swambast

Damn Kevin, that totally sucks man! I am so sorry to hear the news, and having been through a similar experience before I can relate. But don't give up man! You know us modders are a dying breed these days, in fact, I would suggest we're all already on the "endangered species" list. So despite all the B.S. and heart break that come our way, we need to fight to mod another day. I wish you all the best in your restoration efforts and hope you get back some peace of mind!

Thanks guys... Yes SoulFreak, I have already made it fully compatible with SF2 series (the ANSI/UNICODE conversion was a nightmare to code through but finally got through it)...

All, since I got tired of waiting/begging for 3d modeling help and decided to pick up some basic modeling skills myself, I ran into one strange problem that caused me to go bonkers for a while. PROBLEM I couldn't get a certain part of my mesh model to cast a shadow, while the other parts did. SOLUTION Long-story short, I ended up solving the problem by making sure in 3DS Max under the "Shader Basic Parameters" roll-out the "2-sided" checkbox option was NOT checked. (And yes I already know 2-sided parameters in general are not recommended, but in some cases they are needed/practical). Just thought I'd pass this along in case it could help anyone else out in the future.

Interesting you should say that....

At long last...after incredible time and effort...with thanks to a wonderful beta team...and perhaps one of the most awesome accomplishments...the latest breakthrough is complete. Integrated terrain tile to precisely place target objects...everything I could have hoped for is just about finished, now to clean up the code, update the installers and work on the quick mission editor features a few have requested. Terrain Tile imported for Precision Target Placement

Small tribute and project update finally posted here: www.whenthunderrolled.com

Hmmm, been a while since I’ve been around but if I recall correctly...I made an aircraft moving utility for Dave that I think he might have used for purposes such as these. It basically allowed you to check the boxes of installed aircraft that you wanted to have appear. You could even save a favorite “set list” that remembered all of your selections. You just did this prior to starting SF, then those planes would be made unavailable so that only the planes you wanted to appear would show up. When you finished you clicked a button to restore them all back. Always thought it was simple to use and know Dave appreciated it, maybe Dave still has that program around that could help…? EDIT: Oddly enough, I found an old work-in-progress screenshot of it on my computer!

Hi all, I am having a heck of a time struggling with why my screenshots are not saving. No matter what directory I choose or format I select (.jpg, .bmp, etc.) the screenshot gets written out as 0kb and is basically corrupt. I thought someone else came across this, but I can't find that thread for some darn reason (of course when I need it). Any ideas/thoughts on how to fix would be most appreciated. SS

Guys, interestingly enough, this was driving me bonkers and I had to get it figured out. Stary, you alluded to something that I also thought was suspect! I also have FRAPS, but did not have it loading in the background/on start-up. However, I think it still runs as a service, so it appeared to be interfering with Thirdwire’s ability to take screenshots. In the end, the best solution that seems to work for me is to disable or remap the Thirdwire “Screenshot” key (I remapped it from the existing “Print Screen” key to the new “*” Key). Then, within FRAPS itself I re-assigned the “Take Screenshot” key to “Print SCRN.” All seems to work just fine now, thanks much to everyone and hopefully this may help others in the future as well.

HF, I admire your ambition. Although a variant declaration would work I wouldn’t recommend it at all. If you know the source data coming in, you should proactively declare it in the appropriate format (string, integer, etc.) rather than relying on the default declaration (variant). That is because a variant will always consume the most amount of memory and tend to be slower anyway. Also, just a tip you might already know, but make sure since you’re using an array that at the end you are erasing/emptying the array so it’s not left in memory! I’m currently absolutely buried with my own large-scale project work, so there are no guarantees I’ll have the time either, but let me see if I might be able to give you a hand/provide some additional advice. Drop me a PM and we can discuss next steps on how I can help! By the way: My program is the Swambast Target Translator. At it’s essence, it is a translation program designed to graphically allow the user to place target objects using FSSC and then merge (e.g., format and translate) directly back into _targets.ini files. More details here, and note that I need to post an update soon, as I’m nearing completing on another comprehensive version that will natively support all Operating Systems and both Gen1/Gen2 series. http://combatace.com/topic/34895-wov-target-object-placement-interface-tool-wip/ ((I know people keep telling me to have Dave/FC or whoever move the topic over to the Mods forum, but it was born in the Gen1 General Discussion forum and has just lived there ever since which is fine with me really).

HF, you should be using a different language for this for sure, but anyway you need to think about the control set you have available in that language; you should load in as binary but don't load into ANSI base control sets such as text box controls. You are on the right path, use a binary read and load it into a fixed array. Then to determine whether ANSI/UNICODE, consider reading the first byte order type into an array and then pass the incoming file to a function, I just went through all of this gut-wrenching work with STT; something like Public Function TranslateSourceFileEncoding(IncomingFileName) and pass as a string (e.g., ...As STRING).

Hi all, other than using/referencing the Terrain Editor itself… Is there any known way/ideas on how to determine what terrain tile filename is associated to what target area entry (that’s defined in the _targets.ini file)? Or basically would I have to create a reference look-up? For example: [TargetArea017] Name=Bitburg etc. = GERMANYC1.bmp Thanks for any creative ideas or suggestions...

Yes, I've seen it and dropped Gerwin a PM for any ideas here. Umut, you should see what me and team have been up to with STT, will blow your freakin' mind and I know it's something you would appreciate. In collaboration with a true genius on my team and a lot of updated coding, we now have a working prototype where we can place objects precisely down on a 100 to 20m grid overlay, bringing object placement accuracy down to within 1 freakin' meter if you can believe that. Drop me an email bud, we're overdue for a catch up anyway!

Hi Umut, hope you're doing well, bud! That's the answer I was expecting, that only the .tfd output has that info but of course it's not "readable" when in that locked format. I'm not sure if there's any other way around this other than to manually create a look-up reference table/file with the needed information. Maybe others have ideas, but unfortunately I'm not expecting a positive outcome on this...so once again I will have to "code my way" through a solution to achieve my desired outcome.

All, thanks for the private messages and emails...I apologize for the delay but real-life demands have had me absolutely buried the past month or so. However, progress is definitely still moving forward! Thought I'd drop in and post a progress report of where things are. This is, by far, the best revision of STT ever and will natively support every Operating System and just about every Thirdwire game...thanks for the kind words and continuing interest.

Monty, I hope you are doing well and am humbled by your comments, thank you! You have been a great supporter to me personally and an incredible contributor overall. Rest assured that if you're interested, I've added your name to the user list when the latest version/updates are ready. I'll reach out to you via PM and provide personal help as needed when the time is right; I'm still making slow but steady progress...

With the STT re-write underway to natively support Win 7 / Vista and Series 2 titles comes some additional improvements and advanced functionality. As promised, I made some quick videos demonstrating these features (note I did not include sound this time). The coding continues, probably another month or two and it will be there. First Video: On The Fly Additions: Click here to download All Target Entries within the .INI area are checked to determine if they have a corresponding library macro. The library macros are important since they define each objects width/length. If a macro entry is missing during conversion, you can now “on the fly” dynamically and very easily create one to update your library! No more painstakingly copying macros, editing each one’s individual code, etc. STT will now do all of the behind the scenes scripting for you after you simply tell it the dimensions of your object, how you would like to categorize it and other misc. project details. [AB: this one’s for you!] Second Video: STT Fast Convert: Click here to download With the re-write to Win7 comes speed and optimized array handling…WOW! In this example, a new capability I’ve coded allows you to select an area and use STT to fast convert. In the example, an airbase area with 223 entries was selected along with the “STT Fast Convert” option. The result was a conversion that took about 5-6 seconds to complete; it not only created the output file, but merged it back into the source _Targets.ini file, loaded the scenery designer for you and put you right back in front so you can continue your work - VERY NICE!!! Enjoy and thanks for the continued encouragement from all the PMs, emails, etc...! The true genius of efficiency... SS

Nice to see this come to life, as back in my Army Days I provided master-level radar/computer support for both the HAWK and PATRIOT Missile Systems... And while the Hawk was renown for its mobility, you would be shocked at how many fixed locations were hidden (I've seen a lot of sites, but never one that had a bunker like that). And I once literally walked through a freakin' tree door to a fire control center below...oops, can't say anything more or someone may come and take me back down there...nooooooooooo! Hmmm, wonder if I have some of my old photos around...

Merry Christmas Everyone! Guys, I am really sorry for the delay… ...not only is the project still alive and well, it’s completely being overhauled, updated and super charged! I’ve now built in native SF2 series support – working flawlessly between ANSI and UNICODE files, which was a major pain in the a$$. The biggest challenge also has been making this natively Win7/Vista compatible, which requires a huge re-write of the code which is still in progress but about 60% complete. In addition, for a few of my long-time beta users, I have addressed most things on our "wish list" and now it's soon to become our "test list". I’ve got a special surprise coming soon which was by far the most requested feature of the tool (guesses welcome...think "on the fly" object adds...). At the time, it seemed like such a simple request. Once I started delving into it, it was surprisingly complex but now getting close to completion. And another nice update is most of the objects have their width/length dimensions updated, so that scaling and placing of objects is more accurate than ever. Finally, I've made file management immensely better, where you can now create "Favorites", use drag and drop of any files, etc. that basically allows for one-click loading. And by far the most awesome feature of them all, is something I call "Quick Convert." But to fully appreciate it you have to see my quick video I made which I will post in the very near future. Don’t forget that we also have the SOC (STT Object Collection) function built in to the tool, which basically allows you to take any pre-defined target area (imagine an army camp with 100s of objects already placed) and move the entire camp to a new area using a simple drag and drop. The tool has exceeded everything I thought it was capable of doing, so it's just a matter of updating it. As some of the guys know, I also have a special version of the tool we're using for our SF2 Vietnam based project work that is helping out immensely with our terrain work. Finally, for my other projects I’ve been working on something I’ve called the “Swambast Thirdwire Developer’s Notepad.” Honestly, it’s something I wish I had coded years and years ago. I’ve got that just about out of Beta and created a bunch of quick and admittedly lousy videos for the team to show off what it can do (will connect with Dave to share). Admittedly, for quick fix target area work needed, I find myself using this even more that STT at times (and this tool has now recently been made SF2 series compatible). I hope to show off some updated screenshots of the tools soon…until then happy holidays everyone! Steve

An amazing accomplishment Dave - from one vet to another, congratulations and thanks for all of your years of service! Enjoy the civilian life, but what you will probably miss most is the "vet brotherhood" - nothing quite like it. Welcome to a new chapter in your life...

Fuza, I am thinking about dumping my Nvidia card and going to ATI. I've had a horrific experience with the GTX 460 1024MB PCIe card I bought and Nvidia's driver mess didn't help anything. I currently reverted back to a PNY 9800GT, but feel it's a little sub-par performance and was looking for some feedback on how you enjoy the card now and any suggestions you might have on some ATI cards...thanks if you or others have any feedback to share.

Sorry Panama Red for the late response - answer is that I truly don't know. I just recently purchased a SF2 Vietnam series title and have not been all that enticed with it right now, especially due to the terrain glitches. However, I thought my rusty memory recalled a few Beta Testers trying this with the series 2 titles successfully, but that is completely unconfirmed. Sorry I can't give you a better answer right now...

Nothing's changed from before...??? See above post or this one below:

Yeah Dave, guys have used it on all flavors of the Thirdwire sims. I had to add in ActiveYear capability which helped to improve the compatibility, but for the most part it works well from the reports I received.