Some Gates of Discord (GoD) fixes

[John Adams]

I got tired of guessing and asking everyone about the blank / black graphics issues in the Gates of Discord zones... and have come to a few conclusions. First and foremost, cbodmer is my new hero-of-the-month! If not for his hint about "Fog", I never would have noticed there are up to FIVE (5) fog settings per zone. Sheesh. Once I set them all to 2000 or so (matching other zones), things came into focus brilliantly.

Conclusions:
HardwareTNL=FALSE - works, but seems to make things laggier (new word?)
Particles* = 1 - couldn't figure this out
RenderEffects folders - copying these from Live or anywhere else does not seem to work. The newest Live ones destroy Emu gfx, too.
TextureCaching - this did nothing
#weather 1 - worked like a champ, but who wants it to rain all the time?


The Fix:
Here's some SQL fixes for all GoD zones. Please check the details carefully before importing into your zones - and make a backup first, of course. This works for me, but it's no guarentee. There are differences in table structure between PEQ-based databases, and Cavedude-based ones. Use the SQL below that matches your table structure - or use this as a template to update your own data as you see fit.

Also - PLEASE post any updates, corrections, better ideas to this if you have them. I got the zones working this way - and it may not be the best solution.

PEQ Database:

UPDATE zone SET 
min_status='0',
underworld = '-2030', 
maxclip = '1000',
fog_maxclip = '2000',
fog_maxclip1 = '2000',
fog_maxclip2 = '2000',
fog_maxclip3 = '2000',
fog_maxclip4 = '2000'
WHERE short_name IN ('abysmal','barindu','ferubi','ikkinz','inktuta','kodtaz','nedaria','natimbi','qinimi','qvic','riwwi','snfurnace','snlair','snplant','snpool','tacvi','tipt','txevu','uqua','vxed','yxtta');

Cavedudes Database:

UPDATE zone SET 
underworld = '-2030', 
maxclip = '1000',
fog_maxclip = '2000',
fog_maxclip2 = '2000',
fog_maxclip3 = '2000',
fog_maxclip4 = '2000'
WHERE short_name IN ('abysmal','barindu','ferubi','ikkinz','inktuta','kodtaz','nedaria','natimbi','qinimi','qvic','riwwi','snfurnace','snlair','snplant','snpool','tacvi','tipt','txevu','uqua','vxed','yxtta');

Notes:
I used the zone short_names in my WHERE statement for clarity. Omit any you wish to not update. I recommend testing with one zone first, only. If that fixes your blank graphics/fog issues, apply the rest.

Also, there seems to be something odd with the sky/clip in Abysmal Sea. There is a foreboding mist surrounding the ships (Stephen King, anyone?) If someone figures out a decent clip min/max for this zone, let us know.

There also does not appear to be any zone in/out points yet in these zones. I'll work on that between packing, unless someone else already did this (haven't found it posted anywhere).

Lastly, it appears some zones are mob-less still:
ikkinz
inktuta
sncrematory (Cavedude's database has this as 'snfurnace')
snlair
snpool
tacvi
txevu
uqua
yxtta


This is the fix to the zone name/id issue posted elsewhere, along with a few other SQLs to help tune these zones up a little. Again, be mindful of the database you are running:

PEQ Database:

DELETE FROM zone WHERE short_name IN ('qvic','inktuta','txevu','tacvi');
REPLACE INTO `zone` VALUES 
('qvic', '', 'Qvic, Prayer Grounds of Calling', -1181.21, -129.49, -379.25, 0, 100, 295, 0, 0, 1, '', 0, 450, 450, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, '', 1),
('inktuta', '', 'Inktu`Ta, The Unmasked Chapel', 0, 0, -2.25, 0, 100, 296, 0, 0, 1, '', 0, 450, 450, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, '', 1),
('txevu', '', 'Txevu, Lair of the Elites', -307.31, -1.67, -420.25, 0, 100, 297, 0, 0, 1, '', 0, 450, 450, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, '', 1),
('tacvi', '', 'Tacvi, Seat of the Slaver', 0, 0, -6.25, 0, 100, 298, 0, 0, 1, '', 0, 450, 450, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, 0, 0, 0, 450, 450, '', 1);

Cavedude Database:

DELETE FROM zone WHERE short_name IN ('qvic','inktuta','txevu','tacvi');
REPLACE INTO `zone` (`short_name`, `long_name`, `safe_x`, `safe_y`, `safe_z`, `zoneidnumber`, `weather`, `underworld`, `minclip`, `maxclip`, `fog_minclip`, `fog_maxclip`, `sky`, `ztype`, `zone_exp_multiplier`, `walkspeed`, `time_type`,  `fog_minclip2`, `fog_maxclip2`, `fog_minclip3`, `fog_maxclip3`, `fog_minclip4`, `fog_maxclip4`, `canbind`) VALUES
('qvic', 'Qvic, Prayer Grounds of Calling', -1181.21, -129.49, -379.25, 295, 1, -2000, 450, 1000, 450, 2000, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 1),
('inktuta', 'Inktu`Ta, The Unmasked Chapel', 0, 0, -2.25, 296, 1, -2000, 450, 1000, 450, 2000, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 1),
('txevu', 'Txevu, Lair of the Elites', -307.31, -1.67, -420.25, 297, 1, -2000, 450, 1000, 450, 2000, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 1),
('tacvi', 'Tacvi, Seat of the Slaver', 0, 0, -6.25, 298, 1, -2000, 450, 1000, 450, 2000, 1, 1, 1, 0.4, 2, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 450, 2000, 1);

Changes the short_name of "Sewers of Nihilia, the Crematory" from snfurnace to sncrematory - this is OK on the PEQ database. Not sure why Cavedude's DB shows it as snfurnace? (zone appears to be called both, I guess heh)

UPDATE zone SET short_name = 'sncrematory' WHERE short_name = 'snfurnace';

Either database: Fixes some #zone in location issues:

UPDATE zone SET safe_x = '0', safe_y = '0', safe_z = '0' WHERE short_name = 'inktuta';
UPDATE zone SET safe_x = '-2550', safe_y = '770', safe_z = '-645' WHERE short_name = 'qvic';
UPDATE zone SET safe_x = '1540', safe_y = '1040', safe_z = '82' WHERE short_name = 'nedaria';

(that qvic one is not a "safe" spot, but I do not know where there is one, so I made it the zone in)


Remember to restart your world after major zone add/changes, or things might not work as expected.


Going to insert some zone_points for this expansion now... again, not sure if this has been done, so if it's redundant, it's all a learning experience for me. Now if someone will just tell me how to drop new buildings in zones, I'd be set.

[Sakrateri]

Your a Genius !! This worked like a charm for me , Thanks alot for the fix, I was about to go buy a new Vid card !

[fathernitwit]

john, making zone points by hand is not really advised... they are generally pulled from packet collects, and its hard to get them accurate by hand.

[John Adams]

Agreed FNW - I didn't make these zones though, only fixed the fog issues that caused the landscape and textures to show up all funky. If you see anything wrong with my suggestions above, please let me know and I can correct the post.

Thanks!
J

[John Adams]

FNW, I wanted to come back to this real quick. You say that zones are best populated by packet collects, yet the collectors/builders are not compatible with Live to get new data. Is this last statement correct? Because if we can still build zones from collects, I will spend as much time as I need in any zone to get packets collected again. I never bothered, because I thought the technology was non-compatible.

Can you (or anyone) verify? I'm sure others would collect data too.