How to make a Polyobject (WARNING IMAGE HEAVY)

Ok, this probably isn't well-written, but I wanted to share the information I learned about these hoping it helps someone. This comes from about two hours of experimenting. If anything is broken or mis-typed, let me know.



How to make a basic Polyobject:

Open up a new map, and create your usual stuff. Place a Polyobject Spawn in the center of the map with an angle of 1. MAKE SURE the flag value is set to 0.



Create a sector outside the map, about 192x192, and merge it with your middle sector.



Create a sector inside that, about 128x128, and give it a floor height of 0 and a ceiling height of 128. Make sure the sidedefs are facing out. (Don't worry about flats, they don't display.)



Look for the highest numbered linedef in that square, and give it Type 20, and Tag 1.



Place a polyobject anchor in the midle of the sector. Again, flag value must be 0.



Create another sector, floor height 1 (this should be equal to the polyobject number) and ceiling height 256.



Pick a linedef on the sector, and give it a type of 22 and a tag of 1.



Test the game, and you should see your polyobject!





How to make it move horizontally:

Place a set of Zoom Tube Waypoints, angle ascending from 0, flag 0, height 64.



Make a new sector, and set one linedef to "Linedef Exec Trigger - Level Load".



Set another linedef on that sector to "Linedef Exec - PolyObject: Follow Waypoints" with an X offset of 32, a Y offset of 0, tag 1, and effects 3, 4, and 6 checked.



Test, and your polyobject should be sliding back and forth! (You can use varying Z positions for the waypoints, and the polyobject should go up and down.)



You can also make it spin with the following changes:

-Don't place the waypoints.
-Set your Follow Waypoints linedef to PolyObject: Rotate Left/Right (Depending on which you like), X offset to the speed you want, and Y offset to 360.

Leave everything else the same.






Polyobject Notes:

The polyobject simply renders the side textures as though they were main textures on a linedef. Floors do not render.



Examples

wow thats it/ Then i ha dit right the first freaking time?!

how do i set ti to fofs?

What? I don't think you can use any FOFs, water, etc. on a polyobject.

yeah you an. i saw an example of it in ERZ@ but i cant make it work.
Why dont thefloors show up?

Wait...so polyobjects don't render the floor and ceiling? So you can't use them to make horizontally-moving platforms?

yep. ticked me off.

Now now, Polyobjects could be used for some out-of-bounds visuals. It has SOME potential, but not for actually constructing the level in MOST circumstances.

I know, but it still severely limits their usefulness.

wait a minute. you can make Fans out of polyobjects and fofs! Study ERZ act 2 and you will see what i mean!

Yeah, and you could theoretically also use them to make a flag that waves back and forth a little.

we really need that wiki.

That fan is a texture.
Edit: this post was made before seeing the fans in question at the start of ERZ 2.

i know. i cant remember which though

I think in ERZ1 there was a horizontally moving platform with a visible flat. *goes to check*

That isn't a polyobject, it's a zillion tiny FOFs that are on...what, continuous something or other...and they're all synced to disappear/reappear so they look like a polyobject. :D And you guys wonder why ERZ1 takes so long to load.

B-b-but the floor moves D: *sees for himself*
Wow, that's a lot of FOFs...

We need this tutorial in the Wiki.

Ezer.Arch said:

We need this tutorial in the Wiki.

Click to expand...

We also need a tutorial for the Appear-Disappear FOF Settings, it's a good substitute for polyobjects.

hey, let me make a question, How to do this?

Create a sector outside the map, about 192x192, and merge it with your middle sector.

Click to expand...

How to merge sectors in this case?(I already readed and understanded all srb2DB tutorials in the wiki)