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chris330

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Everything posted by chris330

  1. chris330

    The ORIGINAL milsim games and what made them great!

    F-19 was an amazing game. The first one I ever really got into Milsim wise. I think this is where I first learned to fly actually looking back. Used to love dodging radar stations and planning an attack route and stuff, plus the manual was huge and really exciting. Think I've still got it upstairs. Defo have f15 still. CORE's thunderhawk was another really good one. Nowhere near as much flexibility as F-19 but it was extremely nice to play and exciting too. FLames of Freedom was another amazing game. Held me spellbound for days at a time. Would love to see it re-done properly with good AI for the onshore contacts and buildings you could actually walk into :)
  2. chris330

    PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

    Hi, I'm looking for a PC that's good enough to power straightforward games and the like on. I was looking at this one or something like it in that price range: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DELL-COMPUTER-450-DUAL-CORE-XEON-4-8GHZ-2GB-MEMORY_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem27aaa240f3QQitemZ170366484723QQptZUKQ5fComputingQ5fDesktopPCsQQsalenotsupported I noticed the PC thread above but it seems discussion is rolling on that one, didn't want to hijack the thread so posted this here. I'm looking to run a fairly simple-ish game like OFP on it maybe up to ArmA level in demand intensity. I'll be running it with XP and it will strictly be a games machine, all stripped to bare bones running. I was thinking of even saving any work related stuff on it (I might use it a bit for some university things) to an external drive which I can plug in as and when needed which means virus checking stuff could be minimised too. The general idea being if a successful attack is made it's no biggie to format C and re-install. SO what I'm really asking is: 1)Is the type of Computer in the link OK for what I need? 2)Are there any specific things I need to know (or would be handy to know) when running a machine on bare bones? Specifically are there any major pitfalls to watch for, and are there any special tips to help me run a super sleak fast software stripped PC? Many thanks ;)
  3. chris330

    Tinkering with Animations

    That's great! Cheers pal I'll prob have more questions but first I want to get familiar with the solutions you've suggested as they sound very good. I also noticed by the way even one of flashpoint gamer's anims (which are brill) had the same issue with the default solider unit where the abdomen vertice behaves weird when you orientate the arm a certain way.
  4. Hi I've been having a tinker with some anims on OFPAnim. Never made an anmiation before so thought I'd have a go. I've got a few questions to ask from those more experienced with this stuff. Here's a couple of pics: I assume the <100kb rule still applies so I reduced them to under that size. 1)I noticed some odd rendering by the left arm where the abdomen attaches to the arm. Seems almost like the way the models are made it aint suited to such an animation even though I haven't twisted anything unnecessarily or gone beyond the boundaries of the human body at all. Is this just a model/game limitation? 2)The anim was initially rendering at 90 degrees away from the forward facing direction of the model even though I didn't alter its rotation when I loaded the tankistae p3d in OfpAnim. Is this normal? 3)I also noticed that when setting playmove rather than switchmove the unit goes into weapon on back stance then switches to this new animation. What would I have to do to get it to play an animation from the weapon on back stance to my new stance? Thanks, Chris
  5. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    Ok finally I have read through all those replies and properly reached the end of the thread doing the amount of input from other users justice not just skimming it and going 'ok'. I printed it off again and have just finished digesting it on the dining room table downstairs. Hardly any pen notes made on it this time, the information provided has gone beyond the point where I can structure any questions about it I am instead now just reading it and preparing to take the steps advised. I'd like to thank everyone who posted, I appreciate greatly the amount of lost time this has prevented (potentially years!!! ) by getting me on track nice and early and by also giving me a good feel of the scale of the stuff involved. Feels a bit like I'm about to have my own version of the industrial revolution. Thanks again
  6. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    Apologies for my disappearance I have been very busy taking care of financial matters of late and I will reply to this thread properly again as soon as I can.
  7. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    Wow another load of studying for me to do!! As before I'll print those replies off, digest them and then return with questions! Thanks again chaps.
  8. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    Right I've finally made it to the end of all that and very good information it was too. Here are my questions/conclusions: To come out of the closet a bit I think I should mention I'm planning to use a pre-existing open source graphics engine (OGRE at the moment although I also looked at Torque) to make a very long term private project purely as a lifelong journey and interest into the wonders of software and man-made marvels. I have no interest in applying any timescale whatsoever to my work no any interest in ever using it in any commercial interest. This means I can take as long as I like and not have to worry about matching the space-age standards of modern graphics and timescales achieved by big teams with huge cashwads. 1)CPU architecture is not unique to any particular make of CPU. I assume CPU architecture are patented design standards which manufacturers have to buy a license for if they wish to base their own brand of CPU on a particular established architecture. Machine code is thus the offspring of a chosen architecture - not the parent. 2)DirectX/OpenGL are a kind of go-between between a game's graphics engine and the computer's hardware. This makes me wonder though how much speed can potentially be lost here. Is it possible to have a well written well optimised game including its graphics engine, which then loses rendering efficiency due to a bad interface between game and D3D/OGL entities even though both entities are working fine on a standalone basis? In other words - can you tune your game's graphics engine to get max efficiency by biasing it towards a particular hardware handler, i.e. D3D or OGL? 3)As for operating systems I'm thinking long-term of running stuff in Linux due to the improved stability and reputation it has compared to Microsoft's Windows legacy. I have all the time I want so I can go for ultra-optimum performance which means I'm really not interested in getting something to run on Windows. 4)With regards the virtual machine mentioned exactly what is a virtual machine? Can you program a language to handle another language's code in the same way it would be handled if it were sent to a dedicated piece of software/hardware?(I'm a bit confused on this one). 5)As for C++ I've already read one 300+ page book on it so I'm familiar with the basic concepts so I've decided to stick with it given how useful it will be long term especially given the open-ended timescale. I realise though that this is the 'jedi-master's' code and will take a long time to learn given it's purity compared to other languages, but I want that extra choice and sacrificial potential towards stuff I don't need. 6)I liked hearing about what you're up to Balschoiw with the Quest3D stuff it sounds great! My personal choice will be to opt for the building block level stuff though so I can get as much performance orientated stuff into the architecture right from the word go. Lastly thanks again for the help in this thread it's exactly what I was looking for
  9. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    Right I've pretty much managed to work through the first two replies and understood almost all of it. Vektorboson's reply is even deeper than the first one. I hope to have gotten through all of it by the end of the day and will have one or two questions later on. Many thanks to those who took the time to post big replies, and to those who posted suggestions and links too.
  10. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    Well what can I say, I really couldn't have asked for any more than that could I! Some great stuff there chaps. I've digested the first post completely but not the others yet, I've been too busy working and flying bombers in BGE Many thanks for the help
  11. chris330

    1st time script attempt

    Your script has this command executing twice when I'm not sure it's needed: _unit SetUnitPos "up" Your script also is instructed to exit when the unit is still alive: ? (Alive _unit):Exit Is this what you want?
  12. chris330

    Operating System,C++,Hardware languages, etc...

    These are extremely good replies. I've printed off this thread and I will reply much more thoroughly when I've digested all of it. Many, many thanks for both your input!
  13. chris330

    Arma feedback thread - based on 1.14

    Nothing to do with Vista per se. What are your hardware specs? I'm sure you don't really believe the only determining factor in how powerful a PC is precisely when it was bought Or you might go look in the other thread somewhere (troubleshooting forum?) that discusess hardware requirements, and what frame rates people are getting with various systems. In the world of computers even more so than anything else, I think it's more than reasonable to expect a machine bought 7 whole years after a previous one to be considerably more powerful. Or perhaps I can nip down the local tip and dredge up our old 500MHz processor machine from 1999 and by the accomplishment of some simple tweaks get this one and other up to date games to run just fine? Perhaps... but I think I'll stick with common sense thanks. I also hear that Vista requires over a gig more RAM than XP to run smoothly. I recently noticed a modern game which had the recommended hardware as stating Vista needed 2 Gigs to comply and XP only 1 gig. I think that speaks for itself, but then again I think the sky's blue and the grass is green. What a weirdo I am!
  14. chris330

    Spore

    Sounds like yet another example of companies getting too big for their boots and taking decisions at too high levels without consulting those on the shop floor. 3 installs must sound fine when debating it in a big office in some flashy skyscraper where brand new computers with ultra-gHz processors and silly amounts of mega expensive consumer goods are vastly abundant, but what they then forget is that their product is used & made or broken by the reaction of end users. I hear the latest thing in operating systems is online hosted software where your computer basically just becomes a data host and graphic displayer. Apparently it's the future. Looks like that'll be the end for Microsoft and their 100% anti-customer attitude and they thoroughly deserve it too from what I hear. Looks like EA are running the risk of making the same mistake of becoming detached from reality and abusing common sense. It never pays in the long run.
  15. Hi, How does one go about making a custom unit animation in ArmA? I've had a look on OFPEC's editing depot and found f/a. I know in OFP I used Dschulle's OFPAnim but I've heard ArmA anims are a different ball game. Furthermore I would imagine config relations to anims in ArmA are completely different too. I made a really obvious and basic title to help anyone who comes searching through here in the future too. Can anyone who knows just give a quick bullet pointed description of the key differences, utilities needed and config issues related for both me and others. Many thanks.
  16. Hi, How does one go about making a custom unit animation in ArmA? I've had a look on OFPEC's editing depot and found f/a. I know in OFP I used Dschulle's OFPAnim but I've heard ArmA anims are a different ball game. Furthermore I would imagine config relations to anims in ArmA are completely different too. I made a really obvious and basic title to help anyone who comes searching through here in the future too. Can anyone who knows just give a quick bullet pointed description of the key differences, utilities needed and config issues related for both me and others. Many thanks.
  17. That's great, thanks for the information guys I wouldn't have known where to start without it, thanks
  18. chris330

    Creating custom unit animations in ArmA

    That's great, thanks for the information guys I wouldn't have known where to start without it, thanks
  19. Hi I was wondering if one of you clued up guys could give me a brief as to the differences between OFP and ArmA's engine. I'm curious as to why frame-rates are so much poorer in ArmA than they were in Flashpoint given that the engine looks so similar in both - on the graphics settings I have set it at. Is it due to ArmA simply having more 3D detail and thus more faces to render or is there some major difference between the two? I haven't run OFP on this machine yet so perhaps it is caused by Vista reacting badly with games? If it is caused by more faces then I've heard even a very souped up graphics card won't help this as it's the processor's responsibility not the card's to render 3D objects. Is this true? Is that what you call a hardware bottleneck?
  20. Hi, When I move or run when playing a soldier or civilian I notice that the motion feels very jerky and vague. I was wondering if this was due to the default animation for soldier units or if it is due to a poor frame rate. I have a reasonable machine with 2Gig of RAM a 2GHz processor and a nice graphics card. I have completely decked all visual settings to the point where the game is virtually indistinguishable from Operation Flashpoint. I would hazard a guess then that it isn't the frame rate but I'd like to be backed up on that one if anyone knows better. I also get this jerkiness at all times even when running through open fields with no other units visible. Is it possible the jerkiness is caused by the player viewpoint being moved along by the default animations for ground troops? If this is the case can one create one's own animations to make this whole affair more smoother? Thanks.
  21. chris330

    Infantry animation & viewpoint relationship

    Hi guys, [CAVE]guerilla I was thinking of doing it as a personal project. Personally I prefer less realistic animations if it means smoother gameplay. I loved the anims in Deus Ex. Sitting in a dark corner watching guards patrol with those idealistic but beautiful animations was great. I'm sure they didn't use motion capture stuff. I find the current animations issue renders the game almost unplayable. The jerkiness and vagueness is horribly apparent when in scope mode too. It seems even just rotating the character along his z-axis (changing his heading) using the mouse produces almost unmanageable increments in heading which make accurate shooting very hard. This even happens when pointing straight at the ground so it isn't a frame rate issue. I think Bohemia have made a great platform for modding especially with the gift of the setvector command. Reading through Ian Millington's Game Physics book (I'll have to buy another copy after I threw my old one away in bad temper during a domestic) shows that with the setvector command anything is possible. Towed vehicles, articulated lorries, user made flight sim engine etc.. are all possible. The only thing I can see which would absolutely scupper all of this though are frame rate issues with the ArmA engine. They are terrible. I realise it's a huge undertaking but I've been pottering in and out of researching stuff like this for a while and picking forum members brains over various things. I'm still in no financial position to act on any of these ideas really but I could get started with the anims side of things. I've also been researching AI programming and have been covering basic concepts like finite state machines and the like. I wonder if some of the Laplace transforms and control principles I learned during university and in my short-lived career as an electrical engineer could be used to create better AI steering of vehicles and/or rotation based reactions of ground troops to things like threats and noises. Anyway... The credit crunch in the UK has returned me abruptly to valueing simple pleasures in life and being grateful for the chance to even just have access to a computer and the internet. I've realised that buying too much consumer goods and garbage simply detracts from true fulfilling long-term effort based goals in life. I've starting learning Kung-Fu also aswell as training to be a very long distance runner. Between computer game research & programming and my physical pursuits I have enough to keep me occupied for life in a very economical and financially and environmentally responsible manner. Short-term binge fixes in life just aren't worth the monetary and moral and self-confidence price tag. Don't expect anything soon or anything particularly realistic but I will be chipping away behind the scenes. The efforts being in the direction of playability more than absolute realism
  22. Lol I was just thinking about that only today! Yeah I thought given the new set-up and decked settings it would be fine. Sounds like I need to sort out some drivers. @vektorboson That's some post I understood barely a third of it to be honest. What I gleamed from it was that there are some quite key differences between OFP and ArmA. Oddly enough most sound like optimisations like the render state switch you mentioned. I assume now there's no requirement for a face to carry an associated state variable and processor power behind it to determine whether it's set at true or false. Also when you say raster based does that mean the ArmA's engine does no vector calcs on 3D objects? It just informs the graphics card where to put pixels on the screen? Great post, curiously though everything you've said makes me think I should be getting much better performance than OFP not less which I am getting. @Mr_Tea I've bought myself a copy a few days ago. I got one off E-Bay bought and delivered for a fiver. The credit crunch means my days of browsing through google and buying new from the most convenient outlet are permanently over
  23. chris330

    Flight Sims X/2004/lockon etc..

    Great pics guys! Was wondering if any of you could give me any advice about Squawkbox 3? How much of an improvement from the bad old days of SB2 is it? Are the model representations more realistic and is it a lot less jerky?
  24. chris330

    Infantry animation & viewpoint relationship

    Wow sounds hard!! Are all modern game animations performed by motion capturing equipment used on people?
  25. Hi, dead quick this one I'm in a rush, Is there much chance of improving the AI through scripting in this one? In OFP after loads of tedious research I reckoned that the only way to get total control of a unit was by making very small movement anims (breaking up a walk animation into several small chunks)and using the setdir and playmove command. Tedious indeed which is why I never bothered & gave up on the idea of AI enhancement in OFP. Quick question to the ArmA players though, how much fine control can you get over a unit in ArmA? If you disbaleAI and use domove will it still invoke the ultra dodgy AI route planning software? Would it be possible to use setvector and play an animation on a custom object fashioned to look like a soldier in a completely user scripted environment? I haven't bought the game yet (I have NO money at all! so could do with some input thanks!
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