firetrucks.u (package with support for cutscenes, dialogue, tons more)

[ebd]

Below is mostly a copy past of the original announcement at usp with a few edits:

---

-= firetrucks.u =-
(I think it is cool... maybe you will too?) What is it?
firetrucks.u is a code package designed to allow mappers to more easily create powerful narratives in Unreal 227. Well, it isn't THAT dependent on 227. 227i was still in development when a lot of this was coded, and it started development on 227h.

It was originally intended for a specific project (Chronicles of Weedrow vol. 2). Due to development stagnation and other issues, the code is being released. Development on this code started nearly a year ago and since then I have put hundreds of hours into it.

What does it do?
There are utilities for cutscenes, dialogue, complicated point-and-click adventure game sequences, a large number of triggers, and much more.

Features

• Interact with actors in new and unprecedented ways with UseEventAssociator
• Have a chat with pawns (or other actors) with the all new DialogueNode class
• Create complex and powerful puzzle sequences and more with the deterministic finite automata suite (1000% easier than it sounds!)
• Special extra interactive inventory items and triggers for improved player inventory experience
• Complete rework of translator into Journal which not only hold old messages but can display images and much more
• Many new triggers subclasses for triggering in specific ways or performing in certain ways while triggered. Way too much stuff to list here
• MouseTriggers suite allowed dedicated mappers to create complex point and click adventure game like sequences
• Some new decoration classes because why not
• Even more!

Will it work with coop?
Certain things I know will break. Other stuff isn't tested at all. This was designed first and foremost for single player.

Download (includes example map)
Latest version: http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/firetrucks_1_2_0.zip
trashbag addon pack: http://ebd.unrealsp.org/trashbag/trashbag_1_1_0.zip

Documentation
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/trashbag/
http://www.unrealsp.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=65676

Credits

• ebd for being a horrible programmer
• Qtit/Z-Enzyme for the PawnTrigger class (which was edited a bit and renamed to avoid conflicts)
• Frieza for inspiration, motivation, and many sleepless nights on my end
• Jet v435 for for making me implement all these extra features so he could live out his dream of remaking some old game
• ividyon for generously providing hosting for the project
• Smirftsch, Oldunreal and the 227 patch for breathing new life into this old game (as well as granting early access to 227i)
• And the rest of the Weedrow 2 team

---

With that out of the way, some people suggested that I announce this project here as well. It's just a code package of classes for mappers really, but I did spend an enormous amount of time on it and I'd like it to be of use to someone. I know the documentation could be a bit more thorough in places so I am happy to answer any questions people might have.

[William(Rainman)]

Does this come with a Interpolation Point Camera that is Similar to UT2004s Interpolationpoint that allows you to make in-game Cutscenes?

[ebd]

Camera interpolation was suggested, but there wasn't a huge demand during development so I never got around to implementing it. It is of course possible to attach camera pawns to movers (or other actors...) as well as subclass the camera and make it behave as desired.

Download (includes example map)
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/firetrucks_1_0_0.zip

Documentation
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/

[GreatEmerald]

Sounds interesting. Although the name is sort of random and doesn't describe what it really is...

[William(Rainman)]

Camera interpolation was suggested, but there wasn't a huge demand during development so I never got around to implementing it. It is of course possible to attach camera pawns to movers (or other actors...) as well as subclass the camera and make it behave as desired.

Download (includes example map)
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/firetrucks_1_0_0.zip

Documentation
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/

Sweet ill have to check out the map although i really have no idea what a Camera Pawn is.

[Tronovision]

This looks very promising. However, after I placed the .u file and map file in their respective folders I got this error message when I opened the firetrucks_example.unr file:

"...Can't find Function in the file 'Function Engine.NavigationPoint.EdPathBuildExec'..."

Am I missing something here? (BTW I am currently operating on 227h - should update soon though! )

[ebd]

In regards to the name: It is a dumb reference joke. It came about since the package was originally intended to be smaller and for a specific project anyway. It just kind of stuck.

The "camera pawn" in this case refers to the class FiretrucksCamera which extends Pawn.

It should work on 227i unless I did something horribly wrong.

[William(Rainman)]

Does it let you change the position of the Camera because I've been trying to find a way to rotate the camera to view the front of my character so that I can take screen shots of my character from the front and not the back.

[Tronovision]

Yep, it worked on 227i. Very nice, I will have to experiment around with this a bit. Good work!

[ebd]

I'm not sure if there is much interest in this, but an extension to firetrucks is currently in development that adds new content and features.

[img]http://ebd.unrealsp.org/wips/trashbag_update.jpg[/img]

current feature list of trashbag.u (note: not guaranteed to have everything on this this or be limited only to things on this list)

• TranslatorJournal Like the Journal in firetrucks but with the look and feel of the Translator.
• ClassicHUD A HUD for firetrucks that looks more like the stock unreal HUD.
• TrashbagHUD Minor fixes to FiretrucksHUD to allow better use in combat and maybe fixing some netplay issues. Maybe.
• Something to change HUD with triggers.
• Probably some classes to make certain in-editor firetrucks-related tasks more convenient.
• Gold coin pickup. Model and icon change automatically based on the amount of gold coins in the pile or in the player's inventory. These came about due to some discussion about how firetrucks would allow for a RPG-styled shop to be implemented without any additional code, but that there are no pickups for money.
• Corndog because I think they are pretty good. Others may not agree.
• Hamburger prepared by the talented ividyon.
• Various decorations and FiretrucksPickup equivalents. Includes Steak, CookedSteak, Scroll, OpenScroll, Trashbag, and more.
• TrashbagWeapon abstract weapon class that adds some neat features. Whether or not I'll actually get around to implementing any weapons is not known at this time.

As for the name, "trashbag," I made the mistake of asking someone in IRC for a package name. Of the suggestions offered this one was the tamest.

[ebd]

After development began on trashbag, it came to my attention that a revision of firetrucks will have to be made anyway. for the sake of organization many of the functional aspects of trashbag were moved to that revision, which is in development.

But that also mean trashbag would be ready sooner, though not as soon as I should have liked (I wanted to have it out before September 1st).

Downloads and documentation can be found at:
[url]http://ebd.unrealsp.org/trashbag/[/url]

tbh it doesn't really have that much content in it, which reflects trashbag's original design scope (it was only supposed to take 2-3 weeks). It does have a few subclasses of FiretrucksPickup, and a couple of health pickups, some deco meshes, and some new footstep sounds.

[ebd]

Version 1.1 of firetrucks has been released. It can be downloaded at:
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/firetrucks_1_1_0.zip

It fixes a few bugs and other unintended behaviors, as well as adds the TranslatorJournal (A journal that appears aesthetically closer to the translator) and HUDEvent. It should be compatible with any existing maps that used the previous release of firetrucks. Please let me know if something is broken.

[Smirftsch]

going to update download section

[ebd]

Hey man, are you ready to GET HYPED? I sure hope so, because you are going to be soooo hyped after you hear about this!

It is everything you've ever wanted. All of your worldly desires balled up into one really, really great Unreal package. You have always had a deep longing to create narrative driven single player content for Unreal, but up until now there was no good generic way to set up dialogue. The darkest desires from the bottom of your heart have called for you to set up complex puzzles and scripted cutscenes, but it couldn't be done without a titanic effort. Even in your wildest fantasies where you envisioned a point and click style of sequence, perhaps for the whole map, or perhaps just a short sequence in the middle of a map, you knew it was unfeasible. It couldn't be done. At least, not without some poor sap doing all the hard work for you.

But it is a dream no longer! Everything you wanted is here. All of it. Well, not coop support. But everything else really. Some poor sap did all the hard work.

Introducing firetrucks:

• Dialogue? We got it.
• A detailed Journal that can display images and store messages for later? Got that too.
• Cutscenes? All you want.
• Fiddly point and click stuff? Yep.
• Tons of new triggers and even a deterministic finite automata suite to allow for complex sequences with NO extra code? We have it all!

But that's old news. I mean really, firetrucks came out like a year ago. Why talk about it now? Because the final version of firetrucks (version 1.2) is on the way and will arrive soon!

It includes new features like extra triggers, and also a ton of bug fixes that should have been there from the beginning but the piss poor coders didn't do appropriate testing! Better late than never right?

I can tell you are totally bursting with hype right now, but keep your pants on because it will be out on June 20th (or your money back). But not a moment sooner than that!

But wait! There's more! If you've been hiding under your floorboards this whole time and missed it all, there was an extra pack for firetrucks some time ago called trashbag. It added a lot of bits and bobs to make firetrucks even more fun! It is being updated too with some adjustments to various things and a couple more stunningly beautiful art assets.

If you have it within you to get stoked for an awesome package for creating truly unforgettable single player campaigns in 227, then now is the time.

If you just can't wait to see it in action, or use it for your own endeavors, version 1.1 can be downloaded [url=http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/]here along with the documentation[/url]. The update will be 100% backwards compatible with the current live version, so you can map without fear.

I'd also like to get some tutorials up for it's usage. No ETA on that, sorry.

[Amaroq Clearwater]

What begins with F and ends with uck?

Firetruck!

[ebd]

I can just feel the energy on this board. I can tell. You guys are pumped up and can hardly wait. And now I've come to deliver some good news.

So good news everybody: I haven't been hit by a bus OR been set on fire! Development is still on schedule for a June 20th release. At last, everything you've always wanted is nearly within reach and now all you have to do is wait for a few more days.

[Hyper]

Why is it called firetrucks?

[Amaroq Clearwater]

Super cool reasons that we wouldn't understand, most likely.

[ebd]

Why is it called firetrucks?

This is the most frequent question I get about firetrucks so I suppose it is worth sharing the full story.

A long time ago there was this collaborative map pack called "Chronicles of Weedrow Volume 1: The Quest for the Chalice of Awesome Evilness." Several mappers, including myself, worked on a series of 3 maps using a very small code package put together by Q-tit (who now goes by Z-Enzyme). It had actors for broadcasting messages and ordering pawns around. He called it titpack0 or something along those lines. (Chronicles of Weedrow Volume 1: The Quest for the Chalice of Awesome Evilness can be found [url=http://ebd.unrealsp.org/cow/]here[/url] if you are interested. It should be noted that the second map cannot be completed under 227i in most cases though I don't really really remember the reason why.)

After contacting some people about a year after the release of CoWv1:tQftCoAE I started working on a new and improved packed with better support for narrative based gameplay as opposed to "stock unreal with more messages". Z-Enzyme's sense of humor didn't really agree with mine, but I felt a whimsical name was desirable. firetrucks seemed like an auspicious name plus it was a subtle reference to a certain animated series.

firetrucks grew to be very large and eventually grew apart from CoW, but it kept the whimsical name, if for nothing else than for compatibility reasons.

[ebd]

What a glorious day this is! firetrucks version 1.2 is released! And so is trashbag version 1.1! Get them while they are hot!

firetrucks Download and Official documentation: http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/
trashbag Download and Official documentation: http://ebd.unrealsp.org/trashbag/

Also out today is the first in a five part series of tutorials intended to help mappers and modders like you make the best use possible of everything firetrucks has to offer. It can be found [url=http://www.unrealsp.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=65676#p65676]on the UnrealSP.org forums[/url].

[Smirftsch]

woot!

Mirrored them here as well.

May I suggest to put the documentation into the .zip file as well? I find it really extremely annoying to have zip files without proper docs for download and I can't plain copy everything from your project page...

[ebd]

So not only did I forget the example map again, but I forgot even a readme file... I really messed that one up didn't I?

Anyway here is an all-in-one pack that includes all of the following:

• firetrucks version 1.2
• trashbag version 1.1
• A readme file
• The example map
• Offline documentation for both

[url]http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/firetrucks_trashbag_combo_pack.zip[/url]

Also, it is worth noting that the online documentation is generated by parsing comments placed in the code itself, so checking the code in the editor would yield similar information, just in a rougher format.

[Smirftsch]

haha

well, any specific wording you want to have in the news now?

[ebd]

It is alright with me if the post isn't anything special, but just in case I drafted the content below (have to generate hype somehow).

To be completely honest, I sure how well this kind of writing style works for garnering attention, but so far it seems to be going better than my natural writing style which is considerably more subdued.

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Ha! I bet you thought ebd would fail to deliver after such a long history doing so. I'd say it sucks to be you, but I'd be lying because now you've got firetrucks version 1.2 in your life.

Oh yeah. You heard that right. It is here.

firetrucks is the biggest, baddest package for single player mappers. It has it all.

Can your package do that?

It has dialog. It has a full replacement for the translator. It has a reskin of the full replacement for the translator ("New Translator" aka Journal didn't sit well with consumers so it was decided to bring back the old flavor as aka TranslatorJournal "Translator Classic"). It has cutscenes. It has the all powerful UseEventAssociator (You know how in a lot of other FPS games you can look at stuff and press a "Use" key? This is a trigger that triggers when "used"). It has a dozen other triggers for toggling visibility, collision, interacting with inventory in special ways, and way, way too much to list here. It has a deterministic finite automata suite so mappers can enjoy complex counters and puzzles without touching code at all. Don't know what a "deterministic finite automata" is? Don't worry; it is easier than it sounds. It also includes a set of mouse triggers just in case you wanted to remake point and click adventure games of old in Unreal. So many features I've probably forgotten about a few!

The observant among you might have known already that firetrucks version 1.0 was released around a year ago. So what's this one have that the old one doesn't? Mostly bug fixes with a few new features.

And if that's not all trashbag version 1.1 is out now as well. Two packages in one night? Yep.

trashbag is an optional add-on to firetrucks that adds a lot of artwork and pickups. This new version has some minor bugfixes and an 11% increase in art. A whole 11% more, free.

Many of you are watering at the mouth right about now, hungry for the delicious combined offerings of firetrucks and trashbag. Lucky for you there is a combo pack where you can grab both these awesome packages along with a sweet example map and offline documentation all in one convenient download.

Now what are you waiting for? firetrucks has everything you could ever want, as long as you want a bunch of tools for single player mapping. Some say certain features might even work with coop, but certainly there wouldn't be support for such things.

Grab it here; you won't regret it:
http://ebd.unrealsp.org/firetrucks/firetrucks_trashbag_combo_pack.zip

[ebd]

For those interested, part 2 of a planned series of 5 short tutorials on basic firetrucks usage is now released, and can be found on the UnrealSP.org forums, at http://www.unrealsp.org/viewtopic.php?p=65942#p65942.