Question about Animated Gif Files and Max

[Sirius]

I think a good way to make more complicated animated textures is using bik files [...] The only problem is that this will spam the avi folder...

At least, this is not entirely true - every bink files used by Cyan (including Myst V's files) are put in the AVI folder, however PRPs allow you to choose any folder. Myst V files use "avi/***.bik" as the name of the video to load.
I think the best way would be to keep these files in the DAT folder, something like YourAgeName_videoName.bik. This way it won't mess up with any other files/folders.

On a side-note, I discovered in most cases plLayerBink behaves like plLayerAnim. So you *should* be able to start and stop it as any layer anim.
And of course you can also use alpha in it.

[Deledrius]

PRPs allow you to choose any folder. Myst V files use "avi/***.bik" as the name of the video to load.
I think the best way would be to keep these files in the DAT folder, something like YourAgeName_videoName.bik. This way it won't mess up with any other files/folders.

Excellent idea. That sounds like the best solution/naming scheme/location.

[Christopher]

I think a good way to make more complicated animated textures is using bik files [...] The only problem is that this will spam the avi folder...

At least, this is not entirely true - every bink files used by Cyan (including Myst V's files) are put in the AVI folder, however PRPs allow you to choose any folder. Myst V files use "avi/***.bik" as the name of the video to load.
I think the best way would be to keep these files in the DAT folder, something like YourAgeName_videoName.bik. This way it won't mess up with any other files/folders.

On a side-note, I discovered in most cases plLayerBink behaves like plLayerAnim. So you *should* be able to start and stop it as any layer anim.
And of course you can also use alpha in it.

I also think the naming is a good solution, but personally I would prefer a subfolder in dat, like "dat/bik/YourAge_blah.bik", cause the dat folder is already full of files with a lot of different endings.

I already played with bik files in Uru and you can start and stop them as you want. As long as you don't start the anim you only see the first frame of your video.

[diafero]

Why not sue the avi folder with a similar naming convention? I mean, ages are spread over several folders, so adding one more to the mix isn't that much of a problem.

[Karkadann]

Do you guys know enough about Max to write a simple tutorial cuz all this technical stuff is a bit over my head,
If you ever need a 3d structure of some kind, let me know
Structures I can do its the technical stuff you guys specialize in I have a problem with

[Sirius]

Why not sue the avi folder with a similar naming convention? I mean, ages are spread over several folders, so adding one more to the mix isn't that much of a problem.

Well, we can choose whichever folder we want. I just think if it is not in a folder with the name of your Age (avi/YourAgeName/YourBinkFile.bik), then the file itself should bear the Age name as the first letters (avi/YourAgeName_binkName.bik), to make sure it is clear which file belongs to which Age.

Fortunately enough, we don't have so many Ages using bink yet (only Adrael, if I'm not mistaking).

Do you guys know enough about Max to write a simple tutorial cuz all this technical stuff is a bit over my head

I don't know Max, however I think you will first need this to convert your video files, before wiring anything in Max. It's free to download. Then if you know how to use Layer Animation, you should be able to figure out how to use Layer Binks.

[Karkadann]

Has any body ever tried using Wave Sets for a flame?

[Sirius]

Can't use Wavesets on a vertical plane... Wavesets are automatically flattened, and even though it is possible to have non-planar water, I doubt it would work fine for fire.
You could use it to make lava, in which case you would have to tweak a lot the settings to make it look realistic.
But using a bink file would be better I think.