Invisible tank for spawn fraggers - Longbow Digital Arts Discussion

Author	Topic: Invisible tank for spawn fraggers
coax Administrator	posted November 13, 2001 04:46 AM I've seen JV make some nice effects for the Voyager and Klingon ships when they first spawn. Is there a way to make a mode so that a tank in invincible or invisible for the first 7 or so seconds so spawn fragging can be curved? Or is this something more fundamental in the TM code that needs to change? IP:
peeeto Member	posted November 13, 2001 07:49 AM good idea! check out the ENT files. there's one called "TankDeath.ent" that is invoked when a player dies, so there's probably one called when a player spawns as well. a simple server-side mod could be made that creates a temporary plasma shield around the spawning player. i remember a "BlipIn.ent", but i seem to recall that one is a left-over from the earlier versions, and is not used by the current TM engine, but i could be (& prolly am) wrong... IP:
JVortex Member	posted November 13, 2001 09:09 AM lol, i just posted the modded plasma shield idea in the other topic, guess i should have looked here first . too easy that way tho i suppose. AFAIK there is no way currently to make a tank invincible OR invisible for a pre-designated, temporary period of time. the modded plasma shield would just esentially trap a spawned tank for a little bit and allow other people to line themselves up to kill em once the shield wore off since u cant move when inside a solid object. as to invisible; that one could be done, sort of. the only way to make a tank invisible is thru the use of a weapon ent file (well, ok, its not the ONLY way, but its the only one that applies here ). so a weapon would have to be chainned in to spawn with a tank when the tank re-spawns on the map. then the tank would automatically be forced to pick up the "weapon". unless of course it was one of those spawns where you shoot off sideways, in which case it wouldnt matter since you don tmake a very good target that way anyhow. the weapon could be set to have zero ammo so that simply firing once would get rid of it and allow you to play as normal (and also to avoid problems with landing on an ammo powerup). also it could be made so that the AI would just fire it off right away and not mess with it to avoid confusing them into thinking that they are armed and deadly when in fact they arent. it really may turn into more of a hastle than its worth. and besides, dust and smoke would still be displayed as you move and your name would still hover over the tank. on the bright side tho it would be a complete SSO mod. if theres enough interest i can whip it up if you like. (- the smoke and dust could be easily removed SSO if you like, but that is a bit too drasitc i think as it would effect all tanks at all times. no smoke, no dust ever at all. i also know of a way to remove the name from hovering over the tank, but that one im not sharing , too easily abused. -) the file that changes would need to be made to to make the invisible spawning tank is the: Entities/Explo/TankSpawn.ent file. coppy this file to your: AddOns/Entities/Explo/directory and add in the following line: EntityChain0 = Weapon/InvisibleTank or whatever name u like for it. from there make a new weapon file called: InvisibleTank.ent or whatever u like, set it to make the tank invisible. heres the "secret" to making a tank invisible via a weapon ent: Mesh = whatever you like (low polly count!!!) Texture = Sprites/Black.bmp Blend = Add TransmuteTexture = 1 then set the BoltOn location to read as: BoltOn = 3 so that the AI will just shoot it off as soon as it gets it instead of thinking its armed with a real weapon. (the AI will automatically just unload a rear bolton weapon without paying attention to how close a target is.) there ya go! remember to set the weight of this "weapon" file to zero! lol. just dont abuse the whole invisibility thing (and those who would do this know who you are! ). so pretty easy, copy/ alter one file, create 1 file. enjoy! --- the BlipIn and BlipOut ent files i havent played much with yet (and when i did it was quite a while ago). these 2 files as of now are exactly the same. they create the small, faded, purple, hard to see sphere that flashes briefly when: - a weapon is spawned at a check point - when a weapon is picked up and bolted onto your tank - when a weapon is out of ammo and disappears i have the thought in my head that the BlipOut.ent isnt used at all and that the BlipIn.ent is used for all occurences, tho im not sure why i think this... it sbeen a while since i played with them. but you can specify different files to be used in place of the BlipIn and BlipOut if you like. god... ive obviously spent WAY too much time modding this stinkin game! lol. Too much information here that no one really cares about? i think so, hehehe. yet another long winded post by JV ! ------------------ Let the rocks roll and the battle commence. www.bzrpg.com . Check out the site! Loads of Tread Marks support and AddOns. Home of the S.T.O.R.M Pack. The Storm is coming... [This message has been edited by JVortex (edited November 13, 2001).] IP:
=DNX=goku Member	posted November 13, 2001 07:38 PM dam JV you outdone yourself on that post thats a loggin logest i think coax you know if it is we need a contest how long JV can rabble on about a topic ------------------ KameHaMeHa boom!!! you all are gone hehe IP:
A2597 Member	posted November 13, 2001 10:10 PM trust me, I can go on for pages about a topic. I just don't because I know better. ------------------ This post was made by A2597, not A####, not A2754 A-2-5-9-7, K? :) IP:
Kevlar Member	posted November 14, 2001 12:56 AM I don't know JV... I think you added spaces between the lines just to get the record for the longest post... cheater! lol IP:
Rex R Member	posted November 14, 2001 01:50 AM you really should look up some of the stuff dudymas posted, he's got jv beat. IP:
JVortex Member	posted November 14, 2001 03:38 AM heh, that isnt my longest. that ones just spread out to make it more readable. in terms of number of characters ive gotten probably 3 times that many and 1/2 again as long . and yes, dudy has me beat by far! (tho i at least have semi-propper sentence structure, hehehe). and i notice no one said anything about if they found the post usefull or not! evil people, lol! IP:
Karldar Member	posted November 14, 2001 08:54 AM Which post? LOL ------------------ I like pie, but I LOVE TM! IP:
peeeto Member	posted November 14, 2001 09:58 AM JV - your long posts are the only long posts that i bother to read! (unless i just really need a Dudymas cookiedough fix) and i always appreciate your modding discussions! IP:
NeoKi Member	posted November 14, 2001 10:53 AM Well, I can't give you a tank that goes invisable when it spawns, but I can give you a tank that goes invisable when in water. I call the tank Saphire, even though it's orange. It was kind of an accident the way it happened, but hey who cares. ------------------ Sushi IP:
NeoKi Member	posted November 14, 2001 11:00 AM Also, if the weapon makes you invisable, how do you see it? (You Can't) ------------------ Sushi IP:
JVortex Member	posted November 14, 2001 04:20 PM correct, but you wont need to see it since it will appear under so u could fall on it. thanks peeeto, nice to know that they arent all wasted keystrokes, hehehe. [This message has been edited by JVortex (edited November 14, 2001).] IP: