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R&D XCOM Map Alterations


Amineri

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I just loaded Demo_SonOfFacemelt, it's a non very playable variant of Deluge, it has no ladders and some of the cover is changed and vehicles moved. It seems a good starting point for analyzing changes between similar maps.. Even if the maps are similar, they have different NormalizedAvarageColor, shadowmaps etc. so that doesnt seem to have any noticable effect. At the moment I'm struggling to hexedit a single integer xD .The map is cut in half because it has 53 Y tiles, while deluge has 93. Also it only has 2 correct starting points, the other soldiers end at the other side of the level. I also tried loading EU friends in low places and it crashed after seeing my soldiers near the LZ but i cannot replicate it.. probably a thread was still streaming in content and it hadn't reached the bad one

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Sorry if I'm hoping from topic to topic xD Yes, it is an EW map, but If it can be made playable ,we would have an extra map that is a variation of deluge. Hexediting the map XYZ size does nothing.. I guess the level border data is elsewhere. However I've managed to move the soldier spawning points on facemelt abduction mission. And by using the deluge stream file the map no longer blocks part of the ui/ forces waypoint/spawns muton and thinman. Now i have to figure out how to disable the countdown xD Edit: done! by using a near empty stream from the observatory asset recovery map it works as a normal one!( smallar than deluge for now). By using the friends in low places stream zheng ends up on the water. jesus zheng! xDhttp://i61.tinypic.com/skvyq8.jpghttp://i62.tinypic.com/dp750w.jpg

Edited by LiQuiD911
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WGhost,

 

How feasible is it to move XCOM's spawn point and the extraction volume within XCOMGame.upk? It occurs to me we could cheat in something like new maps by just moving XCOM around a bit on existing ones, particularly abduction/terror maps. Ideally, we'd move the Skyranger image itself, but I reckon that's not possible within XCOMGame. It's relocating the extraction volume I'm not sure about.

 

I imagine we'd randomize on load, using the default location some of the time and an alternate some of the time, or pick from multiple alternates. I suspect it would have to be map-specific with precise coordinates given, which I'm OK with. Even starting some of the highway maps from the other end, or some of the urban block maps from an opposite corner, presents a new tactical picture for the player.

 

Thoughts?

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Map objects are not so different from script objects or any other objects. In fact, map objects are instances (or archetypes, if I'm using UE terminology correctly) of existing placeable Actor child classes. It means, we can change any object from inside a script. We just need to know how.

 

For example, player start consists of PlayerStart_X object, which defines 3D cursor position (XCom player is actually a cursor) and at least six XComSpawnPoint_X objects. But it also has extraction zone and Skyranger. Maybe some more objects. If we determine how they work together, we could try to move those around.

 

Things I've learned so far: player start and spawn points are selected based on game type (SP/MP) and selected map "entrance" point (for map with several random starts, like UFOs). Those objects are connected via Tag property. Default Tag value is Group0. For maps with several start points there are Group1, Group2, etc.

 

We could change XGBattle_SP.GetSpawnPoints function to randomize spawn points a change the location of all the other related objects accordingly.

Edited by wghost81
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LiQuiD911, using Council missions streams should also trigger Council mission events. Like ThinMen drops. And should change match winning conditions. basically, those streams are Kismets scripts plus some additional assets.

It seems that an abduction on facemelt won't run if there isn't a stream file. Yeah ,they triggger dialogue and other events but the asset recovery missions are pretty much like the abduction ones ( observatory doesn't even have a dialogue if I recall)

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LOL, I just tested any upk package works, as long it has the expected name. It worked with a copy of the map, and it worked with Voice_Elder1_SF.upk. I wonder if the tutorial map would work as normal if i replace the script upk. I suppose "stream" files are just overwrites to the main map. Do you think we can smuggle in meld pods :smile: What problems does Act1_IntroLevel have? Random crashes? The few times i tested it it behaved as normal, only the extraction area isn't highlighted

Edited by LiQuiD911
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