Compound Entity

[Flexman]

In our project we're currently creating city blocks and rural compounds, as there are lots of these compounds dotted around the landscape I tried making a 'template' by building one in the editor (at the origin), removed the terrain, default lights, environment. Saved it as a scene, "template_compound_01.sbx".

 

 

Using the old "info_playerstart" entity as a startpoint, called it "Compound01" ,I gave it an icon and used the following short LUA script...

require("scripts/class")

local class=CreateClass(...)


function class:CreateObject(model)

local object=self.super:CreateObject(model)

object.scene = LoadScene("abstract::template_compound_01.sbx")
if object.scene~=nil then
  object.scene:SetParent(object.model);
end

end

 

Restarted the editor (to refresh the abstract file system and the object browser) and dragged "Compound01" into the scene it worked perfectly. Dragging all the buildings and walls around. Makes dressing complex maps a bit easier. Quite fitting that it's called a compound entity.

 

I wondered if there might be any problems using this? Or benefit to adding an AABB box for Octree culling? Entities in SBX files have IDs, is there any chance or issue around duplicated IDs from using this method?

 

*** EDIT ***

Well I found one problem, it doesn't work in a compiled BMX program, crashes at LoadScene.bmx line 417 in the engine source.

Edited March 31, 2010 by Flexman