Open Elevator Project

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Open Elevator Project // Interactive Artwork

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Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 6, 2007, 7:12pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Wouldn't it be nice to have simple elevators in truePlaces and other Shared Spaces? I think so, so I made this just for you Scripting Artists to play with.

If I understood TS Scripting I would probably do this myself, but we'll all be very old by the time I get around to understanding trueSpace Scripting!

I think that Délé mentioned somewhere in this forum that he had tried to script a shared space elevator but was unhappy with the results at that time, if memory serves me I believe he said the motion was "jerky." With that in mind I set out to design a simple and potentially-functional model which by design should overcome that particular problem by utilizing a simple rotating screw as a drive mechanism.

As you will see below, the elevator booth itself is attached to a lateral cylinder at it's base which protrudes through a slot in the elevator shaft wall and extends into a corresponding slot in the screwdrive housing. The screw in turn would scoop that cylinder up and as the screw turned it would smoothly lift the booth to the uppermost level where the cylinder at that point would hit a stop bar. Coming down should be equally smooth since the downward drive direction of the screw is controlled by spindle direction scipting rather than simply by gravity and friction.

Given that doors are not used in this "Third World Elevator" model, I put two arrow buttons near the doorways of the shaft to provide actuators for the script driving the screw direction and logic.

I decided to offer this as an "Open Project" to anyone who would like to assist the truePlay Community by attempting to script this puppy. If we do manage to make a working elevator with this method and model you get all the credit (and you deserve it), all I ask is that we keep the script free for all of us to use, just as the model is.

Anyone want to help me with this? :confused:

Thanks in advance to any takers!

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 6, 2007, 11:51pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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OK...

I uploaded a Cobfile in zip format earlier and afterward noticed a structural mistake which I have now corrected (the elevator's upper stop bar stopped the cylinder too soon - now fixed).

Here's the corrected Cob file in Zip Format along with an image showing the new correction circled in red.

Again, thanks in advance for scripting a working elevator for everyone,

- 3dvisuals dude

(Image first - Zip File below Image)

Post by Délé // Jun 7, 2007, 5:39am

Délé
Total Posts: 1374
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Looks nice, as most of your work does 3dvd. To clarify, the problem I was having was due to collision detection. It's easy enough to animate a smooth elevator, the problem came in when you tried to ride it. The collision detection with the avatars caused extreme jerkiness and often the collision would just fail and the avatar would fall through the floor.


The upside is that it looks like collisions were improved in 7.5. :) I did another test and while there is still some jerky behavior, it's not nearly as bad as before and looks to be workable now.


Below is the test scene I used. Just start the timer in the LE and then stand on the red square. It's just a simple looping elevator so if you stand on the red square it will eventually pick you up. You can change the speed of the elevator by changing the "Loop Speed" input on the Triggered Loop script in the LE.


6719


Now your elevator is a nice design 3dvd, but it would be a little trickier to script. I assume that you want it to work like a real world elevator? So when you push a button the elevator comes to your floor, and then when you push another button it goes up or down? I'm sure that's all possible but I think it's currently beyond what I would be able to script.


Creating a looping elevator/escalator type thing would be easy enough though. If you just place a one sided plane where the elevator peaks (10 units high in the test scene I uploaded) then the avatar will ride up through the floor and stay on the floor when the elevator loops.

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 7, 2007, 2:55pm

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Total Posts: 1703
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Ahhh.. OK, thanks Délé, I misunderstood the problem completely!

Thanks for the upload and clear explanation too, I'll be playing with this upload of yours for a few weeks now no doubt! This is fun!

Wow, if it's a matter then of the avatar collision detection at the server end script could it be modified at that end with a custom collision detection routine (specific to the avatar's use of the elevator) that could be activated and deactivated via a proximity sensor (to the lift platform or shaft area)?

Or is this a situation that simply cannot be overcome by us at all?

To clarify, the problem I was having was due to collision detection. It's easy enough to animate a smooth elevator, the problem came in when you tried to ride it. The collision detection with the avatars caused extreme jerkiness and often the collision would just fail and the avatar would fall through the floor.


I wonder then if a script could (1) detect an avatar on the platform and then (2) detect which floor level that platform was at and then (3) (using a method I saw elsewhere in this forum which moved one object in direct relation to another in realtime) bypass collision detection by preventing avatar collision with the platform entirely. Hmmmm.... there must be a way!

I really would like to see us be able to use elevators regardless of how we do it! Maybe if we all bang our heads together here on theories and obstacles to them a viable option may emerge for us in the process. Toward that end I will be playing with your upload for quite some time to get my own head around the issue!

Working shared space elevators would give us all kinds of interesting site construction options, terrestrial, underwater, space, etc. It would be great.


Creating a looping elevator/escalator type thing would be easy enough though. If you just place a one sided plane where the elevator peaks (10 units high in the test scene I uploaded) then the avatar will ride up through the floor and stay on the floor when the elevator loops.


This looks cool. I wonder now, for instance, if the platforms were transparent (invisible to the avatar user) but the area in which the platform returns was surrounded by some structural indication of it's significance... stepping into it would be like being "beamed up" to a higher level! Fascinating thing you've done here Délé, I'm always excited about the things you create and their potentials!

OK, looks like I've got a lot to examine here now (thanks sincerely for that) but hopefully we can find a way together to make this work for us all. Sure would be nice. :D

Thanks again,

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 9, 2007, 4:46pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Minor Update and Related Question -

I've been playing with Délé's Elevator Script posted above and it is a lot of fun to play with in the LE. I have all kinds of ideas now for variations on this prototype script and hope to have some posted here whenever I get a good one that's stable. (I crash TS constantly when I play around with stuff like this but it doesn't deter me at all!)

I do have one related newbie question though which is pretty important to me... how can I turn a 3d object in Workspace into a simple switch to activate a script from within the Workspace while in First Person Navigation?:confused:

I've tried numerous ways but always crash in the process, so I figure it's just my approaches which are at fault rather than any TS7.5 bugs.

Is there a working example somewhere in the Libraries which I've missed?


Thanks...


EDIT: Among the variations I'm currently attempting on Délé's Elevator Script posted above is one that will be a lot of fun for everyone if I can pull it off... if I can add a 3D path to it it would work perfectly for a "Flying Carpet Script" !!! :D

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 11, 2007, 12:33am

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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OK...

I think I've discovered a way to utilize objects as switches (script actuators) while in first person navigation by hacking the click and jump activity in the library a tad.:cool: I still have a ways to go before I get this ready for primetime though, but when I've got it ready it will open some interesting new possibilities for us all interacting with each other's offline models.;)

I'd love to have different and/or better ways of doing this though, so if anyone knows of any other working method I'd appreciate it a lot if you'd let us all know in this thread.

What do I want this for?

Collaborative interactive environments and games created and shared among us all here at the forums, enhanced constantly by each of us offline with regularly updated scene version files in TS7.5x...

One day you have an object in the scene (along with yourself in First Person Navigation) which when left-clicked upon opens a hidden doorway in a wall. The next week someone has created a carpet in that room, which when left-clicked upon becomes a flying carpet talking you up and out along a path through a high upper window to a new level created by someone else that week... etcetera....

It all starts though with a working script for a simple switch (script actuator) which when left-clicked while in first person navigation becomes activated, enabling all kinds of object actions from motion to visibility... turning your truePlace 7.5x Workspace into an active game development environment.

I'll get it eventually here or die trying, but sure wouldn't mind some help!:o

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by Délé // Jun 12, 2007, 6:11am

Délé
Total Posts: 1374
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Scripting is still largely pioneer territory so you might not find a whole lot of help. Although there are definitely more people doing it now then when 7.1 came out, there still really aren't that many people yet. So it's not always that people don't want to help, just that knowledge can still be sparse in a lot of areas.


You'll likely find that the hardest part about scripting is the guessing game. Often you just have to take a guess as to how to do things. Trial and error. That's why I personally have stuck to writing more mathematical I/O scripts that can be linked to objects rather then trying to tap into the architecture more. Still there are people figuring things out.


Backward engineering previously made scripts and scenes is likely the best route to trying to figure some things out, as you have already started doing.


As for your specific question, I haven't figured out how to do that yet so I can't really be of any help, sorry. Hopefully things will get easier to script once there is more documentation. In the meantime, you'll have to get out your machete and start chopping out a path.

Post by frootee // Jun 12, 2007, 6:48am

frootee
Total Posts: 2667
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OK...

It all starts though with a working script for a simple switch (script actuator) which when left-clicked while in first person navigation becomes activated, enabling all kinds of object actions from motion to visibility... turning your truePlace 7.5x Workspace into an active game development environment.

- 3dvisuals dude


Hi 3dvisuals dude (mayI call you 3dv for short? I'm lazy at typing long names... 3dv! :)


I have not done much scripting yet so I do not know if this functionality is already built in, but if it is not, this is a possible solution:


If you want to have objects communicate like this, you need to add communication flags to each object in your scene. This means using scripting to parse the scene file, and foreach object, insert code into the object structure:


For Switch Object:

set flag indicating it is the switch object


foreach object in scene_file {


check if this object is the switch object.

If it is, skip these steps

add flags:

BOOL switch_object = TRUE

BOOL process_left_button_click = TRUE

etc.

ENUM function_prototypes_for_object {

left_button_click_function,

special_function1,

special_function2,

special_function3

}

}


left_button_click_function {

do something to object:

toggle_visibility

or

start_continuous_rotation

or

electricute_nearest_object

or

call_special_function1

}


Of course this is pseudocode but you get the idea.


Frootee

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 4:15pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Thanks Délé,

Yeah, this sure is Pioneer territory alright, but that's why we love it I guess!:D

Scripting is still largely pioneer territory so you might not find a whole lot of help. Although there are definitely more people doing it now then when 7.1 came out, there still really aren't that many people yet. So it's not always that people don't want to help, just that knowledge can still be sparse in a lot of areas.

It's kinda funny... the other day I was wandering through the Old Caligari Forum and read your posts from when you were just first starting out with TS7.1 Scripting and the LE... and it was like finally finding someone else who felt ~exactly~ the same excitement that I feel about these tools! They really are much more exciting for me to work with than the rest of the incredible TS7.5 toolset because the longer it takes me to arrive at a solution to a given idea which has no apparent precedent the more determined I get to find a way... just so I can inevitably arrive at that one great private moment (and I'm sure you've had them too!) like this:

http://smilies.instinctive-hosting.com/smiles/positive/yeah.gif

I'm so close to one of those moments right now with my related efforts that I just can't wait to dig into the Javascript and LE before my eyes are even open when I wake up every day! I get interesting new scripting ideas almost hourly now around the clock!

http://www.smileyskit.com/general-misc-smileys_files/idea1.gif

You'll likely find that the hardest part about scripting is the guessing game. Often you just have to take a guess as to how to do things. Trial and error. That's why I personally have stuck to writing more mathematical I/O scripts that can be linked to objects rather then trying to tap into the architecture more. Still there are people figuring things out.

Yeah, with the LE that's definitely the case for me too, but real scripting holds the true power keys here I think so I try to focus mainly on that as much as I can. Whatever works is great though either way! ;)

I would definitely include you in that short list of "people figuring things out" too, if it wasn't for the trails you, johnny, trueBlue, and others here have already blazed I probably would never have even tried to follow! Even the smaller or simpler things that you guys churn out in passing while aiming at other more complex objectives are invaluable things to us newbies, and the more we share all our little discoveries along the way the more people with new viewpoints on them become involved, carrying the ideas in new directions. It's all good! :D

Backward engineering previously made scripts and scenes is likely the best route to trying to figure some things out, as you have already started doing.

Definitely... even when the process doesn't present one with a directly applicable solution it is always nevertheless an inherently valuable education. My best ideas always seem to flow from curiousity about some process unrelated to my current focus... just the way my brain works I guess!

As for your specific question, I haven't figured out how to do that yet so I can't really be of any help, sorry. Hopefully things will get easier to script once there is more documentation. In the meantime, you'll have to get out your machete and start chopping out a path.

Hahahaha! Now I just have to figure out how to script a machete! (that should be fun!)

By the way, thanks for giving us all that new spring script, it will come in very handy for a couple of ideas I have pretty soon and I'll be sharing them here of course! ;)

http://bestsmileys.com/wow/2.gif

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 4:34pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Hi 3dvisuals dude (mayI call you 3dv for short? I'm lazy at typing long names... 3dv! :)

Sure! It beats "3DVD" (which sounds more like something requiring some very serious attention!;) )!!!

I have not done much scripting yet so I do not know if this functionality is already built in, but if it is not, this is a possible solution:

If you want to have objects communicate like this, you need to add communication flags to each object in your scene. This means using scripting to parse the scene file, and foreach object, insert code into the object structure:

For Switch Object:
set flag indicating it is the switch object
foreach object in scene_file {
check if this object is the switch object.
If it is, skip these steps
add flags:
BOOL switch_object = TRUE
BOOL process_left_button_click = TRUE
etc.
ENUM function_prototypes_for_object {
left_button_click_function,
special_function1,
special_function2,
special_function3
}
}
left_button_click_function {
do something to object:
toggle_visibility
or
start_continuous_rotation
or
electricute_nearest_object
or
call_special_function1
}
Of course this is pseudocode but you get the idea.
Frootee

Hmmmm... a radically different approach than my current efforts but I'll be storing this in my head nevertheless.

I've found three distincly different avenues of approaching a solution to this already and all three seem viable at the moment (I tend to attack things from multiple directions as a rule) so I'm keeping my eyes wide open as I pursue this. I'm very close now though, and when it pops it will open up some really fun doors for all of us for sure! :D

Thanks,

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by frootee // Jun 12, 2007, 4:42pm

frootee
Total Posts: 2667
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Hi 3dv. That's cool. I was just typing that off the top of my head. I am sure there are more efficient methods, including a combo of the link editor and scripting. I am about to power down this machine and install a new drive; the OS drive is an ancient 6 GB drive; I figured I could recycle it, but now I can't stand the irritating noise. It's always done this, but I'm tired of it. It sounds like an overcaffeinated woodpecker at a bug buffet. Once I do that and fix the sound card problem I can focus on scripting and plugin development.


Later!


Frootee

Post by trueBlue // Jun 12, 2007, 5:19pm

trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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Take a look at the 3D buttons in the 15 Game. In that scenario a user mouses over the button and it becomes highlighted and when clicked will run the command. I believe the node that is nestled deep inside is named Open Browser but it is a Simple Command node which is also in the Widget library. This of course could be applied to any object and or sub object or just a face of the object as well. If you need help with hooking it up, maybe you could upload your switch object here. Then I would be willing to modify it for you.

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 5:21pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Hi 3dv. That's cool. I was just typing that off the top of my head. I am sure there are more efficient methods, including a combo of the link editor and scripting. I am about to power down this machine and install a new drive; the OS drive is an ancient 6 GB drive; I figured I could recycle it, but now I can't stand the irritating noise. It's always done this, but I'm tired of it. It sounds like an overcaffeinated woodpecker at a bug buffet. Once I do that and fix the sound card problem I can focus on scripting and plugin development.

Later!

Frootee

Thanks Frootee, I have no idea which method (yours, mine, someone else's) will end up being the best or most efficient so I'm not ruling anything out at this point at all. Besides, whatever is "perfect" for one purpose will always need variations for other purposes, sometimes I see potentials for new things as I'm about to hack some piece away from my path and end up pausing for some time accordingly. There's so many different directions to go with all these elemental prototype script tools that staying focused is my main problem at this point! Maybe that will never change!

Good luck with the OS Drive Replacement.... scary stuff but worth it. I'll see ya here when you've emerged from the other side of that then! ;)

Thanks again!

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 5:55pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Take a look at the 3D buttons in the 15 Game. In that scenario a user mouses over the button and it becomes highlighted and when clicked will run the command. I believe the node that is nestled deep inside is named Open Browser but it is a Simple Command node which is also in the Widget library. This of course could be applied to any object and or sub object or just a face of the object as well. If you need help with hooking it up, maybe you could upload your switch object here. Then I would be willing to modify it for you.


WOW!!!! Thanks trueBlue!!!! :banana:

I didn't even think to look there!!!! That sounds like something a lot more elegant than what I had in mind originally too!!!!

Excellent and thanks!!!! I'll put the buttons object up in cob format in a few minutes tonight then for you (it has many buttons but I only need one to work as a prototype for the others of course) and I'll be digging into the 15 Game at the same time... sure beats "re-inventing the wheel"!!!!

You made my night trueBlue, I owe you on this one! ;)

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 6:27pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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For trueBlue... (and also for anyone else here who also would like to play with this model or use it for anything else - I made it so feel free - no strings)

Here's the rsobj file for the switch model in zip format. As you will see it looks a lot like the Stargate "DHD" (Dial Home Device) and has lots of buttons, but again all I need is to get one of them in First Person Navigation to fire a simple script (any script) when left clicked inside FPN.

Thanks sincerely for your help with this trueBlue. If we can get a simple FPN Switch Trigger like this running it will make it possible for us all to create and share some really fun game-like creations together in this forum which we could all add to and enhance together for offline use inside TS7.5 with FPN!

This would be great for all of us! :D

Thanks again,

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by frootee // Jun 12, 2007, 6:39pm

frootee
Total Posts: 2667
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Groovy. Back up! I will have to take a look at trueblue's suggestions. Finally. Got rid of that dang chatterbox.


Frootee

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 7:06pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Groovy. Back up! I will have to take a look at trueblue's suggestions. Finally. Got rid of that dang chatterbox.

Frootee

Man that was fast!

I guess you were really motivated to replace that old drive!

Welcome back!

I'm off to explore Game 15 now myself... sounds like the perfect solution for this. I'm sure glad trueBlue came to our rescue on this one! As much as I would have liked to eventually have firgured out a way to do this it really would have been a bummer to find out afterward that there was a better way that already existed in our libraries somewhere! "Re-Inventing The Wheel" is only good when the new wheel is better!:o

This will be great!!!!!!!!!! :D

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 7:46pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Aha... found it! Game 15 is in the "Scenes - Active" library. (I never went there before -great stuff in here!

Wow... this looks like exactly the solution but holy cow is this complicated in the Link Editor!!!! Complicated is good though... gives me lots of meat to strip off the bones a little at a time! Looks like there's some really useful stuff in here for other things too.

Now for a very large new cup of coffee! http://smilies.instinctive-hosting.com/smiles/confectionery/coffee1.gif


~ And for trueBlue ~

http://bestsmileys.com/signs14/22.gif

~ From all of us ! ~

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by trueBlue // Jun 12, 2007, 7:53pm

trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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Here you go look at blue button for modifications.
Note: That you would have to exit FPN to be able to
Left click button. You may have to rethink your application.
If you wanted a trigger to activate using FPN using the Use
control, I think that you would have to have your buttons
spread out more because of the radius of the control.
Also your Switch objects is 2.43 MB which is really large
for SharedSpace. Maybe best to use just a different painted
face of object instead of 3D Objects.

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 8:06pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
pic
Here you go look at blue button for modifications.
Note: That you would have to exit FPN to be able to
Left click button. You may have to rethink your application.
If you wanted a trigger to activate using FPN using the Use
control, I think that you would have to have your buttons
spread out more because of the radius of the control.
Also your Switch objects is 2.43 MB which is really large
for SharedSpace. Maybe best to use just a different painted
face of object instead of 3D Objects.

Awesome and thanks a million!!!!

OK, I'll be playing with this now for quite a while!!!!

The buttons on Game 15 work fine while in FPN (I just tested that out) so maybe if I tweak this a tad it will do the same. Yeah, I know... the model is huge and wasn't intended for shared space but was made for my own offline use in FPN with TS7.5 so I'll make much simpler versions now that you made this possible for all of us. This is GREAT!!!!!!

Thank you so much trueBlue, I definitely owe you one on this!

Now we can do all kinds of things with offline models in TS7.5 with FPN!!!!

We'll be able to have collaborative games and create single customer interactive truePlay/FPN walkthroughs... all kinds of stuff!!!!!!!

I'm psyched! (in case that isn't obvious already!;) )

Way to go trueBlue... lots of folks are going to LOVE this thing you've done here!!!

If there's ever anything I can do for you as thanks just let me know and you've got it.

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://bestsmileys.com/signs14/7.gif

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 12, 2007, 9:45pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
pic
Here you go look at blue button for modifications.
Note: That you would have to exit FPN to be able to
Left click button. You may have to rethink your application.
If you wanted a trigger to activate using FPN using the Use
control, I think that you would have to have your buttons
spread out more because of the radius of the control.
Also your Switch objects is 2.43 MB which is really large
for SharedSpace. Maybe best to use just a different painted
face of object instead of 3D Objects.

Guess what trueBlue?

It works PERFECTLY inside FPN just the way you have it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just as in truePlay you have to first right-click to enable left-clicking.:D

What you've done here opens a lot of doors for a lot of people here now... here's a preview of what they'll think about this as it gets used here soon:

http://www.smileypad.com/v224/Happy/Crowd-Grin.gif

This is the beginning of something truly momentous here....

(1) Now lots of people here at the forums who are hesitant to upload to shared space or even play there will be able to create truly interactive scenes and worlds right on their own hardrives at their own chosen pace.

They can each now use this to make their TS7.5x models and scenes come to life without having to understand the scripting involved at all if they don't want to...

They can build a house (or whatever) and make the objects respond to their own left-clicks ~while actually being inside of the scenes themselves~ with First Person Navigation... easily adding this script object to any 3D Objects (or faces, or images on planes) in their scenes using the Link Editor and attaching it to any other script whatsoever in the LE to activate that script while in FPN.

Using this new script object of yours they can in this way left-click to:

open doors
make doors and objects appear or vanish
make statues talk
make statues walk
play music
raise or lower drawbridges
make paintings talk (new interactive talking galleries anyone?!?)
activate controls inside and on vehicles of all sorts (wanna fly?!?)
operate submarines (this one will be a lot of fun)
turn lights on and off
change from daylight to nighttime by switching lights and skydome textures

Wow... give me an hour and I'll have a list of 1000 or so possibilities!!!:D

(2) Now we can create collaborative OFFLINE spaces on our hard drives, sharing constantly enhanced and updated common models and scenes with each other... perfecting scenes for each other with full interactivity and eventually even putting them online when Caligari offers their Shared Space Leasing which has been discussed here before.

(3) Now we can have a new kind of scripting collaborative here... getting many more people actively involved in TS7.x scripting than would otherwise desire to.

(4) Once the truePlay1.21-TS7.5 rsscn incompatability issue has been fixed we will all be able to put ~truly~ interactive scenes on CDRW's or DVD's for customers, prospective customers, and clients to interact with via truePlay.

(5) We can have scripting competitions eventually to enhance common scenes....

The list goes on.... and on....

Thanks trueBlue, soon lots of folk will be thanking you for this as well.

Now I've got to go play with this some more.... I love it!!!!!:D

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 13, 2007, 12:09am

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
pic
Here you go look at blue button for modifications.
Note: That you would have to exit FPN to be able to
Left click button. You may have to rethink your application.
If you wanted a trigger to activate using FPN using the Use
control, I think that you would have to have your buttons
spread out more because of the radius of the control.

Thanks fior the "Use" Control [P] tip... I'll have to play with that one now too! I never understood why it was there in the dropdown menu of truePlay since there was no practical use for it in truePlaces but I understand now.

Actually within the scope of methodology all I was trying to accomplish in this was to find a workable method for people using trueSpace 7.5 with truePlay to be able to write their own FPN Script Trigger Interactivity (or easily create the same by attaching script objects to scene objects in the LE) into their own offline scenes on the fly. That way we would all be able to easily develop our own offline interactive scenes, games, and virtual tour walkthroughs. As it was we couldn't do that easily at all, but thanks to your help on this we now can. Now they will be genuinely interactive as well as immersive! :D

I do see what you mean about the difference between "Use" [P] (being truly inside of FPN) versus the R-Click-then-L-Click (technically outside FPN) approach and I should have been clearer about what I was originally hoping for, but you accomplished what I was hoping for perfectly in any case! It works the same way now in TS7.5 as it already does in truePlay, and that's great! Technically we are outside FPN in this method when we R-Click but given that the scene doesn't change it doesn't *feel that way* at all! :cool:

Now after I have a blast for a few weeks with this new capability you have made possible for us I'll take a stab at doing it the "Use" [P] way to keep it truly within FPN as well. Man, this is so much fun I feel like a kid with this!!! :D

This will be a lot of fun to hook up to all ofDélé's Scripts too, especially the one that controls object visibility properties! What a blast this will be!!!

Thanks again, this is great! :cool:

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 13, 2007, 3:32pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Quite a detour for an Elevator Project... sure glad we made that one!;)

OK... now I'm revisiting the ideas involved in the "Open Elevator Project" again from a much clearer perspective (and thanks for that everyone!).

From what I can see this is now completely doable with one small hitch... Collision Detection between the Avatar and the moving Elevator floor pad.

I understand now that Collision Detection was the only problem which Délé encountered in his previous elevator design, and that is a problem still, even if it has improved somewhat due to the current state of Collision Detection.

What I am thinking about now on that specific issue is that there was a Script created and posted somewhere in this forum which moved one object in direct relation to another distant object. This concept seems to me to offer the potential that the Avatar could be moved by such a Script (in a modified form of course) without any Collision Detection whatsoever ocurring between the Avatar and the Elevator Floor Pad, via controlling Avatar altitude in direct relation to the Pad altitude. Makes sense?

Well, it may take me a long time to do this but here I go again...;) since I think it has potential I'll take a stab at this for a while myself and see what I come up with. Of course this is an "Open Project" for all of us though, so if any of you want to take a stab yourself at inventing such a script for all of us - don't let my feeble progress hold you back - go for it!;)

Anyhow... this is a start (and a big start thanks to trueBlue and Délé) of a better elevator from a draft perspective... modeling is next and then the fun begins! I'll upload a new elevator like the picture below soon here and we can all dig in together if we like!

Thanks everybody,

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by trueBlue // Jun 13, 2007, 5:53pm

trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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Thanks for all the compliments but I am afraid that all your praise should go to the Caligari Developers. This script is not mine but made from components available in tS75. Now that tS751 is out do look in the Objects - Tutorial Objects library where you will find 3 Trigger examples. Load them into your scene and activate FPN then walk up to the object and it will trigger a command.
The Activate physics trigger example needs a little setup to use as follows.
First it is positioned to high above the grid to be activated from FPN. So position it on the grid. Now set up a Physics demonstration. Activate FPN and walk up to the Blue Sphere and it will trigger the Start simulation command.
HTH

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 13, 2007, 7:26pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Thanks for all the compliments but I am afraid that all your praise should go to the Caligari Developers. This script is not mine but made from components available in tS75. Now that tS751 is out do look in the Objects - Tutorial Objects library where you will find 3 Trigger examples. Load them into your scene and activate FPN then walk up to the object and it will trigger a command.
The Activate physics trigger example needs a little setup to use as follows.
First it is positioned to high above the grid to be activated from FPN. So position it on the grid. Now set up a Physics demonstration. Activate FPN and walk up to the Blue Sphere and it will trigger the Start simulation command.
HTH

Thanks trueBlue (and thanks to the Caligari Developers !)

Excellent, I've downloaded the Updates but won't be able to install for a couple of hours due to some minor distractions here. As soon as I have it all installed I'll head straight there and check this out right away! This sounds promising for another project script I have in mind too! Thanks!

Don't sell yourself too short on the praise though trueBlue, Caligari made some excellent scripts and tools for sure, but until you stepped in here and solved this issue for us all on exactly how to utilize them together ~we were all~ in the dark on exactly how to do it, and that definitely counts for some praise in my book. I'll lighten up though.;)

I'm just amazed at how few people have jumped on the Script Creation and LE Linking Bandwagon since TS7 first came out... after exploring how powerful it all is for myself it's hard for me to believe that a lot more people haven't already joined in with you guys in blazing new trails with it over the last year or so! Sure, there's maybe 10 guys independently developing it who post here, but I should think there would be 100 at least! It's powerful stuff!

I spotted a couple of posts by ProfessorKhaos in a thread here today about an amazing active scripted Roller Coaster he made which has great potential for designing scripted paths and path controlled flying vehicles or monorails also... and now with the ability to trigger new events from within each scene we create we could do a lot more with such things than was possible not too long ago. This is all very new to me but it's so much fun and so powerful that 3D Modeling itself (which I have always loved) is already starting to fade away for me in comparison.

Obviously I need to spend more time familiarizing myself with the many scripts already available though before setting out again to re-invent the wheel! There's so much to explore and so little time to do it, I just wish there were 50 hours in a day now!

Thanks,

I'll check it all out later tonight.

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 14, 2007, 6:03am

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Wow.

Aside from about an hour I spent testing Vray"1.51" (noticed it was a smaller download this time which worried me but all was fine) I've been up all night playing with all these scripts and triggers in 7.51. Great stuff here for me to be sinking my teeth into over the next few months!

I'm kinda torn in two over all these things I explore and their potentials though! On the one hand I'm always seeing fantastic possibilities for putting new or existing scripts together in unique ways to create some cool or unprecedented effects, and on the other hand I spend so much time loving that fact and looking ravinously for more that I can hardly get anything constructive accomplished at all while I'm exploring all this!

I guess that will come in time though when I'm more familiar with all this stuff from having squeezed every drop of potential I can see out of it all, but from the looks of things right now that won't be anytime soon for sure!

At the moment I guess I should just nail some fetters on my head and focus on putting this elevator behind me, then I can explore the things I really want to do immediately afterward (building a working FPN Submarine and a Shared Space Monorail System). I'll just think of those as rewards for now.;)

The only real obstacle with the elevator is also an obstacle that needs to be addressed for more elaborate uses in the near future where it will be much more of an issue I think (like in the case of Avatars traveling fast over winding paths in vehicles of various kinds), and that is Collision Detection Bypass. In an elevator a smooth ride is good but not critical to moving an Avatar or two, but start putting them in Monorails and Airplanes and it's a whole different ballgame.

I do believe it can be done one way or another so I plan to focus specifically on that and set out directly to accomplish it first... the rest is just bells and whistles by comparison I suspect. Even if I fail to do it I'll be making progress at least, but I just have a gut feeling I'll accomplish this and I've learned to pay closer attention to those feelings over the years.;)

So I'll slap together the simpler elevator model after I wake up again in a few hours, then after a few cups of java I'm gonna attack that beast with all I can muster.:D

See ya all then,

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by frootee // Jun 14, 2007, 1:35pm

frootee
Total Posts: 2667
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okay 3dv... it's been 7 hours... that's enough sleep for one day! Get up dude! :D :p :banana:

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 15, 2007, 12:12am

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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Thanks Frootee...

Man.... I guess I did need some sleep! I haven't slept that long in over 15 years! Hahahahaha!!!

Ok folks... back in the saddle.:D

Here's the new modified Elevator for you all to play along with if you like!

There's no Scripting at all on this puppy yet, so have at it if you'd like to join in. I'm going to be burying myself in the scripting for Collision Bypass as I stated earlier and I expect that to take at least a week, so no hurry.;)

Just like the last model(s) in this thread, this is created by me and offered into the Public Domain, so use it and abuse it as much as you like, it's yours!

I hope lots of folk jump in here and take a stab at it themselves. Scripting and the Link Editor are worlds of fun to explore and utilize, and if an idiot like me can actually have fun with it all imagine what you could accomplish with it! :D

First there's a few images of what you get, and at the bottom of those images will be a Zipped RSOBJ file (TS7.51 Rosetta Object) of the model for you all to download.

Enjoy!

- 3dvisuals dude

Post by 3dvisuals dude // Jun 17, 2007, 2:06pm

3dvisuals dude
Total Posts: 1703
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"Relational Object Collision Bypass"

Update:

Success! So far, however, only in sound and directly applicable theory, now comes the scripting! This is a milestone though for a "newbie" groping in the dark with all this, and it will have an impact on many things for all of us very soon.

I have discovered a perfect way to pass Avatar vertical altitude control to the elevator, bypassing vertical collision detection entirely.:D

The Avatars will never shake or jerk around in motion again even slightly now while within the elevator cab (formerly due to gravity and collision detection), and they will be free to simultaneously move and turn laterally as always.

(They will not be able to jump while inside the elevator however!;) )

Avatars will now be able to lift and lower as precisely and smoothly as the elevator cab itself does without any vertical collision whatsoever ocurring between the Avatars and the elevator.

This will only be possible while all 6 doors are closed and only when they are inside the elevator cab. Upon exiting the cab, as the doors open the script will relinquish Avatar control only for those Avatars actually exiting the elevator after the doors shut behind them and they haved moved on.

This is tricky to accomplish within the LE for me but I see no obstacle currently present there which cannot be overcome in relation to implementing this particular "Relational Object Collision Bypass" feature whatsoever.

When hosted online this will of course be a "server-side" script set, but will operate also within any scene you choose to serve yourself offline or present to others for usage within truePlay (once the current truePlay - TS7.5x Rsscn Incompatability Issue is fixed by Caligari that is). See http://forums1.caligari.com/truespace/showthread.php?t=3389 for related info.

For someone brilliant or far more experienced this may have only taken moments to figure out, but as a "newbie" this took me days of study to conquer and I haven't even begun to "wire" it all yet... but IT WILL work.:D

So expect another week of me fumbling with wires and script, maybe less.;)

- 3dvisuals dude

(PS: Yes, this will be modifiable for use in flight and rapid winding travel! :D )
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