Custom Skin for Blackjack

Daraan on 10/8/2013 at 10:06

FM folder > mod_path > root

but normally darkloader extracts in the root folder doesn't it?

sNeaksieGarrett on 10/8/2013 at 14:28

Yes.

So if the root is being beat out by mod_path, that means I either have to tell people to rename their "mod_path" directory, or change the ordering through a config file.

Daraan on 10/8/2013 at 14:59

I'm not sure if this works but my plan for releasing darkloader compatible maps was putting all my stuff inside a FMFolder and ship it with a cam_mod.ini wich automatically sets the fm_path to root loads the FMFolder. This would be quite overwhelming and would override custom settings.
I although thought about setting this up with fm.cfg but that requires fmsel to be active via cam_mod.ini and I'm not sure if you can override these settings with fm.cfg as well.

A NewDark compatible version of DarkLoader would be great which would adjust cam_mod.ini only in the necessary parts.:erg:

sNeaksieGarrett on 10/8/2013 at 15:22

Hmm... But what about just adding a cam_mod.ini with the mod path commented out or something? Darkloader would extract it, but then when your done with the mission it would get removed so you'd be back to your original NewDark.

I guess I could just make an FMSel compatible version instead of a darkloader one, but I've been using darkloader personally and haven't seen any reason to switch to FMSel. Plus, I assumed (although that's a big assumption on my part and could be erroneous) most people would be using darkloader over FMSel. I just like the simplicity of darkloader I guess.

LarryG on 11/8/2013 at 00:50

I have never gotten DarkLoader to work & used to use GarrettLoader, but anymore I use FMSel exclusively. It is so much simpler and works right out od the box!

Daraan on 11/8/2013 at 14:27

Quote Posted by sNeaksieGarrett

Sure thing that will work but with mod_path disabled enhancements like NTEX, ep, which are currently installed under MODS if you install it via TP, would be disabled then:erg:

Quote Posted by sNeaksieGarrett

I guess I could just make an FMSel compatible version instead of a darkloader one, but I've been using darkloader personally and haven't seen any reason to switch to FMSel. Plus, I assumed (although that's a big assumption on my part and could be erroneous) most people would be using darkloader over FMSel. I just like the simplicity of darkloader I guess.

Telliamed started to talk about a NewDark compatible DarkLoader 4.5 (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140173) here. I have no idea whether he's still working it or if It got released somewhere. (Is there a Darkloader 4.4 somewhere??)

I as well have no idea what the people prefer. Darkloader got widely spread and I used it as well on my old PC. Now on my new it doesn't work anymore. So I'm forced to use FMSel now but even on my old comp I started to like FMSel more. It's like larry said much simpler (DL is simple as well^^). The biggest advantage of FMSel is in my opinion it doesn't copy stuff around, so it keeps your folder clean and it's fast to switch between different FM. As a mapper I treasure this feature very much. The FM I'm working on has multiple levels. I adjusted my menu.cfg a little bit and now I can save every level with one click and can choose at DromEd startup which level to load. Same goes for thief.exe for fast real play tests.

Like we three everyone out there has it's own opinions and custom thief installations and we as mappers should -in my opinion- take this into account.

sNeaksieGarrett on 12/8/2013 at 00:29

How do you recommend I proceed? Should I just make it FMSel compatible (which I hope isn't hard) and tell people not to use darkloader? Or should I include a cam_mod.ini file in my FM zip? I'm thinking that's not a good solution because it will disable any mods the player is using.

I guess then if people do use darkloader, I can just have a warning about the blackjack not showing up properly in the readme. All they'd have to do is rename EP.crf. As of this post I still haven't tested the mission with FMSel though, so I don't know if it will become an issue with that as well. I'm assuming based on what's been said here that FMSel shouldn't cause any problems.

sNeaksieGarrett on 12/8/2013 at 22:25

So I've tested my mission package with FMSel and it works just fine. I guess what I should just do now is give a warning in the RTF file that running it with darkloader causes an issue with the blackjack and to use FMSel.

R Soul on 13/8/2013 at 00:57

It should be possible to rename all the blackjack files so that nothing gets overridden.

If you have a pre-mission store, you'll need to rename the the obj .bin file. You'll also need to rename the player arm files (.bin and .cal) in your mesh folder. Then you'll need to find the blackjack in the hierarchy, change the model name if you renamed the 'obj' file, and the Limb Model property to match the .bin in your mesh folder.

If texture shares the same name as the original, you'll have to rename that too, and edit the .bin file(s) with a hex editor to point to the new texture filename.

sNeaksieGarrett on 14/8/2013 at 14:38

I tried renaming BJACHAND.bin to armbj.bin and put that in the Limb Model box, but when going into game mode I don't see the arm at all.