ok....its gonna come up at some point (animated props)

[mightygoose]

where do we stand. i know some people did research but  icouldnt really find any information.

its come up a couple of times in the last couple of days....

for example... how do traffic lights work in game.
how do the planes at the airport work.....

do we as a community have any idea how these things actually work and if so are they actually recreateable.....

[Swamper77]

Stoplights are controlled with stop points in SC4Path files and with properties in the Automata Tuning exemplar (TGI: 0x6534284A 0xA998D30B 0x00000001).The default Go Times are:

Road: 6 seconds for each cycle of the signals
Avenue: 8 seconds for each cycle of the signals
Street: 1.2 seconds between sets of vehicles stopping,
         0.75 seconds for stopping at a stop sign.

Trains only stop long enough for a passing/oncoming train to clear a junction or switch. Elevated Rail/GLR and Monorail trains stop at the ends of transit enabled lots for some unknown reason, even if it is not a station.
The planes at airports are controlled via the game's Effects Directory. There is no easy way to edit this file at all since there are no editors to do so. The only way to make edits is in Hex format, and you have to know how the file is setup and functions. The best we can do is replace the automata models, which are used by the Effects Directory for the landing/launching planes and for the parked planes.

-Swamper77

[mightygoose]

so there is no easy way of creating custom effects... but a hex editor could in theory be made that could do it.

[jeronij]

Fukuda is working in an effects editor. He has a working version already. I dont know if it can do what you are looking for, but it is the closest tool to the one you mention that I am aware. I hope this helps 

[flame1396]

In wounagaine's X tool thread i heard someone say something about it being possible to animate props with it....

Don't know if its true.

[wouanagaine]

In wounagaine's X tool thread i heard someone say something about it being possible to animate props with it....

Don't know if its true.

Unfortunatly it is not true

[flame1396]

hmm... thats ok. Would have been the biggest breakthrough since sliced bread! 

[mattb325]

hmm... thats ok. Would have been the biggest breakthrough since sliced bread! 

Actually wounagain's tool is the biggest breakthrough since sliced bread. And he's buttered the bread as well and laid out a table full of condiments 

[smoncrie]

Well, I have been away for some time, but I do remember a tutorial on how to make animated props.  I don't remember his name but he used the same kind of animation as level crossing gates (Lots of texture files).  I remember that it did require a lot of work.

From my own observation, I have found another way to animate.  To test it, I created a prop that used Maxus's Autosaurus Wrecks animation.  It used the same kind of animation as the Ferris wheel in the state fair (lots S3D anim and vert entries). Again any custom animation would take a lot of work (and big files),  unless the animation was short and repetitive.  It could be used for water wheels or conveyer belts.

[Jonathan]

You mean you animated a model? ? ?  


Apparently you have to modify the raw hex

Anyway that lets have have True3D models on lots, so that even better marrast(?) underpasses are possible.

Btw, the Animating prop tutorial(with textures) is on the STEX by Denham2010

http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/index.cfm?page=1&Keyword=denham2010&view=all

I did not link to the actaul tutorial because this way you can download the demo/example.

EDIT: I believe that Wouanagaine made an unreleased tool that could animate?

[wouanagaine]

Animated props using ATC/AVP are possible, and done,  check Vil's windmill on the LEX

And using animation on S3D can be CPU consumming, I don't recommend them

[Jonathan]

But if you don't actually animate the model, the game should just make the model true3D as long as the model has been imported correctly into the reader?

[wouanagaine]

But if you don't actually animate the model, the game should just make the model true3D as long as the model has been imported correctly into the reader?

Yes, but a true 3D model means much more faces than a typical LOD, and usually more textures
I'm not sure the SC4 3D Engine is meant for such models ( more exactly for many models like that )
Also such S3D should be access using ResourceKeyType3 or 2 if I recall correctly ( one mesh for all zoom in all rotations )

[smoncrie]

I see that I am not the first one to try this, and as wouanagaine says, it is of limited use. But it should not be totally useless.   For example, the steam engine automata also uses this animation, and probably other automata do as well.

For one model for all zooms and rotation use resource key type 0, and the KSC4BuildingModelRotationProperty.

I should mention that you don't need a hex editor.  You  can do small animations by pasting into reader.

[Swamper77]

Automata do use animated models, but not normally for the main vehicle model. The emergency vehicles use animated models for their flashing/rotating lights. The steam engine is the only one that I know of that uses an animated model for the main vehicle model.

[mightygoose]

Well, I have been away for some time, but I do remember a tutorial on how to make animated props.  I don't remember his name but he used the same kind of animation as level crossing gates (Lots of texture files).  I remember that it did require a lot of work.

From my own observation, I have found another way to animate.  To test it, I created a prop that used Maxus's Autosaurus Wrecks animation.  It used the same kind of animation as the Ferris wheel in the state fair (lots S3D anim and vert entries). Again any custom animation would take a lot of work (and big files),  unless the animation was short and repetitive.  It could be used for water wheels or conveyer belts.

how about flashing neon lights at night time.... which for me is the easiest and most profoundly noticeable way to implement animated props... and in fact the reason i intially asked the question.

[wouanagaine]

how about flashing neon lights at night time.... which for me is the easiest and most profoundly noticeable way to implement animated props... and in fact the reason i intially asked the question.

Flashing neon light could be implemented as timed prop
But in order to have a quicker flashing effect, you may try the S3D way
look at the graffiti 0x5ad0e817-0xbadb57f1-0x1dc90000 in Simcity_1.dat, it is a 2 polygons ( a rectangle ) with 1 texture on it ( not bad for CPU, even better than a normal building ) with a 55 frames that just basically scale the original polygons and change the UV mapping
For flashing neon, you should do the same thing, 1 rectangle, 1 texture, with the upper part with no light, lower part with lightning, then do 1 frame with the UV map to the upper part, and do 1 frame with UV map to the lower part
I also think you'll have to play with material flags to make it alpha blend
You'll have a "cheap" flashing effect for free - no light casting.

If you want more transition between the lighted and non lighted picture, you're stuck with ATC/AVP