Metroid Prime: Development Tools/Plugins

[emu_kidid]

You mean like this? ;)

Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/!worldarea_gfplanet.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/01_gfplanet_landingsite.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0x_gfplanet_generic_01.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0x_gfplanet_generic_03.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0x_gfplanet_generic_04.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0y_gfplanet_jhalleast.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0a_gfplanet_venttube.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0f_gfplanet_conduit_a.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/03_gfplanet_generator_a.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0g_gfplanet_vistabridge_a.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0d_gfplanet_conduit_c.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/02_gfplanet_gunhub.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/05_gfplanet_generator_c.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/0e_gfplanet_vistabridge_c.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/00_gfplanet_pickup_a.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/00_gfplanet_save_a.sava [n]
Y:/cook_rep/worlds/gf_planet/!e3_world/cooked/!e3_world.savw [n]

This is coming from the e3 Metroid Prime 3 demo

[CoolMod]

Interesting...

[Waker]

Hoho, that's beastly.

Also, something odd I discovered on the Metroid Database forums a while back.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t.../font_info.png

"This is the scan visor text. This texture is not used in the game, but tells the cooker how to set up the pane parameters so the text is scaled properly. This was written in 13pt Face font."

EDIT: Going through the .EVNT files, I'm.. honestly thinking that they're a version of UnrealScript, with references to Sound, Skeletal Meshes, etc. in the game. It's all compiled though, and I don't have access to the Opcode Reference, a decent decompiler, or even a compiled format reference.

If anybody would be so kind as to give me these specs, I'd really appreciate it. Notice, it has to be Legacy, as this runs on Unreal Engine 2.

EDIT 2: AFSM Files seem to be base "classes", if you will, for enemies, as they contain plaintext definitions for functions, variables, etc. I've found things like "Start", "Patrol", "Lurk", "PathFind", "TargetPlayer", "Attack", "Crouch", "Dead", "Run", etc. From what I can guess, they're Actor Finite State Machines, which would actually be relevant.

[Keiji Dragon]

Metroid Prime on Unreal Engine?

What a dirty little secret this game has.

[CodeAsm]

Love those pictures :love2:

also this: http://www.amantohan.com/Projects/MayaPlugin/mel.html
Its unrelated, but the plugin is in.... Whait what...
I dont have lot of experiance with Maya or its plugin system, but it apears to be possible. And in the field, programmers are used to use parts of already existing code, as long as its legal, free or cheap. For Devtools, and gameengines. Anyway, I don't know anything about the app shown, but this is my though.

:rolleyes: Keep that research comming, I like it. :thumbsup:

[Samson]

Well, the menu bar doesn't look much like Maya, but all that can be changed in a plugin. And it is very easy to add new icons to the shelf (=toolbar), just drag and drop a bit of script on it and Maya creates a button. And you can change the icon just by selecting a different image. Or, the other way around, all of Maya's icons are just images in a directory, so if you make a new (internal) application you could easily reuse them. There are arguments for and against using Maya as a level editor or using a stand-alone program, so both are possible.
I think a lot of Retro's initial staff came from the Quake and Unreal programming scene, so it is possible that they either licensed Unreal or wrote a new engine that is very close to the tools they were already familiar with. Doesn't one of the early Splinter Cell on GameCube use Unreal 2?

[Kargaroc]

During the Metroid Headquarters 101 hour marathon, one of the developers of Metroid Prime came into the chat room. I asked them what softwhere they used for modelling, and this is what they said
"Mostly Maya but some 3DSMax on MP1"

I have chat logs of it by the way.

[C-Kronos]

During the Metroid Headquarters 101 hour marathon, one of the developers of Metroid Prime came into the chat room. I asked them what softwhere they used for modelling, and this is what they said
"Mostly Maya but some 3DSMax on MP1"

I have chat logs of it by the way.

Well, glad that's taken care of now..

[Leo(T.C.K.)]

I want to see the example of the UnrealScript files. But....I need to debunk few myths about the Unreal Engine for those who say it isn't possible because of the subtractive method. But...unknown to many people, the unreal engine started off as fully additive, in exact same way that metroid prime works, and the functionality was retained, but it remained unused and subtractive was forced unless done with some hacking/custom editor. So most people never knew the additive method worked in Unreal engine 1 even.

Here is a proof to my claims, you can run this map in Unreal or UT, or maybe even other uengine 1 games will load it, is devoid of any textures, but it is raw import of the tech demo 95 t3d of the john.unr map, but switched to additive geometry mode completely(there is no backdrop "sphere" either, in this case so all you see is hom, but it is very easy to implement one too):

johnertest.rar

Just try going out of those windows and then go and fall infinitely (same happens in MP apparently from what i have seen), also use command RMODE 6 so you get flood lighting as the whole map is in total darkness due to no lights present, this was just a test remember that.

But that isn't a proof this ran Unreal engine, but the similarities are striking, also that one of the sound guys also worked on Unreal 2 at same time (which, unlike planned like expansive world, ended up to be a terribly linear and cut dumbed down game, mostly on decisions by Atari).
Remember that Quake's additive world is nothing like it was in Unreal, in Unreal it is the first true additive world in every sense of the world, but they did not decide to use that, but the feature was still there. And UE3 later put that to heavy use again. But that kind of true additive design leads to one thing, sceneries and places you cannot reach, because it basically requires a mapper where there's open area to fill the void space with some breath taking scenery and meshes, and back in uengine 1 times that wasn't really plausible to do so and would break Romero's design law rules at the time which said that you should acess any place you see on the map in fps game, whether be it later revisited in game, or as a secret area. So that is why it remained "disabled" until UE3. But the ability was there.

[Waker]

Wow, Holy Christ, I never thought that the thread would spawn ARTICLES.

To all of you waiting to prove or disprove my theories, I must ask you to wait even longer. I'll admit, it was a little far-fetched to call it UE2, but it was reasonable at the time among my talks with several programmer friends.

Yes, I have read the debunking threads, and yes, you're probably right, but unfortunately, I don't have access to the MPRIME disc right now, as I'm away from home.

I doubt this thread will be revived as well as my interest in Metroid Prime, but you are free to employ some investigation yourself. My word isn't god. :)

Anyway, for now, I hope those of you will look deeper. Whip out your Hex Editors and logical reasoning and go to town! (I suggest looking at the EVNT files. :)

Cheers,
Waker