// First see if there is a callback installed that doesn't have a type; // if so, that callback is always executed when a message arrives. for (%i = 0; (%func = $MSGCB["", %i]) !$= ""; %i++) { call(%func, %msgType, %msgString, %a1, %a2, %a3, %a4, %a5, %a6, %a7, %a8, %a9, %a10); } // Next look for a callback for this particular type of ServerMessage. if (%tag !$= "") { for (%i = 0; (%func = $MSGCB[%tag, %i]) !$= ""; %i++) { call(%func, %msgType, %msgString, %a1, %a2, %a3, %a4, %a5, %a6, %a7, %a8, %a9, %a10); } } } function AddMessageCallback(%msgType, %func) { for (%i = 0; (%afunc = $MSGCB[%msgType, %i]) !$= ""; %i++) { // If it already exists as a callback for this type, // nothing to do. if (%afunc $= %func) { return; } } // Set it up. $MSGCB[%msgType, %i] = %func; } function DefaultMessageCallback(%msgType, %msgString, %a1, %a2, %a3, %a4, %a5, %a6, %a7, %a8, %a9, %a10) { OnServerMessage(detag(%msgString)); } AddMessageCallback("", DefaultMessageCallback); The first function, ClientCmdChatMessage , is for chat messages only and is invoked on the client when the server uses the CommandToClient function with the message type ChatMessage . Refer back to the server-side message module if you need to. The first parameter ( %sender ) is the GameConnection object handle of the player that sent the chat message. The second parameter ( %voice ) is an Audio Voice identifier string. Parameter three ( %pitch ) will also be covered in the audio chapter later. Finally, the fourth parameter ( %msgString ) contains the Selected Common Code Client Modules 267 Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. actual chat message in a tagged string. The rest of the parameters are not actually acted on so can be safely ignored for now. The parameters are passed on to the pseudo-handler OnChatMessage . It's called a pseudo-handler because the function that calls OnChatMessage is not really calling out from the engine. However, it is useful to treat this operation as if a callback message and handler were involved for conceptual reasons. The next function, ClientCmdServerMessage , is used to deal with game event descriptions, which may or may not include text messages. These can be sent using the message func- tions in the server-side Message module. Those functions use CommandToClient with the type ServerMessage , which invokes the function described next. For ServerMessage messages, the client can install callbacks that will be run according to the type of the message. Obviously, ClientCmdServerMessage is more involved. After it uses the GetWord function to extract the message type as the first text word from the string %msgType , it iterates through the message callback array ( $MSGCB ) looking for any untyped callback functions and exe- cutes them all. It then goes through the array again, looking for registered callback func- tions with the same message type as the incoming message, executing any that it finds. The next function, addMessageCallback , is used to register callback functions in the $MSGCB message callback array. This is not complex; addMessageCallback merely steps through the array looking for the function to be registered. If it isn't there, addMessageCallback stores a handle to the function in the next available slot. The last function, DefaultMessageCallback , is supplied in order to provide an untyped mes- sage to be registered. The registration takes place with the line after the function definition. A Final Word The common code base includes a ton of functions and methods. We have only touched on about half of them here. I aimed to show you the most important modules and their contents, and I think that's been accomplished nicely. For your browsing pleasure, Table 7.2 contains a reference to find all the functions in all common code modules. Chapter 7 ■ Common Scripts268 Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. A Final Word 269 Table 7.2 Common Code Functions Module Function common/main.cs InitCommon InitBaseClient InitBaseServer DisplayHelp ParseArgs OnStart OnExit common/client/actionMap.cs ActionMap::copyBind ActionMap::blockBind common/client/audio.cs OpenALInit OpenALShutdown common/client/canvas.cs InitCanvas ResetCanvas common/client/cursor.cs CursorOff CursorOn GuiCanvas::checkCursor GuiCanvas::setContent GuiCanvas::pushDialog GuiCanvas::popDialog GuiCanvas::popLayer common/client/help.cs HelpDlg::onWake HelpFileList::onSelect GetHelp ContextHelp GuiControl::getHelpPage GuiMLTextCtrl::onURL common/client/message.cs ClientCmdChatMessage ClientCmdServerMessage AddMessageCallback DefaultMessageCallback common/client/messageBox.cs MessageCallback MBSetText MessageBoxOK MessageBoxOKDlg::onSleep MessageBoxOKCancel MessageBoxOKCancelDlg::onSleep MessageBoxYesNo MessageBoxYesNoDlg::onSleep MessagePopup CloseMessagePopup continued Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Chapter 7 ■ Common Scripts270 common/client/metrics.cs FpsMetricsCallback TerrainMetricsCallback VideoMetricsCallback InteriorMetricsCallback TextureMetricsCallback WaterMetricsCallback TimeMetricsCallback VehicleMetricsCallback AudioMetricsCallback DebugMetricsCallback Metrics common/client/mission.cs ClientCmdMissionStart ClientCmdMissionEnd common/client/missionDownload.cs ClientCmdMissionStartPhase1 OnDataBlockObjectReceived ClientCmdMissionStartPhase2 OnGhostAlwaysStarted OnGhostAlwaysObjectReceived ClientCmdMissionStartPhase3 UpdateLightingProgress SceneLightingComplete common/client/recordings.cs RecordingsDlg::onWake StartSelectedDemo StartDemoRecord StopDemoRecord DemoPlaybackComplete common/client/screenshot.cs FormatImageNumber RecordMovie MovieGrabScreen StopMovie DoScreenShot common/server/audio.cs ServerPlay2D ServerPlay3D common/server/clientConnection.cs GameConnection::onConnectRequest GameConnection::onConnect GameConnection::setPlayerName IsNameUnique GameConnection::onDrop GameConnection::startMission GameConnection::endMission GameConnection::syncClock GameConnection::incScore continued Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. A Final Word 271 common/server/commands.cs ServerCmdSAD ServerCmdSADSetPassword ServerCmdTeamMessageSent ServerCmdMessageSent common/server/game.cs OnServerCreated OnServerDestroyed OnMissionLoaded OnMissionEnded OnMissionReset GameConnection::onClientEnterGame GameConnection::onClientLeaveGame CreateGame DestroyGame StartGame EndGame common/server/kickban.cs Kick Ban common/server/message.cs MessageClient MessageTeam MessageTeamExcept MessageAll MessageAllExcept GameConnection::spamMessageTimeout GameConnection::spamReset SpamAlert ChatMessageClient ChatMessageTeam ChatMessageAll common/server/missionDownload.cs GameConnection::loadMission ServerCmdMissionStartPhase1Ack GameConnection::onDataBlocksDone ServerCmdMissionStartPhase2Ack GameConnection::clientWantsGhostAlwaysRetry GameConnection::onGhostAlwaysFailed GameConnection::onGhostAlwaysObjectsReceived ServerCmdMissionStartPhase3Ack common/server/missionInfo.cs ClearLoadInfo BuildLoadInfo DumpLoadInfo SendLoadInfoToClient LoadMission LoadMissionStage2 EndMission ResetMission continued Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Chapter 7 ■ Common Scripts272 common/server/missionLoad.cs LoadMission LoadMissionStage2 EndMission ResetMission common/server/server.cs PortInit CreateServer DestroyServer ResetServerDefaults AddToServerGuidList RemoveFromServerGuidList OnServerInfoQuery common/ui/ConsoleDlg.gui ConsoleEntry::eval ToggleConsole common/ui/GuiEditorGui.gui GuiEditorStartCreate GuiEditorCreate GuiEditorSaveGui GuiEditorSaveGuiCallback GuiEdit GuiEditorOpen GuiEditorContentList::onSelect GuiEditorClassPopup::onSelect GuiEditorTreeView::onSelect GuiEditorInspectApply GuiEditor::onSelect GuiEditorDeleteSelected Inspect InspectApply InspectTreeView::onSelect Tree GuiInspector::toggleDynamicGroupScript GuiInspector::toggleGroupScript GuiInspector::setAllGroupStateScript GuiInspector::addDynamicField InspectAddFieldDlg::doAction common/ui/LoadFileDlg.gui FillFileList GetLoadFilename common/ui/SaveFileDlg.gui GetSaveFilename DoSACallback SA_directoryList::onSelect SA_filelist::onSelect Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. One last thing to remember about the common code: As chock-full of useful and impor- tant functionality as it is, you don't need to use it to create a game with Torque. You'd be nuts to throw it away, in my humble opinion. Nonetheless, you could create your own script code base from the bottom up. One thing I hope this chapter has shown you is that a huge pile of work has already been done for you. You just need to build on it. Moving Right Along In this chapter, we took a look at the capabilities available in the common code base so that you will gain familiarity with how Torque scripts generally work. For the most part, it is probably best to leave the common code alone. There may be times, however, when you will want to tweak or adjust something in the common code, or add your own set of features, and that's certainly reasonable. You will find that the features you want to reuse are best added to the common code. As you saw, much of the critical server-side common code is related to issues that deal with loading mission files, datablocks, and other resources from the server to each client as it connects. In a complementary fashion, the client-side common code accepts the resources being sent by the server, and uses them to prepare to display the new game environment to the user. So, that's enough programming and code for a while. In the next few chapters, we get more artistic, dealing with visual things. In the next chapter, we will take a look at textures, how to make them and how to use them. We'll also learn a new tool we can use to create them.p Moving Right Along 273 Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. This page intentionally left blank Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. 275 Introduction to Textures chapter 8 3 D computer games are intensely visual. In this chapter we begin to explore the cre- ative process behind the textures that give 3D objects their pizzazz. Using Textures Textures are probably the unsung heroes of 3D gaming. It is difficult to overstate the importance of textures. One of the most important uses of textures in a game is in creat- ing and sustaining the ambience, or the look and feel of a game. Textures also can be used to create apparent properties of objects, properties that the object shape doesn't have—it just looks like it does. For example, blocky shapes with jut- ting corners can appear to be smoothed by the careful application of an appropriate tex- ture using a process called texture mapping. Another way textures can be used is to create the illusion of substructure and detail. Figure 8.1 shows a castle with towers and walls that appear to be made of blocks of stone. The stone blocks are merely components of the textures applied to the tower and wall objects. There are no stone blocks actually modeled in that scene. The same goes for the appear- ance of the wooden boards in the steps and other structures. The texture gives not only the appearance of wood but the structure of individually nailed planks and boards. This is a powerful tool, using textures to define substructures and detail. This ability to create the illusion of structure can be refined and used in other ways. Figure 8.2 shows a mountainside scene with bare granite rock and icefalls. Again, textures were created and applied with this appearance in mind. This technique greatly reduces the need to create 3D models for the myriad of tiny objects, nooks, and crannies you're going to Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. encounter on an isolated and barren mountain crag. Textures appear in many guises in a game. In Figure 8.3 two different tex- tures are used to define the water near the shoreline. A foamy texture is used for the areas that splash against rock and sand, and a more wavelike texture is used for the deep water. In this application the water block is a dynamic object that has moving waves. It ebbs and flows and splashes against the shore. The water textures are distorted and twisted in real time to match the motion of the waves. Another area in a game where textures are used to enhance the ambience of a game is when they are used to define the appearance of the sky. Figure 8.4 shows cloud textures being used in a skybox. The skybox is basically the inside of a big six-sided box that sur- rounds your scene. By applying spe- cially distorted and treated textures to the skybox, we can create the appear- ance of an all-enveloping 360-degree sky above the horizon. We can use textures to enhance the appearance of other objects in a scene. For example, in Figure 8.5 we see a number of coniferous trees on a hill- side. By designing the ground texture that occupies the terrain location of the trees appropriately, we can achieve the forest look we want without need- ing to completely cover every inch of ground with the tree objects. This is helpful because the fewer objects we need to use for such a purpose— Chapter 8 ■ Introduction to Textures276 Figure 8.1 Structure definition through using textures. Figure 8.3 Shoreline foam and deepwater textures. Figure 8.2 Rock and icefalls appearance on a mountainside. Team LRN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... converting file types, because that was about all it could do Nowadays, though, it is a fully featured image processing and image generation tool, with scanner support, special effects and filters, image analysis statistics, and the whole nine yards First, you'll need to install Paint Shop Pro, if you haven't already run the Full Install from the CD Installing Paint Shop Pro If you want to install only... object, allowing a certain amount of the obscured objects or layers to show through Saving Layers You can save images that contain raster, mask, and adjustment layers in either the PSPIMAGE format or Photoshop's PSD format Both formats retain all the layer information for these two types of layers However, images containing vector layers must be saved in the PSPIMAGE format to retain the vector information... Figure 8.16 Initial sidewalk texture Working with Files We want to get those images saved without any further ado, but first I want to show you something You're going to launch the fps demo game that comes with the Torque Engine Figure 8.17 Highlight/Midtone/Shadow dialog box Launching the fps Demo Game 1 Leave Paint Shop Pro running and task switch (Alt+Tab) to the Windows desktop 2 Using the Windows Explorer,... separate item with information about its relative position in the image, its starting and ending points, and width, color, and curve information This makes the vector format useful for things like logos, text fonts, and line drawings Team LRN Paint Shop Pro An image in vector format does not depend on the resolution It can be resized without losing detail because it is stored as a set of instructions, not... Torque Engine with appropriate nighttime lighting parameters set I think by now you have a pretty good idea why I say that textures are the unsung heroes of 3D gaming They really make a huge difference by conveying not only the obvious visual information, but also the subtle clues and feelings that can turn a good game into a great experience Figure 8.9 Distant objects Team LRN Paint Shop Pro Paint Shop... image If you later decide to increase its size, you enlarge each pixel, which lowers the image quality A vector image is composed of procedural and mathematical instructions for drawing the image As you encountered in Chapter 3, a vector is basically a line that has definite magnitude and direction Vector objects in Paint Shop Pro are defined in a similar fashion Each object in a vector image is stored...Using Textures basically decoration—the more objects that will be available for us to use in other ways One of the most amazing uses of textures is when defining technological items Take the Tommy gun in Figure 8.6, for instance There are only about a dozen objects in that model, and most of them are cubes, with a couple of cylinders tossed in, as well as two or three irregular shapes Yet by using... some of our game images Not all of them, but a few So the rule of thumb will be to use JPG for all images except when we need to specify an alpha channel—then we use PNG Finally, here is an important workflow tip Save all of your original image creations in the Paint Shop Pro native format: PSPIMAGE When you create and save your images in PSPIMAGE format, it's a lot like having the original source... want the line to begin 2 Press and hold the Shift key 3 Click the image where you want to end the line (right-click to use the background color) 4 You can continue adding line segments of either color by clicking the mouse button 5 Release the Shift key to end the line Paint Brush Tool Options The Tool Options palette for the Paint Brush will appear in the upper toolbar when you select the Paint Brush... brush painting to a specific area, use the Selection tool or the Freehand Selection tool to make a selection before painting Then the brushwork will only be applied within the selected area This is a handy technique to avoid "overspray" with the Air Brush Freestyle Airbrush Painting Freestyle airbrush painting is a technique where there are no restrictions on brush movement To paint something in a freestyle . need to install Paint Shop Pro, if you haven't already run the Full Install from the CD. Installing Paint Shop Pro If you want to install only Paint Shop. FpsMetricsCallback TerrainMetricsCallback VideoMetricsCallback InteriorMetricsCallback TextureMetricsCallback WaterMetricsCallback TimeMetricsCallback VehicleMetricsCallback AudioMetricsCallback DebugMetricsCallback Metrics common/client/mission.cs