a few questions

[edorien]

First
I have been attempting to write deds for various models on the to-do list, yet with some, while the model is visible, the skin is wrong, is this related to the ded file or the model itself. This is occuring for mace and phoenix rod ammo (both types)

I've just check the models over in gmax and it appears that the skins don't wrap round the model fully, in both cases.
With the mace half of eack ball is textured only
With the rod ammo, the skins are way too small to fit fully round the egg

Second
The shadowsphere appears visible only when viewing it's front.
Again is this related to the ded file?

Third
Where in heretic are the volcano and rocky gibs used?

Fourth
With the liche/floating skull which attack corresponds to the tornado/star?

[Slyrr]

Good questions - I'll try to answer them even though I'm not skyjake -

1) There were TWO phoenix ammo models - one large, and one small, to correspond with both the inferno orb and the flame orb. The inferno orb has 3 'flames' cradled in the object (hopefully to be represented by particle emitters) and the flame orb to have one small emitter.
It's possible that you may be trying to put the wrong skin onto the wrong models in this matter - you may be trying, for example, to apply the skin for the flame orb to the inferno orb and vice-versa.
Another possibility is that with the MD2 model exporter, the skins don't appear in the QVIEW modeller to be on properly unless you 'flip' them, either horizontally or vertically, I can't remember which. You may need to go into photoshop or whatever and flip the skin, then apply it. See if either of those work. The exporters have some wierd mojo that Skyjake knew how to deal with off the cuff, but no one else is aware of.

2) Yes, the shadowsphere is only visible from the front. If you check the JDOOM soulsphere, megasphere, and other powerups, they are done the same way. Essentially, if a model is "round" like the soulsphere or the shadowsphere, you can get away with doing what the original DOOM sprites do all the time - that is, to 'rotate' and face the player no matter where he is standing. With the sprites, for example, you can look at a dead body or a map decoration, and circle strafe around it at top speed. But no matter where in the map you choose to run to, the sprite will always be facing you head on - so it looks like the body is 'spinning' on the floor. This is to make an illusion that the 2D sprite has 3 dimensions when it doesn't. If the sprite didn't rotate, it would wink out of view when looking at it from the side.
But with objects like the shadowsphere, this doesn't matter. They'll always be round, so spinning around them creates no visible difference, even if they are only 2D. To optimize polygons and reduce strain on people's computers, Skyjake merely took more highly detailed 3D objects and made them behave just like the 2D sprites - that is to say, they 'rotate' to face you no matter where you're standing. This way you can add more detail to the object and not have to worry about it being represented in 3D space and taxing a system already hit hard by waves and waves of 3D animated monsters.
So you're not seeing things - the Shadowsphere is only meant to be 'visible' from the front. Ask skyjake to tell you how to engineer this, I have no idea..... (Sorry to destroy any illusions, but that's how they work)

3) In Heretic, the volcano gibs are used in those maps like "RIVER OF FIRE" in episode 2, map 2, where there are volcanos that spit out flaming rocks that explode into lava bursts on the ground and hurt you.
The rocky gibs are meant to be used for the death of the Iron Liche. Also, they should be scaled down and used for the GOLEMS when they suffer an extreme damage death - it's meant to be their 'gibs' since they can't have organic gibs like the organic monsters.

4) The star is to be used for the spiky blue ice ball the Liche shoots. The tornado is to be used of course, when the Liche unleashes a tornado at you.

Hope that helps - if it don't, get back to me as I still have all the original models on my HD.

Slyrr

[edorien]

thanks, didn't think of that.

Edit;
Ok i've checked, and the skins are linked to the right files, yet the texture are still wrong, each 'ball' of the mace ammos, appears half-black and half-white, the phoenix orbs appear entirely white.

Next
I've for the volcano, while the rocks and sprites appear from the volcano and take different paths, then when they break into the smaller rocks flicker into and out of existance. Any ideas whats wrong.

Next
how does one instruct the engine to move between animation frames.

Next
A comment on the skins, (no offense intended)
the flaming skull projectile for the golem, may be just a little bit to yellow, in game, it... well looks like ... pacman.

[edorien]

One more question
What part of the animation is the phoenix meant for? ( when the projectile hits the target or during the motion of the target)

deds for hellstaff ammo, shadowsphere sent to skyjake.
golem/liche / volcano - tweaking smoke trails/ animations.

[Slyrr]

I don't know anything about the actual coding - outside of making and exporting the models, my knowledge fails. You're right about the skull, I was thinking of re-doing it anyway. I'll re-submit the whole thing soon.
The phoenix bird was intended to be the projectile shot for the phoneix staff - the thing that actually 'shoots' arcross the screen.
I have no idea why the skins for the mace/phoenix ammo are doing that. Can you open them on photoshop and view the images? Do they appear to be corrupted or invalid?

[edorien]

they appear fine in photoshop

Edit ; tornado drop
there may be a slight problem with the liches tornado.
when you get caught in it the frame rate drops from 126.3 fps to 90.5 fps
(P4 3.0 ghz 512mb ram, 128mb radeon 9700)

Edit 2:
getting same problem as with rod ammo with the Golem-flame.md2/skin.
So using multiple particle generator instead

[edorien]

Update
Liche, golem, mace /rod projectiles finished and mailed to skyjake.
Golem using particle trail.