finishing my game.......

Ok, while I still have somethings to work out to finish my project. I still have some questions. I have recently aquired A6 pro, so I can create a packed resource file. I need a little advice about how to prepare my game menu, mdls, wav and levels for the final co,pile. I tried comipling what i had and my menu looked different, and when i pressed start, the movie thats supposed to play didnt play at all. and there were different changes and errors. I feel a bit overwhelmed. any advice on how to "finish"? CXna somone give me the steps and tips on how to finish?

Check your acklog and see if any errors.
I could be wrong but I think video files have to remain in the main exe folder.
Check all your included paths.
Check spelling of the paths.

Well that's a start

Thank you, that does give me a bit of insight. so, as far as my movie files, I should place them in the folder seprately?

Yes.
You could include it in the wrs files too, but then you have to write a code that unpacks it in the folder of the game.
You have to look into the manual for that, I'm not sure whether this option was already available in A6, because I never used movie files.

Yes, I use wmv for cutscenes. i wasnt sure why it didnt play. so your saying after i build the wrs file, i have to add the wmv files to the folder? so, help me understand better, how can i include them in the wrs file after its compiled?

and as far as the levels go, is there a certain way they should be set up? and my main menu, that is techinically my first level, right? is there some type of documentation out here for finishing a game and using proffessional? i really need help.

Everything that works in commercial/extra will work exactly the same way in pro...

@sajeth: what does that mean?????????

Technically, everything that worked before should work right now
So if youre experiencing problems, my guess would be that they are universal and not pro-related.
The most important part of publishing is checking that all files that were used in the project are included in the .cd-folder. The compiler eventually doesnt add all of them itself, some of them have to be copied by hand

all of my files are present, but the movies do not play. i am not sure why. i guess i have manually add them to the folder somehow?

Also from memory I had to lock max_fps to 60 for mine to play after publishing.
They would work in a window but not full screen and there was bad horizontel lines.

ok, thanks I will do that.

Ok, I am wondering if i remember reading somewhere that when i build levels and link them to level change. after i assign the entities their script, i can delete the scripts from the include list on later levels because the first level will have the scripts included already. is thet true?

You have one main script that gets run when you start the exe. Level changes will not magically launch other scripts

thanks..i think. I wasnt looking for magic, but i guess you answered my question. so, i was correct.

ok. so far i know:

1. the first level is the menu dummy level.
2. the dummy level is the only one that really needed the includes.
3. after i compile the wrs file, i have add the wmv files to the folder, and the sounds? (not sure about the sounds)
4. i should lock the framerate to at least 60 fps.

what else? i know i am doing something wrong. i am currently re-writing the story and rebuilding my levels. it was a little too ambitious, and i needed more puzzle elements. so now i have time to figure out what i did wrong the first time around.

Okay, you seem to have a basic misunderstanding!
The central file that glues all the parts together is not a level (.wmb), it is a script, the script with the function main. From the function main, the things of the game are started, at least another function which starts other functions, loads levels and creates entities etc.

well, thanks for clearing that up for me. so it doesnt really matter if i have a dummy level or not for the menu script?

Right!
You can write a whole menu, and even a whole game, without loading any level.

ok, so now that i know that. how do i get my menu to work with the levels?? example: i have a menu that works, has an animated bitmap, panels and a music loop. when i added the level load, the included scripts didnt run at all. when i built a dummy level, added the includes it all worked fine, except my animated bitmap for some strange reason? i tried changing the layer number, but no luck. anyway, how do i get around that issue?

can someone outline the steps for me so i can do it right this time?

Blink,
Let me give you some info...
I have gone through what you are going through...
First of all, what has been said above is correct.
You do need to have a copy of your .wmv files in the .exe folder.
But, here is an important concern as to file size and resourcing...
Make sure that copy of your .wmv files are also not packed into your .wrs folder.... If they did, your final folder size is larger than is should be...
This has caused questions for me in the past.
Sometimes, I don't know how, but even if the .wmv files are not in the project folder, the resource procedure somehow finds a copy and still includes it into the .wrs folder...
After the resourcing procedure, review the list of resourced files and make sure copies of your .wmv files didn't get resourced too...
Just remove the .wmv files from your project folder. Then resource and you will get a warning message that the process can't find your .wmv files. Answer that it is ok...
Finish resourcing and ckeck the list...
Add copies of your .wmv's into your final project folder... Then run...
G'd luck...

Thank you so much for the info. that was what i was looking for. Another question. do i remove the includes from the other levels, since the main script has them included?

No you don't have to, Once they are loaded that's it, I don't think they can load again. Unless you want to tidy up your code and cut down on the size of the scripts.

Thanks, Nidhogg. i had to go back in and re-write my story and cut down on my levels a bit. i was getting overly ambitious again, lol. now that i think i know what i want, i want to make sure i can finish the game off.

How's it going Blink?
Is the packed final project running?

no, still have a little work left to do to get back to trying to pack. i need to fix up my menu and get it working right, and few level redesigns. i changed my storyline a bit to make it one area instaed of several. i will keep you posted. thanks for asking.

My pleasure...
I like to help when I can...
So many users have helped me but mostly I have just tried and tried and tried...
On that note... I almost always pack and create a final game almost every time that I recompile...
That way I don't get any crappy problems right when I think that I'm done...
That way if a problem occurs I have an easier time de-bugging...
A question... for you...
Have you made a trailer/video to show it off...
Please let me/us all know when you are done...

anyone have any tips for keeping framerate or increasing it. i just rebuilt a level and started adding mdls. and now my framerate has dropped significantly. any tips on how to get it back? the level isnt too big and i didnt add too many models to it or map entities. i am not sure if my far clip is small enough either it set at 2000. i am at a loss. i dont want to eliminate the models or the added areas, as this will change the way the level looks, making it really empty. any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

What I would do is this, Any shaders, particles or things that are heavy on framerate and not in a players FOV either stop or pause them.

i eliminated all of the shaders. thats not the problem. i did notice that when i turn the player around away from the building, i get the framerate, but when i turn back around, the issue returns with the slowdown. any other ideas?

Then there has to be something wrong with the building.
Mesh not closed properly, shader or material effect, shadow.

That's what I'd be checking anyways. Remove the building and try the level again, If the framerate is up you know it has to be the problem.

ok, i will try that.

ok. didnt work, still slowdown. what are appropriate settings for clip near and far? maybe thats an issue too. and what size should a level block be. i am messing something up.

Tell us...
What statistics can you tell us about your terrain???
Are you using Terrain LOD and cashing????
Are you creating Model LOD's and if so are you creating ..._0, ..._1..._2 and ..._3 or are you using the LOD creation system in MED...
Same with your sprites... Are you using the _0,_1,_2 and _3 system???
What file size are your models??? And... what are the verticie count???
What type of files are the model skins??? The best that I found for frame rate is .dds files... they are smaller file size and render fast...

Please tell us what you are now doing to maintain Frame Rate and what your original Frame Rate was and is now...

Also... do you know that after you create the packed .wrs folder that your frame rate will increase????

Tell us where you are at and we will see what can be done...

I don't know I'm running out of ideas here. Try running the level on another computer, the default camera clips should be ok, if not keep reducing the clip far. Try a different video size and even turn of shadows.
Recheck your code for repeated loops that don't need to be repeated.

If these don't help you'll have to wait for somebody else for suggestions as I'm all out sorry .

well, i will try everything you suggested. i dont know why when i added the models in the other part of my building, i go slowdown that much. maybe the new models are too hi poly, that will eat up framerate, right?

Either one,some or all the new models may have open meshes!

You are still using A6, right? Why don`t you upgrade to A7 or even A8? I think that there are some heavy performance improvements in the newer engine versions.

What kind of project are you getting ready? Is this a surpise you were working on for a long time or did I just miss to watch earlier screenshots?

He doesn't want to upgrade because he has only gotten used to c-script so he is comfy with it. As far as his project, He has been working on it for some time.

C script still works with A7 & A8 !

What statistics can you tell us about your terrain???
Are you using Terrain LOD and cashing????
Are you creating Model LOD's and if so are you creating ..._0, ..._1..._2 and ..._3 or are you using the LOD creation system in MED...
Same with your sprites... Are you using the _0,_1,_2 and _3 system???
What file size are your models??? And... what is the verticie count???
What type of files are the model skins??? The best that I found for frame rate is .dds files... they are smaller file size and render fast...

Please tell us what you are now doing to maintain Frame Rate and what your original Frame Rate was and is now...

Also... do you know that after you create the packed .wrs folder that your frame rate will increase????

Tell us where you are at and we will see what can be done...

to answer the why, i am broke, thats why i dont upgrade. wife, kids and a mortgage will do that to you,lol. @terrasame, i didnt know framerate increases after packing. i am going to change somethings around and let you know what happens. and checking the framrate, how do i do that again. dont i press something while the level is running?

To see "Frame Rate" and other info...
Press F11 for the project statistics while you are running the game from SED or WED...

Press it a second time for a display of the model/terrain grid lines...
(Frame Rate will slow down for this.)

Press it a third time to turn off the stats and grids...

Hey... Can you send me a .mdl file of the building model that is causing problems...
I'd like to check it out and maybe send you back an opimized version... If it needs any optimizing...

By The Way,
A6 is a dog compared to A7...

A6.31 was really good
A6.40, huge code changes were made but once the code was fixed it ran better than A6.31...

I wonder which version of A6 you are using???

Being broke as hell really sucks...

Also, trying to create a professioal project all by yourself really sucks too...

I'm tired of constantly re-inventing the wheel...
I wish we (the entire 3DGS community) could get it together and create a template project
where we each did what we do best and create a project that had every thing in it.

Trying to be the Level designer, modeler, animator, texture artist, sound artist, coder... is tough...

it really is tough. i guess thats why i am so determined to nut out a finished project. i am running 6.60, the last update. should i pm your email for the building?

I'm lookin' forward to checkin' it out...
Send to...

info@terrasame.com

I'll look at it right away...

Waitingggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

I found my A6.60 version and I'm ready to get at it...
I give you my word that your work is and will be safely protected...
Besides... I got to dam many projects to work on...
But... maybe you can help me one day...

sorry, i had to go feed the lil one. she a bit cheeky when she hungry,lol. i am sending it now.

wait, i am having trouble compressing the level, its too big to e-mail. can i just send you the wmb?

Thats funny...

No... Just sent the model...
Don't compress and don't send the level...
Let me just start with the model...
If we want me to look at the whole thing we can use "Drop Box"...

le tme get back to you. i have somethings to do. i apprecitae the help. i will need it,lol.

oh, just read your message. its not a model its a map entity, built in WED. i just made it a mdl. i will try it in the level and let you know what happens.

If it is a Map entity...
Can you export it as a .mdl from WED then send me the .mdl
A map entity does run slower than models...

If it is a Map Entity made of primitives... send me the .wmb and I'll make it a model and optimize it...

ok, sent.

I got nothin'...
Where'd ya send it???

ok, sent both models.

Got 'em...
Let me see what I can do...

Ok...
I checked them out...
I see nothing wrong with them...
They are small file size and small texture size...
I can make the textures .dds files
Do you know how to do that???
You will want to do that to everything...
I wonder... Did you have map entitys or models in your level?

If they were .wmb's,take out the .wmb's and put in the models...

Please tell me...
How big is the project folder???
I might need to see the whole thing...

I sent you an e-mail with your two building models changed a bit...
I recreated your texture files and made them .dds files...
That reduced the file size significantly...
And I set the Material colors so they should look better under lighting...
None-the-less, I see no reason for them hurting your frame rate...
Maybe I need to see the whole project...
Then I could let you know what the frick is going on...

ok, i will upload them on filefront or something, and let you take a look. i am exausted so i will do it tommorow. thanks for the assist.

ok..i used to optimized models and no change. when i am facing straight, the framerate is about 24 fps, but when i turn right or left and walk closely to the wall the framerate jumps up to 60-64 fps.

@Terrasame, check your pm please.

Blink,
I'll tell you what I did... That changed the color at night...
If you open the model in MED and go into the skin settings dialog...
"Edit" / "Manage Skins"
Highlight the skin that you wan to revise...
Click on "Skin Settings"
You will see that I enabled the "Material Set Up" toggle... of each skin...
If you click on the "Diffuse" & Ambiient" buttons, you will see that I changed the colors from pure white to two different greys...
I suggest that you play with these settings and run the project to see what happens...
These two settings really help with realism of shadows and color depth...
If you want it back to the way you had it... simply turn off the "Material Setup" toggle button...

Also... under map properties in WED, I wonder what color you have the sun and fog colors????

I will download the project, right now, from the link you provided...
I will get back to you very soon with comments...

Hey...
You sent me a .cd folder...
For me to really get into this I'll need a couple more files...
Ill need the motel66off.wmp so I can open this in WED and I'll need a real copy of the main code... motel66off.wdl
The reason that I need the main code file is that when you make a .cd folder, the main .wdl is not editable...

I ran the game...
Quite a few things look good but the level and models are very black...
Is it supposed to be that way...???
I like your front door... the translucent glass looks great...

ok, no problem. i will send them now.

ok..sent them.

Ok...
First of all...
These are only suggestions but please don't get me wrong...
If you make these changes, in the long run your work will be easier to port up to A7 or A8 and you won't have so much work to do to maintain a great frame rate..
Ok...
I reviewed a number of your models...
They look real nice but you should reduce the file size the way that I did forr your buildings...
Recreate the textures to .dds files unless they have to be translucent...

Next... a real frame rate killer is using textures that are not a power of two... A lot of your models skins are not that way... make their pixel dimension 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 etc...
Example... The coolerbt.mdl is over 5 meg... not nessesary... and the skin is 839 x 1290 x 24
I revised the model and e-mailed it to you... So... you can see what can be done... If this concept is done to all models and skins the game will run really fast and the file download size will be significantly smaller...
I am about to take a look at your .wmp via WED...
I'll be here...

thanks, i will get started on that. i appreciate your time.

You are very welcome...
My pleasure to help you...

You, if you need to, can export your skins right from the skin editor.
But you should know that once they are changed to .dds files you can't do that any more...
So, keep a copy of the original file backed-up for future reference...

Do you have the capability of converting the skins to .dds files...???
If not, you will need to get a copy of Paint shop Pro or Adobe Photo Shop rigged with a .dll file from the internet that allows you to convert.
That process is kinda a tough thing to do...
Do an internet search for "Nvidea dds converter"

Anyways do you see that the coolerbt model went from 5 meg down to less than a quarter meg... that alone will increase your frame rate...

Also, I see that your main avatar is made with verticie animation.
The best avatar is made of Bones animation...
The file size gets way smaller but if you change the skins to .dds files that will help and you can convert to a new avatar with bones animation in the future...

Another thing...
My wad selection is not the same as yours...
Can you send me copies of your wads please...

Also, is I enquired before... I wondered what your fog and sun colors were???
Have a look at the "Map Properties" dialog under "File" in WED.
You might want to change the colors...
For the "Sun" settings, I suggest white for "Sun" and light grey for 'Ambient"
Then when you set the Material properties of models in MED things will look the way you want them to look...

Hey...
I'm hoping that I do not discourage you about your work!
Sometimes I come across a bit too dambed serious...
Your project has great potential!
I wonder if the motel is a real place?
There is a lot that can be done with the motel project...
I am glad to assist you.
When I was beginning and for about three years, I never asked for help from the forum... Silly and stupid me!!!
So I did everything the hard way and taught myself...
You have no idea how many times I had to re-build my projects...
I have going on 5 years working on my projects...
Each time I get one project up to the next level of completion, I had to up-date my other projects...
What a bitch doing it all yourself this stuff can be...
Anyways...
Here is my phone number if you want to talk by phone...
(xxx) xxx-xxxx
I live in Northern xxxxxI'm more than glad to help...

Next...
Your Nexus setting is higher than it needs to be...
It is set at 200, According to the F11 Statistics info it needs to be about 70.
I suggest you change it to 100. Just go into "Map Properties" and change it...
If the game ever doesn't run you will need to increase it...
Always try to keep it just above what the Statictics info shows...

Another thing...
When you build the game...
I wonder what your settings are in the compile dialog.
I find that you can set the "Max Level Size" to 1000.
The default size is 10,000 that is adjustable and only should be what you need.
Simply. lower the number until the game will not compile...
Then increase the setting and compile again.
Keep doing this until the game compiles. Then you have it as low as possable. That will increase the frame rate...

When I run the game from WED I get a constant framerate of about 80 fps...
I have a Sony Vaio with 2 gig of ram and a new awesome Nvidia Video card...
I imagine that your biggest frame rate problem is caused by the computer that you are using...
Although... the wads I am using are all wrong...
I will not be able to test properly till I get copies of your wad files...

I like the moving ceiling fan and the moving doors...
The Secretary at the front dest needs an action. She is running through all of her animation frames.
Therefore, I assume she needs an action attached to her...
That will help the frame rate too...

Also, I am looking forward to running into the ghost...

thanks, i appreciate it. i am going to get started on your suggestions, and i will call when i get stuck,lol.

i created this place, so i wouldnt get sued. this way, if my project does well, i can use my riches and create a real place,lol.

i am uploading the wads now, i will send you the download like in a pm shortly.

ok, they are ready to download.

Ok... Cool...
I got the PM and the link...
Downloading now...
127 meg, those wad files do get rather large...
I will let you know how it looks after I check it out...
I will take a screen shot and e-mail it to you just to make sure I'm on the right track...
Later...

Ok... again...
I think we are getting on track...
Yer project scares the hell out'a me... it's the darkness and the scarrrrrry music....
(That should wet their bloody appetite!)
I sent you an e-mail with two screen shots....
Does that look about right?

Here is something else...
I kept getting stuck on the right side of the second doorway as you enter in where the secretary is located...
I then found that your office sign model at about eye level on the right was the problem...
I then set the polygon flag and whamo... problem gone...
Then as I investigated I noticed two other things..., for example the columns on either side of the entrance also could use their polygon flag set...

I think that you might want to look at maybe setting the polygon flag on a lot of your models...
Try this... fire up the game and then hit the F11 key, notice the hull box that is used for collision of a particular item...
Then exit and go into WED and turn the polygon flag on then re-compile and fire up the game and go check out the item with the F11 key activated...
I think that you will notice how great the collision will work on those model files that you change...

Also, I wonder why you have the set of two columns and plants (the island) behind the avatar at start are all set passable???
Is that really what you want... I suppose you did that for some reason...

Anyways,
Enough for today...
Tomarrows a brand new day!
Later

Thanks for all of the suggestions. as far as the columns and plants, i just wanted the plants, i meant to just set the polygon flag for the columns. i will be going in setting polygon and passable for everything next time i go in. right now, i have been changing the bipmats to dds on my models. what a long drawn out process. i cant find a working plugin for paintshop pro x, so i have to use a stand alone convertor. in addition to resizing the bitmaps to the power of 2, lol. what a nightmare. oh well, live and learn. thanks for the help.

Hey...
Yer back!

"Live and learn"... If I didn't think my signature line at the bottem of my posts wasn't so damb funny.... I'd change it to "Live and learn"!

Anyways... I'm thinkin yer on the right track at not only fixing your frame rate, but also improving it along with reducing upload and download time...
That's a big deal! With my humungous terrains, frame rate is everything to me...
I think once you get yer project done... You will have a great frame rate... but if and when you update to A8*... your frame rate will sky-rocket!

A couple of other notes...

Have you created a "Starter" screen for the project?
(If not... I can help you with that...)

Have you considered adding a Trailer/movie clip between the starter screen and the level load?
If not... I can help you with that too.)

I'll be glad to help you as much as I am able to !
I wish that I knew more... coding is not my strong point !
Or modeling... or animation... It's Terrain and Level Design...

Anyways... write when ya want...

Thanks, I am going to need the help,lol! anywa, i will check in with you later. i have to go out for a bit. btw, i notice the framerate increase already!!!! thank you again!

Rock on Dude...
There is no such better feeling than getting a 3DGS project DONE...
At least done as far as the software will let ya get done...
BTW... My pleasure helping!

well, good news is, the framerate is back, and i discovered the problem. it was the gift shop mdl. i used the optimized one you sent and fixed the bmap files on all of the models there and it runs perfectly. now, new problem. the model you sent stays lit. i tried using the unlit flag, but nothing happens. any idea how to keep it from being lit?

Hey...
I just got in from picking blackberries... Yum... Ya'know... the kind ya eat...
Pies...Jams... Awesome... got a bucket full... now it's time for the real work...

I'm glad to here that your frame rate is back...
So... what'd I do to your model to make the lighting to bright???

I'm sorry but when we started I didn't have a full copy of your game and I
didn't realize the game was to be so dark and scary!

I still have a copy of the original two files you set me... Do You???
If so just over-write my new one with your old one...

All I did was turn on the "Material Setup" toggle and change the "Diffuse"
and "Ambient" colors in the Material Setup in MED too greys when they were black.

Just go into the "Skin Settings" and turn the "Material Setup" toggle off!
Although... I'd just over-write the files with old ones...

Let me know...

i tried to oveewrite, but the framerate issue came back, so thats not going to work. i will do the toggle thing. let you know what happens.

LOL... "The Toggle Thing" That's funny!

I would think that before you over-wrote the file you should redo the skins with .dds files too... That's what's helping your frame rate I think...

Hey... what the heck type of computer are you using anyways???
How much RAM???
Video card???

Hey... Ya get it fixed and workin'?

And... What do ya wanna do next???

I was wondering...

Do you know about "WINDOW WINSTART"???

If not, do a search in the manual...and, check it out...
In your main code file, it is at line 155
I spent a lot of time getting that to work the way that I wanted...
There is a bunch of tricks to using it...

i have a dell dimension desktop, windows xp, 1 gig ram, and a an nvidia geforce 7200le with shader model 2.0. i think its fast enough for what i need. its a dinosaur, but it works,lol.

i just read about the window winstart, that is a cool feature! i think i will be asking a lot of questions about things if you don't mind,lol? i really just thought i was gaining wrs,lol.

There's nothing wrong with that machine, except we always want something better...
The good thing about it, is that if your game works good on it, your game will work great on todays new high tech machines....

So, did you get the lighting on that model fixed?

not really, i am working on it. i dont want to play around with that model for fear of messing up the framerate again,lol.
as far as the other things you mentioned in an earlier post here, I am interested. i just have to build a few more levels and i will be ready.

Once you figure out the Winstart, then it's easy...
It's already activated so all you should have to do is click on the "Starter" toggle when you publish/pack the files...
The publishing process will create an encripted starter file called "acknex.wdf" and
it will be located in both your packed .wrs folder and your project folder.

One important point is that once you create the starter file you will not be able to see the de-bug info in the starter screen anymore...

All you have to do to see the de-bug info is simply change the name of the new
starter file to something other than "acknex.wdf" like "acknex1.wdf"

Another major point is that at the beginning of the publish process if there is a problem... it wont work...
Everything has to be perfect for it to work... like for example, the picture you use has got to be 256 colors!
Read more about it and then I will help you...

Hey...
I am thinking that maybe we should hold-up on creating new stuff until we get everything that is allready designed working properly...

What i mean to say, is that I have been attempting to get the starter file to work but I think that there might be another problem that needs to be worked through...

But maybe it's my version of your work where the problem that I'm having is...
Please tell me...
Are you able to create a published version in a .cd folder that runs properly?
And... I wonder if it could be because of the two .ogg files that you use...

thats probably it, it runs fine on my end. do you need me to send the original .ogg files, or convert them to .wav for you?

Hi,
My concern is that we should get a .cd packed and running with all the other files in the.cd folder...
Then I think it will be time to proceed forward on onward...
I do suggest that you use .wav rather than .ogg because according to 3DGS documentation the target machine needs a .ogg filter on its system for it to work...
That is why I do not use .ogg

Could you please create a packaged version (.cd) and make everything that you have available to me again???

That way I'm working with all the updated and right stuff...
But first get rid of those pesky .ogg files and change them and fix the code to work with the new files...

I'd really like to see your project get to the state where you can add to it and start adding finishing touches and other cool stuff...
but only after the project runs properly from a .cd folder...
Your thoughts???

ok, i will do that now. i will upload it shortly and pm the link. thanks.

Hey...
I finaly got the publish process to create the "Starter" window definition.
But... I still have the same problem getting a published version to actually launch...
I keep getting an error... "Windows no Disk" "Exception Processing Message c0000013 Parameters....."
What the heck is that about???

i dont know...never heard that one. i sent the link to your pm.

odd, i run the level with no problem after i double click the exe. only issue now is the ogg/wav issue, but that is easily corrected.

You say "i run the level with no problem after i double click the exe."
Is that from a published and resourced folder?

Maybe this issue will be cleared up upon the down-load of your latest version.

I am down-loading now...
I will get back to you a little later...

everything is fine with the updated published exe. i havent tried a resource yet.

Hey...
Thats where the problem is, upon launching the resourced / published version I get the BAD error code!
I'll see if I can get it figured out but first I need you to send me two files.

1.) motel66off.wmp (Your main file for WED.)
2.) motel66off.wdl (I need a copy of the original. A copy made by publishing wont work.)

As I said... I got the "Winstart" Starter Window working...
I'll make a simple Starter splash bitmat that you can change later if you want to.

But please send me those files...

ok, sending now.

This is a nasty error...
Could you tell me where in your code that you call the .ogg files???

oh, thats in the physics template. i thought i fixed that error.

I'm hopin' so, but I got all your stuff and I'm doin' some un-zippen...

thanks, i know you have beter things to do than work my project.

As I said before... it's my pleasure to help when I can...
So... I got all your stuff and I created a starter bitmap so the starter is working...
Now... I still have the error after I publish/resourse but I also get two messages that it cant find two files...
1.) flattv2.mdl
2.) storestep.mdl
Can you please get me those model files??????

yes, right away.

sent.

Hey...
I'm all done in for today...
I spent to much time in the kitchen making Black-n-Blueberry Jam this morning...
Tomarrows another new day...

ok, thanks for your time. i do have a question you wouldnt mind answering. i figured out the illuminated thing. i made some adjustments in the model materials settings, and now i get a bit of slowdawn again. is it because of the lighting and having to render a shadowed object? anyway, good night.

Good Morning...
I'm back at trying to get the published/resourced version to run...
I recompiled the level and I'm getting another strange error.

"<1/4>:Action not found"

Do you have any idea where such an action is called???

Hey,
I found the object that has that action attached...
It's Parking-lot.bmp located close to the bottem of your WED level tree...
Where is that action in the code???

Ok... I still am having troubles getting the published/resourced version to run.
So, lets try YOU creating a published/resourced version and see if it runs on your machine...
I suggest you detatch that 1/4 action from the parking lot and recompile then publish.
You need to rename or get rid of any .cd folder that is in your project folder so we can start from scratch.
After you publish/resource you will need to add your movie file and what ever files you need into the new .cd folder.
Next you will need to make a copy of d3dx9_30.dll and add it to the new .cd folder.

Then double click the new .exe in your new .cd folder and let me know is it runs or if there is a problem....
Thanks!

Gotta go and play till later tonight...

Hey...
I think that I got the nasty bug figured out!
It seems that the problem is that when I publish, a great many files are not included in the published folder...
This is ok on my end because if that does not happen on your end... that is what is important...
So, could you tell me, when you publish/non-resource the project, do you get a .cd folder that runs properly???
If so, I expect that you should be able to publish a resourced folder and that should run properly also???
Now, if that is the case it tells me that I am missing something that the engine can't find and therefore my published version will not work properly...
Please let me know if you can publish with no problems....
Thanks

i publish fine. no problems at all. i suspect that the problem is. one of my wdls has level loads. when the level publishes i guess it also tries to load the models as well on those levels to load. i know that it does that when i load a level in WED.

You say that you publish fine!
This is a good thing!
Then please tell me... How does a published/resourced version run???
To create that you will need to remove or rename and existing .cd folders in your work folder...
Could you please try and let me know the outcome...
Thanks

ok, i did a wrs publish. added the d3d dll, and it runs fine.

want me to upload it for you to see?

This is excellent news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes... but first lets do something else and add to your excellent work... If you want...
I will send you an e-mail with a file and a little info...

ok, no problem, thanks!

It's sent...
Let me know if it does or does not work...

ok. i am still uploading, 18 min left. and i tried the windows winstart, but i got an error when publishing, and when it published, i tried to run, but i got a start error, saying it couldnt open it. i added it to the top of my main. should i added before the main function or in the main function like i did?

That's the problem I run into also...
I don't know why but the only way I could get it to work is by puting it wayyyy at the top...
I mean at line 1 (one) NOT in or above the "Main" I mean at the very top of the .wdl.......
Try again...

ok..THAT WAS COOL! it worked perfectly!

i sent a pm.

This is excellent news!!!!!!!!!!!
I am down-loading now...

BTW... I notice that you still have a lot of models and bitmaps that are not a power of two (2).
If you still want to increase your frame rate and at the same time, prepare for an easy up-grade process to A7 & A8, you need to spend more time fixing all the models and bitmaps...
I will get back to you after I check out the new download...

Gotta go pick some more berries with wife... be back...

ok, i will be here.

What about using PM ? In this topic are only you two. For that is making the PM

if you look at the begining i didnt ask just Terrasame to help. i asked the community. if anyone wants to offer some additional help, they can.

Hey...
Widi... You are right... but...
We are working through problems that others may also encounter!
Read from the beginning and add to this topic to help the Blink-Master...
And... along the way you might even learn something???
Blink has asked for help to "Finish his Game" and got a lot from many...
I think that he and I are almost done with what I can do for him...
Now it's your turn!

Blink dude!
I think you got it!
I found my biggest problem... It's my PC...
I switched to my Dell XPS Laptop and the nasty problem went away...
Ok then... the main thing I think you need to do is:
1.) Revise all skins and bitmaps to be "power of 2" ie 32x32 or 32x64 or 256x512 or 512x512, Get it? always use any of these numbers...
16,32,64,128,256,512,1024... or say 128+256 etc...
That will help a lot! Now and in the future!
2.) I suggest you lighten it up a bit... I think people would like to see a little bit better without the flashlight...
Ok then...
Glad I could help!

Thanks so much for your help, Terrasame. I will be working on the bitmaps, also i will probably need help with the other things you mentioned previously. Your assist has been a tremendous help to me, i have learned a lot!

A long time ago I reallllllly needed that kinda help...
But, I was either to dumb and stupid or to dam stubbbburn, I can't remember which.
Or maybe it was both...
Anyways... Go get-em "Blink-Master"
Rock-on!
Write when ya need...
I'll be around.
Later