshots to compare the two versions, but I can't even figure out how to get into the console in the latest version. Don't get me wrong...I am happy with the latest version more than any yet because snowberry is much better than kickstart...but I'm still trying to figure out how to get the even higher detail textures to work along with the advanced particle effects and lens flares.
In the old version's console, I have the option to enable lighting effects from textures. And they look amazing. In the newest version, that option simply doesn't exist.
I'm trying to make this as clear as possible. I wish I could be more clear. My main problem is enabling the highest-resolution textures possible, enabling texture glow, and enabling 3d-model glow that produces lens flares.
i feel as though I'm running the engine with minimum eye-candy in other words. And again, every single version of the engine is different.
One problem that I've noticed with the current version deals with text: At the end of any level - the alphabetical text is nice and high-res, but numerical characters seem very classic and blurry. This is a NEW problem. This is minimal, but still a problem for a perfectionist like me.
By default lens flares are replaced with more realistically configured halos in newer versions of Doomsday. If you want the old-school (and IMO somewhat gaudy) flares back, you should disable "Realistic Halos" from the control panel.
As for the plasma rifle particle effects; look for a DED file which defines them and load it also in the current release.
Another thing I noticed: Many of the textures in the Doom Remake package are much more high res than the standard DHTP. I would simply replace all of the textures (or at least compare them individually and replace the ones I'd want to), but the files are actually named differently. That blows my mind. Also, they are zipped in a .pk3 for the new version, just in a "textures" folder in the Doom Remake package. On top of all that, they are organized differently - in the Doom Remake package they are simply thrown into one folder, with 2 subfolders containing specific textures for TNT and Plutonia. In the new version, they're organized into flats (floors and ceilings, I guess) and textures folders.
I'll go through them all and rename them individually in order to make the better textures work with the latest version, but is there an easier way to go about this? I can't believe how different the file structure is between the two versions.
Here, to make it easier for everyone to figure out what the hell I am talking about, here is the Doom Remake Package:
http://youtu.be/Ow7VU_0rQr0
Download:
http://www.atomicgamer.com/files/31682/doom_remake-exe
Just by watching that video you can see what I'm talking about with the glowing textures and one instance of an exploding barrel. Notice how the lights on the ceiling in some parts actually cast a glow, the acid casts a green haze, and even the blue health pickups shine.
Dday it'self comes with deds that add dlights to a few textures, but not all of them. These are meant as a technical demonstration that Dday has this feature.
Though modders made add-ons that added dlights to every texture. Unfortunetly, those add-ons were lost a long time ago and no-one has stepped up to create a new one. Surprising given how trivial it is; it should be all being handled by a single ded file (as it requires no extra files).
Hence, the only solutions would be to extract the required ded(s) (I imagine the ded will be named something to do with 'lights' and inside it will feature definitions for things like TLITE6_6 and LITE5) from the Doom Remake package, or to make a new one.
The Barrel splats would be a little more involved, as one has to find the ded containing the particle definitions and also the particle textures the ded refers to.
As far as the exploding barrels that spray acid everywhere and the particle effects from the Plasma Rifle, I'll work on getting them working too.
Thanks for all the help guys!
I've become happier with the textures in the latest version after simply upping the texture contrast in the Control Panel. That seems to not only up their contrast, but it also adds more detail and grit, which is exactly what I was envious of in the Doom Remake package. I'm still searching for a way to get all of the glowing textures working. Those red, blue and yellow lights on the sides of the locked doors really add a sense of technology and realism when they're glowing bright, not to mention all of the computer monitors and ceiling light textures.
I have to give it to whoever put together the Doom Remake package - they tweaked the hell out of everything they possibly could. Now I'm trying to do what they did all over again with Snowberry, but I'm not nearly as experienced...in fact I'm brand new at all of this even though I've been using Doomsday for years. Never had a reason to try to make it better until now.