Tomb Raider Forums  

Go Back   Tomb Raider Forums > Tomb Raider Level Editor and Modding > Tomb Raider Level Editor > Tomb Raider Next Generation

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 25-05-08, 14:03   #1
Titak
Moderator
 
Titak's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 33,359
Default Welcome to TRNG

Welcome to this brand new forums section.

This subforum is for all of you who are using the Tomb Raider Next Generation engine for building levels.

IMPORTANT NOTE
---------------------------------------------------
I'm talking about the new NGLE which comes with a new patched tomb4.exe!
The first version of the NGLE was only a modified Room Editor, with some of the new features already included and working.
The new NGLE also comes with its own scripter program, tomb4.exe and NG-Center program.
This new version is NOT compatible with TREP.

DOWNLOAD
---------------------------------------------------
You can download the TRNG and its components at the
Tomb Raider Next Generation homepage

1.
To install TRNG for the first time you need to download and install TRNG MK1 Full Installer.
This will install the TRNG, including the NG_Center.

2.
Then download and install MK4 and update 1.2.2.7 for the latest version
Now you are all set to start using a stable version of TRNG.


3.
If you want to keep in touch with the latest TRNG developments and if you are not afraid to experiment with newly added features, you can download and install any updates that may become available. Using the newer updates is not advisable if you are near completing a stable level(set) with a non-latest update, becvause your level might become less stable, untill the bugs are all ironed out again, because of all the new features that are being added and new bugs that might occur.
So test carefully when updating to a newer version while you are already building your levels.

The updates automatically update the Tomb_NextGeneration.dll and the NG_scripter files so you can properly use the new features.
Do not forget to reconvert your levels before testing them ingame. This is (often) needed for the bugfixes to take effect.

The TRNG MK2 is still in development and updates are posted on a regular basis, so it is wise to check the TRNG homepage regularly for updates with newly added features or bugfixes.


NEW STUFF
---------------------------------------------------
This new engine features a lot of new stuff:
- extended memory to enable more vertices per object, larger viewdistance, etc
- new scripting possibilities, to enable weather, to create new moves for Lara, to set conditions for gameplay, to ...
- different viewdistance and distant fogsettings
- loads of new trigger(type)s, including loads of different flipeffect types
- new features to shape your rooms more easily
- support for weather effects
- support for damage rooms, like cold water and deadly gas rooms
- support for textures up to 256 x 256 in size.
- support for boat vehicles
- support for WAV, MP1, MP2, MP3, AIFF and OGG audio formats for background audio.
- etc (check for yourself)

Also, a lot of the TREP features are also possible in this new TRNG engine, like adding new moves, customizing weapons and enemies, customizing Lara's inventory at startup, the ability to use multiple diaries per level, etc, etc.

MANUALS AND TUTORIALS
---------------------------------------------------
If you want to also use the new boat and elevator features it is wise to also download:
- Sources for sample with Elevators and Detectors
- Sources for Boats
- Sources for Mirrors

There are also many other example/tutorial projects available at Tomb Raider Next Generation homepage

And for getting help, theres a manual (not fully finished) and some other help files:
- Next Generation Manual
- NG Help.zip (Offline version).
- Next Generation html page (Online version).

As stated above, the manuals for all the new features still aren't completely finished yet, so, for those who have written a tutorial about a certain feature, free to PM me your tutorial so I can post it in our Tutorial section.

Enjoy your stay here!

Last edited by AkyV; 01-08-16 at 19:54. Reason: Dead Skribblerz link has been removed.
Titak is offline  
Old 25-05-08, 14:04   #2
Titak
Moderator
 
Titak's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 33,359
Default

TRNG ROOM EDITOR

The appearance of the room editor has not changed that much, but it has a whole lot of new features.
Some features are in plain sight, others are more hidden.

A manual is currently under construction and there's a link to it on the TRNG Homepage.
The current version of the manual gives you a good overview of all the new features.

Here is a screenshot of the Room Editor window and some of the visible new features:



NEW BUTTONS

Normal
You can find this button below the 2D grid and it replaces the old W button.
While the old W button was only used to assign 'waterroom' to a certain room, this Normal button can be clicked several times and with each click another type of environment can be selected.

Types of environments that are currently working:
- Water
- Snow
- Rain
- quicksand

As with the old W button, you can also set the intensity of the environment.

DMG
Damage room.
Lara will loose health while she is in a damage room.

Cold
Cold room. When assigned to a waterroom, Lara's health will deplete rapidly, just like in the TR3 Antarctica levels.
When it is assigned to a dry room, Lara's breath will be visible.
So you cann, for example, press this button when a room is a Snowroom, for extra effect.

Big Texture
With this button pressed you can select textures up to 256 x 256 and apply them to your rooms. Larger textures will give your level more detail, but in some cases they can start to look grainy when viewed from a distance, especially when you also assign bumpmap to them.
I personally find 128 x 128 textures usually the best.

Move Lara Here
Select a tile and click this button and the Lara object will be placed on the selected tile, while it will be removed from its original spot.
So no more goign through the rooms or using the Find Object search feature to locate and relocate the Lara object!

Exit and Play
This button automatically performs a sequence of operations:
- Saves current project and makes a backup with filename starting BK_..
- Outputs the current wad (creating a TOM file of the current level)
- Converts the Tom file to a TR4 file
- Closes Room Editor program
- Starts tomb4.exe to play the level

Needless to say that this feature saves you a lot of time when you are often saving and testign your game.

Hide Objects
An interesting new button is the 'Hide Objects' button.
By pressign this button you can temporarily remove all objects from a room which makes it easier to texture the room.

IMPORTANT:
You must NOT place new objects or triggers in the room while this button is pressed and you should NOT save the project either when this button is pressed. If you do, the current objects will be removed permanently and you'll have to place them all over again, including all the lights and camera's.

** list of new buttons is not yet complete **

Last edited by Titak; 25-07-13 at 21:20.
Titak is offline  
Old 25-05-08, 21:10   #3
Titak
Moderator
 
Titak's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 33,359
Default

NG CENTER

This is the new scripting program for the TRNG.

IMPORTANT:
You have to use this program to make changes to your script, and you have to use it to convert your scripts, otherwise the new features will not work ingame!!!

This is what the program looks like:



Script
This window is used to make changes to your script.txt.
- You type the changes directly into the text window, like you would do in the script.txt when opened in wordpad.
- Then click the Save button to save the script.txt
- and then you click the Build button to build the new script.dat and english.dat files.

Strings
This is the window where you make cahnges to the english.txt.
- You scroll down to the entry you want to change.
- Type the new entry in the box below
- Click the Update button.

Reference
Here you can find all the script entries that are possible with this new TRNG.
(There are a lot!!!)
It lists the script commands, as well as the constants that can be used, as well as a description of what each field means and what constants and values need/can be added to the script command.
The Reference section also contains a long OCB list, which also includes a lot of new OCBs for several objects, like pushables (can be made climable, standable, pushed off a ledge, etc) rollingballs (no sound/earthquake, made to splash when falling into water, shatter objects and kill enemies, be pushed by Lara).


Settings
You can choose the TRLE path here.

Tools
There's only one button in this section: Animation Watcher.
It can be used to look for missing animations or to find animations in another wad. You can also use it to compare two wadfiles to discover differences in animations.


IMPORTANT NOTE:
-----------------------------------------------------------

If you get an error message like this: ERROR: argument 'KEY1_ACTION' is not valid decimal numeric value and neither correspond to some NG constant mnemonic
when you build your script it means that you have either done something wrong (put a condition in a wrong field or used a condition that is not used with the specific script command) or it means you haven't got the latest scripter and/or Tomb_NextGeneration.dll.

Make sure that you have the latest updates at all times!

Last edited by Titak; 06-09-09 at 11:27.
Titak is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT. The time now is 19:23.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Tomb Raider Forums is not owned or operated by CDE Entertainment Ltd.
Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are trademarks of CDE Entertainment Ltd.