Advanced Model Support version 110

by Simon "Psychic_313" McVittie

[Advanced Model Support 110 (final) banner]

Mod description

Advanced Model Support is a free modification for Unreal Tournament enabling the use of new custom models. Modellers who use AMS in their models benefit from easy scripting with full support for custom skins, greater team-colour versatility than Epic's TournamentPlayer and SkeletalPlayer classes, and support for scripted skins allowing experienced skinners to alter the model's display settings. AMS also includes Epic skeletal animations from the Playstation 2 version of UT, both Male and Female versions, meaning AMS models shouldn't need Bonus Pack 4. Everyone should download the basic AMS package, and modellers should download the SDK as well.

If you are a modeller and want to link your model to Advanced Model Support, please download the Advanced Models SDK, or read it online - see below. The SDK contains tutorials and template scripts relevant to player model authors and mod teams; some simple demonstration models are also available.

AMSDK

The Advanced Models SDK is available to download or read online here: AMSDK Index.

Installation and requirements

This mod requires Unreal Tournament, upgraded to version 436 or later (download the patch from www.unrealtournament.com or a mirror download like File Planet, UnrealCenter or Unreality).

UMOD version

Windows users

Unzip with Winzip, Power Archiver or similar, and double-click the UMOD. Unreal Tournament version 436 is required.

If you have problems with UMOD files, try these pages:

Also, make sure you have the required UT patch installed.

Mac users

Unzip with InfoZip, Stuffit Expander or another suitable program, then install the UMOD with the UMOD reader distributed with Mac UT.

Linux users

UMODPack can read zipped UMOD files directly. However, unless UMODPack has been updated since I wrote this, it assumes your copy of UT is version 400. Verify that you have UT v436 (e.g. by running it and looking at the right end of the menu bar) and edit the System/Manifest.ini file (usually /usr/local/games/ut/System/Manifest.ini) to reflect the version of "UnrealTournament" you have installed. I assume that anyone who can get OpenGL and games working on Linux will be intelligent enough to realise that faking your version number if you don't have v436 is A Bad Thing™.

Non-UMOD version

There is no non-UMOD version. This is deliberate - the non-UMOD Bonus Pack 4 caused no end of problems. Do not make or distribute one (actually, under the license I've used, it is illegal to do so).

Server installation

Install as described above, then check the [Engine.GameEngine] section of System\UnrealTournament.ini. You must have the following line:

ServerPackages=AdvancedModelSupport

hnFAQ (hopefully not frequently asked questions)

How do I install it?
The UMOD doesn't work!
The UMOD says I need "Unrealtournament 436". What's a 436?
See "Installation" above.
I installed Advanced Model Support and there doesn't seem to be any difference in UT.
AMS doesn't do a lot on its own - it's mostly behind-the-scenes stuff. However, you can now install some cool models which you couldn't before. In version 102+ you also get a menu item (which doesn't do a whole lot) and some extra key bindings under Preferences/Controls (all except Challenge Taunt are actually basic UT features, but Epic forgot to include them in the basic list).
I bound a key to the new Challenge taunt, but it doesn't do anything.
It only works on models which have a Challenge animation sequence. This means models which use the built-in Epic male skeletal animations, or models where the animator has added a fifth taunt.
I bound a key to Third Person, but in third person view I don't get a crosshair.
In third person view my model is in the way when I try to aim.
I get put back in first person view when I die.
It's meant to be like that. These are features, not bugs :-)
I installed AMS and a couple of models, but they won't work in multiplayer! Why not?

To let players use any mod online (this includes models, skins, voices and Advanced Model Support) the server admin must have added them to their server's ServerPackages list. Unfortunately, anyone joining a game will be forced to download any of the ServerPackages they don't have, even if nobody is currently using that mod! This is frustrating for the players, and takes up bandwidth from the server (leaving less for the actual gameplay), so admins are reluctant to do this except for certain very popular models (Bonus Pack 1 is installed on about 50% of servers, in my experience, and BP 4 on about 10%).

UsAaR33 is working on a mod to make model and skin support act a bit more like Quake-engine games (Q3, Half-Life) where any model or skin you don't have appears as some default model, so server admins will only need to install this mod and players will be able to use any skin or model (of course, the less popular your skin, the more likely the other players are to not have it and see you as a default model like Male Soldier anyway). Look out for a mod called "Valhalla Avatar" - at the time of writing (23 September 2001), it's not quite finished but is available as a private beta test.

Known issues:

All issues involving Player Setup also apply to Configure Individual Bots, as the two windows are basically the same from an Unrealscript point of view.

Changes since version 102

Changes since version 101

Contact details

Tech support

I am very unlikely to respond to requests for help in future. Read this file first. Then read it again. If you still have problems, look at the AMS web page, http://www.pseudorandom.co.uk/paradox/ams, and my UT Mods FAQ, http://www.pseudorandom.co.uk/paradox/unreal/utmodsfaq.shtml. I wouldn't be able to tell you any more than these pages, so there's probably no point in e-mailing me.

Anything else

For contact details, have a look at this page: http://www.pseudorandom.co.uk/ps/contact.shtml.

Credits and copyright

UnrealScript
Coded by Simon "Psychic_313" McVittie.
Original code copyright © Simon McVittie, 2001.
Elements copyright © Epic Games, Inc., 1999-2000.
Concept
Psychic_313 and James Green
Animations
Unreal Tournament for Playstation 2 animations by James Green and James Edwards, copyright © Epic Games, Inc., 2000.

Thanks

Big thanks to James Green for animations and expertise, UsAaR33 for cunning ideas and online testing, Josh of ravensite.net for attempting online testing :-(, Richard "tla" Smith for suggesting class-based skins, and everyone at EpicKnights for their enthusiasm.

Trademarks and permissions

You may distribute this mod if and only if said distribution is under the following conditions:

Parts of Advanced Model Support may be incorporated into other mods according to the terms indicated in the source code and SDK.

Unreal is a trademark of Epic Games, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks mentioned are hereby acknowledged to be the property of their respective owners.

THIS MOD IS PROVIDED "AS-IS" WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE AUTHORS ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE, INCONVENIENCE OR OTHER PROBLEMS, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CAUSED BY THIS MOD, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH PROBLEMS.


Simon McVittie, http://www.pseudorandom.co.uk/