Long time no see.., thoughts on Breakthrough Options

[FaG KillA]

Hey guys how is everyone doing? I thought I would drop by and say hey to some old friends and pass on some BT info for ya. It's good to see Druid back in the mix and nice to see you guys competing again.

I have been running a dedicated box again for a little bit and switched to Breakthrough the day after it came out so here's some thoughts. First CI and MAM run fine, as does my weapons mod after I added the new guns. Guns work MUCH better than Spearhead and all guns are working like the original game so this was a big improvement.

Next the CPU utilization is 50 to 70 percent lower than Spearhead and is almost identical to MOHAA so you should see server prices go way down on this one, also another big plus. There are 9 maps and to be honest this is the best selection of quality maps among the 3 games. At least 6 of them are real keepers and I have yet to have anyone say this map totally sucks. Most of them are just the right size and they provide a mix of tactics and scenery.

However there are 2 issues with almost all the maps to be totally fair. First these guys were great map makers but they put the spawn points in HORRIBLE places and all close together. There is horrendous spawn raping on stock servers and that is a major bad. Fortunately I have months ago, mastered the way to script changing any spawn point in a stock map (server side) so I have already changed all te spawns on 2 maps on my server and am working on changing all the spawns on several more. Once the spawns have been changed the maps play really good so this is a totally fixable problem. Second these guys went wild with the textures and although most maps look REALLY beautiful they are hard on people with older systems. I am constantly telling people to turn down their detail settings and it will make an average system sweat.

The final pluses are the net code has definitely been tweaked and it runs much smoother than Spearhead, although NOT as good as the original. Also Pure is working properly so I will be changing my server to a pure one meaning the cheating is at least for now abated.

On the bad side, the game is still not as smooth as the first one, the butt scoot is still there although not nearly as much and to be honest it is rare to see it when you use a weapons mod and play with realism on.

all in all I see this as the best long term life for MOHAA since the incorporation of some decent cheat protection, better net code and some nice maps should mean that most MOHAA people I would expect to see switch over to BT.

Anyway, just thought I would pop in and give you guys my 2 cents... hope you all are doing well..

peace...
FK

[Epacy]

Good to see you back. Stop by again.

[Druid]

Thanks for the BT evaluation.
I would be very interested to find out how to change spawn points server side.
If you could email me some info about it, please do.

[SOKHAR_[H]]

me too still have not figuered that one out

[All over but the Crying]

do you guys plan on giving CoD a good looking at when it comes out in a couple of weeks? I think much of the modding will be similar since it runs off of a modified version of the same engine and is made by the same people.

[SOKHAR_[H]]

maybe but I have to say I hate the croos hair thing in that game where it gets a bigger spray pattern as you move

[Immigrant]

ditto sokhar, thats the only bad thing about it, other than that nice res, nice gameplay and i am interested how the Multiplayer llooks like....

peace

[All over but the Crying]

certainly that can be modded but I think you two will come to like it when you get used to it.

[Immigrant]

i guess, but gotta play some BT first.....im cheap and had a friend make me a copy to try....i plan on buying it later thou....

peace

[SOKHAR_[H]]

well the first day I get my hands on it you can bet I will start modding it LOL nothing is ever good enough

[JP]

the game looks great, I was playing on the holland map and damn the graphics are good

[=C O M= Bouncer]

[Druid]

Thanks Bounce.
It's to bad this can't be done it AA, it would fix the single biggest problem on most custom maps.

[FaG KillA]

Hey guys sorry for the delayed response, I have been out of town a bunch in the last few weeks so here goes. There are 2 ways to change spawn points one involves server side scripting only, the other changes the entire map and both work in any version of MOHAA. I use the server side method for stock maps and the custom version for custom maps since people have to download those anyway. First the custom maps:

Open the maps bsp file with a hex editor which is located in the pk3 the same place that the script file is located. If you scroll through the code you will come to a section that shows clear text so it is readable which has some info about the map such as farplane, spawns, ect. This section always starts with the worldspawn command and so far has been in every map I have seen, stock included. Once you scroll through this section you will see all the spawn points listed for axis, allies, and deathmatch. The easiest way to delete these points is to replace the axis and allies text with z's or x's as shown in the example below. REMEMBER that you are editing hex code so you HAVE to use exactly the same amount of charachters, do NOT delete any charachters or spaces or the map is hosed. Here is what I mean;

This is cut from a map file

{
"classname" "info_player_axis"
"angle" "180"
"origin" "112 -1928 576"
}
{
"classname" "info_player_allied"
"angle" "270"
"origin" "-104 3656 1182"
}


and changed to this;
{
"classname" "info_player_zzzz"
"angle" "180"
"origin" "112 -1928 576"
}
{
"classname" "info_player_zzzzzz"
"angle" "270"
"origin" "-104 3656 1182"
}

Once you do this to all the spawns save the map and replace the bsp in the pk3 with this new one. Now you only have to add the spawns in the script file and you are done.

Now to cover how to delete spawns server side which as you have guessed is through the script file. First open the script file and open the bsp map file in a viewer such as wordpad. Find the worldspawn section in the map file that we just talked about in the last section and find the spawns just like before. The concept here is very simple and that is we are going to spawn an invisible crate lid in the EXACT location of the spawn point. This will negate the spawn and the program will move on the spawns you create in the script (we will cover this later). I have done this with MOHAA maps, Spearhead maps, and BT maps and they all work with no problem. I also have even switched sides and I have yet to have a game revert even once to an old spawn point so you should have no issues. Here is an example of what I mean;


local.fix20 = spawn script_model
local.fix20 model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20.origin = ( 2016.00 1656.00 308.00 )
local.fix20.angles = ( 0 90 0 )
local.fix20 solid
local.fix20 nodamage
local.fix20 immune bullet
local.fix20 immune fast_bullet
local.fix20 immune bash
local.fix20 immune mg
local.fix20 immune explosion
local.fix20 hide

local.fix20a = spawn script_model
local.fix20a model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20a.origin = ( -2750.00 -1865.00 644.00 )
local.fix20a.angles = ( 0 270 0 )
local.fix20a solid
local.fix20a nodamage
local.fix20a immune bullet
local.fix20a immune fast_bullet
local.fix20a immune bash
local.fix20a immune mg
local.fix20a immune explosion
local.fix20a hide

The crate lid is invisible to players and you will walk over it easily without even noticing it is there so this whole process is seamless to players. Make sure you have an entry fro EVERY spawn in the map file that is assigned to axis and allies and you do NOT have to cancel the spawns for the deathmatch. This can take a while and on some maps you will have 30 plus entries but it is the only way to do this server side. The advantage to doing it this way is you are making all changes in the script file so people do not have to download anything and you can do this any time you want. I have a pk3 on my server with ALL the stock map scripts and I add spawn changes to the stock maps at my leasure.

Now that we have deleted the old spawns one way or the other as explained above , lets make the new spawns. Whichever method above you chose to go with to delet the spawns, making new ones is the same and is again accomplished in the script file. All you have to do is follow the example below;

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1756 2733 168 )
local.player.angle = -161

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -2747 -806 385 )
local.player.angle = 38

You can add as many of these as you want, but I would NOT go over 24 total spawn points in that I have found some issues with the cycle of spawns if you exceed this. As in all scripting make SURE you have spaces between the numbers and the ( ) or they will not work, also the angle works so you can face the player any way you want when scripting. There is only one other VERY improtant thing you must do here for this to work. These and ONLY these spawn entries MUST be in the script BEFORE the "level waitTill prespawn" and "level waittill spawn" commands. If not they will not work. Here is a portion of my script from Brest to demonstrate;

// Brest


main:


level.script = maps/dm/mp_brest_dm.scr
level.music = mp_brest_dm

// set scoreboard messages
setcvar "g_obj_alliedtext1" "Brest"
setcvar "g_obj_alliedtext2" ""
setcvar "g_obj_alliedtext3" "Map Enhancements"
setcvar "g_obj_axistext1" "by"
setcvar "g_obj_axistext2" "FK"
setcvar "g_obj_axistext3" ""

setcvar "g_scoreboardpic" "mp_brest_dm"


// call additional stuff for playing this map round based is needed
if(level.roundbased)
thread roundbasedthread



//*** Precache Dm Stuff
exec global/DMprecache.scr

exec global/ambient.scr
exec global/door_locked.scr


local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1264 -308 296 )
local.player.angle = 135

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 556 783 448 )
local.player.angle = 148

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1222 929 268 )
local.player.angle = -162

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1344 1586 232 )
local.player.angle = -121

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1999 1823 168 )
local.player.angle = 127

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1205 2724 168 )
local.player.angle = -64

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( -308 2542 224 )
local.player.angle = -16

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( -753 2380 384 )
local.player.angle = -62

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( -682 2361 576 )
local.player.angle = -53

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( -411 2343 224 )
local.player.angle = -71

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 434 1307 252 )
local.player.angle = 130

local.player = spawn info_player_axis
local.player.origin = ( 1756 2733 168 )
local.player.angle = -161

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -2747 -806 385 )
local.player.angle = -38

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -2657 -2061 644 )
local.player.angle = 59

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -1555 -2194 399 )
local.player.angle = 110

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -1404 -1884 568 )
local.player.angle = -47

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -1067 -2102 408 )
local.player.angle = 39

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -2342 488 380 )
local.player.angle = -38

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -1479 -845 416 )
local.player.angle = -131

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -2578 -2076 416 )
local.player.angle = 77

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -521 -2010 416 )
local.player.angle = 135

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -1340 -1074 416 )
local.player.angle = 62

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -1555 -799 676 )
local.player.angle = -113

local.player = spawn info_player_allied
local.player.origin = ( -2455 -2232 392 )
local.player.angle = 60


//////////////////////////////
level waitTill prespawn
//////////////////////////////

level waittill spawn

waitframe

$world farplaneclipcolor "0.75 0.75 0.90"

local.p_nebelwerfer1 = spawn models/statweapons/p_nebelwerfer.tik
local.p_nebelwerfer1.origin = ( 1108.00 1441.00 300.00 )
local.p_nebelwerfer1.angles = ( 0 -104 0 )
local.p_nebelwerfer1 thread global/stationaryweapons.scr::MountedStationaryWeaponWithCollision "models/statweapons/nebelwerfer_d.tik"
local.p_nebelwerfer1_turret0 pitchcaps ( -30 60 0 )
local.p_nebelwerfer1_turret0 maxyawoffset "50"
local.p_nebelwerfer1 solid
local.p_nebelwerfer1 nodamage
local.p_nebelwerfer1 immune bullet
local.p_nebelwerfer1 immune fast_bullet
local.p_nebelwerfer1 immune bash
local.p_nebelwerfer1 immune mg
local.p_nebelwerfer1 immune explosion


local.p_nebelwerfer2 = spawn models/statweapons/p_nebelwerfer.tik
local.p_nebelwerfer2.origin = ( 854.00 2349.00 300.00 )
local.p_nebelwerfer2.angles = ( 0 -152 0 )
local.p_nebelwerfer2 thread global/stationaryweapons.scr::MountedStationaryWeaponWithCollision "models/statweapons/nebelwerfer_d.tik"
local.p_nebelwerfer2_turret0 pitchcaps ( -30 60 0 )
local.p_nebelwerfer2_turret0 maxyawoffset "50"
local.p_nebelwerfer2 solid
local.p_nebelwerfer2 nodamage
local.p_nebelwerfer2 immune bullet
local.p_nebelwerfer2 immune fast_bullet
local.p_nebelwerfer2 immune bash
local.p_nebelwerfer2 immune mg
local.p_nebelwerfer2 immune explosion

local.fix1 = spawn script_model
local.fix1 model "vehicles/opeltruck_d.tik"
local.fix1.origin = ( -2150.00 -1600.00 380.00 )
local.fix1.angles = ( 0 90 0 )
local.fix1 solid
local.fix1 nodamage
local.fix1 immune bullet
local.fix1 immune fast_bullet
local.fix1 immune bash
local.fix1 immune mg
local.fix1 immune explosion

local.fix20 = spawn script_model
local.fix20 model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20.origin = ( 2016.00 1656.00 308.00 )
local.fix20.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20 solid
local.fix20 nodamage
local.fix20 immune bullet
local.fix20 immune fast_bullet
local.fix20 immune bash
local.fix20 immune mg
local.fix20 immune explosion
local.fix20 hide

local.fix20a = spawn script_model
local.fix20a model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20a.origin = ( -2750.00 -1865.00 644.00 )
local.fix20a.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20a solid
local.fix20a nodamage
local.fix20a immune bullet
local.fix20a immune fast_bullet
local.fix20a immune bash
local.fix20a immune mg
local.fix20a immune explosion
local.fix20a hide

local.fix20b = spawn script_model
local.fix20b model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20b.origin = ( -1434.00 -2117.00 409.00 )
local.fix20b.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20b solid
local.fix20b nodamage
local.fix20b immune bullet
local.fix20b immune fast_bullet
local.fix20b immune bash
local.fix20b immune mg
local.fix20b immune explosion
local.fix20b hide

local.fix20c = spawn script_model
local.fix20c model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20c.origin = ( -2798.00 -1633.00 416.00 )
local.fix20c.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20c solid
local.fix20c nodamage
local.fix20c immune bullet
local.fix20c immune fast_bullet
local.fix20c immune bash
local.fix20c immune mg
local.fix20c immune explosion
local.fix20c hide

local.fix20d = spawn script_model
local.fix20d model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20d.origin = ( -2830.00 -1497.00 397.00 )
local.fix20d.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20d solid
local.fix20d nodamage
local.fix20d immune bullet
local.fix20d immune fast_bullet
local.fix20d immune bash
local.fix20d immune mg
local.fix20d immune explosion
local.fix20d hide

local.fix20e = spawn script_model
local.fix20e model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20e.origin = ( -2586.00 -1064.00 397.00 )
local.fix20e.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20e solid
local.fix20e nodamage
local.fix20e immune bullet
local.fix20e immune fast_bullet
local.fix20e immune bash
local.fix20e immune mg
local.fix20e immune explosion
local.fix20e hide

local.fix20f = spawn script_model
local.fix20f model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20f.origin = ( -1438.00 -985.00 416.00 )
local.fix20f.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20f solid
local.fix20f nodamage
local.fix20f immune bullet
local.fix20f immune fast_bullet
local.fix20f immune bash
local.fix20f immune mg
local.fix20f immune explosion
local.fix20f hide

local.fix20g = spawn script_model
local.fix20g model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20g.origin = ( 2020.00 1844.00 172.00 )
local.fix20g.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20g solid
local.fix20g nodamage
local.fix20g immune bullet
local.fix20g immune fast_bullet
local.fix20g immune bash
local.fix20g immune mg
local.fix20g immune explosion
local.fix20g hide

local.fix20h = spawn script_model
local.fix20h model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20h.origin = ( 1332.00 1656.00 344.00 )
local.fix20h.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20h solid
local.fix20h nodamage
local.fix20h immune bullet
local.fix20h immune fast_bullet
local.fix20h immune bash
local.fix20h immune mg
local.fix20h immune explosion
local.fix20h hide

local.fix20i = spawn script_model
local.fix20i model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20i.origin = ( 1816.00 2784.00 172.00 )
local.fix20i.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20i solid
local.fix20i nodamage
local.fix20i immune bullet
local.fix20i immune fast_bullet
local.fix20i immune bash
local.fix20i immune mg
local.fix20i immune explosion
local.fix20i hide

local.fix20j = spawn script_model
local.fix20j model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20j.origin = ( 1216.00 2736.00 172.00 )
local.fix20j.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20j solid
local.fix20j nodamage
local.fix20j immune bullet
local.fix20j immune fast_bullet
local.fix20j immune bash
local.fix20j immune mg
local.fix20j immune explosion
local.fix20j hide

local.fix20k = spawn script_model
local.fix20k model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20k.origin = ( 1316.00 1568.00 240.00 )
local.fix20k.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20k solid
local.fix20k nodamage
local.fix20k immune bullet
local.fix20k immune fast_bullet
local.fix20k immune bash
local.fix20k immune mg
local.fix20k immune explosion
local.fix20k hide

local.fix20l = spawn script_model
local.fix20l model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20l.origin = ( 1824.00 2704.00 172.00 )
local.fix20l.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20l solid
local.fix20l nodamage
local.fix20l immune bullet
local.fix20l immune fast_bullet
local.fix20l immune bash
local.fix20l immune mg
local.fix20l immune explosion
local.fix20l hide

local.fix20m = spawn script_model
local.fix20m model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20m.origin = ( 2096.00 1640.00 308.00 )
local.fix20m.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20m solid
local.fix20m nodamage
local.fix20m immune bullet
local.fix20m immune fast_bullet
local.fix20m immune bash
local.fix20m immune mg
local.fix20m immune explosion
local.fix20m hide

local.fix20n = spawn script_model
local.fix20n model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20n.origin = ( 1340.00 1744.00 344.00 )
local.fix20n.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20n solid
local.fix20n nodamage
local.fix20n immune bullet
local.fix20n immune fast_bullet
local.fix20n immune bash
local.fix20n immune mg
local.fix20n immune explosion
local.fix20n hide

local.fix20o = spawn script_model
local.fix20o model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20o.origin = ( 1236.00 1648.00 344.00 )
local.fix20o.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20o solid
local.fix20o nodamage
local.fix20o immune bullet
local.fix20o immune fast_bullet
local.fix20o immune bash
local.fix20o immune mg
local.fix20o immune explosion
local.fix20o hide

local.fix20p = spawn script_model
local.fix20p model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20p.origin = ( 1268.00 1720.00 344.00 )
local.fix20p.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20p solid
local.fix20p nodamage
local.fix20p immune bullet
local.fix20p immune fast_bullet
local.fix20p immune bash
local.fix20p immune mg
local.fix20p immune explosion
local.fix20p hide

local.fix20q = spawn script_model
local.fix20q model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20q.origin = ( -1338.00 -2117.00 409.00 )
local.fix20q.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20q solid
local.fix20q nodamage
local.fix20q immune bullet
local.fix20q immune fast_bullet
local.fix20q immune bash
local.fix20q immune mg
local.fix20q immune explosion
local.fix20q hide

local.fix20r = spawn script_model
local.fix20r model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20r.origin = ( -1026.00 -2117.00 409.00 )
local.fix20r.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20r solid
local.fix20r nodamage
local.fix20r immune bullet
local.fix20r immune fast_bullet
local.fix20r immune bash
local.fix20r immune mg
local.fix20r immune explosion
local.fix20r hide

local.fix20s = spawn script_model
local.fix20s model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20s.origin = ( -2798.00 -1801.00 416.00 )
local.fix20s.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20s solid
local.fix20s nodamage
local.fix20s immune bullet
local.fix20s immune fast_bullet
local.fix20s immune bash
local.fix20s immune mg
local.fix20s immune explosion
local.fix20s hide

local.fix20t = spawn script_model
local.fix20t model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20t.origin = ( -2590.00 -2089.00 644.00 )
local.fix20t.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20t solid
local.fix20t nodamage
local.fix20t immune bullet
local.fix20t immune fast_bullet
local.fix20t immune bash
local.fix20t immune mg
local.fix20t immune explosion
local.fix20t hide

local.fix20u = spawn script_model
local.fix20u model "static/cratelid1.tik"
local.fix20u.origin = ( -2750.00 -1953.00 644.00 )
local.fix20u.angles = ( 0 0 0 )
local.fix20u solid
local.fix20u nodamage
local.fix20u immune bullet
local.fix20u immune fast_bullet
local.fix20u immune bash
local.fix20u immune mg
local.fix20u immune explosion
local.fix20u hide


end



This shows you the exact placement of the 2 different types of scripting. You can also script other thing in the map like before just make sure the spawns are in the seperate area.

Hope this is clear enough and if you need further explanation just ask. I have respawned almost all the maps on my server stock or otherwise and I ALWAYS respawn any custom map right away before I even put it up for download. It dramatically changes and enhances the gameplay and has made a world of difference sine I spread the spawns out to avoid the spawn killing.

This post has been edited by FaG KillA: 10/08/03 10:25am

[Druid]

Great info.
thanks