WC1 Graphics Toolkit (ATTN: Remakers)

[AKAImBatman]

Hi all! I've updated my old WC1 Image Viewer to be more of a complete toolkit. The program is now capable of:

• Viewing ships as 3D models
• Virtually exploring cockpits (a bit like Quicktime VR)
• Exporting images to PNG files
• And more!

More info, downloads, and screenshots can be found at:

http://games.datadino.com/wc1/

While I still have to attack the VGA format, this code is already useful to anyone who wants to do a remake of WC1. With the tool, you can investigate ship files, export them to standard graphics files, and even look over the matrix used to display the ships in 3D mode! (Be warned that WC only stores the upper-left hand corner of images. All other ship positions are created by flipping the images horizontally and vertically.)

If you have any questions, concerns, praise, or insults (Yeah? Well same to you buddy! ) feel free to post them here. Also, feel free to use the code however you like.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Hey that's really cool...I think this should be very helpful to anyone who might be interested in hacking the WC engine and trying to do some updates. (wink,wink,nudge,nudge,knowwhattamean,knowwhattamean?).

 

[AKAImBatman]

Hey that's really cool...

Thank you.

I think this should be very helpful to anyone who might be interested in hacking the WC engine and trying to do some updates. (wink,wink,nudge,nudge,knowwhattamean,knowwhattamean?).

*Blank stare*

No, not really.

(kidding!)

 

[AKAImBatman]

If you had any trouble reaching the site, it's back online now. Sorry about that.

 

[Shades2585]

Wow. It looks awesome. I have no problem getting to your site and I have Jave installed but I can't seem to figure out how to get this to run. I'm getting an "Error: missing ; before statement"

What am I doing wrong?

Thankx

 

[AKAImBatman]

Wow. It looks awesome. I have no problem getting to your site and I have Jave installed but I can't seem to figure out how to get this to run. I'm getting an "Error: missing ; before statement"

That sounds like a JavaScript error. That shouldn't ever happen with a compiled Java program. How are you attempting to launch the program? The correct steps to take are:

1. Download 'wc1viewer.jar' from the homepage.

2. Click on "Start", then "Run", then type "cmd" and hit Enter. This should bring up a command line window.

3. "cd" to the directory where you downloaded "wc1viewer.jar".

4. Type "java -jar wc1viewer.jar". This should give you a list of flags and usage options. That is how you can check that the program works correctly.

5. Type "java -jar wc1viewer.jar " (make sure you get the trailing space) and drag one of the SHIP.Vxx files from your WC1/Gamedat directory onto the command line window. This should place the filename in the window automatically. Press "Enter" and the viewer should start up.

Note that this tool is more developer friendly than it is regular-user friendly, so it makes heavy use of command line switches instead of a nice "File Open" window. Sorry about that, but I need it developer friendly for now. Future versions may be a little more GUI intensive.

EDIT: Here's how the command line window should look:

 

[Shades2585]

Dude that Rocks!

Now those instructions I can fallow. You might want to put those in your page instead for people like me who have never messed with Java like this.
The one other thing you might want to note is this is for the Kilrathi Saga version and not the old DOS version.

Keep up the good work. I’ve always wanted to watch all the video clips. I hope that is coming to a “rev” near us soon.

I presume you’re trying to get the whole game to eventually run in Java? That being said I see what you mean about cleaning up the graphics and putting them back in.

Here are all the files I found that work and what they are in case anybody wants to know.
PCSHIP.V00 cockpit of the Hornet
PCSHIP.V01 cockpit of the Rapier
PCSHIP.V02 cockpit of the Scimitar
PCSHIP.V03 cockpit of the Raptor
PCSHIP.V04 Simulator
PCSHIP.V05 cockpit of the Dralthi
SHIP.V04 Corvette
SHIP.V05 Diligent
SHIP.V06 Drayman
SHIP.V07 Exeter
SHIP.V08 Bengal
SHIP.V15 Dorkir
SHIP.V16 Lumbari
SHIP.V17 Ralari
SHIP.V18 Fralthi
SHIP.V19 Snakeir
SHIP.V20 Sivar
SHIP.V21 Star Post
SHIPTYPE.V00 Hornet
SHIPTYPE.V01 Rapier
SHIPTYPE.V02 Scimitar
SHIPTYPE.V03 Raptor
SHIPTYPE.V09 Salthi
SHIPTYPE.V10 Dralthi
SHIPTYPE.V11 Krant
SHIPTYPE.V12 Gratha
SHIPTYPE.V13 Jalthi
SHIPTYPE.V14 Hhriss
SHIPTYPE.V29 Heat-Seeking Missile

 

[BradMick]

hmm....well, i followed your steps to the 't' and got an 'unable to access jarfile -jar wc1view.jar' dealy. i've got everything in a folder easily accessible. kinda annoying.

 

[Shades2585]

Your using the Kilrathi Saga version right? The DOS version doesn't work.

when you type "java -jar wc1viewer.jar" do you get...

-e <folder> Extract images to specified folder. Does not activate the viewer.
-f Run the viewer in full screen mode. (Experimental!)
-? Prints this message.

If you get this then the program is working and you just have to put a space and the directory and file name with extension.

 

[AKAImBatman]

Dude that Rocks!

Thank you.

Now those instructions I can fallow. You might want to put those in your page instead for people like me who have never messed with Java like this.

I'll probably do that when I get a chance. As I said, though, it's really more of a command line thing than a Java thing. If I made the program a smidge more GUI friendly, all you would have had to do is double click on the JAR file. I'm not quite sure how to cleanse people's minds of the "Java is special" idea.

The one other thing you might want to note is this is for the Kilrathi Saga version and not the old DOS version.

It doesn't matter. They appear to use the exact same file formats. The only files that don't work are the ones from the Wing Commander Demo. It looks like that was probably an early version of some sort.

Keep up the good work. I’ve always wanted to watch all the video clips. I hope that is coming to a “rev” near us soon.

Ehh... I'm not sure how feasible that is yet. Wing Commander is from a time when programmers stuck much of the game's data into the EXE file. (Just ask the Privateer remakers! ) As a result, the graphics can probably be extracted from the VGA files, but the "movies" per say would have to be reconstructed. In short? You'll get an image viewer first. The rest is something we can only hope for.

I presume you’re trying to get the whole game to eventually run in Java? That being said I see what you mean about cleaning up the graphics and putting them back in.

Heh. We'll see.

Here are all the files I found that work and what they are in case anybody wants to know.
PCSHIP.V00 cockpit of the Hornet
[...]
SHIPTYPE.V29 Heat-Seeking Missile

Nice list! I just say "All the Vxx files", but it's very handy to have a compiled list! You'll note that the numbers in the filename match the same numbers used in the mission files. So it's pretty easy to look them up in HCl's docs too.

 

[AKAImBatman]

hmm....well, i followed your steps to the 't' and got an 'unable to access jarfile -jar wc1view.jar' dealy. i've got everything in a folder easily accessible. kinda annoying.

It tells you the problem right here:

unable to access jarfile wc1view.jar

The correct name of the file is "wc1viewer.jar". You can copy and paste this next line right into the command line window:

java -jar wc1viewer.jar

EDIT: FYI, the DOS version works just fine. It's only the demo that has issues.

 

[eddieb]

You should use java web start to make it easier for folks to run. I did this with the flight commander mission editor.

 

[AKAImBatman]

You should use java web start to make it easier for folks to run. I did this with the flight commander mission editor.

I plan to do that for future programs more targetted toward the end user. As I said, this is more of a developers tool right now. i.e. You can check the file ahead of time with the viewers, then export all the images to a folder. It can even be done automatically inside a script thanks to being a command line program. (Actually, it's a bunch of command line programs wired together, but who's counting? )

 

[Shades2585]

Well here’s hoping for a movie viewer for WC1 and WC2. I mentioned it to HC1 a few years back but he didn't seem to think there would be much fan interest. I don't know why with all the positive feed back from the FMV viewer he made. I for one have been dieing for someone to make one.

I was wondering, could you put an option in your ship viewer to have a black or star field background?

 

[BradMick]

still no joy, i was typing in viewer, still got the same deal

 

[AKAImBatman]

still no joy, i was typing in viewer, still got the same deal

Are you certain that you're in the same directory as the JAR file? For example, if you downloaded it to your desktop, it would be in "c:\Documents and Settings\bmick\Desktop" (where "bmick" is your Windows login name). You can be sure that you're in the correct directory by typing "dir wc1viewer.jar". It should list the file. If you get "File Not Found", double check where you saved it.

If you still can't get it to work, post a screenshot of the error and I'll help you through it.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Well here’s hoping for a movie viewer for WC1 and WC2. I mentioned it to HC1 a few years back but he didn't seem to think there would be much fan interest. I don't know why with all the positive feed back from the FMV viewer he made. I for one have been dieing for someone to make one.

That would officially rock!!! I'd love to have a way of viewing the "floating heads" and all the cutscenes from WC1 and WC2. If anyone can do it, I'd be eternally greatful!

 

[ChrisReid]

HCl was kind of surprised when we were all excited he got multiplayer Proving Grounds working. I'm not sure what he's thinking sometimes, but he can sure do some crazy stuff.

 

[Maj.Striker]

Speaking of which...we need to organize and announce a formal night to host a couple of matches or gauntlet playing of Armada/Proving Grounds.

 

[ChrisReid]

It's just Proving Grounds, so there's no Armada or gauntlet play yet. HCl never released the CD version of his patch, but it seems the floppy version works with the CD version okay. We probably need to get some more practice doing informal games before we get a whole bunch of people involved. There are some settings which are difficult to play.