? about zloths demo edit program

Hello whoever botherd to read this lowly demo nubs thread.

I just started figuring out how to use zloths demo edit program (which is a gift from the heavens btw) and i cant seem to get camera and player/object movement right. Its impossible for some1 so inexperienced as me to hand write the entire script so thats outa the ? And for some reason when i try to use the demo edit program i always get a "fatal" error where it "doesn't know how to load the demo." when i try to play it.

So my ? is this, does any1 no how to correct this problem with the editer or like a good guid to demo movement?

Thx in advanced

I'm a bit unclear on what you're asking. Are you getting the "fatal error" with the demo editor, or after you've edited it and are trying to play it? Check the file and make sure it has a .cohdemo extension (not .txt or the ever-annoying .cohdemo.txt).

As for getting the movement stuff right, what are you having trouble with specifically? I know the interface can be a bit quirky so it takes some getting used to. If you haven't already, take a look at the readme file that comes with the editor- it offers a much better explanation on that feature than I could probably give you .

the fatal error occurs after using the demo editor program, i save it in the .cohdemo format but when i try to view the demo it says fatal error "dont know how to read the demo" and it just closes, i just wanna no if im like the only 1 who gets this problem or, if im not, how to fix it.

as for moving, theres no real specifix on what im having a problem with, its rly all of it XD

also, what i have noticed is that no 1 ever mentions the SKYFILE SKY 1 0 1.000000 lines that r in it and the converter does not add it in. If this is the reason im having the fatal error then is there maybe a more recent demo edit program or can some1 tell me how to add it into a demo that was edited.

The skyfile bit is fine, that's in all sorts of demos. "Don't know how to read this demo" is usually the file extension, but could be something to do with the format of the demo itself. What exactly do you edit in the demo? What is the demo of (and in what zone)? Does the demo play before you edit it?

I suppose I can take a look at the file myself, that is, if you're willing to sacrifice a platypus and part with a cookie . If you create an account over at W00t Studios you can upload the demo through their file depot.

Well, I'm new to this too, but it could prove useful as I have had the same issues and what I discovered my problem was is that the first 3 lines of the code needs to be the Version, Map and Time of day. I had a few lines in there of NUL and things to show me where to add in things I wanted but when I resorted them, it placed those NUL commands at the top and it said it couldn't read it and closed the program. So when I took them out it worked. Make sure you don't have anything before those 3 lines. Then, make sure you have a CAM POS & PYR (i move mine to be lines 4 & 5 just so they are at the top and I can find them easily) or it will say it doesn't know how to read it (because without the CAMera angles and placement, it won't know where to start. This may not be your problem but it might help. Balshor, Zloth or Relentless can chime in if I am not correct on that or I am reading your question wrong. Good Luck.
Oh..and on movement, this might help. they are in X Z Y fashion (such as 34.5678 42.456 -98.19874) where the first sets moves one way like North/South then the 2nd set of numbers is how high you are so moving from 34.5678 to 40.5678 moves you STRAIGHT UP 6 increments (like in the air)and the last moves you the other direction such as west/east. For starters, try making a demo with an object in your view. Then in the editor, move the first # up or down by 2 and see which way it moved. (move the whole numbers not decimals like move 34.5678 to 36.5678)Do the same with the other numbers and it won't take you long to see how the movement works. 1 or 2 numbers won't move it far so you can see it but larger numbers might move it off the screen or down inside the map or above you so take your time and you'll get used to it..I am !

Can you load the edited demo into the Demo Editor? I think it might actually be more picky than the game about what's in a demo.

ive gotten it in 2 demos, i was in nerva n i tried to make the warburg rocket arrise from the water n i got fatal error so i tried to just make my character float up n i still got the error

i ended up scrapping the whole demo cuz i rly messed it up n forgot to make a backup so i cant give u the actual 1 but ill try to remake it

but all i did was have it stand in place n then give it an end position n plug the timing into the demo edit program

lol wish i had this edvice like friday, had no idea what pyr were n i still didnt no if it was yzx or xzy so thx for that lol, but ya on the other stuff i have right, i can do like basic demos with like non-moving ppl n objects but thats no fun

im startin to think that im just usin the program wrong lol so i guess ill just have to make some free-time n mess around a lot with this

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Can you load the edited demo into the Demo Editor? I think it might actually be more picky than the game about what's in a demo.

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u mean like take a demo i have n load it into the program? yes i can do that, but going from the edited demo that i made with the program and actually launching it i can not do

heres somthing like the demo i tried to do
http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?Gu...TopicID=6472365

It's just about impossible to figure out what went wrong with the original demo without seeing it, since 1) it was probably just a syntax issue and 2) that demo already works . Since you don't have the original attempt, try to make the demo again and come back here if it gives you issues.

the 1 i posted isnt working for me, did u try it out?

The demo you posted played just fine, though there wasn't much to see. Are you having trouble playing all demos, or just ones you've edited?

I believe I know what your problem is because I had a similar problem. The demo as recorded played fine. Demos loaded into Zloth's program and saved as a new file, even with no changes, crashed. For whatever reason, on my machine, the demofile was being saved in Unicode and not ANSI format. Take one of the crashing demofiles and open it with notepad. Resave it, but in the third drop down box marked "encoding", change it to ANSI. You should be able to play it. I used this workaround for my last movie (Invincible - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuOmYK7sInA (shameless plug)) and it worked fine. I can only assume that there is some default setting somewhere in my system (and presumably yours) that sets Unicode as the default setting since most other people dont seem to be having this problem. I hope this fixes your problem.

!!! Unicode??? That's really odd, you normally have to tell VB if you want it to work with Unicode instead of ASCII.

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I believe I know what your problem is because I had a similar problem. The demo as recorded played fine. Demos loaded into Zloth's program and saved as a new file, even with no changes, crashed. For whatever reason, on my machine, the demofile was being saved in Unicode and not ANSI format. Take one of the crashing demofiles and open it with notepad. Resave it, but in the third drop down box marked "encoding", change it to ANSI. You should be able to play it. I used this workaround for my last movie (Invincible - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuOmYK7sInA (shameless plug)) and it worked fine. I can only assume that there is some default setting somewhere in my system (and presumably yours) that sets Unicode as the default setting since most other people dont seem to be having this problem. I hope this fixes your problem.

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Awsome, ya it works now thx much

Yeesh... glad you showed up Agent, I would have never thought of that!

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!!! Unicode??? That's really odd, you normally have to tell VB if you want it to work with Unicode instead of ASCII.

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Yeah, I can only assume that at some point some other application I installed changed how that type of data is handled. Its one of those things where re-saving them in notepad is probably going to be easier than trying to track down the real problem and fixing it globally.