Whosdr's In-Game tutorials

Whosdr — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:45:04 GMT

I've come to the conclusion that some tutorials are outdated, or don't cover some details which many require. A lot of people also don't play in windowed mode, and find it annoying to flicker back and forwards, so I've taken it upon myself to write some in-game tutorials.

Tutorials so far:
Console screen
Holograms
Optimization
Chat
Variables

More coming soon (hopefully)

--Console Screen---

Code:

@name Whosdr's in-game tutorial series - Console Screens

#

#################

#Console Screens#

#################

#

#

#

#

#

#########Console Screens#########

#Console screens are screens capable of writing text to.

#The resolution of the screen is 30x18.

#That's cells 0-29 across, and 0-17 down.

#The screen is found under Wire - Display

#

#To wire a console screen, you have you use a 'wirelink'.

#It's defined as:

#@inputs Screen:wirelink

#

#Wirelinks can be linked with the Advanced Wire tool.

#If you use the normal wire tool, you need to use the 

#Expression2 Wirelink tool on the console screen first.

#

#To draw text to a console screen you use the following

#Screen:writeString(Text,X Pos,Y Pos,Color*,Background Color*,Flashing*)

#

#Color and background colors use a rgb (red-green-blue) value.

#For instance, 900 is red (9 red, 0 green, 0 blue)

#Whilst 990 is yellow (9 red, 9 green, 0 blue)

#

#Flashing is when the background and foreground swap every second.

#Possible values are 1 and 0.

#

#For example:

#Screen:writeString("Hello World!",0,9,999,0,0)

#Would make white text(999) on a black background (0)

#not flashing (0) at the top (0) centre (9)

#

#List of colours:

#

#Red          900

#Green         90

#Blue           9

#Light blue    49

#White        999

#Black          0

#Purple       909

#Pink         944

#Orange       940

#cyan          99

#

#Other useful info:

#Screen[2041] = 1 removes everything written to the screen

#Screen[2042] = Background Color* to change the whole screens

#background color

#Screen[2024] = 0-3 to change rotation. It rotates the screen,

#but text stays upright. Set to 1 to make the res 18x30.

#DON'T rewrite non-changing text. Use a first or learn 'optimization'

#

#

#

#

####Advanced####

#

#If and when making a console based OS (We all do it)

#These are some things I use personally.

#

#-[The 'Page' variable.]-#

#I use this variable for changing pages. It's a string var

#@persist Page:string

#and I set it to the name of the page, then use an if statement.

#if (Page == "name_of_page") {}

#In the {} you've got all the code for that page.

#

#-[Keyboard]-#

#A wired keyboard is 'very' useful for user input.

#If you make a variable (In this case, String:string)

#then you can add text onto it.

#

#@name Keyboard_example

#@inputs Screen:wirelink Key

#@persist String:string

#if (Key & ~Key) { #~Key means the button was pressed.

#    if (Key == 127) { #If the key is backspace

#        String = String:sub(1,String:count()-1)

#        #Removes the last character from string

#    } elseif (Key == 154) { #So shift doesn't leave a space

#    } elseif (Key == 13) { #Enter key

#       if (String == "") { #Check string, execute code here

#          

#       }

#    } else {

#       String += toChar(Key) #Key is a byte value (number). toChar

#    }  #Turns it into a string value. Aka, A = 97, B = 97, a = 65

#}

#

#

#

#One thing people ask for is percentage or progress bars.

#This can be achived by using spaces and a background colour.

#Screen:writeString(" ":repeat(How_many_bars),XPos,YPos,0,Color)

#To convert a percentage, use round(Value/Max*Size) where

#Size is how many boxes it will take when full

#

#

#One more of my tricks is a 'Refresh' variable. @persist Refresh

#When changing a page, I set this variable to 1.

#I check the variable in the new page, and set it to 0.

#At the same time, I put in any text which doesn't change.

#This saves on ops and server lag.

---Holograms---

Code:

@name Whosdr's in-game tutorial series - Holograms

#

###########

#Holograms#

###########

#

#Holograms are rescalable entities with no collisions.

#You can't touch them, they have no gravity, you can't toolgun them.

#However, they work very nicely for display, as they're easy

#to move, and cause almost no lag. They're currently only able to

#be created by Expression 2, as an entity would take too many wires.

#

#To create a hologram, you use holoCreate(N). N is the index, used

#to edit it with. You can normally create up to 50 holograms,

#but only 30 per second. If you're using this hologram permanently

#then it is suggested to put this under first(), along with editing

#other properties which don't require changing, such as color and

#material.

#

#holoModel(Index,Path) allows you to change the hologram model

#into any of wires specific models. These are:

#

#####################Model List##########################

#cube       Default model                               #

#plane      A square only visible from one side         #

#prism                                                  #

#pyramid                                                #

#tetra                                                  #

#                                                       #

#dome       Filled dome (|                              #

#dome2      Hollow dome ((                              #

#                                                       #

#cone                                                   #

#hqcone     hq are high quality. They're less blocky    #

#                                                       #

#cylinder                                               #

#hqcylinder                                             #

#hqcylinder2                                            #

#                                                       #

#icosphere                                              #

#icosphere2                                             #

#icosphere3                                             #

#hqicosphere                                            #

#hqicosphere2                                           #

#                                                       #

#sphere                                                 #

#sphere2                                                #

#sphere3                                                #

#hqsphere                                               #

#hqsphere2                                              #

#                                                       #

#torus      Torus is a doughnut really.                       #

#torus2                                                 #

#torus3                                                 #

#hqtorus                                                #

#hqtorus2                                               #

#########################################################

#

#However, now with the Wire Unofficial Extras SVN,

#you can run a console command on the server to allow you to

#use any model on the server. Anything from explosive barrels to 

#SBEP entities. The command is wire_holograms_modelany 1.

#Once enabled, simply put the full path of the model in

#(Can be found by right clicking it in the spawn menu and 

#clicking copy to clipboard, then paste into E2 editor.)

#

#

#The next thing you'll want to do after creating and modeling

#is positioning. The command is holoPos(Index,Position)

#Position is a vector, which can be created using vec(X,Y,Z)

#

#Sometimes you'll want to make the hologram stick to the expression.

#People make the mistake of using holoPos(1,entity():pos()+vec(X,Y,Z))

#However, if you rotate it, it'll come out wrong.

#The correct way to do this is holoPos(1,entity():toWorld(vec(X,Y,Z))

#This takes angles into account to ensure It'll always spawn correctly.

#

#The next one can be quite tricky. holoAng(Index,Angle)

#This sets the angle of the holograms. Angles can be tricky, I'd suggest

#reading a tutorial about them, or you may get frustrated.

#

#Ok, now it's nice to have the hologram you want, but it's quite boring.

#The default ones are plain white, which does not look very cool.

#Lets add some detail, with holoMaterial and holoColor.

#

#As the names suggest, these set the color and materials of a hologram.

#holoColor(Index,Red,Green,Blue,Alpha)

#holoColor(Index,vec(Red,Green,Blue),Alpha)

#holoColor(Index,Red,Green,Blue)

#holoColor(Index,vec(Red,Green,Blue)

#They all do the same thing. Set the colour of the hologram.

#Red,Green and blue can each hold a value of 0-255.

#

#Colours are combined like so.

#

#Red            255      0       0

#Green            0    255       0

#Blue             0      0     255

#Light Blue       0    150     255

#Purple         255      0     255

#Pink           255    100     100

#Orange         255    150       0

#Yellow         255    255       0

#

#For instance, a green hologram would be holoColor(Index,0,255,0)

#(That's no red, full green and no blue)

#If you add an equal value to the other values, it becomes lighter.

#

#The last one is alpha. This is the opacity. The oposite of transparancy.

#In this case, 255 would be as solid as a brick, whilst 0 would be invisible.

#

#You can set the alpha to 0 to make it look like the hologram is gone.

#It uses less ops than having to delete (holoDelete(Index)) and recreate 

#the hologram.

#

#holoMaterial sets the material, much like the material tool.

#holoMaterial(Index,Path)

#Path is a string, the same with model. They need to be wrapped in "'s.

#holoMaterial(Index,"models/jeep/jeep") is the material of the jeep.

#

#An important part I seem to have forgot is that holograms are resizable.

#

#The command holoScale(Index,Size) is used to rescale them.

#The default size of any model is vec(1,1,1), so vec(2,2,2) is exactly double.

#The maximum size of any object is 20 units in any direction (correct me if I'm wrong)

#

#Now, if you want to keep a hologram sort of 'welded' to an object, or even

#another hologram, you use holoParent(Index,Index) or holoParent(Index,Entity)

#Whilst parented, you can still edit the position and angle, but it'll always

#rotate and move to the entity you parented it to.

#You can unparent it simply by using holoUnparent(Index)

#

#A few more things.

#holoEntity(Index) returns the holograms entity.

#A negative scale causes you to see the back over the front.

#A negative index allows all your E2s to edit the hologram.

#It becomes global to you.

#

#holoCreate(1)

#holoModel(1,"hqsphere2")

#holoPos(1,entity():toWorld(vec(0,0,100)))

#holoAng(1,entity():angles())

#holoColor(1,vec(100,255,100))

#holoMaterial(1,"models/flesh")

#holoParent(1,entity())

#holoScale(1,vec(5,5,2))

#

#

##########

#Advanced#

##########

#

#Animations. Simple animations are easy with a seperate position vector or number to each.

#People ask me how I create open and closing movements. Well, bellow is how.

#

#@name Movement Example

#@inputs Open

#@persist Pos E:entity

#if (first()) {

#    E = entity() #Set E to entity()

#    Pos = 20     #Starting units

#

#    holoCreate(1)

#    holoModel(1,"cube") #Cube. Not required here, but is here for example.

#    holoScale(1,vec(0.1,4,8)) #0.1 unit deep, 4 wide and 8 tall

#    holoMaterial(1,"models/props_combine/combine_fenceglow") #Combine fence

#    holoAng(1,E:toWorld(ang(0,180,0))) #180 rotated 180 in yaw.

#   

#    holoCreate(2)

#    holoModel(2,"cube")

#    holoScale(2,vec(0.1,4,8))

#    holoMaterial(2,"models/props_combine/combine_fenceglow")

#    holoAng(2,E:toWorld(ang(0,0,0)))

#

#}

#

#interval(50)

#if (Open) { #If opened

#    if (Pos < 50) {Pos++} #If position is less than 50 then increase

#} else { #If closed

#    if (Pos > 20) {Pos--} #If position is more than 0 then decrease

#}

#

#holoPos(1,E:toWorld(vec(0, Pos,0))) #Position Pos units to the right

#holoPos(2,E:toWorld(vec(0,-Pos,0))) #Position Pos units to the left

#

#

#To have a hologram rotate around a point, use holoPos(Index,vec(Distance,0,0):rotate(ang(0,curtime()*Speed,0))) on an interval.

#To have it rotate in angles, you can use curtime()*Speed in any angle part of holoAng. Yaw would be

#holoAng(Index,ang(Pitch,curtime()*Speed,Roll))

#Or you could use holoAng(Index,holoEntity(Index):toWorld(ang(PitchSpeed,YawSpeed,RollSpeed)))

---Optimization---

Code:

@name Whosdr's in-game tutorial series - Optimization

#

##############

#Optimization#

##############

#

#

#

#

#

#########Optimization#########

#Optimization is the process of going through your code and 

#minimizing ops and lag. It means only running things when they

#need to be run. People make this mistake with holograms.

#Luckily, Expression 2 has functions to help with this.

#

#

#~VAR           This can tell us if you've just activated an input.

#               It is useful if you need to run something just once

#               when an inputs changed, even when you've got an

#               interval. E.G.

#               @inputs Active

#               runOnTick(1)    #Second trigger

#               if (~Active) { #Active is an input

#                   entity():setAlpha(Active*255)

#                   Only triggers when Active changes, even with

#                   runOnTick(1) or interval(100)

#               }

#

#

#

#$VAR           Probably not the best, but useful in specific

#               situations. This is the delta of a variable, the change.

#               The value must be an input, output or persist.              

#

#changed(VAR)   This triggers if the variable inbetween () changes.

#->Input        This is true when the input after -> is wired.

#

#

#first()        This is true when the expression is first spawned.

#               Things such as variable assigning (E = entity(), O = owner())

#               should be done here, and persisted.

#               Creating holograms and setting their display should also be here.

#

#               if (first()) {E = entity(),O = owner()}

#               

#

#duped()        Similar to first(), but when pasted from duplication.

#dupefinished() This returns true when every entity has finished pasting. If you use

#               isWeldedTo() or getConstraints(), it's recommended you put it here.

#

#               Remember, if it doesn't change, put it under first() | duped()/dupefinished().

#

---Chat---

Code:

@name Whosdr's in-game tutorial series - Chat

#

######

#chat#

######

#

#Obviously, when I say chat, I'm talking of the chat box.

#Expression 2 has commands which can read what people have written

#in chat. This doesn't extend to printed text.

#

#lastSaid()        The last text said.

#E:lastSaid()      The last text said by 'E'

#lastSaidTeam()    The last text put in the team chat.

#E:lastSaidTeam()  The last text put in the team chat by 'E'

#lastSpoke()       The player who put in the last chat message.

#

#runOnChat(1)      Triggers an 'execution' (The expression runs)

#                  when someone says something.

#chatClk()         Returns true when someone says something.

#chatClk(E)        Returns true when E says something.

#hideChat(1)       Hides your chat.

#

#

#The best use of lastSaid() is when combined with chatClk().

#if (first()) {runOnChat(1)}

#if (chatClk()) { #If someone spoke

#    if (lastSaid() == "lol") { #If they said lol

#       print(lastSpoke():name()+" said lol!") #print their name and "said lol!".

#    }

#}

#

#runOnChat(1) should be put under first(), as it persists.

#

#Sometimes you won't want someone to see what you wrote.

#This is what hideChat is for.

#

#if (first()) {runOnChat(1)} #only set once,

#if (chatClk(owner()) {

#    if (owner():lastSaid():index(1) == "/") { #:index(1) means the first letter.

#        hideChat(1) #Hides your chat.

#    }

#}

#

#

#Another thing is arguments. Sometimes you'll want to do something like !target player_name

#Text:explode(Splitter) splits the Text by the splitter, and turns it into an array.

#I'm sure I'll have a tutorial on them soon.

#

#

#if (first()) {runOnChat(1)}

#if (chatClk(owner()) {

#    Explode = owner():lastSaid():explode(" ") #Split by space.

#    Arg1 = Explode[1,string] #This is the text before the first space.

#    Arg2 = Explode[2,string] #This is the text after the first split.

#    #You can continue this on with Arg3 = Explode[3,string] ect.

#    if (Arg1 == "-find") {

#        hideChat(1) #Hides chat

#        Found = findPlayerByName(Arg2) #findPlayerByName is a function for finding players.

#        if (Found) { #If the player was found

#            print(Found:name()) #Print the name

#        } else {

#            print("No player found.") If not, print this

#        }

#    }

#}

#

---Data types---

Code:

@name Whosdr's in-game tutorial series - Variables

#

###########

#Variables#

###########

#

#Expression 2 has many types of variables. These are:

#

#Number / Normal        Things like 16, or 122.078

#String                 Text. Surrounded by quotation marks. E.G. "Hello!"

#Vector                 3 numbers 1 in one, used in 3D math. vec(x,y,z) 

#Vector2                2 numbers in 1, used in 2d math. vec(x,y)

#Vector4                Normally used for colours. vec(x,y,z,w) / vec(red,green,blue,alpha)

#Angle                  Used for angles. ang(pitch,yaw,roll)

#Entity                 Every object, from barrels to weapons are entities.

#Bones                  [Not covered]Parts of ragdolls.

#Ranger                 Ranger data*

#Arrays                 Stores many variables with a number index.

#Tables                 Stores many variables with a string index.

#Wirelink               [Not covered]Fast data transfer.

#Matrix                 [Not covered]*

#Complex                [Not covered]*

#Quaternion             [Not covered]*

#

#

#

#

#-------[Entity]-------#

#Just about everything you see in the world is an object. From explosive barrels

#to bouncy balls and players. Each has a position, angle ,size and mass.

#All the data you can get from an entity is covered here.

#http://wiki.garrysmod.com/?title=E2#Entity

#It's input, output or persisted with an :entity extension.

#

#-------[Array]--------#

#Arrays allow multiple storage of multiple datatypes in one variable, and accessed by a kind of key.

#The key is the 'index' of the array, and is a number.

#In arrays, you can only store one peice of data in each slot. There are 1048576 slots avalible,

#but they don't have to go in order. You could write to the cell 10000000000, for instance.

#It's input, output or persisted with a :array extension.

#

#@persist Data:array

#Data[1,number] = 12 #Stores the number 12 to cell 1

#Data[2,string] = "Hello World!" #Stores the string 'Hello World!' o cell 2.

#Data[3,vector] = vec(100,200,300) #Stores the vector 100 x, 200 y, 300 z to cell 3.

#Data[4,entity] = owner() #Stores your entity to cell 4.

#

#print(Data[4,entity]:name()+": "+Data[2,string] + " "+Data[1,number] + " " +Data[3,vector])

#Prints NAME: Hello World! 12 [100,200,300]

#Numbers and strings can be printed. Entities can't, but the :name() turns it into a string

#with the value of your name. Vectors are printed with square brackets around them.

#

#-------[Table]--------#

#Tables work the same way as arrays, except the key is a string, and you can store multiple data

#types in 1 slot.

#

#@persist Data:table

#Name = owner():name() #Name is a string with the value of your name. For me, [END] Whosdr [E2]

#Data[Name,number] = 12

#Data[Name,string] = "Hello World!"

#Data[Name,vector] = vec(100,200,300)

#Data[Name,entity] = owner()

#print(Name + ": "+Data[Name,string] + " " + Data[Name,number] + " " + Data[Name,vector])

#Will also print NAME: Hello World! 12 [100,200,300]

#

#-------[Ranger]-------#

#Rangers are like an invisible line from a position, in a direction.

#Imagine a line coming out of your head, and hitting anything you're looking at.

#This is basically how things like aimEntity() work. The best ranger trace I find is

#RD = rangerOffset(Distance,Position,Direction) where distance is the distance to scan,

#Position is the position to start at, and direction is the direction to scan in.

#

#It has it's own type too, :ranger when persisting, inputting or outputting.

#I can now use functions like RD:hit() to find out if it hit anything,

#RD:distance() to find the distance from the hit, and RD:position() to return a vector position

#of where it hit.

#You can exclude entities from being hit with rangerFilter(Entity) or rangerFilter(Array).

#

#Other functions are

#rangerHitEntites(1/0) #Hit entities

#rangerIgnoreWorld(1/0) #Ignore world

#rangerHitWater(1/0) #Hit the water

#rangerPersist(1/0) #Saves the variables above

#Where 1 is yes, and 0 is no. They must be set before doing the trace.

Feel free to make one yourself, and put I'll put it up here.
And maybe when I'm bored, I'll make a html version.

Attached Files

console_screen.txt (3.5 KB)
optimization.txt (2.0 KB)
chat.txt (2.3 KB)
holograms.txt (8.3 KB)
variables.txt (4.0 KB)

Wiremod.com Forums - Expression Tutorials

Whosdr's In-Game tutorials