Idea for cracking SoM's animation format...

[HwitVlf]

I just had a thought; has anyone checked to see if MDL files might use built-in animation data that is identical to 'Move Object' commands?
In other words, maybe a MDL file is just a MDO file with a set of built in Move Object commands. You could check by mimicking a MDL file's opening-door animation using Move Object commands with an MDO- then find where those Move Object commands are stored in the event file- then searching for same/similar data in the animated MDL door file.

It just occurred to me that since SoM programmers designed the engine to move models using Move Object commands, they may well have taken the easy path and used the same data format for animated model movement.

The player actions that trigger animation loops in enemies, chests, doors etc certainly seem to correspond to the available Event Triggers in the Editor. Also, SoM part types that don't come with any MDL files (like Items) can use MDL files just like an MDO file; that suggests that MDL and MDO formats are nearly identical. Maybe an MDL is just an MDO with a set of Move Object commands and triggers tacked on the end.

Or maybe not. . . Who knows?

[Hguols]

I'm always lost. ‎  #_#

*bumps into a wall*

[HwitVlf]

I think it's my fault this time :) I explained it really bad.
I've been working out in the hot sun a bunch. I think I turned my brain into a baked potato.

[Hguols]

You not explaining bad. ‎  I referencing title. ‎  That all. ‎ 
^_^

I'm not a zombie, but I want to eat your brain.

Ok, I am a zombie... that loves baked potatoes.... ‎  not brains.

...and it doesn't take much to get me lost. ‎  I need to eat more baked potatoes.

[HwitVlf]

Well, the subject line comes from what happened to me today. I saw a serpent so I started yelling for help and running and it started chasing me.
I happened to be in a German part of town so nat?rlich I was calling for help in German 'Zu H?lfe! Zu H?lfe! Sonst bin ich verloren!'

I ran until I could run no more then just as I passed out from exhaustion, three maidens appeared before me and clobbered the snake dead!
I lay there swooning but I could barely perceive the maidens standing over me and discussing how lovely I looked.

So, I recovered a while later and they were gone but then, this weird looking guy dressed in a bird suit and holding a bird cage walked up singing 'Der Vogelf?nger bin ich ja!' and whistling like a bird. I thought I was tripping with heat stroke or something but he explained that he was a bird catcher and the costume was just a clever ploy to lure birds into his cage.

I'll spare you the details, but my day only got weirder from there. I ended up joining some kind of cult that worships a Magic Flute or something (I wasn't really paying attention during the initiation speech) and I got engaged to some chick named Pamina. Pamina doesn't get along with her mother very well so she talked the cult into casting a spell that made the earth open up and swallow her mother. ‎  I told her to stop being so hard-core but she was like 'just cause you gonna be my old man don't mean you can tell me what to do!'

Oh well, at least cult members get to wear these cool while robes and I think we get to go to a basket weaving class tomorrow. ‎ 

[Holy_Diver]

Well, the subject line comes from what happened to me today. I saw a serpent so I started yelling for help and running and it started chasing me.
I happened to be in a German part of town so nat?rlich I was calling for help in German 'Zu H?lfe! Zu H?lfe! Sonst bin ich verloren!'

I ran until I could run no more then just as I passed out from exhaustion, three maidens appeared before me and clobbered the snake dead!
I lay there swooning but I could barely perceive the maidens standing over me and discussing how lovely I looked.

So, I recovered a while later and they were gone but then, this weird looking guy dressed in a bird suit and holding a bird cage walked up singing 'Der Vogelf?nger bin ich ja!' and whistling like a bird. I thought I was tripping with heat stroke or something but he explained that he was a bird catcher and the costume was just a clever ploy to lure birds into his cage.

I'll spare you the details, but my day only got weirder from there. I ended up joining some kind of cult that worships a Magic Flute or something (I wasn't really paying attention during the initiation speech) and I got engaged to some chick named Pamina. Pamina doesn't get along with her mother very well so she talked the cult into casting a spell that made the earth open up and swallow her mother.? I told her to stop being so hard-core but she was like 'just cause you gonna be my old man don't mean you can tell me what to do!'

Oh well, at least cult members get to wear these cool while robes and I think we get to go to a basket weaving class tomorrow.?

Can I come too? Please! Take me with you

[Holy_Diver]

I just had a thought; has anyone checked to see if MDL files might use built-in animation data that is identical to 'Move Object' commands?

I don't think anyone has checked... let us know how that works out

For what it's worth (dunno if you missed it) I cooked up a little program that let's me extract events from .evt files and plug them into other files (basically the idea is to copy global events into every map easily) ...so in other words, I know something about .evt files (which is where the "Move Object" instructions are stored.

[kilroyfx]

[quote author=HwitVlf link=topic=154.msg1571#msg1571 date=1254280396]
I just had a thought; has anyone checked to see if MDL files might use built-in animation data that is identical to 'Move Object' commands?

I don't think anyone has checked... let us know how that works out

For what it's worth (dunno if you missed it) I cooked up a little program that let's me extract events from .evt files and plug them into other files (basically the idea is to copy global events into every map easily) ...so in other words, I know something about .evt files (which is where the "Move Object" instructions are stored.
[/quote]

Thats sounds very interesting, can you extract and alter the events?? Or just simply insert prebuilt events into anymap??

[HwitVlf]

I don't think anyone has checked... let us know how that works out

Figuring out the animated model format is definitely on my to do list, but unfortunately so is a lot of other stuff.
I was just throwing the idea out there in case anyone was working on it. In truth, the easiest way to crack the animation format would probably be to reverse engineer the game.exe

[Holy_Diver]

I actually typed this reply up just before the site went down (apparently)

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"Reverse engineer" the game.exe what?? I don't know where people get off tossing shit out there like that... I could probably unravel the animated model format with some coffee and good looking over. You're not going to get anywhere by disassembling an executable etc, but you're welcome to prove me wrong. There isn't much point in "reverse engineering" other than to get some insight into the files (by whatever necromancy you propose) ...it's not like programming it from scratch would be too much trouble. The real value in SoM is license and assets that come with it. The tools themselves only slightly more impressive than the quickly thrown together runtimes.