tain.totalcodex.net

Industry wrote:I've been staring at Topaz-extracted collection tags for awhile and Fear, and I agree the collection tags format must be insane. Collections
exist for the:
Color Maps
Overhead Maps
Model Textures
Pre and Post Game
Scenery
Units/Monsters
The Interface

None of these seem the same to me, but there they are, all in the collection folder. And oh look, there are some projectiles in this scenery collection, and some here in this unit collection. ARGH!!!! So tantilizingly close to understanding
but... no.



Looking at Fear I have to assume that the unit collections must include some structure to define/link to the monster tag sequences. But that information would be completely useless to a model collection. What the heck would the Secondary Idle Sequence be for the granary textures? I was actually looking for screenshots of Amber in hopes that they might help me figure out the collection tag syntax.

(and yes I have mailed you CIK)

I'm pretty sure the common theme of all the different image types that fall into the Collection tag family is that they are color indexed files or greyscale.

A Collection tag is made up of a group of bitmaps which are organized into Sequences. Sequences are broken up into Views and Frames. You can assign any number of sequences to one collection, and each sequence can have any number of views and each view can have any number of frames (there are probably actual limits, but if so, then they're pretty big). Sequences can include bitmaps that are mirrored horizontally and/or vertically (but they don't have to). A collection can only include one color table, but that color table can contain several hue changes.

Units are the most complex kind of collection because of the sheer number of sequences, views, and frames they require for complete functionality in Myth. Even a very simple unit, like a chicken that does nothing but walk around (and die), has at least four sequences with four to eight views per sequences and probably at least six frames per view. Add in a couple of attack sequences, a taunt, perhaps a blocking sequence, hold for attack, etc., etc. and you've got a LOT of bitmaps.

Model collections are acutally remarkably similar to unit collections. They too make use of multiple sequences, but in this case each sequence is linked with one material on the Geometry tag. You can add multiple views to a sequence, and (with the help of other tools) these can be made into permutations for the Model tag. That's how the buildings on Willow Creek can be tinted to match the mesh shadows no matter which way the models are facing. Again, each model collection must contain bitmaps that all share the same color table.

Overhead maps and multi-player pregames is simply collection tags that consist of a single bitmap that occupies one sequence with one view, and one frame. Colormaps are probably the same.

I used to know the details of a solo pregame collection, but I'd need to do some refresher studying before I could actually make one.

One other to keep in mind is that an idle sequence is only an idle sequence because you set it that way in the Monster tag using Fear. As far as the colleciton tag is concerned, all sequences are the same.

Is that as clear as mud? There's more, but I'll stop for now