[UNIT] PPQ unit art and questions thread

[LPlate2]

+1 on Audacity; the samples for most of the building etc. sounds I made for RI I got from https://freesound.org/ - an absolutely enormous collection where you can find most anything.

Sound editing is probably the last type of modding that I’d go near (I don’t usually have sound on when playing) but there’s a lot of scope for importing sounds from that website. What are the standard durations that should be used for any sound files that are to be added?

 

[PPQ_Purple]

A good question.

 

[<Nexus>]

Sound editing is probably the last type of modding that I’d go near

I'm good with it, so if any of you need help with that you can call me

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

Sound editing is probably the last type of modding that I’d go near (I don’t usually have sound on when playing) but there’s a lot of scope for importing sounds from that website. What are the standard durations that should be used for any sound files that are to be added?

I've only ever made sounds for buildings using the samples from there. From my experience, 3-6 seconds (including the initial ding) work best. It actually takes quite a lot of imagination (and is among the most fun I've had working on Civ 4 mods) to abstract the function of a building to a short sound sample.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Is there anything special about the format and stuff I need to do to make sure sounds work? I am asking because some MP3's work perfectly out of the box whilst others give me a strange error "Audio System: could not set up 3d sample with Id0".

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

TBH, I just used wav instead, no way to go wrong (though of course a larger filesize). A lot of vanilla Civ 4 sound files are also wav, for Civ 4 purposes they seem to be interchangeable.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Sure, but like that requires converting the sound I download to waw. And that requires learning a new tool and stuff. And honestly I am busy and don't feel like doing that at this point in time.

 

[MightyToad]

And that requires learning a new tool and stuff.

There is nothing to it. You just import. Then export as wav. If you want to actually edit the file there is a slight learning curve, but it is not difficult at all. The older version of Audacity required installing the encoder for mp3 format separately since it was proprietary. But, apparently the new versions have it preinstalled since the patent expired.
https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/faq_installing_the_lame_mp3_encoder.html

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

And most (all?) of the samples at freesound.org are downloaded as wav anyway.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

And that's it than. I found and "fixed" the proper sound. Now I just have to go into post production and I'll have the truck done by the end of the week. Complete with "activate" and combat animations for the merchant and combat role.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

AND IT'S FINALLY DONE:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/cargo-truck.29513/

THE TRUCK IS COMPLETE

If anyone wants to use it I would appreciate it if you tested it out in the game and told me what you think of my solution to the problem of having an unarmed truck that still needs combat animations. And make sure to install the sound as it does not work without the sound.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

I updated the screenshots on the page to something that isn't ancient and godawful.

 

[rtt4a]

AND IT'S FINALLY DONE:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/cargo-truck.29513/

THE TRUCK IS COMPLETE

If anyone wants to use it I would appreciate it if you tested it out in the game and told me what you think of my solution to the problem of having an unarmed truck that still needs combat animations. And make sure to install the sound as it does not work without the sound.

Nice one, looks great in game.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Did you like the combat animations? I am particularly keen to hear what you people have to say about them.

 

[rtt4a]

Did you like the combat animations? I am particularly keen to hear what you people have to say about them.

Yes I like those, everything looks good in game

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Since I am doing C&C units lately it's only fair I give in to the old and proud traditions those games had, the Sneak Peak.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

Does anyone know the difference in practical terms between rangedstrike and strike animations? I mean, say I was making a tank and wanted to use two different attack animations so I rig it to use StrikeA and StrikeB instead of RangedStrike. How would that effect it in game generally?

 

[SaibotLieh]

Does anyone know the difference in practical terms between rangedstrike and strike animations? I mean, say I was making a tank and wanted to use two different attack animations so I rig it to use StrikeA and StrikeB instead of RangedStrike. How would that effect it in game generally?

In general, Strike animations are used in melee combat, while RangedStrike is used for ranged combat. Once one of two combatants goes into melee, the other one also will start using the Strike animations. While both combatants stay ranged, both will use the RangedStrike animation.

 

[MightyToad]

Also, the main difference seems to be the use of the hurta animation. Ranged only units typically don't use hurt I think ( I'm sure I will be proven wrong). If you set "<bActAsRanged>" to "0" the hurt animation is used, but not if it is "1". I haven't tested this thoroughly. A side effect of this is the units close the distance with "run" like a melee unit would.

 

[PPQ_Purple]

I see. So overall I can't get two different types of ranged attacks on a tank because it will try and close the range and generally just not work right.