Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

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Amboss
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Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Amboss »

Hello,

Do you create mods for LS or are interested in learning more about it? Well, we would like to invite you to our very first Modding Teamspeak Chat in English on Monday, 9th of May 7pm BST. We’ve tested this call in the German community for a while now (it’s the native language for most of us here) and it lead to some very exciting discussions about modding for the Farming Simulator.

So feel welcome to join and ask questions, share tips and tricks or suggest something for the future. Just please remember that the call is supposed to help modders get the most out of their mods and it’s not meant to be a “Get news about FS 17 development” call. Surely you can ask questions but please keep them modding related.

Christian Ammann aka “int” from GIANTS Software will be your host on our Teamspeak server. Please reply to this thread with “I want to take part” to reserve your slot. I’ll send you the login details for the Teamspeak server via private message before the call.

To make it easier for the start, feel free to post some initial questions you would like to have answers to or problems you encountered while modding here in this thread. It might be easier to “break the ice” in the beginning by just going through them first.

Greetings,
Amboss












edit bassaddict - transcript from the session:

General information:
-Video tutorials and "Modding for dummies" PDF available for free on GDN (GIANTS Developer Network, https://gdn.giants-software.com/ )
-Lots of optimizations has been made when creating the console version
-Traffic vehicles moved from script to engine in FS15, CPU time per frame went down from about 15ms to 0.3ms (factor 50)
-Game development: huge feature list, impossible to implement everything, from feature planning to implementation and game release takes about 3-4 years
-FarmCon in German like a testrun, if it's a success, could be possible to do one in english eventually


modding general:
-Testing mods in MP should always be done with at least 3 people to make sure sync from client to host and host to clients work as intended
-One should not rely on the mod loading order, there are several ways and hacks to avoid the dependence on the loading order
-Using dynamicallyLoadedParts saves VRAM, editing easier since there's only one instance to edit
-ObjectMask is used to exclude objects from certain render passes, like reflection, can be left on default for most things
-many foliageMultiLayers with few foliageSubLayers vs vice versa: just a different structure, shouldn't affect performance
-Dedicated Server interface uses heuristics to show warnings, shows what could be a problem, not what a problem is, too much vs too little information
-Better script documentation planned for FS17, should be released way sooner than for FS15
-Only register fruitType for cuttable/harvestable crops, otherwise only register fillType
-Sound recording and ingame setup depends on personal preferences
-FillVolumes system is very complex, the shape should be simple, flat top and bottom plane, no vertices within those planes
-Setting proper clipDistances very important to achieve a good performance on a map
-LOD (Level Of Detail) can improve the performance even more, but not necessary for mod maps, basically consist of high res model for close distance and low res model for far distance
-proper saving of mod settings: create a folder like "mods_config" on the same level as the mods folder and store the settings in an XML file, don't save non-savegame specific stuff in mods folder
-Metalness textures like in Unreal Engine 4, using Physically Based Rendering
-UE4 is a game engine for many games, should support more generic features
-GIANTS Engine only for FS, need only support for FS specific features
-Similar approach in FS, but has only half the memory usage
-Blender Animation currently not supported by the i3d exporter
-someone with programming knowledge could implement it, since Blender and the exporter are both open source


feature wishes (just wishes, nothing confirmed):
-Dedicated server heuristic available for SP to locate possible problems easier
-Fertilizing grass fields with manure or slurry
-Dynamic ground like in Spintires
-Crops following the actual sowing direction
-Road creation tool in GE to create roads and align them to the terrain easily
-Smaller vehicles with less than 100hp and suitable tools
-Fast field status scanning (Field Status mod)
-Proper PTO power usage depending on working tool troughput
-Flexible hoses for slurry tankers
-Tip anywhere
-More placeable objects in the base game
-Pivot axles
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Yelibam
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Yelibam »

I want to take part. Thanks.
Jack_6820
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Jack_6820 »

I want to take part
Connor-Tindall
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Connor-Tindall »

I want to take part, thank for taking the time to do this in English!
cfarrar
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by cfarrar »

I want to take part
JohnDeere1952
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by JohnDeere1952 »

I would like to participate also.
Dorset_FS_UK
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Dorset_FS_UK »

I want to take part
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benw11
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by benw11 »

I want to take part in this,
fsmodding
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by fsmodding »

I want to take part..

My question, Will Giants ever move over to the Metalness Texture Work Flow, like used in other engines, UE4 For example, A Sample Setup From Ark Game: Built in UE4

https://sites.google.com/a/studiowildca ... Format.gif

The image Describes How materials are setup for Metallic and Non Metallic Work Flows ?

Thanks
Gary
FSModding
Last edited by fsmodding on Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Image
rh (NI Modding)
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by rh (NI Modding) »

Myself, Sam123 and PeterJ would like to attend. Many thanks
SamN
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by SamN »

I want to take part
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Nordvarg
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Nordvarg »

Great idea! :) I want to take part.

Question: Will a future version of the Blender exporter support exporting animations?

All the best!
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Silver.TV
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Silver.TV »

Hello, if possible I would like to join this event.
Thanks, Silver.TV
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rwm
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by rwm »

I want to take part.

Q. With Blender when exporting to GE you have to add a modifier to your model "edge split" for the effect with shadows, this creates a load more poly's just to remove some unwanted shadows, is this something on Blenders side or can it be address on Giants side?. Personally would like to keep models as low poly, as possible.
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Decker_MMIV
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Re: Official modding teamspeak call (English) May9th

Post by Decker_MMIV »

I want to take part.

Some of my questions:

Decker-#1)
'<dynamicallyLoadedParts>' in the vehicle XML file - When this got added to FS15, was it purely for reducing/optimizing the number of 'similar shape'-objects that most vehicles have (i.e. same kind of tires)?
Or were there also some hidden hope that modders in the community would "discover" this new feature and actually make use of it?

Decker-#2)
'<FoliageSubLayer ... objectMask="65520" ...>' - That attribute 'objectMask' still eludes me with what its purpose actually is.
What is it used for and what valueset may it contain?

Decker-#3)
Regarding number of <FoliageMultiLayer>s in a map - What would be more performance optimal, regarding rendering and network-traffic;
- having many foliage-multi-layers consisting of very few foliage-sub-layers (not index-typed) using at most 1-3 'numChannels', or
- having fewer foliage-multi-layers consisting of as many foliage-sub-layers (not index-typed) that can be contained within the 'numChannels' maximum?

Decker-#4)
Registering additional/new fruit-types... or should it only be registered as fill-types, if there is not a corresponding foliage-sub-layer for the additional "fruit-type"?
When I look at FSUtils.LUA the 'Utils.updateDestroyCommonArea()' function, it looks like there could be a performance optimization, to instruct modders that they should only register a new fruit-type when there actually is a foliage-sub-layer for it.

Decker-#5)
Drivable.LUA - What were the design reason (or reasons) for having the 'drawVehicleHud()' function be placed in the non-published scripts (i.e. in the 'g_currentMission')?
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