XML:ONLV

ONLV : Oni Game Level	XML modding tips See HERE to start learning about XML modding. See HERE if you are searching for information on how to handle object coordinates. See HERE for some typical modding errors and their causes.
XML ONLD << Other file types >> ONSK switch to OBD page

This page is unfinished. Can you fill in any missing information? If it is not clear which part of the page is unfinished, ask on the talk page.

Todo list

• tips with cutscene charas: sync pelvis OBAN and partner TRAM
• notes on camera and film import ?

Level releases, forum threads and wiki pages

Custom levels that have been created so far

• City Level Part 1 (12/7/13)
• Fight Club (1/6/13)
• Old China (12/5/12)
• Boss Battle (18/3/12)
• Parkour Challenge 2 (23/1/12)
• Parkour Challenge (16/1/12)
• Mini-Partenon (25/7/11)
• Hexagon (3/7/11)
• Junkyard (23/6/11)
• Arena (8/11/10)
• Maze (15/2/10)

OCF threads about level creation

• "Creating the Lair - A level tutorial"
• "Creating new levels"
• "Create levels with pathfinding grids"
• "More questions about levels"
• "Sketchup tutorials for making levels"
• "Modding Existing levels - Beta" ("Moveable furniture" post)

Wiki pages about levels

• New_levels
• Lightmapping_levels
• SketchUp tutorials and tips

Free texture resources

• various game meshes
• various game textures
• various game textures
• skies and objects of the solar system
• skies
• skies

Concept phase

Be aware of limitation of level and engine.

• triangle limit of a game level: ca. 520.000 (500.000 to be on save side)
• (formerly "XSI") Mod Tool can save dae files with max. 64.000 triangles per object
• when polygons are too tightly packed the cam will look at too many of them and glitches appear: the visible GQs (GunkQuads) limit is 8192 (2^13), higher numbers will cause render bugs and call BSL message "Exceeded max visible GQs number"; limited solutions to this:
  • decrease the gs_farclipplane_set value
  • hide objects by env_show
  • hide objects by level design
    • for example departments in a building could be quite detailed because the view at the other departments/rooms is blocked by non-transparent walls
• The camera can look at 2049 transparent textures at once, one more and Oni crashes.
• characters are visible only within 4099|4099|4099 and -4099|-4099|-4099 world units
• geometry stops at ca. X=4228|Z=4228 and -4228|-4228 (height not tested)
• chr_debug_spheres = 1 visualizes collision spheres of characters, then you can check if they fit through a new entrance

Notes on Mod Tool and Google Sketchup

Re-saving a dae file - that was originally made in Sketchup - in Mod Tool can result in a surprising change in size within Oni.

That due to a difference in the length specification.

For example Sketchup dae file has: <unit meter="0.0254000" name="inch" />

Re-saved Mod Tool dae file has: <unit meter="0.1" name="decimetre"></unit>

In that case you would need to open the new dae and change the length specification again.

Level import with OniSplit v0.9.82.0+

Demo files

Demo files can be downloaded here.

First put the new "OniSplit.exe" into the second "lab" folder alongside the xml files.

There's a "build.cmd" file. Those two are the important lines:

OniSplit.exe -create:level out lab.xml
OniSplit.exe -import:pc out level3_Final.dat

The first line create the *.oni files from a master.xml file, in this case "lab.xml". If final, the oni files can be put into a new AE package.

The second line creates level archives which can be used for fast tests. They don't require you to install a package.

Instead of "nosep" you can now also use "pc" for the import. Mac does still use "sep".

If the game crashes while loading (at ca. 90% progress), be sure that the texture's x and y (pixel) dimension are power of two: 512, 256, 128, 64, etc.

If the game crashes while loading (at ca. 50-60% progress), be sure that the BINACJBOCharacters/AISA file has a player character.

If the game crashes while loading (at ca. 5-10% progress), check if all textures were inside the "out" folder.

You can extract the AKEV file to xml, then search for the TXMP array.

THIS script checks which textures are missing by comparing the AKEV*.xml with its *.oni files folder. Adapt the two paths so that it works for you. Alt + 4, insert code, then F5.

"TXMP_marker_door" and "TXMP_marker_ghost" will be missing in the demo's "out" folder.

You can add this between the other two lines in the build.cmd to prevent a crash.

OniSplit.exe -create:txmp out env/markers/*.tga

The master xml file

File paths can be either absolute or relative.

The master xml file name determine the bsl folder name and the AKEV and ONLV file name in the output folder.

Mandatory files for level import:

• level_environment.dae
• level_bnv.dae
• level_textures.tga/jpg
• Character.xml or AISA with player
• ONSK name in <Sky> (can be fake name)
• ONLD file (for new levels; read on HERE about savegame unlocking)

XML tag	content type	description
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>	float, flag	Ignore this.
<Oni>	-
<Level SharedPath="...">	link	The master xml file can link to other xml files, most of them are BINACJBO files. The file type gets declared inside the file, so the file name itself doesn't have to contain the type. Ergo, "BINACJBOCharacter.xml" can be given a simpler name like "Character.xml". Some resources used by those xml files can be found in a "shared" folder. OniSplit copies textures and "physics" objects into the output folder; furniture objects will be integrate into the AKEV. Unused resources in the shared folder will be ignored. That way the final level archive / AE package contains only necessary files which saves the end-user space. In the demo are various subfolders in shared folder: consoles, doors, furniture, triggers and turrets. Following file types comes there without their file prefixes: CONS, DOOR, TRIG, OFGA. OniSplit recognize them nonetheless.
<Environment>	-
<Model>	-	Used to import level geometry and static objects. See HERE for detailed information.
<Import Path="..."/>	link
<Node Id="...">	string	informative (space for notes so to say)
<ScriptId>	integer	Tested with BSL command ... env_show Id 1 (use 0 to hide) env_broken Id [Id] (if also second Id is used then objects in that range get counted e.g. 3001, 3018 = 18) env_texswap Id texture (no file prefix/suffix allowed) env_shade Id Id R G B Static objects store their Id in one of AKEV's IDXA instances.
<GunkFlags>	flag	AGQG (Gunk) flags (trimmed list) see OniSplit -help enums for more flags None NoCollision NoObjectCollision NoCharacterCollision NoDecal TwoSided Invisible
<Rooms>	-	For detailed information see HERE. For Google Sketchup BNV tutorial see HERE.
<Import Path="..."/>	link	File path to *.dae file. BNV data, used to create pathfinding.
<Textures>	-
<Texture Name="...">	string	TXMP file name to generate.
<Flags>	flag	Optional tag. For list of flags see HERE.
<Format>	flag	BGR RGBA BGR555 BGRA5551 BGRA4444
<GunkFlags>	flag	AGQG (Gunk) flags (trimmed list) see OniSplit -help enums for more flags None NoCollision NoObjectCollision NoCharacterCollision NoDecal TwoSided Invisible
<Image>	link	File path to *.tga/jpg file.
<Sky>	string	ONSKfile.oni (without file pre- and suffix) The import doesn't work with an empty tag. <Sky>clear</Sky> helps here; any other fictional name will also do. For detailed information see HERE.
<Objects>	-
<Import>	link	File path. Supported files: Character.xml (has to contain player character if there's no AISA file with it) Console.xml Door.xml Flag.xml Furniture.xml Neutral.xml Particle.xml PatrolPath.xml Physics.xml PowerUp.xml Sound.xml Trigger.xml TriggerVolume.xml Weapon.xml
<Films>	-
<Import>	link	File path to *.xml file. OniSplit creates a FILM file from it. Used for characters in cutscenes.
<Cameras>	-
<Camera Path="...">	link	File path to *.dae file. OniSplit creates an OBAN file from it. Used for cutscenes.
<Animation Name="..."/>	string	Name for the OBAN file.

This is a trimmed version of the master file "lab.xml" from the demo. It's meant to give you a first impression. -- We might upload a smaller demo someday with all features nonetheless.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Oni>
   <Level SharedPath="../shared">
       <Environment>
           <Model>
               <Import Path="env/lab_env.dae"/>
               <Import Path="env/lab_bomber_window.dae"/>
               <Import Path="env/lab_motorcycle.dae">
                   <Node Id="motorcycle">
                       <ScriptId>9</ScriptId>
                       <GunkFlags>NoCollision</GunkFlags>
                   </Node>
               </Import>
           </Model>
           <Rooms>
               <Import Path="env/lab_bnv.dae"/>
           </Rooms>
           <Textures>
               <Texture Name="GOO">
                   <Format>bgra4444</Format>
                   <GunkFlags>NoCollision</GunkFlags>
                   <Image>env/images/GOO.tga</Image>
               </Texture>
           </Textures>
       </Environment>
       <Sky>sunset</Sky>
       <Objects>
           <Import>Character.xml</Import>
           <Import>Furniture.xml</Import>
           <Import>TriggerVolume.xml</Import>
           <Import>Physics.xml</Import>
       </Objects>
       <Films>
           <Import>films/BomberKonRun01.xml</Import>
           <Import>films/BomberKonRun02.xml</Import>
       </Films>
       <Cameras>
           <Camera Path="cameras/BomberCam01.dae">
               <Animation Name="BomberCam01"/>
           </Camera>
           <Camera Path="cameras/BomberCam02.dae">
               <Animation Name="BomberCam02"/>
           </Camera>
       </Cameras>
   </Level>
</Oni>

<Model>

This tag is mandatory (it must be present to avoid errors); the model section contains one import path to the AKEV (level) geometry (*.dae) and can contain additional import paths for exceptions (*.dae).

Data from the demo:

               <Import Path="env/lab_env.dae"/>
               <Import Path="env/lab_motorcycle.dae">
                   <Node Id="motorcycle">
                       <ScriptId>9</ScriptId>
                       <GunkFlags>NoCollision</GunkFlags>
                   </Node>
               </Import>

env_show

The motorcycle has here script id 9. You can show and hide the object with bsl command env_show whereby the second parameter means true or false. Never use 0 as id because it won't work.

env_show 9 1
env_show 9 0

EdT demonstrates here env_show. The objects have collision.

The last original level (syndicate mountain compound) has a big satellite dish platform that can be made hidden. Obviously, such objects/areas can be made to have pathfinding too.

More possible applications of env_show

• ground/ceiling/objects for cutscenes that become partially destroyed
• destrucable walls like in Deus Ex 3 (trigger volume, replacing punch anim with punch-through-wall anim)
• grids in front of ventilation shafts (a little door object could be an alternative)
  • at the moment this can't be done because characters can't sneak under the top edge of the opening (the characters collision spheres are too big)
• managing object groups with trigger volumes (save multiple objects in one dae file)

edit: replace 0 by 25

If the objects appear to flash we could replace the hide_all_object_groups function with individual TV exit functions.

func hide_all_object_groups
{
	# env_show id [1|0]
	env_show 1 0
	env_show 2 0
	# ...
	env_show 25 0
}

func show_object_group (int grpA, int grpB, int grpC, int grpD, int grpE, int grpF, int grpG, int grpH)
{
	env_show (grpA, 1)
	env_show (grpB, 1)
	env_show (grpC, 1)
	env_show (grpD, 1)
	env_show (grpE, 1)
	env_show (grpF, 1)
	env_show (grpG, 1)
	env_show (grpH, 1)

	# missing arguments are taken to be 0
}

func TV_25_enter
{
	hide_all_object_groups

	# show object group of entered TV and of neighboring TVs
	# (center, north, north east, east, east south, south, south west, west, west north)
	# there's a limit of 8 arguments per function
	show_object_group 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
	show_object_group 8
}

# other examples
func TV_6_enter
{
	hide_all_object_groups
	show_object_group 6 7 25 5 18 19 20 21
	show_object_group 22
}

func TV_20_enter
{
	hide_all_object_groups
	show_object_group 20 21 6 19
}

Breakable glass with BSL recognition

Broken env objects can be recognized by bsl command env_broken (ID_1, ID_N). However, this whole thing requires additional code to work.

An example is the training level. Let's determine how we can set up such a thing.

First we need a trigger volume like in level 1.

       <TRGV Id="11495">
           <Header>
               <Flags>Locked</Flags>
               <Position>-714.6615 -298 -555.2073</Position>
               <Rotation>0 0 0</Rotation>
           </Header>
           <OSD>
               <Name>tv75</Name>
               <Scripts>
                   <Entry></Entry>
                   <Inside>targets_gone</Inside>
                   <Exit></Exit>
               </Scripts>
               <Teams>255</Teams>
               <Size>400 31 270</Size>
               <TriggerVolumeId>75</TriggerVolumeId>
               <ParentId>0</ParentId>
               <Notes></Notes>
               <Flags>PlayerOnly</Flags>
           </OSD>
       </TRGV>

Now we need some BSL code.

var int inside_target_function;

func void enter_target_function(void)
{
   dprint enter_target_function
   inside_target_function = 1;
}

func void exit_target_function(void)
{
   dprint exit_target_function
   inside_target_function = 0;
}

func void targets_are_not_gone(void)
{
	# CB: turn off the trigger volume and sleep for a second
	# so as not to cause hideous performance loss
	trigvolume_enable tv75 0
	sleep 60
	trigvolume_enable tv75 1
}

func void targets_gone(string ai_name)
{
	if(inside_target_function eq 0)
	{	
		enter_target_function() # catch other "targets_gone" functions to let them do nothing

		var int num_broken = env_broken(3001, 3018);
		# if you only one target use scheme: env_broke(3001, 3001)

		if (num_broken eq 18)
		{
			targets_are_gone();
		}
	
		if (num_broken < 18)
		{
			targets_are_not_gone(); # to set check interval to one second
		}

		exit_target_function
	}
}

func targets_are_gone
{
	trigvolume_enable tv75 0
	# [...]
}

Explanation

Player enters the TV, "targets_gone" gets triggered. The variable "inside_target_function" should be 0 be default, so we are entering now the first if statement. Next, we can assume that the player didn't destroy all glass objects, so "num_broken" will be less than 18: "targets_are_not_gone" gets called.

The TV function "targets_gone" would be triggered every frame but "targets_are_not_gone" increases the pause between checks: The TV gets deactivated for 60 frames. Then the TV becomes enabled again and will start anew until all glass objects got destroyed or player left the TV.

Unnecessary "targets_gone" functions will do nothing because "inside_target_function" was set to 1 by the first one.

"targets_are_gone" eventually disables the TV to prevent memory overflow, the function contains also all things "[...]" that you want to happen after the glass target broke.

Texture exchange

BSL command supported by PC and Mac:

env_texswap ID texture

Might be useful to switch on/off static and animated textures. (News screen: running or off or smashed. Lava stream: flowing or stagnating or cooled down. Etc.)

Vertex coloring

Observation: The sniper tower from level 19 Syndicate Mountain Compound can be isolated and re-imported as it is. It will appear quite dark.

If we remove "_color" from the object the shadows will be gone next time we import the tower.

Mod Tool: Explorer [8]

Object
 |
 +-- Polygon Mesh
       |
       +-- Cluster
             |
             +-- Polygon
             |     |
             |     +-- [...]
             |
             +-- NodeProperties
                   |
                   +-- _color
                   +-- texcoord (Explicit UVWs)
                         |
                         +-- Vertex_Color_Def

So, how do we modify that data?

Single object shading

If there's already a vertex color property you can use Shift + W to activate "Paint Vertex Color Tool". With Control + W you can change the brush color. R + Hold Click + Move Mouse let you change the Brush size. The more vertices (points) you have the more detailed you can make the shadows/colors. But keep in mind that too many polygons can destroy collision which make characters fall through the ground.

If there's no vertex color property the first use of Shift + W will create that property. But you can also manually create it via Property > Color at Vertices Map.

Here you can see one of my early attempts of vertex coloring. --paradox-01 (talk) 18:18, 16 March 2013 (CET)

Level-wide shading

To get a general shading/lightning you can set up light sources. "Infinite" lights are useful as global lighting while "Light Box", "Point", "Neon" and "Spot" are more suitable as local light sources. They can be accessed via Primitives > Light.

By default a Mod Tool scene has one Infinite light but it doesn't shine in every direction so you might want to add more Infinite lights. Let's say one Infinite light for each direction (+X, -X, +Y, -Y, +Z, -Z) with an intensity of circa 0.25 (night) or 0.75 (day).

The illumination of those lights can be integrated into the vertex color property. There's some information at OCF, the quoted information is somewhat triple so don't get confused by it: at first detailed, then summarized, then a checklist.

Basically you can go with the checklist:

• Property > Color At Vertices Map
• Property > Render Map
• In render map property page, under Sampling select Vertices Only
• Under Surface Color choose Enable, then in the box below select Vertex _Color, if that option does not appear click on the New button next to it.
• Under Map select Illumination only
• Finally, click on the button Regenerate Maps...

This must be done for all objects separately.

There's a script which can apply vertex color and render maps to all selected objects. Load it into the script editor [alt] + [4] and hit [F5] to run it. (Be sure the script language was set to vb script.)

The variable "overwrite_VC" can be changed.

With "1" all existing CAV maps of selected objects will be overwritten. This can take some time.

With "0" only selected objects without CAV maps will be the script's target.

Notes on ModTool view modes

• "Constant" let you see the colors of the vertex coloring only.
• "Textured Decal" let you see object textures only.
• "Shaded" let you see the illumination only.
• "Textured" let you see the textured object with illumination and vertex coloring.

env_shade

If you use env_shade use it with caution. It completely overwrites the vertex coloring.

# BSL command
# env_shade obj_id obj_id R G B

# examples
env_shade 7 7			# object 7 will be black
env_shade 7 7 0 0 0		# object 7 will be black
env_shade 7 7 .31 .999 .5	# object 7 will be quite green
env_shade 7 10 1 1 1		# object 7, 8, 9, 10 lose all their shading

Shadow casting objects

Advantage: this can give the level a more realistic impression.

Disadvantage: High amount of new textures needed.

How to create shadow maps:

• http://www.game-artist.net/forums/support-tech-discussion/5622-burning-shadows-onto-texture-xsi.html

Notes on map options:

• "Surface color and illumination": outputs used texture with added shadows
  • can be used to replace original texture
• "illumination only": output a texture that only contains the shadows
  • can be used on a new overlying, transparent surface

For other approaches see HERE.

<Rooms>

The Rooms tag is mandatory. It contains an import path to BNV and ghosts (*.dae) which are used to create pathfinding grids. For information on binary data see HERE.

Exemplary code piece of the master xml file:

<Import Path="env/lab_bnv.dae"/>

Fundamentals

• BNV are volumes (sometimes also named rooms) that have a pathfinding grid assigned to them.
• For practical reasons you only need floors and ramps to build BNV. (Like seen in HERE.)
  • A BNV polygon can consist of 3 or more points but it's recommended to use shapes with 4 points because the other shapes usually waste more grid space. At the moment you can import only convex shapes.
• Secondly there are so called ghosts (vertical quads) that connect neighbouring BNV. AI can transit BNV only through ghosts.

OniSplit gives error messages for ghosts that don't have 2 neighbouring BNV, for example:

BNV Builder: Ghost 'grid2' has no adjacencies at <-72,41 1,999 -166,6> and <-71 1,999 -168,21>, ignoring

Tolerance values

• horizontal distance from room to ghost: 1
• vertical distance from room to ghost: 18
• ghost horizontal dimension must be bigger than 0
• under optimal circumstances pathfinding works on a plane that is +4 world units above or -0,5 beneath the pathfinding grid
• normally characters can't pass low verticals like at staircases/curbs if those don't have a ramp, near ground level Y=0 is an exception where characters are allowed to step on a plane that is 4 world units above pathfinding grid; higher planes need a ramp
• max degree of ramp you can go on is 70°; bigger degrees make characters fall through to death

More notes on PF processing

• Actually, BNV and ghosts can have any name and don't need any texture.
• During pathfinding calculation OniSplit creates a new folder called "temp" and a subfolder "grids". There again is a file "levelname_grids.dae". That file contains rooms with textures "bnv_grid_N.tga" marking obstacles in the pathfinding. Ghosts will have a transparent texture "_marker_ghost.tga". You get those things also when you export a level. Transparent ghosts make it easier to see the rest of your level if you have many of those planes.
• In Mod Tool ghosts and rooms can be grouped under a null object. Right-click the null object to select all its children, then use "Selection Only [x]" as saving option. That way all the planes can be quickly saved to a *.dae file.
• You can influence the pathfinding creation of dangerous zones with danger quads. Read on HERE.
• Another kind of influence is the gunk flag IgnoreGrid. It can be used to let OniSplit ignore the object during pathfinding creation. The grids in that place will be white.

File:Pathfinding grid.JPG

ai2_showgrids = 1 in action

BSL commands

• chr_show_bnv = 1

shows number of bnv the player is standing on

• ai2_showgrids = 1

shows pathfinding grids

• ai2_chump

spawns a friendly striker that follows the player if possible, makes also pathfinding grids visible

• ai2_chump_stop = 1

striker stops to follow you

• ai2_chump_stop = 0

striker follows you again

Pathfinding on uneven ground

Pathfinding works on slight uneven ground as long as the polygons are 0,5 world units beneath or 4 world units above the BNV.

For bigger surface irregularities we can use a trick:

• The problematic polygons must be saved to an dae file and then referenced in the model section as an individual object.
• Then the <GunkFlags> tag needs to be GridIgnore.
• Additionally we create a plain (invisible if necessary) under the object so that Oni doesn't think there's a hole.
• The ghosts must be taller than the highest polygon to walk on. (This has been tested up to a height of 2000 world units.)

Symptoms of too small ghosts

A) AI can't run at all.

B) AI loses PF if tracked enemy performs animations that are out of the pathfinding volume. Here's a video about of the "B" symptoms.

Missing boundaries

Let's say you have a BNV, tall ghosts, and a GridIgnore-flagged hill with trees and brushes and stuff.

Why do AI run against the trees? The vegetation isn't on the BNV so no red grids were created.

Add simple geometries like _marker_impassable fences or danger quads near the BNV to fix the problem.

Disappearing AIs

When AIs tend to disappear (fall through the ground) on GridIgnore-flagged geometries, use one of these two BSL commands to avoid this problem:

chr_lock_active AI_name

chr_all_active = 1

Debugging (OniSplit v0.9.93.0+)

• env_show_ghostgqs = 1 makes the ghost quads visible
  • the original ghost quads can't be seen, Neo: "they are not included in the octtree and bsp tree"
  • to see them you must use the -debug option in the level creation command (available with OniSplit v0.9.93.0+)

OniSplit.exe -create:level output_folder -debug input_folder/master_xml_file.xml

Not all debugging/testing needs to be done in Oni. There also a file browser which can display the whole level.

For example you can load an AKEV*.oni, select the level name and use hotkeys [B] and [P] to display BNV and ghosts.

<Textures>

... used for exceptions

This tag is mandatory. AEKV textures will be imported by the master xml file automatically. Their formats will be DXT1 and BGRA4444 (for transparent ones). If you want them in better quality use the <Textures> tag. But if you are okay with the standard import you can write </Textures> to close the section.

Example of an exception (overwriting the standard format):

               <Texture Name="GOO">
                   <Format>RGBA</Format>
                   <GunkFlags>NoCollision</GunkFlags>
                   <Image>env/images/GOO.tga</Image>
               </Texture>

• There you can give a texture a special format, for example "bgra4444", to make it transparent.
• Use gunkflag "TwoSided" to make surfaces visible from both sides.
• If the texture comes with gunkflag "NoCollision" then all objects with that texture will have no collision. Characters would fall through it.

Both makes sense, let's say, for a water-like substance. The biolab use this for an area with green acid.

Figure 1

Figure 2
one object with multiple textures, one per polygon cluster

Figure 3
blue: twosided
glass: twosided and transparent
random metal: no flag (onesided)

TwoSided and transparent objects

It's also possible to set this in Mod Tool. Use one image source for diffuse and transparency.

It won't work with two image sources even if both sources use the same image. See Figure 1.

Regular textures

OniSplit automatically imports textures of objects in the <Model> section. Those objects could be considered as AKEV core geometry.

one texture per object

Furniture and Physics objects are allowed to have only one texture per object.

AKEV core geometry can have one texture or multiple textures - that's up to you to decide.

Multiple textures per object

Question: How do we apply multiple textures to an AKEV core object?

Answer: Assuming you are using Mod Tool the procedure will be like this. Repeat this for each cluster you create (expect for projection). See also Figure 2 and 3.

• select some polygons
• goto Material > Phong
• hit [7] to open Render Tree
• add a texture and connect "Image" with "Phong", choose "diffuse" as illumination mode
• double-click "Image" to open Material page
• in Texture Projection section, click on "New" and choose a suitable projection
  • do this only if there isn't a projection in the "Texture_Coordinates_AUTO" cluster yet
  • OniSplit processes only one texture projection, see Figure 4
• choose texture and UV, fine-tune UV via [alt]+[7]

Figure 4
use only one texture projection per object

Caution: textures will be fixed to one set of flags. You can't use the same texture A for an onesided cluster/object B and twosided cluster/object C. You would need to create a different named clone of that texture and apply that to cluster/object C.

Marker textures

Marker textures are used to import certain objects with special flags. Import those object alongside AKEV core geometry.

Marker textures aren't imported automatically. Add those textures to the final package / plugin, e.g. by some sort of batch code.

OniSplit.exe -create:txmp out env/markers/*.tga

The flags Transparent TwoSided NoOcclusion are only set if the same texture source is used for diffuse and transparency and if transparency setting are enabled. See subsection of "... used for exceptions": "TwoSided and transparent objects".

danger quads

The pathfinding grids can have different colors with different meanings.

• white/gray - clear space
• green light - nearwall
• green - semipassable
• green dark - stairs
• blue very light - border 1
• blue light - border 2
• blue - border 3
• blue dark - border 4
• orange - danger
• red - impassable

For detailed information on colors see HERE.

Normally, OniSplit decide how to color the grids. But it's possible to add own danger quads to fine tune zones of great danger. Those orange areas will be generated with the 4 different blue borders around it.

Danger quads must have "_marker_danger" as texture name.

Results in flags: Transparent TwoSided NoCollision Invisible NoOcclusion Danger

collision boxes

AIs can get stuck in detailed geometry. This can be prevented with collision boxes.

Just create a box or other simple geometry around the problematic object and apply a textured to it named "_marker_barrier". Ingame the box will be invisible and has collision so characters can't get through. The pathfinding grid will be red where it comes in contact with the box, red is followed by a light green and then green.

Results in flags: Transparent TwoSided Invisible NoObjectCollision NoOcclusion

stairs

texture: _marker_stairs

Normally, characters can't move on stairs if they contain verticals. In this case you can use a sloping quad that is above or inside the staircases. It's possible to set the desired flags at the <Model> section but doing so and exporting self-made stair ramps is wasted time. So apply simply _marker_stairs to that quad, characters will move on that surface.

Results in flags: Stairs Transparent TwoSided Invisible NoObjectCollision NoOcclusion

No effect to pathfinding creation. Regularly textured stair geometry (that intersect the marker quad) will be flagged as NoCharacterCollision.

impassable

texture: _marker_impassable

Results in flags: Transparent TwoSided Invisible NoOcclusion

Impassable walls are very similar to collision boxes except that particle can also collide with it. The pathfinding grids will be also red, light green, and green.

blackness a.k.a. jello fix

texture: _marker_blackness

Results in flags: TwoSided NoCollision

Simply black walls. No effect to pathfinding creation.

doors

texture: _marker_door

Results in flags: DoorFrame Transparent TwoSided NoCollision NoOcclusion

Don't use this.

<Objects>

Information on regular object collections can be looked up here:

Character.xml (has to contain player character if there's no AISA file with it)

Console.xml

Door.xml

Flag.xml

Neutral.xml

Particle.xml

PatrolPath.xml

PowerUp.xml

Sound.xml

Trigger.xml

TriggerVolume.xml

Weapon.xml

Furniture.xml

The AKEV core geometry is more or less unique while this furniture file adds standard objects (e.g. crates and desks) to it.

XML tag	content type	description
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>	float, flag	Ignore this.
<Oni>	-
<Objects>	-	This tag marks the file as BINACJBO.
<Furniture>	-	This tag marks the file as FURN.
<Header>
<Flags>	flag	Optional tag. Ignore it. Those flags were used in the past. None Locked PlacedInGame Temporary Gunk
<Position>	float x3	Optional tag. X Y Z position.
<Rotation>	float x3	Optional tag. X Y Z rotation.
<OSD>	-
<Class>	link	File path to an OFGA (*.oni) file. Make sure that the OFGA comes also with the files it needs: M3GM and TXMP. OFGA can hold multiple M3GM. That 3d content will be integrate into the AKEV.
<Particle>	string	This name gets written into <Tag> inside ONLV (ENVP section) and can be used with BSL commands. E.g. you can take control over a particle via "particle BSL_name start". For more commands see HERE. Caution with new OFGA files. The particle name will be composed of 2 parts and always includes an "_" underscore. Examples: FURN <Particle>test</Particle> + OFGA <Tag>streetlight</Tag> = test_streetlight FURN <Particle></Particle> + OFGA <Tag>streetlight</Tag> = _streetlight FURN <Particle>test</Particle> + OFGA <Tag></Tag> = test_

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Oni>
   <Objects>

       <Furniture>
           <Header>
               <Flags>Gunk</Flags>
               <Position>-62.692 -29 108.35</Position>
               <Rotation>181.522 356.021 178.114</Rotation>
           </Header>
           <OSD>
               <Class>furniture/V_tctf_bigvan.oni</Class>
           </OSD>
       </Furniture>

   </Objects>
</Oni>

Physics.xml

This file is for objects with "physics". Unlike AKEV core geometry or furniture, those objects can be animated.

XML tag	content type	description
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>	float, flag	Ignore this.
<Oni>	-
<Physics>	-
<Object Name="...">	string	Use an unique name for each object.
<ScriptId>	integer	Tested with BSL command ... obj_create Id [Id] obj_kill Id [Id] env_anim Id [Id] env_setanim Id [Id] The script Id will be stored in ONLV's OBOA instance.
<Flags>	flag	Object setup flags None InUse NoCollision NoGravity FaceCollision
<Physics>	flag	Optional tag of Object. None Static Linear Animated Newton (used with <Flags> FaceCollision to make object pushable) For a pushable object don't use import sub-tags such as animation name, flags, etc. Just use <Import Path="..." /> or <Import Url="..." />
<Position>	float x3	Optional tag of Object. Only used for non-animated objects. X Y Z position.
<Rotation>	float x3	Optional tag of Object. Only used for non-animated objects. X Y Z rotation.
<Scale>	float	Optional tag of Object. Only used for non-animated objects.
<Import Path="..."> <Import Url="...">	link	This tag comes in two variants. It doesn't matter what variant you use.
<Animation Name="...">	link	File path to *.dae file.
<Flags>	flag	Optional tag of Animation. For more information on those flags look OBAN page. Object animation flags None Loop PingPong RandomStart AutoStart Local
<End>	integer	Optional tag of Animation. Frame number. Used to define the end of an OBAN from an *.dae file.
<Start>	integer	Optional tag of Animation. Frame number. Used to define the start of an OBAN from an *.dae file.

Example

For documentation purpose the file here has been trimmed down.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Oni>
   <Physics>

       <Object Name="motorcycle">
           <ScriptId>8</ScriptId>
           <Flags>FaceCollision</Flags>
           <Import Url="motorcycle/export.dae">
               <Animation Name="motorcycle02">
                   <Flags>AutoStart</Flags>
                   <End>880</End>
               </Animation>
               <Animation Name="motorcycle02_stop">
                   <Start>881</Start>
               </Animation>
           </Import>
       </Object>

   </Physics>
</Oni>

In this example OniSplit takes the "export.dae" file, looks what parts it contains and creates geometry files from it.

• M3GMhubs_rear.oni
• M3GMhubs.oni
• M3GMmotocycle.oni

It's a nice feature that hierarchies are supported here.

The motorcycle is made of 3 parts so 3 object animations (OBAN) will be created up to frame 880. Then OniSplit creates 3 more OBANs starting from frame 881.

The reason for the interruption at frame 880 is probably to give barabas a few more frames of glory in the cutscene.

• OBANmotorcycle0200.oni
• OBANmotorcycle0201.oni
• OBANmotorcycle0202.oni
• OBANmotorcycle02_stop00.oni
• OBANmotorcycle02_stop01.oni
• OBANmotorcycle02_stop02.oni

Notes about BSL usage

The bio lab script file use the motorcycle objects and animations like this:

	env_show 9 0		# hide static motorcycle parts (because they get visible at level start)
	# in the original game the motorcycle is separated in object 8, 9 and 10
	# also the OBAN files have a bit different names

	# static and animated objects are totally independent from each other
	# they are stored in different arrays so their script ids can be the same or different

	obj_create 8 10		# create animation-ready motorcycle parts
	env_anim 8 10		# animate those parts (not necessary if OBAN flag is "AutoStart")

	# the first animations would loop because of "AutoStart"
	# so get the right timing to apply the other animations
	# "motorcycle02_stop00" and the others will not loop because they don't have "AutoStart"
	env_setanim 8 motorcycle02_stop00 # motorcycle
	env_setanim 9 motorcycle02_stop01 # hubs
	env_setanim 10 motorcycle02_stop02 # hubs_rear

	obj_kill 8 10		# delete animated parts
	env_show 9 1		# show static motorcycle parts

Level reimport

Export of static geometry

After the oni files have been exported, the extraction of objects can fail if their textures can't be found. Those objects probably use textures stored in level 0.

In that case use the "-search" argument to make correct extractions. In total the commands will look like this:

OniSplit.exe -export level0_files level0.dat
OniSplit.exe -export levelX_files levelX.dat
OniSplit.exe -extract:dae levelX_geometry levelX_files/AKEV*.oni -search level0_files

Possible output files:

• level_bnv.dae
• level_cons.dae
• level_door.dae
• level_env.dae
• level_env_markers.dae
• level_furn.dae
• level_script_N.dae (by OniSplit v0.9.90.0+)
• level_trig.dae
• level_turr.dae

Export of animated geometry and cameras (OniSplit v0.9.90.0+)

This is also known as scene export. All content exported by the scene file will be combined and saved in one single dae.

OniSplit.exe -extract:dae path_to/output_directory path_to/scene.xml

For the following example the scene.xml must be present in a folder containing all files used by the scene. In this case it's level3_Final (biolab).

<Scene>
<Node Name="camera">
     <Camera />
     <Animation>OBANCamout01.oni</Animation>
     <Animation>OBANCamout02.oni</Animation>
     <Animation>OBANCamout03.oni</Animation>
     <Animation>OBANCamout04.oni</Animation>
     <Animation>OBANCamout05.oni</Animation>
     <Animation>OBANCamout06.oni</Animation>
 </Node>
 <Node Name="motorcycle02">
     <Geometry>M3GMmotorcycle02.oni</Geometry>
     <Animation>OBANmotorcycle02.oni</Animation>
     <Animation>OBANmotorcycle02_stop.oni</Animation>
     <Node Name="hubs">
         <Geometry>M3GMhubs.oni</Geometry>
         <Animation>OBANhubs.oni</Animation>
         <Animation>OBANhubs_stop.oni</Animation>
     </Node>
     <Node Name="hubs_rear">
         <Geometry>M3GMhubs_rear.oni</Geometry>
         <Animation>OBANhubs_rear.oni</Animation>
         <Animation>OBANhubs_rear_stop.oni</Animation>
     </Node>
 </Node>
 </Scene>

When you load the dae in XSI you'll find the motorcycle and the lab level intro camera. If you select the camera (for better visibility) and press play you'll get to see the motorcycle into animation like you see it in game.

For real-time playback click on "Playback" option button and then "Real-Time Playback".

File structure

• The scene contains one or more nodes.
• Each node represents either one 3D object or one camera whereby the node name determines the object name inside the dae.
  • 3D objects do have a <Geometry> tag.
  • Cameras do have a <Camera /> tag.
  • Each 3D object or camera can have one or multiple <Animation> tags. Multiple animations will be combined.
  • 3D objects can be organized in a hierarchy that gets created by the help of sub-nodes. Each sub-node can also have animations.

Scene import

According to Neo that feature is still under development.

Recycle object collections

Following files can be reused at <Objects> without any drawback:

• BINACJBOCharacter.xml
• BINACJBOFlag.xml
• BINACJBONeutral.xml
• BINACJBOParticle.xml
• BINACJBOPatrol Path.xml
• BINACJBOPowerUp.xml
• BINACJBOSound.xml
• BINACJBOTrigger Volume.xml
• BINACJBOWeapon.xml

Locklights

Door locklights must be transfered by hand from old ONLV (ENVP instance) to a) new ONLV or b) CJBO particle file.

For method b) you could use THIS script. Demo vid.

The advantage is that you don't need to edit the new ONLV afterwards.

CJBO and vertex coloring

• Object (xml) import via <Object> tag (xml master file) will get you objects without vertex coloring. (onisplit will pick *.oni class files from the shared folder.)
• Object (dae) import via <Model> tag (xml master file) should get you objects with vertex coloring but no functions. In that case add corresponding CJBO files by hand.

You can chose between those two methods for consoles, triggers, turrets and furniture without particle.

Doors and furniture with particle need always the xml method.

Level export

This section is only about xml files. For dae export see HERE.

The most parts of an Oni level are made of ONLV and AKEV. For AKEV's xml tags see HERE.

You would only want to export those two files as xml if you want to check if a texture or an object really made it into the level or not.

ONLV

XML tag	content type	description
<ONLV id="...">	integer	ONLV's instance number. Should be 0.
<Name>	char[64]	Name of BSL folder. Save game slot and level number are defined inside ONLD.
<Environment>	link	Link to AKEV via file name (AKEVname), don't use file suffix .oni Level geometry.
<Objects>	link	Link to OBOA via instance number (#N). The OBOA instance holds doors, animated objects (usually for cut scenes) and pushable object (they are not used the original game).
<SkyBox>	link	Link to ONSK via file name (ONSKname), don't use file suffix .oni This is the sky box.
<Characters>	link	Link to AISA via file name (AISAname), don't use file suffix .oni This "AI Setup Array" is an alternative character collection. CHAR is more powerful.
<ObjectQuadMap>	link	Link to ONOA via instance number (#N). This "Object Array" holds functional objects - doors, furniture, turrets, triggers and consoles - in addition it appears that the engine only searches for door type.
<Particles>	link	Link to ENVP via instance number (#N). Those "Environment Particle" contains traditionally only door lock lights and particles used by OFGA.
<Corpses>	link	Link to CRSA via instance number (#N). This is a "Corpse Array". It's used to 'spawn dead characters' like Chung in level 1.

OBOA

Used for movable/moving objects.

XML tag	content type	description
<OBOA id="...">	integer	Instance Id. Should be 1.
<Objects>	-	Array of <OBOAObject> tags.
<OBOAObject>	-	There are always 32 empty objects plus those that are actually used.
<Geometry>	"#" + integer	Link to M3GA instance. -- Doors are made of two parts: an animated and a static part. If this <Geometry> links to a door it will be the animated part.
<Animation>	link	OBANname
<Particle>	# + integer	Link to ENVP instance. -- There can be multiple ENVP instances. One for locklights and other for those kind of particle.
<Flags>	flags	None InUse NoCollision NoGravity FaceCollision
<DoorGunkId>	int32	the index of the door frame GQ for door objects?
<DoorId>	int32	only used for doors; in the case of double doors both doors have the same id and they are flagged as "InUse FaceCollision"
<PhysicsType>	flags	None Static Linear (?) Animated (animated via OBAN) Newton (pushable object)
<ScriptId>	int32	script Id; used by BSL function obj_create; 65535 = not used
<Position>	vector	Float x3. Not used for animated objects.
<Rotation>	quaternion	Float x4. Not used for animated objects.
<Scale>	float	Not used for animated objects.
<Transform>	matrix	Float 3*3 + 3 more float for X Y Z position of the object. For more information on the matrix see OBD:CRSA. Used for animated objects.
<Name>	char[64]	name of the object; informational only

ONOA

Used by static objects (imported by object collections).

XML tag	content type	description
<ONOA id="...">	integer	Instance Id.
<Elements>	-	This is an int32 array for the <ONOAElement> tags.
<ONOAElement>	-
<ObjectId>	integer	Object Id and type to which this quad belongs (see AKEV's AGQG for details). Actual object Ids can also be found in BINA/OBJC/####.
<QuadList>	"#" + integer	Link to IDXA instance. Each object has its own IDXA instance.

Where do the links go to again?

ONOA <ObjectId> -> AKEV AGQG -> BINA/OBJC/#### by type and Id
ONOA <QuadList> -> ONOA IDXA -> AKEV AGQG by order

ENVP

XML tag	content type	description
<ENVP id="...">	integer	Instance Id.
<Particles>	-	This is an int16 array for the <ENVPParticle> tags. If there's no content <Particles /> is used.
<ENVPParticle>	-
<Class>	char[64]	BINA3RAPfile.oni (don't use file prefix/suffix)
<Tag>	char[48]	particle's name for BSL commands, see OFGA for more information on name composition
<Transform>	matrix	Float 3*3 + 3 more float for X Y Z position of the particle. For more information on the matrix see OBD:CRSA.
<DecalScale>	int32, int32	X Y
<Flags>	flag	None NotInitiallyCreated

CRSA

Wanted: "how to add corpses" tutorial

XML tag	content type	description
<CRSA id="...">	integer	Instance Id.
<FixedCount>	integer	The array capacity <Corpses> is larger than the number of "fixed"/"used" corpses to allow the engine to store new corpses at runtime. "Fixed" means that those corpses are never overwritten/deleted at runtime, all new corpses are stored after the "fixed" ones. This means that "fixed" <= "used" <= "capacity".
<UsedCount>	integer
<Corpses>	-	This is an int32 array for the <CRSACorpse> tags. By default Oni wants 20 slots for corpses. Unused corpses are have their matrix and bounding box filled with zeros.
<CRSACorpse>	-	New corpses can be made with BSL command "make_corpse" and some hex-editing. The pose of the corpse is taken from the player character. The format is roughly as above. The contents of the files thus created can then be inserted as elements in a level's CRSA.
<CharacterClass>	link	ONCCname
<Transforms>	-	There are 19 <Matrix4x3> for each <Transforms> (which represents a body part).
<Matrix4x3>	matrix	Float 3x3 + float x3 for the last 3 values (X Y Z position). For more information about the matrix see OBD:CRSA.
<BoundingBox>	-	Bounding box of the whole corpse.
<Min>	float x3
<Max>	float x3

M3GA

One M3GA instance per animated object.

Animated meshes of doors are embedded in ONLV. All other animated meshes are stored outside as M3GM files.

XML tag	content type	description
<M3GA id="...">	integer	Instance Id.
<Geometries>	-	This is an int32 array for the <Link> tags.
<Link>	link	#N (instance number) (for non-door) M3GMname (for door)

M3GM

Read on HERE.

Note that M3GMs have their own instances: PNTA, VCRA (x2), TXCA, IDXA (x2).

Doors store their animated geometry in ONLV while the static part comes from BINACJBODOOR.oni which again link to M3GM files.

IDXA

XML tag	content type	description
<IDXA id="...">	integer	Instance Id.
<Indices>	-	This is an Int32 array for the <Int32> tags.
<Int32>	int32	From ONOA to AGQG elements Link to <AGQGQuad> in AGQG by order. (The array in AGQG starts with 0, so for example <Int32>6</Int32> would link to 7th <AGQGQuad>.) From M3GM to PNTA elements Read on HERE. From M3GM to VCRA elements Read on HERE.

Ideas to test out

None ATM.

Ideas that has been tested

Sky dome - it's a fail

sky box

sky dome

Maybe it's possible to create a very big sphere or dome that covers the entire level (and let Oni's skybox unused). If it's doable it could avoid ugly lines of the skybox coming from OpenGL rendering.

Update: 12 June 2012

New issues appeared that need to take care about:

• brightness:

The brightness can be somewhat influenced by BSL commands like with gl_fog_..., gs_farclipplane and must be set adequately.

• texture size:

The dome seen in the screenshot has a texture size of 512x512 and hence looks quite pixelated.

The problem might be solved by splitting the dome into sectors and giving each sector its own texture.

gl_fog_start=.99999

test level over HERE

Update: 14 June 2012

• texture boarder and distortions:

Texture boarders have darker pixels so the UV must not reach them. Also after splitting the textures inside the editor there will be little distortions but they are still noticeable enough to make the sky look odd. Fine-tuning the UVs didn't really help.

• The gs_farclipplane max value makes the size of the dome quite limited: I think that the max radius here is somewhere between 2500 and 5000 world units.

I consider this as a fail. Oni would need bigger view range and a texture support of 2096x2096.

Ideas for OniSplit

bugfixes

CJBOs and the shared folder

You should be able to use the original OBJC files with the master xml file. But at the moment (v0.9.90.0, Win7 64-bit), BINACJBODoor.xml wants for example:

<Class>doors/TCdouble.oni</Class>

it should be

<Class>TCdouble</Class>

Works:

• Turret

Works not:

• Door
• Colsole
• Trigger

Not tested:

• Funiture

---

improvments

better support for script objects

               <Import Path="../level19_Final/compound_script_405.dae">
                   <Node>
                       <ScriptId>405</ScriptId>
                   </Node>
               </Import>

it should be just one line because of the keyword script

               <Import Path="../level19_Final/compound_script_405.dae"/>

door locklight

extracting an ONLV to xml should generate an extra file with door locklights ready for the CJBO particle file

---

Neo could update OniSplit so that it is searching specific strings in object names of a dae level file.

Doors

• string "door*" (e.g. doorBlastDoorMX2000) -> DOOR + BINACJBODoor + OBAN
  • but if the string is "door*cloneN" then the DOOR and OBAN creation gets skipped (e.g. doorBlastDoorMX2000clone3), only class name, rotation and position get written into BINACJBODoor

Animated objects

• string "*_BeforeAnim": that's first static object with collision data (e.g. BlueCar1_BeforeAnim)
• string "*_InAnim": that's the animated cutscene object (e.g. BlueCar1_InAnim)
• string "*_AfterAnim": that's the second static object with collision data (e.g BlueCar1_AfterAnim)

Fake-destructible objects

• string "*_BeforeAnim": that's first static object with collision data (e.g. ConcreteWall2_BeforeAnim)
• string "*_FragmentN": that's the group of animated cutscene objects (fragments of the static object) (e.g. ConcreteWall2_Frag5)
• string "*_ColFragN": that's the group of static objects with collision data (e.g. ConcreteWall2_ColFrag5)
• string "*_NoColFragN": that's the group of static objects without character collision (e.g. ConcreteWall2_NoColFrag5)
  NoColFrag would be useful if the fragments are quite numerous and small and hence would pose a problem to the pathfinding