Server Help :: View topic - custom server graphics

Server Help

LVZ/LVL Questions - custom server graphics

Anonymous - Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:02 pm
Post subject: custom server graphics

I don't think i will be using asss too much because i already set up a regular zone server, so this question pertains to regular server.

How do i set up my server/a map so that it uses a custom shipset? i just started this game yesterday and got a server up so i figured im good to go for now, but it would be nice as that is the theme of my server. May i also ask what you do to setup other custom graphics, such as exhaust and such? any help appreciated.

Bak - Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:56 pm
Post subject:

basicly, you can override any graphics in your continuum/graphics/ directory by using LVZ files. The files are .bm2 files, but don't worry, these are just bitmaps in disguise and will open normally in a program like paint.

For ships you can either make a file with all 8 ships and call it ships.png (or .bm2 or .bmp or any extention). You can, alternately, do it one ship at a time by naming the file ship1.png, ship2.png, ect. Your format of the image must match that of the ships.bm2 file (open it up and you'll understand this a litte more). That is, the file must be a series of ships, 4 rows and 10 columns with the initial ship facing straight up and the rest of them rotated 9 degrees per picture. If you have an image of your ship facing directly up, you can create the rotated image using a program like EZ Image Rotator.

You can do other images like exhaust by just naming it as the one in your graphics directory (so exhaust.png). Make sure your image has the same number of rows and columns as the default one, or the result won't be what you want.

Then you need to include your image(s) in a .lvz file. To do this you need an lvz toolkit such as X-LvzToolkit.
Detailed instructions on how to create a lvz file are included inside the toolkit and on the wiki page on lvz scripting.

Once you have the .lvz file created, you need to place it into the server folder. If the server is run off your computer this is easy: just put it in the folder. Otherwise, you need to upload it to the server through continuum. This isn't too bad either, but you need sysop access in your zone. First put the .lvz file in your continuum directory. Then go in to your zone and type *putfile <lvzname.lvz> where <lvzname.lvz> is the name of the file. Okay, one more step!

You need to tell the settings to use your lvz file. This is done by editing a setting, misc:levelfiles. You can do this by pressing ctrl + c in game and editing it... or simply typing ?set misc:levelfiles=<lvzname.lvz> where <lvzname.lvz> is the name of the file. Now reenter the arena and if all goes well you should see a downloading level screen and your lvz should work.

You can also do other neat things with lvz files, such as placing images on a map either over or under a ship. Read the sticky for more info on this sort of thing.

Cyan~Fire - Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:42 pm
Post subject:

And switching to subgame from asss is very easy, especially if you have a small population.

dmhorus - Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:55 pm
Post subject: more help

I have been hunting the forum for more information on this but i am still lost. I created images I want to use with photoshop, imported them as lvz's and placed them on my zone map using Continuum Level/Lvz Tool.

How do I get them working in the zone? I test the zone and the images do not appear. Where exactly do they have to do? Do they have to sit naked in the server dir or do they have to be in a directory of their own? What do I do with the files the Level/Lvz Tool generates? It produces alot of files and im not sure which to use and where.

Also, where do I specify the files for the server? server.cfg or server.ini? What do I write?

I appreciate any help!!

Smong - Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:07 pm
Post subject:

Put the .lvz files in the server dir. Open up server.cfg and go to the [Misc] section, add/edit the LevelFiles key and write the names of all the lvz separated by commas:

Code: Show/Hide

[Misc]
LevelFiles=newsbox.lvz,f1.lvz,ships.lvz,+sounds.lvz

See how I prefixed + to sounds.lvz? That makes it an optional download (players can set the option in continuum settings).

dmhorus - Sat Sep 09, 2006 8:17 pm
Post subject: little more

Thanks, Smong! I really appreciate the help, you got me going well now.

So ive got two more questions since youve been so helpful. Theyre mentioned in other threads but I hope its ok to ask about them here:

What server.cfg settings do you recommend for making ships move more like a ground vehicle? For example, when a directional button is released I want the vehicles to stop moving instead of coasting or drifting along a path. Ive been messing with the cfg but I cannot seem to find the setting that I should modify.

Also, the stars are showing thru my terrain! Ive checked out the thread, downloaded and used the nobackground.lvz but the stars still show through.

Another Q: How do I compile wa2 files into an lvz? lvztoolkit will not even display my ini's when I try.

I appreciate all your help!

CypherJF - Sat Sep 09, 2006 11:32 pm
Post subject:

I don't think there is a way to have your ship just stop, it (the game) is based on space-physics. You can set it up in a way where a ship must always use it's after-thrusters to move the ship but it can be annoying to constantly hold down the default shift button to move.

dmhorus - Sat Sep 09, 2006 11:46 pm
Post subject:

Yes, Ive read thru a half dozen threads on it and I can see it would require AS3. Unfortunately thats a whole other can o' worms and Id really just like to get the zone going right now. Ive applied the cfg for stop and go movement but making ppl use shift is a hassle. Ill work on implimenting it with AS3 later on. Thanks!

Any input on the other questions? Im still stumped with the sound lvz.

Smong - Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:28 am
Post subject:

I don't think ASSS will solve the stop/go problem, since the server doesn't know when a player is pressing an arrow key or not.

For your sounds, what do you mean you ini doesn't show with buildlevel.exe? Just list the sounds as files:

sounds.ini wrote:

OutFile=sounds.lvz

File=gun1.wa2
File=bomb1.wa2

For your background set the layer to AfterBackground instead of BelowAll.

dmhorus - Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:25 pm
Post subject: hmm

Smong wrote:

Ya my ini looks exactly like your example but buildlevel.exe just will not recognise it. It wont even detect directories other than "Example" and refuses to go up one level (in regard to directories).

Bak - Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:16 am
Post subject:

Set InitialSpeed to 0, and Maxmimum speed to a high number, like 3000. Set afterburner energy to something low (like 0), and set initialBounty to 0 (or just set the prizeweight for speed prizes to 0). Now you should be able to move when using afterburners (shift) and stop when you release them. Weapons are a little weird because by default you'll be using repels instead of firing guns (shift + ctrl) and mines instead of bombs (shify + tab). You can get around this by rebinding the keys used for mines and repels (and make sure you tell your players to do the same).

Attach the nobackground lvz you're having trouble with.

If debuildlevel is having problems uncompressing a .lvz file, attach it here, and alternatly you can try X-Lvz Toolkit's ExtractLvz utility.

dmhorus - Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:59 pm
Post subject: blast

Im working on a zone based on Outpost 2. Ive got all the custom gfx and lvz's but when I play the zone, the cliff pieces do not appear. I assumed it was because I used invisible tiles to make the cliffs an obstacle, so I moved the gfx to another layer being abovetiles. However, the gfx still appear invisible.

Ive been at this for about 12 consecutive hours so I would appreciate any help. I attached a rar with the zone and lvz files. Im sure Im getting the formatting wrong somehow, but Ive tried everything I can think of. I appreciate it.

UPDATE: Now none of the gfx in the lvz's in my zone are working. The zone and lvz files download when ppl join, but they do not appear in the zone. This is odd since it worked fine with the exact same files and settings just a half hour ago. Im puzzled. I also uploaded the nobackground that isnt working.

UPDATE 2: Thanks to your help Ive got the sounds in my lvz working on the server. xlvz toolkit is working much better than the other app I was using. Much thanks! However, Im still stumped with the other issues.