Darkplaces Error Reporting Thread

[Seven]

Hello anyeos,

I am not LordHavoc, but I want to *try* to help.
First of all, I do not fully understand your post.
What I understand is, that you have weird behaviour when using external diffuse + normal textures for your models in DarkPlaces.

This topic has been discussed several times at quakeone.
It is based on the alpha layer in the normal texture.

Rygel�s compilation for example used alpha layer in almost all of his model replacement normal textures. That is why they look wrong when using the offsetmapping feature in DP.
Also osjclatchford faced this issue in his model replacement normals.

Here are some examples of how an alpha layer in the normal texture can look like:
with / without





Tip:
To see the difference easier, make a key-binding with "parallax mapping on" and
make a key-binding with "parallax mapping off".
Stand in front of the object and press the keys alternating.
You will then directly see the effect of your normal texture in-game.


During that time, My-Key wrote a possible way to delete an alpha layer of a texture:
click

If this is the issue that you are facing, maybe this info helps you somehow.
If not, I am sorry that I do not fully understand your post. Hopefully somebody else can help you better.

Best of luck.

[anyeos]

*Models with alpha channel texture drawed with bad normals*
-The same model using a texture with alpha channel is drawed incorrectly. If the texture is opaque in the areas UV mapped, it is drawed not transparent but in some faces inverted (like if the normals was inverted), drawing it above other faces.
-Reeplace the texture of a model for one with alpha channel.
-I tested it with models made with Blender using the script mdl exporter (io_mesh_qfmdl-0.7.2). The texture inside the mdl file is working OK but it is not truecolor (it is some palleted I guess just as mdl expect). Using any external texture (png or tga) with alpha channel to override the internal mdl texture (using really the same file that I was using in Blender as texture, in Blender it shows correctly) produces the "bug".

Notes:
Maybe the mdl exporter is exporting the normals incorrectly. Maybe it only is present with transparent background (I will test what happens if I use a texture with alpha channel but full opaque background).

[LordHavoc]

I've been using Darkplaces for MacOSX and it has been working great. For some reason, when I open it now, it freezes on the loading screen and the only way I can get out of it is to hard-restart my computer. I haven't done anything significant to my computer, so I don't know why it suddenly can't load.

I deleted Darkplaces, downloaded it again, reinstalled it, and it still happens. Does anyone have an idea as to how I can solve this?

You can try going into your home folder and then into Library/Application Support and renaming the darkplaces folder to see if it is a configuration issue - the configuration is not part of the .app so reinstalling it won't lose your settings, but maybe this issue is related to your settings?

That said it sounds like a much more serious issue than just darkplaces being affected.

[Seven]

A new beta has been released, which plays very good so far. Also performance-wise. It looks like a keeper for me.
Thank you LordHavoc

[prizeonex]

I've been using Darkplaces for MacOSX and it has been working great. For some reason, when I open it now, it freezes on the loading screen and the only way I can get out of it is to hard-restart my computer. I haven't done anything significant to my computer, so I don't know why it suddenly can't load.

I deleted Darkplaces, downloaded it again, reinstalled it, and it still happens. Does anyone have an idea as to how I can solve this?

[talisa]

@frank
hmm ive never heard of this problem, but it might be related to the same problem people have been having lately with the new DP builds

When im playing a mod and things are not working i make a text file called autoexec.cfg and but this in it from the smc...


sv_gameplayfix_upwardvelocityclearsongroundflag "1" // since Darkplaces build 2013-03-01 ALL "gameplayfix"-cvars are disabled by default, which will lead to issues. So we have to enable it again...
sv_gameplayfix_setmodelrealbox "1" // since Darkplaces build 2013-03-01 ALL "gameplayfix"-cvars are disabled by default, which will lead to issues. So we have to enable it again...
sv_gameplayfix_droptofloorstartsolid "1" // since Darkplaces build 2013-03-01 ALL "gameplayfix"-cvars are disabled by default, which will lead to issues. So we have to enable it again...

those cvars are by default disabled in the latest DP builds, which causes a lot of issues with items not showing up and such.

so try adding them to your autoexec.cfg and see if that fixes the problem

[frankpoole]

Hey there. New to the forums. I've been running through Quake 1 and the mission packs using Dark Places and Epsilon and just hit a bump in the road. I don't know if this is an error with DP or not, but in MP2: r1m5, the shambler that spawns after hitting the last switch never shows up as well as the door to the exit not opening. Is there any way around this?

[LordHavoc]

Sounds like you may need to use r_novis 1, if you do not have watervis'd maps for that pack.

The water mod may be using transparent textures and thus the engine's disabling of the r_wateralpha cvar is not enough to make it render okay without watervis'd maps, r_novis 1 works around this (at an fps loss).

[Poisonheadcrab]

Trouble with Moondrunks animated water

Though I prefer the dp pretty water add-on moondrunk's works better with scourge of armagon in levels with bobbing water; fps doesn't plummet as severely. Although with moondrunks I run into other problems; It looks decent overall but the water acts kind of strange. If I look at it from one angle it looks fine but at another angle the water just turns into sky texture.

[Seven]

Hello Poisonheadcrab,

The shambler model from ~FredrikH is a .psk (Unreal model format) renamed to .mdl.
Darkplaces supports this format.
But if you read the console warnings, when using this shambler model replacement, you will see why it brings issues.
I did not have issues when using this replacment (just tested it with DP build 20130709 w/ and wo/ texture compression), but I do not like this replacement aynway.

I once converted it into .md3 model (you can do this with Milkshape with no issues) when it came out in 2010. With .md3 format you will most probably not have any issues in-game with it.
This format is also supported by many other Q1 engines.

Good luck,
Seven

[Poisonheadcrab]

Issues with FredrickH's Shambler

While Andrew Joll's shambler seems to work just fine I'm having a hard time getting FredrickH's model to work. The animations don't play at all, he just floats around in a T-pose or sometimes appears very shaky. If texture compression is turned on (i never enable this since it caused loads of problems but I think this is worth noting) the animations play but I experience severe fps drop.

[Seven]

Hello Spike and Cobalt,

Ahhh, I see.
So if I understand this right, due to the buggy qbsp in all official Quake maps, the rocket�s and nail�s touch functions do not work as they should concerning the sky.

I just tested fan-made-maps from newer times and they do not show this behaviour.
So we can blame ID


Nevertheless, the fact that the skies are solid in ID maps, causes issues with some mods.
The "small mod compilation" has a workaround for this issue.

Below this *useless* code:

	if (pointcontents(self.origin) == CONTENT_SKY)
	{
		remove(self);
		return;
	}

I added this:

	local float surfacenum;
	local string tex;
	surfacenum = getsurfacenearpoint(world, self.origin);
	if (surfacenum >= 0)
	{
		tex = getsurfacetexture(world, surfacenum);
		if ((tex == "sky1") || (tex == "sky4") || (tex == "sky10") || (tex == "sky_tele"))
		{
			remove(self);
			return;
		}
	}

That works robust and covers the ID maps.
When playing fan-made-maps, the original remove code works as it should due to not solid skies.


Thank you again for explaining me the buggy qbsp issue.

Best wishes,
Seven

[Cobalt]

Spikes right Seven, content_sky was never active because of solid skies. If you really wanna make your SMC mod a complete blowout, find Killpixel, and I think he has recompled most the ID maps to have non-solid skies, plus he has fixed other problems with the maps. Then release SMC with the new updated maps, and you can code in new stuff to work with the new skies. Might be an interesting challenge.

[Spike]

seven, you're sure that's not the old alpha qbsp bug?
specifically, start.bsp and various other maps were compiled with a buggy qbsp that considers sky brushes to be CONTENT_SOLID and not sky.
thus pointcontents doesn't work to determine when something impacted in sky, because it impacts *on* the sky and is thus in a CONTENT_EMPTY area instead.
check it in a different engine if you want to verify that (any mod).

[Seven]

Hello LordHavoc,

The pointcontents checks do not work anymore for the sky.
I am not sure for the other liquids...

The weapon projectiles missile and nails do not follow this code anmyore:

if (pointcontents(self.origin) == CONTENT_SKY)
{
remove(self);
return;
}

They spawn the TE_ particles (what they should not do) and do not get removed.

Anyhow, they follow the regular code and will be removed in BecomeExplosion (); (for missile) and the last remove(self); (for nails).

It would be nice if you could look into it, as it has quite a big impact on mods, which have to use these pointcontents checks.

Thank you.
Seven