VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 7, 2024 21:59:34 GMT Caedia Veness, MooCHa, and 3 more like this

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Post by Rendara on Jun 7, 2024 21:59:34 GMT

Download

www.nexusmods.com/vampirebloodlines/mods/316

Summary

After watching Tim Cain reminisce about the lost multiplayer mode for Bloodlines, I felt determined to restore it. Great progress has been made so far, and the following features have been implemented:

- The server host can play without crashing (See "Known issues" below for more info)
- Functional PvP firearms
- Random respawns
- PvP damage

- Deathmatch gamemode

- 10 player lobbies

- Custom GUI

- Custom Deathmatch map

- Dedicated VTMBMP launcher

- Functional PvP disciplines (Work-in-progress)

- Chatbox (Work-in-progress)

The following features are long-term goals:

- Support for hunters and numina

- Counter-Bite gamemode

- Global music / synchronised SFX

- Functional PvP melee weapons

- PvP damage floaters

- Decreased client lag

- Dedicated VTMBMP installer

- Coop gamemode

- Roleplay gamemode

Much work still remains and I'm sincerely grateful for any suggestions and feedback.

No idea if any of the long-term goal features are possible yet, so please keep expectations in check. You can bet I'll give it my best shot though!

Known issues

Client jerkiness and movement view jitter - For reasons unknown, clients have a horrible camera jitter when they move. It's hard to describe without playing yourself, the closest comparison I can make is that it's almost as though the framerate is halved only when clients move and look around, even though the framerate doesn't change, it is very peculiar. I've tried every single cl_ and sv_ command to no avail. See the video here:

planetvampire.freeforums.net/post/2146

If anyone has any suggestions on what this is and how to fix it, please leave a comment. Thanks.

Host physics crash - "vampire caused an Access Violation (0xc0000005) in module client.dll at 0023:14812e83. Read from location 00000008 caused an access violation."

The game crashes when the server host touches the ground. The game will also crash when players jump or fall off a ledge.

Thankfully, there is a Python workaround to skip the crash trigger so that the host can play, but players still cannot jump and multiplayer maps must be designed to be a flat plane with no ledges.

Also, complex mesh geometry on entities can trigger this crash. Map makers, ensure all prop_static and prop_dynamic objects have the "Use Bounding Box" collision property instead of "Use VPhysics".

Hardcoded engine bug, likely impossible to fix without the source code.

Camera switch crash - "vampire caused an Access Violation (0xc0000005) in module studiorender.dll at 0023:17957ff7. Read from location 00003f52 caused an access violation."
The game will sometimes crash when switching from first person to third person.

Hardcoded engine bug, likely impossible to fix without the source code.

Alt-Tab particle crash - "vampire caused an Access Violation (0xc0000005) in module studiorender.dll at 0023:17677c19. Read from location 00003f10 caused an access violation."

Avoid tabbing out of the Vampire executable, sometimes a busy fight with lots of particles can cause the game to lag, and if you tab out, this can overflow the renderer and crash the game.

Latest edit: Updated summary and known issues (4/11/24).

Last Edit: Nov 4, 2024 21:15:28 GMT by Rendara

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 7, 2024 22:01:51 GMT Strawberry_milk likes this

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 7, 2024 22:01:51 GMT

And here is a short clip demonstrating PvP damage and random respawns in action!

I couldn't get the video embed to work, I hope a raw link like this is acceptable and doesn't go against the forum rules...

Edit: Video seems to have sorted itself out anyway...

Last Edit: Jun 7, 2024 22:02:41 GMT by Rendara

MooCHa Elder Posts: 760	VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 7, 2024 23:50:24 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by MooCHa on Jun 7, 2024 23:50:24 GMT Don't give up or I'll Billy Ocean you !
	Only interested in the people here.

Caedia Veness
Administratrix

Regent of the Sabbat, Elder of Clan Lasombra

Posts: 666

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 8, 2024 1:50:56 GMT Rendara likes this

Quote

Post by Caedia Veness on Jun 8, 2024 1:50:56 GMT

Jun 7, 2024 22:01:51 GMT Rendara said:

And here is a short clip demonstrating PvP damage and random respawns in action!

I couldn't get the video embed to work, I hope a raw link like this is acceptable and doesn't go against the forum rules...

Edit: Video seems to have sorted itself out anyway...

I am glad to see that you've decided to create a dedicated thread to this project. YouTube video embeds should appear automatically whenever links are posted, otherwise you should be able to see an "Insert Video" button along the far right bar above the Reply Editor's text field.

I've also proceeded to pin this thread.

Last Edit: Jun 8, 2024 1:51:19 GMT by Caedia Veness

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 16, 2024 13:17:54 GMT

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 16, 2024 13:17:54 GMT

Hello! A small update. I've implemented the server scripting needed for a scoreboard. All that remains is a "win condition", ie, most points by the end of the game. Game win/loss and other conditional HUD elements will be added soon too.

While I'm here, does anyone know how to construct a game_sign or prop_sign entity to NOT lock player input while it is active? The "Pause When Reading" bool for these entities is a process pause, not an input pause, so that isn't a solution unfortunately. The data of the entity is handled with file writing in the script, so don't worry about that part. I'm only asking for suggestions on how to retain player input, as if the sign entity was just another permanent HUD element like health or blood, essentially.

Wesp5 Moderator Unofficial Patch Creator Fixing Bloodlines Posts: 265	VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 16, 2024 18:06:35 GMT Rendara likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Wesp5 on Jun 16, 2024 18:06:35 GMT I can't help you with the sign, but you should add a multiplayer menu option. Look at how I added the hunter missions!
	Last Edit: Jun 16, 2024 18:06:56 GMT by Wesp5

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 16, 2024 21:01:29 GMT MooCHa likes this

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 16, 2024 21:01:29 GMT

Jun 16, 2024 18:06:35 GMT Wesp5 said:

I can't help you with the sign, but you should add a multiplayer menu option. Look at how I added the hunter missions!

I'll have a look, thanks! Also noticed a few unused multiplayer related strings in gameui_english.txt, might be useful (assuming they still work and can point to custom scripts).

So, after some more experimentation, game_text seems perfect. Only issue is that I can't seem to get the message string to load a file. Here is what the FGD property description says:

"Message Text message <string> Message to display onscreen.

You can also define variables from localized 'resource/*.txt' files (e.g. #MyMessage)."

Going off this poorly worded description, I have tried the following to no avail:

mpscore

mpscore.txt

#mpscore
#mpscore.txt

resource/mpscore

resource/mpscore.txt

#resource/mpscore
#resource/mpscore.txt

I also tried using some of the "tokens" found in gameui_english.txt, didn't work.

There are no examples of this entity property loading external strings in any existing map so I can't look for other examples either.

Any ideas, anyone?

MooCHa
Elder

Posts: 760

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 17, 2024 20:59:31 GMT

Quote

Post by MooCHa on Jun 17, 2024 20:59:31 GMT

Jun 16, 2024 21:01:29 GMT Rendara said:

Jun 16, 2024 18:06:35 GMT Wesp5 said:

I can't help you with the sign, but you should add a multiplayer menu option. Look at how I added the hunter missions!

I'll have a look, thanks! Also noticed a few unused multiplayer related strings in gameui_english.txt, might be useful (assuming they still work and can point to custom scripts).

So, after some more experimentation, game_text seems perfect. Only issue is that I can't seem to get the message string to load a file. Here is what the FGD property description says:

"Message Text message <string> Message to display onscreen.

You can also define variables from localized 'resource/*.txt' files (e.g. #MyMessage)."

Going off this poorly worded description, I have tried the following to no avail:

mpscore

mpscore.txt

#mpscore
#mpscore.txt

resource/mpscore

resource/mpscore.txt

#resource/mpscore
#resource/mpscore.txt

I also tried using some of the "tokens" found in gameui_english.txt, didn't work.

There are no examples of this entity property loading external strings in any existing map so I can't look for other examples either.

Any ideas, anyone?

https://kajabi-storefronts-production.kajabi-cdn.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/blogs/5551/images/nUn5augrQO8aiIU7N8Fw_patient_1.jpg

Only interested in the people here.

malkav Independent Antideluvian Posts: 58	VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 17, 2024 21:38:54 GMT MooCHa and Rendara like this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by malkav on Jun 17, 2024 21:38:54 GMT Well, if 800 years old you can get, patience you can have...

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 17, 2024 22:26:44 GMT

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 17, 2024 22:26:44 GMT

Haha, Yoda memes never get old

.

I've made some progress with the sign/HUD stuff, the issue is that the score scripting is broken for clients at the moment, might need to re-re-rewrite the system. The biggest timesink for multiplayer functionality is figuring out which entities behave weirdly when multiple players exist at once. Then you apply a script on top and hope it doesn't collapse on itself...

I'm off tomorrow, I can work on this all day, hopefully there'll be some progress. Thanks for checking in guys!

P.S. Can anyone savvy on the forum tell me why I can't have forum notifications for "new posts" on threads? The checkbox is greyed out...

Caedia Veness
Administratrix

Regent of the Sabbat, Elder of Clan Lasombra

Posts: 666

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 18, 2024 4:00:03 GMT Rendara likes this

Quote

Post by Caedia Veness on Jun 18, 2024 4:00:03 GMT

Jun 17, 2024 22:26:44 GMT Rendara said:

P.S. Can anyone savvy on the forum tell me why I can't have forum notifications for "new posts" on threads? The checkbox is greyed out...

That option would notify you whenever any new post is made in any thread on the forums, which would likely not prove desirable. You should be able to click on the "Participated" menu on the upper-right corner of the page beneath the Logout button in order to be taken directly to the most recent posts in any threads you have participated in.

It should be possible to create notification options for replies in specific threads, but that option might require a plugin as the notification overrides are currently board-specific at the most.

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 18, 2024 9:34:49 GMT Caedia Veness likes this

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 9:34:49 GMT

Jun 18, 2024 4:00:03 GMT Caedia Veness said:

Jun 17, 2024 22:26:44 GMT Rendara said:

P.S. Can anyone savvy on the forum tell me why I can't have forum notifications for "new posts" on threads? The checkbox is greyed out...

That option would notify you whenever any new post is made in any thread on the forums, which would likely not prove desirable. You should be able to click on the "Participated" menu on the upper-right corner of the page beneath the Logout button in order to be taken directly to the most recent posts in any threads you have participated in.

It should be possible to create notification options for replies in specific threads, but that option might require a plugin as the notification overrides are currently board-specific at the most.

Aha, "Participated" works great for me. Thank you!

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 18, 2024 18:14:00 GMT

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 18:14:00 GMT

Alright, do any of you Python wizards know how to add an origin "offset" to a SetOrigin() value?

This is roughly what I want: entity1.SetOrigin(entity2.GetOrigin() + (0,0,60)).

The idea is that entity1 appears 60 units above the Z value of entity2, while the X/Y coordinates are untouched.

If this isn't possible, any suggestions on how to make an entity appear right in front of the players head?

Last Edit: Jun 18, 2024 18:15:08 GMT by Rendara

malkav
Independent

Antideluvian

Posts: 58

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 18, 2024 18:30:16 GMT Rendara likes this

Quote

Post by malkav on Jun 18, 2024 18:30:16 GMT

Something like this should do the trick:

#DOWNTOWN: Get Beckett unstuck, added by wesp
def checkBeckettStuck():
    if (__main__.G.Beckett_Talk == 0):
        beckett = Find("Beckett")
        if beckett:
            org = __main__.FindPlayer().GetOrigin()
            rx = org[0] + 50
            beckett.SetOrigin((rx,org[1],org[2]))

For changing the height you have to change org[2]

Last Edit: Jun 18, 2024 18:31:15 GMT by malkav

Rendara
Independent

Restoring the Vampire Bloodlines multiplayer

Posts: 137

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration Jun 18, 2024 20:27:35 GMT

Quote

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 20:27:35 GMT

Jun 18, 2024 18:30:16 GMT malkav said:

Something like this should do the trick:

#DOWNTOWN: Get Beckett unstuck, added by wesp
def checkBeckettStuck():
    if (__main__.G.Beckett_Talk == 0):
        beckett = Find("Beckett")
        if beckett:
            org = __main__.FindPlayer().GetOrigin()
            rx = org[0] + 50
            beckett.SetOrigin((rx,org[1],org[2]))

For changing the height you have to change org[2]

This is exactly what I needed, works perfectly.

Can I credit you in the code commentary for this suggestion? Or would you prefer not to be named? Either way, thank you!

VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration

Post by Rendara on Jun 7, 2024 21:59:34 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 7, 2024 22:01:51 GMT

Post by MooCHa on Jun 7, 2024 23:50:24 GMT

Post by Caedia Veness on Jun 8, 2024 1:50:56 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 16, 2024 13:17:54 GMT

Post by Wesp5 on Jun 16, 2024 18:06:35 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 16, 2024 21:01:29 GMT

Post by MooCHa on Jun 17, 2024 20:59:31 GMT

Post by malkav on Jun 17, 2024 21:38:54 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 17, 2024 22:26:44 GMT

Post by Caedia Veness on Jun 18, 2024 4:00:03 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 9:34:49 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 18:14:00 GMT

Post by malkav on Jun 18, 2024 18:30:16 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 20:27:35 GMT

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VTMBMP - Multiplayer restoration

Post by Rendara on Jun 7, 2024 21:59:34 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 7, 2024 22:01:51 GMT

Post by MooCHa on Jun 7, 2024 23:50:24 GMT

Post by Caedia Veness on Jun 8, 2024 1:50:56 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 16, 2024 13:17:54 GMT

Post by Wesp5 on Jun 16, 2024 18:06:35 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 16, 2024 21:01:29 GMT

Post by MooCHa on Jun 17, 2024 20:59:31 GMT

Post by malkav on Jun 17, 2024 21:38:54 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 17, 2024 22:26:44 GMT

Post by Caedia Veness on Jun 18, 2024 4:00:03 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 9:34:49 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 18:14:00 GMT

Post by malkav on Jun 18, 2024 18:30:16 GMT

Post by Rendara on Jun 18, 2024 20:27:35 GMT

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