Modding brainstorms

Put any ideas for modding here. Some of these might be useful for the Edition, others might become standalone mods. If you know how to implement something, say so, but even if it's just the germ of an idea, we still want to hear it. Important note: if anything here is actually adopted into the Edition (even if it's still in the planning stages), it really belongs on another page that falls under the AE namespace, so please move it over there.

Upgraded content

High-resolution textures are highly welcome. --geyser

The environment could do with less dull colors, and the character textures have far too much compression/dithering. --geyser

Another challenge is to add reflectivity channels to all the "metallic" parts (characters, objects, environment). --geyser

What can we do with precipitation? The only precip. we see in the game is snow in the last level. What a tease! Can/should we add snow to other levels, or can we add new kinds of precip. like rain/sleet? --Iritscen

New animations

Anyone want to try their hands at animations? New ones, not tweaked ones? How about giving Konoko some authentic martial arts moves? (Maybe more on this later.) --Iritscen

New characters

Oni characters have a modular design one can take advantage of, by "swapping bones" and authoring all-new textures. --geyser

One can thus create entities more or less closely related to Oni's original ones, possibly with new storyline roles (Ninja Comguys, BGI executives, cyborg enforcers, WCG troops... you name it: it's almost easy - if you're creative). --geyser

Retrograded content

It's hard not to notice that some stuff looked better pre-beta. Let's make a list and see if we can turn back time to give Oni back some of the pretty stuff it used to have. Look at the "Pre-beta content" page's screenshots for ideas, there's a heckuvalot of them.

Muro's face was a lot nicer back when they made the 1999 trailer. --geyser

Barely visible in this shot from the trailer is a totally different wall down in the lobby. The lights actually cast light on the wall, as opposed to now, and generally the whole area is just 100 times better-loking than it is now (maybe I will get a comparison shot up here at some point). Can this be done with vertex lighting or some other means that doesn't involve re-writing the engine? --Iritscen

Some people have noticed that there are some different weapons in some early art and/or screenshots. Want to bring those up here? --Iritscen

One thing I can definitely see was different is the gun used here; it's also got a laser sight! --Iritscen

One can also see animated terminal screens in the trailer. That's currently very doable if you ask me. --Iritscen

This is a beautiful shot of the early Lab. It shows just how good baked lighting can look. Now, I'm not saying we try to make the Lab look this way, because obviously the Lab is now seen in the daytime, not at night, but it shows what should be possible, particularly at night. --Iritscen

TCTF HQ looked crazy better at one time; look at those sweet railings! --Iritscen by way of geyser

I'd like to see a clear shot of Damocles, because I think the concept art looked a lot better, but I'm not sure. If so, this is quite fixable. --Iritscen

Feast your eyes on the comparisons made here and tell me which looks better, the left or the right: Pre-beta_content#Syndicate_Mountain_Compound. Should we even be surprised at this point that the left is the pre-beta version? --Iritscen by way of geyser

Someone really ambitious could try to recreate the missing levels that were in the pre-beta, if only for testing at the time, because there's some interesting designs there: Pre-beta_content#Pre-beta_levels. --Iritscen

Scripting

Reshuffled or upgraded binaries are worthless without some genuinely inventive level logic.

For one thing, Oni's levels allow for 10 savepoints each, which allows:

• either for more savepoints throughout a mission (possibly a lot harder)
• or savepoints that "revisit" a level (alternate missions and storylines)
• or non-mission savepoints like Oni Team Arena (and other such things) --geyser

It is also essential to set up innovative patrol paths (redeeming stealth). --geyser

Ghost possession

A script where Konoko can enter other's bodies and control them, leaving her own behind. This would be part of a new scenario where she has to accomplish some goal, but maybe she can't get into the area, so she leaves her body and takes over the enemy to get them to do her bidding. Picture her current body falling to the ground (we've got good anim.s to pick from for that), and a second Konoko that is ghosted (half-transparent) floats out (like floating ghost Shinatama) and moves through walls as you guide her, and when she touches an enemy, we use BSL to switch control to that character. If we were inventive enough, Konoko's real body could still be in danger while she's "astral projecting", and we could require the player to keep track of her body to make sure no one had discovered it laying there. Imagine running back to her body while in control of an Elite Striker, and beating up some fellow Syndicate dude that was beating on her! Could be a lot of fun if we don't make her body too hard to guard. And I think it all might be doable with scripting. --Iritscen

AI improvements

Ninja dodging

I don't know if this was a "manufactured" shot or not, but it's still awesome:

Loser has already gotten basic dodging working; what would it take to specifically get ninjas to either "ninja-slide" or jump as a form of dodging fire? Also, that jumping dude is really jumping. How would the game play out if the ninjas actually did have greater leaping ability than Konoko? It would make sense, wouldn't it? Especially if they're androids as some people like to think ;-) --Iritscen

NOTE: Ninjas actually jump higher than Konoko if they use "jetpack timer" powered jump as well (hold spacebar). According to my observations (only empiric - nothing proven) there is probably bug in AI2 code. AI2 computes distance of far jump as if char used jetpacked jump, yet AI2 for some reason CANNOT do more than tap jump.

Next, for AI2 "special" dodge - looks like AI2 is somewheat "vector" powered. And by than way, AI2 can only run/walk/creep. Acrobatics are MELEE only. If we had source....you know the rest.:--Loser 19:26, 13 November 2008 (CET) /NOTE

So it looks like there's two things worth looking into (second one may be too hard, I realize, but this is all hypothetical):

- Can we get AI2 to do more than a tap jump? (P.S.: Can ninjas actually jump as high as seen in that picture?) -- --iritscen 20:10, 13 November 2008 (CET)

- Are we sure that nothing short of engine patching would allow cool dodge moves? If the AI knows when it's being fired at, is there some way to add to the dodging routines links to the animations for side-rolls/slides and high jumps (for ninjas)? --iritscen 20:10, 13 November 2008 (CET)

riddles for engine patchers:

Dynamic holstering

Combat situation and owner's weapon based. Customized for each weapon. That means:

-new flags in CMBT file. It has "melee override" so far, used values are 0,1,2 (cancelled),3,4,5. New values should be counterparts of these ( long (6) medium (7), short(8) ), but causing AI to holster/unholster weapon rather than switching melee/weapon stance.

-new flag in ONWC file. Currently there are some (appearently) unused flag bits which should be used for this.

-Add new flag. Weapon with this flag causes AI which wields this weapon to unholster when focused enemy is knockdowned, even if it is in range where our AI should have weapon holstered according to CMBT. Holster again when focused enemy goes into any different animation than knockdowned, blownuped or lying (so AI holsters as enemy tries to getup).

I don't understand some of what you propose above, it's very brief and technical; are you saying that you want AI to be able to shoot someone when they've been knocked down?

I may not understand what you wrote, but it made me wish, for the first time, that I could unholster a weapon while knocked down, and shoot the enemy before I got up. That would be an awesome combat technique. Characters already have a small arc of rotation when on the ground, for some reason, so what if they had a gun in their hands and could aim with a vertical arc from the ground to the ceiling, and with a limited horizontal arc similar to what they seem to have already? --iritscen 20:10, 13 November 2008 (CET)

Smart jumping

Add this as flag in ONCC. If set, this AI tries systematicaly (not MELEE randomly) to jump across gaps it can pass in order to reach its enemy.