Forums Index >> General >> On the subject of the "Improper Artwork" Error
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Roo, I think you are right. Seems a few maps that have used skies that had to be downloaded in-game have caused problems for some. I don't know th solution either. Anyone?
-Rx
I've had this problem on the computer I installed modwiz on and also on the one that doesn't have it.
Is there a way to see what is loading in-game and what the conflict is being caused by?
I agree that it limits the client base. I stopped trying to go into OUCH'S mods when it kept happening to me, and gave up. Others may be less patient than me.
Well, looksie, looksie!
As you know, or maybe have been annoyed by, I have been playing a bit in the skies files. I have been able to create some new skies and have learned a little bit. I also still have some questions, and have not yet figured out all of the answers. But that IS, only a matter of time.
The Scenario
I recenlty used a sky called GibDawn in one of my latest mods. I did not create this sky but wanted to use it. The problem was, if I was in game and the server relaoded the mission, I would get the "Art Error" message when the game would reboot. If I immediately rejoined I was able to get right in but again recieved the error on restart of the map.
This started to really BURN MY BALLS!
So I decided to stay up until I figured out this issue. I wasn't going to bed until I have a fix. PERIOD.
I tried everything I could think of Upper case, Lower case,. Nothing worked. I then looked at some other.dml files and noticed that they called for two different files at the end of the dml file.
Here's the original
GibDawn_S
GibDawn_W
GibDawn_N
GibDawn_E
GibDawn_UP
GibDawn_DN
GibDawn_ref
I changed the file to look like this.
GibDawn_S
GibDawn_W
GibDawn_N
GibDawn_E
GibDawn_UP
day_0006
day_0007
As soon as this change was made, I was able to stay in the server in a normal fashion with out getting any errors. The correct.dml file needs to reside on the server and client. Changing the.dml file on the server will not result in downloading and overwriting the one on the client. It either needs to not exist, (and be downloaded) or be replaced manually.
Here's some of the things I found out. The.dml file is king! If there is anything out of whack with the.dml file the skies will not be usable. Some dml files use 5 files and others use 6 or 7.
Here's some info from the Tech School Mission Objects PDF listed and linked below;
The DML File
As noted above, the DML file is the place you specify your skybox and cloud
textures. The file itself can be placed anywhere you wish below the game root directory,
since you can specify the relative path in the field: materialList. A sample file would
look something like this (egt_base.dml):
egt_base1
egt_base2
egt_base3
egt_base4
egt_base5
egt_base6
env_map
layer0
layer1
layer2
In this example, egt_base1.. Egt_base4 represent the side textures, egt_base6 is
the top of the box, and egt_base5is the bottom of the box. The first five textures are
required for useSkyTextures true and renderBottomTexture false. The sixth texture is
required if you choose to render the bottom texture of course.
So, what about the location of textures vs. The sides of the skybox? If we
arbitrarily choose the World X-axis as our North-South axis, we get the following:
The next texture in the DML file is called env_map. This texture is used for any
environment mapping applied to shapes. This texture is optional if you are not going to
do any environment mapping and do not intend to have clouds.
Finally, the last three textures in the DML file specify texture names for the cloud
layers. The ordering of these textures has NOTHING to do with the cloud height. Cloud
height is controlled by cloudHeightPer[3]. Well talk more about this below
Please note, Ive stated above that this or that texture is optional based on
decisions you make. However, till you get rolling, I suggest that you always specify six
textures for the sky box and one additional for the envmap. This way you wont run into
any difficulties. Note also that the file is positional. So, for example, if you want clouds,
you must have specified the seven prior textures, even if they are dummy textures that
wont be used.
I recently posted this in one of the modding threads
I'm not sure if any of you have stumbled across this but there are nice explanations for TGE in these documents.
Here's the general page and some direct links below. Have fun!
How to TGE
Download Here You can download the guide by sections or all at once:
Entire Guide - 13.3
Introduction - 0.4 MB
Basic Training - 6.7 MB
Tech School (Mission Objects) - 5.6 MB
Tech School (Torque Script) - 0.3 MB
Last edited: Friday, September 23, 2005 at 8:07:38 PM
@LGM
Thanks that blows that theory :()
@Nappy that is informative
So basically you are now going thru the sky dmls to determine
which have issues and are repairing them?
Do you want help?
Last edited: Friday, September 23, 2005 at 10:41:26 PM
It's not that I'm doing that. I used one and found it had some problems and fixed it. We may need to look at the specif sky file or dml file that is causing the TBM error.
@napalm- I'm getting the "your terrain file doesn't match the version that is running on the server" when I try to join Catacomb National Park. I just downloaded your terrrains to get the newer ones... :S
____________
Later- I got the files from your.mac public folder, and just redownloaded them from the mod_pack page. That came from a different address at.mac and had a slightly newer "date modified". I swapped it out, but don't know if that will make a difference.
I'll find out later when it comes up in rotation again.
Last edited: Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 12:50:31 AM
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Most everyone here at one point or another has experienced this error when joining a MOD MAP.
My reason for posting this is to share my findings and
to open a dialogue on how to repair this unfortunate event
Observations:
1. When you preload the artwork and it is placed properly = No error
When you download the artwork in-game it's a crapshoot = Possible Error
At first I thought it might have something to do with different TT versions
You know Realarcade vs Shockwave but now I suspect it might be those who
installed ModWiz as opposed to those who didn't. Perhaps a pref.cs command line
is toggled off or on. I really don't know for sure why but I know that if we can find out
then there might be a ez solution.
2. 90% of the time it's the sky files that cause the problem. See TBML5 thread
3. IMHO it needs to be addressed because if left unchecked it has the potential to limit the
client base
Whats your thoughts?
Do any of the creators still read these forums?
If so then....................Plz help us out