[SCRIPT] MenuV Pick your Ped!

ReNNie

So... After having what feels like the most valued script ever to navigate my add-on car database, I decided to look into adding all those new peds out there.

I have used the template provided by RDE in the past to create my own add-on peds when 'niko' wasn't even around.
Meth0d's method (no pun intended) makes it very fast to import peds and have them displayed inside the script.
So using that and increasing some values in gameconfig.xml has left me with 200+ peds added.
But... not being able to control the toggle ('L') and being very limited in navigation options, I crave for more control.

See this list for how I've organized it in the folder

I see a couple of categories when I peek at it fast like Army / Games / Marvel / Batman / Star Wars / Sexy Females / Movies / TV / ...
So, let's take PYR as a base on terms of navigation. What would it entail?

GROUP: GAMES
MODEL: AC Revolutions - Altaïr
SPAWN_NAME: acr-altair
AUTHOR: fakeplastic
TYPE: Normal

GROUP: GAMES
MODEL: GTAIV - Johnny Klebitz
SPAWN_NAME: klebitz
AUTHOR: MikePhilips
TYPE: Normal

GROUP: MOVIES
MODEL: Terminator Collection - T-800 high poly
SPAWN_NAME: T800-high
AUTHOR: jr59
TYPE: Normal

@ReNNie That list is pretty much what I am building it on, apart from an extra category I am adding at the top of the tree, which is Gender.

So basically:

Gender
Category (GROUP)
Name (MODEL)
Author
Spawn Name
Type

Gender can be Male, Female or Neutral

Changing Gender, will filter Category, which in turn will filter Model.

The whole images thing is probably going to be totally impractical for this spawner, simply because of the number of variations that can exist in a single ped. Take Momiji for instance, she has 3 outfits and 2 hair styles. So I'm not sure how to approach that side of it.

ReNNie

@LeeC2202 On the images, that could work on the Group level. I can see it being a plus for things like Marvel, Star Wars etc.

You could then make a Group Momiji with the 8 models under it, Luxury, Normal, Ninja Gaiden and those doubled by the hairstyles/clothing styles. Then Momiji would get her own image on that Group level?

@ReNNie But that would be confusing because it would be Group: Momiji, Name: Momiji

For that character, group would be Game Character... but she was in more than one game, just to complicate things.

Just not sure yet, it's something I will have a think about while I am writing it.

ReNNie

GENDER: Female
GROUP: Momiji
NAME: Momiji Luxury 2
SPAWN_NAME: momijilux2
AUTHOR: alex189
TYPE: Normal

@ReNNie The Name you've used is probably what I am going to go with, that makes sense.

I think I'll still go with either Game Character or the actual Game Name (Dead or Alive 5 or Ninja Gaiden) for the group.

I just hope Mai doesn't have Game and Casual outfits in one Ped... cars are so much easier. but nowhere near as nice to play with.

meimeiriver

@ReNNie said in [SCRIPT] MenuV Pick your Ped!:

GENDER: Female
GROUP: Momiji
NAME: Momiji Luxury 2
SPAWN_NAME: momijilux2
AUTHOR: alex189
TYPE: Normal

If you ever make a Momiji compound DLC pack, I'd be highly interested too.

The amount of code I have written on this tonight, could fit in this box []

I got myself all psyched up and ready to go... some nice Ukranian music to inspire the creative urges... and then came on here and it all went down the drain.

I actually managed to do something today, after last night's debacle...

So data file processing and loading is done, along with the menu list population for three linked menu items. Not very exciting, but it's progress.

The data is partly my proper list (Female game characters) and partly a load of nonsense to add some data variety.

In theory, if I knew how to do the next bit, which is to change the player model, this would probably work right now... but that's something I need to research next, because I have no idea how that is supposed to work.

And as if by magic, the Peds appeared.

Zievs

@LeeC2202 Wow, you are truly a wizard... I am really looking forward to using both Pick your ped and Pick your ride scripts! If you would make them public, that is. Well done!

So my brain was fried today... sometimes juggling numbers really just doesn't go as easily as it should. But anyway, the main menu now looks like this.

alt text

And the customise menu looks like this.

alt text

To keep the whole menu theme consistent, instead of having a long list of components and then their drawable and texture variants underneath. I decided to maintain the List concept and have the top item contain the component name, the second item will contain the drawables and the third item will contain the texture variants.

I have all the values being pulled into a DrawableCollection class, so I just need to implement the List changes code to update the bottom two items. In theory, it should be fairly straightforward... but I have tempted fate with that statement many times before... so let's not hold our breath just yet.

More to come later.

One thing I am considering, is instead of having this separate menu, to add a Separator component to my menu system, and to drop this onto the bottom of the main menu, with a separator between the sections... not sure yet, that's an idea currently in ponder mode.

Edit: I need to get some proper colours into those sub-heading names as well... must do that later.

@Zievs said in [SCRIPT] MenuV Pick your Ped!:

I am really looking forward to using both Pick your ped and Pick your ride scripts! If you would make them public, that is.

That's something I am still contemplating. Part of me really does want to, the other part can see the idea as having disastrous consequences, mainly because of how the data needs to be created.

I just don't know yet... not releasing them goes against everything I stand for, I'm just not sure I am up to the task of supporting them and the menu system that they require. It's like 2 mods that have three components, that's a lot to suddenly dump into the wild, so to speak. It needs some serious thought.

ReNNie

I fully understand that.

I can only offer to share the current version of my Excel feed (which is more than most would use so they could simply delete rows to keep what they need) and some lines on a readme. And do occasional helping on comments.

But, yes. There will be more wishes from others, more cries for help on how to import cars, etc etc.
So you will definitely regret ever releasing it. So the question is, what will you regret more?

Maybe it's better to first take more time to mature MenuV and its various children...

Zievs

@LeeC2202 Yeah I knew from start, I don't expect you to release/make them public, it was just IF you would, but I totally understand. Sorry about my comment

@Zievs You don't have to apologise for asking the question...

People on this site quite rightly expect mods to get released. I just have to be 100% certain, that what I release is worthy of being released.

I would hate to turn into one of those modders who drops a mod on the site, then runs for the hills when things go wrong. So I have to find the balance between what I can maintain and what I can just about keep running.

If I don't end up releasing it fully, I may release it by request on the understanding that it will be an "as is" type mod, that will never be more than it is at that point in time. That way the support can be more focused, which might make things easier for me to manage.

Both this mod and Pick Your Ped are constantly changing as both they and the menu system evolves. My biggest fear is that the menu system ends up being too customised to suit the needs of these two mods, to be anything more than just a support library for them.

But please, I must reiterate... never hesitate from asking questions. I will always answer honestly, even if that means giving an answer that might not be what you hope for... it's only fair that I at least do that much in return for people's interest.

Zievs

@LeeC2202 Yeah, I respect that to the fullest. Just keep doing what you're doing as long as you enjoy it yourself!

Well... that didn't go as smoothly as planned but hey, what's new in one of my projects.

On the positive side, customisation is now working.

@ReNNie You'll be pleased to know that this mod has facilitated a request from PYR and I will explain what and why.

The What: Manufacturer and Model now have the option (settable in the ini file) to display numbers on them... only those items though.
The Why: When you have a list of defined items, animals, colours, cars etc... the linearity has no real meaning. You can jump back and forth through the list and your place in that list loses any relevance... it's never relative to a start or finish. Because this mod created a list comprising solely of linear numbers, it felt necessary to define the boundaries of that list.

I have made it a settable option because I want them on in this mod but I don't want them on in PYR. So it's just one more setting that creates a bit more individuality for the user, despite the menu system being a fairly rigid entity.

So there you go... never lose hope in a feature being added. Just because it isn't right for one thing, doesn't mean it won't end up in there when something else requires it.

ReNNie

@LeeC2202 said in [SCRIPT] MenuV Pick your Ped!:

runs for the hills

Yeah, thanks for that. Now I'll have that track in the back of my head all day long
(...and there it goes into my Self Radio playlist too)

Customisation on PyP looks like a challenge indeed, phew. But you seems nail it (so far).
Which is a vast improvement on what's available right now script-wise within sjaak's Trainer.

When I saw you changing through the numbers on a sublist of a component (drawable or variant) it immediately left me to wonder how many entries are available to choose from too. So I can see why you'd want to implement a numbers option there. Thank you for bringing it in PYR too!

@ReNNie said in [SCRIPT] MenuV Pick your Ped!:

When I saw you changing through the numbers on a sublist of a component (drawable or variant) it immediately left me to wonder how many entries are available to choose from too. So I can see why you'd want to implement a numbers option there. Thank you for bringing it in PYR too!

With addon peds, there seems to be a maximum of 3 in any slot, but with the main characters, it's a different story. Trevor has 34 variations of one type of T-Shirt, but only has 6 variations of his denim jacket. So it was the inconsistency in the same slot that made it essential to have.

It is actually added as a core MenuV function as well, so any mod that I create with that system, automatically gains the feature... if it's wanted. It can be on or off per item, so it's not an all or nothing system either.

meimeiriver

@LeeC2202 @ReNNie I look greatly forward to this fantastic mod you are making!

So today's progress. I have added 3 more categories in the customisation menu for drawable components. There are 2 more but using them seems unstable and to be honest, I think the amount you can now customise is sufficient for most cases.

I'm still not sure about the twin menus, so I might drop all the customisation into the main menu tonight, see how that feels. It's easy enough to switch them from one to the other, so it's worth trying.

There's still something about the first menu I'm not settled with, so that could be subject to change at any point in time.

Tonight's todo list.

Probably change the Category ListItem to an ImageList item and get that working.
Add the infopane to show when the Name is selected... damn, that's another option to go on the main menu, an infopane display toggle... bugger.
Put some proper colours on those damned subtitle headings... how many times do I have to forget that before I remember it?

Edit: And on that note, it's food, JAG, NCIS and then back to it.

ReNNie

@LeeC2202 I'm probably doing something wrong but beats me ....

downloaded archive for v1.1.7 so not yet using my own data but your csv;
no changes to ini so SHIFT= false and F10 to use;
all other scripts disabled (yet if I drop PYR back in, that works flawlessly!?)

[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Created script domain 'ScriptDomain_186A885C' with v2.9.4.
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Loading scripts from 'D:\GAMES\GTA5 mods v350\scripts' into script domain 'ScriptDomain_186A885C' ...
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Found 0 script(s) in 'MenuV.dll'.
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Found 1 script(s) in 'NativeUI.dll'.
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Found 1 script(s) in 'PickYourPed.dll'.
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Starting 2 script(s) ...
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Instantiating script 'NativeUI.BigMessageThread' in script domain 'ScriptDomain_186A885C' ...
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Started script 'NativeUI.BigMessageThread'.
[19:37:10] [DEBUG] Instantiating script 'PickYourPed.cPickYourPed' in script domain 'ScriptDomain_186A885C' ...
[19:37:10] [ERROR] Failed to instantiate script 'PickYourPed.cPickYourPed' because constructor threw an exception:
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly GTAVDebugClasses, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null or one of its dependencies. The system can not find the file.
Filename: GTAVDebugClasses, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null
bij PickYourPed.cPickYourPed.‍‫⁮‬‎⁪‏‮⁯‭⁯‪‎⁫‬⁮⁮‭⁭‮⁫‪⁭‮‍‮‎⁮‫⁮‮‏‪⁬⁮‭⁯‏‪‌‮()
bij PickYourPed.cPickYourPed..ctor()

@ReNNie Oh no... I can't believe I left that in. give me a min,