2Bells Gaming

From what I've experienced, it'll jump to the unit the second time you hit that key.  What cancels this out is hitting a second group key.  For example, if you have the fire truck shown on group 1, and an ambulance on group 2, tap the 2 before the 1 and the camera won't jump.

4 hours ago, xTurbo21 said:

Hi, so I play with the LA Mod (with project nostalgia submod) in multiplayer with my friend. But the problem is, whoever hosts the server has access to the Control Panels in police station/fire station. We tried giving turns but still only one person has access. Is there a way to change this? Make it two players have access in turns or maybe edit the script to make each player either have access to the FD or PD panels?

I believe a script was released on the German forums, but I haven't tried it yet to see if it works.

The object name in Zmod has to match the name of the .v3o file.  As example:

I would have to export this as "bme_model34.v3o" or it'll error out as it did for you.  

To change the name, you can either click on the model (highlighted blue here) twice, slowly, and change the name there, or you can right click, select properties, and change the name in that 'menu.'

Hope this helps!

On 9/13/2021 at 12:39 AM, Horsman4James said:

Hi, I've decided to change my approach. Is there any way you can assist me with adding a new vehicle into fresh copy of the L.A. mod. For example, I do not want to replace an LAPD car, I want to add a completely new vehicle (2020 ford explorer) and lightbar (federal signal valor). Because I am a beginner I want to create a very simple flash pattern, just one half of the lightbar flashing and then the other. No crazy strobing or anything. I'm going to create the texture, a fictional "East Pasadena" police department. Never going to be a public sub mod, just my creative canvass

Once again, any replies are appreciated

Alright.  This is a bit of a tall order, but I'll do my best to break it down for you!

1) start with making the model.  I recommend Zmodeler2, as I've found that best for EM4 to model with.  Zmodeler3 is newer and has a different interface, however I personally prefer Zmod2.  I also use paint.net for my textures, as it works with .dds files as well.  I save them as .png as I find it keeps the textures "crisper" if that makes sense.

2) once the model is done, copy a vehicle in the editor and name it something easy to remember, such as "EPPD_2020_Explorer.e4p" or similar.  I recommend using something with minimal lighting, as you'll want to just keep the basics, like headlights, blinkers, brakelights....  Use those existing lights, moving them around as needed to get the new vehicle with the base lighting.  Then move on to the emergency lighting.

3) after the lighting, I go into the scripts.  If you're using the LA Mod, you'll need to edit the LASiren.script for the sirens to work.  I believe the majority of the rest of the LA scripts use vehicle type, so you should be okay with just that one.

4) next, I do the unit folder.  in units/vehicles/police, copy an SUV and rename the folder something similar to your e4p file name.  I personally would use EPPD2020EXPLORER or something.  The order of the folders is the order they will show up in the unit-calling menu.  Top folder will be the first car.  That's why there's numbers in front, to make it easier to order them.  Within the folder, you'll have the pictures that will show up in the menu.  What we need to focus on is the unit.xml.  Edit that with a text editor, changing the name (again, something you can remember) and the path to the e4p file.  That's the basics, but you could get more advanced by editing the number of spaces for officers and detainees, and the default officers etc.

5) at this point, I do the specs and lang files, which are the last steps.  In specs, you need to add your vehicle to portraits.xml and freeplaybase.xml.  I you use the other vehicles as a guide, you'll be fine.  In the lang folder, you're looking for portrait.xml again, as well as infotexts.xml.  Again, use the existing vehicles as a guide.  Heads up: in the infotexts.xml, it's 3 lines of text per vehicle.

I know that's a fair amount of work, however trust me when I tell you that in time, steps 1 and 2 will be the longest.  If you're editing and existing model, such as in this case, step 2 (adding lighting) will be the longest for you.  This is a very high-level overview of what needs to be done.  If you get jammed up anywhere, let me know and I'll walk you through it!

Cheers!

I took a very fast look.  The only thing I see is the new prototypes are mapped to mod:Prototypes/Vehicles/fire department/, whereas the other units are mapped to mod:Prototypes/Vehicles/02 LA Fire Department/.

I just want to confirm that these are in a folder named "fire department" and not one named "02 LA Fire Department"

Pretty sure (however not totally confident) that this one is mod:/specs/ and you're looking for portraits.xml in this one.  This one has to point to the same name as used in the lang folder, and also has to be the same name in the unit folder, or it'll return that white box error.  I think, however I'm not positive..

There are two files.  mod:/Lang/en (or otherwise)/  and in that folder you want infotexts.xml and portraits.xml .

Infotexts will be the info that displays in the vehicle calling menu.  There are three lines per vehicle.

Portraits will be the name that shows up on the bottom right when you select the unit in the game.  This name appears under the photo of the vehicle, which is the one located in the vehicle's unit folder.

I would recommend using the editor to point to the correct model file.  I've found that editing the .e4p file in a text program opens yourself up for minor errors that will make your hair start to turn grey and fall out.  *Points at own head as example.

It's likely a very small spelling or grammatical error that sent you in that direction.  In the editor, does the model show correctly, or is it the missing box there too?

This can be a fairly complicated process, my friend.  You're looking to replace a current vehicle, and not add on, correct?

19 hours ago, Nick007 said:

So I got it working, with a slightly different method though...I couldnt get PushAction to work, so what I did instead, is when the command is initiated, it removes the TurnFloodLightOn command and replaces it with TurnFloodLightOff instead. (Since v.EnableSpecialLights(true); already makes them turn on). And that took care of it! Thanks for the help peeps! Was kinda fun even though now I can kinda feel what devs are going through when making new scripts and testing them..I understand the hair pulling now..

 

Thanks for sharing your solution, eh?  It's the only way we're gonna learn and grow as a community.  Excellent work! 

I could be wrong, but to verify I'm learning things properly and to assist anyone in their learning, would this need to be defined in the beginning of the script, where the other variables would be defined?

Agreed.  Excellent PIO program in place there.  I've been in contact with one of their LT's who has been helping me develop a wildland firefighting program for my department.  He's been nothing but an exemplary gentleman so far.  I can't say enough good about SMFR.

Hey Shauney,

Pretty unlikely that anyone's going to make a mod for you.  That said, there's plenty of resources and support to learn to make your own!  I'd recommend reading over some of the topics on the forum and learning how to make your own version of a West Metro mod.  That said, in an effort to motivate you, I'd like to share a reskin I made of an Itchboy model I borrowed from the West Falls modification.  In an evening of boredom, I made a Safety 35, even though I have no mods based anywhere near Colorado...

Model credits to Itchboy and SlateDragon1, skinned by myself. 

I had to google LB R3, but I think you've pretty well nailed it.  Excellent work! 

16 hours ago, itchboy said:

Unfortunately I do not plan on adding custom scripts like this to the mod.

The only 2 I have planned are single stretcher and functioning police stations for LAPD, sheriff and port police.

Hey Itch, what about making them Childs, kinda like the SWR boat or Motorcycle?  Maybe the first two people to enter the vehicle don't show up, as if they're in the front seats, but the third-through-sixth (or eigth?) put two people on each side (and rear?).  Just a thought... don't even know if that's easily doable..

Best bet is to use the mouse wheel.  Click and turn the mouse to turn the camera, and the wheel up/down is zoom in/out.

If you don't have a mouse with a wheel, "Ctrl+Shift+F10" will bring up a navigator that will allow you to click the buttons to move the camera.

After being away for far too long, I've made my way back to the EM4 world.

Perusing the forums, I saw this, and after reading, I've discovered that I have the identical issue with my Editor for EM4 Deluxe from Steam.  Identical load up.  I get an error message when double-clicking the desktop shortcut though...

http://www.emergency-planet.com/uploads/monthly_2020_06/image.png.d6ad8ae353062c1e31dadefe332d9147.png

@Itch; I tried adding "-1" instead of "-editor" at the end, and it still loaded the missing map with the editor floor texture.

If there's anything you guys would like to try, I'm willing to be the lab rat..

Hiding.... the FBI wouldn't let me access my 'old' life until the case was settled... But I'm back now!

I've found this problem with a few other mods with a buddy and myself.  I believe it's an issue with the commands.  I think what happens is if you use the chase command, they become invisible to the other players, and only the host can see them.  And, because they weren't the hosts units, the host cannot control them.  Does that make sense?

*blows dust off keyboard.  Shakes dust off shoulders.  Wipes dust off computer.*

Ahh... It's good to be back.

I believe your issue has something to do with the missions value in the unit.xml of the unit folder.  These values allow you to make a vehicle available or not in certain missions, including freeplay.  You should be able to edit the unit.xml file with MS Notepad.  I personally use Notepad2, as it is far more user-friendly for .xml files.  If you open the unit.xml file, you should see:

		<missions value="1 2 3 4 13 15 9 8 5 17 12 14 7 19 10 6 18 16 11 20 21 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35">

as the second line.  Make sure that's what it reads.

Looking down the unit.xml a little further, you should see the same (more or less) under the freeplay heading.  That should look like this:

		<missions value="22">

I hope this helps.  It's been a while since I've been here, but, I'm back now.  Feel free to ask for more help.  If I can, I will.

Cheers!

Eli

Don't worry guys, I'm still working on this... I ran into a road block resizing the models in Zmodeller... They won't export in the right size for some reason :/

Other than that, some good news!

I've skinned a National Grid Chevy Express van and created a copy of the FedEx (Should've replaced it.. my dad works for UPS.. lol) step van and made one of those a National Grid van. I'm working on creating a National Fuel van... I'll let you know shortly how that goes.

Does anyone know why ZModeller is acting like 90% of my ex girlfriends?

Truck15, I'm just loading the game now, I'll take a screenshot, and have the pic up in a few moments

AndrewByrd, unfotunately, at this time, this is not a download-able submod. I'm thinking of making it public, but, I'm not 100% either way yet... As for the reskins, possibly after the holidays I'll take a look into it for you The holidays are pretty busy for us folks in Search and Rescue, so, I probably won't have the time to...

Also, as a BIG announcement, Unit42 has been sweet enough (haha) to model a few trucks for me. I've seen his work, and, believe me... I almost cried. so, I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Unit42 to my (dark) side!

Sure thing! I'll add the memorial to the rig now, and get you a pic by tomorrow morning

They're on that Wowmephotos site I sent you Unit 42

Truck15, the next time I head over to Bflo, I'll send ya a PM... what Plt's your dad on?

FortErieFireEli PM me.

Done Sir!

do you know how to put the scuba team on the cotter ?

I'm not 100% sure on this, but, I don't believe you can. I don't believe the game allows for persons to be placed on the unit. I could very well be wrong, but, I will look into it no less truck15. I may have asked you before, but, are you a firefighter at Buffalo Ladder 15?

Edit: Funny... not 5 minutes after I asked that, 15 went on a P.S. ... hmm... I wonder if I have God-like powers...