Potentially wicked new way to use Girder

[quixote]

OK, this is a little bit of a long shot, but I was browsing the web and I came across this HalfLife 2 mod. (For those of you that don't know what HalfLife 2 is, it's one of the coolest games to be recently released, if not the coolest game) It's called Garry's Mod, and it relies heavily on LUA.
Here are a couple of links: http://gmod.garry.tv/ and http://www.garrysmod.com/

OK, here's what I would like to know -- if you scripted an object to trigger a Girder event, would it work from the game? This may be a question for the mod designer, but I wanted to start here before I register for the forum over there. If that would work, we could design our appartments in the game and move around in the virtual appartment, turning on/off lights, the audio video stuff, etc. I think it would be a very freaky and cool experience, almost as if you are having an out of body experience. :D

Can anyone tell me if they think this will work? Thanks!

[Mastiff]

If you do that, I'll be downloading that mod pretty soon! All though I have to disagree, I think Quake 4 is better. But that's because I like to blast like crazy, not solve puzzles! :)

[blubberhoofd]

hi,

@quixote

just don't let an AI controlled character run amok in your virtual house ;)

[quixote]

Yes, but in my virtual world, if they do, you'll be able to just shoot them dead. :D

[Ron]

The Lua state of HL will not be the same as the Lua State of G but if we can get some extensions into HL's Lua engine we'd be cookin'

I have to say for demonstration and 'coolness' purposes this is a neat idea.

ps. I loved playing HL 1, haven't played with HL2. Mike won't let me stop working on G :-)

[quixote]

I'm going to join the forum and start doing what I do best -- asking lots of questions ;)

I'll let you know what I can find out.

[Ron]

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.08/play.html?pg=2

[quixote]

That's the exact article that I discovered the mod with.

By the way, Ron, this may be your chance to get some much deserved R&R -- you could get in some HL2 and still be working. ;)

[Ron]

I think I'm past the phase where I consider HL R&R. R&R involves a hammock, palms sunshine, body boarding and snorkeling. :-)

[quixote]

I hear ya. I could use some of that.

[Mastiff]

Except the hammock and the body boarding. Booooring! Try kneeboarding or wakeboarding in 30 knots! That's fun!

[danward79]

Except the hammock and the body boarding. Booooring! Try kneeboarding or wakeboarding in 30 knots! That's fun!

Kneeboarding sucks it's so 1980's..........

[Mastiff]

It's a very good introdction to wakeboarding. I ride with my ten year old son! And believe me, there's nothing 80's about the kneeboard I use!

[danward79]

It's a very good introdction to wakeboarding. I ride with my ten year old son! And believe me, there's nothing 80's about the kneeboard I use!

I can live with wakeboarding... I like to aim for them on my windsurfer. ;)

[quixote]

You can't use Girder for kneeboarding, wakeboarding or windsurfing, so in my opinion they all suck.



;)

[quixote]

The Lua state of HL will not be the same as the Lua State of G but if we can get some extensions into HL's Lua engine we'd be cookin'

I have to say for demonstration and 'coolness' purposes this is a neat idea.

ps. I loved playing HL 1, haven't played with HL2. Mike won't let me stop working on G :-)

Ron, can you please give me a more specific objective? I'm getting answers that are all over the place. I have not been able to contact the developer yet. Thanks.

[Mastiff]

I used to windsurf while I was a kid, but got tired of it. Anything that moves on the sea below 20 knots hasn't got me on it! ;) And yes, I know the speeds you can get on a perfect day for a few minutes, but consistently.

[danward79]

You need to check out GPS Speed Surfing.com, speeds have moved on a lot since I started and since you were a kid! All those years ago...

[Mastiff]

How does



Deze site is te huur
This site is 4rent
help me? :cool:

[quixote]

I'd like to know a little about the use of loadlib with Girder. Is this functional? I read a quick thread on it that I searched for and from my understanding it is. Can someone confirm this please?

Thanks!

[quixote]

OK, so we've decided that LuaCOM is the best way to go. I'm going over the manual, but I could really use some Girder examples and any help or advice that anyone can give. This is a little overwhelming, but I think I may be able to get it to work with the help of a friend I've made on the other forum.

Thanks to everyone that can contribute their knowledge!

[blubberhoofd]

hi Quixote,

do you have a particular preference towards HL2?

I've done a little 3d moddeling and house designing in the past with a host of different applications.
Some did allow interactive virtual presence, 3d rad based if I remember correctly, which does allow you to launch external apps. like event.exe

So if you don't have a particular preference for HL2, I will have a look around my software collection and see what I can find.

btw http://opencroquet.org seems like a very interresting project too, first it's free and esspecially the network and media abilities are enormous.

hope to hear from you soon ;)

[quixote]

Hi! Well, to answer your question, I do prefer HalfLife2. Here's why:
There are map making utilities that make it really easy for anyone that puts a little effort into it to design maps and texture the walls with custom textures, there are already conversion programs to import objects that you model in 3D MAX or other designing programs. Also, HL2 uses Lua, and the program "Garry's Mod" (which will be into version 10 once it is released in the next few weeks) allows you to code pretty much anything in Lua. I've already found a way to create a light switch to turn on and off a light in the game, so it's really only a question of communicating with Girder now.
I'm not in a huge rush to finish this project, as I have lots of other stuff going on now, but I will certainly post some pics of any progress that I make.
Thanks for your interest!

[blubberhoofd]

hi Quixote,


I've already found a way to create a light switch to turn on and off a light in the game

that's exactly the proof of concept/working example I had in mind.
I will be glad to help were I can. ;)

[quixote]

Thanks! I'll let you know!

[blubberhoofd]

hi Quixote,

I'm now looking into some fully Lua enabled 3d engines like Apocalyx and Luxinia. Haven't decided yet, but I'll do experiments with Apocalyx for now.

In this early stage I use only the standard Lua libraries. so nothing too fancy yet. I created a dummy table in Girder representing states (0/1) of X-10 devices for example. This table is outputted to a *.txt file using Lua's default "io" library.
The Lua script running in Apocalyx imports the table, allowing sychronisation between the current states of the devices and their representation in the 3d environment. I've set up a crude way (not environment/object related) to trigger a Girder event in with the keybord, by using "os.execute", again only using Lua's default libraries.

Next step is to import some 3d objects into the still empty environment of the "SkyDome.lua" demo that I'm modifying.

So, do you have some objects/meshes you would like to share? it would save me some time ;)

[quixote]

hi Quixote,
So, do you have some objects/meshes you would like to share? it would save me some time ;)

Just tell me what you need and I can start modelling them. (I must warn you, I'm just a beginner at 3D object design, though.) Meshes are pretty easy, but I haven't got around to texturing yet.


The thing I like about the source engine for half life is the physics, and the lighting. Also, you can put in breakable glass for the windows, which would be gravy, but cool all the same.

[blubberhoofd]

hi Quixote,

it's probably easiest to import a *.BSP (Quake 3 level) in Apocalyx as I don't have to much experience with modeling and thier implementation.

[quixote]

Do you have any links for a conversion program?

[blubberhoofd]

hi Quixote,

never mind.... I traced back my copy of Quake 3 at a friend of a friend.

will start working on this tomorrow.

in the mean time I would like to know the current role of Lua in Garry's mod.

it might be possible to control Girder without having to wait on a new version ;)

[quixote]

We'll need a DLL file to communicate with Girder via LuaCOM. LuaSockets is already a possibilty, but apparently it's buggy. The new version of GMod (10) is being released in a matter of weeks, (probably about 2 weeks). I think it will be worth it to wait because the new GMod is going all-out in regards to Lua. You will be able to do practically anything with it. I think this is going to be a blast.

[quixote]

My buddy over at the GMod site (Phenex) PMed me the other day with a couple of zip files that he's come up with. He was unable to get the LuaCOM working properly, so he gave me the work that he did, along with a file for using LuaSockets. He says that LuaSockets are buggy with GMod, so the LuaCOM would definately be preferable -- if we can get it to work.
I suck at programming, so I'm afraid I'll need someone that's more adept at these things to take a look at the files. I'll attach the zips, since I'm quite certain that he won't mind if I pass on the torch to another capable scripter.

[blubberhoofd]

hi Quixote,

will do some experiments, untill the next Gmod comes out I will focus my attention on my loooooooong to-do list. ;)

[quixote]

hi Quixote,

will do some experiments, untill the next Gmod comes out I will focus my attention on my loooooooong to-do list. ;)

You and me, both. :D