Shadowspawn on 26/10/2008 at 16:02
This thread has been going on for over a year and I never knew about it! :mad:
It seemed that you guys were having some problems with the motions for the Thief avatars. If by some chance you are still having issues, I may be able to help. I also have a more complete set of motions (the General Motion Database) which I've compiled and is available on my web site (see sig). This includes cool motions like drawing a sword (for guards or the avatars), motions for getting up from the ground (unlike the pop-up zombies) and most of the SS2 motions have been integrated. There are also tools which allow you to build your own motion sets (out of existing motions) using "motion schema" which we came up with.
This sounds like a really great idea. I'm glad you guys managed this. I'm pretty sure most of the lurkers over at the Editor's Guild don't know about this. I'll drop a link over there.
Nice work, and good luck. If I can provide any expertise, PM me or email me.
Slamelov on 27/10/2008 at 09:54
I have been dreaming with a Thief cooperative for years. I hope you can hget it, guys. Good luck.
Tos on 2/11/2008 at 05:08
I apologize for the lack of updates lately.
Due to some personal issues, vort hasn't been able to help me test the multiplayer patch (or even get online) for over a month now. Since neither of us had any idea when he would be able to get back, I'd decided to hold off on making any changes to the patch (and potentially introducing new bugs into it that would be difficult to find under these circumstances) until he'd returned.
Given how long it's been now though, I've decided to get back to it and I'm currently looking for someone else to help me with the last bit of testing. If that doesn't pan out, I'll post here and ask for beta testers. I don't think much more work needs to be done for the initial release, but that will really depend upon how many new problems are found.
That's not to say that there's been no progress at all since my last posting. I'm sure I've forgotten a few things, but here's a quick list of the improvements since then:
- An issue with climbable ropes/vines in MP that caused intermittent save file corruption has been fixed. This was a major problem that had prevented us from playing a few FMs, and had made some of the OMs difficult to complete.
- A number of sound-related crashes have been fixed (or at least temporarily worked around), and overall stability has been improved greatly.
- Time limits have now been fully implemented, as well as a new option for a limited number of saves per mission.
- The interface for hosting and joining games has been greatly improved. I'd still like to get it fully in game some day, but that's definitely going to be a ways off from the first release.
- A workaround for the broken elevator on Precious Cargo that we mentioned earlier was discovered, and that mission is now completable. I believe Sabotage at Soulforge is the only unplayable OM remaining now. I still haven't been able to track down the real cause of the problems with certain types of elevators though, and may not be able to in time for the first release.
Quote Posted by Shadowspawn
It seemed that you guys were having some problems with the motions for the Thief avatars. If by some chance you are still having issues, I may be able to help. I also have a more complete set of motions (the General Motion Database) which I've compiled and is available on my web site (see sig). This includes cool motions like drawing a sword (for guards or the avatars), motions for getting up from the ground (unlike the pop-up zombies) and most of the SS2 motions have been integrated. There are also tools which allow you to build your own motion sets (out of existing motions) using "motion schema" which we came up with.
Yeah, motions have been a real problem for us. All of the player avatar motions in Thief 2 are the same ones that were used in System Shock 2, and there are no motions for some Thief-specific things (such as swimming, blocking, or mantling).
One of the biggest problems with the motions however is the lack of animation blending. I'm not sure if this is just a limitation of the Dark engine or if it can be worked around with custom motions, but this causes player sword fights to look pretty silly in multiplayer when the avatars just glide across the ground while swinging their weapons. If you've seen other players swing wrenches in SS2 multiplayer, you probably know what I'm talking about.
If you think you could help though, that would be just great. I can send you a PM and describe our problems in more detail, if you'd like.
sNeaksieGarrett on 2/11/2008 at 20:05
Thanks for the update!;)
And from the looks of it, it seems that a first release could be foreseeable in the near future. (Right?) The situation is unfortunate that vort cannot help you further. If you could send him my thanks for helping out on the project so that he knows he is appreciated, that'd be cool :) Good l uck on the rest sir!:angel:
5tephe on 6/11/2008 at 03:13
Man, the tension mounts!
I know there are several of us who can't wait for Beta! :thumb:
jtr7 on 6/11/2008 at 04:35
Here's hoping Vort is okay, and just got sidetracked.:thumb:
Thanks to both of you for bringing it so far! As long as it's playable the rough stuff will get worked out or smoothed a bit, eventually. A couple of people need to try it out on some FMs. The limitations need to be indexed so new FMs can be built with it in mind with the least chance of a crash or surprise glitch.
