The Simple Questions Thread

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Reactor
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

Post by Reactor »

You're right :) time for another question, this one is GZDoom-related, and technical.

I've made an animated sky, but alas, the frame count exceeds 99 frames. Can I put this sky in GZDoom, and if yes, then how should I name the frames? "Frame001" "Frame002" are good to go?
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Enjay
 
 
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

Post by Enjay »

I wasn't complaining, I just thought it was funny.

I assume that >99 frames is possible. I'm not aware of a limit anyway. If you are using the ANIMDEFS syntax where you explicitly name the frames, then it wouldn't matter what you called them. I see no reason why Frame001... wouldn't work though.
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

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Most excellent!!! I was afraid I'll have to cut the animation down to size and it'll appear choppy, but luckily, that's not the case.

As for the antimatter discussion, I think it was pretty elaborate and great :) In fact, I decided to add it to the Tristania 2 storyline, where the operatives are in a heated debate about whether or not they should utilize such weapon.
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

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Alright guys, this one is a storyline question, so no programming involved, but I need to know the facts.

Is it possible for the authorities - preferably the police - to accidently intercept radio communication messages? Can they somehow "detect" if someone is transmitting radio messages, or can they monitor hundreds of frequencies simultaneously and eavesdrop? And can they intercept incoming-outgoing messages by monitoring a radio tower which is responsible for the transmission of said messages?
This'll be a very important part in the storyline. At the 8th level, the protagonist needs to activate a radio tower inside an abandoned industrial region near Falaricae, or else his portable radio transmitter won't be able to reach the buddies staying at the base, and they could not provide an airlift for him. Near the end of the game, during the level Nuclear Nitemare, the evil-doers create a diversion by shutting off the coolant of the nuclear plant near the city, and of course, the protagonist needs to save the plant & everyone else. He'll receive and transmit radio messages during the entire level, with the aid of the very same radio tower he activated way earlier. The police must intercept the transmitted messages so they can finally learn who the bad guys really are.
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

Post by Rachael »

It is possible for anyone to intercept radiowaves - so yes, police can do so.

In fact, in most countries, police actively do so - to seek out rogue radio broadcasters (that is, people who attempt to broadcast radio without a license). Such people are usually heavily fined and may sometimes face criminal charges, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction. A rogue broadcasting station can easily be found by measuring the strength of the radio waves from 3 distinct locations, a process known as triangulation. This allows you to map on a 2-dimensional plane the exact location of a radio source. Computer software has become advanced enough that this can be done in an instant. (In fact, that is how mobile phone carriers know how to find you - and if you dial emergency on your phone, it is also how the dispatcher knows your location, too)

As for radio-to-radio contact, there's really only a limited range of frequencies that radio works well in. All can be intercepted if you can tune your transceiver to such frequencies.

In the realm of physics, all radio is, is a massive flickering light that happens to permeate through thin walls and sometimes rocks. It's just at such a low frequency that your eyes can't detect it. It's nothing more than that.
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

Post by Trance »

Reactor wrote:Is it possible for the authorities - preferably the police - to accidently intercept radio communication messages? Can they somehow "detect" if someone is transmitting radio messages, or can they monitor hundreds of frequencies simultaneously and eavesdrop? And can they intercept incoming-outgoing messages by monitoring a radio tower which is responsible for the transmission of said messages?
There is a device called a scanner which cycles through frequencies until it detects a signal. It's often called a police scanner, I think because interested parties use them to listen in on radio traffic between police dispatchers and officers in the field. It's easily possible for that to be flipped around, the police using them to monitor transmissions from someone else.

All you'd need to provide is a storyline reason why they'd want to monitor radio traffic.
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

Post by Reactor »

Excellent! So then it is plausible to write about the cops using such device to intercept the radio messages! Thank you! :) For a sec I thought I'll need to re-write the entire chapter, but thankfully that is not the case.
I guess the triangulation-technic can pinpoint the location of both the transmitter AND the receiver. I'll need to figure out something that the police won't locate the colony hidden in the foundry.
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Re: The Simple Questions Thread

Post by Reactor »

Enemy related question, can be important for people, who go for perfect run:

If I desire to spawn enemies from thin air, if the player accomplishes a task, or steps thru a line with a trigger on it, the not-spawned enemies will be deducted from the percentage at the end? Under EoD engine, if the player didn't collect a "guard spawn trigger" (it was an invisible collectible static object), then the game did not spawn those extra enemies, and the player still got 100% kill ratio at the end. Several times, these extra enemies were triggered upon entering a secret area or a short-cut, so it was easy to skip these extra enemies. It would be bad, however, if the player would not get 100% kill ratio, and would be forced to hunt for these invisible triggers for hours...
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