[WIP] ZThief

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Dancso
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[WIP] ZThief

Post by Dancso »

Image

#UPDATE 2014 July 1st
This project didn't get anywhere past the preview video I made. Last change dates back to 2010 March 21st. Yikes!
I really should have released what I had way earlier, I figure some of the ACS might be of use to someone.
Or it might serve as a fun way to dissect what dirty hacks made the video's showcased features possible.

Download

NOTES:

It was intended to be a heretic-based mod so it relies on resources from it.
There's random stuff inside, some things I wanted to add, other things I merely toyed with or had as a placeholder.
The ACS is actually embedded into the test map inside the pack, youngster Dan was too lazy for things like the LOADACS lump.
The mantling was done by placing a few invisible actors in front of the player and testing if they were on a higher level.
The leaning is a simple ass camera that slid out of the player
The rope script I remember to be somewhat cpu intensive, probably not healthy to reuse. Don't expect anything else to be of clean coding either though :P

Stuff in the pack that may be of undeclared origin:
Spoiler:
Tech Preview video:

There used to be screenshots but I can't find them. They weren't very talkative anyway.

Disclaimer:
Anything of mine in the pack can be reused for any purpose. Basically anything that isn't listed in the spoiler tag above.
You are free to pick the project up and/or use the name of ZThief.
Last edited by Dancso on Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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SoulCrow
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by SoulCrow »

Looks pretty good. I would definitely be interested in trying this out (anything Thief related has my backing!).

1. I think Neoworm posted some sprites from the original Dungeon Keeper - you may want to check them out to see if there are any appropriate sprites useful for guards and such (the Avatar for example could be used, only problem is his helmet seems to cover his neck so would probably repel a Blackjack).
2. Will you be using any resources from Thief (like graphics and sound effects etc.)?
3. I would go with the sword, preferably :P
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Ghastly
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Ghastly »

Dancso wrote:I'm trying to decide between dagger and sword
Artemis Entreri (probably the coolest assassin/thief in any kind of media) uses a dagger most of the time, but in pitched combat dual-wields a saber and dagger.

Looks awesome, by the way. :D
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AFADoomer
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by AFADoomer »

Dancso wrote:
  • The NPC AI system is going to be a challenge to make. I intend to have it act close to real humanlike behaviour, but any patrolling monster can see behind their backs (unless a hacky method is used) so it's not as easy as it may sound, any basic ideas on how it should be "built" would be nice to hear(read, whatever).
Wouldn't using [wiki]A_LookEx[/wiki] instead of [wiki]A_Look[/wiki] allow you to get around the FOV issue?
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Dancso
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Dancso »

BoldEnglishman wrote:1. I think Neoworm posted some sprites from the original Dungeon Keeper - you may want to check them out to see if there are any appropriate sprites useful for guards and such (the Avatar for example could be used, only problem is his helmet seems to cover his neck so would probably repel a Blackjack).
2. Will you be using any resources from Thief (like graphics and sound effects etc.)?
3. I would go with the sword, preferably :P
1. I took a look at those sprites. I'm not exactly sure if they are well fitting, I'll try importing some later to see how it looks ingame.
2. Sounds yes, graphics maybe. "Hmm.. Must've been rats." :)
3. What makes it so hard to decide is because the sword is heavier than a dagger, and you're not supposed to fight that much anyways(and daggers are more backstabby). On the other hand, a sword would be more loyal to the original game.
AFADoomer wrote:Wouldn't using A_LookEx instead of A_Look allow you to get around the FOV issue?
Unfortunately not. A_Look already has a default FOV of 180. Also note that monsters on patrol enter their see state and no longer make use of A_Look or A_LookEx.
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The Ultimate DooMer
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by The Ultimate DooMer »

In that case, hack their See state so a LOS check is made and if they are facing you, make them enter a "See2" state which A_Chase is called as normal ;) (not forgetting ofc to redirect other states like Melee, Missile, Pain etc. to See2 instead of See)

(hacking states such as Spawn and See is so powerful for editing monster behaviour)
pucy100

Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by pucy100 »

haha, funny! A wad for Heretic/Hexen!
Peasant from Strife as a thief
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Xaser
 
 
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Xaser »

Oooh, ooh, calling all Enjays to this thread! Calling all Enjays! :P

I want to see how this turns out... stealth in a doom mod? It'd be a first. :)
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Enjay
 
 
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Enjay »

Xaser wrote:Oooh, ooh, calling all Enjays to this thread! Calling all Enjays! :P
He's been keeping a stealthy eye on this thread since it started. :ninja:

Dammit, my light gem just glowed bright. :shock:
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Dancso
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Dancso »

heh.

A small progress report: It seems that the "sound system" is coming along nicely, every noise is stored in an array for 1 or 2 tics and the guards check for sounds via ACS every tic and see if the sound's strength overlaps their position. The more it overlaps, the more aware the guard will get, possibly making a comment or two about it. "What was that noise?" :)

I still haven't managed to avoid patrolling monsters seeing behind their backs.
Although I'm starting to think that zdoom's patrol code is not simply putting the monster in the see state: It only seems to actually fully use my custom see state after it has really seen me.
Simply checking for line of sight before executing A_Chase does not seem to work, also the monster would randomly try to get a missile shot at me (I use heretic's "knight" as a template) at which it faces towards me. I've tried putting a line of sight check into the attack states as well, but only then did I found out that the actor I was testing didn't actually use the see state i declared correctly, it felt as if it were still using the inherited one (until it actually saw me and threw a missile). I'll try removing the inheritance (heh) from the actor and see how it goes. (not now because it's goddang 2 am :( )

I'd say I'm getting somewhere at least.
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Dancso
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Dancso »

Today at school I worked out a possible saviour of the "guards see behind their backs" issue.
I'm going to try and use a custom system for patrolling.

What I had in mind was, have each guard run a looping script that checks for their situation. They should be given at least two thing-arguments, which will define the smallest and biggest thing ID which the guard will try to reach. The script should make him face towards the current goal somehow, and use something like A_recoil to move towards it. This would require a new destination thing on each corner, but as I recall we have 65535 IDs to take, which should be more than enough. The destination things could have a few arguments that could help create complicated moves.

The guards would be actually "unawake" this way, so they can do A_Look to keep an eye out for the player(s :o :!: ).

Now, about graphics:
Image
It's not a serious attempt, but it could be nice if done properly (I just pasted that hexen armor on the strife peasant)
I'm no sprite wizard so volunteers are appreciated :P

I don't know if i want to be a dirty thief (OH, THE PAIN) to steal even the graphics from the original game. (By that, I mean the models)
What do you think I should do? / Any thoughts?
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Enjay
 
 
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Enjay »

I quite like that Strife edit. The original models are very characteristic of the game but they are incredibly low-detail.
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Dancso
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Dancso »

Thought I'd do a video to show some of the features live ingame.
Tell me what you think.
[youtube]ZCHGWTqTGHo&fmt=18[/youtube]
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Shadelight
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Shadelight »

Not sure what to say other than awesome.
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Trooper 077
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Re: [WIP] ZThief

Post by Trooper 077 »

F**king,awesome
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