Few questions about modding. Main Menu and Rifle Sounds replacing

2d0x

Hi all. Before I start studying tutorials I would like to hear answers from knowledgeable people, maybe my tasks are impossible to implement
1. Is there any way to replace default main menu scene to old, pre-alpha menu? Im talking about this menu
Is this possible? I could not find a suitable game menu in Steam Workshop. How can i do this: somehow re-create the entire scene by some kind of editor with models\animation, or i should find this scene in the old game-client in the internet and somehow import into the editor? I don't care about location of main menu buttons, news panel, and other things. All I want is to re-create the atmosphere of pre-alpha main menu. The mysterious atmosphere, tense atmosphere, scary atmosphere! First game menu after the release was pretty good, I could use it, but then I would like to add a skulk crawling on the ceiling in the shadows, and a patroling or standing marine. Place does not matter, I can find many suitable places (with shadows, vents, lighting, etc) to create a game-menu-scene based on any map. Or in theory i can create a few mods\with few places. Also i wish to implement more actors to the game-menu animation. To help you understand what I mean: Pre-alpha menu has 3 actors: skulk, mac, marine. Default menu after release has 0 actors. Default menu after Gorgeous has 2 actors: flying drone in space and bublers. I want to add more actors, such as silently looking out of the shadows fade, climbing on the ceiling lerk, maybe i can find suitable place for an Onos! For example, these actors will go to the scene at different times. If you understand what i mean
2. Is it possible to replace the default audio sound of shooting from assault rifle with default audio sound of centry gun shooting? and most importantly, after such a change will I be able to hear the changed sound on the official server like Uwe Official or GamingDeluxe?
3. If all of the above is possible, then how difficult it would be for me to realize? i don't have experience in modding, but i can try learn more from uwe modding tutorial.
Thanks for your attention!

MCMLXXXIV

#1 is definitely possible. Just create the cinematic you want in the cinematic editor and replace cinematics/main_menu.cinematic. When you launch the game that's what it'll use. For a clearer example, look at how we did it in NS2Combat! https://github.com/AlexHayton/NS2Combat.git

#2 Unfortunately this can't be done without modifying the server, because you need to modify the MarineWeaponEffects.lua file (which will be consistency checked). If you wanted to release it as a mod for server operators to run this would be fine though.

#3 You are only limited by the power of your own imagination and the time you have available to realise it! Picking up lua is pretty easy if you're working on this kind of stuff and the cinematic editor doesn't take too long to learn (I found that editing the existing main menu was the easiest way to find out how to do it).

Tharos

For the menu, you can do it by creating a scene with the cinematic editor & then use it for the menu ( with the cinematic editor in your natural selection 2 folder)

For the custom sound unfortunately, sounds are checked by default in the consistency config I think

2d0x

yay thanks guys! ;P I will begin to learn the cinematic editor tonight, I have a lot of ideas!

2d0x

I'm starting to slowly understand this cinematic editor. But i still can't understand how to upload my new game-menu-animation to workshop for testing purposes can anyone help me?
edit: it works! I did it! i found that post http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/comment/1984602/#Comment_1984602 , all i need is to put cinematic folder with main_menu.cinematic to Output folder of my mod!

2d0x

I have successfully changed location of game menu from Descent to Docking Bar, but then problem appeared - increased loading time. This is obviously because I took as a basis the whole ns2_docking.level, but initially the default game menu uses a separate menu.level containing only a small area. I immediately had the idea to open the ns2_docking.level in the Editor and remove all the unnecessary parts of the map, and just leave the relevant area - "Thirsty Onos" bar. But after I opened the map in the editor, I realized that i can't do this. Because i can't even find a Bar lol. The levels look very different if I open them through the Editor. I understand that it is theoretically possible to realize as I want, but my knowledge is not enough to implement.

Places with black lines exist ... but places with white lines is empty.
Then I had an idea, what if I somehow was able to record the action in the bar? Record through cinematic editor as a video, and use this video as main_menu.cinematic? This is possible? Or i should go back to Editor and try to find Bar again?
I was not particularly worried about the long loading. In the future I would like to put my mod in the workshop, for general use. And I do not want my subscribers to wait.

DerAkademiker

It's not that easy to replace the rifle with the sentry sound. For the sentries you only have:

sound/NS2.fev/marine/structures/sentry_fire_loop

OR

sound/NS2.fev/marine/structures/sentry_fire

But you need:

sound/NS2.fev/marine/rifle/fire_14_sec_loop

AND

sound/NS2.fev/marine/rifle/end

I think you'll understand when download the suggested Fmod version in the second post of this thread:
http://www.forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/128106/how-to-make-a-mod-for-natural-selection-2 ,
and listen to the sounds inside the NS2.fev.

It's easier to make an own rifle sound with a loop and an end (you could use some rifle sounds from CS1.6 for example, they are free to download - or whatever sound you may like.

Still, as people mentioned, you won't pass consistency checks when you change .lua files, which you have to do for sound modding.

2d0x

sounds replacing is does not matter anymore, I want to focus on creating game menus properly
btw is it possible to copy part of the map and put it to the new map? seems like select+ctrl+v->ctrl+c on new map is working, but not properly
and i still can't understand where is Bar room at Docking if im opening ns2_docking.level through Editor.
my game loading on ssd took 3 seconds with default game menu
with my "Bar" menu (based on full ns2_docking.level) it tooks 11 seconds to load menu

2d0x

***I created mod thread for my project, click here, this thread can be locked after my post, thanks for your attention.***