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DarkBASIC Professional Discussion / Terrain Pack Download

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Lost in Thought
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 02:09
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Yes JerBil it has been reported here
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=34936&b=15

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DcZee
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 04:00
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Looks great,..demo ran at 120fps.

Advanced Terrain Plus! I hope it includes these functions:

Any idea the timing on the Plus! version?? The problem with limited versions is that our imaginations are not limited,...it hurts when u knwo certain commands should be there but they are not,..so then we do work arounds that actually dont have to be done a few weeks later,..then we strip and start it over again,...meh!

BUT,..whatever,..this is a very nice addition to the basic3d library,..thanks! (oh yes and htanks for 5.5,..5.4 was hurting me a lot hehe)
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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 05:21
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Wonderful, absolutely wonderful, I've been wanting decent landscape handling for quite a while now and this fits almost everything I want. The only thing that's missing is probably in the plus pack, LOD controls similar to ROAM to reduce the poly count where you can get away with it.

I have found a few issues, these aren't bugs, just queries:

The 'update terrain' command is not listed in the help files. (either that or I'm blind)

I found the demo runs faster, on average, if I remove the 'update terrain' command from the loop, strange. I'm running an AMD 2000+ (1.7ghz) with 512mb ram and 256mb APG*8 Gforce FX 5600.

I understand how the terrain system interperates 256 grey shade images, but how does it handle 16,24 and 32 bit images. Is it possible to create a 16bit height map which has the full 65536 precision?

I would also like to ask the same question Colin F is asking above, why are the texture and height maps 90 degrees out from each other in the demo?

Thanks and great work Mike, people have been very patient to wait for DBPro updates, and if this is anything to go by the wait has been well worth it!

Avan

Not everything in life is as it seems...
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indi
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 15:16
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YAY my small claim to fame is that mike asked me to help make a heightmap excellent new commands..keep up the good work fellas.

If no-one gives your an answer to a question you have asked, consider:- Is your question clear.- Did you ask nicely.- Are you showing any effort to solve the problem yourself
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JokerZ
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 15:27
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Richard wrote...
Quote: "I'll get Mike to confirm, but I'm very sure it will not work with any trial version of DBPro, full activated releases only.
"


Well I can confirm it for you It certainly doesn't work with my trial pack of dbpro.
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Phaelax
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 17:17
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set terrain split 1, 16

well how big is a mesh? how many polys? how do i set the max height of the terrain? how do i set the sizes of the terrain?

"eureka" - Archimedes
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adr
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 18:51
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Is it possible to have more than one terrain? I didn't see a "position terrain" command. I'm just thinking about making huuuge levels is all...

Floats like a butterfly, stings like when I pee
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Rpg Cyco
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 19:14
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Terrains are just like objects, so you can use the position object command, apparently.

One problem I've had is, I can't get a saved terrain to load with a texture...

- Rpg Cyco

http://www.rpgcyco.net | brad@rpgcyco.net
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Mike Johnson
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 19:17
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I'll get the commands in the keyword file for the editor when the final installer is built.

JerBil - Final release version will also fix the problem with calling "set display mode" causing a crash.

Colin F - The texture is rotated 90 degrees because of the texture coordinates in the terrain meshes. For now to align your texture properly you will have to rotate it as shown in the example.

jrowe - Adding a command so you can ignore automatic culling will sort this out. Then you can control the hiding / showing of limbs yourself. Will add this to the final version.

BealziBob - If you send me source code and media for what you're trying with the water I'll get a better understanding of what you're trying to do.

Walaber - I will check why things aren't working with the "make mesh from object" commands with the terrains.

Avan - Next installer will include the addition to the help files for "update terrain". When you call this function it will determine what parts of the terrain are visible / invisible and then hide or show them so the Basic 3D DLL knows what to draw. The height data is based off the red colour of the pixels in the height map so only takes into account 0 - 255.

Phaelax - The "set terrain split" command determines how the terrain is cut up. Instead of one large mesh the terrain is a collection of meshes. It's split up like a grid. So say you set the terrain split to 16 it will form a grid of 16 x 16 meshes. The amount of polygons in the terrain is determined from the size of the height map.

Adr - terrains are the same as any other 3D object within DB Pro. No need for a "position terrain" command because you can use "position object" on it. Any of the commands in Basic 3D will work on your terrain object. So yes you can make several terrains.

You will be able to download the Plus version and run it in trial mode for several days. Then you can try everything out and see what you think.

The Plus version will be released in a few weeks time. It will work in the same way as terrains in this pack but with the addition of new commands to handle things like LOD for example.

Mike
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Mike Johnson
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 19:18
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Rpg Cyco - the link to texturing isn't saved for now along with height data when saving the terrain. Will sort this for final release.

Mike
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ReD_eYe
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 21:11
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Can anyone provide an insight into the "Set Terrain Scale" and "Get Terrain X/Z Size()" Commands? What are you scaling the terrain from? And are the Get Terrain Size commands supposed to just return what you've scaled the terrain to? How would i scale it so that it was 5000x5000 DB units for instance?

Also, have you seen my bug report on positioning terrain?

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Surreal Studio IanG
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 22:01
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is there going to be a program which comes wth the plus version to make the terrain files - or do we have to use another porgram

PC Spec- AMD Athlon 2.0Ghz, GeForce FX5200 128mb, 512MB of ram, Win XP Home SP1

Error 0 = no error - how is this an error the???
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walaber
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Posted: 11th Jul 2004 22:42
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Mike - thanks for looking into that for me, as I said, it seems to work fine with a 64x64 heightmap, but a 128x128 causes a crash.

looking forward to the final release!

Go Go Gadget DBPRO!

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GameMaker Jason
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 00:19
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Does the terrain file format save the textures and can other object be placed on it and saved in the terrain file?

thanx

http://www.beehivestudios.tk/
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Mike Johnson
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 00:50
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ReD_eYe - when scaling the size is dependant on the actual height map. Take the map with the demo as an example. This is 256 x 256. If we set terrain scale to 1, 1, 1 the terrain will take up an area of 256 x 256 x 256. Now say we set terrain scale to 2, 1, 2 the terrain will now take up an area of 512 x 256 x 512. The get terrain size commands return the input values you passed into the scaling command. I'll sort the problem with positioning for the next release.

GameMaker Jason - in the next release I'll make it so the saved terrain file will store filename links to the textures so next time you load it will load the textures. You won't be able to place other objects on it and have these saved in the terrain.

Mike
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GameMaker Jason
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 00:57
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could i attack the as a limb the save it and would it be saved with the terrain that way?

http://www.beehivestudios.tk/
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Lampton Worm
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 02:44
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Woah... cool example! Look forward to playing with the commands in the plus pack (is there a list of the anticipated commands anywhere btw?

Possibly bug, I found that "set terrains split" crashes on all values I tried above 16, i.e. 32/64/128 - I may be doing something wrong? Just trying to set this running as fast as I can and the help says to bump the number up...

Cheers.
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ReD_eYe
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 02:55
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Thanks mike, now its much clearer

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GameMaker Jason
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 04:56
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where is the pro version located, how much is it and what are the extra commands?

thanx

http://www.beehivestudios.tk/
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Hamish McHaggis
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 05:11
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I believe Mike said the trial pro version will be released soon, and the full version in a week.

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AramusM
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 05:47
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One quick question. If for example I use the pay terrain plugin in a program I decide to give someone, how does the person I gave the program to end up with a licenced version of the dll? is the licence compiled into the main exe, or is a licence file added needed as well? Is there any information yet on distributing programs that contain the new web registerd plugin's? Will the people i give programs to have to register with TGC as well?(sorry if this has all been asked before but im lazy)
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Phaelax
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 06:22
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the dll is compiled into the app like any other dll im sure.

set terrain split crashes on me with 128. 32 works, 64 just sits there with a blank screen, 128 gives me a memory error.

"eureka" - Archimedes
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IanM
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 08:47
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You will be able to freely use the DLL in your own code.

The protection system is only active at compile-time. Once it is compiled into your app, your app will use it without problem.

The protection is not removed though, so if someone takes a copy of the DLL and use it with the compiler, they will need to register it in the standard way to activate it for them

*** Coming soon - Network Plug-in - Check my site for info ***
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Lampton Worm
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 09:09
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@Phaelax, ah - glad it's not just me then
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Gazzaden
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 11:21 Edited at: 12th Jul 2004 11:21
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I tried "set reflection shading on" on the terrain and the whole thing went blue. I have noticed that since 5.4 the reflection shading on command does this. I tried rotating the terrain 180 deg but of course now it is not drawing all the surfaces. Is that reflection bug going to be fixed?

Gazzaden
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Cortez
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 11:50
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Maybe I missed something, but what exactly does "The Advanced Terrain Expansion Pack" do? Is it a terrain editor?

Thanks
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Phaelax
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 12:10
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It's another form of a matrix, sort of. Creates land based on heightmaps, colormaps, and detail texture(a grass texture, etc..).

"eureka" - Archimedes
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Gazzaden
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Posted: 12th Jul 2004 18:54
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Hmmm, I just had a thought....? Is there a way to use an animated heightmap with this new terrain toold? That way we could have dynamic terrain items. I am focused on trying to make realistic water at the moment without vertex and pixel shading, as I only have a Radeon 7500.


Gazzaden
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Colin F
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Posted: 13th Jul 2004 06:05
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Thanks Mike for response Its a feature not a bug! Just need to know the ground rules for creating a new terrain. Is the rotation going to remain the same for a while and added as a comment to the online help as guidence for other users?

Colin F

Quote: "The texture is rotated 90 degrees because of the texture coordinates in the terrain meshes. For now to align your texture properly you will have to rotate it as shown in the example.
"
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HoverFrog
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Posted: 13th Jul 2004 11:20
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Hi Indi.

How do you manage to make a map like that? Are you just very talented or is there a way to make a nice precise height map?
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AtomR
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Posted: 13th Jul 2004 20:25
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There is. I havent tried it yet, but it seems to me that Geoscape 3d is perfect for this. You can download it if you follow the link in TGC homepage.

Take care
AtomR
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enablerbr
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Posted: 13th Jul 2004 20:44
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if you got the game farcry. you can use it's editor to make heightmaps. as it can save them.
oh i loved the fps on the example. my 400 celeron , geforce mx440se was doing a nice 41 - 90+. seeing as i only ever see 10 fps at most. i was impressed. so i can't wait to see what it'll run on my P4 3GHz , geforcefx 5950.
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Mika
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 06:22
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Hi everybody,

Once the terrain pack extension downloaded and installed, is there a special manipulation to perform in order to register it?

Every time I launch DB Pro (V5.5 update), the editor recall that few days are left to perform the terrain pack extension registration. I click so on the beautiful terrain icon which leads me to the gamecreators home page. But after ? What is the manipulation to perform?

Please help !

Regards

Michel
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AtomR
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 07:04 Edited at: 14th Jul 2004 07:05
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As far as I know, for now there is only available a trial version of the terrain pack. There is nothing you can do to prevent that.

Take care
AtomR
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enablerbr
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 08:05 Edited at: 14th Jul 2004 08:06
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been looking over the example and was wondering. i noticed the texture.bmp is a complete pre-painted image. what say if i didn't want to use 1 complete pre-painted image but wanted to paint various textures on the terrain instead along with bump mapping. would this be possible?
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JimB
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 16:44
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Are we going to be able to register the current Terrain pack trial
or do we have to let it expire?
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Necrym
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 19:04
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Great stuff these terrains, im gonna get the full thing for sure!
Tim im just wondering what other commands arre due in the official release if you can give some insight. Also will there be a commands to for example GET TERRAIN SPLIT(TerrainID,X,Z) to return the current split section we are on. This would be great as collision checks for objects can be segregated to ones only in the current split mesh.
Cheers

How many virtual trees make a virtual forest!
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Jess T
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 19:13
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Necrym,
This is the full version.

The only other version that is being released is an "expansion" which is called Terrain Plus and has a whole bunch of extra commands which costs money.

Jess.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Logical Engineer/All-Round Nice Guy
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Necrym
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 19:36
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Sorry my above post wasnt worded corectly - i realise thare is a plus expansion version that is what i meant by full version. My question refers to that plus edition.

How many virtual trees make a virtual forest!
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Jess T
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Posted: 14th Jul 2004 20:08
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Ah, ok, well, in that case, I do not know, but Mike did say that there would be a demo version released which works for 7 days. Should be nice to test it.

Jess.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Logical Engineer/All-Round Nice Guy
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Hamish McHaggis
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Posted: 15th Jul 2004 20:25
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Since I seem to be getting no response in the bug reports forum... are shaders meant to work with the terrains? I presume so as you say they're mean't to work with any other object commands. When I set bump mapping on, the whole terrain goes black.

Athelon XP 1600+/Radeon 9600 Pro/256 RAM
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OSX Using Happy Dude
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Posted: 15th Jul 2004 20:30
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I doubt you'll be able to get a definitive answer until Mike comes back...


Are you sensitive enough?
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Scraggle
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Posted: 15th Jul 2004 21:55
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People have obviously got this working without too many problems which makes me feel really stupid to ask this question but I have to ask:

Where the hell is it?

I have downloaded, installed and activated online but I can't find any commands, help files or demos.

I tried installing again but was told it was already installed - but where?

Please help!

S.O.S. Site Of Scraggle
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Rpg Cyco
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Posted: 15th Jul 2004 21:59 Edited at: 15th Jul 2004 22:09
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Help files and an example are located at:

Quote: "C:\Program Files\Dark Basic Software\Dark Basic Professional\Help\Advanced Terrain"


The actual commands aren't highlighted yet. No Keywords file was distributed.

- Rpg Cyco

http://www.rpgcyco.net | brad@rpgcyco.net
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Scraggle
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Posted: 15th Jul 2004 22:07
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Found it!

Thanks RPG Cyco

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Colin F
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Posted: 16th Jul 2004 04:31 Edited at: 16th Jul 2004 04:37
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Is there any way to register Terrain Pack Download or will it die tomorrow? It says it should be registered within 2 days of expiration. I have tried several times, but the registration for Dark Basic Pro does not activate the Terrain Pack Download.

Will the licence manager prompt/nag and not automatically close after the expiration period of Terrain Pack Download during Dark Basic Pro startup or can this be uninstalled?

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David T
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Posted: 16th Jul 2004 04:34
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Famous last words:

Quote: "But we are confident enough that it will be ready within the 7 days limit that we can give you the download link here and you can use it in "trial" mode until then."




Get 15 new commands, all the date / time commands left out of DBPro for free!
DOWNLOAD PLUGINS HERE: http://www.davidtattersall.me.uk/ and select "DarkBasic"
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Surreal Studio IanG
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Posted: 16th Jul 2004 04:43
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you can re-register it as a trial

PC Spec- AMD Athlon 2.0Ghz, GeForce FX5200 128mb, 512MB of ram, Win XP Home SP1

Error 0 = no error - how is this an error the???
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Colin F
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Posted: 16th Jul 2004 05:00 Edited at: 16th Jul 2004 05:02
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The licence expiration is for Terrain Pack not Dark Basic Pro, that licence is fine, but I do not want to uninstall and reinstall DBPro just remove the licence manager Nag for Terrain Pack and get it working again. It would be getting almost as good as Microsoft Windows shutdown/restart for device drivers etc!
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Gazzaden
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Posted: 16th Jul 2004 17:20 Edited at: 16th Jul 2004 17:21
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My terrain trial just expired, what do I need to do to get it going again? I was having great fun with it.

Gazzaden
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