4 specific questions regarding Scening

[Fusilier]

Greetings

I’m new to scene making/editing and I have some quick fire questions I’d like someone experienced in scene making/editing to answer. These are:

1. Can you (and is it recommended) to create a scene file from scratch? In the NW folder “SceneObj” there are many scene files such as “scn_mp_ambush.sco”. This .sco file, can a new one be generated without editing an already existing file?
2. Let’s say I want to create/edit a new scene file for NW named “Custom map 1”. How do I give it that name in the game files and how do I have it be displayed in the map selection option when hosting a dedicated server?
3. In NW, how to make a scene be as big as possible? I mean how to increase the actual size of the playing map to the max?
4. When I host a dedicated server with a custom map do new players that join my server automatically download the map before they are allowed in?

Please answer each question like so (this is merely an example):

1. Yes, however…
2. I don’t know, because…
3. Etc

PS.: I have used the Forum’s search function but didn’t get any answers to my very specific questions.

Anyway, thank you for your time and patience.

Fusilier

 

[Fusilier]

Going to compile the main questions here:

1. You say that you start with a texture. Can that be a screenshot I take of my actual scene or one of the images that are used for preview pics of other maps in the map selection?
2. What do I do when I have chosen the texture?
3. I don't even think im using OpenBrf correctly, are you really supposed to delete all the .dll files since it's v.0.0.82.e? (when I did it, it stopped working correctly)
4. I'm very confused about using OpenBrf. There's all this data and I don't know what to select, what files to edit or anything of the sort. Really need your help on learning on how to change the preview picture. You seem like a really nice person going through all this effort just to help me, I just need a little more

Please try to answer in the following way:
1. xyz
2. xyz
3. etc

I'll try to be online for like a week until I can get these things sorted out, you might even recommend me a new member to answer my modding questions if you feel like he/she will be more qualified/willing. My main goal is to setup a dedicated server for NW with a custom training map where I can bring my regiment to do some drilling.

For some of the questions, I'm also in contact with people in the TW Forum - Modding Discord and through PM via the taleworlds forum.

Best regards
Fusilier

 

[Eärendil Ardamírë]

1) You can decide by yourself with what you are happy there, it has to fit your taste of design.
2) If you have chosen a texture you work it into the mod
3) I am not sure what you are doing here at all. It should be a simple folder inside a zip file which you extract and which can then be used immediatelly
4) Learning by doing is the parole here. If you have concrete questions I or someone else will try our best to answer them. But for general stuff we expect that you try around a bit and try to get a sense for it by yourself

In my opinion you are thinking too much about this texture thing with the scenes. That's something which will rarely get looked at at the end anyway. Just try to concentrate on the other stuff for now to get it working before delving into new topics. With time comes experience and you will get more confident to work at other parts. That would be my recommendation for you.

I'll try to be online for like a week until I can get these things sorted out, you might even recommend me a new member to answer my modding questions if you feel like he/she will be more qualified/willing.

The Q&A board is for planned for this. At the moment it's me who responds to you, could also have been any other person. If people have time and know about a topic, they will try to answer you. I would recommend you to mark a question as solved and ask a new question in a new thread since people might not notice that the topic has changed already like it did here.

For some of the questions, I'm also in contact with people in the TW Forum - Modding Discord

You are pretty silent in the modding discord, have not seen you commenting yet

 

[Fusilier]

1) You can decide by yourself with what you are happy there, it has to fit your taste of design.
2) If you have chosen a texture you work it into the mod
3) I am not sure what you are doing here at all. It should be a simple folder inside a zip file which you extract and which can then be used immediatelly
4) Learning by doing is the parole here. If you have concrete questions I or someone else will try our best to answer them. But for general stuff we expect that you try around a bit and try to get a sense for it by yourself

In my opinion you are thinking too much about this texture thing with the scenes. That's something which will rarely get looked at at the end anyway. Just try to concentrate on the other stuff for now to get it working before delving into new topics. With time comes experience and you will get more confident to work at other parts. That would be my recommendation for you.


The Q&A board is for planned for this. At the moment it's me who responds to you, could also have been any other person. If people have time and know about a topic, they will try to answer you. I would recommend you to mark a question as solved and ask a new question in a new thread since people might not notice that the topic has changed already like it did here.


You are pretty silent in the modding discord, have not seen you commenting yet

I already know that you can open the "Resource" folder in my module on OpenBrf and if I open the files “User_interface_b.brf” and “User_interface_c.brf” I can see the preview images for all the maps. I can also see them in textures.

I don’t know what to do with this information though.

Going back on some of your posts you mentioned:

1. “[The pictures] should get defined in module_meshes at some places (look directly for the mesh names from openbrf);
2. “[Afterwards, the pictures] should get called/use it in module_presentations”.

Now, for me, module_meshes and module_presentations are .py files in the NW ModSys.
Just to get it out of the way, I have no idea what a mesh is. It would be good if you could explain what it is.

The questions are:

1. How do you define (what is to define?? to set?) the pictures in module_meshes.py? (I assume their name in openbrf hints at what to edit in??)
2. Where do you define(set?) the picture in module_meshes.py?
3. How to use (this was your word) the pictures in module_presentations.py?
4. Assuming I want to use one of the images that are used for preview pics of other maps in the map selection, how do I go to set that up for my custom map? Can you provide a simple step-by-step guide?

As always, please answer the questions 1., 2., 3, etc.
I will make the question as solved as soon as this matter is cleared.

Best regards,

Fusilier

 

[Eärendil Ardamírë]

A mesh is basically every 3D object you see ingame. Mind that user interface elements are basically also thin 3D elements. In the module system everything is working with the meshes. Once you have found out which mesh those scene pictures are for example, you are able to look up at which places in the module system they are getting used (the mesh name is getting used there). You can also find the referenced material and texture settings in the brf and via the texture also the texture dds file name.

1) For the basics take a look at the step 3 here: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/presentations-basic.358674/
Then look up how the other scene images are getting done and implemented.
2) For me that's the same question as in 1), so same answer as in 1)
3) Basically also the same answer as in 1)
4) Take a look how it is currently getting done at the admin panel presentation and imitate that behaviour.

 

[Fusilier]

A mesh is basically every 3D object you see ingame. Mind that user interface elements are basically also thin 3D elements. In the module system everything is working with the meshes. Once you have found out which mesh those scene pictures are for example, you are able to look up at which places in the module system they are getting used (the mesh name is getting used there). You can also find the referenced material and texture settings in the brf and via the texture also the texture dds file name.

1) For the basics take a look at the step 3 here: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?threads/presentations-basic.358674/
Then look up how the other scene images are getting done and implemented.
2) For me that's the same question as in 1), so same answer as in 1)
3) Basically also the same answer as in 1)
4) Take a look how it is currently getting done at the admin panel presentation and imitate that behaviour.

Hello again Eärendil the Mariner

Yesterday, I was able to change the preview image of my custom map, on the admin panel, to the preview picture of a different map.

Spoiler: Proof 1

If you don't recall, before it was the image of a forest, it is now a bastion.

What I did was to simply edit both module_meshes and module_presentations.

Spoiler: Proof 2

From experimenting with OpenBrf, I believe that you need a mesh to assign as a preview picture and haven’t yet found a way to convert a screenshot, for example, into a mesh that I can assign as a preview picture.

I got a screenshot from NW in file form .dds (which is the file type for textures) but couldn’t get the game to recognize the screenshot and, therefore, assign it as a preview pic. I will look into it some other time, maybe sooner than later but not on this thread.

Other issues have presented themselves but I will ask a new question on them.

As far as I’m concerned these questions are solved.

Special thanks to Eärendil the Mariner for all the help provided.

Best regards,
Fusilier