For sexy non-essential maphacks. I like the idea of pushing the engine / progs to its limits. 

The model name won't work?

Also are you sure you are using a model index? A brush model like "*5", that's not a model index -- that is the model name. 

sorry you're correct, I mean edict number. 

model *5 will ALWAYS have modelindex 6, guaranteed. doesn't even need to be precached.
external models have pseudo-random indexes, but those inline models will always be assigned modelindexes by the engine and with reliable ordering etc.

edict numbers depend upon the max number of players. quite a few entities like walltorches will be handled with makestatic, and so will not increment edict numbers. Again it also depends upon spawnflags as to whether the entity will actually be spawned, etc.

By far the easiest way to get this sort of stuff to work is to include a custom progs.dat so that things don't have to be guessed at, but Baker won't like that either. :P 

The "model name" is "*5". The "*5" isn't a model index, the "*5" also isn't an edict number.

Those numbers are probably determined by the order that entities (func_wall, doors, etc.) are encountered as the bsp compiler compiles the .map.

So it is probably simply determined by order in the text file that is the .map, but I wouldn't 10000% swear by that, it is just a guess that is stands a pretty decent chance of being correct. 

What are some good recommendations for a QuakeC compiler? 

 

Does anyone know what progs.lno is? 

Does anyone know what progs.lno is? 

You can ignore it for now, it isn't needed to run a mod.

(It is used for a specific engine when debugging your code, I believe that it allows the engine to return the line number that an error occurs on, aiding debugging. I've never made use of it though...) 

simply put, its a statementindex-to-linenumber lookup table.

dp uses it for just more readable error prints (no more meaningless numbers!).

fteqw uses it for step-by-step debugging, typically by hitting f5 inside fteqccgui and picking an fteqw build. you can then set breakpoints in the gui with f9 and single-step with f11. mouse-over variables to see their current values. wouldn't be possible without the info in those .lno files.

If they annoy you, you can compile with -O2 (or -Of, or even '#pragma optimise filenames'), fteqcc will then also stop generating these lno files (they arn't very useful when there's no way to tell which file they're lines of).

So yeah, they're situationally useful, but if an end user actually needs them then you already screwed up, such that there's not really much point distributing them (no harm in it, just pointless). You should otherwise just ignore them - they're totally useless on their own. 

 

I'm working on a mod and its mostly a multiplayer one. I've started with Quakespasm but it sucks for multiplayer. Is there a good Q1 engine with decent netcode and multiplayer capabilities? I'm looking for something that makes it easy for people to create servers and join with their friends.

I'm even considering switching to ioquake for that, even though i only know QuakeC. :( 

Practical options:

1) Use DarkPlaces as server and Spiked Quakespasm (QSS) as a client. Have a proper Quake client in Spiked Quakespasm, while having proper netcode (DPP7).

2) Use DarkPlaces. But doesn't have the correct classic Quake look.

3) Use FTE. Possibly your best option by far because FTE has nearly limitless capabilities and is very strong in multiplayer.

Practical answer:

You have a huge problem though ...

I'm looking for something that makes it easy for people to create servers

This ain't going to happen. Anyone who has a router (that's most people) --- are there dozens of brands of routers -- is going to have to manually configure their router to allow connections to their server.

That is going to prevent nearly every non-technical person from ever hosting a server.

Doesn't matter what game it is ioQuake or MineCraft or anything else --- the router configuration problem is simply going to prevent an average user from ever hosting a server. 

yes, imho.

FTE has single-socket servers, prediction, master servers, spectator mode, nack deltas, voip, ipv6, splitscreen, qw/nq cross-compat, etc. It even has a plugin that can usually invite/connect/call directly to xmpp friends. It also imho has the most versatile qcvm(including proper debugging) and better model formats than mdl(no more qme!) so its great for mods too.

ezQuake, DP, or QSS[not vanilla quakespasm] are your runner-ups. They all use a single-server-socket, so it should be possible to set up firewall rules without too many issues.

That xmpp thing would be awesome if getting everyone to set up xmpp accounts and enter passwords etc wasn't such a burden. What it does mean is that you shouldn't need to reconfigure any routers - just enable the plugin and invite/join your contacts.
This is roughly equivalent to using steams' contact list to start games, just with a 3rd-party/unlocked chat server.
Obviously this only applies to private games, and its not guaranteed but it should work with 90% of routers (google's stat from their voip-over-ice offerings).

If all else fails, there's nat-pmp/pcp or upnp-igdp protocols that can be used to reconfigure routers. You can set 'sv_port_natpmp 5351' in FTE for the former if you've some mac-friendly router, but I never properly tried to add support for the massively-overcomplicated-and-permanently-quirky upnp-igdp protocol despite it being more commonly supported. Note that programs like Skype constantly rewrite your router's firewall rules using this sort of thing.
So yeah, never say never.

@Baker, DPP7 doesn't provide anything useful to QSS that isn't also provided by the FTE+999 protocol that QSS supports. I added it because I'm a sucker for compat rather than any other consideration (the client side for either protocol isn't particularly hard anyway when you ignore csqc etc, I doubt you'd have issues adding it/them to markv to a similar level, except for the particles anyway). 

Does FTE+999 do prediction? If so, I must have missed noticing that in the changelog.

I was under the impression that FTE+999 didn't do prediction. 

yes, but QSS doesn't, even over DPP7.
Adding the physics changes required for reliable prediction means changing physics, and I didn't want to deal with the politics of that, so QSS retains the physics that mappers are actually comfortable with. My idea was to eventually implement CSQC, at which point the QC would be able to do all the prediction itself, which would save me from the politics (everyone blame whoever wrote the qc!).

But yeah, FTE+999 is roughly equivalent to DPP7, but QSS doesn't support prediction either way. 

I debated whether this should go in the "teaching old progs.dat new tricks" thread or this one, but I guess you could also see this as a request of sorts... So here it is.

If I add a maphack that references another entity, for example the "CastLightning" hack, that references an "enemy" field. I notice that the hack can break if I've added a "not in x skill" flag on an earlier placed enemy.

In this situation the edict / enemy number gets displaced.

Are these handled in qbsp? or in the compile tools chain?

Is it possible to have qbsp process any enemies with these flags last? OR is it possible to give entites a key that qbsp searches for and places them first, before any mobs?

Cheers,

Snaut. 

forgot that I asked a similar question to what was answered in #2350 

See Teaching Progs post #6687
http://www.celephais.net/board/view_thread.php?id=4&start=6687 

ahh 3 skill versions... seems hacky, but acceptable.... or maybe I'll just delete and replace the mobs. 

Has anyone here made a parser for the .MAP-format for games like the Quake and the Quake 2? I've looked into making one myself to allow for wanton random generation of maps (or parts of maps/prefabs). It would be like an upgraded Oblige but with more focus on generating interesting architecture with decent texturing.

The .MAP-file format is pretty elegant TBQHWYFAMs and I don't think it would be a too taxing task to do. 

working on something like that. Forgot who and the name of his mod. You might wanna check the works-in-progress section there. 

I'm sorry but I can't seem to find it... 

Been a while since I saw that. If I stumble upon it I'll let you know.