Mitovo

Hi there,

Thanks for the info!

I think I'd seen some of those resources in my searching around, but I wasn't sure if everything was "complete", or relevant to the current version as I'd seen a lot of things in the past with either links to unfinished/uncreated wiki pages, or things referring to the old, non-open source T3D.

So those resources are all current, then. Cool, thanks!

So, I'm completely confused about the Torsion thing. You say it's open source, and I see it on GitHub, but the only binary download version they have requires a registration code, or otherwise you're just unlocking a trial.... That seems like they're still selling it. I've never seen a MIT licensed, open source project that still requires a purchase to use, and I can't find any kind of "universal registration" code or anything to unlock it. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Hello everyone,

Quick question here.

I've been eager to start learning programming, and would like to start with TorqueScript, as it will allow me to learn while also working on game-related projects.

1. First question, is there a setup folks would recommend to start with?

I have the old 3D Game Programming book, originally for Torque Game Engine (By Ken Finney, I think?), which is of course rather outdated, but I wonder if the language is effectively the same, or has it changed dramatically from TGE to T3D?

Or, would it be better to just learn with T3D?

2. And, would Torsion be recommended as THE go-to IDE to work with, or would something like TorqueDev be sufficient?

3. And finally (if the TGE option from question 1 isn't recommended), what beginner tutorials would you recommend to start with? Preferably something that puts the tutorials in context of a project, and not just "dry memorization".

Thanks for your time and input!

Very nice.

Cool, thanks for the info! Will keep that handy for future reference.

Probably dxt5nm format also called swizzling. It shifts around the colors to avoid dds compression artifacts. I use that for most of my normal maps, but when I open them in Gimp they look normal again, it is just in WTV that they look weird.

Another cause or weird looking normal maps is if there is an alpha channel with low intensity so that the texture is transparent which changes the appearance of the colors as well, you can see this on the normal map for the default soldier, it is almost transparent.

I see. Interesting!

Yeah, that really threw me off looking at it, because I'd never seen a normal map look like that before.

Are there particular settings folks would recommend for normal maps used in T3D? The ones in the demo materials look really good, and I've seen others get some really nice results. I never seem to get quite as much "depth" in mine as I see in others'.

Hi all,

So, I'm curious about something. I've been poking through the art files for the different demos made with T3D, and I'm noticing something with the normal maps, particularly those used for Deathball Desert. I'm noticing that, when I look at them in WTV, the normal maps are all shades of purple, none of the green or blue that usually shows up in a normal map.

Does anyone know what software was used to generate those? And also, how are they working as normal maps with only the purple? I always thought the different colors in a normal map represented the angle of a pixel at a given point.

Thanks

I use HostGator for several years now, and love it. Not using my site for much, but slowly in the process of putting together a site lol. Maybe check them out!

http://hostgator.com

@MiToVo

Yeah, I really dislike the current terrain materials deal. Making terrains use the regular materials is on the block for 4.0, because the odd half-n-half materials it has now is definitely less than ideal.

As for the flatten terrain, I think it's intended to flatten at the average point, compared to the set height function, which sets it to an explicit height. But yeah, I can see what you mean about flatten sampling the height when flirst clicked, and then acting as setHeight as long as the mouse is held down. Maybe as an alternate mode for flatten to dictate weither it re-evaluates the height, or just paints-to-height of the initial click.

Well, again, going by what I've seen in other editors (not trying to make this a T3D vs Other contest.. just drawing from experience)... Many of them do have both options.

Typically, the Flatten tool is used for more imprecise, "on the fly" type editing. Say you're creating a small town like area, or just want to place a small shack somewhere that's hilly/uneven. You find a nice spot on the terrain and figure "this is a good spot, I'll just flatten this out". So, you select the Flatten tool, and do your thing.

The Set Height tool is more "I know I need this area to be 30m above sea level, with this adjacent area 40m... Rather than manually raising the terrain up to 30m then 40m and using the flatten tool (terrain editing for the Elder Scrolls games works like this, incidentally)... you can just set the height, and then paint away and it'll be set at the height you need it. I've always thought of a "Set Height" tool as a way to block/rough out large areas that you know will need to be certain elevations, so you can go in and do the finer editing later.

Some editors have a kind of "in-between" mode, where, say with the "Set Height" tool active, you'll Shift-Click on the terrain at the height you want, and bam, it sets that as your flatten height, so you don't have to go and manually enter a number each time, etc. That's a kind of quality-of-life addition that seems small, but can really speed up a workflow. The Neverwinter Nights 2 terrain editor uses a method like that for painting bodies of water.

So, they achieve effectively the same result, but each suits a different workflow, or phase of the workflow.

The terrain editor may be easy and intuitive in Esenthel engine, but nowadays we have total different standards in terrain editing alone. You have very complex tools that do just generate terrains, like World Machine. I don't think any engine now has such a capeable terrain editor like World Machine and others. If you want good looking realistic terrains you will have to switch to third party tools anyway.

I'm not talking about advanced or "realistic" terrain editing. I never allude to any such thing. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I'm talking about very, very basic functions like painting terrain textures and flattening terrain. Are you seriously arguing that such basic functions are so far beyond T3D that the only feasible solution is to use a 3rd party editor instead? If that's the case, and the response to "how T3D's tools can be improved" is "use a 3rd party editor", then why have terrain editing/painting tools in T3D at all?

Further, I was asked a question and I responded. So far, you've responded in this thread twice, and neither response was at all relevant, nor constructive. You flat out said in your first response that you haven't used TGE or TGEA, yet you felt qualified to respond anyway. Now you're responding in a way that completely deflects away from the main point.

Also, you're completely contradicting yourself from another thread I'd posted, the one about Deathball Desert. In that one, you stated, and I quote:

Probably some skill and patience is needed, you can try out the other tools in the editor, like smoothing, making ramps, adding noise etc should not be that hard, I hand crafted my terrains as well.

So, in one thread your vote is for T3D's editor, because you hand-craft all your own terrains. Yet in this thread, you're here arguing about "different standards in terrain editing", and that a third party editor would be required?

Do you actually have a position, or do you just like to disagree for the sake of disagreeing?

Whatever the case, none of your replies so far have been at all constructive or helpful, and I find you irritating. If you're not going to add to the conversation in a meaningful or relevant way, can you please leave the thread and let others who are interested continue?

Thank you.

I'd say I'm more comfortable with the current editor. May be because I reaaaally know it at this point, but I just like it compared to the older editors.

That said, if you could figure out what makes the TGEA editor so comfy to you, that's the sort of thing that makes for good notes on improving things going forward. An editor you can feel comfortable working with is really important.

I was thinking about that and, I think, it kinda comes down to them feeling more "straight forward" to work with. Fewer buttons to push. Fewer places to have to poke around for things. I think there was something "elegant" about the TGE/TGEA editors.

Also, I like the "feel" of the terrain editor more, for some reason. I just can't get comfortable with T3D's terrain editing.

My biggest beef with T3D has to be the weird way it handles terrain materials. The approach taken by, well in my experience, most every other game engine I've worked with, is more straight forward. Among my favorites are where you create a new material, assign your diffuse texture, normal map, spec map, etc. Then, each element has a slider with a real-time update view to see what it looks like. Get it where you want it, click 'Save', and you're done. It can take seconds to get a perfect looking basic material, no fussing with decimal places. A few also have vertex color blending, so you can colorize the terrain in spots, to add variation or change the overall look of it (I think Blizzard started doing this in WoW, too, either this expansion or the last one).

T3D's approach feels very convoluted to me, by comparison, like it's off in left field. It's the only terrain material editor I've ever seen that works the way it does. You have to make sure you have good color/brightness balance for diffuse and detail textures. Then you have to fidget with numbers at the decimal level 'til you find the right blend. Then you have to make sure your macro detail texture is well balanced against the normal detail and the diffuse, or things get too bright, or too dark; this also requires fussing with extremely small numbers. Then there's making sure the normal texture is "just right", which also involves messing with really small numbers, to not get really bizarre "warping" effects on the surface (I've never seen this phenomenon happen in any other terrain editor with normal maps). I'm sure there's a method to its madness, I've just never been able to wrap my head around it. It always feels like I'm fighting with it to get results I could have in seconds in other editors.

If there were a genie in a bottle granting me a wish, it would be for a reworking of the terrain material editor to be more intuitive with better visual feedback.

Aside from that, I'd like to see the height editing tools standardized a bit, too. Those also work very differently from most other engines. T3D is the only editor I've used where "flatten terrain" continuously updates the "set height" as you move the brush, causing it to rise and lower as you move around. The standard flatten tool works where it gets the height under your mouse cursor when you first click, locks in at that value, and then adjusts the terrain to that elevation as you move around, until you let go of the mouse button.

As for TGE/TGEA's set up... I think I like their terrain texturing approach better simply because they are much more straight forward. Pick the diffuse texture, pick the detail texture, done. You get results that just look good without having to fuss with them extensively. The lack of options works better in their case lol. However, expanding on them, I'd *personally* have liked to see the terrain material workflow taken in a different direction.

To give an example, Esenthel has one of the most intuitive and straight-forward terrain material editors I've ever seen or used.

My two cents.

I don't feel that since I do not know any Torque version before the open source release.

You will not have much choice other than to switch to Torque3D, since there is lots of updates and new features coming.

Yeah. Well, to do any serious project, I'd likely have to switch to T3D, anyway, because there's not much of a community around the earlier versions anymore, and you can't buy a new license.

I was just wondering if anyone else who'd worked with them also felt working with TGEA/TGE to feel more "comfortable" in a similar way to me.

So, I've been playing around in TGEA lately, and I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I always feel more motivated and "comfortable" working with that editor than I do working in T3D. I don't know why. It's like putting on an old pair of shoes - there's holes, and the soles are worn down, but they're just comfortable as heck.

Of course, I'm saying this from an artist point-of-view. Might have a totally different opinion if I were a programmer.

Further, I still don't think it looks bad at all. With some good artwork, and clever use of different effects, I bet you can still get some great results from it. I loaded up the rainy prairie content demo, and thought "you know this does not look bad, at all. I could easily play a game with these graphics". I really wish there was still more active support and community around it. I'd love to actually build something with it, I just don't think the community is there anymore.

T3D has a lot of great tools and features, for sure. Not knocking it at all. It just doesn't feel as comfortable to work with, for some reason.

Anyone else feel like that? Or am I just weird?

Hmm, I hadn't noticed mention of open source. I saw that he had other addons (volumentric fog, etc) as open source, but he'd noted that skyline was the only one he was specifically charging for. Might have missed an update elsewhere.

Hi folks.. Thanks for the info!

Yeah, I've tried using the various tools mentioned, it just seems to be very difficult to "rein them in", so to speak. Adjusting the strength for the Smooth tool, for example, goes from doing almost nothing straight to overkill, with very little gradient in-between. It's difficult to get very "fine-tuned" control outside of using the "grab" tool, which is great for tweaking local areas (smoothing out jaggies, etc), but way too inefficient for larger areas.

I think the thing with T3D's terrain tools is that they don't function as I'd expect them to, compared to pretty much every other terrain editor I've used, including Commercial and Indie engines alike. For example, trying to smooth out an area tends to result in lowering it instead, without actually smoothing it. It becomes this kinda "smooth staircase" effect, instead of a smooth slope. Same goes for the flatten tool. In other editors, the flatten tool gets the height of your brush at the point you left-click, and then brings the terrain up to that point as you move it around. In T3D it seems to continuously keep checking for the height beneath the brush, and adjusting the terrain to it, so the height it's "flattening" to is always changing as you move it around. The effect is uneven terrain, instead of just flattened.

I know there's the "set height" tool, and that's helpful, except that there's a quirk in the editor where the paintbrush seems to "jump" to other locations on the terrain at random - without you even seeing it. So, I'll be spending time working on an area of terrain. Then, when I move around the terrain, there's holes or mounds scattered all over the place which then have to be fixed. And they're in spots I'd never even looked at, much less edited.

While I could reproduce a similar type of terrain, with similar accuracy in myriad other terrain editors, I just can't fathom how they got that kind of precise control in the T3D editor. That's partially why I asked how they accomplished it - in addition to being really impressed by it.

Maybe people have found some good tricks that provide a good balance of control and intuitiveness with the tools?

Hello again,

Was just running around in Deathball Desert, checking out the landscape design, and I got to wondering..

Who created the environment for that? Was that someone at GG, or someone else? It's a really nicely designed environment, and I'm curious what process they used to sculpt the terrain. It looks very hand-crafted, rathter than generated (L3DT, etc). Using T3D's built-in tools, I have trouble getting some of the features they have throughout (smooth ramps, cliffs that aren't completely jagged, and narrow pathways on cliffs, in particular). I'm just curious if there's some particular tricks or processes used that could be shared.

Anyway.. Just thought I'd ask. Thanks!

Hello all,

Just saw the SkylineObject from Richard Marrevee/Richard's Game Studio. This looks like an awesome addition to T3D, and I can already think of some perfect applications for it in my project (particularly showing distant areas that the player has been, or can/will get to, to serve as landmarks, etc. etc.

On his website, he specifically notes that it works for 3.5. Of course, we're a bit beyond that, now, and with the changes coming with upcoming versions, should the Skyline system still work? Or, to anyone's knowledge, would any changes coming to T3D break it?

Just curious if it's something I should purchase or not, as I'm not a programmer, so if it doesn't work then I'd be SOL heh.

Thanks!

Hmm, good to know!

Okay, I'll just keep it at 1 per unit, then and work with it from there.

Thanks for the feedback/info!

At one point I kind of tried that same sort of system trying to make the resolution overall of the landscape look better, but I did run into problems down the road scaling everything else within the level to work along with it, i.e. character and buildings and such.

The problem I believe you are having is that Torque actually reads heightmaps different than other engines, and it seems to me every engine reads those heightmaps differently. Not to mention heightmaps can be made many different ways. Try altering the colours on your actual heightmap or even just try running a large, soft, smoothing brush across the terrain and see if that helps.

I personally have a lot of reading and searching within the engine to confirm any of my suspicions or ideas, so don't take them at face value, it's just a suggestion of a workaround that I use.

I see. Well, I wasn't intending on changing the scale of anything else. Effectively, I'd want to end up with a 1km area (for example) either way. This way, I'm just able to get finer detail in the terrain - specifically in areas where there's a sharp change in angle (like the top or bottom of a cliff). I've noticed that in other engines, the transitions tend to be a lot smoother with out as much of that "sawtooth" effect, while it seems to be very pronounced in T3D's case. It creates a very low-poly/chunky effect. I'm just looking for a way to mitigate that, without having to have every cliff be smooth/rounded, or having to rely on covering everything up with 3D meshes, etc.,

I'll have to figure something out that works.

Thanks!

Hi folks!

Just curious about something.

One thing I've not been a fan of with T3D's terrain is that it seems to be very "chunky" at standard settings (1m per unit), and it's kinda ugly to me.

I decided to try something out, and it seems to be yielding positive results so far. BUT, I just want to be sure there's no downside to this before I get too excited about it...

What I'm doing is using a heightmap that's 2x the size of the area I'm looking to create, and then setting the unit size to .5m. So, I use a 2048x2048 heightmap, set the unit size to .5m, and end effectively end up with a 1 kilometer area, but with much "finer" control over terrain detail.

So, for a 1/2 Km area, I'd use 1024x1024, and so on...

Now, are there any down-sides to this? Is T3D's terrain LoD system effective enough to make this work effectively?

Thanks in advance!

So, I deleted the other river and started a new one.

Everything is fine up to a certain point, but then it gets wonky again. I think it's happening because the river editor doesn't seem to account well for areas where a river is wide, but also has relatively sharp turns in it. As you widen the river, the red "ribbon" denoting the edges of it becomes all looped around and weird, and there's no way to adjust it manually.

I tried adding and removing points, moving them around, etc.. to get it to fix itself, but it never did. It stayed all looped up.

So basically, I don't think the river system is useful for me at all in this situation - unless there's some trick someone knows of?

Kind of a bummer to have a good system like that, but be unable to use it :/.

Hello,

I'm using the most up-to-date video drivers for my card (GeForce GTX 970), which is version 361.43 (official drivers).

I'm using Torque3D MIT 3.8, with Project Manager 2.2.

Ah okay. I thought you were referring to console output from a programming app.

Okay, here's the console file from my latest run. I tried it in OGL, and with basic and advance lighting, and the same thing happens.

So, maybe the console file will provide a clue... I do see some shader compile errors related to the water, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Edit... Looks like this forum software does not like files linked from Dropbox.. I had the same problem posting my screenshots in the first post. So... I'll put it in a code window instead...

//-------------------------- 1/11/2016 -- 13:09:52 -----
Processor Init:
  AMD Phenom, ~4.03 Ghz
  FPU detected
  MMX detected
  SSE detected
  SSE2 detected
  HT detected
  MP detected [4 cores, 8 logical, 1 physical]

Math Init:
  Installing Standard C extensions
  Installing Assembly extensions
  Installing FPU extensions
  Installing MMX extensions
  Installing SSE extensions

Initializing platform...
Input Init:
  keyboard0 input device created.
  mouse0 input device created.
  joystick0 input device created.
  DirectInput enabled.

Done
GFX Init:
  Direct 3D (version 9.x) device found
  Null device found
  OpenGL device found

DebugDrawer Enabled!
--------- Loading DIRS ---------

--------- Parsing Arguments ---------
Binding server port to default IP
UDP initialized on port 0
Attempting to create GFX device: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (D3D9) [\\.\DISPLAY1]
Device created, setting adapter and enumerating modes
  Cur. D3DDevice ref count=1
  Pix version detected: 3.000000
  Vert version detected: 3.000000
  Maximum number of simultaneous samplers: 16
  Number of simultaneous render targets: 4
  Hardware occlusion query detected: Yes
  Using Direct3D9Ex: No
WMIVideoInfo: DxDiag initialized
Initializing GFXCardProfiler (D3D9)
  o Chipset : 'GeForce GTX 970'
  o Card    : 'GeForce GTX 970'
  o Version : '10.18.0013.6143'
  o VRAM    : 2147483647 MB
  - Scanning card capabilities...
GFXCardProfiler (D3D9) - Setting capability 'autoMipMapLevel' to 1.
GFXCardProfiler (D3D9) - Setting capability 'maxTextureWidth' to 16384.
GFXCardProfiler (D3D9) - Setting capability 'maxTextureHeight' to 16384.
GFXCardProfiler (D3D9) - Setting capability 'maxTextureSize' to 16384.
GFXCardProfiler (D3D9) - Setting capability 'lerpDetailBlend' to 1.
GFXCardProfiler (D3D9) - Setting capability 'fourStageDetailBlend' to 1.
  - Loading card profiles...
     - Loaded card profile core/profile/D3D9.cs
     - No card profile core/profile/D3D9.GeForceGTX970.cs exists
     - No card profile core/profile/D3D9.GeForceGTX970.GeForceGTX970.cs exists
     - No card profile core/profile/D3D9.GeForceGTX970.GeForceGTX970.101800136143.cs exists
% - PostFX Manager - Executing core/scripts/client/postFx/default.postfxpreset.cs
% - PostFX Manager - Applying from preset
% - PostFX Manager - PostFX enabled
core/scripts/gui/messageBoxes/messageBox.ed.cs (23): string always evaluates to 0.
% - Initialized Core

--------- Initializing Directory: scripts ---------
sfxStartup...
SFXSystem::createDevice - created XAudio device 'Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)'
  Provider: XAudio
  Device: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
  Hardware: No
  Buffers: 16

--------- Initializing Sandbox: Server Scripts ---------

--------- Initializing Sandbox: Client Scripts ---------

--------- Initializing Lighting Systems ---------
Using Advanced Lighting


--------------
Attempting to set resolution to "1440 900 false 32 60 4"
Accepted Mode: 
--Resolution : 1440 900
--Full Screen : No
--Bits Per Pixel : 32
--Refresh Rate : 60
--FSAA Level : 4
--------------
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil 625e6e0 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil 625ee00 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
TerrainMaterial::onAdd() - Internal name collision; 'Grass_Diff' already exists!
Binding server port to default IP
UDP initialized on port 0
Activating DirectInput...
% - Initializing Tools
tools/gui/guiPlatformGenericMenubar.ed.gui (0): Unable to instantiate non-conobject class GuiPlatformGenericMenuBar.
% - Initializing Tools Base
% - Initializing Base Editor
% - Initializing World Editor
% - Initializing Sketch Tool
- Initializing Datablock Editor
% - Initializing Debugger
% - Initializing Decal Editor
% - Initializing Forest Editor
% - Initializing Gui Editor
% - Initializing Material Editor
% - Initializing Mesh Road Editor
% - Initializing Mission Area Editor
% - Initializing Navigation Editor
SimObject::linkNamespaces -- Namespace linkage already in place NavEditorConsoleListener
% - Initializing Particle Editor
% - Initializing Physics Tools
% - Initializing River Editor
- Initializing Road and Path Editor
% - Initializing Shape Editor
Engine initialized...
Win32Window::WindowProc - resetting device due to window size change.
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil 625ee00 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
Window focus status changed: focus: 1
AntiAliasing has been disabled; it is not compatible with AdvancedLighting.
Exporting server prefs...
Warning: shape art/shapes/weapons/Turret/Turret_Legs.DAE collision detail 0 (Collision-1) bounds exceed that of shape.
Warning: shape art/shapes/weapons/Turret/Turret_Legs.DAE collision detail 0 (Collision-1) bounds exceed that of shape.
Warning: shape art/shapes/weapons/Turret/Turret_Legs.DAE collision detail 0 (Collision-1) bounds exceed that of shape.
TSShape::removeNode: Node 'collision-1' has 1 objects attached, these will be reassigned to the node's parent ('null')
TSShape::removeNode: Node 'Cheetah_Turret_LOD300' has 1 objects attached, these will be reassigned to the node's parent ('null')
TSShape::removeNode: Node 'Tread_LOD300' has 1 objects attached, these will be reassigned to the node's parent ('null')
TSShape::removeNode: Node 'collision-1' has 1 objects attached, these will be reassigned to the node's parent ('null')
TSShape::removeNode: Node 'TireBack_LOD300' has 1 objects attached, these will be reassigned to the node's parent ('null')
TSShape::removeNode: Node 'collision-1' has 1 objects attached, these will be reassigned to the node's parent ('null')
*** LOADING MISSION: levels/Riverland.mis
*** Stage 1 load
*** Stage 2 load
[MaterialList::mapMaterials] Unable to find material for texture: mud
Game -> activatePackages
*** Mission loaded
Connect request from: IP:0.0.0.0:0
Connection established 19879
CADD: 19880 local
*** Sending mission load to client: levels/Riverland.mis
Mapping string: ServerMessage to index: 0
Mapping string: MsgConnectionError to index: 1
Mapping string: MsgLoadInfo to index: 2
Mapping string: MsgLoadDescripition to index: 3
Mapping string: MsgLoadInfoDone to index: 4
Mapping string: MissionStartPhase1 to index: 5
*** New Mission: levels/Riverland.mis
*** Phase 1: Download Datablocks & Targets
% - PostFX Manager - Executing core/scripts/client/postFx/default.postfxpreset.cs
% - PostFX Manager - Applying from preset
% - PostFX Manager - PostFX enabled
Mapping string: MissionStartPhase1Ack to index: 0
Warning: shape art/shapes/weapons/Turret/Turret_Legs.DAE collision detail 1 (Collision-1) bounds exceed that of shape.
Warning: shape art/shapes/weapons/Turret/Turret_Legs.DAE collision detail 1 (Collision-1) bounds exceed that of shape.
Warning: shape art/shapes/weapons/Turret/Turret_Legs.DAE collision detail 1 (Collision-1) bounds exceed that of shape.
[MaterialList::mapMaterials] Unable to find material for texture: base.lmale
Mapping string: MissionStartPhase2 to index: 6
*** Phase 2: Download Ghost Objects
Mapping string: MissionStartPhase2Ack to index: 1
Ghost Always objects received.
Mapping string: MissionStartPhase3 to index: 7
Client Replication Startup has Happened!
fxFoliageReplicator - replicated client foliage for 0 objects
*** Phase 3: Mission Lighting
Mission lighting done
Mapping string: MissionStartPhase3Ack to index: 2
Mapping string: MissionStart to index: 8
Mapping string: SyncClock to index: 9
Mapping string: RefreshWeaponHud to index: 10
Mapping string: SetAmmoAmountHud to index: 11
Mapping string: ryder.png to index: 12
Mapping string: MsgClientJoin to index: 13
Mapping string: Welcome to the Torque demo app %1. to index: 14
Mapping string: Visitor to index: 15
*** Initial Control Object
*** Control Object Changed
Mapping string: LightGreen to index: 16
E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/postFx/edgeaa/edgeDetectP.hlsl(51,13): warning X3550: array reference cannot be used as an l-value; not natively addressable, forcing loop to unroll
Mapping string: setDamageDirection to index: 17
Win32Window::WindowProc - resetting device due to window size change.
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil 625eda0 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
Time spent in toggleEditor() : 1.124 s
Mapping string: SetEditorCameraPlayer to index: 3
Using Basic Lighting
GFXD3D9Shader::_compileShader - Error compiling shader: E_FAIL: An undetermined error occurred (80004005)
  E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/water/waterP.hlsl(158,23): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'autogenUncondition_55070f7a'
GFXD3D9Shader::_compileShader - Error compiling shader: E_FAIL: An undetermined error occurred (80004005)
  E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/postFx/edgeaa/edgeDetectP.hlsl(50,25): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'autogenUncondition_55070f7a'
GFXD3D9Shader::_compileShader - Error compiling shader: E_FAIL: An undetermined error occurred (80004005)
  E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/postFx/fogP.hlsl(36,18): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'autogenUncondition_55070f7a'
GFXD3D9Shader::_compileShader - Error compiling shader: E_FAIL: An undetermined error occurred (80004005)
  E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/lighting/advanced/vectorLightP.hlsl(70,27): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'autogenUncondition_55070f7a'
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil 2b1c15c0 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
GFXD3D9Shader::_compileShader - Error compiling shader: E_FAIL: An undetermined error occurred (80004005)
  E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/water/waterP.hlsl(158,23): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'prepassUncondition'
Failed to initialize material 'WaterMat'
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil 2b1c15c0 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
AntiAliasing has been enabled while running BasicLighting.
E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/water/waterBasicV.hlsl(112,11): warning X3206: implicit truncation of vector type
E:/GameDev/T3D/My Projects/Sandbox/game/shaders/common/water/waterBasicP.hlsl(199,22): warning X3206: 'computeSceneFog': implicit truncation of vector type
Win32Window::WindowProc - resetting device due to window size change.
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil e396740 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
Win32Window::WindowProc - resetting device due to window size change.
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil e396740 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
Time spent in toggleEditor() : 0.259 s
Mapping string: Crouch to index: 18
Mapping string: Stand to index: 19
Win32Window::WindowProc - resetting device due to window size change.
GFXPCD3D9Device::reset - depthstencil e396740 has 2 ref's
--- Resetting D3D Device ---
*** ENDING MISSION
19878 -> deactivatePackages
CDROP: 19880 IP:0.0.0.0:0
Exporting server prefs...
Exporting client prefs
Exporting server prefs
Cur. D3DDevice ref count=1

Thanks again!

hey MiToVo I don't have this problem. What's in you console.log? or debug info from you visual studio? with this information we can better help you.

what customization you have in your t3d engine?

You compile you project with opengl or directx?

Try to change from the lighting menu from basic to advance. http://i.imgur.com/tmyuioZl.jpg

I remember having some strange issue with my graphic but was my Intel HD Graphics and the lighting option, BTW update your graphic card.

Hi there and thanks for the response!

I'm using the "out-of-the-box" pre-compiled build, as-is. I haven't compiled it or modified anything about it. I don't even have a programming environment installed on my system, so I have no console to check in that regard. I believe I am using the advanced lighting option; not at my computer at the moment, so I'd have to double check that to be 100% sure. Will have to check whether I'm using DX or OGL, not 100% sure which I have it configured as.

Also, my video card drivers are the most up to date.

I'm wondering if it might be better to just use a water block and stretch it out - if there isn't a fix for the river problem? I'm assuming that would work okay. Wouldn't look as good, since it would be all flowing straight, and not following a curve, but at least it wouldn't "vanish" like the river is.

Hello,

So, I'm working on a map for a project, and after creating a river, I'm finding that, for some reason, the segment of the river closest to me keeps vanishing. It only happens when I get within a certain distance of it; if I move farther away, it's restored and looks normal.

I've tried saving and re-opening the mission.

I've tried saving, closing T3D entirely and re-opening it.

I haven't changed any of the settings for the river, other than changing the height, width and depth of each river node.

Same thing happens in either case.

Any idea why this is happening?

Time and assistance is much appreciated :)

Here's a couple screenshots... (had to link them because for some reason they don't show in the final post, even though they show in the preview... odd).

Pic 1

Pic 2

That is excellent.

Thanks for verifying that for me!