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[Oscarito]

Hi!
Trying to enter Map Modding business...
Chose "Desert online" as my first victim!
Task (learning purpose...): Remove object "Crimea Bahchisarai"
Why? Too big for those small villages (there are more suitable and smaller mosques available today)
Actions:
1. Extracted MAPS\Desert\----->:"actors.static" file from "fb_maps14.sfs" (v4.12.2m+ModAct install) using "SFS_Extractor" tool
2. Used "Zuti actors Management Tool" to process file. As far as I understood by "readme", "Filter" tab is intended for such kind of task.
3.Created folder as destination for processed files (outFile).
4.Opened extracted "actors.static" (inFile).
5.Wrote object description at "Ignore actors containing" field (deleted all preexisting lines in both fields)
6. Hit "Process"
Result: an "actors.static" file was saved at destination
Problem: saved file was unchanged!  (and the progress bar did not change, but remained at 0%)
Conclusion1: I've missed something...but what?
Conclusion2: HELP!!!

[Uzin]

The error I see at first sight: ,
you must place the file in_Buildings.txt
into the uppermost window- called inFile ! Not the actors file itself! !
This  in_Buildings.txt file you obtain after first using the function Extract, when you rename so the out_Buildings.txt file .
After using the function Filter, the changed file is that named arbitrarily  Z_Filter_Out.txt.
Then rename it to in_Buildings.txt, place it into proper folder and use function Create. It gives you new actors.static file needed.

I hope you have *doc file where everything is , at least shortly, described, including the Mapsize.txt file creation.
It is the good praxctice to fisrst use Extract, then Create function, before using other ones.

 The program itself is very effective, I must say, even if described too shortly for a beginner like me.
Good luck !

[Oscarito]

Ahh...OK!
Well, I should know it would not be so easy...but no problem.
Many Thanks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PS: and, yes! Program description is superficial, to say the least...

[Uzin]

This tutorial might help a bit, too:

https://www.mediafire.com/download/jk32ohj01yp0e6h/Actors_Tutorial.rar

[SAS~Malone]

okay, as i've been struggling with several maps not saving lately, and i suspect i know what the cause is - i now have to try and open every single map actors that contains any OpelBlitz truck, because for whatever reason, it simply refuses to load any of these vehicles.
anyway, so having last toyed with maps several years back, figured i'd give the actors tools a go to help me sort out this issue.
basically working through the tutorial, and everything seems to be going just fine, but when i get to the point when i want to create the new actors with my newly renamed In-files, it reads and writes, says converting, creating, etc,etc, but the last line at the end just after reading Buildings (which is what i edited, btw) then it suddenly gives an error: String index out of range: -5
then it ends, and the resultant actors file is 0kb....
now, if i think that i changed 5 lines of the inBuildings.txt file, does this have something to do with the 5 lines i changed?
basically, i removed 5 entries of OpelBlitz trucks, and replaced them with the last 5 objects in the Buildings file, to make sure that i kept the numbering consecutive.
what's the trick here? how can i edit stuff out of the txt files without it crashing?

[Uufflakke]

I have had the 'String index out of range' error several times when I started to work with Zuti's actors tool.
If your error is the same one I used to have the solution is simple.
Take care that the edited entries are lined up and no empty space between the lines.
And if I remember correctly no empty lines after the last entry in your extracted text file.

Example:

WRONG 
15585_bld House$HorseLightbrown 1 265270.38 150537.20 4.95
15586_bld House$SEhouse30 1 265278.06 150532.20 354.96
15587_bld House$hitching_post_003 1 265270.72 150535.64 264.96
15588_bld House$HorseBlack 1 264986.44 150618.42 119.97
15589_bld House$HorseWhite 1 264987.28 150620.08 109.98
  15590_bld House$hitching_post_003 1 264985.69 150620.08 19.98

WRONG 
15585_bld House$HorseLightbrown 1 265270.38 150537.20 4.95
15586_bld House$SEhouse30 1 265278.06 150532.20 354.96
15587_bld House$hitching_post_003 1 265270.72 150535.64 264.96
15588_bld House$HorseBlack 1 264986.44 150618.42 119.97
15589_bld House$HorseWhite 1 264987.28 150620.08 109.98

15590_bld House$hitching_post_003 1 264985.69 150620.08 19.98

RIGHT 
15585_bld House$HorseLightbrown 1 265270.38 150537.20 4.95
15586_bld House$SEhouse30 1 265278.06 150532.20 354.96
15587_bld House$hitching_post_003 1 265270.72 150535.64 264.96
15588_bld House$HorseBlack 1 264986.44 150618.42 119.97
15589_bld House$HorseWhite 1 264987.28 150620.08 109.98
15590_bld House$hitching_post_003 1 264985.69 150620.08 19.98

By the way, you do not have to replace deleted objects with other objects to keep the numbering consecutive.
During creating the new inBuildings file it gets renumbered in a consecutive order.
As long as you keep the entries lined up and no empty lines. 

[SAS~Malone]

thanks mate, i found my mistake - indeed, i had left an open line in the txt file.
happy to report that so far i have fixed two of my favorite maps that were not usable due to this strange problem with the OPelBlitz truck.
i recently replaced the stock OpleBlitz36S truck 3d with that of Wingflyr's, but it appears as if something didn't work in that process, as the maps that don't save are all maps which have that truck on them.
did a bit more checking, and although the 'new 3d' Opel truck appears in the 3d preview box, it's not possible to place it on the map, simply nothing happens.
so this is why none of those maps are saving, it seems.
i have no idea why the truck doesn't work properly, i followed the advice of some pretty knowledgeable guys to get it working, but it seems something there is still wrong.
i have both a him and a sim file in the truck folder, but whichever i ask it to use via the technics.ini entry, it just says can't load him/sim whichever....
really can't see what's missing there....
so it's a tale of how trying to make one little truck look better in my game, has cost me the use of over a dozen of my favorite maps......

[vpmedia]

I thought we fixed that issue.

Are we talking about this map object?

[buildings.House$VehicleOpelBlitz36s]
Title           OpelBlitz36s
MeshLive        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/live.sim
MeshDead        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/dead.sim
AlignToLand     1
Body            FuelSmall      // FIXME: need special type 'Vehicle'
Panzer          0.005

[SAS~Malone]

yeah, that's the one, mate - i also thought it was fixed, as the new 3d displayed okay in the preview box.
however, i've since found that the truck simply cannot be placed on any map - you can click and click, it just won't appear.
there is an error aboutnot being able to load the live.sim file, or the live.him, depending - no matter how i change the technics entry, it simply refuses to read this 'live' file.
i can even place the moving vehicle version  with multiple waypoints, and save the mission - but when i play it, the truck isn't there.
i then had a closer look at the 3d model in the preview, and i see it's missing it's wheels......
i have the wheels.tga, but it just won't load the sim/him file, for whatever reason.
so instead of simply trying to fix this one truck, i am now forced to open each map actors and remove any of these vehicles, otherwise the maps aren't usable....
so, a long way around, but i've run out of ideas as to what the problem is with this freaking truck....

for what it's worth, here are all the relevant ini entries i have for this damned truck -

static.ini:

Code: [Select]

[buildings.House$VehicleOpelBlitz36s]
Title           OpelBlitz36s
//MeshLive        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/live.sim
//MeshDead        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/dead.sim
MeshLive        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/summer/live.him
MeshDead        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/summer/dead.sim

and this entry,  i am trying to get a desert skin to show:

Code: [Select]

[buildings.House$VehicleOpelBlitz36s]
Title           OpelBlitz36s
//MeshLive        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/live.sim
//MeshDead        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/dead.sim
MeshLive        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/desert/live.him
MeshDead        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/desert/dead.sim
AlignToLand     1
Body            FuelSmall      // FIXME: need special type 'Vehicle'
Panzer          0.005
stationary.ini:

Code: [Select]

OpelBlitz36S         vehicles.stationary.Stationary$OpelBlitz36S         2
technics.ini:

Code: [Select]

[OpelBlitz36S]
Description    Opel Blitz 36S
Icon           Car

// Models
//MeshSummer         3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/live.sim
//MeshSummerDamage   3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/dead.sim
// FIXME: make winter camouflage
MeshSummer         3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/summer/live.sim
MeshSummerDamage   3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/summer/dead.sim
MeshWinter         3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/winter/live.sim
MeshWinterDamage   3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/winter/dead.sim
MeshDesert         3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/desert/live.sim
MeshDesertDamage   3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36S/desert/dead.sim

// Panzer
PanzerType  Car
PanzerSubtype  3
PanzerBodyFront      0.005

pretty sure i have all the necessary msh and tga files.....but actually, at this stage, i'm no longer sure of anything concerning this verdammt truck.....lol

[vpmedia]

revert your static.ini to this and remove the 'desert' entry:

[buildings.House$VehicleOpelBlitz36s]
Title           OpelBlitz36s
MeshLive        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/live.sim
MeshDead        3do/Cars/OpelBlitz36s/dead.sim
AlignToLand     1
Body            FuelSmall      // FIXME: need special type 'Vehicle'
Panzer          0.005

everything else is correct


if you did everything correctly you should see this ingame, map obj on the left vehicle on the right, youre loading the original map object from the sfs files but the modded vehicle comes from the #SAS folder. It must be like this because a map object can not use a him file, only sim. Wflyers trucks always use a him file, hence they can not be used as a replacement for this map object. This whole concept of encoding vehicles into actors.statics is not good, it was an early idea by Maddox Games, all the vehicles should be used from the stationary objects menu in a mission file.



I've put all of these vehicles into an object group inside the static ini, this enables me to remove only these vehicles from any map via unlocked FMB.

Cheers

[vpmedia]

Btw, if you want an ugly object gone from all maps you can do something like this:

[buildings.House$VehicleOpelBlitz36s]
Title           OpelBlitz36s
MeshLive    3do/flora/Olive_Tree01/live/live.sim
MeshDead    3do/flora/Olive_Tree01/dead/dead.sim
AlignToLand     1
Body            FuelSmall      // FIXME: need special type 'Vehicle'
Panzer          0.005

[SAS~Malone]

did like you suggested, Istvan - again, it's better, but still not right.
now i see the new 3d for the vehicle as well as for the static......
in both cases, i can now use and place them on the map, and they work in game - however - they don't have any wheels!
so firstly - why am i still seeing the new 3d, and not the old, at least for the static?
and where are the wheels?
i recall having a similar issue a long time ago with some WW1 trucks.....in fact, exactly the same missing wheels problem.....
this pic is just showing where i am now, the same 3d still appears for both the static object, and the vehicle object...




edit: just in response to your last post, mate - although i'd much rather not have to look at the crappy old 3d truck, i'd rather have it than another tree, lol - but that's kinda what i was doing when using the actors tool - replacing the truck with other arbitrary objects...