SIEGE UNIVERSITY 1 |
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Siege University II Tutorials Modding FAQ 095: Upgrading DSII 100: The Basics of Siege Editor 201: Compass Map Radar 202: Conversations 203: Journal 204: Quest Indicator Icons 205: Start Positions 206: Teleporters 207: Town Portal Restrictions 208: Weapon Effects 209: Flick 210: Tuning Grids 211: Setting Up Good Map Lighting 212: Setting Up Simple Node Fading 215: Building Data Tables Siege University I Tutorials 200: Concepts and Terminology 201: Templates 203: Triggers 204: Moods 205: Fades 206: Elevators 211: Naming Key 213: Dungeon Siege Resource System 301: Introduction to Dungeon Siege Architecture Third Party Tutorials A Simple Mod Part One - Armor Textures A Simple Mod Part Two - A New Armor Beginners Guide to Stitching Regions How to Open and Create Tanks Making Chants Work in a New Map Ornaments Understanding the NKK Useful Links Siegetheday.org Dungeon Siege Outpost Dungeon Raider Kdawg.org - List of useful Links MCarp DS Nodes Dungeon Siege 2 at Gamefront Broken World at Gamefront |
Dungeon
Siege
Concepts and Terminology A B C D E F G H
I J
K L M A
·
Brain:
The higher level of AI. The Brain is
responsible for high-level behavior and typically runs Jobs in response
to
stimuli. The Individual Brain (per actor) decides how to interact with
objects/actors (i.e. attack, guard, flee). Every actor can be assigned
a brain,
even things not assigned intelligence in the real world, like trees,
chests,
furniture, etc. A Party Brain can be assigned to control group tactics,
like
healing friends, supporting friends, or moving and attacking in
formation. ·
Jobs:
The lower level of AI. Jobs are
responsible for handling specific functions, using chores to accomplish
those
tasks. Jobs manage: ·
Movement:
Following, moving in formation, guarding, moving ·
Attacking:
How to get there, what animations to use ·
Item
manipulation: Getting items, dropping, equipping ·
Talking
to other actors: Selecting the appropriate conversation, syncing dialog
and
animations, playing any special actions that occur as a result of the
conversation ·
Other
actions: Using, drinking, going unconscious/conscious, special monster
behaviors, fleeing, dying ·
Chores:
Used by Jobs, but not a dedicated
section of AI. Chores can also be used by objects through attached
skrits or
external gizmos. Chores are useful for controlling animations,
including
playing, blending, and modifying. C Component:
Represents the
code or skrit used to handle a certain aspect of a GO. For example, the
mind
component of an actor runs AI. Components are defined by the
template(s) that a
GO specializes. (Siege U: 201 - Templates)
D Door:
A numbered
line of polygons on a node, usually along an edge, used for connecting
other
nodes. F Fades:
The act of
making nodes visible or invisible is called "fading". Triggers that
activate fading actions are usually called fade triggers. When a node
is faded
out (completely invisible), all objects associated with that node are
also
invisible, as well as unselectable. (Siege U: 205 - Fades) G Game
Object (GO):
A GO, or more generally, "object", is nearly any mesh (3D object) in
the game that isn't a node. Objects can be placed and moved on, above,
or below
nodes, and include things like actors, furnishings, gizmos, lights,
etc. The
generic term "object" is also used to talk specifically about meshes
that don't have another more specific name (like actor or gizmo), such
as
trees, chairs, rocks, fences, etc. All GO's are defined by their
"template". I Identifiers:
All nodes and
objects have recognizable template names that you use to identify them
(like
krug_scavenger), but SE needs to keep track of each unique "instance"
of that node or object. For example, you may have 20 Krug Scavengers in
your
region, but each of those 20 instances has the same template name,
krug_scavenger. Internally, the game engine assigns several of the
following
"identifiers" to make the instances unique. Each identifier is an
eight-digit hexadecimal number, preceded by "0x", which looks like
this: 0xe589a1ff. ·
Global
Unique Identifier (GUID):
Each Node and
Region is assigned a Node or Region GUID (pronounced "gwid") on
creation. The GUID is a unique number per map (see the SE Manual for
more
info). ·
Static
Content Identifier (SCID):
A SCID
(pronounced "skid") is a unique number assigned to every object
placed in SE. SCIDs are used to reference almost every kind of object,
including actors and gizmos. ·
Global
Object Identifier (GOID):
Every object
in the game is assigned a GOID by the game engine. They are different
from
SCIDs in that a SCID is used to connect objects in SE. GOIDs are used
to
reference and connect objects dynamically in the game engine. Sometimes
an
object doesn't have a SCID, like the starting player character or a
monster
spawned from a generator, but it always has a GOID. L Level
Of Detail For Items (LODFI):
LODFI is both a way of removing objects from the
world to reduce rendering time and an optimization for save game and
multiplayer. LODFI is a pair of values in the [aspect] block of a
template
called lodfi_lower and lodfi_upper. ·
Global:
Objects with lodfi_upper < 0. Used
for anything that is generally interactive, like monsters, doors, or
openable
chests. ·
Local-LODFI:
Objects that are client-side only and
are used for decorations and have lodfi_upper >= 0. ·
Local-plain:
Special objects that are loaded
locally but may have global effects. The server needs to load them for
frustums
outside its screen player's (usually reserved for blocking objects),
and are
set on the server if lodfi_upper == 0, it is a multiplayer session, and
aspect:does_block_path = true. As
described in components.gas: [lodfi_upper]
{ type = float; default = -1.0;
constrain = range[ 0.0, 1.0 ]; The
numbers correspond to the object detail slider on the options menu,
where the
lowest detail setting was chosen to be 0.2 and the highest is 1. The
upper/lower_lodfi settings in [aspect] define a range. If the object
detail is
lower than the range, it never loads, and if it's higher, then it
always loads.
If it's somewhere in the middle then there is a random chance it will
load
(this is good for shrubs). Here is the algorithm that the loader uses
when
deciding to load an object: ·
If
lodfi_upper <= 0 then load always ·
If
object detail level > lodfi_upper then load always ·
If
object detail level < lodfi_lower then never load ·
Pick
random number between lodfi_lower and lodfi_upper. If object detail
level <
this then don't load, otherwise load. Note
again that we chose a minimum value for the object detail bar of 0.2,
and not 0
as perhaps would be expected. M Map:
The sum
collection of all stitched regions. This is the entire "world". The
map is not directly referenced within SE since you are already working
on a
region inside it. You cannot reference a region in a different map. N Node:
The basic
building block of terrain. Nodes are individual 3D tiles locked
together to
create the game world. Nodes can be individually selected, and are
identified
in SE by a Node GUID (see Identifiers). O Object:
See Game Object. P Parameterized
Content (pcontent):
Randomly generated content, defined by a set of rules. For example, a
chest can
be loaded with a specific range of weapons to drop, instead of adding a
specific template name. For further information, examine the compressed
file
components.gas. R Region:
A discrete
"level" composed of nodes. SE loads individual regions for editing.
Regions are "stitched" to each other so they appear seamless in game.
Regions are identified in SE by a Region GUID, and must be assigned to
a map. S SCID:
See Identifiers. T Templates:
At the most
basic level, a template tells the game engine how to use certain game
resources
- such as art, sound, and physics properties - to create (instantiate)
a Game
Object (rock, tree, sword, a Krug, etc.) in the world. A template is
simply a
block of text that defines the characteristics of a Game Object. (Siege U: 201 - Templates) Tests
to see
whether certain conditions are true If
true,
executes certain actions. (Siege U: 203A - Triggers I,
Siege U: 203B - Triggers II)
U User
Interface (UI):
The on-screen controls that a player uses to play Dungeon Siege.
Sometimes
referred to as "GUI", which stands for "Graphical User Interface"
(as opposed to a text-based interface). |