xLinkingBookDefs.py & Linking Made Simpler

[janaba]

This is awesome, Karkadann, seeing your hand moving over the panel while linking without just the book/stone popping up into your face lol ... otherwise of course, it needs polishing as you've said, you completely get stuck in that linking place, you're even drawn into that specific area automatically when approaching it, and you have to heavily click any keys and jump to get out of it again and then sometimes you're floating, but the linking like this is absolutely great and just more real ...

[Karkadann]

Im still working on a way to disable the camera region if its possible, so the book only pops up when you click on it it will to prevent being drawn in when you walk by, also the first time you approach the region the camera will cut to the book camera instead of track to it not sure about that either, however I did do a bit more work on it, reduced it in complexity, and added a bit of spit and polish

unfortunately its for Uru cc it has not been tested on the newer game engine, but I cant see why it would not work

[diafero]

So you ended up using a pre-defined python script? Or did you use a "linking responder"? if you did the latter, please have a look at this old post of mine. You need to be *really, really* careful with the settings you apply to that linking responder, or you can do weird stuff to shard's vaults. All the links to the same age (no matter where they come from!) must use consistent configuration, or confusing/disaster is bound to happen. Lucky enough, only 3ds Max can even create these responders, and Drizzle "normalises" the responders on conversion so that they don't do any damage to the vault. I get sleepness nights at the thought of a Blender plugin allowing arbitrary linking responders.
If at all feasible, it'd be much better if you could do the linking in Python. There's a Python script by Sirius, shipped in the Offline KI, which should make adding links easy. And crucially, when running in Uru:CC, it will send the link through xLinkMgr, which looks up the desired link configuration of the target age from a central configuration, ensuring consistency.

(Sorry for reviving this thread, but this is an important issue)

[Karkadann]

not understanding the tangled mess of linking tech I think with this one I used a linking responder with a basic link and everything else was set at default

I do have two linking responders on the Avatar Animation file for Max im working on but im just setting them to basic link, everything else default, and its just linking to the nexus to keep it simple
but thats not gonna be an age file thats just gonna be a Max file. I wanted to avoid any complexities as much as possible. Im gonna start adding the sound effects for the various levers and buttons.
Everything is going smoothly that is until I get to the swinging door which is a bit more complex then I thought it was, Keep in mind to me a python is still something you feed mice and rats too.

[diafero]

You don't have to write or read Python code yourself if you use Sirius' linking scripts

[Sirius]

... Although the scripts I posted don't allow avatar animations, unlike D'Lanor's script.
Outstretched arm anim on link-in (after using the book) is only possible with responders, sadly.

For responders, keeping them basic link is fine, if I understood correctly. I'm wondering however, when linking to Ages other than Fan-Ages, you could end up in a parallel version of the Age that isn't yet solved. I'm not sure.

As a general rule, when you can use Python linking (meaning my script or D'Lanor's), use it instead of responders. If you want something more exotic than a book to link to an Age (think the cave behind journey doors), just ask on the forums.

[diafero]

Basic link is usually fine as it means you don't break the vault. However, if you link to an age that's usually not using a basic link - like, most of the Cyan-Uru:CC-ages - I'm not totally sure what may happen^^

[Karkadann]

few questions
you said most of Cyan Uru CC ages which ones use basic link and would be safe to link to
and
what about if I just set it to link to the age I am in

Show Spoiler

If I ever get around to optimizing it I had an idea for the Tardis interior

[diafero]

you said most of Cyan Uru CC ages which ones use basic link and would be safe to link to

Off-hand, I don't know. Assume none. In general, hard-coding assumptions about how a foreign age expects to be linked to is a bad idea. Someone at Cyan did not think this through...

what about if I just set it to link to the age I am in

There's technically no difference between links to other ages and links to the current age. So, all the same warnings apply.

[Sirius]

About linking to the current Age: if that's for the Tardis (say, teleporting the avatar from one location to another upon clicking the door), you don't really need to trigger a reload of the Age. Sure, you could setup a responder using a basic link, but I'm not sure it would work for the Relto page, for instance.

There are actually better ways to do so (although they may not be as simple).

Gahreesen is a good example, since it uses two other teleportation techniques.

• One, is when winning a Wall game: it teleports you to the nexus, which is actually in the same Age. This also triggers a linking sound.
• Another, is the doors from Gahreesen's exterior to the main building interior. It looks like your avatar is going through a... hmm, is the word "airlock" ? Anyway, when you go through this airlock, the camera switches position. During that time, the avatar is also teleported to the "real" building interior, 10,000 feet down. This doesn't trigger any linking sound, and because of the camera switch, it gives you the fake impression your avatar only took a single step forward. However you can see that's not the same place at all if you use markers or flymode

The second one is what you may want for the Tardis. The Python script is quite tricky to use though - it consists of two scripts actually, grsnTrnCtrDoorEnter and grsnTrnCtrDoorExit.
If you really plan on using it for the Tardis, I could find a moment to write a replacement that should be easier to use.