1. Forge

HINTS AND TIPS:

If you are experiencing problems with getting the Line Attributes dialog to display, especially on a 68k machine, try setting the mouse double click speed to the lowest possible setting.

In visual mode, go to the map display and push F2. The map will only draw those polygons/lines that the engine is currently calculating. This may help you sort out problems with distance and too many vertices being displayed.

1.1 Using Forge

Does Anyone know a formula or have a cheat sheet for calculating equal values in world-units-per-second and periods of lights? For creating "open the door, light floods in" effects.

Velocities are all based on world units per second or in the case of weapons, world units per tick. (One tick is a 30th of a second.)

Example: If a door has the opening velocity of 1 world unit and its polygon is one world unit high then it will take exactly one second for the door to open fully. Now, it you place a light at the door opening and give it a Becoming Active length of 30 ticks (1 second) from a light intensity of 0% to 100% then that should work.

What does it mean when there is a red box around the screen when in visual mode? It makes it impossible to edit the textures or do anything in visual mode so I'd imagine I messed something up somewhere but I can't for the life of me fix it. It's tough to make a cool level when you can't change the textures. HELP!

The Red Box around the visual mode screen means that you are currently in Height Edit Mode. This mode allows polygons to be raised and lowered by using the mouse. This mode is invoked whenever the CAPS LOCK key is active.

How do I use layers in Forge?

Layers in Forge are handled somewhat differently from other related programs. The View Height Window (Special Menu) allows you to set and constrain the top and bottom layers of the current polygon view. Use the Ceiling slider to set the topmost height at which you want polygons to be viewable and the Floor slider to do the same for the lowest possible polygon.

I'm making a map that has windows and outside is space landscape. In some parts you can fall into the landscape and die, but when I played it in visual mode you hit ground like it's ground and I want them to die if they fall. What do I do?

The player does not take falling damage.

Why is it that the "Edit Object" window doesn't have a pop-up for "Type" when I select "Player" as my group? I thought I had the option of choosing random or a particular player color to assign to a player object depending on who I wanted to appear where after death.

The Type option for player character is not implemented within the game engine and so was removed from Forge.

When polys are under other polys, sometimes they are unable to be filled by Forge because of a "too many points or convex polygon" error, even though the bottom polygon only has four sides or so. You can get around this by dragging one of the lower left points of the lower polygon down to some negative space, where it can be filled. This ONLY works if you fill the left hand side. It gets sorta tedious to drag and fix points every time you want to change its ambient sound or liquid.

Use the View Height Window to constrain the viewable region to the polygon you need to work on.

How do I put a transparent texture on a wall? Say, for example, I have a window that's really just a wall with a landscape texture, and I want to put a grate over it. Or it also looks pretty cool to combine regular wall textures with the transparent ones. I've achieved this with Pfhorte, but Forge doesn't seem to want to do it for me.

This will in fact crash the game if you happen to shoot at this wall. The crash will commonly occur when you end the game session. A transparent texture SHOULD be the only texture on a single line.

If you create a custom physics model, and place it in the merge folder, and merge the level, does the merged level map CONTAIN the physics model data in it, or do you still have to use the physics model when playing the level to get the effects and changes from the model?

The merged map will contain the physics data.

Is there any way top override the embedded physics model for a level? What I would like to do is with the original infinity map, I would like to adjust some of the weapon values for my own personal use. (I just happen to like my guns better than the standard ones.) Is my only option to use a third party app such as Marathon Map Splitter to get the picts, chapter screens, terminals, then use Forge to export each level, and use Anvil to modify each physics model? Is this even possible? Is this even legal? (Just had to ask that last one.)

For Infinity there is no way to override the physics models embedded within merged files. This was done to keep the integrity of the actual game scenario whole. A Map Splitter can remove these physics models and allow it to be played using a custom model. But a single model is enough. If all the levels are merged without physics there is however a strong possibility that the game won't be fully playable.

Is it possible to set the height of a vertex between polygons rather than the whole polygon?

No. That is the nature of a pseudo 3D polygon. If you make several smaller polygons you can try to approximate diagonal (sloping) lines.

I've been working with forge for awhile and I have figured out quite a bit but there's something you guys did on one of your levels that involved something like a wall of water you could walk through it and into a "lake" but when I tried this what should have been water just looked like a untextured polygon, what do I do.

You need to place a water type texture on top of what looks like an untextured polygon. Place the texture as if it is transparent, i.e. like a window.

1.2 Polygons

First should be pretty simple but... Anyway the problem is that, I have a wall in my map that whenever I rub against it, I get shot back to the middle of the poly that I came from.... The problem is NOT the same poly sharing 2 openings, so what could it be? I have tried erasing the lines/poly, and are-drawing about 4000 times but it still doesn't work...

Try to make the polygon line itself angled slightly different than the polygon lines that connect to it. This should clear up that problem.

I can't made a spiral stair case. I wanted it to got from 0.000 to 3.000 and cant every get past 1.000. Because you have to go over other stairs and the map height view didn't work the polygons just disappeared !

Making spiral stairs if difficult but very possible. Try to initially make the higher stair steps slightly larger than those below - this will make it easier to see them and change them. As for the Map height view - use the sliders to isolate the portion of the view that you want to see. This works like the selection of a range - so setting it to 0.8 to 3 will only show the step at 0.8 and any above that.

Platforms; How do I make an elevator go down into a lower level and up into a higher level?

A platform can move between two levels. What you describe needs three levels to work.

How can I make a teleportation polygon that will teleport you to the next level?

A polygon can be made into an Automatic Exit by selecting that using the Polygon Parameters menu.

I have a secret door that is opened by a switch. That works. Now I want the door to stay open permanently once the switch is flipped, and the switch to deactivate once the door is open.

When creating the door make sure that it will Deactivate at Each Level.

1.3 Lights

I am using lights to vary the level of a liquid. I want the liquid to rise and fall, but I don't want the liquid to grow dark as it appears drain away. As it stands, Marathon is applying the light intensity to both the height AND the brightness of the liquid. Is there a way to make it vary only the height?

Under the Lights menu there is a selection for Liquids. This will place you in overhead more which will let you edit what light the liquids surface has.

1.4 Tags and Switches

What do tags do?

Tags allow for one triggering event to cause more than one causal event or action. Thus, a switch can turn on a light, raise the volume of a sound object and open a door at the same time.

1.5 Liquids

How are liquid surfaces shaded? I've seen it done on your own M2 Maps (eg. My Own Private Thermopylae), but I can't figure out how in Forge.

If you select the View Menu and pick Lights it will give you a sub menu option of Liquids. From the overhead map you can now shade the liquids as you wish.

I am wondering why the heck I cannot place water in my level I looked in the manual and I couldn't make it work and when I watched the movie the windows were different. I am getting really frustrated because I have a big hole in my level.

Under the View Menu select Liquids. This will bring up a default liquids palette. Use this to create the liquids you desire and then, while still in this mode, use the mouse to place them on the polygons you need. Note: liquids must be defined as a range between its lowest point and its highest point.

1.6 Monsters, Items, Objects, Sound Objects

How do I add a sound object to a tag?

A Tag may activate a light and the light may control the volume of a sound object.

Help, I'm getting aliens up the wazoo and my proctologist says that only you can help. I set up predefined areas for the aliens to appear in (and a whole bunch of 'em total available-100, originally). Playing the extermination-type level, it seemed like suspiciously more. After I changed the aliens down to 5 available to see if everything was working as intended, I found that it didn't. The map just kept cranking out the fighters. Oddly, it worked fine with the hunters, just not the projectile fighters or the troopers (I think, I didn't last that long). It was on total carnage (of course), so exactly what does that selection do to my beloved little aliens? Is there a glitch in the map itself? Is there a way to fix this without having to completely redo the map (this sucker is Large). Is it forge? Is it original? Is it Memorex?

It sounds as if the Monster Parameters have been set so that some aliens are being regenerated indefinitely. Use the Set Monster Parameters (Specials Menu) to change monster parameters so that they do not regenerate.

In the Forge book, it says that monsters can be activated by goals. Am I right in thinking this will make the alien try to get to that particular goal? I can set a monster to be activated by a goal, but not which goal, and thus cannot figure out exactly what it does.

The Aliens will activate as soon as they detect a goal - in other words, right away. They are searching not for a goalpoint (used with terminals) but for a goal type polygon. Once the reach this polygon they will teleport out of the map.

When a large number of objects are in view, Infinity sometimes starts to ghost every object as it moves. Any thoughts?

It sounds as if you have placed too many objects in the field of view. Try deleting some and see if the problem persists.

There are a few areas in my map that have trouble with aliens not fighting even though I shoot them, walk up their face and do whatever, nothing I do makes them fight... I _DONT_ have them set to blind or deaf, just "teleports in".... and they do that just perfect so I dont think its a problem with my borders and activation poly assignments... So what is it? What can I do to fix this? Its happens in a few different places... Not just in a specific room...

Give the aliens enough room to move, i.e. a minimum of three polygons of at least 3/4 a w.u. each. Also, there can only be 32 active monsters on a map at a time.

1.7 Terminal Texts and Chapter Screens

#INTERLEVEL TELEPORT 255

It is supposed to send player to option screen, but mine crashes, why?

This is a typo in the manual. It should be: #INTERLEVEL TELEPORT 256. This will send the user to the end screen (pict 1599) and then to the options screen at the beginning of the game.

When you have your pict ready to place in the terminal. Do you have to name the pict a certain name before it shows up?

You call the pict by its ID number from the terminal text. That is all the information the game needs.

Hi, I love marathon Infinity and forge but I just can't do a few things in forge. My biggest problem is how to use a terminal. Can you tell me step by step how to make a terminal with pictures and how to change the text after the mission is complete.

When a map is created you select mission type (manual pg.29) and this is what governs when a terminal displays #UNFINSIHED text versus #FINISHED. As for adding pictures: The #PICT n command will place a picture on the left side of the terminal screen with text on the right. The n is a picture id number corresponding to a picture resource in the Terminal Pictures file.

The manual makes some references to being able to display goals on a map in the terminal by using the #GOALPOINT 'n' command. It is sorta vague about if you're supposed to use polygon ref#'s or goal object ref#'s and when and where you're supposed to put the command in the terminal file. I've tried every combination of things I can think of using it, and it always shows up as "#GOALPOINT 'n'" in text on the terminal (which is uh... how you say... less than cool lookin'). Also, how do you make a terminal teleport a player to another part of the _same_ level (like in Charon Doesn't Make Change)?

#GOALPOINT 1 will place a map view in the terminal on the left hand side with text on the right hand side. The function will draw a red circle around the (number 1) goalpoint in the level. Secondly, #INTRALEVEL TELEPORT n, where n is the destination polygon will cause a terminal to send you to another part of the same map. Not to be confused with INTERLEVEL TELEPORT.

1.8 Troubleshooting

Type 11 Errors:

After having gotten a map from someone who consistently experienced type

11 errors, I found out the following; It looks like Pfhorte at least sometimes writes out garbage for your level info. That's BAD. The good news is I there's a way to fix it. Here's what you do (order is important)

1) When importing a Pfhorte map, go to Set Level Parameters... in the Special menu. Set your parameters properly and click OK. Clicking OK will fix your level info.

2) Nuke and Pave your map. This will get rid of bad shape and texturing info written out by Pfhorte. Now if you add an observer and go into visual mode, things should work fine and there should be no Type 11 errors. You should you do this for ALL levels imported from Pfhorte.

I would like to know why my map isn't working for Kill The Guy With the Ball. I have the correct tags set in the level information box, and I have a ball in the level. However, when I go to play a net game, the Kill the Guy With the Ball option doesn't allow my map to be used. What gives?

This was a problem in Forge 1.0 which is now fixed. Use the updater available from this site to fix your version of Forge.

I open my previously made M2 map, nuke and pave it, add another player start, and when I go into visual, it makes me restart. Should I have the M2 shapes file in the folder, or the M shapes file?

You should have the Marathon 2 Shapes file available. In addition, make sure that you are not using any Infinity Specific textures, items or weapons when you do this. Check Set Level Parameters (Specials Menu) and it will tell you if the map is compatible with Marathon 2, Infinity or both.

Another great chapter in the Marathon saga, keep up the good work guys. Now enough of buttering you up, my problem is as follows. I'm trying to create a large room with a usable suspension bridge going through the centre and I want to be able to walk/run underneath it. Forge is proving quite intractable and won't let me. Can this be done??????? Any hints would be greatly appreciated.

The game engine is not a true 3D engine so creating a real bridge is not possible. If you look at Bungie maps you may see that a bridge can be approximated. The best advice is for you to study these maps and see how through a combination of Negative Space and Overlapping Polygons this effect is achieved.

In the manual it states that Maps created with these tools can be run using the Infinity engine and will not display the "Not made by Bungie" dialog when you use them. How come it still does this?

Because they have to be merged before this can occur. Please follow the merging process as outlined in the FAQ and the manual and this dialog will not reappear.

I'm getting an error that states I have too many transparent polygons and please remove some all the time. It's really starting to frustrate me. What is a general rule of thumb for transparent polys in a row and what are some techniques I can use to get around this without radically changing the layout I want?

The best way to get beyond this is to use columns of negative space. This will speed up your map and makes it possible for you to make it larger. Secondly, try to avoid having too many polygons in straight lines.

2. Anvil

2.1 Physics Models

With anvil I have opened my shapes file and found that there is a gray fighter and all sorts of gray characters. I have encountered these aliens in the marathon x game but cannot figure out how to put them on my maps. In the game marathon x there is a little blue ball with red lines on it and a cricket -like thing and a little octopus that flies in the air. There are also all different colors of monsters in my shapes file and I cannot put these characters on my maps and, believe me, I know the name of every type of alien. How do I put the characters I listed on my maps?

The additional creatures (in addition to M2) are basically all generated through interesting physics Model changes.

I cannot seem to find the SMG in the weapons editor.

There are two weapons packages, standard and user defined. Look at both of these.

2.2 Shapes

The two shapes file mods on the Hyperarchive use patches other than Anvil's. One is ResCompare (which I didn't think could do data fork patches), the other is Updatemaker. So far for me the importing of an Anvil shapes patch works okay. What kind of problems are people running into with it? I'll need some kind of reliable patcher in the near future, so what's the best option right now?

The best option right now is to use the patch that Anvil is able to generate. It should work fine. Two things should be remembered though. Firstly, if you are making a patch make it using a version of the shapes file that began as clean. And if you are using a patch make sure you use it on a clean version of the shapes file.

Basically, what I want to do is make the BOBS into Marines, by changing the Shapes file. The only problem about this is that Marines come in 2 halves!!! Is there any way I can put them together?

The best way to do this is to export the images and manually put them together by cutting and pasting. Then you can bring them into the Shapes file and paste them in place of the Bob images.

I notice that some texture palettes do not contain the same number of textures. Like Walls 2 has 0-29 or 30 while another might have 34. What is the fixed texture palette size in terms of the number of textures and how is it defined?

The numbers of textures are not changeable. The number of textures that you see in each texture set should be used as a template and they should not be added to. Marathon loads these textures into memory and changing them may adversely affect memory requirements.

The texture collections have a fixed size which is hard coded into the engine. The engine loads all the textures for the next level at once, with all objects, aliens and sounds. To keep memory requirements low this restriction has to remain in place. For a given texture collection just replace those that already exist.

Having downloaded the new updates to Anvil and Forge I can now add textures using Expert Mode however When I go to see my work of art in Forge and go into Visual Mode the new textures are replaced by an existing landscape texture. The only way to get this to work is to edit an existing texture which of course is back to how v1 worked. Any thoughts?

The problem is most likely that you have replaced an 8 bit image and are running in 16bit mode. There are two versions of each landscape - one 8 bit and one 16bit. Try switching resolution before running the game and see if that changes anything.

2.3 Miscellaneous

Is there any way to change the behavior of a media for a given texture set. For example I'd like to make the alien goo set (5) have water instead of goo. So, how do I change the color that the liquid is when you're inside it? I know I can change the surface texture (shapes), the effect it has on the player (physics), and the sounds that it makes (sounds). But I don't want to pass over "water" (or dive into it) and hear the goo bubbling beneath! Any ideas?

The color change that is generated within each liquid type is hard- coded into the engine. Unfortunately this means that you can't change it.

Expert mode does not allow you to cut or clear a texture?

The number of textures are fixed. You can replace the texture but you won't be able to clear it. The game looks for a specific number of textures and those have to exist or it will crash. The images can be anything - even white if you would prefer that.